by Shunryu Suzuki
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Last annotated on July 10, 2016
INTRODUCTION
Zen mind is one of those enigmatic phrases used by Zen teachers to make you notice yourself, to go beyond the words and wonder what your own mind and being are. Read more at location 195
tathagata in Sanskrit. This is a name for Buddha which means “he who has followed the path, who has returned from suchness, or is suchness, thus-ness, is-ness, emptiness, the fully completed one.” Read more at location 197
**** The practice of Zen mind is beginner’s mind. The innocence of the first inquiry—what am I?—is needed throughout Zen practice. The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all the possibilities. It is the kind of mind which can see things as they are, which step by step and in a flash can realize the original nature of everything. Read more at location 201
The Zen way of calligraphy is to write in the most straightforward, simple way as if you were a beginner, not trying to make something skillful or beautiful, but simply writing with full attention as if you were discovering what you were writing for the first time; then your full nature will be in your writing. This is the way of practice moment after moment. Read more at location 208
describes very well the relationship between Zen teacher and Zen student: “A roshi is a person who has actualized that perfect freedom which is the potentiality for all human beings. He exists freely in the fullness of his whole being. The flow of his consciousness is not the fixed repetitive patterns of our usual self-centered consciousness, but rather arises spontaneously and naturally from the actual circumstances of the present. The results of this in terms of the quality of his life are extraordinary—buoyancy, vigor, straightforwardness, simplicity, humility, serenity, joyousness, uncanny perspicacity, and unfathomable compassion. His whole being testifies to what it means to live in the reality of the present. Without anything said or done, just the impact of meeting a personality so developed can be enough to change another’s whole way of life. But in the end it is not the extraordinariness of the teacher which perplexes, intrigues, and deepens the student, it is the teacher’s utter ordinariness. Because he is just himself, he is a mirror for his students. When we are with him we feel our own strengths and shortcomings without any sense of praise or criticism from him. In his presence we see our original face, and the extraordinariness we see is only our own true nature. When we learn to let our own nature free, the boundaries between master and student disappear in a deep flow of being and joy in the unfolding of Buddha mind.” Read more at location 268
ZEN MIND, BEGINNER’S MIND
It is wisdom which is seeking for wisdom. Read more at location 282
PROLOGUE
BEGINNER’S MIND “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” Read more at location 284
People say that practicing Zen is difficult, but there is a misunderstanding as to why. It is not difficult because it is hard to sit in the cross-legged position, or to attain enlightenment. It is difficult because it is hard to keep our mind pure and our practice pure in its fundamental sense. Read more at location 286
In Japan we have the phrase shoshin, which means “beginner’s mind.” The goal of practice is always to keep our beginner’s mind. Read more at location 290
For Zen students the most important thing is not to be dualistic. Our “original mind” includes everything within itself. Read more at location 295
**** If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few. Read more at location 297
In the beginner’s mind there is no thought, “I have attained something.” All self-centered thoughts limit our vast mind. When we have no thought of achievement, no thought of self, we are true beginners. Then we can really learn something. Read more at location 302
There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind. Read more at location 306
This is also the real secret of the arts: always be a beginner. Be very very careful about this point. If you start to practice zazen, you will begin to appreciate your beginner’s mind. It is the secret of Zen practice. Read more at location 308
PART ONE
Right Practice
POSTURE
“These forms are not the means of obtaining the right state of mind. To take this posture is itself to have the right state of mind. There is no need to obtain some special state of mind.” Read more at location 314
When you sit in the full lotus position, your left foot is on your right thigh, and your right foot is on your left thigh. When we cross our legs like this, even though we have a right leg and a left leg, they have become one. The position expresses the oneness of duality: not two, and not one. This is the most important teaching: not two, and not one. Our body and mind are not two and not one. Read more at location 316
Our body and mind are both two and one. Read more at location 319
The most important thing in taking the zazen posture is to keep your spine straight. Your ears and your shoulders should be on one line. Relax your shoulders, and push up towards the ceiling with the back of your head. And you should pull your chin in. Read more at location 327
Your hands should form the “cosmic mudra.” Read more at location 332
Hold your arms freely and easily, and slightly away from your body, as if you held an egg under each arm without breaking it. You should not be tilted sideways, backwards, or forwards. You should be sitting straight up as if you were supporting the sky with your head. This is not just form or breathing. It expresses the key point of Buddhism. It is a perfect expression of your Buddha nature. If you want true understanding of Buddhism, Read more at location 336
To take this posture itself is the purpose of our practice. When you have this posture, you have the right state of mind, so there is no need to try to attain some special state. Read more at location 340
A Zen master would say, “Kill the Buddha!” Kill the Buddha if the Buddha exists somewhere else. Read more at location 342
**** Doing something is expressing our own nature. We do not exist for the sake of something else. We exist for the sake of ourselves. Read more at location 343
The most important point is to own your own physical body. If you slump, you will lose your self. Your mind will be wandering about somewhere else; you will not be in your body. This is not the way. We must exist right here, right now! This is the key point. You must have your own body and mind. Read more at location 351
So try always to keep the right posture, not only when you practice zazen, but in all your activities. Read more at location 359
You will discover how important it is to keep the right posture. This is the true teaching. The teaching which is written on paper is not the true teaching. Read more at location 360
That is why Buddha could not accept the religions existing at his time. Read more at location 363
existence, but in his own body and mind, here and now. And when he found himself, he found that everything that exists has Buddha nature. That was his enlightenment. Enlightenment is not some good feeling or some particular state of mind. The state of mind that exists when you sit in the right posture is, itself, enlightenment. If you cannot be satisfied with the state of mind you have in zazen, it means your mind is still wandering about. Read more at location 365
In this posture there is no need to talk about the right state of mind. You already have it. This is the conclusion of Buddhism. Read more at location 368
BREATHING
“What we call ‘I’ is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale.” Read more at location 370
What we call “I” is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale. It just moves; that is all. When your mind is pure and calm enough to follow this movement, there is nothing: no “I,” no world, no mind nor body; just a swinging door. Read more at location 374
**** Our usual understanding of life is dualistic: you and I, this and that, good and bad. But actually these discriminations are themselves the awareness of the universal existence. Read more at location 379
**** Good and bad are only in your mind. So we should not say, “This is good,” or “This is bad.” Instead of saying bad, you should say, “not-to-do”! Read more at location 394
We should live in this moment. So when we sit we concentrate on our breathing, and we become a swinging door, and we do something we should do, something we must do. This is Zen practice. Read more at location 397
When we become truly ourselves, we just become a swinging door, and we are purely independent of, and at the same time, dependent upon everything. Without air, we cannot breathe. Each one of us is in the midst of myriads of worlds. Read more at location 404
when you practice zazen, your mind should be concentrated on your breathing. This kind of activity is the fundamental activity of the universal being. Without this experience, this practice, it is impossible to attain absolute freedom. Read more at location 407
CONTROL
“To give your sheep or cow a large, spacious meadow is the way to control him.” Read more at location 410
The best way to control people is to encourage them to be mischievous. Then they will be in control in its wider sense. To give your sheep or cow a large, spacious meadow is the way to control him. So it is with people: first let them do what they want, and watch them. This is the best policy. To ignore them is not good; that is the worst policy. The second worst is trying to control them. The best one is to watch them, just to watch them, without trying to control them. Read more at location 420
If you want to obtain perfect calmness in your zazen, you should not be bothered by the various images you find in your mind. Let them come, and let them go. Then they will be under control. Read more at location 424
**** The only effort that will help you is to count your breathing, or to concentrate on your inhaling and exhaling. We say concentration, but to concentrate your mind on something is not the true purpose of Zen. The true purpose is to see things as they are, to observe things as they are, and to let everything go as it goes. Read more at location 428
Zen practice is to open up our small mind. So concentrating is just an aid to help you realize “big mind,” or the mind that is everything. Read more at location 430
Yoshitsune was a famous warrior who lived in medieval Japan. Because of the situation of the country at that time, he was sent to the northern provinces, where he was killed. Before he left he bade farewell to his wife, and soon after she wrote in a poem, “Just as you unreel the thread from a spool, I want the past to become present.” When she said this, actually she made past time present. In her mind the past became alive and was the present. So as Dogen said, “Time goes from present to past.” Read more at location 435
Time constantly goes from past to present and from present to future. This is true, but it is also true that time goes from future to present and from present to past. Read more at location 440
MIND WAVES
“Because we enjoy all aspects of life as an unfolding of big mind, we do not care for any excessive joy. So we have imperturbable composure.” Read more at location 447
When you are practicing zazen, do not try to stop your thinking. Let it stop by itself. If something comes into your mind, let it come in, and let it go out. It will not stay long. When you try to stop your thinking, it means you are bothered by it. Do not be bothered by anything. Read more at location 448
Many sensations come, many thoughts or images arise, but they are just waves of your own mind. Read more at location 454
If your mind is related to something outside itself, that mind is a small mind, a limited mind. If your mind is not related to anything else, then there is no dualistic understanding in the activity of your mind. You understand activity as just waves of your mind. Big mind experiences everything within itself. Read more at location 458
********** That everything is included within your mind is the essence of mind. To experience this is to have religious feeling. Even though waves arise, the essence of your mind is pure; it is just like clear water with a few waves. Actually water always has waves. Waves are the practice of the water. To speak of waves apart from water or water apart from waves is a delusion. Water and waves are one. Big mind and small mind are one. When you understand your mind in this way, you have some security in your feeling. As your mind does not expect anything from outside, it is always filled. A mind with waves in it is not a disturbed mind, but actually an amplified one. Whatever you experience is an expression of big mind. Read more at location 463
In one sense our experiences coming one by one are always fresh and new, but in another sense they are nothing but a continuous or repeated unfolding of the one big mind. Read more at location 468
**** There is nowhere to come or to go; there is no fear of death, no suffering from old age or sickness. Because we enjoy all aspects of life as an unfolding of big mind, we do not care for any excessive joy. So we have imperturbable composure, and it is with this imperturbable composure of big mind that we practice zazen. Read more at location 472
MIND WEEDS
“You should rather be grateful for the weeds you have in your mind, because eventually they will enrich your practice.” Read more at location 475
Strictly speaking, any effort we make is not good for our practice because it creates waves in our mind. It is impossible, however, to attain absolute calmness of our mind without any effort. We must make some effort, but we must forget ourselves in the effort we make. In this realm there is no subjectivity or objectivity. Our mind is just calm, without even any awareness. In this unawareness, every effort and every idea and thought will vanish. So it is necessary for us to encourage ourselves and to make an effort up to the last moment, when all effort disappears. You should keep your mind on your breathing until you are not aware of your breathing. Read more at location 485
We should just try to keep our mind on our breathing. That is our actual practice. That effort will be refined more and more while you are sitting. Read more at location 491
THE MARROW OF ZEN
“In the zazen posture, your mind and body have great power to accept things as they are, whether agreeable or disagreeable.” Read more at location 497
(Note: maybe akin to Jesus teaching) When you are determined to practice zazen with the great mind of Buddha, you will find the worst horse is the most valuable one. In your very imperfections you will find the basis for your firm, way-seeking mind. Those who can sit perfectly physically usually take more time to obtain the true way of Zen, the actual feeling of Zen, the marrow of Zen. But those who find great difficulties in practicing Zen will find more meaning in it. So I think that sometimes the best horse may be the worst horse, and the worst horse can be the best one. Read more at location 508
The awareness that you are here, right now, is the ultimate fact. This is the point you will realize by zazen practice. In continuous practice, under a succession of agreeable and disagreeable situations, you will realize the marrow of Zen Read more at location 536
NO DUALISM
“To stop your mind does not mean to stop the activities of mind. It means your mind pervades your whole body. With your full mind you form the mudra in your hands.” Read more at location 538
“form is emptiness, and emptiness is form” is still dualistic. But fortunately, our teaching goes on to say, “Form is form and emptiness is emptiness.” Here there is no dualism. Read more at location 544
When you sit, you should just sit without being disturbed by your painful legs or sleepiness. That is zazen. But at first it is very difficult to accept things as they are. You will be annoyed by the feeling you have in your practice. When you can do everything, whether it is good or bad, without disturbance or without being annoyed by the feeling, that is actually what we mean by “form is form and emptiness is emptiness.” Read more at location 559
Knowing that your life is short, to enjoy it day after day, moment after moment, is the life of “form is form and emptiness is emptiness.” When Buddha comes, you will welcome him; when the devil comes, you will welcome him. Read more at location 567
You must be true to your own way until at last you actually come to the point where you see it is necessary to forget all about yourself. Until you come to this point, it is completely mistaken to think that whatever you do is Zen or that it does not matter whether you practice or not. But if you make your best effort just to continue your practice with your whole mind and body, without gaining ideas, then whatever you do will be true practice. Read more at location 575
Form is form and you are you, and true emptiness will be realized in your practice. Read more at location 578
BOWING
“Bowing is a very serious practice. You should be prepared to bow, even in your last moment. Even though it is impossible to get rid of our self-centered desires, we have to do it. Our true nature wants us to.” Read more at location 580
By bowing we are giving up ourselves. To give up ourselves means to give up our dualistic ideas. So there is no difference between zazen practice and bowing. Read more at location 582
But when you bow to Buddha you should have no idea of Buddha, you just become one with Buddha, you are already Buddha himself. When you become one with Buddha, one with everything that exists, you find the true meaning of being. When you forget all your dualistic ideas, everything becomes your teacher, and everything can be the object of worship. When everything exists within your big mind, all dualistic relationships drop away. There is no distinction between heaven and earth, man and woman, teacher and disciple. Read more at location 584
In your big mind, everything has the same value. Everything is Buddha himself. Read more at location 590
******** (Note: peace that passes understanding) Sen no Rikyu, the founder of the Japanese tea ceremony, committed hara-kiri (ritual suicide by disembowelment) in 1591 at the order of his lord, Hideyoshi. Just before Rikyu took his own life he said, “When I have this sword there is no Buddha and no Patriarchs.” He meant that when we have the sword of big mind, there is no dualistic world. The only thing which exists is this spirit. This kind of imperturbable spirit was always present in Rikyu’s tea ceremony. Read more at location 597
(Note: somewhat akin to esoteric view of communion) In ceremony after ceremony he died, and he renewed himself. This is the spirit of the tea ceremony. This is how we bow. Read more at location 601
Bowing helps to eliminate our self-centered ideas. This is not so easy. It is difficult to get rid of these ideas, and bowing is a very valuable practice. The result is not the point; it is the effort to improve ourselves that is valuable. There is no end to this practice. Read more at location 607
**** Calmness of mind does not mean you should stop your activity. Real calmness should be found in activity itself. Read more at location 616
After you have practiced for a while, you will realize that it is not possible to make rapid, extraordinary progress. Even though you try very hard, the progress you make is always little by little. Read more at location 618
(Note: opposite of rinzai) It is like studying a foreign language; you cannot do it all of a sudden, but by repeating it over and over you will master it. This is the Soto way of practice. Read more at location 622
NOTHING SPECIAL
“If you continue this simple practice every day, you will obtain some wonderful power. Before you attain it, it is something wonderful, but after you attain it, it is nothing special.” Read more at location 625
Zen practice is the direct expression of our true nature. Of course, whatever we do is the expression of our true nature, but without this practice it is difficult to realize. Read more at location 630
In zazen what you are doing is not for the sake of anything. You may feel as if you are doing something special, but actually it is only the expression of your true nature; it is the activity which appeases your inmost desire. But as long as you think you are practicing zazen for the sake of something, that is not true practice. Read more at location 635
********* Before you attain it, it is something wonderful, but after you obtain it, it is nothing special. It is just you yourself, nothing special. Read more at location 638
It is a kind of mystery that for people who have no experience of enlightenment, enlightenment is something wonderful. But if they attain it, it is nothing. But yet it is not nothing. Do you understand? Read more at location 641
**** You may say “universal nature” or “Buddha nature” or “enlightenment.” You may call it by many names, but for the person who has it, it is nothing, and it is something. Read more at location 644
If something exists, it has its own true nature, its Buddha nature. In the Parinirvana Sutra, Buddha says, “Everything has Buddha nature,” but Dogen reads it in this way: “Everything is Buddha nature.” There is a difference. Read more at location 649
PART TWO
Right Attitude
The point we emphasize is strong confidence in our original nature. Read more at location 662
SINGLE-MINDED WAY
“Even if the sun were to rise from the west, the Bodhisattva has only one way.” Read more at location 665
Our way is not to sit to acquire something; it is to express our true nature. That is our practice. Read more at location 671
Whatever you do, it should be an expression of the same deep activity. We should appreciate what we are doing. There is no preparation for something else. The Bodhisattva’s way is called “the single-minded way,” or “one railway track thousands of miles long.” The railway track is always the same. Read more at location 678
There is no starting point, no goal, nothing to attain. Just to run on the track is our way. This is the nature of our Zen practice. Read more at location 685
REPETITION
“If you lose the spirit of repetition, your practice will become quite difficult.” Read more at location 699
They thought that the physical side of man bound the spiritual side, and so their religious practice was aimed at making the physical element weaker in order to free and strengthen the spirit. Thus the practice Buddha found in India emphasized asceticism. But Buddha found when he practiced asceticism that there was no limit to the attempt to purge ourselves physically, and that it made religious practice very idealistic. This kind of war with our body can only end when we die. Read more at location 702
Buddha’s way was quite different. At first he studied the Hindu practice of his time and area, and he practiced asceticism. But Buddha was not interested in the elements comprising human beings, nor in metaphysical theories of existence. He was more concerned about how he himself existed in this moment. Read more at location 711
**** Bread is made from flour. How flour becomes bread when put in the oven was for Buddha the most important thing. How we become enlightened was his main interest. The enlightened person is some perfect, desirable character, for himself and for others. Read more at location 713
**** Metaphysical explanations of human nature are not the point. So the kind of practice we stress thus cannot become too idealistic. If an artist becomes too idealistic, he will commit suicide, because between his ideal and his actual ability there is a great gap. Because there is no bridge long enough to go across the gap, he will begin to despair. That is the usual spiritual way. But our spiritual way is not so idealistic. Read more at location 722
Actual practice is repeating over and over again until you find out how to become bread. Read more at location 726
ZEN AND EXCITEMENT
“Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine.” Read more at location 728
Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine. If you become too busy and too excited, your mind becomes rough and ragged. This is not good. If possible, try to be always calm and joyful and keep yourself from excitement. Read more at location 732
when your practice is calm and ordinary, everyday life itself is enlightenment. Read more at location 751
RIGHT EFFORT
“If your practice is good, you may become proud of it. What you do is good, but something more is added to it. Pride is extra. Right effort is to get rid of something extra.” Read more at location 753
Our effort in our practice should be directed from achievement to non-achievement. Read more at location 756
********** By purity we do not mean to polish something, trying to make some impure thing pure. By purity we just mean things as they are. When something is added, that is impure. When something becomes dualistic, that is not pure. If you think you will get something from practicing zazen, already you are involved in impure practice. Read more at location 766
When you practice zazen, just practice zazen. If enlightenment comes, it just comes. We should not attach to the attainment. Read more at location 769
That is the point towards which our effort is directed. We say, “To hear the sound of one hand clapping.” Read more at location 774
you clap with two hands, you can hear the sound. But if sound did not already exist before you clapped, you could not make the sound. Before you make it there is sound. Because there is sound, you can make it, and you can hear it. Sound is everywhere. Read more at location 776
(Note: close to Parmenides concept of being) You may think that when you die, you disappear, you no longer exist. But even though you vanish, something which is existent cannot be non-existent. Read more at location 784
We ourselves cannot put any magic spells on this world. The world is its own magic. Read more at location 785
not to see something in particular; try not to achieve anything special. You already have everything in your own pure quality. If you understand this ultimate fact, there is no fear. There may be some difficulty, of course, but there is no fear. Read more at location 788
There is nothing to lose. There is only the constant pure quality of right practice. Read more at location 793
NO TRACE
“When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.” Read more at location 794
There is a saying, “To catch two birds with one stone.” That is what people usually try to do. Because they want to catch too many birds they find it difficult to be concentrated on one activity, Read more at location 801
**** (Note: akin to Taoism 'do without doing') right thinking does not leave any shadow. Thinking which leaves traces comes out of your relative confused mind. Relative mind is the mind which sets itself in relation to other things, thus limiting itself. It is this small mind which creates gaining ideas and leaves traces of itself. If you leave a trace of your thinking on your activity, you will be attached to the trace. Read more at location 804
To leave a trace is not the same as to remember something. It is necessary to remember what we have done, but we should not become attached to what we have done in some special sense. What we call “attachment” is just these traces of our thought and activity. Read more at location 815
you should be concentrated on what you do. You should do it completely, like a good bonfire. You should not be a smoky fire. You should burn yourself completely. If you do not burn yourself completely, a trace of yourself will be left in what you do. You will have something remaining which is not completely burned out. Zen activity is activity which is completely burned out, with nothing remaining but ashes. Read more at location 818
When you practice Zen you become one with Zen. There is no you and no zazen. When you bow, there is no Buddha and no you. One complete bowing takes place, that is all. This is Nirvana. Read more at location 826
Usually when it is so simple we say, “Oh, I know that! It is quite simple. Everyone knows that.” But if we do not find its value, it means nothing. It is the same as not knowing. Read more at location 835
**** our approach is just to be concentrated on a simple basic practice and a simple basic understanding of life. There should be no traces in our activity. We should not attach to some fancy ideas or to some beautiful things. We should not seek for something good. The truth is always near at hand, within your reach. Read more at location 839
GOD GIVING
“‘To give is nonattachment,’ that is, just not to attach to anything is to give.” Read more at location 842
**** as everything is originally one, we are, in actuality, giving out everything. Moment after moment we are creating something, and this is the joy of our life. But this “I” which is creating and always giving out something is not the “small I”; it is the “big I.” Read more at location 844
We have a saying, “Dana prajna paramita.” Dana means to give, prajna is wisdom, and paramita means to cross over, or to reach the other shore. Our life can be seen as a crossing of a river. The goal of our life’s effort is to reach the other shore, Nirvana. Read more at location 848
********* Dogen-zenji said, “To give is nonattachment.” That is, just not to attach to anything is to give. It does not matter what is given. Read more at location 855
when we repeat, “I create, I create, I create,” soon we forget who is actually the “I” which creates the various things; we soon forget about God. This is the danger of human culture. Actually, to create with the “big I” is to give; we cannot create and own what we create for ourselves since everything was created by God. This point should not be forgotten. Read more at location 863
**** There are perhaps three kinds of creation. The first is to be aware of ourselves after we finish zazen. When we sit we are nothing, we do not even realize what we are; we just sit. But when we stand up, we are there! That is the first step in creation. When you are there, everything else is there; everything is created all at once. When we emerge from nothing, when everything emerges from nothing, we see it all as a fresh new creation. This is nonattachment. The second kind of creation is when you act, or produce or prepare something like food or tea. The third kind is to create something within yourself, such as education, or culture, or art, or some system for our society. So there are three kinds of creation. But if you forget the first, the most important one, the other two will be like children who have lost their parents; their creation will mean nothing. Read more at location 870
if we are aware that what we do or what we create is really the gift of the “big I,” then we will not be attached to it, and we will not create problems for ourselves or for others. Read more at location 883
MISTAKES IN PRACTICE
“It is when your practice is rather greedy that you become discouraged with it. So you should be grateful that you have a sign or warning signal to show you the weak point in your practice.” Read more at location 893
as long as your practice is based on a gaining idea, and you practice zazen in an idealistic way, you will have no time actually to attain your ideal. Moreover, you will be sacrificing the meat of your practice. Because your attainment is always ahead, you will always be sacrificing yourself now for some ideal in the future. You end up with nothing. Read more at location 897
Dogen-zenji said, “Do not think you will necessarily be aware of your own enlightenment.” Whether or not you are aware of it, you have your own true enlightenment within your practice. Read more at location 916
If you understand the cause of conflict as some fixed or one-sided idea, you can find meaning in various practices without being caught by any of them. If you do not realize this point you will be easily caught by some particular way, and you will say, “This is enlightenment! This is perfect practice. This is our way. The rest of the ways are not perfect. This is the best way.” This is a big mistake. There is no particular way in true practice. You should find your own way, and you should know what kind of practice you have right now. Read more at location 935
LIMITING YOUR ACTIVITY
“Usually when someone believes in a particular religion, his attitude becomes more and more a sharp angle pointing away from himself. In our way the point of the angle is always towards ourselves.” Read more at location 942
we have no particular purpose or goal, nor any special object of worship. In this respect our practice is somewhat different from the usual religious practices. Read more at location 944
The way to practice without having any goal is to limit your activity, or to be concentrated on what you are doing in this moment. Instead of having some particular object in mind, you should limit your activity. When your mind is wandering about elsewhere you have no chance to express yourself. But if you limit your activity to what you can do just now, in this moment, then you can express fully your true nature, which is the universal Buddha nature. This is our way. When we practice zazen we limit our activity to the smallest extent. Just keeping the right posture and being concentrated on sitting is how we express the universal nature. Read more at location 950
When you bow, you should just bow; when you sit, you should just sit; when you eat, you should just eat. If you do this, the universal nature is there. In Japanese we call it ichigyo-zammai, or “one-act samadhi.” Sammai (or samadhi) is “concentration.” Ichigyo is “one practice.” Read more at location 956
STUDY YOURSELF
“To have some deep feeling about Buddhism is not the point; we just do what we should do, like eating supper and going to bed. This is Buddhism.” Read more at location 967
The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves. Read more at location 969
Through the teaching we may understand our human nature. But the teaching is not we ourselves; it is some explanation of ourselves. So if you are attached to the teaching, or to the teacher, that is a big mistake. Read more at location 973
It is the people who are outside of the monastery who feel its atmosphere. Those who are practicing actually do not feel anything. I think this is true for everything. Read more at location 995
When we hear the sound of the pine trees on a windy day, perhaps the wind is just blowing, and the pine tree is just standing in the wind. That is all that they are doing. But the people who listen to the wind in the tree will write a poem, or will feel something unusual. That is, I think, the way everything is. Read more at location 996
Buddhism is not good or bad. We are doing what we should do. That is Buddhism. Of course some encouragement is necessary, but that encouragement is just encouragement. It is not the true purpose of practice. It is just medicine. When we become discouraged we want some medicine. When we are in good spirits we do not need any medicine. You should not mistake medicine for food. Sometimes medicine is necessary, but it should not become our food. Read more at location 999
**** Dogen-zenji said, “To study Buddhism is to study ourselves. To study ourselves is to forget ourselves.” Read more at location 1010
TO POLISH A TILE
“When you become you, Zen becomes Zen. When you are you, you see things as they are, and you become one with your surroundings.” Read more at location 1017
A frog also sits like us, but he has no idea of zazen. Watch him. If something annoys him, he will make a face. If something comes along to eat, he will snap it up and eat, and he eats sitting. Actually that is our zazen—not any special thing. Read more at location 1023
**** Nangaku picked up a tile and started to polish it. Baso, his disciple, asked, “What are you doing?” “I want to make this tile into a jewel,” Nangaku said. “How is it possible to make a tile a jewel?” Baso asked. “How is it possible to become a Buddha by practicing zazen?” Nangaku replied. “Do you want to attain Buddhahood? There is no Buddhahood besides your ordinary mind. Read more at location 1030
whatever you do, that is zazen. True zazen is beyond being in bed or sitting in the zendo. Read more at location 1034
You should be like a frog always. That is true zazen. Read more at location 1036
(Note: implies a 'true essence' no? Seems contrary to no self and annica) What is true zazen? When you become you! Read more at location 1038
The purpose of practice is not to make a tile a jewel. Just continue sitting; that is practice in its true sense. It Read more at location 1065
CONSTANCY
“People who know the state of emptiness will always be able to dissolve their problems by constancy.” Read more at location 1074
“Cultivate your own spirit.” It means not to go seeking for something outside of yourself. This is a very important point, and it is the only way to practice Zen. Read more at location 1075
When you listen to our teaching with a pure, clear mind, you can accept it as if you were hearing something which you already knew. This is called emptiness, or omnipotent self, or knowing everything. Read more at location 1082
(Note: cool allegorical picture) When you know everything, you are like a dark sky. Sometimes a flashing will come through the dark sky. After it passes, you forget all about it, and there is nothing left but the dark sky. The sky is never surprised when all of a sudden a thunderbolt breaks through. And when the lightning does flash, a wonderful sight may be seen. When we have emptiness we are always prepared for watching the flashing. Read more at location 1083
**** (Note: akin to Plato. Zen and Plato... interesting and surprising meeting!) So you should accept knowledge as if you were hearing something you already knew. Read more at location 1090
**** we should not hoard knowledge; we should be free from our knowledge. If you collect various pieces of knowledge, as a collection it may be very good, but this is not our way. We should not try to surprise people by our wonderful treasures. Read more at location 1096
*********** you must be very patient if you want to understand Buddhism, but I have been seeking for a better word than patience. The usual translation of the Japanese word nin is “patience,” but perhaps “constancy” is a better word. You must force yourself to be patient, but in constancy there is no particular effort involved—there is only the unchanging ability to accept things as they are. For people who have no idea of emptiness, this ability may appear to be patience, but patience can actually be nonacceptance. People who know, even if only intuitively, the state of emptiness always have open the possibility of accepting things as they are. They can appreciate everything. Read more at location 1106
Nin is the way we cultivate our own spirit. Nin is our way of continuous practice. We should always live in the dark empty sky. Read more at location 1112
**** Even if the flashing of enlightenment comes, our practice forgets all about it. Then it is ready for another enlightenment. It is necessary for us to have enlightenments one after another, if possible, moment after moment. Read more at location 1113
COMMUNICATION
“Without any intentional, fancy way of adjusting yourself, to express yourself as you are is the most important thing.” Read more at location 1116
To understand reality as a direct experience is the reason we practice zazen, and the reason we study Buddhism. Read more at location 1125
In a strict sense, it is not possible to speak about reality. Nevertheless, if you are a Zen student, you have to understand it directly through your master’s words. Read more at location 1129
In Zen we put emphasis on demeanor, or behavior. By behavior we do not mean a particular way that you ought to behave, but rather the natural expression of yourself. Read more at location 1131
**** When you listen to someone, you should give up all your preconceived ideas and your subjective opinions; you should just listen to him, just observe what his way is. We put very little emphasis on right and wrong or good and bad. Read more at location 1134
Usually when you listen to some statement, you hear it as a kind of echo of yourself. You are actually listening to your own opinion. If it agrees with your opinion you may accept it, but if it does not, you will reject it or you may not even really hear it. Read more at location 1136
NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE
“Big mind is something to express, not something to figure out. Big mind is something you have, not something to seek for.” Read more at location 1166
The best way is just to practice without saying anything. When we talk about our way, there is apt to be some misunderstanding, because the true way always has at least two sides, the negative and the positive. When we talk about the negative side, the positive side is missing, and when we talk about the positive side, the negative side is missing. We cannot speak in a positive and a negative way at the same time. So we do not know what to say. It is almost impossible to talk about Buddhism. So not to say anything, just to practice it, is the best way. Showing one finger or drawing Read more at location 1169
we listen without trying to figure out some intellectual understanding, without trying to understand from just a one-sided view. Read more at location 1177
**** In short, when you do everything without thinking about whether it is good or bad, and when you do something with your whole mind and body, then that is our way. Read more at location 1188
Dogen-zenji said, “When you say something to someone, he may not accept it, but do not try to make him understand it intellectually. Do not argue with him; just listen to his objections until he himself finds something wrong with them.” This is very interesting. Try not to force your idea on someone, but rather think about it with him. If you feel you have won the discussion, that also is the wrong attitude. Try not to win in the argument; just listen to it; but it is also wrong to behave as if you had lost. Usually when we say something, we are apt to try to sell our teaching or force our idea. But between Zen students there is no special purpose in speaking or in listening. Sometimes we listen, sometimes we talk; that is all. Read more at location 1189
********** (Note: Big mind akin to God) big mind is something to express, but it is not something to figure out. Big mind is something you have, not something to seek for. Read more at location 1196
if we appreciate whatever problem we have as an expression of big mind, it is not a problem anymore. Sometimes our problem is that big mind is very complicated; sometimes big mind is too simple to figure out. That is also big mind. But because you try to figure out what it is, because you want to simplify the complicated big mind, it becomes a problem for you. So whether you have a problem in your life or not depends upon your own attitude, your own understanding. Because of the double or paradoxical nature of truth, there should be no problem of understanding if you have big Mahayana mind. Read more at location 1199
NIRVANA, THE WATERFALL
“Our life and death are the same thing. When we realize this fact, we have no fear of death anymore, nor actual difficulty in our life.” Read more at location 1204
I went to Yosemite National Park, and I saw some huge waterfalls. The highest one there is 1,340 feet high, and from it the water comes down like a curtain thrown from the top of the mountain. It does not seem to come down swiftly, as you might expect; it seems to come down very slowly because of the distance. And the water does not come down as one stream, but is separated into many tiny streams. From a distance it looks like a curtain. And I thought it must be a very difficult experience for each drop of water to come down from the top of such a high mountain. It takes time, you know, a long time, for the water finally to reach the bottom of the waterfall. And it seems to me that our human life may be like this. We have many difficult experiences in our life. But at the same time, I thought, the water was not originally separated, but was one whole river. Only when it is separated does it have some difficulty in falling. Read more at location 1213
**** Before we were born we had no feeling; we were one with the universe. This is called “mind-only,” or “essence of mind,” or “big mind.” After we are separated by birth from this oneness, as the water falling from the waterfall is separated by the wind and rocks, then we have feeling. You have difficulty because you have feeling. You attach to the feeling you have without knowing just how this kind of feeling is created. When you do not realize that you are one with the river, or one with the universe, you have fear. Read more at location 1223
**** Our life and death are the same thing. When we realize this fact we have no fear of death anymore, and we have no actual difficulty in our life. Read more at location 1227
we are so much attached to our own feeling, to our individual existence. For us, just now, we have some fear of death, but after we resume our true original nature, there is Nirvana. That is why we say, “To attain Nirvana is to pass away.” “To pass away” is not a very adequate expression. Perhaps “to pass on,” or “to go on,” or “to join” would be better. Read more at location 1231
We say, “Everything comes out of emptiness.” One whole river or one whole mind is emptiness. When we reach this understanding we find the true meaning of our life. When we reach this understanding we can see the beauty of human life. Read more at location 1235
To talk about it this way is quite easy, but to have the actual feeling is not so easy. But by your practice of zazen you can cultivate this feeling. When you can sit with your whole body and mind, and with the oneness of your mind and body under the control of the universal mind, you can easily attain this kind of right understanding. Your everyday life will be renewed without being attached to an old erroneous interpretation of life. Read more at location 1239
PART THREE
Right Understanding
Our understanding of Buddhism is not just an intellectual understanding. True understanding is actual practice itself. Read more at location 1244
TRADITIONAL ZEN SPIRIT
“If you are trying to attain enlightenment, you are creating and being driven by karma, and you are wasting your time on your black cushion.” Read more at location 1248
The most important things in our practice are our physical posture and our way of breathing. We are not so concerned about a deep understanding of Buddhism. As a philosophy, Buddhism is a very deep, wide, and firm system of thought, but Zen is not concerned about philosophical understanding. We emphasize practice. Read more at location 1250
Instead of having a deep understanding of the teaching, we need a strong confidence in our teaching, Read more at location 1252
**** (Note: This view of Buddha nature is the same as Atman is Brahman and mystic view that God is One, in all) Whether you practice zazen or not, you have Buddha nature. Because you have it, there is enlightenment in your practice. The points we emphasize are not the stage we attain, but the strong confidence we have in our original nature and the sincerity of our practice. Read more at location 1259
**** (Note: Same as Jesus deed over belief, annihilating ego as key) Our egoistic ideas are delusion, covering our Buddha nature. We are always creating and following them, and in repeating this process over and over again, our life becomes completely occupied by ego-centered ideas. This is called karmic life, or karma. The Buddhist life should not be karmic life. The purpose of our practice is to cut off the karmic spinning mind. If you are trying to attain enlightenment, that is a part of karma, you are creating and being driven by karma, and you are wasting your time on your black cushion. Read more at location 1265
Right effort must be based on a true understanding of our traditional practice. When you understand this point you will understand how important it is to keep your posture right. When you do not understand this point, the posture and the way of breathing are just a means to attain enlightenment. If this is your attitude, it would be much better to take some drugs instead of sitting in the cross-legged position! If our practice is only a means to attain enlightenment, there is actually no way to attain it! Read more at location 1271
the most important thing is this moment, not some day in the future. We have to make our effort in this moment. This is the most important thing for our practice. Read more at location 1279
**** (Note: difference between knowledge and practice) Bodhidharma discovered that it was a mistake to create some lofty or deep idea and then try to attain it by the practice of zazen. If that is our zazen, it is nothing different from our usual activity, or monkey mind. It looks like a very good, a very lofty and holy activity, but actually there is no difference between it and our monkey mind. That is the point that Bodhidharma emphasized. Read more at location 1281
**** our understanding of Buddhism is not just an intellectual understanding. Our understanding at the same time is its own expression, is the practice itself. Not by reading or contemplation of philosophy, but only through practice, actual practice, can we understand what Buddhism is. Constantly, we should practice zazen, with Read more at location 1294
TRANSIENCY
“We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.” Read more at location 1298
That everything changes is the basic truth for each existence. No one can deny this truth, and all the teaching of Buddhism is condensed within it. Read more at location 1299
**** This teaching is also understood as the teaching of selflessness. Because each existence is in constant change, there is no abiding self. Read more at location 1301
**** (Note: Both One unity and perpetually changing) When we realize the everlasting truth of “everything changes” and find our composure in it, we find ourselves in Nirvana. Read more at location 1303
Because we cannot accept the truth of transiency, we suffer. Read more at location 1305
******* We should find perfection in imperfection. Read more at location 1312
In Buddhism it is a heretical view to expect something outside this world. Read more at location 1313
******* Pleasure is not different from difficulty. Good is not different from bad. Bad is good; good is bad. They are two sides of one coin. Read more at location 1314
to find pleasure in suffering is the only way to accept the truth of transiency. Read more at location 1316
THE QUALITY OF BEING
“When you do something, if you fix your mind on the activity with some confidence, the quality of your state of mind is the activity itself. When you are concentrated on the quality of your being, you are prepared for the activity.” Read more at location 1326
(Note: Both One unchanging and Flux) We say, “In calmness there should be activity; in activity there should be calmness.” Actually, they are the same thing; to say “calmness” or to say “activity” is just to express two different interpretations of one fact. Read more at location 1331
There is harmony in our activity, and where there is harmony there is calmness. This harmony is the quality of being. Read more at location 1333
Dogen-zenji said, “Charcoal does not become ashes.” Ashes are ashes; they do not belong to charcoal. They have their own past and future. They are an independent existence because they are a flashing into the vast phenomenal world. And charcoal and red-hot fire are quite different existences. Black charcoal is also a flashing into the vast phenomenal world. Read more at location 1344
But this does not mean we are quite different beings. We are actually one and the same being. We are the same, and yet different. It is very paradoxical, but actually it is so. Read more at location 1351
When I am sitting, there is no other person, but this does not mean I ignore you. I am completely one with every existence in the phenomenal world. Read more at location 1353
Even though you look as if you were sitting quietly, all your activity, past and present, is included; and the result of your sitting is also already there. Read more at location 1359
NATURALNESS
“Moment after moment, everyone comes out from nothingness. This is the true joy of life.” Read more at location 1372
Jinen ken gedo means that there is no need to be formal—just a kind of “let-alone policy” or sloppiness. That is naturalness for most people. But that is not the naturalness we mean. It is rather difficult to explain, but naturalness is, I think, some feeling of being independent from everything, or some activity which is based on nothingness. Read more at location 1375
The seed has no idea of being some particular plant, but it has its own form and is in perfect harmony with the ground, with its surroundings. As it grows, in the course of time it expresses its nature. Read more at location 1378
For a plant or stone to be natural is no problem. But for us there is some problem, indeed a big problem. Read more at location 1381
The true practice of zazen is to sit as if drinking water when you are thirsty. There you have naturalness. It is quite natural for you to take a nap when you are very sleepy. But to take a nap just because you are lazy, as if it were the privilege of a human being to take a nap, is not naturalness. Read more at location 1384
*** (Note: meditation) If it comes out of nothingness, whatever you do is natural, and that is true activity. You have the true joy of practice, the true joy of life in it. Everyone comes out from nothingness moment after moment. Moment after moment we have true joy of life. So we say shin ku myo u, “from true emptiness, the wondrous being appears.” Shin is “true”; ku is “emptiness”; myo is “wondrous”; u is “being”: from true emptiness, wondrous being. Read more at location 1393
Without nothingness, there is no naturalness—no true being. True being comes out of nothingness, moment after moment. Read more at location 1397
What you do is based on some possessive idea or some concrete idea, and that is not natural. For instance, when you listen to a lecture, you should not have any idea of yourself. You should not have your own idea when you listen to someone. Read more at location 1398
**** Nyu nan shin means a smooth, natural mind. When you have that mind, you have the joy of life. When you lose it, you lose everything. You have nothing. Although you think you have something, you have nothing. But when all you do comes out of nothingness, then you have everything. Do you understand? Read more at location 1410
EMPTINESS
“When you study Buddhism you should have a general house cleaning of your mind.” Read more at location 1413
The usual view of life is firmly rooted in the idea of existence. For most people everything exists; they think whatever they see and whatever they hear exists. Read more at location 1416
The bird both exists and does not exist at the same time. We say that a view of life based on existence alone is heretical. Read more at location 1418
We say true existence comes from emptiness and goes back again into emptiness. What appears from emptiness is true existence. We have to go through the gate of emptiness. This idea of existence is very difficult to explain. Read more at location 1420
**** As long as we have some definite idea about or some hope in the future, we cannot really be serious with the moment that exists right now. Read more at location 1425
Each one of us must make his own true way, and when we do, that way will express the universal way. This is the mystery. Read more at location 1430
When you try to understand everything, you will not understand anything. The best way is to understand yourself, and then you will understand everything. So when you try hard to make your own way, you will help others, and you will be helped by others. Read more at location 1431
We say, “Step by step I stop the sound of the murmuring brook.” When you walk along the brook you will hear the water running. The sound is continuous, but you must be able to stop it if you want to stop it. This is freedom; this is renunciation. Read more at location 1441
In zazen practice we say your mind should be concentrated on your breathing, but the way to keep your mind on your breathing is to forget all about yourself and just to sit and feel your breathing. Read more at location 1454
READINESS, MINDFULNESS
“It is the readiness of the mind that is wisdom.” Read more at location 1458
**** after we realize the emptiness of things, everything becomes real—not substantial. When we realize that everything we see is a part of emptiness, we can have no attachment to any existence; we realize that everything is just a tentative form and color. Thus we realize the true meaning of each tentative existence. Read more at location 1461
When we first hear that everything is a tentative existence, most of us are disappointed; but this disappointment comes from a wrong view of man and nature. It is because our way of observing things is deeply rooted in our self-centered ideas that we are disappointed when we find everything has only a tentative existence. Read more at location 1463
**** This sutra says, “Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara observes that everything is emptiness, thus he forsakes all suffering.” It was not after he realized this truth that he overcame suffering—to realize this fact is itself to be relieved from suffering. So realization of the truth is salvation itself. Read more at location 1466
One whole being is not an accumulation of everything. It is impossible to divide one whole existence into parts. It is always here and always working. This is enlightenment. So there actually is no particular practice. In the sutra it says, “There are no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body or mind. . . .” This “no mind” is Zen mind, which includes everything. Read more at location 1479
We should accept things as they are without difficulty. Our mind should be soft and open enough to understand things as they are. When our thinking is soft, it is called imperturbable thinking. This kind of thinking is always stable. It is called mindfulness. Read more at location 1483
**** wisdom could be various philosophies and teachings, and various kinds of research and studies. But we should not become attached to some particular wisdom, such as that which was taught by Buddha. Wisdom is not something to learn. Wisdom is something which will come out of your mindfulness. Read more at location 1491
BELIEVING IN NOTHING
“In our everyday life our thinking is ninety-nine percent self-centered. ‘Why do I have suffering? Why do I have trouble?’” Read more at location 1495
I discovered that it is necessary, absolutely necessary, to believe in nothing. That is, we have to believe in something which has no form and no color—something which exists before all forms and colors appear. Read more at location 1496
No matter what god or doctrine you believe in, if you become attached to it, your belief will be based more or less on a self-centered idea. You strive for a perfect faith in order to save yourself. Read more at location 1498
When this existence is personified we call it Buddha; when we understand it as the ultimate truth we call it Dharma; and when we accept the truth and act as a part of the Buddha, or according to the theory, we call ourselves Sangha. But even though there are three Buddha forms, it is one existence which has no form or color, and it is always ready to take form and color. Read more at location 1513
If you understand yourself as a temporal embodiment of the truth, you will have no difficulty whatsoever. You will appreciate your surroundings, and you will appreciate yourself as a wonderful part of Buddha’s great activity, even in the midst of difficulties. Read more at location 1524
(Note: why study was necessary for me) if enlightenment comes first, before thinking, before practice, your thinking and your practice will not be self-centered. By enlightenment I mean believing in nothing, believing in something which has no form or no color, which is ready to take form or color. This enlightenment is the immutable truth. Read more at location 1530
ATTACHMENT, NONATTACHMENT
“That we are attached to some beauty is also Buddha’s activity.” Read more at location 1533
Zazen practice and everyday activity are one thing. Read more at location 1537
Strictly speaking, there are no separate individual existences. There are just many names for one existence. Read more at location 1541
******** oneness and variety are the same thing, so oneness should be appreciated in each existence. Read more at location 1544
Dogen-zenji said, “Although everything has Buddha nature, we love flowers, and we do not care for weeds.” This is true of human nature. But that we are attached to some beauty is itself Buddha’s activity. That we do not care for weeds is also Buddha’s activity. We should know that. If you know that, it is all right to attach to something. If it is Buddha’s attachment, that is nonattachment. So in love there should be hate, or nonattachment. And in hate there should be love, or acceptance. Love and hate are one thing. We should not attach to love alone. We should accept hate. We should accept weeds, despite how we feel about them. If you do not care for them, do not love them; if you love them, then love them. Read more at location 1546
Dogen said, “A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it.” Even though it is so, this is our life. In this way our life should be understood. Then there is no problem. Because we put emphasis on some particular point, we always have trouble. We should accept things just as they are. This is how we understand everything, and how we live in this world. This kind of experience is something beyond our thinking. Read more at location 1562
********* In the thinking realm there is a difference between oneness and variety; but in actual experience, variety and unity are the same. Because you create some idea of unity or variety, you are caught by the idea. Read more at location 1565
problems are not actual problems; they are something created; they are problems pointed out by our self-centered ideas or views. Because we point out something, there are problems. But actually it is not possible to point out anything in particular. Happiness is sorrow; sorrow is happiness. There is happiness in difficulty; difficulty in happiness. Even though the ways we feel are different, they are not really different; in essence they are the same. Read more at location 1568
CALMNESS
“For Zen students a weed is a treasure.” Read more at location 1572
A Zen poem says, “After the wind stops I see a flower falling. Because of the singing bird I find the mountain calmness.” Before something happens in the realm of calmness, we do not feel the calmness; only when something happens within it do we find the calmness. Read more at location 1573
When you are doing zazen, you are within the complete calmness of your mind; you do not feel anything. You just sit. But the calmness of your sitting will encourage you in your everyday life. So actually you will find the value of Zen in your everyday life, rather than while you sit. Read more at location 1578
With this attitude, whatever you do, life becomes an art. Read more at location 1582
You should just sit in the complete calmness of your mind and not rely on anything. Just keep your body straight without leaning over or against something. To keep your body straight means not to rely on anything. In this way, physically and mentally, you will obtain complete calmness. Read more at location 1583
EXPERIENCE, NOT PHILOSOPHY
“There is something blasphemous in talking about how Buddhism is perfect as a philosophy or teaching without knowing what it actually is.” Read more at location 1599
Comparing it to other religions, they appreciate how satisfying Buddhism is intellectually. But whether Buddhism is philosophically deep or good or perfect is not the point. Read more at location 1602
To practice zazen with a group is the most important thing for Buddhism—and for us—because this practice is the original way of life. Read more at location 1605
There is no need to intellectualize about what our pure original nature is, because it is beyond our intellectual understanding. And there is no need to appreciate it, because it is beyond our appreciation. So just to sit, without any idea of gain, and with the purest intention, to remain as quiet as our original nature—this is our practice. Read more at location 1614
ORIGINAL BUDDHISM
“Actually, we are not the Soto school at all. We are just Buddhists. We are not even Zen Buddhists. If we understand this point, we are truly Buddhists.” Read more at location 1627
Walking, standing, sitting, and lying down are the four activities or ways of behavior in Buddhism. Zazen is not one of the four ways of behavior, and according to Dogen-zenji, the Soto school is not one of the many schools of Buddhism. Read more at location 1629
Zazen practice is the practice which includes the various activities of life. So actually, we do not emphasize the sitting posture alone. How to sit is how to act. We study how to act by sitting, and this is the most basic activity for us. That is why we practice zazen in this way. Read more at location 1641
Buddha taught us how to act through our practice; that is why we sit. Read more at location 1644
**** (Note: Same mystic concept as Brahman and Allah and Yahweh and Tao) Each one of us has his own name, but those names are the many names of one Buddha. Each one of us has many activities, but those activities are all Buddha’s activities. Read more at location 1649
Religion is not any particular teaching. Religion is everywhere. We have to understand our teaching in this way. We should forget all about some particular teaching; we should not ask which is good or bad. There should not be any particular teaching. Teaching is in each moment, in every existence. That is the true teaching. Read more at location 1661
BEYOND CONSCIOUSNESS
“To realize pure mind in your delusion is practice. If you try to expel the delusion it will only persist the more. Just say, ‘Oh, this is just delusion,’ and do not be bothered by it.” Read more at location 1664
********* Our true nature is beyond our conscious experience. It is only in our conscious experience that we find practice and enlightenment or good and bad. Read more at location 1668
The best way towards perfect composure is to forget everything. Then your mind is calm, and it is wide and clear enough to see and feel things as they are without any effort. The best way to find perfect composure is not to retain any idea of things, whatever they may be—to forget all about them and not to leave any trace or shadow of thinking. Read more at location 1676
Do not try to stop your mind, but leave everything as it is. Read more at location 1680
So to have a firm conviction in the original emptiness of your mind is the most important thing in your practice. Read more at location 1681
Dogen-zenji said, “You should establish your practice in your delusion.” Even though you think you are in delusion, your pure mind is there. To realize pure mind in your delusion is practice. If you have pure mind, essential mind in your delusion, the delusion will vanish. It cannot stay when you say, “This is delusion!” It will be very much ashamed. It will run away. Read more at location 1692
So when you say, “This is delusion,” that is actually enlightenment itself. If you try to expel the delusion it will only persist the more, and your mind will become busier and busier trying to cope with it. Read more at location 1696
when we attain the transcendental mind, we go beyond things as they are and as they should be. In the emptiness of our original mind they are one, and there we find our perfect composure. Read more at location 1704
Usually religion develops itself in the realm of consciousness, seeking to perfect its organization, building beautiful buildings, creating music, evolving a philosophy, and so forth. These are religious activities in the conscious world. But Buddhism emphasizes the world of unconsciousness. Read more at location 1706
The best way to develop Buddhism is to sit in zazen—just to sit, with a firm conviction in our true nature. This way is much better than to read books or study the philosophy of Buddhism. Of course it is necessary to study the philosophy—it will strengthen your conviction. Read more at location 1708
philosophical discussion will not be the best way to understand Buddhism. If you want to be a sincere Buddhist, the best way is to sit. Read more at location 1714
BUDDHA’S ENLIGHTENMENT
“If you take pride in your attainment or become discouraged because of your idealistic effort, your practice will confine you by a thick wall.” Read more at location 1717
When we ask what Buddha nature is, it vanishes; but when we just practice zazen, we have full understanding of it. Read more at location 1727
Buddha nature is our original nature; we have it before we practice zazen and before we acknowledge it in terms of consciousness. So in this sense, whatever we do is Buddha’s activity. If you want to understand it, you cannot understand it. When you give up trying to understand it, true understanding is always there. Read more at location 1729
EPILOGUE
ZEN MIND
“Before the rain stops we can hear a bird. Even under the heavy snow we see snowdrops and some new growth.” Read more at location 1745
Dogen-zenji said that some may attain enlightenment and some may not. This is a point I am very much interested in. Although we all have the same fundamental practice which we carry out in the same way, some may attain enlightenment and some may not. It means that even if we have no experience of enlightenment, if we sit in the proper way with the right attitude and understanding of practice, then that is Zen. The main point is to practice seriously, and the important attitude is to understand and have confidence in big mind. Read more at location 1752
we should not ask, “What is enlightenment experience?” That kind of question means you do not know what Zen experience is. Enlightenment cannot be asked for in your ordinary way of thinking. When you are not involved in this way of thinking, you have some chance of understanding what Zen experience is. Read more at location 1758
(Note: Witnessing mind, Atman) The mind which is always on your side is not just your mind, it is universal mind, always the same, not different from another’s mind. It is Zen mind. It is big, big mind. This mind is whatever you see. Your true mind is always with whatever you see. Although you do not know your own mind, it is there—at the very moment you see something, it is there. This is very interesting. Your mind is always with the things you observe. So you see, this mind is at the same time everything. True mind is watching mind. Read more at location 1764
********** Reality cannot be caught by thinking or feeling mind. Moment after moment to watch your breathing, to watch your posture, is true nature. There is no secret beyond this point. Read more at location 1774
Buddhists do not have any idea of material only, or mind only, or the products of our mind, or mind as an attribute of being. What we are always talking about is that mind and body, mind and material are always one. Read more at location 1776
Enlightenment experience is to figure out, to understand, to realize this mind which is always with us and which we cannot see. Do you understand? If you try to attain enlightenment as if you see a bright star in the sky, it will be beautiful and you may think, “Ah, this is enlightenment,” but that is not enlightenment. Read more at location 1779
Physical practice and rules are not so easy to understand, maybe especially for Americans. You have an idea of freedom which concentrates on physical freedom, on freedom of activity. This idea causes you some mental suffering and loss of freedom. Read more at location 1787
(Note: interesting reliance on faith and trust in his teaching) once the rules have been decided, we should obey them completely until they are changed. It is not a matter of good or bad, convenient or inconvenient. You just do it without question. That way your mind is free. The important thing is to obey your rules without discrimination. This way you will know the pure Zen mind. Read more at location 1799
He meant if you think that big mind is somewhere outside yourself, outside of your practice, then that is a mistake. Big mind is always with us. Read more at location 1813
**** we must not be attached to America, or Buddhism, or even to our practice. We must have beginner’s mind, free from possessing anything, a mind that knows everything is in flowing change. Nothing exists but momentarily in its present form and color. One thing flows into another and cannot be grasped. Read more at location 1822
AFTERWORD
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind at Forty
WHEN SHUNRYU SUZUKI first saw a published copy of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, he looked it over for a minute and commented, “Good book. I didn’t write it, but it looks like a good book.” Read more at location 1827
far from the public figure that Daisetsu was, Shunryu was quiet, low key, low profile. And I do think that the two Suzukis had the most impact. I think of them as complementing each other in a very wonderful way. Read more at location 1904
One of Shunryu Suzuki’s closest disciples, Silas Hoadley, remembers Suzuki saying in the early sixties, “I’ve come to destroy your mind.” Silas realized that the mind targeted for annihilation was the ego, the small mind, a delusion to begin with, but he said it was still a chilling statement. Read more at location 1945