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Suzuki, Shunryu
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Shunryu Suzuki | |
|---|---|
.png) Suzuki in 1969 | |
| Title | Roshi |
| Personal life | |
| Born | May 18, 1904 Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | December 4, 1971 (aged 67) |
| Spouse | Mitsu Suzuki |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| School | Sōtō |
| Senior posting | |
| Successor | Suzuki Hoitsu, Zentatsu Richard Baker |
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"As soon as you see something, you already start to intellectualize it. As soon as you intellectualize something, it is no longer what you saw." (07/12/2024)
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"Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality." (08/12/2022)
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"Renunciation is not giving up the things of the world, but accepting that they go away." (12/24/2023)
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"Treat every moment as your last. It is not preparation for something else." (12/31/2022)
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"We die, and we do not die." (09/30/2024)
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"We say "inner world" and "outer world," but actually there is just one whole world. In this limitless world, our throat is like a swinging door. The air comes in and goes out like someone passing through a swinging door. If you think, "I breathe," the "I" is extra. There is no you to say "I." 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." (10/17/2025)
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"We say "just sit." What does it mean, "just sit"? When we say "just sit" it includes, actually, all of the activity, all the potential activity which we have; we remain in an inactive state, but we have infinite potentiality. In this sense our practice includes everything." (12/28/2024)
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"When we do not expect anything we can be ourselves. That is our way, to live fully in each moment of time." (04/04/2023)
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"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." (11/07/2023)
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"When you try to understand everything, you will not understand anything. The best way is to understand yourself, and then you will understand everything." (10/22/2024) (12/02/2025)
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"Wherever you are, you are one with the clouds and one with the sun and the stars you see. You are one with everything. That is more true than I can say, and more true than you can hear." (07/18/2023)
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“You cannot make a date with enlightenment.” (02/22/2025)
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Shunryu Suzuki (鈴木 俊隆 Suzuki Shunryū, dharma name Shōgaku Shunryū 祥岳俊隆, often called Suzuki Roshi; May 18, 1904 – December 4, 1971) was a Sōtō Zen monk and teacher who helped popularize Zen Buddhism in the United States, and is renowned for founding the first Zen Buddhist monastery outside Asia (Tassajara Zen Mountain Center).[1] Suzuki founded San Francisco Zen Center which, along with its affiliate temples, comprises one of the most influential Zen organizations in the United States. A book of his teachings, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, is one of the most popular books on Zen and Buddhism in the West.
Biography
Shunryu Suzuki was born May 18, 1904, in Kanagawa Prefecture southwest of Tokyo, Japan. His father, Butsumon Sogaku Suzuki, was the abbot of the village Soto Zen temple. His mother, Yone, was the daughter of a priest and had been divorced from her first husband for being too independent. Shunryu grew up with an older half-brother from his mother's first marriage and two younger sisters. As an adult he was about 4 feet 11 inches (1.5 m) tall.
His father's temple, Shōgan-ji, was located near Hiratsuka, a city on Sagami Bay about fifty miles southwest of Tokyo. The temple income was small and the family had to be very thrifty.
In 1916, 12-year-old Suzuki decided to train with a disciple of his father, Gyokujun So-on Suzuki. So-on was Sogaku's adopted son and abbot of Sogaku's former temple Zoun-in. His parents initially thought he was too young to live far from home but eventually allowed it.
Zoun-in is in a small village called Mori, Shizuoka in Japan. Suzuki arrived during a 100-day practice period at the temple and was the youngest student there. Zoun-in was a larger temple than Shōgan-ji.
At 4:00 each morning he arose for zazen. Next he would chant sutras and begin cleaning the temple with the others. They would work throughout the day and then, in the evenings, they all would resume zazen. Suzuki idolized his teacher, who was a strong disciplinarian. So-on often was rough on Suzuki but gave him some latitude for being so young.
When Suzuki turned 13, on May 18, 1917, So-on ordained him as a novice monk (unsui). He was given the Buddhist name Shogaku Shunryu, yet So-on nicknamed him Crooked Cucumber for his forgetful and unpredictable nature.
Higher education
In 1924 Shunryu enrolled in a Soto preparatory school in Tokyo not far from Shogan-ji, where he lived on the school grounds in the dorm. From 1925 to 1926 Suzuki did Zen training with Dojun Kato in Shizuoka at Kenko-in. He continued his schooling during this period. Here Shunryu became head monk for a 100-day retreat, after which he was no longer merely considered a novice. He had completed his training as a head monk.[2]
In 1925 Shunryu graduated from preparatory school and entered Komazawa University, the Soto Zen university in Tokyo. During this period he continued his connections with So-on in Zoun-in, going back and forth whenever possible.
Some of his teachers here were discussing how Soto Zen might reach a bigger audience with students and, while Shunryu couldn't comprehend how Western cultures could ever understand Zen, he was intrigued.
On August 26, 1926, So-on gave Dharma transmission to Suzuki. He was 22. Shunryu's father also retired as abbot at Shogan-ji this same year, and moved the family onto the grounds of Zoun-in where he served as inkyo (retired abbot).
Eihei-ji
After graduating from Komazawa, Suzuki continued training at Eihei-ji. In September 1930, he entered the training temple. The abbot at the time was Gempo Kitano, whom Suzuki respected. Kitano had previously led Soto Zen in Korea and had helped found Zenshuji in Los Angeles. Suzuki’s father, Sogaku, had known Kitano earlier and appears to have viewed him with some rivalry or resentment. At Eihei-ji, Suzuki was assigned to serve Ian Kishizawa-roshi, a noted Soto teacher associated with Nishiari Bokusan and Oka Sotan.[3]
Death
Suzuki died on December 4, 1971, presumably from cancer.[4]
Publications
A collection of his teishos (Zen talks) was published in 1970 in the book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind during Suzuki's lifetime.[5] His lectures on the Sandokai are collected in Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness, edited by Mel Weitsman and Michael Wenger and published in 1999.[6] Edward Espe Brown edited Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen which was published in 2002.[7]
A biography of Suzuki, titled Crooked Cucumber, was written by David Chadwick in 1999.[8]
Quotations
- "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few."[10]
Books
- Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. Ed. Trudy Dixon. Weatherhill, 1970. ISBN 0-834-80079-9
- Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai 1st ed. Eds. Mel Weitsman and Michael Wenger. University of California Press, 1999. ISBN 0-520-21982-1
- Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen. Ed. Edward Espe Brown. HarperCollins, 2002. ISBN 0-060-95754-9
- Zen is Right Here. Shambhala, 2007. ISBN 978-1-59030-491-4
- "To Shine One Corner of the World: moments with Shunryu Suzuki / the students of Shunryu Suzuki". Ed. David Chadwick. Broadway Books, 2001. ISBN 0-7679-0651-9 (Out of print - same as Zen is Right Here)
- Zen Is Right Now: More Teaching Stories and Anecdotes of Shunryu Suzuki. Ed. David Chadwick. Shambhala, 2021. ISBN 978-1-611809-14-5
- Crooked Cucumber: the Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki. by David Chadwick. Harmony, 2000. ISBN 978-0767901055
See also
References
- Richmond, Lewis (4 December 2017). "Remembering Shunryu Suzuki - Lion's Roar". Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- "Suzuki, S. - Buddha-Nature". buddhanature.tsadra.org. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- "Butsumon Sogaku Suzuki, Shunryu's father".
- Kwong, Jakusho. "A Pearl Rolling Across A Table".
- Suzuki, Shunryu (1970). Dixon, Trudy (ed.). Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind'. Weatherhill. ISBN 0-8348-0079-9.
- Suzuki, Shunryu (1999). Weitsman, Mel; Wenger, Michael (eds.). Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai (1st ed.). University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21982-1.
- Suzuki, Shunryu (2002). Brown, Edward Espe (ed.). Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-095754-9.
- Chadwick, David (1999). Crooked Cucumber: the Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki (1st ed.). New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-0104-5.
- "Shunryū Suzuki lineage chart". Sweeping Zen. Archived from the original on 2012-12-08.
- Suzuki, Shunryu (1970). Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. Weatherhill. p. 21. ISBN 9780834800793.
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"In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few."
Shunryu Suzuki, a renowned Zen master, shared profound insights on mindfulness, meditation, and life. Some of his most notable quotes include:
- "Treat every moment as your last. It is not preparation for something else." This emphasizes living fully in the present moment .
- "If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few." Suzuki highlights the value of openness and curiosity .
- "Everything is perfect, but there is a lot of room for improvement." A reflection on imperfection and growth .
- "As soon as you see something, you already start to intellectualize it. As soon as you intellectualize something, it is no longer what you saw." This encourages direct experience over conceptual thinking .
- "Wherever you go you will find your teacher, as long as you have the eyes to see and the ears to hear." A reminder that learning is everywhere .
- "Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality." Suzuki points to the beauty in imperfection .
- "When you do something, you should burn yourself up completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself." This teaches full engagement and selflessness in action .
- "The true purpose of Zen is to see things as they are, to observe things as they are, and to let everything go as it goes." A core principle of Zen practice .
- "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." Suzuki encourages detachment from rigid beliefs .
- "Our body and mind are both two and one." A reflection on the unity and duality of existence .
These quotes capture Suzuki’s teachings on beginner’s mind, mindfulness, impermanence, and the practice of Zen, offering guidance for meditation, self-awareness, and living fully in the present. They are widely cited in books like Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind and continue to inspire practitioners worldwide .
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