The intuitive recognition of the instant, thus reality is the highest act of wisdom.
Interpretation
True wisdom comes from understanding and recognizing the present moment as it is.
D.T. Suzuki's quote emphasizes that the essence of wisdom lies in the ability to perceive and appreciate the present moment, or 'the instant.' This recognition allows individuals to grasp reality in its truest form, rather than being distracted by past regrets or future anxieties, thereby elevating their understanding and interaction with life.
In practice
In a mindfulness workshop, the facilitator shared this quote to encourage participants to focus on the present.
Zen, in its essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one's own being, and it points the way from bondage to freedom. By making us drink right from the fountain of life it liberates us from all the yokes under which we finite beings are usually suffering in this world.
The basic idea of Zen is to come in touch with the inner workings of our being, and to do this in the most direct way possible, without resorting to anything external or superadded. Therefore, anything that has the semblance of an external authority is rejected by Zen. Absolute faith is placed in a man's own inner being. For whatever authority there is in Zen, all comes from within.
Who would then deny that when I am sipping tea in my tearoom I am swallowing the whole universe with it and that this very moment of my lifting the bowl to my lips is eternity itself transcending time and space?
The rocks are where they are- and this is their will. The rivers flow- and this is their will. The birds fly- this is their will. Human beings talk- this is their will. The seasons change, heaven sends down rain or snow, the earth occasionally shakes, the waves roll, the stars shine- each of them follows its own will. To be is to will and so is to become.
Enlightenment is like everyday consciousness but two inches above the ground.
We teach ourselves; Zen merely points the way.
When one side only of a story is heard and often repeated, the human mind becomes impressed with it insensibly.
You are to have implicit confidence in your own ability, knowing that it is the nature of thought to externalize itself in your health and affairs, knowing that you are the thinker.
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly, is to fill the world with fools.
He hath not eat paper, as it were; he hath not drunk ink; his intellect is not replenished; he is only an animal, only sensible in the duller parts. (Shakespeare, Love's Labor's Lost, IV)
You needn't take it any further, sir. You've proved to me that all this ultraviolence and killing is wrong, wrong, and terribly wrong. I've learned me lesson, sir. I've seen now what I've never seen before. I'm cured! Praise Bog! I'm cured!
Science gives us knowledge, but only philosophy can give us wisdom.
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