For Zen students, a weed is a treasure.
Shunryu SuzukiRead
What we call "I" is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The 'I' is not a fixed entity but a transient experience shaped by our breath and presence.
In this quote, Shunryu Suzuki highlights the transient nature of the self, suggesting that our identity is fluid and ever-changing, much like the ebb and flow of our breath. The idea that 'I' is likened to a swinging door emphasizes that our sense of self is influenced by external and internal factors, and is not a permanent fixture but rather a dynamic experience that fluctuates with each moment.
Themes
SelfIdentityChangeBreathPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a meditation retreat, this quote can be used to encourage participants to reflect on the nature of their identity.
More from Shunryu Suzuki
All quotes βIf you take pride in your attainment or become discouraged because of your idealistic effort, your practice will confine you by a thick wall.
Shunryu SuzukiRead
As long as you seek for something, you will get the shadow of reality and not reality itself.
Shunryu SuzukiRead
No teaching could be more direct than just to sit down.
Shunryu SuzukiRead
Everything is perfect, but there is a lot of room for improvement.
Shunryu SuzukiRead
When you do not realize that you are one with the river, or one with the universe, you have fear. Whether it is separated into drops or not, water is water. Our life and death are the same thing. When we realize this fact, we have no fear of death anymore.
Shunryu SuzukiRead
Similar quotes
Your God person puts an apple tree in the middle of a garden and says, do what you like, guys, oh, but don't eat the apple. Surprise surprise, they eat it and he leaps out from behind a bush shouting "Gotcha". It wouldn't have made any difference if they hadn't eaten it.' 'Why not?' 'Because if you're dealing with somebody who has the sort of mentality which likes leaving hats on the pavement with bricks under them you know perfectly well they won't give up. They'll get you in the end.
Douglas AdamsRead
Little fish risking everything for a piece of godhood...and not knowing heaven from hell, even when they find it.
Vernor VingeRead
We have been basically persuaded that we should not talk about racism.
Angela DavisRead
When men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon.
Thomas PaineRead
A free people [claim] their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate.
Thomas JeffersonRead
She had studied the universe all her life, but had overlooked its clearest message: For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.
Carl SaganRead