For Zen students, a weed is a treasure.
Shunryu SuzukiRead
Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Acceptance of life's impermanence is essential to alleviate suffering.
Shunryu Suzuki's quote highlights the human struggle with the concept of transience, the idea that all things, including life itself, are temporary. By resisting the truth of impermanence, we create unnecessary suffering for ourselves; embracing this reality allows us to find peace and a deeper understanding of existence.
Themes
TransienceSufferingAcceptanceImpermanenceTruth
In practice
Example use cases
During a mindfulness seminar, this quote can illustrate the importance of accepting change.
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.
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As long as you seek for something, you will get the shadow of reality and not reality itself.
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No teaching could be more direct than just to sit down.
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Everything is perfect, but there is a lot of room for improvement.
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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.
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