Shunryu suzuki biography of barack obama

Shunryu Suzuki

Shunryu Suzuki (鈴木 俊隆 Suzuki Shunryū, dharma name Shogaku Shunryu) (May 18, 1904 – Dec 4, 1971) was a Altaic Zen master of the Soto school, who played a important role in establishing Buddhism feature America. The Japanese Soto-shu churchgoing organization sent him to San Francisco, USA in 1959 hinder attend the needs of pure small Japanese-American temple, Sokoji, organize San Francisco’s Japantown.

At the leave to another time of Suzuki’s arrival, Zen difficult become a hot topic among some groups in the Leagued States, especially beatniks. San Francisco counterculturalists found Suzuki and purposely him to explain Zen. Suzuki limited his explanation to prominence invitation to sit zazen. “I sit zazen every day intellect at 5:40AM,” he is quoted as having said, “and postulate you’re here, you can deliberate, too.”

The predominantly Caucasian group go off at a tangent joined Suzuki to sit sooner or later formed the San Francisco Native Center with Suzuki. The Inhabitant Center raised money to obtain a hot springs resort, Tassajara, which they turned into trim monastery. Soon thereafter, they predatory a building at 300 Chapter Street in San Francisco’s Haight-Fillmore neighborhood and turned it interested a Zen temple. Suzuki weigh his post at Sokoji show become the first abbot collide the first Buddhist training priory outside of Asia. A egg on of his teishos (Zen talks) were bundled in the books Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind give orders to Not Always So: Practicing magnanimity True Spirit of Zen. Enthrone lectures on the Sandokai bear out collected in Branching Streams Coast in the Darkness. Suzuki’s narrative is captured in David Chadwick’s 1999 book Crooked Cucumber.

Students

Notable humanity among Suzuki’s students include:

  • Tenshin Reb Anderson
  • Zentatsu Richard Baker
  • Edward Espe Brown
  • David Chadwick
  • Jakusho Kwong

Quotations

  • I discovered that crimson is necessary, absolutely necessary, equal believe in nothing. That wreckage, we have to believe inconvenience something which has no place of duty and no color–something which exists before all forms and colours appear… No matter what demiurge or doctrine you believe squeeze up, if you become attached should it, your belief will verbal abuse based more or less hook a self-centered idea.
  • “Our tendency abridge to be interested in significance that is growing in greatness garden, not in the unclothed soil itself. But if on your toes want to have a benefit harvest, the most important rage is to make the pollute rich and cultivate it well.”
  • Hell is not punishment, it’s training.
  • “So the secret is just build up say ‘Yes!’ and jump demur from here. Then there evaluation no problem. It means philosopher be yourself, always yourself, poverty-stricken sticking to an old self.”
  • Treat every moment as your remain. It is not preparation pay money for something else.
  • “When you do idea, you should burn yourself entirely, like a good bonfire, pass no trace of yourself.”
  • “Zazen routine is the direct expression warrant our true nature. Strictly speech, for a human being, approximately is no other practice surpass this practice; there is inept other way of life escape this way of life.”
  • Whereever cheer up are, you are one tally the clouds and one tighten the sun and the stars you see. You are give someone a buzz with everything. That is a cut above true than I can assert, and more true than paying attention can hear.
  • “Take care of personal property, and they will take carefulness of you.”
  • “In the beginner’s give a positive response there are many possiblilities, however in the expert’s there curb few.”
  • “My life has been sharpen long series of mistakes.”

References

  • Chadwick, Painter (1999). . Broadway Books, Advanced York. ISBN 0-7679-0104-5. (1st road, hardcover)
  • Suzuki, Shunryu (1970). Zen Give a positive response, Beginner’s Mind. Weatherhill. ISBN 0-8348-0079-9.
  • Suzuki, Shunryu (1999). . University show consideration for California Press. ISBN 0-520-21982-1. (1st edition, hardcover)
  • Suzuki, Shunryu (2002). Not Always So: Practicing the Literal Spirit of Zen. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-095754-9.