Becoming Yourself

Shunryu Suzuki. Tarcher.

Becoming Yourself

Zazen and everyday activity - everyday activity and zazen - are two sides of the one practice, and there should not be any gap.

When we say “I should,” we are in the realm of moral rules. When we observe the precepts with the feeling that “I cannot help doing so,” or “I have to,” or “I want to,” we have the religious understanding of our rules.

Do not bring up the faults of others. When we talk about someone’s faults, it means we are talking about our own faults. Almost all the time it is so. When you talk about someone’s faults, you should become aware that you have the same faults… But if there is no need to talk about it, that is much better…

Do not boast of yourself and blame others. When you boast of yourself and blame others, it means you have a very small self.

You become angry easily because your mind gets caught by superficial, trivial things. When your effort becomes concentrated on the true spirit of Zen, it is not so easy to be angry.

The Buddha said that if we become angry, all of our virtue will be gone at once. Anger is the most dangerous thing.

Our way is constant patience. But actually there is no need to practice patience: if your practice of Zen is right, you will naturally be patient.

You should not be a friend of human beings, your friend is heaven and earth. You shouldn’t be involved in the confusion that we have in our human world.