Shunryu Suzuki
Shunryu Suzuki Quotes about Moment
There should not be any particular teaching. Teaching is in each moment.
Zen is not some fancy, special art of living. Our teaching is just to live, always in reality, in its exact sense. To make our effort, moment after moment, is our way.
Treat every moment as your last. It is not preparation for something else.
When you live completely in each moment, without expecting anything, you have no idea of time.
The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves. That is why we have teaching. But the teaching is not ourselves. It is some explanation of ourselves. To study the teaching is to know yourselves. That is why we do not ever attach to the teaching, or to the teacher. The moment you meet a teacher you should leave the teacher, and you should be independent. You want a teacher so that you can be independent. So you study yourselves. You have the teacher for yourselves, not for the teacher.
Moment after moment, completely devote yourself to listening to your inner voice.
Bowing is a very serious practice. You should be prepared to bow, even in your last moment. even though it is impossible to get rid of our self-centered desires, we have to do it. Our true nature wants us to.
So for a period of time each day, try to sit, without moving, without expecting anything, as if you were in your last moment. Moment after moment you feel your last instant. In each inhalation and each exhalation there are countless instants of time. Your intention is to live in each instant.
When you accept everything, everything is beyond dimensions. The earth is not great nor a grain of sand small. In the realm of Great Activity picking up a grain of sand is the same as taking up the whole universe. To save one sentient being is to save all sentient beings. Your efforts of this moment to save one person is the same as the eternal merit of Buddha.
Don't move. Just die over and over. Don't anticipate. Nothing can save you now because you have only this moment. Not even enlightenment will help you now because there are no other moments. With no future, be true to yourself and express yourself fully. Don't move.
When you say, "Wait a moment," you are bound by your karma; when you say "Yes I will," you are free.
As long as we have some definite idea about or some hope in the future, we cannot really be serious with the moment that exists right now.
There is no connection between I myself yesterday and I myself in this moment
We do not slight the idea of enlightenment, but the most important thing is this moment, not some day in the future. We have to make our effort in this moment. This is the most important thing for our practice.
Moment after moment everything comes out of nothingness. This is the true joy of life.
When we do not expect anything we can be ourselves. That is our way, to live fully in each moment of time.