Here are some quotes from Suzuki Roshi in “Not Always So” (chapter: Calmness of Mind) that emphasize working with the exhale while meditating: “Calmness of mind is beyond the end of your exhalation. If you exhale smoothly, without even trying to exhale, you are entering into the complete perfect calmness of your mind. You do … Continue reading Exhaling and dissolving.
Tag: Suzuki Roshi
Express yourself fully
I have been reading “Not Always So” by Suzuki Roshi and found some interesting words on Time. They go along with what I have been working with for the past years but with a slightly different slant. From Suzuki Roshi, page 8, “When you live completely in each moment, without expecting anything, you have no … Continue reading Express yourself fully
A warm feeling in Zazen
From Suzuki Roshi’s book, “Not Always So” page 77: “If we do not have some warm, big satisfaction in our practice, that is not true practice. Even though you sit, trying to count your breath with right posture, it still might be lifeless zazen, because you are just following instructions. You are not kind enough … Continue reading A warm feeling in Zazen
Be a white ox in the open field.
We often see our lives as full of impediments or hindrances. When we look at our life in a linear way and with a progression of development, what we most notice is what gets in the way of that development. We worry about these blocks, we fight all of our obstacles and wish for them … Continue reading Be a white ox in the open field.
Losing our balance in a background of perfect harmony
Quotes from Suzuki Roshi, Zen Mind, Beginners Mind, page 27 “To live in the realm of Buddha nature means to die as a small being, moment after moment” This quote seems to support what we have been studying in Dogen’s Being-time. Our small being attaches to the appearance of life, to linear progressive time, to … Continue reading Losing our balance in a background of perfect harmony