D. T. Suzuki Quotes
Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki was a Japanese author, scholar, and translator who did more than any other figure to introduce Mahayana Buddhism, especially Zen, to the English-speaking world. After early years of practice and study at Engaku-ji in Kamakura, he spent more than a decade in the United States as a translator and editor, then taught at Otani University in Kyoto and at Columbia. The quotes below are attributed to D. T. Suzuki, organized by topic.
D. T. Suzuki on Knowledge
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Attributed to D. T. Suzuki:
“If you have a glass full of liquid, you can discourse forever on its qualities, but until you drink it, you cannot know its taste.”
D. T. Suzuki on Mind
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Attributed to D. T. Suzuki:
“Zen, in its essence, is the art of seeing into the nature of one's own being.”
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Attributed to D. T. Suzuki:
“We are too self-conscious, too logical, and we lose touch with the underlying reality of our own being.”
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Attributed to D. T. Suzuki:
“What we have to do is to keep on questioning what we are doing.”
D. T. Suzuki on Nature
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Attributed to D. T. Suzuki:
“The moon stays bright when it does not avoid the clouds.”
D. T. Suzuki on Truth
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Attributed to D. T. Suzuki:
“The truth of Zen is not in any of its statements, however profound; it is in life itself.”