Be Zen: 7 Lessons From Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki To Transform Your Mind
Your mind is a superpower, but you need a little push to turn it on.
The Tassajara Zen Mountain Center is located in a wilderness area far away from civilization. Only accessible by a small dirt road, it was founded in 1967 by Shunryu Suzuki, a Japanese monk recently arrived in California. It was the first Zen Buddhist monastery set up outside of Asia.
There is an interesting story associated with Shunryu Suzuki and the monastery. One day many years ago, a group of his disciples went up a long mountain road in order to work on a construction project. When they got to their destination, they suddenly realized that they couldn’t actually do anything. They had forgotten the shovels!
So they started to discuss who should go back to bring the tools. After a long time spent talking, the group finally came up with a decision. Satisfied with themselves, they looked around. Their teacher, Shunryu was nowhere to be found. Then it hit them. While they were debating themselves, Shunryu took action and walked down the trail to pick up the shovels himself.
Such was the wisdom of the Zen Buddhist master. Known as one of the pioneers of Zen in the Western world, he did much to spread its teachings. His book “Zen Mind…
