We should understand ourselves in two ways: as a person and as something which has no name or body or mind. To understand ourselves in this way is liberation from self. And true understanding of ourselves when we say “things as it is,” means to understand ourselves from the viewpoint of being and non-being. That is how we understand ourselves. That is how we should exist as a human being in this world, or else we will be lost. Most people live as someone who is known to each other, but we lose the other point. That is why this world is so busy and noisy. When we understand our world in this way, with calmness of mind, we will have compassionate mind for people who are just involved in a one-sided view. Our practice should be concentrated on this point by doing trivial, near-at-hand practice.
—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.
