Buddha Tree

I am one tree, and each one of you is a tree of itself. And by itself, you should stand up. And when one tree stands up by itself, we call that tree a buddha. In other words, when you practice zazen in its true sense, you are really buddha. So, buddha and tree is one in that sense. It may be sometimes we call it a tree; sometimes we call it a buddha. “Buddha” or “tree” or “you” are many names of one buddha.

Prajna Paramita root ball statue created by Elizabeth Sawyer and Barton Stone

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 69-03-30 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.