So “Sentient beings are numberless.” Maybe it means that sentient beings are numberless, and I vow to save them moment after moment, continuously. But “moment after moment, continuously” is not necessary. “I vow to save them” is strong enough and good enough. “I vow to save them.” If the sentient beings are numberless, we will take this vow numberless times, that’s all [laughs]. In this way, we have a feeling of quite different quality. We feel the eternal practice of our Buddhist way. So “Sentient beings are numberless” means that our practice will continue forever.
Barack Obama speaking to a crowd in St. Louis on October 18, 2008
—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 69-04-29 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.
