Philosophy Quote by Shunryu Suzuki — Inspiring Words on Life, Love & Wisdom

“The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.”

“A student, filled with emotion and crying, implored, "Why is there so much suffering?”

“I discovered that it is necessary, absolutely necessary, to believe in nothing. That is, we have to believe in something which has no form and no color--something which exists before all forms and colors appear... No matter what god or doctrine you believe in, if you become attached to it, your belief will be based more or less on a self-centered idea.”

“The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.”

“Absurdity is one of the most human things about us: a manifestation of our most advanced and interesting characteristics.”

“Virtue comes through contemplation of the divine, and the exercise of philosophy. But it also comes through public service. The one is incomplete without the other. Power without wisdom is tyranny; wisdom without power is pointless.”

“The real question of life after death isn't whether or not it exists, but even if it does what problem this really solves.”

“Our ability to adapt is amazing. Our ability to change isn't quite as spectacular.”

“Governments, if they endure, always tend increasingly toward aristocratic forms. No government in history has been known to evade this pattern. And as the aristocracy develops, government tends more and more to act exclusively in the interests of the ruling class - whether that class be hereditary royalty, oligarchs of financial empires, or entrenched bureaucracy.”

“One never knows how the witch became wicked, or whether that was the right choice for her — is it ever the right choice? Does the devil ever struggle to be good again, or if so is he not a devil? It is the very least question of definitions.”