Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine.

Shunryu Suzuki
About This Quote

Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine. In this quote, D.T. Suzuki describes the essential difference between zen and hectic or hurried activity. It’s a way to describe a state in which we are no longer in a hurry, in which we can pay attention to our own feelings and thoughts.

We can be aware of ourselves without being forced to distinguish ourselves from others. Our attention is no longer pulled in different directions by the outside world, but rather held steady on our own internal state of mind, which is what enables us to focus our attention and direct it to whatever we choose.

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