Susuki & Mitsu

“I sit zazen at 5:30 in the morning. You are welcome to join me,”
"What is true zazen? What do you mean by Zen becomes Zen and you become you? You become you is a very important point. You become you. When you become you, even though you are in bed, you may not be you most of the time. Even though you are sitting here, I wonder whether you are you in its true sense. So to be you is zazen."
The hippies came, and Suzuki said, “I am very grateful to them.”
"There are, strictly speaking, no enlightened people, there is only enlightened activity."

~ Shunryu Suzuki was a Sōtō Zen monk and teacher who helped popularize Zen Buddhism in the United States, and is renowned for founding the first Buddhist monastery outside Asia (Tassajara Zen Mountain Center). Suzuki founded San Francisco Zen Center, which along with its affiliate temples, comprises one of the most influential Zen organizations in the United States. A book of his teachings, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, is one of the most popular books on Zen and Buddhism in the West.

"I bow to my ballpoint pen and throw it out— year's end." –Mitsu Suzuki Sensei, widow of Suzuki Roshi.

Mitsu Suzuki Sensei, also known as “Okusan”, tea ceremony teacher in the Omotesenke school and the widow of SFZC founder Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, passed away Jan. 10, 2016 at the age of 101! What a long life! She was born on April 23, 1914 and was also known for her published works of haiku, available through Rodmell Press.

Photo - Suzuki and his wife Mitsu at Ed and Meg Brown's wedding in the summer of 1970 at Tassajara. [Photo by Alan Marlowe.]