Shunryu Suzuki Quotes

Are you unselfish? That is the question. If you are, you will be perfect without reading a single religious book, without going into a single church or temple.

[The seers call him wise] whose every attempt is free, without any desire for gain, without any selfishness.

There is no doubt that in exchanging a self-centered for a selfless life we gain enormously in self-esteem. The vanity of the selfless, even those who practice utmost humility, is boundless.

Transcending the world does not mean to withdraw from the world, to no longer take action, or to stop interacting with people. Transcendence of the world is to act and to interact without any self-seeking.

Any man who does not see everything in terms of self, that is to say who wants to be something in respect of other men, to do good to them or simply give them something to do, is unhappy, disconsolate, and accursed.

By removing that which is petty and self-seeking, we bring forth all that is glorious and mindful of the whole.

The truest self-respect is not to think of self.

In magnanimity there is the same amount of egoism as in revenge, but egoism of a different quality.

Just practice good, do good for others, without thinking of making yourself known so that you may gain reward. Really bring benefit to others, gaining nothing for yourself. This is the primary requisite for breaking free of attachments to the Self.

Remember that the best and greatest among mankind are those who do themselves no worldly good. Every successful man is more or less a selfish man. The devoted fail.

Service without humility is selfishness and egotism.

I'm not - I'm not a person looking for money. I have no political ambitions whatsoever. I don't seek power. I don't seek any kind of praise. I have no ego to fulfill.

Who among us has the strength to oppose petty egoism, those petty good feelings, pity and remorse?

I know that some of the spiritual beliefs that I have are that if I come from a place of love, and I try to get out of my ego and my desire to want more and be selfish in any shape or form, then whatever I'm doing is not good.

I'm not selfish.

Selfless action is a source of strength.

Compassion being action without motive, without self-interest, without any sense of fear, without any sense of pleasure.

When one, abandoning greed, feels no greed for what would merit greed, greed gets shed from him - like a drop of water from a lotus leaf.

When Christ's love fills our hearts, it puts selfishness on the run.

The only way your powers can become great is by exerting them outside the circle of your own narrow, special, selfish interests. And that is the reason of Christianity. Christ came into the world to save others, not to save himself; and no man is a true Christian who does not think constantly of how he can lift his brother, how he can assist his friend, how he can enlighten mankind, how he can make virtue the rule of conduct in the circle in which he lives.

Selfless, generous, compassionate living is unassailable.

We become forgetful of the ego when we think of the body as dedicated to the service of others - the body with which most complacently we identify the ego.

The measure of charity may be taken from the want of desires. As desires diminish in the soul, charity increases in it; and when it no longer feels any desire, then it possesses perfect charity.

If faith is lacking, it is because there is too much selfishness, too much concern for personal gain. For faith to be true, it has to be generous and loving. Love and faith go together, they complete each other.

Can I live a life, daily life, without sense of self-concern?