Shunryū Suzuki facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Shunryu Suzuki |
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Suzuki from 1970 back cover of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
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| Religion | Buddhism |
| School | Sōtō |
| Personal | |
| Born | May 18, 1904 Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | December 4, 1971 (aged 67) San Francisco |
| Spouse | Mitsu Suzuki |
| Senior posting | |
| Title | Roshi |
| Successor | Suzuki Hoitsu Zentatsu Richard Baker |
Shunryu Suzuki (鈴木 俊隆 Suzuki Shunryū, often called Suzuki Roshi; May 18, 1904 – December 4, 1971) was a Sōtō Zen monk and teacher. He helped make Zen Buddhism popular in the United States. He is famous for starting the first Zen Buddhist monastery outside Asia, called Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. Suzuki also founded the San Francisco Zen Center, which is one of the most important Zen groups in the U.S. His book, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, is very popular for learning about Zen and Buddhism.
Contents
Life Story of Shunryu Suzuki
Early Life and Family
Shunryu Suzuki was born on May 18, 1904, in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. This area is southwest of Tokyo. His father, Butsumon Sogaku Suzuki, was the head priest (abbot) of a local Soto Zen temple. His mother, Yone, was also from a priest's family.
Suzuki grew up with an older half-brother and two younger sisters. He was about 4 feet 11 inches (1.5 meters) tall as an adult. His family's temple, Shōgan-ji, did not earn much money, so they lived simply.
When Suzuki started school, he noticed his family was poor. He was a kind and sensitive boy, but sometimes got angry quickly. Other boys made fun of him because he was a priest's son and had a shaved head. He loved learning and was always a top student. His teacher told him he should study hard to become a great person.
Becoming a Monk
In 1916, when he was 12, Suzuki decided to train as a monk. He went to live with Gyokujun So-on Suzuki, who was a student of his father. So-on was the abbot of Zoun-in, a larger temple in a small village called Mori, Shizuoka. Suzuki was the youngest student there.
His day started at 4:00 AM with zazen (meditation). Then he would chant and clean the temple. They worked all day and meditated again in the evenings. Suzuki looked up to his teacher, So-on, who was strict but also kind to him because he was so young.
On his 13th birthday, May 18, 1917, So-on made him a novice monk (unsui). He was given the Buddhist name Shogaku Shunryu. So-on also gave him a nickname: Crooked Cucumber, because he was sometimes forgetful.
Suzuki went to school in Mori, but his clothes were not good, and he was teased. Still, he did not complain and worked even harder at the temple. By 1918, he was the only student left at Zoun-in. This meant So-on watched him more closely. Suzuki thought about leaving but decided to keep going.
So-on later became head of another temple, Rinso-in, and Suzuki went with him. He helped fix up the temple, and soon, more students came. Suzuki also studied Chinese with So-on.
Suzuki also trained with a Rinzai Zen master for a short time. This was a different kind of Zen that focused on solving koans (riddles) during meditation. Suzuki found this difficult, but he eventually passed his koan.
In 1919, at age 15, Suzuki's parents brought him home. He helped at his father's temple and went to middle school. But during summer breaks, he returned to So-on to continue his training. He did not want to stop.
He also studied English in school and was very good at it. A local doctor hired him to teach English to his sons. This doctor treated Suzuki well and paid him.
University and Teaching Zen
In 1924, Shunryu went to a Soto Zen school in Tokyo. He lived in a dorm on the school grounds. From 1925 to 1926, he did more Zen training in Shizuoka. He became a head monk after a 100-day retreat, meaning he was no longer just a beginner.
In 1925, he started at Komazawa University, a Soto Zen university in Tokyo. He often visited So-on at Zoun-in during this time. Some of his teachers at the university talked about how Soto Zen could reach more people. Suzuki was curious, even though he wondered how Westerners could understand Zen.
On August 26, 1926, So-on officially recognized Suzuki as his successor, giving him Dharma transmission. Suzuki was 22. His father also retired from his temple that year.
Later, Suzuki had a short stay in the hospital for tuberculosis but recovered. In 1927, he met Miss Nona Ransom, an English teacher from Komazawa. She hired him as a translator. At first, she did not understand or respect Japanese culture or Buddhism. But after a talk with Suzuki, she changed her mind. She even let him teach her zazen meditation. This experience showed Suzuki that Westerners could learn and understand Buddhism.
On January 22, 1929, So-on retired from Zoun-in and made Shunryu the new abbot. Suzuki's father helped him manage the temple. In 1930, a special ceremony confirmed Suzuki's right to teach as a priest. On April 10, 1930, at age 25, Suzuki graduated from Komazawa University. He studied Zen and Buddhist philosophy, and also English.
Suzuki thought about going to America to teach Zen. But So-on did not like the idea, so Suzuki did not mention it again.
Training at Famous Temples
After university, So-on wanted Suzuki to train at Eihei-ji, a famous Soto Zen temple in Fukui Prefecture. Suzuki entered the temple in September 1930. His parents stayed at Zoun-in to care for his temple.
Eihei-ji is one of the biggest Zen training centers in Japan. Suzuki trained under Ian Kishizawa-roshi, a well-known teacher. Kishizawa was strict but kind, and Suzuki learned a lot from him, especially the importance of bowing in Zen practice. In December, Suzuki completed his first 7-day sesshin (intensive meditation retreat), which was challenging but rewarding.
In September 1931, Suzuki went to train at Sōji-ji in Yokohama, another main Soto temple. Sōji-ji was founded by the great Zen master Keizan and had a more relaxed feeling than Eihei-ji. Suzuki often went back to Zoun-in from Sōji-ji to check on his temple.
In 1932, So-on told Suzuki to leave Sōji-ji, and Suzuki moved back to Zoun-in. He continued his studies with Ian Kishizawa, who trained him hard in zazen and gave him personal advice.
Suzuki married a woman around this time, but she became ill with tuberculosis. Their marriage was soon ended. She returned to her family, and he focused on his duties at Zoun-in.
Zen in America
On May 23, 1959, Shunryu Suzuki arrived in San Francisco, USA. He was 55 years old. He came to lead Soko-ji, the only Soto Zen temple in San Francisco at the time. Suzuki was surprised that the Buddhism practiced there was very Americanized and different from what he knew. He found American culture interesting and easy to get used to. He even said he wished he had come sooner! He was also surprised that Sokoji used to be a Jewish synagogue.
When Suzuki arrived, Zen was becoming popular in the United States, especially among people called beatniks. Books by Alan Watts helped spread interest in Zen. Suzuki was invited to teach a class on Buddhism, which made him want to teach Zen to Westerners even more.
His class was full of people eager to learn. Suzuki had them do zazen for 20 minutes, sitting on the floor. He invited everyone to come to Sokoji for morning zazen. More and more people came each week to meditate with him.
This group of students eventually formed the San Francisco Zen Center with Suzuki. The Zen Center grew, and in 1966, Suzuki guided them to buy Tassajara Hot Springs in Los Padres National Forest. They named it Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. In 1969, they bought a building in San Francisco and turned it into a Zen temple. Suzuki left Sokoji to become the first abbot of this new Zen training monastery outside Asia. He felt that Zen in Japan had become too old-fashioned, and he saw his American students as a way to bring Zen back to its focus on meditation and practice.
Shunryu Suzuki passed away on December 4, 1971, likely from cancer.
His Books
A collection of his Zen talks was published in 1970 as Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. His talks on the Sandokai are in the book Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness, published in 1999. Another book, Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen, came out in 2002.
A book about Suzuki's life, called Crooked Cucumber, was written by David Chadwick in 1999.
Lineage
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Soto lineage
Soto school |
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| Shunryu Suzuki (1904—1971) | |
| Zentatsu Richard Baker (born 1936) shiho 1971 | Hoitsu Suzuki (born 1939) |
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Famous Sayings
- "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few."
Books by Shunryu Suzuki
- Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. Ed. Trudy Dixon. Weatherhill, 1970. ISBN: 0-834-80079-9
- Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai 1st ed. Eds. Mel Weitsman and Michael Wenger. University of California Press, 1999. ISBN: 0-520-21982-1
- Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen. Ed. Edward Espe Brown. HarperCollins, 2002. ISBN: 0-060-95754-9
- Zen is Right Here. Shambhala, 2007. ISBN: 978-1-59030-491-4
- Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. Shambhala, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-59030-849-3
- "To Shine One Corner of the World: moments with Shunryu Suzuki / the students of Shunryu Suzuki". Ed. David Chadwick. Broadway Books, 2001. ISBN: 0-7679-0651-9
See also
In Spanish: Shunryu Suzuki para niños
