Saturday, July 11, 2009

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Shunryu Suzuki began his classic book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind with

"People say that practicing Zen is difficult, but there is a misunderstanding as to why."


He then took what was obviously the next sentence and moved it all the way to the end of the book:

"In Japan in the spring we eat cucumbers."


I wonder why he added all that other stuff in between those two sentences. I wonder if, when he submitted the book with just those two sentences, and told the editor that it said all that was needed, they got mad and refused to publish it without adding enough fluff to justify a higher cost?

No comments: