According to Suzuki, when meditation is performed appropriately, time becomes a river that can be traveled: "When we experience this kind of truth it means we have found the true meaning of time. Time constantly goes from past to present and from present to future. This is true, but it is also true that time goes from future to present and from present to past" (pp. 33-34).

Certainly, the Zen master is not suggesting that people can actually travel through time, but he is trying to make the point that a beginner's mind, a Zen mind, possesses the capacity to perceive time in this fluid fashion without the constraints imposed by the physical world. Moreover, Suzuki concedes that the process to achieving a Zen mind is not seamless or easy, and insists that proficiency in attaining a beginner's mind is a matter of practice and time. Nevertheless, the Zen master...
[ View Full Essay]