Becoming Yourself: Teachings on the Zen Way of Life
Shunryu Suzuki
Jul 2025 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Shunryu Suzuki and Peter Coyote
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4 hr 55 min
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About this audiobook
From the beloved author of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind comes a new book of teachings on the essence of Zen practice
"I felt a burden being lifted from my shoulders just by reading this remarkable book." —Oliver Burkeman
“Our way of sitting is for you to become yourself.”
In this long-awaited book from one of the most influential spiritual teachers of the last century, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi shares simple, warmhearted teachings on a practice that is fundamentally about becoming yourself. In his inimitable style, filled with humor and insight, Becoming Yourself speaks directly to the newest beginners while also serving as a touchstone and a continual source of inspiration for even the most experienced practitioners and Zen teachers.
Becoming Yourself unearths new jewels from the late Suzuki’s lectures and brings to light many of his unpublished teachings.
Becoming yourself is not meant to be understood as an idea; it is meant to be tried out as a way of being. It is “Just to sit,” a practice of wholeheartedly being as you are, moment after moment, no matter what is happening. It is a practice of deeply connecting with how it feels to be alive in your surroundings, whether on a meditation cushion or not, and stepping forward from that connection. It is opening to your life, wherever you are, and finding right there a deep well of innate wisdom, compassion and care.
Exclusive to the audiobook, following Peter Coyote’s narration is special bonus content of Suzuki Roshi in his own voice. Presented in crystal clear, remastered audio, hear over thirty minutes of selected clips from the original lectures by Suzuki Roshi that were the basis of Becoming Yourself.
* This audiobook edition contains a downloadable PDF with supplemental material.
"I felt a burden being lifted from my shoulders just by reading this remarkable book." —Oliver Burkeman
“Our way of sitting is for you to become yourself.”
In this long-awaited book from one of the most influential spiritual teachers of the last century, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi shares simple, warmhearted teachings on a practice that is fundamentally about becoming yourself. In his inimitable style, filled with humor and insight, Becoming Yourself speaks directly to the newest beginners while also serving as a touchstone and a continual source of inspiration for even the most experienced practitioners and Zen teachers.
Becoming Yourself unearths new jewels from the late Suzuki’s lectures and brings to light many of his unpublished teachings.
Becoming yourself is not meant to be understood as an idea; it is meant to be tried out as a way of being. It is “Just to sit,” a practice of wholeheartedly being as you are, moment after moment, no matter what is happening. It is a practice of deeply connecting with how it feels to be alive in your surroundings, whether on a meditation cushion or not, and stepping forward from that connection. It is opening to your life, wherever you are, and finding right there a deep well of innate wisdom, compassion and care.
Exclusive to the audiobook, following Peter Coyote’s narration is special bonus content of Suzuki Roshi in his own voice. Presented in crystal clear, remastered audio, hear over thirty minutes of selected clips from the original lectures by Suzuki Roshi that were the basis of Becoming Yourself.
* This audiobook edition contains a downloadable PDF with supplemental material.
About the author
Shunryu Suzuki Roshi (1904–1971) was a lifelong Soto Zen Buddhist priest and one of the most prominent and beloved spiritual teachers of the twentieth century. His life’s work was to transmit authentic Zen practice from Japan to the United States, preserving the heart of the teaching and traditional forms while allowing them space to adapt and take root in Western soil. He founded the San Francisco Zen Center, among the oldest and largest Buddhist training places in the West. Suzuki Roshi’s teachings were first edited and collected in the influential classic Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind.
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