Suzuki Roshi said during a talk that some of us wanted to be Zen masters, and that this was very foolish. He said that he wished he was like us, just starting out. "Maybe you think you are green apples hanging on a tree, waiting to ripen so that you can be Buddhas," he said, "but I think you are already ripe, perfect Buddhas now, ready to be picked."
— David Chadwick, To Shine One Corner of the World