A Night of Tassajara Stories

Tuesday evening, Ed Brown and I, DC, were on a Zoom show hosted by the SF Zen Center. 

Here's the link to watch it - thanks to Zen Center's generosity.

Enjoy.

Ed Brown cuke page

A Practice of Big Mind

There is a big misunderstanding in our practice, I think. Most people have a misunderstanding that practice is some way we try to get out of evil. That if we train, eventually we will attain enlightenment, and we will be completely free from evil. This is the usual understanding. But that practice is small practice, not big practice, not pure practice. There is no big mind in that practice. So, to know what is true buddha-nature—what is true nature—being aware of it, and practicing as a practice of big mind is our true practice.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-29-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. These posts are also on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram. We are continually working on improving the quality of transcriptions of Suzuki's lectures. After a new "verbatim transcript" is made, we create a minimally edited version which is more readable. See the most recently completed transcripts at shunryusuzuki.com/n.

“Ah, that’s good.”

So, the most important point is to acknowledge exactly what is buddha-nature. Buddha-nature is not small ego; it is big ego which is observing what you do and accepting what you do always. Whatever you do, it will say, “Ah, that’s good.” [Laughing.] “Nothing wrong with it.”

Image generated by Google Gemini

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-29-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. These posts are also on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram. We are continually working on improving the quality of transcriptions of Suzuki's lectures. After a new "verbatim transcript" is made, we create a minimally edited version which is more readable. See the most recently completed transcripts at shunryusuzuki.com/n.

ED Brown and DC with Tassajara Stories December 9 on Zoom

A Night of Tassajara Stories with Ed Brown and me, DC--a San Francisco Zen Center online event

December 9th - 6 to 8pm California time. 

Here's the SFZC page for it with how to attend on Zoom

Don’t be attached even to the evil which is not here.

Dogen said, “Don’t be attached even to the evil which is not here. To attach to the evil which is not here means purity.” If there is no evil here, you are pure. But don’t be attached to even the state of mind you have in purity. And even though you are not pure, don’t try to escape from it. If you try to escape from it, it means you are attached to purity. A small ego is working still [laughs]. Your small ego is trying to push out an evil thought. So still you are occupied by small ego as long as you are trying to get out of it.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-29-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. These posts are also on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram. We are continually working on improving the quality of transcriptions of Suzuki's lectures. After a new "verbatim transcript" is made, we create a minimally edited version which is more readable. See the most recently completed transcripts at shunryusuzuki.com/n.

Beyond Intoxicating Liquor

Our buddha-nature should be beyond pure or impure. It means just to be aware of your true nature which is beyond pure or impure. To attach to purity is good, but buddha-nature is not pure or impure. If you understand this point, just to sit without thinking, without being bothered by something which will come. Even when you have something in your mind, don’t try to escape from it. Just sit. It will go. And you are beyond it. Those images come in and go out. This is so-called being beyond intoxicating liquor.

Image generated by Leonardo.ai

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-29-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. These posts are also on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram. We are continually working on improving the quality of transcriptions of Suzuki's lectures. After a new "verbatim transcript" is made, we create a minimally edited version which is more readable. See the most recently completed transcripts at shunryusuzuki.com/n.

Featured Cuke Archives page

Robert Britton, Bob to me, was at the SF Zen Center for ten years. He became an Alexander teacher and still is. For 39 years he applied what he’d learned from the Alexander method (if I can call it that) at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music helping musicians sit, hold and use their instruments so that they don’t create physical problems. He’s helped many people at Zen Center and beyond in how to sit, stand, walk in a healthy way. Learn about it in this podcast with him.

Don’t Attach to Purity or Impurity

When you sit, you say something occurred in your mind which is not so good. Some image came. Something covered your wisdom or buddha-nature. When you say so, you have the idea of clearness because you think you have to keep your mind clear of various images which will come to you. This is how you understand it, but Dogen Zenji says: Don’t even try to clear up your mind, even though you have something there. Don’t want to be pure. If you want to be pure, it means you have attached to purity. That is also not so good. Don’t attach to purity or impurity.

Image generated by Google Gemini

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-29-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. These posts are also on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram. We are continually working on improving the quality of transcriptions of Suzuki's lectures. After a new "verbatim transcript" is made, we create a minimally edited version which is more readable. See the most recently completed transcripts at shunryusuzuki.com/n.

Beverly (Horowitz) Armstrong new poem

 Soon Solstice by Beverly (Horowitz) Armstrong

Direct Experience of Buddha-nature

The purpose of practice is to have direct experience of buddha-nature. That is the purpose of our practice. So, whatever you do, it should be the direct experience of buddha-nature.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-29-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. These posts are also on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram. We are continually working on improving the quality of transcriptions of Suzuki's lectures. After a new "verbatim transcript" is made, we create a minimally edited version which is more readable. See the most recently completed transcripts at shunryusuzuki.com/n.