Unfolding

Our life is always extending from old to new life. But it is, at the same time, unfolding of your true nature. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-08-18-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com What's New [now at blogger] to see more daily posts.

How to Score at Tennis Here

Kelly picked up tennis scoring in Indonesian within a few games.

Kabumpkan says

Boring is a door to a new interesting.

Turtle Bay Hideaway

Thanks John Steiner for getting us in touch with most cool Emerald Starr. We met him at his Turtle Bay Hideaway, toured the masterfully built traditional Sulawesi cottages and pools, organic gardens, had an amazing lunch. I told him the only problem I had with the food was my mind was conflicted about which dish was best. More about Emerald later.

No Diff

There is no difference between future and past. Past is future, future is past. So in this sense what we transmitted from Buddha to us is one-- this one buddha. The understanding may be different, and if you put it into words there may be two ways, but actually it is two different interpretations of one transmitted experience.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-08-18-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com What's New [now at blogger] to see more daily posts.

A Story with a Dragon

One and Another Incarcerated

Two are in a prison cell, One and Another. The walls have lines of dust running along the mortared spaces between black stones. The floor and ceiling are aged cement with cracks and algae. The door is rusted steel with a small yellowed, distorted glass window up top and a rusted steel plate on the bottom which slides open with a piercing scraping sound announcing mealtime.

Who?

Even though you say that it's your experience, that is Buddha's experience. There are no two buddhas. Buddha is always one.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-08-18-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com What's New [now at blogger] to see more daily posts.

At the Theater

Went to see Mockingjay 2 at a real theater, my first in over two years,  in a modern Bali mall. That's Danu with me, photo by his mate Alice. Katrinka's taking her own. Doesn't look like me to me - I'm not that thin. And Danu's not that scary looking. That's our tickets in his mouth. They are for specific seats.

An Excerpt for Thanksgiving

Dogen says, “This mind itself is the Buddha. By awakening to a thorough understanding of this mind you will truly show your gratitude to the Buddha”, he says, “and you should carefully think about who is the Buddha which is the mind itself.”   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-07-00 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com What's New [now at blogger] to see more daily posts.

Thank You on Thanksgiving

And eight of us are having Thanksgiving late lunch early dinner today at Art Cafe in Sanur. An unusual mix - seven from USA, one from Java. It's an American thing. As usual the image is just lifted off the web. About once in two months I go to the Art Cafe to work and drink tea. They make tea from good leaf - though they offer Lipton tea bag first as if it's special. - dc

Believe?

You say, in an ordinary sense, that Buddha was born 3,000 years ago, but that is not so. Buddha is here when you believe in Buddha.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-08-18-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com What's New [now at blogger] to see more daily posts. - Also it's not so because it's more like 2500 years ago. - DC

Words and Plasticity and ???

I was reading an article from BBC Future on neuroplasticity when an email came in suggesting a Radiolab show on Words - thanks Rick Levine. Then Katrinka returned from a walk and we listened to the whole show while she roasted oatmeal, seeds and nuts, and prepared fruit for a super muesli while I did yoga. Excellent and a great tie-in to the article which maybe I'll read aloud while she does dinner and maybe she'll finish reading it while I clean up.

New

We should not be just confined in the realm of Buddha’s teaching. Always new expression is necessary, but new experience is actually going back to Buddha.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-08-18-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com What's New [now at blogger] to see more daily posts.

Bulgarian ATM Experts

Blind Phillip next door and sidekick Nyoman have not been so entertaining recently because he's not drinking, but Kelly and I have had some nice sober chats with him while he stood in the pool listening to his radio, Nyoman sitting nearby on call in a sun chair. He still can't use his card at an ATM, only in stores, because he says some Bulgarians have emptied a bunch of bank accounts here by fixing ATMs and getting a camera honed in on the place where people write their pin code. I go to a bank ATM with a guard and haven't heard of this nullifying other people's cards but I have heard of the empty accounts. Phillip said the head Bulgarian account thief is in jail now.

Same Thing

As our teaching develops on and on it is a new expression of old teaching in one way, but on the other hand it is returning to the old teaching. Actually it is the same thing. From Buddha to us and from us to Buddha.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-08-18-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com What's New [now at blogger] to see more daily posts.

Judyth Weaver and the Mu Koan

Judyth Weaver's Experiences in a Zen Monastery about living at Shofukuji in Kobe in the sixties and practicing the koan mu.

- Judyth's 1995 cuke interview

On and On

As being goes on and on from formed to forming, our teaching develops on and on. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-08-18-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com What's New [now at blogger] to see more daily posts.

Kelly Visiting and Snakes

Here's a photo of son Kelly and me sitting at home. He's here for three weeks. That red thingy at the bottom left is the top of a dry snorkel which doesn't take in water. Today we saw several venomous sea snakes. I pointed out a small black and white krait that was on the sea floor and Kelly saw a few others I didn't, one being quite long. It was scary because we were in water only meter or so deep at that point so there was little room to move. Photo by his traveling companion Mary Eberle.

Relax

We should be something through-and-through 'til we forget ourselves. We should be something through-and-through 'til we forget ourselves in the depth of Buddhism.

Let’s relax and sit two days more [of this sesshin].

Thank you very much.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-08-18-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com What's New [now at blogger] to see more daily posts. [This lecture based on notes by Richard Baker]

Help Hilda

Please read Hilda Ramos Go Fund me appeal to help her transition from a life at the SFZC. Thanks. - DC

Bottomless

This is how we study Buddhism - through our practice. We should know the meaning of zazen, and we should continue the kind of effort to experience the bottomless ocean of Buddhism..  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-08-18-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com What's New [now at blogger] to see more daily posts. [This lecture based on notes by Richard Baker]

Sanur Most Zen?

Lists are a big deal on the Internet. The Huff Post had a little fluff list called the 11 Most Zen Places on the Planet with where we live, Sanur in Bali, as one of them.  The photo to the left was featured as representative of Sanur. That's not Sanur. Below is the actual Sanur beach - where we went this afternoon, having just returned from KL.

Beverly Armstrong new poem

Face of My Teacher - by Beverly Armstrong (Horowitz) - joins with Beverly's other poems and writings on cuke.

Deep

Buddhism is like an ocean, we say. The more you get into it, the more you will find how deep it is..  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-08-18-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com What's New [now at blogger] to see more daily posts. [This lecture based on notes by Richard Baker]

So we finally got our KITAS or residence visas for Indonesia yesterday. That means we don't have to renew it for one whole year and don't have to leave the country to do that. Up to now we've had to renew almost every month. That meant at first paying an agent fifty bucks each to do it or, once I leaned how to do it myself, pay half that each month with at least three trips to the immigration office each time. We also had to leave the country to renew after two months for tourist visas at first and then after six months with social/cultural visas. The letters from Jakarta we needed to get the KITAS were not ready for our September trip to Kuala Lumpur so we had to return with tourist visas. But tomorrow we return to Bali victorious. There are other advantages to having the KITAS - local prices at hospitals for one. Can get drivers licences and have vehicles which we don't want to do. And we can lord it over mere tourists and social/cultural visa friends. But have to get permission to leave. - dc

Happy Birthday Katrinka!

Or, as they say in Indonesia, selamat hari ulang tahun! Hari means day so it can be in there or not. Ulang means to repeat and tahun year. And the sayangku means "my love!" But we're in Kuala Lumpur now and they say, "Selemat hari jadi or selemat hari lahir." That's congrats day of becoming or congrats day of birth - both of which make sense in Indonesian as well.

Whole Elephant

[Continuing from yesterday's quote] That is the meaning of “to polish up your practice”-- to find the actual meaning of your experience -- to know the whole elephant. You will be surprised by what it is, the whole elephant, when you find out.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-08-18-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com What's New [now at blogger] to see more daily posts. [This lecture based on notes by Richard Baker]

Guided Meditation

Guided meditation on Youtube - thanks Rev. Elizabeth Sawyer

Partial

You each have your own way of understanding your practice by yourself-- or, rather, you understand practice in your own terms. This is not bad, but it is why we must give you some lecture in order to destroy the partial understanding that you come by. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-08-18-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com What's New [now at blogger] to see more daily posts. [This lecture based on notes by Richard Baker]

Thunder and Lightning too

Flew to Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Lot of security at the Denpasar airport. Stopping cars on the way in to check in the trunk and look under. Didn't notice anything here in Malaysia which has always been lax in our experience. We always zip right through here. Lot of rain. Muslim breakfast at a Bangladesh run restaurant. reat food and music and staff. Usually we're mainly around Chinese Buddhists here but this time we just want to get our new visas and get back to Bali so we're staying in a downtown hotel. Mainly around super nice Muslims. The price is good too.

On the West's current wars

From the Ron Paul Inst.

Elephant Understanding

This is the fourth day of our sesshin. The first three days we have had a pretty difficult time. You have had some experiences-- maybe some good experiences. Now let us polish up on our experience in the last two days. We have been like a group of blind men around a large elephant. The purpose of my lecture -- why we give you a lecture -- is to destroy your partial understanding of the elephant. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-08-18-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com What's New [now at blogger] to see more daily posts. [This lecture based on notes by Richard Baker]

Basket roosters and laying hens

We hear chickens and roosters all the time here - at home and all over. There are rooster baskets all over bali. Cockfighting is a big deal. I have no interest in going to one. I feel sorry for the poor roosters. The hens lay great eggs though. Coming back from America Katrinka says the organic cage free eggs here are expensive for Bali - about half of US price, but with the dark yellow yokes like the ones we used to get at Green Gulch before the chickens were phased out there.

Thank You Dainin Katagiri

So far, our sesshin was very successful under the guidance of Dainin-san. I'm very much grateful to him for directing our sesshin. Tomorrow, Monday, he will give the final address for this sesshin.

Thank you very much. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-08-17 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com What's New [now at blogger] to see more daily posts.

Wanted to include this closing comment from Suzuki to remind how wonderful it was to have Dainin Katagiri with us at the SF Zen Center.

Lovely Impressions

Eveline Ullmer and Peter Zipser are students of Zentatsu Richard Baker who spend half time in Bali and half in their native Germany. They recently returned. We had a charming morning together. Here's an email they just sent out from their sanctuary on the north side of the island.

***

Hallo dear friends
may we share some impressions with you? 
Tiny moments of our everyday life in our bali hermitage.