Grahame Petchey

Grahame is now at Bay Area Healthcare Center at 1833 10^th Avenue, Oakland CA. But maybe he's not in hospice. That might have been a premature assumption on someone's part. I talked to him my last night and his morning - just a few words. Mainly to his daughter Julia. I was on speaker phone so didn't clarify the hospice thing but that facility is for rehab. - dc

Grahame Petchey cuke page

Place

Ideas of good and bad or ideals of right or wrong will not help. The most important point is to find your place in its widest sense. This requires experiences other than narrow egoistic or provincial ones. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Tony Artino notes from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-26. 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.

Grahame Petchey

Grahame is in hospice care in Oakland. More as we learn.

Grahame Petchey cuke page

Two Shunryu Suzuki calligraphy

He didn't do a lot. Drawn with yucca leaves. Thanks to Bob Watkins for having these scanned and emailed. Read all about it in the cuke interview with Bob.

Place

It is very important in our practice to find our place within this practice. When everyone and everything has thus found its right home, we call it Nirvana or Tathagata's Way. But our own practice area is as wide as the universe, and until we find our own place in the universe, we have not yet arrived. (Suzuki's explanation of this was a person finding his place in his family, in society, and the family's place in society, and in the world, and society's in the world). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Tony Artino notes from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-26. 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.

Awakened

Transmission of this big mind occurs with no loss “of even a speck of dust” by the master, and no gain “of even a thread” by the now awakened disciple. This is because everyone is already within his big self. -----------------------------------------------(Suzuki obviously quoting something classical here)---------------------------------- [Excerpt from Tony Artino notes from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-26. 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.

Odds

Those favoring Clinton in this election are happy about what the polls say. Huff Post gives her a 97% chance whereas 538 which tends to give Trump higher odds gives her an 80% chance. Nate Silver of 538 warns about thinking 80 or 85% is a sure thing and points out that 17% is ones odds of losing at Russian roulette and how confident would one feel about that? His site is hosted by science-friendly ESPN and he uses sports analagies sometimes like a team with a 15% chance that just beat the Warriors. Here's a long shot that happened to me recently.

Troubled

When small mind feels it is big mind we are then troubled by its assertiveness. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Tony Artino notes from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-26. 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.

Rip Bobby Vee

Sixties pop star Bobby Vee has died.

Read about the DC song that tells Scott Beach's true story about Vee's first big concert.

No small

To transmit the Buddha-mind is to transmit our practice. There is then no small mind or small self.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Tony Artino notes from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-26. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts. 

We've done it!

The World Suicide Club congratulates the human race for reaching, maintaining, and continuing to climb beyond 400 parts per million carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Scaredy cats articles: BBC reports. A page on 400ppm at 350 dot org. Here's what Science Alert has to say. Scientific American.

The present concentration is the highest in at least the past 800,000 years^[6] and likely the highest in the past 20 million years.^{[7] - Wikipedia page on CO2 in atmosphere -} but of course it's all a hoax perpetrated by evil scientists and politicians and citizens pretending they're concerned.

Peace

When small mind finds itself in big mind, there is peace.   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Tony Artino notes from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-26. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts. 

RIP Tom Hayden

From Freedom songs, my Journey through 1964 - part X - SDS

As in Mississippi and in Ohio, some interesting characters came through there - policy wonks and hippy precursors, pacifists and anarchists, students and dropouts, the stern who'd make me tiptoe and the friendly who'd relate more charitably. Tom Hayden was working in an office. He was a founder of the whole national group, serious, dedicated, no time for screwing around.

Absolutely

it looks like there is no need for us to practice anything and there is no need for us to have any rules, as some young people may say, but it is absolutely for us to have some rules. But it does not mean always to be under control. This is the secret of our life.   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-23. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts.

The Call Of The Distant Flute

A woman’s healing journey

on Jo Wunderly's True Nature Refuge blog

Jo's cuke page

Robbed!

Alice just had her Samsung smart phone picked out of her back pocket as she entered the gate of her home after walking her dogs in the neighborhood in Renon, Denpasar near us. The landlord had just installed closed circuit TV that caught it. She went to the police with her partner Danu from Java but they wouldn't file a report unless she got a certified translator but went back and talked to a different policeman who took down the info. At least they didn't ask her for money which surprised me. Another friend of our had an iPhone stolen and they wanted a couple hundred bucks to deal with it. I think she paid them because her insurance company needed a report. That's a video from the CCTV down below. Never loaded one before so let's see if it works. And if you recognize the guy let him know she wants it back. - dc

Muchakucha

Without being aware of the rules to try to obtain freedom means nothing. This kind of freedom is -- I don't know what to say. It means nothing. In Japanese we say, muchakucha. Muchakucha means nothing. That is why we practice zazen.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-23. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts.

Muchakucha which had been transcribed as "muchacha" means mixed up, confused. - dc

Confession

Spent way too much time yesterday and today on the election. I've done that before with some elections. Not really helping anything, just can't stop keeping up. Today watched Bill Maher interviewed by Fareed Zacaria and that was after everything new on 538 and then the whole Colbert Show which I went to just to see Nate Silver from 538. Have never seen it so that was neat - studied Indonesian during the many buffers due to slow internet.

Rules

So perfect freedom is under some rules. If there are no rules, there is no freedom.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-23. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts.

Time

As Dogen Zenji said, “Time elapses from present to past.” This is not true in our logical mind, but in our actual life, when we make past time present, there we have human life. So when we find out this kind of truth it means we have found the true meaning of time which constantly elapses from past to present and present to future. If this is true, at the same time, that time elapses from future to present and from present to past is also true. As some Zen master said, “To go Eastward one mile is to go Westward one mile.” This is vital freedom. We have to acquire this kind of vital freedom, perfect freedom.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-23. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts.

Song for our 1st Anniversary

Anniverse - sent to Katrinka in Sanur from Germany where I was on July 10th.

Keeping

So if you want to find out the true meaning of Zen in your everyday life, you have to study, or you have to find out the meaning of controlling your mind, the meaning of keeping your mind on your breathing, the meaning of keeping your body in right posture. This is rather difficult to explain, but your study should be more subtle and careful. And we have to find out the true meaning of Zen.   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-23. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts.

Leonard Cohen Interview

In the October 17th issue of the New Yorker. - thanks Michael Katz

Concentration

We say concentration but to concentrate your mind on something is not the true purpose of Zen. True purpose of Zen is to see things as they are, to observe things as they are, to let everything go as it goes, and to put everything under control in it's widest sense. In other words to open up our small mind is Zen practice. So to control your mind is just an aid to obtain the big mind.   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-23. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts

Grahame Petchey

back in the hospital.

See prior posts on this:

10-09 - Grahame Petchey out of hospitol

10-04 - Grahame Petchey in Hospitol

10-03 - Grahame Petchey in Convalescent Home

Grahame Petchey cuke page

Grahame at Eiheiji monastery in Japan, 1964

Deadly bridge collapse off Indonesia's Bali island

Learned this on BBC News. Lembongan is an island we can see from the beach here - 30 minute fast boat ride away. We go there now and then and we and our family guests have used that bridge - Katrinka's son Seth, mine Kelly and my sister Susan and niece Camille. We walked or rode on a motorbike in Kelly's case with his friend Mary - to go over to the little island of Cenagen. There are only a few little trucks on Lembongan used as taxis. It's one of our favorite places to go to get away. The BBC article says the water below isn't deep and that may be true but the current can be very strong there. It's considered dangerous to try to swim it and even to kayak across at the wrong time. Walking we had to press against the side to let motorbikes slowly pass. Never occurred to me it might not hold - but Katrinka says she wondered.

More at this Aussie site - with night photos of after the collapse

Only

If you try to calm down your mind you cannot sit, and if you try not to be disturbed by it, your effort will not be right effort. The only effort you can do is to count your breathing or to be concentrated on your inhaling or exhaling.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-23. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts

Want to add something to Saturday's comment about the hundreds of corrections that have been made to the Shunryu Suzuki transcripts (default or most verbatim versions). Of course we will be adding errors and making mistakes too. It would be good to check them against the tapes again, especially with the more clear digital versions we have now. Anyway, the process is almost endless even in an archive this small. - dc

Lewis Richmond's original music returns live

SUNDAY OCT. 16 2:30 PM

The Melanthium Ensemble presents the second annual Throckmorton Theatre concert with actor/poet Peter Coyote. The concert will include readings by Peter and two musical settings his new poems. Don’t miss it! Throckmorton Theatre is in downtown Mill Valley.

Continued from yesterday

Then they will be under control. But this policy is not so easy. It looks easy, but it needs some different, special effort. How to make this kind of effort is the secret of practice. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-23. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts

The 2nd sentence above: But this policy is not so easy 
was just corrected to that reading from: But his policy is not so easy. 

That will be reflected on shunryusuzuki.com in the default transcripts - the verbatim and closest to verbatim versions. In this way, little by little, many hundreds of little changes have been made to the transcript archive over recent years.  - dc

Emails

I am surprised at the email practices of all these people in the public eye who are surrounded by adversaries eager to pick up on any tidbit they can use to attack with. What? Are they surprised someone hacked their accounts? Did they operate on the assumption that nothing can go wrong?

Calmness

As you practice zazen if you obtain the perfect calmness in your practice don't be bothered various images you have in your mind. Let them come and let them go out.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-23. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts

Congratulations Bob Dylan

On winning the Noble Peace Prize

[photo L to R - Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Bob Johnston]

First heard Bob Dylan's songs in the fall of 1963 in Danny's room at Austin College in Sherman Texas where I spent a brief yet influential time. It was Dylan's 2nd album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The first song I heard was Talkin John Birch Blues.  I was barely familiar with all the songs on that album and Dylan's first, Bob Dylan, when he came out with another album, The Times They are a-Changin.' By the time I walked out of that institution, I could crudely play Blowin' in the Wind, the Times They are a-Changin,' Masters of War, and With God on Our Side. Danny could play them all just like Dylan did.

Continuing from yesterday's

To put large, spacious meadow for your sheep, or cow is how you control people. So let them do what they want first and watch them is the best policy. But let alone policy is not good. That is worst. The second worst is trying to control them. The best one is to watch them-- just to watch them, without trying to control.   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-23. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts

Graphics on Cuke

Other Graphics. Collecting graphics from Shunryu Suzuki on cuke and in computer, threw a bunch of other ones on a another cuke page - sutra cards, calligraphy from others, signs. Random but related.

Graphics and letters from Shunryu Suzuki

Mischief

if you want to control people the best way is to encourage them to be mischievous.   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-23. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts

Disorder

If you understand the background of everything, which looks like suffering, suffering itself is how we live, how we extend our life. So in Zen we, sometimes we emphasize the “out of balance” or disorder.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-23. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts

A Request

Richard Levine has a request that I personally took the time to respond to and clicked the Post to Facebook as well.

Richard's cuke page

Sanur Neighborhood Scene

Katrinka returns from SFO tomorrow after a month in CA and OR. I've been home so much getting vital cuking done that when I get out everything looks new. Landlord David painting our front porch so I went out at noon. Stopped by the phone nook (front open door rolls down for when closed) to get some advice on my new bout 25 buck not smart cell phone since the last one went to cell phone heaven. I leave all the prompts in Indonesian. He showed me some ways it was different from the old one.

Grahame Petchey out of hospitol

Out of the Kaiser and back at the convalescent home. He actually seems to be doing better now that he's not so alone so much which he was to a greater extent upstairs in his room at home. I've been pretty impressed with the care in convalescent and nursing homes I've been around in the last couple of decades. Also, he's nearer to his daughter Julia. - dc

Grahame Petchey cuke page

following from yesterday's excerpt

This is how everything exists in the realm of big Buddha Nature. So if you see things without knowing, without realizing Buddha Nature, everything is in the form of suffering.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-23. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts

By Suzuki's Hand

Have done a major upgrade of the Shunryu Suzuki letters and calligraphy area of cuke.com - and a doodle as on the left from the date book he arrived with in 1959. That whole book is there and much more. - dc 

Whooptedo

A song done a week ago today with some friends here in Sanur. 

Losing

Whatever we see, things are changing, losing their balance. Why a thing looks beautiful is because it is something out of balance, but background is always in perfect harmony and on this perfect harmony everything exists, losing its balance.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-23. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts

Balance

When we lose our balance we die, and at the same time, to lose our balance, sometimes, means to develop ourselves, or to grow.   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-23. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts

James Hanson says the earth is hottest it's been in

115,000 years and that it's been 3 million since there were 400 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere. In the Guardian. Note to skeptics: Of course we here at cuke know that this is a bunch of hysteria, a conspiracy concocted by evil scientists bent on brainwashing us with their make believe facts being on the payroll of their Chinese overlords.

Moment

To live in the realm of Buddha Nature means to die as a small being, moment after moment.    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-23. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts

Interview

More of a conversation with Haruyoshi Kusada Sensei and Ken Kaji who accompanied this venerable Jodo Shinshu priest to Tassajara where Taigen Dan Leighton introduced us in 2003. - dc

Photo has light overlay that reads "Property of G. Paul Bishop Jr. -
www.gpaulbishop.com" - could have used other photos but liked this best. 

Same

There is no “more” or “less” enlightenment; water is the same for large or small fish.    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-03-22 about Joshu's koan Mu - from Tony Artino notes. Edited by DC - Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. - Go to cuke.com Wha at's New (now at blogger) to see more daily posts

Grahame Petchey in Hospitol

Grahame's at San Leandro Kaiser Hospital. He might be in critical condition. He has several embolisms. He hasn't been well for years. More on Grahame's condition soon. - DC

Since wrote the above have been in touch with his daughter Julia at the hospital and through her with Grahame. He's being fairly communicative. Wants to write a book about communication, language in hospitals. We're planning on doing a Skype to Skype tomorrow morning - his morning, my night late. She just set it up for him on an iPad mini.

Grahame Petchey cuke page

Grahame Petchey

Grahame Petchey, one of Shunryu Suzuki's most prominent early disciples, has moved out of his and Hideko Oga's, his ex-wife, home in Sebastopol, California, and is now at a convalescent home in Fremont, Apple Valley Rehab Hospital.

Here are a couple of photos taken by Hideko when she brought their son Mark to visit on September 24th.