Society

Student: I have something that has come up in talking about Western religious quests versus Eastern religious quests, and one thing that I've heard people say is that Zen is more interested in the individual alone, and not so much in the society.

SR: [Laughs]. You know, on the other hand, bodhisattvas say, you know, "I will not rest until all sentient beings are saved."

Student: What is Zen's concern with society as a whole?

SR: Society, as a whole?

Student: You know, or all of the people in the country. Or, all of the people in the world.

SR: All over the world...

Student: Everyone being...
SR: All beings including stone, and trees, and everything, you know, that is our way. Not only human beings. That is, you know, so we are not intensity?? individual practice, so-called it individual practice. We do not acknowledge any self, you know. --------------------------------------------------  Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki question and answer- 68-00-00-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC 

Two

Dogen Zenji says, "Two important things are to practice zazen and to ask advice from your teacher." --------------------------------------------------  Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki question and answer- 68-00-00-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC 

Alone

So, after you start, you know, after you know pretty well about your practice, you can do it alone, maybe. You can do it alone, but always you should have cross-contact with more matured practice - because there is no definite, you know, concrete way of practice. --------------------------------------------------  Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki question and answer- 68-00-00-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC 

Fooled

 Maybe we want to be fooled by something, you know, to escape actual suffering.--------------------------------------------------  Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki question and answer- 68-00-00-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

Escape

We try to escape from something or we rely on something. We want to make ourselves happy, you know, without, making ourselves really happy. --------------------------------------------------  Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki question and answer- 68-00-00-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

Complete SFZC Wind Bell index with links to each item

Wind Bell Contents Search page - Search by issue, author, or key word

1961 - 2012

Just completed - thanks Peter Ford

Courage

We have not much courage to face or to satisfy ourselves with a cup of water. We are trying to put sugar in it or to sell something. And it is not just exactly what I want, you know. Maybe I want a cup of plain water more!  --------------------------------------------------  Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki question and answer- 68-00-00-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

Following yesterday

Why it is so hard is because we are trying to escape from it. Yeah. We should suffer more, maybe. We will not lose in suffering, but if we try to escape from it, you will be caught by it. --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki question and answer - 68-00-00-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

Honest and Direct

I hope people will become honest and more direct, you know? That is really the, you know, root of the problems.  --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki question and answer - 68-00-00-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

Not in Vain

To make our effort to find out what is real practice is not in vain and I am so grateful for students in Tassajara, and the students who practice in Los Altos, in the Bay Area, and recently at Mill Valley, too. They are making a big effort. And we are now in the state to find out the real meaning of our practice. After making a big effort to find out what is zazen we are finding out what is -- we almost find out what is true zazen. And why we should practice our way in this cross-legged position like Buddha did, and the understanding of our practice which was given to us by Buddha.  --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture - 67-12-14 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

A Brief History of Tassajara widely available

The third printing of A Brief History of Tassajara is now available at Amazon for $15 new.  It can also be ordered from bookstores via Ingram Books.

Cuke Press Amazon.com link for this book

Cuke page for this book

It hasn't been widely available for a while due to switching printing and distributing method.

Also available at the San Francisco Zen Center's three centers: Tassajara Zen Mt. Center, the City Center Bookstore at 300 Page St. in SF, and Green Gulch Farm in late July. It can be ordered from the SFZC Bookstore or the 3rd printing from any bookstore via Ingram Books.

Best Way

At Tassajara we have a very difficult time to practice our way. For almost one year we are trying very seriously to practice our way and the more we make our effort to practice our way, we are involved in big problems. You can see what we are doing at Tassajara. There are more than forty people and they each have their own understanding of Zen, more or less. “This is Zen”. “This is Zen”. That is the trouble. Because you practice zazen you cannot practice; you cannot have Tassajara. Even though they are there they cannot do it. Why? Because they practice zazen. So I think the best way is not to practice zazen -- (laughter). Just to live in Tassajara, like a bird. Then you can practice zazen. Birds or badgers know what is zazen better than students in Tassajara. --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture - 67-12-14 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

A Little more on that Vipassana Retreat

With Ayya Santini at Brahma Vihara Arama in north Bali

Or Cake

Because it is something which was given to us, that gift is not only just something which we see. It looks like something like mountain, or water, or cake, or something else. It looks like so. But we don’t know exactly what it is. So before we understand what it is, the only way is to accept it and to practice it. That is actually true practice, or else you cannot practice our way. Even though you have complete zendo you cannot practice. --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture - 67-12-014 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

Mountain Flowing

Gift from Buddha is not only water but also mountain is a gift. So that mountain is not always mountain. To us it is mountain but to a bird it is their home. There may be various merits or virtues of the mountain, so (Fuyo Dokei zenji?) says, ‘The east mountain is flowing and the river stays.’ Water stays and mountain flows. We think mountain is something which is always staying in some certain place, but there may be some person who sees the mountain flowing and water staying. --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture - 67-12-014 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

Accept

So, day by day, we practice our way, as a gift. And we accept it when it is given to us. So there is no wonder that the same gift Buddha gives us everything according to the people and the situation -- when they are in Hell the gift will be fire. For celestial beings the gift will be the jewel. For fish gift will be the house. And there may be many kinds of gifts from Buddha, according to the people, according to the nature of people. In this way, when you understand our way in this way there is no problem and this is the way to practice our way. --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture - 67-12-014 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

More

On the Vipassana retreat mentioned yesterday

Treasures

Even though there are various treasures, if they are not given to you, you cannot accept them. And the way to accept it is to accept it when it is given to you. You cannot say, ‘I will accept it tomorrow”. You cannot say, ‘I can accept it yesterday’. The only way is to accept it right now, when it was given to you, then tomorrow something new will be given to you. --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture - 67-12-014 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

January Vipassana Retreat Report

Led by Ayya Santini

Gift

Even though there are various treasures, if they are not given to you, you cannot accept them. And the way to accept it is to accept it when it is given to you. You cannot say, ‘I will accept it tomorrow”. You cannot say, ‘I can accept it yesterday’. The only way is to accept it right now, when it was given to you, then tomorrow something new will be given to you. --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture - 67-12-014 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

Water?

Then what is our zazen? Or what is water? This may be another -- the next question you will have; if zazen is not zazen, what is that which we are practicing everyday? This will be the next question. Here Dogen Zenji says, ‘This is Buddha’s activity, some activity which was given to you.’ Tentatively the water is not water actually; it is something which was given to you. Our practice is not something which you can understand because it is something which is given to you. You didn’t make it; you did not invent it; you did not practice zazen through and through. But the reason why you can practice it is just because it was something which was given to you. So this practice is possible because Buddha gave this practice to us. So there is no reason why we do not know what it is, but because it was given to us we have to receive it, we have to accept it. That is just why we practice zazen. --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture - 67-12-014 as found 

David Schneider writes

Dwelling Place of our Ancestors

David Schneider cuke page

A Water story

Yesterday, when I was preparing for the evening lecture (in San Francisco) although I tried to find out something to talk about, I couldn’t find out anything so I was just reading. And I thought of the story which I was told in Obun Festival when I was young. The story is about the water or the story is about the people in Hell.

Suzuki begins lecture at Los Altos thus

It’s been a pretty long time since I saw you. I am still studying hard to find out what is our way. Recently I reached the conclusion that there is no Buddhism or there is no Zen or anything. --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture - 67-12-014 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

Concluding Statement for the Q & A Shosan Ceremony

SR: Yakusan Zenji-- Yakusan Zenji did not give lecture for a long time. The monks asked him to give them lecture. Yakusan Zenji mounted on-- on the altar, and seeing every monk one by one, and came down from the altar, and went back to his own room again. A monk asked-- a monk who was responsible for the zendo asked him why did he-- didn't he give any lecture? Yakusan said, there is a master-- there is scripture master or Buddhist philosophy master, and I am master of Zen. Don't wonder who I am, he said.

Zen monks are Zen monks because they are speaking in fluently without saying anything-- just by everyday activity. That is how Zen student should be. That is why I said Buddha started giving teaching when he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in the country of Magadha. We should not forget this point.

And we should take care of our practice, not only zazen practice but only-- whatever we do in Tassajara. I am very grateful for you to observe our way in various way without asking why we do that or why we should do this. Whatever you do, that is our practice. There you will find out yourself. Our practice is valuable because we can find out ourselves on what you do in that moment.

Thank you very much.

 --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki shosan ceremony - 67-12-07 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

Observes

Student II: Docho Roshi, who observes our way?
SR: You observe our way. When you observe our way everything observes our way. So our way is universal way, and at the same time your own way.

 --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki shosan ceremony - 67-12-07 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

An Interview with Jane Hirshfied

A Continuously Accidental and Precarious Thing - from Marsh Hawk Press. The title of the interview is a quote from the interview about how she sees her poetry. She has a wonderful way with words. This interview is not dated which I think is not cool but they didn't ask me. - DC

Know Jane through Zen Center and friendship since. He has been a helpful reader/editor of my books. If you search for "hirshfield" in the cke.com site search box you'll see a ton of links come up. Thanks Jane. 

Neither Mind nor Buddha

Student HH: Docho Roshi, neither mind nor Buddha, what is this?

SR: Neither mind nor Buddha points out the real Buddha because we are caught by the word of Buddha. If we say “Buddha,” we want to find out where is Buddha, when Buddha is right here. So “neither mind nor Buddha,” we say.

 --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki shosan ceremony - 67-12-07 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

David Schneider post opps

Will link to Dwelling Place of Our Ancestors soon. That was a post in progress that wasn't supposed to go up yet. Hang on. - DC

Avoid

Student GG: Docho Roshi, if everything changes, why is there always suffering?

SR: Because of change. Change itself is suffering. Change is essential nature for everything, suffering cannot be avoided. There is no way to avoid it. If you know there is no way to avoid it, there is our relief.
 --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki shosan ceremony - 67-12-07 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

Sangha

Student FF: Docho Roshi, who are the sangha?

SR: We are. Those who are in Tassajara is sangha-- in limited sense. But all of us-- all sentient being are sangha.

 --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki shosan ceremony - 67-12-07 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC

Now?

Student EE: Docho Roshi, what now?

SR: Now. Don't ask me. Now is now. You have now. I have my own now. That is why now is so important. It is beyond question and answer.

 --------------------------------------------------  " Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki shosan ceremony - 67-12-07 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC