He's not saying steel as was posted a few days ago

The Friday lecture excerpt included some hard to understand words. We thought Suzuki was saying "steel." Now it seems that word was "sea." We sent the transcript and audio for that part of the lecture to long time cuke Japan expert and translator Fred Harriman who, with help from his wife Takaya came up with a different reading which we include here:

In this sesshin especially we concentrate to have more power in your tanden or hara. We say, kikai2 tanden. Ki means maybe spirit. Kai means sea. Tanden is here [belly]. So [hits stick on tatami or something] our power, or hara should be like sea. This is the most important practice for oriental arts even. All the oriental arts is function of our tanden, hara.

And here's Fred's comment noted at the bottom of the lecture.

2 Shunryu is saying “kikai tanden." While “tanden” 丹田 in the vernacular is often used in place of “hara” 腹, in Chinese medicine there are potentially other “tanden”. Shunryu appears to be getting technical by specifying “kikai tanden" 気海丹田 in identifying a location of the body that is not only important for identifying one’s most “original” thoughts (one’s most “honest” or “true” thoughts), but it is also important in centering one’s self for physical and spiritual strength when practicing the martial arts such as kendo. There is only one “kikai” 気海, and it is in the hara 腹, below the navel. So he is trying to be more technically precise in identifying the tanden that he wants the practitioners to pay attention to. He explains the meaning of “kikai” 気海 as 気 = spirit, and 海 = sea (ocean). Perhaps he sensed that he might be getting a little technical, and he left the subject with a cursory description of the kanji, and he brings the attention back to the word “hara” 腹, which is more colloquial but not as precise as “kikai tanden”気海丹田. - Fred Harriman

        --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 67-12-04-A - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.