Student A: The other night you compared practice to an unbroken band of pure white silk for ten thousand miles.
Suzuki: Ah, hah.
Student A: And I don’t understand if that’s something which we attain, and our practice becomes purer and stronger, so that we can say, as our practice was beginning, it was not like that. But as it became better practice, then we experience our practice in that way. Or rather, that once we understood pure practice, we would see that all of our practice has been of that type. Is this the same process?
Roshi: Hmm, yeah. It is both, you know. Before you realize our religions are a practice, through and through, there were religions, you know. But after you understood religion, there is no religion because we are always with people, and we have struggled with the same problem. What we are doing is not different from what everyone is doing. We find out this truth after going through various understandings and experiences. We come to the certain point again, and on and on we follow this way with people. So that is the point after you went through various religious experiences. And at the same time it is starting point of religion. So both. It doesn’t make much sense [laughs, laughter]. It looks like some are drowning[laughs]. I am buried [laughs]. --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture - 68-07-23 - 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
