Student [Frances Thompson]: Docho Roshi, this leaf is an exquisite construction. It has ribs to hold it out into the sunlight. It’s made of two layers of cells. The upper layer is smooth and even. The under layer has many tiny holes through which carbon dioxide is absorbed. In a chemical reaction in the sunlight, the carbon is removed, and oxygen is released through the tiny holes, into the air which we breathe. If there weren’t green plants on earth, there’d be no animal life. We wouldn’t be here. There’d be no air to breathe. Is this leaf an illusion?
SR: Yeah, there is the leaf. That is not illusion. But maybe what you said may be illusion because what you said is not good enough to describe it [laughs]. I am sorry [laughter].
—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-09-00 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.