Just be here

The only way to obtain Buddha nature or understand Buddha nature is just to practice zazen or just to be here in this way. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-12-08 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. 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.

Andrew Atkeison back in Japan

at Fukuoji where Mike Jamvold lived. Here's a page for Fukuoji on his Iron Fulte Song site.

NPR on Dogen

The Greatest Philosopher You've Never Heard Of - thanks Tony Patchell

Vanished

When we practice something, like we sit here, there is Buddha’s way or Buddha nature. So when we ask what is Buddha nature Buddha nature will be vanished, but when we just practice zazen like this we have full understanding of Buddha nature..--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-12-08 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. 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.

Kitchen Fixins

Praising Katrinka's culinary skill again. There is great food all over here and some of it really cheap. A night or two a week we get wholesome organic dinners with whole grain red rice for example delivered for less than four bucks a meal. But the best is what she makes. Lots of veggies, brown-red rice mix or whole wheat noodles, stuff from around the world, and deftly added spices. Paneer today, tarragon tomorrow.

Muesli

Katrinka makes the best muesli. Pan roasted oats, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, raisins. I pour boiling water on it then add banana slices, almond milk, whole yogurt, maybe a little coconut syrup which is so like maple syrup. To me the biggest drawback of muesli is that the oats are often too uncooked. She just gave a jar of it to the Aussie neighbors here for a month.

Conscious Living TV presents

The Sound of Zen at Tassajara - thanks Alice Dill

Karma

When we read a Shunryu Suzuki statement, let us keep in mind his not-always-so approach. For instance, I recall he said once something like there really wasn't anything to believe in and then said, well there's karma, that's about as close as we can get to something that's true. Then at another time he said, "Strictly speaking, there's no such thing as karma." I see those two statements as compatible if we see the affirmative as the relative and the negative as the absolute. Form and emptiness. What say you? - dc

Pawai Budaya - Cultural Exhibition

There was an APEKSI event just around the corner down the street this week and on the last day in the afternoon there was a cultural exhibition in the form of a parade. Cities in Indonesia from various islands attended. There were groups walking and of dancers - Muslim, Christian, Hindu, and Chinese Buddhist. So many beautiful costumes and intriguing music and rhythm. This photo is from a previous APEKSI meet. Maybe Katrinka will upload some of her shots on Facebook for us to see.

APEKSI, the Asosiasi Pemerintah Kota Seluruh Indonesia, is the Association of the Indonesia Municipalities. Established on 25 May 2000, its existence is based upon the Indonesian laws about political and administrative decentralization (Law 22/1999). - Wikipedia

Continuing from yesterday's excerpt

By practice Buddha did not mean just to sit under the Bodhi tree or to sit in cross-legged posture. Our cross-legged posture is the basic posture or original posture for us -- most fundamental way of being here. But what he meant actually was that mountain or trees or flowing water or flowers and plants and everything as they are is the way Buddha is. It means everything is taking Buddha’s activity in each position and in each way, but the way they are for themselves is not understood by themselves in realm of consciousness..--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-12-08 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. 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.