Whatever

Whatever happens to us, if we know what is our life and where we go completely, there is no fear whatsoever. --------------------------------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-12-05-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture ex/cerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay. 

David Rogers on Tassajara

David Rogers' impressive  and thorough books and articles on Tassajara history and flora linked to from his cuke page. 

More on going insane

It means, you know, we are alive-- we are human being [laughs]. There is no possibility for dog and cats to be insane [laughs]. Because we are human being, we should dress up in some way. If we go insane, we will, you know, walk around without any dress, you know. If we do so it may be terrible [laughs]. We don't want to do so [laughs]. That is, you know, human being. But for cats and dog there is no such fear.  --------------------------------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-12-05-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture ex/cerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay. 

DC comment: I think cats and dogs can go insane but I agree with him that going naked for them would not be an indicator.

Insane

Even though you cannot deal with your fear, nothing happens to you, you know. Even though you go insane, that is all right [laughs, laughter]. Because we are normal, we have that kind of fear. That we have the possibility of going insane is [laughs] -- we should feel lucky, you know, to have possibility of going insane. But usually, we are trying not to be insane [laughs]. That is opposite effort to our zazen effort. We rather [laughs] practice zazen to go insane or enjoying [laughs] possibility of going insane [laughs, laughter].  --------------------------------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-12-05-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay.

RIP Eldon Pura

Eldon was a good friend of Tassajara who came in to do bulldozer work back in 1969 and continued coming to work or visit. He had a sweet disposition. Read DC on Eldon and his obituary from the Salinas Times. He died this year in April at the age of 93.

Fortunately

Fortunately we disappear, we die. So as long as we die, it is obvious that we are-- we exist in realm of time and space. So we are completely saved.  --------------------------------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-12-05-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay.

Forever

Because we disappear we are quite sure about our existence. If we do not disappear, we don't know what we are [laughs]. Maybe more than ghost [laughs]. If we exist forever, we should be afraid of ourselves [laughs]. --------------------------------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-12-05-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay.

Appear

So why do we have fear of losing ourselves? Even though our form will disappear, as long as time and space exist, it is all right. Nothing will happen. One after another something will appear. Actually, that which does not appear does not-- which does not disappear does not exist [laughs]. --------------------------------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-12-05-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay.

Koans - How To

How to Practice Zen Koans by John Tarrant in Lion's Roar

John is the founding teacher of the Pacific Zen Institute 

Realm

We live in the realm of time and space. Even though the earth disappear, space exist, time exist. As long as the space exist, time exist. Something will happen in time and space. So as long as time and space is is there, there is nothing to be afraid of, even though there is no form appears in this time and space. No one [laughs] can doubt that there is time and space. But according to Dogen Zenji, this kind of understanding is not deep enough, but tentatively we can acknowledge.  --------------------------------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-12-05-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay.