Emphasis

According to the Shingon school, the Diamond Sutra is the supreme teaching which was told by Buddha. If a teaching was told by some special person, according to his character or to his ability, it is not absolute teaching because it was told by him, like medicine to a patient. If the patient changes, the teaching will change, so it is not absolute teaching. But the Diamond Sutra, told by Buddha to himself, is the only teaching which we can depend on. But this is not a complete understanding. That is why Zen puts emphasis on our practice.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-07-23 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. These posts are also on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram. We are continually working on improving the quality of transcriptions of Suzuki's lectures. After a new "verbatim transcript" is made, we create a minimally edited version which is more readable. See the most recently completed transcripts at shunryusuzuki.com/n.

Tendai Teaching

According to the Tendai school, there are aspects of being and non-being, and the third aspect is something beyond being and non-being. So for the Tendai school, according to the third aspect, you cannot arrange our teaching this way or that way. To arrange teaching this way or that way, in a time span or in a space span, is not the teaching which may be in the third dimension. And the absolute teaching which we transmit from master to others is not that kind of teaching.

Photo by Teteki Andrew Atkeison

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-07-23 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. These posts are also on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram. We are continually working on improving the quality of transcriptions of Suzuki's lectures. After a new "verbatim transcript" is made, we create a minimally edited version which is more readable. See the most recently completed transcripts at shunryusuzuki.com/n.

Transmit

All the teachings which are written are the second principle [laughs]. The first principle is the principle which you cannot talk about, which we transmit from master to master, from patriarch to patriarch. But the teaching which we transmit is not written, you know. So how to transmit it—that is the point we should study [laughter].

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-07-23 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. These posts are also on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram. We are continually working on improving the quality of transcriptions of Suzuki's lectures. After a new "verbatim transcript" is made, we create a minimally edited version which is more readable. See the most recently completed transcripts at shunryusuzuki.com/n.

The First Principle and The Second Principle

“Where are you from?” “Who are you?”

“I don’t know” is right. He may have some merit, but that is just merit, and not he himself. This kind of question was discussed by many teachers, even before Bodhidharma came to China. The Sanron school classifies our teaching in two: the first principle, and the second principle. The second principle is the principle which we can study and talk about intellectually. The first one is something which we cannot talk about. If we talk about it, it is already the second principle.

Brushwork by Mariangeles Soto

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-07-23 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. These posts are also on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram. We are continually working on improving the quality of transcriptions of Suzuki's lectures. After a new "verbatim transcript" is made, we create a minimally edited version which is more readable. See the most recently completed transcripts at shunryusuzuki.com/n.

Featured Cuke Archives page

This is the second podcast reading examples of Shunryu Suzuki's use of the phrase "most important." He often used the phrase "most important," usually in "the most important point" or "the most important thing." Reading from a page on cuke.com that includes every instance of these words in Suzuki lectures as found in the 2010 transcript collection. There have been additions to the Suzuki lecture archive since then, so this collection should be updated.

Not Right

If the Emperor thinks Bodhidharma is a holy one, that is not true. Especially when the Emperor asked him, “What is the first principle?” The first principle is not something holy, or not holy. Whatever you say about it, it is not right. So, he said, “I don’t know” [laughs]. It is not a matter of holy or not holy. “Who are you?” he asked. If he said “Bodhidharma,” that is not perfect, so he said, “I don’t know.”

Calligraphy by Jakusho Bill Kwong

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-07-23 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. These posts are also on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram. We are continually working on improving the quality of transcriptions of Suzuki's lectures. After a new "verbatim transcript" is made, we create a minimally edited version which is more readable. See the most recently completed transcripts at shunryusuzuki.com/n.

No Sacred Teachings

There are many teachings left by Bodhidharma. And this, “Who are you in front of me?” 

“I don’t know.” 

“What is the first principle?” the Emperor asked. 

“I don’t know,” [laughs] he said. I don’t know. There’s no holy person and no sacred teachings, that was his answer. 

“Then aren’t you the teacher from India?” the Emperor asked. 

Bodhidharma said, “I don’t know” [laughs]. This “I don’t know” is not the usual “I don’t know.”

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-07-23 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. These posts are also on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram. We are continually working on improving the quality of transcriptions of Suzuki's lectures. After a new "verbatim transcript" is made, we create a minimally edited version which is more readable. See the most recently completed transcripts at shunryusuzuki.com/n.

No Merit

There were more questions and answers. The Emperor asked Bodhidharma, “I helped build temples and patronized many teachers. What is the virtue of my deed?” 

And Bodhidharma said, “No merit” [laughs]. That was his answer. In this way, Bodhidharma started his teaching in China in the first part of the sixth century.

Dhamek Stupa, Sarnath

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-07-23 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version. We are continually working on improving the quality of transcriptions of Suzuki's lectures. After a new "verbatim transcript" is made, we create a minimally edited version which is more readable. See the most recently completed transcripts at shunryusuzuki.com/n.

‘I don't know.’

When Bodhidharma came to China, he visited Emperor Wu, and there were famous questions and answers. This is the first subject of the Blue Cliff Record.  “Attention: the Emperor Wu of Liang asked the great teacher Bodhidharma, ‘What is the first meaning of holy reality?’” What is the first principle?  “Bodhidharma said, ‘Emptiness. No sacredness.’” No holiness.  “The Emperor said, ‘Confronting me, who is it?’” Who is here? Aren’t you a teacher or a holy person?  “Bodhidharma said, ‘I don't know.’ The Emperor did not accord. Thereupon Bodhidharma crossed the river and reached the land of Wei.”

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-07-23 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

New Transcripts

We are continually working on improving the quality of transcriptions of Suzuki's lectures. After a new "verbatim transcript" is made, we create a minimally edited version which is more readable. The most recently completed verbatim transcripts are here, and the most recently completed minimum edits are here.