Fundamental Desire

And our true nature is very primitive, of course. And at the same time, it could be very, very refined and deep, a lofty desire. In this primitive, fundamental desire there are true strengths and various possibilities. But if you start from a fancy idea of religion, you will be more confused. So, to realize why we study religion is to find out the meaning of our fundamental desire—how important it is, and how miraculous it is, and how much possibility it has.

Drawing by Stan White

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-26-A 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 Gaining Ideas

We say don’t study religion with a gaining idea. Gaining ideas are not based on your true nature. That’s a very superficial desire—not so deep as hunger. When we give up various gaining ideas, we will find out our true nature.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-26-A 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.

Fancy Religion

According to Buddha, or our patriarchs, or founders of various religions, you should not have too fancy an idea about religion. A religion should be understood by the most foolish man [laughs], not only by learned wise men. A wise man’s religion is very complicated and very fancy. If he is too great, you will be attached to his religion. We should not attach to some particular religion.

Drawing by Stan White

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-26-A 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.

Universal Religion

If you are caught by some fancy idea of religion, and you don’t know what religion is yours [laughs]—Buddhism, Christianity, an Indian religion, or some native folk religion—you don’t know what to choose. Sometimes every religion looks the same. Sometimes they don’t look the same. But when religion is studied in the simplest way, the most universal way, for instance, want of sleep, or hunger, or pain, we will reach the universal religion, universal religion even to animals. Here we have a common playground. Everyone will play in this common playground.

Image generated by Microsoft Copilot

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-26-A 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.

How We Feel

Through problems we will realize our true nature. When I am hungry, what I feel is what you feel when you are hungry [laughs]. There might be some difference, but not much. And how you feel when you sit is how everyone feels when they sit. Strictly speaking, that is enough, even if you do not attain enlightenment [laughs]. If everyone sits and finds out how they feel when sitting, that’s good enough.

Photo by Barbara Lubanski-Wenger

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-26-A 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

Upasama (formerly Reuven ben Yuhmin) was a student of Shunryu Suzuki, a great gardener at Tassajara, who's been living in a Theravada monastery near Perth, Australia, for the last twelve years. This is the second podcast with Upasama. Listen to the podcast and read more about him.

True Nature and Pain

When you are healthy and practice zazen in this way, true nature is just calm and inexplicable. But when you have some actual problem like when you have pain in your legs, you will have direct experience of your true nature [laughs]. But don't mistake that for true nature. That is true nature plus something—plus your painful legs. Something is added to true nature, and true nature takes the form of pain. This relationship is very important, and if you understand this relationship, your true nature and your pain, that is a key to solving all the problems of life.

Image created by Google Gemini

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-26-A 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.

Come In and Go Out

[In Zen practice] we do not consider our sensitivity or thinking. Whatever images come, you just accept them and let them go out. [Laughs.] And whatever sounds you hear, you let them come in and let them go out. When you do not pay any attention to outward objects, you will find out your true nature.

Photo from SFZC.org

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-26-A 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.

Universal

We say we have two kinds of knowledge: intuitive knowledge and thinking or discriminating knowledge. Scientific and philosophical knowledge are the dualistic thinking knowledge. As long as we use words and we think with words, it is impossible to reach the absolute conclusion. When we just resume our own nature, which is universal to everyone, we can realize our true nature, which is universal to human beings and even animals, and plants, and all existence. And that is why in Zen practice we stop our mind.

Jane Hirshfield with her horse

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-26-A 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.

Encourage Your Practice

The only way is just to practice Zen with right understanding. If you do not have right understanding, your practice will be mixed up with some other practice. And in America there are so many misunderstandings of Zen. Through Shobogenzo we have to polish our practice, and we have to keep our practice from various misunderstandings. That is why we have Shobogenzo. That is why in sesshin I should talk. The purpose of my talk is not to give you some knowledge, but to encourage your practice without being interested in the philosophical depth of our system.

Photo by Renshin Bunce

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-26-A 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.