Featured Cuke Archives page

This is a follow-up podcast with Robert Britton, Bob to me, in which he focuses, using his many decades of applying the Alexander technique to sitting. He was at the SF Zen Center for ten years. He became an Alexander teacher and still is. For 39 years he applied what he’d learned from the Alexander technique at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music helping musicians sit, hold and use their instruments so that they don’t create physical problems. He’s helped many people at Zen Center and beyond in how to sit, stand, walk in a healthy way. Learn about Bob Britton and sitting—and more—in this podcast with him.

Medicine

So, if you don’t understand what I mean by buddha-nature, I don’t mind at all [laughter]. Buddha said whether you take my medicine or not is not my responsibility. Just to talk about it—just to try to help people is my way. Whether or not you take it—it can’t be helped if you don’t take it. That is true.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-29-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.

Someday

What we are discussing here is not philosophy at all. If you understand what I say, I think it is possible to know what I mean by buddha-nature. It is possible because although my English is not good, I think I can express myself about buddha-nature in my poor English [laughs]. That is why I repeat the same thing over and over again. When I think you don’t understand, [laughs] I will repeat it until you understand it. If my words are not good enough, I will hit you [laughter]. Then you will understand what I mean. As long as I understand it, someday you will understand what I mean. If you don’t understand me just now, someday you will understand. Someday someone will understand. This is great patience. I think I will wait for an island to go to Seattle from Los Angeles [laughs]. They say it is moving like a boat in millions of years. By the time it reaches Seattle [laughs], someone will understand it.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-29-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.

Each Day

For Ryokan each day is a good day, and each day is a day of enlightenment. There is enlightenment on each day, on each practice you do, as long as you have a clear understanding of buddha-nature.

Image of Ryokan statue from Encyclopaedia Britannica

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-29-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.

More Tassajara Stories from DC

   photo taken last week by Tomas Fricke

In this podcast posted a few days ago, DC (me) tells more Tassajara stories as an addendum to the Tuesday Dec. 9 SFZC Zoom event with Edward Brown answering participants questions we didn’t get to and elaborating as I do. Find link to Dec. 9 Zoom event, A Night of Tassajara Stories, at: cuke.com/TOC-DC.htm.

cuke.com podcast page

Remarkable Progress

Image generated by ChatGPT

Dogen Zenji says our practice is like going through fog. It is not like going out in a thunderstorm [laughs]. If you go out in heavy rain, your clothes will get wet all at once. You will be soaked, but a sudden rainstorm will not penetrate into your underwear. But when you walk through thick fog for a long time, even though you don’t realize it, your clothing is wet, and it will penetrate into your underwear. This is true practice. You don’t think you made any progress, [laughs] but you had remarkable progress, and someone who knows what real practice is will acknowledge it.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-29-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.

This Kind of Spirit

We say you cannot plant any plants on a stone [laughs]. You should be like a stone. No good or evil can grow on buddha-nature. It is so hard and so strict. Good or bad is delusion. Any delusion can grow on your spirit. Or we say it is impossible to thrust a needle into iron. This kind of spirit is wanted when you practice our practice. Then little by little you will make progress.

Image generated by Leonardo.ai

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-29-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.

As Much As You Can

So, our practice is the practice of accepting everything as it is and to do things as much as we can. Don’t be greedy about progress in your practice. If you can make progress, little by little, as much as you can, that is enough. But concerning the sense of buddha-nature, it should be very clear and strict.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-29-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

Thanks to the San Francisco Zen Center for the online event, Dec. 9, 2025. In the follow up podcast David answers additional questions. Links at: cuke.com/TOC-DC.htm

Didn’t Mind At All

Do you know Ryokan? A famous Soto priest. He didn’t mind anything bad—it’s the secret of the Soto way. Concerning Soto practice, he was very strict, but [laughs] he didn’t mind whatever people said or whatever he himself felt. He didn’t mind at all. Even when he was sick, he didn’t mind. Even though people did not understand him, he did not mind at all. If someone asked if he was not serious, he didn’t mind. But when he thought someone was too serious or sincere, he minded very much. And if someone asked him what was the Soto way, he was very serious. He had a strict sense of buddha-nature, his buddha-nature was very, very sharp and strict. Because of that strictness, he could accept his poor and humble and unfortunate life. But he didn’t mind at all because he had a strict sense of buddha-nature.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-29-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.