No Nose / Nose

Sometimes “no” means to put emphasis on something. “No nose” means “that is nose.” The same thing. When I say, “no nose,” this is a stronger expression of your nose. If I say, “You have a nose,” you will think, “Of course I have a nose!” [Laughter.] If I say, “You have no nose,” you will be surprised. “Oh, is it really so? I have a nose.” Then you will realize what your nose is in its true sense. So, “no nose” means “you have a nose.”

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-01-21-BN 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.

Pointing at Reality

“No nose” points at actual understanding or reality—the reality of nose. So, it is the same thing to say, “no nose,” or “no ears,” or “no eyes.” When we say, “no eyes,” it points at reality. When we say, “no nose,” we point at reality. When we say, “no mouth,” we point at reality.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-01-21-BN 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 Nose

If you say, “This is nose,” you lose your reality of the nose. So, when we want to express what is actually nose, the best way is, “That is not your nose.” [Laughs.] That is maybe the best way. When you think, “Oh, this is not just a nose, something more than that,” then you realize the reality of the nose. So, we say, “no nose.” No, that is not nose or no nose. When we say, “no nose” we realize what nose actually is.

Image modified by ChatGPT

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-01-21-BN 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.

Whole One Existence

So “no nose” means a nose is not just a nose. Nose is something more than your nose. If you have a kind of misunderstanding of nose, it means that you understand many things as parts of a whole one existence. But when you say, “a part of it,” a part is not a part anymore. It actually includes everything. A part cannot be separated from the rest of the part.

Image modified by ChatGPT

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-01-21-BN 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

Featured Cuke Archives page

Face

When you do something, it doesn’t mean you have no nose or no eyes. You have eyes; you have a nose. But when we say, “no nose,” it means don’t think your face consists of only your nose, eyes, mouth, hair and ears. That kind of understanding will lose the reality of your face. Your face is not just an accumulation of nose and eyes and ears and mouth.

Image generated by ChatGPT

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-01-21-BN 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.

Liberation

In the Prajnaparamita Sutra, which we recite every morning and evening, it says, “No mind.” It says, “No form, no sensation, no thought, no active substance, no consciousness, no eyes, no ear, no nose, no tongue.” And so on. No. This negative “no” means liberation.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-01-21-BN 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.

Taste with Your Tongue: Cooking Through the Six Flavors with Ed Brown

Online Course

Five Saturdays, 10:30 am–12:00 pm PT 

Sep 12, 2026 - Oct 10, 2026
https://www.sfzc.org/calendar/events/online/taste-your-tongue-cooking-through-six-flavors-ed-brown-online-912-1010

Edward Espe Brown began cooking and practicing Zen in 1965 and was ordained as a Zen priest by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi in 1971, who gave him the name Jusan Kainei, “Longevity Mountain Peaceful Sea.” He received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman in 1996.

Limit Activity

When you limit your life to a certain extent, it is easier to find out the truth. If you do too many things [laughs], you will be lost in your activity. But if you limit your activity, you can see. That is why we observe precepts. Precepts observation is very important.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-01-21-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.

Austerity

I cannot talk [said as he was covering his mouth with his hand] [laughter]. You cannot listen [laughter]. You cannot smell, even. That is how you study Buddhism. That is observation of precepts. So, whatever the religion is, the most important thing is a kind of austerity.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-01-21-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.