Ornaments of Life

When you accept the problem, you accept your true nature, which is working on it. When you accept your true nature, fundamentally there is no problem. As long as we live, moment after moment we have to work on something. So, dualistic problems will give you the meaning of your life. They are ornaments of your life.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-08-28-B 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.

Accept Dualistic Activity

To accept the dualistic activity is to find the oneness. When you do not accept it, that is duality. No way to solve it—it will be just delusion which will cause a lot of trouble. But when you accept it, there is oneness. And the problem is actually solved when you accept it.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-08-28-B 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 Big Mind Without Small Mind

When you want to decide, “This is good or this is bad. This is small mind, this is big mind,” you have duality already. But actually, there is no big mind without small mind. Big mind is the mind which is working on small mind. If there is no small mind, there is no big mind.

Drawing by Robert "Skip" Melcher

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-08-28-B 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.

Seems To Be

[Responding to a student] “Seems to be.” Not exactly so but seems to be. That’s very good [laughter]. It seems to be small mind, you know. It seems to be big mind. But actually, it is both big mind and small mind. But when you think, “This is big mind, and this is small mind,” there is duality—a gap.

Photo by Robert S. Boni

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-08-28-B 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.

Big and Small

Sculpture by Robert Gove

To accept small mind too, knowing that it is small mind: big mind watching small mind [laughs]. Then small mind will work. If you know that is small mind, if you know the nature of your tool, you can use the tool. If it is small, you can use it when you cut small things. When you help a small-minded person, you should use small mind [laughter], knowing that that is small—very small.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-08-28-B 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.

Big Self

When we can accept ourselves, we can accept anything else. There is no self in our minds. What we have is big mind, big self. We can treat our bodies as we treat others'. We will treat our own things as we treat others'. This is the Buddhist way of life.

Photo by Jim Marshall

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-08-28-B 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.

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Appreciate the Beauty

Whether we become a great person or not is not the point. When we can accept ourselves, we are already one with all existence. When spring comes, we can enjoy spring flowers. When the summer comes, we can enjoy the cool moonlight. When autumn comes, we can appreciate the beauty of the foliage. In winter we will appreciate snow.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-08-28-B 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.

Accept Ourselves

When I went to university, the president of the university told us something like this: You have to be satisfied with yourself [laughs]. Even though you study hard, a foolish one is foolish, an intelligent one is intelligent. He always would say that. But it was pretty hard to accept because all of us wanted to be some great teacher [laughing]. But he said it was impossible. So, the purpose of practice is to accept ourselves.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-08-28-B 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.

Stupid

But a stupid person should be stupid. If one is stupid, one is youthful. But even though one is stupid, it is their nature to make an effort to be better. That is their own nature. And actually, they are trying to be satisfied with themselves. It looks like they want to be something else. But actually, they want to be satisfied with themselves. That is true understanding.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-08-28-B 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.