Intellectual Study

Intellectual study of Buddhism is of course necessary, but you should not stay at the edge of Buddhism. Intellectually, Patriarchs made a great effort. Even though they were often treated as heretics, they studied from a pure intellectual point of view and tried not to ignore the smallest illogical point of Buddhism. Historically there is some doubt about our lineage especially before Bodhidharma. Today everyone knows that the names and connections are not historically perfect, but we also know that Buddhism has been transmitted from warm hand to warm hand from Buddha’s time until our own day. The fact and spirit of the teaching have been transmitted. Historical or scientific studies are not perfect. There is a limit to scientific truth.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-12-11-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.

As Your Own

It is necessary to have some aim in our life. The supreme aim as a Buddhist is to be a successor of our ancestors, to be a successor of the patriarchs. That is the most important point. Otherwise, you are studying Buddhism from the outside. You are always an outsider. For outsiders Buddhism is nothing. When you accept it as your own and when you try to develop it as your own, then Buddhism has tremendous meaning for us.

Image modified by Google Gemini

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-12-11-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.

Featured Cuke Archives page

https://cuke.com/f → https://www.cuke.com/pdf-2013/wind-bell/70-01-pages2-12.pdf or https://www.cuke.com/people/dixon-trudy.htm

Two Arrows Zen - Trudy Dixon (1938–1969)

Trudy Dixon (1938–1969): The Quiet Editor Who Helped Give American Zen Its Voice
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1c9WCLGJeW/
-thanks to Andrew Main for sending the link

Effort

Japanese members year after year, they paid the bank for this building. Even when they were in [World War II internment] camps at wartime, they collected the money in the camps and paid the mortgage. They were very proud of the effort which they made in the camps. But if you compare their effort to our ancestors’ efforts in India, China, and Japan, and our patriarchs’ devotion to this teaching, it is nothing. So, we should not forget this point, and we should continue this effort forever, generation after generation.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-12-11-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.

Appreciation

Buddhism has many annual year layers like big trees. And traditionally we respect those efforts which our patriarchs have made for more than two thousand years. We have made a great effort to develop Buddha’s way. And this point is very, very important for Buddhism as a religion. Without appreciation of the efforts of our patriarchs, it is difficult to have religious feeling in Buddhism.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-12-11-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.

The True Activity of Big Existence

It is necessary to study Buddhism. But the purpose of studying Buddhism is to study ourselves, and to forget ourselves. When you forget yourselves, you resume or you will actually take the true activity of big existence or reality. When we realize this fact, there is no problem whatsoever in this world. And you can enjoy your life without having any trouble or difficulties. This is how we study Buddhism, and the purpose of this meeting or practice is to be aware of this fact.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-09-09 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 Is It?

Dogen Zenji says, “To study Buddhism is to study ourselves. To study ourselves is to forget ourselves” [laughs]. When you forget temporal expression of big, true nature, then it is necessary to talk about it, or else you will think this is it. But this is not it [laughs]. This is it, but this is not it [laughs]. For a while this is it, for a very small particle of time it is it [laughs]. It is not always so. It is not it.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-09-09 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 Mistake

So, there will not be any need to talk about ourselves. So that we may realize this fact, there is teaching about ourselves, but actually there is no need to talk about that. We ourselves already are talking about the big existence, including ourselves. So, to talk about ourselves is to correct our misunderstanding, that’s all, because we attach to the temporal form or color of the big activity. So, it is necessary to talk about what our body is, what our activity is, so that we do not make any mistake about it. So, to talk about something is to forget about ourselves.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-09-09 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.

Sometimes We Talk About

Rinzai has four ways of practice. The perfect one is not to give a student any interpretation of themself or any stimulation to themself. If oneself is my body, the teaching is maybe our clothes. Sometimes we talk about our clothing. Sometimes we talk about our body. But a body or clothing is not actually we ourselves. We ourselves are big activity. We are just taking a very small particle of big activity, that’s all.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-09-09 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.