Beyond

When we say “don't know” it means “beyond science or philosophy.” Science is the study of the shadow of actual life—the study of dead corpses [laughter]. So, we say “beyond.” But, it is ultimate truth—ultimate, not truth, but ultimate—something which does not need any explanation. Right there.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-30-C 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.

Religious Work

There is a clear distinction between social work and religious work. Social work is based on science and sociology. Of course, sociology is good. And, we should have sociology. But to help others in a religious sense is quite different from social work. So, what I mean is, working at a hospital is to help others. For a religious person, working at a hospital without changing anything is our practice. For those who understand the religious way, there is no sociology. Sociology [laughs] is, without changing anything, a religious activity for a person who knows how to help others. But, for those who do not understand religious life, sociology is just sociology. And, if you ignore religious life, it will not work properly. Some confusion will be created. So that is why all of us should have a religious life.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-30-C 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.

To Help Others

In Zen “to help others” means we do not take it in a dualistic sense. “To help others” means to think of others as a part of you. Not “others” —not “you, yourself.” You think to help others is to help someone, some imperfect person helps people. But when we say, “to help others” in our sense, it means to consider people a part of you, or it is like your hands or your body. So, in this sense we help others.

Photo by L. S. Sleven, courtesy of the Monterey County Public Library, from The Double Cone Quarterly

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-30-C 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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Help Others

Enlightened means, maybe, many things. And the word “enlightenment” is very wide. Enlightenment does not mean to attain perfection. Bodhisattva’s way is to help others, even before he saves himself. That is the bodhisattva’s way. So, the point is how to help others.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-30-C 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.

Best Spiritual Books of 2025

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www.spiritualityandpractice.com/book-reviews/view/29706/tassajara-stories

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Berkeley Zen Center to Install First Female Abbot on March 1st

Berkeley, CA – February 12, 2026 – The Berkeley Zen Center (BZC) is excited to announce a

historic moment in its nearly sixty years of practice with the installation of its first female abbot

on March 1st, 2026.

The new abbot, Linda Galijan, was ordained as a priest and given authority to teach and ordain

others by BZC’s first abbot Sojun Mel Weitsman. Weitsman founded BZC in 1967 along with

his teacher, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, author of the classic collection of essays, Zen Mind,

Beginners Mind. Hozan Alan Senauke succeeded Weitsman in 2021, having been picked by

Weitsman years before. Senauke died after a long illness in late 2024.

The BZC Board invited, and its membership chose, Galijan to be the Center’s third abbot. She

takes on the role after decades working in a range of healing capacities—as a professional

musician in classical, swing, and world-beat bands, a massage therapist, and a licensed clinical

psychologist. After establishing her Zen practice at BZC, Galijan lived at San Francisco Zen

Center (SFZC) and Tassajara Zen Mountain Center (TZMC), serving as President of SFZC, and

Director and Head of Practice at TZMC. She has led meditation intensives, given Dharma talks,

and taught classes at Zen centers around the country.

“Returning to my home temple during Hozan’s illness, I was expecting to stay for just a few

months to support the community. That stay was extended, bit by bit, and when Hozan ultimately

passed and BZC needed a new abbot, I wanted to stay and support BZC during the next chapter,”

says Galijan. “As abbot, my intention is to provide a sense of continuity between the strengths

and values of BZC’s past and the possibilities for renewal and growth, which includes finding

ways to respond to these turbulent times grounded in wisdom and compassion.”

A humble but venerable home for Soto Zen practice in the Bay Area, BZC aims to welcome all

who come through the gate, inviting beginners and mature students to delve into practice and

take the teachings into their everyday lives.

“So many organizations struggle after the founder is gone. But BZC is thriving,” said Colleen

Busch, BZC Board President. “Women have always held leadership and practice positions at

BZC, but never abbot. Linda has a naturally open, encouraging, settled presence that I know will

bring benefit, not only to BZC but to the wider community.”

The installation ceremony will be held at BZC. It is not open to the public, though it will be

livestreamed through the website: www.berkeleyzencenter.org.

About Berkeley Zen Center

Rooted in the Soto Zen lineage established in America by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, Berkeley Zen

Center offers a variety of programs, including zazen (meditation), retreats, classes, Dharma talks,

and a residential program. The Center is dedicated to supporting individuals to walk the path of

1liberation through zazen and sangha (community) life, encouraging practitioners to build a solid

foundation and bring their practice into their lives.

For more information, please visit www.berkeleyzencenter.org.

Contact:

Colleen Busch

Board President

Berkeley Zen Center

(510) 845-2403

president@berkeleyzencenter.org

www.berkeleyzencenter.org 

Sesshin Is Mind

Activity will stop—the true activity of your life will be no more. So, if you do not catch it when you are active, how can you catch it? And there is a way to catch it. That is our practice. That is sesshin. Sesshin is mind. To catch our true mind is sesshin. This mind cannot be caught by thinking or feeling. It is too late. So, moment after moment, to watch your breathing, to watch your posture is to dwell on your true nature. There is no secret beside this point.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-30-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.

Right There

There is no need even to read one page of a book. There is no need even to listen to this. It is here. Before a fish comes, there is fish [laughs]. In the Sandokai it says, “Before the night has gone, the dawn is here.” When you are waiting for dawn, dawn is here; you are there, right there. Your true mind is right there. When you are wandering, the true mind is right there. When you are suffering, the true mind is right there, with suffering.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-30-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.