Mind

When we say, “mind,” mind includes everything. That is a true understanding of your mind. Mind includes everything. So, in your practice, if you have a mind that is related to something else, that is not a true understanding of your mind. When you say, “mind,” mind should include everything.

—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.

Everything

When we say, “nose,” nose covers everything. When we say, “eyes,” eyes covers everything. That is the way to understand things in its true sense. When you understand something as a part of something, you lose the reality. You lose the relationship between things, and you just get a dead idea of something. So, our understanding of everything is not everything as a part of something. Everything includes the rest of the things. That is true understanding.

—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.

Each Activity Includes Everything

When you drink tea, you should not listen to a lecture [laughs]. I’m sorry, but it is true. When you listen to a lecture, you just listen. That is our way. We cannot do two things at one time because each activity includes everything. When you take tea, it means that taking tea, is all of your activity, and it covers everything. This is our practice.

—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

It is a kind of rhetoric, but in those sutras, “no” means liberation. Sometimes it is literally negative, but most of the time, it means a strong affirmation. This understanding is rooted in our practice.

—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

https://cuke.com/f

Negative Form

Sometimes when you see a saying written on a scroll, you may wonder what it means. For instance, “A cloud hangs on the mountain, and it is not calm.” “Not calm” means very calm. When the cloud is at the foot of the mountain, it expresses the same calm feeling, but in the poem it says, “not calm.” “Not calm” is a kind of rhetorical negation. Sometimes when we want to say something in a strong way, we put it in a negative form. “Isn’t it?” means “it is.” Instead of saying, “It is,” you say, “Isn’t it?” That is a stronger expression than “it is.”

—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.

Beginner's Mind for Piano

From Walter:

I'd like to let you know that the Vinyl of my composition BEGINNER‘S MIND for Shunryu Suzuki is available at the San Francisco Zen bookstore. But moderecords also distributes it on bandcamp.

https://www.cuke.com/zmbm/bm-song.htm

https://moderecords.com/catalog/346zimmermann/

Sweet

So, in Buddhism, “no” means reality, and sometimes when we put emphasis on something, we say, “no.” When we want to say, “This cake is sweet,” you know, sometimes we say, “This cake is not sweet.” “Not sweet” means “very sweet” in Chinese [laughter]. Also, in Buddhism too.

—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 / 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.