RIP Jana Drakka

Jana has been in Hospice care at Jikoji since the summer. A great spirit who reached out to the homeless and forgotten. Farewell Jana. - DC

Jana's cuke page with much more

Masters

Question 3 (male): Are the pure teachings transmitted to us only through the patriarchs and the great masters?SR: Yes, it is so, but great teachers and masters is not only living being.  ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-24-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Negation

Negation means liberation. Negation after negation, you attain step by step liberation.  ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-24-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Alice Haspray

Interviewed for Chronicles Radio in 2007. Transcribed and corrected. It's the one on that page with just her, not the one linked to with her and Richard that was featured a few days ago.

Some memories of an Early ZC student (link fixed)

Added to his brief cuke interview. - thanks for the bad link tip AM!

Anagarika Govinda

A page for the sage and his wife Li Gotami. Gathered a plethora of material on Govinda from cuke.com, lots from Wind Bells..With links to photos such as the one with him and Shunryu Suzuki at Tassajara.

1st Question 1st Shosan

Richard Baker: For the Big Mind, the bridge flows. If everything has such independence, how can we find our own responsibility?

SR: Your responsibility is under your own feet.  ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-24-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Call

Today I act incessantly, incessantly. One enlightenment is not enough. One after another, incessant enlightenments are necessary. Moment after moment, you must call Buddha's name or your name directly. There you have yourself.  ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-24- A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Rakusu

Larry Hansen's rakusu just received from Mel Weitsman with the dharma name Jodo Myoki.

See it larger on Larry's cuke page at the bottom.

Koans

To live in the world of time and space is like pushing a big snake into a small can. The snake will suffer in the small can. It does not know what is going on outside of the can. Because it is in the can, it is so dark he cannot see anything, but he will struggle in the small can. That is what we are doing. The more we struggle, the greater the suffering will be. That kind of practice will not work. Putting yourself in a small can and sitting day after day in a cross-legged position is worse than a waste of time. Do you understand? Sometimes our practice is something like this. We don't know how much our understanding is limited. That is why you have to study koans. Koans will open up your mind.  ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-24-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Alice and Richard Haspray

Their interview on Chronicles radio transcribed.

The Haspray cuke page.

Alan Watts on David Padwa

Just posted this from Alan Watts on David Padwa on Padwa's cuke page, from chapter 15 of Watts' In My Own Way.

Limited

Even though you think you attain enlightenment, usually our enlightenment remains in some intellectual understanding of time or space and based on some self-centered idea. It is pretty hard to get beyond the limited intellectual understanding.  ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-24-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Gap

When you realize that your practice will continue incessantly without any gap between one practice and the next, there there is true practice. If your enlightenment reaches this point, your understanding is perfect, and you don't have anything missing. Your mind will be full of joy in its true sense.  ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-24-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Incessantly

Training period now is over, it is true. But this is not the end of our practice. Incessantly, one after another, our practice will continue.  ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-24-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Includes

Unfortunately, our understanding is so intellectual. When we say “covers everything”, our understanding of this remains bound in terms of space, so the other side, time, is discontinuous. The idea of time which is discontinuous, or the momentary idea of time, is the same as the space-bound idea. “One point in wide space includes everything.” Your understanding is liable to be like this. But actually, when we say “includes everything,” it means the past and future too.  ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-24-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Autumn

Form is emptiness, you know. When you see one leaf falling down from the tree, you will see autumn there. “Oh, autumn is here already!” you may say. So one leaf is not just one leaf; it means the whole autumn. So even one thing will cover everything, and here there is your world. Here you already understand the all-pervading power of your practice. Your practice covers everything.   ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-24-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Talked

We have talked of form and emptiness, but have not understood it well.   ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-24-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Disturbed

So don't be disturbed by the ideas you have in your mind. This does not mean that you can ignore your thinking. Thinking should be systematic and should be right. But even though it is right, that is not complete. And what you think is right is not always actually right. Most people attach to the truth which they understand. Confusion arises from this hasty understanding. This is a very, very important point.  ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-23- as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Perceptions

As you know, we live in a world which is mostly perceptions. It is difficult for us to be satisfied with everything when our understanding accords with what we see or think. But we have to know that everything we see or think is under some limitation. You are not seeing or thinking about the thing itself. This point should be remembered. What you see, what you understand in terms of concepts is not always true. This is the secret of Buddhism. This point should be remembered completely.  ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-23- as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Stop

When you are busy working on something, it is not possible to see what you have done. If you want to see, you have to stop doing it. Then you will know what you have done.  ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-23- as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Way

When you encounter one activity, you should do it with your best effort. That is the way.  ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-23- as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Satisfied

It is not the practice that is good or bad, but your understanding makes practice seem good or bad. This is why we say do not seek for some particular enlightenment. You should be satisfied with your practice and practice hard moment after moment. Then there is enlightenment.  ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-23- as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Limitation

Your own practice itself is originally independent and perfect. So what is wrong is the comparison. You are limiting the actual value of your practice. Your small mind is a big limitation to your true practice, that is all. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-23- as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Lifetime

Even though you practice our way for a whole lifetime, some of you may attain enlightenment and some may not. You see? If so, do you give up your practice? ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-23- as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Genjoji in the fire line

On the many fires still raging in Northern Californai - "Bill and Laura Kwong just had to evacuate Sonoma Mtn Zen Center from the Tubbs fire."  - Sent by Judy Gilbert. Nearby Grange road was evacuated and Rachel Boughton, John Tarrant's partner and a teacher in Pacific Zen Institute has left their home and so has John's ex Roberta next door and don't know about the fate of their homes and the barn where Katrinka and I lived for 8 years on that estate. John is in Bhutan now. The PZI center downtown Santa Rosa is near the Luther Burbank center which I think burned down. My ex Elin and her husband Dave her mom's almost finished home near there are okay and not far from areas of destruction. Ken and Elizabeth Sawyer and their Back Porch Zendo near Occidental and their neighbors Chris and Bruce Fortin are okay and Tony Patchell and his Guerneville zendo and Jisho and the Graton zendo are all okay as far as I know. That's it for now. - DC

Compare

We cannot ignore the relationship between two things, or between many things, but each one is independent. So each one includes everything. You may say what you have done is small, but that's because you compare it. Actually, you should not compare. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-23- as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Included

Even though we do not know anything about tomorrow, tomorrow is included in the present ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-23- as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Rabies shots

Our once feral cat nipped at my arm last night, not in anger, and drew a little blood. The vet hadn't vacinated her for rabies yet because of timing after she got fixed. That's scheduled for five days from now. That didn't matter to me. I was going to get the rabies shots even if she had been innoculated. They're 100% effective and rabies is 100% lethal for humans (one exception) and even though we knew it was very extremely unlikely she had rabies, there are a stories of people who died from very extremely unlikely scenarios.

Process

Each moment is realization and is not in the process of realization. Do you understand? It is not process, you know. At the same time, it is in the process of changing into some other practice. But although your practice is a continuous one, at the same time it is discontinuous. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-23- as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Give Up

When you start to study Buddhism, thinking that it is good to expect that Buddhism will give you some particular teaching, if you cannot satisfy your expectations, you will give up. This is not how we study. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-23- as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Particular

Some people are always trying to discover some particular way for themselves. That is not the true way to study; this kind of idea is utterly wrong. So we say, “Don't seek for any particular enlightenment.” Enlightenment is not something particular. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-23- as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Way

You may say Buddhism is the accumulation of our human experience. So whatever you make effort on, there is the way. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-23- as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

New

You may think you have discovered a new teaching, but almost all the teachings we discover have already been discovered by Buddhist teachers. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-08-23- as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay, not just the super cool ones.

Goal

When you understand your life completely, that is enlightenment. So though the approach to it is not the same, as long as you study sincerely, you will reach the same goal.

Handbook for Meditation Retreat

at Brahmavihara Arama temple - in the Theravadin tradition with a Bali twist - with all the chants in Indonesian and English.