Sally Block: Docho Roshi, you have told us that we are not alike at all, and also you tell us that we should develop consideration for each other. How can we develop a feeling for what goes on in other people's minds, or how they think, how they react, why they react, and how they live, so that we can develop consideration for them?
SR: To be able to understand reality from various angle-- even though it is not possible to understand things from various angle, we should reserve always some understanding for someone else and try to understand other's feelings, other's understanding. Other's understanding may not be always right: sometimes wrong, sometimes right. As what you understand is sometime right and sometimes wrong. But without being caught by the idea of right or wrong, we should try to understand something which is something wrong as well as something which is right. This is-- if you try to do it, this is very difficult. But the only way is to practice zazen-- to be concentrated on your zazen practice. The way you practice zazen and the way you do something in your everyday life is not the same. Your everyday life will be good when your practice is good because your everyday life will be supported by your power of practice. So the best way for us is to be concentrated on our zazen practice. This is, anyway, the most important point. Everyday practice will be taken care of if your everyday life is concentrated on your zazen practice. --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture - 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. - DC
