Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Fresh

My master always put emphasis on Dogen Zenji's beginner's mind. It means you should not stick to old style of practice, or any kind of practice and you should be always new student. When you go to Rinzai temple, you should be new Rinzai student. And if you go to Japan, you should be new student. You should forget all about what you have studied in America. The fundamental practice is the same, but we should practice the essential practice with renewed feeling. This is important. To practice always with new freshness of feeling is rather difficult. It is necessary for us to change some part of our practice.    --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-12-29 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.