Sex, Gossip, Religion

Ken Ireland's Jesus Koan blog hits on a thorny subject. He's a former Jesuit Zennie living these days in Dharamsala near the Dalai Lama's place there. 

Ignore

If you are in Tassajara, you are comparatively in good situation. Although those things [difficulties in breath counting and following] look like very minor problemz, but actually, if we ignore them, even though we try to achieve something great, we will not be able to do it.                    --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-05-18 - 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. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Correction

 The part of the video featured today with Reuven Ben Yuhmin starts at 33:40, not 38:40. My bad. - DC

Reuven in a Video

Reuven (Roovane) Ben Yuhmin, Robert Front, has a segment in this 2017 video called Spiritual Journeys of Monks at 33:40. Reuven went in 2010 to Bodhinyana Monastery, a Theravada monastery near Perth. - thanks Koji Acquaviva Dreher

Reuven's cuke page 

More on Counting Breaths

If you find out some physical or some other reason why you cannot count your breaths, you will notice the reason why, and you can organize your everyday life more.                   --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-05-18 - 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. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Taking Care

 If you count your breathing, you will easily notice that you are not taking care of your everyday life.                  --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-05-18 - 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. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Sleepy Soto

The people say Soto Zen is “sleepy [laughs] zazen.” Soto priest, even though their posture is good, but they are sleepy. That is true [laughs, laughter]. We become easily sleepy-- especially, you know, when we are completely involved in some heavy-- physically heavy work or when we are want of sleep.                  --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-05-18 - 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. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

The only example of Shunryu Suzuki using the word Thanksgiving in a lecture that we can find

When I came to America, I found some special food for me and I enjoyed it, I enjoyed it very much-- that was potato. Potato was delicious to me, but I don't know if it is so for you or not. I don't know what kind of nourishment potato has, I haven't studied anything about potato, but I like it very much. The reason why I like it is-- I don't know why-- when I was in Japan, of course, I liked it, but I didn't think I liked potatoes so much!

But after I came to America, having various foods and I haven't not much chance to eat potatoes: maybe once a month or so. When I was invited for Thanksgiving, I had mashed potatoes-- that was delicious. But usually I haven't mashed potatoes, or even baked potato. At Tassajara I told Ed I like potato [laughs]. Sometimes, as we have various food-- various kinds of food, so Ed cannot give me always potato. So only once in a while I had potato.

As soon as I come back from Tassajara I go to the grocery store and buy three or four potatoes. And as it takes pretty long time to cook it, I cut it and fry it. My boy doesn't like it, but I like it. My wife doesn't like it much. So I cook it just for myself. Do you know why? Potato was-- when I was young I-- my hometown produced a lot of potatoes, so I was eating potatoes always when I was a boy. So that is why I like it. When I was eating I didn't like it so much because I had it almost not everyday, but four times or more a week.

This kind of experience characterized our character. I think you may not like zazen so much, but you think this is good, so you may practice it. But you may not realize how much progress you made in your zazen practice. Some may do, but most of you don't, I am afraid. But that is all right. This kind of experience which is not just reading or listening to lecture and something which you experience, both physically and spiritually, without thinking about it. Without trying to find out the meaning of it, beyond our intellectual understanding, to practice our way without any gaining idea. To practice our way is valuable and you will have real power of digesting things.  - a special thanksgiving day Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpt from 68-12-21 on shunryusuzuki.co

And happy Thanksgiving from DC and the gang at Cuke Archives

Follow

In its strict sense, koan Zen or shikantaza is for very advanced students, not for us. Before we can practice koan Zen or shikantaza, we should be able to practice counting breathing practice or following breathing practice which is very close to shikantaza. Just follow our breathing. And then, maybe, we can say our practice is shikantaza.                 --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-05-18 - 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. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Devote

 So for every one of us, the most important point should be our practice. As long as you enter zendo, you should practice our zazen sincerely. And we should be involved-- we should devote ourself for beginner's practice like counting breathing.                 --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-05-18 - 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. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Three Ways

From old time, many people tried this way. Just counting inhaling only, or exhaling only, or both inhaling and exhaling. Can you hear me? Inhaling and exhaling. So there are three ways. So you can try, you know, any of those three ways. I am practicing on counting exhaling only. And I want you to, you know, try this practice more.                 --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-05-18 - 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. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

A New Minimum Edit

 of a Shunryu Suzuki lecture - 67-08-21 - for your reading pleasure

Susoku

We have many students now. That is, I think, very good. But it is difficult for me to take care of you, because you are so many [laughs]. I don't know what to do with so many students. I am thinking always on that point. And while I was in bed, what I thought was it may be better for us to be concentrated on more simple practice. I think the most simple practice is counting breathing practice: susoku . This is very old style of practice. This practice was for Hinayana Buddhist and for Mahayana Buddhist and for Bodhidharma's zazen and for various teachers' practice. And which is very simple but which is pretty difficult: just to count from one to ten, over and over. [Laughs.] That is practice.                  --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-05-18 - 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. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Ken Knabb strikes again!

The BUREAU OF PUBLIC SECRETS now offers

TRAVEL DIARIES 

Illustrated Accounts of Ken Knabb’s International Trips, 1971-2018

The BPS website features Ken Knabb’s writings, his translations from

Guy Debord and the Situationist International, and a large archive of

material by and about Kenneth Rexroth.               

Ken Knabb's cuke page            

But what about those who think they know everything?

Joshu said: “If someone is good I will study under him. If I am better, I shall be a teacher, wherever I go. Whether he is old or young is not point,” Joshu said. So we should be always equal, you know. If you know better than I, you should teach me. If I know something which you don't know, I should teach you. In this way, we should practice our way.                  --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-05-18 - 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. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Continuing his 65th birthday talk

Tassajara I am lucky to have, and I am lucky to have good teachers visiting Tassajara. But if I could make a trip, you know, it may be much better: as an unknown humble priest, you know, to visit teachers and to ask question and to receive instruction. In this way they [the old masters] studied.                   --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-05-18 - 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. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Broken Chair

You know Joshu, famous Zen master Joshu, He attained enlightenment when he was eighteen, and he was practicing hard until he was sixty. And after sixty he started new practice, making trip to visit various famous Zen masters. And he never sit in perfect chair. He sat always on a broken chair, mending, you know, the chair by piece of wood and rope. I think that is true spirit of Zen master or priest. The image of the priest you have and image of priest we have may be something different. For us, Fuyo Dokai or Joshu is the best example for us. With great spirit and with humble life, they strived for the truth. So what I feel is I wish I could, you know, make a trip to visit various teachers. So far, I had such busy days when I was in Japan. I was too busy. In America, for a while I was not so busy. I enjoy [laughs] American life here. But now I feel pretty busy. So actually I have no time to visit various teachers.                   --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-05-18 - 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. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

sincere

Let us have more sincere practice. Even though you think you are sincere, you]may not be sincere enough. That may be how you feel when you become old.                  --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-05-18 - 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. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Regret

I don't know what to say. I am already 65 years old. Today I became 65. And in one way, I feel very good to become older. And on the other hand, I regret, you know, for my past practice. Not regret-- I am not so regretful, but the reason why I am not so regretful is we have now pretty sincere students here in America. That is big encouragement for me. Why I am regretful is, on the other hand, why I am regretful is because I am not so good teacher for you, because of my past practice. I try to be sincere, but I find now that I was not sincere enough [laughs]. That is my feeling. So I don't know what to say [laughs].                  --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-05-18 - 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. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Zazen Notes

Mark Foote's Zazen Notes site with the Mudra of Zen at 

A Need for our own Headquarters

Roshi: up to now we had a Bishop who was taking care of such things. Now we are thinking of having a [an American] headquarters here--for keeping records. Head will have more freedom. Better that way--because it is very difficult for Japanese headquarters to understand American problems.                 --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-05-07-bn - 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. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo. 

DC comment: This is an excerpt from a 1969 ZC board meeting  Here Shunryu Suzuki is talking about the need to continue running our own show as it had been from the first. But there were formalities with the Bishop in LA. We always had good relations with them. It wasn't a problem. He's just making it clear to stay independent, not try to be part of Japanese Soto Zen. I'm sure it was fine with them too. - DC

More Board Notes for May 1969

Shunryu Suzuki: We must have meetings to build up the setting - at Tassajara and San Francisco too. By setting I mean what kind of officers are necessary, what will be our way, how much we should accommodate our way to Rinzai or some other approach, how to run Tassajara. These kind of things are not yet established. Better that it isn't. It is too early. We need broader view, deeper experience. By continuous meeting something will be resolved, come out. Since I am Soto Priest I have some idea of what I would like.                 --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-05-07-bn - 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. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo. 

RIP Junyu Kuroda

That's Junyu Kuroda and Ingrid Shugets Appels, his long time disciple. Junyu was Taizan Maezumi's brother. Another brother, Bushi, sent me to Junyu back in 2003 when I was in Japan for a couple of weeks and he and I had a great time staying up till 5 in the morning. He took me to a place where the waiters sang opera. That was starters. Katrinka and I visited with him at his Tokyo temple in 2014 and he took us to lunch at a place that had a waterfall. Now he and those two brothers are gone. Ingrid informed me that thery are survived by a fourth brother, Yoshikatsu, who makes beautiful sculptures. I will send him my condolences. What a family. - dc

from Board Notes

General members-- sit for 3 months before applying for General membership.

Roshi: It is very difficult to understand new students. There are too many. I cannot be so kind to them. So their first feeling about Zen Center will not be so good. So definitely we must make this point clear. It is necessary that they understand why the 3 month waiting period.                 --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-05-07-bn - 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. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo. 

Gremlins Strike again to Thwart the Audiobook for Crooked Cucumber: the Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki

After having been informed that chapter 8 was taking chapter 3's place, Audible has cleared the correct audio file for chapter three of Crooked Cucumber and we were all ready to let folks know about it,  

Then I went over the beginning of each chapter to make sure all was OK. They were all the right files. 

Audible had mis-titled them though in the text on the screen because they called the Introduction to the Audiobook Chapter 1 and Chapter 1 was called Chapter 2 and on till the Epilogue, which followed the final chapter 19 (titled Chapter 20), was titled Chapter 21. Seeing that made me pause. So that they'd line up right, I had named the files with a number ahead of the chapter number and name. I remember the epilogue being 22, not 21. I zipped back to the first and to my deja vooish horror, the intro to the book was not there. I'm sure I sent it in. I sent them all together. It had not occurred to me to look for omission. Intro to the audiobook was 01 and ugh - the introduction to the book was 02. Chapter 1 was 03. The introduction to the book, simply titled 02-Introduction, was missing. Is missing. Two introductions seems to have caused confusion. When it is back in there with its fellow files, , I'll make a happy post here that the audiobook is now all there and ready to take you for a ride.

Actual conclusion of lecture

Thank you very much.                 --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-04-29 - 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. Got to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.  [DC comment - This is what he said at the end of almost every lecture. He also expressed gratitude to his students in other ways all the time. Thanks for doing this, for doing that, for practicing with us, for sitting zazen, in words, without words.]

Conclusion of Lecture

So if you want to study our way, we must not forget this point. It is necessary to study, of course, but in your study if you lose this point, your knowledge or your study will not work. You cannot own your knowledge in its true sense.                --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-04-29 - 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. Got to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.  [DC Comment - Check prior posts to see what the point he's talking about is.

What Is War?

Lew Richmond/s latest column on the  The Good Men Project, is a Shunryu Suzuki story, "What is War? He points to a Straw Mat." Click this link to see this article and other posts in Lew's library.

Remembering Katherine Thanas

 

Lectures of Katherine Thanas

Edited by Natalie Goldberg and Bill Anelli

 Forwards by Norman Fischer and Wendy Johnson   

Indie bookstore link

Amazon.com link

Katherine Thanas cuke page

Continuing from Yesterday

In this way, we should take vow, Mahayana vow. This is the way the Buddha's direct disciples took vow. Later, you know, Buddhism became more and more idealistic or more rigid, and we lost the important point. Those things are not something which we could be told. Actually we are leading our life in this way. If you observe carefully our everyday life, we are actually doing in this way. When we understand our life in some sophisticated way [laughs], we get into trouble.                --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-04-29 - 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. Got to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo. 

Baliyuga on the Way to Venus

Aside from all this Zen stuff, there's songs.

Today is the release date for a six song album of songs by yours truly. 

Baliyuga on the Way to Venus

Here's a link for it on Spotify

You can also hear it at other online sites - iTunes, Apple Music, etc. 

or buy it at Amazon Music

Baliyuga is the name of our band

Here's a page for Baliyuga on Defuser Music dot com - with photos. 

Enjoy

In Japan

In Japan, Buddhists receive precepts-- we say jukai-- and everyone says, “I will keep it.” [Laughs.] And when I was young, you know, I thought this is nonsense. [Laughs.] How can they keep precepts, you know? When they go home they have to eat eggs, meat, even they eat rice, that is living being. They are killing everything as long as they live. How is it possible to say, you know, “I will keep it. I will not kill”? But later, you know, I was struck by them when they say, “I will keep it.” [I thought], “Oh, that is the way,” you know, “to keep precepts.”               --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-04-29 - 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. Got to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo. 

Cuke's 2nd appearance in the winter Tricycle

Now this one's interesting. In addition to yesterday's Tricycle post from Instagram Cuke Archives which also automatically goes to Facebook Cuke Archives,  What We're Reading in the Winter Tricycle (go down the page some), there's a nice mention of the 2021 re-release of Zen Is Right Here (2007)  which mentions that it was re-released in 2021 with it's sequel,  Zen Is Right Now.  This link will cover both books.  

Liable

We are liable to be caught by something we see or something we experience, and we liable to compare one experience to the other and say which is difficult. Because you compare the experience of jumping off from the pole to the experience to climb up, you hesitate to jump. So how you keep precepts or how you take vows, the four vows, is to do it, you know, without being involved in some idea of vow or practice or precepts.              --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-04-29 - 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. Got to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo. 

Cuke twice in recent Tricycle Magazine

1 - Featured this post from Instagram Cuke Archives

thanks Peter Ford

That's Suzuki's master, Gyokujun So-on.

Tune in tomorrow for the 2nd one.

Instagram Cuke Archives posts and these Cuke What's New Blog posts both automatically go to Facebook Cuke Archives.

The Easy Way to Take Precepts - jumping!

If you think which is easier, to climb up to the top of the pole or to jump off from the top of the pole, which is easier? [Laughs, laughter.] Because you are thinking that way, it is difficult. When you don't think, when you trust Buddha, and when you say, “I will do it!” that is the easy way.               --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-04-29 - 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. Got to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo. 

Warning: Do not Take this Literally

The other day I told you about to climb up the top of the pole and to jump off the top of the pole. Usually we say to climb up the top of the pole is easy but it is difficult to jump off from it. I don't think this is true [laughs]. To climb up, you know, to the top of the, you know, pole is difficult, but to jump off from it is not difficult. The way is just so say, “I will do it!”                --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-04-29 - 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. Got to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo. 

In taking precents

When you say, “I will do it. At least I try to do it.” The “try to do it” will not be so good, you know. “I will DO it!” [laughs], you should say. “I will try to do it” is you are hesitating. “I will do it” is like to jump into the ocean. “I will do it!” Then there is no trouble.               --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-04-29 - 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. Got to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo. 

The Sequel to Sunseed

 

Sunseed is a film made in 1970 that featured spiritual teachers of that time. Shunryu Suzuki was one of them. Now with Sunflower Amertat Cohn will show what flowers have bloomed from those seeds. 

More on how to take precepts

When you say, “I will keep it!”-- you know, there is no arrogance. There is soft mind,               --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-04-29 - 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. Got to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo. 

More on Taking Precepts

When you say “I will not say so because I don't know whether I can do it or not,” that is maybe a kind of arrogance, which is an enemy of Buddhism.                 --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 69-04-29 - 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. Got to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.