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.