Possible

Buddha, after his luxurious life in a castle, he at last forsook this kind of life. So, we say he started his religious trip because he felt the evanescence of life. That is why he started the study of Buddhism. I think we have to think about this point more. I think everyone seeks for happiness. That is all right, but how to seek for happiness is the point. Whether the happiness we seek for—is it something which is possible to have?

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-12-21 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Happiness

Everyone seeks for true happiness maybe, but our happiness cannot be true happiness if it is not followed by perfect composure. Usually our happiness does not stay long. Happiness lasts mostly just a very short time and will be lost in the next moment. So, sometimes we will think we’d rather not have it because happiness is usually followed by sorrow. I think everyone experiences this in our everyday life.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-12-21 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Featured Cuke Archives page

Zesho Susan O'Connell was ordained and given transmission by Reb Anderson. She was VP and president of the San Francisco Zen Center for ten years. She came up with the idea of the Enso Village retirement community and made it a reality. Listen to our podcast and learn more about her - http://cuke.com/f

Shosan Ceremony Closing Comments, Part 2

We should understand ourselves in two ways: as a person and as something which has no name or body or mind. To understand ourselves in this way is liberation from self. And true understanding of ourselves when we say “things as it is,” means to understand ourselves from the viewpoint of being and non-being. That is how we understand ourselves. That is how we should exist as a human being in this world, or else we will be lost. Most people live as someone who is known to each other, but we lose the other point. That is why this world is so busy and noisy. When we understand our world in this way, with calmness of mind, we will have compassionate mind for people who are just involved in a one-sided view. Our practice should be concentrated on this point by doing trivial, near-at-hand practice.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Jerry Brown's Political and Spiritual Journey

Join Jerry Brown in a discussion with John Tarrant, Jon Joseph, and David Weinstein in the next Zen Luminaries podcast in which they talk about his public life and Zen practice. 

Saving the Earth, Helping the People: a Political and Spiritual Journey

Monday, April 29th - 6pm - 7:30pm 

Learn more and sign up here. 

Shosan Ceremony Closing Comments, Part 1

Bodhidharma said, “I don't know.” [Repeated from yesterday's post] 

Bodhidharma in his answer appeared to be someone who is just sitting without thinking, without doing anything, being with everything—without form, without color. He revealed himself in that way for the emperor. But the emperor wanted to know someone who was wise, who was powerful, who was learned, who was very helpful. So this question and answer was not so successful.

Sumi painting by Michael Hofmann

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

I Don't Know

Butei, the Emperor of Liang, asked Bodhidharma, “What is the first principle?” 

Buddha [Bodhidharma] said, “Who is it in front of you? There is no holy person or common person.” 

And the Emperor said, “Who are you in front of me?” 

Bodhidharma said, “I don’t know.”

Sumi painting by Michael Hofmann

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

silence

Tim Buckley: [Silence.]

SR: [Silence.]

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Not as We See It

Bill Shurtleff: Docho Roshi, the sound of the water in the stream seems to wash away all of the questions that I had. The questions still come, but they seem to flow away. Trying to hold a question and to give it a form keeps me from hearing your words this morning and from hearing the sound of the stream. It feels strange for me to be without a question, and so I’d just like to thank you for your wisdom, and for your kindness in being here with us today.

SR: Yeah. People take and listen, and talk. In this way, everything is going. Like an electric lamp, the current is always going back and forth. It looks like it’s very certain, but it is not. Actually it is not as we see it. So, the moment we appear, we vanish. We still practice always. That is our life. That is how everything exists, and that is how Sambhogakaya Buddha exists. So, when we understand our life in that way, there is no problem at all.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

A Bit of Change for the Better

Alan Rappaport: Docho Roshi, I am very afraid a lot of the time. I think I’m afraid of being hurt, and then lost. Can you help me?

SR: Lost? No, that is not possible. You are here, and there is no need to be afraid because anyway you are changing. If you are afraid of always changing, maybe that is why you are afraid. But if you are changing always, why don’t you try to change for the better? As long as you are making that effort, there’s no need to be afraid of anything. Even a little bit of change for the better will work.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Featured Cuke Archives page

Gil Fronsdal is the senior guiding co-teacher at the Insight Meditation Center (IMC) in Redwood City, California and the Insight Retreat Center in Santa Cruz, California. He started Buddhist practice in 1975 at the San Francisco Zen Center, and has been teaching for IMC since 1990. Listen to our podcast and learn more about him - http://cuke.com/f

By Words

Stan White: Docho Roshi, the only words I have this morning are not words. 

SR: Yeah. We are discussing what is not possible to discuss by words. So, this is how actual words should go. By words we should communicate something which is not possible to limit by our words.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Like Water

Jack Weller: Docho Roshi, I am troubled by your saying that you don’t trust us. 

SR: [Laughs.] Yeah. I want to encourage you to stick to something, not in terms of good or bad, but anyway [laughs]. Like water sticks to a lower place. Without that kind of spirit, until we can see that kind of practice in some other person, we cannot trust anyone. 

Jack: Then we can trust them, right? 

SR: [Laughs.] Yeah. 

Jack: So we can trust you.

SR: [Laughing.] Ho! 

Jack: But you cannot trust us. 

SR: Yeah, maybe. I am trying always to stick to something, not because it is good or bad—whether it is good or bad. When you stick to one thing only, it may be sometimes understood as something good. Sometimes it may be understood as something which is bad. But whether it is good or bad, is not the question. If it is helpful to me and for others, we should stick to one practice.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Observe Tassajara as One Body

E. L. Hazelwood: Docho Roshi, I have a question, but I can’t see it. And so I can’t grasp it. And so I don’t know what it is. And so I don’t know how to ask it.

SR: Yeah. The basic problem is the same for everyone. Anyway, as long as you are here, don’t be too much concerned about yourself, or what you do, or what others do. Just observe Tassajara as one person who has every part of a body—hands, legs, head, ears, eyes. And let it work without much mistake. If you try to practice everyday practice our way with this idea, then there is salvation for each one of us.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Do One by One

Jeff Broadbent: Docho Roshi, why do I feel hatred, repugnance, and disgust?

SR: Maybe because you want to solve every problem in a limited sense and by a limited way. You should wait. You should do one by one. Then there is no hatred or no bad feeling....Just to do something in time. To keep up with others’ practice. That is the main point. And don’t discriminate in your work too much within your limited time and material or space. You should do your best. Whether it is good or bad, no one knows [laughs].

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Judging

Niels: Will you please tell me why I judge myself and others as good and bad students?

SR: You are a good student. There is no need to compare you to someone else. You have your own good quality which no one else has. So, you are independent. And when you become you yourself, you will be with all your friends.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Questions

Harriet Hiestand: You told us once that we are each our own teachers and so every question I thought of for you I could answer. But, I felt that I should ask them anyway. How can I trust my own answers? 

SR: Your own answers? Maybe you cannot completely trust any answers whether it is your answer or my answer, you cannot trust it completely. But, when you ask me a question it is a kind of communication. To share the problem is the point of asking a question. 

Harriet: But I get very frustrated because you never answer. You just substitute words and there is never an answer. 

SR: To understand in that way is better—not to rely on the answer so much. But to present some question, that is enough.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Featured Cuke Archives page

Tai Sheridan showed up at the SFZC in the late sixties. He practiced at Tassajara in 1971 and later at Green Gulch Farm. Learn more about him, download his free ebooks, and listen to our podcast - http://cuke.com/f.

Everyday Life

Sally Block: 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, for how they think, how they react, why they react and how they live, so that we can develop consideration for them?

SR: To understand reality from various angles even though it is not possible to understand things from various angles we should reserve always some understanding for someone else and try to understand others’ feelings, others’ understanding. Their understanding may not always be right, sometimes wrong. But without being caught by the idea of right or wrong we should try to understand something which is wrong as well as something which is right. This is very difficult. But the only way is to practice zazen. 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.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

On Finding a Lost Hiker near Tassajara

 Lost and Found in the Ventana Wilderness - in which Andrew Atkeison recalls what happened when he and Blanche Hartman went looking for a lost hiker up creek from Tassajara in the summer of 1975.  

Andrew Atkeison cuke page

Double Structure

Angie Runyan: Docho Roshi, I too want to know the meaning of human existence.

SR: Human existence? The characteristic of human existence is duality. We are dualistic beings. So, if we attach to one side of our life, we will be completely lost because we have a double nature. So, our understanding of life should be a double structure.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

One

Evelyn Pepper: Docho Roshi, you say that we’re all one. Then why are we—is everything so different?

SR: Yeah. Because it is different, they are all one. Do you understand? [Laughs, laughter.] If it is the same, it is not even one. We say “one” because they are different. If it is the same from the beginning, there is no need to say one. Okay?

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Serious

Pat Lang (Tara Treasurefield): Docho Roshi, could you explain what it means to be a serious Zen student?

SR: Serious student Zen Buddhism. Don’t try to be serious [laughter, laughs]. Just keep up with our practice. Don’t try to get up earlier than other people. Stay in bed. Okay?

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Meaningful

Pat Herreshoff: Docho Roshi, I do not understand the meaning of my life. We have been given to understand that meaning is eternal. Is it possible for me to relate eternal meaning to this transient body?

SR: Yes it is possible, and eternal meaning is actually in your everyday life. So there is no need to figure out the meaning of life—especially for you. What you are doing is very good, so don’t try to figure out the meaning of your life. To me your life is meaningful, but I don’t know right now if it is meaningful for you. But however your life is meaningful, very meaningful, and that you are struggling with it is also meaningful. Don’t lose another aspect of your life. Don’t stick to one aspect only.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Keep Up

DC: Docho Roshi, I am so grateful to you and Tassajara and Zen Center that I'd like to study Zen. What should I do first?

SR: You should do something in the right time in the right way. Try to keep up with our practice.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Featured Cuke Archives page

Ned Hoke was on Esalen Institute staff when Shunryu Suzuki led a two-day workshop there in 1968. After that, Ned came to Tassajara in the summers as a student. Learn more about him from his Cuke page and listen to his podcast - http://cuke.com/f.

Buddha’s Sermon

Jack Elias: Docho Roshi, there are many questions about how hard and how long. The stream outside Tassajara has been flowing a long time. I wish to ask it now how long and how hard must it flow? Listen.

SR: If you notice that point, that is Buddha’s sermon.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Salvation

Rick Norton: Docho Roshi, how may this Lotus Sutra be used to gain salvation?

SR: We don’t know how. Still the salvation is going. It may go forever.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Confusion

Doug Bradle: Docho Roshi, there you sit resolute in your serenity, and here am I miserable and quivering in my confusion. And as I try to think of a question for you, I just become hopelessly tangled up in my own thoughts. And then, just now I thought, well, you probably had to go through the same thing at one time too. And you probably had to try and think of a question for your master. And what did you do? Did you become hopelessly confused like me, or did you find some way out?

SR: You say you don’t know what to do. If there is no one to ask about the confusion, then what is the confusion? The confusion itself is already the meaning of life, your own experience which you have to get through. So to ask a question is a kind of communication—mutual understanding. It means to extend your experience. So, you should accept the confusion as your experience of life. To be in confusion means to be amid the boundless mercy of the Buddha. We should accept in that way. And we should lead our life in this way.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Where Compassion Is in Emptiness

Jeff Sherman: Docho Roshi, very often I feel your compassion. I don’t understand emptiness. I was wondering where compassion is in emptiness.

SR: Compassion will always be on some phenomenal world, which causes our attachment. Originally everything is empty. That is how our compassion arises. So compassion and somethingness and emptiness have the same quality. When we understand emptiness, we become compassionate toward something which exists in material or spiritual terms. So emptiness is not different from compassion. It is the source of compassion.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Reject the Two Extremes

Jeff Williamson: Docho Roshi, ... And I really do not understand what you mean when you say, “Put forth your very best effort, but be careful that you do not try too hard.” I do not know where to draw a line. I don't know when I'm doing one thing and when I'm doing the other. Could you please say something that would help me now?

SR: “Try your best effort” means not to lose your way. Always keep up with your practice. That is what I mean. Of course, zazen practice is difficult because we should reject the two extremes. While you are keeping up your everyday practice, you will find out how to reject the two extremes. So when you become frustrated, when you have a problem, when you are discouraged, at that time you should try your best effort to resume your own practice.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Continue Everyday Practice Forever

Claude Dalenberg: Docho Roshi, incessant change and evanescence everywhere. Life is so short. What is the most important thing to do? SR: To continue everyday practice forever. Claude: Thank you. SR: Good point. —cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-11-11 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.