At some monasteries they bathe in cold water from December 1st until December 15th....I think, especially for people who live in San Francisco where the climate is always the same, it may be necessary to have some pool for Zen monks to take cold baths [laughs, laughter]. Maybe an exciting practice for us, and it will give pretty good stimulation for San Francisco people. It doesn’t mean to be involved in ascetic practice. The purpose of such practice is to renew your life physically and spiritually.
—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 68-12-29 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.
