New Book with SR lectures coming next year

From the SFZC Facebook page:

New Suzuki Roshi Book: Becoming Yourself

SFZC and TarcherPerigee (a Penguin Random House imprint) are pleased to announce that a new compilation of Suzuki Roshi's Dharma talks will be published in Summer 2025. Titled Becoming Yourself, this new book of teachings follows in the style of Suzuki Roshi's classic Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (1970). The collection was compiled and edited by Green Gulch Farm Abiding Abbot Jiryu Rutschman-Byler and former Berkeley Zen Center Abbot Mel Weitsman.

Effort

First of all, you should know that with ordinary effort you cannot practice our way.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 69-03-09 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Without Any Discrimination

To attain enlightenment means to have a kind of complete composure in our life, without any discrimination. But, at the same time, if we stick to this kind of attitude of non-discrimination, that is also a kind of discrimination. So, how we practice zazen—how we attain this kind of complete composure—is the point to have when you start our practice.

The Soto Approach to Zen, Reiho Masunaga

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 69-03-09 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Hozan Alan Senauke is giving a Dharma talk!

Laurie Senauke writes: Hozan Alan Senauke is giving the Dharma talk this Saturday, 10:15am, at the Berkeley Zen Center. If you are local, I don't encourage you to go to BZC for this, because there are still Covid space limitations in person (and he won't be in person anyway). However, if our time zone works for you, feel free to hop on the zoom meeting.  You can find the link on BZC's website, top right, "Enter the Zendo Now".  (Actually, on mobile you have to scroll way down to see the right hand widgets...). Cross your fingers that I can get him shaved before then!  - onward in love and dharma, Laurie

For those unaware, Hozan Alan Senauke was in a coma not that long ago and has been gradually recovering. Here's his Caring Bridge page. This is a bit of a miracle. - dc

Accept Everything?

The difference between Baso and we ordinary people is for Baso whatever happens to him, he can accept things as it is, as it happens. But we cannot accept everything. Something which you think is good, you may accept it. But something which you do not like you don’t accept it. And you compare one to the other. You may say, “this is the truth; that is not true.” And “he is a good Zen student; but I am not.” That is a quite usual way of understanding. With this kind of understanding you cannot figure out what kind of idea we can sit with every day.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 69-03-09 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Even in Bed I Am Buddha

When I am sick, I may be the moon-faced buddha [laughs]. When I am healthy, I am the sun-faced buddha. But “the sun-faced buddha” or “the moon-faced buddha” has no special meaning. It means that whether I am ill or healthy, still I am practicing zazen. There is no difference. Even if I am in bed, you know, I am buddha. So don’t worry about me.

Shunryu Suzuki at last public event. L to R: Ed Brown, Shunryu Suzuki, Hoitsu Suzuki.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 69-03-09 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Sun-faced Buddha - Moon-faced Buddha

Zen master Baso was big; physically he was very strong and a man of great physique. And when he spoke, his tongue covered his nose. Maybe he was a very fluent speaker [laughs, laughter]. But once he was ill, so the temple master, who took care of the temple, asked him, “How are you, recently? Are you well or not?” And Baso said, “The sun-faced buddha and the moon-faced buddha. The sun-faced buddha and the moon-faced buddha.”

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 69-03-09 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Featured Cuke Archives page

Amber Hoadley was the first baby at Tassajara in the Zen era. In our podcast she talks about growing up at Zen Center, mainly Green Gulch, and her parents, Kathy and Silas Hoadley who were a significant presence in Zen Center in those formative days. Listen to our podcast and read more about her - http://cuke.com/f.

Healthy

The purpose of zazen is to make ourselves physically strong, maybe to make our mind healthy and body healthy. But healthy mind is not just “healthy mind” in its usual sense, and weak body is not weak body in its usual sense. Whether it is weak or strong, when that weakness and that strength is based on so-called truth or buddha-nature, that is a healthy mind and healthy body.

Photo of Dr. Richard Levine by Sophie Gehan

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 69-03-09 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.

Complete Composure

My voice may not be so good yet [after being sick], but today I’m testing. If I speak or not, is not such a big problem for us. Whatever happens to us, it is something which should happen. So, the purpose of our practice is to have this kind of complete composure in our everyday life.

—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 69-03-09 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.