Heart Sutra English Calligraph

done by Rick Levine for Kazuaki Tanahashi & Joan Halifax's book, The Heart Sutra

Rick Levine cuke page

Got a poem from a dharma bro

 The Woodcutter’s View

early morning warmth spreads the thud and whack of my axe

marking the village hours like a temple bell.

stopping for tea 

we sip in silence

       not caring when we pick up our tools.

oh yes, things do exist

as when a shout at the base of a mountain

is a soft echo in a distant valley.

I hope that you enjoy a sweet New Year of the Fire Rooster - Britton Pyland

Brit Pyland cuke page

Name

We emphasize shikantaza but we do not call our practice shikantaza. We have no particular name for our practice. When we practice zazen we just practice it, whether we find joy of practice or not, we just do it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-04-13 found onshunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay.

Adequate

So, as long as your practice is based on gaining idea, and you practice zazen in an idealistic way, you will have no time to attain it. Moreover you are sacrificing the meat of practice, set up for future attainment which is not possible to attain. Because your attainment is always ahead of you, you are always sacrificing yourself for some ideal. So this is very absurd. It is not so bad, rather not adequate. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-04-13 found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay.

Another Freeless Speech Issue in Indonesia

Tee shirt lawlessness. 

RIP Huston Smith

On December 30th at 97! The Dean of world religion writers and teachers, dear friend and friend to all, a gentle man who came humbly with wisdom to Tassajara and the City Center in the sixties. Read the NY Times obituary. - just learned thanks to Steve Tipton

Huston Smith cuke page with much more

Absurd

There may be various kinds of practice, or ways of practice, or understanding of practice. Mostly when you practice zazen you become very idealistic with some notion or ideal set up by yourself and you strive for attaining or fulfilling that notion or goal. But as I always say this is very absurd because when you become idealistic in your practice you have gaining idea within yourself, so by the time you attain some stage your gaining idea will create another ideal.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-04-13 found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay.

Religion

People think their own way is Buddha’s without knowing what they hearing, or what are doing, or where they are. So religion is not any particular teaching. Religion is everywhere. We have to understand our teaching in this way. We should forget all about some particular good or bad teachings. There should not be any particular teaching. Teaching is in each moment, in every being. That is true teaching.   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-04-06 found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts on cuke.com - from there links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay.

Tables Turned

I didn't realize this. You can't disparage any of the recognized religions in Indonesia - so one of the heads of the recent giant protest by Muslims against the Christian governor of Jakarta is now facing prosecution himself for bad-mouthing Christianity. Hey - chill out guys.

Happy

New Year.

-dc