December 11th, 1965 by admin

Suzuki-roshi in traveling monk garb
Shunryū Suzuki-rōshi
One-Day Sesshin AFTERNOON LECTURE
Saturday, December 11, 1965
Soko-ji Temple, San Francisco
Lecture A
Listen to this talk: Suzuki-roshi 65-12-11
[Not Verbatim]
Most of you are beginners, so it may be rather difficult for you to understand why we practice zazen or meditation in this way. We always say “just to sit.” And if you do, you will find out that Zen practice—just to sit—is not easy. Just to sit may be the most difficult thing. To work on something is not difficult; how to not work on anything is rather difficult. When we have the idea of “self,” we want some reason why we work on something. But if you do not have the idea of self, you can remain silent and calm whether or not you work on something. You will not lose your composure. So to remain silent and calm is a kind of test we receive. If you can do it, it means you have no idea of self. If your life is based on the usual idea of self, what you will do will not be successful in its true sense. There will be success in one way, but in another you are digging your own grave. So to work without the idea of self, is a very, very important point. It is much more important than making a good decision. Even a good decision based on a one-sided idea of self will create difficulties for yourself and others. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Precepts, Zazen
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December 9th, 1965 by admin
December 9, 1965
Rev. S. Suzuki
Thursday morning lecture
Here we recite the sutra just once but in Zen Center we recite three times. The first one is for direct disciples of Buddha. We call them arhat. Arhat means the disciples who completed their way. Arhat. But Mahayana Buddhists called them Hinayana which means small vehicle. Small vehicle means Hinayana. They called themselves great vehicle while direct disciples of Buddha was called Hinayana or small vehicle. That is not so fair but actually they called themselves great and called other Buddhists small vehicle. But in Soto way we respect the direct disciples. So first of all we recite the sutra for the Hinayana Buddhists. This is one of the characteristics of Soto way. And our way is not Hinayana or Mahayana. Our way is Buddha’s way – not small vehicle or great vehicle. There’s no vehicle in Buddha’s way. Our way is not only Buddha’s way, but also it is, maybe, we, human beings way. So before Buddha we count seven Buddhas. Buddha is the seventh one. Buddha is not the first one. But this is another characteristic of our way. So teachers of Buddha is also…we should respect them, but….so Dogen Zenji did not like to call Zen…to call themselves Zen. He says, “We are just disciples of Buddha”. So some people say Soto zen….zen which transcend zen is Soto zen.
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Tags: Love, Non-doing, Schools of Buddhism
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December 2nd, 1965 by admin

Suzuki-roshi bowing (outdoor ceremony)
December 2, 1965
Rev. S. Suzuki
Thursday morning lecture
(After demonstration of Buddhist bow) To bow is very important—one of the important practice. By bow we can eliminate our selfish, self-centered idea. My teacher had hard skin on his forehead because he bowed and bowed and bowed so many times and he knew that he was very obstinate, stubborn fellow, so he bowed and bowed and bowed and he always heard his master’s scolding voice. That is why he bowed. And he joined our order when he was thirty. For Japanese priest to join the order at the age of thirty is not early. So his master always called him ‘You lately-joined fellow’. He said, …… ‘[Japanese phrase missing in transcript]’…. It means priest who joined our order when he is old. When we join order when we are young we have little….it is easy to get rid of our selfishness. But when we have very stubborn, selfish idea it is rather hard to get rid of it. So he was always scolded because he joined our order so late. To scold does not mean slight people, or it does not mean to…actually his teacher was not actually scolding him. His master loved him very much because of his stubborn character.
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Tags: Bodhisattva Vows, Bowing, Progress
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November 18th, 1965 by admin
November 18, 1965
Rev. S. Suzuki
Thursday morning lectures
When you get up early in the morning by alarm, I think you don’t feel so well. It is not so easy to come and sit even though….even after you started sitting at first, you have to encourage yourself to sit well. This kind of…those are the waves of our mind—just waves and in pure zazen there should not be any waves in our mind. But while you are sitting those waves will more and more become smaller and your effort change into some subtle feeling. We say ‘pulling out the weed’. We make it nourishment of the plant. We pull the weed and bury the weed near the plant to make it nourishment of the plant. So even though you have some difficulty in your practice….even though you have some waves while you are sitting, those weeds itself will help you. So we should not be bothered by the weeds you have in your mind. We should be rather grateful to the weeds you have in your mind because eventually will enrich your practice.
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Tags: Effort
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November 11th, 1965 by admin

Suzuki-roshi
November 11, 1965
Rev. S. Suzuki
Thursday morning lectures
Beginner’s Mind
People say to study zen is difficult but there is some misunderstanding why it is difficult. It is not difficult because to sit in cross legged position is hard or to attain enlightenment is hard, but it is hard to keep our mind pure and to keep our practice pure in original way. Zen become more and more impure and after zen school established in China it is development of zen but at the same time it is…it become impure. But I don’t want to talk about Chinese zen or history of zen this morning. But why I say I want to talk about why it is difficult is because just you came here this morning, getting up early is very valuable experience for you. Just you wanted to come is very valuable. We say ‘sho shin’. Sho shin means beginner’s mind. If we can keep beginner’s mind always that is the goal of our practice. We recited Prajna Paramita Sutra this morning only once. I think we recited very well, but what will happen to us if we recite it twice, three times, four times and more? Then we will easily lose our attitude in reciting – original attitude in reciting- the sutra. Same thing will happen to us. For awhile we will keep our beginner’s mind in your (blank space in transcript). If we continue to practice one year, two years, three years or more we will have some (blank on transcript) and we will lose the limitless meaning of the original mind.
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Tags: Beginner's Mind
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November 4th, 1965 by admin
November 4, 1965
Rev. S. Suzuki
Thursday morning lectures
When we practice our mind always follow our breathing. When we inhale, the air we take come inner world and when we exhale the air we exhale come to outer world. Inner world is limitless and outer world is also limitless. So our throat is like a swinging door. The air come in, comes out (like this…demonstrating a swinging door). So called ‘I’ is just swinging door which moves when we take inhaling and exhaling. And it moves….it just moves, you know…that’s all what we do. So when we practice zazen there’s nothing. No ‘I’ or no mind or no body, just a swinging door. We say ‘inner world’ or ‘outer world’ but this is one whole world. This is our practice. So when we practice zazen that which exists is the movement of the breathing but we are aware of the movement of the…our breathing. We should not be absent-minded. We should be always aware of the movement but to be aware of the movement does not mean to be aware of our self-nature. It is universal, or Buddha nature.
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Tags: Zazen
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November 1st, 1965 by admin

Suzuki-roshi - Zazen in the old Tassajara zendo
ONE-DAY EVENING SESSHIN LECTURE
Shunryū Suzuki
November 1965 (Wind Bell, Jan.–Feb. 1966)
Almost all of you have not practiced Zen so long, but I think you have made great progress. This result is more than we expected. As I always say, for the beginner the most important point is posture. While you are working hard on your posture you will study many things besides your physical training. Physical training always follows mental training, even though you do not try to train your mentality. To put your mind in the right way is one interpretation of Zen. Or to resume your right mind is called Zen. Samapati means to resort to the right state of mind. Another interpretation is to put our mind in the right place. Physical training will result from the right orientation of your mind. If you are determined to overcome your pain your mind will follow your pain. But if your determination is not strong enough your mind will be in agitation. Zen is not struggling. When you practice Zen your mind should be calm-even though you fight with your pain your mind should always be calm. It means your mind follows your pain like water, as water always follows the lower place. If your determination is strong enough, your mind becomes calm: following your physical condition and finding out many things. As long as you are struggling with your physical condition your mind will not find anything; your mind is shut; your mind is occupied so it will not be anything. When your mind is calm enough, even in your pain, you will find out many things. When your mind is in this state it is called a “well-oriented” mind. To put your mind in the right way is Zen. When your mind is calm you will find various tastes in … [missing words]
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Tags: Dhyanas
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November 1st, 1965 by admin
ONE-DAY SESSHIN LECTURES
Shunryū Suzuki
November 1965 (Wind Bell, Jan.–Feb. 1966)
Early Afternoon Lecture:
Buddhism is very philosophical, and sometimes intellectual and logical. It is necessary to be logical and philosophical to believe in the teaching completely. If it is not logical and philosophical, you cannot believe in it. Our teaching should not be doubtful. Although intellectual and philosophical understanding of the teaching is not enough, it should be at least be logical and philosophical.
Sometimes a student of Buddhism will become proud of the lofty, profound philosophical teaching. This is wrong. The philosophy is for the believer himself, not for others. Because it is difficult for us to believe in the teaching, we should enter it from an intellectual approach. However, there is no need to be proud of the profundity of it. It is just for the student, not for others. If it is possible to believe in Buddha’s teaching without philosophical understanding it may be all the better. For most of us it is quite difficult to believe in it without intellectual understanding. So philosophy is just for ourselves.
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Tags: Dhyanas, Gaining Idea, Philosophy, Resume to Our True Nature
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October 28th, 1965 by admin

Suzuki-roshi
October 28, 1965
Rev. S. Suzuki
Thursday morning lectures
In the past, in Hinayana practice in the first stage we still have consistent thinking faculties. We do not stop our pure thinking. This is interesting, very interesting point.
Usually we stop thinking when we sit but in the first state we can retain our thinking in sitting. For instance when you contemplate on koan in Rinzai school they still think that thinking should be pure thinking. Pure thinking is the characteristic of human being. Pure thinking – no emotional faculty. There is no emotional or sensed function. When we see clear we know even though it is like this (draws a rectangle) it is clear for us and we know the four angles will make 360 degrees. That kind of thinking is pure thinking. But usually we concern if the square is right square or not. If we think in this way, some discrimination involved in it, that is not pure thinking, which is limited in our pure human being thinking.
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Tags: Dhyanas
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October 21st, 1965 by admin
October 21, 1965
Rev. S. Suzuki
Thursday morning lecture
As you know, in Buddhism there are many schools. But you can classify Buddhism into Mahayana and Hinayana schools. Almost all schools in Japan belong to Mahayana school. Mahayana people called original Buddhists, old Buddhists or direct disciples of Buddha, called Hinayana Buddhists. It means small vehicle while Mahayana is big or large vehicle. But Mahayana school originated from Hinayana school. Development of Buddhism take place and Mahayana school is supposed to be more advanced school. But it is not exactly so. Even in the time of Buddha there were many Mahayanistic disciples. And it is pretty difficult to say which is better, Mahayana or Hinayana. So in Soto school we do not say Mahayana is good or Hinayana is good. Just the same, and from standpoint of zen Buddha practiced zen, and Hinayana Buddhists and Mahayana Buddhists have been practicing zazen. So, if we become…if we discriminate the teaching which was told by him, or forms which he set up at the time of Buddha, or the rules which were set by some other disciples is based on his character, and his character is based on his practice. And so, from this standpoint, for zen Buddhists, there is no need to say Mahayana Buddhism or Hinayana Buddhism.
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Tags: Effort, Helping Self & Others, Schools of Buddhism
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