February 12, 1971
Friday, February 12th, 1971Shunryū Suzuki-rōshi
SESSHIN LECTURE, 7th DAY: PAGE STREET APPLES
Friday Morning
February 12, 1971
San Francisco
Listen to this talk: Suzuki-roshi 71-02-12 first talk
This is the seventh day of the sesshin, and you came already too far. So you cannot, you know, give up [laughs, laughter]. So only way is to stay here. And I feel I had a very good crop [laughs]. You may feel you are not yet ripened. But even though you are still ripening, but if you stay in our storehouse anyway, it will be a good apples [laughs]—Page Street apples, ready to be served [laughs, laughter]. So I have nothing to worry [about], and I don’t think you have any more worry about your practice.
Perhaps some of you started sesshin because you have too many things to solve, or some of you must have thought if you come and sit here, maybe your problem will be solved. But, you know, the problem which you—which is—any—whatever problem it may be, something which is given to you could be solved anyway because Buddha will not give you anything—any more than you can solve and you need. Whatever it is, whatever problem it may be, the problem you have is just enough problems [laughs, laughter] for you.
So I think you should trust him, you know, just enough—not too much. And, you know—and his—if it is not too much, Buddha is ready to give you some more problems [laughs, laughter] just to survive, you know, just to appreciate problems. Buddha is always giving you something, because if you have nothing to cope with, you know, it may be terrible life—as if you are, you know, it is like—problem without life [life without problems] is to sit in this zendō for seven days without doing anything.