Síðasti fyrirlesturinn sem Shunryu Suzuki-roshi hélt þann 21. ágúst 1971 - 1. hluti

 

Excuse me. [Laughs.] I feel rather stiff. Maybe I worked too hard.

 

Since we have Tassajara and the city zendō, our practice is rather concentrated on city practice or Tassajara practice. But the most important point is to know what is Zen practice, which is not only city practice, but also Tassajara practice, and city zendō practice. Wherever you are, we have Zen way of practice. No matter where you are, you must have proper understanding of our practice.

 

In Shōbōgenzō "Genjo-kōan," Dōgen-zenji says, referring to this point:

 

"When all things are Buddhism, there are birth and death—there are defilement, practice, birth and death, buddhas, and sentient beings. When all things has no self, there is no delusion, no buddha, no sentient beings, no birth, no death. Buddhism originally is beyond the all positivity or negativity, so there are birth and death, defilement and enlightenment, and sentient beings and buddha."

 

This is our fundamental practice. It is better now, I think, for us to follow more original way of Zen practice, which is go beyond Tassajara practice, or city zendō practice, or practice in city life. Wherever you are, this is the fundamental way of practice for us or else we will be too much involved in city practice or monastic practice and we will lose the point of practice, I am afraid.

 

"When all things are Buddhism—all things are Buddhism, there are defilement, practice—defilement, practice, birth and death, buddhas and sentient beings." The point is they are—they are. All things are Buddhism. Whatever you do, that is Buddhism. But there is some danger in your understanding of this kind of statement. "Whatever you do, that is Buddhism." Whatever you do in Tassajara, or in city zendō, or in city life, that is Buddhism. It looks like—it sounds like this: "Whatever we do, it doesn't matter. Anyway [laughs], that is a practice of Buddhism." If it is so, it is not necessary for you to study Buddhism, if whatever you do, that is Buddhism.

 

But actually, what Dōgen-zenji meant is not like that. So there is, maybe, when you understand this statement, "Whatever you do, that is Buddhism," there may be two ways of understanding it. One is, whatever you do [laughs], if you understand, you take this statement literally, from your non-Buddhist understanding. That is one.

 

Another is real Buddhist understanding of this statement. Like in Lotus Sūtra we say "shohō-jisso." Shohō means things we see; jisso is truth, true way it exist—way they exist—real way things exist. So everything exist in the way they exist.

 So usually when we understand, "Whatever you do, that is Buddhism," means even though you do not behave [laughs], even though you do not live the way you should live, it is Buddhism. You know, there is big difference [laughs].

 

 

Shunryū Suzuki-rōshi
Saturday, August 21, 1971
San Francisco