Suggestions
for ZMBM Chaptersfrom Victor Sergeyev with Gvido Trepsa
cuke.com - Shunryu Suzuki Index - WHAT'S NEW - table of contents
Suggestions
for ZMBM Chapters
from Victor Sergeyev with Gvido Trepsa
|
Beginner’sMindLateDraft refers to the recently discovered MS, its files reside on cuke as ZenMindDraft. The structure of comments is as follows: No. … [the consecutive number of the note]
(based on 66-02-24)
[date of lecture in which the passage Zen and excitement [chapter title in ZMBM] These difficulties gave… [the passage as it stands in the book] 66-02-24 (original transcript): [the source(s) of another version] Too much difficulty gives… [the same passage as it stands therein] The first sentence as found… [our commentary which is always in this color and may occur anywhere] Best, Victor ———————————————— Suggestions for ZMBM chapters No.1 (based on an unknown lecture) No dualism When you do something, just to do it should be your purpose. Form is form and you are you, and true emptiness will be realized in your practice. Beginner’sMindLateDraft: When you do something, just to do it should be your purpose. Then form is form and you are you, and true emptiness will be realized in your practice. Then in Beginner’sMindLateDraft connects these two sentences. Otherwise the second sentence can be perceived as simply a general statement, having no direct connection with the preceding one. ———————————————— No.2 (based on 65-10-14) Nothing special In the Parinirvana Sutra, Buddha says, “Everything has Buddha nature,” but Dogen reads it in this way: “Everything is Buddha nature.” 65-10-14 (original transcript): … Nirvana Sutra Buddha says, everything has Buddha nature. That is Chinese rendering. Everything has Buddha nature. But Dogen reads this way, “Everything is Buddha nature”. “Buddha says” and “That’s Chinese interpretation of what Buddha said” — there is a world of difference between these two, and without the words in red a whole important layer of true meaning is unnecessarily missing. [Personally, I'd want to check this with Bill Porter, Red Pine. "Have" and "Is" are to me more confused in English translations than in the Chinese or Japanese sources. It might be he was being sloppy here or that he misunderstood the Chinese intention. He might not be thinking of that as he speaks, more thinking of the audience and their ideas about having and being. - dc] ———————————————— No.3 (based on 66-02-24) Zen and excitement These difficulties gave me some experience, but it meant nothing compared with the true, calm, serene way of life. 66-02-24 (original transcript): Too much difficulty gives me some experience but those experiences -- comparing to the true, calm and serene way of life, those experiences are nothing. So if you continue the calm ordinary practice your character will be built up but if your mind is always busy there’s no time to build up your character. To build up -- if you want to build up -- even though you want to build up your character it doesn’t -- you will not be successful if you work on it too hard. It should be done little by little, step by step. It is the same thing to make bread. If you make -- if you give it too much heat it will burn -- you will not get bread. It is the same thing -- we have to do it little by little. And moderate temperature -- we want, not too much temperature or excitement-- little by little. And you know yourself pretty well -- how much heat -- temperature you want -- you know exactly what you want. But if you are too much -- if you have too much excitement you forget your own way and you don’t know -- you forget how much temperature is good for you. That’s very dangerous. The first sentence as found in the original lecture was cut off in the book from its direct continuation by insertion of two other passages from the same talk. Until we happened to see the original transcript we had not the slightest idea what the sentence really meant. It seems the following addition would clarify the meaning (adding also a good link with the continuation of this idea later in the chapter): These difficulties gave me some experience, but for building up my character it meant nothing compared with the true, calm, serene way of life. ———————————————— No.4 (based on 66-06-23) No trace but the secret of this practice cannot be changed. It is always true. So for us there is no other way to live in this world. I think this is quite true; and this is easy to accept, easy to understand, and easy to practice. 66-06-23 (original transcript):
...but this secret of the practice cannot be changed. It is always
so and we should live in this way always because in Buddhism we have
no idea of the world which is completely different from this world.
So there is, for us there is no other way to live in this world and I think this is quite true and this is at least more acceptable -- easy to accept -- easy to understand and easy to practice it. It looks like without the phrases in red semibold (perhaps, except for one sentence that is crossed out) the meaning is lost. As it stands in the book, the sentence “It is always true.” can be interpreted in a number of different ways, none of which, strictly speaking, is supported by the original transcript, in which the idea is quite clear. ———————————————— No.5 (based on 65-09-16) Transiency But whether we feel good or bad about it, this truth exists. If nothing exists, this truth does not exist. Buddhism exists because of each particular existence. 65-09-16 (original transcript): But whether or not, or whether we feel good or bad, the truth is truth. [1,5 paras skipped] When you realize this truth you become quite sincere with your life. Because you know that you cannot escape from this truth. Wherever you go this truth will follow you. You have nowhere to escape this truth. It is impossible. Wherever you go this is the truth that everything changes. So our effort to accept as it is, is always right effort wherever we go. It is true in this world and is true too in some other world, past and future. So you may say Buddhism is the teaching which emphasizes our eternal effort to accept things as it is. And according to Buddhism it is impossible to realize -- realization of the truth is not possible without some means -- or without some particular existence it is impossible to express this truth. Because each existence exists this truth come true. If nothing exists this truth does not exist. So Buddhism exists because of every -- because of each particular existence. The meaning of these three sentences always escaped us. While the corresponding passage in red semibold, in the original transcript, makes perfect sense. It needs editing, of course. There is some underlaying similarity between this note and the preceding one, No.4. ———————————————— No.6 (based on an unknown lecture) Readiness, mindfullness In the Prajna Paramita Sutra the most important point… A more accurate reference, supported by other SR lectures, would be: In the Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra the most… ———————————————— No.7 (based on an unknown lecture) Readiness, mindfullness This “no mind” is Zen mind, which includes everything. Beginner’sMindLateDraft: This “no mind” is true mind, which includes everything. True mind seems more natural here and is en rapport with the final sentences of this chapter. ———————————————— No.8 (based on 65-10-07) Experience, not philosophy In the zendo there is nothing fancy. … But here we just practice 65-10-07 (original transcript), the same in Beginner’sMindLateDraft: Here in this zendo there is nothing fancy. … But here we just practice Preserving the opening Here would make it clear that this statement does not refer to all zendos by default. ———————————————— No.9 (based on 69-11-16) Epilogue The big mind in which we must have confidence is not something which you can experience objectively. It is something which is always with you, always on your side. … You must put confidence in the big mind which is always with you. You should be able to appreciate things as an expression of big mind. This is more than faith. This is ultimate truth which you cannot reject. 69-11-16 (original transcript): We say “big mind,” you know. “Big mind.” Big mind is not something which you can experience [in] some objective way. Big mind is something which is always with you, you know, which [is] always on your side… … it is necessary to have-- to put confidence in your big mind which is always with you. And you should be able to appreciate things, you know, as a expression of the big mind. In short, you must have some faith in big mind, which I explained. It is-- actually, if you understand what I said now, it is actually more than faith, you know. It is ultimate truth which you cannot reject. In SR lecture these two passages are located far from each other, as well as in the book. And while in the second passage the phrase about confidence is clearly emphasized, in the first instance, in the book, it’s not the case: the add-on about confidence appears unsupported by neighboring statements and distracts from the main point, and actually feels out of place. ———————————————— No.10 (based on 69-11-16 (2 sentences) and an unknown lecture) Epilogue You are quite free from material things and you begin Zen practice with a very pure mind, a beginner’s mind. You can understand Buddha’s teaching exactly as he meant it. But we must not be attached to America, or Buddhism, or even to our practice. We must have beginner’s mind, free from possessing anything, 69-11-16 (original transcript): …in Japan… they have to be involved still [in] materialistic problem. Here in America you haven’t… I think you started Zen practice in best condition, and with very pure mind. So you will understand Buddha's teaching in it-- as he meant, exactly. The first beginner’s mind (not found in SR lecture) seems superfluous here for it creates a sort of conflict with the second beginner’s mind by introducing an unnecessary question: is it the same “mind”, the same concept, in both instances? The flow of the narrative makes one suspect that it is not. ———————————————— No.11 (based on 67-03-00) Epilogue In the East I saw rhubarb already. The problem came up after reading your book Crooked Cucumber which shows that SR did not visit Japan or the East during the period of composing ZMBM. Therefore, may be it would be better to express it less ambiguously: On the East Coast I saw… As you yourself put it on http://www.cuke.com/zmbm/beginners-mind-late-draft.htm: It was given after his return from the East Coast in March 1967 I think. ************* posted 8-29-15 See list with links of All Contributions ZMBM from Victor Sergeyev with Gvido Trepsa. |
