‘A couple of decades of reading about Zen didn’t prepare me for the actual experience of practicing Zen. It was a wonderful feeling, and not a little frightening at first. I was rather awestruck at practicing with a real Roshi. I soon realized that we all have problems with aching legs and busy minds.’ (from the Jikoji archives)
This comes from a series of very sweet and personal reminiscences of Suzuki Roshi by people who practised at the Haiku Zendo in Los Altos – named because they were able to fit seventeen cushions into the converted garage – at which the recordings that became Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind were made. Look out for a couple more extracts coming up.
Shundo David Haye 