Shunryu Suzuki and the Zen Path

Shunryu Suzuki

The Zen Path and People

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Shunryu Suzuki and the Zen Path

Entrance

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Shunryu Suzuki and the Zen Path

Hoitsu Suzuki, Shunryu Suzuki's son and the abbot of Rinsoin in Yaizu Japan, once Shunryu's temple.

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Shunryu Suzuki and the Zen Path

Shunryo Suzuki and The path of Zen

hunryu Suzuki - dharma name Shgaku Shunry - May 18, 1904 - December 4, 1971. He was a St Zen roshi -Zen Master who popularized Zen Buddhism in the United States, particularly around San Francisco. Born in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan, Suzuki was occasionally mistaken for the Zen scholar D.T. Suzuki, to which Shunryu would reply, No, he's the big Suzuki, I am the little Suzuki. Shunryu Suzuki was born May 18, 1904. His father, Butsumon Sogaku Suzuki, was almost fifty at the time and was the head abbot of a small Soto Zen temple. His mother Yone was the daughter of a priest and had been divorced from her first husband for being too independent. Shunryu grew up with an older half-brother from his mothers first marriage and two younger sisters. His fathers temple, Shogan-ji, was located near Hiratsuka, a city on Sagami Bay about fifty miles southwest of Tokyo. The temple income was small and the family had to be very thrifty.
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When Suzuki entered school he became aware that his family was very poor. Suzuki was sensitive and kind but prone to quick bursts of anger. The other boys ridiculed him for his shaved head and for being the son of a priest. He preferred staying in the classroom to playing in the schoolyard, and was always at the top of his class. His teacher told him that he should grow up to be a great man, and to do this he needed to leave Kanagawa Prefecture and study hard. In 1916, at the age of 12 year Suzuki decided to train with a disciple of his father, Gyokujun Soon Suzuki. So-on was Sogakus adopted son, and abbot of Sokagus former temple Zoun-in. His parents initially thought he was too young to live far from home, but eventually allowed it. Zoun-in is located in a small village called Mori, Shizuoka in Japan. Suzuki arrived during a 100 day practice period at the temple, and was the youngest student there. Zoun-in was a larger temple than Shoganji. At 4 a.m. each morning he would arise for zazen. Next he would chant sutras and begin cleaning the temple with the others. They would work throughout the day and then, in the evenings, they all would resume Zazen again. Suzuki idolized his teacher, who was a strong disciplinarian. So-on often was rough on Suzuki, but gave him some latitude for being so young.

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When Suzuki turned 13, on May 18, 1917, Soon ordained him as a novice monk (unsui). He was given the Buddhist name Shogaku Shunryu, yet So-on nicknamed him Crooked Cucumber for his forgetful and unpredictable nature. Shunryu began again attending upperelementary school in Mori, but So-on did not supply proper clothes for him. He was the subject of ridicule, but in spite of his misfortune he wouldnt complain. Instead he doubled his efforts back at the temple. When Shunryu had first come to Zoun-in, 8 other boys were studying there. By 1918, he was the only one who stayed with So-on. This made his life a bit tougher with So-on, who had more time to scrutinize him. During this period Suzuki wanted to leave Zoun-in but equally did not want to give up. In 1918 So-on was made head of a second temple, on the rim of Yaizu, called Rinso-in. Shunryu followed him there and helped whip the place back in order. Soon, families began sending their sons there and the temple began to come to life. Suzuki had failed an admissions test at the nearby school, so So-on began teaching the boys how to read and write Chinese. So-on soon sent his students to train with a Rinzai master for a while. Here Shunryu studied a very different kind of Zen, one that promoted
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the attainment of satori through the concentration on koans through zazen. Suzuki had problems sitting with his koan. Meanwhile, all the other boys passed theirs, and he felt isolated. Just before the ceremony marking their departure Suzuki went to the Rinzai teacher and blurted out his answer. The master passed Suzuki, but later Shunryu believed he had done it simply to be kind. In 1919, at age 15, Suzuki was brought back home by his parents, who suspected mistreatment by So-on. Shunryu helped out with the temple while there, and entered middle school. Yet, when summer vacation came, he was back at Rinso-in and Zoun-in with So-on to train and help out. He himself didn't want to stop training. In school Suzuki took English and did quite well in learning it. A local doctor, Dr. Yoshikawa, even hired him to tutor his two sons in English. Yoshikawa treated Suzuki well, giving him a wage and occasional advice.

Higher education
In 1924 Shunryu enrolled in a Soto preparatory school in Tokyo not far from Shogan-ji, where he lived on the school grounds in the dorm. From 1925 to 1926 Suzuki did Zen training with Dojun Kato in Shizuoka at Kenko-in. He continued his schooling during this period. Here Shunryu became head monk for a 100 day
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retreat, after which he was no longer merely considered a novice. He had completed his training as a head monk. In April 1926 Shunryu graduated from preparatory school and entered Komazawa University, the Soto Zen University in Tokyo. During this period he continued his connections with So-on in Zoun-in, going back and forth whenever possible. Some of his teachers here were discussing Soto Zen might reach a bigger audience students and, while Shunryu could comprehend how Western cultures could understand Zen, he was intrigued. how with not ever

On August 26, 1926, So-on gave Dharma transmission to Suzuki. He was 22 then. Shunryus father also retired as abbot at Shogan-ji this same year, and moved the family onto the grounds of Zoun-in where he served as inkyo - retired abbot. Later that year Suzuki spent a short time in the hospital with tuberculosis, but soon recovered. In 1927 an important chapter in Suzukis life was turned. He went to visit a teacher in English he had at Komazawa named Miss Nona Ransom, a woman who had taught English to such people as the last emperor of China, Pu-yi, and more so his wife, the last empress of China, Jigoro Kano (the Founder of Judo) the children of Chinese president Li Yuanhong, and some
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members of the Japanese royal family. She hired him that day to be a translator and to help with errands. Through this period he realized she was very ignorant of Japanese culture and the religion of Buddhism. She respected it very little and saw it as idol worship. But one day, when there were no chores to be done, the two had a conversation on Buddhism that changed her mind. She even let Suzuki teach her zazen meditation. This experience is significant in that Suzuki realized that Western ignorance of Buddhism could be transformed. On January 22, 1929, So-on retired as abbot of Zoun-in and installed Shunryu as its 28th abbot. Sogaku would run the temple for Shunryu. In January 1930 a ceremony called tene was held at Zoun-in for Shunryu acknowledging So-ons Dharma transmission to him. A way for the Soto heads to grant him permission to teach as a priest. On April 10, 1930, at age 25, Suzuki graduated from Komazawa Daigakurin with a major in Zen and Buddhist philosophy, and a minor in English. Suzuki mentioned to So-on during this period that he might be interested in going to America to teach Zen Buddhism. So-on was adamantly opposed to the idea. Suzuki realized that his teacher felt very close to him and that he would take such a departure as an insult. He did not mention it to him again.

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Shunryu Suzuki and the Zen Path

Upon graduation from Komazawa, So-on wanted Shunryu to continue his training at the wellknown Soto Zen temple in Fukui Prefecture known as Eiheiji. In September 1930 Suzuki entered the training temple and underwent the Zen initiation known as tangaryo. His mother and father stayed on at Zoun-in to care for his temple in his absence. Eiheiji is one of the largest Zen training facilities in Japan, and the abbot at this time was Gempo Kitano-roshi. Prior to coming to Japan, Kitano was head of Soto Zen in Korea. He also was one of the founders of Zenshuji, a Soto Zen temple located in Los Angeles, California. Suzukis father and Kitano had a tense history between them. Sogaku had trained with Kitano in his early Zen training and felt that he was such a high priest due to familial status and connections. Shunryu did not see this in Kitano, however. He saw a humble man who gave clear instruction, and Shunryu realized that his father was very wrong in his assessment. Often monks were assigned duties at the monastery to serve certain masters. Shunryu was assigned to Ian Kishizawa-roshi, a wellknown teacher at the time who had previously studied under two great Japanese teachers: Oka Sotan and Nishiari Bokusan. He was a renowned scholar on Dgens Shbgenz, and was also an acquaintance of his father from childhood.
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Kishizawa was strict but not abusive, treating Suzuki well. Suzuki learned much from him, and Kishizawa saw a lot of potential in him. Through him Suzuki came to appreciate the importance of bowing in Zen practice through example. In December Suzuki sat his first true sesshin for 7 days, an ordeal that was challenging initially but proved rewarding toward the end. This concluded his first practice period at Eiheiji. In September 1931, after one more practice period and sesshin at Eiheiji, So-on arranged for Suzuki to train in Yokohama at Sojiji. Sojiji was the other main Soto temple of Japan, and again Suzuki underwent the harsh tangaryo initiation. Sojiji was founded by the great Zen master Keizan and had a more relaxed atmosphere than Eiheiji. At Sojiji Suzuki travelled back to Zoun-in frequently to attend to his temple. In 1932 So-on came to Sojiji to visit with Shunryu and after hearing of Suzukis contentment at the temple advised him to leave it. In April of that year Suzuki left Sojiji with some regret and moved back in to Zoun-in, living with his family there. In May he visited with Ian Kishizawa from Eihiji and, with So-ons blessing, asked to continue studies under him. He went to Gyokuden-in for his instruction, where Kishizawa trained him hard in zazen and conducted personal interviews with him.

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Sometime during this period Suzuki married a woman who contracted tuberculosis. The date and name of this woman is not known to us, but the marriage was soon annulled. She went back to live with her family while he focused on his duties at Zoun-in. Suzuki reportedly was involved with some antiwar activities during World War II, but according to David Chadwick, the record is confusing and, at most, his actions were low-key. However, considering the wholesale enthusiastic support for the war expressed by the entire religious establishment in Japan at the time, this fact is significant in showing something of the character of the man. Shunryo Suzuki, one of the first zen masters to live and teach in the west, was once asked why he never spoke much about satori, and enlightenment. The master laughed and answered, The reason I do not talk about satori is because I have never had it. Zen in the West is in a very strange context. The master you are talking about, Shunryo Suzuki, must have felt immense difficulty to express himself, because Zen has a language of its own. It has a climate different from any other climate that exists on the earth. To bring Zen to any country is a difficult task. One has to be ready to be misunderstood.
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Shunryu Suzuki and the Zen Path

Suzukis statement seems to be clear, and anybody who will read it will not have any difficulty to understand it. But whatever he will understand will be wrong. The master was asked, Why dont you speak about satori? Satori is the Japanese word for enlightenment. And he answered the way a Zen master should answer knowing perfectly well he could not be understood, he is bound to be misunderstood. He said, The reason I do not talk about satori is because I have never had it. The statement is clear and linguistically there is no problem, there is nothing to be understood in it. Suzuki is saying, I have never talked about it because I have never had it. Now I will have to give you the whole background, the climate in which the meaning of the same sentence turns into exactly its opposite as you understand it. Zen has an absolute certainty that no one can have satori or enlightenment. You can have things. You can have money, you can have power, you can have the whole world, but you cannot have enlightenment. Enlightenment is not a thing and it is not possible to possess it. Those who say they have it do not have it they do not even understand the ABC of it. One
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Shunryu Suzuki and the Zen Path

becomes enlightened that is what Suzuki is saying. There is no distinction between I and enlightenment, so how can I have it? The I disappears completely into enlightenment just like a dewdrop disappearing in the ocean. Can the dewdrop say, I have the ocean? The dewdrop is the ocean there is no question of having it. This is the first thing to be clearly understood. Suzuki was an enlightened master; that is why he denied it. If he were not enlightened, but was only a scholar, learned about Zen, he might have felt very embarrassed to deny it. He might rather have lied, and nobody would have been able to detect his lie. He could have said, I have it, but the experience is inexpressible; it was so simple, thats why I never talk about it. But the man really had it. To really have it means you cannot have it; you disappear. As long as you are, there is no enlightenment. The moment there is enlightenment, you are not. You disappear just like darkness disappears when there is light. Darkness cannot possess light; you cannot possess enlightenment. I do not think that the statement of Suzuki would have been understood by the people who asked the question and who received the right answer. It needs a totally different context to understand.
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Shunryu Suzuki and the Zen Path

The Western education is so much of nourishment to the ego. In fact the Western psychology supports the idea that a person should have a very clear ego powerful, aggressive, and ambitious; otherwise, one cannot survive in the struggle of existence. To survive, first you have to be, and you have to be not only defensive, because the right way of defense is to offend, to attack. Before anybody else attacks you, you should attack. You should be first, not the second, because to be defensive is already losing the battle. And because of the Western psychology, the whole educational system supports the idea that a man becomes mature as he attains a more and more crystallized ego. This goes against the experience of all the buddhas, of all the awakened ones. And none of these psychologists or educationalists has any glimpse of what awakening is, of what enlightenment is. Those who have become enlightened are agreed, without any exception, on the point that the ego has to disappear. It is false, it is created by society; it is not your original face, it is not you. The false must disappear for the real to be. So remember these steps: first, the false must disappear for the real to be, and then the real has to disappear into the ultimately real. People are living so far away from their ultimate home they are not even real, what to say about the
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ultimate? For it, they have to first move away from the ego. They have to experience in meditation their own center. But this is not the end. Meditation is only a beginning of the journey. In the end, the seeker is dissolved in the sought, the knower in the known, the experiencer in the experience. Who is going to have satori? You are absent; you are non-existent when enlightenment explodes. Your absence is an absolute necessity for enlightenment to happen. Suzuki is absolutely right: The reason I do not talk about satori is because I have never had it. I am absolutely certain that those who heard him are bound to have thought that he had had no experience of satori. That is simply the meaning of what he is saying. Unless there was somebody who had experienced egolessness, and finally selflessness, Suzuki was without fail, bound to be misunderstood. But he was a man of immense daring, of great courage, to introduce Zen to the West. Not many people were impressed. Many certainly entertained Suzukis statements, his anecdotes from the annals of Zen; they thought them strange jokes. But there were a few who understood not what the man was saying, but the man himself. He turned a few people on; he
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has the same distinction as Bodhidharma who planted the seeds of Zen in China. Suzuki can be compared to Bodhidharma. He planted the seeds in the West, and Zen became, in the Western climate and mind, a new fashion. Suzuki was very much disturbed by it. He was not introducing a new fashion instead he was introducing a new revolution and a new style of being. But the West understands things only in that way every two or three years a new fashion is needed; people become bored with the old. And Suzuki was received with joy, because he had brought something which no Christian or Jew was even able to comprehend. He attracted many people of the new generation; a few of them remained true to the master to the very end. Many traveled to Japan just because of Suzuki. Hundreds of Zen classics were translated in Western languages because of Suzuki. Now it is possible to talk about Zen and still be understood, and the whole credit goes to a single man, Shunryo Suzuki. Always remember that words do not exist without context. If you forget the context, whatever you will understand is going to be wrong. If you understand the context, it is impossible to misunderstand. This has to be remembered while you are studying Zen the differences of context. It is said: To arrive at the truth, the German adds,
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the Frenchman subtracts, and the Englishman changes the subject! I have heard You can always tell a mans nationality by introducing him to a beautiful woman. An Englishman shakes her hand, a Frenchman kisses her hand, an American asks her for a date, and a Russian wires Moscow for instructions.

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