Shunryu Suzuki Stories - Suzuki Stories Index

MEMORIES OF SUZUKI Roshi FROM WIND BELL AND DC FILES

Letters on Suzuki Index - with more on these letters

Gerald Wheeler

Dear Baker Roshi,

My story about Suzuki is short as I only met him once and that meeting was brief. One morning while sitting zazen at Zen Center, someone slapped me on the right shoulder and said, "Greetings!" Then he slapped me on the left shoulder and said, "Greetings!" He knew exactly where I was at, I was slightly daydreaming and my attention was floundering and directionless. It was an invitation to pay attention and get stoned! This experience imprinted heavily upon my consciousness and I will never forget how it felt‑it caused me to have more value in life. That someone was Suzuki!

Love, Gerald Wheeler

P.S. I'm now a student of Stephen, living in Tennessee, currently we are trying to get him out of the pokey!