December

12-14-06 - See ya in a month. Off to retreat. Sort of. Maybe I'll be able to add some things if I can figure out how to using just a browser.

Tell me if you know. Look around. There's tons of stuff here. Thanks. Take care. - DC

12-13-06

Dan Welch drew this for me DC in the early 70s as an encouragement to my practice. Based on a song

I'd written named, "There Ain't No Turning Back," which is written in the clouds. Thanks Dan. Hit thumbnail to expand.
Now available on tee shirts and other items in the Buddhism and Nothings section of theCuke Basket.

Also - Now there's a South Mountain section in the Cuke Basket
and with four images for tee shirts and other stuff
featuring four Zen Masters -
Huangbo, Joshu, Baofeng, Danxia.
check 'em out
 

12-09-06

Check out Andy Ferguson's
South Mountain China tours.

That's the Andy Ferguson of Zen's Chinese Heritage.

Don't forget Cafe Press's Cuke Basket for your holiday shopping spree.
Note the lengthy ad mere inches below.
especially note that it includes
a new product line - tee shirts etc
from Andy Ferguson with the likeness of Huangbo (Huang Po)
and a quote from that great master.
Go with Andy to China
and maybe he'll take you home to visit Huang.
 
click thumbnail to enlarge

Sticking in this ad today for the Cuke Basket which I copied off the index page.
The holidays are coming and what better place to shop?

Cafe Press
Cuke Basket
the outlet for tee shirts and stuff from cuke.com

2007 Calendar Prints

Buddhism & Nothings Shop, featuring items with large & small image Zen Failure & Buddhism...  Delivers and three styles of Heart Sutra - the old SFZC two sided card and the whole thing on one side in large and miniature formats - get it large on a tee shirt or tiny on a button.



See the new Huangbo (Huang Po) line of stuff featuring this image.
Click thumbnail to enlarge.



Also, a Current Events  Shop featuring the new Habeas Corpus... RIP tee shirts and other products and Misc Shop with one lousy tee shirt.

Admittedly the Cuke Basket needs development, so please lend your graphic support (to this graphically challenged clod) and ideas (to this dimwit) and donations (to this beggar) and it will flourish. And remember the Cuke Basket's Motto: Buddhism: the religion that promises nothing... and delivers! (thanks Jackie Celko)

12-08-06 -

Happy Buddha's Enlightenment Day

 As celebrated by the Japanese that is.
Depending on what country, sect, tradition, the date is different.
Doesn't matter to us. Here, every day is enlightenment day.
 As we at cuke.com see it,
 the point is not to look away to some super being of long ago
but to remember you are Buddha and you are awakened every day.
Probably doesn't seem that way but that's the unconventional wisdom.
Since we tend to see ourselves as individual beings plodding along hopelessly
in space and time,
for this day and for you oh hidden Buddha,
cuke.com has a little recitation to remind you of your true nature.
It goes like this:

Who da Buddha?
You da Buddha.
Dat's who da Buddha.

We suggest you repeat it often today and whenever you wish to remind yourself of your innate divinity
or is divinity Christian?
Whatever.
Have a good day, Buddha. - DC

[For those who don't buy into the Buddhist way of looking at things whatever that is, or, who are Buddhists who don't think this is appropriate, we suggest, in order to enjoy this little chant, you pretend, play along, or just ignore the words.]

for more on Buddha's enlightenment day, see Vesak  and  Rohatsu,

12-06-06 - Three different takes on the Heart Sutra from Japan and You Tube.

The Hannyapower - cool dance chant

Cute graphic with a straight version of the Hannya Shingyo with monks chanting and the kanji appearing

Chanting of Heart Sutra (not from the beginning) with kanji picked from various sources while hip Japanese talk show people rap on associated trivia.

12-05-06 - December 2006 Wikipedia Entry on Shunryu Suzuki including this weird drawing which is sort of vertically stretched it seems to me. Links herein go to Wikipedia. I took out the [edit] links. I copy this here now cause these entries change and I think this one's pretty good. It's all based on Crooked Cucumber as far as I can see. I don't know who did it. Seems to me it would be better if this stuff were signed. Anyway, here it is. - DC 







 

12-05-06 - Check out Dharma Dog

Dharma Dog is no more. Go here for Brian's new sites and stuff.

Featuring the art of Brian Howlett. Brian did the Buddhism delivers... and Zen Failure art for cuke.com's Cuke Basket
 

12-04-06 - Woah! It's called The Thousand Hand Bodhisattva on YouTube and I've read that the dancers are deaf but not sure if that's true. It seems to me to be a commercial production from Thailand. Sort of smaltzy but pretty cool. - DC


 

12-03-06 - Check out Jim Dreaver and the Way of Harmony. I like receiving his Wisdom Mailings. - DC







 

12-02-06 - The next to last lecture that Shunryu Suzuki gave. See last lectures.

12-01-06 - Buddhist delegation to Columbia Peace Movement
co-sponsored by the
Fellowship of Reconciliation and the Buddhist Peace Fellowship

November

11-30-06 - an exchange on the ten fetters in which the folly of Mahayana Buddhism is exposed. Got any thoughts about this?
 

Also, nuts vote for Bush, a shocking study.

11-29-06 - check out    

11-28-06 - Q&A on Crooked Cucumber. Got some questions from a college student for a class that meets tomorrow and thought my brief answer would be a good post for here. More on vote fraud etc on this site.








 

11-27-06 - If you care about honest elections, read OpEdNews Exclusive - Clear Evidence 2006 Congressional Elections Hacked - Results Skewed Nationwide In Favor of Republicans by 4 percent, 3 million votes - By Rob Kall of the Election Defense Alliance.

11-26-06  AMERICA 101 (on Common Dreams) By Bill Moyers (Wikipedia link). This guy speaks to the heart of our social, political, spiritual, etc dilemmas, a real modern wise man and hero. He covers a lot of important ground in this talk. One might say, this ain't Zen. I came here cause it's a Zen site. But look at it this way: there are two wheels to the temple and I've chanted "may they turn eternally," in days when I chanted more. The two wheels are the dharma wheel and the economic wheel. We tend to think of Zen as being the dharma. But the economic wheel assures that there's a roof over our heads and food in our bowl, and clean air to breathe and pure water to drink and that there isn't social chaos or debilitating despotism and so forth so that we may be of sound, untroubled mind and body enough to awaken to whatever it is we awaken to. Moyers really covers both wheels though this talk definitely emphasizes big problems with the American economic wheel. Read on and revolt! - DC

Bill Moyers is president of the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy and a veteran journalist. He delivered these remarks in San Diego on October 27 to the Council of Great City Schools , an organization of the nation’s largest urban public school systems.

Thanksgiving - 11-23

from the comic strip, MUTTS, November 20, 2006.

Check out Meister Eckhart on Wikipedia.

 

and then there's this:

"I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land." -- Jon Stewart


11-21-06 -

Today's quote is from Huston Smith's (cuke.com interview)  (Huston's web site) The Soul of Christianity: Restoring the Great Tradition:
photo of Huston Smith by Anne Hamersky

My neighbors, how can I tell you about Essence when you do not even understand stories. If you only knew how great the sweetness, the expanse, and the strength are when one reaches the bottom of all the stories - there where the stories begin and where they end; there, where the tongue is silent and where everything is told at once. How boring all the lengthy and tedious stories of creatures then become! Truly, they become just as boring as it is for one who is accustomed to seeing lightning to hear stories about lightning. - Saint Nikolai Velimirovich

11-20-06 - Check out The Buddhist Channel - Bringing Buddha Dharma Home

11-17-07 - Liz Wolf's son, video journalist Josh Wolf back in jail for refusing to cooperate with a grand jury, hand over his footage of an anti WTO demo and testify Check What's New down below for 9-06 for more.  [Josh Wolf in Jail page on cuke.com - all entries on Josh]

Happy birthday Katrinka! and thanks for being such a loving and generous sweetheart.



 

11-14-06 - Zsolt Suto in Romania sends the following message and fascinating suggested link about Alexander Csoma de Koros, a very early explorer into the depths of Tibetan Buddhism:

With this short mail I wish to inform you about the new project I am working on/for. It is called Koros-Tibet project.

The project's site is here: http://koros-tibet.ro/  - I warmly invite you to have a look at it where you will find a short description of what the project is about.

It is a non-profit project having as main partner the foundation I am working for. If you feel like joining or supporting the project in one way or another please let us know. Feel free to forward this mail to anyone.

I hope you're all fine. I wish you a happy November,

Zsolt

Here's a quote from the site, from Koros:

Nothing at all is; only you are,
insofar as you are at all.
It would therefore be best if,
from now on, you were to look after everything yourselves.
To see through the secret of reality, discern the causes and the law.
That is now up to you.
Go! Go onwards!

11-11-06 - A Topic in the Air but One That Political Candidates Declined to Touch: Torture of Prisoners from the NYTimes - in which PETER STEINFELS suggests "Let all interrogations be videotaped." For more go to Current Events-torture.

Also, today's 11-11. Go check out the whacky 1111 stuff on the Internet. Try this one.

11-10-06 - The new name for To Shine One Corner of the World: Moments with Shunryu Suzuki, the name it will have when Shambhala Publications brings it out next year, will be ZEN IS RIGHT HERE: SUZUKI ROSHI'S TEACHINGS IN ACTION. See the notice on 11-04 below.

Darlene Cohen Update

Steve Mandelker in Bangkok, Thailand updates a message from four years ago.

11-08-06 - Unhappy day for the Meddling Demons. Happy Day for Beings Revolted by Reckless Random Rapacious Rape of the Realm. It's probably hopeless, and yet look at the dancing monk!

***************************
11-07-06 - How Republicans Have Set it up to Steal today's election - Greg Palast on how they have and will today suppress, deny, and discard 4.5 million votes of mainly blacks, hispanics, and jews, giving them a 5% advantage. For more, go to Current Events - steal elections.

11-04-06 - To Shine One Corner of the World  & Thank You and OK! to be republished by Shambhala Publications in 2007


Both these books are now out of print. To Shine One Corner of the World: Moments with Shunryu Suzuki will have a new name and cover but Thank You and OK!: an American Zen Failure in Japan will have the same cover and title. That's the idea now anyway. If all goes according to the original plan, they are to come out in the summer (Thank You) and fall (Shine).
Shambhala also now publishes Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind.
More on To Shine One Corner of the World
A Tiny bit More on Thank You and OK! [even more soon]

11-03-06 - Another update on Darlene Cohen

11-2-06


11-2-06 - Check out Dragon Thunder:  My Life with Chogyam Trungpa, Diana Mukpo's bio on her hubby. I'm reading it and enjoying it. Remember meeting her when they came to Tassajara together in 1970. She was young. He was intriguing. He and Shunryu Suzuki hit it off. There's more on those few days in the interviews here and there and in Crooked Cucumber. But read this book to see what she remembers. Here's a link to it on Shambhala Pub's website. Here's Amazon's. - DC

Also - an update on Darlene Cohen

11-1-06
Happy All Hallows Day
All Saints Day
Festum omnium sanctorum

October

10-31-06 -  Boo!

10-29-06 - Check out the web site of the Hartford Street Zen Center in San Francisco, founded by Issan Dorsey and now abbot-ed by Myo Dennis Lahey. Here's a link to their latest newsletter.

10-27-06 [size reduced now that election is over!!!!]
This Election is too close not to call. Your knee-jerk do-gooder Zen Buddhists for Niceness urge you to CALL FOR CHANGE
or
Do More Than Vote

 that is, if you don't like the way things are being run by the elected representatives in the US at present. If you do like how things are going then go here to this site recommended by Zen Buddhists for Torture, Random Violence, Mass Death, Tearing up the US Constitution, Fiscal Recklessness and Staggering Ineptness. And note how that site changes four times as you refresh the page. Interesting. Never saw that before. - DC

10-26-06 - Shunryu Suzuki's last lecture, given on Saturday, August 21, 1971 in San Francisco.


10-24-06 - 

Zen Pioneer: The Life & Works of Ruth Fuller Sasaki
Meet the Author, Isabel Stirling
In conversation with Gary Snyder
Wednesday, October 25
5:30p.m. - Registration
6:00p.m. - Program followed by Reception

At:
500 Washington St. , 5th FL
San Francisco, CA 94111

$5 suggested donation

Reservations will be taken in the order received until the event is full. For further information and to RSVP, please contact the Asia Society at: 415-421-8707

Cosponsored by the Asia Society & Green Apple Books

more on this from SFZC Sangha news

10-22-06 - updates on Darlene Cohen's condition
 

10-21-06 - Reflections on the Eve of Another Rigged Election - Ernest Partridge in The Crisis Papers and, for more info, go to VOTE FRAUD/STOLEN ELECTIONS

10-19-06 -
Habeas Corpus
"the Great Writ"
June 15, 1215 - October 17, 2006
RIP
tee shirts etc.
with large & small black-on-white or white-on-black graphics
available in the current events section
of the Cuke Basket.
Wear your grief.

and happy birthday Elin! (remembered at a few minutes before midnight)

and yesterday's Keith Olbermann
on the Military Commissions Act of 2006
is worth reading or seeing - strong stuff.

10-18-07 - Henry Rollins-"freedom is under attack!" - stronger stuff.

10-17-06 - The Day Habeas Corpus Died.
(a cuke.com digression into current events)

America Has Freaked Out!!!! click thumbnail to enlarge. This image from here.

Today President Bush signed into law the Military Commissions Act of 2006 which, it looks like to me, gives him absolute dictatorial power for no good reason. Why didn't the democrats who opposed this filibuster?

This is a What did you do? moment. There might be a lot of them with this government but this is to me the biggest.

See what Keith Olbermann (bless him) and his guest Jonathon Turley of George Washington U. had to say on MSNBC Countdown, the Day Habeas Corpus Died. The video link is Countdown-King George.

Video-WMP Video-QT

For one thing, Turley said, "The Congress just gave the president despotic powers and you could hear the yawn across the country." He said George Bush has just been made an absolute ruler. He said that Madison said that the constitution provided protections so strong that we could be ruled by devils and we would be protected. Those protections have been eliminated. The President or the Secretary of Defense (or anyone they designate) can now arrest anyone in the world or the US whom he deems an enemy combatant or even someone who has given "material support" to the enemy, and this person can just disappear with no charges and no rights. And they can be tortured because the president now defines what that is. 

I could put up lots of other links. Look into it. I urge you to do what you can - write, call your Senator and Representative and newspaper. Protest. Don't stop. Or, leave the country. Hmm. That sounds like a good alternative. Good luck. - DC
 

10-16-06 - There are more updates on Darlene Cohen, see 10-14 below) who is expected to come home from the hospital today.

10-15-06 - Natalie Goldberg has written two books which feature Dainin Katagiri Roshi - The Great Failure and The Long Silent Highway. Katagiri was Shunryu Suzuki's assistant priest at Sokoji in San Francisco from 1964 and he went on to found the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center. I read Great Failure: my Unexpected Path to Truth most recently - this summer at Tassajara - and enjoyed it a lot. She was really upset when she found out that he'd had some affairs. It wasn't my reaction but it's not my book. It's hers and you really get to see what went on in her mind as a Zen student and with Katagiri and her father - there are some great lines from him. Anyway, thank you Natalie for these books. Which reminds me - Thank You and OK! also featured Katagiri and he's in Crooked Cucumber and Erik Storlie's Nothing on My Mind, but there should be more on Katagiri on this site. Hmm. Give me time (and money if you really want it to happen).  Anyway, go check out Natalie Goldberg's web site. See these books and her books on writing and her workshops and art.

10-14-06 Darlene Cohen just had surgery for a growth which has turned out to be malignant - ovarian cancer which her doctor is confident can be successfully treated. Here are a couple of email reports on how she's doing. - DC

10-13-06

SIGN THE AMERICA I BELIEVE IN PLEDGE

10-10-06 - Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace, edited by Maxine Hong Kingston - featuring the work of 80 veteran writers

Koa Books is proud to announce our second publication, Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace, edited by Maxine Hong Kingston, a harvest of creative, redemptive storytelling -- nonfiction, fiction, and poetry -- spanning five wars and written by 80 individuals profoundly affected by war.

Please join Maxine and the veteran writers for readings this week at Book Passage in Marin County (Wednesday, October 11), Black Oak Books in Berkeley (Thursday, October 12), and Cody's in San Francisco (Tuesday, October 17). See www.vetsofwarvetsofpeace.org for more information about the book and these and other upcoming readings nationwide.

For more than 12 years, Maxine Hong Kingston has led writing-and-meditation workshops for veterans and their families. The contributors to this book -- combat vterans, medics, and others who served in war; gang members, drug users, and victims of domestic vioelnce, draft resisters, deserters, and peace activists -- are part of a community of writers working together to heal the trauma of war through art.

10- 08-06
Love and Loss
a Story about Live, Death, and Rebirth
by Jane Bay
check out her site for more
join Jane at B&N 7pm in Chico, CA on 10/14
and Open Secret 7:30pm in San Rafael on 10/20
 

10-07-06 - 

May all those who supported the Iraq war and who profited from it - from the warmonger president on down - take care of the wounded veterans and civilians from every country until the last one has passed.
 

See Warmongers' Atonement in Current Events

10-05-06 -  World Can't Wait Drive Out the Bush Regime day of marches - Get the Folk Out!. Some thoughts on all this by DC. And a couple of new links to comments on the madness of the current regime.

10-04-06 - Happy birthday to Kelly! (older son). - DC

10-02-06 - Check out  World Can't Wait Drive Out the Bush Regime day of marches - Get the Folk Out!-Oct.5.

10-01-06 - Madness in the USA!
"Freedom,  darling - democracy, keep you safe, precious," said the Red Queen. Then, her smile turning into a scowl, she howled, "Off with their heads!" Go to Current Events for relevant links on this madness. Pro Bushite dungeon & torture Buddhist submissions encouraged.

September

9-28-06 - A couple more social worker Burn Out Stories from Tony Patchell.

9-27-06 - Thom Hartmann on the history and importance of habeas corpus which curtailed the defining power of tyrants - to arrest and hold anyone they wanted without giving a reason.

9-26-06 - An introductory comment added to Tony's Burn Out Stories.

9-25-06 - A few of Tony Patchell's Social Worker Burn Out Stories

9-24-06 - A message from Taigen Dan Leighton - DAN ELLSBERG to speak Tuesday, Sept. 26, 12:30 pm; Weekly and Anti-Torture Teach-in/ Vigil at UC Berkeley Boalt Hall Law School

9-21-06 - Newly edited for modern times - Tony Patchell's Zen dreams plus some pre-Zen memories of Tony's.

9-21-06 - Just dragged up from 1/27/03 - Tony Patchell's Zen dreams. More Tony to come.

9-20-06 - Open Mind Zendo at Burning Man photos and notes.

9-19-06 - A lecture by Shunryu Suzuki, replacing the one that was there. Read the light edit and, if you wish, take a look at the verbatim original.

9-19-06 - Updating info on Darlene Cohen. Here's her web site. To the left is is a thumbnail of the cover of her last book, The One Who Is Not Busy. You can learn more about it and other books of hers on the book and tape page of her new Russian River Zendo (run with hubby Tony). More on Darlene and hubby Tony under her cuke.com interview. Got to put up interview with him. Oh here it is - Tony Patchell's Zen dreams.

9-19-06 - Check out the web site of Education about Asia, the magazine for which I wrote an article, the short (bit less than 3300 words) story of Shunryu Suzuki's life, Crooked Cucumber Comes to America. More about the magazine in the intro to the article.

9-18-06 - See Robert Scheer's Truth Dig editorial on 911 plus video tribute. Notice his related Links. Also, read NYT's Paul Krugman and Huffington Post's many links and articles including London Times' Simon Jenkens - Giving Terrorism What it Craves.

9-17-06 - Betty Warren's Memorial Service Program and Betty’s Instructions on How and When to Listen to Music

9-16-06 - Received this nifty item today: Check out this scathing rant by George Carlin. It takes a few minutes to download, but be patient, it's worth it. --  http://www.trumpetamerica.org/audio/georgecarlinthetruth.mp3 or try the video link:http://media.smays.com/Video/Carlin_edu.wmv - Cheers, Ken at the BUREAU OF PUBLIC SECRETS, P.O. Box 1044, Berkeley CA 94701, USA -  http://www.bopsecrets.org - "Making petrified conditions dance by singing them their own tune."

9-15-06 - Updated the Table of Contents, an attempt, not entirely feeble, to make what's on this site more accessible.

9-14-06 - Missing incense urn found. See 8-08-06 below.

9-13-06 - Here's a good link - SFZC Sangha News.

9-12-06 - Happy birthday to Susan! (my sister). - DC

9-11-06 - Here's another from Andrew Main who says, "What a relief!"

9-10-06 - Help the Lachab Gompa Building project

9-09-06 - Third draft of Crooked Cucumber Comes to America. See right below.

9-08-06 - Found! Indeed, someone took it by mistake, thinking it was one of the items up for grabs. A Missing Incense Urn - At Betty Warren's funeral, a small, greatly treasured incense urn of whitish green glaze of a size you could cradle in one hand, was taken by mistake. It was sitting on the round table next to the table of Betty's mementos which were up for grabs. It belongs to Kwong Roshi who was doing the ceremony and who greatly misses it. Taking it would have been an easy misunderstanding. If you or anyone you know were there and have any idea where it might be, you know how to get hold of me. Thanks. DC

9-07-06 - Crooked Cucumber Comes to America - a summary of Shunryu Suzuki's life and ( a bit on) teaching according to DC. Second draft. Now down to less than 3300 words. Still time for comments though I'm emailing this in.

9-06.5-06 - Some ZC people  went to Burning Man this year with a cardboard zendo built by Paul Disco of Joinery Structures. Mayumi Oda painted it. The idea was to burn it but I think due to global warming rules, they can't. See www.coolingman.org. Photo by Gene de Smidt.

click on thumbnail to enlarge

9-06-06 - Josh Wolf is out. For now.  [Josh Wolf in Jail page on cuke.com - all entries on Josh]

9-05-06 - Oh no! Methane bubbling up faster than we thought and this time from permafrost! Run! Run!

9-04-06 - Trivial item #2. Got the 1st sesshin document kanji translation down nice with an explanation of the mysterious TOWAKO and the little scribble after it. The minutia I get into on this site. Good lord. - DC

9-03-06 - Trivial item. Betty had received lay ordination. I think. See Betty's name addenda.

9-02-06 - Ouch! - another snowballing global warming item, a science report from the BBC plus some reflections on global warming blues. 

9-01-06 - Crooked Cucumber Comes to America - a summary of Shunryu Suzuki's life and ( a bit on) teaching according to DC in just under 4000 words. It's something I'm sending into a magazine today. More on that when it's published. Right now it's only here for feedback purposes. It's not too late to make changes or corrections and it's a bit longer than they want. Thank you. - DC

August

8-31-06 - More recent photos of and with Betty Warren. This concludes what there was to do with Betty's photos for now though there is more explanatory work that could be done later. In a week or so I'll get to putting up here some stuff she wrote and hopefully some things written about her. - DC

8-30-06 - Betty's Photos of 1971 Spring Tassajara Shuso (head monk) Ceremony with Sotan Tatsugami Roshi and Suzuki Roshi visiting.

8-29-06 - Other early sixties photos of Betty Warren's including some of Shunryu Suzuki.

8-28-06 - Early sixties photos of and with Betty Warren including some with Shunryu Suzuki

8-27-06 - Translation of the kanji on Betty's remembrance of the 1st sesshin.

8-26-06 - Betty Warren's Buddhist name.

8-23-06 - Betty Warren's memorial service is today.

8-07-06 - A souvenir of Betty Warren's of the first sesshin at Sokoji - with schedule, Suzuki's caligraphy, statement, and signature - and a tiny old overexposed Polaroid.

8-07-06 - A photo of Betty Warren by Barbara Wenger from August of 1992

8-06-06 - Hiroshima day.     Boston Globe Editorial.

Cuke.com's Species Threats section..

See the Buddhamama Burl to be at the Back Porch Zendo

8-05-06 - Betty Warren's Prayer

8-04-06 - A proposed biographical film on Shunryu Suzuki.

8-03-06 - Announcing a Final benefit event for

MEDITATE AND DESTROY
(a documentary on Noah Levine)
Saturday August 26^th, 6:30 – 9pm

8-02-06 - Liz Wolf's blogger-journalist son, Josh, jailed for refusing to hand over video tape to court. See article in Huffington Post.  [Josh Wolf in Jail page on cuke.com - all entries on Josh]

I've got more on Betty Warren to put up but won't have time till Friday. I want to do an OCR scan of an article and I used to do that all the time but don't find OCR right now in any program I've got. Want to put up an article she wrote in the late nineties on how she became an activist and other stuff. Also, looking for her Buddhist name which had something about sun rays shinning through clouds in it.

8-01-06 - A recent photo of Betty Warren demonstrating against the invasion of Iraq.

July

7-31-06 - A sixties photo of Betty Warren with Shunryu Suzuki.

7-30-06 - Betty Warren died this morning.

7-05-06 - Off to Tassajara for twelve days. Don't despair - be a light unto yourself. Also, check out the following sites:

First and foremost, the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City CA headed by Zen buddy Gil Fronsdal who has done so much to develop the dharma in the US. Check out the sight's Audio Dharma section which even has an embarrassing and unworthy contibution from DC. A few years ago Gil put together a Shunryu Suzuki conference at Stanford and I'd really like to put that whole thing on this site. It's one of the many tasks I'd love to do if I could just get off my butt and earn or raise some loot to support me to do it. Hint hint. Anyway, I am putting up some links before going off to Tassajara and I got the ones below and I thought well there's always something central to the purpose of this site that is not on it due to my negligence and this is what I came up with as the most negligent omission in the links section. But no more, for here it is for all time. Thanks Gil. May we have more from you in the near future. - DC

God-u-Like - An Irreverent Look at the Faith Industry.

http://www.jacksonpollock.org/ - for your artistic side.

Greg Palast - an inveterate voter fraud journalist for the BBC and all of us.

Zen Doctor - this guy is a trip. Check his site out.

7-05-06 - A lecture by Shunryu Suzuki, replacing the one that was there. Read the light edit and, if you wish, take a look at the verbatim original.

7-04-06 - Happy July 4th. While we're on this happy topic, continuing what was started yesterday, go to a patriotic must read on our democracy's birthday - Read Robert Kennedy Jr.'s Was the 2004 Election Stolen? from Rolling Stone.

7-03-06 - Go to current events to see the first link on voter fraud and stolen elections. More to come.

7-02-06 - Check out Planet Earth perspective. Can make you feel small, can make you feel big. Depends on your sense of identity or something like that. - DC

June

6-28-06 - Military Families Speak Out

6-27-06 - Mrs. Forsythe, Courtlin, Jody! Found the photo album of Ecuador and Italy! Please help cuke.com find them.

6-26-06 - Barton Stone wrote a poem called Meditation on Grasping and Clinging.

6-24-06 - What do you think about this article on the link between MSG and obesity? Searching around the net, I haven't come up with anything that contradicts this info which equates putting MSG into food with nicotine in tobacco. He also says it's everywhere in corporate food. Thanks to David Cohen. - DC

6-19-06 - To learn a little more about Global Warming, follow this link. It's never too late to do something, at least for fun.

6-17-06 - An official cuke.com point of view: we should pay attention to global warming like we would a boulder above us about to fall. By we I mean SFZC folk, Zennies in general, Buddhists, Spiritual seekers, and humanoids. If we keep leaving it up to inanimate corporations and their lackeys, we may be doomed to inanimacy. It may be too late and too hard, but why not give it at least a hail mary. More tomorrow or at least Monday if I don't get it in before going off for the day. Doing some Aluminati visiting. Should do an Aluminati update. Luv. dc

6-16-06 - Backyard Zen link is sorta weird. [And now it's gone - 5-07]

6-15-06 - Oh, I've been so busy working on this new book and getting the barn and surrounding area fixed up as it all falls apart and being broke and negotiating the republishing of Thank You and OK! and To Shine One Corner of the World. But I'll be adding fascinating stuff here soon. In the meantime, as I've suggested before, I'll bet there's a ton you've never seen deep in the bowels of cuke.com. Check out the Table of Contents. - DC

But there is something I want to mention today. Liz Wolf's anarchist son is having trouble with the fascists who run this nasty government. Oh sorry, did I stoop to name-calling? OK. Take out the "anarchist" from that sentence. His name's Josh Wolf. He is a journalist. He took footage of protests over a G-8 Summit and now the FBI and the Justice Department and a grand jury are threatening him with jail is he doesn't hand his film over. Check it all out on his web site the Josh Wolf Grand Jury page. Here's an article from the SF Weekly called Should Journalist Josh Wolf be Afraid? There's a typo in that article for sure. His footage is not of a July 8,2006 protest in SF against the G8 summit in Scotland. It was 2005. [Josh Wolf in Jail page on cuke.com - all entries on Josh]

6-6-6 - People think the devil is a being. It just means the self, what gets in the way of awakening. But that's hard to make a movie about. No self, no Satan, no soul, no god, no exit, no entrance.

May

5-31-06 - Thanks to Arnie Kotler for sending Ronald McDonald in Thailand.Click on Ronald's thumbnail to enlarge. Photo by Fred Allendorf.

5-24-06 - Lou Albert has died, a message from his son, Ian, and a comment by DC.

5-23-06 - A lecture by Shunryu Suzuki, replacing the one that was there. Read the light edit and, if you wish, take a look at the verbatim original.

5-14-06 Happy Mother's Day all you mothers! Read Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day Proclamation - 1870. Read more about this great woman in Women's History. Check out the Pledge of the Voters for Peace.

5-13-06 - Mediators grow bigger brains? Thanks to JR. Me thinks we need a science section on cuke.com. - DC

5-12-06 - Dean Kamen's amazing power plants. Thanks to JRIII in FW.

5-11-06 - Save the Internet! Really. Evil forces are lurking. Act now.

5-08-06 - Hey, sorry for so little happening here. I'm busy doing important things. And I don't get paid for doing this site. Not that I'm getting paid for anything else but if I find some money I'll be back here. I go out and look for it in the gutters occasionally. Heck, I'll be back here no matter what. Bet there's tons on this sprawling site you've never seen. Go fish. And take a look at Gene deSmidt's photo of Tassajara's waterfall. This is just a thumbnail. Click on it to see it big. See ya soon. Love, DC

5-03-06 - On Mexico's Intent to Legalize All Drugs - which they didn't do - for now.

5-02-06 - On Steven Colbert's talk at the White House Press Correspondents Dinner.

April

4-25-06 - Check out Rev Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Choir and, if you're in the area, come see him in Sebastopol CA this Thursday at 8pm at the Masonic Center. It's a benefit for DC's son Clay's school.

4-22-05  - Go to today's Current Events to see photos of yesterday's demonstration.

4-21-05 - We're greeting Bush today and have a new t-shirt. Read all about it in the WSC News corner of the Current Events section of this site or, for WSC consumer products, go directly to the Cafe Press Cuke Basket World Suicide Club. Below is the wording of today's placard and the t-shirts etc.

4-20-06 - We're going to meet President Bush tomorrow - well, probably we'll just be stuck in a "Free Speech Zone." Read today's World Suicide Club News.

4-19-06 - Happy Birthday Clay! (15)

4-17-06 Happy IRS day. Go back to Current Events to get a link to Greg Palast's site.

4-16-06 Happy Easter, the day of rebirth, the pagan vernal festival. May all beings be happy.

Life in the Green Lane in today's NYTimes about how hybrid cars aren't necessarily as green as we think. An article to make one reflect on knee-jerk environmentalism and careless decisions.

4-12-06 see Current Events about a West Point Grad web site and a suggestion for America.

Back Porch Zendo news

4-9-06 - An interview with Dwite Brown, a series of emails between us focusing on his history with Zen and Christianity and some comments he has on Crooked Cucumber and other things.

4-5-06 - In the item below, mentioned couldn't find Wavy Gravy's web site - that's cause I was spelling his name Wavey Gravey and it came up with some links that spelled it that way. Thanks to Gene McGloin for setting it straight. Check out the correctly spelled Wavy Gravy, his birthday bash, and his worthy foundation to fight blindness, SEVA.

4-4-06 - a report on this year's Saint Stupid's Day Parade in San Francisco and the poetry of the seagulls.

4-3-06 - A lecture by Shunryu Suzuki, replacing the one that was there. Read the light edit and, if you wish, take a look at the verbatim original.

March 2006

3-31-06 - Check out Lou Albert's web site. I remember Lou from Green Gulch Farm from '72 when the SFZC had just bought it. See Sangha news for a note on Lou from Elizabeth Sawyer.

3-30-06 - Re-edited A Taste of Persimmon: a weekend with Da, mainly his photos and devotees (experiences at the community of the man now called Avatar Adi Da Samraj). First written two years ago. Redid it because someone was interested in it. Enjoy.

3-09-06 - Sorry for the absence. It was time for indoor plumbing which has been quite time consuming, and visiting some of our isolated friends (see Zen Aluminati). I'm working on some publishing possibilities. And I'm spending as much time as I can on the new book I was supposed to have written in November and which I did but I keep going over it. See the present state of chapter one [book finishied]which has been redone since last posted. Will return soon with fascinating tidbits. Till then, please browse this sprawling repository and enjoy. - DC

And welcome to the new Larkspur Zen Group.

February

2-18-06 - A lecture by Shunryu Suzuki, replacing the one that was there. Read the light edit and, if you wish, take a look at the verbatim original.

A question and answer concerning the articles mentioned immediately below - about Ogui Sensei calling the City Center Dai Bosatsu Zendo.

2-14-06 - Cindy Sheehan returns to the SF Bay Area.

2-14-06 - An English translation of the series of articles for the Hokubei Mainichi Shinbun on Shunryu Suzuki written in 1972 by Koshin Ogui, now Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America. 

And a happy valentines day to you all. - DC

2-08-06 - Buddhist Peace Fellowship Teach-In and Vigil on American Torture and the Dictatorial Presidency at UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall. Taigen Dan Leighton and an impressive list of speakers meet Thursday starting Feb. 9th.

2-07-06 - Jane Hirshfield has a new book of poetry out named After which just got a great review in the SF Chronicle (2-05). Check her out here - hit Titles (from her page) to see the covers of her NINE books of poetry and Appearances to see her schedule which starts with a reading in Berkeley on Feb. 9.

2-3-06 - Check out the new one page web site for the DT Suzuki Documentary Project. The film, named A Zen Life, is by Michael Goldberg.

2-2-06 - Liz Wolf-Spada remembers more that is added to her interview, a dream on the day Suzuki died and memories of his funeral.

January

1-28-06 - One more diversion - The Center for stopping Alito. On the other hand, if you're in favor of him, go here.

1-27-06 - Call your US Senators or call them all to urge them to either #1 support the filibuster against Alito or #2 not support it if you want to give more power to Bush and his buddies and their agenda for decades. Check out No Crony for more on this. Here's one who feels we're on a dangerous march to fascism that is worth at least a few phone calls to impede. - DC

1-26-06 - An Interview with Yvonne Rand by Dayna Macy of the Yoga Journal in the new Sangha-E! newsletter. Also, from the same publication, Speech at the San Quentin Vigil for the Late Tookie Williams and Ourselves by Hozan Alan Senauke. I was at that vigil with my younger son, Clay. I was impressed by the peaceful mood of the crowd. To subscribe to the Sangha-E! newsletter, go to the web site of the SFZC and you'll see a link for that on the left. - DC

1-24-06 - Interview with Suzuki student Liz Wolf-Spada.

1-23-06 - Even more on Global Warming from JR.

1-22-06 - Something more on Global Warming from New Dimensions Radio.

1-21-06 - A hopeful response to Lovelock's pessimistic view from Taigen.

Later in the day. Better links for the articles below. Thanks Andrew Main.

1-20-06 - Some very bad news for those who were planning on a manageable future - environmental disaster predicted to be just around the corner by the man who created the theory of Gaia. In Current Events to end current events as we know it. It's all predicted in "The Revenge of Gaia." Sorry.

1-19-06 - Eric Arnow Letter

1-18-06 - Byron Katie's coming to the SF Bay Area - San Quentin the 23rd - heads up you jailbirds, and SF the 24th for a two hour talk. Go to her web site, The Work, for details.

1-17-06 Lives and Teachings of Female Zen Masters with Grace Schireson in Santa Rosa March 5.

1-16-06 - On tonight's blood-thirsty public execution and the confirmation of a friend of Big Brother, go to Current Events.

1-15-06 - A lecture by Shunryu Suzuki, replacing the one that was there. Read the light edit and, if you wish, take a look at the verbatim original.

1-14-06 - Check out the Mansfield Zen Sangha in Ohio.

1-08-06 - Photos from the LTWA, the Library of Tibetan works and Arts in Dharamsala, India - including some with DC.

1-02-06 - See Current Events for how the government is blowing it on homeland protection.

Cindy Sheehan 1/5 & 1/6 SF Bay area readings.

1-01-06 - Happy New Year!

That's a post card Shunryu Suzuki sent to Elsie Mitchell somewhere back in the sixties. Down the middle it says "Sokoji (his US temple) Suzuki Shunryu" And to the right, "Happy Spring" (meaning Happy New Year). It's on the 2006 cuke.com calendar print - available from the Cuke Basket.

cuke.com New Year's resolution - to make this site easier to use and self-supporting.

DC proudly announces that he has imbibed no C₂H₅OH, a colorless volatile flammable liquid, sometimes known as ethanol, since the year before last, this being the 366th day since the last quaff.