5-28-08
[this report done in a few hours]

The work on the report on the state of the Shunryu Suzuki archives has been so demanding that I do not have a complete report on the Shunryu Suzuki Oral and Written History Project, but here are some working papers - looking at this work from different angles. Searching for a name – it’s oral and written history. There is so much material with so many ways to look at it and organize it and so much to do that prioritizing must be ongoing. This history is not only of Shunryu Suzuki, but of those who knew him and what was happening around them. In interviewing people I ask them not only for their memories of Suzuki but of what else stands out from those times. Also – what brought them there and what has happened since. What did they get out of it and what was lacking. But there’s more to it than interviews. I want to keep doing this work for a while longer and leave it organized so that others can work with it.

Shunryu Suzuki lecture archiving
Books

Internet - cuke.com
Keep up with older students – visiting, alumni reunion
Various communication and assistance, lots of it SFZC related

Goals

* Continue keeping up with older students, alumni

* Go through interviews, notes, outside material, and read all SS lectures and come up with new materials.

+ Roku – selected memories and stories

a larger collection of 1000 plus memories and stories in 3 years

+ Interviews -

better edit and present the existing interviews - 113 on cuke, 30 or so more to edit from main interview files, 30 more from notes and tapes to transcribe.

Conduct more interviews and get more memories and stories

+ Notes – organize thousands of notes, papers, letters, emails

+ Disciples and closet student interview and profile project

* Cuke.com – see appendixes

* Reread all Suzuki lectures

Note all references to his own and other history

Do commentary on his dharma teaching

Work on indexing, study materials

* Write "Notes on Crooked Cucumber" from all this material – a much more extensive, thorough look at the life and Zen teaching of Shunryu Suzuki. Include index to Crooked Cucumber and Notes to Crooked Cucumber, maps, other supplemental materials.

Interviews in DC archive with people who knew or met Shunryu Suzuki

Interviews presently on cuke.com 113  - 13 page average = 1500 pages

In US 92

With Japanese 21

Number of interviews in main interview folders yet to be edited and put on cuke.com – [this number was a mistake - have to go back and count - maybe 30]

Taped interviews not transcribed - 6

Interviews from notes not yet entered onto disk 25

New Interviews to Do - 300

Brief memories, Suzuki stories presently on cuke.com – 120

No. of Handwritten Notes to transcribe other than interviews Including from emails, letters, and othe sources - 2500

From existing materials

No. of 1^st Class Teaching Stories (comparable to Zen Is Right Here) 120

No. of 2^nd Class anecdotes 200

No. of other stories 1000

Work Category & Description - Estimated hours - Assistant hours

Organizing and sorting through Boxes, notes, physical materials - 100 -  40

Auditing, Categorizing Files - 100  - 40

Editing Existing Transcriptions - 300 - 300

Conduct New Interviews - 1000  -100

Transcribe New Interviews - 500 - 500

Other work not thought of right now - 1000 - 1000

Existing interviews need more editing - 100 - 100

Sample of notes of things to do

* Shunryu Suzuki lecture archive work and plan for finding other tapes and lectures

* Write Richard Baker – send donation

* Write Yvonne Rand again

* Write Del Carlson and Huston – update on this stuff, call Elsie,

* Visit Grahame Petchey Thursday (just saw Della)

* Organize materials and office more – do a little every day.

* Photocopy all items that have no copies from storage.

* Scan some of what needs to be scanned.

* Visit Vera Dalenberg to get his papers and publications (Cloud Hidden Friends Newsletter etc) for archive. Look for other materials.Talk about what to do with Ananda’s library.

* Communicate with those with Betty Warren’s materials and papers.

* Work on compilation of mentions of Shunryu Suzuki in published material – books and magazine articles.

* Computer and software ongoing maintenance

* get outtakes from Alumni video

* get transcript of Suzuki Sati conference

* Sherry - Paul Disco's book and Live Edge

* Call JJ Wilson for more material on Phillip

* Transcribe last notes on Niels Holm

* breck jones interviewed seijo tsuji who says he has photos of phillip wilson

* Copy Grahame Petchey’s Eiheiji diary and photo album

* Email Robert Quagliata

* Carl Bielefeldt

* Does John Palmer have film with Suzuki in it?

* Retranslate Ogui article on Suzuki – rescan those photos

* Dan Welch interview work

* Deborah Madison and Pat McFarlin interview work

*Interview Suzuki’s doctor – just got an email from a friend of his

Cucumber Project - preserving the legacy of Shunryu Suzuki

            Interviews - lots of them - of people who knew or studied with Shunryu Suzuki or who at least were around. Includes many interviews with Japanese family and associates.

            Lectures - just a few Shunryu Suzuki lectures with a new one going up about once a month and the old one coming down because SFZC doesn't want to post a bunch of them on the web as yet. There are a few lectures of special interest that stay.

                          Suzuki quotes in Crooked Cucumber with link to more.

            Brief Memories - of Shunryu Suzuki

            Mitsu - Mitsu Suzuki Sensei, Shunryu's widow

            Other - So far just sections on people from back then

                         Ananda Claude Dalenberg - early Zen, Pure Land Buddhis

                         Elsie Mitchell - a matriarch of American Buddhism

                         Koshin Ogui - Jodo Shinshu priest, bishop

                         Betty Warren - RIP - one of the first students

                         Hoitsu Suzuki - Shunryu's son, dharma heir, in Japan

                         Niels Holm - Danish builder, thinker, visionary, artist

                         Phillip Wilson - athlete, artist, monk, much more

           Shunryu Info - links to brief bio, chronology of his life,

                                   excerpts from books and articles by others, more

                        Crooked Cucumber Comes to America - Suzuki's life

             Shunryu Letters

             Shunryu on Shunryu – interviews, lectures Suzuki on his life

             Stories - of Suzuki mainly. See the newer Brief Memories.

Brief Bio of Shunryu Suzuki

Chronology of Shunryu Suzuki's life

Shunryu on Shunryu – see page on this

Crooked Cucumber Comes to America - (almost) 3300 word story of Suzuki's life.

Suzuki Stories

Brief Memories of Shunryu Suzuki

Core Books by and about Shunryu Suzuki

Audio and video featuring Shunryu Suzuki

Suzuki Lectures and Quotes, comments on a few topics, correspondence.

Shunryu Suzuki on War and Peace

Shunryu Suzuki in Thank You and OK!

December 2006 Wikipedia Entry on Shunryu Suzuki

Excerpts about or mentioning Shunryu Suzuki from other books

Bibliography of this site. Also, see articles.

Dharma groups in or related to Shunryu Suzuki's lineage (online or off).

Interviews with those who knew Suzuki or who at least were around - in America and Japan.

Suzuki Archives Projects

Photograph Gallery

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche on Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

Memorial 12 part series by Rev. Koshin Ogui, Bishop of Jodo-shin-shu on Shunryu Suzuki

Shunryu Suzuki 100th Birthday Bash

Hoitsu Suzuki - Shunryu's eldest son

Zen is Right Here, Shambhala, fall 2007 - vignettes on Suzuki by DC

a list of Suzuki disciples - those ordained by him as priests - starting with what practice periods at Tassajara they were shuso

Buddhist groups and teachers in Shunryu Suzuki's Lineage or closely related

Shunryu on Drugs and Alcohol

See b&w video footage of Shunryu Suzuki.

Were Shunryu or Mitsu Suzuki American citizens?

* Peter Schneider's Interview one with Suzuki - Redican transcript of DC's transcription.

 * Shunryu Suzuki Lecture on why he became a priest and came to America

 * Peter Schneider's Interview two with Suzuki

 * Peter Schneider's Interview three with Suzuki during the regular Sunday lecture

 * Suzuki's Curriculum Vitae

 * Shunryu Suzuki on his life in Japan - composite made around 1999 from Peter's Schneider's interviews.

 * Shunryu Suzuki on his life in America   - composite made around 1999 from Peter's Schneider's interviews.

 * Shunryu Suzuki & Richard Baker on Pacifica Radio about Zen Mt. Center.

Bibliography – a long list of books that mention Suzuki or which are by those who knew him or related in some way

started with a bibliography of Crooked Cucumber but now that's just a link on this page. Lots of links.

Special Sections

           Roundabout Zen - Recollections of Zentatsu Baker Roshi

           Shunryu Suzuki books - by (from lectures) and about Suzuki

           Books by Dainin Katagiri -  compilations of his lectures

           Ed Brown Books

           Lew Richmond Books

           Dchad books - books by creator of this web site

           Taigen Dan Leighton Books

           John Tarrant Books

           Norman Fischer Books

           Red Pine (Bill Porter) Books

           Shoes Outside the Door - comments and discussion

           Way of Eiheiji - the pamphlet that came with the Folkways Album.

           Way of Zazen - this whole short book.

Reb Anderson’s and other people’s books are listed on the main bibliography page. These special sections are not at all complete. It’s just what I got to. Don’t think of anything on cuke as complete. There’s lots of work to do.