cuke.com  - Shunryu Suzuki Index  - WHAT'S NEW - table of contents



Zen Is Right Here

Anecdote Index


ZIRH cuke page


22 - boss

previous --- next


A flamboyant young man with long hair and beads around his neck had been trying hard to practice Zen at Sokoji while continuing his hippie lifestyle. One day he asked Suzuki Roshi a question about marijuana and Zen to which Suzuki answered, "Maybe you smoke too much marijuana."

"Okay," the fellow said, "I'll quit. You're the boss."

"No!" Suzuki said, "You're the boss!"

p. 24. Ken Spiker, Sokoji, 1965.