Good morning. Well, before I start my talk, First of all, today is election day for the mayor of Berkeley, so if you want to vote, you can do so on your break. I don't know where you have to go. I just got out of the corner. But you can take the time to do that. Second thing, I want to talk a little bit about mindfulness in how we take care of or how we do certain things in a zendo.

[01:05]

When we walk, you know, carry the stick, or when we carry the offering tray, something that we're, you know, the stick is Manjushri's stick. It's Manjushri's sword, actually. It cuts through things. You know, it takes life and gives life. So we handle it in a reverential manner. So when you're carrying the stick, you carry it at eye level, not above your head, and not down here, but right there at eye level. So it's right in front of your eyes. And you hold it out with your arms extended. Not up here. You extend your arms so that you really have the feeling the whole body and mind is engaged in this activity.

[02:27]

And then you bow by lowering your head and keeping the stick up. So it's just like zazen. The whole body is engaged. And when you carry the Buddha tray, you carry it sort of the same way. you walk with it like this and then offer it. So when you carry the Buddha tray, you walk with presents. It's true that you're trying to get someplace and do something. You're trying to deliver this meal to the Buddha on the altar. But you do it with a certain kind of presence.

[03:33]

So if you walk too slowly, everybody gets fidgety. If you go too fast, it's like you're just trying to get it over with. So it's true that we do want to get it done, but we also want to do it. So we should be in the walking, have presence in our walking, and not just kind of make curves to get to where we're going. But when you come up to the mat, you stop a little bit, and then you sidestep, and then you bow, and then you sidestep. But not in a mechanical way. When you learn something, you usually do it mechanically or by rote. But then after a while you get used to doing something and you do it with more gracefulness.

[04:36]

So if it feels a little awkward, it's okay. Pretty soon you get used to it and then it feels more graceful. So a lot of the things that we do feel a little awkward. Sometimes when we're new and we bow to the servers, it feels awkward because we're not used to doing that. Or the servers bow to the eaters and it feels a little awkward because we're not used to doing that. But it's OK to feel awkward because it's new, it's different, something that you're not used to. And you have to reconcile it in your mind before you can feel really graceful with it. So sometimes it takes a while to digest and to assimilate these kinds of actions into our way of doing things. So it's okay to be awkward or a little stiff or whatever.

[05:44]

But even though that's so, we should be mindful and try and do it carefully with presence. Because the whole idea is to be present. And as soon as we start rushing things or cutting corners, we're no longer present. So that's our reminder. So everything we do in the Zen Dojo is a reminder to be present. When we walk into the zendo, when we're sitting zazen, you don't just rush to your seat. You think, well, the sooner I get to my seat, the less commotion I'll be making. But actually, the opposite is true. The more you rush to your seat to eliminate the commotion, the more commotion you make.

[06:48]

When you come into the zendo late, walk very quietly, carefully to your seat to match the mood of the zendo. As soon as you walk in the door, you assume the mood of the zendo. And so this goes for all of our activities. we bow to each other, we really bow to each other. You don't have to bow deeply, you know. There's an occasion where you do a deep bow, and then there's an occasion where you just acknowledge something and just stop for a moment. And when you bow and the servers and the eaters bow to each other, it doesn't have to be a deep bow.

[07:55]

But you have to stop. You have to stop with each other. That's the point. The bow is when you stop. Going down is getting to the bow. But just the going down and coming up is not bowing. Bowing is when you actually stop and meet in that space, in that fraction of a second. So that's what I would like us to be attentive to. You don't have to do a deep bow or a long bow, but just stop and meet each other at that point. This is presence, being present, genjo. This is how we practice genjo koan. And in that on, or that action, is Gen, which is the whole universe.

[09:00]

So, moment by moment, our koan is right there. Do everything with presence. Otherwise, To do this kind of practice without presence is the most ludicrous thing in the world. It's silly and stupid. Without presence. So this is not an admonition. It's just a reminder. So when we carry the pots, you don't need to carry them high.

[10:25]

It's hard. But when you carry the pots from one person to another, sometimes you have a bowl, or a pot, or say like with a salad bowl, and you've got the pinchers or the spoon, and you serve something, and then you put the spoon back, and then you carry the bowl in one hand, and the pinchers with the other. which is a very awkward thing to do, to carry it around like this. So you put the utensil in the bowl and take the bowl with two hands and carry the bowl, because you only want to do one thing at a time. So this is presence, to just do one thing at one time. Take the time to put the utensil and How you put the utensil in the bowl is important. Do you do it this way or this way or without thinking?

[11:28]

So think about how you put the utensil, rest it in the bowl or the pot so that it doesn't fall out and it has its own position in relation to everything else in the bowl. And then with two hands, you carry the bowl to the next person. And then you hold it, and you do this, and you put it back, take the bowl, and you bow. Sometimes we don't understand how to bow with something in our hands. So when we bow and you have something in your hands, you bow with the object, so the object You and the object and whoever you're bowing to become one thing. If you hold the bowl and bow with one hand, then you're taking the bowl out of the picture, or you're taking the object.

[12:34]

You're saying, this doesn't belong in this act. But actually, it belongs there, because this is your Dharma position. This is what you have right now. So you include the object with your act. So rather than bow with one hand and hold the object with the other, you just hold the object, because the bow, although it includes your hands, is with the body. So you're bowing with the whole body. Matter of fact, it's really good to do this way, because a lot of times you just bow with our hands. So the hands are, of course, included, but then When you have the object, the hands are here, no matter what object you have. So when you think this way, or try making an effort to act in this way, then you regain your composure, keep your composure and your balance and your relationship to things.

[13:49]

All things being empty means that things only exist within relationship. That's what emptiness means, that things only exist in relationship. So what we practice is, the practice of emptiness is to practice how to do things in relation to other things. And when we ignore things, and only do a little part of something, then that's delusion. Enlightenment is when you act, you take into account everything around you. So that's our practice. Whatever we do, we take into account everything around us. We don't ignore something. Of course, something is ignored. Whenever you focus on something, something else is ignored, right? And Dogen explains this in Agin Chokhoa.

[14:56]

When you do one thing, everything else is ignored, but included. So that's why when you do one thing, taking into account our surroundings, then everything is included, even though you can't see everything. That's why in Zazen, you just do this one thing absolutely completely, totally, and everything else is included. The whole universe is included. So the way we practice is with the small stuff of our life, how you walk, how you talk, how you pick something up, how you arrange one thing in relationship to other things. That's why in Oryoki, the wonderful thing about Oryoki is that all of the utensils and the cloth and the bowls are all related to each other in proportion and relationship.

[16:10]

And you work with that. And it's very satisfying and wonderful. That's why there's a way to do orioke. There are various ways to do orioke. There's no one way to do it. I mean, even though whenever we do it, we think, well, this is the way. But actually, there are various ways, variations on the way. There is really a way to do it, but there are variations on the way. And when you do it in that way, one action follows another. The Oryoki is arranged so that one action follows another and it flows. You don't do something, an unnecessary action with the Oryoki. Every act, every movement, it's kind of like a ballet, like a dance. And then it becomes very satisfying because

[17:14]

in the simple act of eating, the whole dharma is manifested. So, the point of Buddhism, actually, or of our practice is to realize that in every act, the whole dharma is manifest. and it manifests in our mistakes and in our awkwardness. So don't worry.

[18:19]

Just make the effort. That's the main thing. The main thing is just to make the effort. It doesn't matter whether you do something perfect or not. It doesn't matter whether you make big mistakes or clumsy or inadequate. The main thing is that you're aware It's real easy, you know, to get to the point where you seek perfection. I do all these wonderful acts, you know, just right, and I'm perfect, and I'm really good. That's not it. Then you easily become attached to being good. Or you just continue to make mistakes, and you're always and you feel you can never come up to it, then you become attached to feeling bad, to feeling inadequate. So those are the two extremes.

[19:22]

Middle way is just do it. Just make the effort, good and bad. It's like flowers falling and weeds growing. So don't be attached to them. The main thing is manifesting in the present. So sometimes we manifest successfully, sometimes unsuccessfully. Either way, it's okay. So with that introduction, excuse me, Yesterday, I read the first part of Dogen's Genjo Koan, and I said, Genjo means manifesting in the present, totally manifesting in the present.

[20:30]

absolute side, and an is the relative side of our life. And Dogen talks in these four sentences. The first sentence he brings out, form is emptiness, emptiness is form, form is form, and emptiness is emptiness. And then he goes on to explicate the varieties of that statement and ends up with flowers fall with our grasping and weeds grow with our discomfort, which is just the way it is, just the way our life is. So the first three sentences are kind of theoretical, And the last sentence is the way things really manifest in our life, the way we experience them. So then he has four more sentences, and in these sentences he's talking about delusion and enlightenment.

[21:55]

Delusion and enlightenment. He keeps talking about the difference between delusion and enlightenment. but he's also talking about the equality of delusion and enlightenment. So Dogen's whole case here is the equation of delusion and enlightenment, the non-duality of delusion and enlightenment. So if we follow that, if we keep that in mind, then we can see how he keeps unfolding this understanding. Because in the next four sentences, he unfolds it a little more deeply.

[22:58]

And he says, to carry the self forward and realize the 10,000 dharmas is delusion. That the 10,000 dharmas advance and realize the Self is enlightenment. So here again he's talking about delusion and enlightenment. It is Buddhas who enlighten delusion. It is creatures who are deluded in enlightenment. Further, there are those who attain enlightenment above enlightenment. there are those who are deluded within delusion. When Buddhas are truly Buddhas, one need not be aware of being Buddha. However, one is the realized Buddha and further advances in realizing Buddha. So to carry the self forward and realize the 10,000 dharmas is delusion as the feeling of looking outside of yourself for the answer to your life.

[24:09]

And the 10,000 dharmas advance and realize the Self is enlightenment. Sometimes that's translated as that the 10,000 advance and confirm itself is enlightenment. These two sentences go together and should not be understood separately. To carry the self forward and realize the ten thousand dharmas is delusion. That means to try and find, to look outside of yourself for realization. And also it has the feeling of egocentricity to control the world actually, to control things.

[25:28]

And that the 10,000 dharmas advance and realize the Self is more like merging with all things. So it's like the Olymp... You know, we see ourself as I, or the subject, and everything is outside of ourself. It's an object. But when we realize even though there is a subjective and objective quality to things, when we realize ourself, we realize that we're all part of one body. We're all the various expressions of the one body. And although things seem to exist as objects against my subject, we really don't exist independently.

[26:36]

And when we engage, the engagement itself creates myself and it also creates yourself. So as all things are interdependent, it looks like we exist independently. This is to go forward and to try and realize the 10,000 dharmas, is to feel that things only exist independently. But to allow the 10,000 dharmas to advance and realize the Self means that we exist only interdependently with things, but at the same time, there is the feeling of independence. So each one of us is really independent.

[27:38]

That's why these two sentences are really complementary. There is the feeling of independence, and at the same time, interdependence. And here again, to carry the self forward and realize the 10,000 dharmas is delusion, that's on. And that the 10,000 dharmas advance and realize the Self is enlightenment, that's ko. Dogen talks about turning and being turned. To advance is to turn things. to turn the world, turn circumstances, make things happen. That things advance and realize or confirm the Self is to allow ourself to be turned by things, to allow circumstances to turn us.

[28:53]

So this conjoining or cooperating we're being turned, or when we turn things, when we turn the dharma, then we're in the ascendant position, and the dharma is in the lower position. And when the dharma turns us, the dharma is in the strong position, and we're in the weak position, or the yielding position. So when to step forward and when to step back, this is very important. When to assert and when to receive. And our life of interaction is this assertion and receiving, or receiving.

[29:58]

And our whole life is balance of power. If you look at the world, all the countries relate to each other in the balance of power. And when we interact with each other, we're always, whether we realize it or not, interacting no matter who we meet. there's the balance of power. And no matter what situation we encounter, there's the balance of power. I call it power, but it can have different names. And everyone has certain abilities.

[31:02]

We each have certain intelligence or stupidity or knowledge or lack of knowledge or position, wealth, possessions, you know, whatever it is that constitutes our personality, when we meet with another personality, we have to balance all these factors with each other. And this is happening constantly. And sometimes, if we have some skill, then we balance them very quickly. And if we don't have so much skill, we don't balance them so quickly, and we get into a lot of trouble, because we don't think about how to balance, that our life is just this balancing of factors.

[32:08]

but we stick to our sense of I. And our sense of I doesn't take into account the balance, and it says, I'm angry at you for doing that, or I resent this, or it comes out in these ways. And balancing all those factors in each situation That's our practice. That's Genjo Koan. So that you become very sensitive to how things interact with each other. How thoughts, feelings, consciousness, and bodies interact with each other. Either harmoniously or inharmoniously. And there's nothing fixed. But we have a big problem when we come up against something that's fixed or somebody that's fixed.

[33:14]

But we think they're fixed. Actually, nothing's fixed. So knowing how to turn things and knowing how to be turned by things are allowing that to happen. When it works perfectly, it's like no effort. It's like everything is working just... Did you ever get into a place where things work with no effort? Sometimes when you're doing something, you know, you get on a roll. Everything I do is just so easy. It just works, you know? And then, it's all over. But there are stretches in your life when things work that way. You pick up the phone before you answer it, you know who to call. The doorbell rings and you know there's a package for you with a million dollars in it.

[34:22]

You walk down the street and everybody says hello to you. This is because, for some reason or another, you're turning things and allowing yourself to be turned. So this is our practice. to know how to allow ourself to be turned, and when it's right to turn things, and when it's right to allow ourself to be turned. Well, sometimes we get, some people are more passive, others are more active, aggressive. And some are passive aggressive.

[35:23]

In practice, when we see someone who is too passive, we always encourage them to be more active. Do something. You're very good at being passive, but now initiate. Learn how to initiate. And someone who's just always initiating, but never participating, stop initiating so much. Just go along with things. So we always try to keep that balance in our practice. And that's one of the most fundamental ways that we encourage students is in this area. And this is where we fall into the most trouble. And I say, oh God, why does this always happen to me? I can never stop blah blah from happening to me. Usually we're either too passive in one area or too active.

[36:36]

And we fail to make that, to balance ourself with circumstances moment by moment. So this is a big subject, a whole area of study. It has many implications and ramifications, as it says. Oh my. And then Dogen says, it is Buddhas who enlighten delusion, and it is creatures who are deluded in enlightenment. Buddha's enlightened delusions. Buddha, if you think, I'm not deluded, or I'm not crazy, then you're crazy.

[37:53]

You're a little nuts. You're really nuts if you think, I'm not crazy. When you wake up to the fact, I'm a little bit nuts, or I am a little bit deluded, then that's enlightenment. Enlightenment is present at that moment. But if you think, oh, I'm okay. Nothing wrong with me. That's delusion. So Enlightenment comes forth in seeing ourself just as we are. That's enlightenment. Seeing everything as it really is. You can say, also you can say it is Buddhas who enlighten delusion. That's ko-in-an.

[38:58]

That's enlightenment within delusion. And it is creatures who are deluded in enlightenment. That's An and Ko. Or within enlightenment there is delusion. You can't have one without the other. You can't have enlightenment without delusion. And you can't have delusion without enlightenment. Enlightenment enlightens delusion. And delusion is the substance of enlightenment. But delusion in the broad sense simply means this world. Samsara is another word for delusion. It means this realm of duality.

[40:02]

Buddha says, life is suffering without exception. Even your enjoyable moments are moments of, quote, suffering. But they're also completely nirvana. There's no other nirvana than this life of suffering. So, our suffering takes place within the realm of nirvana. Nirvana takes place within the realm of our suffering. Otherwise, you couldn't talk about enlightenment and delusion or suffering and nirvana. It's just another duality. So, Dogen always talks about Buddha going beyond Buddha, going beyond enlightenment and delusion.

[41:07]

What's the title of the Heart Sutra? Wisdom Beyond Wisdom, right? Wisdom Beyond Wisdom Sutra. It means beyond wisdom, beyond delusion and enlightenment. And in the Sandokai, It said, even though you see everything as one, it's still not enough. It says, not enough. Actually, it should say, it's not enlightenment. I mean, it says it's not enlightenment, but it is enlightenment. To see everything as one is enlightenment, but it's not enough. Enlightenment is not enough, actually. That's why It's really good to have enlightenment. No doubt about it. Because enlightenment is enlightenment about our delusion.

[42:22]

But Suzuki Roshi never emphasized enlightenment. He always emphasized going beyond enlightenment and delusion. So he never talked too much about enlightenment. He talked about going beyond delusion and enlightenment, which means things as they are, which includes delusion and enlightenment. So, it is Buddhas who enlighten delusion and it is creatures who are delivered in enlightenment. So, I'll continue with this.

[43:28]

Peace be upon you.

[43:44]

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