we usually say means just doing, just sitting, specifically. We say just sitting. But another way to define Shikantaza is practice of no-self. So it may be good to think of Shikantaza as practice of no-self. Otherwise we tend to think it's some specific activity. It's easy to misconstrue and think that it's some specific kind of activity. And a lot of Soto Zen teachers actually have this idea that Shikantaza is some very rarefied kind of sitting, some very specific

[01:24]

It's not untrue, but it's not complete. So shikantaza is not just something we do in zazen, but is the practice that we do throughout our whole life. It means practice or realization of no-self in our activity. So this is basic Buddhist practice. There's nothing fancy about it. Nothing extra. It's beyond Zen and beyond Buddhism. It's simply a practice of reality.

[02:32]

of seeing everything just as it is, from the point of view of Buddha, rather than from the point of view of self. So instead of saying, this is my point of view, So Zazen is a Buddhist practice. But we get it mixed up with my practice. But my practice, of course, is still Buddhist practice. But in the sense that Maybe children don't understand what they're doing completely.

[03:37]

But nevertheless, they're still our children. So even though we don't practice Buddhist practice, In our Zazen practice, it's important to not think of it as my practice, my Zazen, my posture, my breath. Even though we do say my, It's just a convenient way of talking about something.

[04:47]

So we do talk about it this way. And even in my talk, I will talk about it this way. I'll talk about our this and my that. But we should realize that this is just a convenient way of speaking about something which we have to speak about. But it doesn't point to a particular reality. Shikantaza is the practice of just relying on reality without being self-centered. So we've become reality-centered or buddha-centric rather than self-centered, rather than relying on an idea of a self.

[06:03]

So this is the most basic buddhist practice, the realization that even though there is thoughts, feelings, perceptions, mentality, and awareness. But if you try to find the Self within that, Our life is interdependent with everything. This is called life of no-self.

[07:06]

No-self means completely interdependent. Everything is completely interdependent with everything else. And there's one big self called Buddha nature that So when we sit zazen, we allow that our self to express itself. So when there's breath, we can say, this is my breath. But actually, this is not my breath. This is just breath, just breathing. Buddha nature is thinking.

[08:11]

Buddha nature is sitting. So when we We bring our posture to zazen. Buddha nature brings itself to itself. Buddha nature meets Buddha nature. Even though there's nothing to meet. What are they?

[09:33]

So, in Zazen, we let the breath come and go. Shikantaza is not some way of controlling things, but rather allowing very strong control, you know, sitting up straight all day long, looks like control, but actually it's letting go. It's a kind of paradox. As we discipline ourselves, we actually are letting go. Most of the time we're controlling ourselves. If you look at breath, most of the time our breath is controlled by anxiety or fear or apprehension.

[10:57]

Very little of the time do we actually let go of control. And most of the time, our posture is controlled by fear, anxiety, and apprehension, and expectation. So very little of the time do we actually let go of control and give ourselves over to freedom of nature. So, zazen actually is an opportunity to let go of control and flow freely with our nature. But in order to let go of control, we have to have some form.

[12:02]

Even though there's no self-nature, as Suzuki Roshi used to say, even though there's no self-nature, there still has to be some rules. Everything goes according to rules, even though nothing's fixed. So sometimes we feel if we want freedom, then we just let go of the But real freedom is found within the form. Within form is a freedom. Because this is the world of form, we have to pay attention to form. We may feel, well, when I disappear from this world,

[13:06]

then I'll have true freedom. But actually, the challenge that we face is to find true freedom within this world of form. How do we find our true freedom within this world of strict forms? So Azazen at the same time, ultimate freedom. Within the strictest of forms we find our ultimate freedom, freedom of no-self. To try to escape from this self is just to be caught Sometimes people feel, well, if we didn't have any form in this practice, we'd have more freedom.

[14:16]

But actually, escaping the form is just escape. We still have to deal with the form, some form or another. there's no way out of form. So the formless is found within the form. And the form is the form of the formless. So in Zazen, we just let the breath come and go. Just let the breath freely come and go. If we try to control it, then we start to get self-centered.

[15:19]

And we just let the thoughts in the mind come and go. If we try to control our mind, So many people feel that, or when you read about meditation, it sounds like there should be no thoughts in the mind. But actually, to create a condition where there are no thoughts in the mind is just creating another condition, which is called no thoughts in the mind. We think if there are no thoughts in the mind, then we can see God. But that's just a condition of no thoughts in the mind. So whether there's thinking or not thinking is not the point.

[16:26]

The point is our attitude To let thoughts go and come without being bothered by the coming and going of thoughts is freedom. To let pain or pleasure come and go without being bothered by pain or pleasure is called freedom within the body. But as soon as something comes up, we say, oh, I like this, or oh, I don't like this. As soon as like and dislike appear, then there's the creation of a self. As soon as I want or I don't want comes up, then there's the creation of a self.

[17:30]

we should be very careful in understanding what gāten is. It's not to fall into one side or another of good or bad, pleasure or pain, right or wrong, but to see everything equally, to experience everything with an equal mind. in the calmness of our mind. To keep ourselves always settled, we say, to settle the self on the self. To settle the self on the self doesn't mean to settle the self on our ego.

[18:37]

It means to settle the self on means just have calm mind. Pay attention to the calmness of mind. Don't let anything upset. But it's very difficult. Difficult practice because as soon as something comes up, we grab it. As soon as pain comes up, we grab it. So, best is to just leave everything alone. Just let everything come up as it comes and go as it goes. Of course, we need to respond to things, you know.

[19:40]

So, whenever everything comes up, whenever something comes up, I see what it is, or I see it, but maybe I don't know what it is. If we hear an airplane, it's just a sound coming in one ear and going out the other. If a ladder rattles, it's just a sound coming in one ear and going out the other. If you say, oh, that's a ladder, you've created a ladder. If you say, oh, that's an airplane, you've created an airplane. No need to create anything. Once you start creating an airplane, then you start saying, oh, it's noisy. And then after you say it's noisy, say, I don't like that noise.

[20:46]

It's disturbing my practice, or I don't like the rattling of that ladder, it's disturbing my practice. Shikantaza means don't let anything disturb anything. There's nothing to be disturbed. Where is that nothing that can be disturbed? So just stay with our breath and posture. Just stay with the breath and the posture. When the attention is on breath, the breath is the attention and the attention is the breath. Don't try to see the breath as an object.

[21:50]

count our breath. Breath is one, two, three, but we're not counting something. Just one is the breath, and the breath is one. It's like Mu, the koan Mu. But when you practice Mu, it's not a matter of something or nothing. It's just Mu. And Mu is no longer, no longer has any meaning, nor is it a word. It covers not only the whole of consciousness, but the whole world. So in the same way, One covers the whole world.

[23:03]

It's not something outside. It's no longer a number. It no longer has any relationship to two. Two is just two. You could just say one, one, one. The point is to be completely one with the breath. It's not an object. One is your whole being.

[24:05]

Maybe not your whole being. What is whole being? Two is whole being. Three is complete being, completely this. This is how we concentrate in zazen. And there are no obstacles. And pleasure is completely pleasure, completely this. So when we can treat everything equally and be absorbed in each moment's activity as just this, that's shikantaza.

[25:11]

That's practice of no-self, practice of reality, seeing or realizing this self from a point of view of Buddha nature. And even if we fail, it's still Buddha nature. Impossible, you know, to be completely absorbed. continuously. So, one moment we have absorption, the next moment we're lost in fantasy world, next moment we're lost in good and bad, right and wrong, like and dislike. and everything is included in that moment.

[26:19]

We talk sometimes, you know, in meditation practice, there have always been preliminary practices and then the real thing. And if you look at Theravada practices and Tiantai practice of meditation, there are always these preliminary practices before you actually get into the real thing. And in our practice, you know, we sway back and forth before you actually sit up in Zazen. Not only that, you bow to your cushion. It's a kind of preliminary practice. Even counting breath is sometimes considered a preliminary practice. And then you have Shikantaza. But when you understand Shikantaza, or when you understand your practice, there's no such thing as preliminary practice.

[27:41]

Swaying back and forth is it. Counting breath is shikantaza. Serving meals is shikantaza. Going to the bathroom is shikantaza. Kin-hen is shikantaza. Resting is shikantaza. So we'd have nothing but continuous practice. And during Sachine, we have the opportunity to continue to remember that, moment by moment.

[28:44]

So, moment by moment, we have the opportunity to be mindful of what we're doing. So this is actually kind of, Shikantaza is just natural seems special because so much of our life is dualistic. We get caught in the duality of our life, so Shikantaza seems like something special, but it's actually just the norm.

[29:45]

As far as there being no self, Buddhist scripture makes a point to cornerstone of Buddhist scripture, no Atman, no self. On the other hand, they always talk about Do you believe that literally? Nothing in this universe is ever lost.

[31:29]

And everything goes somewhere. Everything is going somewhere. Matter of fact, there's nothing, if you look at it carefully, it looks like things are going somewhere. But we say everything is going somewhere because nothing's standing still. If you try to catch something, if it's standing still, you may catch a rock. You say, well, this rock is pretty solid. We always use a rock as an analogy of solidity. But the rock is going somewhere, too, no matter how hard it is. But to say that this rock will appear as it is in another form after it disintegrates and reintegrates, some people think so.

[32:41]

But water, if you look at water, water is always taking new forms. But it always returns to the sea and takes new forms. And so there's always the rebirth of waves. Always the rebirth of waves. But if you look inside the wave to try to find something, you can't find it. The ancient people were always worried about the next life, you know. But you can worry about the next life if you want to. But whatever happens to us in the next life, so-called, I hope, you know, that we're doing the right thing.

[33:56]

But you can speculate on next life as long as you want. But nobody knows. Nevertheless, rebirth, you know, is action influence, which is continually creating new forms out of itself. the influence of the actions of this world, be it in human beings or whatever, is continually creating new forms through the influence of its actions, of our actions. But how that happens is purely speculation. I'm bored and I'm irritated, and I can't seem to stay awake.

[35:04]

I didn't want to come, but I couldn't stay home, and I'd like to leave, but I can't. And I think I've heard this lecture 999 times, and I'm wondering if I'm wasting my time and appreciate your states of mind. But what's the use of being asleep and sitting? Just appreciate your states of mind. Who said there was any use? I do. You're asking me a question, right? Right. Just appreciate your states of mind. OK.

[35:54]

@Text_v004
@Score_JJ