Even though we may sit zazen occasionally or in some way, what really makes it into a practice is our commitment. The commitment may just include one day of zazen a week. But if it's a commitment, then it makes a difference. It becomes a practice. So how we organize our practice, how we organize our life around practice, and how that includes all of our responsibilities and activities in our life. So each one of us has to decide how that works, how Zen Do practice works with the rest of our life and how the rest of our life integrates with our Zen Do practice. And that's one of the most important factors of how we practice in this way, for a lay Sangha.

[01:06]

In order to actually have a practice, we have to have some kind of commitment. But that commitment has to take into account all of the responsibilities of our life, so that it becomes integral our practice becomes integral with the rest of our life and is not just something set aside. So, during practice period, we establish a commitment for the practice period, which may be little more than you usually do, But sometimes that little bit more gives you the pressure or gives an edge to your practice that helps to wake it up, helps to make it vital. So vital practice is usually just on the edge between a little too much and just enough. that little too much gives you a little bit of a problem.

[02:21]

So then you can back off to where it's just enough. It's like tuning a string. Sometimes if you want to tune a string, you tune it high and then come down to where it settles. So if you push yourself a little bit to where it's a little bit too much, then you can come back and find out, well, this is really where it settles. And so you have some confidence. If you overextend yourself, then you run into problems and lose your confidence. And if you don't extend yourself enough, you never quite feel the vitality that practice will give you. and so you lose your confidence. So always we're looking for that place where it's just enough, just right. And this is exactly the same as zazen.

[03:23]

If you over-exert yourself in zazen, you get tired and stiff and lose your confidence. And if you don't exert enough effort, you never can really sit up straight and you never feel the vitality of true Zazen and you lose your confidence. So we're always looking for that place between too much and not enough. And if we keep this in mind all the time throughout all of our activity, then we're always finding the right We're not ahead of ourselves, we're not behind ourselves, we're not doing too much, we're not doing too little. So we're always looking for that place where it's just right. And it changes all the time. It changes from moment to moment. So it's like finding our balance moment after moment, and finding our equilibrium moment after moment, finding our effort and finding our ease.

[04:32]

in each situation, moment by moment. So over a long period of time, we learn how to practice in this way, so that we can sustain our practice. This is how we sustain our practice over a long, long period of time. Otherwise, you either burn out, or you You never get up enough effort to keep you going. And you just get pulled away by something else. So how to keep a pure practice is what we have to pay attention to. When I say pure practice, I mean practice which is not dualistic.

[05:45]

This is what we mean by pure practice. Not some idea of purity, but not that everything should always be clean, but that we should not fall into division. There are two ways of looking at pure practice. One is from the point of view of big mind, not being separate from small mind, are the whole works and yourself. the whole universe and yourself without a gap. When there's no gap between yourself and a big mind, this is pure practice.

[06:47]

And the other way, other aspect is when there's no gap between your Zazen practice in the Zen Do and your daily life in the world, that's pure practice. when you don't feel that they're two different things. That's pure practice. So, the most important thing is how we maintain pure practice. That is, practice without any gap. Or you could say, no gap between heaven and earth. Dogen Zenji says, a quarter of an inch's difference is as great as the gap between heaven and earth. So in Zazen practice, Zazen practice is to close the gap. If there is such a thing as a purpose in Zazen practice, it's to close the gap between heaven and earth.

[07:59]

or to close the gap between your small self and big self. And in our practice of daily life, to close the gap between zazen practice or zendo practice and your practice in the world, your life in the world, which includes your family, your work, your study, all of your activity, the way you relate to the world, and what we do in the world. And so, to have a rhythm of Zazen practice, daily lives, retreating from the world to do Zazen, and entering the world to be part of the world.

[09:12]

So it's both aspects. Although, even though it's just a matter of speaking, when we do Zazen practice, we're not really leaving anything. but it's just a way of speaking. We withdraw from worldly activity and do Zazen and then we enter the world again and forget all about Zazen. After you leave the zendo, you just forget all about Zazen and just do whatever is in front of you. Just take care of whatever is in front of you without any gap. So we have two sides. I talk about this often. The Zendo practice, which is very formal, and in which you can taste the atmosphere of Zen practice. Nice clean building, tatami mats. You bow to everything and you don't say anything, you sit zazen.

[10:17]

And this is the atmosphere of Zen practice. And every time you come into Zendo, it's the same way, pretty much the same way. But when you leave the Zendo, it's always a different experience. Nothing's the same. Even though the houses are in the same place, you know, and the streets there, all the activities are different, moment by moment. It's actually the same in Zendo, but it's more subtle. But when you leave the Zendo, It's less subtle. So, when you enter the Zen Do, there's the form of Zen. The form of Zen practice is right there. You don't have to worry about it. But when you leave the Zen Do, and enter into one activity after another, Your practice is to recognize all those forms that you enter as the forms of practice.

[11:28]

You have to be able to practice within all those forms and recognize the form of practice within all those forms. And this is the bigger part of your life. How do I practice in this situation? How do I practice in this situation? If you keep that idea alive, then there's no gap between your Zendo practice and your daily life. What is practice in this situation when the child is screaming at you and all you want to do is hit him? But you know you're not going to do that. But you might. What's practice right there? What's practice when people are killing each other on the other side of the world and there's nothing you can do about it? What's practice when people are killing each other right in front of you and there's nothing you can do about it?

[12:33]

What is practice? Crossing the street? Or eating your dinner? in the midst of temptations, difficult temptations. So this is the field of practice. It's all out there. So when we leave the zendo, we're not really leaving the zendo. We extend the zendo to wherever we are. If we're living a life of practice, wherever we go, that's the extension of the zendo. But your activity is different. and you don't sit with your legs crossed, and you talk. So it's a different kind of activity. It's a different kind of zazen. But it's definitely where our practice takes place.

[13:39]

How do we unify our life with everything around us in that situation? Very difficult. No one else knows what you're doing. People often say, well, I go out there in the world, and the moment I'm out there, my practice is destroyed. No one else knows what I'm doing. Like when I'm here at the Zendo, and I interact with people, there's some mutual understanding. But out there in the world, it's not mutual understanding. As a matter of fact, it's pretty much dog-eat-dog. Everyone is trying to get something for themselves. How do you practice in a world like that? So that's Big Koan. Dogen's Genjo Koan. Every moment, the Koan arises in front of us. And the Koan, Genjo Koan,

[14:47]

from the zendo into our daily life. How to extend that non-dual practice into our daily life. So that's the true test of our practice. Ginjo means manifesting. manifesting. And ko means level, or non-dual, actually. Non-distinctive. It points toward the absolute. And an,

[15:57]

means the position of each thing, each dharma, on any moment. So, how do you live without a gap between ko and an, in the present moment, as it manifests? How do we see each moment's minute activity as a manifestation of absolute reality or absolute existence. So, you know, everything we do is interconnected with everything else. So how do we around us as an object and realizing it as ourselves.

[17:00]

This is the meaning of koan. Not to see the world as just an enormous collection of objects, endless objects, but how do we realize the world as our true self? How do we close that gap? That's the koan that arises on each moment. And it's not necessarily something to solve, but it's something to realize. What there is to solve is ourself. Solve is like solvent. to make soft or to make permeable.

[18:03]

It could break down the barriers. someone who has the head seat. set an example for the practice period.

[19:37]

So it's very difficult, you know, because you're very visible. That person is very visible and very much on the spot. So it's a very vital kind of practice for that person. The Shuso gives some talks and also feeds all members of the practice for tea and informal talks. When a priest is suicidal, that marks a certain point in their practice.

[21:07]

A certain step in their practice. So we'll go ahead today. to do this, so he stayed busy at the British Peace Overship as the coordinator, and they'd given him a little bit of leave to peace himself. So, do you have any questions?

[22:16]

Yes. You said that our commitment is to ourselves. [...] You said that our But I put emphasis on our commitment to ourselves because ultimately that's where it lies. Dude.

[23:37]

So, then, uh, he would, you know, get stuck. Then he can't move. And, uh, it's difficult to talk to him. Because, uh, there's a reason he's got to figure it out. So... you feel that you can't do what you want to do. So, it's always important, you know, that we always want to do more than we can do, you know, and I always say, well, there's a person with a lot of good, you know, and those are the persons with a lot of good. Well, you can't do everything, but we can do everything. And you learn from that how to adjust your life, you know, to cutting off everything you really want to do on this side, and cutting off everything you want to let go of on this side, in order to actually go ahead.

[25:31]

So I think that if we try to do it in the tree out in front, then we'll probably get long animals. And pine trees, you know, have two leaders. And fish, they can stay beneath. You know, we have to cut off one of the leaders in order for this tree to go straight, in order for this tree to have one Well, I have to think about which one to cut off. I didn't know which one to cut off. Finally, we decided to cut. I can't remember how I decided. I don't have any, so it's not the same.

[29:51]

To put it like that, you get that part that you're going to have, and you bring it forward. You have to get to that point. And people are constantly inventing new things for us to take on.

[32:59]

And each one of them becomes a way of life. You know, you innocently take on something that you think you'd like to do, and if you start that we've taken on. What is the magic?

[34:34]

Well, it's about being greedy.

[34:38]

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