I am now to taste the truth that does the darkness worse. Morning. Morning. This is the last day, seventh day of our road to Seshin, which is Seshin commemorating Shakyamuni Buddha's And we've been studying that enlightenment through the eyes of Dogen Zenji. But our real study has been through our zazen. We say study. Dogen says to study the self. But study in the self is not like studying a book or studying biology or some subject.

[01:08]

Study means to be, in this case, not study our self as an object. way, necessarily. So he says to study the self is to forget or just plunge into reality. This is how we study. But we also study words and letters. Because we study in this way, we can study words and letters. which helped to orient our attention and understanding.

[02:11]

I also said that we wanted to dedicate this session to world peace. I talked about world peace, but subsequently we've been studying Dogen's Ginjo Koan, which is about how we study reality. So today, although I can't finish Genjo Koan, I'll just continue and end where we are in the middle. But fortunately, each paragraph and sentence of Dogen's Shobo Genzo or Genjo Koan contains the whole thing.

[03:25]

So it's not a problem. Incidentally, yesterday we were talking about firewood and ash, and how firewood is in the state of being firewood and ash is in the state of being ash, and firewood does not turn into ash. And this is a little puzzling in some ways. And Suzuki Roshi says, this is something that we can't

[04:30]

completely grasp through our intellectual understanding. So, please rest easy. So, Dogen goes on to say, Gaining enlightenment is like the moon reflecting in the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water disturbed. Although its light is extensive and great, the moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch across. The whole moon and the whole sky are reflected in a dewdrop in the grass, in one drop of water. Enlightenment does not hinder the person, just as the moon does not disturb the water. A person does not hinder enlightenment, just as a dew drop does not hinder the moon in the sky.

[05:37]

The depth of the drop is the height of the moon. As for the duration of the reflection, you should examine the water's vastness or smallness, and you should discern the brightness or dimness of the heavenly moon." This whole section in Dogon is saying that enlightenment is contained in the smallest speck of understanding. Even if we have some very small drop of understanding, the whole sky and the whole moon are right there. So gaining enlightenment is like the moon reflecting in the water.

[06:48]

When our mind is very open and there are no hindrances, then of course the light of prajna shines forth. This is actually purpose of practice, purpose of zazen. is to open our mind completely so that the light of prajna can illuminate our universe. So in a sense you can say our true purpose is to be a vehicle for light. And we may have various goals in life. But all of our goals in life, all the things that we seek, are really this light.

[07:57]

And we're not really satisfied until we have enlightenment. Some of us are satisfied. Or we rest in various levels of satisfaction. Ultimately, what we seek, light seeks light. This is why we can say, yes, we are already Buddha. Everyone is Buddha, but everyone has not necessarily realized Buddha. Light seeks light, or light, which is our nature, has this great yearning. for to express or to allow this light to permeate our being. So, we call it enlightenment.

[09:04]

Dogen says, enlightenment does not disturb the water, or does not disturb the person, just as the moon shining in the water does not disturb the water, because they're not two different things, of course. And the moon doesn't get wet, nor is the water disturbed. Although its light is extensive and great, the moon is reflected even in the puddle an inch across. So if you look in a dew drop or in a puddle, you can actually see the moon in the water when it's there. And not only is it in this drop of water, but it's also The whole moon and the whole sky are reflected in a dew drop in the grass, in one drop of water.

[10:14]

Enlightenment does not disturb the person, just as the moon does not disturb the water. Actually, what we would like is to have the moon disturb the water. Most of us are looking for this disturbance If I could only get enlightened, then I would be disturbed in the right way. But unfortunately, you may not be disturbed that way. We're looking for this great disturbing happen.

[11:26]

Practice, you know, at the end of Buddha nature is everywhere. Unless you turn the Dharma, it doesn't manifest. So it's easy, you know. What we would really like is to be able to take an enlightenment pill. But that's the bitter pill. Makes you sick first. Like peyote. Peyote makes you sick first.

[12:51]

When I was in my twenties, we used to eat peyote. That's right. And then after you died, you came back to life again. And it was wonderful. But you had to die first. You had to get sick and die first. A little bit like Zazen. all our cares and worries will be gone and we'll know everything and we'll be able to control ourself and the world and, you know, be on top of it and just lay back.

[13:59]

But unfortunately, that doesn't work. So, enlightenment is consonant with effort. Without the effort, there's no enlightenment. You may get enlightened without the effort. But the satisfaction of life is in our work. It's not in our state. And our state depends on our work. So our work and our state of mind are intimately bound up with each other. So, even if we get a great enlightenment experience, we still have to work. Without the work, the enlightenment doesn't mean anything.

[15:04]

It doesn't mean much. It's something. So, some people have great enlightenment experiences. Some people just go along horizontal level and never have much of this. But nevertheless, they lead a life of enlightenment, enlightened activity. But we want something, you know, we want something that we can recognize. But if you emphasize the experience, some special experience. Usually, very often, when people have enlightenment experience, great enlightenment experience, they get very much attached to the feeling of that experience. And as soon as they get attached to the feeling of that experience, they mistake that for the experience of enlightenment.

[16:10]

And then that gets transmitted to others who also want that. And then everybody says, oh, I want that too. It's like in Sachine, our Samadhi is very deep, and we have this wonderful clarity feeling. No matter what happens, we have this feeling of clarity. And we think, well, this is it. But actually, that's wonderful, and that is clarity, and that is Samadhi. But that's not it. So we should be very careful not to get attached to that special feeling that we have in Sashin. When we did Sashin with Suzuki Roshi, we always wanted to have a day off afterward. He said, no, just go right back into your usual activity.

[17:13]

No gap. Don't think that you've done something special. or attain some special, because you have some special feeling, don't think that's what you've attained. Your enlightenment is right within your usual boring, mundane, ordinary activity. There must be something more than this.

[18:32]

And there is. There is something greater than this. And what that thing is, is being able to accept this. I always quote Suzuki Roshi when he said, you probably heard this a thousand times, when you gain enlightenment, you better be careful because you may not like it. Sorry. If you think whatever your idea is, that you think that enlightenment is, that's not it. to practice and let go of our opinions and our ideas and our idle thinking is how to practice.

[20:19]

This is what zazen is, why we have such wonderful samadhi in zazen, in sasheen, because we just let go of all that and just return to our normal state of mind. So the great enlightenment is just being completely normal. But most of us don't experience being completely normal so often. So since we don't experience being completely normal, we visualize that normality as something extraordinary. And it is. The most extraordinary thing is just to be normal. But it's hard to just be normal, to accept the norm.

[21:20]

This is what Shakyamuni Buddha was always talking about. He never talked about anything extraordinary. He always talked about the norm. If you read the Buddha's Citrus, Shakyamuni says, this is the norm. He doesn't say, this is the extraordinary. So all he's talking about is, what is the norm? That's what Buddhism is about. Not some extraordinary thing. The most extraordinary thing a monk asked Hyakujo, what is the most extraordinary thing?

[22:23]

He said, sitting here on top of Mount Dayuho, sitting Zazen on top of Mount Dayuho, eating rice and defecating So Dogen says, a person does not hinder enlightenment just as a dew drop does not hinder the moon in the sky. The depth of the drop is the height of the moon. As for the duration of the reflection, you should examine the water's vastness or smallness, and you should discern the brightness or dimness of the heavenly moon. So our achievement, The light permeates according to our achievement, but achievement just means openness. So then, he says, when the truth does not fill our body and mind, we think that we have enough.

[23:37]

When the truth fills our body and mind, we realize that something is missing. For example, when we view the four directions from a boat on the ocean where no land is in sight, we see only a circle and nothing else. No other aspects are apparent. However, this ocean is neither round nor square, and its qualities are infinite in variety. It is like a palace. It is like a jewel. It just seems circular as far as our eyes can reach at the time. The 10,000 dharmas are likewise like this. Although ordinary life and enlightened life, or the dusty life and the pure life, assume many aspects, we only recognize and understand through the practice what the penetrating power of our vision can reach. In order to appreciate the 10,000 dharmas, we should know that although they may look round or square, the other qualities of oceans and mountains are infinite in variety.

[24:39]

Furthermore, other universes lie in all quarters. It is so not only around ourselves, but also right here in a single drop of water. This whole section I think is really important because in this section Dogen is talking about how we view things, how we see things, and how we understand things. When the truth does not fill our body and mind, we think, I've got it. And when the truth fills our body and mind, we realize that it's not enough. No matter how much we know, or how much we think we understand, or how enlightened we think we are, there's something, there's still more. ability to understand, or what there is to understand is so vast that true understanding is realizing how much we don't understand.

[26:03]

So, actually, one mark of enlightenment is to realize how little we understand, always. This is why an enlightened person always takes the lowest position, humble position. Someone who tries to impress you with their understanding is always suspect. You should see that as, be careful. then, you know, if we think about world peace, most of the problems in our world, seen from a point of view, are caused by people hanging on to their opinions, hanging on to the way they see the world, and claiming this is the right way, this is the way things should be, and your way is not the way things should be.

[27:12]

And in the realm of religion, you know, religious intolerance has been the cause of most, I don't say most, but a good many of the problems of the world. Religious ideology and attachment, attachment to religious ideology, When we have attachment to religious ideology, then we isolate ourselves. And then all other religious ideologies become competitors and antagonists. So, it's a big problem. The way we see reality, the way Christianity sees reality the way Islam sees reality, the way the Jews see reality, the way the Buddhists see reality.

[28:19]

In religion, we create a focal point, or we create a kind of image of reality. And then our model of reality, and then we cling to that model as if it's real. And then whoever doesn't believe in this model that we've created, we call an outsider. And then we argue, or we cannot interact with those people. So, religion keeps isolating us more and more. It serves the opposite purpose of what it's intended to do. Unfortunately, it has two sides. One side is that it goes toward reality. The other side is that it separates us from reality.

[29:30]

So, religion has this problem. along with everyone else. The reason why it has it along with everyone else is because everyone else is what religion is about. So, because religion is about people, and people only have a partial understanding, their religion only has partial understanding. But religion should, let's say, this is my delusion, religion should go beyond our partiality, go beyond our ideas and opinions and fixed images. So, you know, we say, well, religion, maybe in the future we'll have one religion and everybody will belong to that religion.

[30:36]

But that seems to me like religious fascism. I don't think there will ever be one religion that everyone will adhere to voluntarily. Because there's too much diversity in the world. And there are many ways to relate to existence. better, maybe, if everyone tolerates everyone else. I think that I don't have any problem with thinking of God as an old man with a beard in the sky. I think that's a real neat concept.

[31:39]

to think of God as a, in the same way you might think of Zeus, you know, with his thunderbolt, you know, that's no problem. But if we get, if I think that's the only way I can think about God, then I have a big problem. But I don't mind thinking about God that way at all. That's a neat way to think about God. No man in the sky who, you know, answers your prayers and whatever, you know? It's okay. We have to have some kind of image. We invent God, and then we set God up there, and then we relate to it, to God, to our image, actually. But of course we have to go beyond the image.

[32:44]

Often people get stuck in the image. It's like the finger pointing at the moon. In Zen we say the finger pointing at the moon is just the finger. So if we say, if we invent some deity and set that up there, that's just still the finger pointing at something. but we just get attached to our image and our idea. And then we stop there and can't go any further. And then we become very angry when someone challenges our idea. And if you feel challenged when someone, or if you feel insecure when someone challenges your idea, that's a sign that there's some problem with your idea. that doesn't go far enough. So, we all see things, you know, in different ways.

[33:53]

Dogen says, for example, when we view the four directions from a boat on the ocean, where no land is in sight, we see only a circle and nothing else. And we say, oh, it's a circle. that in the past people thought that the world was square. I'm sure some people thought the world was square. A lot of people thought it was round. A lot more people thought it was round than we give them credit for, actually. But now we say the world is round. And so this is the enlightened vision, that the world is round. That's just another idea. We just call it round. The world is circular, and we can accept that, but that's still an idea. To a fish, the ocean is a palace.

[34:56]

The water is not wet to a fish. It's only wet to us, because we're not in the water. However, the ocean is neither round nor square. It's not square either. Its qualities are infinite in variety. It is like a palace. It is like a jewel. It just seems circular as far as our eyes can reach at the time. The 10,000 dharmas are likewise like this. Although ordinary life and enlightened life assume many aspects, we only recognize and understand through practice, what the penetrating power of our vision can reach. In order to appreciate the 10,000 dharmas, we should know that although they may look round or square, the other qualities of oceans and mountains are infinite in variety. Furthermore, other universes lie in all quarters. It is so not only around ourselves, but also right here and in a single drop of water."

[36:03]

Suzuki Roshi used to say, the wonderful thing about Buddhism is that it's not finished. Most religions are finished in that they say, this is the truth. It was revealed to us. So there's no arguing with that. But Buddhism is not, it's not begun or finished. It just is. So the end of Buddhism is when there's no more, the culmination of Buddhism is when there's no more Buddhism. Suzuki Roshi used to say, I wear these robes. People used to question, why do you wear these robes? He said, well, I wear these robes because I'm a Buddhist. But hopefully, someday I'll be able to take them off because Buddhism will be finished.

[37:10]

And there will no longer be any need to wear them. So, it's okay to say you're a Buddhist, but don't be attached to that. The reason I can say I'm a Buddhist is because I can also say I'm not anything. Since I'm not any particular thing, I can say, yes, I'm a Buddhist. I can also say, I'm a Christian. People won't believe it. I feel fine going to Mass on Christmas Eve.

[38:22]

Quite nice. Anyway, I think that people, you know, we have to be able to accommodate and accept various ways if we set up opposition Then we have, we ourselves have a fixed thing. I set up my fixed thing against your fixed thing. And then we, that's it. This is, then there's no peace. So, if I can participate in your thing, then you can allow your thing to not be fixed. As soon as it's fixed, it's no longer anything. It's no longer the thing that it's supposed to be. Buddhism is not fixed.

[39:25]

All the ideas that we talk about are ideas. They refer to something. But they're all there to be challenged. Everything in Buddhism is there to be challenged and should be challenged. Otherwise it's not healthy and it has no way to accommodate itself to life. So it should be about our life. not fossil. If Buddhism is a fossil, then it's interesting and we can look at it in the museum, but it has to be meaningful and real for all aspects of our life.

[40:33]

Therefore, a monk can ask Joshua, does the dog have Buddha nature? He said, no. And then the next monk came along and said, does the dog have Buddha nature? He said, yes. It's not that we should believe in everything that everybody believes in. That's not the point. But we have to give people space to believe in what they do believe in.

[41:56]

And not to be... unless they're causing a big problem for everybody. There is religion that causes a big problem for everybody because it says, anybody who doesn't believe this should die. That's a big problem. It causes a lot of trouble in the world. So, it's not that you believe in what another religion believes in, but it's possible to see how it works.

[42:58]

How does this work? If you really look deeply, you can see that most religion has, underneath the model, underneath the graven image, has validity. Anyway, I myself don't have such a problem with it. And there's something that I can accommodate, but I can't explain it.

[44:01]

INSPIRED!

[44:21]

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