I vow to taste the truth of Dr. Sarkis' words. Good morning. Good morning. This is a, turned out to be a very nice machine. And somebody said, Greg, number two, this is Greg, one of my students, said to me yesterday, he said, you know, this is just like a mountain, a small mountain monastery. And I looked around. It's kind of secluded.

[01:03]

It's very quiet. Today, I'm going to talk about case number 50 in the book of record, which is called Uman's Master Invincible Particle After Particle Samadhi. Sometimes called Every Atom. Clearly calls it Every Atom Samadhi.

[02:04]

And someone else calls it So dust particle or particle is a kind of metaphor for each moment. You can say moment after moment, samadhi. But he calls it particle after particle. Dust particle, because in a dust moat, everything is contained in a moat of dust. And what we call our world is also a mode of dust. Just a dust mode. Some kind of particle.

[03:08]

So each moment is a discrete particle of time and space. And each activity is a particle of time and space. And Samadhi is described in various ways, and there are many Samadhis. There's a whole book of names of Samadhis. But what we call Samadhi Jijuyu Samadhi, Jijuyu Samadhi, self-fulfilling Samadhi, or self-joyous Samadhi.

[04:44]

It's called the King of Samadhis, which contains all of the other Samadhis. This calligraphy, which only the people on this side can see, I have a renewed presence on each moment. Every moment is it, is now. We talk about now and then. We talk about yesterday, today, and tomorrow. But where are we standing when we talk about yesterday, today and tomorrow?

[05:45]

And we say now. But where does now go to? And where does now come from? Now is The present. The very present. And a few minutes ago I said, now. And right now I'm saying, now. So does now go and come? Or is now always present? And what is it that is different? So we talk about time as coming and going in relation to past and future and present.

[06:51]

So what we talk about is because of our standpoint, we see time as moving and changing. Time passes, we say, You can also say time does not move. It neither comes nor goes. Real time. Neither comes nor goes. Although events are always changing on the face of time. So we can say now, at any time. And it's basic now, which doesn't come or go, but we see it always as coming and going.

[08:07]

the now that is not subject to coming and going. But time does various things. It also But if we only see now as coming and going, we can never really stand in now, in the present. If we only see time as moving, going by, we can never really stand in the present.

[09:44]

So, Master Engo introduces the subject and he says, transcending all the ranks, rising above all the expedience, spirit corresponding to spirit, words answering words. Unless one has undergone the great emancipation and attained the great use of it, how could he rank with the Buddhas and be a faultless exponent of the teachings? Now tell me, Who can be so direct and adaptable to all occasions and have the free command of transcendent words? See the following. And then Setso presents the main subject. A monk asked Uman, what is particle after particles samadhi? Uman said, rice in the bowl.

[10:50]

And then Setso has a verse. Rice in the bowl, water in the pail. Even the most talkative can add nothing. The north and the south stars do not change places. Heaven-touching waves arise on land. If you doubt, if you hesitate, though heir to millions, you're trouserless. So I'll have to explain all this. Engo says, transcending all the ranks and rising above all the expedients. This is his introduction. In the Avatamsaka Sutra, there are 52 stages for the bodhisattva to

[12:04]

go through in order to complete his understanding, complete his training. But 52 stages is called step ladder practice. There are also lesser stages. There are many lists of stages, but these 52 stages are considered the premier practice of the Bodhisattva, according to academic Buddhism. The 52 ranks of the Bodhisattva vehicle, they're called. And I'll tell you what they are. They're the 10 ranks of those who believe without any doubts. And they're the 10 ranks of those who stay in the absolute truth. and the ten ranks of those who proceed to the middle way, and the ten ranks of those who bring salvation to others.

[13:18]

And then there are the ten ranks of those called the ground, because like the ground, which though unmoved, makes plants move and grow, These bodhisattvas, though unmoving themselves by their wisdom, cause others to move into the middle way. These are the ten ranks of maturity. One whose practice influences others. One whose practice is like the ground from which all the other plants spring forth and who nourish all the other plants. So these ranks are very wonderful.

[14:29]

Zen practice doesn't go through the ranks or the ladders, the step ladders, but comes to realization all at once, in one's practice. But you may have to practice for a long, long time before you So he says, transcending all the ranks, rising above the expedients, expedients are the three vehicles in the Lotus Sutra. You know about the three vehicles, the Hinayana vehicle, the Pratyekabuddha vehicle, and Sutra, where the children are in their house playing with their toys, and the house is on fire, but the children can't see that.

[15:49]

They're ignoring the fire, and they won't come out. So the father sees that this is happening, and he says, well, if you'll come out, I'll give you some nice presents. the three vehicles. So it's a parable about the expedient means to get people to come out of their burning houses and find their freedom, find their way. And these three vehicles are expedients to do that. The Hinayana vehicle the Pratyekabuddha vehicle and the Bodhisattva vehicle.

[16:51]

So this vehicle, this is beyond transcending all the ranks and rising above all the vehicles. Spirit corresponding to spirit, words answering words. This is like direct communication. It's like without, beyond learning. This is transcending learning and being directly in touch. This is intuitive understanding. Madam Master, Yun Man is is well known for is three sentences, or three aspects. And in each thing he says, there are always, or usually, three aspects.

[18:02]

One is the aspect that encloses everything, or includes everything. And the second aspect is that it follows the waves. In other words, his answer or his response goes with an accord with what's happening. And the third is that his answer cuts off the dreams, and presents you with reality. So these three aspects are present usually in each one of Man's statements. And his statements are very concise, mostly. He's very famous for his one or two-word answers, one-liners.

[19:06]

For instance, a monk asked U Man, what is Buddha? And U Man said, Khansh Ketsu, which means a shit stick, shit wiping stick. He didn't say, who is Buddha? He said, what is Buddha? If he had said, who is Buddha, U Man would have said something else. means, what is Buddha made out of? Or, what are the components of Buddha? Is it a shit stick? So this kind of answer contains all those three qualities. It includes He'd just pick up anything out of the earth and include it in his answer.

[20:15]

And it just happened to be the shit stick. And he'll ride the waves. Of course, his answer would correspond with what the monk's talking about. he cuts off discursive thinking. So unless he has undergone, unless one, he says, he has undergone the great emancipation and attained the great use of it, how could he rank with the Buddhas and be a faultless exponent of the teachings? Great emancipation means various things. Yesterday there was the question about the great death.

[21:21]

Great emancipation does mean dying the great death or dropping body and mind or letting go of all that which is not necessary. But it also means bringing life to life. To die the great death means to bring life to life. This is a Zen practice. How do you bring your life? How do you bring life to life? There are various levels of living. But how do we completely live? Or how do we let life completely flow?

[22:23]

That's called dying the great death. So dying the great death and bringing life to life seems like a contradiction, but you know it's not. It's a wonderful koan. So it's selflessness. When one has this selfless understanding, then one can rank with the Buddhas and be a faultless exponent of the teachings. through their being. And one's words should accord with one's actions.

[23:26]

When one's words and actions accord, then there's some genuineness to it. So then he says, now tell me, who can be so direct and adaptable to all occasions? Who can do this? On each occasion, be direct and adaptable and say the right thing and respond correctly in accord with reality. Tell me, who can be so direct and adaptable to all occasions and have the free command of transcendent words? Well, he's talking about Master Uma, of course. So, the main subject.

[24:30]

A monk asked Master Uma, what is a particle after particle samadhi? And Umong said, rice in the bowl, and water in the pail. That's all it said. You know, Dokin says, in Genju Koan, he says, the moon The whole universe is reflected in a dew drop on the grass. The whole universe is reflected in a dew drop on the grass. And in the same way, you can say the whole universe is reflected in a particle of dust. Same thing. A drop of water is a particle of dust.

[25:32]

A wet particle of dust A particle of dust is a dry dew drop. So, Haumans could have said, a drop of water on the grass. This is beyond explanation. So this is a very tricky area. To say rice in the bowl, water in the pail, means if you think beyond this, you've already stumbled past. In Zazen, it's

[26:36]

exhaling this breath, inhaling this breath. What is it? The whole realm of birth and death is in one breath, is in each breath. If we want to understand the whole realm of birth and death, it's inhaling, things come to life. Exhaling, everything passes away. To die the great death on each breath. When you exhale, you die the great death. And when you inhale, you bring everything to life.

[27:39]

Or everything is brought to life. You allow life to fulfill itself. Just following a cycle. So the whole universe is in each breath. Each breath covers the whole universe at this moment. And each moment's thing has its own universe. the universe of the rice, the world of the water. When we sit all day, the separation between things becomes less and less.

[28:58]

When you walk outside, there's something marvelous about a flower. or about the quality of the air, or the stillness of the building. There's not so much separation. When you open your oreoki bowls and receive the food, there's not so much separation. That's why you can eat very plain food in the Zen-do, and it's marvelous. But you eat the same food someplace else, and it's just ordinary. So Master Setsho in his verse says, rice in the bowl, water in the pail.

[30:25]

Rice in the bowl. We have a term, one act samadhi. The samadhi of one, of each act. the total concentration or oneness of the luminous quality of one moment of samadhi where everything is included. Even the most talkative can add The North and the South stars do not change places. Heaven-touching waves arise on land. The North and the South, Southern and Northern stars don't change their places.

[31:39]

They're always in the same place. This is like an imperturbable Samadhi. Samadhi means imperturbability. Nothing can really disturb it, no matter what happens on the outside. One is always firmly calm on the inside. So he says, heaven-touching waves arise on land. This has a kind of double meaning. It kind of means Uman's words or like that. But I think it's nothing, even though there are heaven-touching waves on dry land,

[32:47]

Samadhi is imperturbable like the southern and the northern stars in the heavens. Even though there's great storms all around, the center of the storm, the eye of the storm, is very calm. This is the quality of Samadhi. Moment after moment, Samadhi. There's an old saying, a tempest in a teapot. Or, it is nothing but an affair inside a particle of dust. All the turmoil, all the problems that are going on. A turmoil within a particle of dust. I think it's important to have this perspective.

[33:54]

Even though everything is a mess, it's still okay. Things are still okay. This is called to have this understanding or this attitude. moment by moment samadhi, imperturbable samadhi. Although one is concerned for things, one is not thrown by them. Although you know that that feeling in your legs is pain, you're not thrown by it. So then, he says, if you doubt, or if you hesitate, although heir to millions, you're tragellist.

[35:16]

This is another allusion, another story in the Lotus Sutra, the story of the prodigal son who leaves home. And his father is quite wealthy. But the kid is restless and he leaves home and he goes through all kinds of adventures and travels for many years and winds up at home, but he doesn't know it. He kind of lost his memory of what home looked like. So when he got home, When he came there, his father recognized him and sent out, but he didn't say anything because he didn't want to, you know, he knew there was some, he didn't want to make a direct hit. So he sent some of his servants out to make contact with the guy, with his son, and he said, and the servants said, well, we'd like to hire you to work in the stables.

[36:34]

It looked like he was using rags, you know, so he said, OK, I'll take the job. So he started working in the stables. And little by little, he came to work his way up to be a plant manager and managing the affairs of the father. at some point revealed himself to him and told him the story, at which time the son inherited the father's estate. So the story is like, even though he's heir to millions, he doesn't know it. He doesn't even have a pair of pants, a clean pair of pants to his name. So, you have it, but you don't know it.

[37:36]

And you can't use it. This is a problem. And that's what this is saying. Even though you have it, you don't know you have it. And you can't use it. And so, Uman is trying to help somebody. to make them realize that they have it. So this is what all the Zen stories are about. You have it, but you don't know it. You should sit Zazen. There's a story of Ungo, no, Ungo, no, a story of Dao Wu and Lungtan. Da Wu was a teacher at the time, and Lung Tan was a young boy. Lung Tan became Dragon Pond, and he was the one who enlightened Da Shan by blowing out the candle.

[38:48]

You remember that story? But when Lung Tan was a little boy, He lived with his family, and they were very poor, but they were bakers. I've told you this story before. And Lung Tan recognized something, I mean, Da Wu recognized something in Lung Tan, that he had a high capacity for understanding. So, He kind of took Luangta under his wing. And he let the family live on the grounds of the monastery in a little hut. And so in appreciation, every day Luangta, his mother would give him these cakes, ten cakes.

[39:49]

And Luangta would bring them to Dawu. He did this, you know, day after day. But each time he brought him the 10 cakes, Da Wu would give Lung Tan one of the cakes back. So one day, Lung Tan said, Da Wu said, every day I give you 10 cakes, and every day you give me one back. How come you give me one back every day? And Lung Tan says, I'm Well, I mean, Dao said to him, well, I'm only giving you back what originally belongs to you. I'm only giving you what is originally yours. And Lungten had a little realization at that point.

[40:52]

I'm only restoring to you what's originally yours. So this dust samadhi, samadhi of a mode of dust, this saying, the monks had some reason for saying, what is the dust samadhi?

[42:24]

What is particle after particle samadhi? This comes from a saying in the Avatamsaka Sutra. which is, if one can enter into samadhi sitting in the dust, one can complete the all-dust samadhi. In other words, if one can enter into samadhi through one particle of dust, one can complete the all-dust samadhi. If you can penetrate one particle of dust then you can penetrate all particles of dust, because one particle of dust holds the key to all particles of dust. That's why instead of trying to learn everything and collect an enormous amount of information, we just

[43:33]

sit still in one place and concentrate on one thing. If you can penetrate that one thing, then you can awaken to all things. So this is why, this is called cutting through the 52 stages and the three vehicles. So how to really be present, how to be present in Zazen, and how to be present in all of our activity.

[44:43]

And to see, you know, the basic reality that is there in everything, We say, whatever you point to, you can say, well, that's it. Although we give everything a name. There's the mokugyo, and the cushion, and the floor, and the zabatan, and the tatami. They all have names. You can also point to each one of them and say, oh, that's it. That's it. That's it. That's it. So everything you point to is it. And when you take away the names, you only have it. And yet the name of everything is it.

[45:55]

The true nature of everything is it. No matter what you point to, that's it. When you understand this, you cut through the 52 stages. Do you have a question? Could you repeat what the three aspects were of Mr. Kahn's comments?

[47:23]

Fifty-two aspects? No, the three aspects. You said he only said, drive that shit stick, that there were so many qualities. Oh, one is encompassing the phenomenal world. The other is conforming to the way things go, riding the wave. And the third one is cutting off delusions. So this is not something that can be learned, but only experienced.

[48:52]

People say, well, what's the goal of Zazen? Well, the goal of Zazen is just to be present. Total presence. Falling off, waking up, falling off. As Dogen says, you know, there is a Buddha within birth and death.

[50:02]

Within the cycle of birth and death, there is Buddha. And within the cycle of birth and death, there is no Buddha. Please pay attention to your breathing. ♪ He's the spark of goodness ♪

[50:52]

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