Well, good afternoon. First, I want to thank Alexandra for Xeroxing all of your copies. I wanted to get them out to you earlier, but that didn't happen. So I wanted to give you a chance to study them before we started, but what I have done is Xeroxed a copy of two different commentaries. One is by Francis Cook and the other is by Mr. Nimon from Manchester. So I'm going to talk a little bit about Keizan, Master Keizan.

[01:02]

We don't usually hear much about Master Keizan. Keizan was the fourth ancestor after Dogen. Dogen was the Dharma heir of Tendonjo. I'm using Japanese terms. On Japanese, we are pronouncing the Chinese. Tendo-nyojo was Dogen's successor. Tendo-nyojo was Dogen's successor. And then Kobun Eijo, Daiyosho. Tetsu Gikai, Daiyosho. Keisan Shokin, Daiyosho. So Keizan was the fourth ancestor after Dogen, and Keizan actually propagated what we call the Soto school in Japan.

[02:08]

Dogen was the heir of the Soto school, but he wasn't necessarily propagating the Soto school. For Dogen, which is Buddhism, He didn't even like to use the word Zen, or the Zen school, or something like that, although he did. But for him, it was just Buddhism. Keizan popularized Dongen's teachings, and of course his own, which were inspired by Dongen, and really propagated the school around Japan through the farmers basically. He made the teaching available to the lower classes. The Rinzai school made Zen popular through the aristocrats.

[03:14]

So this is kind of why Soto Zen is like farmer's Zen and Rinzai Zen is like warrior's Zen. Although, not completely. We say that Soto Zen is like a farmer raising his crops, and Rinzai Zen is like a general pushing his troops around. So, I think Rinzai monasteries are more masculine. such as in, I wouldn't say more feminine, but more gentle. Maybe a little bit more macho. But Keizan was a very interesting person.

[04:16]

He just stayed around home, never went anywhere. I think he was a kind of mystic, although he's not characterized that way, but to me he seemed that way. He depended a lot on his dreams. He put a lot of faith into his dreams, and he would always dream about significant things. And if you study Kazan, his life, which there is a lot written, a bit written, but you know, there's a lot of mystery around Keizan. And for translating into English, not so much. But Keizan did, I don't know what he wrote exactly, but whether he wrote the Denko Roku, or just, it seems like Keizan spoke the Denko Roku in his talks, and they were written down by his students.

[05:23]

And what he wanted to do in the Denko Roku was characterize all of the lineage from Shakyamuni to Koun Eijo and Tetsugikai. in Japan. So, in China, there are these stories about each one of the ancestors. And I used to collect these stories. The Vajrabodhi scene, which was printed by what's now the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, Master Hua, I used to print this periodical called The Bhadrabodhi Scene, and every issue had a story and a picture, a drawing, of the ancestor and the story. And I collected those. I still have a lot of them.

[06:26]

We gave all of those back to them, all of the publications that I had. It seems like Kazan took these stories and made them into, each one, into a koan. And then he commented on the koan. So each one of these stories of each one of the ancestors is like, first there's a koan, the circumstances, and then there's Cajon's commentary, and then his little poem at the end. So, the reason that I have two translations is so you can kind of compare two different ways of of looking at these two, what do you call them, koans.

[07:38]

So I think that if you look at your sources, I don't know if you've opened them or not, but they're arranged in in such a way. I've tried before. I don't know how many we'll be able to actually do over here. This morning I had to give a talk on Nirvana, which kind of cut into our study. So we have three opportunities left. There's one by Niemann from the translation by Niemann from Shasta is a really good translation. I think we like that translation the best. But Cook's translation also has its merits. And Cook is the one who kind of divided up the story into

[08:46]

makes sense to do it that way. I like that. Because the first part is just... I'm going to move from Cook, and you can follow with Minock, or either one. And you can see the difference between the two. But the way Cook analyzes it is very nice. And Nima has the Japanese names that we're familiar with, the Japanese pronunciation that we're familiar with, whereas Cook has the Chinese, the Sanskrit and Chinese. Yes.

[09:52]

Which ancestor are you going to start with? Well, we're going to start with the first one. Kabi Mora? Which is... Kabi Mora? Yes. Kabi Mora. You said Kabi Mora. Kabi Mora. So what I've done is I've chosen ancestors that we go through their names but we never know anything about them. Right? So there are the ancestors that we have some familiarity with, their teachings, but I've chosen the ones that we don't have familiarity with, just in order to get into it, right? So I'm like, who are these people? Can I bring them to life? Now, the Indian ancestors is all mythology. This is Buddhist Zen mythology. You have to understand that. But I like the Indian because they have a great imagination.

[10:58]

And if you believe it all literally, you're sunk. To me it's a kind of playfulness. A kind of mythical playfulness. And they can use their imagination to make anything happen, but it's like what's behind it that's important. So, I've chosen mostly the Indian ancestors. We know that although it's Zen traditional ancestry lineage, is from person to person. But, you know, that's really impossible in the Indian. It's possible in Chinese, because the Chinese kept records. And we can follow the Chinese records.

[12:01]

So Chinese records are pretty accurate, mostly. But the Indians didn't keep good records. They just had mythology. So, you know, But instead of thinking of ancestry as coming from the top down, I always think of it as coming from the bottom up. So you say, oh that person has the Dharma that's accurate. So it goes both ways. Anyway, the Zen people put together lineage in order to have some legitimacy, for one thing. Lineage is always important in legitimacy. And so to trace the legitimacy of the Zen school from Shakyamuni is a kind of fabrication.

[13:05]

But it's fabricated in a certain way It's not that each one actually handed it to the other, but it comes down to us from these ancestors. But the way it's put together is lineage, one meets the other. And it's done in a kind of abstract way, because you know that things don't really happen in this way. So the literal fact is not as important as the mythical fact. It's what's taught that's important. It's what the story brings out that's important. So we're going to start with Capybara, the 13th ancestor. And I'm going to read the case first.

[14:12]

And I'm going to read Cook's translation. So if you look at Cook's translation, you'll see the first part, he has the case, and then the circumstances, and then the tertial. Tertial means his bringing out the meaning. Temporary, which brings out the meaning of the case. And then at the end, the verse, which sums it all up. So the most important part is the teshuvah. The case is just a kind of structure in order for him to bring out the teshuvah. So here's the case. The thirteenth ancestor, I don't say ancestor, I say patriarch. That's my translation.

[15:13]

The thirteenth ancestor was the venerable Kapimala. Kapimala. Kapimala. One time, the venerable Ashvaghosa, now Ashvaghosa is the preceding ancestor. Number twelve. His teacher. And Ashvaghosa is Anirbhutai, Anirbhutai-dayo-sho. So, the first part is mostly about Anirbhutai-dayo-sho. So, the 13th ancestor was the venerable Kathimala. One time, the venerable Ashvaghosa, or Kathimala, Annabelle Tay, this kind of show, spoke of the ocean of buddha nature, saying mountains, rivers, and the great earth appear in dependence on buddha nature.

[16:21]

I think that Niemann said something different. Nature, I think he said. Just it. It. So that's really, I like that. It. I'll tell you about that. The three kinds of spiritual knowledge and the six paranormal powers appeared as a result of it. The master hearingness was awakened. So that's the story. That's the case. And the rest is kind of commentary in different ways. The Six Powers of the Arhats is a... Snigdha Rishi talked about the Six Powers of the Arhats when he was giving his talks on the service that we do. And because the service talks about the six powers of the arhats, right?

[17:27]

Unrestricted ways of the arhats. Yes, unrestricted ways of the arhats. And the unrestricted ways are clairvoyance, clairaudience, knowledge of the thoughts of others, receiving and regulating previous lives celestial future birth looking into the future and recognizing the extension of deformities, which is karma. The sixth one, actually, he says the sixth one is really the only Buddhist one. All the rest are not necessarily Buddhist practices.

[18:29]

But the true Buddhist practice is recognizing that it's possible to go beyond your karma. That's what Buddhism is about. The others are just simply irrelevant practices. But the true practice of Buddhism is being able to not be bound by karma. It's called freedom from karma. So, that's what happened. Here's this little story, right? So here are the circumstances around the story. The master, that's Kakamora, was from the kingdom of Kashi. In the beginning, when he was a follower of non-Buddhist teachings, he had 3,000 followers, and he studied all the different theories.

[19:38]

The Venerable Ashvagosha, Angote, was preaching the wonderful Dharma in Magadha, when all of a sudden, an old man collapsed to the ground in front of Kavimora, Ashvagosha. When all of a sudden he collapsed to the ground, in front of Ashvagosha's feet, the Venerable told the assembly, this is no ordinary person. There must be something different about him. No sooner had he spoken when the old man disappeared and a man of golden color popped up out of the ground. Then he changed into a female. Pointing to Ashvaghosa with her right hand, she recited his verse. I bow deeply to the venerable elder. In accordance with the Tathagata's prediction, you must expound the highest truth, right here, now, in this place.

[20:40]

So this is all about Advaita. The Tathagata's prediction, if you read the Lotus Sutra, there's a chapter where Shakyamuni is predicting the Tathagata's Arhats and Bodhisattvas, their prediction of Buddhahood. This is also kind of mythical stuff, right? Sometimes people say, well, what does that mean? It had a meaning, but you shouldn't take it literally. You should not take this literally. Anyone of the men popped out of the ground. What does this all mean? This is anyway, this is circumstances. As soon as she finished speaking, she disappeared. The Venerable Adyavate said, a demon will appear and test his powers against mine.

[21:46]

After a while, the wind rose, railing forward, and heaven and earth were darkened. Ashvagosha said, this priest is a demon's kind. I will get rid of him. Then he pointed at the sky, and a huge golden dragon appeared, displaying great powers and making the mountains tremble. But the venerable Ashvagosha sat solemnly in Zazen, and the demon's acts consequently ceased." This is very much like Shakyamuni, right? On the night of his enlightenment, all these demons appeared, and he sat in Zazen. and demons couldn't touch him. So, seven days later, that's interesting, seven days, because Shakyamuni sat for seven days too. So there's not a lot of inference going on here, you know, touching historical precedence.

[22:50]

Seven days later, a small insect appeared. no larger than a speck, and it concealed itself in these astragoshia smoke, kind of like a tick or something. It freezed. The venerable grasped to get in his hand and started the assembly. This is the transformation of the demon. He just wants to eavesdrop on my teaching. He realized he had lost the insect, but it was unable to move. The venerable spoke to it, saying, If you will just take refuge in the three treasures, you will regain your powers. This is like proselytization. The demon that once resumed his former shape, bowed and repented. I like the word repentant better than what human says, because sange actually means repentant. When we have a bodhisattva ceremony, it's sange.

[23:51]

So, put it down. And then, once we turn to its former shape, bowed and repeated. The Venerable asked him, what is your name? How many followers do you have? The demon replied, I am Kapimala, and I have 3,000 followers. Ashvaghosa asked, what can you do when you use all your powers? And the demon replied, I consider changing the great ocean to be very easy. The Venerable asked him, can you transform the ocean of Buddha nature? The demon asked, what do you mean by ocean of buddha nature? I still did not completely understand. The venerable then told him about the ocean of buddha nature, saying, mountains, rivers, and the great earth all appear in dependence on it. The three kinds of spiritual knowledge and the six supernatural powers appear as a result of it. The master hearing this around his face and was awakened. So that last sentence is the case.

[25:09]

So, the circumstances all leading up to the case. Do you have any questions? Comments? Or misunderstandings? It is a misunderstanding. So the demon is now about to become an ancestor. That's right. That kind of gives us space to practice even within our hatreds and the various things that we... Well, I think that's important. Yes, because we're all demons. You know, our demonic nature. I mean, to say demons is an exaggeration, of course. But what he's showing here, what he's bringing out, trying to bring out, the fact that he's a very powerful demon and he has 3,000 followers and so he's got some status in the world he's not just nobody, he has some status in the world but he's reduced to being a speck

[26:40]

So, this is a kind of way of comparing the Dharma to magic. In India, in Buddha's time and still, forever, all these schools of religion or magic and whatever you can think of, you know, have all been taking place in India since the beginning of time. So this is not something uncommon. And as you go through these stories, you find that there are many, many of these people who who are demons of one kind or another, and they're converted to the Dharma.

[27:51]

So they're kind of conversion stories in a way, but we haven't come to the taisho yet. So what's leading up to the story, to the koan, is the circumstances around which this all happened, and then the meaning It's in the tape now. Yes? What do you think about the meaning of Kapi Mala's name that Trevor Nerman gives? He says, Kapi Mala means he who is as the bodily excretions of a monkey. Yeah. That's important. Yeah. Well, that's what it means. I don't know. I think that's part of this. It doesn't matter who you are, how bad you are, if you're a demon, you're a monkey-poop, you'd still be in India. Well, I think, yeah, that's right. In India, you have to understand that the untouchables have always been there.

[29:01]

The class system has always been there. So this also has something to do with the class system in India. So I don't know where that name comes from exactly. Whether it's symbolic or, you know, somehow. But apparently it's what it means in Sanskrit. Do you think the names themselves are part of the mythology? Oh yeah, the names are part of the mythology, sure. They don't actually refer so much to real people as to this... Well, they're symbolic names. They're definitely symbolic names. Most of them are symbolic names. Yeah, so here's monkey poop, you know. And even he can become an ancestor. So it's a kind of an encouragement. Yeah, this is a kind of an encouragement. So here's the tissue.

[30:04]

From the time the old man fell to the ground up to the moment when he became a tiny insect. The demon manifested spiritual powers countless times. So he did have spiritual powers. He said that transforming the great ocean was very easy. In order to change the ocean into mountains or change mountains into an ocean, those manifesting spiritual powers without end, he still did not even know the name of ocean of nature. How much less could he transform it? Nevertheless, since he did not know about mountains and rivers and the great earth, that mountains, rivers and the great earth were transformations, what they were transformations of, Ashvagosha said that these are the transformations of the ocean of nature. Not only that, but the three kinds of spiritual knowledge and six supernatural powers appear because of it.

[31:09]

So the point here is that although he had all these spiritual powers, he never got to the bottom of what is the basis of these spiritual powers. And so the Teisho is like saying that he didn't have the understanding that the basis of all of his spiritual powers was the Buddha nature. So, as for Samadhi, there are innumerable Samadhis, such as the Sangha, and there are six supernatural powers, such as the celestial eye and the celestial ears. There are beginningless and endless and beyond order. When mountains, rivers, and a great earth appear, Samadhi becomes earth, water, fire, and wind, and transforms into mountains, rivers, grass, and trees.

[32:16]

It also changes into skin, flesh, bones, and marrow, and it changes into head and four limbs. Not one event, not one thing comes from elsewhere. When he says samadhi, he means buddha nature. In other words, buddha nature is the basis of everything. All appearances are the appearances of buddha nature. Sometimes people say And I've discussed it all the time. What is emptiness? How can I see emptiness or feel emptiness? Because people want to hear about emptiness, and they think there's something called emptiness, which is nothing.

[33:21]

But they don't understand are the nothing. You can't grasp Buddha nature without grasping somebody's nose. If we want to see Buddha nature, we have to see it through the forms that it produces. Because emptiness is the forms that it produces. All the forms are the forms of emptiness. All phenomenal forms are the forms of emptiness. So if you want to grasp emptiness, there it is.

[34:28]

There it is. It's all empty. But if you want to see something empty, as if there's nothing there, you can't see it, because there's nothing there. So therefore, throughout the 24 hours, no effort is vainly cast aside, and no features that appear during immeasurable births and deaths are manifested in vain. Everything arises for a reason. Seeing with our eyes and hearing with our ears is limitless, and perhaps not even the wisdom of a Buddha can fathom it.

[35:31]

Are these not the transformations of the ocean of buddhanature? The buddhanature, in a sense, is the same as emptiness. Another name is emptiness. Emptiness is a synonym of buddhanature. And all the forms are the forms of buddhanature. All the forms are the forms of emptiness. Everything, even the smallest atoms, are all boundless things. not at all subject to number or limit. They are like this because they are the ocean of nature. Moreover, to see this present body is to see the original mind. To know the mind is to witness the body, because body and mind are not at all two things. How can nature and characteristics be divided? Even though the demon reveals supernatural powers while a member of the non-Buddhist tradition, and that was not apart from mine or the ocean of nature, he had not realized that it was something called ocean of nature.

[36:38]

Therefore, he doubted both himself and others. Moreover, since he did not understand these realities, he was not one who had reached the fundamentals. When he matched the powers with Ashvarocha, he was not equal to it. He just exhausted his demonic powers and found it difficult to make transformations In the end, he turned away from himself and took refuge in another, putting it into contention and displaying the correct faith. In other words, he realized Asvaghosa truth, Buddha nature. But this is interesting. In the last sentence, in the end, he turned away from himself and took refuge in another. Sounds like he took refuge in Asvaghosa, but There's a koan in the book of Frederick, number 45, which I talked about not too long ago, that Shakyamuni and Maitreya are the servants of another.

[37:53]

Who is that other? So the way this is worded, echoes that go on for me. He turned away from himself and took refuge in another or in that one is also a translation. So who is that one or that other? I think that one is a better translation. Who is that one that's gone? In other words, he became a servant of the Dharma, basically, is what he's saying here. Even if you understand the true nature of mountains and rivers and the great earth,

[38:58]

do not get uselessly entangled with sounds and forms. Even if you clarify your original nature, do not settle down in ordinary knowledge. Yet even ordinary knowledge is nothing other than one or two Buddha faces or patriarch faces as their hedges, walls, tiles, and bevels. Our original nature is different from the ordinary knowledge of seeing and hearing, and it is not dependent on movement or stillness. However, once the ocean of nature is established, movement and stillness, and coming and going, are necessarily connected with it, and skin, flesh, bones, and marrow are manifested, but it is time. Its appearance as seeing and hearing, sights and sound, can do nothing else. When emptiness is struck, it makes an echo, and thus all sounds are manifested.

[40:06]

When emptiness is transformed, all things are manifested, and therefore forms are distinguished. Do not think that emptiness is not forms, nor think that emptiness is not sounds. When you investigate carefully and reach this realm, you will not think that it is emptiness or that it is being. You will not think that it is something which is concealed or revealed, or that it is oneself or another. What do you mean by self and other? It is like the absence of anything in emptiness, or like large and small waves appearing in the great ocean. This has never changed in the past. and going and coming to be anything other than what they truly are. So this is a lot in that paragraph. Quite a lot going on in that paragraph. But I'm going to continue.

[41:13]

When you investigate carefully and enrich this realm, you will not think that it is emptiness or that it is big. In other words, you can't put your finger on it. If you say it's form, that's not quite right. If you say it's emptiness, that's not quite right. Because as soon as you want to describe it, then it's elusive, becomes elusive. So there's no way of describing except to point a finger. Yes, emptiness is form. Form is emptiness. Emptiness is emptiness, and form is form. But everything is continually changing, transforming. So everything, all phenomena are the transformations of emptiness, or the ocean of Dharma.

[42:19]

stuck anywhere, except our mind. Therefore, when Buddha nature is manifested, not a speck is added, and when it is concealed, not a hair is lost. When the various things are put together, it becomes the body. When the many things are obliterated, we refer to it as one mind. What is put together is the body and what is obliterated is called one mind. So one mind is like the dark in the Sandokai. And what all things are put together is like the light in the Sandokai. clarifying the way and arousing the mind should not be sought outside of it.

[43:28]

But when the scenery of one's own original realm is manifested, it is called human, demon, or animal. Sandmaster Shreya Pram, Sepul, said, If you want to understand this matter, it is as if there were an ancient donor inside me, When a Mongol comes, appears before it, a Mongol is reflected. And when a Chinese appears, a Chinese is reflected. All manifestations are holy to fantasy-like samadhi. and have no beginning or end. Therefore, when the mountains and rivers and the great earth appear, they all appear dependent on it. When the three kinds of spiritual knowledge and six supernatural powers appear, they depend on it. You should not see even an inch of the great earth as something outside your own mind. Do not put a drop of water outside of the ocean of Buddha-nature. So, what would you say is the point of his taisho?

[44:39]

Well, for me it's wholehearted expression. To show up. To show up. So what is a wholehearted expression to show up for what shows up? What about this mirror? Clarifying the way and arousing this mind should not be sought outside of it.

[45:52]

But, when the scenery of our own original realm is transmitted, it is called human, demon or animal. You know. He refers to the six worlds, the six realms. the heavenly realm, the demon realm, the human realm, the animal realm. These are the six realms of existence in which we transmigrate every day. Sometimes the human realm is When we act like human beings, a mature human being, that's the human realm. The animal realm is when we are only feeding our instincts. The demon realm is the fighting demons, the Asuras, and so forth. And then there are the ghosts, and so forth. So he's referring to these six.

[46:54]

That's called the scenery of our life. It's like we're riding in a train and the scenery of our life just keeps going on and on. And sometimes we're a fighting demon, sometimes we're a hungry ghost. We could go through the six realms in one day as our moods change and as our states of mind change. And our states of mind are the changing scenery of our life. Every day we have this movie that we say is my life. And if we see it from a point of view of observation, we can see that it's been the scenery of our life. And so when he talks about the mirror, he says clarifying the way and arousing the mind should not be sought outside of this one mind.

[48:01]

But when the scenery of one's own original realm is manifested, it is called human, demon, or animal. Zen Master Shui Feng said, if you want to understand this matter, it is as if there were an ancient mirror inside of you. When a Mongol appears, before it, a Mongol is reflected. When a Chinese appears, a Chinese is reflected. All manifestations are wholly the fantasy-like samadhi. So this mirror is like the mirror of wisdom. The mirror of wisdom reflects everything as it is. Suzuki Roshi talks about, you know, we should see things as it is. But usually we don't see things as it is. We see things through our fantasy mind. Which is called the scenery, yes. We don't see things as they are because we don't want to.

[49:04]

We struggle. We struggle not to see things as they are. Yeah, well that's right. As a baby, we put everything in our mouth. We don't have any... discrimination. But we learn to discriminate by tasting and touching and feeling and falling down and crying and all that. Yeah, and then we put up protective barriers. And as soon as we start putting up protective barriers, then we stop seeing things as they are, gradually. And in the world, invent a world that conforms to like and dislike and discrimination. Peter? This is starting to sound like a lot of words, trying to say something very simple.

[50:07]

Yeah. It's just that when we see something, Yes. Well, I think he's talking about the scenery of our life and real life.

[51:10]

Oh, okay. I remember when I was... I can't remember how old, but I remember one day realizing And all the stuff that was going on around me was different than my life. I don't know how I can explain that exactly, but... What things did you perceive was going on around you? Well, it's like... The life that I felt was my life was not the same as all the things that were going on around me. And it all seemed like scenery in a sense. I wasn't part of that somehow. I wasn't part of the society and what people were doing and thinking and so forth.

[52:18]

That's not part of my life. I felt like there was something, that was my life, there was something different than that. So, are you talking about understanding your non-karmic nature? Yeah, I think so. I think my non-karmic nature, yeah. It seems to me he's also making the point that all of that stuff, you know, I go through a day and I'm an angry Asura and then I'm a greedy animal and then I'm a complex human being, and then I sort of go up a little bit, and a little bit of a deva, and then whoa, down I go again. Actually all of that is arising out of my real life, my real self. It seems like when Kavimara was in his non-Buddhist phase,

[53:22]

All of these things were happening and he had some understanding of it, but not really. He didn't understand how this was really all an arising out of the ocean of Buddha nature. So kind of both of those things at the same time. And I thought that the image of the ancient mirror inside has a quality of The ancient mirror is inside me. Yeah, that's right. Your pure self. Yeah. Without any distortion. Right. No distortion. That's the thing about the mirror. It's just as it is. Which is rare. as we add something to it.

[54:24]

Because the dualistic thinking always distorts. So we see things according to our distortion. And then we kind of lose our way when we do that. It seems to me also that the analogy of all the supernatural powers, believing in them is no different than believing in whatever your persona is that you happen to be caught in, whether it's the human or the animal or whatever. And then you see through all of that and really what's left, what's fundamental. Well, that's right. The mirror sees through all that when you get to that place, that clear mirror mind. Because the clear mirror mind is the non-dualistic mind. The mind is not discriminating. Because when the Mongol is there, it's just the Mongol.

[55:29]

When the Chinaman is there, it's just the Chinaman. But it's another one. I think it's that moment when I see, oh, that's what I'm doing. I'm being greedy. And there's the part of me that can see it. And I really am being greedy. I really am an animal. So stop it already. Of course animals aren't necessarily greedy. What's a real tough one for me in daily life is I'm thinking of the thousand arms of Kuan Yin, and I'm also thinking of that teaching that all beings are bodhisattvas.

[56:35]

So this bodhisattva vow, you know, that when the demon arises, whether it's in this body I call me or other or whatever, how do I be intimate with that as the expression of, let's say, bodhisattva vow manifesting in this moment? So I'm just with, what about the mirror that's reflecting delusion while I'm riding on the subway train in New York City, and I'm wondering if it's going to get dangerous here physically. And, you know, to just, I mean, all this stuff gets real simple, which is respond. What's the instinct? What's going on? What's the vibe? What's the scene? Where are we? When's the train pulling in? And something's going to happen. And so I'm wondering about it in, let's say, that context. Right. So the mirror is your composure.

[57:40]

What is unavoidable is unavoidable. And to have composure, which is unavoidable, is clarity. What you can avoid, you should avoid. What you can't avoid, you have to accept. So, if the mind is very clear, it's more possible to find a way out. you know, the person. When we have some emergency, if you get nervous and upset and rattled, you can't act in a rational, in a very good way to save yourself or to find a way.

[58:46]

But if you're very calm, you can find a way. So, to remain calm is kind of counter-intuitive. It's the same as it does him. You know, as soon as something happens, it's like, oh, oh, oh, oh. If you get rattled, it just gets worse. You can't find your way. But if you just calm down, just let go and accept, that's the way. That's the way out, or the way to deal with it. That's depending on your nature. Instead of depending on your rattled mind, to depend on your nature. Just come back to your nature. And the nature will take care of things. Because it's the nature that you're depending on. What he's talking about here, actually, is allowing the nature to

[59:47]

to express itself, even though it expresses itself in a rattled mind. I was just thinking that I'm getting stuck because I think when a Chinaman comes the ancient mirror should see a human being and when a Mongol comes the ancient mirror should see a human being. It seems like this passage is sort of inadvertently kind of tainted with the discrimination of that particular culture, you know, distinguishing, you know, I just, it's a, it's actually kind of a bad, it's a, it's, for me it's an unfortunate example, because, you know, when that, when whoever comes before me, you should see as a human being, not as China or Mongol or black or white or high or low or whatever. Well he does that some, of course, but that's not the, metaphors only, you know, I understand what you're saying.

[60:56]

And it sort of points to the limitations built into, even when they're trying to teach about wisdom and clarity, it sort of points to the way our frame of mind can limit us. Because those of us now listening into it now, in the year 2000, hear something different. Right. So we have to make an adjustment. to put ourselves into place. This is actually an old metaphor. It's an ageless metaphor. Much before Keizan, he's just using it. So this is kind of from the Chinese, which were dominated by the Mongolians, and they were Chinese. So if you're an American, you'd say, when an American comes into view, you see him as an American. That's all. Not as a human being? No, of course not.

[61:57]

Of course he's not a human being. I mean, we get hung up on words. I think it's a big problem to see people as American or Spanish or French or whatever actually. Because we understand that it's a human being. But I think the metaphor actually is about recognizing, you know, you see this and you see that. But in fact, you know, at some level of perception, you say, oh, that person probably has a mass history of such and such. There's a name for it, as opposed to this person. But if you say that, you know, like a squirrel comes, you see a squirrel as a squirrel. It's not, well, it's an animal.

[63:01]

But it's distinguishing one thing from another. In other words, this is distinguishing each thing as it is. So yeah, you're right, you know, but nevertheless, it doesn't bother me because I can see beyond it. But it's also interesting that he's making this point that each thing as it is, even though there's distinguishing, there's also each thing as it is. That's an interesting point. That's the point. But this passage reminds me a little bit of when you were lecturing about Chozan's five ranks and the fifth rank. Yeah, well yeah, this is of course, it's like, it's true, it's like the four wisdoms. When the alive jnana is purified, then it becomes a great round mirror of wisdom. So that's the mirror he's talking about.

[64:04]

You know, this shape, this thing, I see it as it is, not as it is distorted in my mind. I think in our discussion we're adding a judgment that the mirror doesn't have. The mirror just sees what's there, but there's no judgment about it. But my point is, this mirror, supposedly from the ancestor, we hear a judgment, you know, because we hear We have a perspective on Chinese and Mongolia and so on that that culture didn't have. So I'm not sure, actually, that you can have a mirror without judgment. And if you can have a mirror with less judgment, I think it's very hard. I mean, I think to me, this passage sort of proves the point that, you know, what is it that thing, your dharma eye, you can only see as far as your dharma eye can see. Your eye of practice can see. I mean, we can sort of see beyond this because we In our culture, in our history, in our understanding, we have some insight into racism and judging people based on their race that this person probably didn't have.

[65:15]

No, it's not so. I wouldn't say that at all. Well, I know you wouldn't. Nothing could be wrong with this passage you're putting to you. Racism and so forth, that's existed since the beginning of time. Of course, there's something beyond that. That's why they can use the metaphor, because they saw beyond it. They weren't stuck with it. They expect you to be able to see beyond it as well. Go ahead. You know, differentiate. The problem is differentiation. Yes.

[66:16]

And whatever name you put on it, one thing or the other, you need once you name it, even before you move to the next, next, you know, you just say the time, no matter what you name, you put on it, you create a difference. And how are you supposed to see things as it is when you've done that? Yeah. Well, what would you say? I'd say this moment, this moment, this moment. How would you differentiate the moments? How do you characterize each moment? I'm hearing a request to change.

[67:25]

Something's changing. I don't necessarily have a choice that something's changing. Supposing something passes in front of you. without you rationalizing. What would you call it? I don't want to put myself out as a strong dog, but when you see this, what do you see? Well, one way of saying it is first I see the body, some movement, the color of the clothes.

[68:31]

There's a succession of seeing. Right, but that's still discriminating. Yes, it is. So you can't describe something without discrimination. Exactly. So this is the discrimination. which we understand we discriminate in order to express something. We discriminate in order to express non-discrimination. The understanding is that we understand that we're expressing non-discrimination through discrimination. Without falling into emptiness or... Without falling into emptiness or... Or seizing on something. You're right. You just let it go. Just let it go. Yes. Chan-pho. That's all. It's not like, oh, this is... where is he from? Chan-pho.

[69:34]

Nangal. Just words, you know. But you don't have to say anything. But if you didn't say anything, you wouldn't know what you're talking about. Most of us probably wouldn't necessarily correctly, probably we had to have a Chinese person and a Mongolian person here, probably half of us would not correctly assign. Well, you have to understand, I've thought about all those things that you're thinking about as well, but I'm not attached to them. Well, I'm not either, because you're attached to them, but you're not attached to them as I am, because you're defending them. I'm defending. Yes, and I'm attaching. We have a couple more minutes until the Sushi Director asks me a way to strike her, and we still have a verse to do. I think it's when we're supposed to end. Is that right, Sushi director?

[70:35]

That's what the schedule says. Yeah. So that's been diverse. I want to understand this matter. It is as if there were an ancient mirror inside me. When a Mongol appears before it, a Mongol will be reflected. And when a Chinese appears, a Chinese is reflected. All the manifestations, these are just examples of manifestations, are wholly the fantasy-like samadhi and have no beginning or end. Just stuff going on. Therefore, when the mountain givers of the Great Earth appear, they are all too dependent on it. When the three kinds of spiritual knowledge and six supernatural powers appear, they depend on it. You should not see them. See even an inch of the Great Earth as something outside of your own mind.

[71:39]

Do not put more than a drop of water outside of the ocean of Buddha-nature. So, this morning I would like to pay and say a few humble words about this situation. Would you like to hear them? Yes. Even though the huge waves left the heavens, how can the pure ocean water ever change? Now, Noah says something else, right? What does he say?

[72:09]

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