says, summer does not become fall. Summer is summer, fall is fall. So, it's cooled off. That's where we are. Periodically, I'm going to give a talk on the Eight Awarenesses of an Enlightened Person. And in honor of fall, the new season, I'm going to talk about the Eight Awarenesses. The Eight Awarenesses were Buddha's last teachings, Shakyamuni, Buddha's last teachings.

[01:19]

And coincidentally, they were Gogen's last teachings. Both of them, of course, Shakyamuni, the eight teachings, the eight aspects, originated with Shakyamuni. were reiterated by Dogen as his last teachings. I'm not sure if he knew that they were his last teachings. But maybe, Dogen gave his talk, his last teaching on January 6th, 1253.

[02:39]

And the eight aspects of an enlightened person, or the eight awarenesses, are having few desires, knowing how to be satisfied, enjoying serenity and tranquility, exerting diligent effort, not forgetting right thought, practicing samadhi, cultivating wisdom, and not indulging in idle chatter. That's an interesting one for the last. These eight awarenesses each include the other seven.

[03:21]

Each one includes the other seven. So actually there are 64 awarenesses. And Dogen says there are actually infinite awarenesses, but we limit it to these 64 and talk about eight. Eight times eight is 64. I knew that. So the first one is having few desires, which is Shakyamuni Buddha's main central teaching, actually. The central teaching of Buddha is having few desires. If you study the Four Noble Truths, The first one is that all beings are subject to suffering.

[04:28]

Within this fleeting life, suffering is the mark, which includes enjoyment, but enjoyment also brings suffering. So how to deal with suffering is the first truth. Or, actually, the fact of suffering is the first truth. And the cause is too much desire, or wrongly placed desire. And if there is a way out, the third, and the fourth is the Eightfold Path. Actually, four of these Eight Awarenesses are aspects of the Eightfold Path.

[05:33]

So, there are these lists of awarenesses and practices. within Buddhism, and they often overlap each other. So desire is stimulated through sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and idea. And these sense pleasures or desires that arise through sense pleasures are wealth, fame, food, sex, and sleep.

[06:42]

In that order. You can start anywhere. And you can even identify yourself with some of them. In his comment, Dogen says, all the Buddhas are enlightened persons and those things which the enlightened persons are aware of are called the eight awarenesses of the enlightened person. To become aware of this dharma is the cause for nirvana. Our master Shakyamuni Buddha taught this dharma on the last night before entering parinirvana.

[07:50]

Not seeking, he says first, not seeking too much among the objects of the five desires which are not yet obtained is called having few desires. It is nirvana. Nirvana You know, what is nirvana? Simplistically or simply stated, nirvana is not a thing, but it's the absence of greed, ill-will and delusion. When one is freed from greed, ill-will and delusion, one has the opportunity to experience nirvana, which is having let go of all the hindrances. So nirvana is like our natural order of mind, natural state of mind, freed from obstructions. People sometimes think of nirvana as something that's added to your present state.

[09:13]

but it's not something that you can get or something that's stuck on or some special state of mind. This is why Greed, of course, is a big hindrance to nirvana, because greed is associated with attachments, with wanting, basically, attachment to this life.

[10:16]

We're all attached to this life. But in reality, no matter how attached we are to this life, we will not stay here. We can't stay here. This is a passage. This life is a passage. And it's always passing. And as long as we are stuck with things, suffering arises. Suffering arises through not getting what we want, having to forego what we have, having, being stuck with what we don't want, and so forth. Desire is an interesting term.

[11:24]

Desire is, of course, necessary for life. Desire is what makes life move, our life, our vitality. But when we talk about desire in Buddhism, It looks like cut off all desire in order to be free. The definition of nirvana actually is, literally, means to cut off or to uproot And so we think that we have to uproot desire, cut off desire. But desire is necessary.

[12:32]

We have the desire for wealth, fame. There are ordinary desires, which are to eat, to sleep, to associate. And to have enough security so that we can actually practice and live our life. You know, even the Buddha says, in order to practice, you have to have clothes, food, and shelter, and sleep, and the necessary requirements in order to practice. and some peaceful situation. So these are necessities. We're very fortunate in our country that we can actually do this.

[13:42]

The biggest problem that we have, which is different than the problem people have in other countries, is that we have too much. The problem that people in other countries have is that they don't have enough. But we have the problem of too much. So we can have anything we want. It's like magic. We live like the monarchs of ancient times. The common person in America today lives like the monarchs of ancient times. Being able to have whatever you want, be wealthy if you want to, you can have anything you want. And more and more is being ground out for your pleasure. And we have institutes, institutions that are inventing new things You know, this great society, people are enslaved.

[14:58]

We think of slaves as being, people have everything taken away from them and have to do their master's bidding. But the slavery of today is much more clever than the slavery of the old days. You give people what they want and then they become your slaves. Because then they start eating it. We're slaves to tobacco, slaves to our automobiles, slaves to our television, so forth. And we keep upping the ante all the time. We need more and more money, more and more money. No matter how much money we have, it's not enough. Even if you're a billionaire, It's not enough. It's rather amazing. And then you go to some other country and you see how far your money goes.

[16:05]

So we're very much in a... even though we're wealthy, we're actually quite poor in a real sense. So being hooked on material things, being hooked on addictive substances, we lose our actual freedom and we lose our access to reality. So this is Buddhist central teaching. And we do get caught, we all get caught by it.

[17:13]

I have this nice little car, you know, my Toyota Tercel 85. Beautiful little car. with 140,000 miles. But every time I go up to Adeline, I go to the buggy bar. Yeah, where they have all these cars for sale. And I always look at them. And that's a little old, but it works beautifully. But when I see all those cars, I keep looking for, well, what's better than what I have? And I do it every time. And I know, and I go through this scenario with myself every time. These are great, but I'll stay with what I have.

[18:18]

Because I like it. It served me well. Why should I buy something else? But then the next time I go buy, it keeps coming up all the time. And other things keep coming up all the time too. So we're constantly having to deal with this. And we do get hooked. So Dogen quotes Shakyamuni, and he says, you should know that because those who have many desires search for fame and profit, there is much suffering. Those who have few desires look around less and desire little.

[19:19]

Therefore, they have no worry of this sort. You should practice of only to have few desires. Needless to say, having few desires produces many merits. Those who have few desires do not have to flatter in order to ingratiate themselves with others. Think of the workplace. Also, they withstand temptations from the various sense organs. One who practices having few desires has neither worry nor fear, for that person's mind is peaceful. not agitated, not always looking for something. So, fame is another aspect. Even within the Sangha, the Buddhist Sangha, which should be free of seeking fame, one becomes a monk or a priest,

[20:22]

in order to give up name and fame. And yet, you know, within the Buddhist world is name and fame. So one, you know, goes around looking for how to be famous or how to get admirers. Dogen, this is one of Dogen's pets. He's always ranting against those people who put themselves in a position to make themselves well-known and famous. And that can be very seductive, very seductive, because you stop working for Stop working on your own practice and step into things in order to promote yourself.

[21:36]

It's very hard to let go of that. And especially when you start being recognized by other people, how to stay humble and not let it affect you. Not be affected. So we become greedy for recognition. We also, it's easy to become greedy for members. Once you start building up a practice, then you start becoming institution, and then you start wanting lots of members, and then you start telling them this is the best way.

[22:41]

And then you start telling them this is the only way. And then you start telling them that no other way good except this way. Our Zen practice is good for everyone. Zen practice is for everyone, but not everyone is for Zen practice, nor should they be. Every practice has its reason and people because of their affinity. If you have an affinity for Zen practice, then you probably do it.

[23:46]

If you don't have an affinity, you no doubt won't do it, or you won't last very long. So, here we are. If someone wants to do it, fine. If they don't want to do it, fine. Often I direct people to go back to their origins, their original practices that they grew up with. And look at that again. So to be greedy for the practice is just as bad as to be greedy for anything else. To want a lot of members, to want wonderful buildings, Suzuki Roshi said we should be very careful that we're not chauvinistic for Zen Center.

[24:54]

Zen Center is a place that sprung up temporarily for people to practice. When it's not serving its purpose, it should disappear. We shouldn't try to make it into something, some grand institution. attracting lots of people. So we do get attached to food, especially in Berkeley. But, you know, priests or monks are supposed to eat only once a day, frankly.

[26:05]

And they uphold that rule in Asia, in Southeast Asia, a lot of places. But mostly they eat in the morning and lunch. Monks, of course, were not supposed to work in the old days. They didn't do any work. They didn't cultivate the soil. They just begged for their meal. So eating one meal a day at noon. Their work in the morning, actually, was to go out and get the noon meal. That was their work, to beg the noon meal. So to beg for one meal a day is acceptable. But if you keep going around and beg for a meal three times a day... Can I have another one?

[27:11]

But in China, of course, the monks started working in the fields, their own fields, cultivating their own fields, which is different than India. Every country has to find their own way of support for practitioners. And then because the monks did work, they would also eat more. And so they ate breakfast and lunch and a little dinner just to take the edge off. So in America, everybody works for something. But we all have to earn our fair. But it's good to know how much that to eat.

[28:16]

And I'm still working on that. And then there's the problem of sex. Because sex is so stimulating, it's easy to get hooked on it. It's like a fire. Sex is a very strong desire. And it's like a fire, and very hard to control for most people. especially when we're continually being stimulated and aroused to stay cool. Cool is good. For many people, that's one of the hardest things. And to have some faithfulness in our relationships, not being drawn off due to something that looks better.

[29:42]

Something's always looking better. There's always something better, which brings us to the next awareness, which is knowing how to be satisfied. One who knows how to be satisfied will have a much easier time. But, you know, when that energy starts flowing, you don't think about that. It's hard to think about that. to actually appreciate and be satisfied with what we have. So, the second one is knowing how to be satisfied.

[30:43]

Dogen says, knowing how much to take of those things which one already has is called knowing how to be satisfied. Then he says, the Buddha says, You monks should contemplate knowing how to be satisfied if you wish to be liberated from suffering. The dharma of knowing how to be satisfied is the realm of riches, comfort, peace, and tranquility. So all these qualities come from being satisfied. But the trick is, how do you be satisfied? That's a good question. Those who know how to be satisfied are happy and comfortable even when sleeping on the ground. So that's a kind of clue. Even if you're sleeping on the ground, even if everything is gone, even if everything is taken away, how can you be satisfied? What does the satisfaction depend on?

[31:46]

That's the question. You know, when one is sitting zazen, even though there are problems, one is satisfied. There's a satisfaction because there's nothing to gain. But then when we start moving in the world and the senses start reaching out into the world, become receptive to the world, then we start to feel dissatisfied. Dissatisfaction has a place, actually. It's not entirely bad. With dissatisfaction comes change. There is a normal dissatisfaction.

[32:47]

There are things that we should take care of, because they're not satisfying, and they're productive, but enlightened satisfaction, the satisfaction of an enlightened person is that no matter what's happening, they're settled. Okay, whatever it is, okay. If you have to sleep on the ground, OK. If you have to sleep in a wonderful bed, OK. If you have to sleep in George Washington's bed someplace, go ahead. But move on. I slept in some famous bed one time up in Vancouver.

[34:04]

It was a very old, very old bed in a hotel room that somebody had slept in. Somebody slept in it. Some famous person. So those who do not know how to be satisfied, even if they are sleeping in George Washington's bed, will never be satisfied. Those who do not know how to be satisfied are not satisfied even when dwelling in a heavenly place, like where we are. Those who do not know how to be satisfied are poor even though they are wealthy. Those who know how to be satisfied are wealthy even though they have little. So I think it's important to know that we really have nothing.

[35:06]

We have to get to that place where we realize that we really have nothing. So whatever we have, we say, well, this is mine. But actually, it's only tentatively mine. If you think about what is yours as something that you're taking care of, rather than something that belongs to you, then it's easier to deal with or let go of things or realize your detachment from This body even does not belong to us. We say, my body, but it's not my body. It's this body. It's this body-mind. But we say, my body-mind.

[36:11]

It's OK to say, my, as long as you realize that it's just a convenient way of speaking. But it really doesn't belong to us. this body is born or this body appears in this world. And at some point in our life, we say, oh, this is mine. And then at some point later in our life, when it's ready to go, stuck with this, my body. And we don't want to let it go. But if it was your body, you wouldn't be able to let it go. Our consciousness goes along with our life.

[37:18]

But consciousness, if we allow consciousness to just go along with this life, it's fine. But as long as, as soon as consciousness says, it's mine, then we're stuck. And there's no way to be satisfied. Nothing will satisfy us. No matter how much money or goods or friends or position we have, nothing will satisfy us, really. We're always looking for satisfaction, no matter what we have. So, to be poor has its problems, to be wealthy has its problems, but until we can give up everything, we'll always suffer. So practice is how to let go of everything.

[38:34]

Buddhism, Buddha Dharma is about how to let go of everything and then realize that everything is yours. So greed, letting go of greed, and knowing how to be satisfied, these two go together. They complement each other. Actually, letting go of greediness is how to be satisfied. And our greatest wealth is in letting go.

[39:42]

When we totally let go, then everything becomes ours. Suzuki Roshi used to say about his glasses, these glasses don't really belong to me, I appreciate you letting me use them and wear them as long as I need them. So if we understand this attitude, have this attitude, And the suffering that we do have will be sympathetically for other people. I don't so much feel the suffering of my own personal suffering as I feel the suffering of other people. I'm sure there are things that I will be unhappy to leave.

[40:55]

And it's always difficult when you lose something, especially when you lose people. It's very hard when we lose people, lose our friends, lose our family. And each one of us has to deal with those losses. But we should understand what's really happening. We understand what's really happening. From the beginning, nothing was ever meant to last. There is happiness. And there is joyfulness.

[42:09]

But it should be based on reality. not just superficially. So, let's find that real happiness and real joy in reality, not by avoiding reality. Do you have a question? If we're engaged in actions that benefit people or benefit the world, but also realize that our motives are primarily selfish, what should we do? Well, if you have activity in the world which promotes

[43:16]

selfish? Well, keep looking at your motives. You should keep looking at your motives because it may not be so beneficial to you. And you can still benefit people, but you should be careful because it's easy to cross the line to where You know, you're doing something for people, but then, you know, we always get satisfaction out of doing something for people. If we do something for other people, we get satisfaction. So it's hard to know what you mean by that, actually. And we should accept the satisfaction. It's okay, you know. And also, if we do things for people, and people promote us in some way, you know, and compliment us and we feel good.

[44:21]

That's okay too, you know, but we should not be fooled by that. We should be careful not to be fooled by that or to promote ourselves on the wave of the thing that we're doing so that we lose sight of the actual benefit and start draining off the assets to ourselves. That's kind of corruption. This happens in charities all the time. People collect a lot of money for the charity and then they put it in their own pocket and go away. So in a sense, there are many ways to do that. So be careful.

[45:04]

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