Also, you talk about the six realms, you know, the higher realms and the lower realms. The lower realms are hungry ghosts and hell and what's the third one? Animals. Yeah, animals. And the higher realms are human beings fighting gods and the god realm. And the human realm is called the Saha world, the world of endurance, because while there is suffering, we're not completely overwhelmed by it as the beings in the three lower realms are, and we're not so distracted by power and nice things that we're completely unable to focus on practice. So this is where we've been born. You have gained the pivotal opportunity of human form.

[01:03]

Do not use your time in vain. Don't waste your time. Don't worry about it, but also be mindful of the passing of time. There's so many phrases in Zen and Buddhist literature on the quick passing of time. You are maintaining the essential working of the Buddha way. I love this line. It's kind of stuck in my head for a long time because what does that mean? You are maintaining the essential working of the Buddhist way, the Buddha way. And I think it's that the Buddha way is being maintained not just by someone else, but by each one of us. We each maintain it. sitting here together for five days, doing the practice period together, how much you've been here or not or wished you could join.

[02:09]

We are the manifestation of maintaining the Buddha way, actually, each and every one of us and throughout our lives. Somehow, mysteriously, when we come in contact with other people, we are maintaining the Buddha way. And we have no idea the impact that we may have on other people. From being at Tassajara many years, you know, people come in the summer and many people come year after year. So they'll come back years later and say, oh, that thing you said to me was so amazing. And it's really stayed with me. And thank you. I have no memory of saying that. I don't actually remember you. I never say this. That might have even been in my first or second summer. But these small acts of kindness or compassion or just presence, you have no idea how this can touch someone.

[03:17]

So we... You know, it's so helpful in so much of our lives to maintain, like, cause and effect and see what's actually working out, and we do that as well as we can. But we do things with our best intention, and then we see what happens, and often we don't see what happens. So we have to kind of trust. I mean, there isn't that much of a choice. I mean, you can worry, but the choice is worrying about it all the time. Not it. Yeah. No. Who would take wasteful delight in the spark from a flintstone? Besides, form and substance are like the dew on the grass, destiny like a dart of lightning, emptied in an instant, vanished in a flash. So the universe is 13 plus...

[04:24]

million years so art you know when they do these kind of charts of time or even the earth's time it's like human being you know it's like here this is how long the earth's been around and there's this infinitesimal little bit of human beings over here so in the in the larger scheme of thing because we're human beings our life fills our whole life but even in the scope of a mountain you know it's just It's a little bit. And when you look at the wider picture, it's all passing so quickly. My life has passed so quickly, continues to pass increasingly quickly. As a kid, everything seemed to last forever. Are we there yet? And now it's like, wow, it's here. The next thing that was the horizon is here, and it's amazing.

[05:28]

I started practice a little over 40 years ago, which is unbelievable to me. Oh, that's interesting. That's the single thing I've done the longest in my life, is practice. Inconsistently, intermittently, but always coming back. Always coming back. I often still feel like a beginner or confused. And when I'm in that, I hate it because I feel like I should be another way. And when I'm not in it, I'm grateful for it because it keeps things fresh. If I didn't wonder about that, it would probably mean that I was a little stale. Please, honored followers of Zen, long accustomed to groping for the elephant, do not be suspicious of the true dragon.

[06:39]

Devote your energies to a way that directly indicates the absolute. Revere the person of complete attainment who is beyond all human agency. Gain accord with the enlightenment of the Buddhists. Succeed to the legitimate lineage of the ancestor's samadhi. Constantly perform in such a manner and you are assured of being a person such as they. Your treasure store will open of itself and you will use it at will. So, long accustomed to groping for the elephant, do not be suspicious of the true dragon. So the elephant is referencing that old story about the blind men and the elephant, groping for the elephant, each one convinced that they know what the elephant is, but none of them seeing it whole.

[07:42]

So long accustomed to doing that in practice, thinking this is practice or this is not practice, Don't be suspicious of the true dragon. The true dragon is a sort of a metaphor for awakening, for true enlightenment, having a taste of true reality. could also say it's the difference between thinking or reading about or talking about Zen or practice and actually doing it, actually living it, tasting it for yourself. There's a story in China that there was a man named, this is Suzuki Roshi's telling of the story,

[08:49]

In China, there was a man named Seiko. He loved dragons. All his scrolls were of dragons. He designed his house like a dragon house, and he had many, many figures of dragons. So a real dragon thought, if I appear in his house, he will be very pleased. So one day, the dragon appeared in his room, and Seiko was very scared of him and almost drew his sword to cut him. The real dragon said, oh my, and hurriedly escaped the room. I just imagine Suzuki Roshi telling the story and giggling. What he's saying is the actual experience of awakening is not what we think. That bumper sticker, meditation, it's not what you think. And, you know, we can be startled by things that are, you know, by actually encountering it.

[10:07]

I was thinking my current thing, not just dragons, but it's like, oh, you might be scared of some awakening experience or something unexpected. You know, what if it were a dinosaur? What if you love dinosaurs and then it was Jurassic Park? You know, are you afraid it's going to be that? And I think for some people it's, if I actually let go, will I be okay? You know, that might be the fear of the dragon or the fear of the dinosaur. If I let go, will I ever find my way back? How can I navigate? Who am I? And none of this is probably conscious. but what would it mean to let go of what we think of as ourself? So it's really nice to have these stories because it makes it a little external and not just the kind of shadows playing out that we maybe don't want to quite look at or turn toward or bring a light to.

[11:13]

But part of Dogen's teaching is that actually the daily practice of zazen, walking, sitting, bowing, being together like we are, is the true dragon. There's not difference. There's not separation. We might experience it differently. But there actually is no difference. I mean, if you were to wake up right now, right now, where would you be? Where you're sitting. who would be around you, the people who are around you. Devote your energies to a way that directly indicates the absolute. This is what Dogen's been talking about all the... the whole time you know it's like it's not over there there's not like some path that you cross but realizing that you are there you are here already that directly indicates the absolute you are immediately there revere the person of complete attainment who is beyond all human agency not put them on a pedestal but respect them

[12:46]

Respect that quality. And actually also that's you. That's each one of us. The person who is already that. So also recognize your own Buddha nature. Gain accord with the enlightenment of the Buddhas. Succeed to the legitimate lineage of the ancestors' samadhi. Constantly perform in such a manner and you are assured of being a person such as they. Perform has such connotations for us these days and I think that it expresses doing. You know, manifest. We might say manifest or actualize in such a way. Like put your whole body mind.

[13:46]

where Dogen is inviting us to be, where he was inviting his lay disciple to be. Devote your energies to a way that directly indicates the absolute. Revere the person of complete attainment who is beyond all human agency, who is not other than ourselves. And we recognize them when we meet them. And then we know there's even more. Constantly do this, perform in this manner, actualize this, and you are assured of being a person such as they, of having that within you that you can manifest in an ongoing way, according to causes and conditions for the benefit of beings. Your treasure store will open of itself

[14:50]

and you will use it at will. You already have your treasure store. It's not somewhere else. You don't have to go find it or dig it up or pick the lock. It will open of itself as you practice. As we practice together, it will open. often unexpectedly. Maybe there were times during the Sashin or this morning when unexpectedly there was a moment of openness or ease or peace or yes. Your treasure store will open of itself and you will use it at will. So the Genjo Koan ends with... Here is the place.

[15:51]

Here the way unfolds. The boundary of realization is not distinct, for the realization comes forth simultaneously with the mastery of Buddha Dharma. We can't actually see what the dividing line is between our ordinary mind and awakened mind. We can't perceive it. If we were perceiving, we would be creating a boundary that doesn't exist. It's a way of seeing, not an object of what we see. Do not suppose that what you realize becomes your knowledge and is grasped by your consciousness. Although actualized immediately, right here, immediately, immediate present, the inconceivable may not be distinctly apparent. Its appearance is beyond your knowledge. Norman has this great phrase, oh, it's enlightenment, just as I expected.

[16:57]

Maybe we've seen movies where the Buddha is awakened or somebody said, there's a great one of Dogen where it's like the light show going on behind his head when he awakens. And of course it's not like that. It's like it might feel like that. or it might be very subtle. It might be looking up and seeing the morning star or hearing a pebble hit bamboo or the car horns going off outside, the alarms. Its appearance is beyond your knowledge. We can't We can't say it, we can't express it, we can't hold on to it. And this is why this is faith. And it's not monotheistic or Christian faith, faith in something, belief in something.

[18:10]

It's trust that Faith, trust, confidence are all the same word, all the same kanji in Chinese and Japanese. And it basically means I know for myself. I trust it because, you know, I can see it, I can feel it, but it's that about Buddha nature, that we can touch it and recognize it and say yes. You know, I can't see electricity or gravity, but I still trust that they are there and I experience them. Zen Master Bauche of Mount Mayu was fanning himself. A monk approached and said, Master, the nature of wind is permanent and there is no place it does not reach.

[19:13]

Why then do you fan yourself? Boucher replies, although you understand that the nature of wind is permanent, you do not understand the meaning of its reaching everywhere. What is the meaning of its reaching everywhere? asked the monk again. The master just kept fanning himself. The monk bowed deeply. The actualization of the Buddha Dharma, the vital path of its correct transmission, is like this. If you say that you do not need to fan yourself because the nature of wind is permanent and you can have wind without fanning, you will understand neither permanence nor the nature of wind. The nature of wind is permanent. Because of that, the wind of the Buddha's house brings forth the gold of the earth and and makes fragrant the cream of the long river.

[20:16]

So the story of Zen master Baucha is a koan, not a very well-known one. And it's really Dogen's koan that brought him to practice. If we all inherently have Buddha nature or are Buddha nature, why do we have to work so hard to practice? So the master says probably, you know, summer, it's hot. Yes, there's wind, it's hot, it's muggy. And he's saying they're fanning himself. And the monk comes in and says, oh, the nature of wind is permanent. You know, meaning Buddha nature. So why do you bother to fan yourself? Why make the effort to practice? And what Baucha is saying is you might have faith in this teaching, but you don't understand the meaning of practice. You don't understand the meaning of its reaching everywhere.

[21:24]

That we are part of the vital working of the Buddha way. We are actually part of that. And it requires us doing something. to manifest it. It doesn't happen just by itself. I mean, the universe exists by itself. And yet, to actualize it, to manifest the Buddha way in the world requires that we do something, that we manifest it. And Baucha just simply fanned himself. He didn't even have to say anything. He just manifested the activity that he was engaged in. It's so mysterious how this becomes Buddha activity. It's a hot day, the teacher's fanning himself, and suddenly it becomes teaching.

[22:34]

And it gets passed down. warm hand to warm hand, country to country, generationally, and still here hundreds and hundreds of years later. This is how the Buddha way is actualized. So again, it's also our daily activity. There are so many stories about people meeting Suzuki Roshi or rather not meeting Suzuki Roshi or Akadagiri Roshi but just seeing them and feeling their presence, their complete presence in whatever they were doing and being immediately struck to such a degree that they wanted to just do what this person was doing or be around them or learn from them. It's like I see something I've never seen before. I'm feeling something I've never felt before and I want to know more about that.

[23:40]

That something in there feels right. So drop by drop, moment by moment, we are manifesting, we are actualizing practice, we are actualizing the Buddha way. And... We continue to be aware that we can only see as far as our eye of practice can reach and try to extend our eye of practice to see farther than we currently can, to manifest more fully, more accurately, in a more connected way, more tuned maybe between this person and whatever's arising.

[24:43]

And so we meet the myriad things. We meet all these things in the world, individually, together, more skillfully, more accurately, or less so, continuing on moment by moment. And we just continue. So that is the end of the Gendro Koan. So before we end, I want to say a few other things. So we'll be having, as I think all of you know, is there any of you who has not been to a chouseau ceremony before or doesn't really know anything about that? Okay, great, wonderful. So our chouseau, Colleen, is the head student. And every year we ask a person to take this role.

[26:02]

And she shares the abbot's seat or the guiding teacher's seat, teaching seat. So has started to give dharma talks and to meet with the sangha and to be a more public person, so to speak, to be out there to live for the benefit of the sangha and to be attended by her benji, to be able to receive support. as well as to give support. So it's such a continuous training of giver, receiver, and gift. And it's a Dharma gate. It's challenging in many ways. It's stretchy, definitely. Colleen has been here for every single period of morning and evening zazen. every class, every event, every day of Sushin, every hour, and is always in her place.

[27:08]

That's stretchy. I mean, yeah. We're all stretching in different ways. Shusso just gets to stretch in a very particular way. So we'll have a ceremony this afternoon. And I think all of you, maybe not all of you, have experienced... Have you been to a Shosan ceremony where there's the Q&A? Okay, so I will say just a little more. Carol will say much more about the ceremony this afternoon as the ceremony director and the specifics of it. But it's a meeting. It's often like a koan. There was one day when I was... attending a Shosan ceremony with Sojin Roshi and I went, oh, this is where koans often come from because there are questions to the teacher or to the Shuso, today it will be the Shuso, that are not a long question but a very brief, focused question from the heart of your practice.

[28:22]

It can be in very Zen terms. If you know lots of Zen terms, you might play with that or poetic terms. Or it can be in very everyday terms. Like, why do I try so hard and still hurt so much? Or why do I get angry? Or whatever it is. But it's something that comes from the heart of your practice. So I mention it now so that you If you haven't been thinking about it already, you'll have a chance to think about it before the ceremony. Ideally, it's just something that arises in your heart rather than having to figure something out. But every person in the ceremony will ask a question. And the chaiseau will answer. The chaiseau will respond, which is different than answering. And it will be also pretty quick.

[29:34]

There's variation, but it's not explaining, it's not lengthy on either side. And it has a certain, just like chanting in service does, it has a certain rhythm to the ceremony, which is energetic rather than inward. This is a public, outward-facing ceremony of getting to hear everyone's questions and everyone will get to hear the response from the Shuso. So in the continuing the theme of giver, receiver, and gift, both you and the Shuso are giver and receiver, and your gift will be your questions. And so Sashin ends this afternoon and also the practice period, and Colleen's time of Shouseau.

[30:36]

So all of those will end after the ceremony. And I invite all of us to keep the container of Sashin as much as we can until the ceremony actually starts, and then we'll just be in ceremonial space for that time, and that's a celebration afterwards. So... Be as mindful as you can of your energy and especially energy to connect or talk or plan both inward and outward. If you could keep your energy sort of close in to you. Somehow in spring, it feels more so. And I was remembering this morning being at Tassajara for spring practice periods. And, you know, the irises are coming up and the daffodils are coming up. And there's just this, like, energy, you know, in the valley of feeling like the change in the seasons.

[31:42]

And I would often feel like my energy was like being in a pool... and I'm trying to hold a beach ball down to the same depth that it's been before, and it's just like popping up. So don't just let it pop up, please, if you can, if you possibly can. But you can offer it some containment, and you won't have to do it very long. Once you all get into the ceremony, it will happen all by itself. It will have its own energy of containment. But there's kind of a tendency, you know, in that intervening period to sort of let go of everything that we've been cultivating for the past five days. And I...

[32:46]

So I was just saying it's the end of the practice period, end, end, end. But you could also look at it differently and say it's the midpoint. This is the midpoint of your 10-day sashin. Gil Fransdahl likes to say that about the retreats that he does. He said, because the next equal period of time is a period of integrating that into your daily life. Because during that time, you will be seeing things differently, feeling things differently. These two ways of being will be coming and going. And it's a really potent time. So I invite you to be as intentional as you can about going back into your daily life. You know, this evening, tomorrow, whatever it is. Just to be thoughtful. You know, like, how do I want to engage with... people or work or the whole online realm, however much you have or haven't been, without an idea in it, except to be mindful, except to be aware and as skillful as you can and to treasure that this particular time because it's a really powerful one.

[34:04]

And that's really how... That's a big piece of how we take the depth of our practice back into our daily lives. Because it's so accessible right now. And then when you notice it in these coming days, it will be more accessible to you going forward. Yes. Yes. The monk asked Boucher, why then do you fan yourself? And Boucher did not say, because Buddha nature is everywhere and I'm manifesting it right now, he just fanned himself. That's a response. Does that answer your question?

[35:14]

Yes. Exactly. There are no right and wrong responses or answers. Although one or both people may feel that there was a good connection or kind of a missed connection. But there was still, even the missed connection is a form of connection. Yes.

[36:24]

Thank you. To those online, we've just been having a little explanation of the difference between an answer and a response in the ceremony. Okay. Thank you all.

[36:38]

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