So I thought that I would talk about that a little bit. In Buddhism, our basic nature is what we call Buddha nature. And Buddha nature has no fixed characteristics. When it manifests in a worldly way, we call this our life. And since there are no special characteristics to our nature, we say that human being is not a fixed entity. but is part of the flowing essence of Buddha nature.

[01:02]

Each one of us is a drop in the waterfall of life. Our life is sometimes described as a waterfall. Suzuki Roshi also used this metaphor. When you look at the waterfall, you see a waterfall. But when you get up close, You see that the waterfall is many uncountable drops of water, and it looks like one solid thing, but actually it has solidity, but it's not solid at all, in the same way that each one of our lives is a kind of waterfall. It looks solid, but actually it's continually flowing and changing. So there's nothing that's not continually flowing and changing.

[02:07]

This is called the stream of life. And in this stream of life, our life is made up of the stream of feelings, the stream of forms, the stream of feelings, perceptions, ideas and consciousness. And these five streams are continually blending together and we call this myself. At any one moment we say, this is me. But this me is at the same time not me. And because we have some memory of our childhood, we see a kind of continuous flow, continuous pattern. And we say, there's me at six, and there's me at 15, and there's, that was me at, and it was.

[03:15]

It was me, but it's no longer me. And yet it is me. So at the same time, it is, and it isn't. And this is the mystery of our life. Yes and no at the same time. Permanent and impermanent at the same time. Buddha nature has these two aspects. One is Buddha nature is permanent. Buddha nature is always, but even that's too much to say. And our life, so-called life, is just for now. So we have two lives and two deaths.

[04:21]

The conventional idea of life and death, birth and death, is that at some point we're born into this world and we live a life cycle and then we die. That's our usual way of thinking of birth and death. But at the other side of birth and death is that birth and death is continuous. There's no beginning and no end. Birth and death or arising and non-arising are continuously going on without interruption. In Buddhadharma, it's called action influence and karma. Karma is our volitional action.

[05:26]

which leads to some result. So it's called the law of cause and effect. But karma has two aspects. One is fixed karma and the other is unfixed karma. Fixed karma is like you're born Into a certain family at a certain time. There's nothing you can do about it You're born into Maybe black or white or yellow or red nothing you can do about it You're born as a man or woman nowadays you can do something about it But basically That's it.

[06:28]

And there's some reason for it, even though you don't know the reason. Because everything has a reason. There are no accidents. What looks like an accident has a cause. And behind that cause are other causes. So there's primary cause and secondary cause. A bean is the primary cause for a bean plant. But without water and earth and sunshine as secondary causes, it doesn't sprout. So we always carry around with us the primary cause for whatever is going to happen. And then when we meet circumstances, we act in a certain way, which creates the secondary causes for the sprouting of whatever seed we're carrying around with us. And this is happening continuously.

[07:31]

So, due to our actions, the way we respond to life, we continually create our karmic consequences. But the karma is merely the action, the volitional action, the way we respond to something. the way we respond to life. And so our life is self-creating in that way. The fixed karma is the karma that I just explained. Unfixed karma means that nothing is fixed. Nothing that, you know, there's no Life is not fatal. It's not controlled by fate, which looks like fixed karma.

[08:34]

Fixed karma is not fate exactly, because it's the result of a cause. Unfixed karma means that you can change if you try. Things are not fixed. If you want to change your life, You can change it, even though you may not be able to. You may not be able to change the course of your life, but it's always possible. Everything is possible. This is the world where everything is possible, even though you may not be able to take advantage of the possibilities. So, life is completely open and subject to your own construction. the way you respond to it. So each one of us is born into a different circumstance.

[09:40]

And the way we respond to that circumstance determines the direction of our life. Some circumstances are really difficult. and other circumstances look really easy. But in some sense, all circumstances are the same. They're all equal. It looks like this one has an advantage because they're wealthy. Born into a wealthy family and given everything, that looks like an advantage. But that can be a terrible disadvantage. Someone born into very poor circumstances they would have to struggle under tremendous odds. And yet, because of that, it can be a terrible circumstance, but because of that, it brings out a certain kind of spirit in that person to overcome or deal with circumstances, and that turns into a great advantage.

[10:42]

So, it's hard to say what's good and what's bad. I see people suffering in all circumstances. Whatever our life is, it brings on both the possibility of joy and the possibility of suffering, depending on how we respond to our life. There are some circumstances in which people just can't get out of it. I understand that. We all understand that. But the way we respond to our life is called our life. Even in the worst of circumstances. Sometimes when I see a movie about people being condemned to death and shot, you know,

[11:54]

There's a famous movie about the Second World War where these men were condemned to death, to be shot to death. And each one of those people goes through something, shows their life as they're going through this inevitable thing, and how each one responds to it. And it reminds me that every one of us is going to be shot at some point. Each one of us is going to have to go through that door. And each one of us is going to have to respond in some way. And the way we live our life is the way that we live our death. So in some way, our life, the way we live our life is a preparation for how we live our death.

[13:10]

Life and death, we say, are just two sides of the coin. If you think that our life just begins at conception and ends at our last breath, that's a very narrow view of life. life according to Buddhadharma is continuous and the various forms are continually transforming. So in Buddhism we say the karma and the result of our karmic actions carries over after our so-called death. and the action influence of our karma that continues and influences another life.

[14:22]

So the seeds that are stored in our consciousness and our action influence together form a wave, and this wave of energy continues in an influential way. Like all energy is not lost. Everything that we do has a consequence, even though we don't see it. There's a consequence that arises immediately from our actions, which is like when you hit your thumb with a hammer, you say, ouch, that's cause and effect arising at the same time. And then there's cause and effect where you do something and later on you feel the consequence and you say, God, how'd that happen to a guy like me? is a consequence in that area past our so-called life that creates condition for another thing that's happening, but you don't know about it.

[15:46]

We don't know, you know. And you can just look at your life right now, at the unconsciousness of how unconscious we are of the effects of our actions. We know something about the effects of our actions, but most of it we're unconscious of. We do so much and we're just completely unconscious. We just roar through life and affect so many things as we go along, we don't even pay any attention to. So this is happening by so many people, everybody. And so all this kind of disturbance that's happening in the world, it's affecting everything else in the world. So the world has this dynamic undulation. And whatever each one of us does affects everyone else.

[16:52]

And since we're all connected, part of our karma is personal. What we do volitionally comes back to ourself. We reap our own. What we sow is what we reap. But it also affects other people. Like if I plant a bomb somewhere, that affects a lot of people. And it's a cause for someone else's grief. So whatever we do affects ourselves and also can affect others. And it does. So that's why we have to be very careful about what we do. because the consequences not only come back to ourself, but come back to others. And there are two aspects.

[17:56]

One is that everyone is myself, and the other is each one of us is an individual. But it's always on two levels. We say everything is the same on one level, and everything is different on another level. Everything is the same means that we all share the same Buddha nature. And even though I may feel something that you don't feel, and you may feel something that I don't feel, on a deeper level, we're still affecting each other. So karma is very far-reaching. Our actions are very far-reaching. And our life is continuous. And what we do now affects what will happen to us in the future because we're continually creating our life.

[19:02]

So we can't say after death what happens because we don't know after death until we die. So we say, You must die now while you're still alive. Then you'll understand. If you die now, you spring back to life. But if you expect to spring back to life, you won't. You can't buy it. It's sometimes described like a seal, you know, your karma. Our life, you know, it's a picture, and that which, if you can picture your life, condensed into a seal, and you stamp the seal onto mud or paper or something, and then you lift it off, and there it is.

[20:14]

Well, this seal is stamped onto, it makes an impression, and our karma makes an impression, and that impression is the action influence that continues to create, to influence future rebirth. So rebirth is not the same as reincarnation. Reincarnation is something one form continues to be continually reproduced. But rebirth means that from the death of one thing, something else comes to life, which is how life works. The death of one thing brings forth the life of something. So rebirth is continual.

[21:17]

We're continually dying and being reborn, moment by moment. And this continuous dying and being reborn goes on forever. So we say, is it the same one that dies, that's reborn, or another? Well, it's not the same. and it's not another, and yet it is the same, and it is another. This is, where it is is, it is and it isn't. Yes, but. Are we dead or alive? Yes and no. We live in the crack.

[22:20]

We live in that space. And yet, at the same time, nothing comes or goes. We say, time is flowing by. But you can also look at it as time is standing still and events are changing in the same place. Just transformation at one time. Transformation is taking place at one time. You can see it in many different ways. But we tend to view the world, view our life, from a certain standpoint.

[23:27]

And when we view it from that standpoint, it looks like everything's going by. But actually, nothing's going anywhere. We're not going anywhere. As we say, wherever you are, that's where you find yourself. To illustrate this, I want to read you a famous poem that you already know about. This is called Hyakujo and the Fox. Hyakujo lived in the temple of Daiichi Inn at Mount Hyakujo in China. Whenever he would lecture, there was an old man who would always come, sitting behind the monks. As soon as the lecture would end, The old man would leave. For a while he came every day, but no one saw him. One day he remained after the lecture was over and all the monks had left.

[24:32]

Hyakujo noticed him and asked, who are you? The old man bowed and in tears he answered, thank you master for asking me. I look like a human being, but actually I am not. I'm a fox. Long ago I was a Zen master. I had a monastery here on this mountain. One day a monk came to see me and in all sincerity asked, is an enlightened man controlled by the law of cause and effect? I answered him, the greatly enlightened man is not controlled by the law of causation. Ever since telling this untruth, I have been reborn 500 times as a fox. Please give me the true answer." Then the monk bowed three times to Hyakujo and asked, he said, I will be grateful for your teaching. Then the monk bowed three times to Hyakujo and asked, is an enlightened man controlled by the law of cause and effect?

[25:37]

Hyakujo replied in a clear and vigorous voice, even Shakyamuni Buddha or Amitabha Buddha cannot escape the law of cause and effect. At this, the old man suddenly awakened, and in tears, bowing many times, he said, thank you, thank you. I have just been released from being a fox. My dead body will be under the cliff behind the mountain. May I ask one more favor of you? Although I have been a fox, I was previously a monk. Please have a funeral service for me as for a monk. Then he disappeared. Hyakujo was the only person who knew of this incident. When he went back to his room, He called the head monk and said, please announce to all the monks that we're going to have a funeral service after lunch. The monks were surprised and began to gossip. Who died? What's the matter? Head monk, for whom? Head monk, for whom is this funeral service? I don't know. I was merely asked by the master to make this announcement.

[26:38]

When lunch was over, Hyagajo appeared and said, are you ready? We will have the funeral now. Please come with me. The monks followed him with puzzled expressions. When they arrived at the cliff, Hyakujo picked up the body of a dead fox and said, we are going to have a funeral for this fox, but please perform the funeral rites prescribed for a monk. They all recited the sutras very attentively and then returned to the monastery, but no one understood why they had had a funeral for a fox. That night, Hyakujo gave a formal lecture to the monks. If you preach at random out of your halfway satori, you will suffer punishment and fall into hell. I don't know, he was talking about the fox man. I don't know whether you noticed, but when I gave my daily lectures, there was an old man who always attended. He was, in fact, a fox. Long ago, he had been a Zen master at this monastery. Once he told a student of his that with absolute enlightenment, one is no longer controlled by the law of cause and effect.

[27:43]

Because of this half-truth, he became a fox for 500 rebirths. He repented his error, however, from the bottom of his heart, and he asked me for the truth. I told him, even all the Buddhas of the three worlds cannot escape the law of causation. As soon as I spoke, he obtained sudden and complete enlightenment and was released from being a fox. Since he asked me to bury him as a monk, we did so. You must all be very careful when you teach others. Then Obaku, Yakujo's senior monk, stood, bowed three times, and asked loudly, because of your correct answer, that old man was released from being a fox. Well, if he had never taught a lie, how would he have fared? A fox becomes a man. A man, a heavenly being. A heavenly being, a bodhisattva. A bodhisattva, a Buddha. And then, after that, what? At last, there is no place left to go. Give me an answer." Hyakujo understood exactly what was in Obaku's mind and said to him, come closer to me and then I shall tell you.

[28:51]

Obaku also understood exactly what was in his teacher's mind and walked up to him and slapped him in the face. Don't you do that. Then, Hyakujo laughed and clapped his hands. I was intending to slap you, and instead I was slapped myself. This was Hyakujo's acknowledgment of his disciples' understanding. Why did the old man become a fox when he said the enlightened man is not controlled by the law of cause and effect? And why was he released from being a fox when he said no one can escape the law when Hyakujo said No one can escape the law of causality. If you are able to see the essential meaning of this with your mind's eye, you will know that the old man's rebirth into a fox 500 times was actually a joyful life. You have to be very careful here.

[29:55]

Because you think that the old man gave the wrong answer and Hyakujo gave the right answer. This is not the case. If you think so, you are a fox. So Mooman, the author of Mooman Khan, wrote a poem regarding this koan. Controlled or not controlled are two sides of one coin. Not controlled or controlled, both are a thousand mistakes. So freedom from the law of causation and subject to the law of causation are two sides of the coin. Is an enlightened person subject to the law of causation?

[30:59]

No. If you say no, you will become a fox. If you say yes, you will become a fox. But even though you become a fox, It's still okay. Whatever form you take, it's still okay. Not being subject to the law of cause and effect means that you have perfect freedom within the law of cause and effect. It means that whatever changes in this life whatever happens to you in this life is okay. That means not being subject to the law of cause and effect, because Buddha nature has no fixed nature. There's nothing fixed. But at the same time, if you think that you're not subject to the law of cause and effect, that's wrong, because

[32:12]

Everyone is subject to the law of cause and effect. Everything is. So within subject to is freedom from. Within freedom from is subject to. Suzuki Roshi once talked about want to and have to. He said, most of you in America, you Americans, always want to do what you want. That's want to. And you don't like to do what you have to do. He said, when want to and have to are the same thing, no problem with your life. When what you have to do is what you want to do, and what you want to do is what you have to do, no problem.

[33:22]

You may be a fox, or a worm, or get sick, or lose everything, or gain everything. It doesn't matter. It's all the same. When it's all the same, you have perfect freedom from the law of cause and effect because you're going along completely subject to the law of cause and effect. Freedom from and subject to are the same thing. But if you go from one side, if you get attached to one side or the other is called the world of suffering, the realm of suffering, called being reborn over and over in the realm of suffering. So whether you're a worm or a fox or you're sick or you're well, as long as you completely accept your position, which is the slap in the face, no problem.

[34:41]

But our problem comes from holding on to what we want and pushing away what we don't want. This is called falling into duality. It's hard. Life is hard. Real life is really hard, but it's also very simple. So we keep working at it. Don't fall into duality. Don't become a fox. But if you do become a fox, enjoy it. Thanks for that. Fragrance.

[35:46]

Flower power. What? Flower power. Flower power. I'm a flower kind of guy.

[35:53]

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