Now I feel it, just my head is above this board. Maybe I'll do it after. It feels a little bit like I'm hiding behind it. A Zen style lecture is usually to encourage people to practice. My lecture is usually meant to encourage people to look into their own nature and practice. And the basis of our practice comes out of zazen.

[01:12]

So whatever I talk about ultimately comes out of zazen. So I'd like to ask us to just sit for a few minutes before I start talking. If you're sitting in a chair, just sit in your chair. But maybe sit up straight and let your mind relax. If you're thinking about something, maybe just let it go, so that we can all just be present as one body. Just let your attention come down into your body.

[02:26]

Feel your presence. This morning I'm going to make some comments on an old Zen story.

[04:32]

And this old Zen story comes from a book called The Blue Cliff Record, which was compiled in China a long time ago and has been used ever since by Zen students as exemplary cases. for understanding our mind and our nature. And they're usually dialogues between old teachers and their students. As you may know, in the history of Buddhism, the lotus flower is a very important symbol because the lotus is a very beautiful flower, but it grows in a very murky place. Lotus flowers don't grow on the top of mountains or in ethereal places.

[05:39]

They grow in muddy, swampy places. And yet, they don't seem to be touched or dragged down by their circumstances. They seem to stand almost independent of their circumstances, yet they're firmly rooted in their muddy soil. So the lotus is a Buddhist symbol, symbol of, at one time, one at the same time manifesting pure nature within a very murky world. So in this little story, this case, it's about the lotus flower, and first there's an introduction

[06:54]

And then there's the case, which is the little story. And then there's a poem, which is a commentary on the whole thing. So first, I'll read you the introduction. Setting up the Dharma banner and establishing the Dharma teaching is like spreading flowers over brocade. If you take off the muzzle and set down the load, you will enter a time of great peace. If you master the transcendent words, you will be able to know three corners when you see one. If not, as usual, listen to the following. And here's the main subject. A monk asked Master Chimon, What will the lotus flower be when it has not yet come out of the water?

[07:57]

Chimon said, the lotus flower. What about when it is out of the water? He said, the lotus leaves. And then the compiler, Setcho, has his poem. He says, the lotus leaves, the lotus flower. He is so kind to tell you about them. The flower coming out of the water, what difference before or after? If you wander about, now north of the river and now south of the lake, questioning Master Wong and the like, as one doubt is settled, others will arise, and you will puzzle over question after question. Now in the introduction he says, setting up the dharma banner and establishing the dharma teaching is like spreading flowers over brocade.

[09:11]

When a teacher in the history of Buddhism. Not just Buddhism, but in India, even before Buddhism, there used to be a lot of wandering philosophers. And they would get together and have debates. And when they had their debates, each participant would set up a banner. And the one who lost would take down his banner, and the one who won would keep his banner up, so you could always tell who was winning. These debates still go on, and sometimes they're called dharma combat.

[10:16]

that tradition continued. And so right now, I'm setting up my Dharma banner. This is not a debate exactly, it's a lecture, but in a way it's called setting up the Dharma banner. And when someone becomes an abbot of a monastery, they set up their Dharma banner and then people ask questions. to test the teacher. So here he says, setting up the Dharma banner is like spreading flowers over brocade. And our expression of that is like gilding the lily. You don't need to paint the lily gold for it to be beautiful. The Dharma is already apparent and beautiful and wonderful. Why talk about it? Talking about it just is like putting flowers over brocade.

[11:27]

But at the same time, we have to talk about it, right? We have to say something. What is the Dharma? Well, like this. Suzuki Roshi used to say, when we give a talk, we make a mistake on purpose. We know what we're doing. If we think, I'm telling you something wonderful, that's a big mistake. Because someone wants to listen, someone wants to talk. And maybe because someone wants to talk, someone wants to listen. Anyway, we have to talk about the Dharma for some reason. I'm not sure why. It's right there in front of us all the time. But if we don't do something about it, if we don't bring it to our attention, we don't know, it doesn't manifest.

[12:39]

And then he says, if one just takes off the muzzle and sets down the load, you will enter a time of great peace. Why talk about it? If you just take off the muzzle, taking off the muzzle means something like take off your restrictions and lay down the load, lay down your backpack. Then you will enter the area of great peace. So this part here, I think, is kind of the crux around which the whole thing turns, even us in the commentary. If you read the Pali sutras, the old sutras of Buddhism, you'll find that Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, is always talking about laying down the burden. That's one of the constant things that goes through his talks.

[13:48]

when he's talking about someone, he said, they finally laid down the burden. So what is our burden? What is this burden that he's always talking about? And what is the muzzle? There was a Japanese Zen master who lived around the 16th century in Japan, a very famous Zen master called Ikkyu. And Ikkyu once said, I have no particular path to follow, no particular place to go, therefore I always know where I am. This sounds, you know, in one sense he sounds like he's lost, and in another sense he sounds like he's found. Since I'm completely lost, I'm completely found.

[14:54]

Sounds a little bit like a hippie, you know? When I was a hippie and beatnik, when I was in my days I was a beatnik. That was a little before the hippie, although I appreciated the hippies very much. But, you know, a Zen monk is not so different than a hippie or a beatnik. But there's a big difference. The beatnik, hippie feeling of dissatisfaction with life as it's presented in its usual way, is the creative matrix out of which religion can renew itself. Because in the beginning, religion always comes out of dissatisfaction.

[16:15]

And it's renewed by people who cannot live in the way that it's presented to them. And then something wonderful comes out of that. Some wonderful rejuvenation. And then, as time goes on, the religion becomes more and more set and settled and dead. as it becomes more and more organized and usual, then it becomes oppressive and not really adhering to the truth anymore. And then someone else comes along who can't stand it, and it becomes rejuvenating again. So, this problem of the the beatnik and the hippie, and today it's... who is it today?

[17:21]

Punk, right. Today it's the punks. they're really doing something, even though they may not know it themselves, doing something very helpful for us. So the difference though between the Zen monk and the punk or the hippie or the is that one is not sure what they're doing, and the other, the monk, has a vow and says, I give up everything in order to search for a truth, and has a standard with which to

[18:49]

to make that work. So it's a big advantage, in a way. And the monk is kind of helpless and depends on society to support, for support. That's usual. In America, it's different, because if someone went out to beg in America for their livelihood, they wouldn't get much. There's no tradition of begging in America, but in a sense, you know, there's a certain sense in which there is some request for support. But it depends on... The monk is aware of the fact that people are supporting that person to do something. That's always been the tradition in Buddhism. that you owe a debt of gratitude to the people who supported you in order to pursue the spiritual path.

[20:00]

And how you pay the people back is through your effort. So that's always constantly held in front of the monk, that whatever you're doing is payment paying back people. It's like you get a loan to go to college from the government and you have to pay it back. Some feeling, you know, that you really want to pay it back. You feel that gratitude that you're completely helpless and people are supporting you to do this. And so you make a big effort to do it. And it helps you to stay focused. So Ikkyu says, I have no particular direction. That means he's come to the end of his path. He has realized what his life is about. So the beginning and the end are somewhat the same.

[21:06]

So it's a kind of circle. You start with nothing and you make this circle and you end up with nothing. But the nothing you start out with It's not exactly the same as the method you began with, but it's not different either. The difference is that Ikkyu always knows where he's at. No problem. He doesn't need anything for himself. He's no longer looking for anything for himself. So whatever appears, he can turn to very easily. If a beggar comes, he can help a beggar. If a rich man comes, he can help the rich man. If a fool comes, he can help the fool.

[22:10]

So in a sense, he's a kind of fool himself. He looks like a fool. because he's not pursuing anything. If you are familiar with the tarot cards, one of the tarot cards is the fool, and he's got a stick with a knapsack and a little dog following him, and he's off to seek his spiritual fortunes. Kind of a nice image. So the introduction says, if you just take off the muzzle and lay down the burden, you'll be able to find great spiritual peace.

[23:11]

Because you won't need anything. and everything will come to you that you need. That's called great faith. Unless you have great faith, you're always looking for something to sustain you. Some people think that Zen is based on psychology. Psychology definitely plays a big part in Buddhism, in the Dharma. But the fundamental is great faith. And the end of practice is confidence, faith. In what? I don't know what. Then he says, if you master the transcendent words, you will be able to know three corners from one.

[24:28]

Knowing three corners from one means that if you see a pair of horns passing by a fence, on the other side of the fence, you know that there's a cow You can tell, there must be a cow attached to those horns. Or if you see smoke over a distant mountain, there must be a fire over there. So you see one corner and you know the rest. So if we want to enter into understanding, we can enter anywhere. Wherever we are is where we enter. And then he says, if you don't get it, as usual, listen to the following.

[25:32]

And here's the main subject. He says, a monk asked Chimon, What will the lotus flower be when it has not yet come out of the water? And Chimon said, the lotus flower. What about when it is out of the water? The lotus leaves. Lotus flower here and water. Lotus flower here means the absolute or our big nature. our root, the root of our nature, the dharmakaya, our true nature. And then he says, what about when it's out of the water? Out of the water means manifestation, like all of us are out of the water.

[26:40]

We're all appearing above water. I see you, [...] all appearing above water. We're all the manifestations of the lotus flower. We're the leaves, each one of us. everything that appears in this world is a leaf of the lotus flower. So the question is, what's the difference between the root and the leaves, between the flower and its leaves? And water is the place where it manifests. What's the difference? This is well worth it. What will the lotus flower be when it has not yet come out of the water? He wants it, the lotus flower.

[27:43]

What about it when it is out of the water, when it manifests? Lotus leaves. One piece. understood was the truth of the interdependence of all beings. That all beings, all being is one piece. Somebody told me about a theory about bees recently, that we tend to think that bees are all individual creatures. But this particular theory is that the queen bee and all the fighting bees and the honey bees in a hive are all one bee.

[28:51]

And each bee is a part of that body, except that the body has independent parts. We tend to think of our body as being one part, one solid part. But when we tend to think of bodies, we tend to think about bodies in the way that we feel our body is. But think of this body, which has independent parts. They don't think for themselves. They don't think about themselves in an individual way. They think about their body as the whole body. So that if the queen dies, the whole thing falls apart. And in many ways you can see how that manifests in our world. wide sense.

[29:55]

The whole dharma realm is interdependent. One body with infinite manifestations. And enlightenment in Buddhism is to understand this point in your guts. And when you understand it, then you want to create harmony in your world. So then, the poem, Sencho's poem, he says, the lotus flower.

[31:03]

He is so kind to tell you of them. The flower coming out of the water, what difference before or after? If you wander about, now north of the river and now south of the lake, questioning Master Wong and the like, as one doubt is settled, others will arise. And if you puzzle over, and you will just puzzle over question after question, In those days in China, the Zen monasteries were north of the river and south of the lake. That's geographically. They were all over, but it was the same, north of the river and south of the lake. So he's talking about how the monks would go around from one place to another asking questions about Dharma. And he's saying, if you just continue to go around asking questions, Don't look into yourself. Don't see the truth in front of you, as it is.

[32:06]

One question will just give rise to another question, and you'll constantly be going around in circles with one question after another. Just sit down, do zazen. Thank you.

[33:57]

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