I'm about to taste the Christmas! Today I want to talk about Bodhidharma's mind-pacifying, which is Case 41 in the Mumon column. I'm sure that most of us are familiar with this story. It's a very well-known Zen story about Bodhidharma and his disciple Eka.

[01:03]

Bodhidharma sat facing the wall. The second ancestor, Eka, stood in the snow. He cut off his arm and presented it to Bodhidharma, saying, My mind has no pieces yet. I beg you, Master, please pacify my mind. Bring your mind here and I will pacify it for you, replied Bodhidharma. I have searched for my mind and I cannot take hold of it, said the second Ancestor, now your mind is pacified," said Bodhidharma. And Mumon's comment says, that broken-toothed old Hindu came so importantly thousands of miles over the sea. This was raising waves where there was no wind. In the last years, he induced enlightenment in his disciple, who, to make matters worse, was defective in the six roots. why Shasanro did not know four ideographs.

[02:14]

It's a little confusing, but I'll explain it. And then, Luman's verse. Coming east, directly pointing, you entrusted the Dharma, and trouble arose. The clamor of the monasteries is all because of you. This story doesn't give us much background, although I have to fill in the background. As we know, Bodhidharma came to China from India and introduced directly knowing rather than learning through scriptures or rather than taking somebody's word for it.

[03:25]

So China was quite prepared for Bodhidharma by the time he came because up until the time he came in around the 6th century The Chinese had been studying Buddhism mostly academically, and so Bodhidharma arrived from India and introduced what we call direct practice, not relying on scriptures not ignoring scriptures, but not relying on anything. So, Bodhidharma did not have very many students, according to the history.

[04:30]

He had four disciples, and one disciple was Taiso Eka. who is considered his chief disciple. And the famous story here is that, of course, Eka was a scholar, and he studied very hard all of his life. And when he heard about Bodhidharma, he went to see him and studied with him for quite a while. But he couldn't quite get what Bodhidharma was trying to teach him. And Bodhidharma was rather a severe fellow, according to our accounts, and after he left Emperor Wu,

[05:36]

He sat at Shaolin Temple and did Zazen all the time. I don't know whether he did Zazen all the time or not, but his Zazen was very strong and he was very determined. So one day, his disciple Eka, in the middle of the winter, was really having a difficult time because he'd been studying for a long time, quite a long time, and he'd really put a tremendous effort into, his sincere effort into his practice. And so he came to Bodhidharma and said, even though I've been practicing for such a long time, My mind is still not at peace." And Bodhidharma said, well, show me your mind.

[06:49]

And Eka said, I can't really find it. Even though I look, even though I really try to find it, I can't really find it." And Bodhidharma said, I pacified your mind. This story is squished up and condensed in order to make a point. But most likely, when Eka asked Bodhidharma, please pacify my mind, And Bodhidharma said, please show me this mind. Eka went away again and came back later. But at one point that I left out of the story was that Eka came back and went... First of all, he tried to talk to Bodhidharma and Bodhidharma wouldn't

[08:04]

wouldn't talk to him. So Eka cut off his arm and presented it to Bodhidharma. And then Bodhidharma started to talk to him because he sensed his sincerity. And this is a very famous story. This kind of story is a way of talking in extremes. Eka was at such an extreme point in his mind that Bodhidharma wouldn't... Bodhidharma didn't want to tell him anything. The point is that Eka came to get something from Bodhidharma and Bodhidharma wouldn't give him anything. So he made this extreme offering to Bodhidharma.

[09:11]

I'm sure that if someone did that, we'd all be shocked. And I think this kind of story is just to make a point. I'd rather doubt that this actually happened, although some people may be disappointed in that. One doesn't have to go to that extreme, but the point is that he was willing to go to any extreme to practice the Dharma, to have realization. That's the point. So it's put in these terms. He cut off his arm, meaning he's offered something. He was willing to offer something in that sincere way.

[10:17]

Offer his whole body and mind in that sincere way. So, cutting off his arm is a kind of symbolic way of saying he cut off all his attachments. And standing in the snow is another way of saying that he was willing to endure anything for the Dharma. when he offered his whole body and mind, then Bodhidharma was willing to deal with him. And so, he says, my mind is not at peace.

[11:28]

Bodhidharma said, well, please show me this mind. And Heka says, I can't get a hold of it. And Bodhidharma says, now your mind is pacified. I pacified your mind for you. But actually, he said, I have pacified your mind for you, but that's just a way of answering the question or responding. Actually, Bodhidharma didn't do anything for him. So what is this can't find my mind about? That's the point. Bring me your mind. I can't find my mind. I can't locate something that's called my mind. When Eka says, I can't find my mind, it's like there are two sides to this story.

[13:08]

One side is the side of great effort, extreme wholehearted total concentration on one thing. And the other side is just letting go. So those are the two sides of the story. One is a total effort and the other is letting go. So up to this point where he asks this question, this total unrequited effort to search out something, searching for the mind, or searching for enlightenment, or searching for realization. And the second part is just dropping.

[14:10]

Everything dropped. Total relinquishment. There's a story which is If you're looking for a person on a deserted island, no matter how much you look, you won't find that person. But if you give up looking for that person, then the island is yours. As long as Edgar was looking, seeking so hard, he couldn't find what he was looking for, because he was looking for something. Looking and looking, really soul-searching, but he couldn't find what he was looking for.

[15:20]

So Bodhidharma asks, Show me this thing. I can't find it. I can't get it. It's giving up. Total relinquishment. So, you know, we say, the harder you search, the further it goes away. Nevertheless, both sides are necessary. Without this tremendous search, tremendous effort, you can't get to the point of giving up. It's possible to give up without it, but not so likely, not so And we find that that's proven to us in zazen.

[16:39]

The thing that we find in zazen is when we first begin to sit, it's pretty hard to just give up or just to relinquish body and mind. We struggle. And the struggle is We're struggling with body and mind and pain and emotions and feelings and thoughts. It's a kind of battleground, actually. My old teacher, Tatsugami Roshi, used to say, Zazen is the battleground of the mind and the heart. It's only a battle. you know, until you drop body and mind.

[17:42]

But until you can drop body and mind, there's always this struggle, this battle with ourself. And then body and mind, you know, drops away by itself. At some point, there's a kind of turning and giving up. and letting things be as they are. When we try to find a way, as you know, no matter how much you try, it's not it. And you go through everything, it's a shame, you go through every excuse you can find, you know, every way you can find to get out, to find a way, and nothing helps. And you go through everything in your repertoire that's ever helped you in your life. and none of them work, until you finally come to just letting go.

[18:45]

This is like, without looking for the person on the island, the island is yours. So this letting go, Dogen calls dropping body and mind. Body and mind dropped off. This is also called Shikantaza, and it's called Jijyu Zamae. There are various names for it, depending on how you want to talk about it. But it's If we want to pacify the mind, we have to let go of mind.

[20:02]

Mind has no particular, there's no particular state of mind which is the correct true mind. All states of mind are simply flowing. So, when we find our true mind, it's not something different from our ordinary mind. But the way it's not different from our ordinary mind is, our ordinary mind flows. And to allow this ordinary mind to flow, without being hung up is true mind.

[21:04]

No special state of mind. States of mind are always changing. And we call them good, bad, and indifferent. True mind is before judgment. before analysis, before right and wrong, before good and bad. So sometimes you can describe it as like a screen. When you see a movie, the screen is white, blank. scene on the screen. But when we put on the movie projector, then the screen comes to life, and there's a story.

[22:12]

And the story is something that takes place on the screen. But when the story is going on, the screen is part of the story. You can't just project So the screen comes to life as the story. And the story takes place on the ground of the screen. But when you look at the story, you don't see the screen. You only see the story. So our life is the story. But the other side of our life is the screen. And the screen is like a mirror, or like empty space. And it has no characteristic, no special characteristic, but it's the background for all things.

[23:21]

And dropping body and mind is to be one with the screen. and realize that the screen is always the screen and the story is always the story. Yet, the story is the screen and the screen is the story. So, Dropping body and mind is to always manifest the screen. To always realize the screen. Not just get lost in the story. The story is called the scenery of our life. And we become very involved in the story.

[24:26]

But actually, The screen is our true life. The screen and the light. It takes the screen and the light and the film to make the story. And the light itself is like the screen. The light doesn't have any particular characteristics. Everything is seen through the light projected on the screen. And then we have the story. activity of life. The discriminated activity of life is called the scenery and the light is the true life. So our life of enlightenment

[25:33]

is when that light is understood as true life, regardless of what the scenery is. So Zazen is sometimes called Komyo Zo Zamae. Samadhi, a radiant light. which illuminates the various discriminated objects of mind. So when we realize the purity of light constantly discriminating, constantly illuminating the scenery of our life, we can understand what our life is about.

[26:36]

This is called illumination. We get very attached and caught up in the scenery of our life. Unless we drop the scenery of our life, or see through it, we get lost in it. We have to take our life seriously, but it's important to be careful how not to be too involved in the scenery of this life. as it goes by, without escaping and without being attached.

[27:45]

This is the trick. So in Zazen, we learn this trick. This trick which is not a trick. We learn how to let everything come and go. how to let thoughts come and go, how to let feelings come and go, how to let conscious states of mind come and go, and to be at ease in every situation without being attached to anything, and yet without ignoring anything, neither ignoring nor being attached. In Zazen, we just pay attention. It's easy. In our daily life, it's a little harder. How to let, just allow illuminating light to lead us, actually, to always be grounded in that light.

[29:05]

No matter where we are, we're always at home. This is our true home. No special characteristics. When we're in the mountains, the mountain is our home. And when we're in the marketplace, the marketplace is our home. We know how to use whatever is at hand. So, a characteristic of Zen practice is to just be ready for anything without having any fixed idea about things and knowing how to flow when things change. and knowing how to use whatever is at hand to make ourselves, to make things work.

[30:16]

I remember one time I was eating breakfast with Suzuki Roshi in a house that was being rented across the street from the old Zen Center on Bush Street. And there was no furniture in the place. no tables, so he sat down, and there was a newspaper. I had a newspaper, so I took the newspaper, and he carefully laid out one page of the newspaper for himself, and carefully laid out one page of the newspaper for Katagiri Roshi. One page of the newspaper for me. And this was our table, and it was so elegant. It was like being in the palace of a king. It just had this tremendous feeling and yet it was just like snapping your fingers and everything appears.

[31:23]

So, Mumon says, that broken-toothed old Hindu he's talking about, Bodhidharma, who came from India, came so importantly thousands of miles over the sea. Broken-toothed means kind of old, you know, and weathered, weather-beating. This was raising waves to where there was no wind. In other words, useless activity. Why do something, you know, that you don't need to do? In his last years, he induced enlightenment in his disciple, who, to make matters worse, was defective in the Six Roots." This is just a compliment, just a backhanded compliment. Why, Shosanro did not know four ideographs. Shosanro was Gensha. Gensha was a disciple of Seppo, and he was a boatman originally.

[32:51]

And he didn't know he was illiterate. And so he's saying, even as illiterate, you know, why Saishanro didn't know even four enneagraves? which is a kind of putting him down, but also a big compliment. Even though he knew nothing, he was enlightened. Enlightenment is not a matter of knowing anything. Most enlightened people will not impress you with their knowledge. Understanding has very little to do with knowledge. worldly knowledge. It just has to do with a dropping body and mind. So then Mulan says, coming east, directly pointing, directly pointing to the mind.

[34:01]

You entrusted the Dharma and trouble arose. The clamor of the monasteries is all because of you. Clamor here meaning the activity, right? But it looks like, you know, all this fuss is all because of you, you jerk. But it's a great compliment. Yes? You talked about the images projected on the screen. Go ahead. You were talking about the images projected on the screen. Yeah. And how it's important not to take it too seriously. And yet it's also important to take it seriously. Yeah. And sometimes when I take it too seriously, then I come sit, and then I know not to take it too seriously anymore. But sometimes I don't take it seriously enough, and then I don't know what to do.

[35:08]

Take it seriously. sometimes the pendulum swings and then we have to find the middle way. The middle way is to find the true way which is not based on self or other. The middle way In our activity, there are always extremes. In this particular case, well, if I do this, I don't want to be too attached to it. And yet, if I don't do it, nothing will happen. So that's right. Where is the mean always? Where is the balance?

[36:09]

So practice is always looking for the balance, always looking for the right balance and the middle way, which makes everything work. And when we find Middle Way, it takes it out of the realm of, I want. I want is egotistical activity. And we struggle with that. And in our practice, we struggle with that. That's the main thing, is to take it out of the realm of, I want. When we take it out of the realm of I want, we just see the reality of something, rather than our overlay, desire. So we don't practice to get something for you or for me. We just do it.

[37:10]

When you come to this point, then this is body and mind dropped off. I just sit Zazen for Zazen. And I just, when it's time to do it, I do it. That's all. But it's hard to come to that point. Until we come to that point, we always go back and forth. And that going back and forth, and going back and forth, we find our way. This is the struggle actually, you know. This is the great struggles, you know. Shall I or won't I or should I or can't I? You know, making this struggle to find a way and then when we've just let go and just do, that's letting go of everything and just doing and no problem. Even though problems come up, it's not the same kind of problem. No projector, no film, no light, no screen.

[38:27]

What is it? Just that. What's its form? What's its form? Just that. You said it was a compliment that he was defective in the six roots. What does that mean? Well, it means, you know, when we talk about somebody, you know, I can say, you. But sometimes we talk about somebody in the third person, and instead of referring to them by their name, we refer to them

[39:30]

Like, you know, here it's like this, not object, but this person of six senses, you know, or this heap of five skandhas, or the skin bag, another complementary term. referred to as an old skin bag, a bag of bones surrounded by skin. So here, you know, this, not object, object is not a good term, but this bag of six senses, a way of talking about somebody without saying you or without giving a personal, taking the person out, right?

[40:35]

Taking the personality or the personal address of the situation and just calling the person by these characteristics. Is the six roots then, is that referring to the six senses? It could be the six senses. It's not a certain something, it's... It could be the six senses. It could be... It's like saying, well he's really not all there, or something like that. Yeah, something like that. The two things that we've talked about being necessary, this kind of wanting and not wanting, But that's indifference.

[42:01]

Well, so what? That's also indifference. So indifference is a kind of counterfeit for not being attached. Indifference is a counterfeit for non-attachment. Because it looks like indifference. As I said, neither ignoring or pushing away. The fundamental is not ignoring and not rejecting and not grasping. Without ignoring. In other words, what is our responsibility we should take up?

[43:02]

But even though we take it up, non-attachment does not mean to not be involved. Non-attachment means total involvement. That's non-attachment. Non-attachment means totally run with. when there's a responsibility to really be responsible, to respond. But it also means that when it's time to let go, to let go. So non-attachment doesn't mean not to take up things, not to respond. But when we respond, we also have to let go.

[44:05]

So the hard part is letting go. See, I understand what you said. That's more of a struggle place. Yeah. The place where you're making a big effort. But actually, both are included in both. But the characteristics are different. But really, they're both there in both, inside and outside. But it looks different. You know, it really does look different. And I can understand... I understand what you mean. But the characteristics are different.

[45:08]

But fundamentally it's the same. I appreciate what you're saying, the clarity that you're... I hear sometimes get confused with, they leave out the involvement, the sense of involvement. And so I like hearing that. And as you were speaking, I found myself remembering something this week that happened. There's a very large old tree outside my window in the backyard, and at about 9.30 at night, there was this extraordinary sound. And it sounded like water, like fire, like wind. And it was a branch, a very large, thick branch coming apart from the main trunk of the tree and peeling off.

[46:11]

And all of the neighbors, you know, not just in my building but around, stuck their heads out of the lights to see what this was. And I couldn't help but think of that tree as you were speaking of, this involvement that we all felt, you know, because we knew this tree, but I also felt a lot of compassion and a lot of sadness. And when I told that story to a friend, he was trying to say, well, you know, that's letting go of the tree. And I said, well, that doesn't mean that you're not involved in caring for it. But then the next day I called the landlord and someone came and took the tree. It's very interesting how it had this similarity in the sound. Everything was like in that. Everything was in that sound. And so, I don't know, it just seemed to show, it seemed to reflect that.

[47:16]

Thank you, reinforcement. The problem of non-attachment is an important problem. And if we view it one-sidedly, then we just can't see clearly. If we really had freedom, then attachment is not a problem. There was also that readiness. Umbrellas.

[48:37]

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