Why don't we start by reciting the Fukanzo Zenki? And I have a suggestion, which is, if we can stand it, I'd like to try chanting this a different way, which if you go to another temple in this area, they will chant it this other way. It might be nice to do it this other way, so if you do go to some place, you'll just fit right in. So, it's going to sound more like this, the way is basically perfect and all-pervading, how could it be contingent upon practice and realization, the dharma vehicle is free and untrammeled, what need is there? People get that? So if it feels uncomfortable, don't worry about it, just try to Just don't worry about it, just do your best. Okay, Fukanza Zengi, Principles of Zazen of Ehei Dogen Daisho.

[01:06]

The way is basically perfect and all-pervading. How could it be contingent upon practice and realization? The dharma vehicle is free and untrue. What need is there for concentrated effort? Indeed, the whole body is far beyond the world's dust. Who could believe in a means to brush it clean? It is never apart from one right where one is. What is the use of going off here and there to practice? And yet if there is the slightest discrepancy, the way is as distant as heaven from earth. If the least like or dislike arises, the mind is lost and confused. Suppose one gains pride of understanding and inflates one's own enlightenment, glimpsing the wisdom that runs through, attaining the way and clarifying the mind, raising an aspiration to escalate the various One is making the initial partial excursions about the frontiers but is still somewhat deficient in the vital way of total emancipation. Need I mention the Buddha who has been born knowledge, the influence of his six years of upright sitting is notable.

[02:09]

Or Bodhidharma's transmission of the mind seal, the fame of his nine years of wall sitting is celebrated to this. Since this was the case with the saints of old, how can we dispense Upon negotiation of the way, you should therefore cease. Braced on intellectual understanding, pursuing words and following after speech, and learn the backward step that turns your light inwardly to illuminate. Body and mind of themselves will drop away and your original face will be manifest. If you want to attain suchness, you should practice suchness without forsauns. In a quiet room, a suitable eat and drink, moderately cast aside all involvements and cease all Do not think good or bad. Do not administer pros and cons. Cease all the movements of the conscious mind, the gauging of all thoughts. Have no designs of becoming a Buddhist. Sansa's nothing. Whatever to do is sitting or lying at the side of your regular sitting. Spread out a thick matting and place a cushion above it.

[03:11]

Seat either in the full lotus or the half lotus position in the full lotus. You first place your right foot on your left thigh and your left foot on your right thigh, and the half load is you simply press your left foot against your right thigh. You should have your robes and belt loosely bound and arranged in order, then place your hand on your left thigh. And left palm facing upwards on your right palm, thumb tips touching, thus sit upright in correct bodily posture, neither inclining to the left nor to the right, neither leaning forward nor backward. Be sure your ears are in a plane with your shoulders and your nose in line. Place your tongue against the front roof of your mouth with teeth and lips both shut. Your eyes should always remain open and you should breathe gently through your nose. Once you have adjusted, Take a deep breath, inhale and exhale. Rock your body right and left and settle into a steady and mobile sitting position. Think not. How do you think? Not thinking, non-thinking. This in itself is the essential art of zazen. The zazen I speak of is not learning meditation.

[04:12]

It is simply the dharmagate of repose and bliss, the practice realization of totally culminated enlightenment. It is the manifestation of ultimate real. Traps and snares can never reach it once its heart is grabbed. You are like the dragon when he gains the water, like a tiger when she enters. For you know just there in Zazen the right dharma is manifesting itself, and that from the first dullness and traction are struck. When you arise from sitting, move slowly and quietly, calmly and deliberately. Do not rise suddenly or in surveying the past. We find that transcendence of both enlightenment and enlightenment, dying while either sitting or standing, have all depended entirely on the strength In addition, the bringing about of enlightenment by the opportunity provided by a finger, a banner, a needle, or a mallet, and the effecting of realization with the aid of a hasu, a fist, a staff, or a shawl, cannot be fully understood by discriminative thinking. Indeed, it cannot be fully known by the practicing or realizing of supernatural power.

[05:13]

It must be devorbed and beyond hearing and seeing. Is it not our principle that is brighter than knowledge and perceptions? This being the case, intelligence or lack of it does not Between the dull and the sharp-witted, there is no distinction. If you concentrate, you're seeing that in itself is negotiating the way. Practice, realization is naturally undefiled. Going forward in practice is a matter of everydayness. In general, this and other worlds as well, both in India and China, equally hold the Buddha still, or prevails the character of this. which is simply devotion to sitting and total engagement in a mobile sitting. Although it is said that there are as many minds as there are persons, still they all negotiate their way solely and wily behind the seat that exists in your home and go aimlessly off to the dusty realms of other lands. If you make one misstep, you go astray from the way directly before you. The pivotal opportunity of human form, do not use your time in vain. You are maintaining the essential working of the Buddha way.

[06:14]

Who would take wasteful delight in the spark from a flint? Besides form and substance are like the dew on the grass, destiny like a dark lightning emptied and instant vanished. Please, honored followers of Zen, long accustomed to groping for the elephant, do not be suspicious of the true dragon. Devote your energies to a way that directly indicates the absence. Revere the person of complete enlightenment who is beyond all human agency. Gain accord with the enlightenment of the Buddha. Succeed to legitimate lineage of the ancestors. Constantly perform in such a manner and you are assured of being a person such as they. Your treasure store will open up itself and you will use it at will. Okay, good. Do people like that? It's kind of invigorating that way. So Sunday, if you come to chant the Lotus Sutra with me, that's how we'll do it. That's why it only takes eight hours.

[07:21]

Anyway, tonight, Raul and I are going to share this class, so I'm going to do the first part and Raul will come up after the break and finish off. This section, there's quite a lot in it and a lot of references to a lot of different things, so bear with. Studying Buddhism is You know, everything is just so connected and everything is referring to this and that and you move around. It's just like learning a language. So sometimes it can be a little bit much, but for me anyway, it's all very interesting. Can you put the clock up and turn it around so I can see it? Thank you. So we started this little adventure with, Richard gave the first class, and he gave us an overview of the socio-political climate in China and Japan before Dogen, and then during Dogen's time, Dogen was born into an aristocratic family, and both of his parents died, and he went to the monastery at a very early age.

[08:57]

He went to China and after studying for several years there, he returned and felt this kind of great weight or grave responsibility to disseminate this teaching of Zazen to people. So at the age of 28, after his return, he wrote the Fugansazengi, which is really amazing to me that at such a young age he could do that. He was always inclined towards literature and poetry, in any case. So the most popular school of Zen at the time was Rinzai, which emphasized koan study. And that was contrary to Dogen's teaching, which was teaching of no gap between practice and enlightenment. However, he wasn't opposed to Koan study and included that, too.

[10:04]

So Richard also talked about Hui Nang, or Daikon Eino, who wrote that wonderful poem which is, fundamentally, bodhi is no tree, nor is the clear mirror a stand. Since everything is primordially empty, what is there for the dust to cling to? So he talked about that, and just for a moment talked about this one line, if the least like or dislike arises, the mind is lost in confusion, and that's a reference to the Shinchen Ming, which was written by a man named Sozon. which I've been meaning to copy for people and have a little bio of who Sozon was, so people can get an idea of who that was. But I haven't gotten around to it, because I've been really busy. Ross, in his class, in that next section, talked about the backward step and talked a little bit about Master Hong Chir,

[11:17]

or Wanshi Shogaku, and the taking the backward step, shining the light inwardly to illuminate the self, and cited the case between the monk and Yaoshan or Yakusan Iken, going beyond not thinking or non-thinking in Zazen. So now we are to this section, which begins with, the zazen I speak of is not learning meditation, it is simply the dharma gate of repose and bliss. So at this very busy time with also being in practice period and working full time and I've been wondering where is this repose and bliss anyway. But I've been really keeping it in mind.

[12:19]

And Doug talked about this on Monday morning, so I'm pointing out if it's not obvious that there are these people facilitating this practice period or helping it along, and we're kind of weaving this beautiful fabric of the fukanzo zengi by talking about these various aspects. So what that means is the zazen I speak of is not learning meditation, means it's not about learning a technique, and actually it's not really meditation. It's also been translated, this is not step-by-step meditation practice. It's Dogen's Shikantaza, which is just sitting. It's simply the Dharmagate of Repose and Bliss.

[13:22]

And this has also been translated as the pleasant practice of a Buddha, the realization of Buddha's wisdom. So I thought it was really nice, the pleasant practice of a Buddha. The next line is, the practice realization of totally culminated enlightenment. It is the manifestation of ultimate reality. Traps and snares can never reach it. So Richard talked about this a little bit. To practice, Shikantaza is sitting zazen for the sake of zazen. or practicing for the sake of practice. Practicing is realization. Somebody gave, I think it was Kelly Hobbs, in one of her Monday talks she used this metaphor of a bicycle which you pedal and the light goes on.

[14:37]

I think you've seen those. You pedal and the light goes on and when you stop pedaling the light goes off. The peddling is practice, and the potential for realization is always there, but you have to practice in order for the light to go on. And the source is always there, always present, even though you might not see it. It is the manifestation of ultimate reality, which Richard calls the whole enchilada. So that was really great. The whole burrito or whatever food might come to mind. So the whole Dharma realm or Dharmadhatu or the immutable totality which all phenomena arise, dwell and exist and pass away. These traps and snares are simply the traps and snares of discriminative thinking.

[15:45]

One of the best things that Sojin ever told me was, don't think good Zazen, bad Zazen. Good and bad has nothing to do with Zazen. Just sit Zazen. So that was one of the things he gave me instruction on that I actually paid attention to. Not that I don't want to, You know how that goes. So I found that really helpful to just come in this endo and sit down and not think about whether I want to be there or whether I don't want to be there. And I don't come because I feel like it or I don't feel like it. I just come and sit down and try to settle. And it's really rare.

[16:52]

In fact, I can't even remember if I've ever said, that was really bad saza. But I think some people are prone to different things. That's just not one of my things. Once its heart is grasped, you are like the dragon when it gains the water. like the tiger when she enters the mountain. So Lori and Doug both talked a little bit about this. So this is like being in your element. I just saw Richard and I just saw this image of him at the potter's wheel, you know, turning a cup or something. It's like being in your element. And then so often we've heard here in various people's talks, I came to practice, I sat down the first time and I knew I was home.

[17:56]

But the other image I have in my mind is a tiger reclining on a rock in the sun and kind of blinking. And I think it might have been Marty brought up, somebody brought up on Saturday, well, there are these problems of the land. Was that you? There are these. It was Marty. Marty. Right. So there's problems in the land. And the thing about this repose and bliss is it's not a lethargic, lazy kind of repose and bliss. It's alert, ready to move kind of repose and bliss. Or like it's the mind of someone facing death. I read this one piece about this, and it was talking about if you're in a duel of swordsmanship, you might be seeing out of the corner of your eye people, or you might be hearing a crowd cheering, but you're not being pulled off by that.

[19:20]

You can't, right? You just have to be right there. So that's the kind of repose and bliss we're talking about. Let's see. The next line, for you must know right there in Sazen the right Dharma is manifesting itself and that from the first dullness and distraction are struck aside. This dullness refers to physical and mental fatigue. And the distraction is a kind of vague, wandering mind state, lacking physical and mental concentration. And I was talking to Raul about this, and this, from the first dullness and distraction are struck aside as a hindrance.

[20:22]

In other words, they're not separate from practice. So he was also reminding me of this saying, sitting long, getting tired, that kind of fatigue that feels good, actually. So, I always wondered about this line, because I can't understand whether he's saying, when you're really sitting Zazen, then don't listen to distraction, you're a struck aside, or, it seems like that's not quite what he's saying. He's saying, they just always are a struck aside. And, I mean, maybe that's what you're getting at when you're saying a struck aside is a hindrance, but so, I mean, If you're sitting Zazen and you think the thought pops into your mind, dullness, you know, this is like really I'm drowsy Zazen or something.

[21:37]

What is he saying about that? That that thought or that sensation or feeling of dullness is not separate from practice. So it's being struck aside, meaning It can't really enter into Zazen. Sue wants to say something. Do you? I'm on the verge here. There are times when the weakness or the hindrance. What we consider a hindrance is just part of the whole thing.

[22:39]

It's just the way it is. It's not a hindrance. The hindrance is no longer a hindrance. It's just part of it. And I don't know how to explain it any better than that. It's very discouraging. If you follow Kelly's, I would follow Kelly's bison And that would be my practice. It would not be a hindrance to practice. It might be a hindrance to riding a bicycle. It almost might be a hindrance to being awake, but it's not a hindrance to practice. It's part of it. It's not separate. Is that clear for you, Laurie? Yeah, I mean, I understand the concept. I still wonder about that line whenever I hear it. I don't think I still know. It's okay. It's being struck aside. Doug?

[23:40]

Wouldn't it be similar to not having good or bad something? But he could say, you won't mind your dullness and distraction. I mean, it seems like he's saying more than that. Don't listen to the distraction, it won't get in your way. He's saying they're struck aside. That's the way I hear it, they're struck aside. But I mean, I can turn that, if you're saying, I just turn that into him saying they won't be a hindrance. Fine, I'll try that, but it's a little stronger. Well, we could return to, it is the manifestation of ultimate reality. Ultimate reality, the whole dharma realm or dharma dhatu. in which all phenomena arise, dwell, and pass away. John? Yeah, I just wanted to, this whole thing that Sue was kind of saying that, you know, there's some experience that happens on the cushion

[24:50]

tired and you know it's it's that process and I don't really I think at that point really kind of experience what that thing is I so quickly and it's like that's you know sort of grabbed on to it my idea of how Zazien will ever be, and it's connected with a physical tiredness, which is not a feeling I like to have. And that sort of conceptualization of it and categorization of it, maybe it's that that gets in the way, and then what's struck aside is that whole process of there's something else, which most of us, frankly, haven't experienced. The image that came to mind was just that beautiful full moon we just had and the clouds passing in front of it.

[26:13]

This is not a line that I get hooked up on in this present moment. So I might have to, in a few years, return to it and we could talk about it some more. Did, Rola, did you wanna? No, okay. Okay, I should be shouting Rinzai's quats or something. Or just wake up. Okay, so, let's go on. For you must know, right there in sasana, the right dharma is manifesting itself and that from the first dullness and distraction are struck aside. When you arise from sitting, move slowly and quietly, calmly and deliberately. Do not rise suddenly or abruptly. Does anybody want to say something about that?

[27:21]

But I can't. I remember when Suzuki Roshi sent Richard Baker to Japan the first time, and Baker Roshi came back and was telling us about what he'd like. So maybe they hadn't read this. Well, we know we all try to be mindful, you know, in the Zen Doan. But I was curious about this line. It seems obvious. I don't know. Okay, so...

[28:25]

In surveying the past we find that transcendence of both unenlightenment and enlightenment and dying while either sitting or standing have all depended entirely on the strength of sasana. This unenlightenment literally refers to beings in the six unenlightenment realms—hungry ghosts, hell dwellers, animals, fighting spirits, men, and divas. And then the enlightenment realm are conditions of those in the four saintly realms. Here, Pacheco Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas. Pacheco Buddhas are Buddhas that have a solitary practice and practice for their own enlightenment.

[29:30]

I don't think I have enough time to talk about transcending, you know, our practice transcends the common and the sacred. We sweep and we clean and we do service and we do all these various things. So it's beyond just having service in the zendo. It's beyond our sweeping. It's beyond dokusan. Dying while either sitting or standing. So apparently Bodhidharma and the fourth, fifth, and sixth ancestors died sitting zazen.

[30:40]

and the third ancestor died standing under a large tree. So, this could be also talking about the great death of Zazen, the death of the ego. or I actually think that this did happen. I think they did die sitting sasen. It also means sasen doesn't depend on some position or another, standing, walking, sitting, lying down. These next lines are illustrating that the teacher's instruction is not limited to words.

[31:44]

So Dogen cites quite a few well-known means that teachers brought their students to enlightenment. Also some enlightenment stories, which you can find in the Record of Transmitting the Light, which is a compilation of enlightenment stories about our ancestors. So in addition, the bringing about of enlightenment by the opportunity provided by a finger, a banner, which Raul will talk about later, a needle, which Ross is supposed to talk about on Saturday, Kanadeva or Kanadeva, when Kanadeva visited Nagarjuna or a mallet, Alan talked about that the very first, kind of the pre-aspects of practice, practice period talk. And he was up here doing as Manjusri did, signifying the opening of the sermon.

[32:54]

And then what Manjusri said was, clearly understood is the dharma, the royal dharma, the royal dharma is thus, which are words usually used to close the sermon. So, and then the closing. And the affecting realization with the aid of a hasu, which is a story about Sekito, Kisen, and A monk came to visit him and he said, where are you from? And the monk said, Berkeley. And he said, does this exist in Berkeley? And he raised his hasu. Hasu is that staff with horse hair on it that you've seen Mel use. It's like a fly whisk. Yeah, that's the hasu.

[33:55]

And then there was a fist, which is Huang Po's raising his fist and saying, here are high priests from the whole country. And you can read more. I don't have time to go into all this stuff, but I did want to touch on it in case it sparks an interest and you could go and find out where that is and read a little bit more about it. Huang Po. And a staff, which is, about Tokusan, who is famous for his severe training and is said to have struck every newcomer with his staff when they entered the monastery. Bam, bam. So Mel doesn't do that, so there's a lot of members. I can't imagine it. Or a shout. That is Rinzai, or the founder of Linchi sect. So he used to shout at his students, K-W-A-T-Z, quats, but really loud.

[35:00]

And apparently his students woke up that way. Now, Gutei, provided by finger, that's Gutei, or the teaching of one-finger Zen. Gutei, not much is known about him. he, when asked a question, he would raise his finger. And I don't know. Naughty, naughty. Bad. So he would raise his finger and then one day somebody asked a servant, fellow at the monastery, what is Gutei's teaching? And he raised one finger. And Gutei heard about this and called the servant boy in and cut off his finger. And that was the wrong thing. Right. It was the wrong one. So this fellow screamed and ran off and Gutei called him back.

[36:09]

And as the fellow was turning, Gutei raised one finger and this fellow was enlightened. I wish it were that easy. Okay, so onward. cannot be fully understood. So it's saying, cannot be fully understood. This teaching cannot be fully understood by a person's discriminative thinking. Indeed, it cannot be fully known by the practicing or realizing of supernatural powers either, which I'll get to in a minute. But what I want to say about this is, you know, we're all different and our conditioning is all different. So this is in part talking about how we can't really understand the teacher's teaching because or his methods of training because everybody's different. So, you know, I've heard before, gee, I was talking to Mel and he said, I should do this, which he doesn't really say, but let's just say for example, and somebody would say, well, gosh, he told me to do this.

[37:16]

So everybody's means to enlightenment or every, it's kind of funny. The teacher has to discover that way or that place to turn the student. So it won't be the same for all of us. So be careful. Don't lead people astray and don't be led astray. Let's see. Indeed it cannot be fully known by the practicing or realizing of supernatural powers either. It's beyond supernatural powers, and it's not supernatural, and it's not mysterious. It's beyond a dualistic view of practice and enlightenment, and subjective and objective worlds.

[38:18]

It's beyond discriminative thinking. Later on it says, this being the case, intelligence or lack of it does not matter between the dull and the sharp-witted. There is no distinction. So no distinction should be made between clever and stupid. It's not about how smart you are. So I'm going to finish up here and then we can take a break with reading this really nice case from the Mumonkan, which addresses this last line. If you concentrate your effort single-mindedly, that in itself is negotiating the way. Practice realization is naturally undefiled. Going forward in practice is a matter of everydayness. I'm going to read that case here. This is the Mumon Khan. This is one book that you can find these various cases in, the cases anyway.

[39:23]

So this is Nansen's Ordinary Mind is the Way. Joshu asked Nansen, what is the way? Ordinary mind is the way, Nansen replied. Shall I try to seek after it, Joshu asked. If you try for it, you will become separated from it, responded Nansen. How can I know the way unless I try for it, persisted Joshu, Nansen said. The way is not a matter of knowing or not knowing. Knowing is delusion, not knowing is confusion. When you have really reached the true way, beyond doubt, you will find it is as vast and boundless as outer space. How can it be talked about on the level of right and wrong? With these words, Joshu came to a sudden realization. Mumon's comment, nonsense dissolved and melted away before Joshu's questions and could not offer a plausible explanation. Even though Joshu comes to a realization, he must delve into it for another 30 years before he can fully understand it.

[40:39]

Okay. I think if there's a couple of questions, I don't want to take up Raul's time. He's going to get the hook in a minute. Or we can just have a break. Eric? I wanted to come back with that dead horse about casting things aside. Uh-huh. And I wonder if he doesn't mean you can cast it aside, but he doesn't say for how long. So maybe you're feeling dull and tired if you're dull and tired, but in the next moment, after you've done letting go, feeling dull and tired, maybe you'll just feel dull and tired again. It needs to be cast aside again. I'm not sure it's the you that's doing the casting aside.

[41:46]

Well, it's just going to be cast aside, or let go of, and then everything will be hunky-dory forever. I'm not sure he's saying that. No, I don't think he's saying that. I agree. Dean, did you... Yeah, what you just read in the book, that sounds like one of the Sutras. Is it? One of the sutras, oh, in one of the sutras, possibly, there's possibly something from one of those sutras in that koan. Oh, okay. I was thinking, I don't think I remember reading that in what we just read, but it sounded familiar. Yeah, that happens. Once you start delving into these, it comes up in other places. Hold something.

[43:00]

It doesn't mean much to you. I think you like it anyway. Dull, Zosie. Dull and something else. Distracted. It's two different words. And those words imply a self. If the self goes away, these things are cast away too. So, I see it that way. Good, thank you. Anyone else? Okay, let's take a break and then Raul will be up next. Thank you.

[43:50]

@Text_v004
@Score_JJ