Good morning. which commemorates Buddha's enlightenment, traditionally on December 8th. study period and sashin all go together.

[01:06]

This particular study period is a little bit different than usual study periods that we've had. Usually, our study periods allows everyone to participate on some level. This study period, we have a certain standard. So it's important to express our attitude, to understand what our attitude towards the study period is.

[02:15]

Study periods actually include the whole Sangha. But those people who can who are able to participate according to the structure, represent a certain part of the Sangha, which strengthens or makes our practice for this month. So we should know why we do it. It's important to understand why we do what we're doing. If we are doing it just for ourselves, that's not a complete understanding.

[03:25]

If we do this study period just to help someone else, that's also not such a good understanding. If we do it for ourselves, just for ourselves, that's self-centered practice. And if we do it for someone else, that's just the other side of self-centered practice. wonderful for somebody, but that understanding is not complete.

[04:34]

So, we actually, if we just practice what practice We just practice what is safe to practice. Then the benefit extends to ourselves and extends to everyone else. But the distribution is taken care of by Buddha. The distribution of our effort is taken care of by Buddha. So we don't have to worry if it's for ourselves. So this is actually correct attitude to practice.

[05:43]

You just practice what you practice. In this way, the hosanga benefits. Everyone's practice is strengthened. And for our guidelines, I wanted to use Dogen's Eight Aspects of Enlightenment, which we're fairly familiar with. Eight awarenesses of enlightened practice. Eight aspects that we should be aware of to realize practice.

[06:57]

Guidelines, not rules, something that is underneath the background of practice. One is not having few desires. This is the whole basis of desire is the focus of Buddhist practice, how to deal with desire. And every point in Buddhism can be focused, returned to

[07:59]

So, fortune or desire. And the second one is how to be content with what we have. So, of course, these two go together. For this study period, what we study is what we have, focusing on what we already have, and leaning toward, or focusing toward the lean side of our life. We don't have to become austere. Our life during this period should be on the lean side.

[09:14]

Focusing on just what we need to live easily. Not having something in excess. Keeping a close watch on our desire, always making a note of what our desire is, and how we respond to desire, and keeping some restriction on ourselves. at some different problem in the realm of desire. So we should be aware of what are each individual problem or problems are in the realm of desire.

[10:23]

And use that as a place to step into practice. The third awareness is being able to enjoy tranquility and serenity Those three, of course, are connected. Being content with what we have, of course, is how we enjoy serenity and tranquility. But knowing what we actually have is much deeper than what appears on the surface. What do we actually have?

[11:34]

What do we actually need? And the way of enjoying tranquility and serenity is described as, if we don't need too much, we can enjoy that natural serenity, that quietness. because I'm settling on mine. I'm not needing a lot of stimulus. So, to be careful not to Yogin says about enjoying serenity and tranquility, if you seek joy and peace in the serenity and tranquility of non-being, you should keep away from disturbances and dwell alone in a quiet place.

[13:44]

This looks like it. It's like it's saying that, but actually, the meaning for us is to keep some space around ourselves. To keep our balance. Keeping space around ourselves means to not lean on things. to dwell alone has double meaning as being independent and also being at one with everything. Our effort here should be to not lean on anything, or as little as possible to use crutches and support, but learn to sit up independently, like we do in Zazen.

[15:14]

And the fourth is exerting right effort, or meticulous effort. Good effort. He says, if you exert meticulous effort, nothing will be difficult to accomplish. Therefore, you should make an effort to practice carefully. For when water flows constantly against a big rock, Even a small amount of water will eventually dig out a large hole. But if one who practices becomes lax, it will be impossible to accomplish anything. It's like trying to start a fire by rubbing two sticks together. If you stop rubbing before the wood gets hot, you can't start a fire. This is what is meant by meticulous effort or right effort. And the fifth is not forgetting right thought.

[16:30]

Maintaining right thought. Which means not forgetting what you're doing. Not getting let off by something. And this is very important. That's to keep our attention focused on what we're doing. To not forget that we have study periods. after being in study period for a week, it seems like the usual thing to us. And then it starts winding off. You have to remember yourself. Because you have people, because we practice together, it helps us remember. Why we practice together is because it helps us to remember what we're doing. And we support each other. But you have to remember yourself. What you're doing.

[17:35]

After two weeks, you have to remember that you still have to get up in the morning. Number six is practicing samadhi, dwelling in the dharma undisturbed. When you unify your mind, the mind is in samadhi. Since the mind is in samadhi, you know the characteristics of the creation and destruction of the various phenomena in the world. For this reason, you should constantly practice with diligence and cultivate all kinds of samadhi. When you gain samadhi, the mind is not scattered. Just as those who protect themselves from floods guard the levees. This is also true for practice.

[18:40]

For the sake of the water of wisdom, then, cultivate samadhi well and do not let it leak out. When we cultivate samadhi, we don't think about samadhi as an object. our unification of purpose and bringing our mind together, the elements of mind together to focus on practice in samadhi itself. And the less we leak, the less our energy leaks out from that unification, the stronger our samadhi is, the stronger our concentration. Samadhi is quality of concentration.

[19:45]

Quality of concentrated activity. So effort and right thought and samadhi all go together. They're all really qualities of one effort. The seventh is cultivating wisdom. Buddha says, when you have wisdom, you are without greed. So this comes right back to the first one. Each one of these eight aspects contains the others. So there are actually 64 aspects. But each one is the basis for the other eight. So whatever you're concentrating on, or whatever you choose, contains all the others.

[20:55]

You are without greed. Always reflect upon yourself. Do not lose this wisdom. In this way, you can best attain liberation in my dharma. And the eighth, avoiding idle talk. And having realization and being free from discrimination is what is called avoiding idle talk. To totally know the true form of all things is the same as being without idle talk. Means not to express dualistic delusions in idle talk. It doesn't mean that we shouldn't have small talk.

[22:07]

Actually, profound meaning of dharma is in small talk. But we should watch our tongue. think about what we say before we say it. So these are eight aspects. Now, I'll pen something up and hand it out so that we can really study them. It's not something that you have to study intellectually. memorize the eight.

[23:13]

And each day we can use one as a focus. It's good to use one as a focus every day. And it helps us to think about the other eight. And this way we can be and get deeper and deeper into it. Let's practice. Do you have any questions? Yes.

[24:41]

First one is having a few desires. And second one is to be content with what we already have. Third is to enjoy serenity and tranquility. Fourth is to exert meticulous effort, right effort. Fifth is to have right thought. keep our attention focused on practice.

[25:45]

And the fifth is to cultivate samadhi. No leakage of concentration. The eighth is no idle talk, not to leak our samadhi or wisdom through idle talk. We should communicate and talk Keeping space means to be completely independent, but at the same time we're dependent on everything.

[26:59]

At the same time, we're dependent on everything. So, it doesn't mean to withhold yourself, but you should think about it. What does it mean? I don't want to explain everything. You said earlier when you were talking about idle talk, that, um, it can be a real small talk. No, definitely not, no. I see it too. Yeah, our everyday speech, you know. Dharma should be expressed through our everyday speech. So we have to be careful of our everyday speech.

[28:21]

It's just ordinary everyday speech. It's through that everyday speech that Dharma is expressed. So we should be careful about our everyday speech. How we actually use it. It's like... It's not like Dharma is special. and everyday activity is something else. It's one thing. So, it's one thing to express dharma in lofty terms, but to actualize that in our everyday speech and action is really the culmination of practice.

[29:29]

So everything we do expresses our understanding and our practice. So we should be very careful. There's no realm of our activity that's left out. So there's no place to hide. No place that we can hide or rest or feel that we're out of it. So this is... I feel already very good about what we're doing.

[30:37]

The interface between talking sincerely about something and leaking something, leaking samadhi. You know, a person, I think, or at least I always feel it after the fact. You know, after I've said too much or revealed too much. It's very subtle. A person wants to speak sincerely or share themselves some complete way After doing so, you find in the most simple and flamboyant way that they use your self-revelation as some leverage. So at some point, maybe not now or maybe now, I'd like to talk about it or explore it. I would like to know more.

[31:51]

That's an important point. We won't talk about it now. Would you say a word about You can say gathering the mind or embracing mind is one good expression. Literally, embracing mind. And because it's such a long period, just the activity itself forces us arouse our samadhi.

[33:02]

All the eight aspects are right there in techin. We put ourselves in a position to be on the spot. We commit ourselves to actualizing that kind of realization. during fishing. You know, it's really the easy way. It looks difficult, and it is difficult, but it's the easy way. Because it's really, we put ourselves under restrictions, which is almost impossible to do when we're moving around. or by yourself. Would you say a little about how the

[34:30]

You might not find that they have the time to participate fully. You might lend to it or participate. I'll hand out the eight aspects to everyone. And you can practice that way, the same way. But with only the limitation that you have. people in the study period have put a more focused limitation on their activities. And I would, I encourage people who are not in the study period to participate as much as possible, you know, you still, and become part of that. So, you know, every time we have something that is strong,

[35:34]

on a core of people sitting, and it would just help everybody without thinking we're helping anybody. It seems to me that if you call something a study period, you could do the same thing without calling it anything at all. You can decide to sit three zones a day for a month, or for the rest of your life, and not call it study period. And it seems to be an important distinction, because you can do it or not do it, and you don't have to call it anything. If you're motivated to do it. Well, how do you get motivated to do it? Well, it's like... If you want to learn something, you don't necessarily have to go to a class. And sometimes a class is a way of organizing and focusing your attention. And that's good, I guess.

[36:37]

But it also could be... I know lots of people who take classes because they feel not self-motivated. They want a structure, a structure outside themselves to force their activities into. I don't think you're able to record it and speak to it. I would call it, if you do it in some kind of a form, just to say, you know, this is what we're doing, and, you know, we're all doing it together.

[37:42]

And when some people are doing it together, it kind of unifies it, you know? It's more helpful. And, you know, even though it's in some way not that different. Well, it is in a way. In a way, it is. It's different if you're aware of it. Well, there's clearly a shared energy, but there would be shared energy in Asia. You know what, you say it's an important distinction, but I don't see what distinction it is. Well, the distinction I'm making is the first time we had a study period here was a long time ago.

[38:45]

What was called a study period was what I had been named for a very, very long time, and I didn't call it anything. So it seems to me that some people feel more comfortable if you call it something. And that's the problem I have about calling it something. We even decided to do it without calling it anything at all. It wouldn't have as much power and meaning to it. That's a different thing. Adding on top of it, maybe in terms of defining directions. I think in general naming something gives you more clarity and focus on it.

[39:50]

That's what I'm talking about. It's calling something something. The phenomena of giving a label to an activity as opposed to just doing it. It's like making a drip light on something when you give it a name. What you're saying is That's right. That's why I think there is this situation where we call something because some people need that. Yeah. Which makes me think about what happens after this is over. When you stop calling it something, you just stop being aware of the damage you're doing. So, you know, we go along in a daily way, but our energy is

[41:01]

get very scattered. So, in order to bring everything together, bring our energy together and support each other, we make a focus towards the Tashim. So that by the time Tashim comes, we're all really focused. If we could just go along in our usual way, we make some effort, special effort, to unify our practice, bringing things together. For the sake of practice itself,

[42:31]

It's an important use of the word discrimination. Knowing how to... using discrimination, actually. that we can go on and on.

[43:19]

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