I want to talk about Dogen Zenji's Genjo-Koan. And I'll be talking about Genjo-Koan for the rest of this session. In order to understand Dogen, whose practice way we practice, it's important to be familiar with his genjo koan, which is the touchstone for all of his other works, all of his other fascicles. I've talked about Genjo Koan before, but I think that for the sake of everyone, I will continue to talk about Genjo Koan for a long time, if there is such a thing.

[01:21]

Genjo means something like manifesting in the present. And a koan, ordinarily, means actualizing the fundamental point, or like in law, a typical case, which you can look up in a law book if you want a precedent. If you want to know the meaning of a certain law, you look it up in a law book and then they give you an example. So a koan is like an example of the way things are, the true law. It has this meaning.

[02:31]

But there's another meaning for this genjo koan, and that is ko and an. Ko means the absolute It means emptiness. Basically it means emptiness or void, or the reality, or according to Suzuki Roshi, the way he used big mind, big mind and small mind. Big mind is ko, and small mind is an. But small mind, meaning dharmas, things, every dharma, every entity, thing, has a position.

[03:45]

But that position is manifested in the world on the basis of ko. Small is a manifestation of An. I mean, An is a manifestation of Ko. Everything is manifested on the basis of big mind. So, Ko and An, if you study any of the koans, you realize that what they're talking about or concerned with is the absolute and the relative. So koan in this sense has this other meaning as well.

[04:50]

So this is important in understanding what Dogen is talking about in Jo Koan. He's talking about ultimate reality and the way it's manifested. So Dogen says, when he opens this Genjo Koan with four statements, And each one of these four statements is a way of a position or a view of ultimate reality. So he says, when all dharmas are buddhadharma, there are enlightenment and delusion practice, life and death, buddhas and creatures.

[06:02]

When the ten thousand dharmas are without self, there are no delusion, no enlightenment, no Buddhas, no creatures, no life, and no death. And then he says, the Buddha way transcends being and non-being. Therefore, there are life and death, delusion and enlightenment, creatures and Buddhas. Nevertheless, flowers fall with our attachment and weeds spring up with our aversion. So this is in this opening statement of four propositions. The rest of the Genjo Koan is an elaboration of these four statements. So, the first statement, when all dharmas are buddhadharma, there are enlightenment and delusion, practice, life and death, buddhas and creatures,

[07:06]

This term, when, is important. Sometimes it's translated as as or as a fact, but when means when one realizes. At the moment when one has realization, one realizes that all dharmas are buddhadharma. Dharmas, you know, the word dharma has several meanings. Dharma with a capital D means the Buddha's teaching or ultimate reality. And Dharma with a small d means things, everything, things as they are manifested in the world. physical elements of a human being to be studied as such.

[08:13]

But here it means all things, all manifestations. Buddha is ko, and dharma is an. Buddha is the underlying essence of everything, the underlying emptiness of all creative things. Om is the difference, the manifestations in the world. Each one of us is a ko and an om. We are made up of infinite dharmas and yet our basic nature is Buddha. So each one of us is an expression of Buddha. not yet realized necessarily. So when all dharmas are buddhadharma, that's realization.

[09:17]

When we realize our true nature as Buddha, when we realize the true nature of all dharmas as Buddha, and when we realize our self as no self, or the self of ourself and Buddha as everything. So when all dharmas are Buddha-dharma, there are enlightenment and delusion, which is a duality, practice, life and death, which is a duality, Buddhas and creatures, which is a duality. So this is looking at existence or life from the point of view of relative existence, based on Buddha, based on emptiness. These are four non-dualistic ways of looking at existence.

[10:21]

So the first one is existence manifested as individual dharmas. So you don't see emptiness. You only see form. Form is emptiness. I mean, excuse me, emptiness is form. Emptiness is form. You only see the form. And when you see the form, the form completely blocks out the emptiness. So you only see what's manifested in front of your eyes as a form. Then he says, when the 10,000 dharmas are without self, there are no delusion, no enlightenment, no Buddhas, no creatures, no life and no death. This is where form is taken away and it's just emptiness.

[11:27]

but it's the emptiness of all forms. So it's like the ocean. It's good to think of it as the ocean and the waves. The ocean is great emptiness, but its expression is the waves. The ocean expresses itself as movement and waves. So the first part is the ocean as waves. You're just concerned with the waves, but the ocean is underneath. The waves are the ocean. And here, there are no waves. There's just clarity, total clarity, stillness, stillness in motion. We think of our life as motion, mostly.

[12:36]

And then maybe we go to sleep and we think of that as stillness, but that's still motion. But zazen is stillness. Stillness within motion, motion within stillness. Then the third one, the Buddha way actually is leaping clear of the many and the one. or the Buddha way transcends being and non-being. Therefore, there are life and death, delusion and enlightenment, creatures and Buddhas. This is form is emptiness and emptiness is form. So this is a way, this is laying out the idea of the understanding of

[13:38]

ultimate reality and relative reality. Within our life, we think of our life as continually moving and changing. But this movement is based on stillness. When we sit Zazen, we become very quiet and very still. And yet it's like a great dynamic activity.

[14:40]

when we sit zazen, totally absorbed, with full effort and energy. It's like a spinning top. When a top is spinning, it looks like it's standing still, but when you touch it, you Zazen is like this, your Zazen should be like this, that kind of effort, that kind of energy, like a spinning top that's sitting still, and within that stillness, great dynamic activity. And in your daily life, when you're working in the kitchen, totally absorbed in work, dynamic activity within stillness.

[15:45]

All of our busy life, it should be based on this stillness. People say, well, how do you practice after you leave this endo? Well, you stay with that stillness within the dynamic activity of your life. So you always know where you are. And you don't get fooled by things. And you don't get inundated by the world. This is called letting go. To always be settled on that stillness within your activity. This is what he calls transcending being and non-being, or leaping clear of the many and the one.

[16:57]

Therefore, or within life and death, delusion and enlightenment, creatures and Buddhas. Creatures and Buddhas, you know, people say, well, they're ordinary beings and Buddhas. But ordinary being, ordinary person is Buddha. But we're always looking for Buddha. Looking for Buddha. How do we find this Buddha? So when we sit Zazen, we definitely find Buddha. We settle on stillness. We settle on non-duality. Buddha is equality. When he sits us in, it's equality, the realm of equality. Pain, pleasure, like, dislike, it's all the same.

[18:03]

It doesn't matter. Those things really don't matter. Everything is equal. We enter the realm of total equality. If you don't enter the realm of total equality, then you have a big problem. And the problem is called suffering. And until you allow everything to be there equally, to be present equally, and allow everything to come and go, without hanging on to anything or pushing anything away, you're still in the realm of suffering. It's only when you can settle, deeply settle, not be bothered by anything and reach the realm of total stillness. So this is when you realize that all dharmas are buddhadharma.

[19:11]

All dharmas are equal. Even though all dharmas are not equal. Every dharma is related to every other dharma and is different. But the underlying basis is that they're all equal. So our relative world is expressed. It's a great expression of that equality. And it's called differentiation. Then he says, nevertheless, flowers fall with our attachment, and we spring up with our aversion.

[20:29]

The first three sentences are kind of explanation, and this is more of an expression. Flowers fall with our attachment. You already know what it means. This is the way life goes. That's why we're here. That's why we're here. And there's this little quote here by Dogen. He says, I thought I had abandoned all, even my body. And yet, this snowy night is cold. Then, Dogen goes on to say, to carry the self forward

[21:56]

and realize the 10,000 dharmas is delusion. That the 10,000 dharmas advance and realize the self is enlightenment. It is Buddhas who enlighten delusion and it is creatures who are deluded in enlightenment. Further, there are those who attain enlightenment above enlightenment or beyond enlightenment and there are those who are deluded within delusion. When Buddhas are truly Buddhas, one need not be aware of being Buddha. However, one is the realized Buddha and further advances in realizing Buddha." This is another four sentences, which are four ways of looking at enlightenment and delusion. correspond to the first four sentences.

[22:58]

We usually think of delusion and enlightenment as opposites. And when we have enlightenment, we no longer have delusion. But enlightenment presupposes delusion. So enlightenment beyond enlightenment and delusion is true enlightenment. We practice within this world of samsara, which is the realm of delusion. Delusion here means duality. So we live in this world of duality, in the world of delusion, and we never get out of it.

[24:10]

But we have to understand the world of delusion, or the world of duality, without trying to escape from it. So if you think that you're enlightened and no longer deluded, that's the greatest delusion. So he says, to carry the self forward and or in order to realize the 10,000 dharmas is delusion. This is like putting yourself forward or looking outside, trying to find Trying to find yourself outside. In order to realize the 10,000 dharmas, looking outside of yourself. Creating theories or opening up rocks in order to look inside to see if you can find reality.

[25:24]

opening up atoms to see if you can find reality. That's looking outside of yourself. That the 10,000 dharmas advance and realize the Self is enlightenment. That the 10,000 dharmas advancing and realizing the Self means that to identify with everything as yourself, to let go of self-centeredness and realize that everything is yourself. So, one sets aside, gets off of one's center as the center of the universe. Of course, you are the center of the universe. It's true that you really are the center of the universe.

[26:28]

The problem is that you may think that only you are the center of the universe. Enlightenment is to realize your true Self, which is the whole universe, is your true Self. Then he says, it is Buddhas who enlighten delusion, and it is creatures who are deluded in enlightenment. When you realize delusion, what is delusion?

[27:30]

That's enlightenment. Enlightenment is to realize what is delusion. If you say, I am not deluded, that's delusion. Within everyone's inherent treasure is our own enlightenment. As soon as we realize delusion, what is delusion, and that delusion is not something to escape from, that's enlightenment. So Buddha, once you understand, you inherit your Buddha nature and you become Buddha.

[28:32]

So within your enlightened nature, So further, there are those who attain enlightenment beyond enlightenment, and there are those who are deluded within delusion. Attaining enlightenment beyond enlightenment is actually beyond enlightenment and delusion, beyond the duality of enlightenment and delusion. And no matter how enlightened one is, there's more enlightenment. There's always more. So when you have some enlightenment or realization, as long as you sit on top of that realization or enlightenment, it becomes dimmer and dimmer.

[29:45]

You have to just put it in your pocket and forget about it. You can't hold it up and say, look what I've got. It doesn't hold its light that way. As a matter of fact, it only shines in the dark. And those who are deluded within delusion. So there are those who actually go beyond enlightenment and delusion. And there's always more. And yet there are those who are deluded within delusion, but he's not really talking about deluded people. He's talking about enlightened people who are deluded within enlightenment. Like the vow, the four vows, you know, he's got a vow to save all sentient beings.

[30:50]

Well, that's an enlightened statement, but it's also deluded, you know. As fast as you're saving them, they're falling off. And there's a statement, foolish wise men filling up the well with snow. You try to fill up a well with snow and it just keeps melting, right? But you do it anyway, because they're foolish wise men. This is like Deluded within delusion is like totally deluded. Really totally deluded. Filling up the well with snow. Doing this impossible thing that you can never accomplish. And then he says, when Buddhas are truly Buddhas, one need not be aware of being Buddha. Of course.

[31:53]

Suzuki Roshi, in one of his talks, was talking about going back to Eheji Monastery. I remember when I was studying at Eheji Monastery, it looked very unusual to people when they would come up to visit the monastery. It looked like they were doing some very unusual practice. But to the monks who were practicing, it just was their everyday stuff. It didn't look unusual to them at all. So, one need not be aware of doing something unusual. When Buddhas are truly Buddhas, they're not concerned about awareness of it, or being unusual, having something special, just their everyday tea and rice.

[32:58]

As Dogen said, everyday tea and rice. However, one is the realized Buddha and further advances in realizing Buddha. So those people who are truly practicing Buddha are not self-conscious about being Buddha. activity, nothing special. You shouldn't try to think of it as something special. This is a wonderful quote here. I need to practice to attain the precious mirror. Precious mirror is like enlightenment, right? I need to practice to attain the precious mirror. Although the precious mirror is not something I can attain through practice. So we establish our practice in the midst of our delusion.

[34:13]

Don't try to escape. Just your everyday tea and rice is your practice, is where you find it. in all of your problems and troubles. There it is. Where do you find the jewel in the heap? That's the practice. It's there. to exist in muddy water with purity like a lotus. That's our practice. And right here in Zazen, we're sitting here and we're saying, God, my mind is so full of stuff, so full of garbage.

[35:17]

I can't stop my mind from going. It's thinking, it's thoughts coming up all the time. I have nothing to do with Zazen. Where is the pearl in all that garbage? If you try to eliminate all that stuff, it just becomes more stuff. Don't mind like a faucet. Just sit. Just be there. Don't let anything bother you.

[36:19]

Whatever comes up, it's just what comes up. No need to be bothered by anything. And then he says, seeing forms with the whole body and mind, hearing sounds with the whole body and mind, one understands them intimately, yet it is not like a mirror with reflections, nor like water under the moon. When one side is realized, the other side is dark. Seeing forms with the whole body and mind, hearing sounds with the whole body and mind, one understands them intimately. This is like to hear something completely, to feel something completely.

[37:29]

We tend to separate the body and the mind. Sometimes we think the body is a vehicle for carrying the mind around, but total activity is body-mind. There's a wonderful statement by Tozan when he had a realization. He said, �How amazing! Hard to apprehend that non-sentient beings expound the Dharma. It is not simply heard with the ear, but when sound is heard with the eye, then it is understood. It's not that you hear with the eye, it's just that the whole body-mind hears and sees and feels. This is total activity.

[38:32]

In Zazen, we say, sit completely. Think not thinking. What is think not thinking? I think not thinking is total activity, no separation between the thought and the activity. It's like you can compare it to like an athlete who is maybe skiing down a mountain and just not thinking, no thought, just The thought and the activity are just one piece. As soon as you think, you lose it. Zazen is not an athletic activity like that, but it's total activity.

[39:37]

The thought and the activity are the same. There's no gap between the thought of Zazen and the activity of Zazen, even though all these other things are going on. You just keep coming back to the thought of one thing. Seeing forms of the whole body and mind, hearing sounds of the whole body and mind. And then, when the dog barks, what hears? When the bird chirps, what hears? When something goes by, what sees? What is it that feels? No need to question. There's just total feeling, total seeing, total hearing. And no one who hears or sees feels. Just feeling, just seeing, just hearing.

[40:40]

He says, yet it is not like a mirror with reflections. They're like water under the moon. When one side is realized, the other side is dark. When you see one side, when there's hearing, when there's a loud noise, a loud sound, the loud sound covers the whole universe. Everything else is gone. This is why The old Zen masters used to shout or hit in order to bring their students to realize the totality of one moment, of one act. When you look at the moon,

[41:46]

The moon is bright. At full moon, the moon is bright. But you know there's another side, which is dark. But you don't see the other side. You only see the light side. When the sun's on the other side, the moon is dark. But you know that there's a bright side on the other side. You know that the moon is round. It's not just flat. but you only see that one side and that one side covers the whole moon. So when a sound or a sight is revealed it covers everything and the rest is hidden. So we only see in a partial way.

[42:50]

We don't see totally, but when you're totally concentrated on one thing, that covers the whole universe. You don't have to see everything. When you sit in Zazen, you're totally reduced to one thing. That one thing covers the whole universe. It's like, this is a hand. It's very small, right? But when I put it up here, it covers the whole face. So small is not small. Big is not big. If we want to investigate reality, wherever we place our vision, it's there.

[43:59]

A small stone covers the whole universe. So when he says, it is not like a mirror with reflections, nor like water under the moon, it means there's no gap. There's nothing to be reflected. When there's no gap, there can't be any reflection. There's only a reflection when there's distance. So when subject and object, no gap. So, Dogon says, if one practices and realizes the Buddha way, when one attains one Dharma, one penetrates one Dharma.

[45:25]

Encountering one activity, one practices one activity. So, that's why practice is just to do one thing at a time, thoroughly. To practice one thing at a time, thoroughly. Not Sugiroshi's thing. You have a saying here, to kill two birds with one stone. But in our practice, we just kill one bird with one stone. That's one reason why our practice is so simple, and why we have a formal practice. Formal practice helps us to do one thing at a time. The formal aspect of our practice puts us into a position where we just do one thing at one time. When you bow, total bowing.

[46:28]

That covers the whole universe. You're one with everything. And when you walk, one step at a time. When you sit, you just sit. And when you're facing this way, there's nothing behind you. And when you're facing the other way, there's nothing behind you. Yet, your bow is all-encompassing. I just want to read something that I gleaned from someplace.

[47:37]

The total exertion of one dharma, meaning doing one thing totally, right? On the eighth day of the lunar month, half of the moon is bright and the other half dark. The very appearance of the bright part, the disclosed, affirms but does not negate the existence of the hidden part. Likewise, the manifestation of something always emphasizes the existence of the unmanifested or concealed part of the same thing, like an iceberg. At the moment when the bright part of the moon is disclosed, the dark part also secretly establishes itself.

[48:23]

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