I love to taste the truth of God's entirety. Okay, good evening. If there's anyone in the back who can't hear me, I would suggest that instead of me trying to reach you, that you come forward a little bit. So, just in case you have trouble hearing, otherwise it's fine with me to sit back there. So I know where I left off last time, but I'm not quite sure exactly where I left off. So I think I left off around page 35 of my book, which is different than your record.

[01:06]

This book, the page is a little different than the paperback. But this is the part where he talks about thoughtlessness. Did we get to thoughtlessness last time? I don't think so. We just about got to thoughtlessness. That's how we stopped thinking. But I want to get into it by starting on the previous page, and I'll just read that a little bit. It's talking about self-enlightenment. You don't need a teacher, you know, if you... Did I talk... I think I talked about that, right? Did I? Yeah. And the fact that actually we all are self-enlightened. and the chick and the egg. Oh yeah, it's all coming back to me now. So, after that, he says, Learned Audience, when we use prajna for introspection.

[02:12]

32. 32. Well, yeah, for me, 35. Okay, Learned Audience, when we use, now he's going to talk about mindlessness. When we use prajna for introspection, we are illumined within and without. So prajna is the illuminator, actually. Prajna is the light that illuminates our mind. You could say maybe it's the light of the mind, the light of consciousness, and in a position to know our own mind. To know our mind is to obtain liberation. To obtain liberation is to attain the samadhi of prajna, which is thoughtlessness. What is thoughtlessness? Thoughtlessness is to see and know all dharmas, or things, with a mind free from attachment.

[03:17]

Did I talk about the two kinds of dharmas? No. But briefly, The word dharma means a lot of different things, but as technical terms here, dharma with a capital D means Buddhist teaching, the various dharmas, the laws of reality of the dharmas. And that's Dharma with a capital D, and this has a capital D, but that's not what they mean here. Dharmas with a small d means things. And the dharmas, in a very technical sense, means the constituents of mind. the various mental and psychic constituents.

[04:24]

But in a broad sense it means all things. So those are actually three different meanings of the word dharma. So dharmas with a small d means things. Anything is a dharma. And the dharma with a capital D is the truth about the dharmas with a small d. So, but here, you know, he's using a capital d, but he says, thoughtlessness is to see and know all dharmas, things, with a mind free from attachment. But I think he includes everything, including Buddhist teaching. When in use, it pervades everywhere, and yet it sticks nowhere. What we have to do is to purify our mind so that the six vijnanas, those are aspects of consciousness, in passing through the six gates, the sense organs, will neither be defiled by nor attached to the six sense objects.

[05:38]

When our mind works freely without any hindrance and is at liberty to come or to go, we attain samadhi or prajna or liberation. Such a state is called the function of thoughtlessness, but to refrain from thinking of anything, so that all thoughts are suppressed, is to be dharma-ridden." And this is an erroneous view. I think most of us know that the six vijnanas, or the six consciousnesses, are connected with the six sense organs and come into play when in contact with the various sense objects. In other words, consciousness only arises with an object. And in order for consciousness to arise with an object, there has to be some mechanism

[06:44]

And that's called the eye, or the ear, or the nose, or the tongue, or the feelers, the touch sensation. And what? Mind. So, mind is a kind of broad term. Actually, consciousness Mind consciousness and the five sense consciousnesses have to have an object in order to arise. And so when consciousness and the organ come into contact with an object of any kind, either a tactile object or a mental object, consciousness arises and we become aware. And so the subject, which is consciousness, needs something to match it, or an object.

[07:53]

So we say subject and object are one thing, even though they seem like two things. My consciousness views objects as objects, and they look separate from consciousness. But actually, consciousness is consciousness for the object, and the object is the object for consciousness. And there are two sides of consciousness. that match each other, but discrimination separates them. So when he says, what we have to do is to purify our mind so that the six vijnanas, or aspects of consciousness,

[09:03]

in passing through the six gates, which are the eyes, ears, nose, and so forth, will neither be defiled by nor attached to the six sense objects. When our mind works freely without any hindrance and is at liberty to come or to go, we attain samadhi of prajna, or liberation. Such a state is called the function of thoughtlessness. So, thoughtlessness It doesn't mean not to think, but in thinking, consciousness is not attached to its object, and it's free to come and go. And then he says, learn in audience. Those who understand the way of thoughtlessness will know everything. Know everything, that's kind of omniscience, right? I don't think it's omniscience in the sense of you know what people are doing in Bolivia or something when you're sitting in San Francisco.

[10:13]

It means that your mind is not divided, so when you're involved with one thing, you're involved with everything. That's called zazen. That's zazen. When you're involved with one thing completely, then you're involved with everything, because mind is not discriminating one thing from another, or attaching to the discrimination of one thing or another. So although everything exists separately, The separate existences are all aspects of one whole existence. And a non-discriminating mind perceives this. So this is thoughtlessness. Thought here also talks about discrimination later on.

[11:19]

But discrimination is compartmentalization. So when you discriminate, you divide. Discrimination means to divide. And you say, this is the microphone and that's the book. But the microphone and the book, although they're two different things, they're just two aspects of one thing. Like my right hand and my left hand. This is the right hand and this is the left hand, but they're just two aspects. This is the right hand and this is the left hand. So, I should start thinking even though... So anyway, this is more the meaning of this, know everything.

[12:28]

Know how everything exists. In the future, if any initiate of my school should make a vow in company with his fellow disciples to devote his whole life without retrogression to the practice of the teaching of this sudden school, in the same spirit as that for serving Buddha, he would reach without failure the path of holiness. To the right people he should transmit from heart to heart the instructions handed down from one ancestor to another, and no attempt should be made to conceal the orthodox teaching. To those who belong to other schools and whose views and objects are different from ours, the dharmas should not be transmitted since it will be anything but good for them." I don't know if that's a good translation. I don't know why he's saying that exactly, but he's saying they won't be able to achieve it so well. This step is taken lest ignorant persons who cannot understand our system, I don't know if system is the right word either, should make slanderous remarks about it and thereby annihilate their seed of Buddha nature for hundreds of kalpas and thousands of incarnations.

[13:44]

Anyway, as it may be, I'm not sure I agree with all that, but And then he has this formless stanza. Learned audience, I have a formless stanza for you all to recite. Both laity and monks should put its teaching into practice, without which it would be useless to remember my words alone. Listen to this stanza. And the stanza has four parts to it. I think it has four parts. And the first part is he talks about what a teacher does. So he says, a master of the Buddhist canon, as well as the teaching of the Dhyana school, may be likened unto the blazing sun sitting high in his meridian tower. That's kind of fancy language. Most translators say, may be likened unto the sun in empty space.

[14:46]

I think that's good enough. But he dramatizes it. It kind of says, may be likened unto the blazing sun sitting high on his meridian tower. But this is like I was talking about last time, I think, that someone who is in this position has space completely around them, no attachment to anything. And like the sun faces in all directions. and the sun's energy, or light, penetrates in all directions. This is how a teacher of this Buddhist canon should be, or the Buddhist school should be, like that. And without impartiality. An empty space is like that into which everything fits.

[15:49]

such a one which teaches nothing but the dharma for realizing the essence of mind." So that's the person's whole reason for being around. And his object in coming to this world is to, it says, vanquish the heretical sects, but I don't like that language either. Object in coming to this world to make people aware of Aroni's views, I would say that. We can hardly classify the dharmas into sudden and gradual. This whole sudden and gradual argument was something that was very strong at that time and doesn't seem to have much weight these days. Actually, it's kind of an old argument. But some men, some people, will attain enlightenment much quicker than others.

[16:58]

For example, this is the second part. He's talking about how to practice. For example, this system for realizing the essence of mind is above the comprehension of the ignorant. We may explain it in 10,000 ways, but all those explanations may be traced back to one principle, and then he uses this rather dramatic language, to illumine our gloomy tabernacle, which is stained by defilement. You could say that in other ways. One way, within the dark home of the passions, something like that. So we should constantly set up the light of wisdom. Erroneous views keep us in defilement, while right views remove us from it. But when we are in a position to discard both right views and wrong views, both of them, we are then absolutely pure.

[18:03]

So we should not be attached even to right views. Bodhi is imminent in our essence of mind. An attempt to look for it elsewhere is erroneous. Within our impure mind, the pure one is to be found. Since our mind is set right, we are free from the three kinds of beclouding, that is, defilement, evil karma, and expiation in evil realms of existence, or retribution, it's called. So this is interesting, to not be attached to right views or wrong views, because right views and wrong views are just another duality, just like enlightenment and delusion are just a duality. So to be attached to enlightenment is still not a realization, because enlightenment is just the other side of delusion.

[19:14]

So, one must go beyond enlightenment and delusion. We say in the Heart Sutra, wisdom gone beyond wisdom, not being attached to wisdom, So, purity actually means non-duality. And if you read Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, in the very first part, Suzuki Roshi talks about what is pure practice. And he says, it's not so hard to be enlightened, but it's very difficult to maintain pure practice, which is practice of non-duality.

[20:18]

So within our impure mind, the pure one is to be found. Not by separating do you find it, but right there within it is to be found. And this is also an aspect of sudden enlightenment. Gradual enlightenment is like to clean out the mind little by little and to gain one step after another after you purify the mind. But he says pure mind is right within impure mind. And once the impure mind is opened up, that's the pure mind. which includes impurity. It's like water becomes many things, juice and mud and travels throughout all kinds of systems and takes on the names of those systems.

[21:40]

But it also, when you see it in the cold river, You say, oh, there's the water, and it's very pure. But water within all the systems is also pure, even though it's full of impurities. So within our impure mind, the pure mind is right there. And that's where we have to realize it. If we are treading the path of enlightenment, we need not be worried by stumbling blocks, provided we keep a constant eye on our own faults. That's a very good statement. Provided we keep an eye on our own faults, we cannot go astray from the right path. I think this is probably the key to practice, to always look at what we're doing, because it's so easy to look at what other people are doing.

[22:54]

This part here, this third part, I think is really important for everyone to keep in mind. So, provided we keep... Not to be worried about stumbling blocks. Stumbling blocks are actually a help, you know. There's an old statement, when you fall to the ground, you use the ground to help you get up. So there's nothing that's really a hindrance. That which seems like a hindrance is also what you use to help you with. It's also a help if you can see it correctly and not project Since every species of life has its own way of salvation, they will not interfere with or be antagonistic to one another.

[24:04]

Dogen expands on this. But if we leave our own path and seek some other way of salvation, we shall not find it. And then we plot on until death overtakes us, we shall only find penitence in the end. If you wish to find the true way, right action will lead you to it directly. But if you do not strive for Buddhahood, you will grow up in the dark and never find it. One who treads the path in earnest sees not the mistakes of the world. This is probably the most difficult two lines you'll ever run across. One who treads the path in earnest will not, seeks not, sees not the mistakes of the world. If we find fault with others, we ourselves are also in the wrong. When other people are in the wrong, we should ignore it. for it is wrong for us to find fault. By getting rid of the habit of fault-finding, we cut off a source of defilement. When neither hatred nor love disturb our mind, serenely we sleep.

[25:10]

This is, you must have taken it from the Xin Xin Ming. That's a direct statement from there. Those who intend to be the teachers of others should themselves be skilled in the various expedients which lead others to enlightenment. So, this is a very hard, I think, for most people to swallow. Don't find fault. I mean, it's the one thing that we're dealing with constantly. You did this wrong, you know, you did that wrong. So, how do we not, huh? Finding fault with yourself also. It says with others. You should look at your own faults, actually. But there are two things. One is looking at a fault, and the other is fault-finding. So, fault-finding is a state of mind.

[26:14]

It's a disposition. Some people are disposed to fault-finding. And always look for the fault, you know. Always look for what's wrong, or for what somebody's doing wrong. And try to pick it out, you know, and say something. And then there, because everybody's doing something wrong all the time, you know, people are always doing something wrong. And you notice that there are right things and wrong things. But on the other hand, everybody's just doing what they're doing. The most difficult thing, you know, for, say, the Eno, not just this one, any Eno, or for the Abbot, or, you know, someone in a position to see what everybody's doing, it's very difficult to not find fault. Because you want everything to be done right.

[27:21]

And especially when you're teaching people something and showing them something, you want things to work well. And how to allow people to see their error or where they're off to the left or off to the right without finding fault takes a lot of talent or something. It takes a lot of sensitivity. But it's the thing that we have to think about all the time. Constantly. How to address someone, or how to approach someone, or how to tell somebody something without finding fault. It's koan. Big koan. Yes? I find it's an interesting statement in context to the Holden tradition, that if you were to read Rinzai or Dogon, There's a tension in the striving for excellence.

[28:37]

You're talking about like the methods that are used, and the kind of shouting and beating and stuff like that? Yeah, that's called compassion. Right. Seriously. I know you're serious, but also... Right. Now, it's very interesting. If you read Dogon, Dogon will say stuff like, Rinzai is a blah blah blah, you know, and he'll take all the people from the past and call them names, right, and say they're just evil dogs, and, you know, he uses a kind of strong language. And then there's one passage in which he says, when Buddhas criticize each other, it's not the same as when ordinary people criticize each other. Yes, right. So, Dogen, people often criticize Dogen for criticizing.

[29:45]

But to my mind, Dogen is just playing. I don't think he's seriously seriously putting people down. It's like when you read the koans and the commentators, you know, talks about, you know, Joshu or somebody, and he'll say something like, how could he know anything, you know, and putting him down. But his putting him down is actually a compliment. So it's hard to know I mean, and this happens constantly in the Koan commentaries, that it's a kind of left-handed way of complimenting. It's not left-handed compliment, but it's a way of, you know, you don't say directly, this person's wonderful. You say, oh God, what a stinking thing they did, you know.

[30:50]

But if you understand, it means what a great thing they did. And Rinzai, I think, is the same. And Hakuin does the same thing, you know. They criticize in very... And sometimes their criticism is criticism. And sometimes they shouldn't be saying it. Right? So, you say, well, these guys are examples. What are they doing? They're criticizing, you know. And maybe they're wrong. So you should point out to them, don't follow their example. So a good teacher, you should follow their example. You should be able to discern what is a good example and what is not a good example. So you should follow Dogen's good example, and maybe if you have a problem with his bad example, don't follow that. Allow him his bad example, or allow him his fault, actually.

[31:57]

You didn't have to criticize him, just allow him his fault. Well, this is Dogen's fault, he's human too, you know. And even though he's supposed to be an example. So when you have a teacher, if you think that everything the teacher does is good, then you should examine your mind. Because teacher is half good and half bad. And you have to be able to understand, to discern which is the good and which is not. And that's your job. you should be able to see the difference. But what I said before, I think it also holds true. What also comes up for me is this thing around the Japanese tradition. And I don't know if this is fair, but the idea of the Japanese thinking they're somehow superior. Yeah, this is the degeneration of Japanese Buddhism. Yeah. That's true.

[33:01]

That's a big fault with the Japanese. I mean, as a country, you know, they feel they're superior. And that fault will one day lead to their downfall, or at least they'll fall down a little bit when they see the consequences of that. It's a kind of arrogance. But, you know, they do things really well. And they do things better than most people. And they have a kind of superior culture in a lot of ways. In a lot of ways, they have blind spots. And they really need to... As they come more in contact with the world, the world will show them their blind spots. You know? And that's what's happening. And so, you know... Japan's undergoing a big crisis, even though it may not look like it.

[34:06]

A while ago they were very rich, and now the economies begin to come apart a little bit, and we begin to see that they're not so inviolable. And Japanese Buddhism is so entrenched and comfortable that nobody's motivated to do anything. Very few people are motivated to do anything other than maintain their comfort level. They do funerals and services and stuff like that. And they have a kind of symbiotic relationship with the public. And they don't have to do Zazen or stuff like we do. And so they don't know how to relate to us. And they have a kind of arrogance But at the same time, they have also a little bit of an inferiority complex because they know that there's something they're not doing that they probably should be doing.

[35:14]

So it's very mixed. And arrogance is a big thing with them. And when they let go of that, then they'll be able to accept people more easily. Anyway, everybody's got problems, right? But I think this is the essence. You know, if you can do this, it means that you found your essence of mind, which is not discriminating. Suzuki Roshi used to say, when I go through Tassajara, I don't see anything or hear anything. In other words, he does see everything. When he walked through, he'd see everything. But he said, I don't see anything, and I don't hear anything. And he didn't criticize very much, amazingly.

[36:18]

And he knew how to make you feel bad about what you did. It would just take a little word. But you never really felt that he was being mean. You're just letting you know something. So it doesn't mean that you can't criticize. You have to criticize. You have to be critical about things that are critical. But you have to be able to do it without being critical, without having a critical attitude So in other words, you have to respect the person that you're dealing with and accept the person that you're dealing with at the same time that you're criticizing so that you're not alienating or setting yourself apart. That's the point. The point is not to set yourself apart or to make a split. So how can you criticize without setting yourself apart as you and me?

[37:26]

You know that sometimes in a Japanese monastery, when this person does something wrong, the teacher will come along and beat the person next to them. So when neither hatred nor love disturb our mind, serenely we sleep. That's the mission of being. So it's the habit of fault-finding and the separation that's the problem. Things have to be pointed out. We always have to point things out to people. I go into the zendo every day and I see all these mistakes, including my own.

[38:32]

But I don't always say anything. I know that in time, everything will be worked out. I used to want everything to be worked out right now, and I wanted everybody to be perfect, and I wanted everything to happen in the right way. But no matter how much energy you put into that, it doesn't work. Everybody just does what they do. It just doesn't work. If you know what you're working toward, if everybody knows what you're working toward, then you just let it go. I just let it go, and things just start working themselves out. That's right, we are also arrogant, and Japanese can also be the least arrogant, as well as the most.

[40:11]

So in the fourth part he says, when the disciple is free from all doubts, it indicates that their essence of mind has been found. The kingdom of Buddha is in this world within which enlightenment is to be sought. And to seek enlightenment by separating from this world is as absurd as to search for a rabbit's horn. This is an admonition to people who feel that they should not be stained by the world, or to retreat from the world in order to find purity. Right views are called transcendental, and erroneous views are called worldly. When all views, right or erroneous or erroneous, are discarded, then the essence of bodhi appears. Bodhi means enlightenment. This stanza is for the sudden school.

[41:26]

It is also called the big ship of Dharma. I love that. The big ship of Dharma for sailing across the ocean of existence. Kalpa after Kalpa, a person may be under delusion, but once enlightened, it takes him only a moment to attain Buddhahood. Before conclusion, the ancestor added, now in this Thai Phan temple, I have addressed you on the teaching of the seven schools. May all sentient beings of the Dharma Datu instantly understand the law and attain Buddhahood. After hearing what the ancestors said, the Prefect Wai, government officials, Taoists, and laypeople were all enlightened. They made obeisance in a body and exclaimed unanimously, well done, well done. Who would have expected that a Buddha was born in Guangdong? So now I'm going to skip the questions and answers and go to chapter four called Samadhi and Prajna.

[42:29]

You don't have that. Why are there not chapters in this book? Samadhi and Prajna. Okay. You don't have it in that book. I don't think you do. I don't think so. This also doesn't appear in the Yeah, it doesn't appear in the June Wong edition. I think it might be on page 175, section 13. In Dunhuang? Page 135? Do you have page 135? No, that's not it. You're right, but it's only one paragraph.

[44:33]

The top paragraph mentions it. So this is an expansion of that. paragraph that appears in the... No, it goes on. Yeah, but that's a different paragraph. It goes on, but that's a different chapter. So what goes on, like 13, that's chapter 4. Oh, okay, you're right. Good friends. You're right, it does. But it doesn't go on for too long, I don't think. Well, I think it goes on, but then it deviates and kind of wanders around, and it's a different, you know, it doesn't stay with this text because... There are bits and pieces of it, but it's not completely...

[45:40]

So, look on someone else who has the long malam. So this is chapter four, samadhi and prajna. The ancestor on another occasion preached to the assembly as follows. Learned audience, in my system, my system is kind of a strange way to say something, but samadhi and prajna are fundamental. But do not be under the wrong impression that these two are independent of each other, for they are inseparably united and are not two entities. Samadhi is the quintessence of prajna, while prajna is the activity of samadhi. So they're one thing. One is the essence and the other is the activity. At the very moment that we attain prajna, samadhi is therewith, and vice versa.

[46:45]

If you understand this principle, you understand the equilibrium of samadhi and prajna. A disciple should not think that there is a distinction between samadhi begets prajna and prajna begets samadhi. To hold such an opinion would imply that there are two characteristics in the dharma. So, within the In the history of Buddhist meditation, there have been people who lean toward the samatha side and people who lean toward the wisdom side, the prajna side. So samadhi is like deep connection, which is the basis for essence of mind to emerge or to be present. So zazen is samadhi.

[47:53]

It's directly, direct, the moment-by-moment expression of settling essence of mind. And then prajna is the light or the luminosity, the light of the mind, the luminosity of the big mind. So stilling and enlightening. So it's not that one begets the other. It's not that they're two different things, although there always have been two camps. Those people who have wisdom seek wisdom, and those who seek stilling or quiet peacefulness.

[48:58]

So samadhi is kind of peacefulness. And there are various names for wisdom. prajna, and investigation also, the use of the mind, that side of things. And then in the extreme forms, the people who actually, the yogis on the samatha side and the intellectuals on the vipassana side, or people who use the mind. But actually, they're not two different things. And they should both, samadhi and prajna should be together. Or samadhi and prajna should be one thing in each state of practice. And they shouldn't be separated or divided.

[50:00]

For one whose tongue is ready with good words, but whose heart is impure, Samadhi and Prajna are useless because they do not balance each other. Now, impure here means non-dual. I think we should really keep this in mind when he's talking about impure. Impure meaning non-dual. So for one whose tongue is ready with good words but whose heart is impure, Samadhi and Prajna are useless because they do not balance each other. They're seen as two things instead of two weights of the same measure, of the same stick. On the other hand, when we are good in mind as well as in words, and when our outward appearance and our inner feelings harmonize with each other, then it is a case of equilibrium of samadhi and prajna. Argument is unnecessary for an enlightened disciple to argue whether prajna or samadhi comes first.

[51:08]

Put one in the same position as those who are under delusion. Argument implies a desire to win. Strengthens egotism and ties us to the belief in the idea of a self, a being, a living being, and a person. Learn in audience, to what are samadhi and prajna analogous? They are analogous to a lamp and its light. With the lamp, there is light. Without it, it would be dark. The lamp is the quintessence of the light, and the light is the expression of the lamp. You can think about this when you are Jikito. In name, they are two things, but in substance, they are one and the same. It is the same case with samadhi and prajna. On another occasion, the ancestor preached to the assembly as follows. Learned audience, to practice the samadhi of specific mode, this is something that the people who criticize hearts are to say, he says, he never explains what samadhi of specific mode means, and they all scratch their heads.

[52:23]

I find that strange. Learned audience, to practice the samadhi of specific mode is to make it a rule to be straightforward on all occasions, no matter whether we are walking, standing, sitting, or reclining. What do you think he means by straightforward? To be straightforward on all occasions. Aware? Well, aware, yes. Direct? Meeting each thing as it comes up directly. Yeah. I think that's good, meeting things as they come up directly. I think there are a lot of meetings. I think that everything that we're saying is right.

[53:25]

But I think that there are various things you can say about it. What else? criticism, without criticizing, with being non-dual. Yeah, I think so. Or excluding yourself. Or not being devious. I think straightforward means not being devious, but to meet things squarely and honestly. Undivided mind. Yeah, undivided mind. With an undivided mind. So samadhi, to practice the samadhi of specific mode is to make it a rule to be straightforward on all occasions, no matter whether we're walking, standing, sitting, or reclining.

[54:29]

And the Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra says, straightforwardness is the holy place or the pure land Don't let your mind be crooked and practice straightforwardness with your lips only. So it also means honesty, kind of a hard honesty. We should practice straightforwardness and should not attach ourselves to anything. People under delusion believe obstinately in dharmalakshana. Dharmalakshana means various things. dharma are things, right? And the forms of things, the various forms that things take. And so they are stubborn in having their own way of interpreting the samadhi of specific mode. So it must have been something that people were dealing with at that time that this was written, which they define as

[55:30]

sitting quietly and continuously without letting any idea rise in the mind. Such an interpretation would rank us with inanimate objects and is a stumbling block to the right path, which must be kept open. Should we free our mind from attachment to all things, the path becomes clear. Otherwise, we put ourselves under restraint. If that interpretation, sitting quietly and continuously, etc., be correct, why on one occasion was Shariputra reprimanded by Vimalakirti for sitting quietly in the wood? Well, so this looks like a criticism of sitting quietly, but it's sitting quietly and not allowing anything to arise in the mind, any idea to arise in the mind. So a lot of people took this passage to mean that no need to do meditation.

[56:40]

But he's not criticizing meditation. I believe he's not criticizing meditation. Meditation is being criticized here. It's the kind of meditation that's being criticized, not allowing any idea to come up in the mind. And this has always been a kind of dualistic type of meditation. It's the same thing, you know, as we were talking about before, to separate from ideas, or to separate from anything that comes up in the mind, push it away, or to suppress thoughts, and to have a pure mind by suppressing thoughts, which is not purity because it's dualistic. That's the suppression of thoughts.

[57:47]

Whereas non-dualistic meditation is to be free of thoughts while in the midst of thoughts, And that's what zazen is. So there are these subtle differences in meditation practices, which I think we should be aware of. Yes? It seems like you have the same brain that seems to express criticism of viewing the mind and viewing And it seemed to me that what he was saying was the same kind of event. That's dualistic. You're separating yourself from it and trying to look at it rather than just being what it is. Yes. But that comes later. It's separating, it's trying to view purity, you know, that's right.

[58:59]

And to make an object of purity. He criticizes people for trying to make an object of purity. And to separate out the pure from the impure. So there is a footnote here which has the encounter between Vimalakirti and Shariputra. So I'll read you that. Vimalakirti said to Shariputra, as to sitting quietly, it should mean that one does not put in an appearance within the three worlds. That is, one's conscience, I think consciousness is what he meant, should be above the world of desire, the world of matter and the world of non-matter, it should mean that while remaining in nirodha-samapatti, that is ecstasy with cessation of consciousness, one is able to do the various bodily movements such as walking, standing, sitting or reclining.

[60:17]

It should mean that without deviating from the norm, one is able to discharge various temporal duties. The norm here means essence of mind. One should be able to do various temporal duties. It should mean that one abides neither within nor without. It should mean that one practices the 37 Bodhipaksha, that is the 37 wings of enlightenment, which are meditation practices, without being moved by heretical views. It should mean that without exterminating defilements, kleshas, one may enter nirvana. One who is able to sit thus will be approved by the Buddhas." I think it clarifies that. Does that not clarify? So learn in audience. Some teachers of meditation instruct their disciples to keep a watch on their mind for tranquility so that it will cease from activity.

[61:18]

Henceforth, the disciples give up all exertion of mind. Ignorant persons become insane from having too much confidence in such instruction. Such cases are not rare, and it is a great mistake to teach others to do this. On another occasion, the ancestor addressed the assembly as follows, In orthodox Buddhism, the distinction between the sudden school and the gradual school does not really exist. So, rest quietly. The only difference recognized is that by nature some are quick-witted while others are dull in understanding. Those who are enlightened realize the truth in a sudden, while those who are under delusion have to train themselves gradually. But such a difference will disappear when we know our own mind and realize our own nature. Therefore, these terms of gradual and sudden are more apparent than real." And there are some systems which are gradual and some practices which are sudden. So, a lot of Tibetan practices are, you know, step-by-step gradual practices.

[62:23]

and even some Rinzai practices like that. Soto Zen is like pushing you off the pier into the water and you thrash around and learn how to swim. So it's jumping into starting with enlightenment and gradual practice, I would say. The Korean sinu, I think, talked a lot about sudden enlightenment and gradual practice. That starting from enlightenment, you learn how to practice. That's more the premise, actually, of our system. So that's why we don't recognize our own realization. because we're thrashing around trying to learn how to swing. But we're right there in the midst of the soup.

[63:29]

It's probably backwards, but it is backwards. And Gauguin says, yes, we rip the cart instead of the horse if you want to make it go. Usually, you rip the horse if you want to make the card go. But we whip the card in order to make it go. In orthodox Buddhism, oh yes, learned audience, it has been the tradition of our school to take idealistness as our object, non-objectivity as our basis, and non-attachment as our fundamental principle. So non-objectivity means, not to be absorbed by objects when in contact with objects. Idealistness means not to be carried away by any particular idea in the exercise of the mental faculty. And non-attachment is the characteristic of our essence of mind.

[64:34]

So, idealistness as our object, in the midst of ideas. It doesn't say to let go of ideas, but in the midst of ideas, to not be attached to ideas, basically, is what it means. And in the midst of objects, not to be attached to objects, not to get rid of objects, but... Non-attachment is the characteristic of the essence of mind. So what is non-attachment? Thinking about non-attachment, somebody asked me this question when I was in Chapel Hill last year, and it occurred to me that non-attachment is appropriate engagement. You know, we're continually coming into contact with things, ideas,

[65:43]

objects, people, and how do we engage? What is appropriate engagement? Because if you think that to be non-attached is to be detached, then detached is just a way of not being involved. So non-attachment is not detachment. Detachment is separating yourself from something. But non-attachment is while you're holding on to something, or while you're engaged, you're free within the engagement. So if you're married, you know, you're engaged. You may be engaged before you're married, That's right. Also, the two different aspects of engagement.

[66:46]

How do you find your freedom within the engagement? And how does the other person find their freedom, or how do you allow the other person their freedom within the engagement? Or, you know, when you're working with people, or when you're in contact with anything, or engaged with anything, you have to be attached. Engagement is a kind of attachment. So within attachment, where is your freedom? Or where do you have room to turn and not be caught? That's actually a practice. You know, desire is the key, right?

[67:53]

Because desire is what we get caught by. You know, this is just basic Buddhism. Desires, you know, we get caught by desire, by our own desire. We say, something caught me, but actually, you know, we're doing the catching. then because we can't let go or we can't find our freedom or our individuality within that engagement, we have a lot of suffering. So this is what we're studying all the time, non-attachment. So I like to call it non-attachment. If we think of non-attachment, it's very negative, you know, and it makes us think that we shouldn't be involved.

[69:00]

But I would rather call it appropriate engagement. How do we engage in such a way that we always find our freedom and we're not caught, our emotions are not caught, our feelings are not caught, Mind is not caught by what we're engaged in, and yet we're fully engaged. Totally, fully engaged. And, as he says, the mind is free to come and go. So anyway... Yes? I'm a little hesitant. It seems like... I and many of my peers out of the rationalization just continue as we are, and sort of confusedly engage with the world. In a confused sort of way, I engage with objects and people, and these habitual objects of strong desire.

[70:13]

I feel like there's a line The line can't be drawn, really. No, I don't think the line can be drawn. I think it's, you know, there's not a rule. People try to make rules, you know, but there are no rules. And every situation is, we have to find the rules. We have to find the rule in each situation. And when we're young, you know, we try out all kinds of things, you know, and we kind of find, you know, my foot's stuck in this, my arm's stuck in that, my heart's stuck in this, and my emotions, and you know, and we go through a lot of stuff learning. At some point, we say, well, you know, I don't want to get hurt anymore. What do I do? So then we begin to find out, try to find out, you know, how to engage in a way that we don't get hurt, you know?

[71:20]

We don't get caught. Because over and over we do the same stuff, you know? And then we begin to realize, why am I getting caught in the same thing over and over again? And so that should help us to think about it. And then everybody has to figure their way out. Right? There are rules, but we don't, you know, because each person is so complex, the rules are, I mean, guidelines, just like the precepts. Precepts are the guidelines. They're not the rules. You try to apply precepts as rules, then you feel rule-bound. That's, you know, you cannot be attached to the precepts. What is appropriate use of precepts? we have to find the precept on each moment.

[72:22]

What is the appropriate precept on each moment? And these are ten precepts, ten whatever, grave precepts, prohibitory precepts. These are just guidelines. But in each situation, you know, it's more real, it's not theoretical. Although precepts are a good guideline, we have to find the precept, the actual precept, in each engagement. Wendy, do you want to say something? Well, I just thought that it sort of seems that to know yourself, you know, is the way that you find appropriate engagement. Because one thing, I mean, there was this I quote this sentence I read in The Crowd of Unknowing about humility being knowing yourself completely.

[73:25]

And so, when you know yourself completely and you have that kind of humility, which is not as humble, but which is that inclusive sense of relatedness, then, you know, that's when you can do it appropriately. Yes. And that's what this Samadhi process seems to be about, you know. That's your wisdom of knowing yourself. Who else can be enlightened? Well, knowing yourself, then you're omniscient. But yes, enlightenment, people think that when I'm enlightened, I'll be very powerful. But actually, when you're enlightened, you'll be very humble. Humbleness is a characteristic of enlightenment. It's a lot of these people who set themselves up as enlightened beings. You should look to see where their humility is if you want to test them.

[74:30]

But yeah, well of course, that's why we study the self, you know. That's our guideline, right? To study the self. But it also seems to me that that's what the vows are about. The vows, yes. Like there's criteria, like if you examine how you engage with the reality. Yeah. So non-attachment, still, before you have this, you still have to do something. Us unenlightened beings have to do something, you know. So what is appropriate action? How do we engage in an activity with perfect freedom and still be involved and attached? That's kind of our, that's our genjo koan that comes up moment by moment in our life.

[75:40]

And that's the koan that we're working with all the time. It's just constant. People think Soto Zen, you know, you guys don't study koans, but it's not true. We're continually studying this koan. The koan that comes up moment by moment. How do I engage in this activity with these people or this, whatever, and maintain perfect freedom for myself and others? Rebecca? Gears. Gears. Gears engage and they keep moving, but they're not attached. And since they are attached, they stop functioning. They're stuck to each other. Yeah, there has to be lubrication, otherwise they freeze up. And if they're not in line, they wear out.

[76:41]

And if they're not gently engaged, they get stripped. I think one of the things too is not to have a too solid idea of what's going to come out of that engagement. Right. I think often you're engaged with the idea that it's going to lead to some particular thing without really paying attention to what happens when you do engage. and let something come out of that engagement that isn't particularly what you may have set out to have happen. I think it's really right, you know, to have an unassuming mind. An unassuming mind which does not, is not attached to the result of what will happen in an engagement. And to see what comes out, to be, allow something

[77:47]

to come out that may not match your expectation. I think about People, when they get together, you know, couples, and they have some expectation, you know, in their lives of what, you know, what they want and, you know, dreams and what will, you know, what can we make and produce and all that. And I think the bottom line is to just engage with each other without any expectations. And then whatever happens, or doesn't happen, you can't go wrong.

[78:54]

And allow whatever is produced to be produced in wonder. And if nothing is produced, this is the bottom line. So I think that's the most important thing. And I see this happening, something happening all around me, so that's why I'm saying this. But that way you're not attached to future things or prosperity or babies or, you know, just engage with the person that you're engaged with for that reason alone. That's enough. And then whatever happens will be okay, be part of that.

[80:05]

But if you have too many expectations, then pretty soon you start blaming each other You get attached to your desires. You start blaming each other for not producing what you want. You have a terrible time. So, I think that's probably enough for now, since it's 9 o'clock. Excuse me, I was just thinking at the beginning of this announcement that tomorrow morning we're going to have a shosan, not a chosan, show some of the desk, which is a question and answer with the other period.

[81:19]

So five minutes after study, they will be a 10 minute signal. I can't remember if it's on the German to that show, but please come to the Zendo and I'll explain the forms here. And between now and that time, And so I want to keep it, the interactions very short, so that it's not able to make one more example. Thank you. Well, 40 people, that's a lot of people for Shosan. So, ask a question and then...

[81:57]

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