Alan said he fixed this. Too well? It's okay. Yesterday I spoke about Dogen's Zazengi, Dogen's Zazen instruction. So, in order to encourage our sasheen practice, and Dogen says that zazen is not one of the concentration practices.

[01:32]

in Buddhism, simply the gate of ease and bliss. But Zazen of course includes the various concentration practices And as you know, in Buddhist practice there are the 37 factors, the 37 practices, meditation practices, the 37 practices which lead to enlightenment. and then they're broken down into the fives and the fours and the sevens and so forth.

[02:45]

And so today I'm going to talk about the seven limbs of enlightenment, or the seven limbs associated with enlightenment as they apply to zazen in our practice. basic Buddhist understanding practice, and they include mindfulness, investigation of mental factors, energy or effort, and mindfulness. I said mindfulness, right? Mindfulness, investigation of mental factors, energy, joy, settled mind or calmness, and equanimity.

[03:50]

I may have left one out. I did say effort. Effort, energy, anyway. Tranquility. But tranquility is ease, associated with ease. Anyway, I'm not good at remembering things. Oh, concentration. I'm not so good at concentration. So mindfulness and concentration. Okay. Dogen also talks about, he has a fascicle in Shobogenzo where he has a comment on each of the 37.

[05:07]

And a very interesting commentary, but it's more of a Dogenese commentary, and I would suggest that you study it sometime. So, the first one is mindfulness. You know, we say that, Dogen says, that enlightenment arises through practice. When practice is present, enlightenment is present. And so enlightenment arises through practice, as practice, and they're really inseparable, practice and enlightenment. So even though we don't realize In our enlightenment, enlightenment is there.

[06:09]

So some of the ways that you can realize enlightenment is by looking at some of these factors and practicing with the awareness of these factors. So the first one being mindfulness. We all know that mindfulness is a very important aspect of Buddhism, collecting the mind. Also, mindfulness is associated with awakening, to stay awake. When we practice zazen, the critical factor is to stay awake. And staying awake doesn't simply mean to stop sleeping. Sleeping is one of the problems we have in satsang, especially on hot days. Yesterday you were probably having a little trouble staying awake, but it means waking up from the dream.

[07:22]

We're always continuously immersed in our dream, which is not the same as reality, ultimate reality. So in zazen we're continuously waking up from our dream, even though we're not sleeping, we wake up from our dream because we dream. the dream of what we're doing. The idea we have about what we're doing is our dream. So to be able to wake up without having any discursive or dualistic thinking. So there comes a point in zazen where there's no thinking about anything in particular Even though the thoughts are kind of going by, we're not thinking the thoughts.

[08:30]

There's a book called Thoughts Without a Thinker. Well, we're not thinking the thoughts. The thoughts are just thinking. The thoughts are just arising and going by, but there's no one thinking the thoughts. This is awakening, waking up. And you see that the thoughts or seeing sees. There's no one seeing either. Seeing sees that the thoughts are arising and ceasing. Just to be able to have bare attention on the arising and sustaining and ceasing of thought patterns is awareness, mindfulness.

[09:38]

Unmindfulness is to be involved with the thoughts, to get caught up with the thoughts. and to associate, I am thinking these thoughts. So to continually wake up, because we wake up and then we go back into the dream, and then we wake up and we go back into the dream, and we do this constantly. In the Southeast Asian tradition, meditation is called the practice of recollection, and recollection means always returning, returning to clarity,

[10:43]

and definitely applies to zazen. Over and over returning from the dream to clarity, to a clear mind. The mind which is open and has no self at the bottom of it. So self arises with our attachment and our clinging and our grasping. So to be able to let go is non-attachment. And then the mind is always clear and responding. To not be attached and to not cling does not mean to not respond. the mind responds spontaneously to things when there's no clinging or grasping or attachment, but in a wholesome way.

[12:15]

So mindfulness, is present in every wholesome state of mind. It's kind of like the salt that you put on all your food, I mean if you like salt, because nowadays people have high blood pressure, but basically it's like It's like the common factor in all wholesome states of mind and necessary to be there. Mindfulness is associated with clear comprehension. of what it is that you're doing, then mindfulness is there.

[13:28]

And mindfulness helps to bring about clear comprehension, minding mind, taking care of the mind. So mindfulness and clear comprehension is like the clarity of mind which helps you to focus and gives you direction, actually. So it's always waking up. Mindfulness means always waking up. It's the tender of the mind. I can't remember the name of this master, but this wonderful poem about the ox, the white I lived on Mount Esan for 30 years. I ate Esan's rice and I shit Esan's shit.

[14:31]

And all I did was tend a buffalo, a white buffalo. And when he ran away, and when he trampled over people's flowers, I pulled him back. ran away and did bad things, I would whip him, you know, and pull him into line. But now he just stays right in front of me, you know, and I can't, and even if I push him away, he won't leave. This is mindfulness. Always tending to, bringing the ox back over and over again until the ox is finally trained. And then there's investigation of mental objects, investigating what goes on in your mind, to be aware of what comes up in your mind all the time, being aware of states of mind.

[15:54]

this is a wholesome state of mind, this is an unwholesome state of mind, this is a neutral state of mind, to know that, to know what is, and to just be able to see the states of mind without necessarily noticing whether they're good, bad, or indifferent. They are wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral states of mind, and those are the three categories. But just to notice states of mind without designating them as wholesome, unwholesome, or neutral, just to notice as they come up, to not ignore them, to know what is in the mind at all times. is important. And this is also associated with taking care of yourself.

[17:00]

It's associated with being aware of whether your clothes are clean or dirty because whether your clothes are clean or dirty, whether your space is orderly or disorderly, because your space and your clothes and the way you conduct yourself is indicative of your state of mind. So when you are aware of what you're wearing, how you're taking care of it, how you're taking care of your space, how you're taking care of your relationships with things and with people, You have awareness of your state of mind, so state of mind is associated with your actions and you can study your states of mind through how you take care of things.

[18:12]

As a Zen student, your practice really is taking care of your space and what belongs to you, so to speak. Of course, nothing belongs to us, and we have to actually realize that whatever comes our way is something that we have to take care of, because it doesn't belong to us and we have to be more careful about things because they don't belong to us. If something belongs to you, you can treat it any way you want, but if things don't belong to you, you have to be very careful how you treat them because they don't belong to you and they're in your care. Everything that we have actually is in our care. Suzuki Roshi used to say, �These are my glasses. They don't belong to me, but thanks for letting me wear them. I need to wear them."

[19:24]

And Akinroshi says, this is not my typewriter, but I will keep it because I really need it to work with. And so even if you want to take it from me, you can't have it. Something like that. So, you know, in our formal practice, formal practice helps us to keep mindful of our states of mind and helps us to investigate our states of mind. because immediately we know when we're on or when we're off, when we're being lax, and when we're being attentive, we get feedback right away.

[20:41]

a Japanese monastery, a place like Eiheiji, the monks all live in a zendo and their home is a tatami mat next to two other people's tatami mats. So the monks sleep in a certain position so as they don't disturb each other and they have a little locker for their clothes and their whole life their home life takes place in the Soto, so they have to be very careful and mindful about the way they relate and the way they take care of everything. And so Dogen has you wash your face, how you carry your towel, and how you conduct yourself so that you create a harmonious situation between all the people you live with in one room and your little three-by-six space.

[22:16]

So the third one, third factor of enlightenment is energy or effort. Sometimes I like to call it enthusiastic effort. In order to practice and feel good about your practice, there has to be enthusiasm. But when we first start to practice, We have a lot of enthusiasm, we have inspiration, which stimulates our enthusiasm, but inspiration isn't always the same, and enthusiasm waxes and wanes, so the necessary factor is determination, actually, and determination which does not depend on enthusiasm or inspiration, but simply motivates us to continue no matter how we're feeling.

[23:47]

It's important to be motivated, to motivate yourself to practice no matter how you're feeling, because you know that practice is what you want to do. But sometimes you're feeling a weak motivation. And sometimes you wonder, what am I doing? Or why am I doing this? Or maybe I should be doing something else. Or this is too hard. Or all these other things to do. Why am I doing this? the specter of doubt arises in your mind, especially during like the third day of Sashin. Why am I doing this when there are so many other things to do? Yesterday, you know, everybody had their clothes off. They were at the beach. We were sitting in the zendo, sweating it out.

[24:54]

But, our energy is aroused. Actually, difficulty, when we meet this kind of difficulty, if you have good practice, then it arouses your energy. There may be some conflict, you know, but conflict means a little fight. and fight, and when you fight, your energy is aroused. So, conflict's not so bad, because it can arouse your energy. And energy can arouse your enthusiasm. And then, you know, sometimes it's very important to have downside. It's important to have confusion.

[25:58]

And it's important to have doubt because low points and high points alternate. And if you're always going like this, it's OK. But the roller coaster is like, goes down, you know, and then it goes up. So when you have a really difficult time and you feel like you're just going to crash, it's good to get down to the bottom because then it goes back up again and it has all this wonderful energy going back up. So up and down is fine, you know, and we should be able to appreciate the downside will soon be the upside with renewed understanding and renewed energy.

[27:06]

When you come to an impasse, that's always a good point because it means that something has to be figured out, something you have to get to another step and you can't get to that step, that's why you have the impasse. So instead of quitting because you have the impasse, you should see that impasse through, the confusion or the doubt, you see it through and then it unlocks something and then you have a new stage in your practice. So to have that impasse is really important, it's like a knot. And to untie that knot or to cut through that knot is an important stage in practice. So the fourth factor is joy, enjoyment.

[28:20]

And enjoyment comes through success. When you're successful, you feel enjoyment. It doesn't matter what you're doing in a way. Even if you're doing something that you may think is not such an important thing or kind of boring or whatever, but when you're successful, you feel good about it, you feel joyful. So when we have success in our practice then joy arises. So success is very important. There are various kinds of joy. There's rapture, which the sutras like to talk about. They like to use the word, at least the Translation is rapture. Suzuki Roshi kind of always warned us against rapture. He said, don't get too excited about your enjoyment. It's true there are certain emotions and factors which should be present but should not be exaggerated.

[29:37]

You know, I remember in the old days, I don't know why it doesn't happen anymore, but when we first started to sit Sashin, it was such an extreme sensation, you know, such an extreme thing that us novices would be sitting there and some little thing would happen and then somebody would start giggling and then when they would start giggling, somebody else would start giggling. And pretty soon we just had this uncontrollable giggling and we couldn't stop it, you know, because the pressure built up, you know, after the sixth day or something, the pressure built up and we just couldn't stop giggling or laughing. It was kind of uncontrollable and it was nothing, you know, just our built-up pressure being leaking with the sound of giggling. So we should enjoy our practice and if the joy is not there then there's something, it's hard to continue, hard to continue without joyful practice.

[31:00]

And I think for a Zen student who has been practicing for a long time, joy is not something that comes through good circumstances. There are various levels of joy. having nice things happen. But the deeper joy runs through all of your practice. And whether you're feeling good or not feeling good, still that joy is consistently a consistent thread throughout your life and throughout your practice, no matter how things are going on the surface.

[32:10]

So it's like this underground stream that's very pure and clean and not contaminated by circumstances. So that's a very deep joy of enlightened mind. And then the fifth one is calmness, or serenity and tranquility. It's called by various names. Serenity is like the sky at sunset. a beautiful sky at sunset, and tranquility is like the ocean without any ripples or waves.

[33:21]

Suzuki Roshi used to talk about calmness of mind all the time. You should have a calm mind, keep your mind calm, not let it get excited by things. to keep a calm and balanced state of mind all the time. So when you have an excess of enjoyment, to not put a damper on it, but to remain calm within that enjoyment so you don't jump overboard. because you're so happy, and when you're having a very difficult time to remain in the calmness of your mind. So calmness of mind is to have a very deep, deep feeling, to be connected in a very deep way to

[34:29]

Not, and it also means to be circumspect. When your mind is calm, you can see things very clearly. Very clearly. When the mind is agitated, you only see things in a broken up way. So when the mind is calm, you can see the whole ocean. You can look down, you can see the whole ocean very clearly. So tsa-tsen is calming the mind, right? And tsa-shin is to sit very, very still. The secret of tsa-shin is to be as still as possible and all the dross of the mind settles down and then the mind becomes very clear. And when the mind is very clear, you can see the little fish down at the bottom, moving this way and that way.

[35:42]

Or the mind is like a big sky, and then the bird flies across the sky, and you realize, oh, this is calm mind. Unless the bird flies across the sky, you don't see the sky. So it's important to have, within the calmness of your mind, to have the activity as well. If your mind, if there's only calmness, that's not really calm mind. Calm mind is the mind that remains calm even when the whole school of fish flies through it. Calm mind is always there, no matter what's happening. So to remain in calmness doesn't mean to not have anything going on in the mind.

[36:51]

It's easy, you know, to remain calm when there's nothing happening. But that's not real calmness. That's hothouse calmness. Hothouse flower calmness. But real calmness is cultivated in the midst of the busy activity. So, even when you're sitting in the zendo, in the midst of the busy activity of your mind, you remain calm. You don't get excited. This is the busiest, this midst of the zendo is the busiest place in the world because it's all here. So calmness also leads to insight, you know.

[38:03]

what's called insight, calmness and insight. Stilling the mind. Samatha and vipassana. These are the two aspects of meditation. Samatha and vipassana. Calming the mind and seeing into the mind. So when the mind is calm then it's easy to see down to the bottom. And the sixth one is concentration. Concentration is also a necessary factor in all states of mind, all wholesome states of mind. it's the opposite of scatteredness, right?

[39:08]

So the mind always has this tendency to become scattered and to be seduced, easily seduced, seduced by all of our feelings, seduced by lust, seduced by anger, seduced by all kinds of desires, seduced by all kinds of delusions, and concentration is to stay focused. So the effort to stay focused and to not let the mind wander is an enlightened practice. Don't let the mind get away from you.

[40:17]

And so, concentration and mindfulness really are associated with each other. They're two aspects of the same thing. Mindfulness is the awareness, and concentration is to nail something down. Concentration is to wake up. I mean, mindfulness is to wake up, and concentration is to stay there. So, over and over. But concentration, is just one of the factors. If there's too much concentration, actually concentration can lead to indolence, strangely enough.

[41:19]

Concentration can lead to indolence. That's why energy is important as a balancing factor for concentration. Effort is a balancing factor for concentration. If you've ever smoked pot, you might remember that it's easy to get into a concentrated state of mind, you know, it's like very concentrated, but there's no It's an indolent concentration, so it's one of the problems with concentration, but all of these factors tend to balance each other, they're all needed. There's called the five controlling

[42:25]

and the five powers which are the same thing, but faith, mindfulness, effort, concentration and wisdom. And these controlling powers control each other. They are balancing. powers that are necessary so that none of these factors gets out of control or dominates. Because when one of them dominates, then the others become weak. So how to harmonize all these factors is really the practice. But I'll talk about that if I have time. So the last one, of course, is equanimity, number seven. Equanimity is the staying balanced, is the balanced state of mind where you're neither grasping nor rejecting.

[43:44]

And the basis is impartiality. You're not partial to, you're not seeing things in a partial way, but because you have a whole view you can see things clearly and so you don't become partial to one side or another. You don't become partial to enjoyment and you don't become partial to what you don't enjoy. Just to be able to accept everything equally is equanimity, equanimity. And that's the necessary factor for zazen, is to accept everything equally. with equanimity, when pleasure comes to just accept it as pleasure, when pain comes to just accept it as pain, without getting upset or thrown off, actually, pushed off your place by anything.

[45:19]

This is my seat. It's like Suzuki Roshi says, the fish, He's not trying to eat anything. He's just swimming around in the water going... And suddenly he comes... So, whatever comes is just what you eat, that's all. If it's something small, you eat something small. If it's something big, you eat something big. If it's tasty, you like it. If it's not so tasty, you may not like it, but you eat it anyway. So, not grasping onto something that you like, not

[46:26]

pushing away something that you don't like, but just being totally flexible. It's important to have this flexibility. Soft mind, flexible body, and open and impartial. It's like the grass and the wind. Or like seaweed in the water. It's wonderful to watch seaweed in the water, the way it ebbs and flows with the tide when the water's coming into the beach. You see the seaweed go, with the movement of the water. That's zazen. Seaweed is doing zazen with the water. The water is doing zazen with the seaweed. Everything is doing zazen.

[47:29]

Actually, that's what we're doing. We're just doing zazen with everything. So, these are the so-called seven factors of enlightenment. And there are points that we should be aware of in our zazen. Mindfulness, investigating states of mind, awareness of states of mind, energy, calmness, joy, calmness, concentration, and equanimity. The value went up.

[48:33]

What? No, that's not. That's one of the five controlling factors. Do you have any questions? I don't have my watch. Well, how do you take advantage of the rollercoaster, and I can see how that can be a very good teacher, and at the same time remain neutral and impartial and like seaweed? I mean, seaweed doesn't go on a rollercoaster. But the rollercoaster goes like seaweed. It just follows the tracks. It's a different kind of movement. Well, yes, but you can take an analogy too far. Well, that's why I think what you've done is take it too far to say the roller coaster is like seaweed. No. Well, yeah, that's why they did take it too far. But you know what I mean? Well, I know what you mean. See? You're taking the finger for the moon.

[49:48]

The finger's just pointing at something. But if you look at the finger, that won't work. You have to read between the lines. You know, what goes down will come back up. But you have to follow it all the way down. Don't get off. Don't jump out of the roller coaster on the way down. Follow that all the way down. But that doesn't sound impassioned. Doesn't? Well, partiality would be to jump out of the roller coaster. That would be a choice.

[51:02]

Choosing to do something else. That's partiality. Yeah, that's partiality, jumping out. Impartiality, although it doesn't apply here, would be to Stay with the thing. Just stay with it. Just stay with the thing. Stay with the vehicle. Rather than make some personal choice. Could you say something about investigation in zazen and how much of our ...?

[52:06]

Yeah. Well, zazen is not analysis, so when you talk about investigation, that's a word that's there in the text, right? So, actually we don't practice investigation in the same way that you would in vipassana, by analyzing. But investigation, since that's the term, I just use the term, but it's more like awareness of mental states and just Like in Zazen, we let the thought come and we know what that thought is and then we let it go, but we don't say, now this is a thought of blah blah, and that comes from or the basis of, we just don't bother with that, we just let the thought come and see it in its entirety without discriminating it.

[53:17]

So it's non-discriminative investigation, I guess you'd call it. I mean, just bare awareness. That actually is what it is, bare awareness. Time, huh?

[53:48]

@Text_v004
@Score_JJ