This morning I want to comment on case number three in the Blue Cliff Record. This case is called Baso's Sun-Faced Buddha, Moon-Faced Buddha. If you have been studying Zen for a while, you probably are somewhat familiar with this case. This is one of Suzuki Roshi's favorite cases, and he used to talk about it quite a bit. Baso is Matsu in Chinese, and Matsu was a disciple of Nangako Eijo, who was a disciple of Huineng, the sixth ancestor. So this is pretty early in the succession of ancestors in China.

[01:12]

But Baso, or in Japanese, Baso is Japanese and Matsu is Chinese, a way of calling his name. And he lived from 704 to 788, I think. One of the most prominent Zen masters in the Tang Dynasty in China. So I'm going to read the introduction by Ngo, and then I'll read the case, and then I'll read the poem. by Setcho. So in Ngo's introduction he says, I'm going to read it and then I'm going to go back over it to talk about it so you have the full picture of what's going on.

[02:16]

In Ngo's introduction he says, each ki and every kyo, these are Japanese terms which I'll explain, Every word and phrase and gesture is a means for the moment of leading students to realization, but every such manipulation is like performing an operation on a healthy body. and will give rise to a complication upon complication. The great way manifests itself naturally. It is limited by no fixed rules, but I must tell you that if you plan to make known that there is an absolute throughout heaven and earth, the search for it will not succeed, attaining or not attaining a small matter.

[03:19]

not attaining or attaining a very critical matter. This can be right and that can also be right. It is so delicate. This cannot be right and that also cannot be right. An unapproachable cliff face. How could you manage without stumbling here or there? studied the following, the main subject. The great master Baso was seriously ill. The chief priest of the temple came to pay his respects. He asked, how do you feel these days? The master said, sun-faced Buddha, moon-faced Buddha. And then Setso has a verse. He says, sun-faced Buddha, moon-faced Buddha. Compared with them, how pale the three sacred sovereigns and the five ancestral emperors. For 20 years, I have had fierce struggles descending into the dragon's cave.

[04:25]

The hardship defies description. You clear-eyed Zen students, don't make light of it. So in the introduction, Engo says, each ki and every kyo, every word, every gesture, every phrase, is a means for the moment of leading students to realization. Ki, you know, is means like function or vitality or dynamic. action. We use the term Zenki. It's the key of Zenki, meaning undivided activity or great dynamic activity of the universe, which functions as you raising your eyebrows

[05:41]

and scratching your nose. But it also means, Zenki means Zen spirit. When we talk about Zen spirit, we mean Zenki. That scratching your nose, raising your eyebrows, is the great activity of the universe, not just your ego. The whole universe is involved in every breath. This is Zenki. And to understand this, to have this realization, is enlightenment. And it's the great activity of birth and the great activity of death.

[06:50]

And it transcends both birth and death. And kyo is like a gesture which is filled with ki. Ki also is a word that's used for breath. Ki means breath and breath means vitality or great function of the universe. And it also means this place in your body. just below the navel is called the Qi, where your vital energy is. We tend to be stuck up here in our head, but I sense students should be stuck down here, not stuck anywhere, but always grounded here in the Qi.

[08:05]

And it's sometimes called the Sea of Qi. the great ocean of vitality. So in Zazen, this is where our attention manifests. And this is where our vitality comes forth. And this vitality relates to mental activity. It relates to emotional activity. and to all of the functions of our body. But to have realization through the thinking mind is rare, but to have realization through ki is most important. So in the introduction, he says, each ki and every kyo, every word, every gesture and phrase is a means for the moment of leading students to realization.

[09:28]

So what he's referring to here is the various devices that teachers have of startling their students. into realization, like Gutei's lifting his finger. When Gutei lifted his finger, whenever anyone would ask him a question, he would just go like this. I don't want to tell you the whole story, but this means right here is the whole universe in this finger. When I raise this finger, it's not just I'm raising a finger, this is the great dynamic function of the universe. Total dynamic working of the universe. There's nothing more that needs to be said. If you truly understand this, you truly understand yourself completely.

[10:38]

So another gesture is raising the fist, or giving Rinzai's shout, or Tokusan's big stick, 30 blows if you are right and 30 blows if you're wrong. So these are the devices he's talking about. These are kyo, right? the kyo is the finger, or the fist, or the shout, or the stick, which convey the ki. The ki is in the kyo. So he says, each ki and every kyo, every word, gesture or phrase, is a means, for the moment, of leading students to realization. But, every such manipulation is like performing an operation on a healthy body.

[11:50]

The literal meaning, the literal way it's stated is, it's like gouging out flesh in a healthy body. Like an unnecessary operation. So, every such manipulation is like performing an operation on a healthy body and will give rise to complication upon complication. So, it sounds like he's saying that this shouldn't happen, but that's not what he's saying. He's saying, if you imitate these gestures, it's just an act. You're just putting on an act. Actually, the teacher's way of teaching is spontaneous, and not necessarily premeditated, and does not have a method. If you run into a teacher that has a method, you may not be such a good teacher, because if you rely on a method,

[13:01]

a school for Zen students. You know, every once in a while at Zen Center there comes up this idea that, at Zen Center in San Francisco, there comes up this idea that we should have a curriculum. And then after so many years you are on this level and you study for so many years, it's just like going to college. And then you turn out little Zen students, like cookie cutter Zen students. But as soon as you start doing that, all is lost. Teaching Zen and studying Zen is like almost amorphous. It has to do with understanding and feeling and non-verbal communication. and sensitivity, and knowing where the teacher, knowing where the student is.

[14:15]

And this can take years and years. Some student can progress very rapidly without knowing anything, without really knowing the fundamental thing. So the main thing is to know the fundamental thing, which may take all your life. to create some kind of curriculum or put it into a box and use methods is totally off. So that's kind of what he's saying. Even though those gestures worked for those certain teachers, you shouldn't adopt those methods. You have to find your own way. The teacher has to find his own way of dealing with students. So every teacher is different and if you have some idea about what a teacher is supposed to be like and then you try to match up the teachers with your idea of what the teacher is supposed to be like, you'll never find a teacher because the teacher just exists in your head.

[15:29]

So there has to be some visceral communication, some visceral contact and then you know. So he says, If you do that, you just give rise to complication upon complication. The great way manifests itself naturally. The great way has several meanings. The great way also means the great use. It also means function. the universe and its function.

[16:43]

And its function is Zenki. So when he says the great way, it means how it unfolds in your life, or how it unfolds as your life. how the great way of the universe unfolds as your life in an intimate way. Buddha nature unfolds as the most intimate part of you. It's not some idea out there called Buddha nature. It's simply a term for the way the universe expresses itself as you. So we're very fortunate that the universe is expressing itself as you and me, but we don't always appreciate that or experience it that way. We see ourself as isolated and I am the subject and you are the object.

[17:51]

But the same Buddha nature, the same nature is expressing itself as all of us. And at the bottom, we're all just one being. Kind of like these beautiful mushrooms that come with a big stem, but they have all these little heads on them, you know? When I look at those, I think of all these little individual mushroom heads as little people attached to the root. So he says, the great way manifests itself naturally. It is not limited by any fixed rules. You can't put it in a box and say this is the way it works.

[18:55]

But I must tell you that I have to I don't like this translation, so I have another one. If you plan to make known that there is an absolute throughout heaven and earth, the search for it will not succeed. In other words, no matter how much you try to grasp the absolute, you'll never get it in its entirety by studying it. You study this, and you study that. The elephant is huge. And you may be studying the toe or the nose, and you think you've got it figured out, but pretty hard to figure out completely. So he says, if you plan to make known that there is an absolute throughout heaven and earth, the search for it will not succeed.

[19:59]

So attainment or not, whether you succeed or not, whether you attain to it or not, it's a small matter. What difference does it make whether you attain to it or not? Not attaining to it or attaining to it is a very vital matter, and it really does make a difference. So which way will you go? You can go either way. You can either say, What difference does it make whether I have this understanding or not? I still eat. I still sleep. The world keeps going on. I keep going along with it. So what? Or I really need to have some understanding. It's vitally important to have some attainment or realization. So, there's this kind of dilemma.

[21:02]

Do we or don't we? Which way do you go? So, this can be right, and that can also be right, either way. It is so delicate. This cannot be right, and that also cannot be right. an unapproachable cliff face. How could you manage without stumbling here or there? Right? So, there's always some confusion. Also here, it's like, within this confusion, does it matter? It doesn't really matter, or yes, it does matter, is where do you find your practice?

[22:04]

Where is your practice in? Does it matter or does it not matter? Your practice is right in the middle. If you seek it, you stumble past, because it's not something you can grasp. And if you don't seek it, you remain in ignorance. So this is the koan, big koan, and it's another koan, but ordinary mind is the way, you know that koan? Ordinary mind is the way. Should I seek after it or not? Well, if you seek after it, you stumble back past it, and if you don't seek after it, nothing will happen. So do I seek or not seek? What do I do? So this brings us to the great main subject.

[23:16]

The great master Baso was seriously ill. This is his, actually he died the day after. the chief priest of the temple came to pay his respects. Some people say that it's not the chief priest but the financial officer and he was kind of worried that, well some people say he was worried And then someone else said, no, he was worried about whether when Baso died there'd be enough draught to bring other students to the temple. Anyway, that's all speculation. It could be anybody, right? I don't know why they bring this up like that, but the great master Baso was seriously ill, and the chief priest of the temple came by to pay his respects.

[24:19]

Sounds logical. He asked, how are you feeling? now these days sounds very formal how are you feeling now how's it going you know how's your health i mean but you know and uh the master said sun face buddha moon face buddha um sun face buddha and moon face buddha um uh come from a sutra that was popular in china this sutra appeared in China and it had to do with the names of 11,900 and something Buddhas and each one has a name like Wonderful Light Buddha and you know whatever you can think of they each had a name and two of these names were Sun Face Buddha and Moon Face

[25:24]

the sun-faced Buddha lived 1,800 years and the moon-faced Buddha lived a day and a night. So these are the two extremes of longevity, a long life and short life. But Baso used these two his questioner. Up to the end, he's teaching without teaching, actually. He's not saying, I'm going to teach you something. He's simply expressing himself. But it's a great teaching for a student. Sun-faced Buddha, Moon-faced Buddha. If you live 1,800 years, that's considered a long life.

[26:34]

And if you live a day and a night, it's considered a short life. But short life and long life are simply comparative values. As someone says, it's better to live a day and a night with awareness and understanding than to live a hundred years in ignorance. But Baso, you know, what he's saying is, what he's expressing Each moment is total life. Each moment of Baso's life is being totally alive without falling into being a ghost or drifting off into some fantasy land.

[27:51]

or drifting off into delusion, allowing his life to be expressed as Zenki moment by moment. So, Baso's life is not long and it's not short. It's simply moment by moment, living his life moment by moment, thoroughly. Suzuki Roshi used to say, when people would say, what is Zen? He'd say, just living your life little by little. And sometimes he would say, moment by moment. One moment at a time. So, one moment at a time is to thoroughly live each moment as time. Time... Don't waste time means be thoroughly time. when in time, just be time thoroughly.

[28:57]

Just be this moment of time thoroughly. And this is Dogen's understanding of gujin, thoroughness. Dogen's practice is a practice of thoroughness. Don't waste time. Don't be behind time. Don't be ahead of time. Don't get ahead of yourself and don't get behind yourself. Just be right in time on each moment with each activity. So this is called bringing life to life. And life, as Dogen says, when there's the boat and you enter the boat And the boat is not a boat until you enter the boat and take up, raise the sail, take the tiller and move the boat along.

[30:02]

Then you are the boat and the boat is you. And you bring the boat to life, the boat brings you to life. And this is called not wasting time, but bringing the life around you to life and allowing the life around you to bring you to life. So, moon phase Buddha, sun phase Buddha, it doesn't matter whether you live a short time or a long time, as long as you live your life thoroughly and completely. So, there are no long lives or short lives. And then Setso in his verse says, Sun-Faced Buddha, Moon-Faced Buddha, compared with them how pale the three sacred sovereigns and the five ancestral emperors.

[31:12]

This refers to the ancient patriarchs of China, and in the dawn of history in China, there were the three the three sacred sovereigns who set the tone for Chinese civilization. And they lived, you know, a thousand years according to the legend. And then after them, there were the five ancestral emperors who developed the Chinese civilization in antiquity. And they lived a thousand years, something like that. Sencho is saying, compared with the sun-faced Buddha or the moon-faced Buddha, these Chinese emperors can't compare with that. The longevity of these Chinese emperors can't compare with the moon-faced Buddha, Baso.

[32:18]

And then, For 20 years, I have had fierce struggles descending into the Dragon's Cave. Another way to say that is it took me a long time to get here, to get to this place, descending into the Dragon's Cave. Dragon's Cave, you know, The Dragon's Cave is this place where the Mani Jewel resides, the great treasure place. If you want to get that treasure, you have to go into the Dragon's Cave. Also, we say the tiger's cave is another way, another version of that.

[33:33]

If you want the tiger's cub, if you want to get the tiger's cub, you have to go into the tiger's cave and deal with the tiger. Also, Nagarjuna, the ancestor Nagarjuna, The legend has it that in order to get the Prajnaparamita Sutras, of which there are 600 volumes, the teaching of the Prajnaparamita, he had to descend down into the sea, into the dragon's cave under the sea, and then he came up with the sutras. That's kind of, you know, Buddhist fairy tale. But if you want something vital, you have to make some effort and you have to risk something. You have to take some risk. If you want the most, so like, whatever you want, you have to pay for.

[34:38]

You know, sometimes things are advertised as free. You know, you get this free if you buy this, you know, but everything is paid for, you know. The great trick of advertising goods in this country is you get one and then you get another one free, as if you're getting the other one free. It's just that you're paying for both things and don't know it. But everything you pay for, everything you get, you have to pay for it. So you better be careful what you get for free. But if you want the most valuable thing, then you have to pay the price, right? If you want the most valuable thing, you have to pay the price. So if you want the tiger's cub, you have to confront the tiger.

[35:40]

If you want the dragon's jewels, you have to confront the dragon. So if you want realization, you have to confront yourself through practice. And you have to be sincere and make an effort. If you don't make the effort, you don't get anything. Well, then you say, well, what is there to get? That's a good question, because we have the idea of no gaining. So if you want the jewel of no gaining, you have to make a big effort. So Baso has this. He has the jewel of no gaining. But he's saying, in order to have come to that place, I had to make a big effort.

[36:48]

I didn't come to that place just by thinking about it. So he says, for 20 years I have had fierce struggles descending into the dragon's cave. The hardship defies description. You clear-eyed monks, or incense students, don't make light of it. Suzuki Roshi, when he talked about this, he said to his students, he said, although you look forward to the bliss of the teaching, you don't know that you are always in the midst of the teaching. You're looking forward to something, but you don't know that you are already in the midst of it.

[37:52]

So your practice doesn't accord with your teacher's practice. Once you realize Buddha nature, within and without, there is no special way for a student to follow or any specific suggestion for a teacher to give. When there is a problem, there is the way to go. Actually, you continuously go over the great path of the Buddha, of the Buddhas, with your teacher, who is always with you. Negative and positive methods, first or second principle, are nothing but the great activities of such a character. The Buddha nature is quite personal to you and essential to all existence." You know, this is kind of referring to these methods of practice. to realize that you and your teacher and your peers are all in the midst of it.

[39:06]

If you don't believe that you're in the midst of it, you're standing outside. You have to really feel that you are in the midst of the practice. Then whatever you do is practice. If you don't feel that you are in the midst of the practice, then what you're doing is not practice. It's just activity. So what is essential is how to practice without leaning toward attainment or non-attainment. Simply to practice. Simply to be consistent in Zazen. If you don't sit Zazen, then it's pretty hard to realize your practice. So as students, as Zen students, we all sit together.

[40:23]

Sometimes people say, Well, is it okay if I just sit at home? It's okay if you just sit at home. And I can't say whether there's practice or not, but to practice with the saga, together with the saga and the teacher, in silence, the practice is communicated. If you practice with the Sangha and the teacher together, and then sit by yourself as well, that's also practice. That's being in the midst of the practice. But without a practice, it's not practice. So it's kind of like as Nyogen Sensaki once described, the country bumpkin comes to, flies into San Francisco airport and he gets off the plane and he says, well, where's the San Francisco airport?

[41:44]

Or somebody walks into the river and says, well, where's the water? So this practice is called Shikantaza, which means just, when sitting, just sitting, without trying to gain something or trying to make some special, make it something special. Just sitting in Zenki, with Zen spirit, with a total dynamic activity.

[42:53]

Zazen is total dynamic activity, if it's done correctly, sitting in activity, and activity within stillness. Stillness within activity, activity within stillness. Then there's no separation. So Shikantaza is sitting, just sitting, when sitting. Just walking when walking. Just standing when standing. Whatever it is that is the activity is just this. Somebody said, well, what about the future?

[43:56]

What about the past? You know, there's only this moment. That's all there is. I don't care how you cut it. There's only this moment. Now. Moment by moment, it's just now, now, now. Discrete moments of now. The past is observation, which exists now. The future is just speculation, because there is no future. Even though we say tomorrow we'll have pancakes for breakfast, as if you know that's going to happen. But there are no pancakes there. Tomorrow you'll make the pancakes. So if the future existed as the future, as a thing, then it would be determined, and since it's not determined, there's no future.

[45:02]

The future exists in our head as speculation, and as the present keeps unfolding, it's still nothing but the present. The future exists as an idea in the present. And the past also exists as an idea in the present. It's all right here in the present. There are remnants of the past, you know, old buildings and ruins and stuff like that. They all exist in the present. So this is it. This is it. Make the most of this. This is all there ever will be. Your life will change. The circumstances of your life will change, and the feelings will change, and the ideas will change, and the body will change.

[46:08]

But it's all right now. You can think about the future. We make plans for the future, and so forth. This is where our life is right now. So if we miss this moment, this moment is a very precious moment. If you think about your life, this moment is very precious. So how are we living it? So to live your moment, to live this moment right up to the end of moments thoroughly is to live completely without worrying, without too much concern. You need to be concerned,

[47:12]

Not worrying too much. Do you have a question? Well, we worry about the world, and concern for the world. I think it's necessary to worry about the world, but concern and worry are not the same. Worry is a little more than just concern.

[48:17]

And if I say, just be happy, don't worry, that doesn't sound so good. I'm not saying be happy, just don't worry about that which doesn't need to be worried about. Just be happy to be alive. I think that a lot of The problem that we have in our world comes from people who are not happy to be alive. If everyone is happy to be alive, we don't have so much problem in our world. But the unhappy people make life miserable for everyone else. But you can't legislate happiness.

[49:36]

But through practice, we can touch reality. And when we can touch reality, we tend to worry less. We tend to be less worrisome. not so worried about every little thing, and more able to accept and flow with things.

[50:16]

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