I hope you can hear me. The stream is pretty loud, so I'll try to do my best. Try to project my voice out to the kitchen [laughs]. 

It really feels good to be in Tassajara again, and to sit in this new zendo. I see that we have tans now. And more and more feels like a zendo, feels like a cared for practice place. This zendo room - zazen room - is a very special room. It's interesting that we have this very special room called the zazen room where we just do zazen, just do this one activity, one thing. And in this room, our special activity of zazen is taken care of very meticulously, very carefully. And of all the things that we do in our life, our practice - this zazen - in this room, is the thing that we really take care of; and most articulately.

So it seems like very special practice to us, and when we sit everything, all of our bodies and minds, become unified, become one. And for us, we call this unification realization. This is our starting point. Every morning we get up and come to the zendo and unify our body and mind, taking away all barriers. And it becomes our starting point. Zero point. And from this point we take a step out into the world, and this process of unificiation and stepping out into the world - one step and then another step - that unification of no boundaries and then again entering into boundary, entering into world of boundaries, is part of our practice. Dogen Zenji calls it genjokoan. We call it Buddhist practice, Zen practice. 

Sekito Kisen, in Sandokai, describes it as "in the dark all is one", "in the darkness everything is one" - everything is unified. And in the light everything is described in its individuality. So our zazen, this starting point, is darkness - not dark in color, not dark color, not black, but without boundaries. Everything is merged. Everything exists as one thing in that darkness. And when we take a step out of that darkness into light, this is called revealing everything in the light. Everything is revealed in the light. So these two sides of practice, two sides of our life, go together. 

This kind of definition is most basic, the most basic kind of religious practice. For us we feel very fortunate to have the most basic kind of religious practice. Practice which is based on our experience. Religious practice that is based on our own effort and experience. I think why, the reason why, most people - most Americans, most of us - come to practice, this kind of practice, is because of its truthful simplicity. In this room, in this zendo, I'm sure that there are people from almost every kind of cultural and religious background. And yet every person in here can meet in this space and every person in here can meet and feel unified in this space. 

Why I started to practice zazen was for this reason. It became obvious to me at once that zazen is universal practice, universal religious practice that everyone can enter into. Even though zazen is Buddhist practice - so-called Buddhist practice, part of Buddhist practice - big question is, Do you have to be Buddhist to practice this unification of mind and body with everyone?

I'm a Buddhist priest, and I practice this practice of zazen. I feel I have lots of faith in this practice of zazen, but I don't have to be Buddhist priest. Why I can be a Buddhist priest is because I feel I don't have to be a Buddhist priest. Because I don't have to be Buddhist, I can be a Buddhist. 

Why I feel very strongly about zazen is because I really feel that zazen is a universal way. I think that the world needs some universal way, not that everyone has to do some one thing, but everyone can enter into this leveling, into this most fundamental existence practice.

I think that Tassajara's guest season is very valuable for people. Very valuable way for people to enter into this one mind practice. Sometimes people come and ask me: If I'm a Christian or if I'm Jewish or something, some other religion, do I have to give up my religion in order to practice this way? How can you practice Buddhist way without being Buddhist? Or how can you practice this Buddhist way while you still adhere to some other religion or practice? This is a big question - if everyone has to be Buddhist in order to live in truth. I don't know if that would work. 

There's various levels of what we call Zen practice. There's Buddhist Zen, and then there's Zen which is before any kind of religion. Zen which precedes any kind of religious practice, special religious practice. And this Zen which precedes or is before any kind of religious overlay or overtone is a basis of any religious practice; real base of any religious activity. If you feel that you are Christian: What is the Zen of your Christianity. Or if you're Jewish: What is the Zen of your Jewish nature? Where do you find complete unification, complete unity?

When we enter into the zendo, even though we are Buddhist or Christian or Jewish or any religion, once we sit down everything falls away. There is no Buddhist or Christian or Jewish person. There's just sitting. Everything is one, everything together. When we get up again and take a step, we become Christian or Buddhist or Jewish or man or woman. And then we can fight and kick each other, argue with each other. But when we sit it doesn't matter, it doesn't make any difference. There is no difference. 

I feel this zazen is basic religious practice, before religious practice. When we get up from zazen we have service, we bow and we chant sutra, and this is a kind of a Buddhist service. But I don't know if it has to be. 

Somehow we have to make some unity in this world. Maybe the most important thing isn't to make some unity in this world. But I think it is. I feel that the most important thing that we can do is to sit zazen, sit this zazen, practice this zazen, and to encourage people to sit by developing our own character. 

It's interesting when you notice people have their differences when they quarrel, and even Zen students have differences and Zen masters have differences. Someone reminded me that all the Zen masters have trouble getting along with each other. But actually this is just on the surface. When they sit zazen everything disappears. All differences disappear. 

When we take a step, first step out of zazen is most important step. The most important step is our first step out of zazen and then our next step after that. Being careful how we interact in the world of differences. The world of differences is our real practice place. How to keep that mind, zazen mind, in the world of difference. 

[Long silence - sitting zazen?]

In my life, I'm very concerned about, think a lot about people who don't necessarily feel that they're Buddhists specifically. They practice just like everyone else, but they don't necessarily have a feeling that they're Buddhist. When I was studying with Suzuki Roshi even though he asked me to be ordained as a priest, he never talked to me about being a Buddhist. And he always encouraged people to keep their own religious practice. Not to give up their religion to be Buddhist. But to just practice freely. I feel that he had a very generous heart, big heart. Even so was not interested in some other religious practice. And he felt that he was a Buddhist through and through. But not just from the outside. Because he found his true heart, true mind, he could have that kind of generosity, and that kind of broad opens. And he was not worried. 

If we know, if we have our own confidence in our own way, in our own [audio breaks up] standpoint, we can really learn to appreciate our own roots and the roots of others. I really feel it's important for everyone to appreciate their own roots, and to find the essence of those roots. So many people, it seems like, leave their own background or religious practice of their own background, to seek something. If you really find the truth of zazen practice you can appreciate your own roots, your own background. 

I always encourage people to go look at their own background, to rediscover their own background, and to make peace with that. And then continue however you need to continue. I think that most people, most young people, leave their own religious practice because of misunderstanding, because they misunderstand its true meaning. 

If we look back and assess the true meaning, penetrate to the truth of Christianity, or the truth of Judaism, you can appreciate what they really are and you can appreciate yourself and your ancestors. 

Lots of Buddhist priests come to America and they say we have religion already, Why do you want to study Buddhism? I've had many Japanese priests say this to me. You already have religion here, why do you want to study Buddhism? They try to find out or understand why Americans want to study Buddhism, or Zen, when they already have great religions, great religious traditions. And that's still an open question. I know why I do. Lots of us know why we do. But we don't always know the truth about the religious background that we come from. 

Anyway, when we sit zazen we don't have to call ourself anything. This is already a wonderful place to be. Then when we proceed from zazen, we can enjoy everything. If we just maintain our freedom we can really enjoy and appreciate everything. If we just maintain our freedom. 

Anyway, I feel that the most necessary thing for us is to practice ourself, maintain our own determination, and if our practice is indeed practice of truth we won't have to worry about anything. If our practice is really practice of truth, just our practice alone will touch people without having to proselytize or advertise or convince. So everything really depends on our own attitude and our own real conviction. And our own willingness to drop everything.

This is my feeling. 

Student A [Faintly]: Do you want to take any questions or anything?

Sojun: Does anyone have question or comment?

Student B: Is there any [unclear] value in receiving the precepts [unclear]. Does that make a person a Buddhist? Or does that help in any way with zazen practice? Have any effect on zazen practice?

Sojun: We have to ask ourself in this case, what is a Buddhist? What actually is Buddhism? This is always the question. What is the essence of Buddhism? What is the essence of precepts? Does precepts mean just some rules of behavior? And if so, what is behavior?

Buddhism, I think that Buddhism is the practice of truth. If it's not practice of truth we should practice something else. If Buddhism is not just the practice of truth, or practice of reality, then we should stop it and do something else. But if it's just to assume some role, just to assume some kind of role, social role, or something, that's not enough. Or if it's just to get some place in the world, it's not enough.

So precepts, reason of precepts is to help us to practice, practice of reality and truth. And we have to discover what that is. We have to discover it ourself. And precepts is initiation into discovery of truth. Precepts is just like zazen. It's like starting at the beginning. After you receive precepts you're enlightened [laughs]. We are in realization; as soon as you take precepts you have realization. But you have to go out and actualize that realization. After you have precepts you're just as wrong as you were a moment before, but you actually have realization - that's what precepts is. Now you have entered into realization, but you don't feel any different. It means that you have to, from now on, actualize yourself in truth. It's just practice of truth. We call it Buddhism.

Buddhism can be something else. So we have to be careful. But we're always in the line of actuality. Buddhism itself can be corrupt, or what we call Buddhism can be misleading something. We have to be able to see straight. From time to time there's a patriarch or a reformer who comes along and says, This is it. Dogen was like that. Dogen, in his time, was not satisfied with the Buddhism of his time. So he searched out to find the true way, truth of Buddhism. What's the real truth of Buddhism? What's the reality? And that was his determined effort. So we take our practice from Dogen's discovery, or Dogen's point of departure. Looking for truth. Not satisfied just with Buddhism. That's my feeling about your question. What do you feel?

[Student B: Same thing. ?]

Sojun: Anybody have a question?

Thank you very much.