This morning, after my talk, Tenshin-san asked me a question. His question was, when these three things started in the history of Soto-shu? On these three things, there is an expression correctly transmitted from Buddha to Buddha, and ancestral teacher to ancestral teacher. There is this kind of, all the Samodas start from this kind of expression, Busso, Shoden, Butsu, Buddha, So, ancestral teacher, Shoden, correctly transmitted.

[01:25]

So the belief of faith in our side, who received those three things, is necessary that through Shakyamuni Buddha and those ancestral teachers, Bodhidharmas, the Buddha Dharma is correctly and without any mistake transmitted to us. We need that kind of faith or belief. So there must be belief or faith that the Buddha Dharma is correctly transmitted. So there must be belief or faith that Buddha's true teaching,

[03:04]

here we call it precept or Dharma, has been transmitted through those teachers to us. If we lack this faith, we cannot live out our life as Buddhists. Most of the Buddhist scriptures started from this expression,

[04:04]

thus I have heard, so there is no such thing, there is nothing written on the paper with letters. So even there is no writing thing, there is nothing written on the paper, but from words to words, or from heart to heart, those teachings are correctly transmitted from generation to generation. So there is a famous phrase, which is the first line of Isshin Kaemon, One Mind Precept, by Bodhidharma.

[05:18]

One Mind Precept is to receive Buddha's teachings, to transmit them, to be aware of them, to receive Buddha's teachings, to transmit them, to be aware of them. To receive is to transmit, to transmit is to be awakened. So it's our big task to enlighten the Buddha's teachings and transmit it correctly.

[06:25]

The Buddha's teachings were transmitted from India to China by Dharma's power. The Buddha's teachings were transmitted from India to China by Dharma's power. The enlightenment which Buddha attained under the Bodhi tree, in this context it is called precept or Dharma.

[07:33]

That's the teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha. Through the Bodhidharma, it is transmitted from India to China. And also from that tradition of Bodhidharma up to six patriarchs, that teaching is transmitted from generation to generation. And that teaching took a form as Okesa or Oryoki. That's the manifested form of Buddha's teachings. If we transmit things, there will always be a fight between people who receive it and people who do not receive it.

[08:51]

It really happened when Enno received the bowl and Okesa from the fifth patriarch, this kind of conflict or fight happened. It is said that after six patriarchs, Enno, the tradition of transmitting Oryoki or Okesa as a sign, as a form of transmitting Buddha Dharma, that tradition disappeared.

[10:10]

After that, instead of Oryoki or Okesa, something written on paper is used as a substitute for Oryoki and Okesa. It is said that way. The Okesa or Oryoki, which we conferred from the teacher, belong to the teacher, not to Buddha Shakyamuni.

[11:17]

We feel in that way. That came from our teacher, not from Buddha Shakyamuni. The essence of the three things is about the Buddha. It is about the Bodhisattva vow and how to transmit the Bodhisattva vow. That is the main theme of the three things. The Bodhisattva precepts.

[12:18]

The Buddha's enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, that everything shares the same and one Buddha nature, or everything is a manifestation of the Buddha. This is the content of the Buddha's enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. This content has been transmitted through form or through heart. There is a word with heart, from heart to heart.

[14:05]

But not only believe that something is transmitted from heart to heart, through something visible, in this case, a Samotsu, which is written in the form. Through something visible, we are assured that something is transmitted. I saw a curved ketchumyaku on the wood at the entrance.

[15:07]

I think using that block, the ketchumyaku is curved. Using that block, many ketchumyaku were made and handed out, conferred to many believers. The content of the Buddha's enlightenment became a sutra. Before it became a sutra, it was transmitted in a verbal form, and it was left as a writing today. In that sense, the content is not superior. There is no superiority. So it varies in terms of how to express his enlightenment.

[16:50]

But there is no discrimination in the value. This is better than that. There is no difference in the importance. When we graduate from school, we receive a certificate or verification that we finished all the curriculum. I am working for a kindergarten, and I give a graduation certificate to the children for three years without a day's rest. The children and parents are very happy. Even for the kindergarten kids, I gave them a certificate

[18:05]

affirming that they come to the kindergarten diligently. Even one day, they were not absent. When parents or children receive this certificate, they are very, very happy. The person who was born close to his temple got a Nobel Prize recently and became very famous. Of course, the people around him were so happy because he got a Nobel Prize.

[19:23]

So the government tried to give him a medal. It is called the Medal for Cultural Contribution. It's a very honorable thing. It's a very honorable medal. But he refused to receive it. But he went to Sweden, to Norway. So he went to get the Nobel Prize. I think it's great if he refuses both. If he receives one, he has to receive another.

[20:40]

But if he doesn't receive one, he has to refuse another one, too. I can't tell this because he lives so close to his place, his temple. So if I say this kind of thing in my place, someone might attack me. So I'm expressing my feeling in the United States here. So it depends on each person how much we value that kind of certificate.

[21:46]

It depends on how much we value it. It's a gift from an important master. If you don't have the feeling of receiving it, you won't get anything. The heart or mind of Buddha Shakyamuni is penetrated into those three things. So that's the background why we value three things so much.

[22:54]

After I gave my initiation to Shakyamuni Buddha, I said, I am the 90th generation of Buddha. You are the 91st generation of Buddha. I always said that. The former abbot of Eiheiji, Niwa Renpo Zenji, who passed away recently, he used to do this. After he conferred Kechi Myaku to the people, he often said, I am the 89th generation from the Buddha, and you are 90th generation of the Buddha.

[24:11]

He is 89th, and you are, those people who received Kechi Myaku from Niwa Zenji, you are the 90th generation from the Buddha. He used to say, he often talked like this. Kechi Myaku has, in Kechi Myaku, there is one circle above the Buddha Shakyamuni's name. That implies that this kind of connection between Buddha Shakyamuni and us.

[25:14]

Not only this Kechi Myaku, but also the fact that we are all connected to Buddha Shakyamuni, we have been doing this for a long time. Even if it is twisted, we are all connected. Buddha and we are one. We have been repeating this over and over again, and it is also shown in the Sanbutsu Hiben. Connecting us with Shakyamuni Buddha. They are telling us that we are one with Buddha.

[26:32]

And also in this text, Sanbutsu Hiben, the author Banjin Dōdan repeats many times about this kind of connectedness between us and Buddha Shakyamuni. Many people write about this, so there is a lot of confusion. There is no printing or wood board. Before that, everyone wrote about this. So there is a lot of confusion. Also, if it is to receive, it is better to choose this master than this one. So there is a way to choose a master. The reason why Banjin Dōdan wrote Sanbutsu Hiben was,

[27:48]

because in those days, there was no copy machine or printing technology. People copied by handwriting, so it resulted in many varieties of the Sanbutsu. And also, there are some people who select the teacher, because if they receive a Sanbutsu, I want to receive those things from this teacher, not that teacher. Because maybe he is famous or more powerful or something like that. So people start selecting teachers from whom they receive Sanbutsu. So there is confusion and disturbance. So Banjin Dōdan wanted to correct this kind of situation.

[28:51]

He also emphasized that when we receive the precept, it is not just a matter of receiving written things, but there must be some manners how to give or how to receive those things. So there are some people who learned something from the teacher,

[30:10]

and also his ability or his achievement is to go beyond the teacher's level. Among the new religion people, there are people who claim that they succeeded the Buddha Shakyamuni's teaching, so I am higher than Buddha Shakyamuni. There are people who claim this way. So if we follow the Buddha's teaching,

[31:36]

it is not telling us to step over the masters, but instead of stepping over the teachers, we respect the teachers, we care for the teachers, and we have to take our own one step. Here in Japan, we have a proper ceremony for the disbandment of Suzuki-ryō. Also, in the Minnesota Shinto Shrine, we have a proper ceremony for the disbandment of Katagiri-shu, and everyone is protecting it. I am thankful that the way of each shrine is the same as the way of the teachers in Japan. Here, people worship the founder of this place, Shunryū Suzuki Roshi,

[33:00]

and in Minnesota, they also revere Katagiri Roshi. Also, people here and there try to protect the teaching inherited from Suzuki Roshi and Katagiri Roshi. That kind of way of revering the founders or teachings is the same. I really appreciate and am impressed with that way. Also, by revering the teachers, we revere Bodhidharma and Shakyamuni Buddha. I am really impressed with that way here.

[34:00]

There is a manner for seven days when we receive or teacher confer the precept. In the Minnesota Shrine, the Shūmu-chō is the office of the Shūmu-chō, and he is in charge of everything. When we receive the precept, the Shūmu-chō is in charge of the writing of the precept. The Shūmu-chō is the office of the Shūmu-chō,

[35:33]

and he is in charge of the writing of the precept. In Sōtō-shū, when we apply Dharma transmission from the headquarter of Shūmu-chō, the high quality of paper or manual for the ritual of Dharma transmission are sent to the teacher and disciple. Some of you have already seen this one. In the text after Banjin-tōdan made a comment on Kechime-yaku,

[36:34]

he wrote about the manner of Dharma transmission, or how to do the ceremony of transmitting Dharma. The first thing to do at the ceremony is to sprinkle water. Shasui means to sprinkle water in the container to the disciple.

[37:42]

The reason why we use water is that people believe that water has the power to purify, cleanse everything. I heard before I came here, there was a lot of rain, and I feel that this dojo is purified by the rain,

[38:54]

and also I can see fresh green, and so on. So the rain also purifies the place here. Five or six years ago, I was invited by a Catholic. They invited me to study Catholicism in Rome, Italy. To see Pope in Italy. So during a month, I visited Mass in various places.

[40:06]

At the Otterian Monastery, as their morning service, every morning they have Mass, and many believers were coming to join them. I saw a person who officiates the ceremony, sprinkling the water using something like when you clean up the dust of the car, like a hose or something. Using that kind of thing, the person who officiates the ceremony sprinkles the water for the people there.

[41:22]

The more you can see the rain, the more water they sprinkled. Even I watched it pretty far away, but I could see the water. So the people, maybe it's like raining. If I try that at a small temple in Japan, I try the same thing, maybe people will complain. Anyway, I think the ceremony is also a kind of purifying, using water.

[42:28]

Instead of just pouring water, in Japan there is a tradition, not just a little bit of water, but pour a lot of water to the body. It is called misogi. It's a Shinto practice to purify body and mind, spirit, by pouring lots of water to the body. In Shinto and also Buddhism, there is a practice who stand or sat under the waterfalls. It is called taki-gyo, waterfall practice. I have experienced watching people bathing the river of Ganga in Benares, India.

[44:11]

I cannot say that water was clean, it's very muddy and dirty water. That kind of river. But the water is so dirty, but the believers of Hinduism

[45:27]

don't care and they sank their body completely into the water. As a sign of purification, somebody painted a red mark on their forehead. In the chapter on the oral instruction on Shasui, This is a phrase that came from China, the phrase for purification.

[46:39]

So we Japanese didn't change the phrase, we used as they were. So we say, en ino san ten sui, ban mo to sen shin nari. We use Chinese expression. The water in the vessel is not from the body, but from the head of the master. This is the practice. By doing this gesture using a pine leaf,

[47:41]

The water in the container is not just simple ordinary water. By doing this gesture, the water in the container comes from the head of the master. The head of the master. In India, there is a sage who can manifest some powder from nothing. Maybe he is talking about Sai Baba. Do you know Sai Baba? But this gesture is not something like that. It's not a magic. This is not a magic like Sai Baba does.

[49:10]

But the teacher receives the water of wisdom from the Shakyamuni Buddha. So by doing this, the teacher, the master moves the water from his head to the container. This gesture symbolizes that. So this is the water of Green Gouge, but at the same time, the water of wisdom of Buddha Shakyamuni. At the ceremony, the teacher sprinkles that water on the head of the disciple. While the teacher is doing this gesture, he prays that by sprinkling the water,

[50:34]

that everything in this world gets rejuvenated and revived. So in his mind, he has this kind of prayer. So when we use the word purify or clean, we think that something dirty becomes clean. But according to Dogen Zenji, the meaning of purify or clean is different from this ordinary understanding of clean or purify. In his Shobo Genzo, there is a volume whose title is how to wash your face or how to use toilet.

[52:05]

In those volumes, he didn't mean that because something is dirty, we use water to clean it. Dogen did not use the word clean for that kind of meaning. He used the word differently. In Japan, we use the word purify or clean to do household chores. We use this word to say that this water is the water of wisdom, the water of Buddha Shakyamuni. When we use the word purify or clean, we think that everything in this world gets rejuvenated and revived.

[53:30]

That means we are living as Buddha. So when we use bath, or bath means hot tub in Japan, and also toilet, we use the water as a behavior of the Buddha. We use water as Buddha's action. The manner of three drops of water will be mentioned later.

[54:47]

But here, there is a source of Shasui in the Buddhist scripture. There is an explanation of the manner of Shasui, but if I start talking about it, it becomes a long story. So I want to skip it and go to the next part about the source of Shasui, the origin of Shasui.

[55:49]

The Shasui that pours water is mentioned in Kegon-kyo chapter 39. In the Avatamsaka Sutra, the 19th volume, there is a story about Shasui. In that sutra, there is a story about the son of the Kakurabastin king. So when this king had a baby, there was a ceremony to make his son the next king.

[57:01]

According to the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Kakurabastin king seats the crown prince on the white elephant throne of gold and jewels. The Kakurabastin king is a king who governs all the world, so a powerful king. So when he chooses his successor, he puts the son on the white elephant throne of gold and jewels, so a decorated seat.

[58:26]

And also he has a great net, net curtain hung. And great banners set up. And incense is burned, flowers scattered, and various kinds of music played, and he acquires water from the four great oceans. The great ocean means the great mind of the Buddha. That's a symbol of the big mind of the Buddha.

[59:45]

The ocean means the big mind of the Buddha. There is an expression, the practitioner of Buddhism is called... The Sangha of the practitioner is called collected water, pure water collected from the ocean. There is this kind of expression to describe the Sangha of the practitioner. To the ocean, there is many different river runs...

[61:06]

Many different rivers come to the one big ocean. The ocean accepts and embraces all the water from many different rivers. So, like the metaphor of the ocean,

[62:15]

we practitioners, each of us have different environment and grown up and also way of thinking and ability and so on. Everything is different. But those completely different people get together and live at one dojo, monastery or Zen center. And by living in that way, we can live a life of the Buddha. We can live Buddha's life. At the dinner table this evening,

[63:28]

the Akiba sensei said, the meal of this Zen center is so good, and so we can practice Zazen much better than in Japan. But the ocean does not discriminate like America is better than Japan or something like that. All the water is one thing, one water. So the Buddha's wisdom is like the water in the ocean.

[64:35]

No discrimination. Embrace everything. The mind of Buddha is called four immeasurable minds. Four immeasurable minds. Four immeasurable minds.

[65:36]

Four immeasurable minds. G means like a parent's mind who cares for the children to grow up, to become grown up. That's G, maybe compassion. He is, if something wrong with the children, the parents never give up and still continue to care and try to protect the children. That kind of thing is called He. He is a joy to look at the children getting mature or growing up. That kind of parents have joy to look at their children growing up.

[66:54]

So He is joy. Sha is giving everything what parent has to the children. Without being stingy, carrying, holding on something, but throw out everything. Sha means throwing away. So G, He, Ki, Sha is four immeasurable minds beyond measurement. Shin means mind. That's the description of Buddha's wisdom or Buddha's mind. So in this context, water means this kind of mind, four immeasurable minds.

[68:03]

And put that water into the golden jar and pour it on the head of his son. And by performing this ritual, the prince is supposed to inherit the position of the king from the father. Even after he received the position of the king and joined the ranks of anointed kings,

[69:08]

he has to practice ten good paths, and otherwise he cannot be called king. So even after he received the position, he has to practice Buddhism. A bodhisattva receiving his position is also like this. By being poured the water of wisdom of Shakyamuni Buddha from the teacher, he can receive the rank of bodhisattva. He can get the position of bodhisattva.

[70:19]

Here, the word bodhisattva and Buddha mean the same thing. Those who are different from the Buddha, receive the Buddha's command and become his disciples. The next is the way to do Shasui. The actual way to do Shasui is to pour the water of wisdom of Shakyamuni Buddha from the head of the teacher into the jar.

[71:37]

This is done three times. It means the water of wisdom which has been transmitted from the Buddha to the teacher. So by doing this three times, move the water from the head of the teacher to the container. It is not something big like this, but it is made of pine leaves. When you do Shasui to a lot of people, you have to do it with something big. If you don't do it with something big, you won't be able to reach it, and you won't make it in time, so use something big. To give precepts to many people, in that case, the teacher uses a big one, because he has to reach far away, so pine leaves are not enough.

[72:58]

In that case, the teacher uses a big one. In that case, attach a pine leaf at the top of the stick, and using both hands, put some water on the top of the stick. For many people, pour water using both hands, and stick with a pine leaf. One glass of water is not enough for that case, so it's like a machine the teacher has to do, like this.

[74:06]

First, pour water on the head of the disciple three times. Then, pour water on the right side three times. Then, pour water on the left side three times. After that, pour water on the head of the disciple three times, like this. By doing this three times, return the water again to the head of the teacher. This is to make sure that the Buddha Dharma is not used up, and return it to its original place. Instead of just giving it away, if something is left over, it's returned to the origin, in order not to waste the benefit of the Buddha Dharma.

[75:48]

Returning water to the teacher's head means that kind of thing. 大きな土地の恵み、私たちを育ててくれた父や母、そういう至恩におむくいをし、天地のすべてのものにそれをお礼を言う。こういうこの意味合いがあります。 So, spring to right or left side means showing gratitude to, it is called, four kindness, which means like gods who protect the Dharma, or the gift from the earth, or nature, or care and love from the parents, those things.

[76:54]

Without those things, we cannot practice Buddhism. So, we are showing gratitude by spring to right or left. この言葉を難しい漢文の言葉がたくさん出ておりますので、扱いにくいのですが、寒浄水、頂に水を注ぐ寒浄水、こういう風に呼ばれております。 This water is called 寒浄水, 寒 means pour, 浄 means top of the head, 水 means water. So, water to pour on the head, 寒浄水, it is called 寒浄水。 私のお話はここまでになります。

[77:56]

私のお話はここまでになります。 意味が分かりにくいかもしれませんが。 意味が分かりにくいかもしれませんが。 Yeah, so not the form of transmission, but the meaning also changed. You mean the not from the buddhist academy, but from the teacher? I was about to say, I thought you were saying that when they were transmitting the robe and the bowl, it seemed like that was coming from the teacher and not the buddha. But then when they changed the transmission to samotsu, that seemed more like coming from the buddha and not just from the teacher personally.

[79:58]

But when we receive the samotsu, we can feel that it came from the buddha, through the teacher. I think that's his personal feeling in that way. I don't have enough time to explain the buddha, so I'll just say a few things. It's also mentioned in the Shasui, that the buddha is not just a Buddha from 2,500 years ago. There is also a buddha from the teaching of the northern king. And there is also a buddha from the monastery, not just a buddha.

[81:13]

There is also a buddha from the monastery, not just a buddha. All of the buddhas from the 3,000-year-old buddha are in the samsara. And the teacher is the buddha in the samsara. The buddha is present in front of us. This is what we receive, and this is how we receive the Dharma. Sometimes, it depends on the context, but when I use the word buddha,

[82:15]

sometimes it means all the buddhas in the three worlds. And the teacher in front of the disciple, inherited the virtue of all the buddhas of the three worlds. So we think that the teacher in front of me, inherited the virtue of all the buddhas. So, through him, three things are coming from. Did you get the answer? It's okay? Yes.

[83:31]

For example, when we eat a meal, we keep in mind, we pray that we receive the ten powers of the buddha, ten different kinds of miraculous powers of the buddha. by eating the food now. But that kind of ten miraculous powers is not only the power of the historical buddha, but the power or virtue of all the buddhas described in the scriptures. Through that, we must receive the Buddha. That kind of issue will be mentioned later, maybe tomorrow.

[85:25]

Thank you. Are there certain rules for when a disciple is ready to receive the Buddha? This is decided by the master, but it's not just the master's will. Both must be done. The decision is made by the master, and the master has the power. But in Zen Buddhism, it's the opposite. When an egg hatches, the parent bird and the chick inside it

[86:34]

must be well-informed, and the beak must be aligned. Of course, the teacher decides the timing. Even if the teacher wants to transmit the Dharma, if the disciple is not ready, it won't happen. So it has to be like an encounter. There is a phrase, Sotsutako, both means when the chicken hatches, the mother tries to break the shell from the outside, and the baby chicken tries to break the shell from the inside. But too early, not good. From the outside, not good. And too early, from the inside, not good. So they have to do it simultaneously, then it breaks.

[87:34]

So the Dharma transmission also has to happen in that way, from the teacher is ready and the disciple is ready. So it's a very delicate thing. Was that your question? Yes? Yes. That's right. Tetsu Gikai Zenji, and later Ejo Zenji,

[88:37]

the second generation of Dogen Zenji, said to the teacher at that time, Dogen Zenji didn't forgive me. He didn't transmit the Dharma to me. His great self-respect, his parents' heart, now I finally understand. When I was doing my own practice, that's what I thought. before. So there was a sure reason why Dogen Zenji did not permit for Tetsu Gikai Zenji

[89:41]

to receive the Dharma transmission. He was not ready at that time. But now he received the transmission from Ejo Zenji. So he understands why Dogen Zenji did not do that. That's not from the mean things, but from Dogen Zenji's compassion. There are so many episodes about this kind of thing.

[90:53]

But it's like, I don't know how to call it, gears? Gear. It's encountered like this. It's sparked and maybe hurt each other. So, just being close, that's not enough. It has to encounter like this. Otherwise it does not turn around. So there is a need, a very delicate condition for two gears to meet like this and turn like this. It's not a simple thing. This text does not cover all the process of the Dharma transmission ceremony.

[92:04]

It only picks up some part of the process. So maybe for some people it's difficult to imagine what's happening. To be continued.

[92:22]

@Text_v004
@Score_JJ