In the first verse of four vows, we should thoroughly have a coherent practice of being compassionate or merciful, considerate toward all sentient beings. In other words, you must be compassionate to your friend, to others, as if you took

[01:04]

care of your child, then why is it we have to be compassionate towards others before anything else? Then, according to the Shakyamuni Buddha, he says, man gives his benefit to the world. A careful consideration and devotes himself to deal with his benefit, he should never

[02:13]

give up his benefit on account of benefiting others beyond the discriminative interest. At any cost, we have to be considerate to all sentient beings, as if you take good care of yourself. Then from this point through and through, you practice yourself on account of benefiting others beyond the discriminative interest.

[03:16]

If so, there is some question of what is the self, then we have to consider what the self is. Yesterday, as I mentioned yesterday, consciously or unconsciously, we have to be aware of our lives consist in stubbornness of ego, rooted into the bottom of our mind, then Shakyamuni

[04:31]

Buddha says, look at the person who is egocentric in life and wobbles, he is like a fish in a little water of a stream which is about to run dry. In the bottom of the mind, this adherence to self or blind attachment, the force into

[06:23]

the egoism, if left alone, man is unconsciously or unconsciously falling into the bottom of the egoism, if left alone, then at any cost, we have to be free from this adherence to self or blind attachment to self, bubbling up the bottom of our minds. Then, in the second verse, the desires are numberless, I vow to put an end to them, at

[07:47]

any cost, we have to get a taste of the reality of the present, what the stubbornness of ego is going on, or what the desires are, what the adherence to the self is. With body and mind, not only understand the desires, the reality that desires numbers through our intellectual sense, but we have to get a taste of the reality of what the desires, numberless desires are, with body and mind, so it is natural that we control our lives according to

[09:05]

some rules or regular basis in life, according to some rules, we have to raise our mind, it is necessary to move regularly in our daily life, if progress in society, in human life is to be made. This is rules or regulations in life, in the monastery, this is shingi, rules or regulations,

[10:17]

in order to control those numberless desires which we have, no hazardous methods in life will be allowed, at any cost, we have to live a regular life, day in and day out. This is rules or regulations in Zen monastery, someone says, Zen Buddhism will create a religious

[11:38]

military life, I don't think so, a friend of mine had a very strong love for Japan at the age of 19 or 20 or so, so he tried to become a policeman, Japanese policeman, and to protect Japan from any obstacles, then he tried to take examination, entrance examination of metropolitan police school, unfortunately he passed entrance of the examination,

[12:45]

so he got the note of what day, what time, please arrive at metropolitan police office, so he went there, after registration, name and years, something like that, all students must study in all, in a row, the campus of the police school, metropolitan police school, then leader came and says, now we practice salute, then he showed the demonstration of how to practice salute,

[14:10]

how to salute, then he do like this, then according to his order, all students started to practice, started to practice salute, but he didn't say, didn't say stop, salute, saluting, all day he practiced, a friend of mine practiced salute like this, all day, all day, all day, from morning to night, like an electric doll, like, then he thought, wow, gosh, this is something more than, more than I can, I could, I can bear,

[15:23]

with what result may imagine, then after, at night, just before go to bed, he went to bed, he went to the leader's room, making a pretense of stomachache, stomachache in, what to say, making face, something like this, he went to the leader's room, making a, making face, this, he said, I had the stomachache, I have the stomachache,

[16:35]

so please send me to the, to, to home, to, to my home, I would like to stay, I would like to take care of my stomachache at my home, so leader sent him to his home, he, a friend of mine never went back to the, went back to the Metropolitan Police Office, he, you try to practice in salute every day, what do you, what do you think, every day, or not, or all day, in the Metropolitan Police Office, the purpose of all the practice is not to educate the men, in order to develop Metropolitan Police Office, they have to, they have to break in a man,

[17:47]

let them practice salute, you know, all day, like this, but Zen, in Zen monastery, it is not so, the purpose of Zen monastic life is to educate each individual first, if progress, if progress is to be made in this world, first of all, man must make progress, not the organization make progress, if the first important thing is to develop, to make progress, in organization, you have to be broken in, day in and day out, this is rule of organization,

[18:54]

in Zen monastery, first of all, the man, each individual makes progress, this is first important, then we have to take care of each other with considerate feelings, relation, relating with father and mother, brother and sister, and then organization will make progress, it is all right, the development of organization is second of all, matter, the man's progress is first matter, so, from this point, even though in Zen monastery,

[19:59]

there are many strict rules or regulations, they doesn't, they never, never man to break in, to be broken in, in order to, in order to develop the organization, what is called Zen monastery, through and through, even rules, rules, regulations in Zen monastery, awake, disabuse the peoples of illusion universe, never man to open his eyes, never, then, from this, from this rules, from your life, from your monastic life,

[21:15]

according to rules or regulations, what should we learn, this is meaning of third verse, the dumbers are boundless, I vow to attain it, the dumbers are boundless, I vow to master them, as mentioned before, our lives consist entirely in the stubbornness of ego, so, you will realize many events, which you must be confronted with difficulty,

[22:26]

your stubbornness of ego, put yourself on the spot, then, you are always, you are always at a loss what to do with yourself, that time, as long as life induces, we need, we need to find some way to turn your life into new life, then, whatever happens along your life,

[23:31]

at the turning point of your life, our effort, focus to enhance your life as a man, towards the direction of future, in other words, we have to be, we have to live our lives as a man is, as we are, if there is some disciplines, which guide a man to aware himself,

[24:44]

himself, to turn his life into new life, new live, this discipline is called Dhamma, Dhamma, or Riko, Riko means Nominum, Nominum, as constructed with Phenomena, then, Shakyamuni Buddha says, through and through, you should search, you should search,

[25:46]

the what, the Nominum, Nominum is, inward and outward, then, in order to lead a man to life, into new live, we should consider what is, what is, what is, what kind of discipline enables a man to guide, guide, or in Buddhism, it is called Dhamma, is called Dhamma,

[26:57]

then, our practice is directed to get taste of this Dhamma, with body and mind, this is the meaning of third word, Dhammas are boundless, I vow to master them, if so, then, what is Dhamma, what is Dhamma, then, in Shobo Kenzo, the meaning of the first two words, Shobo, is right Dhamma, right Dhamma,

[27:59]

so, Dhamma has two meanings, one is the right Dhamma, in other words, the truth, the second is the Buddha's teaching, the, his, Dogen's disciple, one of Dogen's disciple, Dogen's disciple had commentary to the first two words, Shobo, the Sho is the right, the right is to go in the direction of uprightness, or straightforwardness,

[29:06]

and not to have prejudice against, no prejudice opinion is the single mind to be in the all, the eyes being in width, and nose being in length, letting go mind and body, the, and perfect harmonious function, no, perfect harmonious function and no hindrance, the important point is, that right is to go in the direction of

[30:12]

the uprightness, or straightforwardness, honesty, honesty, in life, and not to have prejudice to ideas, opinions, this is the meaning of right, then the Dhamma is, ah, Dhamma is no change, the discipline of no change, according to the noumenon, noumenon, the principle of no change,

[31:16]

is identical with the meaning of right, the right, which is, which led to the life, led to the life to go in the direction of upright, uprightness, straightforwardness, honesty, or this is Dhamma, then in this point, the, the Dhamma is, is, as mentioned, the, in the first lecture, the, we have to stand upright on the earth, on your foot,

[32:33]

without wobbling, without wobbling, ah, at any cost, as long as you have been tassar, the purpose of practicing is to stand upright on your foot, in the reality of the present, this is real truth. Then how, what is right, how to stand, how to stand upright, there is no substance, what is called the right way, the right way of stand upright,

[33:39]

then the, it says right is to go, to go constantly, to let the life go, in the direction of uprightness, or straightforwardness, or honesty, moment after moment. So, to stand upright is not merely to stand upright on your foot, not only to stand upright on your foot, if you sit on your round cushion, to sit on your round cushion is not merely to lounge,

[34:54]

on your round cushion, without paying considerably attention to your posture, to your head, to your mouth, to your hand, you just sit in your round cushion with hanging down your head, round back, it seems, it seems comfortable posture, it seems calm posture, it seems in peace, because there is no tension, there is no feeling of tension, you just sit in round cushion like this,

[36:00]

then it is not the right attitude in life, to get taste of the noumenon, which led the human life to lead, to lead the awareness of the human life itself. If you want to be aware of yourself, what you are, who you are, as mentioned before, at any cost you have to stand upright on your foot, you have to sit in your round cushion in uprightness, in straightforwardness, in honesty,

[37:16]

this is point, at that time this attitude in life is called calmness, calm, the attitude of life with peace, with calmness, with tranquility, so calmness or tranquility is not the lack of dynamic life, calmness is the full of dynamic life, full of dynamic life, calmness is not merely static life, which means the lack of dynamic movement,

[38:19]

so static, the calmness is, as long as static is, calmness is static life, it must mean, it means to stand up upright, within this attitude, there is the both aspects of static and dynamic movement in life, that time you can feel, you can feel peaceful, you can feel peaceful, you can feel tranquil, you can feel calm in life, then Dogen Zen says, there is a standard, standard of practice, which is called Jijyu Zammai, Ji means of itself, Ju means to receive, to accept, Yu means to function,

[39:31]

Zammai is Samadhi, so the, Professor Matsunaga translated into English, the self joyous Samadhi, yeah, I translated the living Samadhi, I don't know which is right, you should know both, living Samadhi, living vivid Samadhi, accepting, receiving, the, your life, your life in the reality of the present, and Dogen Zen says, there is a standard of practice, which is called Jijyu Zammai,

[40:33]

living Samadhi, it looks like a spinning top, you know, like this, the spinning top is always to stand upright on the floor, on his foot, very thin foot, just one foot, standing upright on the floor, it seems static movement in life, but breathing it, in the end, we realize both aspects, static movement, dynamic movement in his life, so, Jijyu Zammai, Dogen Zen says, Jijyu Zammai, living Samadhi, is based on Shikantaza, Zen,

[41:41]

which is transmitted directly, undistortedly, from Buddha to Buddha, from Buddha to Buddha, okay, this is very important, even though I explained many times, how to sit meditation, straightening your back, or your head, close your mouth, how about your tongue, where is your tongue, how about your hand, unless you get, you don't get, unless you get taste of your own Zazen, straightening your back, the head, taking care of your mouth, your tongue, your hand,

[42:52]

how can I guide you, how can I guide you, guide you a vivid life, how can I guide your own vivid life, if you want to control, if you want to guide your life, you have to get taste of your life, directly, undistortedly, from Buddha to Buddha, from you to you, when you practice Zazen, you have to get taste of Zazen, directly, undistortedly, how to get taste of your life,

[43:59]

which is transmitted from Buddha to Buddha, this is, it is, the best way to get taste of your life, is Jijyu Zanmai, which is standard of practice, in other words, this is Zazen, Jijyu Zanmai, in Zazen, you have to show, you have to show, you have to show, the Jijyu Zanmai, the living Samadhi, within it, there is your own vivid living Samadhi in life, at that time, you can learn, what Zanmai is, you can learn the disciplines,

[45:04]

disciplines, then, in the fourth verse, it explains, it well explains, what the calmness life is, what the calmness life, what the tranquil life is, it says, the Buddha's way is unsurpassable, you bow to attain it,

[45:49]

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