Yunmen's Medicine and Sickness Heal Each Other

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BZ-02469

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Class Blue Cliff Record 67

 

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Good evening. It seems like we just took a break and everybody just came back in because you're all sitting in the same seat. You are too. So, tonight, this is the last class. and uh i asked ron to choose a uh classical co-op and he did and um this one Number 87.

[01:03]

Yin-Mans, medicine and sickness cure each other. So, Sekita's commentary I like. There's a lot to deal with here. This is a complex kind of simple koan. Or a simple complex koan, because it's actually quite simple, but it can be viewed from various points of view, from various angles.

[02:04]

And there are a lot of references here to other koans, even though they're not necessarily spoken. And this is the kind of koan where you can read other koans, or study other koans in connection with this koan. And there are a lot of koans which have to do with sickness and illness, but we can't cover that. But we might look at some of those, just glance, at a glance.

[03:06]

So Master Yunmin's Medicine and Sickness Mutual Cure, sometimes it's Mutual Cure. There's various ways that the commentators and the translators medicine and sickness subdue each other. That's kind of like maybe they're fighting. I like mutual cure myself because it gives them a kind of equality, which is important, I think, in this koan. And are we talking about physical sickness? Are we talking about mental illness? Are we talking about emotional sickness, or disturbance, or whatever?

[04:14]

Or are we talking about form and emptiness? So, whenever we think, Yudhman finally brings us to the point where just up speculating and sadhan, bringing up the sadhan mind. So you can also use the terms delusion and enlightenment. Delusion and enlightenment, cure each other, or mutual cure. Yeah, there's—Yinmen has written several—not written koans, but there are several koans about Yinmen talking about sickness.

[05:28]

One talks about zen sickness. That's a great koan, but it has a lot of parts, and it's a little advanced. You know, there are various levels of koan. Some are entry koans and simple koans, and then there are more in the koan system categories of koans. This is, I don't know what category this is. I've never really studied the categories, but we just go hit and miss. Whatever suits our fancy, we just deal with it. So, Ingo, in his introduction, says, the clear-eyed person, knows no restriction. That's, this is Ngo's introduction.

[06:34]

Oh, and this is, we have the proper book here. Okay, so he's on the Blue Cliff Record itself right now, and we have Blue Cliff Record, Sikita's version, and the Secrets version. Yes. Yes, we have all three, so now you're on the main text, aren't you? Yes, we're not doing this with the Book of Serenity. So the clear-eyed person in the introduction knows no restrictions. So that's a completely unrestricted person. That's the secretive one. The clear-eyed man knows no restrictions. What's that again? What's the book you're talking about?

[07:35]

This one that says the clear-eyed fellow has no nest. Yes, that's Cleary. That's Cleary, and it wants a kiddo. It wants a kiddo. Okay. We're on the same page. We're on the same page. We're on the same page. Just not on the same day. Okay. So, at one time, this person stands on the top of a mountain with the weeds thick around her. At another time, she is in the bustle of the marketplace, enjoying perfect ease of mind, when she shows the mercy of the sun-faced And moon-faced, he gives forth the all-embracing light of blessing.

[08:38]

In every particle, he reveals all the bodies of the Buddha. Mixing with people, she trudges through the mire. When he performs a transcendent action, even Buddhists cannot follow him, and they are driven back thousands of miles. Is there anyone among you who can go with that person and act with her? See the following. Okay, this is the introduction. So I'll go over the introduction a bit. So I won't ask for questions because I haven't started talking about it yet. So the clear-eyed person knows no restrictions. So he's talking about a enlightened person, particularly Yunmin. That's what all the introductions about Yunmin are about, about how great Yunmin is. At one time, standing on the top of the mountain with the weeds thick, growing thick around him.

[09:47]

So the top of the mountain means retreating from the world and going up in isolation, like going to the monastery or going to some kind of retreat. And at another time, and with the weeds growing around, it means various things to different people, sometimes we say someone's in the weeds, meaning the teacher falls into the weeds with the student. In other words, getting off his position and just, you know, the student and the teacher, the teacher lets the student

[10:55]

That's the Jyotish way. But the weeds, this means letting the weeds grow up, just letting the weeds grow up around you. So you're all, you're simply, it's like sitting zazen, like devotee dharma sitting zazen for nine years, and just lets the weeds grow up, right, without paying attention to anything else. So I think that's what this means. At one time, standing on the top of the mountain with the weeds thick around him. At another time, in the bustle of the marketplace, enjoying perfect ease of mind, right? So those are the two sides. One is ascending the mountain, the other is returning from the mountain into the busy marketplace without getting upset. So this is taking I don't say taking your practice into the world, but you can say that.

[12:05]

I say going into the world and practicing. There's nothing to take with you. Just going into the world without any ideas or opinions, and just responding to circumstances with an enlightened attitude. So when he displays the wrath of Nada, he is three-faced and six-armed. There are differences about who Nada is. Sakhita thinks Nada is really the Buddha, but actually I think Nada is one of the guardians, a temple guardian or something like that. with three faces and six arms, and protector of the Dharma, basically.

[13:14]

And so when he shows the mercy of the sun-faced and moon-faced, he gives forth the all-embracing light of blessings. Sun-Face, Moon-Face is Matsu, right? Matsu's, I think his koan is number three in the book of records, when the attendant Matsu is sick, ill, and the attendant asks him about it, and he says, Sun-Face, Moon-Face. That's a very famous koan. So, moon-faced, he gives forth the all-embracing light of blessing. In every particle, he reveals all the bodies of the Buddha. Mixing with people, he treasures through the mire. So, the bodies of the Buddha, you can see that in different ways.

[14:19]

You can see it as the three bodies, Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya. Dharmakaya is your nature, true nature. Sambhogakaya is your wisdom mind, wisdom nature. And Nirmanakaya is your transformation body. Right now, when we look at each other, we see our transformation bodies. Everything changes. That's called transformation. So, we have a transformation body, which is nirmanakaya, and we have a wisdom body, which is sambhogakaya, and we have a true nature body, which is dharmakaya. But there are also 33 bodies. Actually, they're infinite bodies.

[15:23]

I don't know why 33. Three is an interesting number in the Dharma. And 33 is also an interesting number. In Bhutan, people go up on the top of the mountain for, some people, monks, mostly, but not everybody's a monk. And they had to retreat for three years, three months, and three days. by themselves. But there's also these 33 bodies are like Avalokiteshvara's Bodhisattva able to transform He's a kind of shape shifter, a little foxy. Or she takes the shape of whoever they meet.

[16:37]

If you meet a Chinese person, you become a Chinese person. If you meet a prostitute, you take on the nature of a prostitute. Whatever that means, it means to blend or to harmonize with whoever you are addressing or meeting. So that's great quality. Instead of taking opposition, you merge with whoever you're meeting or addressing. And in order to help people. So you don't know who you're meeting. When you meet somebody, you might be meeting a Lokiteshvara, you know.

[17:42]

If some people met Jesus, they'd probably crucify him. I think that's kind of happening in our country already. So mixing with people, he trudges through the mire. There's a saying, trudging through mud and water in order to help people, in order to merge and to blend with people. If people are having a hard time, you have a hard time, whatever. and you enter into difficult situations in order to help people. When she performs a transcendent action, even Buddhists cannot follow him, and they are driven back thousands of miles.

[18:46]

This, I think, refers to Vimalakirti. I think most of us know about Vimalakirti, who was a famous layperson in the time of Buddha, according to legend. And Vimalakirti, Nirdesa Sutra, of course, is about Vimalakirti. There's also a koan about Vimalakirti, which this refers to, or you could refer to this. And we'll look at that a little bit. So is there anyone among you who can go with him and act with him? So see the following. To make it short, all the celestial bodhisattvas

[19:56]

were testing themselves against Vimalakirti, this lay person who was supposed to be this great sage, and so the Sutra goes through all these scholarship and so forth, and the way it finally ends up is Manjushri, great Bodhisattva, tests himself with Vimalakirti, and he comes up, you know, expresses himself, his understanding to Vimalakirti, which is great understanding, perfect understanding.

[20:58]

And then Vimalakirti, he asked Vimalakirti, what would you say? And Vimalakirti just said, he just stayed quiet. He didn't say anything. It was called the thundering silence of Vimalakirti. So in the end he didn't say it. And that's the story. So, there's a kind of echo of that in here, because in the end, Yinmen is saying the same thing, basically. And yes, I know. that Vimalakirti, if you imitate Vimalakirti, that's also wrong.

[21:59]

So, if you imitate Vimalakirti and just keep your mouth shut, that's Zen sickness. And if you don't, That's Zen sickness. So, you have to be careful. It's easy to think that, oh yeah, we should just talk to Him, that's not right, that's incorrect. Did you want to say something? Oh, I was going to add, I love that story so much. I don't know all of it really well, but I just remember something about the Buddha keeps sending each one of his great disciples, and each one goes and says before the Buddha, One time I was teaching in the grove of something, and along came Bimalakirti, and I was discoursing on the something sutra, and he vanquished me.

[23:08]

And so each one, they, one by one, say, �I'm too old, no, I don't feel like I can go, I don't think I'm going to go.� And then finally the Buddhist says to Manjushri, �Please, Manjushri, will you please go uncheck on how is the Vimalakirti doing in his health, and so then the retinue of 500 bodhisattvas go with him and witness. Anyway, that's what I remember. So lovely story, thank you for bringing it. Vimalakirti had a very small room, and Hojo, in Japanese it's called a Hojo, It's like my hut, my dog's hut is Hojo, and it's a certain number of tatamis in Japanese, but it's a very small room. And so all the bodhisattvas, the 500 bodhisattvas and all the listeners and so forth, all came and he invited them all into his room, and they all fit.

[24:19]

So here's the main subject. Uman said to his disciples, medicine and sickness cure each other. All the earth is medicine. Where do you find yourself? Uman said to his disciples, medicine and sickness Mutual cure. Cure each other. All the earth is medicine. Where do you find yourself? So here's the Satcho's verse. All the earth is medicine. Ancient and modern men make a great mistake. Women, too. Shut the gate, but do not build the cart. The universe is a highway, vast and wide.

[25:28]

Mistaken, always mistaken. Though their noses are stuck up to heaven, they will still be pierced for a rope. Okay, so the verse actually explains the koan. All the earth is medicine. So, what can we say about that? It's all a teaching. It's all a teaching. It's all what? It's all teaching. Yeah. It's a way of awakening. Everything that's around us is a way of awakening through teaching us. Everything is connected. It's all connected. It's all a reflection of each other. It's all meet when we meet it. Maybe.

[26:34]

You drew a parallel between medicine and sickness. Yes. And enlightenment and delusion. Yes. So then would you say all the earth is enlightenment? All what? All earth is enlightenment. Yes. You can say that. Delusion is delusion, and enlightenment is enlightenment. And enlightenment is enlightenment about delusion. Delusion is delusion about enlightenment. But enlightenment is delusion, and delusion is enlightenment. So, keep going. We find our problem, we also find our cure.

[27:39]

It's like if you get a snake bite, you get an injection of snake venom. When we fall down, we fall down on the earth. When we get up, we get up on the earth. We use the earth to help us get up, yes. Yeah, that's Dogan. When you fall down to the ground, you use the ground to help you get up. Yeah, that's a really good one. Also, in India, I think and probably in other countries as well, for medicine, people used to drink And they probably still do in India. They drink urine. I know some people who tried that here, and everybody held their nose.

[28:44]

But it's purified, actually, to some extent. So there's also good and bad. right? And there's also right and wrong. Wrong, right? But what is right, you know, sometimes what is right helps what is wrong, and sometimes what is wrong helps something that's right, and sometimes it's neither. Sometimes, I remember Suzuki Goshi was talking about morality changes what's wrong for society at one point gradually becomes correct for society. And people say, well, why did they think that was wrong? Or why did they think that was right?

[29:48]

So the wrong and right are simply relative to each other, just like dark and light are relative to each other. Religion is either uplifting or deadly. Religion is like a snake. It can build or destroy. I have a question about that. What? I have a question about that. Is it okay? Yeah. So I noticed, I'm giving a talk about this because I'm studying this in psychology, but I noticed that some, both in spiritual circles and in psych school, can you hear me okay?

[30:50]

Yeah, barely. Okay. I noticed that in psych school and also in some spiritual places, that A process of shaming is used on people. So for example, I saw that between clinicians and supervisors, and I've seen it also in spiritual contexts. So how can that be used as—and before I go to that question, actually let me add one more thing. In a guy named Gottman's work—he's a marriage researcher—he found that And oh no, this study was OSU. The issue of shame and criticism and contempt, those things are harmful to relationships. And so a study from OSU showed that they actually harm both parties, not just one. Both parties get harmed.

[31:52]

So how can we see that as medicine in terms of like this teaching that we're studying tonight? It's not always so. Okay. Thank you. That was a quick answer. Not always so. Okay. It's not always so. Shame and remorse are called the guardians of the world. But misused, they are poison. Yeah, people experience hypertension and high cortisol. There's religious communities where shaming was the way to punish people. And, you know, But if you feel shame and remorse, shame is acceptance, and remorse is they go together. I don't want to explain them, but you know what they are. So they help you to self-correct.

[32:56]

That's called guilt. Yes. Guilt. Guilt is, no, no, no. Guilt is when you are... Well, sometimes people are guilty. Guilt is when you hold something up that you're not happy about and you see that it doesn't meet your... where shame is a little different, but anyway. Well, they're all different nuances. Shame and remorse. Remorse means that you want to change. It's a agent for change. And so it helps people. But it also can be poison because it harms people. But because, you know, Japanese feel shame, and Westerners feel something else.

[34:08]

But when a whole culture becomes dominated by that, then it's not healthy. And so then we say, well, shame is no good, but shame has its place. when it's used correctly, so you should feel ashamed of yourself. If you never feel ashamed of yourself, then you're hiding something, because you do something that's not, that calls for shame, and you overlook it and say, well, I'm not gonna feel shame. That's okay, but it doesn't help. It's just ignoring. But if you can't get beyond it, then it's harmful. So you get stuck in this is good, this is bad, this is right, this is wrong.

[35:13]

It all depends on how things are used. So when we know how to use things, use all these qualities, instead of being used by them, then we have our freedom. All the world is medicine? All the world is medicine. Yes. Knowing how to use medicine. If you don't use it correctly, it's poison. Right. Because I think there's a lot of poison going on. There's a lot of poison going on. And so, the clear-eyed person knows no restrictions. Is it also so that we don't see what's all around us, but we're part of it, it's right under us? Well, yes, it's right under your feet. That's also said here. It's under your feet. And so it's about mindfulness? Well, mindfulness is a good quality.

[36:16]

It's about paying attention, yes. But I wouldn't say that mindfulness is the only... It's about realizing that nothing's fixed. So that's a big part of this. All the earth is medicine. So here's Sakida's commentary on the next page, where it says all the earth is medicine. Zenzai. Zenzai Doshi. Zenzai was, you know, if you read the Avatamsaka Sutra, in the last chapter, Zenzai Doji is the monk, or the seeker, who visited 52 teachers, and very famous. So Manjushri once asked Zenzai, who is called here an earnest Zen student, to bring him something that was not a medicine.

[37:36]

Bring me something that's not a medicine. Zenzai could find nothing that could not work as a medicine. So Manjushri then asked him to bring something that was definitely a medicine. So Zenzai handed Manjushri a blade of grass. So he was probably standing right there and picked a blade of grass up and said, here. Manjushri then, so since I handed Manjushri the blade of grass, Manjushri held it up and said to his assembly, this single blade of grass can give life to a person and can also bring death to a person. Used as medicine, everything is medicine. Used as poison, everything is poison. So then the verse says, ancient and modern, people make a great mistake. People seem to ignore this, actually, that people fall into

[38:52]

opinions, and one-sidedness. And they're saying if one thing is only medicine, and one thing is only health. Yes, this is medicine, this is right, and this is poison, yes, which is not untrue. It's only not true. It's not untrue. In other words, I wouldn't take a certain kind of medicine if it wasn't going to be useful. But if I drink too much, or eat too much, or take too much, then I die. But nevertheless, in proper proportion, everything works together. is based on harmony. Western medicine is based on fix this and fix that, but Chinese medicine is the humors and the harmony of all the parts, which makes for a certain kind of harmony, and I think that

[40:22]

or his medicinal outlook is Chinese, where he's talking about a harmony of everything. When everything is in harmony, then everything is a medicine. And so Juniper had said that the best cure for some sickness is death. Yes. Well, death and birth mutually cure each other. That's why we say in the Dharma, fundamentally there's no birth and death. Mutual cure. So, in the next page, the facing page, where Sakida talks about medicine and sickness cure each other, down the middle of the page, he says Buddhism is necessary, like medicine, because people are sick.

[41:48]

You know, Vimalakirti is sitting in his room. The Buddha asks him to come and talk to the Bodhisattvas, but he says, I'm sick. And Buddha asks him why he's sick. He said, I'm sick because the whole world is sick. So that's why I'm sick. So Buddhism is necessary, like medicine, because people are sick. When the sickness is cured, Buddhism can be discarded. So Buddhism, actually, Suzuki Roshi used to say, I wear these troublesome robes, because they are troublesome.

[42:54]

People say, I would like to be ordained as a priest. They don't know, because they have to wear these troublesome robes. I hope that there comes a time when I can just take them off, and we discard Buddhism. And so when the sickness is cured, Buddhism can be discarded. Medicine is a kind of poison, which it is. Medicine is a kind of poison. It acts as medicine only to a sick person. When the sickness is gone, the medicine must go too. If not, it turns into a poison. There really is a so-called sickness of Buddhism, which Zinmesh is a vigilant in eradicating, but I'm not going to go there. So shut the gate and don't build the cart.

[43:56]

Shut the gate, but do not build the cart. Shut the door, I think, better, because he's talking about when you can build a cart if you know the dimensions of the road, right? You know the dimensions of the road, and I mean, our automobiles, are a little outsized for our roads, actually, because everybody wants a big car. But the roads are built proportionately to the car, and the cars that are built should be built proportionate to the roads. So you can build a car knowing that proportion inside the building, which we do, right? That means everything fits, everything else. So the cars have a limitation. But building the car means creating something like Buddhism.

[45:06]

You build it, you create a kind of Vehicle. Yes, thank you. Building a vehicle for the dharma, but then when the dharma outlet out, it no longer fits the vehicle. In other words, you have to go beyond the vehicle The universe is the highway, vast and wide. So, this is... So, Jim? Yes. Isn't he also kind of saying that if you build the cart knowing the road, you're just going to go the same as everybody else, and medicine or sickness, who knows? So, in the vast universe, you build the cart according to... To the circumstances.

[46:11]

In other words, you get beyond the cart, and the cart is necessary, but you go beyond the cart and take to the open road, and you find medicine according to the circumstances. instead of being stuck in the dharma. But you always have to check with the dharma to see if you're doing something right. And what are the odds? Well, the odds are, you have to be pretty open in order to do that. So that's why it's important to have the structure And it's important to have the structure of the mountain and the structure of the marketplace.

[47:20]

So when you enter the marketplace, you have the understanding of the zendof, so that you have the stillness and the within so that you can be at ease in the marketplace. Marketplace means whatever you run into. And then, so you're always renewing yourself. Yes. Someone in that spirit and before about these troublesome roads, quote, once you said, When I go to sleep, I let go of the world. And I was thinking, even though the vow is not just with the robe, it's in us, there's something very practical about turning the off switch, letting go of the world, and just resting to restore oneself.

[48:30]

And then, when the alarm rings in the morning, you put on the troublesome robes, and the work is in front of you. Yes, you know, when he says troublesome, yes and no. It's a kind of, you know, yes it's a little troublesome, but the troublesomeness is wonderful. Right, if it was too troublesome, he wouldn't put it back on the next day. It sets up a self and other. I have made this vow, and I am making an effort to bring forth medicine, or access medicine to help. what's in front of me, but at a certain point, we need to rest and let go of the world. Otherwise, we'll never get any sleep and we'll just be worried about the world all the time. So, is it time for rest? Is it time for the marketplace? Is it time for returning home?

[49:33]

Yes. Troublesome is good, because it always reminds you of what you're doing. They say, oh yeah, just take them off. Somebody's always giving me little nudges. Isn't it kind of warm when you rub on? Isn't it kind of heavy? Isn't it? Isn't it kind of troublesome? No, it's fine. Actually, it's the best way to sit down. That's not why they were designed that way. But the troublesomeness always keeps reminding you of what you're doing. I was coming to this class tonight and a friend called me up, and we often visit after he gets home from work and have tea, and that started to happen. I said, oh, I have trouble.

[50:36]

And I have to go. And it's actually a guiding medicine in this case, to keep me on what I promised and intended to do. So I had some trouble. Not a robe yet, I'm not there. We wear robes, I don't have mine tonight, but my robe is troublesome in the sense that it reminds me of my vows. Yeah, that's troublesome. And so it's troublesome, even our little robes are troublesome. Yes, but they're good medicine. Yeah, yes, I think that's right. You put on your robes in the morning, you go to the zendo, and then you change your robe when you're working into something else, into work that if you're working physically or whatever, you change into some other robe, into some other clothes, and then at night you go to sleep and you take all of them off,

[51:42]

and other sotus and priests used to wear the robe all the time because they had a little miniature robe, three little miniature robes that were in a little packet that they wore around their neck when they went to sleep. One time I had the reminder all the day and night, in other words, using that as a reminder his otherness, and his duty, and his commitment. Once I walked out of the Zen Dojo, I walked out of the grounds, I was still wearing my Rakusu. And I was walking around wearing it, and it felt wonderful. I felt so protected. I felt so safe in my Rakusu. I thought, I want to wear it all the time. Not yet. Yeah, well, he always said this. So, one time, there was a lady who wanted to ordain her cat. Because the cat was dying or something like that.

[52:48]

It was Honan. Her cat was dying upstairs. No, it was a different day. A long time ago. Oh, because the cat had a little ruckus because it was dying. And then we put it, the ruckus, it was on the altar after it died on the little memorial. Well, maybe that's the same person. How long ago was that? Well, you ordained Honan. Your first ordained name was Honan. Anne Murray. That was back in the mid-80s. Yeah, but I don't think that was it. There's another cat, David. There's another cat. And so, yeah, she made this little rock suit for her cat, you know, hanging from her collar. It must have been a comfort for her. Huh? It must have been a comfort for her, if not for the cat. I doubt it had any meaning. The cat was probably happy about it. Where am I? Where do you find yourself, I think, is where we are.

[53:49]

Yes, where do you find yourself? So he says, medicine and your delusive ego cure each other. So here is medicine and your ego. Both are neutralized and reduced to nothing. There is no ego. So where do you find your own self? At the same time, all the earth is medicine, and the universe is yourself, because they cure each other and become unified. So, all the earth is medicine. He says, when sickness comes, let it. When a remedy comes, let it. All the earth is you, yourself. I'm not going to say how you should deal with sickness and illness, because everybody does it their own way.

[54:55]

Everybody has their own relationship to it. Ancient and modern people make a great mistake. Remember that line? They don't know the true meaning of Uman's words. And here's about shut the gate, but do not build a cart. The ancient Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu says that even if one shuts the gate and builds the cart within, it still fits the road. But here, Sen Cho says, don't build a cart. That is, don't set up Buddhism and all that sort of thing. There's no need to be in such a bustle. The universe is vast and wide, and you can go anywhere you like. So mistaken, all is mistaken. 600 monks under the fifth patriarch all understood Buddhism. This is the story of the sixth ancestor. Only Eno, the sixth ancestor, did not understand Buddhism, and he became the sixth patriarch. Somebody asked Eno, the sixth patriarch, what is Buddhism?

[56:02]

And he said, I don't, well, what did he say? He said, oh, he said, I don't know anything about Buddhism. No, that's later, that's earlier. He said, I don't, I don't, I don't understand Buddhism, something like that. So their noses are stuck up to heaven, though they may be successful in studying and understanding Buddhism, that remains in the realm of merit. You must transcend merit and become meritless. So they will still be pierced for a rope. So like an ox, their nostrils will be pierced, and they will be led by a rope.

[57:06]

In other words, If you stick to your understanding, and stick to your enlightenment, and stick to your merit, and become famous, you'll be led around by a rope through your nose, like a cow. Is that Zen sickness? Yeah, that kind of Zen sickness. That's one of the Zen sicknesses. Yeah, they're two zen sicknesses, but they keep dividing until there's more and more. That's why it's hard to talk about that particular case. So you said to attach to awakening, fame, and dharma, right? Yes. All three? Yes. Any one of the three? Any one of the three. So here's my sastra that I wrote down.

[58:10]

The earth is neither good or bad. There is no fixed right or wrong. Too much medicine is poison, but poison can also be medicine. Temple bells can be turned into ornaments, armaments, and armaments can be turned into bells. Religion can be salvation or it can be poison. discovery can be beneficial or murderous. Stephen Hawking said that, didn't he? Yeah, well, yes. Maybe that's where I got it. The last phrase again? The last phrase? Scientific discovery can be beneficial or destructive. And having purified your active faculties, Buddha made you clean and free.

[59:11]

Faith and devotion cure each other. No, faith and doubt cure each other. Faith and doubt are really necessary to each other. Birth and death cure each other. So those are some of my notes. Ed, do you have anything that you want to say? How do you feel that scientific discovery creates destruction? Well, good luck with the atom bomb. And Google Stephen Hawking, he wrote a brilliant article on it. Well, you know, he has a lot in the forefront of science, but he would give you a list. Yeah. Well, you know, it just depends on how things are used. That's what I was thinking. purified? Well, purified means beyond duality.

[60:17]

Okay. Yes. We can look at This is number 87 on page 298. So this is Cleary's translation, which is different than his translation of the book, his old translation of Bill Clifford. But the introduction is pretty much the same. I'll read the introduction. Folks with clear eyes have no nest, which is a little different.

[61:24]

Sometimes on the summit of a solitary peak, the weeds, boundless, remember that, sometimes in the midst of a bustling marketplace, naked and free. So he talks about up in the top and down on the mountain and the summit and the solitary peak. and then in the marketplace, naked and free. Suddenly, they appear like an angry titan with three heads and six arms. Suddenly, as sun-face and moon-face, they radiate light of all-embracing compassion. They manifest all embodiments in a single particle and mix with mud and water to deal with people according to their type. That's the Bodhisattvas with their 33 bodies. deal with people according to their type. When they realize the transcendental opening, even the eyes of Buddha cannot see them. In other words, they're so blended in with things that you can't recognize them.

[62:34]

Even if all the sages appeared, they would have to fall back 3,000 miles. Is there anyone with the same attainment and the same realization So here's Hakuin, Hakuin's commentary. And then there is Tenkei's commentary. We did this last time. Folks with clear eyes have no nest. That's the text. And then Hakuin says, people in whom the great function is actually manifest are unfathomable, even to the gods, whether they act unconventionally or conventionally. When you pass through the impenetrables, there is no lingering. The whole universe is your guts. Sometimes on the summit of the solitary peak, that's the next line, this refers to holding still the absolute state where human tracks do not reach, where even birds cannot go through. Eyes gazing at the cloudy sky, one swallows the Buddhas of all times.

[63:41]

I'm talking about Buddhazen. There is nothing still in letting go. I'm sorry, there is holding still in letting go. And there is letting go in holding still. That's sasen. Holding still in letting go. And there's letting go in holding still. The weeds boundless is the text. Light and dark are not two. Though away from home, you are not on the road. So light and dark are not two. And Sando Kai talks about light and dark. In light, there is darkness. In darkness, there is light. Though away from home, you are not on the road. In other words, no matter where you are, you are where you are.

[64:41]

You're always where you are, no matter where you are. In front of the Buddha Shrine and the Dharma Hall, the weeds are 10 feet deep, so that's on the solitary peak. In the midst of the bustling marketplace, this refers to letting go, the relative state, where everything is like we see it in the light. Though on the road, you are not away from home. Chatterboxes at the present time are like so. This is entering the marketplace to reach out. Naked and free, this is the realm of holding still, the absolute state. So he's saying, entering the marketplace is where you reach out. Naked and free is the realm of holding still, the absolute state. So it's suddenly like an angry titan. Remember that line?

[65:44]

A Zen teacher, this is still Hakuin, suddenly like an angry titan, a Zen teacher showers blows of the staff like rain. That's like certain teachers. Hollers like thunder, booming, presenting various appearances of anger in order to teach students. sun face and moon face, also emanating the light of great compassion. Acting gently is the benefit of mercy." So he's saying, at one time, raining blows, and another time, acting very gentle is the benefit of mercy. This is the teacher's way. Manifest all embodiments in a single particle. the 32 responsive embodiments of universal compassion, those are the 33 methods of the Bodhisattva, and the 100 million emanated bodies of Buddha help people according to type and conformity with their faculties.

[66:57]

Adapting to types is the secondary level of meaning, doing the same things as ordinary mortals in order to integrate them into a field of enlightenment. So mix with mud and water. This means taking various approaches, even talking of hell. Release the transcendental opening, as when Buddhism brought them to China. Even the eyes of Buddha cannot see them, much less the devil. We say, Hell is just another place for a Zen student to practice. It's a challenge to his practice. If you have that understanding, you won't have any problems. Hell is just another place to practice.

[68:02]

So here's Tenkei. The fact that Zen is with clear eyes have no nests means that just when you think they're on top of a solitary peak, they've fallen into the weeds. That's a different approach. And just when you think they've fallen into the weeds in a noisy marketplace, they're in an effortless realm of freedom. So that's nice. This is a general outline of the activity of Zen teaching masters. In adapting to the needs of the time, they are like angry titans. And when they hold still transcendentally, yet they also are like sun face and moon face, adopting the pure visage of the moon, harmonizing the light with the world, methodically letting go by way of the secondary meaning. Then again, when they function fully, opening up the transcendental opening, not trapped in either holding still or letting go,

[69:07]

They cannot be espied even by the eyes of Buddha or devils. Even the sages and adepts fall back 3,000 miles, unable to keep up. Are there any Zenists who have similarly trained, attained, and similarly realized the functions stipulated above? Example. Uman says, medicine and disease quell each other. The whole earth is medicine. What is yourself? He uses what is yourself, and sometimes he uses where is yourself in the same paragraph, as you will see. So Hakuin says, there is no example more elevated than this one. This is a very elevated example, I have to say. Medicine and sickness cure each other. How many past and present have misunderstood it?

[70:11]

Medicine and disease quell each other. This may be viewed as the fundamental, plain and simple, revealing the countenance. There should be neither medicine nor self. The whole earth is medicine. Medicine is the whole earth. It is self. Is it what? That's a good question. He said, what? This sounds like Dogon. Directly pointing to the human mind, the whole world is medicine. Buddha is here. What is yourself? If the whole world is medicine, where can you point to as being yourself? Everything is only medicine. Right where medicine and illness quell each other, the whole universe is all yourself. So where is yourself? When there's no self, so to speak, no self means no ego, self-centeredness.

[71:15]

There is a self, but there's no self-centeredness. So then the whole universe is just what it is. Sickness is just sickness. Health is just health. Medicine is just medicine. Is this because we evaluate it in the sense of our needs and in the sense of our desires? Yes, we evaluate it according to our limited understanding. So, self arises and passes away in each moment. And yet, when self arises due to causes and conditions, there's a part of it that wants to maintain. So, to live in that space where there is self, yet no self, in that space, who is it that we point to? Who is it that attains? Who is it that there is no attainment for? So you're right back at being caught by the question. No, but the answer is in the question.

[72:17]

Instead of making it a question, just make it a statement. Which one? Who is? Who is? About who? You made a lot of who statements there. There was a lot of who in that, yes. And it wasn't who-y. No, it was who. Who performs. Okay, it's not a question. See it as a statement. Who performs. Who performs. Got it. Who's on first. What? Who's on first. Yeah, who is on first. There's not a question. What? So here's 10k. If the whole earth is medicine, that is not the sort of prescription given by quacks. Like taking a pulse.

[73:21]

Well, it's good that medicine actually take a pulse, but... You skipped a whole bunch, didn't you? Did I? Yeah. He skipped over to page 301, second paragraph. Oh. We're on 300. You were on 300. Oh. You just finished the first paragraph. OK. Thank you. You're welcome. There is no example more elevated than this one. How many past and present have misunderstood it? OK, we read that. 10K, just below that. 10K. The sages and ancient Buddhists all had prescriptions for practice and realization. In other words, do this and you'll get that. To those who were trapped in the notion of existence, they gave the medicine of nonexistence. To those who were trapped in the notion of nonexistence, they gave the medicine of existence. They measured out 84,000 medicines to treat the 84,000 illnesses of ordinary mortals.

[74:25]

But Uman's prescription today is special. If the whole earth is medicine, what illness does it cure? Where is yourself? Right at this very moment, what is this? It is all medicine, naturally complete, without cultivation. What practice or realization would you talk about? What do you think about that? What do I think about that? Especially in relation to Dogen's saying, you know, if you think that you can just do away with practice and realization because everything is Zen, that's a heresy, that's wrong. Say that again? Dogen said something like, if you think that you can just forget all about practice and realization, because everything is Zen, whatever you do is Zen, so there's no problem.

[75:30]

That's big, a huge mistake. Yes, but that's only relatively a huge mistake. And that medicine also has an illness. So the other side of that is that what don't get said. In order to have realization, there has to be practice. That's the medicine for ignoring the practice, which is... He's just throwing away... It sounds like he's just saying literally, but he's saying, practice realization, you don't need it. It doesn't sound like it. That's not true. Don't get trapped in that notion. Yes, because you have to realize that, especially humans, is always saying the opposite of what he means.

[76:33]

In other words, this is about being attached to something. It's not about, you know, this is the way it is. It's about being attached to something. So, if you are, you know, making an extreme case He's really not attached to what he's saying. We're assuming that he's not attached. He's taking responsibility, but at the same time, he's not being attached. We hope so. Well, yes, we hope so. I'm lost, but would it be that he's just saying that there's no need to discuss this Well, let's see what he's saying.

[77:41]

So he says, to those who are trapped in the notion of existence, they gave them medicine of non-existence, right? In other words, there's no self. To those who are trapped in the notion of, let's see, To those who are trapped in the notion of existence, in other words, things are, they gave the medicine of non-existence, you know, there's no self. To those who are trapped in the notion of non-existence, no self, they gave the medicine of existence, there is a self, right? Okay, they measured out 84,000 medicines to treat the 84,000 illnesses of ordinary mortals, whatever that means. But Uman's prescription today is special. If the whole earth is medicine, what illness does it cure? So if there can't be anything to cure for the whole earth is medicine, what need is there to cure anything if the whole earth is medicine?

[78:43]

So where is yourself? Do you have a self or you don't have a self? Which side are you on? So right at this very moment, what is this? It is all medicine, naturally complete, without cultivation. Yes, even though in order for you to understand it, there needs to be some cultivation, but it's there. appear in the world, whether you recognize them or not. So, what practice of realization would you talk about? So, Tenke notes very well that Dogen's talking about practice of realization, but he has to say this because he's saying, don't get stuck in practice and realization as the end of things. It's all about going beyond.

[79:48]

But if you think, well, I'll just go beyond, it's like trying to get through the maze without going step by step. Yes. It reminds me of the heart sutra, where there's form and the medicine is emptiness. Yes. There's form, and then at the end of the heart sutra, kate kate, it's kind of going beyond. going beyond. But you have to read the Heart Sutra and go through those step-by-steps. Right, you have to go through the maze to get through this, and you have all these dead ends. It's sort of like if you're around somebody who's only aware of the material world. Oh yeah, we know those people. And then if there's people who are only aware of the spiritual world. That's right. You've given me that medicine. Yes. Sorry, doc. Yes.

[80:50]

So, what level is this? That's why I wrote that. So anyway, that's probably as far as we can get, but we get the gist, right? It was really nice to do this class. And I want to especially thank Ron for making it all work.

[81:15]

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