Good evening. The wonderful thing about our practice is that you can actually enter the door of practice and go right to the top immediately without learning anything, without having to know anything particularly. As a matter of fact, it's necessary to plunge right into the middle of practice, right into the middle of your life before you know anything.

[01:07]

So we say practice comes first and understanding comes later, sort of like So the entrance to practice is through zazen and bowing and the various forms that we have which create not only an atmosphere for practice but a vehicle. creates an atmosphere for practice. So, when we enter the room, there's a very special feeling. You know, when you enter the Zindo, that there's only one purpose for this room.

[02:17]

And when you enter, your consciousness and body take on the shape an atmosphere of the room, and this helps us to sit sazin and to practice non-duality. Zindo is a physical form of the entrance, the entry or the gate of non-duality. the room where, when you enter it, you know that what we do in that room is enter into non-dual activity. And all of the practices are non-dual practices.

[03:21]

Zazen and Kimhin, chanting, In other words, we give up the mind that separates, and we give up a discriminative mind and resume our true nature, or big mind. We bring a small mind into the room and offer it up to big mind. So we have some feeling about zazen. Zazen is very central to this practice. But everything we do in the Jindo is equally important, and each thing is an aspect of zazen.

[04:32]

Tonight, I want to talk a bit about bowing. bowing is zazen, and bowing is a very easy way to enter into the realm of non-duality. Intellectually, we may have some idea about non-duality, and to have a good understanding of non-duality is not so easy. but we can actually practice it before we understand it. And it's necessary to practice before we understand it, because there's no way to really understand it unless we enter into it. It's like talking about swimming. You can read books on swimming,

[05:38]

But until you actually dive into the water and start moving around, you don't know what swimming is. Maybe after swimming for a long time, you still may not know what swimming is, but you can do it. So whether we understand our practice or not, we understand something. we may not be able to explain what it is. It's pretty hard to explain what it is, because words are naturally dualistic. Words are always dividing. Words separate. So even when we're talking about non-duality, we're talking about it in a dualistic way. So maybe best thing is just to bow and go on.

[06:44]

Bowing is, sometimes we say, question it. When we first come to practice, we question bowing. What is this thing that we're doing? And we feel very strange because people don't usually do this. And so you kind of go along with it maybe because you do. There's something that you feel that it's okay, I'll go along with it because everybody's doing it. And when you get a feeling for Zazen and a feeling for bowing then at some point you actually accept it. We often have a lot of resistance to bowing. Sometimes we say, well, what are we bowing to?

[07:54]

If we bow to the altar, you may feel we're bowing to idols. You know, there are a lot of people who think that Buddhists are idol worshippers. because they put a figure on the altar and then bow. But when you bow to the altar, what are you bowing to? When you bow to your food, what are you bowing to? When you bow to your cushion, what are you bowing to? An interesting question, because the altar and the figure on the altar, and the cushion, and your food are all different things. Or are they? Are they the same, or are they different? Who is Buddha, and what is your dinner?

[09:02]

What is your cushion? Who are you? So when we bow, we say, we just bow to ourself. When you bow to the altar, or this figure on the altar, we just bow to ourself. When you bow to your food, you just are bowing to yourself. When you bow to the cushion, you're just bowing to yourself. Who are you? What is this yourself that you're bowing to? Where is the limit of you? Where is your border? So when we bow to the altar, or bow to the figure on the altar, we don't say, I'm now bowing to Buddha.

[10:22]

We just bow without any idea about Buddha or altar. When we bow to our cushion, we just bow without any idea of cushion. When we bow to our food, we just bow without any idea of food or dinner, just bow. And when we bow without any idea, then everything is equal. The figure on the altar is no different than your dinner or your cushion or cats or dogs So in one sense, everything is different. The altar is the altar. Your cushion is your cushion. Your dinner is your dinner. But in another sense, everything is the same.

[11:26]

Everything is equal. Everything is equal. Everything is Buddha nature. So when we bow, we just give up everything. No thoughts, no idea about something, no opinions, just meeting. Just when we meet, what do we meet? So when we bow, wherever we bow, we meet ourself. This is non-dual practice. Everywhere we turn, we meet our Self. Everywhere we bow, every place we bow, we meet our Self. Not our small Self, not our ego, but our big Self, which has no limits.

[12:39]

So this is the point of zazen, and this is the point of bowing. Same thing. So it's very important to give up any idea or opinion about what it is. bowing, you know, when you bow you go up and down, but when you bow, you know, we bring our two sides together. This is Buddha's side and this is, or this is the side of the Absolute, and this is the phenomenal side.

[13:45]

and we bring them both together. This is Zazen. No separation. Even though everything has its own position and own function, it all fits together as one piece. So when we bow, we stop, we come down, we come down to the end and stop for just a second. It's just that one second of complete stillness where we exist completely with everything as ourselves. Just drop body and mind. So, there's a way of thinking about our fingers, and when we bring them together, you can say that

[15:09]

The thumb is Buddha, this thumb is Buddha, and this thumb is human world, Buddha's world and human world, and so we put the Buddha's world and human world together so that there's no gap. And this is Bodhisattva realm, and this is the realm of fighting demons, those who are addicted to turmoil. And we bring those two together. And this middle finger is Pratyekabuddha. And this middle finger is the animal realm. And those two come together.

[16:13]

And this third finger is shravakas. And this third finger is hungry ghosts. And those two fingers come together. And this little finger is the heavenly realm. And this little finger is the hell realm. And these two come together. So when we put our palms together, all the mundane realms and the Buddha realms all come together in a big mind. Pracheka, well we know what Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are. Pracheka Buddhas are those unusual people who find out how to become Buddha by themselves, without a teacher, but they have no ... Pacheco Buddhas have no way of teaching people.

[17:24]

They just happen to have attained Buddhahood, and they have no interest in teaching, or they don't know how. And Sravakas are the followers of Buddha, who are sometimes called Arhats, who haven't quite reached Buddhahood. So, you know, you can see that these realms are realms of our own, each one of us. has aspects of these ten realms. We're both human and Buddha. It's important to have faith in the fact that, as humans, we're Buddha. There's no difference between Buddhas and human beings.

[18:30]

So human beings can practice being Buddha. The Buddha mind is the mind of non-duality, the mind which sees into the reality of our life. the oneness and diversity of our lives. So it's really quite a simple practice. You can enter that realm just by putting your hands together sincerely and bowing. not necessarily to understand it, but if you do it sincerely, if you really give up everything when you bow, and just bow, then you will understand it.

[19:47]

So it's very easy for our mind to become divided and scattered, and for us to lose our basis. So both Zazen and bowing, in both Zazen and bowing we can unify our mind. unify our body and mind with Big Mind, Universal Mind. So, three things, body, mind, and breath. the unity of body, mind, and breath in Sazen and in all of our activities.

[21:14]

When we know how to bow, then each step is a step into Buddha's realm. It's a very easy entrance, but sometimes it's hard to realize because it's so simple. So in our Zen practice, we do a lot of bowing. We bow to everything, but it's always to Buddha nature. Buddha bows to Buddha. Buddha meets Buddha. Buddha seeks Buddha. I think Dogen Zenji says, as long as there's bowing, there will be true practice.

[22:30]

I used to ask Suzuki Roshin why we bowed nine times during service. I thought, well, maybe we could cut it down to three. In Japan, I think these two people often just do three bows. He said, in America, I think you need nine bows. But you can tell where a person is at by the way they bow. And if you bow too quickly, it feels superficial. If you bow too slowly, it seems a little ostentatious.

[23:39]

So just to be natural is important, just with some good feeling. not too much, not too little. And so we're always taught very specifically how to hold our hands and so forth. So we were always taught that when we put our palms together and hold our hands about even with the bottom of our nose, the tips of your fingers Not up like this. This is more Hindu, I think. But even with the bottom of your nose and out about 10 inches above. And then when you bow, you bow with your body at the waist. Not like this. But use your whole body to bow.

[24:41]

When we do things, we use our whole body when we pick up a glass of water, we use both hands. Both hands. The cup, you know, it's easy to pick up with one hand, but two hands is total involvement, total presence. This is treating the cup as myself. So, I'm drinking water, but water is also drinking me. Do you think so? I think so. So bowing is a wonderful way to gain concentration, one concentrated act which your whole body and mind can participate in completely and simply.

[26:16]

And when we bow down to the floor, we put our elbows in the backs of our hands on the floor with our fingers together like this and touch our foreheads. And when you touch your forehead, you lift your hands as if you were lifting somebody's feet. Some people go like this or like that, but that's not right. Just lift your palms. as if you were lifting something that you didn't want to turn over, just like this. You can think of it as an offering, or you can think of it as lifting Buddha's feet. That's the original meaning, is that you lift Buddha above your head. But I like to think of it as just an offering.

[27:34]

There's nothing there, right? But this is lifting Buddha's feet, even though there's nobody standing there. Where are Buddha's feet? Whether we like somebody or don't like somebody or feel good about somebody or don't feel so good about somebody, we can always bow, you know, giving up all kinds of ideas, feelings, emotions, and just bring the universe together again. This is a very important practice. How do we bow when we're not bowing?

[28:37]

When you don't have your hands together, how do you bow all the time? It's interesting, at Takahara, When we practice the Tathagara, we bow much more. Whenever you meet someone during your practice, you bow. You don't have to say anything. You don't have to say, Hi Joe, what's doing? You don't have to do that. You just bow. And there's acknowledgement and meeting. So when you go to Mandare, after you've been at Tathagara for six months, and you go into the grocery store, and you give the clerk your money, and then you bow to the clerk.

[29:39]

The clerk gives you a funny look, but you feel okay about it. They know you in Monterey. Maybe you have some questions. You know, when we sit in zazen, we hold our hands a little differently, like this. This is called this mudra. It's called cosmic mudra. Why do you suppose that is? You know, there's the entire universe right there. So, think a little differently about it.

[30:41]

When you put your palms together, you don't think, well, this is, you know, Buddha and all the ten realms. You just put them together, right? But it's nice to think that way. But this mudra, cosmic mudra, we hold it very lightly. The whole universe is right there. So, our relation to the universe should be light and buoyant, not too tight, not too loose. How do we harmonize ourselves with the universe? It's right here. How do we harmonize ourselves with the universe in this mudra, or in this posture? So this mudra in Zazen is very important.

[31:46]

The way we hold the mudra in Zazen is very important. When your thumbs start pressing together, you know that there's too much tension. When your thumbs start to collapse, you know, you're too loose, you're falling apart. So this is a kind of barometer for Zazen, the mudra. So we pay very careful attention to the mudra because it tells us how we're doing, how our body and mind are falling out of harmony, or falling out of balance, or getting tense, or too loose. Maintaining balance and harmony, moment to moment, is very important. Yes? Well, that's a good question.

[32:57]

Sometimes we bow with our hands in gassho. Sometimes we bow, shashu, bow. I don't know. Shashu is a little less formal, you know. It's a body bow. And why we use shashu sometimes instead of gassho I'm not sure. Maybe someone else is. But it's also a way of bowing. Less formal. So when we want to bow in a less formal way, we just do it like that. That's kind of Japanese style. Yes? Oh, you mean like when we pass each other and so forth?

[34:05]

Well, I do. Not always, but often I do. And I think that somehow it got a little lost, you know, somewhere along the line. Michael knows. Yeah, I think that's true. They initiated people. They know to bow, but if someone comes in the door, say, that's never been here before, and you bow to them, you know, you're going to feel a little puzzled, or it's a little awkward, right? But still, on the first floor, you can bow to people you know. And I think that's fine. There are also two kinds of bowing.

[35:17]

There are more, but two kinds that we are concerned with. One is when you bow. This is a very formal kind of bow. It's when you put your palms together and there's no gap. Your fingers are together. And thumbs are together. And your arms are not like this, but somewhat up. And then you bow, and a kind of formal bow to your Krishan or to Buddha or something. And a little less formal bow, like when we bow to each other, is you can keep a little space in your hands, even though your thumbs and fingers are together, there's some space. It's not so hard, a little softer feeling. So anyway, when we bow to each other, I think it's really good to do it mindfully and carefully.

[36:31]

I notice often in the Zen Do, when we're serving for meals, The servers are into a kind of rhythm, and the server will bow to the people who they're serving, but without really bowing to them. It's just a kind of courtesy bow, which doesn't mean much. It's just, because I have to do it, I do it. And it's just a kind of perfunctory act where you don't have to make it long drawn out, but at least it should be meeting, should at least meet the people that you're vowing to. Then it has some feeling. So the main thing is how you meet each other and how we address

[37:33]

object. When we really meet, even though it's just for a moment, there's real meeting, really meeting ourself in each other. And if we have that feeling, our practice becomes deep and real. Sometimes people feel funny bowing to the teacher in we bow, come into the room and bow to the teacher.

[38:36]

And the teacher is sitting like this, and you do a prostration to the teacher. But the teacher is also willing to do a prostration to you, but the form is that the teacher is sitting and the student is bowing. But we have to realize that we're both bowing to Buddha, no matter what position we're in. Buddha bows to Buddha, and a teacher bows to a student as Buddha, and there's really no difference. Do you have some feeling about that? Breath?

[39:41]

When you bow? When you prostrate yourself? If you pay too much attention to it, you might get mixed up. Usually a breath takes care of itself when we bow. But if you look at it, you can see that maybe you inhale when you go down and exhale when you come up. Or maybe it's the other way around. I can't say exactly what it should be. But usually our body takes care of itself. When we try to think about it, that maybe interferes and you get mixed up. So you might just watch and see how you're breathing. When you do that. Yeah, when the person bows at you, then you bow to them.

[40:44]

So that you're always doing what you're doing. And so you always have yourself, no matter what anybody else is doing, you always have yourself. That's a very important point. It's the same with getting angry or you know, to always maintain your own, coming from your own side. And the tendency to want to react pulls you off balance. And then you kind of join hands with that and then you do get pulled off balance. So maintain your own integrity and treat that person as Buddha no matter what they're doing at you. And you always be on your side. That's very important in our practice, to be able to respond instead of reacting. Response comes from our side. Reaction is going over to the other side and acting the same way.

[41:51]

So you're always presenting Buddha's world no matter what the other person is presenting. So when you can maintain that attitude, that samadhi, it's called the Jishu Dhammai, samadhi of self-mastery, where you can't be pulled off your place and you always come from your Buddha nature, rather than being reactive and acting in the same way that someone's acting toward you. Like when dogs start barking, the other dog starts barking and pretty soon they're all jumping at each other. And then another analogy is the lion, and the lion and the dog, when you take a stick and you shake it at the dog,

[43:00]

the dog will start barking and going for the stick. But when you shake the stick at a lion, the lion will ignore the stick and go for you.

[43:11]

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