The stream is pretty loud, so I'll try to do my best. I'll try to project my voice out to the kitchen. It really feels good to be at Pasajara again. to in a new window. I see that we have a time now, and more and more feels like a window, feels like a cared for, active place. This Zendo room, Zazen room, is a very special room.

[01:09]

Interesting that we have this very special room called the Zazen room, where we just do Zazen, just do one activity, one thing. And it's rude. Our social activity in Zazen is taken care of very meticulously, very carefully. And of all the things that we do in our life of practice with Zazen in this room is the thing that we really take care of the most articulately.

[02:24]

So it seems like a very special practice to us. And when we sit, everything, all of our bodies and minds become unified, become one. And for us, It's, we call it unification, realization. This is our starting point. Every morning, we get up, come to the zen meditation, and unify our body and mind. taking away all barriers.

[03:38]

And it becomes our starting point. Zero point. And from this point, we take a step out into the world. And this process unification and stepping out into the world. One step and then another step. That unification of no boundaries and then again entering into boundaries. entering into a world of boundaries. It's part of our practice. And Dogen Zenji called it Genjo Koan.

[04:53]

And we call it Buddhist practice, Zen practice. Sikhito Kitten in Sando Kai describes it as, in the dark, All is one in the darkness. Everything is one. Everything is unified. And in the light, everything is described in its individuality. So our zazen is starting point, is darkness.

[06:04]

not dark in color, not dark colors, not black, but without boundaries, everything is merged. Everything exists as one thing in that darkness. And when we take a step out of that darkness into light. This is called revealing everything in the light. Everything is revealed in the light. So these two sides of practice, two sides of our life go together. And this kind of definition is most basic, the most basic kind of religious practice.

[07:21]

For us, we feel very fortunate to have the most basic kind of religious practice. A practice which is based on our own experience. Religious practice that is based on our own effort and experience. And I think why, the reason why most people, most Americans, most of us, come to practice this kind of practice is because of its truthful simplicity. In this room, in this zendo, I'm sure that there are people from

[08:39]

almost every kind of cultural and religious background. And yet every person in here can meet in this space. And every person in here can meet and feel unified in this space. Why I started to practice Zazen was for this reason. It became obvious to me at once that Zazen was a universal practice, universal religious practice that everyone can enter into.

[09:45]

And even though Zazen is Buddhist practice, so-called Buddhist practice, part of Buddhist practice, the big question is, do you have to be a Buddhist to practice this unification? unification of mind and body with everyone. So, I'm a Buddhist priest, and I practice

[11:15]

this practice of loving. I feel... I have lots of faith in this practice of loving. But... I'm not... I don't have to be a Buddhist priest. Why I can't be a Buddhist priest? is because I feel I don't have to be a Buddhist priest. Because I don't have to be Buddhist, I can be a Buddhist. Why I feel very strongly about Zazen is because I really feel that Zazen is a universal way.

[12:34]

I think that the world needs a universal way. Not that everyone has to do one thing, but everyone can enter into this leveling, into this lost fundamental existence practice. I think that Kassahara's guest season was very valuable for people. Very valuable way for people to enter into this one mind practice.

[13:44]

Sometimes people come and ask me, if I'm a Christian, or if I'm Jewish, or some other religion, do I have to give up my religion in order to practice this way? How can you practice a Buddhist way without being Buddhist? Or how can you practice this Buddhist way while you still have adhered to some other religion or practice. This is a big question. If everyone has to be Buddhist in order to live in truth, I don't know if that will work. So, there's various levels of Zen, what we call Zen practice.

[15:04]

There's Buddhist Zen, and then there's Zen which is before any kind of religion. Zen which is precedes any kind of religious practice. special religious practice. Is this a Zen which precedes or is before any kind of religious overlay or overtones? Is the basis of any religious practice real base of any religious activity. If you feel that you're Christian, what is the zen of your Christianity?

[16:08]

Or if you're Jewish, what is the zen of your Jewish nature? Where do you find complete unification, complete unity. When we enter into the zen-dome, even though we're Buddhist or Christian or Jewish or any religion, once we sit down, everything falls away there's no buddhist or christian or jewish person there's just sitting everything is one everything is together when we get up again and take a step we become christian or buddhist

[17:22]

or Jewish, or man or woman. And then we can fight and kick each other, argue with each other. But when we sit, it doesn't matter, it doesn't make any difference. There's no difference. So, I feel that this observing is basic religious practice before religious practice. When we get up from Zazen, we have a service.

[18:27]

We bow and chant sutra. And this is a kind of Buddhist service. But I don't know if it has to be. Okay. Somehow we have to make some unity in this world.

[19:41]

Maybe the most important thing isn't to make some unity in this world, but I think it is. So I feel that the most important thing that we can do is to sit down and sit this level, practice this level, and to encourage people to sit by developing our own character. It's interesting when we notice people have their differences when they quarrel.

[21:24]

Even Zen students have differences, and Zen masters have differences. Someone reminded me that all the Zen masters have trouble getting along with each other. But actually, this is just on the surface. When they sit dozing, everything disappears. All differences disappear. So when we take a step, first step out of zazen is the most important step.

[22:29]

The most important step is our first step out of zazen. And then our next step after that, being careful how we interact in the world of differences. The world of differences is our real practice place. How to keep that mind, God-then mind, in the world of difference. Okay. Yeah.

[23:55]

Okay. Yeah. Okay.

[25:58]

So, So, as in my life, I'm very concerned about, think a lot about people who don't necessarily feel that they're Buddhists. Specifically, they practice

[28:09]

just like everyone else, but they don't necessarily have a feeling that they're a Buddhist. When I was studying with Suzuki Roshi, even though he asked me to be ordained as a priest, He never talked to me about being a Buddhist. And he didn't... He always encouraged people to keep their own religious practice. Not to... give up their religion to be Buddhist.

[29:17]

In fact, to just practice freely. and feel that he has a very generous heart, a big heart, even though he himself was not interested in some other religious practice. and he felt that he was a Buddhist through and through but not just from the outside because he found his true heart true mind he could have that kind of generosity and that kind of broad openness

[30:33]

I was not worried. If we don't if we have our own confidence in our own way, in our own standpoint, we can really learn to appreciate our own roots and the roots of others. I really feel it's important for everyone to appreciate their own roots and to find the essence of those roots.

[31:45]

So many people, it seems like, leave their own background or religious practice of their own background to seek something. If you really find the truth of buddhist practice, you can appreciate your own root, your own background. So I always encourage people to go look at their own background, to rediscover their own background, and to make peace with that.

[33:09]

And then continue however you need to continue. leave their own religious practice because of misunderstanding, because they misunderstand the true meaning. If we look back and accept the true meaning, penetrate to the truth of Christianity, or the truth of Judaism, we can appreciate what they really are.

[34:26]

and you can appreciate yourself and your ancestors. Lots of Buddhist priests come to America and they say, we have religion already. Why do you want to study Buddhism? I've had many Japanese priests say this to me. You already have our religion here. Why do you want to study Buddhism? They try to find out or understand why Americans want to study Buddhism. Then, when they already have great religions, great religious traditions, And that's still an open question.

[35:31]

I know why I didn't. Lots of us know why we didn't. But we don't always know the truth about Anyway, when we sit in our garden, we don't have to call ourselves anything.

[36:44]

This is already a wonderful place to be. Then when we proceed from Zazen, we can enjoy everything. If we just maintain our freedom, we can really enjoy and appreciate everything. Didn't we just maintain our freedom? So anyway, I feel that the most necessary thing for us is to practice ourselves.

[38:26]

Maintain our own determination. And if our practice is indeed practice of truth, we won't have to worry about If our practice is really practical truth, just our practice alone will touch people without having to prove the doubt or advertise or convince. for everything really depends on our own attitude and our own real conviction and our own willingness to drop everything

[39:52]

That is my feeling. Does anyone have questions? What do you think would be the value of receiving a precept? Does that make a person a Buddhist? Does that help in any way?

[41:19]

Does it affect them in any way? We have to ask ourselves, what is a Buddhist? This is always the question. What is the essence of Buddhism? What is the essence of precepts? Precepts mean just some rules of behavior. And if so, what is behavior?

[42:20]

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

[43:54]

practice of reality and truth. And we have to discover what that is. We have to discover it ourselves. Precept is initiation into that, into discovery of truth. Precept is just like darkness. It's like starting at the beginning. After you receive precepts, you're enlightened. You have realization. As soon as you take precepts, you have realization. But you have to go out and actualize that realization. After you have precepts, you're just as dumb as you were the moment before, but you actually have realization.

[45:02]

That's what precepts say. Now you have entered into realization, but you don't feel it. It means that you have to, from now on, actualize yourself in truth. So, anyway, it's just practice of truth. We call it Buddhism. Buddhism can be something else. So we have to be careful that we're always in the line of actuality. Buddhism itself can be corrupt or what we call, for instance, can be misleading or something.

[46:11]

We have to be able to keep pace. So, from time to time, there's a patriarch or a reformer that comes along and says, this is it. Don't end up like that. dug in, in his time, was not satisfied with the Buddhism of his time. So he searched out to find the true truth of Buddhism. What's the real truth of Buddhism? What's the reality? And that was his determined effort. So we take our practice from Dogen's discovery, or Dogen's point of departure. Looking for truth, not satisfying truth.

[47:16]

That's my feeling about what you feel. Anybody there? Thank you.

[48:23]

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