How can we fully realize the Buddha Dharma in our lives when the Buddha Dharma is simply thus? clearly observe this Buddha Dharma. This unique breeze of reality.

[01:54]

Can you see it? Clearly observe the unique breeze of reality.

[03:19]

Can you see it? Can you hear it? Creation works her loom and shuttle continuously? What does she produce? Can you experience her productions.

[04:35]

Clearly observe creation continuously working her loom and shuttle. incorporating the patterns of spring into the ancient brocade. Clearly observe these springtime patterns as they are woven into the ancient brocade. Right now, she is working right in front of you.

[06:55]

Right through your life, creation is working. you

[09:53]

Let us clearly observe. The truth of the Buddha is thus. Creation is working right now, here. When the ancients clearly observed, what was their response?

[17:16]

What did they say? When Dogenzenji clearly observed thus, he said, these mountains and waters, now, are the manifestation of the path of the old Buddhas.

[18:30]

Together, abiding In their Dharma position, they culminate the qualities of thorough exhaustiveness, Because they are events prior to the empty eon, they are the life of this present. Because they are the self before the emergence of subtle signs,

[19:52]

They are the penetrating liberation of immediate actuality. The virtue of driving clouds and the subtle work of soaring and according with the wind are accomplished through

[21:02]

these mountains Teacher Fuyo Dokai said that these green mountains are always walking. A stone woman gives birth to a child in the night.

[22:06]

Creation constantly works her loom and shuttle. Producing children in the night, constantly. Clearly observing witnessing the birth of these children. The birth of these walking mountains. They're born here.

[23:20]

Please let there be witnessing of this birth. In order to witness this birth, in order to clearly observe this suchness and witness this birth you may have to die of all other occupations I say may have to, but I think we have to die of all other occupations besides clearly observing.

[24:44]

I don't know if there's any point in saying words to you that have come from those who are clearly observing. Because when you clearly observe, you will have your own words. But it may be that by telling you how others have felt and what they have seen through their ears and what they said when they were clearly observing, it may help you guide yourself and guide yourself in your clear observing and may give you a way when you hear others' utterances from their attempts at clear observing these words may help you ascertain whether we are on the track or slipping back into our usual

[27:24]

patterns of confusion. So in the spirit of guidance and clear observing, in the spirit of guiding us to observing lustness, I read you these words. First, from Dogen Zhenzhi's great-grand-uncle, the teacher, Hongzhi. The essential working of Buddha after Buddha. the working essential of ancestor after ancestor, manifesting without thought, becoming without interplay, manifesting without thought

[28:56]

That manifestation is naturally intimate. Becoming without interplay, that becoming realizes itself. That manifestation, naturally intimate, there has never been any taint. that becoming, realizing itself, there has never been absolute or relative. The intimacy that has never been tainted, that intimacy never fades, yet is free and relaxed. That realization that has never been absolute or relative That realization is carried without a plan, is carried out without a plan.

[29:58]

The water is clear to the bottom. The fish travel like fish. The sky is vast beyond the heavens. Birds fly like birds. And that was not written by Hongjir, that was written by Dogenzenji. This was written by Hongjir. The Buddha's essential functioning, the ancestor's functioning essential, knows without relating to things, and illuminates without reflecting upon objects. Knowing without relating to things, its knowing is subtle of itself.

[31:06]

Illuminating without reflecting upon objects, its illumination is mysterious of itself. Its knowing, subtle of itself, is the thought of no discrimination. Its illumination, mysterious of itself, is the sign without the slightest mark. The thought with no discrimination, its knowing is complete without other. The sign without the slightest mark, its mark, its illumination is revealed without choice. The water is pure and clear to the bottom. A fish swims slowly. The sky is vast and finds no boundary.

[32:15]

A bird flies far away. Some lady that lives in San Francisco said, no water, no bottom, no fish, no sky, no heavens, no bird, no zazen, just zazen. Shakyamuni Buddha said, please, train yourself thus.

[33:44]

In the heard, there will be just the heard. In the seen, there will be just the seen. In the imagined, there will be just the imagined. In the known, there will be just the known. When for you, there is, in the herd, just the herd. And in the scene, just the scene. And in the image, just the image. And in the known, just the known. You will not identify with it. When you do not identify it, you will not locate yourself in it.

[35:20]

When you do not locate yourself in it, there will be no here or there or in between. And this will be, this will mean the end of suffering. This instruction seems to me, all these instructions seem to me basically the same.

[36:45]

Perhaps you could hear echoes between them. All are practices in suchness, in clearly observing thus. In particular, I would even suggest to you that these practices are reaching down into the lower chakras of your body. And in order to be successful with these practices that I've just been talking about, you may have to work on upper chakras of your body to get yourself...

[38:21]

awake enough to be interested in this material which I've just brought up. Another way to put this is that this material is not interesting from the point of view of some of our strong habits and that we really need help in order to be able to do these practices. So, particularly in the heart area, we may need to ask for help from the Buddhists and ancestors and from our friends who are doing the sesshin with us to help us do this rather from our point of view, perhaps not very interesting practice.

[39:23]

of simply observing clearly thus. And one way to what is your heart song? Perhaps you have a heart song. You may need to bring up your heart song. The song that I've been talking about is more maybe your creation song. It's the song

[40:32]

of the birth in the night before there is even a heart. But in order to get down there, in order to get down to where the eastern mountains are moving over the water, and children are popping out of the dark stone women, and mountains are dancing, you may have to use your heart song to get you down there. If you already can go down there, then your heart song has already allowed you to go. But if you're unable to go down to this immediate present where the mountains are walking, then perhaps encourage yourself with a heart song.

[41:48]

Does anyone have any heart songs that they could share? Or don't even share, just say? One just popped in my head. It's do the right thing. Each meets each. An appropriate statement.

[43:04]

It must be an upside-down statement. Listen, listen to my heart song. I will never forget you. I will never forsake you. I will never forget you. I will never forsake you. Listen, listen to my heart song. My heart song will accompany me down into the dark. down to dustness, down into the valley of the shadow of death.

[44:20]

What did those guys that went with Dorothy? One was missing a heart? Was one missing a heart? Huh? A heart? What? The tin man was missing a heart? And then the lion was missing what? Courage? Huh? Scarecrow was missing a brain. Well... You need the heart. You need the heart that the tin man was missing. If you don't have heart for this, then practicing suchness will seem like being a tin person. Practicing suchness is not supposed to be like a tin person, a tin Zen monk. He's got to have heart. In order to get down there to this practice of suchness, you've got to have heart.

[45:42]

You also need courage when you get down close. You've got to have heart even just to start going down there. But as you get down lower, you're going to need courage. The scarecrow, the one lacking a brain, you've already got a brain, you've got that. As a matter of fact, you need to get away from the brain and be more like the scarecrow. And when you get down to suchness, you will be more like a scarecrow. If you ask a scarecrow, what's this? He says, it's a hand. Very unsophisticated down there. Very simple. You don't need brain. You've got enough brain. But I think we do need to get the heart going a little bit to get down there. So you need a heart song to practice suchness. Suffering beings, beings that feel pain, beings that have psychological problems with pain,

[46:53]

are innumerable. I vow to make them all happy, to teach them Dharma, to practice suchness and to infect them with the practice of suchness until they're happy. This is another heart song. You need a heart song and you also need a courage song. What is your courage song? Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Is that right? Thy rod and thy staff will comfort me, and I will fear no evil.

[48:01]

As you go down into the green dragon cave of this gulch, as you go down there to actually clearly observe suchness, to actually witness creation working her loom and struttle as you go down into her shop into her weaving shop where she's creating the universe as you get to the door you may be frightened it's dark down there it's not that there's no evil it's that you're not afraid of it As a matter of fact, part of what she's cooking up down there, part of what she's weaving, is evil. It's all getting cooked up down there.

[49:11]

But down there, when you're down there, you don't have to be afraid of it. If you're down in the shop where it's being woven up, it's not really a problem. It's a problem when you're far away from it. So when we're quite a distance from it, we say, it's just not interesting. What's so interesting about suchness? Or even if they say that creation is happening right there, what's so interesting about it? Only the heart can make it interesting. And then when you get down further, you get scared. So then you have to have courage to go in there.

[50:17]

And when you get there, then you don't have to do anything. This is just the essential working of all Buddhas and the working essential of all the ancestors that's going on there. But we need to ask for help. to go down. We need to ask for help to be courageous. We need to have faith that our true nature will take care of us when we meet ourselves. And then we can simply practice thus. And just the herd will be the herd and the seen will be the seen and that's all.

[51:21]

Strangely enough, people are afraid of something so simple and so sweet as the scene just being the scene. Why would we be afraid of that? And yet we are when we approach it. Once we get there, of course, there's no fear and no suffering. But at the door, or as we approach the door, it's not easy and we get scared. We wonder who will take care of us. And in fact, Dogen Zenji says, it is a who that will care for you. There's always a who there. You can't ever take the one that takes care of us away. Again, you won't even get to that place of being afraid unless you're a little bit interested. So first is disinterest.

[52:25]

First is boredom, next is fear, and last is thus. So, Dorothy, please bring your little friends along with you. scarecrow let the scarecrow be just smart enough to hear these words and put a heart in the Tin Man so you can loosen up and enjoy such a boring possibility and take the lion with you and don't forget the little dog the little dog you can maybe guess where the little dog starts functioning. The dog is creation.

[53:46]

The dog is the fun at suchness. The dog can shit. Clearly observe the Dharma of the Buddha. The Dharma of the Buddha is thus, We are in danger.

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