Good morning. This session we are playing with the song of the Jewel Marrow Samadhi. attributed to Dongshan in the 9th century, a core teaching of our Xiaodong Soto lineage, and working with, playing with various lines of this song as a koan text. So I want to again repeat the two main turning lines, key phrases of this koan song. But then explore some others today that are particularly relevant to our zazen practice, although maybe every line in here is.

[01:01]

But the dharma of suchness, it begins, is intimately transmitted by Buddhas and ancestors. Now you have it. Preserve it well. So in some ways, it's enough to just sit with that verse, the dharma of suchness, the teaching, the reality, the truth of suchness, just this. The suchness as you sit upright, inhaling, exhaling, facing the wall, facing yourself, facing all of reality. this teaching, this reality, is intimately transmitted by all the Buddhist ancestors. Just this suchness, this reality. The suchness which is maybe the flip side of emptiness, but the wholeness of emptiness.

[02:07]

With each breath, suchness. With each exhale, suchness. This is what is intimately, openly, carefully, exquisitely, tenderly transmitted by all the Buddhism ancestors so that we can practice it here today. And now you have it. So Yunyan said this to his student Dongshan. Now you have it. Preserve it well. Take good care of it. Be careful. And since we chant this, as we will chant it in our midday service, now you have it. This is not something that you have to acquire. You have it. Here you go. It's already here. Now you have it. Preserve it well. How are you going to take care of such an amazing treasure, this jewel mirror of suchness?

[03:15]

How will we preserve it, take care of it, carry it on, keep it alive in this difficult world? So, there's much more to sit with this turning phrase. The dharma of suchness is intimately transmitted by Buddhas and ancestors. Now you have it. Preserve it well. And then the other key verse. It's like facing a jewel mirror. Form and reflection behold each other. You are not it, but in truth it is you. So as we talked about yesterday, it's like facing a precious mirror, a jewel mirror. As you face the wall, form and reflection behold each other.

[04:17]

What is it like when the wall faces you? You are not it, but actually it's you. So if we project ourselves on the world, that's not it. But actually, this jewel mirror that is, well, where is it? Where is it not? What is this jewel mirror? Is it only on the wall in front of you or the floor in front of you when you sit zazen? Is it in the face of some other when you sit face to face? Is it on the surface of Lake Michigan when you sit looking at the lake?

[05:19]

Is it below the surface of Lake Michigan when you sit facing the lake? Where is this precious mirror? You are not it, but in truth it is you. So these are the two key verses for this whole psalm. And it's enough to sit silent with those two verses. and to let them come up in your satsang. So again, these are not, the way we practice with koans is not to try and figure them out, but to allow them to inform this body-mind as you inhale and exhale on your seat. So there are many, many really juicy lines in this song. And we can talk about many of them and I'm interested in hearing how they sing in your body-mind.

[06:34]

And of course drumming and singing begin together. And it's tempting to just start going through line by line. But I won't do that. I'll try not to. I'll resist that temptation. I want to try and just pull up some of the lines that most obviously pertain to this, most directly pertain to this zazen practice. Move and you're trapped. Sit still. Miss and you fall into doubt and vacillation. If you think that you're not doing zazen as you're doing zazen, if you think you've missed it, you'll be caught in doubt and vacillation and you might start wiggling and vacillating and wondering, oh no,

[07:43]

What am I doing here? Is this Zazen? Do I deserve to be here with all these wonderful Zazen people? Move and you're trapped. Sit still. Of course, that leads into the line on the other side. Where is it? Outside still, but inside trembling. I can't find it right now, but... Oh yeah, it's about a... quarter of the way down on the second page.

[08:47]

Outside still and inside trembling. So is it enough to be still on the outside and inside trembling? Well, this is, often our zazen is like that. So if you're just rigid but trembling inside, I felt Zazen like that. Probably some of you have felt Zazen like that. Outside still and inside trembling, like tethered colts or cowering rats. So, you know, this stillness is not about being Zen zombies. If your trembling gets to be too much, it's OK to change your position in the middle of a period of satsang. Just do it quietly. Respect the people around you who are sitting still, inside and outside.

[09:57]

Or maybe they're trembling inside too, who knows? Outside still and inside trembling, like tethered colts or cowering rats. Or maybe that's OK. Maybe that's Yerzazan. I don't know. Outside still and inside trembling. There's a story about four kinds of horses. And maybe tethered colts is Yerzazan this period. Can you really enjoy that inner trembling? What is that inner trembling? So these turning phrases in this song of Samadhi of Jeweled Mirrors, these are

[11:10]

These are phrases to dig into in zazen. And if you've got inner trembling, well, what's that about? So the song goes on to say that the ancient sages, Mahakasyapa, Bodhidharma, Dogen, Huining, Suzuki Roshi, grieved for you and offer this song. So, is your zazen controlled by inverted views? This happens. Have you been led astray by reading too many books, by listening to too many Dharma talks, by singing too many Zen songs?

[12:24]

Do you get black and white confused? This is a problem in our society. When inverted thinking stops, the affirming mind naturally accords. This is about zazen too. So there's this inner trembling, and then there's this affirming mind. Can you just say yes? Affirming mind. Can you say yes to your inhale? Yes to your exhale. Yes to the pain in your knee. Yes to the pain in your shoulder. Can you affirm this posture? Not some posture you think you should have. Can you affirm this upright body on your seat? Can you allow natural accord? Can you allow zazen to accord with

[13:33]

Whatever it is on your seat. So actually, I can read almost all these lines as Zazen instructions. The affirming mind naturally accords. Can you hear the deep chords of Zazen? Can you affirm the deep chords of Zazen? And then there's this wonderful Zazen instruction. If you want to follow in the ancient tracts, if you want to follow the ancient sages, observe them. One of them, on the verge of realizing the Buddha way, So we're celebrating Rahatsa Sashin.

[14:41]

The fifth day is going to be on the day, the very day in which traditionally in East Asia we commemorate Shakyamuni Buddha's great awakening when he became the Buddha, when he fully realized the Buddha way. But here we're given an instruction about zazen, one just on the verge, one exhale away from fully realizing the Buddha way. Stopped and contemplated a tree, contemplated the wall, watched to see if the wall was observing them. Looked to see if he was not the tree, but the tree was him.

[15:48]

Contemplated a tree for 10 calpas. That's a long time. That's more than a couple of periods. Can we sit on that, at that edge, that verge, that razor's edge of just, you know, we're right there. We're just, you know. You know, now you have it, preserve it well. It's not, but you know, it's like we have it, but we're not gonna go out in the streets and start declaring it and say, hey, hey, I'm Buddha. You don't have to do that. on the verge. This is the bodhisattva way. Ten kalpas. It's a long time. And as I mentioned yesterday, the reference to contemplating a tree, in India, they didn't have enclosed zendos like this that developed in China, where it wasn't as warm as in India.

[17:09]

In India, they just wandered around and stopped when they saw a nice tree and sat and faced the tree instead of facing a wall. The same difference. So we can contemplate a wall for 10 kelpas. I don't know if this grass hut here, this storefront grass hut, will last 10 calves. Things are getting difficult in our world. Maybe Chicago will last 10 calves. We don't know. So again, each of these, so many lines here are, I've talked about it as koans and now I'm saying there's other instructions and the same difference.

[18:16]

These are phrases, lines, turning phrases to sit with. And whatever I say about them, there's much more to sit with about each of these lines. It's not a matter of delusion or enlightenment. We're not sitting to get rid of delusion or to get enlightenment. It's natural. It's wondrous. It's wonderful that we're here, even in the middle of this declining world. within causes and conditions, time and season, right within the situation of our world, of our own lives. It is serene and illuminating. This is what Dongshan declares, it's serene and illuminating. Right in the middle of winter in Chicago,

[19:18]

a relatively warm day, relatively warm winter day in Chicago. So Chris, I warn you that Chicago can get much colder than this in the winter. So I'm jumping around and yet each one of these lines we can spend ten kalpas on. And whether these teachings and approaches are master or not, reality constantly flows. Can you sit upright, inhale and exhale and just appreciate

[20:27]

as you face the wall and as the wall faces you, can you see, can you breathe, can you hear reality constantly flowing? In spite of all your ideas about delusion or enlightenment affirming mind or cowering rats. It's not reached by feelings or consciousness, so how could it involve deliberation? So, it's not that you should get rid of your thinking mind, but that's not where it's at.

[21:39]

All of your deliberations, you know, are not going to help or prevent the wooden man from starting to sing and the stone woman from getting up to dance. So our zazen practice is just to face this jewel mirror, just to face the wall, this wonderful, precious, jeweled wall, and allow the wall to face you. and see through the wall to all beings.

[22:45]

You're not it. You're not this mirror, but it actually is you. It's like a massive fire, turning away from it, trying to get a hold of it. Both miss. Okay.

[24:08]

So I can keep babbling about this, but I'll stop for a while. Does anybody have any responses or comments or further drumming and singing? Please feel free. Michael. Yeah. I just remember hearing a story about a moderns master, a master of archery. You know, everyone had fun gathering to see his skills. The target was, they were out on the beach. He stepped back and drew his bow and shot the arrow way over the target, way out in the sea.

[25:36]

Yes, come. Parents serve their lords, children obey their parents. Not obeying is not filial. Failure to serve is not help. And I think about who I am is not who my parents wanted me to be. I did not obey in those ways. Good, yes, well, you know, we're talking about something from 9th century China, and so this is, you know, Confucian values, and it's anachronistic.

[26:57]

But, you know, this is a Bodhisattva text, and so we are free to re-engage it. But yeah, in feudal China, as in feudal Europe, ministers serve their lords. Actually, in the original, it's children obey their fathers because this was a patriarchal society, even more than our own current patriarchal society. So filial piety was a great value. Failure to serve is no help. But I think we can understand this in other ways. We can understand this in bodhisattva context, that how do we serve? You've got to serve somebody, it's been said.

[27:58]

So how do you, who is it? that you serve in your practice, in your life? And as a Bodhisattva minister, how do you serve Buddha or whoever it is you serve? And how do you obey your teachers, whoever you take as a teacher? What does it mean to obey most deeply? Sometimes not obeying is the most faithful. So one of, you know, there's this wonderful practice called civil disobedience, which might be the most faithful kind of obedience sometimes. So this is the, so, When there's a line in koans, when there's something, like in reading Dogen also, when you stub your toe on something, that's a place to really look what's going on there.

[29:13]

Failure to serve is not helpful. How do you serve? What does it mean to serve? It's up to you. You don't have to adopt the values of 9th century China or even last century United States. whatever, the current United States government, what is it for you, for the Zazen person on your seat, right? What does it mean to serve? Who is it that you want to serve? How is it that you want to serve? How is it that you want to be helpful? This is what the precepts are about, right? So you've taken the precepts. So this is, you know, the question of what is zarzazen for? What's the point of, you know, this is the whole point of this song. So we are all Buddha's children.

[30:25]

Here, now. So how do we obey Buddha, all the Buddhas, throughout space and time? How do we take care of the Buddhas? So this goes back to the very beginning of this text. So this whole song is about the dharma of suchness and how it is intimately transmitted by Buddhists and ancestors. How do we preserve it well? How do we take care of, as children of Buddha, of preserving this song and all the other Bodhisattva songs, this practice of sitting upright and taking care of this practice so that we have lineages that we chant sometimes of the ancestors.

[31:35]

And also we chant here sometimes the women ancestors, all the great women who have kept this alive. How do we take care of the dharma of suchness? So this means, so not following along, not preserving it well is not, you know, you could say filial, but it's not faithful to our commitment to zazen. And then the next line, practice hidden. I can't say anything about that. It's hidden. It functions secretly. We're all kind of foolish. We're all idiots.

[32:37]

But can you do this continuously? So that's a little bit about that. Yes, Susan. I have the characters at home. I think it can be translated as just obey, but it has other, most Chinese characters have various meanings and it's obey, but it also, yeah, it also means to follow, that's right. that which is most humane.

[33:51]

But it's interesting. Yeah, so to honor, I think one of the meanings is to follow, but that might mean to honor and follow in the deepest sense might mean to disobey literally, to disobey the letter of the, to ask a question, which is, hey, what's going on? Yeah. So yes, that's right, to question, to question the meaning. So the meaning is not in the words, yet it responds to the question. This phrase, the pivotal moment, I talked about yesterday. It means, to, it responds to the student's inquiry. It responds to the impulsive inquiry, the energy of inquiry. So to be faithful means to question.

[34:56]

Douglas. Do you think that the Minister Lord parent children could be sort of a reference to the five ranks? Sure, yes. Yeah, absolutely. So this song introduces the five degrees teaching, which is the dialectical philosophy that's the underlying Soto Zen, and actually all of Zen. And there's references to the fives. And that's about the way in which the interaction of what's sometimes called inclined and upright, here it's called inclined and upright, but it's the way in which, so this song is also, along with everything else, it's about the process of how we integrate our sense of, our glimpse of our inhale and exhale of the ultimate and universal underlying reality, overlying, surrounding reality with the conventional, phenomenal, provisional particulars of time and season.

[36:23]

So our practice is not to get enlightenment or get rid of delusion. It's to integrate wholeness with partiality. It's to find a way to bring our sense of that which can't be said into our everyday ordinary interaction with the calamity of this world. So this song is about This song is a series of koans and zazen instructions to help support that.

[37:31]

Anybody else stubbed their toe against any of these lines? So you all understand it perfectly. Michael. Yeah, they're both possible translations. That character could be translated literally as master, but host within host is a little bit of Zen jargon, and that also goes back to the five degrees. There's a, what's that? Yeah, and Linji Rinzai wrote about the four guests and hosts.

[38:47]

So yeah, it's a way of talking about student and teacher. So there's a lot of stuff going on in this song. I've just scratched the surface. There's a whole thing about language and how do we use language. There's a whole thing about the interaction between students and teachers. And then there's this thing about the five-fold way in which universal and particular interact. And as part of that, there's a There are lots of metaphors for that, including ministers and lords and guests and hosts, so there's a whole way in which guests and hosts are used. This translation, I decided to just use master among masters because it takes it out of that jargon. But yeah, the host within the host is a way of talking about the fifth stage or the fourth stage of the four guests and hosts.

[39:54]

Yes, Chris. Yeah, but there's a whole huge philosophy and philosophical discussion about this in Xiaodong, Chinese Chan, and in Linji, Chan, and in, actually this also relates to flower ornament, Huayen Buddhism.

[41:02]

And in Japanese Soto too, but Dogen discourages all of that because it just gets to be too much of a kind of philosophical scheme and it gets us away from just our own experience. particularly uses poetry and image and metaphor. And if you get too much caught up in some systematic philosophy, that takes us away from our own experience. So just to see it as poetry and image and metaphor is maybe more helpful. So as opposed to kind of trying to analyze it all philosophically. So anyway, that's just part of our tradition. Yeah. Oh yeah, there are lots of references here and that's one of the lines that can be translated in lots of ways.

[42:22]

That horse with shanks gone gray has sometimes been translated a horse with a white left hind leg. But we don't know what that meant, if it meant anything. But yeah, it's just a battle-scarred tiger, an old war horse, you know, basically. So there are some lines here that are very challenging and questionable in terms of the translations. But I think these translations are as good as any. Dylan. It feels like there's two lines that are contradicting each other. Oh, good. Although it is not constructed, it is not beyond words. Right, exactly.

[43:36]

If you try and embellish it with lots of flowery, poetic, literary stuff, if you're just That's not the point. Yet, we use words. I'm sorry. I should just give you this page and not say anything, but some of you might not get it, Miriam. I think I'm in your blind spot.

[44:45]

No, he's in my blind spot. The other blind spot. In this shank here. Like, you know, when you have to change lanes together. Paula! As far as going to words, I think it goes back to exactly what we're doing here. We always say in Zen, it's a very physical practice and we need to embody the physicality of it. and that even Bodhidharma did not leave a lot of verbal teachings behind and all this, but yet, we have such a strong philosophical tradition with so much poetry and everything. So, for me, I always feel when we look at these texts, we're like going down a rabbit hole, and we end up where we're at right now, where we overanalyze it. When my toe butts against that, other teachers and titans has told me that you're starting to limit yourself then to the possibility of dharma.

[45:54]

When you feel that it can't be manifest through words or it can't be experienced through words, then you're creating characterizations and fragmentations. So even though you can overanalyze it, But you have to acknowledge that words are an important aspect of it if we want to embrace the whole of it, if that helps at all. Tom has something to say. Baba wala. I just have to remind myself of that, because I get frustrated as we get into these conversations, because it's my personality. And then it's like, why are you getting frustrated? And then to remember to embrace also the verbiage of it. And yet, it's not reached by feelings or consciousness. How could it involve the liberation? When the wooden man starts to sing, the stone woman gets up and dances.

[46:59]

So. Yeah, that's my favorite line. Ba-ba-wa-wa. The stone woman that gets up.

[47:06]

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