Good morning everyone. I have been living in this building for two and a half years, but I usually don't participate in the practice activities because I have another work. And every day I walk to Sokoji in Japan town. So I walk, you know, back and forth every day. And Sokoji is the original place of Zen Center. And Zen Center moved to Beiji Street from Sokoji in 1969. So, 30 years ago. And since then, there's not much interaction between Sokoji and Zen Center.

[01:10]

The office I have been working since 1997 is called Soto Zen Education Center. and I'm the director of that office. This office was established by Japanese Soto school to be a kind of a bridge between American Soto Zen Sanghas and Japanese Soto Zen tradition. So, not only between Zen Center and Sokoji, but also I go back and forth between American Zen and Japanese Zen. And I'm also a part of American Zen. I have my own sangha. And my sangha bought a small piece of land in Bloomington, Indiana.

[02:24]

and I'm going to move there, hopefully next year. So I'm a part of the American Zen, but I was born in Japan, and I studied Buddhism, and I was trained as a priest in Japan. So within myself, there's American Zen and Japanese Zen, and I have to go back and forth It's a kind of difficult practice. I feel like a bat. Halfway between birds and animals. And I feel I'm neither of them. And I feel people think I'm not either of them. But I think this is very interesting and also precious experience as a person, as a practitioner of Buddhism and also Sotozen tradition.

[03:44]

Not many people can have such a practice. So it's very hard, but I like it. Anyway, this is the first session for me at the city center. And this is also the first Genzo-e session in this country. Genzo-e Genzo means, of course, Shobo Genzo. This is an abbreviation of, you know, Genzo is an abbreviation of Shobo Genzo. And the English translation of this Shobo Genzo is True Dharma I Treasure. And this is the title of Dogen Zenji, the founder of Japanese Soto Zen school. Dogen Zenji's major writing.

[04:51]

And E means gathering or assembly. So Genzo E literally means a gathering for studying Shobo Genzo. This tradition started in the early 20th century, actually 1905, so almost 100 years ago. Until the early 20th, Shobo Genzo, had been studied by only a small number of, how can I say, priests, scholastic, academic, not academic, but scholar monks. Even among priests, not many people studied Shobo Gendo, because it's very difficult.

[05:55]

So, you know, in the beginning of the 20th century, people thought shobo-genzo should be studied among the larger community. So at Eheiji, they started this gathering, Genzo-e, to study shobo-genzo. And they invited well-known teacher. Actually, the first lecturer of this Renzoe at Eheiji in the year 1905 was Oka Soutan Roshi. He was a very well-known Zen master and also a scholar. He was the president of Komazawa at that time. It was called Sōtō-shū University. Under the guidance of Oka Sōtanrōshi, he was also an abbot of a monastery called Shūzenji.

[07:13]

Under the guidance of this Roshi, Sawaki Roshi is my teacher's teacher. And Kishidawa Ian Roshi was a teacher of Suzuki Shunryu Roshi. And Hashimoto Eiko Roshi, who was a teacher of Katagiri Roshi, practiced together. So, you know, we are all connected. So since then, many people, not only priests, Soto-shu priests, but many lay people have become interested in Shobo-genzo. And today, tons of books on Shobo-genzo have been published. I don't want to translate all of them. But anyway, Shobo-genzo is very well known in Japan now.

[08:17]

in the last 100 years. In American so-called Zen, When I started to practice Taiji with my teacher, Kosho Uchiyama Roshi, he encouraged me to study English. Because that was early 70s, at that time, so many people, westerners, includes Americans and Europeans, came to Japan, lived in the neighborhood of Taiji, and came to sit with us every day. But Uchiyama didn't speak English or any European languages. So he asked his students, his disciples, to study English. And three people went to English school.

[09:19]

And I was one of them. When I was asked to study English, I didn't want to, actually. I had no desire to study English or to speak English. But somehow, he asked me. I couldn't say no. I was a very weak person. So, I said yes. That was a mistake. That yes made me a but. You know, between American and Japanese then. Anyway. So somehow I started to study English. And I wanted to study, you know, Dogen's teaching in English.

[10:24]

And I tried to find an English book on Soto Zen or Dogen's teaching. I only found, let's see, three books. Two of them were translations. One of the first ones is a translation of Shobo Genzo Zuimonki, translated by a Japanese scholar whose name was Masunaga Reiho. I think the title of the book is Premier of Soto Zen. I think this book is still available. And another one is a very small book and a collection of very short writings by Dogen, like Afukan Zazengi, or Universal Recommendation of Zazen, and a few chapters of Shobo Genzo.

[11:29]

And the third book I found was Suzuki Shunryo Roshi's The Beginner's Mind. That was, I think, published in 1970 or 71. Anyway, so 30 years ago, we only had three English books on Soto Zen, at least I found. But, you know, in the last 30 years, there are so many books have been translated from Japanese to English. And also many books are written in English about Sotozen practice. And I'm very happy about that. That's why, you know, we have so many people here today. So we have many translations. But the problem is, you know, how can I say, Dogen's writings

[12:33]

is very difficult. Even in Japan, when we study Shobo Genzo, not only Shobo Genzo, but any Dogen's writings, we study with commentaries. Because, you know, Dogen lived in the 13th century, 800 years ago. And his writings were, like, maybe for Western people, English literature written in 13th century mixed together with Latin and Greek. I think Chinese is like Latin or Greek for European people in that age. So you can imagine how difficult it is. And not only Chinese but mixed together with Sanskrit words.

[13:36]

So, even Japanese people, it's very difficult to even read Shobo Genzo without understanding. So, as a person, who is, you know, walking back and forth between Japanese Zen and American Zen, I think this is my kind of a mission to, how can I say, I don't think I have deep enough understanding of Dogen's writings, but at least I have been studying and practicing Dogen's teachings and his practice for a little bit more than 30 years. I studied Buddhism and Dogen's teachings at Komazawa University and since then I have been studying Dogen's teachings and practicing the Zen according to Dogen's teachings.

[14:53]

So one thing I can contribute from the Japanese side to the American side is to offer my understanding of Dogen's teaching. This Genzo-e is the first kind of activity I try to offer my understanding through my practice and experience of Zazen and reading Dogen's writings. And I hope This, my activity, or my practice, can be helpful for American practitioners and students of Dogen Zenji's Zen.

[15:58]

Not only Dogen's students, but also Dogen is very unique. and yet very profound teacher. So not only people who are interested in or practicing Dogen's or Soto's tradition, his teaching must be very interesting and helpful to understand what Buddha's teaching is. So this is what I'd like to do the rest of my life. This is the first such activity, so I'm very happy to be here today and to have this Genzoe Sesshin. Anyway, and this Sesshin, we study one of the chapters

[16:59]

or facet of Shogo Genzo, entitled San Sui Kyo. San Sui Kyo literally means mountains, waters, sutra. And this is really typical Dogen's writing. All people, many people like this writing. And I like it too. But I'm not sure whether I understand it or not. You know, after 30 years of practice and study, I'm not sure whether my understanding is really what Gogen wants to say or not. But anyway, I think I have some understanding. So I'd like to share with people who practice this session.

[18:01]

As an introduction of this writing, Sansui Chou, Mountains, Rivers, Sutra, basically in this writing, Dogen's saying is mountains and rivers or not only rivers, but waters, that we see today, are themselves sutra. This is not a sutra about mountains and waters, but basically he is saying that mountains and waters are themselves a sutra. That means expounding Buddha's teaching or Buddha Dharma. And at least one source of this Bögen's inspiration about this idea, mountains and rivers are themselves sutra, is

[19:14]

Of course, we can find many sources, but one poem by a very well-known Chinese poet, Dogen Zenji, wrote another chapter of Shobo Genzo about this poem. And the name of the poet, Chinese poet, was Su Shi. Su Shi, or another name is Su Dong Po. Or in Japanese, So Shoku, or Soto Uba. And this poem is very well known. in Zen practitioners. And usually this poem was called the verse or poem of keisei sanshoku. Kei means valley stream.

[20:23]

And sei means sounds. So the sounds of valley stream. and san is mountain, and shoku or shiki means color or form, form or shape. So, keisei sanshoku literally means sound of valley stream and color or form of mountains. This is Chinese poems, so I cannot read Chinese. I'm a Japanese. But we read Chinese poems in Japanese way. And first I read this Chinese poem in Japanese way. It might be interesting to you. And I found five English translations of this poem.

[21:30]

And it might be interesting to you, too, to know how different translations are. And I'd like to talk about my understanding of this poem and my understanding of Dogen's understanding of this poem. Anyway, the original poem is as follows. In Japanese. Keisei wa sunawachi kore kouchou zetsu. Sanshoku wa shoujoushin ni arazaru koto nashi. Yarai hachiman shisen no ge. Tajitsu ikan ga hito ni kojisen. That's it.

[22:32]

Very short poem. And the first English translation is by the person's name, Beta Grant, from the book titled, Mount Lou Revisited. This is a book about sushi. and this translation is as follows. The marbling brook is the Buddha's long, broad tongue and is not the shapely mountain, the body of purity. Through the night, I listen to 80,000 gathas.

[23:35]

When dawn breaks, how will I explain it to the others? This is the first translation. And the second one is by Karl Bielefeld, a professor at Stanford University. His translation is, the sound of the stream, the sound of the stream is his long, broad tongue. The mountain, his immaculate body. These evenings are 84,000 verses. How will I Tell them tomorrow. This is the second translation. And the third one is by Francis Cook.

[24:39]

It says, the sounds of the valley stream are his long, broad tongue. The forms of the mountains are his pure body. At night, I heard the Myriad Sutra verses uttered. How can I relate it to others what they say? And the fourth translation, one, two, three, four, is by Kazu Tanahashi in the book Enlightenment Unfolds. It says, various sounds are the long, broad tongue.

[25:43]

Mountain colors, he says colors, mountain colors, are no other than the unconditioned body. Unconditioned body. 84,000 verses are heard throughout the night. So he made it passive. What can I say? about this at the future times. And the last one, the fifth one, is by Nishijima in his translation of Shobo Genzo. He said, the voices of the river valley are the Buddha's wide and long tongue. The form of the mountains is nothing other than his pure body.

[26:52]

Through the night, 84,000 verses, on another day, How can I tell them to others? Those are five translations of the same poem. And I think, you know, these five different translations of one poem has something to do with what Dogen is saying in Sanseikyo. That means our views, each one of us' views, are limited or biased by our karma or karmic consciousness. you know, there are five different translations of one poem.

[27:58]

But when we read, you know, one of the translations, we understand through only this one translation. And depending upon the translation, the image we have might be different. And even if we read the same translation, say, one same translation, depending upon our karma, or our experiences about valley streams, or the color of mountains, our understanding might be different. Then, what is a true color? of the mountains, and what the valley stream really is saying. Which understanding is true, or is there any such true or real understanding or not?

[29:09]

This is a very important point of what Dogen discussed in Sansui-kyo. You know, I tried to make my own translation of this verse. And I looked up dictionaries, both Japanese-English dictionaries and Chinese-Japanese dictionaries. You know, Chinese is not my own language. And English is not my own language. So, again, I have to be back and forth between Chinese and English. And then I looked up the Japanese-English dictionary of the Japanese word for panni, the original word for valet stream.

[30:22]

TANI, as an equivalent of Japanese word TANI, I found almost 10 English words. And when I looked up a Chinese-Japanese dictionary, I found 10, almost 10 different Chinese characters, Chinese word for this word TANI. So there are 20 different words. And, you know, as a poet, the difference of each word is very important. So what really this poet, Chinese poet Xu Xin, wants to use I don't know because I'm not him and I'm not Chinese. So I only understand, try to understand this poem through my understanding and my experience about the valley stream and the colors of mountains and my understanding of Buddhist or Dogen's teaching.

[31:45]

about this poem. So I really don't know what the Chinese poet wants to say. And I really don't know what I'm speaking right now in English sounds to you. So we are very kind of uncertain. And I think this uncertainty is reality of our life. And so to know, to understand this uncertainty is a very important point of insight of Dharma. And this is something to do with Buddha's teaching of emptiness. So we must be patient.

[32:50]

So please be patient. That means please don't trust my what I'm saying, but try to see, really see the colors of mountains by yourself. and try to hear the sound of a valet stream by yourself as your own personal experience and try to tell others. That is what Sushi is saying. So what I'm speaking now is my experience, my understanding or my thought about the sounds of a valley stream and the color of mountains. And both Tsu Shi and Dogen said, those are Buddha's teachings.

[33:53]

He said, the sounds of valley streams are Buddha's teachings, or voice of Buddha. And the colors or forms of mountains are Buddha's body. How can we hear that message from Buddha. And how can we see the Buddha? This is the most essential point of Buddhist teaching or Buddhist study. If we are Buddha's students, we have to listen to Buddha's teaching, of course. And we have to see Buddha. Seeing Buddha is a really important point of Mahayana teaching. Dogen wrote a chapter of Shobo Genzo entitled Ken Butsu, that means Seeing Buddha.

[35:00]

Because, you know, in India, after Shakyamuni Buddha died, people thought there's no Buddha anymore. So there's no way to see Buddha, to meet Buddha personally. So here they tried to study Buddha's teachings recorded in the sutras and tried to practice following those teachings in the sutras. But somehow Mahayana people thought they saw Buddha, they could see Buddha. That's why Mahayana people produced so many Mahayana sutras. Historically, those are not a record of Buddha's teaching. As you know. But somehow, Mahayana people thought they really saw Buddha's body.

[36:04]

And they really heard Buddha's teaching. And they produced so many sutras, and they thought those are really written by Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha. In a sense, that is not true. It's a lie. So Mahayana Buddhism is based on a kind of lie, false sayings. So this is also a very important point of Mahayana Buddhism. How we can see Buddha's body? How we can hear Buddha's voice? Is it possible or not? And Mahayana people thought it's possible. And Dogen said it's possible. Because

[37:13]

at least in Dogen's tradition, because the sound of various streams, not only the sound of various streams, but this means the sound of everything in nature, like the sound of wind, the sound of birds singing, or whatever sound is expounding what Buddha taught, expounding the truth or reality that Buddha discovered, that Buddha awakened to. And whatever thing we see as object of our eyes, if we have eyes to see, that is Buddha's body. You know, the title of Dogen's writing, Shobo Genzo, first three words, Shobo Gen, means true dharma eye.

[38:26]

So we need this eye, true dharma, this dharma which can see true dharma. Then we can see Buddha's body. And if we have the ear to hear Buddha's teaching, then we can hear really the sutra. And when we have this ear, and when we have this eye, which can really see the reality of each and everything, not only good things. But also, we see and hear so many terrible things, so many painful things. But even through those negative things, if we have the ear, if we have the eye, we can see and hear Buddha's teachings.

[39:35]

And how, so important point is, how can we have such an ear and such an eyes? That is the point of our study and practice, at least in Mahayana Buddhism. And that is what Dogen is discussing in Sansuikyo, or Mountain and Water Sutras. So that is what I'm going to talk this week during this session. Well, basically Dogen's answer is how we can see, hear Buddha's teaching through the sound of a valley stream, or wind, or a bird singing, and how can we see Buddha himself through everything we see.

[40:52]

point of this kind of transformation is, of course, our Zazen practice. Another point I'd like to share is two sentences Dogen wrote in the end of chapter of Keisei Sanshoku in Shobo Genzo. He says, At the time of genuine practice, that means when we practice Buddhadharma, or when we practice with genuine aspiration, sounds and forms, sounds and forms of the various streams, and sounds and

[42:22]

sound and forms of the mountains do not begrudge their 84,000 verses. So, when we practice, of course, what is our practice is another point to discuss. But if we have a genuine practice, the sound of a valley stream and the color of mountains doesn't, how can I say, hide the teaching, the truth, the reality of all beings. So the important point is, what is the condition of this person?

[43:27]

Whether we are ready to listen? to the sound of a valley stream, or whether we are ready to see Buddha's form or Buddha's body through the form of mountains, not only mountains, but the form of everything. When the self does not begrudge fame and gain, body and mind, the very stream does not begrudge anything in the same way. So he is saying, if we don't hide, that means You know, we often, or almost always, make a kind of a fence, a wall, between us and all other things.

[44:35]

And we begrudge whatever we own as my personal possession. And, you know, we often want to get something good and take them into my territory and try not to give away. This is our basic problem caused by our three poisonous minds. You know, greed, anger, or hatred, and ignorance. This is the basic problem caused by us, human beings. If we are free from those three poisonous minds and see, you know, how can I say, the fence we create is only our mind construction made by ourselves.

[45:39]

Within reality there is no such fence. And if we are free from this separation According to Dogen, then mountains and rivers, and all, each and everything, are always expanding Buddha's teaching. That means the reality of impermanence, egolessness, and interdependent origination. So actually, there's no such thing. This is the sound of something. What I try to say is, in order to listen, hear the teaching of Buddha through everything we encounter in our everyday life, we have to make our eyes clear and make our ears also clear.

[47:11]

And even though we see the Dharma, we don't really see the Dharma. So how can we get this true Dharma eye or true Dharma ear? That is the point of our practice. And, of course, in Soto Zen tradition, what we have been doing in order to make this transformation of our eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body and mind is, of course, kind of a monastic practice. And the center of our monastic practice is Zazen. Not only zazen, but each and every action, activities in our day-to-day lives.

[48:16]

Chanting sutras, or listening dharma, or eating, using oryoki, or cooking, or cleaning. Those activities with our pure mind, pure heart, and awakening. mind or being mindful is the way we transform our sixth sense organs into the two dharma, eye, ear, tongue, body and mind. And I think you know, as American Zen. As I said in the beginning, I'm a part of American Zen. Maybe Father Dogen, Dogen Zenji, prescribed about the practice of this transformation, or in a way, not practice of transformation, but practice of transformed way, transformed

[49:37]

the eye, tongue, body and mind. Maybe it doesn't work so well. I think we can still practice in the same way, with the same spirit as Dogen did 800 years ago in Japan. Still in this country we can do it. But not many American people want to do it. then how we can practice with this transformed way, how we can live with true Dharma eye, true Dharma ear, true Dharma anything. I think this is the point that we have to kind of create. how we can live in that way in modern society.

[50:43]

And if we find such a way, not only find, but create the way how to live with such a spirit in the modern society, then I think, you know, American Zen could be very helpful for non-Japanese too. Because in Japanese society, people, we have the same problem. We have a long established tradition of Zen practice, but somehow we felt that doesn't work anymore. So we need something new. But we don't know. Because of such a long, strong tradition, it's very difficult to create something new. So, if we Americans create something new, then it can be very helpful as an inspiration to Japanese Zen practitioners, I think.

[52:01]

So, this is my kind of a wish as a but. Well, I think it's time to stop talking. Thank you very much for listening. I hope you hear Buddha's voice through my voice. Thank you.

[52:24]

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