Good afternoon. Here is a copy of the Uchiyama Rest poem I mentioned. So if you want, please take one after this lecture. The last paragraph of page 12. Do not surrender mountains by saying that the blue mountains cannot walk, nor the east mountain move over the water. It is because of the baseness of the common person's point of view that we doubt the phrase, the blue mountains walk.

[01:01]

because of the crudeness of flowing mountain. Without having fully penetrated even the term flowing water. Yes. I'm sorry. Of our limited experience, we are surprised by the words flowing mountain. Without having fully penetrated even the term flowing water. We just remain sunk in our limited perception. From here until the end of this section, the section of Fuyodokai's saying, Blue Mountains Are Walking, he picks up some views, some our views, and kind of criticize. the first one is maybe most of us have this reaction.

[02:11]

It's not possible to promote in the work. Without any thinking, we just reject. That's nonsense. That's nonsense too. So he said, do not surrender mountains by saying that the blue mountains come to walk, nor the east mountain move over the water. As he has been saying, said, you know, mountain really walks. And of course, waters really flows. It is because of the baseness of the common person's point of view that we doubt the phrase, the Blue Mountains Walk.

[03:14]

Because of the crudeness of our limited experience, we are surprised by the world's flowing mountain. So we view things and think, depending upon what kind of idea, understanding, knowledge, or as a result of our experiences, study, or education. If we hear something which doesn't fit my system of knowledge, we just reject it and we say, that's nonsense. I think the process of our education is like a you know, kind of a hiding the block of, how can I say, piece of blocks to make a kind of a building of knowledge.

[04:17]

And when that, you know, building is completed, it's become a prism. and difficult to get out. If you are a lawyer or a doctor or whatever kind of, you know, profession you have, in my case, a Buddhist priest, I have been a kind of building up the knowledge about my Buddhism. And it's become a kind of a building. And we often forget to keep the entrance open or the window open. But we, you know, how can I say, close everything. And we think that is perfectness of my system of knowledge.

[05:22]

And we kind of have difficulty to open the entrance or window and get new air, fresh air. Please. That's also the conditioning of parents, society, and culture that makes us believe our view is the same. So you could get 100 people in the room with 100 different backgrounds or conditions. So when we hear the strange things like mountains are walking, we just say nonsense. It's very natural for us. But according to Dogen, that's because of daceness and crudeness.

[06:26]

These are not good words. Anyway, I think that is true. So somehow, for example, Ujjamaa said, one of the meaning of our practice of zazen, of letting go, is like doing massage on our head to make it soft. It's same as, you know, open the window and get a fresh air. That is, I think, one of the functions of our zazen. We become flexible by keep letting go of whatever thought or thinking coming up. But that is our usual way, and we call... Let's see... Yeah, Dogen says later, so I'll talk it later.

[07:35]

But those are all limited views. And when we hear the words such as flowing water, it's a kind of a matter of fact. So we think when we hear water flow, without thinking, we think that's a matter of course. But that is also a problem for us. So he's saying we need to be free from our ready-made, well-being things created by our karma. Thus, the accumulated virtues of the mountain brought up here represent its very name and form, its vital art.

[08:38]

The accumulated virtues mean the virtues accumulated by the practice or the work of the mountains. And Dogen said, kind of virtues. One is virtue of step forward or going up. Another is virtue of go down or stepping back and study the self. And as a result of those accumulation or practice, mountains is mountains at this moment. And we call it a mountain. And so that is name and form of mountain. And that is a vital artery. Artery.

[09:40]

What is artery? A vein. It's different. The artery goes, where the blood goes out to the body, and the vein is where the blood comes back. I see. Artery, vein. Okay, anyway, this is the word in ketchmyaku in our lineage sheet. This is ketchmyaku? This is maymyaku, not ketch. Ketch is blood, but may is life. So life artery or life vein. I think that means life itself. The blood is circulating this body. That is, you know, has been transmitted from Buddha through generations of ancestors. That is our vital artery. Please.

[10:44]

The word accumulated, many people talk about sudden and gradual. Is this related at all to sudden and gradual? Sudden and gradual, in terms of sudden enlightenment and gradual enlightenment. Is it accumulated like gradual? Let's see. I don't think so. The original word Dogen uses is . Kudoku is the word we had before, the merit or virtues. Shaku means to pile up or accumulate. Sho makes this passive.

[11:46]

So, you know, to accumulate or pile the kudoku or merit is very common expression in Buddhism. That is our practice or our offering, bring about some virtues or merit. And in order to become Buddha, we need to pile up or accumulate certain kudoku. Yes, yes, yes. So, yeah, in echo or dedication, we offer this merit, not for this person, but for all beings. And another way Another usage of this kudoku is in the very famous koan story about Bodhidharma and Emperor Wu. Bodhidharma said, no kudoku, or mukudoku.

[12:50]

That is the word. No merit. Please. Anything special about being in form? Ah... Well, name, I don't think so. It's because of the merit of practice that has been done. Mountain has its name as mountain, or Buddha ancestor has its own name as Buddha or ancestor. I think that's all in this context. OK. So he says, there is a mountain walk and a mountain flow. And there is a time when the mountains give birth to a mountain child.

[13:57]

This is about dharma transmission from teacher to student. Somehow, mountains give birth to mixed mountains. And he's going to talk about giving birth to a child later about a stone woman. So I talk about giving birth at that time. And the mountains become the Buddhas and ancestors. So mountains, this entire world or network of interdependent origination in which we are part of it. This entire network become Buddhas and ancestors. This entire network, you know, practice.

[15:00]

And in Uchiha Maroshi's life, or my teacher's life, he was the center of that interdependent origination. And in my life, I am the center of this interdependent origination. So each and every one of us are center of the world. That is a kind of a strange thing. If we think world as a flat thing, like a map, center must be only one. I studied geography in Japan using the map or atlas made in Japan. The world art is made in Japan. Japan is a center. Only one center. Often, because Japan is so tiny, only that Japan is colored with red.

[16:09]

Japan has a red color. This is a special place. That is my picture of the world. input when I was a child. And it was very kind of difficult for me to become free from that frame. So when I went to Massachusetts in New England, in my atlas, that was the edge of the world. Really edge of the world. If the center of the world is Japan, this side is New England, the edge of the world. And the other side is Europe or England. So for the first few years, I felt I was on the edge of the world. I'm sorry. Oh, here. But after a few years I was there, a Japanese family visited.

[17:24]

The Japanese person was doing some kind of research at a hospital in Connecticut. And he had a family and children. And once we visited his house, and we saw his children's room, and there was a map or atlas made in USA. And I was surprised. That is the center of the world. You know, Until then, I really felt the center of the world is in the West. I was in the edge. But when I found the atlas made in USA, I found out this is the center of the world. Since the Earth has three dimensions and it's sphere, everywhere, wherever it is, is center of the world.

[18:36]

And I think that is very important. If we think center of the world is only one and it's me, that's a problem. But if we think there are numerous center of the world, that means every one of us is a center of the world and we respect that, then it's okay. We are all at the center of the world. And we should understand not only me, but everyone of us are at the center of the world. And I think the important point is I see the world from this center. And you see the world from that center. So all of you are part of my world. and I am part of your world. And I cannot see from that side.

[19:39]

I can only see from this side. I think that is why our view is limited. So I don't think Dogen is saying there is some absolutely right view. absolute view. But he I think what he is saying is to our right view is that, you know, our view is limited. I think that is very important wisdom. Our view is limited. But my view, from my point of view, is only view I can use, I can see, only way I can see the world. So this is my condition, not only me, but human condition. And when we hear from others about the view, from that point of view and we can have some understanding about how the world looks like from that side.

[20:47]

That is the way how we study the world more kind of a broader perspective. And that is the meaning of listening Dharma or studying teaching, not only from Buddhist texts or Buddhist teachers, by reading and studying any books or listening many, any people's, you know, opinion. By listening, you know, our view become broader and more flexible. If we understand that my view is not always absolutely right. I think that is very important because this human world become one society.

[21:50]

Before 20th century, each country has its own territory, and we don't have so much interaction, so Japanese people can be just Japanese. And we think Japanese way is totally, completely right way. But when we hear, you know, different view or opinion from outside of Japan, we have some rejection or some suspicious, you know, suspicious. And, you know, we are skeptical and sometimes we try to counter argue or even fight. That is, I think, what happened in the 20th century. People from different cultural, spiritual, or whatever background meet each other and couldn't understand. Then it's very natural to argue or even fight.

[22:56]

But I think in this century, we need to, how can I say, study each other or listen to each other. That makes our view even a little bit broader and our kind of building building building of our knowledge more kind of a Flexible or we can get more fresh air And I think what we are doing as a at least what I'm doing as a Kind of I don't like this one, but Buddhist missionary from Japan kind of a how can I say make Japanese Buddhist a little open to the rest of the world and also by American people studying Buddhism or other Asian spirituality you are

[24:12]

view or idea can be even can be broaden or more flexible. I think that is very important thing. If we, you know, human beings live together. And, and within this, you know, one society on this small earth. See, So actually the mountains become the, I mean, in the, I started to talk about this, about when Uchamurasi was alive, Uchamurasi was the center of the world, and he practiced as a universal self. So that is one complete world. His world, universal self, that is whichever is the expression of the self, universal or connected with everyone, penetrating with, you know, into entire world.

[25:20]

Please. Okay. Okay, so each of us, you know, Is that the same thing, or universal? Well, let's see. I think... Is that part of an enlightened type of mind? Enlightened type of mind. I think what Ujjambura is saying, we are living within the world. We are part of the world, and we are connected with everything. We are like a knot of the net, and everything is connected. But we can see this world only from inside. And as I said, this entire network of interdependent origination is called mountain.

[26:26]

And Uchamurose called this entire network as Jiko, or self. And that is what, you know, in his expression, universal self. That is this self, but this, including this entire universe, including or connected with this entire universe, is what Uchamaro said, self. Or Dogen said, this entire world is the part of the boat, as he said in Zenki, when we are sailing on the boat. So we are part of the world, but the world is part of me. That is what Uche Morishi meant when he used the expression universal self. Okay? And so this is his world.

[27:34]

When he was alive, that was his world. And as a disciple, I was a part of his world. But for me, Uchamurashi was a part of my world. And I'm in this mountain. Well, this mountain is me. Not after his death, but from the beginning. So each person has kind of a complete world. That is, which Amaroshi says, we are born with entire universe, and we live together with entire universe, and we die with entire universe. So when he died, his entire universe is dead. It's gone. But my entire universe is here. So he often said, you know, we often think that our life is like, or this world is like a stage.

[28:46]

And when we are born, we appear on this stage. And we, you know, pray for a while. And we exit from this stage. But stage is always there. I think that is our common view, but Uchimuro said that is not real reality for each one of us. When we are born, this entire world was born together with me. And when we are living, we are living with this entire world. And the center of that world is me. And when we die, this entire world dies with me. But when we think, I know as a knowledge, because I studied history before I was born, something happened. And even Ucha Moroshi died, I'm still alive.

[29:50]

So as a knowledge or intellectual understanding, I think the world was there even before I was born. And why the world will be there even after my death? But that is our knowledge, our understanding. our interaction as a real reality. There's no past before I was born as my own personal experience. That's all knowledge or information I get from study. And I create that picture of the world or the history of the world as my you know, no system of understanding. And that, he said, that is not real thing. That is human fabrication. And as a fabrication, it might be correct.

[30:56]

As an understanding or knowledge, it's correct. But that is not real thing. That is some kind of abstraction created in our mind. So, As a real reality of our life, he said, you know, we are born together with the entire universe, and we are living together with the entire universe. And when we die, my entire universe dies. So what I was trying to say is, his world is complete, completely his world. And my world is completely my world. And so it's kind of a strange thing that, you know, dharma can be transmitted from his world to my world. It's a very strange thing.

[31:58]

And that is one of the reasons, one of the meanings of, you know, this dharma is stone woman. But that stone woman doesn't give a birth to anyone, anything. It's completed. There's no way to give birth to other or another thing because it's a complete oneness. But somehow, you know, this complete oneness, dharma of complete oneness, transmit from, you know, Bodhidharma to second ancestor, and from second ancestor to third ancestor, and from Bhujiamarosi to me, somehow. It's a very strange thing. It's mysterious. And a stone woman gives a verse to a child is an expression of this strange thing or miracle.

[33:00]

There's no way to transmit, but somehow it's transmitted. because his world is only his, his understanding, his point of view, his karma is only his, and my karma is only mine. But somehow his life, his entire life, transmitted to me and what I'm doing here is in a sense how can I say in a sense reincarnation of his life or his practice at least so he's still alive in that sense it's kind of a strange thing to say we are each one of us are completely independent and yet You know, we are completely one. And dharma, the life, has been transmitted from teacher to student or parents to children.

[34:06]

It's a really strange thing. I mean, I often use the word strange, but this strange is a translation for me of myou, Myo in Myoho. Myoho is Sadharma. Sadharma. Sadharma, Pundalika Sutra. S-A-D. Sadharma. Sadharma. S-A-D-H-A. You know, part of the Lotus Sutra, Saddharma Pundalika Sutra. Saddharma. Sad means wondrous or excellent or wondrous, excellent, beautiful. Yes. Myo means strange, too. Wander means it's beyond our thinking, beyond our understanding, beyond our grasping.

[35:08]

Anyway, that's how, you know, the mountain become mountain, and mountain gives birth to mountains. And next he picks up four kind of views appeared in Buddhist sutras about mountains. Even when we have the eyes to see mountains as the appearance of grass and trees, earth and stone, fences and walls, this is nothing to doubt, nothing to be moved by. It is not the complete appearance. of the mountains. This is a kind of common sense. A mountain is a collection of grasses and trees, earth and stone, fences and walls.

[36:19]

This is a very ordinary thing. This is one of the views. we have about mountains. That's a collection of dirt, rock, trees, and many different kinds of living beings that is mountain. So this is nothing to doubt, of course, and nothing to be moved by. It's nothing special. So we can accept this easily, naturally. But he said, it is not the complete appearance of the mountains. He said, this is not complete. Our common sense, common idea of the mountain is not complete. The original word for this appearance is genjo in genjo koan.

[37:24]

So another possible translation is manifestation or actualization of the mountains. And next one is, even when there appears an occasion in which the mountains are seen as the splendor of the seven treasures, this is still not the real refuge. some people or some beings see the mountain as a splendor of the seven treasures. Seven treasures are not the particular jewels, but the names of the jewels are not important, but something very kind of valuable. rare and beautiful. So sometimes we see mountain not simply as a collection of dirt or grasses and trees, but sometimes we see the beauty of the mountain like a jewel.

[38:37]

You know, as you know, like a poet or a photographer or a painter see the mountain as like a jewel. It's really beautiful. That is one way to see mountains. And that is fine. As, you know, like the poems by Su Shi, or Su Dong Bu. By seeing those pictures, photos, or by reading poems or paintings, we see the beauty of our life. So it's a really wonderful thing. But he says, this is still not the real refuge. Real refuge, I think maybe as English expression, difficult to understand what it means. But this is a translation of Jikki.

[39:41]

Jitsu means true or real or genuine. And ki means to return. And this ki is used as a compound with ei. Ki-e means taking refuge. Namu ki-e butsu. So ki-e is a Chinese translation of namu in Sanskrit. And jitsu is true. So true things which we return to or which we take refuge. That is the meaning of this true refuge. Please. Oh, genuine. True, real, or genuine.

[41:00]

And so that means three treasures for us Buddhists. And Dogen Zenji, I think, in the Shobo Genzo Kiesanbo, Taking Refuge in Three Treasures, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, he said, we take refuge in three treasures, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, because those three are jikkii, He used this word, expression, jikki, truly, really, return to. Do you understand what I'm saying? Please. Are you saying that in the reference to seven treasures, that's Carl's translation, and that Dogen really said three treasures?

[42:05]

No, he said seven jewels. Hichiho, seven jewels, or seven treasures. It's different from three treasures. Different one. Seven treasures here means various valuable, beautiful jewels. Not necessarily three treasures or triple treasures. But this word, jikki, means we really return to, we really truly take refuge. So what he's saying here is to see mountains like jewels or beautiful way as an artistic way is not really where we should return, where we take refuge. That means it's still somewhat karmic. It's beautiful and it's really wonderful, but still conditioned.

[43:11]

And next one is, even when they appear to us as a realm of the practice of the way of the Buddhas, this is not necessarily something to be desired. Some people see that mountain is a place where Buddhas and sages and all those spiritual practitioners practice. And yet he said, this is not necessarily something to be desired. something to be desired is a translation of I show. I means show is place, I is to love, something we love. And this is an expression, Sekitokisen, Sekitō Kisen, I think you know Sekitō Kisen, used in his poem titled So Anka.

[44:23]

So Anka is a poem or a song of furtive hermitage. He said his hermitage, it's a very small hermitage on the rock. Sekito means head of the rock, I mean head of rocks, rock. That means he built a hermitage on the huge rock. That's why he was called Sekito or rock head. It's like an iron head. Anyway, Sektor said, this small hermitage is not worldly people's eyeshow where to love. Worldly people don't love such a small, humble hermitage. So what he's saying is, that kind of view about mountain, that this is a spiritual place, is still not necessarily we have to desire to go.

[45:36]

And next one, even when reality is more than this, The crowning appearance of this vision means this is the highest vision, that this mountain is the inconceivable virtue of Buddhas. So this is actually what Phat Dogen said, the mountain is a result of accumulation of conceivable virtues of practice, So actually, this is actually his view. But he said, this reality is more, their reality, the reality of the mountain is more than this. So these are, he said, these are all views. No matter, you know, these are mistaken and these are wonderful.

[46:46]

But these are not mistaken. Yeah, incomplete. But he says, these are not complete view of the mountains. And he said, each of these appearances, this appearance is also genjo. Each of these appearances. or viewed, we create when we see the mountains, depending upon our karmic consciousness, is the particular objective and subjective result of past karma. They are not the karma of the way of the Buddhas and ancestors, but narrow, one-sided views.

[47:50]

Even we see the mountain as the virtues of Buddhas and ancestors, still that is one-sided, narrow, karmic views. The word objective and subjective is translation of . and shoho. Dogen just used e and sho, but e and sho is abbreviation of eho and shoho.

[48:59]

And this ho is the ninth of ten suchness I talked this morning. That is retribution. retribution of certain activities or karma in the past. And it says there are two kinds of retribute we receive from our past karma. And shobo is our body and mind. And efo is our environment, our circumstance. So, you know, Shobo is our particular individual, in our common understanding, individual condition. In my case, I was born in 1948 in Osaka, Japan, in a certain family, and grown up there, and received certain education.

[50:07]

That is my show-bo, this body and mind. And the circumstance where we are born and what kind of condition in that circumstance is a ho. And show-bo and a fo form this self. as, you know, not only Uchiha Moroshi, but Dogen is saying, Shobo and Efo makes this safe. So eho is this world, actually, this world in which we are living. And shobo is ourselves, this body and mind. And both are retribution from our past karma. That is a basic understanding or a basic usage of this expression, eho and shobo. Please.

[51:09]

Yeah, in this translation, subjective in this translation is show, show whole, and objective is translation of a whole. Please. I think that's different. Different word, but idea is the same. Yes? Is the same hole connected to the first five elements of ? That is show hole. The four is a connection or a relation with all other in the past and present.

[52:22]

The next three. Next four. I think so. And according to Abhidharma, You know, this shoho, the part of body and mind, is my personal attribution. But eho is, you know, for example, all people here share this eho now. So this is called gu-go. Gu-go means sharing karma. So because we share the same karma, we are here. and talking or discussing same thing. So my karma and your karma are in certain part the same. We share the same karma, that's why we are here together. That is the idea. And what Dogen is saying here is the view, in whatever view, whether we view the mountains as he said, he only said four, but there must be much more.

[53:37]

The way of viewing mountains. of poet or painters or businessmen are different. Please. You didn't say that Ejo was kind of a shared karma? Yeah. Would that be some way to explain how transmission, Dharma transmission? Dharma transmission. When you were speaking earlier, Well, in my world, Uchiha Moroshi is one of the Eho. And in his world, I'm part of his Eho. And in his life, his body and mind is shouho.

[54:43]

And in my world, this body and mind is my shouho. And our view is created in the kind of interaction or relationship between shoubo and eho. So that is what he is saying here. So depending upon the condition of our body and mind, and the condition of our circumstances, environment, we create many different kinds of views. And whatever view, even the view he is writing here, is just a view. It's limited. It's created by our karma. That is what he is saying. So this is the part he is saying, we cannot see reality. Whatever we see is just a creation of our karma. So it's limited. We cannot have any view which is not limited.

[55:50]

because we are inside of the world. And to see the world, we have to take a position, take sight. And we cannot see the entire world because of this person's existence. I think that is actually the same. So our view is always only our view. Our view cannot be maintained themselves. And this expression, narrow, one-sided view, is very kind of a common expression in Chinese and Japanese. the expression, literary expression, is a view through like a tube or a straw.

[56:58]

When we see the world through a straw, we see only this part, this very tiny part of the world, but we think that is the entire world. That is the kind of imagination of this expression. We only see with a tube like a straw. Or another expression is a frog in the well. a frog in the well, see the heaven, see the sky, only this side. But a frog think that is entire world, our entire sky. And that is how we view our world. And the analogy of the blind people touch the elephant is the same.

[58:01]

She used to also talk about a board-carrying fellow, someone carrying a board on their shoulders. Yes, that is also a famous expression in Buddhism. Having tunnel vision. Is that a common English expression? Tunnel vision, yeah. Pardon me? What? Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We use that expression, too. And he further criticized kind of a... how can I say, teaching in Zen. He said, turning the object and turning the mind is criticized by the great sage.

[59:08]

Great sage here means Buddha. And explaining the mind and explaining the nature is not affirmed by the Buddhas and ancestors. Seeing the mind and seeing the nature is the business of non-Buddhists. Turning the object and turning the mind is, in our practice, any kind of practice, maybe meditation practice, somehow we try to change our mind, or we try to change the object. We sometimes think our meditation practice is kind of a, how can I say, some kind of psychological change. And to be enlightened is to become certain stage or state of mind, different stage of mind, or not ordinary.

[60:21]

And only within such a stage or condition of mind we can see the reality as it is. That is a kind of a common sense of meditation practice. If our mind is, if we attain certain condition or certain stage of mind, we can see the object as they are. That is a kind of a common understanding of even Buddha's teaching. To have Buddha's wisdom is to see the things as they are. And that is correct. But Dogen is saying that is criticized by the great sage. Actually, what he used is scolded, because I think there is a separation or duality between mind and object.

[61:37]

And explaining the mind and explaining the nature, mind is sin and nature is show. Sesshin, sessho, mind-nature. This mind-nature, I think, is Dogen used in some question in Vendoa. you know, the mind, some kind of the nature of mind, or sometimes we call it a true self or original face. If we think true face of the self or original self is something inside of our self or even Buddha nature, Buddha nature, true faith, original faith, true self or Buddha nature, we think those are within ourselves somehow hidden in this body and mind.

[62:52]

and to explain or expound such mind-nature is through teaching or enlightenment, then, Dogen said, such is not affirmed by Buddhas and ancestors. And seeing the mind and seeing the nature, this mind and nature are the same thing. And the word kensho is seeing the nature. Dogen Zenji really didn't like the word Kensho because according to him there's a separation of self and the nature. And we, the self, see the nature. But the nature cannot be seen, cannot be the object of the subject. Nature is ourselves.

[63:56]

So as we cannot see our eyes, our eyes cannot see our eyes, there's no way we can see the nature. And I think that is the point of Dogen. But this word, kensho, is really important in Rinzai Zen. So this is the source of a long discussion between Soto and Rinzai. But I don't want to get into that discussion. Please. What's the relationship between Satori and kensho? Well, in Rinzai, kensho is Satori. Kensho and Satori are the same. Dogen Zenji discuss about what satori is. And one of the title of Shobo Genzo is Daigo, Great Satori.

[64:58]

So he talks about satori. But for him, satori is dismantling itself. And, you know, walking on the mountain is great enlightenment or great satori. Satori is not something we can see as object or something we can attain as my personal position. I think basically, even in Rinzai, Rinzai Zen, they are the same, not so different. I mean, I'll talk about this later when Dogen discuss about incomprehensible something.

[66:01]

in that section of Unmon. And sticking to words and sticking to phrases are not the words of revelation. Of course, this is a very common thing in Zen, words and phrases. That means our intellectual, conceptual understanding. there are words that are free from such realms." So we should go beyond words and phrases. And he said, there are such words free from such clinging. And that is, according to Dogen, The blue mountains constantly walking, and the east mountain moving over the water. So these phrases, these words, are beyond words.

[67:08]

So if we study Dogen's writing and we grasp it as his teaching and make it concept, then we miss his teaching. That is the meaning of Blue Mountains constantly walking. But what Dogen is writing here and what I'm talking here is still words. So if we grasp this as words or concept, then we miss it. So this is a very important point when we study Dogen. He's trying to kind of, in a sense, destroy or deconstruct our views. But by reading and studying his writings, we may create another view. And we think this is right teaching. Then we missed a point completely.

[68:17]

No. So that's why he's saying we should give them detailed investigation. We have to really carefully study what these words mean. Please. In the realm of words, the Blue Mountain is constantly walking. I feel like I've taken that in as much as I can at the level of words. Each mountain moving over the water, I don't feel so familiar with that book. Are you going to say more about that book? Yeah. Next section is about woman's thing of east mountains will go by the water. I'd like to finish one more paragraph. I think I hope I have enough time. This is about stone woman. The stone woman gives birth to a child in the night. This is part of Fuyodokai's saying, after a blue mountain is always walking.

[69:26]

This means that the time when a stone woman gives birth to a child is the night. And this night means the same as the darkness in Sandokai. not a branching stream flows into darkness. This darkness or night means, how can I say, beyond discrimination. And the expression stone woman is used in Hōkyō Zanmai. I think you are familiar with this expression. In it says, the wooden man starts to think. The stone woman gets up dancing.

[70:28]

And it is not reached by feelings or consciousness. How could it involve deliberation? So this is something beyond thinking. So beyond thinking means no discrimination. And next few sentences. There are male stones, human stones, and stones neither male nor human. They repair heaven and they repair earth. There are stones of heaven and there are stones of earth. Though this said in the secular world, it is rarely understood. These are all a kind of a quote from the Chinese classics. But I don't think I have time to talk on each one of them. So I don't think I need to explain what this means.

[71:34]

But what he wants to say is, after that, at the time of birth, at the time of birth, are parent and child transformed together. And we should not only study that birth is realized in the child becoming the parent. we should also study and fully understand that the practice and the verification of birth is realized when the parent becomes the child. Yes. Would that be similar to when the stone woman gives birth to a child?

[72:36]

Yes, yes. Yes, I think that is what I said. You know, he is saying the same thing. Mountain gives birth to mountain, or mountain child, and stone woman gives birth to stone child. So, please. Yes. Yes. So Blue Mountain, Blue Mountain, Blue Mountain. And also this is thermal transmission. Okay. I think I had something to say, but somehow I forget.

[73:37]

Oh, this, you know, the meaning of child and parent. He said, child become parent, and parent become a child. I think this child and parent is same as the present and eternity or living beings or bodhisattva as a practitioner and Buddha. within our practice, within the walking of the mountains, we grow and we getting mature and become a parent. That is a process of our practice.

[74:37]

A child like us, or we are still a baby as a bodhisattva, we try to deepen our understanding and practice and getting more and more mature, and we become a parent. This is one way of understanding the process of our practice. But he is also saying, you know, each step of our practice, within each step of our practice, that is dharma position, you know, the parent appeared or parent manifest within each practice. So in that sense, parent become child. or Buddha become Bodhisattva to teach and help all beings.

[75:39]

So there's a kind of a mutual interaction between living beings and Buddhas, or this particular moment and eternal reality working together. This moment of dharma position is a kind of intersection of, how can I say, phenomena, phenomenal beings like us, or like mountains and waters, and eternal Buddha. So eternal Buddha come to us and allow us to practice, to manifest, you know, Buddha's life. And through our practice, day-to-day practice, we, in a sense, invite the Buddha and we manifest Buddha's life.

[76:48]

without our activity, without our day-to-day activity, even though it's very incomplete. Still, beside this incomplete practice by ourselves as a practitioner, there's no such things called Buddha's mind or Buddha's enlightenment. If we don't practice, Buddha's enlightenment is done, is over 2,500 years ago. Because of, even though our practice is incomplete, but still, because of our practice right now, right here, at this Dharma position, Buddha's enlightenment is here. Otherwise, Buddha's enlightenment is something in the past and only recorded in the sutras. But because of our actual practice, actual activity, Buddha's enlightenment still continues. So our practice is very important.

[77:50]

That is what Dogen really wants to say. In the writings like Asho Bogenzo Gyoji, Continuous Practice, our practice manifests Buddha. Yes, yes. Our practice is actually Buddha's life. And that practice is walking on mountains. We have a few minutes, I think. I have one interesting kind of a discourse by Dogen. This is the second discourse from Ehe Korok about our views, about our karmic views or tunnel views.

[78:55]

As I said, the frog in the well is a very common expression. Maybe I don't have enough time to read the entire discourse, so I just read the final conclusion. He is discussing also about whatever way we view the Dharma world, that is limited view. And he said, how can we consider an atom small? Both are not true. And he discussed two sides of views. And he said, both are not true. How can you get it right with a single phrase, with one expression? And smashing our old nest of views

[80:03]

held of the whole universe until now, and dropping off our old sandals, worn to enter and leave an atom until now." He's discussing about our view about the entire dharma world and getting to atoms, the smallest thing. And how will you speak of it? How do you express this reality beyond viewing things with karmic or doner views? And the last sentence is very, I think, interesting. I love this. A frog. A frog on the ocean. A frog on the ocean bottom. Eat gruel. The jeweled rabbit in the heaven washes the bowl.

[81:06]

The jeweled? Jeweled rabbit. Do you know what jeweled rabbit? Moon. The jeweled rabbit what? Washes the bowl. You know, this is a description of our Oryoki meal. We are the frog on the ocean bottom. Do you understand? Usually, a common expression is a frog in the well. So the frog has only limited view. But here, Dogen says, the frog is in the ocean. There's no such frog in the ocean. But a frog in the ocean, I think, is a very beautiful image of Bodhisattva. We are not in the well. We are in the ocean. It's a boundless place.

[82:08]

So we are not already a kind of a, how can I say? in the closed, you know, block building. So it's open. But still, we are a frog. We are a tiny thing. Even though we are a very tiny thing, but still, or already, we are in the vastness of the ocean. And we, ocean means sangha. And we eat gruel. That means our practice. And the thing we, the frog eats a gruel. The moon, the rabbit in the moon, wash the balls. You know, this is the expression. Yeah, this is the expression of our daily practice. So it's like, how can you express it? That's it.

[83:10]

Just use your imagination. This is his expression of the phrase to express this, you know. Kindness thing is expression of vast, boundless reality. And what he is saying is our day-to-day practice, eating gruel or breakfast and wash the bowl. Within each and every such tiny, ordinary activity, the moon rabbit is washing the world. I think it's a really interesting and beautiful image. Please. Yes, I think so. Buddha or Buddha mind or Buddha life or universal reality, whatever you want to say.

[84:17]

Sorry, I talk too long. Thank you.

[84:25]

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