Morning. Well, always the great question is, What is my practice? And the two sides of that are, what is my practice in the zendo, and what is my practice outside of the zendo? When people come to talk to me, it's always this question.

[01:04]

One side or the other of this question. Sometimes people say, well, you know, when I come to talk to you, I'm sorry, but I just bring you problems in my life. As if problems in my life are different than Dharma. But problems in our life are the raw material of Dharma. But I'm not a psychologist, so you shouldn't expect me to get tangled up with you in psychological problems. Although, Whatever we do, there's always psychology involved. And any psychology that I apply to our problems are strictly intuitive and come from my own experience.

[02:22]

But basically what teacher and student relationship is about is dharma and how to practice and how to negotiate the way. And within that many things come up. But basically, the question is, what is practice and how do I do it? So today, I want to comment on a portion of Dogen's Genjo Koan. Genjo Koan is the basic koan of our practice and includes all koans.

[03:50]

Genjo Koan means how do we practice the practice of ultimate reality, how do we penetrate ultimate reality in our everyday life? How does our everyday life come together as ultimate reality? If you go to church, you pray to a divine being to make some connection. You want to make some connection with ultimate reality. In our practice, our everyday life is ultimate reality, is an expression of ultimate reality.

[04:54]

It comes from ultimate reality and returns to ultimate reality, whether we realize it or not. So we talk about realization. We don't talk about getting to ultimate reality. We talk about realizing our true nature. Or sometimes it's called getting enlightenment. So in Dogen Zenji's Genjo Koan, somewhere near the end. I won't read the whole thing to you. He says, now if a bird or a fish tries to reach the limit of its element before moving in it, this bird or this fish will not find its way or its place.

[05:57]

Attaining this place one's daily life is the realization of ultimate reality, which is Genjokoan. Attaining this way, one's daily life, is the realization of ultimate reality. Since this place and this way are neither large nor small, neither self nor other, neither existing previously nor just arising now, they therefore exist thus. Thus, if one practices and realizes the Buddha way, when one picks up one dharma, one penetrates one dharma. When one encounters one action, one practices one action. So I want to go back. Now if a bird or a fish

[07:02]

tries to reach the limit of its element before moving in it, this bird or this fish will not find its way or its place. Just, you can substitute bird or fish for you and me. We think sometimes that we have to understand something before we can actually do something. The advantage of practice is that we can actually do something before we understand it. If the bird needs to know the extent of the sky before it can fly, it can't get off the ground. And if the fish needs to know the extent of the ocean before it begins to swim, I am a flounder.

[08:04]

Excuse me. What Dogen is trying to say here is you don't need to know anything. You really don't need to know anything. All you need to do is do something. Often, we want to know why. Why is it this way? Why do I have to do this? This is the child's lament. The child is always asking the parent, well, why do I have to wash my face? Why do I have to brush my teeth? Why do I have to get up? Why do I have to put my clothes away? And as we get older, we have the same questions about everything.

[09:11]

So the parent tries to explain. And no matter... when the parent tries to explain, then the child takes that explanation and hangs on to it, and then controls the parent with it. So, ultimately, the parents said, just do what I say. So, Dogen says, never mind trying to figure it out. No matter how much you try to figure it out, the more you try to figure it out, the further away you go. Actually, just forget all your questions. Just plunge in. Just do. And when you just do, you're already there. So all of our rationale, philosophy, trying to figure it out, just takes us further away.

[10:18]

Rationale is fine. Philosophy is wonderful. It's all necessary. But if you don't forget it and just do, It takes you further and further away. It's like standing at the edge of the swimming pool. Is it cold? Well, I don't want to feel that, you know. You can't do that. The more you think about it, the scarier you get. So one has to just plunge in. And plunging in, one becomes one with the cold water. Just cold water. And that's at the moment of plunging in and just feeling one with cold water, you realize ultimate reality at that moment.

[11:20]

So this is a great advantage. you can actually practice without knowing anything. When someone enters the door for the first time, they know, you may think you know something. There's something that, you have ideas, but when you sit down on the cushion for the first time, it's a completely new experience. And you don't know how to sit. You don't know how to do it. You don't know how to do it well. But just doing it, is perfect, however you do it, it's absolutely perfect if you just do it. So this is an important term, just do. Just to do. If you try to think about the extent of practice

[12:29]

Or, how long it's going to be? How long do I have to sit? As soon as you start to count the moments, you're lost. It's all over. To just be. Just exist in this moment with what is. So, we say, you know, Activity will lead you to ultimate reality. The Mumonkan is a collection of koans collected by Master Mumon. But Mumon means empty gate or the gate of no gate. How you enter, there's no special gate by which to enter.

[13:31]

Ultimate reality. Every moment's activity is an opportunity. The gate is right there. Just open it up and walk in. But you have to leave everything else behind. And just do. Thoroughly. So Dogen has a term that he uses called Bujjim, which means thoroughness. Thorough, doing something completely. But I'll talk about that a little later. Then he says, attaining this place, one's daily life, is the realization of ultimate reality. Attaining this way, one's daily life, is the realization of ultimate reality.

[14:38]

How does one attain this place and attain this way? Where is our place? How do we find our place? This is what mostly we ask about. We don't know that we're asking about this, but this is our great question. Where is the place to be? Where is the right place to be? And what is the right way to go? Do we hate our job? Do we not like society? Are things going the wrong way or the right way? Or now that they're going the right way, will they suddenly go the wrong way? What's the right way to go? And where is the right place to be?

[15:42]

In order to what? In order to be happy? In order to be satisfied? Or settled? Or secure? Or without doubts? What we try to do is fix a place that we invent. If I just do these things, then everything will be okay and I'll be secure and I'll have a platform and I'll be able to fend off the world or deal with the world. If I just invent a good system. But systems ultimately don't work. Ultimately, all systems break down and all securities break down.

[16:50]

And What we have faith in today, we lose faith in tomorrow. So what is security anyway? How can we feel ultimately okay? So how do we find the place? So let's look at this place. You know, we say the path, the Tao, you know, is the path. And path signets usually means a place, a road to go somewhere. But the path of reality, ultimate reality,

[18:02]

leads right back to here. So, on this moment, at this place, this is where we have to find the way. And the way is what this is. So, to actually penetrate this moment's activity at this place is Genjokon. how to completely accept where we are and what's happening, and to thoroughly engage. To thoroughly engage. So sometimes, you know, the step or the path goes from this place and returns to this place. So we have two

[19:04]

things going on in our life. One is, one aspect of our life is riding the waves. We're all riding the waves, which means that we have a goal for our life on the surface of life. We have a job, we have ideals, we go to college, We raise a family. We have friends. We like certain things. And our life has a direction. That's riding the waves. Which way will the waves go? Will we direct it this way or that way? But waves are very uncertain. And then, the other way we have is how to stay with our feet on the bottom of the ocean. where there are no waves.

[20:06]

This is the place of ultimate reality or complete stillness, where things don't change. And no matter what's going on on the surface of the waves, at the bottom of the ocean is very still. And all waves find their source in this stillness or this quiet place, calm place of no action at the bottom of the ocean. So how do we stay in that place? at the same time that our life is moving on the surface of the ocean.

[21:11]

Mostly our life is moving on the surface of the ocean, but we lose contact with the center. But each wave is a reflection of this ultimate reality, which is changeless, but is the source of all changes. This is why Dogen says, any place is the gate. So thoroughness, if we just do whatever we're doing thoroughly, for instance, when we go someplace, our attention is focused on where we're going.

[22:25]

But at the same time, if we're walking, for instance, each step that we take is our activity. But we use the steps in order to get someplace. But at the same time, each step is our life. So, how do we stay centered on each step of our life, on each moment of our life, as a reason for living. In other words, life itself is its own reason for living. We want to have some other reason for living as well, which is necessary and important. But it's also possible to let go of all those other reasons and just exist for its own sake.

[23:34]

just practice bare existence for its own sake. When you can do that, then you can see very clearly something about the meaning of life. If you can take the time to let go of all of your goals, and just exist, have an ultimate reality for its own sake, then you can bring back something to your life in the waves. You have some deeper understanding of life itself. We get really caught up in our goals and lose something.

[24:45]

Dogen says, true practice is walking on the bottom of the ocean with your feet while swimming on the surface with your arms. So then he says, since this place and this way are neither large nor small, neither self nor other, neither existing previously nor just arising now, they therefore exist thus. Thus means they exist as ultimate reality. He's bringing up these opposites. Neither small nor large, neither self nor other.

[25:51]

in the realm of duality. Thoroughness means that there are many elements that make up one action. And if you analyze one action, you can analyze into many parts. Whenever we do one action, We say it's one action, but there are infinite activities that go to make up one action. But yet, when we do this action, we just say, I'm doing this. So, when we do just this, the whole universe of activity is involved. There's nothing that we can do that doesn't involve the whole universe.

[26:55]

This is to be thus. To realize that whatever I do and whatever is involved does not exist by itself. Ultimate reality means that you realize that nothing exists by itself. We make up our world. There is no special place which is ultimate reality. And there is nothing that is an anchor.

[28:05]

But there is just vast space. And what we do is put a nail in it and then we hang up our We hang up our coat in this nail. It's just stuck into that space. And then we relate all of our activity to this nail. And this nail is whatever we think our life is about. So it's like a blank sheet of paper. And then if we want to make a map on a blank sheet of paper or draw a picture, we start with something and put it someplace on the paper, the first mark on the paper.

[29:12]

Then everything else relates to that. So who am I? What's going on here? Well, we put a mark on the paper and then we fill it in. And then we say, that's who I am. That's what this picture is. And then we believe in it. But as soon as we make the picture, it looks like the blank paper is not there anymore. But the blank paper, even though it doesn't look blank, it's still there, just like water. We make a root beer float, basically out of water and air, a little flavoring. And then we drink it, and then it changes, goes through a lot of transformations,

[30:17]

It comes back out in some other form and then it goes down into the sewer and back up into the sky and becomes water again. But it never lost its water. It was always water. It just takes on various conformations. And everything is like that. We are like that. Just aspects of ultimate reality in transformation. little drops of water in space, great space. So then he says, thus, which means therefore, which is different than the previous thus, If one practices and realizes the Buddha way, when one picks up one dharma, picks up, he says gains, but it's really picks up when one takes hold of one dharma.

[31:33]

One dharma means one thing. When you meet one thing, you take up that one thing and penetrate that one thing. When one encounters one action, One practices one action. Suzuki Roshi used to say, in America you have this, or in Europe, I guess Europe, in the West, you have this saying, to kill two birds with one stone. But in our practice, we just kill one bird with one stone. to just do one thing thoroughly. We're always leaving one action and beginning the next action. When I notice people, especially you notice it in the practice situation, when before we finished doing this, we're already doing that.

[32:39]

we should do one thing thoroughly. Just serve. Just... And then... But we're already serving, picking up the pot. You're already going on to the next thing before you finish this act. So, training in Zen, most fundamental Zen training is to just do this one simple act. Start it. It has a middle and an end, and finish it. Then, you do the next act. It has a middle and an end, and you finish it. Then you do the next act. This is one reason why we, not incidentally, one reason why we bow all the time. Bowing is a way of ending, it's a way of beginning something, and it's a way of acknowledging the end of an activity. You begin this activity, You do something, and then you end that activity, and you acknowledge the end of that activity.

[33:50]

Then you do the next thing. So life looks like it's flowing. That is one aspect of life. It looks like it's flowing. But actually, it's one increment and then another one. It's like this... frames in a movie. Each frame is a little bit different act. And when you run them fast, it looks like one continuous act, but it's made up of all these little frames. And to live our life thoroughly is to live completely each frame. Some frames move in a sequence, and then there's an end. Then there's another sequence and an end. And to know, it's like music.

[34:55]

How you phrase, you know, something. There's a phrase and then another phrase, and each one is separate. If you run them all together, it doesn't sound like anything. The space between the notes is the most important thing, or is just as important as the notes, because together they make the music. So, it's the negative and the positive, the negative and the positive juxtaposed with each other. So, how we act in that way, thoroughly, is how we abiding in ultimate reality. How we have realization just to do when you do one act, it's called actually one act Samadhi. Samadhi means without a gap.

[36:01]

Life has no gap, even though there is a space. Space is not a gap in our life. Sometimes people will hold a conversation, there'd be ten people in the room talking and suddenly there's nothing more to say, and it's an embarrassing silence. But the embarrassing silence is the most important part. Everyone is suddenly thrown back on ultimate reality. of not saying anything. But it's hard. With Zen students, it's easier. When everybody stops talking, everybody just sits there. It feels okay, usually. But ordinarily, what am I saying? How do I keep this thing going? The reason for that is because usually people people's lives are on a shallow level.

[37:09]

And just to be silent with each other for no special reason makes people uneasy. Because the conversation and the actions keep life going. And if that stops, life stops. This is why Zazen, of course, is the practice of ultimate reality and activity, Kenjo Koan. But in your daily life, you have to be able to do the same thing. So it's not a matter of what you're doing. It's to do each thing completely and thoroughly.

[38:14]

each moment's thing, each moment's activity. There's the story of Kyogen, Master Kyogen in China, leaving his teacher because he thought that he couldn't attain enlightenment. So he went out to the country and thought he would just sweep a grave, sweep one of the old ancestors monument. So he just forgot everything and just started sleeping. And then he swept a little pebble which hit a piece of bamboo and it went and his mind opened up. He just forgot everything and just swept. When you pick up the broom

[39:18]

Just pick up the broom completely and thoroughly. And when you sweep, just sweep. Just sweep. Completely and thoroughly. One with sweeping. One with picking up the broom. This is how we become one with ourself. Just in this activity. When you pick up the phone, You want to talk. And someone says, but you're not conscious of picking up the phone. What is this? Right there is where your life is. But you think your life is in communicating. We miss the other part. We miss the reality of what's actually happening. Because we think that what's happening is always in our head. The most important thing is our thoughts.

[40:22]

Our thoughts are important, but that's not all that's happening. We need to take the time to actually engage in, thoroughly, what is happening. So I would like to talk a lot more Do you have a question? Yesterday I was washing the dishes and in my mind the list of things that came after the dishes was going on and I thought I have this chance to just do the dishes, that all my life is right now is to do these dishes and everything else will follow when I'm done with the dishes.

[41:25]

I managed to drop and just return to doing the dishes and then I noticed what is a more insidious hindrance and that is doing the dishes is not good enough. It's not a good enough activity. It doesn't express enough or help enough or give me enough comfort or pleasure. There was a lot of discomfort in washing the dishes. So I think that may have something to do with why I keep running things together, is because just staying with the activity, somehow there's this not-good-enough feeling. So, was it Kyogen who swept the monument? Did he forget everything before he started sweeping, or just start sweeping and then it goes away? Because I don't know how to forget things. If I say, okay, forget it, it's like... The first thing he did was to give up his ambition. He dropped his ambition. He was actually a great scholar and he was Issan's disciple.

[42:32]

But he had this idea, you know, wanting to gain enlightenment and really working hard and very ambitious. And his ambition was what was keeping him from attainment. So when he got so discouraged, he said, I'm just, I just give it up, you know. And he went to do this simple task. So that was the first step, was giving up ambition. Second step was just sweeping, just being there, just doing. And the third step was, anything could have opened his mind. His mind was open, but this crack took the lid off, or took the bottom out.

[43:42]

David? It's like teaching. And your teacher will say, just play this long note. Just practice this long note. That's so boring, just practicing this one long note. But when you can just practice this one long note and be completely there with that, that's all you need to do.

[44:57]

And zazen is like washing dishes. So I want to invite you all to wash dishes in the zendo. Practice your scales in the zendo. In the summertime, you know, we tend to be more We take vacations and our life becomes a little easier, you know, and then we don't come to Zendo so much. But I want to encourage you all to please come in the summertime. It's great sitting in Zendo in the summertime. Morning is warm. That's a great way to start your day. So I want to encourage you. Peace, God.

[46:42]

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