I love to taste the truth of the five chakras. Good evening. Well, it's a really great pleasure to be able to be here this summer. The summer practice feels very good to me, but I know very well, having been at the summer practice every summer since 1967, that at this time, In the period, people are feeling tired and burned out and weary and sometimes questioning what they're doing.

[01:15]

But that's normal and natural and to be expected. So it's important for us to continuously reiterate our purpose of practice and to encourage each other and refresh our practice at this point. And not just this point, you know, often to keep the practice fresh. so that you feel that we're doing something vital and not getting worn down. So I've talked to a lot of people. Do you hear me all right? I've spoken to a lot of people, a lot of students. in the last couple of days. Among other things, there are several themes that run through students' concerns.

[02:27]

In some way it boils down to Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. Buddha is the teacher and the student. The teacher is Buddha and the student is Buddha. And so, what's that about? And Dharma is Sazen, daily life practice, work practice, study. And Sangha is relationship. How do we get along with each other? How do we support each other? So these questions run through so many talks. So I want to address these questions. And I have so much to say that I'm just going to probably wander around and hope that I can tie it all together.

[03:31]

But I'll try to end on time. As I said, Sangha, there are many different ways to talk about Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, the three jewels. But from the point of view of our practice, we address the teacher as Buddha, and the Buddha responds by addressing the student as Buddha. The teacher looks into the student's Buddha nature, addresses the student's buddha nature. And the student responds by recognizing the buddha nature of the teacher. This is a very important relationship. Student-teacher relationship is very vital in our Zen practice. So that the teacher brings the student

[04:34]

along by recognizing the student's true nature. And then in the Sangha, I mean the Dharma relationship, basically it's Zazen, as you all know. But sometimes we come to Tathagata We're a new student, and we're not sure what the practice is. And maybe we think there's some curriculum, like in a school. But sometimes people try to create a curriculum for Zen practice. This comes up every once in a while, but it doesn't really work because there is no curriculum. Zen students are like fruit on a tree. They start out green, and little by little, through the seasons, get ripe.

[05:39]

Some have worms. But when the fruit is ripe, it's delicious. But it's a matter of maturation. And you cannot predict that maturation. And that maturation doesn't fit into a curriculum. It's long practice. A lifetime of practice and dedication. And then there's Sangha relations. How you practice together. with each other, how we practice together with each other. And the proof of our practice is in how we get along, how we harmonize. We're all human beings, you know, some people say, gee, those Zen students, you know, I thought I would come to Tosahara and they would all be like little angels.

[06:50]

But they see people arguing with each other and angry at each other and upset and questioning and so forth. That's because we're all human beings. So sometimes our illusions are destroyed, which is good. We should not have any illusions. We should be disillusioned. The way to enter Zen practice is to be totally disillusioned, to take away any idea we have of Zen practice. The problem that most people have is the problem of having an idea about what Zen practice is, but having an idea about what a teacher is, having an idea about what the Dharma is, and having an idea about what Sangha is. So the first process, beginning process, is to take away all those opinions, all those ideas and opinions, so you can just see clearly what practice really is, what a teacher really is, and what the Dharma really is, and what our relationships really mean.

[08:16]

So I have some little Zen quotes, little Zen stories that I'm going to refer to here. We often come looking for a teacher, which is natural, and we should do that. But Obaku, Obaku was Rinzai's teacher, and Lin Chi's teacher. This is in the Tang Dynasty in China. So Obaku addressed the assembly and he said, you are all partaking of brewers' dregs. Brewers' dregs are like what's left over after the liquor has been distilled, the dregs at the bottom of the barrel. So he says to his students, you are all partakers of the dregs.

[09:19]

You're not really going after the real thing. He says, if you go on wandering about like this, like you do, where will you ever settle down? Where will you ever settle the matter? As soon as you hear of a place with 800 or 1,000 people, you immediately go there. Don't you know that in all the land of Tang, Tang China, there are no Zen teachers? Then a monk stepped forward, a brave monk stepped forward and said, but surely there are those who teach disciples and preside over assemblies. What about them? Obaku said, I do not say there's no Zen. I just say that there are no Zen teachers. So this is a very radical statement. No Zen teachers.

[10:21]

but he's not talking about Zen teachers. Sounds like he's talking about Zen teachers, but he's really talking about students. He's talking to the students about themselves. You go about looking for teachers, you hear about somebody famous, so you go off and want to practice with that person. Maybe you'll get something. Maybe you think that if you go and visit such and such famous teacher that you'll get something, you'll get the Dharma. Maybe. But he's saying, what about you? Where's your practice? If you go off here and there looking for something, you leave the place of your own practice. Zen practice is not about going off someplace. It's about being where you are, sticking to where you are, even if you have a terrible teacher.

[11:32]

Because you think that it's the teacher that's going to do the work. All you need is a stick. Relate to that stick day after day, and you'll find yourself The teacher is just a wooden man. When the wooden man begins to sing, the woman gets up to dance. The teacher and the student create each other. So practice is up to you, not up to your teacher. But you can't do it without your teacher. So sometimes it's nice to not have a teacher around. A good teacher will kick out the student at some point. Sometimes, if the teacher leaves for a while, students say, where's the teacher?

[12:47]

But when the cat is away, the mice should play. This is where the Sangha has a role to support and bring out the teaching. The Sangha should be left alone for a while, to just drift around and find itself this wonderful opportunity. There should be a time when all the teachers just leave. I remember in 1969, That was the third year. And we didn't really know what we were doing very well. And we were snowed in in the winter.

[13:49]

Snow was five feet deep on the trail, on the road. No one could get in or out. And we didn't have any food. And we didn't have any teachers. It was a great practice period. All we could think about was food. We didn't think so much about no teachers. No, but we did. Everybody, well, I wish we had a teacher, but we didn't. We just had to deal with the teaching that we had. And so we all had to come up to the challenge of continuing the practice period. Nobody coming in, nobody going out, no food. We went out to the plants and every day collected miner's lettuce, lamb's ears, daisies, various plants and made salads.

[14:56]

And then we had meat berries and some brown rice and a little bit of this and that. And we had to come up to it, but we all felt like, well, we're Zen students. We'd only been practicing a few years. We didn't even have all the maturity that so many students have today. So it's really, I highly recommend it. And there's a poem, you know, of Tozan Ryogai. Tozan, as you know, was great teacher in the Tang Dynasty as well. There's a poem attributed to Tozan. The blue mountain is the parent of the white cloud. The white cloud is the child of the blue mountain.

[15:58]

All day long they depend on each other without being dependent on each other. The Blue Mountain is always the Blue Mountain. The White Cloud is always the White Cloud. This is one of my favorite poems. It totally epitomizes not just the teacher-student relationship, but the Sangha relationship. The student-teacher relationship is dependent. The student depends on the teacher, the teacher depends on the student, but each one is independent. They do not have a dependent relationship. Each one is totally independent. They have an attachment and a non-attachment. And within their attachment is non-attachment.

[17:03]

And within their non-attachment is attachment. So within that relationship is this strong attachment. But within that attachment is total freedom. You have to be very careful how we talk about non-attachment. Because non-attachment sometimes is construed as detachment. Detachment means unhinged. But non-attachment means, although hinged, it's not welded. Within non-attachment, there's the freedom to come and go. So a student often is described as like a strong puppy.

[18:24]

The teacher is kind of like the mountain. The Blue Mountain is just sitting there, but the white cloud is moving around. The white cloud has to approach the mountain. The mountain doesn't come to the cloud. You could say the mountain comes to the cloud, that's nice, but actually the mountain's sitting there. The cloud comes to the mountain. So there has to be a strong desire for the student to want to practice with the teacher. And the student can't just say, I would like to do this. The student has to show demonstrate their desire, their Zen spirit. Sometimes a student will come and say, can I be your student? I don't say no, I say just come and practice.

[19:30]

That's all. When you come and practice, If you continue to practice, and if you continue to practice in a sincere way, there will be a relationship which develops. And that relationship will develop without anybody saying, can I be your student, or you can be my student, or something like that, you can be my teacher, you can be my this. It's simply, it's a relationship that grows out of practice. And it's really up to the student. The teacher will respond to the student, but the teacher keeps drawing back in order to bring the student forward. Sometimes the teacher needs to reach out to the student, but mostly it's the other way around. The pups, the strong ones, get the nourishment.

[20:52]

Also, in Zen practice, sometimes the weak ones get the nourishment. It's not a matter of being strong so much as it is a matter of being sincere. strong or weak is not so important. What's important is sincerity and willingness to give up your own opinions. So, when it comes to dharma, Of course, Dharma and Zazen. Sometimes people say, well, I go to Zazen every day, but I'm not sure why. I'm not sure, what does it do for you? Or something like that. And I'm curious about that, because I never really had that question. My favorite poem.

[21:59]

describing Zazen by Master Hong Zhe. And his poem is something like, by the side of the ancient ferry, when the moonlight and breeze are cool and pure, the dark vessel becomes a glowing world. If you have this experience in Zazen, you won't have a question about what's the meaning of Zazen. And then this activity of Zazen, this quality of Zazen, follows into your daily practice.

[23:02]

You know, when you do sashi, and then you walk outside after the fifth day or something, and everything is glowing. The whole world is glowing, all the planets are glowing. Not that they don't always do that, it's just that because you're not standing in a way, you see what's actually happening. So, when we have this kind of experience of allowing light to manifest through us, this enlightenment, everything becomes sacred. When we make the bed, It's not just mundane work.

[24:11]

During the practice period, the head monk, the shuso, takes care of the garbage. That's the shuso's position, taking care of the garbage and hauling it to the compost. The garbage smells as garbage does. But the process of composting makes the garbage very sweet. So we always entrust this process to a mature student to haul the garbage to the compost and over the practice period to help the process. to make it sweet. It's just like the garbage to sweet compost. It's just like the practice of the Zen student. We come with all of our garbage and through the process of practice turn it into sweet compost which allows the flowers of enlightenment to burst forth.

[25:25]

So practice is just the process of practice. without any expectation. If you have an expectation, you cut off the process. So, great patience. There's another little anecdote that I have. Priest, about practice actually, Priest Daoan, Zen Master Huang Jue ascended the seat and taught the assembly. He says, I have been on Mount Gui for 30 years. Mount Gui is the famous mountain in China, where Zen Master Guishan lived. Of course, they called the teacher after his mountain,

[26:30]

So I have been on Mount Gui for 30 years. I've eaten Guishan's rice. So Guishan, it's kind of double entendre, Guishan being the mountain and also being the teacher. I've eaten Guishan's rice and shit, Guishan's shit. I have not studied Guishan's then, but simply tended a water buffalo. When it wandered off the road to graze, I yanked it back. When it trespassed into the rice fields, I whipped it. I have been hanging out with it like this for a long time. Such an adorable one. It used to follow after anyone who called. But now, it has become a pure white ox, all day long. It walks around in front of me, in front of us.

[27:34]

And even if we try to drive it away, it doesn't leave. This is the story of the practice. 30 years of practice. I didn't do anything special. Just taking care of this rambunctious animal. training this rambunctious animal not to cause trouble. Taming the animal is really difficult. If it's not tamed, it causes a lot of trouble. If it's too tamed, He can't do much. Doesn't lose his spirit. There's a point, you know, where we tame the animal, but we don't want to lose that vital spirit.

[28:43]

So there's some kind of types of Zen in which that spirit is really strong and troublesome. Suzuki Roshi used to say, it's good for a student to be kind of troublesome. Don't filter out the spirit by making it too tame, but at the same time, taming it enough so that it benefits everyone. So how we maintain our spirit of practice and at the same time keep our vitality. And interacting with each other is the proof of our practice.

[29:52]

How we relate. You know, we say that, as you know, students are like stones. We put them into a cement mixer, and then turn the cement mixer on and turn the stones, and they come out looking all rounded off and looking like jewels, shining like jewels. But in that process, there's a lot of pain. So, sometimes, you know, people come to a place like Tassajara, and they think, gee, the people look, you know, like they're hurting. Or, you know, I thought everybody would be like little angels, you know, wandering around in the heavenly realm. But the fact of the matter is that it's more like mixing up in a cement mixer.

[30:58]

and rubbing those rough edges together, sometimes causing sparks. But in that process, grinding down the rough edges and coming out glowing. So, how we harmonize with each other, in some places it's very obvious how to do that. The kitchen is a wonderful place because the kitchen crew is together. I've seen kitchen crews which, it was like war.

[32:00]

Kitchen runs so smoothly, you know, because we have mature people there. But I have seen it. And so we think, well, a kitchen always runs that way. But it doesn't. It doesn't always go that way. It can be very volatile. And you have a number of people together, day after day, in a small space, like rats in a cage. So a great place to train. The cabin crew is also a great place to train. Making everybody's bed, dealing with the laundry, being a maid.

[33:04]

Good practice. and then working in the office, dealing with all the special requests of the guests without feeling resentment. All of these positions in the summer are wonderful practice positions. really good for practice, good practice. So we used to think, from time to time, people think of the summer practice as just work. But it's definitely practice. It's a practice period. And I never called what people do jobs.

[34:09]

These are not jobs. These are positions. Everyone has their practice position. And the practice position may be making beds. The practice position may be serving in the dining room. But it's definitely, you should think of it as a practice position. Because that's your practice. You're doing it all day long. That's your life. four or five months of your life, and you're doing it day after day, has some meaning, other than being a job. If you want a job, make money. There are other ways to do that. But this is mindful practice. And that's the main thing. If it wasn't, we wouldn't be doing it. So this is how we harmonize with each other, is through our practice positions.

[35:22]

And each person, if you really pay attention and do your practice position, practice from that position, and you relate to all the rest of the Sangha from that position. And then you're turning the practice. Each one of us is turning the practice. The teacher is turning the practice from the teacher's position. The student is turning the practice from the student's position. No matter what that practice is, no matter what that position is. So it's a wonderful interwoven web. And when one piece of it isn't working, the rest of it feels that. The rest of the web feels that. So each one of us, by upholding our position in that web, makes the whole thing work. So in a sense there is a hierarchy, and in another sense everybody's equal, totally equal.

[36:29]

And the work of one person is equal to the work of any other person when you're doing it wholeheartedly. 9.20. Thank you very much.

[37:27]

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