In Shobo Gendo, Dogen Zenji pours the kata on the wind bell posed by Nyojo Zenji, his teacher. To explain, speaking of Prajnaparamita, Prajnaparamita means wisdom. This gatha is very famous in Zen Buddhism. Also, Dogen Zenji praises this gatha and comments to this gatha in the presence of Nagyodendri.

[01:24]

You can read his commentary in the book of Hotoki, number 34. It's very short. After making 100 prostrations, I said to the master, I have just heard your gatha on the wind bell. The opening line reads, The whole body is a mouth suspended in the empty void. The third line, preaching prajna. I said speaking prajna. Preaching prajna to all with the singleness of heart. Can this empty void refer to the phenomenal emptiness of space?

[02:32]

foolish people are certain to imagine that it does. Students of today are uncertain in their understanding of the Dharma. They will take the blue sky and the open space for the empty void. They are truly to be pitied. Originally we say koku, ko means emptiness, void, nothing. Ku means sky, so empty sky. That means prajna, wisdom, so called emptiness. So Dogen Zenji uses the term koku, Koku is usually understood as a sky, but in Buddhism, Koku means Prajna, wisdom.

[03:42]

The head is compassionately taught, empty body is Prajna, it is not empty space in the phenomenal sense, it is not impenetrable, and it is not penetrable. So it is not the emptiness as the concept of emptiness. That means the real emptiness, not the concept of the emptiness. Not something run through your consciousness. It's real emptiness. As a concept of emptiness, nor truth as the concept of the truth. Since none of my fellow head priests understands even the phenomenal Dharma, they could hardly understand the emptiness. The decline of the Buddha Dharma here in the Sangha is truly beyond words.

[04:50]

I said your verse on the wind power stands up to that pinnacle of all goddesses. No head priest anywhere could match it. Even in an infinite number of corpses, each member of the brotherhood should raise it up to his head in reverence. I have come here From a remote border land, I have little knowledge or experience, yet in reading the collection of Zen records in Tottori, and the individual recorded sayings of various Zen masters, I have yet to find anything to compare to it. I am so glad to learn of it, I could dance with joy.

[05:57]

My sleeves are wet with tears of gratitude. I make obeisance to it day and night and raise it to my head in reverence. It is so plain and direct, yet our possessive such fine music. It is so plain and direct, and also possesses such fine music. It's a very simple expression in a word, but in the simplicity, there is a very profound melody or rhythm which you cannot touch. So, it is so plain and direct and yet possesses such fine music. The head priest was about to get into the saddle chair.

[07:08]

He said with a smile, there is profoundly in what to say. It reveals rare and outstanding spirit. I made that garter when I was head priest at the Qingyang Monastery. It has been widely admired, but never before has anyone elucidated it as you have. I, the elder priest of Tingtang, affirm that you possess a true dharma eye. If you want to compose katha of your own, make them be like this one. So maybe you can see, you can imagine a beautiful scenario in the relation between Dogen Zenji and Nijo Zenji.

[08:13]

And also, Togen Zenji really praises Yojo Zenji's sky. So I want to read this one first. The whole body is zentering in the mouth, hands in the koku, in the sky. Sky in the Prajnaparamita, I will explain later. It doesn't care about the winds, North, South, East, West. Prajna is equally spoken to others. Ti-ching, Ti-ching-tong, Tong-yang, Ti-ching-tong, that means just the sound of the bell. This translation, the first line, is the whole body is a mouth suspended in the empty void. I said the whole body resembling the mouth hangs in the sky in the empty void or in the cuckoo.

[09:33]

So this gutter really is the meaning of speaking or preaching Prajna. Speaking Prajna means anyway you have to speak, you have to preach real meaning of life through your body and mind in your daily life. That is very important under all circumstances. So, the speaking project means how, or how to go, or what, what it means. What do you mean, what you mean by Live.

[10:37]

What do you mean by live? Because everybody lives. Everybody lives in many ways. Even though you don't do anything, anyway you live. Even though every day you sleep, still you live. Even though you suffer from your life, still you live. Even though you don't get up in the morning to do Zazen, still you live. Even though you practice Zazen, even though you are not interested in Buddhism, still you can survive. From this point, whatever you do, everyone in your periphery lives. Love always appears completely in a different way in everyone.

[11:47]

So, question is, at what level you should see love? At what level? What level means Do you want to see love in terms of member of society, human society? Or you want to see love in terms of human history, century after century? Or you want to see love in terms of a kind of thought, thought. Anyway, if you want to see, live. In terms of members, a member of human society, at that time, you can live like this.

[12:57]

To live is to be, want to say, I want to say a good businessman. A good businessman or to be a good teacher, to be a politician, or to be a governor and to be a good father, good mother. or good friends, sometimes to live with, to be rich, or to be poor, or to have a good job, and to keep a nice position in the human society. This is the meaning of love. If you see love,

[13:59]

In terms of member of human society, you always live like this. But on the other hand, if you see human life, in terms of human history, anyway, century after century, for the million years, anyway, human beings are never be destroyed. Whatever happens in the human history, there are always humans there. Human beings there. From this point, human beings have never been destroyed or extinguished. Always there. So from this point, human beings are very eternal. Then what do you mean by live from this point?

[15:05]

To live is to have outlook on human life, human world, so-called science or culture. Because century after century human beings have left a lot of wonderful cultures. for us so you have to learn anyway human culture the sciences anyway which your ancestors left for us you have to learn then in order to be anyway one of good American Americans you have to learn then you have to your responsibility is to Convey this culture which you have learned to future.

[16:05]

At that time, you are called good American. So from this point, what do you mean by live? Live is to be good American. To be good American means you always see the human life just in terms of Outlook on human life based on culture and science. But this is all right. But still you should open your eyes to see left from a little more different angle. You should know this. Rousseau said, well, human beings were born with naked body and mind, and died with naked body and mind.

[17:14]

Do you know that? So, from this point, when you are born, you are completely naked. No poor, no sense of poor, no sense of rich. no sense of fame, no sense of failure, success. Anyway, you were born in this world with naked body and mind. And you have to die anyway with naked body and mind. This is really true. Then between the born with naked body and mind and die with a naked body and mind there are something. That is point you are interested in. I want to be good boy.

[18:16]

I want to be a good American. I want to be a good teacher. I want to be a good spirit of Zen students. I want to be a good politician, I want to be rich, that is many things between, do you understand? But whatever happens, whatever you do between, well finally, finally what you have to do is to die anyway, to die with naked body and mind. This is really true for everybody without exception. even though you are President of the United States, even though you are poor man, even though you are bigger than the United States, still you have to die in the same way. So, we have to pay attention to this. So, what is the most important point?

[19:20]

The point is at the what level you have to see level of course everyone lives just like this just like us you know everyone lives just like us to be good boy to be good teachers etc but on the other hand we have to pay attention to this realities open to everyone without exception Under all circumstances, regardless of whether you are poor, you are rich, anyway, you have to be born in this world with naked body and mind. You have to die anyway with naked body and mind. That means nothing to pin down. Nothing to pin down. All you have to do is just be born in this world with naked body and mind.

[20:22]

When you have to die, anyway you have to just die with naked body and mind. Whatever your head says, however your head struggles for your life, whatever people praise you, whatever people criticize you, when you die, anyway you have to just die. Even though I gave you guarantees, wonderful words, to guarantee your life after death. It doesn't make sense for you. Because you have to die. I can give you anytime, anywhere, wonderful words from in Borussia, Germany, okay? Maybe you feel good. But that feeling good is from where? All you have to do is anyway, you have to die with this feeling good too.

[21:25]

You cannot carry the feeling good, especially apart from you. When you die, you have to die with the feeling good. So where is it? Where is it heading for? So, this is a real reality. Very important point for us. We have to pay attention to this. So, I told you anyway, very often. Faith is to believe in a real reality you are present in and where you cannot pin down what it is. Even though you don't understand, even though you can't pin down what it is, all you have to do is just to live every day, under all circumstances, with your whole heartness.

[22:35]

This is all you have to do. This is the reality, you know, with the capital R. So that is what should we believe in. You should believe in this. It's not necessary to believe in something special. Anyway, believe in reality where you are present. That is a Buddhist faith anyway. So, well, maybe a modern American philosopher, and also a poet, You know Emerson? Emerson, I don't remember exactly what he said, but I can give you a meaning of his statement. He says something like this, he tied your cart with stars.

[23:40]

which are, let me see here, which are the supreme and immense but don't tie your heart with stars See, it's a million miles away. That's pretty interesting, okay. I want to say something about this. Tide your cart with the stars. Stars means in the skies. But it's really far from human world. That means which is really supreme, highest distance. And also, that is tremendous.

[24:50]

Tremendous. Kurt is not... Kurt, apart from you, you are Kurt. Kurt. So... Kurt. Kurt. C-U-R-T. Kurt. Heart is that which carries something anyway. Okay? So, you are heart. You are heart. Because if you do something anyway, you can go far, anyway. Do you think so? If you live today, you can go tomorrow. Very natural. Anyway, you should do something now, today, with your whole-heartedness, and then you can carry something with to tomorrow this is you so you are not separate from the cart cart is you so tied cart with stars means tied you with stars which are supreme and tremendous

[26:13]

far far from here but he said don't tie your cart with stars million miles away that is interesting point tie your cart with stars far from us completely far from us it's supreme it's tremendous wonderful That means you should have wonderful ideal, beautiful ideals. Ideal must be immense. Immense and high as mountain skies. So, under all circumstances or whoever you are, all you have to do is anywhere you should have great, immense, highest ideal.

[27:18]

That means you should tie your cart with the stars, which is supreme and immense. But on the other hand, don't tie your cart with the stars millions of miles away. If I say so, you see the stars far from us. But it's not. Stars are where? Stars are with you. So ideal, where is ideal? Ideal is far from you and the future. No, ideal is something you have to practice it day by day anyway. This is ideal. So ideal and reality, reality are one. It's not two. So, the more profound immense ideal is, the more you can see it right beneath your foot.

[28:34]

Not far. That means don't hide your cart with the stars. medium miles away. This is very true. For instance, when you build a huge building in the downtown, so wherever, building is going straight In the sky, going up in the sky straightly, huge building is there. Simultaneously, building must be stable going down on the ground. Otherwise, building is not stable. If building must be stable, anyway building must be rooted on the ground very deeply.

[29:43]

So simultaneous. Building is high in the sky, simultaneously building must be rooted on the ground. That is reality. So there seems to be two, but not two in terms of function of the building. Every moment. The aliveness of the building, the high building is Complete indelible oneness between ideal and also rooted on the ground, etc. That is reality of the building, which is beautifully alive every day. So if you have really high, wonderful, immense ideal in your life, your life must be very stable.

[30:55]

Very naturally, it means you can deepen your life. You can deepen your life. Even though you don't believe anyway, have a high, highest, immense ideal under all circumstances continually anyway very naturally your life is deepened and before you are conscious of it anyway that means that is a point which Hermes said. It's wonderful isn't it? so according to this regatta the whole body resembling the mouth the hands in the cockle in the sky are the whole body. Whole body means the complete whole body. Whole body moving. When your whole body means the whole body and mind. Your whole body is moving with something, with the footballs.

[32:02]

You cannot separate. There are you, football player, and ball. If you see yourself, you are not ball, but ball with you constantly. So from this point, you are always you. The whole body moving, but not whole body moving, balls moving. Do you understand? Balls, ball moving. Wherever ball go, your body very naturally goes to the right, to the left. So when your whole body and mind becomes a ball, there is nothing to pin down. What is a ball? What is a body and mind? That is called whole body. Then resembling a mouth. At that time, it's not exactly ball, but it's speaking ball. Ball is always behind.

[33:05]

Ball is always with you. That's why It seems, it looks like a ball, but it's not ball. Your body looks like a ball, but not ball. That's why your body looks like a ball. Ball, okay. Do you understand? So that means your body exactly ball. We don't know how to express. That's why we say resemble. Resemble or looks like. That is... technical expression which is different from usual sense do you understand? whole body so judo and kendo or Japanese sports whatever you do teacher always says this point he doesn't they don't use this technical term but always they teaching you this point your body must be just like a ball soft very

[34:07]

What to say? Elasticity, your body is just like elastic. Elastic. So very soft and moving, just like a ball, round ball. So your body and mind is not your body and mind, your body and mind is just like a judo, ok? Kendo. So your body and mind looks like a judo and kendo, but exactly, that means when you exactly one with a judo, that time judo moves, ok? Not your body. That means all body resembling judo. So in this case, whole body resembling the mouth. At that time, you can speak.

[35:11]

What do you mean by Judo? Eye of the Judo, eye of the archery, what does it mean? From this. So, that means mouth. Your body, complete mouth. Speaking about Judo, speaking about archery, Speaking about whatever kind of occupation you are. And also, hands in the cocoon. Hands in the empty sky means there is nothing to be stuck. Because your whole body and mind must be always elastic. very soft and moving quickly and slowly freely anyway so that is in the sky in the sky hands not hands in a certain territory so-called judo so-called you anyway in the sky means completely under all circumstances your whole body must be free

[36:28]

So that means you cannot attach to ideal. You cannot attach to any way of reality. You cannot attach to the building going straightly in the air. High air. You cannot attach to building going down beneath the ground. You cannot attach. So your building must be alive day by day. What? in the realm of oneness between high and beneath. Immense and also reality. That is called a nest. It doesn't matter, it doesn't care about the winds north, south, east, west. Because between, I told you, between your birth and death, with naked body and mind, they are west and south, east, while always fighting and pleasure and smiling, while making face and sometimes fighting, sometimes screaming, and sometimes enjoy.

[37:53]

Sometimes could be good teacher and it's a fame and poor, rich, of many, North, South, East, West. But actually, when you have to live exactly in terms of birth and death with a completely naked body and mind, you cannot attach to any way building being in higher or building the going down beneath the ground. Anyway, you have to live fully anyway, every day, in the realm of oneness between one being in the higher, going down beneath the ground. That is, it doesn't care about the winds, north, south, east, west.

[38:57]

So, I told you anyway, just like a baseball player or football player, and you are on the court, well, you have to everyday practice. Strictly speaking, when you practice, you don't know what is useful and what is useless. Practice is useful or practice is useless. You don't know. But if you say, yes, practice is useful, That is the idea coming from your mind connected with the memories and the heritage and the customs you ever had. Among the people, if you practice this, you can progress in your practice. So very naturally you expect, but actually sometimes nothing. Nothing to progress. You think so? Look at your life and look at your practice. How much can you see?

[40:03]

How much can you see the progress in the practice? Not only that's it. Your business and your study of sciences, your job, work, how much can you see the progress in the practice of your business, practice of the study? Maybe you think so. But next moment you don't know. And finally you don't know where's the guarantee. You really don't know. But you can't stop it because you're right on there. Every day you do. Just do. So your full aliveness of your life is really going on in the realm of reality. You don't know. You don't know exactly what it is regardless of whether it is useful or useless.

[41:09]

This is a reality. Everyone lives. That is really life. Really life. Meaning of life. You should believe in this one. Believe in this one. That's why if you are really confused and upset and under certain circumstances, and you're told, what should I do? But the teacher always says, if your mind calms, sit down. Anyway, sit down. Then the student asks him, I experienced a wonderful enlightenment. The teacher said, good, sit down please. I have a lot of views, much like one for anyone, sit down.

[42:12]

Or whatever happens, anyway the teacher always says sit down, sit down, because there is nothing else. If you really bump your head, at the boundary against something, the so-called dead-end. Dead-end is not always something wrong. Dead-end is a situation you can confront, you can be confronted with sometimes good things, sometimes bad things, sometimes good things. You know, if you write a paper or a thesis, then you can write something for one day or two days. You can really write. You don't know why your hand is moving. Your hand is spinning anyway, right? Next day, you can't completely write at all. Nothing. Don't believe that.

[43:16]

Against something that is divine. At that time, the more you try to struggle for writing something, the more you can't find anything. Just because you're confused. So you forget, you know? Just relax your head. That's pretty good for you. So, anyway, this is the reality. Anyway, reality you live. But the important point is, anyway, having the immensity, the highest ideal under all circumstances and simultaneously, anyway, you have to practice it in your daily life, anyway. If you have an ideal in the future, that is not the ideal what exists in the future, it must be here. Means how much you can put into practice every day.

[44:22]

Even slightly, even one, even two of your ideals. Anywhere practicing, that means live. Anyone live. Under all circumstances, anywhere you have to live with wholeheartedness. That means it doesn't care about the wind. North, east, anywhere north, south, east, west. It doesn't mean you should ignore. North, South, East, West. You should really best to care. You should take best to care of North, South, East, West. But simultaneously you must be free of them. You must be anyway fully alive in the realm of North, South, East, West. When you do gassho, you must be anyway fully alive in the realm of gassho. You cannot be stuck in the gassho, form of gassho.

[45:26]

Do you think so? If you are stuck in the form of gassho, you cannot do gassho because you are skeptical. Even though it is ill-protected, I told you, if I say to you, Gassho is wonderful, you know, giving spiritual powers to you, you will really attach to this Gassho. But it's not. Gassho is gassho. You have to do gassho anyway. And that's the immense, highest, ideal, so-called Bruce worm. And then, all you have to do is just do gassho. Right now, right here. This is a practice for us. That time, this practice, actual practice, makes your life root, root on the ground of your life.

[46:27]

And when your life is really rooted, consciously or unconsciously, if you do this, That's why it doesn't care about the winds, north, south, east, west. Next, Prajna is equally spoken to others. At that time, anyway, even though you don't speak anything, anyway, always your life speaks about. What do you mean by live? You can teach. You can really teach. For instance, if you see someone who is about to die, you can see something. Even if they don't say anything, you can see something. Because they are exactly, they don't have anything at all. Right in front of the death, all they have to do is just to go, just to move to the death.

[47:30]

Every day that is a death. That is nothing. It doesn't care. It doesn't care about North, South, East, and West. But they have to do. When the morning comes, they have to get up and have a breakfast. When the dusk comes, none. They have to talk with none. Anyway, there is a North, South, East, and West. But right in the middle of East and West, South and East, anyway, have to be anywhere in all what they are exactly. We are attaching to anywhere in all Southeast and West just to live. That is Prajnaparamita is equally spoken to everybody. Even though you don't care about life and death, even though you are not interested in life and death, you are really moved by those people.

[48:34]

Because they are constantly speaking about Prajna. Prajna means, what do you mean by really, really level. Real minimum level. So, that's why it says Prajna is equally spoken to others. That means just walking. Just walking, just like a wind bell. What do you mean? What do you mean Prajna is equally spoken to others? Is there something special? The so-called technique to tell you to teach somebody about death, about life. No, nothing. All they have to do is just live. So-called teaching, teaching, teaching. When the morning comes, get up. Everyone get up with your whole heart and mind.

[49:36]

When you do gassho, anyway, do gassho with your whole heart. That means, chichin, chungyang, chichin, chungyang. Just like when you get up, gassho, chichin, chungyang, chichin, chungyang. That means paying attention to the real, full aliveness. Full aliveness of your life, of your gassho, of your zazen. Totally. That is doing well. So, Dogen Benji commented to this, he says, This is the speaking Prajna transmitted by Buddha and PTRs. This is Prajna. Prajna, how can you teach? How important, how valuable life and death is? What's the difference between life and death is? It's completely beyond the discussion.

[50:41]

Anyway, we have to, if you want to teach life and death, you have to live. Anyway, under all circumstances, right in the middle of death, you have to live. That time you live, you can teach death. So, that's why this is a speaking Prajna transmitted by Buddha and Patriarch. Not for us. This is our important point which Buddha and Patriarch in the past did. It is the whole body Prajna. It's really your whole body is Prajna. It's whole body is moving, teaching. In Dugasho, the whole body anyway teaches. It is the whole body of others project because when you do Dugasho, your whole body teaches about what Dugasho means.

[51:43]

Sometimes you understand gassho, sometimes you don't understand gassho. If I explain gassho, the more I explain the meaning of gassho, the more you are confused, because you don't understand gassho. So I must keep my mouth shut. But all I have to do, you can feel something through the gassho if you do. And also you can feel something from others who do gassho. Because they do gassho with whole-heartedness. That means whole body and mind is really gassho. Your body and mind is gassho. Gassho is alive. Gassho is alive. That means gassho occupies whole world. I told you before, the outlook on the human world according to Buddhism, the world is that which you can create.

[52:56]

Your world. Whole world is your world. But according to common sense, world is here and then you were born. But I don't think this is really true, ok? Anyway, you are born and then the world comes with you, simultaneously. Then when you die, you have to die with the world. What do you say? Even though Karagiri died, the world exists. Even though Hiroshi died, the world is here. That is your concept, consciousness, your customs, your heredity, your memories. The whole world is dying. Anyways, you know, it is dying with this world. That is a buddhistic understanding. So, it is a whole body of others' prajna means, if you do gassho, this is speaking about you and simultaneously about others.

[54:07]

That's why others are really moved by your gassho, by your daily life. It is a whole body of self-approach. You know what I mean? So anyway, there are common concepts called I is self, you are self. Common concept, self. A man's complete whole body and mind is exactly you. Exactly you. If I drink a beer, then you are drunk. According to common sense, you don't understand this. This is spiritual because your body and mind occupies the whole world. In this whole world everyone exists. So exactly you are part of my life. You exactly exist in your world now, in my world.

[55:16]

That's why you are connected with me, I am connected with you. And I have to take responsibility for living in peace and harmony with you because you are in my world. You are not something different from my world. That's why there is a very intimate relation there. If you are a completely different person apart from me, How can I, why should I take care of you? Why should I listen to your talk? Why should I listen to your suffering and despair? Why should I shake your hand with you? But anyway, you are exactly in my world. That's why I have to, even though I don't like, I have to do it.

[56:20]

You have to do it. That is, it is whole body of Self Prajna. Everyone's Self. Everyone is called Self. Completely equal. And it is the whole body of the North, South, East, West Prajna. If you can show, this is. This is a completely blooming flower in the realm of East. So go and get sure. When you do get sure, your life is blooming in the realm of the Zen. So go west. Wherever you may go, your life is just to make a sound. Constant. That is speaking

[57:16]

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