Good morning. Yesterday afternoon I talked on the first sentence of this writing. For the first sentence I talked about present, mountain and waters, but I think I didn't talk about the old Buddha. Old Buddha is also important words in Dogen's teachings and writings. In order to understand what Old Buddha means in Dogen's writings, we have to read another chapter of Shobo Genzo. titled Kobutsu Shin, The Mind of Old Buddhas. But because we don't have much time, I just say one point from that chapter, Kobutsu Shin, Mind of Old Buddhas.

[01:14]

Kobutsu literally means old Buddha, old. In my translation, I translate this. Some translators translate it as the first Buddhas, or another translation translates it as Those three are not so different. But the last one is very much different. But this translation, eternal Buddha, came from Dogen's statement about the old Buddha in Kobutsu Shin, mind of old Buddha.

[02:21]

Dogen said, this is old or ancient or past. means going beyond or transcend past and present. So as a meaning, eternal Buddha is not a mistaken translation, but it's not literal. So this Kobutsu, old Buddha, means kind of timeless, eternal, beyond time and space. So, you know, the present is time. This moment, next moment, and another moment. It's time. And mountains walk through the time. So present mountains and waters is actual things, phenomenal things, which is moving around, changing.

[03:28]

And kobutsu means the eternal truth beyond time and space. So here, these two are kind of two poems on its moment-by-moment things, here, right here, and right now. And Kobutsu is timeless beyond time and space. And in this sentence, Dogen said, these two are really one thing. So this is, in a sense, same as the sentence in the Heart Sutra, form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. So moment-by-moment things is the genjo or manifestation of eternal or timeless reality. And timeless reality manifests itself within moment-by-moment thing. That is our life, that is our activity.

[04:32]

So, you know, this is most important point of this Sansrikyo. That's why it took me so long to explain only the title of this chapter and the first sentence. Unless we really understand the meaning or significance of this first sentence and the kind of attention Those two kind of, in a sense, contradicted each other, like form and emptiness. If there's form, it's not empty. If it's empty, there's no form. So emptiness is a negation of form, and form is a negation of emptiness. But the Heart Sutra said, form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. You know, this kind of tension or logical twist.

[05:36]

Usually our logical mind doesn't accept this kind of twist. We say this is contradicted and doesn't make any sense. That's all. That is a kind of a beginning of Buddhist study. Please. Yes. Well, Dogen called several Chinese Zen master as Kobutsu or old Buddha, like Tendo Nyojo, his own teacher, and Wanshi Shogaku, and Joshu. And probably he called Unmon also as Kobutsu. In that case, Kobutsu or the Buddha means the person who awakened to that timeless reality and expressed that reality through their practice and teaching.

[06:46]

OK. I think in Kobutsu Shin Dogen said, Kobutsu is a person who transmits his true dharma. So people who have the true dharma eye and see the reality with true dharma eye and express it, and through their own life, both activity and teaching or verbal expression. Those are called Kobutsu as human beings. Another point is about form and emptiness. In the Maka Hanya Haramitsu, that is the first oldest writing of Dogen with Isho Bogenzo written in 1233 before Genjo Koan. He said, even though it said in the Heart Sutra, form is emptiness, emptiness is form, as a reality, it's not right or it's not complete.

[07:59]

He said, form is form, emptiness is emptiness. That's Dogen's way to express this reality because if we say there's a form and another concept emptiness, and the Heart Sutra is saying is these two contradicted things or concept are one. But Dogen's point is if form is really emptiness, we don't need to say emptiness. When we say form, emptiness is already mentioned, already included. And when we say emptiness, form is already there. If really form and emptiness are one thing, we don't need to say form is emptiness. That is Dogen's logic. And he often expresses in that way. So moment by moment, phenomenal things such as mountains and rivers are the expression or manifestation of the timeless truth or reality of Buddha.

[09:20]

That is what the first sentence is saying. And the second sentence. I go very slowly, but soon the mountain start to walk. It become faster and faster, so don't worry. He said, I mean, in this translation, it says, Second sentence. Each abiding in its own dharma state fulfills exhaustive virtues. This expression, dharma state, is a translation of houyi, This expression came from the Lotus Sutra.

[10:29]

Each and every being stays or dwells within Houyi. And my translation is Dharma position. I think it's okay, too. And Dogen talks about this dharma position in Genjo Koan, if you remember, when he discussed about firewood and ash. If you don't remember, I'll read it. Let's see, Genjo Koan. This is a section of Genjo Koan. Dogen says, firewood becomes ash. Ash cannot turn back into firewood again.

[11:35]

I think we understand this. However, we should not view ash as after and firewood before. We should know that firewood dwells in the dharma position of firewood. This is our dharma position. Firewood dwells in the dharma position of firewood. And it has its own before and after. Although there is before and after, past and future are cut off. Past and future are cut off. Ash stays at the position of ash, and it has its own before and after.

[12:38]

As firewood never becomes firewood again, after it is burned and becomes ash, after a person dies, he's talking about our life and death, after a person dies, there is no return to living. However, in Buddha Dharma, It is a never-changing tradition not to say that life becomes this. So he's saying life doesn't become this. We die, but life doesn't become this. Life is life, 100%, and this is this, 100%, and there's no return. Therefore, we call it no arising. It is the laid-down way of Buddha's turning the Dharma wheel not to say that death becomes life. Therefore, we call it no perishing.

[13:46]

So life and death is no arising and no perishing, even though we are born and we die. Life is a position at one time. Death is also a position at one time. For instance, this is like winter and spring. We don't think that winter becomes spring, and we don't say that spring becomes summer. I found that this is not true in English. But in Japanese, we don't say spring becomes summer. But unfortunately, in English, you say it. Anyway, what he's saying here is, you know, changing of things. It's okay?

[15:22]

Yes. Okay. Firewood becomes ash when it burns. And before it becomes firewood, it was a tree. And before becoming a tree, it was a seed or something different. So each kind of a stream of being within changing, within impermanence, it changes the condition depending upon the causes and conditions. depending upon what kind of seed was it, you know, the tree grow in different ways. And when tree was cut in the forest, and dried, it become firewood. And when we burn it to heat, you know, firewood become ash.

[16:28]

So in our common understanding, this is within a stream of time. But what Dogen said is, when it was a tree, the tree dwells within the Dharma position as a tree. And when it was a firewood, firewood dwells in the dharma position of firewood. And when it becomes ash, ash is within the dharma position of ash. So in each stage, it's independent. You know, tree is not... a previous stage of firewood, actually. Firewood is not a previous stage of ash.

[17:32]

But ash, when it ash, this is completely ash. When it is a firewood, it is completely firewood. When it was a tree, completely tree, it's not a preparation to be firewood. Right? Or in the case of human life, this can be a baby or under kids. and teenagers and young adults and middle-aged and aged people. Baby food, when we are a baby, we are not a preparation to be a kid. But when we are baby, we are 100 percent a baby. Baby and kids are completely different in that sense, independent to each other. So, you know, this is a kind of a big change.

[18:38]

But not only this big change, but moment by moment, we dwell in a certain dharma position. And he said, Dogen said, as a firewood, there's a past and there's a future. within this stage, as a past of this stage, this was a tree. And as a future of firewood, this firewood would become ash. But this before and after is within this dharma stage or dharma position. So there is before and after, but this before and after is cut off. So this is complete perfect moment and complete perfect time.

[19:45]

There's nothing lacking. That is what Dogen said in Uji, as I said yesterday, being time. Being and time is one thing. So this is complete, one complete time and being. And yet it is flowing. You know, tree become fire, fire would become ash. But in the case of mountain, we don't see this change because the mountains change so slowly, much slower than we change. When we were born, mountains, already mountains. And when we die, mountains still mountain. So we don't think mountain changes, but actually mountain changes as we know.

[20:46]

Yes. It seems like there are several things being said at the same time here. One is it seems like what's being said is that what we're trying to isolate as a tree is actually not an individual object moment to moment. It's actually kind of flux. Yes. And we're just designating it as a tree artificially. Yes, as a condition of . And so past and present, or past, present, and future would exist within the phenomenal realm of tree as far as those constitutions can come and go and come and go continually. Yeah, yes. So in our life, as I said yesterday or the day before yesterday, my experience in the past is a part of my life at this moment. It's not really the past. It's not gone yet. It's still there. But as a part of my present life, my experience when I was a child,

[21:53]

is past the time of yesterday or time of 50 years ago, but still that is part of my present life at this moment. So each moment is completely independent. It doesn't flow, but still this thing which doesn't flow is really flowing. A strange thing, please. And also what's being said is that time does not exist without tree, which does not exist without time. Yes, yes. There's that atemporal kind of thought there. Yes, yes. And one more thing I should mention about Uji is a little bit after that section I read yesterday, he used an expression such as Ga-Uji. Ga Uji means being time and Ga means self.

[23:09]

So Ga Uji is one thing. The name of this reality, self and all other beings and entire time is one thing. And this one thing is myself. That is what Dogen is talking about when he used the word self. Please. So even though at the Dharma stage, firewood is just firewood, it could also be three ash, all of them. I'm kind of confused. Yeah, you know, within this Dharma position of firewood, within this moment, as I said, the fit is zero.

[24:18]

There should be no length. But within this zero stage, you know, entire past is there as karma in our case of in our life. And entire future is already within this present moment as our vow or aspiration or hope or desire, whatever. So within this present moment, which is zero, entire past and entire present is reflected or included. This self that is very tiny thing, like a drop of dew, the entire universe is reflected. That is an image of self in Dogen's teaching. As Dogen said, also in Genjo Goan, even on a tiny drop of dew, the vast universal moon is, moonlight is reflected.

[25:26]

So, you know, within this entire time from beginningless beginning and endless end is included at this very moment. And all beings, myriad beings in this entire universe is reflected on this tiny thing. That is Fat Dogen trying to show us. His moment is actually a fiction, right? So just repeat the fiction. It's a fiction, but without this fiction, there's no reality, no any other reality. This fiction is only reality. Fiction is a good word, I think. I mean, in another chapter of Schoenberg entitled painting rice cake, he said, our life is like a painting rice cake. It's an illusion.

[26:28]

It's a fiction. It's created by our mind. But still, without this fictitious life, there's no reality. And this is Buddha's life. Strange things to say. But that is what Dogen is saying. It's really strange. And also another expression Dogen used is relating a dream within a dream. This life is like a dream. But within dream, we try to understand what this dream looks like. And without this dream, There's no reality. This dream is reality. Please. No, I don't think so. We are within that Buddha's dream.

[27:30]

And it continues. We cannot stop it. I think so. Waking up means we see this is a dream, but we usually don't see this is a dream. We see this is reality and we become really serious and cling to this dream. Each person has different dream. And within our personal dream, we are the center of the story. And we distort the dream. We don't see this strange reality as it is. That is what he is discussing later in Sansei-kyo. We have different views. And how shall we deal with these different views? I think, you know, if it's a dream becoming a thing or not, and it's a dream being a homeless, you know, what's the importance of doing one or the other?

[28:46]

And I can see, you know, a beautiful dream and a nightmare is what you said. But, you know, at the end of the day, what's the real importance, you know, of practicing and not practicing? This is a good question, I think, a very important question. Why we practice? We don't need to practice. We don't need to be here. We can be outside. And it might be a better dream. Now we are within what might be a nightmare, discussing about this kind of strange thing. You can enjoy walking on the beach. Which is better? I don't know, but somehow I'm here. As my role, I'm talking about my understanding or my dream about Dogen's teaching. You are listening my dream. If you enjoy it, it's okay, but if you don't enjoy it, you can leave.

[29:50]

But you cannot live from this dream, this life as a dream. Please, first, please. Can you explain a little something about the difference between the path of the teacher being in, say, an open, known Dharma state of the firewood versus the firewood being soaked tree or tree ash? What is the difference? in our common understanding, I think. I ate yesterday. The food was reality yesterday. But I ate yesterday, so food is digested and already get out of my body.

[30:59]

So the food I ate yesterday It does not exist anymore. It was a reality yesterday, but it's not a reality today. It's already gone. And what Dogen is saying is that food is still here. As the food, it is gone. the food I ate yesterday is still here within my body. And it's changed into my energy. But we cannot say the food was reality yesterday, but the food is gone. That is our common understanding. We say it's gone and no such food anymore. But what Togen wants to say is this is complete time, and this entire time, complete time, lacks nothing.

[32:08]

So the food I ate yesterday is still here as a part of my karma. And that karma helps me to talk right now. If I didn't eat that food, I'm hungry and I don't have energy to talk now. So the food is actually working right now as my energy. So the food is still part of this moment. I don't know if that is a difference between these two. But I think Dogen's point is this moment is really only reality, even though it's a fiction. This moment is not a step to next moment. We usually think practice at this moment is a step to next stage.

[33:16]

That is our common sense in the society like a school. What we study in the elementary school is a step to go to the higher study. But if we think in that way, this moment is simply a step to the next moment. If we have a goal, and to reach that goal is the most important thing. Then if we cannot reach that goal, what we are doing right now is meaningless. If we think this is simply a part of the stream and going there, dating there, that means become Buddha in the case of Buddhist practice.

[34:18]

If we think to become Buddha is the purpose of what we are doing right now. If we think in that way, that is our ordinary thinking, goal-oriented. When we study car driving, to get a license is my purpose. So if I fail to get the license, my study and practice of car driving is nonsense, meaningless, valueless. But at least in the case of Buddhist practice, what Dogen wants to say is this moment, what we are doing right now, today, even though we are not Buddha yet, we are not in the other shore yet, but if we really practice sincerely with whole hearted and mindfully, the Buddha food is already here.

[35:26]

This is, so Dogen put emphasis on the value of this moment, what we are actually doing, because this is only reality. The Buddha food in the first is still, you know, dream. Do you understand? Is this the answer to your question? I think the difference is the importance of this moment, what we are doing. Well, I'm sorry. You were about to say something about our differing views. What differing views? That is for later, so let me talk about it later, please. Could you go over zero? Is that? Zero is present size, and that includes the path.

[36:31]

and the future in zero. And we are reflected in it. We are zero? We are one. We are one. We're one. You're zero. I think. This set, I think, is one. I'm one person. You are another person. So we are different, each other. So we are one. And this moment is zero. And each moment is eternal, infinite. So one equals zero equals infinite. That is a strange thing to say. Pardon?

[37:33]

Are you sure about that? Yes. That's my dream. So, you know, at each moment we are dwelling in certain dharma position. For example, now I am a lecturer during this session. I'm at the Dharma position of a lecturer, so I'm trying to do my best to talk about Dogen's teaching, about Shobo Genzo, and each one of us has certain position. either tenzo, or ino, or branches not here, but avod. These are all dharma positions at this moment. But next moment we may change.

[38:34]

Do you know what you call dharma position? To my understanding, with an avod, what is your role? I don't know if it's the same. Usually avod doesn't matter, avod doesn't matter, but what is dharma position? As a Dharma position, I think we have certain roles at this moment. Now I'm a father of my children, but now my role is a teacher, so I try to talk about Dharma. I don't talk about family things. you know, we have different roles even at one moment, one present moment. And because I am here at the Zen Center and during Sesshin, I kind of make choice. You know, this is my role. But as a Dharma position, To be a teacher is not really, how can I say, whole of myself.

[39:42]

I'm from another side. I'm a husband of my wife and father of my children. I'm a director at the Southern Education Center. There are many different kind of aspects of this person's life. But at least right now, right here, I'm a teacher so I try to teach even though I'm not sure you study or not, or you like my teaching or not. But anyway, as a role or a function of dharma position, this person's dharma position, I try to talk about my understanding of dharma. So dharma position and role is kind of different. Does it make sense? Do you understand? OK.

[40:45]

OK, so each one of us. there is in certain dharma position. And yet each and every one of us, not only human beings, but all things, has a virtue, it's said. I don't really know if the English word virtue is a good word or not, but I don't know other word. This translation says, exhaustive virtue. Each one of us has, whatever dilemma position we are, this life at this moment has exhaustive virtue. And exhaustive, I don't know what exhaustive really means in English, as an English word.

[41:54]

But the original word, gu-jin, gu means to, let's say, to penetrate thoroughly, completely. And jin is to exhaust, means there's nothing lacking. So there is a complete virtue, not without any lacking. So whether you are abbot of this Zen Center, or a tenzo, or just a visitor like me, all of us has an exhaustive virtue within this entire time and being. Please. Apas.

[42:58]

The original word is kudoku. Kudoku. Ku means function or the result of function. That is merit. And tok is virtue. Virtue means good point. Something good quality. So something good as a value. Yes, that is the word Dogen used in the next sentence.

[44:06]

Dōtoku. Dou Toku, Dou and Toku is the name of the book of Lao Tzu, Dou Toku Kyo. In that case, a virtue of the way. So this is a kind of important word in Chinese culture. So food is kind of a good thing, good quality, value, a result of our function or work. And when this kudoku is fulfilled, completely fulfilled, that means we are Buddha. Buddha's kudoku is complete. But because we are beginners, our kudoku is not complete.

[45:08]

but still Dogen is saying within our incomplete practice as beginner, the perfect Kudoku, perfect virtue of Buddha is manifested. It's a kind of incredible statement because we make so many mistakes. Our work is not so great, But still Dogen said, if we practice in order to, not in order to, but for the sake of fulfilling our vows, you know, saving all beings. Delusions. are unexhaustible, we vow to put an end to them.

[46:14]

Dharmagate is boundless, I vow to master them. And Buddha's Way is unsurpassable, we vow to maintain it. And within this vow, The first half of four vows and the second half of four vows are contradicted. You know, if sentient beings are numberless, there's no time we can save them all. If desires are inexhaustible, there's no time we can put an end to them. And if dharma is boundless, we cannot master it. And if Buddha way is unsurpassable, there's no time we can attain it. So it's very clear, you know. So when we take these vows, we vow to do something we cannot do, something we cannot complete.

[47:20]

So, you know, a clever person cannot take such a vow, I think. Only stupid person. You know, this is really contradicted. But I think this contradiction is important. This contradiction shows us the incompleteness of our practice. No matter how hard we practice, no matter how many good things we do to save others, still, you know, our practice is incomplete. and to, maybe I said yesterday, to awaken to that incompleteness is repentance. So vow, taking this stupid vow and we feel, you know, always incomplete, we are still not complete. This is vow, I mean, repentance.

[48:21]

So vow and dependence should be always together, or two sides of one coin. And dependence, or this awakening to incompleteness of our practice, strengthens our vow or practice toward this vow. So this contradiction of two sides is really important. And this, in a sense, this two, contradiction of these two sides is same as what Dogen is saying in the first sentence, that mountains and rivers of present is manifestation of eternal Buddha. So it's complete, it's, you know, two, both two cannot be really one. But Dogen said they are one. strange thing it's not logical logical mind cannot follow such a strange statement but as a reality thing we practice within practice we really I think at least in my experience I feel that's it

[49:38]

That is only possible way to awake to the reality of, you know, stupidity of this person and make this stupid person to walk in the bodhisattva path in a very practical, concrete way. Otherwise, you know, our vow become a dream, really. Please. toward direction of infinity, and step over practice toward that infinity, infinity is manifested. Those vows that you were talking, that we can do it, that is true, we can do it, I mean, I'm not saying something contrary of that, but can it mean somehow, can it mean the same as, you know, those vows, they are going towards infinity?

[50:48]

Yes, yes. So we take a vow and practice towards infinity. Yeah. So our practice is there, really. Well, I'm not sure I'll say more or not. as we observe objectively, might be the same. Might be the same. But from inside, as Dogen said, we have to directly go get into the mountains and see the mountain peaks from inside.

[51:54]

whether we see the mountain from inside or Dogen later said, a person who said, Dogen said, people outside the mountain, people who don't have the eye cannot see. And before that, before that he said, people in the mountain cannot see. And next he said, people outside the mountain cannot see. So no one else, none of us cannot see. So in that sense, we are the same. But it's from, you know, who really living as, you know, in life. I'm not judging, you know, other. Okay. As a person, as a first person who is living this body and mind, you know, I can, I feel difference.

[53:44]

Whether when I just do whatever I want to do, following my personal desire and following my vow, the way to live as a bodhisattva, I think my quality of my life is really different. from outside, you know, my life and any other people's life is the same. Just we are born and eat some food and spend certain periods of time and disappear. That's all. But from as a person who is really living with this particular body and mind, within this particular condition of society, You know, there is difference. And we have to make choice which way we want to go, I think.

[54:45]

I don't know if this is the answer to your question or not. Now my question was, is dogma something that always I I ask myself, you know, usually these people say, you know, it's the same thing, the beauty of the mountain, or being anywhere, you see that beauty. And my question is, you know, can you see the same beauty, or Doga would say you can see the same beauty as he's been looking at the mountain, that tragedy, you know, who is at a particular moment hurting himself and others. Can you see the beauty in that situation, not only in the mountains, but in the beauty up here? Well, I think there are many, many terrible things happened in the mountain too. And if we only see the beauty of mountain, then we are not bodhisattva, I think. We need to see the reality of very ugly part of the mountain too, I guess. And somehow we need to take care of it in any way we can do.

[55:54]

And each one of us has different tendency or capability or vow or desire or hope, wish. So the way each one of us work for the sake of this mountain can be different. In my case, I think the best contribution I can do to human society is practice as a Buddhist practitioner and try to transmit what I studied and practiced in Japan to this country. So this is my kind of a... activity to, as a person who has a limited capability, I mean, because of our karma, you know, we are limited.

[57:00]

So each one of us has to find certain way to, as a Bodhisattva practitioner, to do something. You know, we can appreciate beauty of mountain, but also we have to see the miserable condition too, within the mountain. And our activity is how we can make this entire mountain better place for all living beings. I think that is the meaning of Bodhisattva vow. So, I don't, you know, not only Dogen, but any kind of a Dharma teacher show like a beautiful beautiful expression or poems. So we, if we are careless, we only see, you know, to appreciate such a beautiful scenery in the mountain is our practice.

[58:08]

But I don't think that is true. We have to see how ugly we are. And how can we deal with this? How can we practice with this ugliness? within ourselves, within this mountain. I think it's a very important thing. So I don't think, if we think, you know, things happening in the city is beautiful, we deceive ourselves. It's ugly. It's painful. It's terrible. Not only in this world. There are so many terrible things happening. And we cannot say, you know, this world is perfect as it is. There are so many things that should be taken care of. And our vow and activity for this has beauty.

[59:11]

when we work in order to make the situation even a little bit better. I think in that sense, we can find beauty of mountain in such activities within the ugly part of the mountain. Does this make sense? OK. Please. Can you talk about that ? In relation to Andy Cohen and what you said about bringing yourself forward, experiencing everything, letting that come forth to you, in trying to find a way, how do we let things come forth to us that we didn't kick through? Do we just go out and seek what it is we should become? I don't know. I think there are many different cases.

[60:15]

In my case, somehow when I read my teacher's book, I felt I really didn't know what he's talking about. But somehow I feel I was sucked into that way. That was when I was 17 years old. I knew nothing about Zen or Buddhism. But somehow it was like a magnet. I was just pulled toward that direction, and I'm still in that direction. So later he talks about fishing. in the river. And he said, we fish a fish, but maybe we are . Or he said, we are fished by the wave, or we fish the wave. So there are so many different cases or different way of understanding or interpretation.

[61:26]

I feel I'm sucked in, but each important time I have to make choice whether I really want to be a disciple of Uchiha Maroshi or not. In order to do so, I have to give up other responsibilities in the society or in my in Japanese society, older than first son had a responsibility to take care of the house, household and parents. So to me to become a monk means to give up that responsibility. So it was a kind of a very difficult choice. So I think it has both directions. We are sucked or we are fished, hooked by the way. But I have to make a choice, really.

[62:34]

And there are many other situations. So each one of us, I think, is different. Please. As an illustration of that, The choice of the oldest son not to take care of the parents. So I'm a bad son. The oldest son could also say that my parents are the first all beings in front of me and I will take them first. Yes. They are both along the path. Yes, yes. Buddha made a choice to leave his family and give up his responsibility as a prince. But it doesn't mean he was irresponsible, I guess. Please. Then you can look at the drug addicts.

[64:13]

It's a part of that, because you don't have the food without the drug addicts. So they are one, and they will wait. But it contracts and expands and beats, and that's what we've heard this about. Well, can I go back to San Sikyo? Because I want to finish this paragraph this morning. This is my direction to finish this writing. within a week. So next he said, because they are the circumstances prior to the carapace of emptiness, they are this life of the present. Because they are the self before the domination of any subtle sign, they are liberated in their actual occurrence.

[65:18]

These are also kind of two sides. you know, prior to the character of emptiness. And before the gamination of any subtle sign means like before Big Bang, before anything happened. The kalpa of emptiness means, in Buddhist Abhidharma, there are a kind of a repetition of four kalpas. First is a kalpa of arising, and next is kalpa of literally abiding. And the third is kalpa of destruction. And the fourth is kalpa of emptiness. So within the first kalpa, kalpa means very long time. It's almost forever.

[66:21]

In the first kalpa, things, you know, is forming. And in the second kalpa, it continues or maintains the form. And the third kalpa, it starts to fall apart, or destruction, or deformed. And in the last kalpa, it's gone, empty. But in this case, before or prior to the empty kalpa doesn't mean kalpa of destruction. But this means before those all four kalpas means before nothing happened, before anything happened. That means complete emptiness. or beyond any discrimination. That is prior to the culpable emptiness and also before gamination of any subtle sign.

[67:37]

This is, I think, come from the image of a seed germinate and a little tip come out from the earth. So before that, nothing is there. So before any human activity, That is, so that means same as ancient or old in old Buddha. That means eternity. And they are the life of the present. This present is same as the first present Nikon. This is and this life. I think life in this case means our day to day activities. The original word is kakei.

[68:46]

Kakei is life but kakei is kei, literally means calculation. or managing things in order to, so it's, in this case, this life is almost like a livelihood. You know, we do so many things in order to maintain our livelihood, those concrete activities in our daily lives. So the eternity and moment by moment things we have to take care of is one thing. So this is a practice and this is eternity. So eternity manifests itself as our day-to-day activity to keep our livelihood. And another one is genjo, liberated,

[69:52]

they are liberated in their actual occurrence. Actual occurrence is a translation of, again, genjo. Gen means appear, also gen also means present. And jo means to become or to form. So genjo, usual translation of genjo is manifestation or actualization. of moment by moment. It's things coming and going within moment by moment, like fire with ash, or whatever things we need to do to, in this case, to maintain this session is a cupcake. And this is something going on at this present moment. And yet this Fat Dogen thing is each moment and each activity we do in order to keep our livelihood, our day-to-day lives, is liberated from itself.

[71:12]

Because that is a manifestation of timeless or eternal truth of Buddha. Maybe we have to say if we practice, live and practice following bodhisattva vows, that means if we live based on or to fulfill our personal egocentric desire, then I'm not sure whether we can say that is still also manifestation of eternal timeless reality or not. Maybe so. But as a practitioner, this activities or as practice to fulfill this stupid vow is a manifestation of, you know, eternal Buddha.

[72:13]

Since the virtues of the mountains are high and broad, the spiritual power to light the clouds is always mastered from the mountains, and the marvelous ability to follow the wind is inevitably liberated from the mountains. In this translation, The spiritual power is translation of dōtoku, this word, virtue of the way. And next thing, marvelous ability is myō, myōku. So he split this word kudoku into two and made another compound using this myo and this do.

[73:37]

So both are the virtue of the mountains. And myo is myo in myoho rengekyo, or myoho, that means sad dharma, true dharma. And usually this is translated as wondrous. So the virtue of the way and wondrous ability, activity, or merit. So the mountains have, mountain means, you know, This Ga Uji, self being time, this mountain has the virtue to, he said, to light the clouds. Light the clouds means to go up and follow the wind means to go broad. Go up could mean to go up toward the Buddhahood or to fulfill Bodhisattva vows.

[74:51]

or sometimes go up, or vertical, to be vertical means time. So go up and down. Go up means to the past, or entire stream of time. And follow the wind means go everywhere in this space at this moment. So this mountain in Fiji, we are there, we are in the mountains. That is the way, you know, mountain walks moment by moment. That is what Dogen meant when he discussed about mountain is always walking. Mountain is always walking in this way, and moment by moment it's a perfect mountain, it has a perfect virtue. which allow us to practice and go higher and higher and also go broader and broader to help others.

[76:02]

You know, this is the introduction of this writing, Kenjo writing, Sansui-kyo. So this mountain and the waters actually means our life. It's not mountains and rivers and waters outside of our life, or it's not, how can I say, environment of our life, but we are in it. And if we call this, this strange thing, you know, mountain including self, we can call this entire thing is the self. The self includes all entire mountains. And also, including self, this is a mountain. In Shobo Genzo or Zenki, Zenki means total or entire, complete function or work.

[77:19]

Togen describes this as follows. This is a translation by Nishijima. He said, life, our life, life is the manifestation of all functions. In this case, all function is a translation of Zenki, complete, dynamic, total function, a work of these mountains, each moment. Life is a manifestation of all functions. And death is the manifestation of all functions, both life and death. And remember, among the countless dharmas that are present in the self, there is life and there is death.

[78:28]

So both life and death is within this life. let us quietly consider whether our own present life and the miscellaneous real dharmas, I don't understand this translation, but this means all dharmas, all things, which is, you know, living together with us, which are coexisting with this life, are part of life or not part of life, there is nothing, not a single moment, nor a single dharma that is not part of this life. So each and every time, moment, and each and every thing is part of this life. Life can be likened to a time when a person is sailing in a boat.

[79:35]

Dogen used this analogy in Genjoku-an also, but he used the same analogy in here. On this boat, I am operating the sail. I have taken the rudder, r-u-d-d-e-r, I am pushing the pole so we do some work. At the same time, the boat is carrying me, and there is no eye beyond the boat. Through my sailing of the boat, this boat is being caused to be a boat. Let us consider and learn in practice just this moment of the present. At this very moment, at this very moment, there is nothing other than the world of the boat.

[80:42]

So when we are sailing in the boat, this entire world is a world of the boat. The sky, the water, the shore, have all become the moment of the boat, which is utterly different from moments not on the boat. So life is what I am making it, and I am what life is making me. So life makes me in this way. In my case, talking about these things. And I'm expressing my life in this way. So from the side of the self and from the side of network of this interdependent origination, you know, work from both sides.

[81:46]

And that creates my life, not only my life, but each one of us' life. So actually, this co-working, mutual working, is our life. You know, the society makes this person as shohaku. And I have, through my action, I may change the society, or we create the society. Also, while I am sailing in the boat, my body and mind and circumstances and self are all essential parts of the boat. And the whole earth and the whole of space are all essential parts of the boat. He said, when we are sailing on the boat, The entire world become a part of the boat. It's kind of strange things.

[82:48]

The boat is part of the entire thing, entire world. But he said, in our activity, in our practice, in our life, this entire life, entire world is part of me, or part of my practice, part of my life. What has been described like this is what life is the self, and the self is life. Well, basically he's saying the same thing in the Mountains and Waters Sutra, that we are part of the entire world, and the entire world is a part of our life. I think that is basic structure of Dogen's teaching. So we create the world, and the world creates me.

[83:50]

This mutual work is actually our life and our practice. Well, I think it's time to stop talking and go back to Zazen. Thank you. Ah, numberless.

[84:15]

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