Good afternoon. This is the last class of this Genzo-e session. This afternoon, I'd like to talk on sections 16, 17, and 18. Because those three sections are in Dogen Zenji discussed, not discussed, but picked up or introduced the same topics. Sixteen is Daiji Kanchu Zenji. Daiji Kanchu, this person lived from 780 to 862. He is a disciple of Hyakujo Ekai, the person who established the Shingi, or pure standard.

[01:04]

Zen Master Daiji Kanchu said, Expounding ten feet is not like practicing one foot. Expounding one foot is not like practicing one inch. Let me read those three sections together. This sounds like that he admonished people of his time who were struck in their practice and seemed forgot penetration of the Buddha way. However, He did not mean that ten feet of expanding is wrong. He said that one foot of practice has greater merit or virtue than ten feet of expanding. It is not only limited to the measurement and the comparison between ten feet and one foot.

[02:13]

but also there should be a discussion of difference between the size of Mount Sumeru and the poppy seed. Mount Sumeru has its own entire measurement, and the poppy seed also has its own entire measurement. The vastness of continuous practice is like this. Present expression is not Kanchu's personal expression for himself, but it is Kanchu's expression of himself. Great Master Tozan Gohon, or Donshan Wubun, said, Expound what cannot be practiced. Practice what cannot be expounded. This is a saying of our founding ancestor. The essential meaning of this saying is that we should clarify the path which allows practice to penetrate expounding, and that there is a path which allows expounding to penetrate to practice.

[03:29]

Therefore, we practice throughout entire day what we expound throughout entire day. The essential point is that we practice what we cannot be practiced. I'm sorry, we practice what cannot be practiced. And we expound that what cannot be expounded. Great Master Kōkaku, or this is again Ungo, Ungo Dōyō, Tōzan's, or Donshan's disciple, of Mount Ungo, having completely penetrated this utterance, said, When we expound, there is no path of practice. When we practice, there is no path of expounding.

[04:33]

This utterance does not mean that there are no practice and expounding. The time of expounding is not leaving monastery for entire lifetime. The time of practice is washing head and go in front of sekko. We should neither put aside nor misconceive their utterance. When we expound, there is no past of practice. When we practice, there is no path of expanding. So basically, those three Zen masters are saying about the practice and expanding. Here, expanding means, you know, talking about Dharma. Discussing. So, expression of Dharma using words.

[05:36]

And the first daiji-kanchu Buddha said, expounding ten feet is not like practicing one foot. This is, you know, discussing, talking about practice, or Dharma, or, you know, ten feet is not like practicing one foot. 1 foot of practice is much better than 10 feet of discussion. And expanding 1 foot is not like practicing 1 inch. So 1 inch of practice is better than 1 foot of discussion. This is very basic Zen teaching. close your mouth and just do it.

[06:43]

It's a very famous teaching. Shut your mouth and do it. But Dogen Zenji's teaching is a little more complicated. You know, this is a kind of common sense of Zen practice, but Dogen discussed more in detail. He said, This sounds like that he admonished people of his time who were struck in their practice and seemed forgot penetration of the Buddha way. This is common understanding of this saying. However, Dogen always said, however, however, or but, or nevertheless, however, he did not mean that ten feet of expanding is wrong.

[07:48]

He said that one foot of practice has greater merit than ten feet of expanding. So, Dogen is saying ten feet of expanding is okay. One foot of practice has more merit. So, according to Dogen, this Zen Master doesn't say we should shut our mouth, but we should speak out. As I said, for Dogen, dōtoku, or expressing the Dharma, or way, or practice, is very important. So, when we see the Dharma, and when we practice the Dharma, We have to express it with our words, with using words, verbal expression. But still, you know, talking about practice or dharma is, you know, less important than practice it, really live it out.

[08:56]

That is for sure. It is not only limited to the measurement and the comparison between ten feet and one foot. So he's saying it's not a matter of comparison. Ten feet of discussion has its own value, and one foot of practice has its own value. And he's saying we don't need to measure our way, which is But also, there should be a discussion of difference between a side of Mount Sumeru and a poppy seed. This is a famous expression in Mahayana Buddhist Sutra. I think in Vimalakirti Sutra, there is an expression that within a poppy seed, Mount Sumeru is

[09:59]

can be stored. That means within the smallest thing, the largest thing can be stored. That means there's no measurement, no comparison. tiny poppy seed has its own value, as it is. And man's smell has its own value, as it is. Like, you know, Uchihara said, a violet is violet, and a rose is rose. You know, to be, for a violet, to be bloom, the flower of violet is 100%. And for a rose to bloom, a rose flower is that deep. We don't need to compare which is better or which is more valuable, or which is bigger or smaller.

[11:09]

So Logan said, one smell has its own entire measurement. And a poppy seed also has its own entire measurement. So, poppy seed is also, you know, in Dōgen's expression, ten-direction world, poppy seed. And mantisumeru is ten-direction world mantisumeru. And we are, each one of us, is a ten-direction world self. So, there's no comparison, no kind of objective evaluation. What we should do as a practice is do our best and bloom our own flower. And the vastness of continuous practice is like this. So, you know, if you can practice one inch, that's okay. If you can practice one foot, that is also okay.

[12:18]

If we can, you know, preach or expand ten feet, that is also okay. But this is a Masai saying, one inch of practice has more merit than ten feet of expanding. So this person is still measuring, but this is, in a sense, a way to encourage his children. and saying, shut your mouth and practice. They don't like to go to Zen Dojo. As a responsibility of a teacher, I said, shut your mouth and go to Zen Dojo. And this present expression is not Kancho's personal expression for himself. It is Kanchu's expression of himself. I'm not sure if this translation makes sense or not in English.

[13:22]

But Dogen Zenji just repeats the same thing. He said, the present expression of Kanchu is not Kanchu's personal expression. but it is kanji's personal expression. Just a moment. The personal expression is ji, ii, dou. Ji is self. Ii is for the sake of and Do is, in this case, speak or expression. So Dogen then said, this sentence is not Kan-chū's G.E.

[14:27]

Do, but this is Kan-chū's G.E. Do. So he just repeated the same thing. Usually, this one makes sense. So my understanding is that this expression of kanchu is not, how can I say, to make certain evaluation for the sake of himself. But this expression, this saying, is itself expression of daijin. That means, by this saying, he expressed himself. It's not a matter of this expression is for the sake of this person or that person.

[15:35]

It's a kind of opposition of taido, the saying for others. That means, this saying is not for the sake of teaching his students. But this, well, maybe the first part, maybe we can say, this is not Kanchu's Jido. This is not a saying for himself, but maybe for his students. But in the second, This is Kanchu's Jido. That means, Kanchu expressed himself through, with these words. Does it make sense? Maybe not. Please. Well, what I'm wondering is those characters that you just used, those expressions, in each phrase, there's a whole bunch of other characters

[16:39]

I don't think so. Other characters are not so particular. For today, or not today, but this present moment, that's dōtoku. It's not kanchū-jīdō, but kanchū-jīdō. Please.

[18:47]

Follow me. Painting of pipe. Uh huh. Yeah, something like that. This is a saying, but this is not a saying. Something like that. This is a word, but this is not really a word. But this is Kancho himself. OK. I'm going to Tozan. Tozan said, Expound thought cannot be practiced. Fat cannot be expounded. So, he is saying, our practice, you know, the Dharma or practice, cannot be expounded, explained, freely expressed, using words.

[20:01]

So, we need to practice. So, our practice is a practice of something we cannot be expounded. When we discuss or say something, or express something, or dharma or practice with words, then we are discussing or trying to discuss the reality which can be practiced. Does it make sense? Second part, practice that cannot be expanded. Well, you know, from Buddha's... you know, there are many teachers having expounded these things.

[21:15]

And I think what Tozan is saying is those explanations, or expounding, or preaching, or teachings using words is, you know, how can I say? They expounded, but they couldn't practice. So when we practice, we practice but we cannot express using words. And the thing we use words, we express that cannot be expressed or practiced, cannot be practiced, cannot be done. You know, like, you know... That is a good example. Saving all beings. Well, please.

[22:39]

I think, I think... This is not the answer to your question, but I think, basically, practice and teaching. This expanding means teaching or writing, like what Dogen is doing here. And the relationship between teaching and practice. And I think these two are like actual traveling and reading a travel guide or reading a map. you know, as a personal experience or as a practice, no matter how long we walk around in this country, I think we cannot even imagine the shape of this country. But, you know, map is not a real thing. But map is a kind of accumulation of the information from a long time ago. fabrication.

[23:45]

It's not a real thing. But still, if we don't have a map, we cannot even imagine the shape of this continent. So even when we try to practice as much as possible, our practice is based on our understanding. And unless we have whole picture of the practice or Buddha way, we may be lost in anywhere and we cannot see the whole picture. So the teachings, like sutras or commentary of sutras or writings like Dogen's, they are the kind of a copy of their practice. And we have an entire library of Buddhist texts. Those are really just maps, a collection of maps.

[24:46]

And yet, you know, if we just practice by our own, without studying those maps, we may go astray, somewhere we should not go. So, teaching, or those maps, or scriptures, are a kind of expression or explanation of what we cannot practice. If we don't study those things in our practice, we may go somewhere else. Maybe. I think it can be one meaning of this saying.

[25:50]

Yes. But that is a part of reality. The map is a part of the earth, I think. Let's see. So, Dogen continued. This is a saying of our founding ancestor, because Tozan is the founder of Soto Zen tradition. The essential meaning of this saying is that we should clarify the path which allows practice to penetrate expounding. In this case, expounding means a teaching, I think. Through practice, we penetrate the teaching, Buddha's teaching. And there is a path which allows expounding to penetrate to practice. So, expounding or teaching should be practiced.

[26:57]

So, teaching and practice is not two different, separate things. But teaching is for practice. And practice is a practice of teaching. So those two should be one thing. I think that is what he is saying. Someone else, Dogen, discussed about shu, setsu, gyo. Pardon me? I think so. Yeah. Right. Actually doing things and kind of a theory or a description of that activity.

[28:06]

Those two, I think. So, Buddhist teaching is supposed to be practiced, and the practice should be the practice of the teaching. I think that is the basic meaning. Setsu is expanding, Dogen used here, and Gyo is practice, and Shu is essential truth or reality, as I said, Shu-Kyo. And Dogen said, Shu and Setsu and Gyo should be one. Our Buddhist teaching, expanding, Buddha's expanding Dharma is expanding our truth. basic truth. And our practice, our Buddhist practice, is a practice of the teaching about the truth.

[29:15]

And the truth is about how we see the things in the true way, and how we live or practice. So, these three should be really one thing. I think that is sentiment expounding, or talking, discussing. Basically, what he's saying here is the same as this one. Reality or truth, Buddha awakened to, and Buddha's teaching about that truth, or reality, and Buddhist practice according to Buddha's teaching. So those three should be really one. Therefore, we practice throughout the entire day.

[30:27]

We practice what we expand through the entire day. So what we talk all day long should be what we practice all day long. So what we are doing and what we are talking should be the same thing. Practice and our mind, our thinking should be one. But often not really one. We think more than we do, usually. Or what we do is a little different from what we think. Twisted. Walk their talk. Walk their talk. That means you should do what you say?

[31:30]

Tokyo. That is same. That is no good. Please. Yes. Yes, he did. Actually, he wrote almost not almost, but 75 volumes or chapters of Shobo Genzo by 1245. And after that, he focused on giving Dharma discourses, Dharma talks. Of course, I think he continued to write or improve his writing. I think he talked a lot. He wrote a lot. And he practiced a lot. And Dogen's saying, the essential point is that we practice, but cannot be practiced.

[32:45]

So Dogen again twisted. We practice, but we cannot be practiced. And we expound, but cannot be expounded. You know, this has something to do with this circle of the way. The center of the circle is empty, so there's no way to discuss. There's no way to make distinction between good and bad, or delusion and enlightenment, samsara and nirvana, or living beings and Buddha. Those things are there, but still not there. That is the meaning of emptiness or going beyond discrimination. But still, those discriminations or distinctions are there. So we, for example, in our Zazen, we sit with everything, those dichotomies, but we don't cling to either side, but we embrace

[33:57]

all of them. That is the image of this circle. So, when it's necessary, we can say anything. Dogen doesn't worry. or concerned about this contradiction. Sometimes he said this from this side. Sometimes he said from that side. And logically speaking, those are completely contradicted. But he doesn't matter. He doesn't mind. So in order to understand people who are teaching like that, we need to see the same emptiness. and has same, how can I say, emptiness which includes everything. Then, third person is Ungo, Doyo again.

[35:02]

He said, when we expound, there is no path of practice When we practice, there is no path of expounding. This sounds like, you know, when we discuss, we just discuss and no way to practice. And when we really actually practice, there's no way to discuss or expound. So when the time of practice, just practice. And time of discussion, just discuss or expound or express. But Dogen is saying those two are not kind of separated. Those two include each other. Please. Yes. Yes, and expanding is, you know, is itself practice.

[36:10]

To say is a practice, using our mouth. and mind. So, those two are not really two separate things. So, Dogen is saying these two include each other. This utterance does not mean that there are no practice and expanding. There are practice and there are expanding. The time, he said, the time of expounding, time of talking, of discussing, of explaining, is not leaving monastery for entire lifetime. Of course, this expression came from a Joshu's saying. If you don't leave a monastery entire lifetime and say anything, say nothing, but you are not a mute.

[37:13]

That means quiet, practice, continuous practice, is very eloquent expression of that Dharma. And, next one, the time of practice is washing head and go in front of seppo. This is the expression from the story I talked the other day. there was a hippie monk near from the Seppo... near from the Seppo's monastery and he had long hair and he took water from the deep valley stream and one monk from Seppo's monastery once met this person and they had some conversation.

[38:16]

I forget the question, but toward some question, this monk with long hair said something like, because since the valley is deep, the handle of the wooden ladle is long. something meaningful. Yes. So in order to ladle water of Dharma, we need a long handle, a ladle with a long handle. And the monk reported this to Seppo, and Seppo visited the monk with a knife to shave his head. And Senpo said, if you can say something, that was dōtoku, if you can say something, I don't shave your head.

[39:24]

But if you cannot say anything, then I'll shave your head. Then this monk just washed his hair and approached in front of seppos and put his head and let him shave. So this monk didn't say anything, but Dogen said, this is a perfect expression or expounding of his understanding or practice. So both, you know, the time of expanding and the time of practice is kind of a silent practice. You know, keep practicing, continuous practice, you know, quietly, without saying anything, is perfect expression of our expanding of the Dharma,

[40:26]

no circle of the way. And finally, Dogen said, we should neither put aside nor misconceive this utterance. When we expound, there is no path of practice. When we practice, there is no path of expounding. So this means, from Dogen's point of view, this ungod saying means that the time of practice is completely, 100% time of the expounding. So there is no expounding besides this practice. And when the time of expounding, this action, activity of expounding, is entire practice, So there's no such thing called practice outside of this thing. I think that is Dogen's interpretation of this Ungo's saying.

[41:35]

We have 10 more minutes. Well, I'd like to, this is, I think, a fact I can talk about Gyoji. I'd like to introduce one. Dharma Discourse from Ehe Korok, and he's talking about exactly the same thing, quoting the same quote from those three Zen Masters and two more. And this is quite long, but I just read. You know, Shobo Genzo Gyōji was written in 1242. Dōgen Zenji was 24 years old, I mean 42 years old. And this Dharma discourse is made in 1252, ten years later, and the year, one year before his death.

[42:47]

So this is kind of a final conclusion of Dōgen. I think. Pardon me? Eihei Koroku. Eihei Koroku is a collection of Dogen's formal Dharma discourses taken down, given at a Dharma Hall. This is discourse number 498. Eihei Koroku includes 522. It's many. And that's 10 volumes. And Taigen, and I have been working on translation of this text for three and a half years. And right before this session started, we finished 10 volumes. Of course, we have more work to make it a book, but the translation part was done.

[44:00]

Anyway, so this is Dharma Talk by Dogen, one year before his death. Those who are truly endowed with both practice and discernment. Discernment is a translation of gei. That means understanding. So same as expanding intellectual understanding. Or practice and wisdom are called ancestral teachers. So a person who endowed both practice and understanding. are called ancestral teachers. What is called practice is the intimate practice of the ancestral school. Intimate practice, being one with everything.

[45:06]

What is called discernment or understanding is the discerning understanding of the ancestral teacher, I'm sorry, ancestral school. The practice and discernment of Buddha ancestors is simply to discern what should be discerned and to practice what should be practiced. Ancestral teacher Nagarjuna said, All dozen people reside in the deep mountains. You should know that for departing the traveling vessel and attaining quiet serenity, there is nothing like the deep mountains. Even if you are foolish, you should abide in the deep mountains, because the foolish

[46:16]

abiding in towns will increase their mistakes. Maybe it's true. Even if you are wise, you should abide in the deep mountains, because the wise abiding in towns will damage their virtue. his life. You know, 20 years before, when he talked about the talks recorded in the Zuimonki, he said, you know, being practiced in a hermitage, a quiet place, or founding a monastery to share Dharma with many people. And he started to work and founded a monastery in Kyoto. And when he wrote Gyoji, he was still in Kyoto.

[47:20]

And ten years later, you know, he was saying, here, this one, you know, either you are stupid or clever or wise. You should live in deep mountains. Of course, we can interpret, you know, this deep mountain as not a place, but as our Tarzan, quiet Tarzan. I, Eihei, in my vigorous years, searched for the way, for the way west of the Western Ocean. That means he went to China. And now, in my older years, I abide north of the northern mountains at Eihei. Although I am unworthy, I yearn for the ancient places Without discussing our wisdom or our unworthiness, and without discriminating between sharp or dull functioning, we should all abide in the deep mountains and dark valleys."

[48:37]

Then he introduced five people's sayings about practice and expanding. was Da-chi, or this is Daiji-kanchu, instructed the assembly, saying, being able to expound ten feet does not match practicing one foot. Being able to expound one foot does not match practicing one inch. Don Shan said, expound what you are not able to practice, and practice what you are not able to expound. Unju or Ungo said, when practicing, when practicing, there is no way to expound. When expounding, there is no way to practice. Neither practicing nor expounding, which path should we tread? This is something he didn't say in Gyoji. And Rupu, another Zen master, said,

[49:47]

When both practice and expanding do not arrive, that means do not complete, the original matter exists. There is something important matter to search. But when both practice and expanding arrive completely, the original matter does not exist. So nothing to seek anymore. And finally, Dogen quoted one shi, said, transcend right and wrong, going beyond discrimination. Transcend right and wrong, and erase all traces, erase all the traces we have been doing. Although encountering each other, We do not recognize our faces. In this case, meeting each other means practice and expanding.

[50:52]

We do not recognize our faces. Both practice and expanding don't recognize each other. If we recognize our faces, We do not recognize each other. These four Venerables, Venerable Masters, all have good points. This is one thing still. On the tip of the tongue, at the present moment, there is no barrier at the crossroads. Right beneath our feet, right beneath our feet, There are no links attached to the five-sense object. There are no links attached to the five-sense object. So, completely free.

[51:54]

If you want to practice, just practice. If you want to expand, just expand. This want can be need to. When you need to practice, just practice. When you need to expand, just expand. Suppose someone asked Chuang Lu, this means Wangchi himself, what is this wanting to practice? Just practice. I would say, walk on. Keep walking. And two, fat is this wanting to expand, just expand. I would say, ah, A-H, expanding. This is one thing, you know, a discourse about expanding and practice.

[52:56]

And finally, Dogen makes a comment. The teacher, Dogen, said, each of those five venerables Venerable Masters spoke in such a way. Today, how can I, Eihei, not speak? Expounding horizontally and vertically, this means completely from, you know, different perspectives. Expounding horizontally and vertically is one and the same as Wanderer's Intimate Practice. And Wanderer's Intimate Practice is one and the same as expanding horizontally and vertically. So he's saying practice and expanding, or teaching, or understanding, are completely not the same, but one thing.

[54:02]

So our silent practice can be expanding. And our expanding, our discussion, or teaching, or understanding, or studying, is part of this quiet, continuous practice. Those two are really one thing. I think that is what he's saying. So, you know, the point whether we should keep the practice pure, simple and strong, or to share the Dharma with many people, as our vow to save all living beings, I think this is Dogen's conclusion. live in deep mountains. In a sense, he escaped from the city and started to practice with a very small number of disciples.

[55:13]

So that is his conclusion. I think from the beginning he had that kind of tendency, you know, more to keep the practice pure and strong. And after he moved to Eheiji from Kyoto, he really went to that direction. But I think that is not the end of the story. I think that is not the end of this cycle of the way. It's already 4.35. Let me read one paragraph from the Lotus Sutra. A few days before Dogen died, Dogen Zenji recited a part of the Lotus Sutra, and he wrote it down on the pillar of the house he stayed in during his final days.

[56:30]

And this is a part he recited. Pardon me? Page number of this book? 298. The name of the section of the Lotus Sutra is Power of the Tathagata. Power of the Tathagata. In Japanese, Nyorai Jinriki Hon. Nyorai Tathagata. Jinriki's divine power, divine power of Tathagata. This is Lota Sutra. Therefore, you should, after the extinction of the Tathagata, after Tathagata enters nirvana, wholeheartedly receive and keep, read and recite, explain and copy, cultivate and practice it as the teaching.

[57:35]

In whatever land, whether it be received and kept, read and recited, explained and copied, cultivated and practiced as the teaching. whether in a place where a volume of the sutra is kept, or in a temple, or in a grove, or under a tree, or in a monastery, or in a lay devotee's house, in a palace, or a mountain, in a valley, or in the wilderness. In all these places, you must elect a chaitya. Chaitya is a kind of a stupa, another name for stupa. So, elect a stupa, means build a temple, and make offerings.

[58:39]

For a fair fall, you should know that all these spots, all these spots, all those spots, All these spots are the thrones of enlightenment. These thrones of enlightenment, I think, is the place where Shakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment. That is under the Bodhi tree. On these spots, the Buddhas attained perfect enlightenment. On these spots, the Buddhas rode the wheel of the law. On these spots, The Buddhas enter Parinirvana. This is what Dogen chanted a few days before his death. That means, you know, everywhere in this world is a place where Buddha attained enlightenment and turned Dharma Wheel and entered Nirvana.

[59:46]

So, we should build a temple. Temple means a place to practice. So, even though his conclusion, his choice, was to live in a mountain, in a deep mountain, but I think that was not the end of his practice. I think his practice, or the cycle of his practice, is still going on. And, you know, in the history of Soto Zen, four years, not four years, four generations after Dogen, Keizan Jokin really educated many disciples. And Soto-den temples were built all over Japan. And from that stream, Soto-den has been practicing even outside of Japan, many places in the world.

[60:48]

So I think his practice, Dogen's practice, and Dogen's continuous practice, Gyōji, is still going on. I think that is what we should remember when we study Gyōji. Thank you very much for listening. This genzoe has been kind of difficult for me, because I couldn't make enough preparation. So I prepared during after lunch and after evenings again. So I was sleepy. Thank you very much for studying and practicing with me.

[61:52]

I hope this is not the last time. Thank you again.

[62:02]

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