This moment... ...quote another story about a human monk. at the time of Shakyamuni Buddha. And this story is quoted from, taken from, Dai Chidoron. He doesn't say, he just said, the ancestral master Nagarjuna said, this part is taken from Dai Chidoron. Dai is great, Chi is Prajna, and Do is Paramita.

[01:29]

And Long is a commentary or Shastra. So this is Nagarjuna's commentary on Maha-Prajna-Paramita Sutra. It's a really big text. And there are a lot of texts in this text. Perfection. This bhiksuni or female monk name in Sanskrit is Uttaparabhāna. Uttaparabhāna in this. And in Pali, it is Uttaparabhāna.

[02:30]

Uttaparabhāna. Let's go. Uttaparabhāna. And this person is one of the most... That's the word. A quality of person. Eminent woman disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha. According to According to the Vinaya, translated into Chinese, this person had a very difficult life before he became a Buddha's disciple.

[03:35]

It said, when she was very young, she married a person, a monk. and she became pregnant, and she returned her parents' home to give a birth to her baby. And when the baby was born, around that time, her husband also came to her parents' home, and right after, she gave a birth to the baby, she found that her husband had a relation with her mother. So, right after the baby was born, she left home behind her baby. And she went to another city.

[04:42]

She was, you know, she walked, of course, And she was covered with dirt and her feet were very much injured. And standing at the entrance of the city, a person who was a rich person found her very annoyed. He felt sorry for her. So he took her to his home and took care of her. Then he found this woman very beautiful and also very smart. And at that time the person's wife died. He didn't have a wife, so he married this woman.

[05:48]

And they lived together for many years. And that person became really rich. The text said millionaire. And one time he went to some place for his business. and he had to stay that place for a long time. And in that city or town, so he was separated from his wife for a long time. He found something like, occasion like a festival, he found a young woman who was pretty much similar with his wife. And he fell in love with that young woman. And he, you know, at the time in India, a man can have more than one wife.

[06:53]

So he took this young woman home. And this person, Uparavana, accepted the young woman. But then also they got along, but after a while, when they talked to each other, they found this young woman was her daughter. So, you know, her first husband had a relationship with her mother, and herself and her daughter had the same husband, and she really, of course, it was really painful for her, so she left home again. And she somehow

[07:59]

went to a Buddhist monastery, and she saw the Buddha, very dignified and yet calm and peaceful and gentle, and she heard Buddha's teaching about four noble truths, suffering and the cause of suffering. and cessation of suffering, and of course, a path to the cessation of suffering. And the text states that somehow, when she heard Buddha's teaching, right away, her Dharma eye opened. and she asked Buddha to be accepted as his disciple.

[09:02]

Then Buddha asked Ananda to take this woman to Mahapajapati. So she became the disciple of Mahapajapati. And this woman but very, I don't like the word, talented, but very, how can I say, has a good quality. So she later became Arahata. But it seems this story in the Chinese Vinaya was kind of developed from that poem or verse Uparavana made, or in the, you know, there's a text named Perigata.

[10:07]

That is a collection of the verses by Buddha's female disciples. And Uparavana is one of those elders, so her poems are within the Therigata. And her poem is the first poem. There are four poems in Therigata by Uparavana. The first one is My mother and I found out we were wives of the same man. I was horrified, my hair stood on end, and suddenly the pleasures of the senses were vile, v-i-l-e, vile and stinking to me.

[11:23]

I lost L-O-A-P-H-E-D. I lost them. And all the troubles they caused were where mother and daughter were wives together. Then pleasure was danger, and renunciation was sorry. ground. So at Rajagaha, I left home to be homeless." This is a translation from a book entitled, I think, Fast Buddhist Women, I think. And this is a commentary on Teri Gata. And according to the commentary, this might not her own experience, maybe taken from certain stories at that time.

[12:32]

So we are not sure that story in Chinese Vinaya was really her life story or not, maybe not. I think the story was developed from this poem. Anyway, so he was very, well-known arahat, umang arahat in the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, and he said, umang nikaya. It is said, uparavana is one of two most excellent female monks. Another one is Kema, K-E-M-E. Kema and Uparavana was two kind of leaders of the women monks in Shakyamuni's Sangha.

[13:44]

But again, in the Chinese source, you know, Deva Datta, right? Deva Datta was a person who wanted to take over Buddha's Sangha and ask Buddha to retire. And he wanted to become a leader. And he was not successful, so he was independent from Buddhist order. In the Chinese tradition, it was said this person, Uppalabhanna, was killed by Devadatta. But I don't think it's also not true. It's kind of a story. So there are many different stories about her life. I think that is because she's a really brilliant person. Anyway, after she became arahant, And it said also, this Uparavana was allowed to ordain other women.

[14:55]

So she was recognized as a teacher. Anyway, after she became a well-known woman monk, this is about one of, what she did. Nagarjuna said, next home leave us within Buddha Dharma. Even if they violate the precept and commit crimes, only they have paid the penalty. Once they have paid the penalty, they attain the liberation. Maybe I think we need us As extent expounded, we don't need to be. In the Sutra of the Former Lives of Bhikshuni Uttaparavana. So there is a sutra of his and her former lives.

[16:03]

And this is about her former lives. While the Buddha was in the world, This Bhikshuni attained the six divine powers, Rogen mentioned these six divine powers later, and the fruit of Arahat-hood. Whenever she visited noble houses, she prayed the Dharma of Homu-riman. That means she always encouraged people to become a monk and leave home, and told the aristocratic women, sisters, you should have home, you should leave home to become a nun. The ladies said, we are young and beautiful, it must be difficult

[17:13]

to keep the precepts. Probably we will break the precepts. Then the Uparavana said, if you break the precepts, simply break them. So go ahead. But just leave home. The ladies asked, if we break the precepts, we would fall into the hell. Why shall we break the precepts?" Then Kupparavana answered, If you fall into the hell, just go there. That's his teaching. I mean, her encouragement to these ladies. Go ahead. Go to hell. All these noble women laughed. We need to receive punishment in hell.

[18:14]

It's a painful place. Why shall we fall into the hell? The Bhikshuni said, I remember in my past lives, so this person has attained the six divine powers, and one of the six divine powers is the power to see or remember her past lives. We don't have such power, but certain people have such a power. Once I became a prostitute, wore all different kind of costumes and told all the stories. Maybe prostitute is not the right word. How do you pronounce? Courtesan?

[19:17]

Courtesan might be a better word. That means she also made entertainment for the people. So she put all different kind of costumes, and somehow she run out of anything interesting. So she put on an orchestra to do some show. Once I put on a dictionary's robe to entertain my audience. Because of this cause and condition, I became a bhikshuni during the time of Kasyapa Buddha. So because she, without any faith or aspiration, she just put on okesa for the sake of entertaining people.

[20:27]

But because of that connection with okesa, she became a nun. in the time of Kshapa Buddha, the sixth Buddha among the seven Buddhas in the past. At that time, because I was proud of being noble and beautiful, like those noble women Uppalabhanna was talking to, I became arrogant and broke the precepts. Because of the crime of breaking the precepts, I fell into hell and received various punishments. So she really went falling to hell and went through a very painful time.

[21:32]

But after I finished the retribution, so everything is impermanent in Buddhism. Hell doesn't last forever. Then it's like a prison. After a certain period of time, a person can be born again to the different realm of samsara. So after I finished the retribution, I met Shakyamuni Buddha and left home. Now I have attained the six divine powers and the fruit of Arahathood from her experiences in the past lives. I know that Once we leave home and receive the precepts, even if we break them, our receiving the precepts will be the cause and condition of our attaining Arhathood.

[22:53]

So don't worry about breaking precepts, just receive the precepts. and try to keep it, even if you fail it and you have to go to hell. But still, it's not the end of the story. So the story continues on and on. And as Dogen said about the cause and result, when we plant certain seeds, the result will sometime, we don't know when, but that will come up sooner or later. That is our faith in cause and result. But if we simply do evil deeds without causes and conditions of the precept, we will never attain the way.

[23:57]

In past lives, Life after life, I fell into the hell. And when I got out of the hell, I became a bad person again. The bad person died and entered hell again. I accomplished nothing at all. My experience verifies that. If you leave home and receive the precepts, even if you break them, you will attain the fruits of the way because of the causes and conditions of the precepts." This is what Uparavana said to the noble lay women. So she almost forced them to receive the precepts.

[25:01]

I think there are many of these kinds of stories about the previous or past lives of certain people. I think this means we should think about searching the way and also practice the way, not only within this lifetime, but we should see our practice of the way in much larger range. As the network of interdependent origination within time and space, we are living really boundless time and boundless space. As Togen said in Shogogendo Uji, we are living only this moment, and yet this moment, this particular moment, is only the gateway to eternity.

[26:23]

So this moment, if we really focus, just be right now, right here, and do what we are doing, mindfully, That is the gateway to the eternity. Eternity is a time which doesn't flow. That is what he basically said in Shobo Genjo Uji, being and time is one thing. So, and he said, if we are liberated, from our karmic retributions right now, right here. We liberated our entire past, all the karma we made in the entire past at this moment. Of course, next moment we may create another karma.

[27:25]

So we need to keep practicing But Dogen's point is preciousness and importance and value of this moment as only one reality. And yet this particular moment is really one with entire past and entire future. this present moment liberate or save our entire past and bring about our future. So this moment, this body and mind and entire space and the entire time is really one thing. And this kind of stories about past lives, present lives,

[28:30]

and future life is a kind of expression that our life is not limited in this lifetime, I think. Anyway, following Dogen Zenji's comment on this story, The first cause of attainment of Arhat food for this Vikshuni Uparavana was not because of her particular effort. She did not practice. Simply because of the virtue of putting kashaya or okesa on her body for the sake of entertainment. Now she has attained the Way, Way of Awakening. In her second lifetime, again we need a space before repeating her and second.

[29:39]

In her second lifetime, she encountered the Dharma of Kasyapa Buddha and became a Bhiksuni, And in her third lifetime, she met Shakyamuni Buddha and became a great Arahant endowed with all the three kinds of bright knowledge and six divine powers. The three kinds of bright knowledge refers to the heavenly eyes. Heavenly eyes means the eye which sees everything. in this world, no matter how far or how close. And the knowledge of the past lives is the power to see the past lives for one's own and other people's.

[30:41]

And the power, and exhausting the delusive desires means being liberated from all delusive desires. Those are three bright knowledge. And the sixth divine power refers to the power to go anywhere. This is kind of transportation. Wherever we want, we can go right away. The power to read others' mind. The power to see anything. This is same as heavenly eye. and the power to hear anything, like a telephone. The power to know past lives and the power to exhaust delusive desires. So, the last three are the same as the three kinds of bright knowledge.

[31:44]

In India, people believe those powers can be attained through meditation practice. But Dogenzo didn't really believe it. Not believe it, but he said this is not a great power, great divine power. He wrote a chapter of Shobo Genzo entitled Jin Zu, that means divine powers. Usually refer to those six divine powers, but in that chapter of Shobo Genzo, he said that great divine power. He said these six are small divine powers. The great divine powers are collecting firewood and carrying water. That means they do the work. And when a teacher wake up, offer a cup of water,

[32:51]

those, you know, nothing special, ordinary things, is the great divine power. Somehow, the teacher or people are not me, but somehow, you know, we know what this person means and try to offer. This is, Dogen Zen says, this is really a great power. And we don't know why such a power we have. So our ordinary power is really great power. These powers, like six divine powers, is related only certain people. But the power of doing things for the sake of others is, you know, common with all people. So that is greater than these special kind of powers.

[34:00]

Truly, when we are simply persons who does evil deeds, we vainly die and go into hell. After coming out of hell, we again become evil people. This is the meaning of transmigration within samsara. Endlessly we continue this kind of life of suffering, according to Buddhist faith, unless we have some affinity or connection with Dharma, with Buddha's teaching. However, when there are causes and conditions of the precepts, even though we fall into hell by breaking the precepts, we have causes and conditions for finally attaining the way. So if we have a connection and we see the plant of the way or awakening, then sooner or later,

[35:14]

we will receive the fruits from that seed grown. Now, the Bhiksuni Uttaparabhanna or Upparabhanna put on kashaya simply for the sake of entertainment. Still, she had attained the way within her third lifetime. So she had no face, or she did not really allow body-mind, but she just accidentally took on Okesa. And yet, she had a connection with the way, and she attained arahata in her third lifetime. Dogen's point is much more. Having allowed the pure heart of faith for the sake of unsurpassable awakening, if we wear kashaya or okesa, this virtue will be completed without failure.

[36:33]

So even this Uparavana who put on okesa without faith had received the result. If we intentionally receive okesa, receive the precept for the sake of attaining Buddhahood, there's no way we don't receive the result from this cause, this planting seeds sometimes. So we should allow the body-mind and receive the precept and receive okesa. That was his point. Furthermore, not only receiving, but furthermore, if we receive, not only receive, but maintain and venerate kashaya for our entire lifetime as Buddha's students, the virtue

[37:41]

must be vast and boundless without measurement. If you have aroused body-mind, you must receive, maintain, and generate kashaya without delay." So if you arouse body-mind right away, you still receive it. So Dogen Zenji is really, how can I say, are just to have some connection with Dharma. We will grieve if we do not plant the Buddha seeds, though we have encountered this fortunate lifetime. Having received a human body in the Southern Continent, this part of the world is called Southern Continent Indian cosmology. There are four continents around Mount Sumeru, and this is in the south.

[38:46]

I think it refers to the Indian subcontinent. And having met with the Dharma of Shakyamuni Buddha, therefore it is possible to meet with the ancestral masters who are the legitimate successors of the Buddha Dharma, and to receive the kashaya that has been singularly transmitted. Yet, if we vainly spend this lifetime, we will regret it. So don't lose this chance to meet the Dharma. Now in regard to the authentic transmission of kashaya, the only authentic transmission from the ancestral master, Bodhidharma, is light and legitimate.

[39:48]

Other masters cannot equal this." Again he is saying this lineage is authentic lineage. Even if we receive kashaya from a master without transmission, the virtue is still profound. Even greater, if we receive it from a true teacher who has received the face-to-face transmission, we are truly Dharma children and Dharma descendants of the Tathagata. We truly have transmitted the skin, flesh, bone, and marrow of the Tathagata. So receiving the Okesa is receiving and transmitting Tathagata's skin, flesh, bone, and marrow. This expression, as I think you know, came from the Koan story about the Dharma transmission between Bodhidharma and the second ancestor.

[41:02]

Bodhidharma had four disciples. And Bodhidharma asked them to speak something about their understanding of Dharma. Then I will transmit the Dharma. And first three people said certain things. And Bodhidharma said to the first person, you attained my skin. And to the second person, Bodhidharma said, you attained my flesh. And to the third person, he said, you attained my bone. And the final person was the second ancestor, Huiko or Eka. He didn't say anything, but he walked toward Bodhidharma and prostration without saying anything. go back to his position.

[42:04]

And the Bodhidharma said, you attained my marrow. And usual understanding of this story is to attain marrow is essence of Dharma, but other three people did not reach the essence, but somehow shallow. So only the second Ancestors received transmission from Bodhidharma. But Dogen Zenji's understanding is different from this common understanding. I think in Shobo Genzo, Katsu is kuzu. Kuzu is a plant from Japan. In the south, it's a big problem now in this country. It's a vine, and it's really strong. And it's, you know, almost killing all the trees in the south.

[43:14]

And po is wisteria, wisteria. So those are both vines. And this expression, kato, is used in a negative way, in a negative sense, usually. Kato is like a conflict between people, very complicated, entwining. And one of the famous expressions, we should cut off the kato. and that is a kind of enlightenment. But Dogenzen used this expression, katto, in almost opposite meaning. He said, you know, Buddha's enlightenment and Mahakasyapa's enlightenment entwined together and go to the third ancestor,

[44:21]

and to Bodhidharma. So this enlightenment, or awakening, or practice, or teaching, or life, continues like a bind, entwining each other. So Shakyamuni Buddha's awakening, teaching, and practice, and Mahakasyapa's awakening practice and teaching entwine each other. And even though they are two different people, yet their dharma is entwined, we cannot separate them. that wisteria or curse go on and continue to us. So, Dogen Rinzai said, whether skin or flesh or bone or marrow, they are all body dharmas.

[45:28]

So all of them, all four of them are equally received dharma transmission. It's not a matter of who is deepest, who is the greatest. That is Robin's point. So, when we receive okesa, in this case, receiving precepts and receiving okesa is receiving Buddha's skin, flesh, bone, and marrow already. The kashaya has been transmitted through all Buddhas over three times. and ten directions without any interruption. It is thought all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Shravakas, and Pratyekabuddhas of the ten directions and three times have been protecting and maintaining.

[46:31]

So, Dogen Zenji really encourages us to, when we receive, we have a chance to encounter the Dharma and receive the precept and kashaya, we should not lose the chance. So even though we are not certain whether we can keep the precept or not, just do it to plant the seed for the Buddhahood. From the next paragraph, he discuss about the, again, material and color and measurement of okesa. So he returned to the particular form of okesa. For making kashaya, coarse cotton, coarse cotton cloth, or coarse cotton that is as a kind of a, how can I say, market value, coarse cotton is cheaper and fine cotton is more expensive.

[48:01]

So as our conventional system of value, fine cotton is better than coarse cotton. But Dogen Zenji is saying here, as a material of okesa, the cheaper one, or that means coarse cotton, is better than fine cotton. But if the coarse cotton is not available, we have to use the fine cotton. And when we have neither coarse nor fine cotton cloth, we use plain silk. Silk is more expensive than cotton. But if any cotton is not available, we can use silk.

[49:03]

Plain silk. When we have neither plain silica nor cotton, we use teal cloth or thin silica. I don't know what teal cloth. Do you know what teal cloth? It's a kind of a fancy silica fabric. It's a weave, actually. I'm not sure, neither. Anyway, these are the fancy silk. These are all permitted by the tatagata, so we can use either cotton or silk, or not only cotton. I use the word cotton, but it's not limited in cotton. So we can use any fabric available, but the point of making choice is the cheaper one is better. It's opposite from our usual system of value.

[50:14]

In countries where no silk, cotton, twill cloth, thin silk, or any other cloth is available, the tatagata also permitted to use leather kashaga. I'm not sure whether There are some people who really use leather cashier. But, for example, people living in the North Pole, like Eskimos, leather is only available material for uke-san, I guess. So if we really limited, you know, the material of okasa, only the cotton or silk, they cannot do this. And next one.

[51:18]

So this is how we need to find material. The cheaper, the better. Next one is a color. As a rule, kashaya should be dyed blue, yellow, red, black, or purple. Whichever color we use, it should be a mixed color instead of the primary color. Is mixed color okay as English? Muted. The Japanese expression is... Ejiki. The Japanese expression is blended. Blended? Aha. Right.

[52:30]

Jiki means color. And ei means to destroy. So this means there are those blue, yellow, red, black, or purple are called, what do you call these? A primary color should be destroyed. That means mixed with some other colors, then So it's muted. That is the color we use for Kesa. That means those primary colors are a kind of object of attachment, often used for the government officers. So we should avoid the colors people attach themselves. and we should use the color people don't like, or free from attachment.

[53:38]

The Tathagata always wore a fresh colored or dark red kashaya, the color of fresh. I think that is color, you know, Tibetan monks wear the dark red clothes. That was the color kashaya. Actually, this word, kashaya, means color. This destroyed or muted color is called kashaya. So kashaya is not originally, not mean the robe or clothes, but it means the color. muted or mixed color. The Buddha's kashaya transmitted by the first ancestor was blue-black.

[54:47]

It was made of cotton from India. It is kept at Mount Kaoshi. I don't understand the logic. Buddha always wore the fresh color of the ukesa, but the ukesa bodhidharma transmits a different color. Everything is impermanent, so it may change. But the kashaya was transmitted through 28 generations in India and 5 generations in China. Now all the disciples of the ancient Buddha, Kawashi, that means Huinan, the sixth ancestor, have been transmitting and maintaining the tradition of Buddha's robe. Monks of other lineages cannot equal this."

[55:48]

Then we read this kind of you know, Zen tradition, we have some kind of resistance, you know, if this is only true authentic tradition, that means others are no good. And I don't like that kind of, you know, message from Dogen. But somehow he did. But I have some difficulty with reading this kind of statement. So I think now we need to consider about our identity as Dogen Zenji's students. And also, I think we need to be free from our identity. But to be free from our own identity doesn't mean we lose our identity.

[57:04]

So I think we should somehow find a way to be free from, liberated from our identity and cultural, religious, spiritual identity without losing it. I think it is now, today, an important point of our practice. How can we do that? You know, we continue Dogenzen's tradition without attachment to it. How can we do that? I think it's a very important point. Next, he... there are three kinds of kashaya, or loaves. In general, there are three kinds of loaves. The first is a loaf of excrement cleaning rags, that means funzoi.

[58:10]

Second is a loaf of pha. I think probably pha is not the right word, but don't let me tell you what this is. original word is zei-e. And the third is a lobe of patches, or no-e. I have already discussed the lobe of a sunzo-e. Zei-e, the second one, is a lobe made of the fine hair of animals, so like a womb, or bird feathers. which are called zei. So zei refer to the hair of animals or the fine feather of a bird. Is there any fabric made of bird's feather?

[59:15]

Type of felt. Oh, thank you. So is there a better word for this kind of, better English word for this kind of fabric? I don't think this is a power. F-E-L-T. F-E-L-T. Okay. Thank you. If a practitioner cannot find discarded funzo-e. They used this to make a robe. So, we can't find funzo-e. We can use, you know, wool or other kind of materials. No-e, or patched robe, is made of old, worn-out clothes.

[60:18]

They sew the pieces together and put on their bobbins. Monks do not wear the fine clothes of the secular world. This is the point. Monks wear the material which is free from attachment. And usually, people's attachment is something valuable. So we try to use the material which is valueless. The discarded rug is really free from attachment. People just throw them away. And those are most pure, purest material for Buddhist monks. Same as the way Buddhist monks receive the food.

[61:23]

They begged, that means they never requested, they just walked in the town and they received people, whatever people donated. That means these food are free from attachment. The food is given and we just receive. This, you know, how can I say? free from being attachment is the most important point in the kind of Buddhist system of value. So it's almost the opposite from the worldly system of value. And so now he said about material and color, and next This quotation is about the measurement of okesa.

[62:29]

This quotation is from Setsu-issai-ubu Vinaya. This is one of the Vinayas translated into Chinese. This is the name of the particular sect with one of the twenty sects divided in India.

[63:33]

And Vinaya is of course Vinaya. And Sanskrit name of this school is Sarvāstivādan. Are you familiar with this name? This is a school or sect that says everything really exists. That's one of the most popular or powerful school of Abhidharma philosophy or teaching. And this is the main kind of a target of criticism from Nagarjuna. They say all dharmas really exist. But Nagarjuna negated it and said all dharma is empty. Please. I think Sarvāstivādin.

[64:36]

Sarvāstivādin. I don't remember the spelling. I'm sorry. I can check it. Anyway, this quote is from Gat Vinaya. In this section of this Vinaya, Upali. Upali is one of the ten great disciples of Buddha. And when Buddha died, Ananda recited what Buddha taught. because Ananda was a personal attendant of Buddha for many years, more than 20 years, and he had very good memory, so he memorized almost all teachings of Buddha.

[65:43]

So what he recited would become a collection of sutras. And Upali is a person who memorized the Buddha's admonitions about mistakes. So what Upali memorized and recited became Vinaya. So this Upali is an original person who kind of offer the materials to make or compile vinaya, a set of precepts. And here Upali asked Buddha about okesa. Venerable Upali asked the World Honored One, great worthy World Honored One, how many strips

[66:49]

does the saṅgati robe have? Saṅgati robe is so-called daie, or larger robes. That is the robe with more than nine strips. And the Buddha said, there are nine kinds of saṅgati robe. Nine kinds. What are the nine kinds? They are the Sangatiryo with 9 strips, 11 strips, 13 strips, 15 strips, 17 strips, 19 strips, 21 strips, 23 strips, and 25 strips. So all odd numbers from 9 to 25. There are these nine kinds. Among these kind of sangaki robe, the first three kind have two long panels.

[67:58]

First two kind means from nine to, I think, 19. Two long panels and one short panels. That means, okasai is a, like this, and nine strips, and each strip has two long panels and one short panel. And you should make them and maintain them in this way. And the next three kinds of sangati rope have three long panels.

[69:04]

So three long panels and one short panels. The final three kinds of sangati rope have four long. So four, I'm sorry, four long panels and one short panel. Anything that has more than 25 strips is not standard. So 525 is a limit. Venerable Pali asked the World Honored One again, great, worthy, world-honored one, how many sizes of sangati robe are there? This means, Buddha said, there are three sizes, large, medium, and small.

[70:09]

This means, usually, the large is three cubits, you know, cubits? In Japanese, we call this length from elbow to the tip of middle finger. It's called one chu. But sometimes, one chu is with a fist, so a little shorter. Usually, the length is three chu, three cubits. and length is five cubits. So the large is three cubits long by five cubits wide. The small is two and a half, two and a half, so the length two and a half, and four and a half cubits.

[71:18]

So it can be half cubit smaller than the large one. That is called small. And anything between them is called medium. That means we can adjust the size of orchestra depending upon each one's height. Venerable Pali asked the World Honored One, Great World Honored One, how many strips does the Uttara Sangha robe have? Uttara Sangha is a seven-strip okesa. The Buddha said, there is only one kind with seven strips, and each strip has two long panels and one short panel.

[72:24]

So the Seven Jewel Okesa is the one we usually wear when we practice. It has two long panels and one short panel. And next, Venerable Upali asked the World Honored One, Great World Honored One, How many sizes of seven-strip robes are there? The Buddha said, there are three sizes, large, medium, and small. The large is three cubits long by five cubits wide, same as a larger okasa. The small is a half cubit shorter on each side. This is also the same. Anything between these two is called the medium. Next one is, Upari asked, how many strips does the antarbhārtha rope?

[73:28]

This means five-strip okhasa. The Buddha said it has five strips. Each strip has one long panel and one short panel. So our lakṣu is five strips. kind of a simplified form of five-strip orchestra. So it has one long panel and one short panel. The Buddha said, there are three sizes, large, medium, small. The large is three cubit long by five cubit wide. Same as this. The medium and the small are the same as above. The Buddha said, there are two kinds of antarvasa rope, or five strips of kesa.

[74:37]

What are the two kinds? One is two cubits long by five cubits long, wide. So it can be shorter or smaller. The other is two cubits long by four cubits wide. The Sangati rope is translated as the double-layered rope, because the orchestra with more than nine jaw has the lining. That's why it's called double-layered rope. And the uttara-sangha robe is translated as the upper robe. And the antar-vasa robe is translated as the inner robe, or the under robe. As Buddha put on those three robes, then it was very cold.

[75:42]

The five-jao oksa is in the eyes, like an under robe. And, topon, Buddha put on the seven-jo okesa, and finally he put nine, or nine-jo okesa, or more than nine. And the Buddha also said, the sangati robe is called the large robe, or in Japanese, gai-e. Dai means big or large. It is also called the robe for entering king's palace or the robe for expanding the Dharma because this is used when we go visit a very official place or official occasion like a teaching Dharma.

[76:45]

The Uttara Sangha robe is called the seven-strip robe. It is also called the medium robe, or the robe for going among the assembly, because we usually sit on the seven-jaw kesa. Then we practice together with the Sangha. And the Antawasa robe is called the five-strip robe, or the small robe, or the robe for traveling, or the robe for working. This robe for working is Samuei. So we usually call Samuei, not Okesa, but five-jaw Okesa was usually or originally called Samuei. But in the modern times, you know, we are too busy to do so many things. And we don't... I mean, in Japan, many Buddhist monks don't wear okasa anymore.

[77:54]

They do something outside the temples. We usually put on the western clothes and Sometimes we wear raksu, and raksu was kind of an invention in the modern times. It was not so common in the ancient times. There's a story that initially Bokusan Zenji, who lived between Edo period and Meiji period, put on five-jaw kesa when he was tengo, working in the kitchen. It said, initially, Zenji didn't like raksu. He didn't recognize raksu as a okesa. But probably that he was the last person who didn't wear raksu. Was the raksu created in Japan?

[78:56]

What? Was it created in Japan? I think so. I'm not sure in China. the origin of rakusu is not so clear. You know, there are many different forms of okesa in Japan, simplified forms of okesa. You can see the examples in this book. Some of them look like rakusu, if you make smaller. So I'm not really sure when it was made. From here, from paragraph 38, is Dogen's comment.

[80:00]

We should always protect and maintain these three robes. There is also the sangati kashaya robe with 60 strips. That should be received and maintained without fail. I think 60 strips means 60 parents. That means 15 jo, or kesa. So I don't know what this means, because this is included in the three rows. As a rule, the length of Buddha's body depends on the span of their lifetime, which is between 80,000 years and 100 years. It is said that the time of Vipassana Buddha, the first of the seven Buddhas in the past, a living being's longevity was 80,000.

[81:06]

80,000 years. And at the time of the next Buddha, Shikibutsu, longevity was, I think, 70 or 60,000. And at the time of the sixth Buddha, their longevity was 20,000. And at the time of the seventh Buddha, Shakyamuni, longevity was 100. So somehow it immediately became so short. So Buddha had, Shakyamuni Buddha had 100 years of longevity, but he died when he was 80. And there's a kind of a belief that Buddha offered 20 years of his longevity to his descendants.

[82:08]

That's why he died when he was 18. Of course, this is a kind of belief from his descendants. But that is a kind of idea that Buddha offered his life to his descendants, and we are protected by Buddha's life. That's why, you know, in Japan, when we did takuhatsu, somehow people, you know, donate food or money to help us, you know, to live and practice. Some say that between the lifespan of 80,000 years and 100 years, the lengths of Buddha's body are different. And others say that they are all equal, even though they lived 80,000 years.

[83:17]

But the size of Buddha's body are the same. Some say are the same, but other people say they are different. but we consider the opinion that the length of the body, Buddha's body, must be equal to the authentic transmission. Let me finish this section. Dogen is saying, even though Buddha's longevity are different, but Buddha's body, the size of Buddha's body is the same. The measurement of Buddha's and human beings' bodies are very much different. He is again discussing, you know, human body can be measured, but Buddha's body cannot be measured.

[84:23]

you know, back and forth between certain form and reality with no form. And Buddha's body has no form, so no length. That means any length is fit or suitable to Buddha's. So, Kasyapa Buddha's okesa is suitable to Shakyamuni Buddha's, and Shakyamuni Buddha's okesa is suitable to Maitreya Buddha's, because Buddha's body has no form. That is the point. He introduced two kinds of expression. One is Page 41, 1, 2, 3, sentence 4.

[85:26]

Although the King Brahma dwells at the highest point of the world of form, the world of form is one of the three triple worlds, the world of desire, the world of form or lupa, and the world of no form. King Brahma is the king of the world of form. So he lived at the top, highest point of the world of form. So when Shakyamuni was alive, because Shakyamuni lived in this world, the king Brahma should see Shakyamuni Buddha's head. And yet he does not see the top of the Buddha's head, because Buddha's body is without form. And although another one is Moggallāyāna.

[86:34]

This is also one of the ten greatest disciples of Buddha. who has six divine powers, and he wanted to check how far Buddha's voice can reach. So he used his divine power to transport anywhere. He went to the Buddha's land named... What is the name? The Bright Banner World. There was one Buddha there. So it's really far from this world. And it's said Buddha's and people's body at that world was much larger. than us.

[87:38]

So for the people who are living there, the story said they were eating using oryoki, their oryoki. And then this person, Murakawa, they are eating meat. And their oryoki was like an ocean. for this person. So he really reached to the far place, but the story says still he could hear Shakyamuni Buddha's voice. This story shows, you know, Buddha's voice is not simply the wave of air. But wherever we go, we can hear Buddha's voice. Buddha's voice is from inside. So it has nothing to do with the length or distance.

[88:40]

So again Dogen mentioned the formlessness of Buddha's body and Buddha's voice or Buddha's teaching. It's really universal. So finally he said, whether we see or hear Buddha's body and voice from far or near, they are the same. This is truly beyond our thinking. So we stop thinking when we actually hear the Buddha's voice. All the virtues of the Tathagatas are thus. We should keep these virtues in mind. So we should, you know, even when we saw this kind of orchestra and put on orchestra, it has certain measurements and certain forms, But actually, a true, real orchestra has no form, no size.

[89:43]

We should really keep this point in our mind. Okay, I'm sorry, I talked too long. Okay. I'm sorry, I don't understand that. Thank you.

[90:43]

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