as section 7. Let me read this section. Also, all the Buddhas in the three times have already practiced, attained the way and completed realization. How should we understand that these Buddhas and we are equal? First of all, for a while we should understand the Buddha's practice. The Buddha's practice is done together with the entire Great Earth and the entirety of all living beings.

[01:01]

If it is not done together with the entirety of all beings, it cannot be the Buddha's practice. From here, Dogen's comments is quoted in paragraph 10. It says, An ancient Buddha said, Mountains, rivers, the great earth and human beings are born together. The Buddhas of the three times and human beings have always been practicing together. So, before he talks about You know, mountain rivers and great earth are born together with us. And from here he talks about Buddhas of the three times and human beings, we, have been practicing together. First, he lays

[02:05]

Also, all the buddhas in the three times have already practiced and attained the way and completed realization. Those buddhas have completed their realization. That is why they are called buddha. How should we understand that these buddhas and we are equal? That is the question and he gives us First of all, for a while, we should understand the Buddha's practice. So, from us, to say we are equal, to practice together with the Buddha, is kind of difficult. So, Dogen encouraged us to see the opposite. First, see Buddha's practice. And of course, as I said in the very beginning, this Buddha's practice and living beings, or all living human beings, are practicing in the structure of the Lotus Sutra.

[03:24]

That means, you know, Nirvanakaya Buddha and Sambhogakaya Buddha and Dharmakaya Buddha, or those three bodies of Buddhas, are all Shakyamuni. And that means we are part of this Dharmakaya Shakyamuni. Later he talks about that, but before I start to fathom his saying, I'd like to introduce one story or saying by Gensha. Gensha is a Zen master. I will introduce. This person said that the entire ten direction words is one bright jewel. or the entire great earth is a true human body.

[04:31]

And once Gensha said, me, I, and old man Shakyamuni are practicing together. The word he used is do-san. Do is same or together. And san is same san in doku san. Literally means to visit and meet. But san means meet with teacher together. That means co-practitioners under one teacher. So what Gensha said is Me and Shaka, the word is Shaka Roshi. Roshi is old guy. So, this old guy Shaka and I are co-practitioners.

[05:37]

Then, a monk asked, I don't know, who did you meet? Means, who are your teachers? When you practice, with Sakyamuni together. Who are the teachers? Then Gensha said, Chogyo, Senjo, Shasanro. Sen, Jo, Sha, San, Ro. Cho means to fish, above. And Gyo is fish. So fishing a fish. That means fish.

[06:39]

Fishing. And Sen is boat. Cho, Gyo, Sen. Jo is on. So, on the fishing boat. And Sha is the family name of this person. Before this person Gensha became a monk, his family name was Sha. And Sanro means third boy. Third boy of Sha family. That was his not a name, but that was how he was called before he became a monk. So, first Gensha said, I practiced together with this old guy, Shakemuri. Then the monk asked, who was the teacher? Then Gensha said, Shasanro,

[07:44]

on the fishing boat. It said before he became a monk, he was a fisherman. He was fishing on the boat. So this means Gensha himself as a lay person. So there are three people. The master Gensha, and old guy, Shakyamuni, and this fisherman, Shasanro. And this fisherman, Shasanro, referred to, I think, his karmic body. You know, before I became, I received ordination, my name was Masahiro, and my name became Shohaku. Actually, The sound is different, but the same name. I mean, when I was ordained, Uchiyama Roshi asked me, what kind of Daruma name do you want?

[08:48]

And my name was Ma-sa-hi-ro. This was a name given by my parents. When we read this in on'yomi, this is shouhaku. So, I think, I said, I like this name, so I don't need to change. I just change the sound. There are a few reasons for this. You know, my teacher's name is Koushou. and part of his name is already here. That is one reason. Another reason is in Japan, when we became Buddhist monks, receiving ordination and become Buddhist monks, we have to change the name legally.

[09:59]

To do so, we need to go to a court and turn office to change the a legal name. And I didn't like that kind of process. I was by nature a lazy person. But, you know, in the, what do you call, registration in town, it's only register the kanji, not sound. So, even when I change the way to pronounce, I don't need to change the name. So, it was convenient to me. Anyway, so, same person was called Masahiro for about 22 years, and after that I became Shouhaku, but these five scandals are the same five scandals. And Gensha and Shasan-ro are the same.

[11:02]

So Shasan, when he said, the fisherman, whose name was Shasan-ro, on the fishing boat, and the abbot, the Zen master Gensha, actually are the same person. But this is, this side of five skandhas is referred to Karmic conditioned person and Gensha referred to Bodhisattva or Zen master and Shaka, old guy Shaka does not mean the person who was born in India 2,500 years ago but this Shaka also means Gensha himself that means, you know, the Dharmakaya Shaka the Shakyamuni as Dharmakaya. That means eternal Buddha. So that means, you know, within this structure, you know, so this Shakyamuni means he's referred to as universal self of Gensha.

[12:23]

And Gensha is the Zen master who awakens to that reality, and practicing, and teaching, and active Zen master as a teacher. So both Sattva. And Sha Sanro is the Karmic Five Skandhas. So in a sense, these three are the one in the painting, the young Rebi, old Rebi, and that thing includes both. So there are three aspects. And I think Shasandho and Gensha and Shakyamuni, old guy Shakyamuni, refer to those three aspects of his being. So we are practicing, you know, when we practice, This is the only five skandhas I can use.

[13:27]

So there's nothing different actually from Masahiro. But when I took a vow and received the ordination, I became a Buddhist practitioner. And the same five skandhas has a different name. Shohaku, or in his case, Gensha. But both Gensha and Shasanro, you know, old lady and young lady are practicing together with Shakya, the old person Shakya. That is, I think, what Dogen is talking about. So he's not talking about the person who was born in India for 2,500 years ago, but he's talking about himself. but his practice with these five skandhas are three aspects.

[14:30]

One is this person as an individual who used to be a fisherman and a person who took a vow and became a Bodhisattva and practicing and teaching other people. And they are practiced together with this old guy, shakya, that is, this universal self. Those are three aspects of one actual person as a bodhisattva. This is my understanding. And when we receive the precept, whether the priest's ordination or lay ordination. During the ordination ceremony, the first thing the preceptor does after three vows is invocation. In Japanese, we say, namu kiebutsu, namu kiehou, namu kiesou.

[15:36]

Namo Honshi Shakyamuni Butsu, Namo Koso Joyo Daishi, Namo Taiso Josai Daishi. This means Buddha Dharma and Sangha in ten directions. Namahori Shakyamuni, the original teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Koso Joyo Daishi referred to Ehe Dogen Zenji, and Taiso Josai Taishi referred to Keizan Zenji, the founder of Sojiji Monastery. This invocation means invitation. That means when In early Buddhism, when monks, people receive Vinaya precept and become a monk, to do the ordination ceremony officially, they need ten teachers, three teachers and seven witnesses.

[16:40]

unless we don't have ten fully ordained monks, the precept ceremony is not official, so it's not valid. But in the case of Bodhisattva precept, we don't need those ten teachers. One teacher is enough. And yet, we invite all those Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha in ten directions, and all ancestors, and Dogen Zenji and Keizan Zenji to this place where we have the ceremony. So, actually, they are together with us when we receive the precept and take Bodhicitta vow. So, from that beginning, we practice together with Buddhas, in the ten directions. And when we chant sutras during a service or any time, after we chant sutras or verses or dharani, Ino recite the echo or dedication.

[18:01]

And after that we say Ji-ho-san-shi-shi-fu-shi-son-bu-sa-mo-ko-sa-mo-ko-ho-ja-ho-ron-bi. That is, all Buddhas, ten directions, three times. There are numberless Buddhas, past, present, and future. And all bodhisattvas within this time and space. So, when we chant, You know, Jihō Sanshī, Shifu, who attend all Buddhas in ten directions, we express the awakening that we are living and practicing together with all Buddhas in the ten directions and three times. So we are always together with those Buddhas and sentient and avoided sattvas and Prajñāpāramitā.

[19:03]

So, within our daily practice, this statement by Dogen, we are always practicing together with Buddhas in the ten directions, and three times is, you know, actually carried out, whether we know or not. So, he started to talk. from Buddha's practice. The Buddha's practice is done together with the entire Great Earth and the entirety of all living beings. As I said in the very beginning, Sumedha, when he met Vibhankara Buddha, he took a vow to become Buddha and he would like to help others as this Vipankara Buddha was doing.

[20:13]

So he took a vow to practice with all beings and become Buddha together with all beings. And that is the first of the Four Bodhisattva Vows. So from the very beginning, Buddha's practice If it is not done together with the entirety of all beings, it cannot be the Buddha's practice. If Sumedha is practicing or helping others for the sake of this person, for himself, then that is not Buddha's practice. That means if we receive the good result or merit for this person, then that is not the practice together with all beings. So, as a bodhisattva, the meaning of dedication or echo means, you know, we practice and we chant, but the merit of this practice and chanting goes somewhere else, not to me.

[21:32]

So, I'm sorry, but we get nothing. from the practice. That is what Mushotoku means. So we share all the merit produced by our activity, not only practice in the Zen-do, but all activities to share with all beings, not for this person. That is the spirit Otherwise, our practice is not Buddha's practice or Bodhisattva's practice. Next paragraph. Therefore, from the time we arouse body-mind to the moment we attain realization, we always attain realization and practice

[22:36]

together with the entire great earth and the entirety of all beings. So our practice, our activities are always together with people and all beings in this entire universe. We have to make sure if our attitude is the same with this one. Otherwise, we have to... It's kind of difficult. Even when we are trying to do something good or dedicate the result of my practice for all beings, even though every day we chant and we say so, but still we are thinking, this is good for me. You know, I think I wrote in Genjo Kōan book, or living by book, that, you know, when I became a monk, I really liked Sawaki Roshi's saying, that it's good for nothing.

[23:57]

And I love it. Because meaning was a problem for me. I wanted to do something meaningless. So that's why I started to practice, actually. And so I devoted my entire life and energy to this practice for about 10 years until I became 30, around 30. But then, probably I already said, around 30, my body became half broken because of too much work in Massachusetts. And I went back to Japan to have treatment. At that time, in the beginning, for about a few months, I had a problem.

[25:01]

You know, my body was half broken and I didn't have flesh to practice, I didn't have sangha, I didn't have money, I didn't have a job, I had nothing. At that time I was in trouble, but I thought, why this is a problem? You know, if from the very beginning I understand Dazen is good for nothing, but why I started to practice and I have been practicing in that way? Why that is a problem if I cannot practice in that way? If Dazen is really good for nothing, even if I cannot practice, why that is a problem? That was a big question to me. But somehow, when I was in such a situation, somehow I felt my life is a failure, or a mistake.

[26:08]

And I felt like I'm really good for nothing. And I wanted to know why I feel such a feeling. If the other is good for nothing, even if I cannot do it, then it's okay. But it was not okay to me. That was a big question to me. Why I have been practicing so hard? And I found that those 10 years in my 20s, I practiced so hard and I worked hard for founding a small zendo in Massachusetts, and I studied Buddhism and Dogen's teachings. And I thought I didn't seek anything, I didn't expect anything, but after I

[27:15]

In the condition I couldn't practice in that way, I found that that was what I wanted. That was my desire, to live in that way. That meant to be a good disciple of Buddha, or a good student of my teacher, and a good practitioner. So by practicing in that way, even though I thought I didn't expect anything, I was actually supported by that kind of practice. And that kind of practice can be done only by young, strong, healthy people. So when I was not young anymore, and I was not healthy, and I couldn't do that, then that's why I was in trouble. And around the same time I had a chance to read Buddha Charita, that is a poem on Shakyamuni's biography by... what is his name?

[28:29]

I forget. Ashwagosha. When Buddha get out of his father's palace. This is a famous story. First day, he saw a sick person. Second day, sick person, aging, aged person, sick person, and a dead person. And when he about that experience in that Buddha Charita said if Shakyamuni thought if I think those are special people particular people who are in trouble at that time Buddha was young, healthy and strong and rich so he was not the same with those people but he thought if I think because I'm young and healthy I'm different from those people

[29:31]

So those people's problem is not my problem." Then he said, but he thought that was the arrogance. Arrogance of being young, healthy and rich. That's why, you know, the final day he met a religious practitioner and that's why he left home. And I found that attitude, my attitude of practice before in my 20s is really kind of arrogance. I could do this I was young, healthy, and strong. I could practice in that way, even though I thought I didn't expect anything. Still, that was what I was expected, to practice in that way, without expecting anything. And that was kind of a shocking experience.

[30:40]

But from that point, I became free from that kind of expectation. That means I thought the basic problem is my desire to be a good boy. From I was a very young child, I was a kind of a good boy. To be a good boy is a difficult thing. You know, first we have to understand what is expectation by others. Then I try to do what people expect from me, from parents or teachers or other people. And I didn't like that, especially when I became a teenager. I didn't want to be... I wanted to quit a good boy and try to become a bad boy.

[31:54]

That's why when I became a high school student I often escaped from the classroom and finally I became a Buddhist monk. That was really bad. That was perfectly against my parents' and teachers' expectation. So I thought I became a bad boy. But even after I became a Buddhist monk, actually I was a good boy. I wanted to be a good monk and a good student of my teacher or Buddha. I found that was the problem. So, you know, I think around that time, you know, I was alone, nearly alone, and there was no place to practice, so I stayed by myself in a small apartment, and one day,

[33:06]

found myself just sitting. And at that time, you know, there's no other people, so there's no reason I have to sit. But somehow, when I was sitting by myself in a small apartment in Osaka, I found, not found, but I feel, you know, peace. That means when I was sitting by myself, this is not because I have to sit, or because I want to be a good practitioner. No such reason to sit. But somehow I was sitting. That was, I think, that was the first time I feel I just sit. And I finally, thought, you know, this is what Sawakiroshi is saying. That is good for nothing. But before that, I thought I understood and I liked it.

[34:12]

But that was what I expected. That was a kind of a reward, merit I already received. After that, I feel, you know, I could really sit without any expectation. My Dazein is really good for nothing. So good for nothing to me is really a positive expression. Dazein is good for nothing is my translation, English translation of Sawaki Roshi's Japanese expression. And I first heard this expression, good for nothing, when I lived in Massachusetts. We received any financial support from anywhere, so we had to find some source of income. And the first thing we did was picking blueberries.

[35:15]

In Massachusetts, there are blueberry fields. And in the summertime, when they harvest blueberries, mainly they hire high school students during the summer vacation. But we couldn't find any other job, and actually we didn't have a car. So we set up a tent by the blueberry farm, and we picked blueberry every day for about three weeks or so. And in the very, you know, huge blueberry field. It's almost like one or two mountains or hills. It's really huge. And there are some places where blueberries and other berries, different kinds of berries, are together.

[36:17]

And, you know, those high school students didn't care to pick only blueberry or not pick those not edible berries. I think they call those berries dog berries. And the owner of the farm always shouting to those high school students, don't pick any of those good-for-nothing berries. That was the first time I hear this expression, good for nothing. But to me, you know, I thought what a difference between blueberries and those dog berries. Dog berries are also pretty. They are black and red. And yet those are not eatable. So, you know, those berries have no market value.

[37:25]

But blueberry can be sold. So blueberry has some meaning and value for human beings. But those dog berries have no value to us. But as living beings, what's the difference? They are the same. So, you know, my understanding of zazen is, you know, those are good. Those berries are good, but not for anything, something else. But they are good for itself. Not good for something, but good for nothing. But it's good. And in my understanding, this expression, zazen is good for nothing, means zazen is good. but for nothing. Dazen is good as it is for itself. It doesn't need to be good for something.

[38:27]

So I first thought, you know, I could sit really good for nothing Dazen. After that, my attitude towards Dazen or practice or even Buddhism has changed. it was a really big change. I think, as an understanding of Buddhist or Dogen's teaching, in a shikantala or just sitting, I understood the meaning, and I wanted to really practice with such attitude, and I thought I did. But after, in the condition I couldn't practice in that way, I found I received the merit to me. And that was a problem. That means when we really just sit, no profit or merit to this person, then this sitting is not this person's activity.

[39:48]

but this person is sitting together with all beings. So this attitude is really important. Not understanding, but really do things for nothing, but just do. And I found that was what Dogen taught when he said, just sit, just do it. And I think that is how we can practice together with all beings. Until then, I understood what Dogen is saying here. And my understanding was not so mistaken, but I really didn't know what he really meant. So I think this is an important point. So from the time we arise body-mind to the moment we attain realization, we always attain realization and practice together with the entire great earth and the entirety of living beings.

[41:01]

To do so, we need really to be free from our clinging to myself. And we don't see my clinging until we cannot do that. So when we have a difficult condition, it's a good chance to see how elegant we are. So we can enjoy difficult conditions sometimes. And how can we have a thought that doubts this? This is for certain, but still we have doubt. And yet it seems such a thought that said, I don't know, is intertwined. We have always questioned and I don't know what this means to practice together all beings.

[42:03]

So to clarify this, we hear the voice expounding oneness. Here, this is a voice from the Buddha. And Buddha does not mean certain person in the history. But actually, each and everything is revealing Buddha Dharma. That is, you know, impermanence and no-self or emptiness and interconnectedness. Everything is revealing that Dharma. actually knocking the door of our mind, but somehow we don't hear. So we need to hear the voice expanding this reality. And when our eyes or ears are open, then we can hear anytime. And when we hear this voice,

[43:08]

This voice is Buddha's voice. This voice does not think that such a practice is not about ourselves, but about someone else called the Buddhas or Bodhisattvas. It's not for me. You know, even when we read this kind of teaching, we often think, you know, this is not for me. This is for much, you know, greater people. But we are included. From Buddha's side, all beings are included within this dharma world. So we are part of it. And our practice is part of Buddha's practice. This is a teaching we should understand. We should know that when all Buddhas in the three times allow body, mind and practice, there is a principle that our body and mind, our personal body and mind are not left behind.

[44:20]

That means when Buddhas and other bodhisattvas and ancestors allow bodhicitta, we are included. when Saokiroshi, you know, in his childhood, Saokiroshi's life was very difficult. His parents died when he was very young, and he was adopted to his uncle, but after six months his uncle died, so he was adopted again. And his adopted parents were His stepfather was a gambler and his stepmother was an ex-prostitute. That kind of situation. And he, Sawakiroshi, went to the elementary school. And after he finished elementary school, he had to work to support his step-parents.

[45:28]

And he didn't like that kind of life. So he actually escaped from his parents when he was 18. So the first time he escaped to Osaka to find some work, but he was found and his parents took him back. So he thought he had to go somewhere his parents couldn't find. he went to Eheiji to become a monk. And yet he was not allowed to become a monk at Eheiji, of course, because Eheiji was a monastery. Only ordained monks could enter and practice. So he had to find a teacher And he tried to find near Eheiji, but there were not good people, good person to be a teacher, so he had to walk from Eheiji to Kyushu.

[46:42]

Kyushu is a southwest, western island. And so he walked again, more than one month, without money. So it was very difficult. But during such difficult times, he encountered the Zen, and even before he was ordained, he was almost like a servant of the temple. After serving as a servant of a temple, After a certain big ceremony, other monks went to the town to have a good time, but he didn't want to go, so he sat by himself in a small room. And then an old woman, who was almost like a boss in the kitchen, came to the room he was sitting,

[47:53]

Even before that, the old woman was like a boss to this boy and always, you know, ordered things to him. But when the old woman came into the room, Sawaki Roshi was sitting. He was still a lady, you know, person. The old woman was surprised because the person is sitting and she made a prostration like she did towards the Buddha statue, or Buddha, as if this was a living Buddha. At that time, he knew nothing about Buddhism or Zazen, but he found, or believed, that this sitting has some power. really deep power.

[48:55]

After that he focused on his effort to really just sitting. That was a kind of a beginning of our lineage, Sawakiroshi's lineage. So when he, Sawakiroshi sat, when he was a a teenager, 17 or 18 years old, that when he started to sit, I was included actually. Uchamaloshi was included, or we could say when Shakyamuni Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree, we were included. So our practice is not a personal, individual activity to improve this person and gain some good result. But we are practicing and working together. That is the very basis of Buddhist teaching, at least in Mahayana teaching.

[50:03]

So, Without this principle, we have already slandered all Buddhas of the three times. Slandering Buddhas or dharmas and sangha is one of the ten major precepts. So if we don't understand and believe this point, that means we practice together with all beings, then we slander the Buddha, dharma and sangha. That means we violate the concept of precept. So we must be really carefully understand what this means. And when we quietly reflect, it seems that there is the principle that our body and mind has been truly practicing and has allowed

[51:13]

aroused body-mind together with all Buddhas in the three times. So we, even though we don't understand or even we don't, we have never met, encounter with Buddhist teaching, still we are living within this, you know, time and space. From Buddha's side we are already included even. when we don't know that. When we reflect on the before and the after of this body and mind and illuminate it, the person who asks the question is neither I nor someone else. The person who asked the question means, of course, the question came within us, whether this is true or not.

[52:16]

We have a question, we have doubt. But that person who has been questioned is neither I nor someone else. That means it comes from our five skandhas. In that case, this five skandhas is Mara. We don't see the reality of this interconnectedness with all beings. And we think, this is me. And what I want, what makes me happy, that is all concerned, all I concern. Even when we live in such an attitude, still, you know, we can live with such an egocentric way, because, you know, we are air to breathe, and water to drink, and food to eat, and even, you know, we use the language to create delusion, and making

[53:30]

produce an ego-centered idea or thinking, completely blind toward the Dharma, even those words are the gift from the society. In my case, you know, Japanese language is the tool I create, you know, ego-centered idea, but even the Japanese language is a gift from the society of Japan. you know, Japanese language is a product or fruit of, you know, millions of people who lived in those islands for millions of years. If I'm not educated in that culture, I cannot even speak and think and write. So even our ability to be ego-centered is a gift from the world.

[54:38]

Right? So even we don't see this, and even we don't believe this, we don't understand this, still we are already in the network of interdependent origination. So this kind of question also came from here, in a sense. Why do we stagnate in the doubt that we are separate from the Buddhas in the three times? But this is a very unusual way of thinking or living. So we have to study and hear the voice of Buddha. And when we are happy, it's difficult to hear this kind of voice. When we are in that problem, or trouble, or difficulty, and we try to find some better way of life, we start to hear Buddha's voice.

[55:48]

So, to have a problem might be a good thing for us. When we allow bodhicitta, we always have some problem. When we are completely happy and satisfied, there is no necessity, we find, to study something like this. These doubting thoughts do not belong to ourselves, even though the ego-centered idea or thinking is not my personal position, somehow it comes from the entire universe, through these five skandhas, same as dharma teaching. What can obstruct the time of practicing the way

[56:50]

with the original mind of all Buddhas in the three times. So, Buddha's practice has been already done, or has been doing, have been doing? My mind doesn't work. So, you know, as I said, even though I didn't understand Dogen's teaching, I had a trust in the way of Sawaki Roshi and Uchiyama Roshi's life, because their life, Sawaki Roshi's life was already done, already over, and I knew he practiced until he really died. And Uchiyama Roshi, even though he was a very weak person, still he practiced with not for his own sake, but for the sake of Dharma, to share the Dharma with younger people.

[57:55]

I had really a trust to their activity and their life, even though I don't understand Nandori's teachings. So that is important to have some, what is the word, some example, living example. When you were in your room alone, sitting, and when you talk about trust, did you feel like you were being supported by all beings, by the universe, when you were alone? And did support come to you? Yeah, I think so. I felt in that way. When I think of my life and my future as my personal agenda, I have fear. But when I have nothing, I have to open my hand, then somehow I feel I'm safe.

[59:00]

And this is kind of an interesting thing. When I make plans for my own, I have fear. whether this is a good plan or not a good plan, whether I can be successful or not successful. But when I do something, being led by Buddha's voice, there's no, how can I say, even when I cannot see the possibility to be successful, still I have no fear. I feel I'm supported by Buddha. I mean, if it doesn't work, then that is Buddha's plan. Buddha's plan still don't work. That's all. It's not my failure. That means that time and condition is not ripe yet. That's all. So it's not my personal success or failure.

[60:05]

But what I need to do is just making effort. towards that direction. When I act on that way, I really have no fear. For example, when I moved to Indiana, I had no idea. To found a temple in Bloomington, Indiana, we made some effort to do fundraising and San Francisco Zen Center is very supportive and they allow us using their mailing list and the person said, you know, there are 6,000 names in their mailing list but we don't have money to send appeal letter to 6,000 people.

[61:07]

So we asked them to use only people's names in the state of Indiana and the Bay Area. And the person said in their mailing list, out of 6,000 people, people in Indiana is 16. When I heard that, I was happy. You know, even if I make mistakes or my attempt is a failure, it's not my problem. You know, also I Because of my teacher's teaching, I always want to be a pioneer. I want to go to the frontier. And I don't want to be a competitor with Zen teachers in California.

[62:08]

It seems there are too many already enough Zen teachers in California. So I try to go somewhere there's no Zen teachers. And still in Indiana, I'm only one Sotozen priest, and Sanshinji is only one Sotozen center. And next year we'll have our 10th anniversary. So Sanshinji has been for 10 years. To me this is almost a miracle. But we have more than 16 people now in Bloomington. So it's still small, but this is Buddha's plan. So if we practice with this attitude, together with all beings, there's no failure.

[63:10]

Probably there's no success, but no failure. But we just do what we can do, moment by moment, day after day, that's all. So, fat can obstruct the time of practicing the way with the original mind of all Buddhas in the three times. So, we cannot change those Buddhas and ancestors' vows. They are already done. So, what we can do is continue. So, for a while, wish to know that the way is neither knowing nor not knowing. This appears in the story I already introduced between Nansen and Joshua. When Joshua asked, what is the way?

[64:12]

Then Nansen said, ordinary or everyday mind is the way. Then Joshua asked, should I search the way or not, to go somewhere, to direct, to find that way? And Nansei said, if we try to find it, then we lose it. Then Joshua asked, how we can know then that is the way? And Nansei said, does not belong to knowing or not knowing. This knowing and not knowing came from that story. And as I already said, this not knowing and not knowing can be interpreted in two ways.

[65:13]

Not knowing is deeper than knowing. little more time. Next section. Here Dogen quotes another Zen master's poem or verse. An ancient said, even the pieces of firewood struck down are not other than the Dharma body. Everything vertical and horizontal is not a matter of discussion. Mountains, rivers, and the great earth are the completely revealed body of the Dharma King." Of course, this Dharma King referred to Shakyamuni Buddha.

[66:14]

This verse is made, composed by the master, He was a disciple of Rinzai master, I think Rinzai, Tendai Tokusho. And one of his dharma brothers was a very famous person.

[67:19]

His dharma brother's name is Youmyo Enjufu. Youmyo Enjufu. He was a Zen master, but he was also a great scholar. And Dogen Zenji talks about this person in Zuimonki. This person, before he became a monk, he was a government official. And one time, since there was some disaster in the region, he was working as a government official. Somehow he used the government money to help people who were in trouble.

[68:22]

And that was a big crime as a government official. So he was punished. You know, he was almost killed. But the emperor The emperor thought he was a great person, a brilliant person, and a sincere person. If he did such a thing, there must be some reason. So the judgment was for him to be killed. But the emperor said when he was killed, If he had regret, then kill him. But if not, he must have some special reason to do such a thing, so keep him alive.

[69:32]

So when he was about to be killed, he had no regret, and he was almost Delighted. So the person who was in that job reported to the emperor. And the emperor asked this person, why you did such a crime? Then this person said, I wanted to make a connection with all beings. and next lifetime I would like to become a Buddhist monk. So Emperor allowed him to become a monk. So he was not killed anyway. That was five... His name was Enju.

[70:35]

En means... what is En? Prolonged? Prolonged? And ju means life. So enju means prolonged life. That means he was allowed to continue to live. And Dogen Zenji praised this person's aspiration. Even he was killed, he helped people in trouble. And Dogen then said, we should, all of us, should allow such a mind at least once. That was, you know, this person, Yomyo Enju, and he wrote a huge text that has 100 volumes, named Shugyo Roku, but it's not important here. And this person is a Dharma brother of Enju, And his name also has Jū.

[71:38]

Jū means life or longevity. And this person is called Big Jū, Greater Jū. And this person is called Small Jū. Anyway, that is a person. And when this person was practicing with his teacher, Tendai Tokusho, he was working and he was carrying a firewood and somehow the firewood fell down and he hear the sound of, you know, firewoods hit the ground. He said at that time he had some enlightenment and he composed this poem. The poem is, even the pieces of fire would struck down on the ground.

[72:47]

So he was carrying the firewood, and somehow the firewood fell down and scattered on the ground. Even the pieces of fire would struck down. This struck down is boku raku. is used in Fukanza Zengi. I don't know how we translate it into English. That is a phrase. Konsan is dullness and destruction from the beginning struck down. That is Bokuraku, this one.

[73:49]

So Dogen picked up all those expressions from all different kinds of Zen literatures, and it has its own meaning in the original stories. So without studying those original stories, we don't really appreciate or understand what he's writing in, for example, Fukanza Zengi. So we have to check and study each and every word. That's why, even though Fukanzazing is very short writing, if we study it, it takes a really long time. Anyway, so this firewood fell down on the ground. This person said the stelactam are not other than the dharma body. This word in the bracket is not there.

[74:55]

This is my addition. So those firewood struck down are not others. Not other than, you know, part of this dharma structure or dharma body of Buddha. Everything vertical and horizontal is not a matter of discussion. Everything vertical and horizontal means really everything without any discrimination. But in China, Chinese, or Japanese culture, this vertical and horizontal is used to refer to time and space. Vertical is usually time and horizontal is space. So this means everything, even one piece of firewood fell down on the ground.

[76:02]

That is not outside of this dharma body of Shakyamuni Buddha. So, mountains, rivers, and the great earth are the completely revealed body of the Dharma King. This Dharma King is the Dharma body of Buddha. So, each and everything in nature and whatever we encounter even the devices we use to do something, like this marker, is also a part of Dharma King. You know, that is why we can, not we, but, you know, there is another famous poem by Su Shi, The Sound of Valley Stream, is the

[77:08]

voice of Buddha, and colors of the mountain is the immaculate or pure body of Buddha. You know, these are the poems of beautiful images, but not only beautiful or pleasant sound of valley stream or beautiful color of the mountains, but everything we see and meat work together is the part of this dharma body. So this five skandhas, this five skandhas is not exception. Even our own body and mind is part of, you know, this dharma king. But we don't think so.

[78:10]

Because we know we are so much deluded and selfish and we feel there is a separation. But that feeling of separation or doubt about this structure came from this structure. Nothing is excluded. But the important point is to discover that reality. Even when we read this kind of literature, it's helpful, but unless we really see, you know, the color of the mountain or sound of a valley stream as Buddha's voice and Buddha's body, then even when we read this kind of literature and memorize it and chant every day in the Zen-do, then we are separate. Even though we feel we are separate, we are still already there, and yet we separate ourselves.

[79:19]

That is like when we close our eyes, we don't see the light. But that doesn't mean light is not there. Even though light is full of the entire world, but when we close our eyes, we don't see the light. So it's not the fault of the light, but the cause is in this side. We have five more minutes. Let's see. Maybe I can talk out. It's quite long. Maybe we don't have enough time. Hopefully we can finish this tomorrow morning. Any questions or comments? We have five more minutes. No questions?

[80:25]

Good. This expression that you just were reading and talking about, the sleeping of the five eyes, is this an expression of the Prajna-I. Prajna-I. You mean everything reveals Buddha's teaching. That is Buddha's, you said, wisdom-I? I think it seems like this was his expression of his enlightenment. Yes. Everything is one. And I was wondering, relating that back to the five eyes, is that the perception of that? Prajna-eye, or is that...? I think there are both in this poem. That means each and every individual being is part of the Dharma body.

[81:30]

So, here it is said, form and emptiness are together. Without each and everything, you know, every piece of firewood, there is no Dharma body, or the body of Dharma King. So, Dharma King and each and every concrete thing are one. I think that is what this poem is saying. So, it's almost like a Dharma-Ai. Yeah, I think. Please. A couple of times this expression, for a while, is used. It says, for a while we should understand the Buddha's practice, and then for a while we should know that the way is near knowing. What is this for a while? I think it means we should think well.

[82:39]

It takes time. It's not a matter that we can understand right away. But for a while, read this, and think this, and understand this. Maybe next moment we have another question. But for a while, just, how can I say, soak yourself in this teaching. You know, but you may, we may not, how can I say, understand completely. But for a while, we should study and hear and try to understand. Probably that's what he meant. Please? In this tradition, do we talk about praying to the Buddha for help? And this is a heartfelt question for me because Many of us come from Christian or perhaps Jewish backgrounds, religious backgrounds, and have kind of left that.

[83:40]

So the idea of praying is something perhaps many of us, including me, kind of left behind. And yet you want to do that. You want to pray for help. So when you're practicing with all Buddhas, is there this idea that you can pray for help? I think we do, during the morning, not only morning but morning service, noon service and evening service, we do pray for well-being of all beings, well-being of all sentient beings, I think. But we can't just make it for ourselves then, I guess. I mean, can we say, I need some help with this thing, you know? For the sake of all beings. Yeah, we are part of all beings. But it does seem egocentric, I suppose, but it's very human to say, you know, I'm ill, I need help, or someone's ill, let's help them.

[84:45]

Maybe it's not in our practice in the monastery, but if you go to Japanese temples, There are almost all Buddhist temples, they do that kind of prayer. So don't worry. OK. Please. Well, this is a question that comes up often, I think, around this. And I never know an answer. But in the passages about that we were just Sometimes it's easy to, or not so hard, to put those kinds of images together with the idea of the Dharma King. But what if some of the concrete things we're looking at are not so pretty? You know, like the devastation that human beings make on the Earth, for example, or war.

[85:49]

It's harder to bring that together and say, that's how the Buddhist universe, that's all it says. You know, I don't disagree, but I just don't know how. I think those, you know, human beings make harm to the nature that was caused by our delusion, our, how can I say, being blind to this interconnectedness. So actually When we harm nature, we harm ourselves. But we don't see that. So that is, I think, the basic. So when we do see that, then that's a way to help to turn the situation. I think so, yes. To wake us up. Okay, thank you.

[86:53]

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