So first of all, you should understand your daily routine and including the trees and birds and the skies, rainy days and the fine days. Everything is moving. Nothing to hold on. And then you have to take care of daily routine there. So that's why I told you the daily routine in the monastery leads you to pay more careful attention to cause and effect and many things around the cause and effect, which you have never expected. In other words, you should pay more careful attention to everything which happens in your daily life, including daily routine.

[01:03]

So all you have to do is, like Dogen Zenji says, when you see, when you obtain a single thing, you must be versed with it thoroughly, with wholeheartedness. If you encounter a single practice, you should practice it. This is what you have to do in the domain of moving at the super speed. Because nothing to hold on in your hand. That's why Rinzai Zen master took a hole and just dug up the ground. That is the practice which he has to planting into right here and right now.

[02:19]

If so, this practice is very calm. This practice is very calm because this practice is completely beyond the evaluation of good or bad, right or wrong, or completely beyond of cause and effect. Anyway, when you see, when you encounter, when you obtain getting up in the morning, all you have to do is, you should be versed with getting up in the morning. That's enough. Without expecting anything before and after, just all you have to do is, just do it. That practice is very calm and steady and very still and silent. Silent.

[03:26]

But if you continue to this practice, that practice affects your spiritual life, or including physical and spiritual life. And not only your life, but also other spiritual life. And then, very naturally, that practice, what you have done, what you have practiced in that way, well, I recommend common respect, okay? You can have respect from others by what you have practiced in that way. That practice is very calm, still, but it's very steady, rooting in your daily life.

[04:39]

So that is the meaning of Rinzai, Dugging Up the Ground. From this point, you cannot expect anything, you cannot expect anything at all. So that's why Bodhidharma says to Emperor Wu, when he asked Bodhidharma, what kind of merit can I get? After helping the people and after doing something good, building the Buddhist temple and educating the monks and so forth, Bodhidharma said, no merit, no merit. Well, it is true, no merit.

[05:43]

No merit means, no merit points out completely pure nature of your practice, pure nature, beyond evaluation of good or bad, right or wrong. That is urgent need, what you have to do right now, urgent need, okay? Urgent need, do you know pretty well what is urgent need is? Urgent need is, if your head is burning, what should you do? No matter of discussion, should I pull off my fire on the head, or should I wait for a while for the fire engine to come?

[06:48]

No matter of discussion, anyway, pull it off. This is urgent need, what you have to do. So urgent need is to continue to practice in pure nature, in pure way. Pure way is, when the time to get up in the morning, get up. That's very simple, okay? So, Dogen Zenji says, when you encounter a single practice, single practice is, getting up in the morning, washing your face, and eating breakfast, and study, and sitting Zazen, all are single practice. Then you will always encounter single practice. Right now, you listen to my talk, but you shouldn't understand my talk in the time process, in the long period of time.

[08:00]

At that time, many things come up like a bubble in your head, running through your head. Saying to yourself, why don't you stop talking as soon as possible, I want to sleep, I want to sleep, and so forth. But sometimes, oh, you talk very interesting things, please go on. And sometimes if you don't understand what I meant, I taught, well, you're really sleepy. But I don't care, I don't care, if you want to sleep, please sleep. Buddha's teaching, getting into your body and mind through your pores. That is Buddha's teaching. I always talking about Buddha's teaching, so if you want to sleep, please sleep.

[09:03]

So when you get up, when you wake up, wake you up, that's all right, pretty good. But at that time, my talk is very understandable. But the talk which is very understandable is not all what you have listened to. You have to also listen to the story which you don't understand. Okay, that is important. But you try to listen to the story and lecture which is just not understandable. Well, that's pretty good, but if you think so, it's not necessary to listen to the Buddha's teaching. Go to school, go to school, and study philosophy and psychology, that's better. It's not necessary to waste time here. That is the urgent need we have to do.

[10:15]

That everyday life is something like this. If you want to listen to the program of music on the radio, what should you do as an urgent need? Before turning on the switch, you should understand, you should check up, you should study the complicated system of electricity behind the switch. You should try to understand how many people work in order to operate the radio and so forth. And then, after understanding completely, you want to turn on the switch? It's impossible. Well, if you want to listen to the music on the radio, turn on the switch. This is an urgent need, what you have to do.

[11:18]

So at that time, no merits, no men, don't expect anything at all. All you have to do is just turn on the switch. If you turn on the switch, this is simplicity in your daily life. But that simplicity leads your life to connect, interconnect with all sentient beings. Including complicated system of electricity and many people, they work around the electricity, radio station and so forth. And also including universal energy. Regardless of whether you understand or not. Anyway, if you turn on the switch, this urgent need completely leads your life to interconnect with all sentient beings. And then, you can listen to it.

[12:23]

So don't expect anything at all. If you don't expect anything, well, there is something. Anyway, turn on the switch. This is an urgent need. Urgent need is pure practice, undefined practice. But don't misunderstand this one. Some students said to me, when I met him on the streetcar, I asked, where are you heading for? He said, I don't know where I am heading for. The man was practicing riding a horse, and then the horse all of a sudden galloped. Then he got scared a lot. Then he held on to the neck of the horse, so as not to fall down.

[13:29]

On the way, that man met his friend. His friend said, where are you going? Where are you heading for? He said, I don't know where I am heading for. Please ask a horse. Please ask a horse. Please ask a horse. That is a modern civilization. That is a misunderstanding of Zen Buddhism. Misunderstanding of simplicity in life. Zen is tranquility, calmness means to manifest simplicity in one's life. But don't misunderstand. If you misunderstand this, you really become that gentleman who said, I don't know where I am heading for. Please ask a horse. You said, I don't know where I am heading for. Please ask the baker.

[14:31]

Oh, that's true. That is very good, in a sense. But in a sense, that's terrible. Because you don't know, you don't have any destination. Where are you heading for? You should know your destination, okay? And then all other urgent needs, what you have to do is just do it. That is what is called pure practice. Without expecting anything, psychological reward or moral reward. Then what you can do, just do it. With wholeheartedness, without expecting anything. This is spiritual merit. Spiritual merit. Because if you turn on a switch, you can listen to it. Even though you don't want to listen to it, it's too late.

[15:38]

If you turn on a switch, it's already music happens. So that is, anyway, turn on a switch. This is pure practice. But pure practice is not, I don't know where I am heading for. It doesn't mean that. And then you should know your destination. That's why Zen Master says, why is it you plant a pine tree here? He said, I want to make the scenery of the temple beautiful. This is one reason. This is the result. One result. The second result is planting the pine tree for future generations. This is the second result. So he knows, he realizes very clearly what is the cause, what is the result.

[16:40]

So you cannot ignore this. And then according to this, that's the result. Making the scenery of the temple beautiful and planting the pine tree for the future generation is Buddhist merit. Spiritual merit. It's very calm. Very calm. You don't know what it is. Spiritual merit expands to making the scenery of the temple beautiful and planting the pine tree for future generations, anyway.

[17:48]

But should we hold on to that result? Would you calm after doing something? No, you cannot expect. Because in a minute, no one knows what will happen. Okay? Now what do you mean? Planting pine tree for the future generation or generation after future generation of life after life. What do you mean? What is the result you picture in your head? But between the time when the future generation comes and the time when you plant the pine tree right now, right here, no one knows what will happen.

[19:13]

Many things happen which you have never expected. The Suki Roshi, they found this Tassahara, Tassahara is still safe. We really want to keep it safe. But no one knows what will happen in the future. Probably a big flood comes all of a sudden and the flood takes away everything completely. Can you hold on to the Tassahara? It's impossible. Well, what do you mean keep it safe? Keep it safe. Keep it safe means to keep Tassahara safe right here, right now, anyway.

[20:18]

That's why Zen Master Rinzai took a hole and dug up. That's urgently what you have to do. Then the merits have two meanings. One meaning of merit has no merits. Which means when you encounter a single practice, you practice it with wholeheartedness as a pure practice. Just do it. But just do it doesn't mean you don't know where you are heading for. You should know where you are heading for. So, at that time there is a merit anyway.

[21:26]

What kind of merit? The making of the scenery of the temple beautiful. This is a merit. And then the echo means to turn this merit to others. To others means to all sentient beings. In other words, you should accept merit as universal merit. Spiritual merit. In other words, merit itself doesn't have its own form. Which you can hold on to. So turn to turn the merits to others, to universe. If you see the merits, if you see the result, if you see the merits.

[22:36]

Making the scenery of the temple beautiful. Planting the pine tree for the future generation. This is merit. And then next what you have to do is to turn this merit to universe. Which means you should take a hole and dug up. So, when you chant sutra in the morning, you should know to whom you dedicate. By chanting Prajnaparamita, you dedicate to Shakyamuni Buddha. This is a merit. These are results. You should know that. And then next, all you have to do is just chant sutra. It means to turn your merits to universe. To turn your merits to universe means to make your practice pure.

[23:46]

Pure. That is, just do it. Just do it. Just turn on the switch. In other words, just to spin. Just as a top is spinning fully. If a top is spinning fully, the many colors on the top completely become one. No discrimination among them. All colors completely become one with the top. So, this is merit. So, merit is not something which you should expect after doing something. So, when you sow rakusu and okesa,

[24:46]

Dogen Zenji explains how great merit sowing okesa and rakusu has. But you don't understand that. Chanting the triple treasure, I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha. In each stitch, you chant the triple treasure. That is great merit. That is spiritual reward. Spiritual reward is you should know where you are heading for.

[25:51]

You should go to Buddha's world, triple treasure. I take refuge in the Buddha. This is the result, what you have to aim at. Right now, right here, what is the urgent need? How do you put it into practice? You should take a needle and chant the triple treasure and sow it. That is pure practice. At that time, you can turn your merit to the universe, to others. That's why okesa is very important. Rakusu is very important. Because that is not the sense of morality, not the sense of psychology.

[26:56]

That is really the realm of spiritual life. What is the spiritual life? Spiritual life is really you can create your life right now, right here, and that creation affects your life and others' life simultaneously. This is spiritual life. Every day I pour the cold water over your head. The water is always cold. No matter how long you experience the poor water, in the summer you feel good, but in winter you don't feel good. It's pretty cold. But how can you accept this cold water in winter?

[28:00]

Should you scream, saying, cold, help? Or you shouldn't say anything, just calm and pour with a calm mind. Can you do that? If you can do that, that's great. But it's pretty hard. So I do always chanting triple treasure. Chanting triple treasure instead of screaming. If you scream, you can create your world surrounded by the scream. So what's your life? Your life is screaming. Yes, your life is screaming and your circumstances are completely embraced by screaming.

[29:03]

Nothing else. So all are completely screaming world. Screaming world. So instead of screaming, you should chant, I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha. At that time your life is completely embraced by the triple treasure. And your circumstances are also embraced by the triple treasure. That's great. And also this chanting triple treasure affects your life, regardless of whether you are conscious of it or not. It is true. And then also that life affects others, it influences others' life. In Japan, I always use a big bucket.

[30:04]

Pour the cold water first and then one moment, at one moment, so no excuse. No matter of discussion, shall I or I shouldn't. I should or I shouldn't. But here I don't have big buckets and then I use the hose. Hose, rubber hose. I don't have a shower now. So I use a very thin hose. Then I pour the water very gradually. It's cold. It's pretty hard to stand, to bear. Then very naturally you really want to scream, cold. But instead of cold, you should chant the triple treasure. Take refuge in the Buddha. So for what? Take refuge in the Buddha.

[31:07]

Take refuge in the Dharma. Take refuge in the Sun. Beautiful world. This is spiritual. If you respect the man whom you hate, with Gassho, that is great. No hatred. So you can create beautiful world, spiritual world. Spiritual life is not something miracle. You can't expect spiritually or religiously and so forth. It must be alive, right now, here. You can create that. This is the meaning of merits. When you make a soul, when you sow the Raksu, just chant the triple treasure and in each step with wholeheartedness, sow it. So your Raksu is not merely material, okay?

[32:13]

It's triple treasure. You create it. You create it. If you miss, if you forget that wonderful religious world, look at your Raksu, okay? Raksu teaches you, Ah, this is the Buddha's world I created. Well, let's do it. According to the Buddha's world, it's not necessary to make Raksu like this. But you should know you are human being who has two aspects, strong and weak. Two points. You should accept both. So we are subject to forget spiritual world, spiritual life.

[33:17]

Why don't you follow the spiritual life? So we enshrine the Buddha in front of you. Then this statue is not merely a statue, that is your life. So this statue teaches you, why don't you follow the spiritual life? When you forget your spiritual life, look at this Buddha statue. When you forget your spiritual life, look at your Raksu. That's why we need Raksu, Nokesa, and Buddha statue. Okay? According to Buddha's world, it's not necessary to have daily routine. According to the Buddha's world, anytime you can get up,

[34:20]

at night or at noon, you can get up. Because according to Buddha's world, everything is exactly in equality. No rule. Can you always follow such spiritual life? No, you can't. You are pretty easy to forget. That's why we need daily routine. Get up is to get up in the morning, not at noon. Not at night. Get up in the morning. Breakfast is when? Between 7 and 8. Then that daily routine teaches you, why don't you follow your life in order.

[35:30]

That's very simple. Then, that is the result. Daily routine is the result and where you are heading for. What should you do? As an urgent need, when the time to get up comes, get up. When the time to go to Zazen comes, go to Zazen. That is pure practice. That's why Togen Zen says, when you encounter a single practice, practice it. When you obtain a single thing, you should be versed with it thoroughly. That time you can experience merit, spiritual merit. Spiritual merit commands respect from others.

[36:36]

From you, from others, from all sentient beings. Thank you very much.

[36:46]

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