Birth And Death

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you
is it i know
okay so earlier this week i think it was earlier this week

is that better oh okay
so earlier this week
a good friend and a brother l tribe
died
and i'll tribe with carol paul husband
and before that
it started practicing he and his wife fran from practicing in the late sixties and we were tough a higher together with suzuki roshi
ah sixty
eight or simply a judge
fifty seven just a heard began sixty seven fifty eight
yeah and
well
went to medical school that he became a psychiatrist
and he was well known psychiatrist in the bay area and they practice together and in with the ashes accuracy and then they decided to move to berkeley so they practiced in berkeley
a
sixty eight or something like that fifty nine
and ah
l a
he got too busy to really practice steadily but fran practice quite deadly she was really reluctant at first and
she really took up the practice
so l was
i was very supportive of my practice
and home
to make it i don't want to go through his life story but i'm
ha i wanna talk about
ah how we feel about birth and death
so someone's death
a brings about a lot of feelings lol your emotions
a lot of carrying a lot of grief
and so forth
alicia's from our side
all this is from our side
then there's the other side of what actually happened
what is this all about
this is a delicate and a necessary subject for us to understand what really happened
and why and how and
should it happen
shouldn't it happen
what's going on is the most common thing in the world
is the most aside from being born
this the most common to new world
everybody does it
one way or another
so that we don't talk about it very much
so i'm going to talk about it today
so what happened we all have down a lot he was really wonderful person
and ah very compassionate and a generous and loving
ah and we all feel good grief and the
ah our emotional feelings
so that is my introduction
to this go on many of you are familiar with this go on
from the book of records
as case fifty five in a booth of record
called a duggars i would not tell you
an go master anger has an introduction to this go on
absolute truth direct enlightenment
positive activity immediate understanding
quick sparks enlightening dogo cut through the complications
sitting of the tigers head and grasping its tail he is still like a thousand foot cliff
be that as it may is there any cut case for giving a clue for others' sake so see the following
main subject
one day don't go who was a chinese just happened in the tang dynasty in china
add doga was a teacher
one day dogo accompanied by his disciple then again went to visit family in which a funeral was to take place in order to express sympathy
zen again
put his hand on the coffin bam
dead or alive
tell me please is this life or is just death
dogo said
i would not tell you i won't say i won't say

then game said why won't you tell me
dogo said i won't say i won't say
their way home zen can said oh sure oh show me the priest
oh osho please be kind enough to tell me if not i you
so is as again
ah was really seriously
i'm troubled by
death the idea of death dying wanted to know something
he was really desperate
so please be kind of to tell me if not i'll hit you
dogo said hit me if you want but i won't say i won't say
again struck dongle
and then dog i said
you know this is us forty eight your teacher
if if anybody finds out about this if anybody in saga finds out about this you really be in trouble so i want you to go away
just get outta here for a while and ah let this ah cool down
so later
ah a dogo passed away
he died they say quote unquote died
then again came to secchi so secchi show was a student at togo
and who i had his own
temple
so zambian came to secchi so and told him the story
and then ended he asked secchi so
dead or alive and thinking so sad i won't say i won't say
and then xingjian said oh i won't you say the thick isa said i won't say
upon these words xingjian attained a sudden realization
it was about time

there's more than just a story but i'm i to stop there
i'm

so
ah
dogo would not say dead or alive we usually think in terms of eat you're either dead or alive
there's the body and where's the person the person no longer there
so we think in terms of the body and soul that's one way of thinking about it or the body and spirit or the body and the person we think in these ways every every
a spiritual practice has some idea about what happens when a person dies
you go to heaven you go to hell buddhism has heavens and hells to actually but they're all right here
this is hell and hell is when we dwell
but that's beside the point
where do we go where did we come from
so we think in terms of birth and death as to up opposing
a dakota as a dichotomy and duality birth and death were born at a certain time and we grow up and live i live in every day
but that's shortsighted thinking
that's our experience so there's what happens as as reality and others our experience so we experience birth and it we experience death but in the dharma dharma we don't talk about although users terms
as as the parameters of life
so i don't use life and death as a life and death is opposite
life is the coin during the one side is birth the other side is death but birth and death at both expressions of life
so
we something doesn't come out of nothing
so we say
life is a
ah
like in the east the countries in the east we don't count on birthday as the day that you are you came out of the womb we countered birthday the first year of your birth of your life is in the womb
so
oh when when we say how old we are at according to that
system you're when you're older than the way we think about it
you're already one nine months old so to speak we call it a year nine months old when you were born
ah
so
and as what happened before we were born
well it's a potentiality for birth
it's always there
ah potentiality like the spyro kid makes love to the egg
and then something happens and ah
the womb is kind of like an egg actually it's a
with hotel lot holds the the juices in the water
and then but what what happens before that are actual life
is it beginning with
i actual life is big in english and causes and conditions
come together to create this embryonic person
who appears manifests we use it or manifests manifests in the world
so
well and saying born we say manifest you can use those terms we use their as but actually this manifestation of causes and conditions
and when the causes and conditions and like blogger no longer supporting
the person
the our
the person and manifests
the integrates
but then what happens
is that the end
so something doesn't come from nothing and something doesn't end at a certain point even though the manifestation ends
something is still going on
even though we don't see it
so we call it death but actually
death and birth are continuously happening
so what we call life is continuous transformations
so one way you can talk will be i can express the term life is continuous manifestations of birth and death
in order for something to manifest something else has to give way
some birth initiate this and that initiate birth
birth is the foundation of death and death is the foundation that hurts
for everything
so because we identify with ourself
as the center
we suffer because we always changing every
you can say life is continual transformation
what is like life is continual transformations
everything as suzuki roshi so the the only truth the only choice is everything changes
so
because everything changes continuously
there's no there is no stopping
no such thing as stopping there's only transformations
every single moment is a moment of birth and death
and as i always liked to say if you want to study this cause we studied all attack because it's the most common thing
you study your breath
inhaling
is manifesting
inspiration we call it inspiration taking a breath is inspiration letting go the breath is exploration
so inspiration expiration is one cycle of birth and death
within birth his death within death his birth you cannot say which is which and each moment if you take a moment and say is this both his death
because it's simultaneous
each moment is a moment of change a moment of transformation discover the world of transformations
the transformation world
world of suffering because
of desire so we want things to be a certain way
but ah the blood runs through the body
and asked for we can't control it we do control it but not purposely
our thoughts and feelings and our emotions control how the blood runs through our body and how the thoughts run through the brain
and how the emotions affect everything we do they affect our pastures
and our actions
in a realm of transformations
so we have our feelings and so forth but to actually be able to see clearly is difficult
so buddhists training good diamonds see this clearly
so we have two sides one side is our feelings and emotions and how we if we are affected the other side is to clearly see what is actually happening
objectively
so according to the dharma to
we're always here we don't go anywhere because we are not something cause comes and goes
the breath
we we don't have anything to do a breath except for a or feelings and emotions which affected
but the breath we are being breezed by the universe
so what we do is
i identify myself as the center of the universe but actually we just simply being
moved around by the universe
we're cosmic beings the cosmos is everything in the cosmos is is
contributing to what we call this manifestation of myself
so if we identify as cosmic bless
instead of just my separate self
then we have some understanding of how things work
cause it is no separate self everything is manifested manifests because of everything else
we simply being moved around by the cosmos
and we have what we call will
free well or not free will
i like to think that we do have free will because we can make decide to do things but our decisions are caused by the effects of our surroundings and are than a relationships

so
if we understand that death so-called is the result of birth and burst so-called is the result of death then we have some they've called inside
and if we have inside it eases our emotional responses to this problem
when someone that i'm upset at the bedside of and quite a number of people and a number of our members
and i've done funeral ceremonies or a number of them as well
and although i have feelings emotions
my relationships pleased with everyone
when i do the ceremony
i feel like i'm sending that person off i don't feel like they should still be here or i regretted they're not here
or try to keep them from being here are from leaving i sent them off
rate this is wonderful
it's not awful it's all awesome
smell awful it's awesome it's it's so awesome that ah
ah ah
it's beyond feelings for me
america
arms
oh coben gino rossi when even cappuccinos sensei
with me and ah
he said when a person dying you should help them to die
it don't try to keep them from dying
to help them took to let go and release themselves this is the in the end product the end
a
which is
the stage for a new beginning
when pressure is very old in there you know
and that might be added them
due to actually help them to let go of all of them there anything that's hindering them from leaving
there's a phrase own
a hospice phrase
just am
stay close and do nothing
stay close and do nothing
instead of cry in at a at a bedside
you should be happily
deeply
i'm involved in suddenly helping them to
ah to leave this world
even that you can't leave this world
because the energy
that ah
we say energy doesn't get lost in continues and the energy contributes to other forms of life
so instead of thinking that death is is big black hole
to allow ourselves to move into
ah
contributing to other forms of life
take nhat hanh talks about watching the leaf fall on the tree
and nurturing the ground
the were tea tree is planted
you know we don't we carved garbage stage
like garbage is so valuable
we put it around plant in the plant growth without it the plant doesn't grow
if we can realize that contributing our life
do the universe to help the universe to contribute to other forms of life
ah is very positive
it's not just an idea it's not just a hope or subject it's it's actual
our death contributes to life
never ending continuous transport munitions
whatever
i've always felt that it would ever
people believe happens good happens after death i don't argue with that because everybody needs something
optimistically to into face death
why not let it be the truth
most recent all these and students that i've known bedsides i've said
to avoid died at a very nice stiff
lot of understanding and
ah the they have the ability to let go at the right
ha
even if it's a little by little
let go
so at the end of a funeral ceremony i often give a shout short but it's energy
and say go
go wherever wherever you may be go
with our blessing
so
birth dead or alive
i won't say
i won't say
it's the wrong question
life itself is birth and life itself is death
at death itself is life
even though death is totally deaf
life is totally life
person totally birth
huh
do you have a question
yes the

yes how to hold them both even know the one thing
cry cry the good cry
you should cry
you know we say when it when shockey mooney was on his deathbed
all the our heads were crying and he says they don't understand what's going on
if you just don't understand what's going on but that doesn't mean you shouldn't cry
if they are husband understand know i to say that
in spite of their understanding that were crying
yes when suzuki roshi was day
ah
ah
we're all of the disciples were in his room
and everybody was crying
but
you
theoretically you're not supposed to be crime
but he he should try
so life is not so simple
he be easy of
our understanding superseded our village
this
our understanding at our feelings should be one
sell it
because of all that history and and felix has to be expressed
there is the person even though the person is actually
kind of delusion
so delusion enlightenment or one
yeah

the civilizations come and go
they're born so does the manifest
the manifest in they have a life just like a person at any disintegrate and then the disintegrating a a activity is is a that suffering you know it's like you think that the world's is going to disappear
but actually it
the the end
initiate the next
manifestation and it just keeps going out like that the world just keep going unlike that the person death of similar think that roman empire key american empire's on the way down
it may not go all the way down it's a big fight but if it's that looks like
you know
it looks like it's can disintegrate and i think it will disintegrate
but that's the life of a human is the life of human endeavors
because we are
person is a microcosm of the universe each one it was a microcosm of the universe so the way to study the been a result
a cosmic
activity is through understanding yourself
we have to earn the purpose of our life is to understand ourself
beyond our feelings and what we want would like or expect to see it as occam's razor which does that is not influenced by anything and looks directly at reality

thank you

yes

yes

i think we have to understand one thing we have to understand when life is cruel
life is cruel
we call it cruel from our side we call it through life just life
but we say it's cruel or what can you do or that's from the human side
but nature is not doesn't care that much about your feelings
this is this is a at a touchy topic very touchy topic does the universe care about me or not
it's it that it's attacking the touchy topic you can say it was the you know nature just doesn't think mountains crumble you know
ah
but another had oh what about us but about me that it doesn't nature care about me
so
yes and no oh i won't say

ellen

you

so what part of it your you
me whether you believe in the ceremony or no
the

the apple
yes but i would say about that instead
what a one thing is is wishful thinking
the other the other thing is that is for us is not for them we will project at it for them but it's really for us they're gone
what you can't change somebody's trajectory
what once once that event of disintegration of their body mind is
nature takes care of everything nature will take care of them the i totally firmly believe so my prayer would be to please take care of that nature to to to to appeal to nature
buddha nature or whatever to take care of this person i can't do it
so the forty nine days is
like em
master hua
taught me that
he sat on his parents' grave for about two years
after they died
so that's kind of like to forty nine day thing you know it's like a expressing your feeling for your parents that's very chinese
i'm expressing your feeling for your parents so it's wonderful you know the effect is mysterious so i can't account for mysterious effects
if you believe if you want believes in something like that and and is comforting to you do it
whether it's real or not
do it because it's comforting
why not i mean but way the back somebody had their hand up the are back in peter
so

well in the realm at a reciprocation
i know but you're talking about reciprocation
he said
oh okay
yeah us
well but yeah bye bye
acknowledging
their karma
oh no
broken that
but i think that we have to you know we all like the idea of getting rid of our karma
and this kind of wishful thinking
when we get rid of i marina is a even shockey moody had to deal with his karma
so
the way to get rid of your karma is is too
ah repent
and turn around and don't do the things that create karma anymore
that's the way that's that's the formula
just repaired say i wholeheartedly turn around and don't do it anymore
i've got go straight so which is hard because
even if we repent of our karma
it's still there
in some way and so we have to experience the suffering of our bad karma
that's what actually relieves us of the karma by taking the consequences
by
know we don't want to do that we'd rather be free of our karma but to take the consequences and work through it
i'm
at the same time going in another direction it this residual karma the residual effect of our past actions has you can't get rid of you can't shake it off so just take it you know
just eat it
but it does have an effect
and it relieves you of the suffering to a large extent
i just have one story and that's the end with in relation to that
i'm
and played it
there was a m
in china
am
a man
who had an affair with a woman
it turns out that he killed the woman's husband
and the sun
when when to take revenge but
ah the the man felt so bad about it but killing he said he wanted to repent
so there was a trail that went around a mountain that it was very dangerous so he said i'm going to dig a tunnel through that mountain as a repentance
so he started digging the tunnel
and he dug in a tank and every day with other at the sun
i have a man murdered
came this found him and he said i'm out i'm gonna kill you and
so the digger said that's okay with me you can do that but first
i wondered i wanna can complete his tunnel
and the sun said okay but the know sitting around
the answer is he started started digging to
the center i dig at the closer i to be able to
so he digs in daisy dick they boasted and you know it's hard work so just have handles and i finally get to the ebb and the the to the guy who did
did the the murder said okay now you can kill me
the sunset how can i kill my teacher