Well, in the spirit of Dhyana, Paramita, I'm going to focus on case number 69 in the book with record. The title of this is Nonsense Draws a Circle, Nanchuan. And Engo introduces the subject. And he says, according to this translation, where entry is barred, the Dharma seal is like the iron ox's spirit. The monk who has passed through the thorny entanglements is like a snowflake on a red-hot hearth.

[01:35]

Putting aside for a moment the seven piercing and eight breaking through, what about acting independently of words and logic? See the following. Main subject. Nansen, Kisu, and Meyoku were on their way together to pay their respects to Chu Kokushi, When they were halfway there, Nansen drew a circle on the ground and said, if you can say a word, I will go on with you. Kisu sat down in the middle of the circle. Mayoku, seeing this, made a bow, a woman's bow. I'll explain that later. Nansen said, then I will not go. Kisu said, What an attitude of mind. And in Setsuo's verse, he says,

[02:44]

Why not? Isn't that a smoother road, Kosoke? That's the case. So in his introduction, Ingo says, where entry is barred, literally, where you can't sink your teeth into it. something that you can't sink your teeth into, where you can't grasp something, no way to get a hold of it. Where entry is barred, where you can't get a hold of it, the dharma seal is like the iron ox's spirit. The iron ox here is, there was an emperor who built a very strong, tall embankment to prevent the river from overflowing. And he built an iron ox with its head in one county and its tail in the other, apparently.

[04:12]

And this iron ox was put there to protect the river, to protect the embankment from being destroyed by the water. So it's a symbol of great strength and power to do something. And the Dharma seal is like the seal of truth. So when you can't get at it, the Dharma seal is like the iron oxen spirit, kind of impenetrable. The monk who has passed through the thorny entanglements is like a snowflake on a red hot hearth. Thorny entanglements is like all of the things that, the barbed wire that stands in front of our accomplishment.

[05:24]

All of the obstacles and things that get in our way, so to speak, or things that we feel are in our way, impediments and problems. So the monk who has passed through the thorny entanglements, you can also call them deluded thoughts, is like a snowflake on a red hot hearth, just disappears. This is the state of no self-centeredness. Putting aside for a moment the seven piercing and eight breaking through, What?

[06:31]

It doesn't say, put it aside. It says, putting aside for a moment. Right. It's so piercing, it ain't bringing doom, which I will do. What about acting independently of words and logic? So put all that stuff aside and just independently of words and logic, acting, going straight to the point. Going straight to the point with perfect freedom, you know, without having to figure out every little thing about what your problems are, you can go straight to the point. Often we think, as soon as I figure this one out, you know, or figure that one out, every time we figure something out, then there's another Every time we unlock that lock, then there's another lock.

[07:33]

And we unlock that lock, then there's another lock. Endless ruminating about our problems and our apparent problems and apparent obstacles. So putting all that aside, just going straight to the point without any obstacles. see the following. So if we want to understand that kind of activity, see the following. So the main case. Nansen, Kisu, and Mayoku, they were Dharma brothers. And they're referred to as the old masters, but actually they were the children. they were very young monks at the time.

[08:34]

It's interesting, reading the commentary, which says, and these old masters, when actually, they were just young monks. So Nansen, of course, Nansen was very famous, and they all were well-known Zen masters in their maturity. Nansen, Kisu, and Mayoku were on their way together to pay their respects to Chu Kokushi. Kokushi means national teacher. And Chu Kokushi was a disciple of the sixth ancestor. That's why they were going to Soke. I don't know if this means anything to you, but Soke is the name of the sixth ancestor's temple. Soke-yan. Daikan Eno. But Shu Kokushi lived there, a leader.

[09:38]

So they were going to that place, not to visit the Sixth Ancestor, but to visit his disciple, Shu Kokushi, who was the national teacher. It's said that all the monks should, at one time or another, go visit him to complete their training in this lifetime. because he was that well-known, that famous. And so they were making their pilgrimage to go see this venerable teacher. And when they were halfway there, Nansen drew a circle on the ground. Just stopped and drew a circle on the ground. And he said, if you can say a word, I will go on with you. If you can say something, we'll keep on going. You can say the right thing. What will you say?" And Kisu immediately sat down inside the circle with a great response.

[10:46]

And Mayoku, seeing this, made a bow, a woman's bow. A woman's bow is just a curtsy. or a bow from the waist, something like that. Whereas man's bow in the Tang Dynasty China was a kowtow. You've heard that word, haven't you? Kowtow? Don't kowtow to me. Kowtow is the prostration. And often the Chinese have a little stool that they put their head on when they do a prostration. So I don't know why he did that kind of bow or why that's significant. I have no understanding of why that's significant in here.

[11:52]

But anyway, that's what it says. So it must have meant something in China at that time. So then Nansen said, then I will not go. And Kisa said, what an attitude of mind, or what do you be thinking, or what do you mean by that? Why'd you say that, Nansen? Why did he say that? Oh, why? Yeah, that's right. Exactly. I thought it was the other way around. The woman's vow is ironic. Making a woman's vow is ironic. It's not a gesture. It's like when you're halfway during a circle, he's making kind of halfway

[13:00]

The vow that's less than the vow that he would make. Maybe a halfway vow? Because they were halfway there? Well... Because the response is halfway. Halfway, yeah. Maybe he was uncertain, huh? I didn't think he was uncertain. I thought he was just being funny. Maybe. Maybe. I don't know, but it's interesting. But yes, no need to go any further, because here they are. So they realized that right here where they are is the right place to be, no matter where it is. But... So Chukoku-shi actually is attributed to making popular the Zen circle.

[14:30]

That also has something, bears a little on this case, in that he drew the circle, Nansen drew the circle, which in some sense is after the teacher who they're seeking. So, well, here's the circle right here. No need to go any further. And sitting inside the circle is what we're all doing today. So then, Setso says, He's, in his poem, he's quoting a verse. Yuki's arrow shot the monkey. How straight it flew, circling the tree. Yuki, this is an old story of an archer and a monkey.

[15:42]

And the archer, the monkey was so good, you know, When the archer shot his arrows, the monkey would catch them. And no one could ever shoot the monkey, because the monkey would always catch their arrows. He was very good. And so Yuki, when he shot his arrow, the monkey realized he couldn't catch it, so he ran around the tree, the other side of the tree, but the arrow followed him. around the tree and got him. So this is shooting his arrow very straight in a circle. How straight it flew, circling the tree. So that has to do with, not so much with drawing the circle, but getting to the right place.

[16:46]

And out of thousands, even tens of thousands, how many have hit the mark? Although there may have been thousands and ten thousands who have done the practice, how many have actually hit the mark? Come, let us go home together. So where is that? Where is our home? So these three said, well, let's go. We don't need to go to see the national teacher. Let's go home. So this is a kind of interesting little part. Is their home right there where they are? Is their home back where they came from? Or is their home? where they're going.

[17:54]

So then he says, no need to pay respects to Soke. No need to. We already found ourselves. Soke is right here, inside this circle. But again, why not? So this why not is a kind of understatement. Again, why not? We don't have to go see him, but why not? Should we go home or should we go see him? They can go either way. But the path is not to go back. Their intention is to go see Soke. In other words, their intention is to continue practicing. Even though they know where they are, even though they know why they're doing what they're doing, finally, it doesn't mean that they should stop doing it. They should go and see the patriarch.

[19:13]

Even though they discovered, when they're halfway there, they discovered the purpose of going. They should still go. Even though you may be enlightened, that's the beginning of your practice, not the end. Oh, now we're enlightened, we can go home. And then the last line, isn't it a smooth road to Soke? Meaning, this is your path. Your path is... Soke means here again. There are various layers of meaning. Soke is like the place that you're going to. And there's some way to do what it is that you're doing.

[20:15]

Even though we can sit at home, we come to the Zen Dojo to sit and practice with each other. There's a way to do things that brings, that completes practice. Even though we may know all about We still have a teacher. Anyhow. Even though we know how to sit Zazen, we still come and practice together at the Zen Dojo. Even though we're enlightened, we still sit Zazen. So he says, but again, why not?

[21:24]

That's a real understatement. It sounds like it's a choice. But it's not. So isn't it a smooth road to soak a... Yes. All you have to do is practice day after day, one day after the next, without getting entangled. Without entanglements or priors. You know, just one step after the next. That's all. Yeah, practice is really easy. Once you're enlightened. I don't know.

[22:27]

I don't know. The highest wisdom, I don't know. What? I said that's the highest wisdom. I don't know. But how to actually just be present in each activity, on each moment? It's just one step after the next. When we count our breath, it looks like a sequence. It looks like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. But when you're at 1, there's only 1. When you're at 2, there's only 2. So, within each breath, So the sequence, there's only this.

[23:28]

What entanglements could there be? What complications could there be? But there are problems. There's always something coming up. But, you know, in Zazen, as soon as we look ahead, we're lost. As soon as we think ahead, we're lost.

[24:31]

As soon as we don't accept everything as it is, we're lost. It's very simple. The truth is being taught to us moment after moment. The lesson is there moment after moment. in our life, we have to think ahead. Somebody has to make lunch for us today, right? And all we have to do is sit here and not think ahead. That's all we have to do, is sit here and not get ahead of ourselves or behind ourselves. And just express gratitude moment after moment for whatever condition is present, no matter what it is, without getting ahead, without wishing for something else, without wondering what time it is, without wondering about when

[25:54]

Only now. It's not easy. But this is our home. True home. Then when we have to think ahead, we just think ahead. But our thinking ahead is just something that's happening now. That's our now. Thinking about, if you're the cook, thinking about lunch. That's the cook's now. But when you're sitting zazen, your now is just what's present, without thinking ahead. Or without wanting to change, wishing it were different. Then you have your peacefulness, even though you have a problem.

[27:01]

You may have a problem, but it's not an entanglement. We always have a problem. There's no such thing as not having a problem. There's always a problem. But it doesn't have to be an entanglement. So little by little, We learn how to let go and sit inside of our circle, right in the middle. And whatever tiger is in the circle with us, we learn how to ride. You know, Monjushri is always pictured, not always, often pictured riding a lion. Lion is kind of a dangerous beast.

[28:04]

But Monjushri rides the lion and tames the lion and doesn't let the lion eat him. Or if he does let the lion eat him, he lets the lion eat him completely. Sometimes the lion eats Manjushri completely. Sometimes Manjushri eats the lion completely. But if you're going to be there in the circle with the lion, whichever it is, it should be completely. So I remember when I first started practicing at Sokoji in San Francisco, there used to be a big sign on the wall in the hallway that said, riding the tail of the tiger.

[29:11]

And I used to look at that sign and say, yep, I understand that. And getting thrown off. So how do we ride the tiger? How do we ride the tail of the tiger? That's our practice today. How do we go with the movement of the tiger? The tiger is right there in the circle with us. Anyway, this is kind of an interesting case.

[30:20]

There's a lot of things going on here. Maybe you have some questions? Yes? I was thinking when you read the part about why not, then it sort of came together with an idea about the woman's vow. Why not go ahead is about an exploration of the resistance to do what it is you need to do. Why not pay respects? You might not want to pay your respects if you're arrogant, or if you think that it's because you're supposed to. So bowing like a woman is making a mockery of what you're supposed to do, or could be. Making fun of the form of, you know, this is the way it's supposed to be, or making a reference to submission in some way. That you, you know, why not go ahead?

[31:21]

You might not go ahead because you feel like you're supposed to. And there's always that balance between following the forms and doing what's right here with you. Yeah, I can see that. Yeah, so I think the joke for me is that last line, you know, isn't the road so smooth? It says the road is smooth. Yeah. The road is so smooth. Read it. Right. The road is smooth. Isn't it a smooth road to smoke? Isn't it? Yeah. Yeah, that could also be. That's a joke. Because of all the resistance that comes up to doing, to following the road. Yeah, that's good. Right. Isn't it as slow? Isn't it as smooth road as it's okay? But I think when he says, what an attitude you have, that maybe there was some arrogance coming up about, well, we don't need to see him, you know, we have it all right here.

[32:38]

Well, I think that's there. the young monks thinking that they've got it and they don't need to go any further. That's one interpretation actually. Well, that's another interpretation, because that's also a valid interpretation. Okay, he drew the circle.

[33:54]

He probably drew it with his finger or a stick. The road is dirty. Maybe they only made a half about. He didn't want to get his own face dirty. But the other one sat down. Yeah. So maybe that's also a message. That's a kind of practical consideration. The question of let's go home, I think, is very pertinent to such an issue, and about looking forward. I'd like to talk about that. Because I think if I said, hey everybody, let's go home, it would be a very tempting statement. And when you're sitting here, In other words, is this home? Because part of what you're looking forward to then, when you're sitting here, is your problems at home, or your responsibilities at home.

[35:02]

What you need to go back to, or whatever. Is there a back, is there a forth? I mean, are we home here, or are we home when we're at home? Et cetera. Where is our true home? Is that the point? Where is our true home? has nothing really to do with a place. A true home has nothing to do with any particular place. Because actually this world is the home to no one. This world is not a place that's a true home. There's no place in this world It's a true home. But we try to find, you know, we set up temporary abodes. And we call this home. You know, we rent houses, we buy property, and we say, this is my house.

[36:07]

But actually it's, you know, just a temporary dwelling place. And sometimes I think about old houses. and how many people have lived in one house, how many generations have lived in one dwelling place, and all the dramas that are taking place, and all these people call this my home. But actually they're gone, right? So that can't really be their home. So there's no place to put you to actually call home. But there is a home. So where is our home? Right now, we can say, well, right here is our home, but our home has to be here, not someplace. So that's the point, isn't it? How to feel, how to find our true place.

[37:15]

And then, wherever we are, can be set up, we can make it set up, one kind or another. So, in India, you know, there are a lot of homeless monks. But even then, you know, the monks started congregating in monasteries. And although they wandered half the year, and then they lived in monasteries the other half, And so that's more or less the pattern. But so, you know, we say monks are home leavers, which means that, you know, they leave any kind of dwelling place. They don't have a dwelling place that's permanent. But on the other hand, if you're living somewhere and you have a family,

[38:20]

How do you leave home without leaving home? That's the koan of the layperson. How do you leave home without leaving home? Without going someplace. It doesn't really mean to leave. We can be someplace without being there, but that's not what it means either. I mean, if you're going to be in your home, you shouldn't be absent. You should be present. So how do you leave home while still in your home, without going anywhere? So that's a kind of koan. of practice, actually.

[39:23]

Might they also be at home in the circle there, and even though they're calling it's okay, they're not going anywhere? They're not going there yet. But they're not going anywhere, ultimately, so that... Yeah, ultimately they're not going anywhere, that's right. So isn't it smooth because they're not actually having to do anything? Yes, that's right. Actually, there's no place to go. And even if they go to Sokaid, they haven't gone anywhere. And even if they go back, they haven't gone anywhere. That's true too. I have an idea about that case, what was going on in it. When he sat down in the circle, the first one sat down in the circle, that was like saying, right here, which if he really embodied it would be the true answer, but if he's just taking, if he's just imitating what he's read before, it's just putting on somebody else's head on top of his own.

[40:35]

The second monk, when he curtsies, it's like the nonsense response. It's like nonsense putting on the, I don't know if it was nonsense, but when Putting the shoes on the head. Joshu, putting on the shoes, the sandals on his head. Again, if it's a real response, he embodies it, but if he's just taking an attitude, it's not the real thing. So those are like two possible true answers, but if they're not really embodied, they're just false. So he's saying, both of you are just coming up with pale imitations. It's not enough to make me want to continue. Well, that's another interpretation.

[41:39]

Actually, sitting inside the circle was a kind of unique act at that time. according to our historical knowledge. No one ever did that before. It was never recorded. That was the first one. That was the first one. It's the same guy who cut the cat, isn't it? Yes, and I can later cut the cat in two. But he has the same shtick of saying, say the right word or else. Yes. That's right. That was his thing. Do our historical records say whether they actually went or didn't go? Well, no it doesn't say. What do you think? I can't find it here. What do I think? I think they went, they went Tsoke.

[42:44]

I think they continued on their way. I think they figured all this out and decided to go on their way. There have been a whole range of theories put forward, and you validated all of them. And it's sort of, I really have a hard time getting a hold of what I'm thinking here. But it's something about, well, I could dismiss it by saying, well, who cares? But actually, the other side of that is, So where are we?

[43:53]

Of course. You know, we're having this whole discourse here. And the question is, is this an interesting exchange or is there some burning issue here? Well, what do you think? Well, the more I thought about it, the more urgent it But it's really hard to stay present. It's very hard to stay present because there's ideas, because we like to play with these ideas. Nevertheless, there are various interpretations, and the reason they're all valid is because each one touches on something. about this incident. And you can say, well, this one's right and that one's wrong.

[44:58]

You could say that. But I think that everything that's been said is not just a theory exactly, has also been said by all the commentators. And it just happens that what everyone has said has matched what the commentators have said, that one or another has said. So that's interesting to me that people are gleaning this out of the the story. I wasn't dismissing those, but with each idea, sort of, in a sense, also thinking, what does this

[46:15]

What does this mean to us being here? That's your question. That's my question. Right. Well, what it means to us, to me, is the encouragement to continue practicing being present and going beyond the entanglements of the things that we worry about and our speculations and our desires and our doubts to cut through all of our doubts and speculations and desires and let go of everything and just be present for a little while and to me it's that kind of encouragement.

[47:28]

Well, I encourage you to, all of us, to leave everything behind today and don't think ahead. Just sit in your circle with nonsense. Get into your own circle with nonsense. continue your path to Soke. Even if you go back home, any direction you go, you should sit in your circle, in the center of your circle, wherever you are. That's the point. The point is, wherever you are, take care of the great matter.

[49:27]

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