Today we are going to study the second half of case number 20. But I'll just read through the first part to get us into it, and then we'll discuss the second part. Dizon's Intimacy. I'm going to use the various alternates, so don't get confused. Dizong's nearness and the introduction. I'm going to start with the introduction. The profound talk entering into the deep decides three, decides teasing and grabbing, teasing three and grabbing four. The great way to the capital, Chang'an, goes seven ways across and eight ways up and down.

[01:05]

Suddenly, if you can open your mouth and explain fully, suddenly, open mouth, explain fully, and step decisively. then you can hang your bowl and bag up high and break your staff. But tell me, what kind of person is this? Who is this person? Dizong, here's the case. Dizong asked Fa Yan, where are you going? Or Fa Yan said, Oh, just meandering. Dizong said, what happened on your travels? Faoyan said, I don't know.

[02:07]

Dizong said, not knowing is most intimate. And in the commentary, Yang Wuwei, whose name means doing nothing, Several puns then. Yang Wuwei asked Master Furong, who is Fuyo Dokai, how long has it been since we last met? Furong said, seven years. Mr. Yang said, have you been studying the way? Engrossed in meditation? Furong said, I don't play that fife and drum. Mr. Yang said, then you wander for nothing over mountains and rivers, incapable of anything. Furong said, well, while we haven't been apart for long, you sure can reflect on high. Mr. Yang laughed aloud. Then Nanchuan said, oh no, at a different time, Nanchuan said, the way is not in knowing.

[03:15]

That's the first example. Second example is Nanchuan said, The way is not in knowing or in not knowing. This refers to the essence of the case, not knowing. Knowing is false consciousness. Not knowing is indifference. Now, when people hear it said that not knowing is most intimate and that this is where Fayen was enlightened, they immediately go over to just not knowing, not understanding, just this is it. they hardly realize that a phrase of the ancients covers everywhere, like the sky supports everywhere, like the earth. If not knowing is most intimate, then what about Ha-Zah's saying, the one word knowing is the gate of myriad wonders. Just affirm totally when affirming, but don't settle down in affirmation.

[04:19]

Deny totally when denied, but don't settle down in denial. Passing through all the five ranks of Tozan, absolute and relative, how could you die under a phrase? But this enlightenment of Fayan's, too, just spontaneously creates a pattern. Master Da Yin of Boshan said, he is still making a fortune out of a disaster. In Di Zang's method of guiding people, the hook is in an unsuspected place. Suddenly he gives a yank, and Fa Yan has a powerful insight. After all, it was right to begin with, or it has been all along been there. Old Master, and there's another example, Old Master Si Zhao said, in walking, in sitting, just hold to the moment. before thought arises, if you try to sneak a look, you won't see it.

[05:26]

That's like, look into it and you'll see not seen. And then put it to one side. When you direct your effort like this, rest does not interfere with meditation study. Meditation study does not interfere with rest or with activity. And then, another, Master Tu Zhi Qing said, once the golden dragon loses the water, the giant Garuda, the wondrous wings bird, quickly picks it up. Di Zong's timing of cause and conditions has not a thread of gap. There is a tongue on Tian Tong's brush to reiterate. Now when he says, there is a tongue on Tian Tong's brush, he means, now we're going to look at Tian Tong's verse. The verse, where it says verse, that's the verse of Master Tian Tong.

[06:30]

So he says, there is a tongue on Tian Tong's brush. To reiterate, it means Tian Tong is going to give us a verse to sum up the case. That's what that means. And that's the verse that has eight lines. And each one of those eight lines is commented on in the commentary. That's what follows. You follow me? I want to make sure that everybody understands what's going on because this gets a little complex. And people say, what's going on here? So I want to make sure that everybody understands. If you don't understand, say, I don't understand, and be embarrassed. OK. Everybody understands. So do you have any questions from the preceding?

[07:40]

Is there anything important about the dragon and the bird Well, a Garuda is supposed to be able to take on a dragon. And if you look, if you have the book, and in the back of the book, some of these cases have a little commentary on them. And the one that says 20, It's on page 435 in the book, if you have one. It says, Garuda bird, a dragon eating bird. Symbolizing a highly discerning and able teachers picking out a capable disciple and also liberating the disciple from the most subtle attachments to states of realization. That's his commentary.

[08:45]

So in here, Master Tzu Ching said, once the golden dragon loses the water, you know, the dragon's realm is the water. And The tiger's realm is the mountain and the dragon's realm is the water. And once he loses that water, strays from the water, the giant Garuda bird quickly picks it up. So, in other words, I'm not sure about his commentary, but it's like, once you leave the place where you're, of your, you know, reality, it's easy for the Garuda bird to pick you up, you know. But yeah, and here, Dizong's asking the question, right? And so it doesn't mean that he's strayed, you know, but it's alluding to the teacher, the Garuda bird,

[10:06]

just doing the right thing at the right moment with the disciple. So, the disciple is the dragon, and the teacher is the Garuda bird. The teacher lures him out of the water. I mean, he gets him to talk, and then he... Yeah, he gives him a little bait. The dragon comes out, So it's not literally this way, but you get the picture. So Dizang's timing of causes and conditions, just the right time at the right place, had not a thread of a gap. So his introduction to Tian Tong's verse, right after that, he says, there is a tongue on Tian Tong's brush, to reiterate, So here's Tian Tong's verse.

[11:11]

He says, now, having studied to the full, it's like before, meaning ancient times. And the second line is, having shed entirely the finest thread, he reaches the ultimate, or not knowing. Let it be short. Let it be long. Stop cutting and patching. In other words, leave things alone. Don't try and fix it up. Things are the way they are. Don't try and fix them up. Don't mess with it. Going along with the high, along with the low, it levels itself. things have a way of balancing out. The abundance or scarcity of the house is used according to the occasion.

[12:19]

If you have a lot, if you have something in abundance, use it in abundance. If you have something you don't have much, use it accordingly. It has the feeling of, there's no law that covers everything. You have to use things according to times and circumstances and quantity. Roaming serenely in the land, he goes where his feet takes him. That's his fayans meandering. The purpose of 30 years A pilgrimage. It says 10 years, but Quan Lam says it's really 30 years of meandering. That's a lifetime. I hope not. The purpose of 30 years of meandering, clearly,

[13:35]

He's turned his back on one pair of eyebrows. That will come out in the commentary. The meaning of that. The eyebrows. At the end of the commentary we'll find out about the eyebrows. So here's the commentary. The commentary on line number one. which is now having studied to the full, it's like before, like the past, the source mirror says, hitherto deluded about enlightenment, seeming deluded, now awakened from delusion, it's not enlightenment. Therefore it is said, after complete enlightenment, One again is the same as someone who is not yet enlightened.

[14:42]

When Dizan asked the question, he wanted to know the reason for Fayan setting out. He wanted to know, where did you go? What did you do? Why did you do this? In Fayan's answer, he is not modestly deferring. He is not modestly deferring either. Dizang then took advantage of the opportunity and all at once said, not knowing is nearest. Fayan was greatly enlightened in that actually this not knowing is the nearest or the most intimate. So I'll go back over that. Yes, can you hear?

[15:56]

I'll explain that. I'm going back over it. The source mirror says, hitherto deluded about enlightenment, seeming, this is a funny way of expressing, seeming deluded. And I have a little bit of a hard time between deluded about enlightenment, seeming deluded. It's a little strange. What does he say there? I don't know. But it doesn't matter so much with that, because the rest is fairly clear. Now awakened from delusion, it's not enlightenment. Therefore it is said, after complete enlightenment, one again is the same as someone who is not yet enlightened. So this kind of phrase is like when Sagan said,

[17:03]

Before enlightenment, mountains are just mountains and waters are just waters. When you see a mountain, it's just a mountain. When you see a river, it's just a river. But when one is in the process of practice, mountains are no longer mountains. Rivers are no longer rivers. This is enlightenment. After enlightenment, mountains are just mountains. Rivers are just rivers. Everything is just the way it was before, except, not exactly. Everything is the same before, but there's a difference. Then you really see what a mountain really is, and you see what a river really is. He says, hitherto deluded about enlightenment, seeming deluded, now awakened from delusion, it's not enlightenment.

[18:12]

Therefore, he said, after complete enlightenment, one again is the same as someone who is not enlightened, just ordinary. When one has great enlightenment, then one is just like an ordinary person. You can't tell. In other words, the practice of great enlightenment is to just be an ordinary person. Act like an ordinary person. And Charlie? What is the meaning of this fucking source mirror? Well, the source mirror is a text. in the source mirror that this text says. One way of translating those two lines would be, all along, delusion looks or seems like delusion.

[19:23]

Today, enlightenment, I mean, today, awakening, is not awakening. That's another way of translating it. All along, delusion seems or looks like delusion. Delusion looks like delusion. Yeah. And today, awakened. Awakened. It's not real awakening. It's not real awakened, yeah. Uh-huh. Right. Now, awakened is not real awakened. it's not right therefore it is said after complete but it doesn't really mean it's not real awakening today of realizing the delusion is not awakening or unlinked enlightenment okay I see right it's the same word enlightenment and realizing it's the same word realization in

[20:37]

So, however that is construed, the last part is pretty clear. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether the author is saying something straight or coming from left field, or saying something that means the opposite of what he's saying, which is often the case. And if you look at the context, you can usually tell that sometimes it's, oh, this deluded fool, meaning an enlightened person. So you have to kind of have a feel for it, for what the author is saying in reality, and not just latched onto the words literally. Sometimes literally true, but mostly it's not.

[21:51]

Mostly... Yes? Why does the author sometimes come from left field? I don't mean come from left field. What I meant by come from left field is say something obtusely. Always saying something obtusely. Why? Because saying something directly doesn't hit the mark. You know? When you talk about Buddhism, if you read the text, it's mostly talking in the negative. Not this, not that. And if you say something in the positive, then it freezes it, or it makes an object of it. So whenever you talk in this way, you always have to say something without actually creating something you can grasp. So sometimes you say the opposite of what you mean. And sometimes you have to say something in a way that's not dualistic.

[22:54]

So if you start talking in positive tones directly, then it's dualistic. So all the language here is meant to be non-dualistic. And so that's why You know, if it was straightforward, you know, you'd just read it. You wouldn't have to think about it, you know. But here, it's all non-dualistic language, which makes it... You have to open your mind to get the essence, and forget about the words. The words are just to open your mind. They're not to be clung to, or hung on, or... cherished. So that's the important thing to remember. Nothing is straightforward here. It's like a boat. There are no straight lines.

[23:56]

A building is built like this, but a boat is built like this. Nothing is straight. No straight lines. So you kind of have to go through it little by little. And there's a kind of a cumulative effect. And sometimes you get to the end and you forget what the case is about. You have to keep always referring to what the case is about. So here, not knowing is most intimate. And everything refers to that. Although some things refer to each other. Some commentaries refer to each other. But still, the whole thing is referring to this. So, this verse, all the lines of this verse are actually referring to the case.

[24:58]

You have to remember that. They're all referring to what happened. So right now we're on the first line of the verse. And so Master Wansong is commenting on Tian Tong's verse. And the first line is, now having studied to the full, it's just like the ancients. And then Master Tian Tong is saying, well, the source mirror says, this is a comment on the first line. Hitherto deluded about enlightenment, seeming deluded. It's a funny translation. But if you now awaken from delusion, it's not enlightenment. Well, you know, awakening from delusion is enlightenment, isn't it? It's saying the opposite. We know that when you wake from delusion, it's enlightenment.

[26:01]

That's straightforward. But he's saying it's not. So what does he mean by that? Why is he saying it's not? In order to open your mind to non-duality. It's like in the Sando Kai, just to see that everything is one is not yet enlightenment. I think it has that feeling. And I don't know if therefore is the right word, but it is said, after complete enlightenment, one is again the same as someone who is not enlightened. See? So, it doesn't mean it's not enlightened, even though it says that. It means this.

[27:03]

That's why he has a line after that. The reason he has a line after, not awakened from delusion is not enlightenment, is to explain it a little more, or comment a little more. Therefore, it is said, after complete enlightenment, one is again the same as someone who is not yet enlightened. It's not they're not enlightened, it's they seem that they're not enlightened. someone who is truly enlightened doesn't seem like someone who is enlightened. It doesn't seem like to fit your idea of someone who is enlightened. You know, like when Darshan went to visit Lungtang and Dushan, you know, was full of himself. He knew all about the Diamond Sutra.

[28:06]

You know, he was a great commentator on the Diamond Sutra. He read all the commentaries and knew them all by heart. And when he went up to visit Lungtan, Lungtan means deep pool, dragon pool, dragon pond. And he just saw this little old man, you know, Ordinary old man, he says, I didn't see any dragon pond here. That was his comment when he saw Lungtang. I didn't. He was just an ordinary little old man. But Lungtang quickly enlightened him. So kind of an example. People expect that a Zen master will be very fierce, like Master Rinzai or something, or Dasha.

[29:12]

They were very fierce. But that's just one type of person. Zen teachers come in all different sizes and shapes. all shapes and sizes, so you can't say, they should be like this, or they should be like that, or I expect it and look what I got. So, when Dizan asked the question, he wanted to know the reason for Fayan sitting out. In Fayan's answer, he is not being modest. No, he's just being himself. So Dizong then took advantage of the opportunity. And although one said, not knowing is nearest, and Fayang is greatly enlightened, that actually not knowing is most intimate.

[30:20]

So the next line. refers to the second line of the poem, which is, having shed entirely the finest thread, he reaches not knowing, or the ultimate. So Linji asked Luopu. Linji is Master Rinzai, right? Linji asked Luopu. Here's an example. Where do you come from? And Luopu said, from Luon City. And Linji said, there's something that I would ask about. May I? And Luopu said, I don't understand. Linji said, even searching throughout the whole of China, it's hard to find someone who doesn't understand. Usually, you want to find somebody who does understand.

[31:29]

Lin Chi always used the killing sword, and he also had the sword to give life. This is a two-edged sword, a Manjushri sword. It cuts off life and cuts on life. It cuts off the entanglements and brings everything to life. He also had the sword to give life, but was not comparable to Di Zang's seeing blood when he killed people. Killing people means, you know, not really killing them, right? So he's making a kind of exaggeration and saying even Rinzai's doing this was not comparable to Di Zang's doing this. So Lin Chi always used the killing sword, and he also had the sword to give life, but was not comparable to Di Zang seeing blood when he killed people, doing his utmost to help them.

[32:45]

This I don't know, don't understand is entirely transcendent. It's not the ordinary, I don't know, I don't understand. It's the transcendent, I don't know, I don't understand. You must be utterly free from the minutest obstacles before you will reach the point of not knowing and not understanding. What are obstacles? What does he mean by? You must be free of the minutest obstacles before you can get to the place of not knowing and not understanding. Discriminating mind. That's a big one. That's not discriminating mind. Three poisons.

[33:48]

Attachment to realization. Attachment to realization. There's so many obstacles, you know, we can make to sit on by thinking of Obstacles, but... Self-concept. Self-concept. Concept of self and other... They all really boil down to discriminating mind, as Greg said. All attachments. Yes. All attachments. All attachments, yes. So, number four, actually, line four is... commented on before line three.

[34:57]

And line four says, going along with the high, along with the low, it levels itself. So once, when Guishan had requested everyone to work the fields, there Yangshan asked. Yangshan is Guishan's disciple. And together they were the school that's named after both of them, the Guiyang School in China, one of the five schools of them. And Guishan was very famous, and Yangshan was very famous too. And they were always together, and a lot of the stories about them are about their conversation. So once when Guishan had requested everyone to work the fields, there, Yangshan asked Here is so low, and up there is so high. And Guishan said, water can level things.

[35:59]

Just level the water. Yangshan said, even water has nothing to depend on. Teacher, the high places are just high level, and the low places are just low level. And Guishan said, so it is. What about that? What's going on there? What are they talking about? Things aren't just what they are. What? Things are just what they are. Things are just what they are. So what? I mean, you know. When you're growing rice, you'd like to have a level of honey, a pedicure. So you really want a level ground.

[37:04]

Just go with the flow? Just go with the flow of the water? Just go with how things are? Going slow? No, going with the flow. Going with the flow of the water. Well, You know, maybe, but we want to adjust things, right? Don't we want to kind of adjust things in order to get them right? You know, if there's too much of this and too little of that, or this is up there and that's down here, don't we kind of want to adjust? I think it just has to do with adjusting. And the whole case seems to be about accommodating to things. The gist of the case seems about accommodating to things rather than accommodating things to us.

[38:09]

Rather than adjusting or fixing. Do we need to fix it? In our world, When we want to build something, we take a bulldozer and level everything. And it's possible to go into the forest or the mountains and just work with the mountain, work with the forest, so that you don't intrude, but you create something in harmony without disturbing so much. It seems like you're saying that we're trying to be non-discriminating. The things that are external to us, like the mountains and the rivers, don't try to level things you see, and yet don't make discrimination.

[39:14]

Yes, there's a story in the Surangama Sutra about a I don't know whether you'd call him a monk or what, but in the time of Kasyapa Buddha, this follower of the way, when he saw Kasyapa Buddha coming, he, let me think about this, oh yeah, he wanted to level all the roads. so that, you know, to make a path, a smooth path for Kasyapa Buddha as he came along, you know. So he got out there with his shovel or whatever he used, you know, and started leveling the road, you know, and making everything smooth. And when Kasyapa Buddha came by, we thanked him for doing that, but he said, rather than leveling the road, why don't you just level your mind?

[40:25]

That's a paraphrase. But it's pretty close. So I'll read that again. Once when Guishan had requested everyone, they used to work in the fields a lot, and a lot of their talk comes from their interaction in the fields. Once when Guishan had requested everyone to work the fields, while he was there, Yangshan asked, over here is low, and over there is high. Guishan said, water can level things. Just level them with water, whatever that means. It could mean various things, but water finds its own level. Or, what do you think that means? Yes?

[41:32]

I think that it's a reference to, like if you have a field that tilts on a slope, if you flood it, perhaps, the sediment will distribute. It will level, yeah, the water will get things leveled. Yes. And also, it's like using, kind of utilitarian, using something Take the form of the container, but it also shapes things. I was thinking of the absolute and the relative, and that water is like the absolute here, and Guishan was saying the absolute will take care of everything, it will level everything out, and the student said,

[42:51]

But no, there's high and low, so there's discrimination. The relative is there, and it's the absolute taking the form of high and low. You can't dispute, it's there. But yet, water does level things. Yeah. So, even water, that's right. So water can level things, just level them with water. Yangshan said, even water has nothing to depend on. even emptiness has nothing to depend on. To me that means, or it seems to mean that even water has nothing to depend on. You don't have to put just a little bit of water on the high spots and a lot of water on the low spots in order to get it leveled. The high spots and the low spots are still there, nevertheless the water They do exist at the same time.

[44:03]

Water also doesn't have certain parameters it moves with. It doesn't go straight. If you send water down a hillside or in a field, that you'll have different highs and lows, but in its own way it found Well, water, when it's not being used in some way, always goes to the lowest spot. Jesse? Yeah. I think that a lot of times when we hear about things depending on something in these writings, it's like the opposite of what some sense, I get the sense in a lot of these writings that by what we say, all Buddhas depend on Prajna Paramita.

[45:15]

I think that sort of means there's a foundation which is true, or in some sense, or it's a real foundation. And I think that when he says water has nothing to depend on, I think it's sort of saying that, well, you can always find a way The approach is not to find some way to make everything the same. The approach is to be reconciled to higher love. Not to make everything the same, but to appreciate things the way they are. Right. Because every way of leveling has no true basis.

[46:16]

Yeah. Well, the commentary keeps going on about this. David, did you? Sorry, I was off-mic. That was before. It seems to me that it's form and emptiness that he's talking about. Well, yeah. It's always form and emptiness. So yeah, it says, teacher, the high places are just high level, the low places are just low level. And Guixiang said, so it is. So then the third line, which is, it says, let it be short, let it be long. Stop cutting and patching, or it is what it is. So, In Zheng Zhao's treatise was the Indian scholar who actually translated, finally translated the Indian sutras into Chinese.

[47:38]

And Zheng Chao was his disciple who was very famous. And Zheng Chao wrote a treatise called Prajna is Not Knowledge. He wrote a lot of things, but this very famous treatise called Prajna is Not Knowledge. You could say Prajna is not knowing. So this is related. It says wisdom has no knowledge, which is the same thing. In Tsingtao's treatise, Prajna is not knowledge, wisdom is no knowing. It says, the non-difference of things doesn't mean that you add to a duck's legs and cut a crane's legs, level mountains to fill valleys, thereafter considering them no different. In other words, if you want to see everything's equality, you don't chop off the tail of the nose in order to make everything fit with everything else.

[48:54]

You don't, you know, if you want to make all, if you have ducks of different sizes, you don't put them together and chop off the noses and tails of the lions to make them all equally the same size. They're equal as they are. An elephant is equal to a mouse. But an elephant big, according to our way of looking at things. An elephant small, according to our way of looking at things. But elephants aren't big and mice aren't small. It's just a way of looking at things. And a way of differentiating and discriminating. So mice and elephants are equal. All have equal, great equality, without making them the same size or shape. And all things are like that.

[49:59]

So in the great equality, understanding of great equality, everything is equal, even though everything is different and hierarchical. And we'll talk about hierarchy in the eighth line. But right now, on the third line, in Zheng Chao's treatise, Wisdom Has No Knowledge, it says, the non-difference of all things It doesn't mean that you add a duck's legs and cut a crane's legs in order to make them equal. Level mountains to fill valleys, therefore considering them no different. Thus it says, let it be long, stop cutting and patching. Going along with the high, along with the low, it levels itself. Levels itself means everything is equal and different. So, Zong Wu Jin said myriad kinds of preparations are a waste of time.

[51:19]

In other words, you can plan and plot and prepare and it's a waste of time. Just go along with it. Why trouble yourself? seems to be saying, you know, why do anything? But this is an extreme... this is to make a point, right? It doesn't mean not to plan, or not to, you know, think about things. It doesn't really mean that. But it means, ultimately, find a way, find a way to go along with things, instead of trying to make everything conform to your idea. doing things without a specific goal. Doing things, not so much without a specific goal, but doing things without a self-centered goal.

[52:22]

Things can be specific, you know, and they can be worked. You know, you work the fields, right? Although it's not necessary. It's also possible to just throw out the seeds and let everything come up. When I was studying organic gardening in the 70s, I used to read these organic gardening magazines a lot, and there were famous people that appear in them, gardeners, and there was this one woman, I can't remember her name, but she was an old lady, and she had this garden that was just wild. She never dug in it at all. And she never dug her water, she didn't do anything. But she grew, she let things grow wild, and she threw out seeds, and she knew exactly what she was doing, but it was all intuition. And she had the most wonderful garden, because there was something about the interplay of the plants, and the homogeneous way that they were all growing together.

[53:36]

that they protected each other and enhanced each other and fathered and mothered each other so that everything grew well. And the shaded plants, the things that need to be shaded, and the toxic plants warded off the bugs. And everything was protecting everything else. It was a wonderful environment. And she just lived in this environment, you know, and was part of it. She was very famous. I can't remember her name. Miss Molly something. It was great. So myriad kinds of preparations are a waste of time. and live there. Flower children, you know.

[54:37]

So does it also mean that the babbling breath carries along asking, is that so? Is that so? Yeah, is that so? Is that so? So, line number five, going along with the abundance or scarcity of the house is according to the situation. He says the abundance or scarcity of the house is used according to the situation. You can also say going along with everything. Going along or adapting to everything becomes a fine skill.

[55:48]

Thus, one speaks freely and acts freely, goes where their legs go. In the spring moon, the flowers bloom. In the autumn, the leaves fall. If you can understand it this way, what donkey legs would you move? Donkey legs, horses and donkeys are used in literature. would you do? And then this is line six.

[56:51]

Roaming serenely in the land, he goes where his feet take him. This is Fayan's Neanderthal. Adapting to everything because he Well, I'll start with five. Adapting to everything becomes a fine skill. Thus, one speaks freely and acts freely, goes where his legs go. In the spring moon, the flowers bloom. In the autumn, the leaves fall. If you can understand it this way, what donkey legs would you move? This is why Xuanzang did not leave the mountain. Baoshu did not cross the river. Without going outside the gate, they knew everything in the world. Did you read about this in Scotland or Ireland? Someone showed me this article in a magazine where this shepherd, I think he's in Scotland, and he's just out there on the grass.

[57:53]

And he never goes to town, but he's a pixie-ish looking guy. And he predicts all kinds of things that are happening in the world. And yet, he really doesn't have any contact with the world. But all the things he says seem to be happening. It's kind of interesting. So, this is why Xuanzang didn't leave the mountains and Baoshu didn't cross the river. And without going outside the gate, they knew everything. There was to know. So then he presents Jiao Shan's verse, which is commentary to line number seven. The purpose of 30 years of meandering.

[58:55]

And Jiao Shan's verse said, one face big as a slat, whatever a slat is. Maybe a picture, a platter. Eye, ear, nose, tongue, distinguish territories. Inside the skull, no knowledge at all. I leave to you the outside. How could you Hoke up wonders. Hoke means hokey. Artificial or hokey. So one face big as a platter. Eye, ear, nose, tongue distinguish territories. That means the eye sees.

[60:04]

and distinguishes the territory distinguished by sight. Ears hear and distinguish the territory heard. And touch feels and distinguishes the territory felt. But actually, it's all one thing. It's just that the different senses distinguish their fields according to their function. But what they see, hear, and touch is the same thing. And, you know, we say there are six sense fields. Five senses and the mind, discriminating mind. And we say five consciousnesses and a sixth consciousness. And the five consciousnesses are the sense consciousnesses, seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling.

[61:20]

Those are five sense consciousnesses. And the sixth, mind consciousness discriminates between the fields of the senses. So basically, what is taken in through the eye is discriminated by mind consciousness and says, I see the floor. or I hear the bird, or I feel my knee. But this is discriminating consciousness and makes a separation between these sensory perceptions. But actually, They're all the same.

[62:23]

They're just viewed in a different way. The same thing is viewed in just different ways. So, Master Tozan says, only when you can see with the ear and hear with the eye, will you understand it. Meaning, when you understand that seeing and hearing are just ways of discriminating, same thing. And it all takes place in the mind. The discrimination takes place in the mind. So, this is how we divide the world. And then the seventh consciousness divides the ideas. and creates ideas about it. And it's called the ego consciousness, which creates a self out of this discrimination.

[63:32]

And then the eighth consciousness is the storehouse of all of our concepts and actions and memory. And all these eight consciousnesses are transformed in enlightenment to wisdoms. The Mirror Wisdom. The Eighth Consciousness becomes the Mirror Wisdom, which sees everything as it is. And the Seventh Consciousness becomes the Wisdom of Equality, which sees everything the same. It sees the sameness of all things. And then mind consciousness becomes the wisdom of discernment, which sees everything, recognizes the difference between all things.

[64:41]

All things are the same, all things are completely different. The five senses, consciousnesses, become the wisdom of enlightened activity. So, when we are able to see in a non-discriminating way, then we understand the world of discrimination. We know how to act in a correct way in a discriminating world. So, he says, eye, ear, nose, tongue, distinguish territories. Their sense field. Inside the skull, no knowledge at all. I leave to you the outside.

[65:57]

How can you... I don't know exactly what he's saying there, but... One way it could be. Listening to you grabbing weird things on the outside. Yeah. Grabbing weird things on the outside. So, and then the eighth line says, the poem says, clearly he turned his back on one pair of eyebrows. Whatever that means. Let's see what it means. Mouth asked nose. Eating is up to me and speaking is up to me, right? What good are you, that you are above me?

[66:57]

How come you're above me? You know, I can speak. What are you doing? How come you're up there? You know? How come you're above me? And Noah said, among the five mountains, one, two, three, four. No. No. Well, there are five mountains in China. Five famous mountains in China. That's what it's referring to. Where the famous monasteries were. Among the five mountains, the central one occupies the honor position. Nose then asked eyes, Why are you above me? And I said, we are like the sun and the moon, sun and the moon. Truly, we have the accomplishment of illumination and reflection. We dare ask eyebrows, what virtue do they have above us?

[68:04]

Eyebrows said, we really have no merit. We are ashamed to be in the higher position. If you let us below, let the eyes look from above. What face holds are you? Is that right? What face holds are you? So, Bao Yue, Ming, and the Chan master said in a lecture, an ancient said, in the eyes it's called seeing, in the ears it's called hearing. But tell me, in the eyebrows, what is it called? In sorrows, we grieve together. In happiness, we rejoice together. That's a nice line.

[69:07]

But, hey, you know, everything has its function. Even though something is higher and something is lower, we all have our function. And without one, the other doesn't work. And when one Grief, we all grieve, meaning the way that one goes, we all go. When one is happy, we're all happy. That is, everything is affecting everything else. Even though someone has a high position, something has a low position, there's no high and low. Everything is in its right position, and everything is equal to everything else. When I go to Tassajara, I always give this preliminary talk. My first talk is always about how everyone is equal, even though everyone has a different position. Some people have been there for 30 years, been around for 30 years.

[70:16]

Some people have been around for two years. someone is the abbot, someone is general labor. But yet, if you really take on your position, from your position, if you relate to everyone from your position, then each one of us is actually driving the practice. and receiving the practice. And no matter what position you have, it's the same. It's all equal. As long as you're doing it to the best of your ability. This is complete equality. Even though one is high, one is low. So to speak. Even though everyone has different function.

[71:19]

And in your body, same thing. You may think that one part is superior to another, but actually, they're all working together. And you feel best when all the parts are working together harmoniously, because it's all in peace. So in sorrow we grieve together, in happiness we rejoice together. Everybody knows the useful function, but they don't know the useless great function. That's a really great line. They don't know the useless great function. But tell me, what was the meaning of venerable Pindola's brushing his eyebrows with both hands?

[72:28]

Pindola was one of the Buddha's disciples, one of the 16 arhats. And there is a commentary on that. He makes a little comment on that in the back of the book, where he says, Pindola brushing his eyebrows with both hands. Pindola was an arhat with white hair and long eyebrows. He must have very long eyebrows. I think you see him pictured, you know, with these long drooping eyebrows. And King Prasenajit once asked him, I've heard that you personally saw the Buddha. Is that true? And Pindola showed him by holding up his eyebrows with his hands. So that seems to be the reference here. But tell me, what was the meaning of Venerable Pendulous brushing his eyebrows with both hands?

[73:33]

And Wansong brushed his eyebrows and said, meow. Meow. Well, you said you would. I did? Yes, you said, we'll get to the eyebrows later. I didn't say I would explain them. Oh, so we're on them. I thank Juan Long for that last one, because saying cat doesn't mean anything. You have to express the cat's meow. And then we come to the added sayings.

[74:35]

Now, the added sayings are about the case. They're not about the commentary. The case, di zang as fa yan, where are you going? And that is the first line of the added sayings, the case. And so the commentary by Wong-Song is, why frame the man? Frame means like, you know, a frame-up. You know, you want to put somebody in jail, so you frame them? Mostly because you're trying to find a position for it. Well, here, Kwan-Lam says it's framing, like a set-up. Jin Zhang asked, where are you going? Why frame the man? So, and then Fa Yuan said, around on pilgrimage.

[75:38]

Well, meandering, ran meandering around. And then the comment is, he goes looking for money to buy sandals. That's a kind of funny comment. But, you know, when We say when a monk goes on wandering around, they take their sandals with them, you know, put on their sandals and go wandering. So putting on sandals is a metaphor for wandering. It seems like the looking for money to buy the sandals, you wouldn't need the sandals if you weren't wandering, so it's completely purposeless. Because you're going out. Purposeless. It's like using up your sandals to go around getting money to get new sandals.

[76:39]

Did you say that these added sayings were from Wansau? Yes. Wansong is the guy who actually wrote, collected the... See, originally, Tian Tong had the verses. This is how I understand it. Originally, the verses were from Tian Tong, not the verses on the case. So Tian Tong wrote the verses on the case. And then Wansong came along and introduced the case wrote a commentary, his own commentary on the case, and then wrote his own commentary on Tian Tong's verse. Okay? Is that clear? Yes, sir. I think they are written down by his disciples from his lectures. These are Wansong's commentaries, but he didn't write them.

[77:48]

His disciple wrote them. Yeah. But they are Wansong's commentaries. And then Wansong is making further comments. See? And that's what the further, the added sayings are. Just further little comments. Just, oh, by the way, you know. is something else I can say about it, which is kind of sometimes humorous, you know, little quips. So, Fa Yan said, I don't know. I don't know. Well, why didn't he say so earlier? And then Di Zong said, not knowing is most intimate. he goes right up and bumps them off. So it's kind of cute, you know, kind of putting some humor, humorous sayings into it.

[78:49]

So it's not all completely serious. Kind of nice and humorous, you know. So then they added sayings to the verse, to Tian Tong's verse. Not having studied to the full, it's like in the past, I'm like the people of the past, but not one of the people. Not one of the people. I'm like the people of the past, but I'm not one of the people of the past. That's what he's saying. I'm like the people of yore, but not one of the people of yore. And then, having shed entirely the finest thread, he reaches, not knowing. Is that it? Is there still this? That it?

[79:50]

That all? Let it be short or long. Stop cutting and patching. A wasted effort. Going along with high and low, it levels itself. Don't bother to exert your mind. Let it level itself. The abundance or scarcity of the house is used according to the occasion. Can't lack salt and vinegar. My feeling is that if this is correct, Is that correct? Yes, that's correct. At your table, you have salt and vinegar. And if you get something, some plain dish, you put some salt and vinegar on it.

[80:55]

If you get some wonderful dish, you put some salt and vinegar on it. So you have the salt and the vinegar. You know, you have a way to respond. but whatever comes just kind of passes through and you, you know, that's what you meet it with. You meet it with your salt and your vinegar or your knife and your fork or whatever, chopstick. Roaming serenely in the land, he goes where his feet take him. If you want to go, go. Then the last line, 30 years of travel, even though it's the purpose of 10 years of pilgrimage, literally it's 30 years of travel. Inconceivable. Clearly, he turned his back on one pair of eyebrows. As before, they're above the eyes.

[81:58]

Well, this seems to be, clearly he turned his back, It's kind of like disregarding or unfriendly behavior. Clearly he's disregarding or turning away from her. Like a child who doesn't want to obey his parents or wants to, you know, revolt a little bit, right? So, clearly he'd turn away or disregard one pair of eyebrows. And then the comment is, as before, they're above the eyes. In other words,

[83:02]

They're just where they're supposed to be. Right? In the case, the last line was omitted by the query about Fai Lian and his sudden enlightenment. Right. And the comment to that was, the money for his journey is at Or maybe it doesn't need to go anywhere because it doesn't mind it.

[84:06]

So what is it? The money. It doesn't need the money. It's in danger. So not knowing is most intimate. It's a very nice case. I like this case a lot. It's not so complex or difficult to grasp intellectually, but not so easy to put into practice. Next week, we'll do case number 17. And Ross wants to talk about it.

[85:08]

Well, I mentioned it earlier, that we're up to late Congress.

[85:13]

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