It is of the most importance for men to stop creating senseless world according to karmic lines produced by the preceding. This is the meaning of vow which the Bodhisattva practice constantly, forever, for the sake of saving all sentient beings.

[01:02]

But actually, as I mentioned yesterday, this vow is not superficial, it is not superficial idea, artificial idea, fantastic idea, not fantastic idea, which we are imagining in our mind. The vow is not something which is something like a hallucination, which you will be playing

[02:12]

a game with it, by doing something, by praying to God, to Buddha. The vow is the actual way of life, not out of relation to our daily lives. If so, how to put it, how to make it, how to make it practical use in our daily life. Then, yesterday, I said, if you have a vow, the vow enables men to stop creating the

[03:34]

senseless world immediately and turn yourself, turn himself into a new leaf. If so, then how to make it into, how to put it into practical use. Then, whoever you are, as long as you are born in this world as one of human beings, this is great fact, but you cannot escape it. Then also Buddha says, all of us, Bodhisattva. If so, Buddha, Buddha shows, Buddha leaves a proof that all sentient beings of Buddha,

[04:42]

all of us, are Bodhisattvas. And also Bodhisattvas live in vows, which stop immediately repealing senseless life, according to the karma. Then, so, how to accept this vow in our daily life. Then, yesterday I mentioned, vow is, how to, the vow is that we make every effort, make unflinching effort to bend your life, your life, on being, on being in touch with

[05:45]

the true nature of your own, the true nature of all sentient beings in the earth, the truth. Not with your head, with your whole body and mind. This is vow. But as long as unfortunately we have mind, so mind think immediately of something, or what vow. What, to say what, you ask what vow is. To say what, this is vow which is shown on the stage of puppet show. You say what vow is, or that vow. Usually you see the vow, you see the vow on the stage of puppet show. Then someone says vow is something like this.

[06:48]

Someone says vow is to chant, to repeat chanting the Buddha's name, like Amitabha, but this is vow. Is it all right? Someone says yes, it is vow. Okay, this is vow, wonderful. Then someone says, oh, it's not a vow. It's not vow. You say this is vow, if you hear something, this is vow. You say, oh, that's vow, I understand. Then, let's go. Let's go to get, grab this vow. But someone says, oh, it's not a vow. Then, oh, I don't like that vow. Then you try to escape from this vow. Always you are escaping or chasing after, escaping or chasing after. Then, all your life is always going round and round.

[07:52]

Sometimes you are very happy. Wow, wonderful vow. If you practice Zazen, the first experience is, I think, very good for you. Because you have experienced wonderful things which you have never experienced before. How good Zazen is. You are very excited. But this Zazen is also something shown on the stage of the practitioner. The more you practice Zazen, the more you find nothing to get. Then you discourage. The vow is not something like that. If you see, if you are delighted in watching something on the stage of the practitioner,

[09:06]

I think you, everybody enjoy watching the show on the stage of the practitioner. I think. But on the show, on the stage of the puppet show, is always change, moment after moment. It looks like a candy. It's candy, big candy or small candy or tiny candy. Sometimes bitter candy. If you are poor, wealthy, healthy, or sickness, or modern medical treatment, or Chinese medical treatment, you always enjoy watching the TV. Chinese philosophy or Buddhist philosophy or Christian philosophy.

[10:13]

You can't, you can't never, you can't never stop, you know, repeating the sincerest word. According to the karmic, karma produced by the preceding. Then if, if it is true, if it is true that all of us are Bodhisattva, by living, by living the truth, according to the Buddha's teachings, and also Buddha, the Bodhisattva living vow, which completely stops repeating the sincerest word according to the karma.

[11:25]

What should I do right now? Then I said, the vow is to bend our life, our life. Whatever you say, you are Bodhisattva or you are Buddha or you are human being, you are American, you are Chinese, you are Japanese, it's okay. The vow is to bend your life to being, to being in touch with the truth, with your body and mind, in the reality of the present, before you, you are delighted in watching the something on the stage of perfection.

[12:28]

This is vow, this is vow. It seems pretty difficult, but it seems pretty simple. Your head make it confused, that's all. Then, for instance, the important, concretely speaking, to take vow is to stand upright on the earth, on your foot, in the reality of the present. At any cost, you have to stand upright.

[13:43]

As long as you are here, you have been in Tascara for the purpose of practicing Zazen. I think the purpose of your practice is to want to try to stand upright on your foot, on this earth. That's why you came here, I think so. This is, anyway, you come here is to stand up here, upright. Then you sit on your round cushion, a square cushion. This is Tana. But sometimes you think you show something on the stage of perfection. Oh, what Zazen is? A little bit like this. Then, if you are experiencing very excellent, good experience, which you have never experienced before,

[15:01]

you will very enjoy, wow, wonderful, like this. The more you practice Zazen, the more you realize nothing to get. What's the matter with you? Then, during Zazen, you always seriously practice Zazen, controlling your mind, your breath. Then you happen suddenly to listen to the sound. What? Like this. Next moment, the big sound of a big bell. What's the sound? This. Always, you are standing, it's pretty difficult. Stand upright, even during Zazen.

[16:08]

You always this way, you always that way. Like this. Always like this. That's why Dogen then said, throw away everything. Throw away everything, stand upright now. Now, the square cushion, the round cushion, throw away, just sit, is to stand upright. To stand upright is not to sit, not to stand upright, just the square cushion. To stand upright is to stand upright on the earth, including all sentient beings. You have to know this reality, this fact. This is vow, otherwise you don't understand vow, otherwise you don't understand who, what you are.

[17:10]

What you are. If you read Dogen's books, he always says, throw away everything. Throw away everything. Someone asked Zen Master, I always throw away everything, what can I throw away? He said, you should throw away, eliminate what you said, throw away everything. He said, I already throw away everything, I have nothing to get from my bag, what should I do? He said, if you think it is important, if you think to attach to such a fact that I already throw away,

[18:12]

you should get back carrying it on your back. Back. Throw away everything is, throw away everything including thought, which I already throw away. It's not so easy, it's not so easy. It's not so easy. Then, Dogen said, always, again and again, throw away, throw away. Then, Sesshin, Sesshin is to make a mind, to make a man's mind, tranquil, peace, peaceful. Which means, how much you can throw away.

[19:16]

A playing game, by watching something on the TV show. Something on the stage of the puppet show. I am bad spirit of Zen students, doesn't he think, oh, I am poor boy. Then, what shall I do, please? Roshi, please, help me. Please, help me, Zazen, but Zazen doesn't help me. You are clever, you are poor person, you are bad spirit of students, that's okay. At least, in Zazen, you should throw away.

[20:20]

Otherwise, we have never understand what you are. So, this is vow. So, to sit on your long cushion is to stand upright on the earth, including with all sentient beings, on your feet. This is vow. Then, the first verse, the sentient beings are non-blissful, I vow to save them. Then, the phobos explain how to bend our life to be in touch with the truth directly, undistortedly. Then, the first verse says, all sentient beings are non-blissful, I vow to save them.

[21:39]

Anyway, all sentient beings are non-blissful, this is their truth. Vow to save all sentient beings. Someone ask me, is it possible to save all sentient beings? Such a vow is vow shown on the stage of the barbershop. It is sure, you can save all sentient beings, right now, right here. Otherwise, you can turn your life into new life, new realm. While you think you are asking, it is possible to save all sentient beings, by practicing Zazen, you can never understand what you are.

[22:47]

If you don't understand what you are, you should keep in mind that you can save, you can help others too. How can you save, how can you help others, unless you can understand what you are? Then, this vow is very important. It is not abstract way of life, it is not abstract way of life. It is not some principle extracted from the various phases of human life, then it controls human life.

[24:08]

I don't think so. Vow is completely turn your life into new realm. Try to anyway, try to throw away, try to throw away and sit in Zazen. Save all sentient beings, save is not something scoop or scoop of fish from the water, it is not the meaning of save. To save is not to give some candy to others, to the child who is crying, please take it.

[25:16]

I think this candy make the child stop crying, this is true, but candy is candy. When the circumstances change, the child starts to burst out crying again. We always crying, then someone give some candy, you stop the crying, next moment when you are confronted with something, you cry, then someone give a candy. Then you believe that this candy is great things which need man to save from suffering. I don't think so. There exist how great principle Buddhism or Christianity or Judaism or Chinese philosophy there are.

[26:28]

Principle is principle. Whatever kind of principle, great principle show before you, they don't save you, they don't help you, they cannot save you, they cannot help you. Whatever kind of difficulty, even the smallest, slightest bit difficulty, you are faced. To save is to wake oneself and others from the chase to self.

[27:34]

Not chase to self, not chase to self. From the self, from the self as known that this is the I in terms of the selfish viewpoint. To save is to be aware of yourself and to take good care of yourself. Then you can take good care of yourself. To save all sentient beings is to be considerate to all sentient beings.

[28:59]

Before you are considerate to yourself, first of all, Buddha put emphasis on being considerate to others first, before anything else. Why? If you read the Buddhist sutras, you will find many statements mentioned by the Shakyamuni Buddha. Why? The

[30:43]

The others, others are entirely identical with oneself. Oneself is entirely identical with others. Do not kill, do not kill all beings, not kill all beings in judging of others' feelings by one's own. In other words, you must be considerate to all sentient beings. If all sentient beings were you yourself, if all sentient beings were your child, your children, what would you take care of them?

[32:18]

The others hold themselves, hold themselves beloved. One also holds oneself dear. Therefore, to love one is to love others. That protecting oneself, that protecting one is protecting others is not the self who is opposed to others. It is conflicted with others.

[33:51]

You know, then the Shakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment under Bodhi tree. And he emphasizes that all sentient beings attain enlightenment at the same time. It is very meaningful. You have to consider again and again in your whole life. Shakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment at once and all sentient beings attained enlightenment and become Buddha. As I mentioned just a few minutes ago, how can you help others unless you can understand what you are?

[35:10]

Even though you understand what you are in your brain, it is very impossible to help completely others. Of course we know, we know so well that we have to be considerate to all sentient beings. But the fifth point itself, seriously in your daily life, moment after moment, it is absolutely possible to give great considerate sympathy with others. Whatever happens, whatever happens before you, when you see someone whom you hate, something blowing up from the bottom of your mind,

[36:35]

if you meet someone whom you love, you enjoy very much talking with him, giving something without any reward. But you don't like to give anything to the person whom you hate. Even though you understand so well in your brain that all of us are friends, brother and sister, father and mother, we know so well, I know so. Teacher and disciple, you are teacher, I am student, this is true, you are mother, I am father, you are father, I am mother.

[37:44]

But the moment when I am, when I am a teacher, well, I am teacher, so my mind is thinking, starts to think, I am related with my position. I am simple, I am a teacher, and in United States, not in Japan. This is true for me. It's pretty difficult to get rid of it. Then, that's why the statement, the Buddha's statement, which is saying,

[38:54]

I attain awareness, enlightenment, and bodhichitta, and all sentient beings attain enlightenment and become Buddha. This is very important. Then, you try to attain enlightenment, you try to know, you try to know what you are, through and through. You try to make an imprinting effort, touch with the truth, touch with the true nature of what you are. With whole body and mind, not with your intractable sense. This is practice, this is practice. Then, Dogen Zen says, please, first, throw away your head trip.

[40:00]

Please throw away the great ideas of food trip, or whatever kind of trip. At least, as long as you have to sit in a round cushion, this is very important. But you say, oh, how can I throw away? I have a head. As long as I have a head, it's impossible, you think, you know. That's okay. Let's enjoy thinking of something. Then, thinking of something. Something happens, oh, that's good. Then, pick up some paper. Oh, yeah. Already here?

[41:13]

Then, sit. It is nice, I think. It is taking a note of your delusions, thoughts. Of course, during Zazen, many things happen. Many things, what you forget already, because these things happened ten years ago, or two years ago. If you sit in meditation, your mind is getting calm. Immediately, you realize something which happens, that you haven't expected.

[42:22]

Oh, I forgot. For what I gave, I lent, I gave, you know. I forgot that someone, a friend of mine borrowed my ten dollars two years ago. I have to tell you, you know. This is true. Sometimes, I'm sitting here. You know, something happens in my mind, which happens in the age of monastery. Crazy. Age, my mind is already age of monastery, not here. So, from this point, you understand how difficult, how difficult to throw away. You can't throw away everything. Then, this is practice, this is practice.

[43:34]

Wherever you are, whatever happened, you should take a vow. Right now, in the reality of the present, I stand up. I stand up upright, on my foot, throwing away everything. This is Zazen. This is, this is vow which never man, never you, turn into new life. This is Bodhisattva's practice. Through this practice, you can understand gradually what you are. When you understand what you are, you can enter into another's feeling. Not only human being's feeling, not only into the another's, not only into human being's feeling,

[44:44]

but also into all sentient being's feeling. Tables, lamps, incense stick, incense burner, flowers, Buddha statue, your hairs, your nose, your mouth, your hand, your non-Christian. Then, if you take care of your child with consideration, with attention, then, [...]

[45:48]

then, first of all, five, our practice is not to create, not create the idea of egoism. Please come. That protecting one is protecting others is not the self, who is opposed to others, is inflicted, is conflicted with others. So, you should know, you should know deeply the content of Buddha's enlightenment. Then, you think, if so, I don't care others.

[47:00]

First, I have to practice ignoring the other self. It's also business time. First of all, we have to receive, accept, straightforwardly, Buddha's enlightenment. The reality, true nature, the true nature of yourself, true nature of all sentient being or the true nature of the world, in other words, the truth, which is shown, which is shown by Buddha's enlightenment. Then, when you are confident, when you have a chance to help others, try to help.

[48:06]

To help is, to help others is to wake others from the stubbornness of ego, which others possess. In other words, to wake others from what they are. Wake others from their delusion, illusions. This is help. Help is not to give some candy. To help is not to show some object which they are expecting in their mind. Then, think,

[49:20]

to save all sentient being is not to get benefit by making sacrifice, making sacrifice of others. Through and through, we have to, we have to have, we have to do something with the cooperation together. Then, in the monastery, as Tatsunga Minoshi gave lectures on the Shuryo Shinri,

[50:48]

Dogen Zenji always says, to give praise, to considerate sympathy with others, having relation of father and mother, brother and sister. We cannot practice, we cannot practice without cooperation, without living, without living together in peace. Shurabaka, one of, one of arahants, devotes himself to attain enlightenment for the sake of saving himself from his suffering.

[51:57]

But Bodhisattva, he tried to teach living together in peace, helping each other, even though he cannot attain enlightenment. In primitive Buddhism, they put a strong emphasis on the practice of Buddhist compassion.

[53:07]

In the sutra, they have to put the Buddhist compassion into practice. It says, we must be quiet, we must be imperturbable. Free from any troubles. There is nothing to disturb before him. We must cross the river without making water dirty.

[54:41]

This is man of tenderness. This is man of gentleness. This is man of softness. Then, in this respect, the people in primitive age try to seek a quiet place, isolated from the society or people. To get the quietness, tranquility. Not to hurt all sentient beings by isolating from worldly affairs.

[55:52]

I think this is Shravaka, who is trying to attain enlightenment without teacher, living at a quiet place, isolated from society. But Bodhisattva, he always positively emphasizes on living in harmony, living in harmony together. But actually,

[57:10]

when you look at actual daily life, you will realize that there are many difficult things how to deal with. For instance, about precept to kill, not to kill. It is very difficult. Even in primitive age, I think there are Shakyamuni Buddha, Gautama Buddha thinks about these difficulties. But he didn't give a clear answer to these difficulties

[58:15]

which happened in our daily life. According to the sutra, there is some good examples. For instance, a ship, a boat is sailing on the ocean with carrying many people. At that time, a dragon suddenly appeared and tried to swallow all human beings who are on his boat. At that time, Buddha killed this dragon. Shakyamuni Buddha asked Brahmins,

[59:17]

preachers, asked Shakyamuni Buddha how to sleep in harmony, how to sleep in peace. . Ah! . No. You know, anyway, the Brahmin asked the Gautama what kind of things can I kill

[60:22]

and sleep in peace. In other words, what kind of things should I kill in order to sleep in peace? At that time, Shakyamuni Buddha said, all you have to do is to kill the anger. To kill the anger, which is anger rooted into the bottom of your mind. Shakyamuni Buddha asked and answered this question in that way. Even this question is not a clear answer for us.

[61:31]

Because you realize, you have realized that there are many contradictory things. For instance, is it all right to kill the fly? Is it all right to kill the cockroach? Do you understand that? Someone says, oh, I don't like to kill the cockroach. In Tathagata also, I don't like to kill the fly. But in the summer, you know so well, you know, how numberless flies are. And then, how much the fly disturbs our feelings. What should I take care of this part?

[62:34]

No one answered to this question clearly. You should do that. I don't think so. I can't say. I can't say you should kill the fly. I can't say you should leave. You should leave fly alive. Leave flies alone. I can't say you shouldn't kill the cockroach. I cannot say you should kill the cockroach. What should I do? This is question. This is your koan. This is your practice. What can I tell you is

[63:38]

don't enjoy, don't be delighted in watching something on stage of puppet show. Hmm? Hmm. Whatever they are, good or bad, don't take a head trip. If I give you answer, you should kill the cockroach. It is not true. If I give the answer, you shouldn't kill. It is also not true. Then truth exists within yourself. But important thing is that

[64:40]

excuse me. If I tell you you should kill the fly, it means that it is alright to kill the cockroach to live, to make human being alive by making sacrifice of a fly. It is not true. It is not true. Then if I give you answer, don't kill. Don't kill the cockroach. Don't kill the fly. It means, it means to make the fly or cockroach alive by making a sacrifice of human being. What is what? Important point is

[65:47]

we have to live together in peace. This is point. And how to accept? How to, how to be, how to bond, how to bend your life directly and distortedly to being in touch with truth with living together in peace in order to wake each other. What he is. What Buddha is. Then

[66:51]

if you want to ask me forever, is it alright to kill the fly, to kill the cockroach? I never give answer to this question forever. Question is answer forever. This is truth. And what to do is within yourself. And last, what I can tell you, what I can tell you is through and through to stand upright on the earth on your foot in order to live in bond.

[67:53]

This is all sentient beings' numbers. I vow to save all sentient beings. You have to taste it with all your body and mind. During session in Zen center, some student practiced Rinzai in New York. Zen master gave core move. Then he always said but he didn't understand what move is. Then he had the Dotsan at that time. If I said

[68:59]

if I said skandhara enlightenment come up to me? He said no. Enlightenment doesn't come. Even though you you said meditation, you said skandhara. If I said no way, he said Soen Roshi said you should grasp move itself. Move itself. That's right. It is important. You have to grasp move. You have to grasp including question and answer. What to do? What to do? What to deal with? Fly, cockroach, yourself, others. You should grasp all of them. With your whole body and mind. This is the Zen.

[70:00]

The best way to grasp is to sit in one position. This is skandhara. This is path. Nithyananda. Nithyananda. Nithyananda.

[70:21]

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