Just understand that birth and death itself is nirvana and you will neither hate one as being birth and death nor cherish the other as being nirvana. Only then can you be free of birth and death. It is a mistake to think you pass from birth to death. Being one stage of total time, birth is already possessed of before and after. For this reason, in the Buddha Dharma, it is said that birth itself is no birth. Being one stage of total time as well, cessation of life also is possessed of before and after.

[01:08]

Thus, it is said, extinction itself is no extinction. When one speaks of birth, there is nothing at all apart from birth. When one speaks of death, there is nothing at all apart from death. Therefore, when birth comes, you should just give yourself to birth. When death comes, you should give yourself to death. Do not hate them. Do not desire them. Yesterday, I mentioned we live in this world carrying our karma. Yet, we can live free at every moment.

[02:18]

So, freedom is open to us only at every moment. So, nobody disturbs your life. Wherever you want to go, yes, you can. Wherever you want to go, yes, you can. After Second World War, Japanese young generation experienced something which they have never experienced before.

[03:26]

That is freedom. It was freedom. During Second World War, Japanese people were completely tied up by... What would you call? By something. Ideology. Sort of ideology. Sort of principles. After Second World War, you know, no war. Wars are gone. Whatever you do, nobody criticizes them. Everything turned into paradise immediately. You cannot imagine what happens in the society, the situation of Japanese society.

[04:37]

Wow. It's really crazy. More than living hell. It was crazy. Now in Japan, I think people who live all over the world, love so much freedom. I think it is called hippies? Hippies and hippies and I don't know. Hippies and hippies and hippies, I don't know exactly, but anyway. We love so much freedom. Because they found, yes there is, there exists freedom. Where? At the moment.

[05:38]

At every moment, we can get the freedom. That's great. Then they did it. They did it. After that, what happens? You know so well. Even Japan, same. So from this point, the freedom, what you think, is something funny. Because it makes you confused. But freedom is not something like, something that makes you confused. Freedom is completely freedom for you. But the freedom, what you think, makes you confused. What's happening now? We are always playing hide and seek or seesaw game.

[06:55]

You play always seesaw game, yes I am free. So you do, you did something at every moment. But on the other hand, the karma, karma visits you, how are you? The moment you say, oh I don't want, please go ahead, please go away. But karma, yes, karma is not something, no amount of discussion, whether you should or you shouldn't. Karma is really right on your back. So the moment when you get freedom, at the same time, karma visits you, how are you? That's a really big contradiction. Then, at that time, we don't know how to integrate that karma and freedom.

[08:08]

In other words, freedom and inevitability. In other words, time and space. How can you? You don't know exactly. You are completely at a loss what to do, how to integrate time and space, how to integrate the contradictory situation of your life. Because the contradictory situation of your life consists of karma and freedom. Then you always play the seesaw game. You cannot stop, you cannot stop playing the seesaw game. You cannot go beyond that contradiction. Contradictory situation of your life. If you try to see, if you try to get freedom,

[09:14]

seeing from your karma, it's pretty difficult. You have to always see the game. If so, there is a question. Which is, there is something more, something, something which we have to take into account. Once more again, what the moment is, what the freedom is. The moment what you think is, think is something what's, something to make you confused, something which makes you confused. If so, if so, freedom is not the real meaning of freedom.

[10:19]

In the light of the truth, so you have to think more again. What's freedom? And what's the moment is? The other day I mentioned, of course you can get the freedom at every moment. But when, while this moment is open only to you, to individual, that moment doesn't create freedom. But create trouble. Create trouble. The real meaning of moment must be extended into everybody, into all sentient beings, into universe, whole world.

[11:28]

This is true. Let's imagine when you were born. Let's imagine the scene when you were born in this world. You come out from your mother's womb. That moment is a great event, that moment, yes. That event is a great moment for you. But it's not the, that moment is not the only great moment, not only for you, but also your mother and father, and your doctor, doctor that pay attention carefully, you know, careful attention to your birth, and also to your mother too. Parents, your friends,

[12:32]

that moment is completely extended into your birth, and at the same time, your father, your mother, the doctors, your friends, your sisters, your brothers, and also earth, universe, celestial bodies, existence of celestial body and movement of the celestial bodies. That's why the study of astrology, you know, are very popular for human beings. Because your birth is completely in cross-relation with your, with the celestial body, existence of celestial body and movement of celestial bodies. Then you always ask me, when are you born, Karagiri?

[13:34]

I say, I was born in January 1928, what month? You are very interesting, when I was born, where January, what day? 19th, oh, I see. You are Capricorn. See? But you don't know, you didn't know how relationship, what kind of relationship your birth has, you know, the moment when you were born, you were born, you don't know. But that moment is completely extended into all over. You should know this point, the moment is not open to you, but also open to everybody, to whole universe. So let's imagine this moment.

[14:39]

This moment is very clear, nothing to stay on it. Very clear, you know. The moment when, as soon as, when the moment comes into being, whole universe comes into being, yeah, yeah, that's right, you can be born. You can be born. So this moment, the moment extended into whole universe is very clean, very clean. Nothing to insert any kind of, any germination of conceptions into it. So what can I tell, what can I call it? Moment? No, it's not a moment. What?

[15:40]

Len Dogen then says, appearance and disappearance. That's all, you know. Appearance, disappearance, that's all. That's birth and death. Wow. You cannot, birth and death is also something like conception, you know. More than that, more than that. Something more than that. That is moment, that is moment. And also that moment sustains your life and at the same time, all sentient beings, inanimate and animate beings. So let's imagine your life is very vast, immense. But there is some question, why we have to concentrate on that moment? Because regardless of whether you know, you realize or not,

[16:41]

your life is based on this moment, extended into whole universe. Why is it we have to concentrate it? Why is it we have to think of it? That is the question. Because trees, birds, even an ant, even a dog, cats, exist in the same way. No exceptions. So what's the difference between cats and human beings? What's the difference between a human being and a lotus flower? It's a different thing. What's the difference between a human being and a frog? What's the difference between a human being and music?

[17:44]

Bach. Bach. No difference, same. But why is it we need the practice, religious practice? In order to lead you to awareness, to awareness of truth, you know. Awareness is very important. Of course, frog, cat, dog, yes, exist in the same way. But unfortunately, they can't realize. They cannot be aware of where they are, what they are doing. But from their body express. When you see it, when you see that frog, okay, because you realize,

[18:47]

you realize that existence, existence of moment extended into universe. You realize first. That's why when you see the frog and cat and dog and lotus flower, you can see how beautiful it is. And you cannot treat, you cannot handle roughly. You try to take best care of them. But frog, between the frog, they are always fighting, you know. What are you doing? Get away. Killing each other, that's all. Sometimes among the human beings, we are killing each other. But sometimes we can control. Why don't you keep peace? Why don't you stop fighting each other?

[19:48]

Yes, you can. It means you can realize you are human being who has, who is, who are qualified, qualified to realize the moment extended not only into you, individual, but also into whole being, whole universe, where everything exists in peace, in harmony. That realization is very important. So it is called jikaku in Buddhism. Shakyamuni Buddha says jikaku, self-awareness, self-awareness. So if you don't have self-awareness, no one, you know, you can't, you can't keep the peace and the happiness and even though you practice dazen, you know,

[20:50]

here is Shobo Genzo, even though the Shobo Genzo, whole chapters will be translated into English, and then there is a chance to read, for you to read. But I don't know, I don't know how much you will understand. Okay. Because, you always try to understand, you can understand something, you can understand something in some extent that how much your practice, how much you make progress, how much you understand practice, how much you realize, how much you realize what practice is.

[21:53]

In other words, you cannot understand, you cannot understand something, you can understand by your practice, by your self-awareness. But self-awareness impels you to understand something. For instance, if you do Sesshin, if you attend Sesshin, everybody experiences pain. But pain is, what's the pain? You have never experienced pain before, directly. The pain you experience in Zazen is really directly, open to you directly. Nothing disturbs. Whatever you say, oh I don't like, please go away, pain is pain.

[22:54]

You have never experienced before in that way. But they must stay there, stay with it, stay with it as much as possible. It means, through the pain, important point is you have to get self-awareness, what the pain is, not with your desk. When you have self-awareness, through the pain you experience, through and through, that time you can understand what pain is. And this pain, you understand, is not, is the case not for you, but also for everybody. Because you can understand. You have self-awareness concerning the pain, with the pain.

[23:56]

So even though you did Shobo Genzo, it's pretty hard. It's pretty hard to understand. The more I try, this person, Katagi, carrying the karma on my back, trying to understand Shobo Genzo, I always give up, help. The practice, Buddhist practice, compels me to understand Shobo Genzo. The same applies to everything. Buddhist practice means self-awareness. Self-awareness compels you, makes you understand, makes you understand what it is, makes you understand something as it is. So,

[25:07]

that's why self-awareness is very important. Self-awareness is a different point between the human being and inanimate being. Animate being and inanimate being. Unfortunately, we have we have a great quality in endowment. We have a great endowment which enables you to understand as it is. It is called self-awareness. And self-awareness lets you see into

[26:13]

the being as a whole, see into moment as a whole, extending into everywhere, all over, like this moment. Then when you realize this moment, you can find freedom. You can find freedom. When you cannot be aware of this moment extended into all over, the moment, the moment extended into all over is something abstract. At any cost, you have to be aware of it with your whole body and mind. At that time, that moment is not something abstract.

[27:17]

It's not conceptual idea. Because you can live. You can live your birth and death. You can put your birth and death into it, into this moment. Not idealistically. Not conceptually. If so, how can I, how can we find freedom in the realm of birth and death? The important point is you have to put yourself into this moment,

[28:18]

extended into all over, into universe. Just understand that birth and death itself is nirvana. Birth and death is nirvana. Nirvana is, nirvana is, in other words, dharma. Nirvana, plainly speaking, is moment extended into whole universe. If you are not aware of this moment, in which everybody can live freely, that is nirvana. On the other hand, you have karma. This karma is pronounced sometimes birth, kataki. But fortunately, there is a great chance

[29:22]

that, great chance to make your karmic life disappear by putting yourself, putting it into the moment extended into all universe. This is great chance. This is so-called freedom. Then birth and death is nirvana, means your birth and death is really living alive vividly in the domain of moment.

[30:07]

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