Morning. Well, today we're having a teaching session, study session we call it, where we're studying the transmission of light, Denko Roku, of Master Keizan Zenji, who lived four generations after Master Dogen in the 14th century. Dogen was born in 1200 and Keizan towards the other end of the century. So Master Dogen and Master Keizan are the two most prominent ancestors in the Sōtō school of Japan.

[01:02]

Dōgen came, went to China and received from his teacher Ruijing the transmission of the Sōtō in China, Sōtō school, and later and established that in Japan, actually established pretty much what we call the true dharma in Japan. And Keizan developed it. Keizan, sometimes we call Dogen the father and Keizan the mother. So Keizan, Dogen was interested in establishing the teaching of the Soto school, and Keizan disseminated it for generations.

[02:11]

I don't know if generations, right, but as the fourth patriarch, as the fourth ancestor. So the school as we know it actually was developed by Keizan. And although Dogen wrote quite a lot for a Zen master, he really wrote a lot of stuff. So his Shobo Genzo is very well known nowadays. Of course, for 500 years it wasn't, strangely enough. He wrote his Shobo Genzo in the early 13th century, over the first half of the 13th century. And then it was kind of kept under wraps for about 500 years, and it was revealed maybe around the latter part of the 19th century.

[03:12]

And of course, we have resuscitated it all and translated it many times in the 20th century. So Kazan did not write so much, but he did write a well-known treatise called the Denko Roku. And the Denko Roku is his understanding of the record of the ancestors. You know, when we have a ordination, we're given a paper and the paper has the names of all the ancestors going back to Master Shakyamuni. And when you look at your ordination Kachimyaku, it's called, blood vein, which connects us to all the ancestors.

[04:20]

And we see that there, it starts with Shakyamuni, and then there are the Indian ancestors, and then there are the Chinese ancestors, and the Japanese ancestors, quite a few. there's a red line that connects each one. So each one is standing on the shoulders, they say the head, I think shoulders are better, of the next one, or of the last one, the previous one. So each one, of course there were many generations, and there are many generations, and each generation there are many, many ancestors, but there are certain ancestors who epitomize or make available, I like to think they make available to their generation the meaning of the practice.

[05:27]

They uphold the practice and disseminate it in a way that people of their generation can understand it, hopefully. So that's why in Zen practice, the ancestors are very important because there's no special sutra in Zen. There's no special chanting in Zen. Zen is totally independent of all that. But the Zen school appropriates. It's like a sheaf. We steal stuff from other schools of Buddhism, the schools of Buddhism who practice chanting or they practice chanting the name of Buddha or reading sutras and basing their teaching on sutras and so forth.

[06:49]

So, is that better or okay? Okay. So, all of our liturgy, you know, is taken from the Shingon school or the Tendai school and appropriated, actually. And we study all the various sutras or anything we want. But basically, our practice is Dazen. meditation, it's a meditation school. So what is important, has been important in the Soto school, is handing down the transmission of authorization from one from teacher to disciple, and teacher to disciple, teacher to disciple. And so even though there are many disciples of a teacher, there are some few who are authorized to pass down the teaching.

[08:07]

And so the Denko Roku of Keizan is a record. He takes the record. of the transmissions from Shakyamuni, which has one ancestor for each generation. The Indian ancestors, you know, it's all mythology. Matter of fact, this is called Zen mythology. because in the Indian, you know, the Indian mind is very fertile and also imaginative. And so the Indian, the stories around the Indian ancestors is very imaginative and kind of magical. And I think that in Japan, The monks are not so interested in the Indian ancestors because of that quality.

[09:16]

And the Chinese ancestors also somewhat like that, but not as extreme. But this mythology carries the message. You know, that's why mythology is so important. Because if you take mythology literally, you know, it looks like a bunch of junk, right? But if you understand that the mythology carries the message, then you can enjoy the mythology. So I've been enjoying this Tenko Roku. for a while, and it's vast. I haven't really been able to study it all, but I picked out some sections for us to explore, if you want to call it that, and see where the meaning, how the meaning is carried from one to another, that what is the essential

[10:23]

meaning that's transmitted in our school from Shakyamuni through the Indian ancestors, the Chinese ancestors, and some of the Japanese to the present day. So, what is the essential that's transmitted? Today we're celebrating also Shakyamuni's, Shakyamuni Buddha's parinirvana. Parinirvana has the meaning of total liberation. When Shakyamuni dies or passes away, So, there's nirvana and parinirvana.

[11:38]

Nirvana means liberation. Parinirvana means total liberation or usually applied to someone when they die. There's no more karmic activity which continues their life. But actually what that means is they're totally at one with the universe. So parinirvana means one becomes totally at one with the universe. They say never returning. So there's no karma to work out, there's nothing holding one back.

[12:41]

It's interesting when you find your total freedom. So what I thought that I would do The Denko Roku begins with Shakyamuni's story, and I thought I would present that today as a tribute to Shakyamuni. I'm not sure we have time to discuss it, but I'll comment as we go along. So this is Denko Roku of Master Keizan. So the first case, of course, it begins with Shakyamuni.

[13:45]

And Mr. Cook, Professor Cook, who translated this, broke down the stories into like a koan, which I think they are. Each one is a kind of koan. In the case, he presents the case, and then he presents the circumstances, and then the taisho. Taisho means his commentary. So here is the case. Shakyamuni Buddha saw the morning star and was enlightened. And he said, I and the great earth and beings simultaneously achieve the way. So he was, this is a very famous story, of course, famous story of Shakyamuni becoming enlightened. He tried everything.

[14:50]

He became an ascetic for six years. Sometimes he would eat a grain of rice a day or grass or whatever. There's so many stories about how he became humiliated. He humiliated, allowed himself to be humiliated and withered away. There's stone figures of him, just skin and bones, you know. So, at some point he decided, the circumstances led him to decide that Asceticism is not the way. So he had this nice lady, young lady, give him some milk. And he started coming back to his normal weight, I guess. And then he sat himself down under a tree.

[15:53]

It's called a bow tree. It's actually a fig tree. And he said, I'm not going to, he sat down and he said, I'm not going to get up until I'm thoroughly enlightened. So, then when he saw the morning star, and he went through all kinds of stuff, you know, all kinds of temptations and doubts and so forth. And when he saw the morning star, he did this during the night, as the legend goes, and upon seeing the morning star, he became revealed, he realized himself, he realized what was what. So, and then he said, I and the great earth and beings simultaneously achieve the way.

[16:55]

So simultaneously is important here. So here are the circumstances. Shakyamuni Buddha was of the Sun race in India. I'm not going to talk about that. At the age of 19, he leaped over the palace walls in the dead of night And on Mount Dantaloka, this is in Japanese transliterations, he cut off his hair. Subsequently, he practiced austerities for six years. Later, he sat on the adamantine seat, where spiders spun webs in his eyebrows, and magpies built a nest on top of his head. reeds grew up between his legs as he sat tranquilly and erect without movement for six years. Don't take that literally. At the age of 30, on the eighth day of the twelfth month, as the morning star appeared, he was suddenly enlightened.

[18:07]

These words in the above as I read to you, are the very first lion's roar. So the lion's roar is Buddha's sermon. So from that time on, for 49 years, he did not spend a day alone, but preached to Dharma for the assembly constantly. He was never without a robe and a begging bowl. During that time, he preached to the Assembly more than 360 times. Later, he transmitted the treasury of the I, of the true Dharma, to Mahakasyapa, and it has been passed down from Mahakasyapa through generation after generation to the present. Truly, it has been transmitted through India, China, and Japan, where the practice of the true Dharma is based. on it.

[19:09]

So the practices of his lifetime are the standard for his descendants. Even though he possessed the 32 marks and 80 minor marks, he certainly looked like an ordinary old monk and was no different from other people. So that's important. The 32 marks, I'm not going to go into that. It's old Indian web feed and things like that. We don't need to. But anyway, there are certain marks historically that our Buddha has, but that's irrelevant. So, therefore, after his appearance in the world throughout the three times of the true the counterfeit Dharma and the present collapsed Dharma. You know, there was, this is called Mapo, there were three times.

[20:12]

There was a legend that the first 500 years after Shakyamuni, that people could actually practice Buddhism. The second 500 years, it was really, hard to practice. The third 500-year period, it was almost impossible to practice. And people believed that. Dogen didn't believe that. He said, that's just baloney. You know, there are all these legends, right? But it's true that, in a sense, that as time goes on, the practice becomes more diluted and weakened. And there's some truth to that, but we shouldn't buy into that. notion that that has to be like that.

[21:16]

You know, if you buy into a lie, you believe it, and then you live it. So, that's what a lot of people are doing these days. So, those who emulate his teaching and conduct model themselves on his deportment. used what he used, and each moment while walking about, standing in place, sitting or lying down, do as the Buddha did. So Buddha after Buddha and ancestor after ancestor have simply transmitted this so that the true Dharma is not extinguished. So imitating the teacher, you know, it's not that you imitate the teacher's action. idiosyncrasies, but I don't know if imitate is the right way.

[22:19]

Basically, Zen practice is apprenticeship. In the old days, when people went into some kind of work, as young people, they went in as an apprentice. It was called apprenticeship, as you know. And so the teacher gives the apprentice stuff to do. And we used to have apprenticeships in the building trades. As a matter of fact, I think that ended around the 50s. Yeah, you became an apprentice to a carpenter, you became an apprentice to a house painter, or in the building trades, were apprentices.

[23:22]

If you're an apprentice to a house painter, you wash brushes for two years. And you make the brushes, you make the paint buckets, you clean the paint buckets so that you can eat off of them. And you learn how to handle things like that before you're given any responsibilities. Nowadays, it's just a free-for-all. There was a violin student, I think it was a cello player, cello student, and her mother took her to the teacher, and she had a little cello. And the first lesson was opening the case and closing it, and then goodbye, come again next week. This is real training, apprenticeship, certain things that you learn that you don't know you're learning anyway.

[24:38]

So each moment while walking about, standing in place, sitting or lying down, do as the Buddha did. Buddha after Buddha and patriarch after patriarch, or I say ancestor, have simply transmitted this so that the true Dharma is not extinguished. And this event clearly indicates this. Even though the method of expression, various stories, figures of speech and words, was different, On the more than 360 occasions during the 49 years that he taught, there were nothing more than the expression of this principle, as in the main case. The so-called I in the main case, I and all sentient beings, the so-called I in the main case is not Shakyamuni Buddha. And Shakyamuni Buddha also comes from this I. You understand that?

[25:53]

The I, when he says, I and all sentient beings, he doesn't mean I, Shakyamuni. But the I, so-called I, in the main case, is not Shakyamuni Buddha. And Shakyamuni Buddha also comes from this I. So this is small I and big I. Not only does Shakyamuni come from it, but the great earth and beings also come from it. Just as when a large net is taken up, and all the many openings of the net are also taken up. Think about that. All the holes in the net are just holes, like in a donut. So, you know, life is like a grid. We put a grid on things and they say, oh, here's this and here's this and here's that.

[26:57]

But when you take the grid up, everything is just one piece. This is, you know, the Mahayana understanding of existence. Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya. Dharmakaya is the one whole piece. Nirmanakaya is the net. And Sambhogakaya is the connection between one and many. So just as when a large net is taken up and all the many openings of the net are also taken up, when Shakyamuni Buddha was enlightened, the great earth and all beings were enlightened at the same time.

[28:02]

Not just the great earth and beings, but all the Buddhas of the past, future, and present were also enlightened. Since this is so, do not think it was just Shakyamuni Buddha who was enlightened. You must not say any Shakyamuni Buddha apart from the great earth and beings. Even though mountains, rivers, and their myriad forms flourish in great abundance, none are left out of Gautama's eye pupil. All of you here are also established in Gautama's eye pupil. Not only are you established in it, but rather it is enfolded within you. Also, Gautama's eye pupil becomes the fleshly body. It becomes the whole body of each person, standing like an 80,000 foot precipice in each. Therefore, do not think that from the past to the present there was a bright eye pupil and distinct people.

[29:06]

You are Gautama's eye pupil. Gautama is the entirety of each of you. You know, in the old our original meal chant. It didn't, we say homage to all that, homage to the innumerable Shakyamuni Buddhas all over the world. Meaning As he says here, it's not just this one person. Shakyamuni Buddha is the embodiment of each person. So, if this is the way it is, what do you call this principle of enlightenment? Let me ask you, monks, does Gautama become enlightened with you, or do you become enlightened with Gautama? If you say that you become enlightened with Gautama, or that Gautama becomes enlightened with you, this is not Gautama's enlightenment.

[30:15]

Therefore, this is not the principle of enlightenment. And then, he deepens this. If you want an intimate understanding of enlightenment, you should get rid of you and Gautama at once. and quickly understand this matter of I. I is the great earth and beings as and. He uses, translates this as and. And is not I as the old fellow, Gautama. Examine carefully, deliberate carefully and clarify this I and this and. Even if you clarify the meaning of I, but you fail to clarify and, you lose a discerning I. Cleary translates this and as many.

[31:26]

One and many. It's easier to say one and many. Then you go, yeah, one and many. But you say one and I and, and, and, because and separates, right? That means there are two things. I and and. So, um, If you want an intimate understanding of enlightenment, you should get rid of you and Gautama. In other words, not discriminate you from Gautama. So, and is the discriminator. I and makes two things. This being so, I and and are neither identical nor different. Truthfully, your skin, flesh, bones, and marrow are totally and.

[32:29]

The lord of the house is I. It has nothing to do with skin, flesh, bones, and marrow, nor has it anything to do with the four elements or the five aggregates. Ultimately, if you wish to know the undying person in the hermitage, it is not something separate from this present skin bag, thus do not think of it as the great earth and beings." This is very crazy, because Clary translates it in the opposite way. I don't know if you're following this, but it has nothing to do with the skin, I'm going over it again, with the skin, flesh, bones, and marrow, nor has it anything to do with the four elements or the five aggregates. And clearly he says, ultimately, it is not the undying person in the hermitage.

[33:38]

It is not something separate from present skin bag. That makes more sense. Thus, do not think of it as the great earthen beings. In other words, don't think of it dualistically. What he's saying here, stop thinking dualistically, otherwise you're always caught in the net. How do you lift the net? Enlightenment means lifting the net, letting go of the net, but not throwing it away. Because you need the net. But for once, if you can just take off the net and be one with, then you have an enlightenment experience. Although the seasons change, and the mountains, rivers, and the great earth are different over time, You should realize that because this is the old fellow Gautama raising his eyebrows and blinking his eyes, all this is that body standing independently and openly within the myriad things.

[35:00]

You know, this language is difficult, but Cleary says it like this, it is the unique body revealed in the many forms. Unique body. Here, I, we usually think of I as our individuality, but here he's using I to mean the whole Buddha nature. He's using I to mean Buddha nature. And the old fellow, meaning Buddha nature, uses terms like that, the old fellow in the hermitage. So, which is another

[36:12]

The expression of the old fellow is light. The expression of I is light. So, I'm going to read that again. Although the seasons change and the mountains, rivers, and great earths are different over time, you should realize that because this is the old fellow Gotama's raising his eyebrows and blinking his eyes. So now he's equating Gautama with Dharmakaya. The universe is acting out. The universe is... Who is actually raising opening and closing the eyes. We say, I am.

[37:21]

But what is I? Is I just something present at the moment that's not connected to anything? When people would ask Gutei, what is realization to this? What is it? This is it. What does it take to raise a finger? So the whole universe is implicated in raising a finger, and you raising this finger, you can't do it without the rest of the universe. So Gautama's raising his eyebrows and blinking his eyes. All this is that body, standing independently and openly within the myriad things.

[38:31]

So that body is like Mother Nature. It brushes aside the myriad things. It does not brush aside the myriad things. Zen Master Fa Yen said, you cannot say whether it brushes aside or does not brush aside. Zen Master Tsitsang said, what do you mean by myriad things? Yeah, what did you mean by myriad things? It is the unique body revealed in the many forms. Therefore, practice fully and sufficiently, develop full mastery and clarify both Gautama's enlightenment and your own as well. You should figure it out by inspecting this case in detail. Let the answer flow from your heart without borrowing the words of former Buddhas or contemporaries. On the next day, set aside for explanations.

[39:38]

I want you to present your understanding with a decisive word." So here he's talking to his students. So this mountain monk, here's the verse that sums it up. This mountain monk would like to say a few humble words about the case. Would you like to hear? Yeah, okay. A splendid branch issues from the old plum tree. Could be apricot. in time, obstructing thorns flourish everywhere." And then Clary says it like this, the second part, at the same time, I see, yeah.

[40:47]

Well, here's the verse. A splendid branch issues from the old plum tree, and Cleary says, thorns come out at the same time. And here, the other cook says, in time, obstructing thorns flourish. It's everywhere. So, I will leave you with that. It's not such a good idea to explain everything. What do you think? Actually, it's time to stop. Two minutes. There's a hand in the back, but I don't. Oh, yeah. Hi. Okay. Yeah.

[42:08]

Yeah. You know, it's not about physiology. It's about conveying our understanding of something very deep. beyond physiology. We don't know. We don't know what's next. We don't know what's going to happen a minute from now, but we carry on. You know, that's life. We don't know anything, but we carry on, and we step into the dark, even though it's daytime, step after step, not knowing. So not knowing is what our life's about. So this is beyond knowledge. But if you really think about it, you will see that births and deaths are ideas

[43:30]

because it's hard to see. Some people can see more clearly than others. And that, I think, is very important in this understanding, is that some people can see. And what he says, you should see for yourself. This is Shakyamuni's message. This is my understanding. You should see for yourself. Don't believe me. Here's a hint. Here's my hint. Take it or leave it. You're welcome.

[44:13]

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