Good morning, everyone. Good morning. For new people on Taigen Lightning, the guiding teacher of ancient dragons, Zen Gate here. I want to speak this morning, talk this morning about a few tidbits from Ehei Dogen, the founder of our branch of Zen. This is kind of a preview of the seminar I'm doing on Saturday, October 21st, which will now be a seminar on Dogen's extensive record. Is that translated? Masterwork of Dogen, so I'm just going to read a handful of excerpts. Most of this is short Dharma Hall discourses.

[01:03]

Some of them, not that short, but most of the very short. And this work also includes his poetry from his early years traveling in China in the 20s till his passing in 1253. So I'm just going to dive in and I'm looking forward to questions, discussion, anything you have. So the first one I'm going to read is from 1242. Just to say in terms of his chronology, in 1243, there was this big change. He moved his own samba from Kyoto, the capital, way up to the mountains in the north and actually built a temple. So this was before he left. Everybody has their own radiant light.

[02:06]

Buddha Hall and Monk's Hall can never be destroyed. And actually, here we have the Buddha Hall where we do services and the Monk's Hall and Zen Dome in one room. But anyway, it can never be destroyed. Now I ask you, where do you come from? The radiant light allows the radiant light to respond. After a pause, Dogen said, in spring, beyond our own efforts, a withered tree returns to life and flowers. For nine years, unknown by people, how many times did he cross the desert? So the nine years refers to Bodhidharma, the founder of Chan and Zen in China. He came from India, across the desert. He sat and came to our village for teaching. Everybody has their own radiant light.

[03:12]

This is the basis of our practice. And Dogen and I are going to talk about this more at the beginning of December. We're going to talk about radiance and about this radiance. This is Buddha. This is the way in which all things express Buddha. This is the way in which he says, where do you come from? Radiant light allows the radiant light to respond. So it is thanks to Buddha that we can sit down and inhale and exhale and try and stay upright and unmoved for 30 or 40 minutes or whatever it is, or for a day. We will be doing next Sunday, double seating. Radiant light is Buddha, is everything.

[04:20]

It allows us to practice. Those who spring beyond their own efforts, a withered tree returns to life and flowers. So this renewal of awareness about Buddha-ness, about uprightness, about our ability to just sit and face the wall, become intimate with how we are. This is this radiant light of Buddha acting through us. Of everyone here. As you are now taking your seat in the hall. So if you have comments or questions on that, I will come back. I was going to just do a bunch of them. The next one is also from 1242.

[05:27]

And it's on the occasion of the autumn full moon, which you just experienced here in this time and space. So Dogen says previous Buddhas and later Buddhas are together, equally verified in awakening. They all completely illuminate each other. Right here, we directly receive glorious radiance. Hitting the mark and bursting through delusions, there is killing and giving life. Endowed with such a standard, we attain such authority. Where is this not called venerable? Where do we not express the Dharma? Although it is like this, having seen the cold ground, such seeing, each seeing, is a good laugh. This is clearly apparent.

[06:30]

After a pause, as we do this frequently in these Dharma Hall discourses. Before our eyes, there is no Dharma that we can assess. Outside of Dharma, what is there of mine to examine? So it's all Dharma. This word Dharma, of course, refers to teachings, teachings about reality and reality itself. It also refers to the elements of that, the Dharmas, the factors of reality. And in early Buddhism, early Buddhist psychology, we have the Dharmagriha. We got lists of all the elements of reality. They are mostly qualities of mind and awareness. Things like wholesomeness, or trust, or unwholesomeness, or various aspects of how things in the world experience this.

[07:39]

Do you have a question, Shen? Yeah, I'm using a word that you used. Not the one with the last verse, but the one before. I think you said something about the cold ground. Yes. And then we await the next word. Yeah, okay, thank you. Oh yeah, just before the pause, in this one. Although it is like this, having seen the cold ground, each scene, each scenario, is a good laugh. Laugh, R-A-G-H? Laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh. Okay, that's what I heard. I was laughing at our being caught in the cold ground. You know, the ground has a lot of meanings in Zen.

[08:41]

It just is the place where we are, our dharma position. And it's also, you know, just down to... So. He says, although it is like this. So. I'm going to go back to the beginning of this book. Previous Buddhists and later Buddhists are together equally verified in awakening. So verified also applies on the transmission being verified by a teacher. But actually, all of us are verified in awakening. This is the practice we are doing, sitting here this morning. We are verified as Buddhists. In awakening. And I don't think you need to have the, at the gallery, as people get consumed. More.

[09:44]

You know, we're all just kind of. Anyway. Yeah, this is this is an interesting thing that said it is like this. Everything is venerable. Where do we not express the dharma? You can't tell, but express the reality of your life. Very now. That's something extra that you need to make up. We reached yours right now in this body body. Although it is likely that he says, having seen the cold ground. And we actually see where we are. I've got the position. And I can feel cold. I don't feel, but each thing is a good laugh. So it's not that is laughing at us. Anyway, he says, is this clearly apparent that there's the pause? And then he says, before our eyes, there is no dharma that we can assess.

[10:49]

So we can't define control, determine if you're out. This practice is not about figuring out what reality is. A practice is just here. We are expressing it outside of dharma. Outside of reality outside of all the stuff. What is there for mine to examine? This is what we this is what the mind does. We're sitting up, right? Inhaling and exhaling. During the wall in front of us or allowing the wall in front of us to observe us. So, outside of this, outside of this reality, what is there that a mind examines? When we are thinking, when we are wondering. It's always just this. We are right here.

[11:49]

So this radiance is thanks to Buddha. And it is Buddha. And Buddha is right here. And we take refuge in Buddha. We also take refuge in Sangha, the reality, the truth, the teaching of it, and Sangha, the community. We are all doing this together. So, we can come back and respond. But I wanted to, just as a sample, read a number of these. Actually, this is one that I spoke about recently. About Chitra who wrote the Sangha of the Grandsat. And talking about the essential meaning of Buddhadharma. Does anyone want me to repeat this? Do you all know the essential meaning of Buddhadharma? Oh, Ruben is taking a second. So Ruben doesn't understand. For Ruben's sake, I'll read this. Here is a story.

[12:51]

One of the students asked Chitra, who wrote the Harmony of Giftedness and Sangha of the Grandsat. What is the essential meaning of Buddhadharma? This is a basic question. What does it mean? What's it all about? But often in Zen, they ask in funny ways. Why did Buddhadharma come from the West? There's all kinds of ways of asking. And Chitra says, this is really important. Chitra or Sekito, Japanese, he lived in the 700s. He said, not to attain, not to know. The essential meaning. And if you think you're going to figure it out and get a hold of the essential meaning, that's not it. And if you think you're going to figure it out and know it, that's not it either. But the essential meaning is not to attain, not to know. This is very challenging in our consumerist, inquisitive culture, where we're trained from very young to attain things, to acquire things, to figure things out, to know things.

[14:07]

We have to know a bunch of stuff to get to the next grade or whatever. So he said, not to attain, not to know. That's all I need to read from this. But his student, Dalu, said, beyond that, is there any other pivotal point or not? And Chitra said, the white sky does not obstruct the white clouds drifting. So, literally, you know. I think it's pretty clear that they don't. But the white sky does not obstruct or hinder or harm or, you know, find fault with the white clouds drifting by. And this is ourselves. The white sky does not obstruct thoughts and feelings that we may recognize as we're sitting facing a wall. And, of course, the thoughts and feelings of the cloud, white clouds drifting, do not harm or hinder the white stuff going on.

[15:17]

And then Dalu has a comment on this dialogue. Not to attain, not to know, is Buddha's essential meaning. The wind blows into the depths, and further winds blow. Friends is an English word. Well, many things, culture, teaching. Here, this further wind blow refers to Buddha going beyond Buddha. It's not enough to fully realize Buddha on the seat. Recognize Buddha on the seat. Or even have some very fine understanding of what Buddha is. Further winds blow. This has been also frequently referred to as Buddha going beyond Buddha. Buddha continued to Shakyamuni Buddha. I want to give you this. Northeast India, 100 years ago, continued practicing every day. Awakening. So, the white sky does not obstruct the white cloud drifting at such a time.

[16:23]

Why do you bother to take the trouble to ask Shakyamuni Buddha? And that's kind of a trick question. Why do we ask these questions? Why do we say what's all about? What's the meaning of Buddha? Is there any value in that? Can't we just enjoy the radiance? Well, this is a real question. Okay, I'm going to read another one. And this is one that Wade referred to in his talk recently about intimacy. Deepening intimacy with self and others. He titled this one. And it's a bit short. It's just a four-line poem. Please cherish your skin, flesh, bones, and marrow. This is another reference to Bodhidharma. He described to his students that Adam had skin, flesh, bones, and marrow. That's one of his students. Please cherish your skin, flesh, bones, and marrow.

[17:26]

Knowing each other, intimate friends grow even more intimate. This is about intimacy and friendship and spiritual friendship. When someone asks the meaning of coming from the West. Why did Bodhidharma come from the West? The essential meaning of Bodhidharma is Bodhidharma faces the wall for nine years, abiding in Shalit. That's a monastery that has a mountain right near it. It's a cave at the top that Bodhidharma sat for nine years. I want to go back to this line. Knowing each other, intimate friends grow even more intimate. So, again, Zen literature generally, and especially a lot of the koan teachings for this, refer to common cultural information from China.

[18:33]

Later on in Japan, but again, Bodhidharma had brought all this for the first time. From China to Japan. Zen had matured for four years in China. He has, in this line, knowing each other, intimate friends grow even more intimate. This phrase that he translated as intimate friends is a medium for intimate friends. But it literally means knowing the sound. There's a Chinese cultural story about this. This expression comes from an old classic Chinese story. So they refer to these old classic Chinese in the way we might refer to Shakespeare, or Mary Oliver, or rock lyrics. Anyway, just current popular knowledge. But this old story, there was a great musician

[19:38]

who had a friend who deeply appreciated this music. When the musician's friend died, he broke the strings in his instrument and never played it again. Imagine a friend who really appreciated whatever it is you do. And they die. So I'll just read this one again. Please cherish your skin, flesh, bones, and marrow. Knowing each other, intimate friends grow even more intimate. When someone asks the meaning of Bodhidharma coming from the West, he faces the law for nine years. Shaolin is interesting because it's also the center of...

[20:40]

Have any of you ever watched that old TV show Kung Fu? Anyway, this is David Cary, a great actor. Shaolin was the center of martial arts in China. And he had studied at Kung Fu, he had studied at Shaolin. But Shaolin, before that, was where Bodhidharma sat in a cave for nine years. And it was interesting when I visited Shaolin. There's this martial arts kind of modern category. Before the old temple of Shaolin, there was a big statue of Bodhidharma. Like as a warrior, a real boss. Anyway, so Bodhidharma is this seminal figure, iconically, you could say.

[21:50]

But there's a story, which I found out thanks to Paula Lazarus, who's a priest here and a martial arts teacher. She has her own martial arts studio. And thanks to her questions, I did some help, some investigations. And the founder of the martial arts at Shaolin was a Soto person, Soto in Chinese, who was a disciple of Wansong, who wrote the commentary for the book of Tiananmen. He wasn't a martial arts person himself, but I guess it was a difficult time when there were lots of bandits around. So to protect his mausoleum, to protect his institution, he assembled all the great martial arts teachers of the time at Shaolin and replicated the culture of martial arts learning. And it continues to be the disciple of Soto. Thanks to his disciple, his founder, Wansong.

[22:53]

I'm just curious, this is like four or five hundred years after Bodhidharma. So it wasn't a martial arts temple at all until the 12th century or something? Until late in the 13th century. But a lot of what we think of as history is myth and legend. So in martial arts traditions, they claim Bodhidharma was the founder of the martial arts tradition. But he wasn't in the martial arts tradition. Anyway, Bodhidharma refers to Shaolin, referring to Bodhidharma, not the martial arts. Since I'm doing a number of these different talks, if you have a question as we go, it's OK if you want to raise your hand. We'll do more discussion at the end.

[23:56]

And I guess I'm just going to give a couple more. Jabs, did you have a question? It's a problem with security. And I missed the name of that book of corpse stories that was translated as some religion. Yes, Book of Serenity. Shoyo roku in Japanese. Oh, Book of Serenity, which is which we refer to somewhat regularly here. Yeah, it's a collection of 100 stories. And the and the guy who's the student founded the martial art martial arts to Shaolin is the main commentator of those stories, which were originally compiled by Onja. So I talk about sometimes this version of the stories and a first comment and then one song and it was. And a lot of it is like is like referring to Chinese cultural lore, the way we refer to opera lyrics, Shakespeare.

[25:03]

So that's sometimes why it's difficult for Americans to read these. Collections because there is a lot of, you know, and good, good additions of those and translations have footnotes that help some. But there's a whole lot of cultural law embedded. It's like we would take for granted references to. But that's why you need footnotes, right? Yeah. Yes. So I remember you. You say once it's a bit like footnotes. I look at the footnotes first anyway. I misunderstood. Yeah, anyway. Okay. And I have two more from late in his life. Don't get died in 1253. We have to go to one of their massive expansion capital. So this one is from 1251. One of my favorites. The family style of all Buddhas and ancestors is to first arouse the vow to save all living beings by removing suffering and providing joy.

[26:16]

We will chat for 47 hours later. Only this family style is inexhaustible. Right and clear. The family style refers to a particular style of teaching in particular. So this is our family style. In the lofty mountains, if we could talk about the family style of Buddhism. In the lofty mountains, we see the moon for a long time. As clouds here, we first recognize the sky. So, this refers to, you know. Somebody literally we're living up to find out. And. The monastery that some of us are practicing and visited to Sahara, California is also. And so this is referring to taking some time to practice and.

[27:20]

We can think of this just as taking a few days or taking one day. We'll be taking a period to sit. December, as I said, we're going to do a five day session. But. In the lofty mountains. When we are sitting intensely, over some time, we see the moon for a long time. So the moon is not just the full moon that we celebrate. Or for example. Ceremonies. The full moon is an image. Is used widely in Zen. There's a way of talking about. Settling into. And then as clouds clear, we first recognize the sky.

[28:22]

So, this again is. We recognize. After a while, we see it for a while. And as clouds clear. We first recognize the sky. So, going back to the. This is about our. So, I would guess that most of you. Just before this. Have some thoughts. I want to. Wait a smile. One or two. Just one or two. Anyway. As clouds clear, we first recognize the sky. So part of. And maybe the hardest part. Is that as we sit. Silent and upright when they start to see the clouds of our ancient twisted.

[29:26]

We start to see. And recognize and feel. All of this stuff. I don't know if that's. Psychology. All of the habits and tendencies we have. We start to see them. We start to feel them. And the practice is to. Become intimate with them. To actually. See who we are. How we are. How. These thoughts and feelings come up. Not to try and. Change them. Because as we. Become intimate with them. They. They may not fall away completely. But at least. We don't need to react to them. You don't need to act out. Based on our habit patterns. We become. Oh. We can respond without being caught by that. Okay, so.

[30:27]

As clouds clear, we first recognize the sky. And then. Cast loose down the precipice. Down the mountain streams. The moonlight shares itself within the 10,000 forms. This is the heart of our practice. When we see. The opal mist. Radiance. That is the reality. Of our life. My particular life. We share it. 10,000 forms. All the people in our family, friends, neighbors. And. And a lot of. Decisions about how that happens. It's not what we. Try and manipulate things to expect it. No. People. But. It becomes part of our. And then.

[31:31]

Even when climbing up the. Taking good care of yourself. So, yes. Please. This is. The 1st part. The 1st step in. Compassion. And. Saving all. Mentions the bird staff, which goes back to. 9th century founder in China. Birds that just as an image for. I'm not knowing exactly what our path is. Birds can birds know where they're going. Migrate to the same place every year. We can't see it. So we can't always see. Where we're going. And what's happening. What our path is. We still. We. We start. We climb up the bird staff. We are engaged in this practice.

[32:34]

But then taking care of yourself. A spiritual power. Then. After a pause. Again, said. The moon moves. Following the boat. The ocean vast. Spring turns following the sun. The sunflowers red. So, yes, all these poetic phrases. Teachings to express things. The moon moves. Following the boat. As we are. Sailing. Whatever. All of this. Water. And actually. The ocean back. Spring turns following the sun. And the sunflowers are red. So, I'm going to read one more.

[33:41]

Also from 12. This is from 1252. The year after last. This is about autumn. Since we are. Past the equinox. Already entering into autumn. So, again, said. You should know. That becoming a Buddha. Is not something new. Or ancient. How could practice realization. Be within any boundary. Do not say that from the beginning. Not a single thing exists. So, this is. This is a famous phrase. From the sixth ancestor. From the beginning. One is saying. This. And, yes. From the point of view. This is our reality. No, because that's not to say that. The causes are complete.

[34:44]

And the results are fulfilled. Through time. Great assembly. Please tell me. Why is it like this? So. Don't get this. There's a. Some of you know. The fox go on. There's a. In our. In our lineage. The point is. Not to reach. Some ultimate. Experience. Or ultimate understanding. The causes are complete. And the results. Are fulfilled through time. So, we do not ignore. Cause and effect. We do not ignore. The everyday stuff. That happens in our lives. And around us. And in our society. And. I think I heard that. The government is not shutting down. So, anyway. All the things that happen in our world. Are due to cause and effect. The causes are complete. And the results are fulfilled. Through time.

[35:45]

So, we don't ignore. This. Through time. So, it's just. Don't say. Not a single thing. We do live. We glimpse. What is radiance. We are radiance. And yet. How do we express that? More. As the last. As in the last one. I was reading. How do we arouse the vow. To save all living beings. By removing suffering. And providing joy. So. We. Sit upright. And inhale. And exhale. And. And we can rejoice in. Okay. We see this radiance. That we are. That we is. Through Buddha.

[36:49]

Human teaching. Through all the Dharma's. Through community. Exalted. That's almost. Gathered. And. And. So, the causes are. Complete. And the results. Are fulfilled. Cause and. Result. Cause and effect. That happens. We see that in our life. And that fulfills. Your time. Because then we may also. Enjoy. It. Radiance of Buddha. That is here now. Can you all hear me okay? I'm mindful. Thank you. Um. So, then. Please tell me. Why is it like this? I have responses to that. Then. It was. Done all this.

[37:50]

12. To. And then. Sir. So. So. Opening flowers. Will unfailingly. Bear. The genuine. Green leaves. Meeting audit. Immediately. Turn red. So, we're starting. To see. The weeds. Turning. Some of the trees. We know this. This is part of our experience. And also. Opening flowers. Unfailingly. Bear. Genuine. Blue. So, as we open up to the radiance. What is here? Genuine. And also. Ready for. Meeting on. Immediately.

[38:52]

Well. A tree that was clean yesterday. Tree across the street. Seems to have happened. So, I have time. And then. You know, I want to just. Discussions about these. And I can repeat any. What you want. But I'll. Close with. Extensive record. Which I'll talk about. A lot more. The seminar. Saturday. For 30. Find it on the. Web site. Register. There's a last section. Lots of poetry. Actually, it's the next last section. And then. There's a section of. Collective. Teaching stores. This is. A correct selection of. Versus about the time of.

[39:54]

leisurely seclusion. In birth and death, we sympathize with ceasing and arising. Both deluded and awakened paths proceed within a dream. And yet there's something difficult to forget. And when leisurely seclusion asked for Kokusa, sound and reading alone. Kokusa was the place where he first practiced in Kyoto before he found a temple that actually came back to China. So he was just in some kind of grass hut on his own, actually came back to China and started to write down what he learned with China. But in this poem, it says in birth and death, we sympathize with ceasing and arising. Both deluded and awakened paths proceed within a dream.

[40:59]

And yet there's something difficult to forget. And when leisurely seclusion asked for Kokusa, sound and reading alone. So even more I sleep like birds, reading alone. It's lovely, actually. Sometimes recently here, we've had the sound of cicadas. This morning, we have the sound of people walking by. I didn't think it's what I know. The shadows on the wall. Yes. See your tree. I can't see you. He's out of the tree. Yes. Oh, my goodness. Your tree. Trees. You tree. Oh, my tree. My tree. Compassion. Yeah. But this, this has been moving across even without the ceiling. Wow. Oh, wow. Shadows, which is a fictitious sign of radiance. Radiance, yes. We can see the radiance on the wall.

[42:03]

All right. I couldn't, unless I had turned it off. I wouldn't have seen it. Leaves have been just waving with the wind. Leaves are fluctuating. Fluctuating. Vibrating. So this is, I think, what Dogan. Absolutely. Also could say that it's not that there is no thing. Yes, there is cause and effect. Yeah. So the sun is moving around the earth. What? No, the other way around. But the sunlight on the wall. Very cool. So this is like the sound of the rain. Yes. I want to go back to one other line in this. Both deluded and awaking paths proceed within a dream. Dogan has a, has a, an essay in his Schopenhauer collection of all their essays

[43:08]

about expressing the dream of inner dream. So usually in orthodox, conventional, conditional Buddhism, they talk about awakening from the dream. That we're all in the dream of we're all caught in delusion. And there's this dream that we're in and we don't see the radiance because we're not. So traditionally in Buddhism, they talk about awakening from the dream. This is a clear conventional. What was, was anybody here dreaming just before you woke up this morning? Do you remember?

[44:09]

Even if you don't remember, I don't sometimes, occasionally I'll remember a dream. Mostly I don't. But anyway, okay. Dogan turns that upside down in that essay, especially in the dream of inner dream. So this goes, this, this is kind of a cultural thing. This is about Japanese poetry, poets. And so a number of people in Dogan's time, roughly, worked, practiced with their dreams. Keizan, who's considered the second founder of Soto Zen, who was a few generations after Dogan, focused on his dreams a lot. And he actually made decisions about his students and about where he would build a new temple

[45:11]

based on dreams he had. They took dreams seriously. And if we see consciousness as this continuity between monkey mind and radiance, of course, dreams is part of that. There was another great Kamakura period, a little older than Dogan, a priest named Myoen, who I like a lot, who's, he was both Shingon or Vajrayana and Kegon or Hoi-en on top of schools, the earlier schools before Zen. He lived in northwestern Kyoto. But he also often traveled to Nara, where there's the Todai-ji Temple, which is where there's the Great Buddha, the largest wooden statue in the world, the largest wooden building in the world. It's an amazing statue.

[46:11]

And especially Vajrayana, the ultimate radiance Buddha, whose radiance is this world and is our body mind. That's the teaching. It's not how we usually think of things as 21st century Americans. At any rate, Myoen kept a dream journal for 40 years where he wrote down his dreams. He was really into dreams and commented on them. And a lot of them have buddhas or bodhisattvas, but not all of them. And he also included sometimes images or visions he had while sitting in meditation. So sometimes when you're sitting facing the wall, maybe especially in longer sittings, you have what feels like, besides it, feels like a dream, some kind of dream scenario.

[47:15]

Does anybody else have anything else? Yeah, so, yeah. So, Dogen says, both deluded and awakened paths proceed within a dream. So he's referring to this. There's an old Zen poem about this, which may be the early Marilyn Monroe one, it's part of a dream. So anyway, Dogen here is talking about the dynamics of practice awakening. And even though our practice, both our delusion and our awakening, and Dogen also said in one of his essays, we don't try and get rid of delusion and get a hold of awakening.

[48:19]

It's all just to be in delusion throughout delusion, being awakened throughout awakening. So it's not about, you know, reaching some great awakened state. It's about just taking on. How is it to be a person on your seat right now? Right now, tomorrow, last night, last week, throughout our lives, and throughout our dreams. And yet, Dogen says, there's something difficult to forget. Initially, seclusion. Sound of evening rain. So he was looking back on that from a long time later. But appreciating the sound of evening rain. Okay. Yeah. Anyway. Okay.

[49:20]

So, you know, there's a lot more. My presentation is already final. He's probably involved with courses. Dogen's extensive record. I could read some more. But I'll pause now and ask if you have comments, questions, and I can reread any of the ones you want. Yes, Eve. I have a question. Actually, I have a lot of questions in general. I mean, some of what you were reading, you know, talked about the value of delusion and the value of, you know, sitting in solo contemplation. But he was always also talking about the value of summer. Because he said this for all of these Dharma Hall discourses, which is what I was reading

[50:25]

except for the last poem. It weren't like this because the monks were standing and he was sitting up on the platform. So, that's maybe why some of them are short. Yeah. Yeah. But they were all about not just seclusion, although some of them do refer to that, but also about community. So, everyone is welcome to comment or speak or ask questions. Yeah, go ahead. Yeah. So, I was worried. Yes. So, that's a pathway to enlightenment, too, right? It's not a pathway to enlightenment.

[51:25]

It's awakening itself. So, we, yeah, so we sit, but also we talk with each other like this. And it's not about figuring out the meaning of some story or anything like that. It's not necessarily about anybody reading the book. No, it's about you agreeing with you. And then realizing that you don't know the whole thing, being willing to learn. And when you see divergence, I mean, you know, sometimes people react with anger. But, I mean, it was interesting, you know, to hear you mention laughter because to me, sometimes laughter comes out of recognizing divergence. Yeah. And laughter is, you know, loud and zen. If somebody's making a comment and you feel laughter coming up, it's okay. You're not laughing at them. You're laughing at them all at once.

[52:27]

And crying is loud, too. No crying in baseball, but there's crying in zen. So, I've been in zendos where somebody was just doing their own thing and started crying. Sometimes audibly. And, you know, this world gives us a lot to cry about and gives us a lot to laugh about. So, sometimes it's okay to be angry. Well, okay. That's a whole different dharma talk that I want to give sometime soon. How to practice with anger. Because we all, you know, if you're paying attention, we all, you know, can allow our anger to rise through the various causes of ambition. But it's our anger. So, how do we take care of anger? How do we take care of not dumping anger on someone, but seeing our own anger, seeing what's involved in the causes and conditions, without necessarily finalizing that.

[53:35]

And then seeing how to respond helpfully. So, the practice of skillful means and patience are important when anger arises. How do we be patient with our own anger and patient with the situation that allowed us to do our own anger? But then also pay attention and find skillful means to respond to the situation helpfully. That's a very short version of that dharma talk. Yeah, that's right. So, oneness, this is the harmony of difference and sameness. This is totally essential part of our practice teaching, that we see the oneness of all people.

[54:37]

I think everyone here has that. I think probably all the people online. Also, I can tell the difference between you and me. Yeah. He's a lot taller than me. I just don't know. Yeah. So, we recognize difference as well as sameness. That's exactly what this last film was talking about. One of the last films was talking about. Where is it? I cannot say that from the beginning, not a single thing exists. If you just hold on to emptiness, that doesn't really work. Causes are complete and the results are fulfilled. So, we have to see differences. We see sameness and difference. But we see difference from the context of having some sense of the radiance.

[55:46]

Yeah. So, you can see the top of the refrigerator and I can't. I don't see it. Maybe Ruben? No, I don't think even Ruben can see it. It's a couple rooms out. Wait for it. Oh, there it is. Oh. Yeah. So, David had a question. A comment. My question was saying that the mindful reading that we were doing on our adventure. She talks how while we're in the meeting our girlfriend, but it's saying we have the same life source. Is that what Ruben is saying? Yeah, that's a good example. Yeah, but the flower and the bee. Yeah, they're different. Most flowers don't buzz. I don't know. Some may be, but.

[56:47]

Yeah, they're, they're involved. They're intimately interacting in a way that sometimes produces honey. And pollinates flowers and various wonderful causes and effects. Well, thank you. So, other people. Broken comments, questions, responses. A place for repeating reading. Jan, did you have something? I have a Unitarian minister. They say. There's a, there's a story about the. Fire boy seeking fire. It's a longer story. And it's another story. I do have a story. And also, she said wisdom that.

[57:51]

Yes, I think. People online. My comments. Yeah, so is anybody still online? I have any comments or questions. Thank you. Thank you for the, can you hear me again? David? Yes, I can hear you. Yes. Right. Hi, I'm still on light because light sounds awfully dualistic. And it sounds awfully subject, verb, object. And I get it that this is not. And I'm still trying to. Trying to see what can emerge from me if I sit with that as a question. So, today my question is what's with radiance? Are you talking about radiance? I'm talking about radiance. So, why is it radiant? And what is radiant? Radiance in this context as the basis of our practice in a Buddha.

[58:56]

Does not mean light as opposed to darkness. There's a radiance to darkness too. What's radiance? Yeah, radiance. So, in December, we're going to be five days exploring this question. Thank you. We thought in the shadow. Yes, this, where did it go? I don't see it anymore. Oh, so, so it's moved over to where Mike is. Yeah, so, so radiance includes movement, but it includes everything. Is there a reason? Yeah. So, yeah, what is this radiance? That's, that's the question. How do we appreciate the radiance that we are, that we is?

[59:50]

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