Good morning, everyone. Good morning. Good morning, people on Tide and Lightning, a guiding teacher of ancient dragons and gay here. I want to speak this morning, talk this morning about a few tidbits from Ehe Dogen, the founder of our branch of Zen. This is kind of a preview of the seminar I'm doing in Saturday, October 21st, a few weeks from now, a repeat seminar on Dogen's extensive record, which I've translated into Sherlock Wilkins Moore, and it's a masterwork of Dogen's, along with Sherlock Denzel. So I'm just going to read a handful of excerpts. Most of this is short Dharmahal discourses.

[01:03]

Some of them not that short, but most of them are very short. And this work also includes his poetry from his early years in shop traveling in China in his 20s till his passing in 1950. 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 technology. In 1243, there was this big change. He moved his whole samba from Kyoto, the capital, Up way up to the mountains in the north, they actually built a temple. So this was 340. Everybody has their own radiant light.

[02:07]

Buddha Hall and Monks Hall can never be destroyed. And actually, here we have the Buddha Hall immune services and the Monks Hall and Zendo in one room. But anyway, this 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 China who came from India across the desert, who sat in a cave for nine years before teaching. Everybody has their own radiant light.

[03:12]

This is the basis of our practice. And Huketsu and I are going to talk about this more in the Aruhasu Sesshin, beginning of December. We're going to talk about radiance and texts that work clearly in Sato Zen 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 the radiant light allows the radiant light to respond? So it is next to Buddha that we can sit stuff in Inhale and exhale and Yeah, try and stay upright and I mean for every of 40 minutes or whatever it is or for a day We will be doing next Sunday That was eating The radiant light is Gula, is everything, and allows us to practice.

[04:22]

So it says, in spring, beyond our own efforts, over the tree returns to life and knowledge. So this renewal of our awareness of our gulanas, of our uprightness, of our ability to just sit and taste the wall of our ancient mystic karma, become intimate with how we are. This is bringing light of Buddha, acting through us. And everyone here, as you are now taking your seat in our . So if you have comments or questions on that, I can come back. I was going to just do a bunch of them. And please, we want your comments or questions. The next one is from, also from 1242, and it's on the occasion of the autumn formal, which we just experienced here in this finance space.

[05:38]

As Sadokan says, previous Buddhas and later Buddhas are together, equally verified and awakened. They all completely illuminate each other. Right here, we directly receive the 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 scenes, each scene, is a good laugh. It's clearly apparent. After a pause, that's the best way to end this discussion. Before our eyes, there is no dharma that we can assess.

[06:45]

Outside of dharma, what is there of mine to examine? So it's all dharma. And this word dharma, of course, refers to teachings, teachings about reality and reality itself and the truth. It also refers to the elements of that, the dharmas, the factors of reality. And in early Buddha's, in the early Buddha's psychology, you have the dharma great develops lists of all the elements of reality. And they... They're mostly qualities of mind and awareness, things like wholesomeness, or trust, or unwholesomeness, or various aspects of how things in the world, the experiences of the world. Do you have a question, Shane? Yeah, I was saying a word that you used, not at the end of the last verse, but the one before.

[07:49]

I think you said something about the program. Yes. And then we await that word. Yeah, okay, thank you. What was that? Oh, yeah, just before the pause in this one. Yeah. Although it is like this, having seen the cold ground, each scene, each scenario, is a good laugh. Laugh? R-I-N-G-H? Laugh. [...] Okay. That's what I heard. Something is laughing at our being caught in the cold ground, at our... You know, the ground has a lot of meanings, and 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.

[08:59]

So, I'm going to go back to the beginning of this book. Four of our teachings, Buddhist, Buddhist, and later Buddhist are together equally verified in awakening. So verified also applies one 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, I think you need to have the gallery be locked as people get consumers. You know, we're all just hanging on the wall. Anyway. Yeah, this is an interesting thing that Delbert had said. It is like this. Everything is venerable.

[10:01]

Where do we not express the Dharma? You can't tell, but express the reality of your life during that. It's not something extra that you need to make up. We reach the earth plant right now in this body body. Although it is likely that having seen the cold ground and we actually see where we are in our Dharma position and we feel cold But each seeing is a good laugh. So it's not that Domen is laughing at us. He's kind of laughing at us. Anyway, he says, is this clearly apparent? Then there's the pause. And then he says, before our eyes, there is no dharma that we can assess. So we can't define, control, determine if you're out. Our practice is not about figuring out who. what reality is. Our practice is just here we are expressing it.

[11:04]

Outside of Dharma, outside of reality, outside of all of its stuff, what is there for mind to examine? This is what the mind does. We're sitting upright, inhaling and exhaling, observing the world in front of us or allowing the world in front of us to observe us. So outside of this, outside of this reality, what is there that our mind is damaged? When we are thinking, when we are wondering, it's always just this. We are right here. So this radiance that opens up is thanks to Buddha, and it is Buddha. And Buddha is right here. And we take refuge in Buddha. We also take refuge in song, mind, reality, truth, the teaching of it, and song with the community.

[12:06]

So we are all doing this together. So we can come back and respond to any of you. But I wanted to, just as a sample, read a number of these. Actually, this is one that I spoke about recently. It's been more than a month. about Chitelle who wrote the Song of the Grandson, and talking about the essential meaning of Buddha Dharma. Does anyone want me to repeat this? You all know the essential meaning of Buddha Dharma? Oh, Ruben said no. So Ruben doesn't understand it, but for Ruben's sake, I'll read this. Here's a story, Ruben said. one of his students asked Shih Tzu, who wrote The Harmony of Giving, saying this, what is the essential meaning of Buddha Dharma? This is the basic question.

[13:09]

What does it mean? What's it all about? But often in Zen, they ask it in funny ways, like, why did Bodhidharma come from the West? There's all kinds of ways of asking. And Shuto said, this is really important, Shuto 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 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. 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. We have to know a bunch of stuff to get to the next grade or whatever.

[14:11]

So he said, not to retain, not to know. That's all I need to read from this. But the student values said, beyond that, is there any other pivotal point or not? And should have said, why the sky does not obstruct the white clouds. So literally, you know. I think it's pretty clear that they don't have any dust clouds up there. Maybe they are. 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 our subject. The white sky does not obstruct thoughts and feelings that we may recognize after sitting or facing a wall. And of course, the thoughts of healing the cloud, the White Cloud 50, do not harm or hinder the White Sun.

[15:17]

And then Dogen 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 flow. Friends is an image for, well, many things, culture, teaching, Here, this further wind flow refers to Buddha going beyond Buddha. It's not enough to fully realize Buddha on your seat, and recognize Buddha on your seat, or even have some very fine understanding of what Buddha is. Further wind flow. It's often also frequently referred to Buddha going beyond Buddha. Buddha continued to Shakyamuni Buddha. I wanted to do this. So he's sitting here, what, a hundred years ago, continue practicing every day, continue awakening every day. So people that believe the wise God does not obstruct the white cloud's gifting at such a time, why do you bother to take the trouble to ask shit then?

[16:27]

And that's kind of a trick question. Why do we ask these questions? Why do we say what's it all about? What's the meaning of the environment? What's the very value of that? Can't we just enjoy the radiance? Well, this is a real question. OK. 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 just a short, it's just a poem on bone. Please cherish your skin, flesh, bones, and marrow. This is another reference to Don Juan, who described to his students that animals feel flesh, bones, and marrow. Please cherish your skin, flesh, bones, and marrow. Knowing each other, intimate friends grow even more intimate.

[17:31]

which 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, Bodhidharma faces the wall for nine years, abiding in Shaolin. At the monastery, at the mountain right near it, I visited that instead of the cave at the top where Bodhidharma sat for nine years, I want to go back to this line. Knowing each other, intimate friends grow even more intimate. So Dogen has said in literature generally, and especially a lot of the koan teachings for this, refer to common cultural information from China.

[18:34]

Later on from Japan, but they'll get brought all this for the first time. So I've told them, was this done from China to Japan at 12, so that is one of the four-year studies from China. And he has, in this line, knowing each other, intimate friends grow even more intimate. And this phrase that we translated as intimate friends is an idiom for intimate friends, but it literally means knowing the sound. So 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, it's just current popular knowledge. But this old story, there was a great musician who had a friend who deeply appreciated music.

[19:42]

When the musician's friend died, he broke the strings on his instrument and never played it again. Imagine painting this on your own. Your friends would really appreciate it. Whatever it is you do, use it. And they die and never do it again. So. I'll just read this one again, please cherish your skin, flesh, bones and marrow. Knowing each other intimate friends, but I'll even more. When someone asks the meaning when we are not coming from the West, because of the law for nine years, buying a challenge. Sheldon is interesting because it's also in the center of any of you ever watched that old TV show Kung Fu. Anyway, this is Cain.

[20:51]

David Cary. Shaolin was the center of martial arts in China. And he had studied the Shaolin. But this Shaolin before that was where Bodhidharma, sat in the cave for nine years. And it was interesting when I visited Shaolin, led by Andy Ferguson, that there's this martial arts kind of modern academy before the old temple of Shaolin. And there's a big statue of Bodhidharma, like as a warrior, a real boss. Anyway, so Bodhidharma is this like, you know, seminal figure iconically represented. But there's a story, which I found out thanks to Paula Lazards, who's a priest here and a martial arts teacher.

[21:58]

She has her own martial arts studio. And thanks to her questions, I received some help with investigations. The founder of martial arts at Shaolin was a Sato person, Sato in Chinese, who was a disciple of Wansong, who wrote the commentary for the Siena Nuda, what means gone, which is anyway. And He wasn't a martial arts person himself, but I guess it was a difficult time and there were lots of bandits around him. So to protect his monks and to protect his religion, he went up to Shaolin. He assembled all the great martial arts teachers at the time at Shaolin and that became the center of martial arts learning. And it continues to be the center of the Shaolin Temple. I'm just curious, because this is like four or five hundred years after Bodhidharma. So it wasn't a martial arts temple at all until 12th century or something?

[23:11]

Until late in the 13th century. But at the core, a lot of what we think of as history is myth and legend. So in martial arts traditions, they claim the Golden Dog was the founder of the American tradition. But he wasn't the martial artist. Anyway. But Dogen refers to Shaolin. So, yeah, since I'm doing a number of these different talks, if you have a question as you go, it's okay. If you want to raise your hand, we'll do more discussion at the end. And I guess I'm just going to give a couple more. Jab, did you have a question? It's probably Carrie, and I missed the name of that Yes, Book of Serenity, Choyoroku in Japanese.

[24:17]

Book of Serenity, which we refer to somewhat regularly here. It's a collection of a hundred stories. And the guy whose students founded the martial art, brought martial arts to Shaolin, is the main commentator of those stories, which were originally compiled by Hongzhi, who I talk about sometimes. He wrote his version of the stories and a verse comment, and then one song added up. And a lot of it is like referring to Chinese cultural lore, you know, the way we refer to rock lyrics or Shakespeare. So that's sometimes why it's difficult for Americans to read these full-on collections because there is a lot of, you know, and the good editions of those and translations have footnotes that help some, but there's a whole lot of cultural lore embedded in it.

[25:24]

Just like we would take for granted references to legal services. So that's why you need footnotes, right? Yeah. So I remember you saying, it's a bit like footnotes. I look at the footnotes first, anyway. I misunderstood you. Anyway, okay, and I have two more from late in his life. Don't get died at 1253. We actually move to more than enough to explore from the capital. So, this one is probably one of our favorites. The family style of all Buddhas and ancestors is to first arouse the vow to save all other beings by removing suffering and providing joy. We will chant the 440-something vow of Lahiri, and we start with saving all beings. Only this family style is inexhaustibly bright and clear.

[26:28]

The family style refers to a particular style of teaching and a particular lineage. So this is our family style. In the Lofty Mountains, I think we could talk about the family style of Buddhism better also. In the Lofty Mountains, we see the moon for a long time. As clouds clear, we first recognize the sky. So this refers to, you know, Dogen and his assembly literally were living up in these five mountains in northern Japan. And the monastery that some of us have practiced and visited, Tassajara, California, is also up in the mountains. And so this is referring to taking some time to practice intensely. We can think of this just as taking a few days or taking one day or taking a period to sit. In December, as I said, we're going to do a five-day session.

[27:32]

But in the lofty mountains, when we are sitting intensely over some time, we sit alone for a long time. So the moon is not just the full moon that we celebrate, or what is at the precepts ceremony. It's a part of the full moon. The full moon is an image that is used widely in them, the homeless, just around us in the full moon. There's a way of talking about settling into the homeless, the homeless, too. And then as clouds clear, we first recognize this cloud. First again, as I was at the inception, as we sit and tap on it, we recognize, we're seeing what we personally, and if we sit for a while, we sit for a while, and as clouds clear,

[28:36]

we first recognize the stars. So going back to the why the sky does not need to be uplifted, this is about our zazen. So I would guess that most of you will have heard of zazen before this. had some thoughts or feelings. One or two. Just one or two. Anyway. As clouds clear, we first recognize the sky. So part of Zazen, and maybe the hardest part of Zazen, is that as we sit Silent and upright. When you start to see the clouds of our ancient twisted government, we start to see and recognize and feel all of this stuff. I don't know if that's a common technical term in psychology.

[29:40]

It's just that all of the habits and tendencies we have start to see them. They start to feel them. And the practice is to become intimate with them, to actually see who we are, how we are, or how these thoughts and feelings come up. Not to try and change them, because as we become intimate with them, they may not fall away completely, but at least we don't need to react to them. We don't need to act out based on our habit patterns. You'd be comfortable with it. Oh, it's that. You can respond without being caught by that. Okay, so as clouds clearly first recognize the sky and then cast loose down the precipice, down the mountain streams, the moonlight shares itself within the 10,000 forms.

[30:41]

This is the heart of our practice. When we see the openness, the radiance. That is the reality of our lives, of our particular lives. We share it with 10,000 points. All the people we know, family, friends, neighbors, all over the place. And And a lot of the decision is about how that happens. It's not what we try and manipulate things to express it to, you know, fossil types of people about our wonderful things. But it becomes part of our sacred flesh, bones, and marrow. And then Dogen says, even when climbing up the bird's path, taking good care of yourself is spiritual. So yes, everyone, please take good care of yourself. This is the first part, the first step in compassion and saving all beings, bringing all beings.

[31:51]

It mentions the bird's path, which goes back to Wang Shan, the ninth century founder in China of this lineage. The bird's path, just as an image for our not knowing exactly what our path is. The birds know where they're going. They migrate to the same place every year, but we can't see it. So we can't always see where we're going and what's happening and what our path is. But we still, we climb up the bird's path. We are engaged in this practice. But then taking care of yourself is spiritual power. After a pause, Thurman said, the moon moves following the boat with the ocean baths, spring turns following the sun with the sunflowers red.

[33:02]

So he has all these poetic phrases in the middle of his teachings to express things. No moves following the boat. So as soon as we are. Writing sailing, well, whatever. No, it's all over the water or what? And actually even what? The ocean back spring turns following the sun and the sunflowers are there. So I'm going to read one more. Also from 12, this is from 12th of particular year, Atkinson. This is about autumn. So again said, you shouldn't know. that becoming a Buddha is not something new or ancient.

[34:14]

How could practice realization be within any boundary? Do not say that from the beginning, not a single thing exists. So this is kind of heresy because this is a famous phrase from the sixth ancestor. From the beginning, one single thing exists. And yes, from the point of view of emptiness, this is our reality. Doga says not to say that. The causes are complete and the results are fulfilled through time. Great Assembly, please tell me, why is it like this? So, Doga, there's a, some of you know the Fox Cohen, there's a, 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.

[35:17]

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. So we don't ignore this through time. So it's just, don't say, not a single thing is listed, but we often do live, we live with this radiance. We are with this radiance. And yet, how do we express that radiance? Well, I see as blessed as in our school energy. How do we round about the stable and be? But moving suffering and providing joy so. We.

[36:21]

Step upright. I mean, hell and exhale. And. And we can rejoice in. Okay. We see this radiance that we are, that we is. Through Buddha, through the teaching, through all the darkness, through community and soccer. That's almost together. So the causes are complete, and the results are fulfilled. Cause and result, cause and effect, that happens, you see that in our life. And they're fulfilled through time. Speaking of them, we may also enjoy a radiance of movement that is here now.

[37:27]

Can you all hear me okay? I'm mindful. Thank you. So then there was this great assembly. Please tell me, why is it like this? You may have responses to that. Then, in this, Donald, this portion 1252, Reverend Paulus had then said, Opening flowers will unfailingly bear the genuine fruit. Green leaves meeting autumn immediately turn red. So we're starting to see the leaves turning some of the trees here in Chicago. We know this. This is part of our experience. And also, opening flowers unfailingly bear genuine fruit.

[38:28]

So as we open up to the radiance, Buddha is here. Jenga Buddha is here. And also, again, I'm ready for the release, being honored, and immediately tracking that. Well, it takes a little while. I assume it was clean yesterday, so no. across the street seems to have happened so I have time and then you know I want to just have discussions about these and I can repeat anything that you want but I'll close with at the end of Doug's extensive record which I'll talk about a lot more in the seminar Saturday afternoon at 4.30 you can Find it on the website.

[39:34]

There's a last section with lots of poetry. Actually, it's the next to the last section. And then there's a section of poems that we collected, teaching stories. This is from a collection of verses about the time of regionalistic region. 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. A leisurely seclusion after a carcass of sound and weeping arms. The boxer was the place where he first practiced in Kyoto before he found a temple there after he came back to China. So he was just in some grass hut on his own after he came back to China and starting to write down some of what he learned in China.

[40:47]

But in his poem, it says, in birth and death, we sympathize with these men arising, both the moving and awakened paths. Proceed within a dream. And yet there's something difficult to forget. In the measure of seclusion, there's the process of sound and evening rain. So, a little more last week I heard of evening rain. It's lovely, actually. Sometimes, recently here, we've had the sound of cicadas. This morning, we have the sound of people walking by. And I'll have the shadows on the wall. Yes. Compassion, yay. moving across tables on the ceiling for a while.

[41:54]

Shadows, which is a sign of radiance. Radiance, yes. We can see the radiance on the wall. I couldn't, as I turn it, I wouldn't have seen it. The leaves are just waiting with the wind. Leaves are fluctuating, fluctuating, fluttering. 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 you know around the earth what no we had a way around but it's not light on the wall very cool so this is like the sound of eating rain yes I want to go back to one other line in this. Both the moonlit and the waking paths precede the minute dream.

[42:59]

Dogen has an essay in the Shobhavendra collection, a blogger essay, about expressing the dream of the moonlit dream. So usually in orthodox, conventional, traditional Buddhism, they talk about awakening from the dream that we're all in the dream of, and 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 quizzing at our dream, all the thoughts of demons, So traditionally in Buddhism, they talk about awakening from the dream. This is a clear conventional. Was anybody here dreaming just before you woke up this morning? Do you remember?

[44:09]

You don't remember what the dream is? I don't. Sometimes. Occasionally I'll remember a dream. Mostly I don't. But anyway. Okay, Duncan turns that upside down in that essay. Especially in the dream we're going into it. So this is kind of a cultural thing. This is about Japanese poetry and poets. And so a number of people in Dogen's time, roughly, practiced with their dreams. Quezon, who's considered the second founder of Soto Zen, who was a few generations after Gogo, focused on his dreams a lot. And he actually made decisions about his students and about where he would build a new temple based on dreams he had.

[45:12]

They took dreams seriously. And if we see consciousness as this continuity between monkey mind and radiance, Of course, James is part of that. There was another great Kamakura period, a little older than Dobin, a priest named Nyoen, who I like a lot. He was both Shingon, or Vajrayana, and Kegon, or Hwaien, at Tonsaku schools, the earlier schools before that. He lived in Northwestern Kyoto, but he also often traveled to Nara, where there's the Hadaichi Temple. which is where the great Buddha, the largest wooden statue in the world, the largest wooden building in the world. Oh, Ruben. Oh, me. Yeah. It's an amazing statue. And this statue of Vairagshana, the ultimate radiance Buddha, whose radiance is this world and is our body, mind, that is Buddha.

[46:24]

That's the teaching. It's not how we usually think of things as 21st century Americans. At any rate, Newell 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 Urdas 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, at least I do, feels like a dream, some kind of dream scenario. Has anybody felt that before? Yeah, so, yeah. So, Dogen says, both deluded and awakened paths proceed within a dream.

[47:36]

He's referring to this. There's an old Zen poem about this, which maybe you've heard. So anyway, Doga here is talking about the dynamics of our practice awakening. And even though our practice both our delusion and our awakening And Duggan also said in one of his essays, we don't try and get rid of delusion and get a hold of it. It's all just to be in delusion throughout delusion, be in awakening throughout awakening. So it's not about reaching some great awakened state. It's about just taking on. How is it to be a person on your seat right now?

[48:38]

Right now, tomorrow, or Last night, last week, threw out our lines. They threw out our dreams. And yet, Ogint says, there's something difficult to forget. The leisurely seclusion in Kyoto. Sound of evening rain. Thought he was looking back on that from a long time later, but appreciating the sound of evening rain. So what? Well, it's there. Okay. So we'll get down. Yeah. Anyway. Okay. So, you know, there's a lot more, 535 of these, but I'm going to hold this closer. 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 or in general.

[49:46]

And it would help me to see that people are talking. Yes, Eve. I have a question. It's about the value of questions in general. I mean, some of what We were reading and talked about the value of the solution and the value of sitting in full concentration. But he was always also talking about the value of dharma, because he said this for all of these dharma hall discourses, which is what I was reading the last poem. It worked like this, because the monks were standing, and he was sitting up on the dharma seat 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, because he was acknowledging the assembly, and we had often asked him, do you have any shit that you found?

[51:04]

Yeah, so go ahead, and let's, so everyone is welcome to comment or speak or ask questions, and let's, yeah, go ahead. Yeah, so I was wondering, Yes, so that's a pathway to enlightenment too, right? The dialogue. It's not a pathway to enlightenment. It's awakening itself. 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 everybody agreeing. No. It's about you agreeing with you. And then realizing that you don't know the whole thing, being willing to learn. When you see the Herptons, 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 the Herptons.

[52:14]

Yeah. And laughter is, you know, allowed in Zen. If somebody's making a comment, then you feel laughter coming up. It's okay. You're not laughing at them. You're laughing at all of us. And crying is allowed, too. No crying in baseball, but there's crying in Zen. So I've been in Zen goes nowhere. And I'm just doing my own thing. Sometimes audible. And, you know, this world gives us a lot to cry about and gives us a lot to laugh about. 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 can't get attention, we all, you know, can allow our anger to rise to the various causes of prohibition, 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 of prohibition,

[53:31]

without necessarily finalizing that. 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 feel 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 common sense. Yeah, I guess I get angry sometimes when people, you know, don't want to allow for disappointment or regard some points of view or dialogue. Yeah, that's right. So oneness, this is the harmony of difference and sameness. This is... Totally central part of our practice teaching that we see the one that's of all of us.

[54:33]

So they came back from China and so that's what he brought. And so. I saw horizontal nodes. So I think everyone here has that. And I think probably all the people online. And. So and also. I can tell the difference between you and me. Yeah. He's a lot taller than you. Otherwise, I wouldn't know. So we recognize difference as well as things. That's exactly what this last one 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.

[55:36]

So we have to see differences. We see same as that difference. But we see difference from the context of having some sense of the radiance. Yeah, so he could see the top of the refrigerator and I can't. I don't see it. No, I don't think even Ruben can see. Wait for it. Oh, there it is. Yeah, I'm doing work practice so I can answer. So David had a question, comment. Thank you. [...] our venture, and she talked of how a flower and a bee are different, but the same, the same life source. Is that what you're saying? Yeah, that's a good example. Yeah. The flower and the bee, yeah, they're different.

[56:39]

Most flowers don't buzz. I don't know. Um, um, but, um, Yeah, they're involved, they're intimately interacting in a way that sometimes produces honey and pollinates more flowers and various wonderful causes and effects. Thank you. So other people, spoken comments, questions, responses. request for repeat reading. Jan, did you have something? Oh, I have a Unitarian minister that used to say, women speak the first word. Oh, thank you. There's a joke, there's a story of a joke inside about the, the, the, um, Fireboy Seeking Fire.

[57:41]

It's a longer story. I can't remember the story. I can remember the story, and also the figure she said, and it's wisdom that speaks for them. Yes. But I'm thinking if I did this for a little while, people online might have some comments. Yeah, so does anybody still online have any comments or questions? David Ray. Hi, Taigen. Thank you. Can you hear me, Taigen? 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?

[58:43]

Are you talking about radiance? I'm talking about radiance. So why is it radiant and what is radiance? Radiance in this context as the basis of our practice and of Buddha does not mean light as opposed to darkness. There's a radiance to darkness too. What's radiance? Yeah, what radiance? In December, we're going to be three to five days exploring this question. Thank you. We saw it in the shadow. Yes. Where did it go? I don't see it anymore. Oh, so it's moved over to where Mike is. Yeah, so radiance... Includes movement, but it includes everything. So, yeah, what is this radiance? That's the question.

[59:45]

How do we appreciate the radiance that we are, that we is?

[59:50]

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