I vow to chase the truth of the Titus' words. Good morning. I'd like to introduce our guest speaker this morning. This is Ekai Korematsu from Shogo-ji in Japan. Shogo-ji is a training monastery associated with Ryo-ji, where his teacher, Narasaki Roshi, resides. Thank you very much for this opportunity.

[01:01]

In the past, I want to talk about my therapy. Also in Japan, you might think I'm coming from Japan, Japanese monk. Sometimes I get confused. Before this temple is built, there was a Berkeley Zen Center on the right way. That's where I started. Mel Whiteman, It was, I think, in 1974 or 5, I'm quite sure.

[02:44]

At that time, membership was so small, you know, on attic. Every morning, I would go and sit there. And usually that time in the morning, early evening, five o'clock one, three, two or three regular days, male is doing dosh. No more hitting the kitchen with his door. And both, I forgot to tell you, and a couple Then I moved to San Francisco.

[03:52]

And it was intensely sexist. Every opportunity I had, I got to sit. Went to sit. Seven days, two days. Santa Cruz, Mendocino. That time, people called. like that frequently. I think I will run over them. I don't know nowadays. trying for something, some stability.

[05:06]

Started with a... I was so very stiff, I could not do the full row. No, I couldn't do that, but... Even half row, I couldn't do. Quarter row. That's some way to do it, but you know, And I had the idea I have to sit hard and get my body shaped up so I can sit full lotus. So I sat. It took a long time. Intensely I sat. I must say it took three years to be able to sit in the full lotus. Upon I remember, Mendocino County, there was a The day thunder called Spring Mountain Thunder. It's called, you know.

[06:21]

That was Oden, that's the... ...1976 Heikugendo. Have you heard of Heikugendo? You know the Zen Mind, the beginner's mind book? Suzuki Roshi's lecture. Lecture given at the Hyde Center. It was in Los Altos, Los Altos. Suzuki Roshi used to go down from the San Francisco Zen Center to give a talk. Wednesday night talk. Wednesday night. Still, that's the tradition. No longer Hyakugendo exists, but Kannon-do. All times move to the Kannon-do. Very familiar feeling.

[07:38]

And that's the height of gender. Yeah. I'm a gay man. Japanese man. Born in the States. Kofun Kino was my kid. Asuna Zuki was my kid. my head, he disappeared. He was like that. So I ended up wondering how to go from there. It was very unfortunate. Friendship in both centers, here and San Francisco Zen Center, Mountain View SK.

[08:57]

When something happens to those three centers, important times, some occasions, I'm always there. I was. For instance, Mountain Hill Ceremony here. But President was a friend, working so hard. Nice to see. You see, I've seen Mount Tenshin Ceremony at the Zen-joji. Tenshin-san. Mount Tenshin Ceremony. When Soju, for example. Dermatransmission, and it's cold.

[09:58]

And I was in Japan for two weeks with that. Pudding soy. We got the connection. It feels very at home. It's very nice to see the familiar. This time, I wanted to come as a person. But six years ago, I was called back to Japan by my teacher, Niko Narasaki. He wanted to start a black space where So he needed my help.

[11:01]

So I was called back six years ago. And so busy for six years. Building has to be complete. We had several monks, especially from the Minnesota. I need the language, I need this. But finally, last November, this place was completed with a grand dedication. So now is the second stage as far as I felt it was a good time for me to put myself out of the monastery and visit this country, a familiar place.

[12:10]

And my teacher wanted to send, travel, wanted to have somebody from his monastery travel with me. That was Mugai-san. He was practicing at the Ziyoji Monastery for three years. My teacher wanted him to experience the centers, the practices. I wanted to come as a person, but it became like half person, half work of my teachers. And also, I am in charge of this new place, so coming as a shogo jinsen.

[13:20]

So my talk has three phases. Ekai as a person. My presentation has three phases. Ekai as a disciple of Ikko Narasaki. Especially in Minneapolis. First, we went to Minneapolis and spent five days, a couple of days in Sesshin. I need to send a message from my teacher. So the ritual was done. During the six years in Japan, I was traveling back and forth, Japan and here.

[14:32]

That was the seventh visit to Minneapolis. Before that, a couple of times as a person, I did this ninth visit. But during that period, I was always Roshi, my teacher. So I didn't have any freedom to go and visit and talk to friends and become myself in a way. So I had all the hands and eyes and mouth of my teacher. So this time I was looking forward to come as a person. And I didn't... It was not my intention to come and visit like this, giving a lecture or talk. I just wrote a letter to Minneapolis or some friends place. I'd like to come and sit with you. Somehow end up with like this. Very fortunate and I have to think myself clearly to present myself.

[15:44]

I can't just During the couple of two-day sessions at Minneapolis, there were about 25 people in the session. Very sincere, familiar face. Several people on the board of directors were concerned with the sangha. Some monks. And the message from me was, give a keyword, recovery of, recovery, recovery, recovery of something. That's the message. Recovery of your spirit, recovery of yourself, recovery of that brother.

[16:54]

returning to silence. Instead, I said, recovery all. And I told the people, if you want to step down intensely, you don't need to go to Japan. I appreciate it this time. I could sit a lot in the United States, Minnesota, and after that, Omaha, a couple of days, then to San Francisco. But in Japan, what I am doing is driving a car. More than like, sitting. Do you call it driving, driving?

[18:01]

But I also told people, if we want to find out something more about what Zazen is, maybe it might help to go to Japan to practice in the traditional manner. So, I'm doing a driving Zazen. The same message. My teacher, Nagasaki Doshu, messaged us like this. He would like people here to receive a... I'm sure you studied that. Jijiyu Zanmai. Jijiyu Zanmai. Does anybody know the term Jijiyu Zanmai?

[19:12]

Dōgen Zenjutsu, Shōgō Genzō, Bendōwa, do you read? The context, the core of it is about Yūgan-mai. That's the passage. He wants to convey He is not interested in forcing or bringing the Japanese form or practice literally into this country. That's not the point. But I want the people here to receive the Jiju from Danmai. Jiju is self, isn't it? Self-receiving, literally. means self-receiving samadhi.

[20:26]

Self-receiving. No one else is receiving. You receive. Anywhere you go. Being samadhi. Express yourself in that way. You can take any form you like. Free from form. The phone used to give a lot of applause on ceremonies. You still the same? I don't like applause. I just like to say it. No service. So if we are sitting, samadhi is like that.

[21:42]

You can wait, you can take any form in the space or time. That depends. No problem with form. When we are sitting, it doesn't matter. It's a perfect form. But when we are out of sitting, we take a different form. When we are eating, just eat. When we are chanting, chant. When we are working outside, Manifesting in many different ways because of the self-defeating.

[22:46]

It's like water with a container. We are not carrying the same container. But taking different forms. Always with forms. I don't like form. I just like to do something or whatever. It's not like that. Sitting time, we have this form. Other time, just go. Form appears. No contradiction. When we need to bow, we can just bow. Because that's how we express. I don't like home, I can think about it, that's enough. That's enough of the way. So those very flexible, developing, you may say, flexible mind, a very soft mind.

[23:50]

Suzuki Roshi said, very soft mind. It's another way to say, did you hammad. But if you decide, if we decide ourselves, I am this way, that way. You can't do that. You are bringing the same cup everywhere. This kind of problems that monks or persons who train in this country have is like that. So we can follow in some form. adopted the form here and came to Japan. Just the form became a problem. It's very hard to receive the new teaching with the form. Teaching also with the form.

[24:51]

Zen practice is not abstract. It's very concrete. In different cultures, it's developed in different forms. but sometimes that becomes a difficulty. So, emphasis is recovery of This gives you your spirit of your practice. So my teacher says, my intention is not to force people to learn some form and come here to force them.

[26:03]

But those are Jijo Zanmai, self-receiving samadhi. That attitude is very important. But it's very difficult to do if you are used to the form, if you become somewhat expert about it. Trouble with the Japanese monks coming here is like that often. See the practice here, different forms. It's somewhat different from the tradition we have in Japan. In Japan, the tradition developed 100 years. Something's wrong here. That's how the mind starts to think and starts to correct things. Then it loses the spirit of the Jijo-sama. It's a totally wrong space. But like water, it becomes like water.

[27:09]

In the container, in the cultures. You receive, you can learn something about it. Experience, really. It's the same way with the story of Dogen Zenji. He did extensive sitting in China with Anyojo Zenji. Received a transmission and came back to Japan, he said, with empty hands.

[28:11]

Empty hands. But he learned something. In the morning, sunrise from the east. Sunset in the middle. So he wasn't deceived by anything. He wasn't confused. He didn't become confused by any form or whatever. Something like that. That is a human. And as soon as he came back... This is a very important point, I think. He didn't start to teach alone. He didn't. He sat for a while at the Kenrinji.

[29:16]

All the temples he studied with Myozen. His teacher. Six months, one year. He stayed there. Almost like a visitor or just a person. And he himself, after that, stayed in a small hut. He didn't start a teacher. This is what I got from Japan. He just came back and received that. The problem when you go to Japan, especially pre-training, what happens is like that. By the rigorous effort, patient practice, you learn the form in Japan.

[30:24]

Developed practice in Japan. Very strong, perhaps. But when you come back, it doesn't work. It doesn't work. If we really become eager and try to teach something, it doesn't work. It has to be an empty hand. Otherwise, reverse culture shock. Reverse culture shock. You don't know where you are. Not able to meet people. That is a recovery of... I had... myself had a hard time.

[31:34]

I lived in this country more than 10 years. And my teacher just called. But over the years, I became different from the usual Japanese person. In many ways, behavior, thinking, and talking. You talk funny. It took a long time to fully refine myself. Very hard. Coming back here is much easier.

[32:35]

Do you know the bonsai tree? Japanese like bonsai trees. I felt I became a bonsai. Being here, I could express many ways, make a friend, practice in a way I like. In Japan, no. Like this, like this. It's not... I don't know... Here, how many people are starting this practice?

[33:40]

I just want to know the information. Oh, thank you. It's not essentially so important to how long you can sit. How long you can sit. How... how well you can concentrate. If we have that idea, you have to be better concentrated. The more you practice, your concentration becomes deeper. You will have problems again and again and again. You have to be able to sit cross-legged for hours and hours and aim for it. Nothing wrong with it. But this style of practice, so-called, is the other way around.

[34:55]

It's not how long you can sit still. That's not the point. The important thing is how to recover yourself. Like this. This is the most important. Don't worry about going like this. We do that anyway. Don't worry about it. But the problem is you do that all the time. We do that. Mind does that, body does that. Like this kind of practice. Then we begin to appreciate our practice. The falling part, we begin to appreciate.

[35:57]

Making a mistake part, we begin to appreciate. If we have that attitude, coming back, When we make a mistake, cause a problem to others, come back, I am sorry. That's it. You can come back. No, just come back. I did this for this reason. I am not right. I am right. I have a good reason. You make all kinds of reasons, not learning how to come back. And teaching in that way to the children is a very good teaching. But teaching children to be more concentrated, if you put the emphasis like that,

[37:05]

That's the other way around. But when something causes imbalance, just come back. Recovery or anything. Buddhist teaching is like that. Buddha's teaching, very beginning, primitive Buddha's teaching. That's the opposite. Reverse. Everything seems like reverse. Going like this is okay, but coming back. Reverse, pay attention. Life itself, life is suffering.

[38:09]

That's how original teaching goes. Life is wonderful supposed to be. When a baby is born, congratulations. But Buddhist view, suffering, cause of suffering. Very negative. Getting old, grown up, suffering. meeting with a wonderful person, falling in love, that's suffering. It's reversed. Because we tend to like to go this way, So, Buddha, with wisdom, has to teach us like that.

[39:19]

We tend to ignore the half of... I should say the dark side, actually. It's not the dark side anymore for Buddha. Ignore. And that becomes a cause of suffering. Like, I like daylight all the time. I don't like night time. That kind of attention. Putting a wall out here, just one, like this, in a blind spot. Teaching is like that, pointing at blind spots where we don't see. What we see, no problem. Don't need to worry about it. But we don't see, so he points. So teaching is very flexible. If some people think life is suffering, it's pain, pain in the neck, nostril, then Buddha might say life is a wonderful thing.

[40:26]

So you don't get confused. It's a wonderful thing. Being born into this world is wonderful. Fifteen minutes. Is there any question or something? Yes. Ekai-san, thank you for coming. You talked about Koubun Chino Roshi as ordaining you. How did you meet your teacher in Japan? I was ordained here by Koubun Chino. And I practiced with him for a while. And I wanted to have a formal practice in Japan. Then... Korbun Chinon was very informal.

[41:35]

He couldn't arrange. But his brother, Keibun, his brother in Japan, very formal and very practical, he arranged. And I practiced with his brother Keibun, Keibun Hojo, one year. Kind of novice kind of practice, memorizing sutras. going to family service for one year. And after that, I went to the preparation for me to go to the monastery that period. One year. And I went to the Eheiji for one year. At that time, my teacher, Narasaki Roshi, was a godo. A position of a godo. Godo is, I'm sure you know, godo is a position of educating or training the monks. at Eheiji.

[42:38]

And that's where I met him. Soon he left Eheiji. Soon after I was there. Went back to his own monastery in Zuiyoji. And I just followed him after spending one year at Eheiji. And at Zuiyoji I spent one year. There I I practiced with him and I did a shuso practice with him and established a kind of a teacher and disciple, shuso master. And finishing the training I came back and somehow after I came back here I used to go to Japan every summer two to three months, and there was some work going on.

[43:41]

Finally, I became his disciple. He's very old-fashioned. Next year is his 50th anniversary, 50th year of his avatarship. Very old. In 1985, I was at Hokyoji, and we did the bendoei with Narasaki. And that's the 24 hour a day practice. Very, very formal practice. And we lived in tents, and it was very, very difficult. And there was a lot of talk and disturbance afterwards. But you said, So how does it happen that you have a very strict teacher and your form is very open?

[44:48]

Yes, yes, yes. I learned a lot from my teacher. Being a teacher is established. What one could offer is actually what one experiences. What one could offer. Like Nagasaki Roshi, trained in a traditional manner in Japan.

[45:48]

Just receiving the teaching from the teachers and work with it. Many, many years he developed his practice. And what he can offer is that kind of teaching. He didn't know how to improvise. So when he comes to this country, he really does exactly the way he received. And he has the confidence. Raw experience. Direct experience. So when I went back to Japan to help establish Shogoji as an international place.

[46:52]

He was very concerned at the beginning. I do many different things. First thing I wanted to do was simplify things. wanted to be as close as possible with all the forms. All the forms, what I mean by that is at the time of the Dogenzen, practicing. Ancient time. No electricity. No gas. No telephone. Shogoji was ideal because we didn't have none of those. Because the priest who restored that temple really wanted it to be very simple and all the ways.

[47:58]

So it was good. And the practice style I wanted to be just like Dogen Zenji practiced Bendoho. Have you studied Bendoho in Shinto? When the sun sets, the evening drum is beating. It's called time. And when it's getting dark, Konsho, Gon, Gon, Gon, the bells. That's the signal for the evening. In the morning, we get up, 3 o'clock. And in the morning, before sunrise, when dawn, when birds start to sing, that's the ending of the day.

[49:01]

Yes. And before that, the morning bell is gone. That was Dogen's practice, completely with nature. That kind of style I wanted to introduce. He was very concerned because he is He goes, his practice goes with the thought of school, modern thought of school code. So, something really different happens. He feels he is responsible for it. He would say, what you are doing is right, correct, in all the ways. But the other way is correct. Six months later, I learned it doesn't work.

[50:08]

You can't teach an old person a trick. Then I gave up my ideas and started to follow. I had an idea from this company, and it's good for this company. I visited many different practice places. But eventually I learned it doesn't work. It seems to me It seems to me that Zen practice should help people to become wise in a certain way, maybe not the traditional thinking of the term, but in some ways.

[51:15]

Then if an older teacher is extremely rigid and he has practiced his entire life, has he become wise in a certain way? Beyond work. Beyond work. His presence. Beyond work. His presence. His presence. I am trying to say that I don't understand the juxtaposition of very rigid things I have trouble putting the two together. If form is yours, form is really with you, that is very good, I think so.

[53:00]

If, like, this So sitting posture is very, very rigid. But that's where two realities come together. Actually, one reality. I don't know whether I'm convenient or not. But if you have an idea like, dislike, you have a comparison together with something else, something you know or you don't know, causing that problem. That's what my teacher emphasized.

[54:00]

One world. One world means You can go far, far, far, far. Nothing to oppose. Universe. One word. Form you meet is one word. You can just really meet. Nothing to oppose. Take the form. The water. Mind the water. When water finds a corner, just hitting the corner. Finding a ball. become a ball. Water has a value when it takes a form. When scattered, it's very abstract. But talking about how to bring the student or the people who have a discount in the home up with different things, need a know-how.

[55:08]

That area is very, in a way, weak or not much emphasized in short school. Traditionally in Japan, there was an emphasis on practicing continuously. Just like an idiot, a fool. It's Hōkyō no Hanmai, one of the sutras teaches. In that way, work is going on. So please, very simple thing, this message is this. Come back. Don't worry about how long you are sitting. You can sit. But just sit. Come back. Come back to your home.

[56:12]

Come back to your dining table. Recovery to the family. That's the practice. And please remember, you develop the zazen, the strength of zazen. If you think you are developing the strength in zazen in sitting, this practice. I don't know how it works, but the actual strength of your sitting is outside. When you stand up, doing other activities, then you can really develop. This kind of practice sustains activity outside. I just like sitting, you know. Just like peace. I don't know. Thank you.

[57:06]

@Text_v004
@Score_JJ