Good morning. So this morning I would like to talk about what we sometimes in Zen call the mind of the way. Sometimes they call it the mind that seeks the way. So this is a very important idea in Buddhism. In Sanskrit it's called bodhicitta. Bodhicitta means literally awakening mind. But it refers to the arousing of our direction towards awakening, towards our first thought of spiritual practice, our arousing of caring and concern and direction towards spiritual practice. So how many of you are here at Green Gulch for the first time? Oh great. How many came

[01:04]

to meditation instruction for the first time this morning? Oh wonderful. So that's very fortunate for us. So this talk is for beginners. In our tradition of Suzuki Roshi's lineage we celebrate beginner's mind. We all aspire towards remembering that first thought, towards holding and taking care of that first impulse to do something as strange as come and sit facing the wall, quietly, upright, with our legs crossed or sitting in a chair, it doesn't matter. So this is this bodhicitta, this mind of the way. So I want to talk about this aspiration towards awakening, this deep concern and caring for

[02:06]

all beings, this mind of the way, in terms of a traditional Zen koan this morning. So koans in Zen are teaching stories and many of them are dialogues between students and teachers and the classical koans are from 1,200 years ago, but still we continue to study them because they have something to do with our life right now, today. So if it was just about something that happened 1,200 years ago we wouldn't bother, but anyway the story that I want to talk about today I actually want to talk about in a short Dharma talk given by Ehei Dogen, the Japanese founder of Soto Zen who lived in the 1,200s. So one of the things about these stories is that often they refer to other stories and that's very much the case with this story. So I'm going to be telling a bunch of stories this

[03:09]

morning and Dogen himself has a long introduction to this story and then he has his own comments and I have my own introduction to his introduction. But maybe, I wasn't going to do this, but maybe I'll just tell you the basic story because that's very short actually and it's about a Rinzai Zen teacher in China who lived in the 900s named Shoshan and a monk came to him once and asked Shoshan, all the Buddhas come from this sutra, what is this sutra? Shoshan responded, speak softly, speak softly. Could you all hear me? I'll say it again. So this is the first part. The monk asked Shoshan, all the Buddhas come from this sutra, what is this sutra? Shoshan responded, speak softly, speak softly. So it speaks softly

[04:12]

but it's also speak up. Can you hear me in the back? So the monk got it and he asked, how should we receive and maintain it? And Shoshan said, it can never be defiled. So that's the basic story I want to talk about today and we'll come back to it after a while. But first I want to talk about an introduction to this story and this is a modern story and this is from a novel actually that some of you may have read because it's on the best seller list. It's called Life of Pi. Have any of you read that? It's about an Indian boy, 15 year old Indian boy who finds himself stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific with a huge Bengal tiger and how he survives that. So it's a very interesting book but actually the part that I want to talk about this morning or mention as an introduction to this old Zen story and Dogen's introduction to it, happens before he ever gets on the

[05:12]

water, before he ever gets to the ocean. So as a young 14, 15 year old boy, this Indian boy comes from a very secular background. His parents are very secular, not concerned with religion. His father is actually owner and manager of a zoo, which is how the tiger ends up in the story. But anyway, it turns out that this young boy, when he's 14, a relative takes him to a Hindu temple and he's dazzled and amazed and very happy with all the colorful gods and goddesses and stories of the Indian tradition. And he becomes a devout Hindu without his parents knowing about it. He's very involved in the practice and the devotions. And then he happens to stumble upon a Catholic church and is kind of surprised and ends up talking

[06:14]

with a priest and at first he's kind of appalled that here's this religion with only one God and this image of the God is suffering up on a cross and anyway can't understand it. And finally he hears from the priest that this is about love. So he becomes, as well as a Hindu, he becomes a very devoted Christian and goes and studies the Bible and goes in praise of the church. And then he happens upon a humble baker who happens to be a Sufi master and he sees this man praying to Allah, doing his Muslim prayers. And he becomes interested and ends up becoming also a devout Muslim. And since we have this problem with Islam in this country, I thought I'd read a little bit about what he says about this. He says, I loved my prayer rug, ordinary in quality though it was, it glowed with beauty in my

[07:17]

eyes. I'm sorry I lost it. Wherever I laid it I felt special affection for the patch of ground beneath it and the immediate surroundings which to me is a clear indication that it was a good prayer rug because it helped me remember that the earth is the creation of God and sacred the same all over. So I kind of feel like that about wherever I sit when I sit Zazen. But anyway, this young boy from a secular background becomes very involved and committed with all three of these traditions. And one day he's out with his family and lo and behold all three of his teachers see him at once and they come over to meet him and meet his family. And of course the family has no idea that he's involved with anything religious and the three teachers come up to him and are kind of appalled to see each other and each of them says how wonderful the boy is and they get into this big argument

[08:19]

about criticizing each other's tradition. And finally the Hindu teacher says, he can't be a Hindu, a Christian and a Muslim, it's impossible, he must choose. And the father who's kind of bewildered says, I don't think it's a crime but I suppose you're right. So they finally turn to the boy after criticizing each other's religions and the boy says, Bapu Gandhi, that's Mahatma Gandhi, said all religions are true. And then the boy says, I just want to love God, he blurts out. So this story reminded me of something. And I think it's a story about this bodhicitta, this thought of awakening. So I was reminded of when I was about that

[09:19]

age, 14 or 15, and I couldn't have said that because I had decided I was an atheist. And yet I was searching for something, reading Dostoevsky and Kafka and Sartre and I wanted some meaning. How do I live? What do I do with my life? So this search for meaning, this spiritual integrity has something to do with this bodhicitta, this arousing of the thought of awakening. And I guess in my generation existentialism was one way that people found this basic question. Of course then there was no Buddhist practice that I knew about that was available. Anyway, that's my introduction to this story by Dogen, talking about this koan. So I'll read Dogen's introduction which is much longer than the story itself

[10:20]

and then talk about it a little bit. So Dogen says, in studying the way, the mind of the way is primary. And he was giving this talk at his monastery that he had founded not so long before, up in the remote mountains at Eheiji, which is still the headquarters temple, one of the headquarters temples of Soto Zen in Japan. In studying the way, the mind of the way is primary. And he goes on, this temple in the remote mountains and deep valleys is not easy to reach. And people arrive only after sailing over oceans and climbing mountains. Without treading with the mind of the way, it's difficult to arrive at this field. To refine the rice, first the bran must be removed. This is a good place in which to engage the way. And yet, I'm sorry that the master does not readily attend to others by disposition. However, by day or night, the voice of the valley stream happens to be conducive

[11:28]

for carrying water. Also, in spring and fall, the colors of the mountain manage to be conducive for gathering firewood. I hope that cloud and water monks will keep the way in mind. So, he was giving this talk up in the mountains and monks had come from a great distance and lay people to hear him and to practice with him. And yet, I think it's still relevant to our situation, coming to Buddhist practice here in the Bay Area, in America, in the world today. So, he says, in studying the way, the mind of the way is primary. The first thing is just this mind of the way, this direction towards awakening, this direction towards caring for all beings. He says, this temple in the remote mountains and deep valleys is not easy

[12:28]

to reach. And people arrive only after sailing over oceans and climbing mountains. Without treading with the mind of the way, it's difficult to arrive at this field. So, that's certainly true for a place like Eheji or for our temple in the deep mountains, Tassajara. But even coming to Green Gulch, those of you who live at Green Gulch, maybe some of you have come a long way. But those of you even who have come to Sunday morning talk at Green Gulch, even if you just drove over the hill from Mill Valley just out of curiosity, what is it they're doing over there, down by Muir Beach? What's going on there? Let's go check it out. Even then, I would say that you have arrived only after sailing over many waters and climbing at least over the foothills of Mount Tam. All of you, just to get here, even

[13:30]

if it's the first time, have gone through many things. And all of you have partaken of this mind of the way, or else you wouldn't be here. To refuse the rice, to refine the rice, first the bran must be removed. So this is an image of the practice that we do once we recognize our mind of the way. Sitting, watching ourselves, facing the wall, trying to be upright in the middle of all of our confusion and desires and frustrations and the difficulties of this world and our lives. He says this is a good place in which to engage the way, and it is. So whenever you get here, this is a good place. Whenever you decide to sit and face your life, this is a good place. Whether it's at Green Gulch or some other tradition, I would say it doesn't matter.

[14:31]

And then he says this very sweet thing, I'm sorry that the Master, and presumably he's referring to himself, Dogen, does not readily attend to others by disposition. So I don't know, maybe Dogen was kind of a shy guy. Maybe he was not very good at, or he thought he wasn't very good at engaging with his monks. But maybe always the teacher doesn't readily attend to others by disposition. So nobody's going to do this for you. You have aroused the mind of the way. In some small measure, at least. How will you engage the way? I'm sorry, the Master does not readily attend to others by disposition. However, by day or night, the voice of the

[15:35]

valley stream happens to be conducive for carrying water. Also in spring and fall, the colors of the mountain manage to be conducive for gathering firewood. So, even if you don't live in the deep valleys, there is some voice in the world around you that happens to be conducive for your taking care of your life and living with concern for those around you. Even if you don't live amidst the colors of the mountain, there are colors and shapes and forms in the world around you that can support you in your own practice of gathering firewood, of trying to take care of this life. So he says, I hope that cloud and water monks will keep the way in mind. Clouds and waters

[16:38]

is the word for monks in Chinese and Japanese. It means roaming free like clouds and waters. So for us, I would say, I hope that householder practitioners also will keep the way in mind. So even living in this world, what choice do we have? When we recognize the suffering of the world around us, when we recognize our own confusion, when we recognize our own desire to live in some meaningful way, when we wonder, how can I live this life? What is a proper livelihood in this place and time in this society? How can I raise my children? How can I be friendly with my friends? Please, as you negotiate that way, keep the way in mind. Okay so that's Dogen's introduction. Then he recites this story. I remember a monk asked

[17:53]

Xiaoshan, all the Buddhas come from this sutra. What is this sutra? Xiaoshan responded, speak softly, speak softly. The monk asked, how should we receive and maintain it? Xiaoshan said, it can never be defiled. So often in these stories, it just says a monk asked the teacher. Sometimes it says the name of the monk and that means that the monk later became a famous teacher himself or herself. But this time, it doesn't give the name of the monk. But I love this monk. It's a wonderful question. He says, all the Buddhas come from this sutra. What is this sutra? So there's a joke in this question. A sutra is a Buddhist scripture. It's the words of a Buddha. A sutra can only be spoken by a Buddha. And yet the monk asks,

[18:54]

all the Buddhas come from this sutra. What is this sutra? How can Buddhas come from a sutra if there are not Buddhas there already to speak the sutra? And yet, there are the sutras that you can find in the library above the dining room at Green Gulch, but there's also the sutras of the birds and the trees and the sound of the waves on your beach. What is this sutra that all the Buddhas come from? This is this fundamental question of the mind of the way. All the Buddhas come from this sutra. What is this sutra? It's an important question. What does our own awakening arise from? Where is it? What is it? How do I find

[19:55]

it? So this Indian boy had found three different collections of sutras. But still, where did they come from? Where did his impulse come from? What is it that inspires a Buddha to appear? What is it that inspires our own awakening? All the Buddhas come from this sutra. What is this sutra? So there is the Lotus Sutra, which says that the single great cause for Buddhas appearing in the world is simply to direct and demonstrate and help people find their way, to helping other people find their way. That's the single great cause, this recognition of the suffering of beings and the need to find our way. Still, this monk focuses in, all the Buddhas come from this sutra. What is this sutra? And Shoshan's answer was, speak

[21:00]

softly, speak softly. So maybe speak softly means speak gently. Maybe this refers to kind speech. But I think it's speak softly, but also speak up. Speak the truth. Speak your truth. But speak softly, speak softly. So this is worth considering, what Shoshan meant. Speak softly. And the monk said, how should we receive and maintain it? So to me that question shows that he got it. So I don't know how softly he asked that question, but how should we receive and maintain it? So there is one of the chants we do, the teaching

[22:03]

of suchness is intimately communicated by Buddhas and ancestors. Now you have it, please keep it well. Now that you've heard the first two lines of that chant, now you have it, please keep it well. Our whole practice of refining the rice, of refining our life, is about how do we receive and maintain it? This was a very good monk. And Shoshan's answer is a reference to another long story. Shoshan said, it can never be defiled. So this goes back to another story, which I will now tell you. This is a story about the sixth ancestor. Maybe you could say he was one of the real founders of Zen in China. And one time a monk came to him, came to his temple, and this monk's name was Nanyue, because later he became

[23:03]

a great teacher. But the ancestor asked him, where are you from? And Nanyue said, I came from the place of the national teacher. And then the sixth ancestor looked at him and said, what is this that thus comes? Kind of a funny way of asking, who are you? What is this that thus comes? And Nanyue didn't know what to say. And the story goes that he went and sat in the meditation hall for eight years considering this question. So, sometimes in these Zen stories, it looks like these teachers and students are talking back, or sometimes two teachers are talking back and forth very fast. But sometimes there's a little space. Sometimes somebody goes and thinks about it a little bit and then comes

[24:04]

back. That may happen. Usually it doesn't say that. Sometimes there are other people around. It doesn't mention them. But at any rate, in this case, it says that Nanyue went and meditated on this question for eight years. After eight years, he came back to the sixth ancestor and said, I can now understand the question, what is this that thus comes that you received me with upon my first arriving to see you? And the sixth ancestor said, oh, how do you understand it? And Nanyue said, to explain or demonstrate anything would completely miss the mark. So it took him eight years to get that. But then he proved that he didn't waste his eight years. The sixth ancestor asked him, well then, do you suppose that there is practice realization or not? And Nanyue said, it's not that there's no practice

[25:08]

realization, but only that it cannot be defiled. And the sixth ancestor said, this non-defilement is exactly what the Buddhas protect and care for. I am thus, you are thus, and the ancestors in India also are thus. So this practice realization, this practice of enlightenment, this enlightened practice can never be defiled. This is what this student of the sixth ancestor said. So it may be very easy for us to imagine all the ways in which we could defile our own mind of the way. It might be very easy for us to imagine all of the terrible things we might do or say. And yet, no matter how much we fail to take care of this mind of the way,

[26:10]

it can never be defiled. There is something that can never be defiled. So again the monk asked Shoshan, all the Buddhas come from this sutra. What is this sutra? Where does this truth come from? Where do we find our life? And Shoshan said, speak softly, speak softly. The monk asked, how do we receive and maintain it? Shoshan said, it can never be defiled. So this, this speak softly, speak softly, this sutra from which all the Buddhas come from is beyond our ideas about it. As Nanyue said, no matter what he said would miss the mark. All of our thinking, all of our talking, whether it's soft or loud, can't get to the

[27:19]

core of this mind of the way. It's a great mystery. What makes an Indian boy suddenly want to love God? What makes someone suddenly decide, I'm going to take on a spiritual practice? We can't say where this comes from, but please speak softly. So when the birds are singing outside, we might think that they are singing sweetly or harshly, softly or loudly. But when they are singing, we might think that they are

[28:25]

singing softly. And yet, can we hear how the birds sing softly, sing softly, just as they are? Can we listen to our own hearts as they speak softly, sometimes covered up by all of the enticements and entertainment and all of the wonderful things to consume that our society presents to us? So, after giving the story, Dogen then comments. He says, suppose someone asked me, Dogen,

[29:31]

what is this sutra? I would say to him, if you call it this sutra, your eyebrows will fall out. So in East Asia, they had this idea that if you lie or if you don't tell the truth, your eyebrows will fall out. Kind of like Pinocchio's nose growing. So Dogen says, if someone asked me, what is this sutra? I would say, if you call it this sutra, your eyebrows will fall out. Whatever you call it misses the mark. If you call it Buddhism, if you call it Hinduism, if you call it Christianity, if you call it Islam, whatever you call it misses the mark. And yet here we are, somehow concerned about this mind of the way. Wondering, how can we

[30:44]

find our way? Then Dogen says, as to how should we receive and maintain it? I would say, if someone asked me, how should we receive and maintain it? I would say, reaching back for your pillow in the middle of the night. So this is a reference to yet another story, which I will tell you. This is a story from the teacher of the founder of Soto Zen in China. He and his brother, who was also a monk, were talking one day. They were talking about the bodhisattva, the awakening being of compassion. So we have a couple of other bodhisattva images here. Actually, this is Tara, who is a form of the bodhisattva of compassion, one of the many forms. So you may have seen her around. But anyway, one of the main forms of the bodhisattva of compassion in Buddhism has a thousand arms with a thousand

[31:47]

hands, and each hand has an eye in it. Many of the hands have tools, teaching sticks or watches or sometimes a cup of tea. The name of this bodhisattva of compassion is, we say in Japanese, kanzeon. Some of you may know in Tibetan, chenrezig, or in Chinese, guanyin. Anyway, the name of this bodhisattva of compassion means the one who hears the sounds of the world. So we could say that compassion in Buddhism is just about listening. So when the truth is speaking softly, we have to listen closely. Just to listen and just to be heard is compassion. But then there's also this response, with whatever's at hand. So this story is about

[32:49]

how this response works. So one of these two monks asked the other, why does the bodhisattva of compassion have so many hands and eyes? Referring to these images with a thousand hands and each hand has an eye in it. And the other one said, it's like reaching back for your pillow in the middle of the night. So this is a wonderful image for me, for this response of compassion in Buddhism. It's not something we plan, it's not something we can figure out, it's a hand that reaches out. We respond to the problem in front of us, even if it's that we can't sleep and we want our pillow. In the middle of the night, in the middle of the darkness, in the middle of uncertainty, in the middle of not being able to see anything,

[33:51]

just reaching back. So this is Dogen's answer to, how do we receive and maintain it? Reaching back for your pillow in the middle of the night. With whatever's at hand, we do our best to respond to what we see and hear in front of us. So this compassion in Buddhism is essential to the Mind of the Way. The Mind of the Way has to do with our caring about the suffering of the world, which of course includes the suffering of ourselves, the suffering of our friends, the suffering of beings throughout the world. Reaching back for your pillow in the middle of the night. We don't know what to do. We don't know how to bring peace in the world. We don't know how to take care sometimes of our own confusion and frustration

[34:53]

and desires and anger. Still, reaching back for your pillow in the middle of the night. How can we respond from this place of speak softly, speak softly, without calling it anything, without getting stuck on any particular definition? So that's Dogen's commentary on this story about the monk asking, all the Buddhas come from this sutra. What is this sutra? So I like Shoshan's answers very much. Speak softly, speak softly, and it can never be defiled. And I like Dogen's answers very much. But yet, here I am sitting up here, so I need to say something myself. So I will. So if someone asked me, all the Buddhas come from

[35:54]

this sutra, what is this sutra? I would say, don't look outside. Deeply trust yourself, or maybe deeply trust the ground you sit on. So there are many wonderful teaching traditions and the stories, these old Zen stories that we like to play with can be very helpful. Of course, coming together and sitting with other people is very helpful, doing our practice with others. And of course, meeting with a teacher, meeting with someone with a little more experience in looking for the way can be very helpful. But again, I would say, don't look outside. Deeply trust the ground you are sitting on right now. So this is not something

[36:56]

we find someplace else. Whatever it was that brought you here, listen. It's speaking softly. Trust yourself. So, if someone were then to ask me, how should we receive and maintain it? I would say, keep returning to the question, how does it feel? How does it feel? How does it feel? How does it feel? Right now, as you sit upright, in this life, with this body in mind, how does it feel? So, Dogen and Shoshan borrowed from other stories, so I don't mind borrowing from my favorite American dharma poet, who likes to borrow from others, too. How does it feel

[38:00]

to be on your own? A complete unknown? How does it feel? [...] Right now, with this breath, with this bird song, with this voice that we hear, how does it feel? No direction home, or maybe all directions home. So, in Asia, people who found the mind of the way left home and went off together into the deep mountains, but I think maybe for us, we have to find our way home. We've been wandering for many generations in this country. We don't know our homes. So maybe all directions are home, but still, how does it feel? So, listen closely, deeply trust yourself, but then, how does it feel? What is this that thus comes? What is this? And anything you say is

[39:07]

going to miss the mark, so it's not a matter of getting an answer to this question. It's a matter of returning again and again. So, I've been lately recommending this as a mantra or a koan to use in zazen. How does it feel? How does it feel? How does it feel? How does it feel in your heart, in your body, in your mind, in your elbows, in your shoulders? So in studying the way, the mind of the way is primary. We must take care of it. We must appreciate it. We must, first of all, hear that we've all heard it, speaking softly. So these principles of hearing and speaking and receiving and maintaining the mind of

[40:20]

the way, you know, they apply to your own search for the way on your cushion or in your chair, in your heart, within your own life. And I think they also apply to how do we take care of our relationships? How do we try to speak softly and see how does it feel? And what do we do when we make mistakes? Because we do, as human beings, make mistakes. How does it feel? And I think it also applies to our society and the world around us. And we're living in difficult times, and I don't want to say so much about this today. It's

[41:20]

a fearful time, and terrible things are happening, and there's tremendous corruption in our federal government, and wars, and maybe more wars, and failing education systems and economy and environment. How does it feel? Speak softly, but speak up. So I don't feel like I have to say so much today because it turns out that even some of the politicians are starting to speak softly and speak up. And the soldiers in Iraq, and even the intelligent people in our intelligence agencies, anyway. How does it feel? So please don't be afraid to speak softly, but speak up. So today is a beautiful day. The birds are singing, the sun is out.

[42:27]

So please enjoy your mind of the way, and speak softly.

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