I've got to taste the truth. Well, I've just returned from the practice period at Tassajara, which is in its fourth week now. The practice period goes until December 20th. And everyone's doing well. We have six or so members from the Berkeley Zendo who are attending the practice period at Tassajara, and they're all doing well.

[01:01]

The weather is still warm, it hasn't turned cold yet, so it's rather an enjoyable time to be there. If you've only been there in the summer, You've missed the fall, which is where the heat is easing off. And it's a wonderful time of year to be there. But only the students know that. So this morning, I want to introduce you to Master Wanchi Shogaku, he has many different names. Hongzi. These Chinese ancestors have a mountain name, dharma name, given name, posthumous name.

[02:05]

So we find their names in various places and sometimes we don't recognize who they are. But I'll call him Hongzi. because that's what his name is, that's the title of the book. So this book of Hongzi's is called Cultivating the Empty Field and was translated by Taigen, Dan Layton, who is a Zen Center student who is now living in Japan, a priest. So this book has just arrived on the scene and Hongsi is a very important figure for us in our practice. He lived in the 12th century in China and his practice was called the practice of silent illumination.

[03:11]

His Zazen was called Zazen of Silent Illumination, which is the basis for Dogen's Zazen practice. And Dogen thought very highly of Hongzi. In our lineage, when we chant the lineage, he's called Wanshi Sogaku. So he was born not too long before Dogen, actually. About 100 years before Dogen. And his influence is very strong in the Soto school. Although we don't call our practice Silent Illumination, basically Silent Illumination is permeated, it permeates our practice.

[04:18]

Sitting still and illuminating our nature, expressing our illuminated nature. So illumination is another word for enlightenment. So as Dogen says, practice enlightenment. Sitting Zazen is enlightenment itself, or illumination itself. Just returning to our true home. and allowing our true nature to express itself as illumination. So, I want to read one of these... I don't know what to call them exactly.

[05:30]

They're called practice instructions, but they're not exactly verses. They're not poems. They're short practice instructions. But the language is very poetic. I don't know if it's captured entirely in English. So it's very difficult to know, to decide which one to read, because every one of them is wonderful. This one he titled, The Windmaster Walks in the Sky. Patch-robed monks practice thoroughly without carrying a single thread. Open-mindedly sparkling and pure, they are like a mirror reflecting a mirror with nothing regarded as outside, without the capacity for accumulating dust.

[06:35]

They illuminate everything fully, perceiving nothing as an object. This is called taking up the burden from inside and is how to shoulder responsibility. Wisdom illuminates the darkness without confusion. The way integrates with the body and does not get stuck. From this unstuck place, engaging and transforming at the appropriate opportunity, the wisdom does not leak out. Clearly the way does not get stained. The valley spirit echoes the sound. The windmasters walk in the sky. Unobstructed and free beyond restraints, they do not depend on even subtle indicators and their essential spirit cannot be eclipsed. Fulfilled, wander around and arrive at such a field.

[07:41]

The entire place secure The entire place at leisure, the open field of the white ox is plain and simple, of one color. If you chase the ox, still he will not go away. You must intimately experience and arrive here." So he says, patch-robed monks practice thoroughly without carrying a single thread. Last night I had a meeting with priests at Zen Center and we talked about in our practice, what is a priest? That was the subject of our discussion. What is a priest anyway? And this is a kind of ongoing discussion because priest in America is not exactly what a priest or a monk is in Asia.

[08:57]

And to make kind of transition from Asia to America and to put on robes and practice is kind of like an investigation. There's no precedent for this kind of practice in America. And our ways are so different than in Asia. So our practice, I think the practice of a priest in America is to find out what is a priest in America. But there are certain fundamental things, I think, that are true for everywhere, for Asia and America.

[10:16]

And my feeling is a priest should serve, selflessly serve the Sangha. Somebody, you know, one of the questions that came up was, how is a priest different than a layperson? You know, we all practice together. Priests and laypeople, we all do the same practice. So what do you need priests for? How is a priest different from a layperson? And then we think, well, maybe this way and maybe that way. But then it occurred to me that actually, priests and layperson should not practice differently. When priests and laypeople practice exactly the same and you can't tell the difference, then our practice is perfect. But a priest is a priest.

[11:22]

A layperson is a layperson. So a priest has a certain kind of dedication to the practice and is always there, whether visible or invisible. And when everyone else goes away, And when there's coming and going of good students, the priest is always there. So when the tide comes up, you don't see the rocks. But when the tide goes out, the rocks are always there. So when laypeople practice the same way as priests, that's great practice.

[12:28]

No problem. And then priests also have to somewhat practice as laypeople. Suzuki Roshi used to say, you can't be a good priest until you're a good layperson. So this statement is, patch-robed monks practice thoroughly without carrying a single thread, whether you're a priest or a layperson, whether you have a home and family, or nothing. There's nothing to be attached to. If you know that there's nothing to be attached to, then you can be attached to your family, and your work, and your practice. To think that non-attachment means to not have anything is one-sided non-attachment.

[13:47]

We can't live in this world without some attachment. Fish cannot live in pure water. So if you feel that you're Italian and you want to be Italian, first you have to give up being Italian. Then you can be Italian. What do I do?

[14:59]

If you want to be Jewish, give up being Jewish. Then you can be Jewish. No problems. So he says, open-mindedly, sparkling and pure. That's wonderful. These people, they, the patchwork monks, are like a mirror reflecting a mirror, with nothing regarded as outside, without capacity for accumulating dust." He, of course, is referring to the Sixth Ancestor's poem about not letting the dust alight on the mirror. Since there is no mirror, where can the dust settle? This refers to the two poems. One, Shen Hsu wrote the poem, The Bodhi tree is like, the body is like a Bodhi tree and the mind is like a mirror and you should always wipe it clean so that no dust accumulates on it.

[16:11]

And sixth ancestor said, there is no Bodhi tree or mirror or anything. Nothing exists from the beginning. So where can it dust a light? So why do we dust? Why rub the dust? Why try to dust off the mirror of the mind? But although we do, We do polish the mirror, but we don't polish the mirror to wipe away the dust. We polish the mirror just because it's a mirror. One of the practices that Suzuki Roshi inflicted on us

[17:22]

was to sweep the floor, not to get it clean, just to sweep it. He said, when you brush your teeth in the morning, you get up and you go to the bathroom and you brush your teeth, but you don't brush your teeth to get them clean. You just brush your teeth to brush your teeth. And he would have us washing the windows, but the windows are clean. We wash the windows because they're clean. We sweep the floor because it's clean. We couldn't understand what he was talking about. I mean, we did understand what he was talking about, but not completely. Like a mirror reflecting a mirror. When you put two mirrors opposite to each other, They reflect each other, but there's nothing to reflect.

[18:28]

But a mirror, you know, we talk about the mind. Mind is a mirror. A true mirror doesn't have anything to say about anything. It just reflects whatever appears. So this is called clearly seeing. And also the mirror, the ancient mirror, whatever the ancient mirror reflects is itself. This is a very important point. When a foreigner, this is a Chinese term, foreigner. Chinese always term everybody as foreigners. So when a foreigner steps in front of the mirror, the mirror reflects a foreigner. But the mirror and the foreigner are not two. The mirror is the foreigner and the foreigner is the mirror. So in the mirror of our mind, which is our mind, in the clear mirror, which is our mind, the pure mirror, whatever steps in front of the mirror is seen clearly as it is.

[19:39]

And what we see is ourself. The mirror sees itself. This is like two mirrors reflecting each other. The mirror sees the mirror. So we tend to think of a mirror as some flat, shiny surface with nothing on it. But wherever you look is the mirror. The mirror sometimes looks like mud, or sky, or a tree, or your mother, or your enemy. So, he says, open-mindedly, sparkling and pure, they are like a mirror reflecting a mirror, with nothing regarded as outside, nothing outside, without capacity for accumulating dust.

[20:56]

Accumulating dust means to see something outside only as an object. that's accumulating dust. They illuminate everything fully, perceiving nothing as an object. This is called taking up the burden from inside, and it's how to shoulder responsibility. Taking up the burden from inside. The sixth ancestor says, in his gatha. Don't criticize others. When you criticize others, it's you that is at fault, even if the other person has a fault. This really makes us angry.

[21:59]

It's very hard, you know, to take the burden inside. Very hard to take the burden, to take the responsibility. It's a very radical kind of practice to take full responsibility and not put blame out there. Blame, not just blaming things, but We create to take responsibility for creating the world which we project. So what kind of world do we want? What kind of world do you want? Well, who's going to create the world that you want?

[23:06]

How are you going to get the world that you want? Is someone going to give it to you? Is it your divine right? When the world around you settles down, will you have it then? So he says, This is called taking up the burden from inside and is how to shoulder responsibility. Wisdom illuminates the darkness without confusion. and it doesn't get confused.

[24:12]

The way integrates with the body, it does not get stuck. From this unstuck place, engaging and transforming at the appropriate opportunity, the wisdom does not leak out. Often in Buddhist literature, You know, they talk about leaking. Leaking is like expressing unwholesome dharmas. Anger. Cupidity. despair, worry and flurry, laziness, critical mind,

[25:40]

grasping, the lack of taking responsibility actually. I think maybe not taking responsibility for your own, just not taking responsibility is leaking And when, you know, Zen practice, say Zazen, or Sashin, or monastic practice, builds up a lot of pressure inside of us.

[26:50]

You know this pressure when you sit Sashin, and you know how easy it is to In the middle of Sashin, if some little thing happens, you can burst out laughing, or you can burst out crying, or you can get very emotional about something very quickly and easily with a lot of power behind it, because you've built up a lot of pressure in your cooking, actually. You're a little bit like a pressure cooker, pressure pot, and you build up a lot of pressure And this pressure is actually cooking your character. You know, when we sit, it's kind of like loaves of bread in the oven. And if you turn it up too high, it'll burn.

[27:55]

And if you turn it down too low, it won't cook. So, you know, we need to have just the right amount of pressure. But as we learn to practice, we can take more and more pressure because we become more strong, but also more flexible. A beginning student, you know, is usually very stiff and brittle and cracks more easily. But an old student is kind of like a soft bag. And whatever fills the bag, you know. I had this backpack. And it's a miraculous backpack. I can just keep stuffing more and more stuff into it, you know. And I never reach the bottom. It seems to accept whatever I put into it. I call it my miraculous backpack. But old Zen students are kind of like that. Like an old bag, you know. Soft bag. stuffing and stuffing, and it never seems to get too full.

[29:01]

Very flexible. And so, this pressure, in practice period, say at Tassajara, the pressure is very constant and steady with the students. Enduring is ashamed becomes very strong and focused. So when it's important to keep this pressure and not let it out, not let it leak through anger or manipulation or desire or laziness, so forth, just to keep that inside. And if you just keep the pressure inside, the pressure will transform you by itself. That's why just steadily practicing is the most important thing.

[30:09]

And even in a temple practice like we have, to keep practicing day every day, steadily, builds up this pressure. And it's more subtle than it is during sashing, but it's there. And you find when you're not practicing, after you've been practicing, your life seems a little flabby, or a little weak in some way. Anyway, don't get stuck. Don't get stuck. The way integrates with the body. This is what he means. The way integrates with the body means that we practice the way with our body. We practice the way with the mind, but we practice the way with the body. The body has to be present in our practice. And from this unstuck place,

[31:21]

engaging and transforming. Dogen says, well, you know, there's this old story. I don't want to go into the stories too long. But do you whip the cart? If you want the cart to go, do you whip the cart or the horse? Of course, you whip the horse if you want the cart to go. But Zen practice, you can whip the cart. You can whip the cart. Whipping the cart is our Zen practice. It means put the body down and be in the body. Body and mind are one piece. It doesn't matter where you whip, whip the horse or the car, anywhere, it's all the same.

[32:27]

So he says, clearly the way does not get stained. The valley spirit echoes the sound. This is kind of a poetic reference. The valley spirit echoes the sound. The windmasters walk in the sky, unobstructed and free. Beyond restraints, they do not depend on even subtle indicators. I'm not sure what subtle indicators are, frankly. I don't know if it's a subtle indicator. It would probably come to me if I thought about it. and their essential spirit cannot be eclipsed. In other words, even though there's interference, they don't feel that there's anything interfering. So, in our practice, there are no hindrances. As a Zen student, you have to have this attitude. Otherwise, you can't practice. There are no hindrances. What we call hindrances are just opportunities for practice.

[33:49]

If you let something bother you, then you should get back up. Eventually you should come back around. Every place, everything that happens to us is an opportunity for practice. Otherwise, we pick and choose what our practice is. You can't pick and choose what your practice is. Even though we choose to sit zazen, when we go out in the world, things will hit us and come at us. You cannot choose your practice. You can only accept what happens. Everything that happens to us is opportunity for practice. If you have this attitude, even though you have problems, you won't have a problem. So if you run away, running away is your practice. If you try to hide, hiding is your practice.

[34:55]

Furthermore, wander around and arrive at such a field. The entire place secure, the entire place at rest. At leisure. That's a good translation. The entire place at leisure. The entire field at leisure. This is the play field of the Zen students. Everywhere at leisure. No matter where you are. Then he says, the open field of the white ox is plain and simple. of one color. If you chase the ox still, he will not go away. You must intimately experience and arrive here." White ox. Master Isan used the metaphor of the white ox a lot.

[36:07]

He had something like 97 ox pictures, circles. And there was a... I've told you this little story before. There was a student of Esan's on Mount Esan. Esan's the name of the mountain that Esan lived on in China. Guishan is his name. and Isan as a student. And the student's poem goes something like, for 30 years I lived on Mount Isan. I ate Isan's rice and I shit Isan's shit and I did not practice Isan Zen. I just

[37:09]

took care of an ox. He just took care of this ox. When this ox trampled on people's... Well, let's see, he was quite a wonderful beast, actually, but he was very wild. And when he trampled on people's flowerbeds, I yanked him back. When he ran over the fields and chasing something, I whipped him with my whip. Poor little thing. He was always doing what everybody told him to do. He didn't have a mind of his own. And now he's turned into a pure white fox. And even if I And he stays in front of my face all the time. Instead of trying to run away, he stays in front of my face all the time.

[38:17]

And even if I try to push him away, he won't go. So he says, the open field of the white ox is plain and simple, of one color. One color. Plain and simple, the open field. Our world doesn't appear to be plain and simple and of one color. It appears to be very complex and lots of color. But actually, it's very plain and simple, and it's only one color. You have to be able to see this world as very plain and simple in just one color, as well as very complicated and lots of color.

[39:27]

It's very simple and plain. If you chase the ox, still he will not go away. That's the reference. You must intimately experience and arrive here. He's saying the main thing is to get down to yourself. Of course, this ox, which is your nature, is very unruly, always wants to do something else, always leaking, always blaming, always angry, always horny.

[40:37]

But just keep bringing the ox back. Keep bringing it back. Just keep practicing for 30 years. Then at some point, the ox will not want to go away. And even if you push him, get out of here. India who heard that there was a yak in the open zoo.

[41:54]

So they went and they decided, they did a ceremony where they put oil on his horns, and Mazola corn oil. And promised Marjorie's bread for something else. But I didn't kind of get it, what the deal was. I thought it was kind of sweet. It's not sweet. I remember when I was in Mexico City about 25 or 30 years ago. No, it wasn't Mexico City. It was another city close to Mexico City. They had a zoo. And there was an eagle in a cage. This eagle was just completely depressed. It was the most awful thing I ever saw in my life. It was like... So maybe a good idea to... just for fun, you know?

[43:08]

Why do we have to have a reason? I'm so sorry.

[43:27]

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