Last Sunday, I remember that I told you a criticism of the story which occurs in Duke Griffith's book. The story is the cutting cats, cutting the cats in two by nonsense, Joshua. Dogen Zenji criticizes Joshua's action deeds.

[01:09]

If it were Joshua Zen Master, I'd let the cats loose. It's easier. It's easier to cut the cats in two with one sharp sword. This Joshua Zen Master knows so well the cutting the cats in two with one sharp sword. But he didn't. But he didn't know the cutting the cats in one with one sharp sword, Dogen Zenji says. This is very important point. In our daily life, I think it's very easy for us to cut something in two with one sharp

[02:23]

sword. With one sharp, your brain, it's very easy to cut the two, cut in two. But it's not so easy. It's very difficult for us to cut something in one with one sharp sword. It means to cut something in one with one sharp sword means to loose yourself, to let the cats loose, to let the cats loose. To let the cats loose means to carry yourself, to carry yourself, whoever you are, including

[03:25]

pleasure, suffering, and anything else. Anyway, until the death, since your birth to the death, not only the period of this, your birth, not only during the period of your birth, but also the life after life, we have to carry ourselves on your back with pleasure or suffering, any other thing, anything else, whatever it is.

[04:27]

It's pretty difficult, very difficult. But the Buddhism, if you want to study Buddhism, you have to learn this, you have to learn this. To cut the one, to cut the in one, cutting in one with one sharp sword. Think if you ask yourself, who are you? I think no answer. I always ask me who I am, but I can't find any answer to this question. The moment when I ask myself who I am, there is nothing, nothing to answer to this question, because I can't catch who I am.

[05:30]

In the Paniparamita Sutra, it says, be careful, watch, watch carefully, watch carefully the first movement, first movement of delusions, first movement of delusions. In order to know, to learn who you are, or what the mind is, you should watch carefully the first movement of delusions. But if you ask by this sutra, watch carefully the first movement of delusions, what is the cause, what is the cause of your delusions, check up your delusions, check up your mind.

[06:43]

Even during sitting meditation, many things happen in your mind, what is the cause, what is the cause of these delusions? I think probably you don't find, you never find the cause of these delusions, no beginning, no end. I think so. You know, I think, strictly speaking, the human mind, not only human mind, but also all sentient beings exist in the huge, limitless expanse of ocean.

[07:51]

There is no, there is no cause, there is no answer to the question who you are, what the delusion is, what the mind is. Because the world where you live, the world where the mind exists, is too big, too big to understand. Then all you have to do is just to carry your body, your mind, because your body and mind look like the person who rides on a big boat in the ocean. You have to rely on something. You have to understand so well, but even though Buddhism says, sutra says, you should watch

[09:10]

carefully the first movement of delusion, then you check up your mind during sitting meditation, even during sitting meditation, who you are, what delusion is, what's the cause of delusions, but you don't understand. So you give up, you give up the checking your mind. It's not so good. To give up the checking your mind is that the story is completely over. But your life is not completely over. Your life is always going on like a boat, like a stream of life, stream of living. Even though you think in my life that the story is over, in front of you, something happens. Even though you think I got enlightenment, you will find something which happens in front

[10:19]

of you. What you think you are very often to do at the loss what to do with yourself, this is real fact in our daily life. So the question is not so simple. The question is not so simple as Joshu Zen Master says, to cut the cat in two with one sharp sword. It's not so simple. The simple way, best way is, as Dogen Zen says, to let the cat loose. That's all. All you have to do is to take care of yourself. That's all. There is no explanation how to take care of, how to do. Because your life, your body, your mind exists in limitless expanse of ocean.

[11:30]

So-called Buddha nature, so-called Buddha. If you read the Platform of Six Patriarchs, I think the Zinshu, Zinshu explains what human mind is. Composing, posting the poem, decomposing the poem, you know what it is. The Zinshu thought what the mind was. Zinshu asked, understood, understood the human mind. The human mind is like a body tree, like a beautiful mirror.

[12:37]

So don't, don't put the dust, don't put the dust on the mirror, on your mirror. That's why we have to practice. We have to make past effort to get rid of the dust to form the mirror, beautiful mirror. But the Platform Sutra of Six Patriarchs written by his disciples, Jinne, criticized, criticizes this, the principle of Zinshu. Human mind is absolutely beautiful thing, like a body tree, like a mirror, like a body, like a mirror.

[13:43]

That's why you have to sweep on the surface of your beautiful mirror, so as not to keep the dust on it. But the end of the Six Patriarchs completely criticized this principle. The end was just to deny, end was just to deny the Zinshu's way of understanding. The mind is not body, mind is not beautiful mirror. There is nothing to catch it, to see it. How is it, how is it, we have to sweep.

[14:50]

Sweep out. Why is it we have to make every possible effort to clean out? This is of three names, the Six Patriarchs' way of understanding. If so, how does we then understand what the human mind is? What kind of human mind in terms of the Six Patriarchs' viewpoint? Mind is not the body, mind is not beautiful mirror. What is the mind?

[15:58]

The Six Patriarchs think the state of calm mind, state of calm mind is the human mind. The so-called Jo, Jo means the, in other words, which means the practice of, the meditation practice of impermanence, through the Zazen. The mind is, mind is the state of calm mind. Such is human mind, he said, and also the state of calm mind originally possesses the great function, which is called nature, with nature knowledge, nature knowledge.

[17:17]

In Japanese, Shizen no Chi. Chi means knowledge. Shizen means nature. Shizen means, nature means the substance, the existence, the state of the all things which they are, which they are, which they are. The nature means the present situation, present situation, Katagi as Katagi is. This is the nature, this is nature that Katagi exists, Katagi exists. This is nature, not you, based on the yourself, which, as you are, this is you, this is nature of yourself.

[18:32]

In other words, I think this is wisdom, this is wisdom. So, in terms of the Sixth Patriarch, the calm mind itself possesses the great function of wisdom. The great function of the nature knowledge, that you can understand, you can understand appropriately something as it is, this is wisdom. In the Sixth Patriarch's viewpoint, the human mind possesses two points. One is calm mind, through practice Zazen, cultivated by the practice Zazen.

[19:43]

Also, this calm mind possesses the great function of nature knowledge, which you can see something as it is, this is human mind. I don't know it is right understanding, right way of understanding. One of, I don't know, the way of this understanding is absolutely based on the principle of Paniparamita Sutra or original Buddhism. I don't know. Some Buddhist scholars criticize this way of understanding, but that's all right, I don't care. I think, in a sense, the Sixth Patriarch's understanding is very interesting.

[20:52]

The human mind must be calm mind, state of calm mind, which absolutely possesses great function of wisdom, which means natural knowledge, natural knowledge. Natural knowledge. I think in terms of, I think from the Dogon's viewpoint, there is a little different understanding, way of understanding. As mentioned before, the Dogon Zenji, if Dogon Zenji were the Joshua Zen master, I want to let the camera roll. It means, I think, the human mind exists already in the huge limitless expanse of Buddha, Buddha's compassion.

[22:14]

Before you understanding what human being, what some human mind is, before you are aware of who you are. If we then, the Sixth Patriarch, try to understand what human mind is, human mind must be such and such, such and such. Then this mind possesses great function, great merit, such and such. But from the Dogon's viewpoint, before you understanding in that way, a human being exists already, human mind exists already in the domain of huge limitless expanse of Buddha. So in the domain of this huge expanse of Buddha, there is no discrimination to be made, to make.

[23:32]

No discrimination, no discrimination is made. Because before you understand who you are, you understand what human mind is. Your life is always swimming in the limitless expanse of ocean, like a fish, like a bird, flying in the high air. If so, our effort must be directed to understand this way, this point. So, in the domain of huge limitless expanse of Buddha, no discrimination is made, what it is, what is bad, what is good.

[24:45]

So from this point, you have to take care of everything, but actually you can't. Why? You don't understand, because you don't understand this limitless expanse of ocean. We are like the frog, as mentioned very often, which lives in small well, small well. In the big ocean, there are many things, many kinds of fish, many kinds of seaweed. Many kinds of beings, conscious beings, regardless the idea whether it is good or bad.

[26:16]

Then each, make every possible effort to take care of, to live, to let himself to exist. That's why the fish can swim in the ocean, free. But actually we cannot, we cannot understand in this way. Why? Because you ask yourself, as mentioned before, who you are. What's the first movement of delusion? According to the hundred parameter sutra says, what can be the first movement of delusion? What is the first movement of delusion?

[27:18]

You try to walk constantly along the stream, which is called delusion. This is my delusion. There is no end nor beginning. There is no beginning, no beginning, no end. Because if the delusion, if the Buddha nature, if the enlightenment exists already in the huge limitless expanse of ocean, then our effort should be directed to understand this point. It's not so easy, it's not so easy, but we have to do it. From, through this experience you understand what the human mind is.

[28:32]

I think the bad things is not always bad things for you. Good things is always, not always good things for you. You understand so well through your experience. From this point there is no discrimination what is bad, what is good. Now you understand who you are or I am a very bad person. You think the bad image of yourself, even though you practice that. Of course in a sense it's true. But, but you think so, that's fine you are, you are bad person. Even while you think I am bad, I am thinking of bad image of myself.

[30:00]

Your life is exist, your life is always free, like a free, free. Only your mind always thinking, oh I am very bad, my existence is very bad. I want to really give simplicity to you. In the domain of discrimination, in the domain, in the expanse of discrimination. Good is not always good, but is not always bad. What should we do? You should accept good, you should accept bad.

[31:08]

And then before you criticize what is bad, what is good, you should understand your life force. Which is swimming, free. Which is flying in the high air like a bird. To fly, to fly in high air, to swim in the ocean, it's not so easy. It's not so easy, it looks like easy, very comfortable, it looks like very comfortable. Ah, wow, wonderful. If you, for instance, if you look at the beautiful nature, if you go to the Tathagata, Tathagata, wow, how wonderful Tathagata is, you see it always. Even the nature in Tathagata is not so easy to understand himself. Sometimes storms come, sometimes windy come, windy days come.

[32:18]

Not so easy. When we understand so we're easy, but it looks like very comfortable. To swim in the ocean freely, to fly in the high air, free. To take care of bird itself, to take good care of fish itself. Including, including right understanding of pleasure, suffering, pain, all things. At that time, bird, the fish, understand themselves and the world surrounding by them. That's why Dogen Zen says,

[33:20]

If I were Joshu Zen master, I let the cat loose. If I were you, I want to practice Zazen forever, life after life. Regardless of the idea whether I am, I get enlightenment or not. This is my life force, which is swimming always free, which is flying in the high air like a bird. To let the cat loose, is to understand cats in the limitless expanse of Buddha's compassion and wisdom. So, Dogen Zenji says, in two words, is a great container of Buddha's path.

[34:39]

A great container from which you can walk on the Buddha's path. So, if you ask yourself who you are, who I am, I think no answer to this question, that's all right. That's all right is to ask yourself who you are, constantly. That's all right is not the meaning of giving up, the asking yourself. To let the cat loose is not to give up understanding yourself, not to ask yourself who you are.

[35:52]

You have to constantly ask yourself who you are. Even though you find no answer to this question, that's all right. That's all right has profound meaning. Because including pleasure, including suffering, pain, and anything else, all things. You are you. You are a great container of Buddha's path. You are a great container of Buddhism, which you can keep Buddha's path. So, day in, day out, our effort must focus, must be focused to this point.

[37:03]

Human mind, human body exists in the domain of mindless expanse of Buddha's confession, Buddha's world. Before you ask yourself who you are, before you find the answer to this question. This is our practice, our practice. So, in a sense, the practice of Zazen is, Zazen shows way of living, basis of true nature, true self, like bird, like fish. Who are swimming or flying free, including accepting pleasure, suffering, pain, and so on.

[38:16]

This is our practice. So, sometimes you have to cut something in two with one sharp sword. It's not enough to do so. It's not enough good to do so. You have to understand, cut something in one with one sharp sword. This is our life. This is our practice.

[38:49]

@Text_v004
@Score_JJ