June 10th, 2004, Serial No. 01026, Side A

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well
age the truth and the toronto and workers evening
the sitting on the floor and sitting behind somebody in wants to move over into the aisle at okay you don't have to necessarily sit in rows
so that's up to you

ah

so tonight we're going to talk about the sixth section which is called what you should know for practice exams
it isn't interesting some page thirty six

right
some of you looked puzzled at an iowa
page thirty six

so this is a interesting section because dogan starts out talking about you know practicing real hard and
you know
and then
you think that when he means by practising real hard is one thing but then what he means by it
yeah he clarified when he means by that anything oh
so we'll see what if you get that when when we get there
so he says
practice exam studying the way is the great matter of a lifetime you should not be little it or be hasty with it
well this is
this is what suzuki she always talked about that practice is not something that you like when you go to school new take classes than you've been four years in college and then you graduate not like that so there
no graduation
and it's not a school
it says continuous practice forever
so we don't try to get some place
remember
chino should say to her coven genome
his attitude was
oh it's okay you know who to wear your life is going
next life or next two or three lifetimes you know you have many chat many opportunities for a long period of time to develop himself he wasn't worried about any of that at all
and this is kind of attitude in buddhism of lifetime after lifetime know but in zen you're supposed to be able to
and my yana but especially in zen is supposed to be able to find park
complete perfect enlightenment in one lifetime
that's you know sometimes sometimes seems like the goal to find perfect
the samyang somebody
in one lifetime
possible
but usually in buddhism the talking about after mandy many lifetimes so you know a place like india people are very relaxed
china and china they work harder so you know that stood in one lifetime
but they're different attitudes in zen as well as in buddhism
and there is an attitude in zen certain schools are then where you really worked really hard to get cancer and and enlightenment and this one lifetime it just really work hard
and then there's the other school which is you simply practice over a lifetime and what you get is not as important as what you do
so this is a school of doing it's not the school of getting
yeah so this is why doggy and talks about know gaining idea not to school up getting something if school of letting go and continuous practice forever
so the practice is the most important thing not which you get enlightenment is fine you know enlightenment and that's a difficult
what's difficult is continuous practice
and was difficult as pure practice
and don't get will talk about that
so if as practice exam studying the way is the great matter of a lifetime you should not be little it or be hasty with it
a master of old cut off his arm that's bodhidharma i mean that's an acre day so echo and another cut off his fingers
and
yeah
young shine who eg cut off two fingers in front of his parents your mother would flip out
we know this kind of
i think that the example of title acre
really had an impact on chinese them
really did and you know when you practice something like zen
you become a
a very focused
and the energy becomes very focused now when the energy because very focused to become very extreme and very high pitched and unless there's some control
you tend to there's a tendency to be a very extreme in your effort
so in the rinzai monasteries and they have the k soco
in the soto monasteries they their q soco
q psycho is what we were we used to use it a lot more but we don't use it as much
is the is our stick right
case ago is a big stick
and and the monks to in arctic take turns city each other being junko and
the hitch as hard as they can you don't beat each other up and see how many sticks they can break over egypt that's a kind of extreme
ah way of it when there's no way you don't have enough control they just go completely into something like into that kind of extreme exertion
so
in china
ah
the the chinese became very extreme in there that their charm to in and you know their monks who would sit up never sleep sitting up i mean never sleep laying down they don't think there are those of sitting up and they had meditation chin
best
so the when they were sitting pretty generous just stick
then hold a stick i have one i was given one of those but i've never used it
maybe i should though
why don't fall asleep anymore
i used to fall asleep all of them
anyway by the fall asleep anywhere but
so this kind of extreme
to see who can
indoor the most ah
the most extreme way of doing things
so
is sometimes called breaking your bones you know so the chinese would take the example of title acre and in order to prove their sincerity they would cut off one of them what are the fingers at the first joint or if are really consider the
second choice little finger and some japanese max do that but mostly the chinese monks that everybody but you know people who wanted to show their extreme
dedication
and remember you know i used to practice in their fifties sixties when we forget my first started sitting with suzuki roshi a so-called g
ah bush street
their master hua who was called to learn the time and
hey
he he was the master that city of ten thousand buddhas you know but but before that he was in china he was it a and sutter street and we were ambushed street just a block away in a house so a number of us went to four of us we said let's it the
sixteen with him because we did all the sitting but he's he shot and he opened his robe and showed me where he had burkina wore these beads where he had burned the beach on his chest and as a big scar on his chest you know
you know what peter wooden beads
and he burned them
will it run it
there's a big scar
so
no that's and when they ordain people they burn little holes in their head
no skin
sometimes one or two or three or four
that's normal for for for ordaining much in china
ah
so it you know it's brings up some some kind of sincerity
but it's an extreme way of doing things
so and belgian kind of admirers this he says a master revolt cut off his arm and another cut off his fingers these are excellent models from china
don't get lunch extremity long extreme this is finish
now that as far as we know long ago shakyamuni abandoned his home and left his country this is an excellent precedent for practicing away
so it's very interesting
biker gave a talk about master toes on
on saturday and she talked about how to's anne's mother was you know
collapse at his doorstep you know why he refused to see her and the story is about tones and it's not about his mother very body focused on the mother you know that he was being cruel to the mother but the story is a chinese story and it's a story about
an extreme example of a
doing something that extreme in order to show your sincerity in the way that's what the stories about it's not about being cruel to his mother so bad about
going to that extent that he loved his mother right going to the instead of abandoning his mother order to practice so whether that's a good thing or a bad thing the point is that it it's like cutting off his arm are cutting off his finger cutting off his mother
you know
and so you can ponder that in any way you like
so
for people are the present say
you should practice what is easy to practice
these words are quite mistaken
shouldn't practice was easy to practice
i thought if you want the most
precious thing you have to pay the most for it if you want was valuable thing you want the most valuable thing what are you willing to pay for it so that that's kind of wet dog gets talking about
she wants something of value you have to pay something for it prevents something that not so much less available you don't pay so much for
you know you get what you pay for
so that's kind of what he's talking about
so people the presidency
you should practice what is easy to practice these words are quite mistaken i think when you saying that practice what is easy to practice is also
you know
at that time in japan and so tight saying before was the era of mapo
fifteen hundred years after buddha
which was the the you know about the three times i'll say it again there was this prediction would that's attributed to boot up i don't know the put it actually said this or not but who knows somebody said
that the first five hundred years after buddha would be period when people could actually practice the dharma because buddhist influence direct influence
when
ah
continue
for five hundred years that the second five hundred years would be the kind of an imitation where you know because people were so far from buddha they couldn't really practice buddhism really well and then the third five hundred years they couldn't practice it at all
that was the age of mapo which came about just about the time of dogan
and the nature in and
the am shimron where the and dogan where the three leading figures are the time at that time in buddhism in japan and gendreau and said there's no way in the age of mapo that we can practice
so we just chant the name of buddha
in
ah
amitabha buddha you know
ah
if you chant the name of a buddha you'll be
reborn into pure land west why have to do is chat
and
duggan causes the croaking frogs
and then
nature in said told her to do a chant the name of the lotus sutra but dorgan said we can practice buddhist practice don't worry about it there are my never mind mapo if you want it if you want to believe in mapo go ahead but there's no need to do that just practice
so
dog and saying people at present day so you should practice what is easy to practice
that's what he's referring to these words are quite mistaken they are not at all in accord with the boot away if this alone is what she regarded as practice than even lying down or be worrisome
if you find one thing wearisome you'll find everything wearisome it's obvious that people who are fond of easy practice are not capable of the way
so in fact the dharma spread and is now present in the world because a great teacher shakyamuni practiced with difficulty in pain for immeasurable aliens and finally attained this dharma it is the original sources if the original sources like this how could the law
feeder streams be easy so
shakyamuni buddha practice for and i don't know whether he really what he means by that exactly
he could be just exaggerating or he could just mean that
he's put buddhist practice what has has been going on for it for
countless countless
and he finally
mature
so
ah and then you know body dharmas nine years facing the wall is another example that he uses so
students who would like to study the way it's not wish for easy practice if you seek easy practice you will for your for certain never reach the ground of truth or dig down to the place of treasure
even teachers of old who had great capacity said that practice is difficult you should know that the buddha way is vast and profound but sometimes we say practice is difficult and then sometimes we say we'll practice is easy and there's sometimes a practice is neither difficult or easy
and i think you know if you when you look at practice as difficult then you
you have a certain standpoint and from that standpoint it's difficult
and if you're standing over here and look at it from this standpoint it's not so difficult but if you're standing in the middle is neither difficult or easy simply practice
it just practice
so numb

so he says that if the buddha way were originally easy to practice
then teachers have great capacity from olden times would not have said that practices difficult and understanding is difficult i think understanding is difficult did it understanding really difficult it's not that what there is to understand is difficult his test that
because of the way we think and witness because of our conditioning
it's difficult to get beyond that
so compared with people of all those of today do not amount to even one hair from nine cows
with their small capacity and shallow knowledge even if people of today strive diligently and regard this as difficult an excellent practice still it does not amount to even the easiest practice and easiest understanding of the teachers of old car his spirit you know giving people that business
the six patriarch when he gave a lecture he would say learned audience he didn't discriminate it hasn't learned audience you know him a boosted by everybody up you know made them really feel or yeah
so dog has this way sometimes
so what is this teaching ivc understanding and easy practice which people nowadays like it is neither a secular teaching or buddhist teaching and it does not come up to the practice of papayas the demon king
puppy is like kind of like the devil in
ha
and an office just if is just buddhist practice may be indian
lore probably comes from indiana or puppy s
but it's some the demon king nor does it come up with practice of those outside the way or the to lesser vehicles we should regarded you know i mean by the to lesser vehicles
huh
please explain what it would stop the as well there's the bodhisattva vehicle the punch a computer vehicle
and the trumka vehicle
the mahayana vehicle in a so-called hindi item handle
so tom
we should regarded as the product of ordinary people's extreme delusion even though they try to attain liberation they find nothing but endless rounds of suffering
on the other hand we can see that breaking bones are crushing marrow is not difficult
does not ever vote
but to harmonize the mind is most difficult
so what he talks about hard practice is not hanging by crushing the bones is talking about harmonizing the mind
again the practice of prolonged austerities is not difficult but to harmonize bodily activities is most difficult
do not do you think that crushing bones is value although many endured such practice few of them attained realization
so this is where dogan kind of turns
ah and who you know it all at law were thinking crushing the bones is what he's talking about
do you think people practicing austerities or to be respected
although there have been many few of them and realized the way for they still have difficulty in harmonizing the mind
so you know when shakyamuni buddha left on he became an ascetic
and practiced
crushing the bonds you know he lived he went through all of the ascetic practices
living on one grain of rice a day sometimes letting people
defecate on him and p on him and and you just you know totally miss treating the body
totally
punishing the body and because in there's a kind of practice in india of castigating the body in order to free the spirit
which buddha
finally said this not the way
this kinds of austerities and asceticism is not the way
so dogan is kind of reiterating this does not really the way

so he says
brilliance is not primary
understanding is not primary conscious endeavor
toward enlightenment is not primary
introspection or analysis is not primary without using any of these just harmonized body and mind and under the boot away
oh man shockey mooney said of a lucky tisch vara turns the stream inward and disregards knowing objects
i'm
ah so he's a really brilliant as if you don't have to be brilliant you don't have to
i have a lot of understanding you don't have to
be interesting
introspective and meaning an analytical introspection
like the hinayana or the you know how to introspect and yourself taking taking their self apart nor to see the selflessness
this not primary without using any of these methods so you know doug and says zazen is not one of the
i'm ah
thirty seven practices of
meditation
southern is not just one of the or
thirty seven
buddhist meditation practices
but us in
encompasses all the thirty seven
meditation practices of buddhism
this as thousand is not meditation
simply harmonizing body and mind and sitting comfortably

but but his word comfort to blame me

and so
so without using any methods
don't try to become buddha don't try to get enlightenment don't try to get can show just set with dropping body and mind just totally drop body and mind
yeah
when we talk about
she can't answer and co on practice she can taza means just doing that's the practice of the main practice of soto's in is she can't dazzle just doing just sitting without
engaging in
gaining anything
just sitting dropping our body mind
and sitting in a pure existence
i'm
ah
cohen on study is often
geared toward
driving you to
some kind of eye opening experience
not always
cohen's are used in various ways
but ah
the koran of
diogenes practice is ginger corn

co means something has various meanings bedroom semi like a
yeah existing on this moment
manifesting on this moment
and on means level
so from this level field something appears
but when something appears
sometimes the level field disappears
and sometimes when the level field disappears
the manifestation
when the level field appears the manifestation disappears
but to harmonize the manifestation with the level field is as it
what thousand
to manifest your existence with the level field
harmonizing body mind and breath with
ah
emptiness

and if you're steady cohen's that's what the cohens are all about
so she can cause a is the goal of cohen study
but we just go right to
she can't answer
they say people say was she contends is very difficult practice because there's nothing to grasp nothing to hold onto its seems vague
so if you have something like a call on you got something to grab to hold onto
but she can't as it has nothing to hold onto your just out it it's see
so to speak
but you you have to swim or float
find out how to how to maneuver in the in this
ocean
to ginger cohen is the co-owner practice and it's manifestation is she contessa
and it's method and that method but
zazen is not a method
it's just stepping into non-duality
just stepping into wholeness
everything is complete

so
dogan says old man shockey mooney said
avila kitaj vara turns the just the stream the stream of discriminating
consciousness i think it's what he means turns the streamer it of discriminating consciousness inward and disregards knowing objects in other words
letting go of objects
you know even though we are surrounded by objects
i'm
tis to we should not see objects as objects
mastered
towson in his palm in suzuki roshi is free translation the palm do not see yourself or the world as an object
you as an as an object you the way seeing yourself as an object is not you yourself
so we tend to tend to tend to treat things as objects and we even tend to treat each other in a kind of objective way
there is an objective characteristic two things
but basically everything is ourself
there's no you know we say no separation but there is some separation but at the same time there is no separation between
myself
and whenever i meet every wet and as chosen says every place i turned i meet myself
when i turned toward you i see myself
what does that mean
if you look in the mirror
you say oh that's me but you're only looking at the reflection
the mirror itself as you
when towson looked into the stream and saw his reflection it's not like
the image of him of his face that he saw
the stream itself was his face

thought
everything is a reflection
but it's not a reflection on a smooth surface

so dogan says
this is the meaning separation
between the two aspects of activity and stillness simply do not arise and this is harmonizing
the separation between the two aspects of activity and stillness do not arise this is doesn't
within when we sit still in zazen it's great activity within stillness
total dynamic activity within stillness
and when we are doing something moving around and an activity it's stillness within dynamic activity
so people say well that's what you mean by it's not as the mirror
there's the activity
it isn't right it's not as right
ah so
ah
when we said in the zendo
it's a dynamic activity of stillness
and when we leave the zendo it's stillness within dynamic activity if you don't have that stillness within the end at the dynamic activity then you you don't know where you are
so you should always know where you are
by where you are doesn't mean some place it means you're always hear whatever you are
wherever you are you know where you are
this is how you practice the fundamental and practice
this within activity does the stillness there's the the hum
like in a whirlwind to center of the whirlwind is great calmness
no matter what's going on
com's does the com center
this is nothing can overturn you this is what suzuki roshi mean when he says you should be the boss wherever you are but the boss doesn't mean bossing people around he means
you can't be overturned

so when you have difficulty in zazen
it it helps you to find that that com center
if you'd avoid having difficulty
then it's harder to find the com center

so then you know sometimes choosing well i'm bored and doesn't such southern boy is that ended point you're not working hard enough
now present enough when you totally present
there's no boredom
boredom is like a gap between your activity and your desire
so when
the whole body and mind is focused
in that one activity totally know boredom
because there's no place for that to enter
looks like it's time to make on a breaker we stand up and stretch

okay so the dog it says
if anyone could enter the food away answered

if anyone could enter the boot away by means of brilliance or broad knowledge
you would have been the one
if any one of ordinary appearance or humble position were excluded from the buddha away how could we know become the sixth and sister so shit you know it's to the story of six their sister who a known or daikon a know
he was
according to the legend he was illiterate
ah he didn't have any education and really knew nothing about
quote unquote buddhism
he said when people would ask questions he who say well i mean i don't own i've never read these sutures and so forth so when when i went to read it and i can't read so when you read read the center for me a few people would want to know what the meaning of the sutra was so he would say will will read it to me you know
see if i can tell you the meaning so they redid terminate and he would tell him the meaning
but he had never read it and had no he was educated
oh so
he was called the
chinese buddha
the buddha who emerged from china
and which was the beginning of actually of
ah
buddhism originating in china
so he was an original buddha for china
and since you was if you know if if you remember the story since she was the
ah different am head student the head monk at the monastery of the fifth ancestor
and everyone thought that shinshu and shirt so surely inherit
the the dharma from
the robe and the ball from the fifth patriarch
but the propecia gave the road in the bolter way know the young uneducated illiterate
ah
student who pounded rise in the in the in the kitchen
so that's what he's talking about he says if anyone could enter the boot away by means of brilliance of broad knowledge and the senior bucked shins you who was very brilliant
scholar would have been the one if any one of ordinary appearance or humble position were excluded for the boot away how could we known or dyke on a know become the sixth and sister it is clear that the buddha ways transmission lies outside of brilliance of broad knowledge search and find out reflected practice
being older decrepit does not exclude you thank goodness

ben quite young
ben quite young or in your prime does not as video
the
girl jojo first studied when he was over sixty now this is a kind of error i think
according to tradition of dog and somehow thinks that joe shoot started practicing when he was over sixty
everybody has a little different date as to when joe she started practicing
but he lived to be one hundred and twenty so
sydney
you know pretty lifetime time anyway
but
he's probably the most famous zen buddhist jesu because one thing as his longevity and his wonderful way of teaching
am
so although
yeah so other jojo jojo first studied when he was over sixty he became a person and excellence in the ancestral lineage and zinc daughter i'm not sure it was zing is but things daughter had already studied loved by the time she was thirteen
does young lady and she was outstanding in the monastery the power of buddha dharma is revealed depending on whether or not there is effort and is distinguished depending on whether or not it is practice so effort and practice those are the two things didn't matter with you smarter da burn or you know
hum
everyone is got the everyone has put a nature and there's the potential for realization know better and it doesn't depend on being smart or learn it
so this is was wonderful because that makes a universal
the only hindrance to making it universal is that people have to say that
oh but
you know
in japanese
practice
you know settings as in means as far as i know means sitting up with your legs crossed and up and if you can't sit with your legs crossed it's not doesn't but in america
wait there are many ways of sitting zazen and we way
utter and all of them
thought lying down or whatever you know it's always possible to sit zazen which makes it a universal practice and i think in america we are
more attuned to a universal practice
to want to make our practice a accessible to everyone and universal dogan also you know
ah so
we have we we we make great allowances
and include
what whatever anyone can do as a with a way to practice
why
well says it is something that
practice is what you do all the time and the way you do that all the time is in whatever it is you're doing
so walking course it's not just walking is every thing you do is an aspect of prachtige if you practice if you're practicing
so this is the hardest part this is what makes practice difficult it's not crushing your bones it's how do you harmonize bodymind with whatever it is it you're doing
in a way that is not self centered
because self-centeredness is the opposite of harmonious harmonizing
the way to harmonize is to let go of self-centeredness
if there's as long as there's selfishness
there's something withheld
and there's something to
the desire to
ah stand apart
so in generosity donna you know is the first of the six per meters down have been given but it doesn't mean just giving material things immense when you give you don't withhold anything
you don't say what's in it for me or maybe i'll just take this part
or you can have all this but i'll update this this little bug that doesn't work
so
donna is what we practice all the time as practice
it means letting go of things
and we can see where we can always see just where we are by how we hang onto things
that that really tells us where we were at as far as self centeredness goes you know that we should keep something for herself
in order to you know they are an acre know she's saying
yeah well you know we should donna we should let go of things but i need this typewriter in order to do my work you know so i'm not going to let you have it because i needed to do my work so that's not self centered
although
ah
real con when somebody broke into his hut you know it took something he's a matches you know this beautiful moon hair if a guy if the thief had come in wow you know when i was have i would i would have given him the bone
that's all i have is the moon

what's at french play
where the priest kills the thief the candlesticks
yeah the miserables please give a thief the candlesticks but that's also have an in buddhist you know
it xin stories that are pretty much like that where the priest gives them the bum you know the candlesticks

so then he says
the power of buddha dharma is revealed whether or not depending on whether or not there is effort and as distinguished depending on whether or not as practiced so this is the practice those who have studied such as a long time and those who are accomplished and secular texts all should study at a zen monastery
he's a he's pushing the monastic practice there are many examples of this
who we see of daniele was a very learned man but still he practiced with bodhidharma
zoo andre of young jr was an excellent scholar and still he practiced and dad john so he'd given these examples of scholars who actually practiced and that the practice became the dominant
practice rather than the scholarship but the scholarship you know if if you have the scholarship and practice that's wonderful
but sometimes scholarship can be a hindrance
because they depend on the scholarship but if you can
it incorporate the scholarship so that it's an enhancement to practice then that's wonderful
so i think a good teacher it's nice when a good when a teacher has the background and uses it to express their own understanding you know we say even though
a person has
a lot of knowledge and as a teacher and less
they start speaking from their own understanding
it's it it doesn't mean much
so you can use the
knowledge is a vehicle for your under a free own understanding
and so teachers should use the dorm at the the knowledge has a vehicle for their on understanding and not just as information

so to understand dharma
and attain the way can only be the result of studying with a teacher here he's talking about teacher again did she talks about setting with a teacher and every one of these sections however when practicing and inquiring of a teacher listened to the teacher's words without matching them with your a previous views
are your opinions if you understand the words and terms of your own views you will not be able to grasp the teaching
so it's important when you listen to the teaching just listen but
you know we can't help it think about it when we think about it we're matching it with their and abuse
but there is thinking about it
and then there is
hang onto your own view
and not allowing
a lot of the question when you really the codes often does the student is asking the teacher some question which comes from not really
allowing the teachers
words to get to them but
using their previous opinions to counter the words is a kind of challenge
and then the teacher
oh well
upset their proceed way
that happens quite a lot and in common
so when you practice with the teacher and enquire about dharma you clear your body and mind and still the eyes and ears and just listen and accept that teaching without mixing in any other thoughts
your body and mind will be one a receptacle ready to be filled with water so in other words you know this story about
the appropriate and zen flesh and bones that this scholar came to teacher of some kind came to the zen master to inquire of the dharma
and a teacher could see who he was you know so when they sat down the teacher started pouring m t and he just kept pouring and pouring point in prison the
the the the scholars and
what are you doing it's over the cup is overflowing
and the teacher said the ten metres of not just like your mind you know unless your mind is empty
does not nothing that can go into the is just no more than can go into
it's it's overflowing with your own stuff yeah there's a quote
st john across illustrates the same
why
to come by analogy have not you must get by way
you know that's good that's a very much like that
so when then you will certainly receive the teaching nowadays are foolish people who memorize the words of texts
or accumulate savings and try to match these words with the teacher's explanation in this case they have only their own views and old words and of diet marriage with the teacher's words
for some people their own views are primary they opened a sutra memorize a word or two and consider this to be buddha dharma later when they view an awakened teach you a visit an awakened teacher or a skilled master and here the teaching if it agrees with their own view they consider the teaching right and
if it does not agree with their old fix standards they consider the words wrong they don't know how to abandon their mistake and tendencies so how could they ascend and returned to the true way for ages numberless as particles of dust and sand they will remain diluted it is most pitiable is it not say
add
so students should know that the buddha way lies outside of thinking and analysis prophecy introspection knowledge and wise explanation why there's a lot of
highly
considered things so
the buddha way lies outside of thinking analysis prophecy introspection knowledge and wise explanation if the buddha way we're in these activities why would you not have realized that boot away by now
since from birth a perpetually been in the midst of those activities
well you know a choice said that when you come to a
then a practice place you should let go of everything
just let go of everything you you know everything you've learned everything you all of your opinions and ideas and just open your mind and in better
that's the fastest way to
ha for to realization know teachers that have his intuition that intuition
well that's all that's what it's about about intuitions it feels right well if it's really intuition it's right
because intuition means directly touching so
it in order to have direct touching you don't want anything in the way
so
that's the problem
so it's intuition that's right so when there's no
mind
hum
are come
mine coverings called know mine coverings no no background you know no structures ben of the structures or emotional structures then there's direct touching
but are all that rest is a hindrance you know wonderful as those things are
impeachment but they're all a hindrance
so
that's why zazen is that is the entrance you know because you can let go of everything
opinions will not help you dial ensure that help you in doesn't nothing will help you except
i
pure activity is just pure activity and anything that comes up like thoughts and ideas and
you know it's like when you're sitting in zazen and the fourth day and your legs or kill you and you can only take one breath at a time and you think oh god you know or what a nothing you call on will help you
no mine structure no emotional thing and you'd go through the whole litany of things which you have depended on all your life you know the to grasp onto and nothing works
the only thing you do is to totally lego
so you can do just
let go
and then it's like stepping off the pole you know your you find yourself
but as long as you have those hindrances or does constructs you can't find yourself
cause there's something to hold onto which
stops you from falling all the way down
you know when someone has a enlightenment experience or and opening experience i can show it means that there's enough that everything has gotten that the that that you're holding onto
as long as if there's a twig or something hang out through
he can't do it
it's like the men in a tree know holding on with his teeth to a branch with his teeth and someone says what's the meaning of oh determines coming from the west and if he if he answers he fall and if he doesn't answer he he
will fail
to great go on
am
so

so he says for some people their own views are primary they open a sutra memorize a word or two and consider this to be the buddha dharma later when they visit with the new a good teacher or a skilled master and here they're teaching for degrees with their own view they consider the teaching right and if it does not agree with their old fix standards they considered as words wrong
they do not know how to abandon their mistake and tendencies so how could they ascend and returned to the true way for ages numberless as particles of dust and sand they will remain diluted it is most pitiable he said not said so students should know that the buddha way lies outside of thinking analysis prophecy introspection knowledge
why is explanation that or this will help you the boot away were in these activities why would you have not realize the boot away by now since from birth you have been perpetually you have perpetually bit in the midst of these activities
so students to the way should not employ thinking analysis or any such thing that thinking and other activities perpetually absent beset you few examine them as you go your clarity will be like a mirror that way to enter the gate is measured only by a teacher who
i was attained dharma
it cannot be reached by priests who have studied letters

so this this portion was written on a clear and bright day of the third month second year of typical
twelve thirty four
so we have fifteen minutes

he said
presumptuous find governments are or anyone's arm to say that
why doesn't the zaza that one cannot change the way i cannot touch
yeah well
you know if you've ever read bit doha this exactly the questions that people asked no game
oh and he answered these questions
so
duggan's answer is something like all the this is a way that all the buddhas have
dennis
so
so what he means by
oh
awakening
is what booted it gets his criterion for
awakening is what
ah what buddha did in order to find his awakening
that's a that's duggan's reason or excuse or whatever you want to it
so you know we always want to defend people say well what about all these other people you know
as
i think that we have to understand what dog is trying to do is a thirteenth century japan is to establish
his understanding and is and is and says him so his
when he's presenting his teaching in that period of time given the circumstances of that period
you know because the lowest period and and that people are not you know
accessing the true dharma you say this is how we access the to darwin
you know and
don't get started out by
ah you're talking in two kinds of thinking about
universal way for everybody
but later he really concentrated and monks practice
and so
ah
he gets more and more and kind of narrow in his
wave
presenting the dharma
and seen the know when he says this are the only way you know
nature and said this is the only way you know and everybody says this is their the way according to their practice so i think we have to take that into account
but then there's also what do we mean by doesn't
what is when it says it is as it's just some narrow practice
so it doesn't just some narrow practice than it's not that can't be the practice so although not as and is characterized by sitting has
ah it a visible
no activity
the whole universe is practice exam
to understanding of does it is not just you guys are sitting says it the whole universe is practice exam together
and when you are practicing size in you and the whole universe are practicing the same practice
so this is the absolute hasn't you have to understand this as what tokens talking about not just talking about doing your thing on the cushion
by yourself
it's not self practice
it's practice of unloading the self
the self unloading the self
the self settling on the self
so the
small self settling on big self
and big self means everything in the universe is practically exhausted and if you think about what what's the practice of the universe then
we don't usually think about with the practice of the universe but we have to think in those terms
dogan is practicing that zazen is the practice of practicing
the practice of the universe everything when you sit and you're practicing the the practice of the universe
cut the universe is practicing you

yeah well but karen hundred head of first
ah
one man complained about southend because it seemed to have no structured of form to advance to pay it and then we've been talking about the sutures looking at the collection of food as discourses on how we should practice and a lot of them are very rigorous prescribe
the four foundations of mindfulness and all the different breath practices in a different john as so how should we consider those like hope that you know how should we relate if you practice doesn't strictly to in is presented to be practiced you will be proud
courtesy all those practices
you'll be practiced in the four foundations of mindfulness you be practicing the seven factors of enlightenment you'll be practicing the four noble truth
you've been practicing all those practices if you really practices in as the way as is it should be practiced
so those sorts of practices arise within the context of what we're doing when he said that's right there are all included and that made me what buddha was teaching is that it came out of what he knew but it got i mean i don't know enough about it could have gotten transmitted is that these of practices
here's the thing you know
when you do something you just do it right
and when you talk about it you analyze it and when you analyze that you break it down into all its parts
so the passionate is the practice of breaking everything done at all this little parts and pieces and then looking at all of them the practice of zazen is is taking all those things and putting it together in one act
so you can talk about on them i talk about the seven factors and and i do you know long
boring lectures for
the seven factors that enlightenment and and and on you know talking about the four noble truths and the l those things you know i'm talking about they're fun to talk about but there's not a substitute for doesn't
because their knowledge that's good knowledge is fine but if you depend on those signs and is the practice of intuition and totally of just touching his jumping in the fire
jumping in the ocean
and when you're swimming you know everything is working
if you break it down and tried to explain yeah that's when you when you get so conscious then it's harder to new for tesco because if we are to look at a suture it's a it's good to know from which is fine it's fine to study all it's all those things but not as a substitute for practice
are not as a way out slice of techniques yeah sometimes you know in simple
it can be helpful
i'd like to talk about the seven factors of enlightenment because when i do i think you know each one of them is an expression of what we do enzymes in
so i'm always relating it to zazen
suffering the four noble truths it's all related to doesn't mean there is a but the thirty seven
meditation practices and now they're breakdowns are will you know really fun to talk about because he can see how they all appearances in
i'm and the sentence encouraging process of thinking and other activities perpetual like him if your examined them as a very very welcoming like a mirror isn't that could you say
why do you think he means by examine them or more specifically how do we examine them to get that
examine the mean when you see how something comes up you know see it from what it is
whenever comes up and see it preventative i don't know it exam exam and may not be the road tournaments the translation but to acknowledge i think you know
one of the seven factors of enlightenment is to investigate
investigate the dharmas and what are the diamonds the diamonds our emotions and feelings and thoughts and you know
yeah and so when they come up you acknowledge them when when a feeling comes up in zazen that becomes the subject of zazen at that moment
but you know so that examining you don't take it apart and what is this is simply let it be there and as bear attention on that
the sector
just a you don't say we don't say this is a feeling blank need as notice the really just that's not even notice it the feeling becomes the subject of of your attention at that moment and then something else takes his place and then something else thinks it's
place and so you know for everything's coming up and a state of mind is always changing
no concentration internet paragraph or is this not to dodging introspection at your yes right

how would a time right is a year depending on whether or not ethnic yes when is that effort well effort means
being focused on
and the dharma pink focused you know not straying outside of the dharma the more focused you are in the dharma that the
the more
clarity there is
so it's not my
yeah it's it's i do that as an everyday
that's a really means

kate really talk much about ethnic and on the sound of site like amazon muscular and he started thinking about pianist seat back of my consensual used to i kind of finger
no no effort meme
this or effort means to stay in balance
it means effort means to not fall into duality dualistic thinking
ever needs to keep your practice pure that's exactly what he said he said effort does not mean to crush crusher bones there ever been to
keep your practice pure by not falling into discriminated thinking and dualistic thinking and an opinionated thinking and
ah that's what it said so is keeping your mind focused on the dharma that's what i that's what i mean by keeping your mind focused on the dharma and effort can also be effort is mental it's also physical
so physical effort you know when you begin to practice you really stretch yourself as far as you go
then you find out what practices through stretching yourself as far as you go really