We all have one really great opportunity in this life and that is that we're going to die. We all have one great opportunity in this life and that is that we're going to die.

[01:17]

Well, as you know, it's absolutely unavoidable. No matter how much each of us clings to this life or turns away from it, eventually, we're going to die. You have a really great opportunity and it will actually, of course, happen to you. Eventually, you'll feel your aliveness leave your body.

[02:31]

And if, at that time, you cling to this life, you'll have a terrible time. But if you can let it go, rather like an interesting movie fading from the screen, you'll realize your blank screen or no screen. And there's no need to wait until that opportunity. Because right now, you're dying and yet alive.

[03:42]

And you can let go now of your movie, of the images on your screen, without some agony or without suffering or without boredom or without desperation. You can let go of the movie. Nor you can participate completely in the movie, but if you participate completely in

[04:51]

the movie, you know what the screen is. And if you know what the screen is, then the story is completely different. The plot is completely different. What do you suppose the plot of one movie after another is to the screen? It never gets caught by the plot. And you can make some effort now. You want to let go of the movie, but you have to make some effort to not be caught

[05:56]

by the movie. And if you don't make that effort now, you won't be ready when your real opportunity comes to let go. Everything in our life is linked up together. And so, if you act in such and such a way, you feel contaminated, at that time maybe we

[07:03]

tend to forget about the average, you know, of all your activity and we stick to the idea that we're contaminated. And if you feel that way, you know, it's important to look at your whole life. Your whole life isn't contaminated. But it's also important to know what the links are and how you're linked. And how, if you can make an effort in your life now, especially in your zazen, it affects

[08:11]

your whole life. By the way, can you move up a little? There's plenty of room here, so, people in the back. It's like an army of snails is coming at me. It's like an army of snails is coming at me. Anyway, there's really no sense in practicing zazen in some easy way, you know, as a relief

[09:19]

from your activity. That side will be there, you know, even if you make an effort in your zazen. But to let go, actually, you need some unity of mind and body, of doing and thinking. And you can concentrate in your zazen, really bringing your mind back to exactly where you are, transfusing your body with your awareness. Maybe it's like the short subjects of a movie, you know, the plot isn't so interesting, it's

[10:21]

on world events or some travel, you know, so you're not so caught by the plot, so you can look at the screen. But then when the movie comes on, you're more caught. And when the news comes on, then you think it's quite real. And then you say, oh, this isn't just a screen anymore or just images, this is some real event. And of course, everything you see on the movie is real, but what kind of real? And if you think the news is real, you'll always be too late, you always get there after the accident has occurred. And it may be necessary to take care of someone after the accident has occurred.

[11:25]

But what really is standing before you, what really is happening in front of you, is already the past. We talked about this a little the other night at Green Gulch. The present you see is past. The actual present you can't see. Once you see it, it's past. And once you just see it, it's past. You have to, you can only participate in it. You can't see it. We, you know, how many of us keep our wave from cresting, holding back, and falling in

[12:50]

love, or being sad, or ...? You know, the Lankavatara Sutra says that consciousness arises all at once or by degrees in every sense organ. Even in the molecules and the pores of the skin. And the sense field apprehends things like objects reflected in a mirror or on a screen, or like the ocean swept by the wind. And the mind field is constantly stirred by objectivity.

[13:58]

Deeds and events and conditions constantly condition each other. In that kind of situation, you know, what do you see actually? Do you see the wind actually stirring each person? Are you quick enough to be one with the wind? Before, I mean, this is a kind of utter darkness. When it's light, it's already past. How do you exist in this very immediate present, participating in each thing as it happens? Not even waiting for the wind, you know?

[15:04]

Before the wind comes, you see some stirring in the trees, far away. Anyway, it's quite easy to be disturbed by the world events, or the news, or the war. And quite easy to ignore your next door roommate in this building, his own situation, or to ignore your own situation. This subtle body, we can say, you can know most easily if you practice zazen.

[16:27]

And if you know this subtle body, you have no trouble when your opportunity, your great opportunity to die comes. To be able to stand still in this wind, or move instantly with this wind, requires that

[17:43]

you not be caught by your images, that you not be involved in your own plot. How many plots there are that you eliminate by being caught in what you think is your plot? You need to have some freedom from fear and from hope. Just this is enough. A blank screen is enough. If you go to the movies and there's just a blank screen, most of you will be quite bored. And in your zazen, you'll go through a period in which your zazen becomes quite boring.

[18:49]

You know? Because you're still looking at the screen. So, the most important rules that have been given to us to take care of our doing, our tendency to be caught by doing, our most absolute tendency to be caught by doing, are the precepts. And by precepts, I mean something that you already have and something which Buddha has

[19:51]

given us. And as I said last week, I think, the precepts are the most difficult part for us in many ways. What do these rules mean? Why do we have such rules about how to live? Why have they been given to us, passed down to us? And they're just common sense. They're not Buddhist, even. Just ordinary common sense. Do not kill. Of course, we don't kill. So, why say, do not kill? You know, each precept has some wide meaning that covers all of our activity. But, as I said, you already have precepts.

[20:58]

When you grew up, your family or someone gave you some rules. And your school, you couldn't survive if you didn't have some rules. And most of us have sometime made a concerted effort to figure out, oh yes, maybe we shouldn't lie, or maybe we shouldn't steal. Children have some tendency to lie or steal or be dishonest in some way. As Suzuki Roshi said, you know, if you take something which is not given, you know your ego, you know the value of your ego, but you don't know the true value of things.

[21:59]

Things actually which we can't possess. And after trying to find your own precepts, you find out when you're maybe a teenager that actually everyone who's been teaching you the precepts doesn't follow them, or it looks like they don't follow them, you know. They actually are sort of dishonest, and not always, but many people are sort of dishonest. They don't actually look at their activity to see that in some way it's taking advantage

[23:02]

of some other person. Anyway, they seem to be adults, you know, from the point of view of a child, seems to be more skillful at breaking the precepts, that's all. So, at some point we rearrange our precepts, and we say, well actually it's all right to do such and such and such and such, but your basic precepts, you know, don't change that are in your guts. And so, most of us suffer from some serious disarrangement of our life, because our activity

[24:12]

and our rules that we've internalized aren't consistent, and some superficial way we have made up new rules that seem to be consistent and seem to work in the world, but we haven't really changed our basic rules, so we feel crappy all the time, or ashamed of ourselves. Anyway, our limited life, Buddhism recognizes that in our limited life we make rules actually, and follow them or break them. So, if so, what should be a good set of rules?

[25:12]

So, the Buddhist precepts are meant to bring together all the rules you have into one kind of maybe set of rules, and you can forget about your private precepts, and you can have some confidence that your activity, as best as possible, isn't messing up other people. And the precepts can be looked at in that way, you know? The first emphasizes the material world, you know? Don't mess around with other people's body. That means don't kill. But we also say it means don't kill your bodhicitta.

[26:28]

This means a recognition of the subtle body, the body of enlightenment. It means don't live in that past which looks like the present. And the second one, you know, don't steal or do not take what is not given, is really one of the most interesting. It means, on the ordinary level, you know, in which it's not Buddhist or anything, it means don't mess around with the extensions of another person.

[27:32]

The first is don't mess around with a person, the second means don't mess around with what he considers his own, his possessions. But it also means you can't actually own or possess anything, especially something someone else considers their own, that actual use in this world is sharing, and there has to be some agreement about the sharing. As Suzuki Roshi said, you know, he said, these glasses are not my glasses, they're your glasses. But you know about my tired old eyes and so you let me use these glasses. As do not kill means do not kill yourself as well as someone else.

[28:40]

Do not take what is not given, do not steal, also refers to you. And it means, in relation to bodhicitta, say, don't think about attainment, don't count your chickens before they're hatched, that if you do, you can't have any chickens. These rules are quite strict. Do not take what is not given means that if you do take what's not given, you don't have anything. So we can't take Buddhism. I thought it was interesting, someone told me David, Brother David said, when he was here, do not, you can't take a nap.

[29:42]

That was rather interesting. Anyway we, our relationship with each other and with our teacher is that we can only be given. And the next three emphasize your relationships with others. Be careful of your deeds by body, speech and mind. Do not lie, do not abuse your senses, your physical senses, or do not abuse someone else's relationship like that. These precepts all emphasize doing and your relationship with other people.

[30:49]

Just how you put something down, or how you practice as in this time, how you clean up your dishes. You know the famous story about the monk. The teacher says, where have you been? And the monk says, I've just had breakfast, I've just had my meal. And the teacher says, did you wash the dishes? Something like that the story is. Anyway, on one side it literally means, wash the dishes. And of course it means, he said, I've had my breakfast, meaning I have some attainment.

[31:54]

And so the teacher said, if you've had some attainment, your dishes will be clean. There won't be some food left in them. To say, I've had my breakfast, means there's some food still stuck to the bowl, you know. And the other is, do not mess around with your, one is, do not mess around with your body, the other is, do not mess around with your speech, and the third is, the fifth is, do not, third of this group, the fifth is, do not mess around with your mind. Just as your mind is, do not alter it in some way, and do not alter someone else's mind. Do not sell Buddhism, do not encourage people, do not intoxicate people with Buddhism, as

[33:07]

Suzuki Roshi said. And six and seven I mentioned before, I think, which are quite interesting, because they, the first five emphasize the material world, maybe, and that everything's changing. First you know, your body and the extensions of your body, and the next three, your activity of body, speech and mind. And the next two emphasize something more subtle. On the surface it says, do not criticize others. And the second one says, the seventh one says, do not put yourself up by putting down others.

[34:13]

They all sound like they're almost the same, but they mean in this present, this real present, the present of utter darkness. Do not interfere with the wind, and if you criticize others or try to build up your own movie, do stop that process by which we're actually creating each person, and each person is creating us. Now we tend to look at a person as an inside trying to get out, and maybe we experience

[35:30]

ourselves as an inside trying to get out. So we talk, or we write, or we explain ourselves to people, you know, but there's no inside trying to get out. There's no way outside or inside, that's some artificial distinction we make. There's only a complete flowing activity, which we can actually call non-activity since normally we get so caught by trying to do things. To exist in this utter blackness we call non-doing. In this world you can't criticize anyone, because what you criticize is already past,

[36:46]

and you kill them, and if you try to fiddle with your own image or try to put yourself up in some way, you kill yourself. You're only messing around with what's past already, after the accident, you know. You want to be there before the accident, present in the accident, present in your own accident. And the you who practices is also the practice... the person who can't practice. Anyway, six and seven refer to that subtle world of complete relationships, where there's

[38:33]

no inside or outside. In which our actual existence takes place. This world is almost completely different from the world we usually see, and yet actually exactly the same. It's the same, but it's before it becomes the same, maybe.

[39:35]

To exist there, you can't have some fear or hope, that irrelevant feelings, you know. Of course, we can't eliminate our feelings, fear and hope, anger, etc., but we should have space in them. Anyway, that's six and seven. Eight and nine, six and seven, one to five maybe emphasize everything changes, six and seven emphasize mind only, some attitude or view we use for teaching, and eight and

[40:46]

nine emphasize emptiness, sunyata. Eight is, do not be possessive of the teaching. It sounds a lot like number two, you know, do not take what is not given. Both of these, the second, the eighth, ninth one is do not harbor ill will or hatred, but it means you can't actually.

[41:47]

There is no way to accumulate in this real present, so there is no way which you can say, I possess Buddhism, you don't possess Buddhism, or I will use what I know, or you will use what you know to affect other people in some way. This is already living in the past, which we call the present. And, the last one emphasizes faith, and it says, do not speak carelessly or do not misuse

[42:50]

the three treasures, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. And, that's just that, in the end, we take some, just as we have some precepts, whether we want precepts or not, we actually are always seeking some refuge. So, take refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Give up your, you know, plot, your movie. And, of course, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are not back there with Buddha. Just as Buddha lived and practiced with others, so we live and practice with others, and this

[44:04]

community here at Green Gulch and Kasahara and Boulder and Vermont and New York is an Buddhist Sangha. And, the experiences, the actual experience of Buddha is not different from your experience. Your experience right now is Buddha's experience. Yes.

[45:19]

Yes. All of our having the flu, now we share, we seem to all be sharing coughing, all of us. Different heads with the same cough, same contents or something. Do you have any questions? Earlier, you said, don't take what is not given, and on a deeper level, who would be giving? Who would be giving? Or do you mean, do you mean your class? Yeah, the idea of, do not take what is not given, or that you can only be given, really

[46:53]

means, actually, you can't possess anything. There's no giver or receiver. But, as we do share things in this relative world we live in, the only way we can participate with ourself and with others, if we share things, not as if we possess things, it's based on emptiness, of course, not based on possessions, material existence. Yeah. Would you explain the difference between not a cheater and hoping for some achievement? Then... The thought of enlightenment means enlightenment.

[48:04]

It only becomes attainment, or when it becomes attainment, it's not enlightenment. Okay? What actually... The idea of bodhicitta is very interesting. How does this thought of enlightenment arise? Why do we have it? Where does it come from? What does its existence mean? It doesn't mean you've noticed it. Ah, it would be wonderful to save all sentient beings, or be enlightened or something, you know, for myself, for others. Anyway, once you have this idea, it's our usual mind that exists in the past that immediately wants to have it in the future, you know, and tries to build on it or attain.

[49:08]

It's rather subtle because I say, let go, and yet I say, make an effort. And I say, a thought of enlightenment, but no attainment. Anyway, we can't exist, you can't say, this side or that side. You know, we always say, one and yet two. Two and yet one. You can't have just one, you can't have just two. If I say, let go, that's not right. If I say, make an effort, that's not right. So I have to say, let go and make an effort. Discipline and freedom, you know. Some problem. What's discipline, what's freedom? You know. Yeah.

[50:24]

Yeah. Also, do not throw away what you already have. What you do get. It's actually rather difficult to restate the precepts in positive forms.

[51:39]

It becomes rather tricky. You can look at all the precepts from various points of view. One, yourself. One, another person. One from the point of greed all the way through. One from the point of hate all the way through. One from delusion all the way through. And in terms of past, present, and future. In various ways you can look at each precept, including a positive side. But as I said last week, talking about turning toward emptiness. If you turn, we can't turn away from things. If you avert, that's the same as passion. And if you turn toward things so you create more, that's rebirth, creating more and more. So each thing you can react to completely, but you turn with it toward emptiness.

[52:41]

So if we state the precepts in a positive form, it encourages some kind of doing. Take responsibility for what you take. Of course, you better take responsibility for what you take, but maybe it's better not to have taken it at all. We must take responsibility, of course, each moment. But also, you know, they're stated negatively, because what you are now is just enough. So if you say, oh, I'll do that. No, don't. What you are now is enough. I'll do that. No, don't. I want that. Don't. So you're not satisfied with what you are, so we have to say, don't. You're just perfect as you are.

[53:46]

The negative form just means you're perfect now, as you are, without adding anything. The only positive precept, really, is have faith in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. But even that is stated negatively. It's the only doing that's permitted. And that's supposed to self-destruct too, you know. Yeah. Amen.

[54:53]

That's, you know, of course, that's been a big problem for me, you know, for a long time. And as you know, I have... maybe you don't know, but a while ago I told you I've had this kind of conversation with Huey Newton. Some, several, quite a few times we have talked about this. Action and non-action and... What kind of responsibility do we have? Social responsibility. And we agree almost exactly, but... I think so, anyway. But... There is some, you know, we practice in this way, and it does...

[56:02]

have certain results, you know. One is that at least we don't participate too actively for a while, you know. And this has been, you know, a problem for many people in Zen Center, all through the peace movement, in the early years of the war, and then the ecology thing and the general social difficulties in our country. I don't want to give too... You know, since I've thought about this for... much... for 10 or 15 years, I could talk for a long time about it, you know. But I don't think it's so I should do that,

[57:09]

because actually if each one of you is going to continue practicing, you have to figure that out for yourself. It's so crucial that you figure that out for yourself, or you can't practice, you know. So that's why I use the example of the news. I knew it would cause some problem, you know. Let me... try to say something, no? Let me talk about maybe Buddhism from a limited point of view. First I'll talk about the general idea is, which I've stated before in answer to this question, in responding to it, is that Buddhism, because it emphasizes everything changes,

[58:17]

and... that the unreality of the world in which you think about, that you have to act now in this situation, presently. And as you know, if... you have to take care of yourself now, what your actual situation is now, how you pick something up, how you wash the dishes. And you can say simple, maybe almost simple-minded things like, well if everybody practiced Buddhism the world would be okay. That doesn't mean anything to say that. So I'll practice Buddhism and if everyone joins me it'll be okay. The idea is more subtle than that. First of all, just looking at it more or less from the outside,

[59:28]

if a person who's quite upset or disturbed, comes into a room of people, everyone in the room may get rather nervous. You know, he's quite jittery or upset. And the presence of other people actually helps that person. If someone, maybe like Suzuki Roshi, comes into a room, everyone in the room feels quite good. So the Buddhist idea is, the more people you can create like Suzuki Roshi, the better, because everywhere they go, more people will feel quite good. And that kind of person penetrates very deeply in our society. Anyway, Suzuki Roshi came here and just lived in that Kafkaesque tower

[60:35]

on Sokoji, on Bush Street. And did zazen and look what happened, you know, in 10 years or 12 years. So many people anyway have been affected. Likewise, there's Buddha. And then there's Sangha. That a group of people trying to find some ideal way to live, some complete way to live, likewise has an effect on many people. Okay, that's a second, you know. And Dharma as an actual turning of the wheel, turning of everything toward emptiness. You know, that has to be done. And that helps turn everything toward emptiness. Anyway, this doesn't make much sense unless you see the world from the point of view, as I said before, of that present which isn't yet past,

[61:39]

where everything is still fluid. Activity in that world penetrates very far. If you try to participate in the world at the level of what you read in the newspapers, you're too late already. Someone should participate on this other level. And then in addition, if you respond this way to things, you do tend to respond more to your next-door neighbor upstairs or across the street or whoever, and his actual situation rather than something over there. So maybe this tendency, this is when I said I was talking about Buddhism from a limited point of view, maybe this tendency

[62:41]

limits us too much. Some group of people, though each of us has actually some relationship with 20 or 30 relatives and friends, and so if there's 400 or 500 people practicing at Zen Center and there are actually thousands and thousands of people involved, I mean, that's some justification that Buddhists use to say, I'm just staying on my cushion. And some people have to, to stay in one place and you have some healing, you know, practice. Many, many people appear. That takes all of everyone's time. However, in my mind, this is still too limited.

[63:47]

And Zen emphasizes, you know, participation in the world, but it does emphasize participation in the world from the point of view of this real present. Participation in the world at the level of non-doing as well as doing. So I don't think it's so easy. I'm always amazed. Every year I practice Buddhism, you know, I'm always amazed at how penetrating actually this kind of activity is. But still, luckily for us in Zen, you can practice and do anything, be a labor leader or businessman or revolutionary, anything, you know.

[64:54]

But the more you use your practice to gain some strength for doing, the more your practice is limited. There's a subtle point at which you can be anything, but you must be careful to be in the realm that you're not taking, because your activity becomes quite crude then. Anyway, that kind of understanding we have. And it means nothing to talk about social good if you ignore the person sitting next to you. It means nothing to tear yourself apart over things you can't do anything about. The only thing that counts is what you can do something about actually. So I'm hoping

[65:59]

in America, Buddhism can find some wide way to do something about many situations. This is the best time for practice. After Buddhism becomes a social institution and it doesn't have to keep finding what its way actually is and it's easily taken care of. It's easily taken care of by society, you know. So now, maybe for another 10 or 20 or 30 years, we have some real opportunity to practice and redefine Buddhism anew. Going back, actually I'm sure it will be going back to the original

[67:02]

spirit before it becomes some service organization in a society. And if we are subtle enough, maybe we can not be caught so quickly as usually happens, but I don't know. Maybe we're caught already, but still we have to try. Anyway, that's too much talking about it. Actually, it's some thing you turn over and eventually it becomes clear to you through some turning inside. And you know how to take care of your life and how to take care of what happens. Yes. Excuse me.

[68:01]

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