I went and practiced with in the past. And new people. A lot of old faces. That's nice. I just want to say that our talk is an hour and a half. Our class, I guess I'd call it, is an hour and a half. And so after 45 minutes, or 40 minutes, I would like somebody to remind me. It's 40 minutes, and then we can stretch for a few minutes, take a little break for a few minutes. So I didn't really get to Pat very quickly, or quickly enough to tell her what our class would be about, because I didn't get the newsletter. What interests me a lot is the subject of light.

[01:10]

And, you know, in all spiritual practice, light is considered the source of things, and especially so in Buddhism. But, you know, and then, we don't hear so much about it, or we do, but it's not It's not something that's spoken of so much or focused on so much. But if you look at it closely, you'll see Deleon himself talks about komyo. Komyo means various, translated in various ways, It's translated as brilliance, or illumination, or divine light.

[02:11]

Divine sounds more Christian than Buddhist, but I think the meaning is good. because it really refers to the source. Of course in Buddhism we don't talk about a deity, we don't consider Buddha to be a deity, but there is a source, I don't want to say behind, or in front of, But within everything, the source is to be found. And even though we don't consider that a soul or something separate, Nyogen Sensaki says the soul in Buddhism is the one soul that everyone belongs to, or that everything belongs to, everything is a part of the one soul.

[03:19]

Rather than, you know, in most Indian spiritual practices, there's a soul which transmigrates through various lives. And they describe it in certain ways, sometimes as something the size of a pea, That's a very good description. And Buddha rejected this notion. And this is what actually set Buddha apart from the spiritual practices of his time, was that he did not believe there was such a thing as a soul which transmigrates. Sometimes in Buddhism there is talk about an afterlife and there is talk about transmigration over and over, various past lives.

[04:27]

So this is an interesting area for discussion, past lives and transmigration and so forth. But, you know, even Doug, in the Kenjo Koan that we read this morning, He says, firewood does not become ash. Ash is not before and firewood behind and so forth. And we do not return to this life again once we need it. So that's an interesting statement because so much of Buddhist, and even Dogon talks about past lives in a way, he refers to that. Whether he refers to it as poetically or practically, I'm not sure. The Tibetans believe in reincarnation.

[05:30]

But a lot of Buddhists, especially Zen, think more about it in terms of rebirth. Rebirth is not necessarily transmigration. Rebirth is more like action influence, which continues the energy in certain ways we don't know about, or that we can speculate about. Most Mahayana Buddhists do focus on the understanding of the idea of action-influence, which means that the energy of this particular body-mind configuration called the person, that the karma of that person continues

[06:40]

and contributes to another manifestation. So, if we look at the world around us, and if we identify with the world around us, we can see how apples produce apples, and oranges produce oranges, and people produce people. So, you know, sometimes we say, well, in the Abhidhamma it's sometimes said that it's like two candles, one candle giving light to the other candle. Now, is it the same light or is it a different light? Well, it's the same and it's different. It's the same light but it's also a different light. Something comes around, things go around, but it's the same, but it's not the same.

[07:49]

So that's as far as I can go. But I think it's logical. To me it's logical. But life is not necessarily does not necessarily conform to my logic. But nevertheless, I can go with this. So when I think about the Source, I can go with various Buddhist thinkers who express the Source as light. And all manifestations are manifestations of light. But light, we have some idea about light. When we say light, we think of the sun and the moon and so forth.

[08:52]

These are manifestations which are archetypal. But Dogen talks about light. as not blue, red, white, or whatever you think it is. Dogen has a classical called Komyo, divine light, or brilliance, or whatever they want to call it. Everything is a manifestation. of Kumbhia, this divine light. And he's simply talking, he's simply one of a whole number of ancestors who talk about light. And the, you know, Bhairavachana, who is

[09:54]

At the center of Buddhist cosmology, so to speak, is the Buddha in radiant light. And everything manifests from Varajana. And Varajana represents the Dharmakaya. the fundamental essence of life. And then there are the various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who are expressions of that. And if you look at the Tibetan Thangkas and Mandalas, you see that Vairamchana is in the center, usually of the cosmological process. and everything is radiating from the center.

[10:56]

The Big Bang. So, what I'm going to study with you is the practice instructions of Master Hong Zhe, Master Hongjue was born in 1091 and died in 1157 and just after the Tang Dynasty and he was an abbot at Tiankun Shan Monastery in China, which is where Dogen studied with his teacher.

[12:04]

And Hangzhou is very well known in China, a very highly revered ancestor. And when Pat and I went to China a couple of years ago, We went to Jingde Monastery. And there was a stelae of Hongzhi that had been cracked in half during the Cultural Revolution. They really devastated things. And it was put back together again. So I was very happy to see that. Because Hongzhi is one of my favorite Zen teachers and somehow I always feel a great affinity with him and the way he expresses himself and the way he brings out as the basis of his teaching the expression of light

[13:19]

So I think some of you are probably familiar with Master Hong Xiu. There's a book called Cultivating the Empty Field. It came out several years ago. Dan Layton and a Chinese scholar together translated this. Dōgen was influenced a lot by Hongjū and really held him in high esteem. And it's possible that Hongjū was kind of inspiration for Dōgen in his Komyō, which we'll look at that as part of our study. And then Eijo, who was Dōgen's major disciple, wrote a fascicle. which is also very, quite wonderful.

[14:36]

So, we'll look at that too. So, Hung Jer, I think he must have called these, this is what the translator said, called them practice instructions. But they're not your usual practice instructions. You know, you don't have to cross your legs like this and sit up like that. They're inspirational practice instructions. So they're all very inspiring. That's what's so nice about them. And there's something... They seem to come from this... a very quiet place, a very deep place. During his time, there was a famous Zen teacher called Da Hui.

[15:46]

You've probably heard of Da Hui. Da Hui was an advocate of koan practice, koan study. And Hong Zhe was an advocate of what was called silent illumination. So right there in this practice, illumination is the basis. And silent illumination was like the basis of Zazen practice. So at that time, Da Hui and Hong Zhe were kind of rivals. although they really appreciated each other. And in the end, when Hung Jer passed on, he entrusted his affairs to Da Hui. But Da Hui criticized Silent Illumination because

[16:56]

At the time, a lot of people would do Zazen, but they would just do Zazen all day long and never do anything else. So they were considered rice bags. Dead wood. Dead stuff. which is actually one of the perils or traps of silent illumination, or Zazen practice, or Soto Zen practice. But Hung Jer continually, in almost every classical, talks about how Zazen, or silent illumination, is the basis for activity. And what the basis for activity is, how to, you know, inspire people to, the practitioners, to work in the world, and not simply be, stay on the seat, on the cushion.

[18:16]

So, I think that Dao Wei's main criticisms are about It was called the nabhidhamma, the near enemy of meditation practice. It looks like it, but it's not quite, it's off, you know. So, maybe near enemy is not so right, maybe just counterfeit. So first of all, I'll read. These practice instructions are not so long. They're a bunch of short ones. But I'll read through it, and then I'll go back and talk about every word. So this one, I think the translators named each one of these.

[19:37]

And this one is called The Backward Step in the Upright Cauldron. So Hongju says, with the depths clear, utterly silent, thoroughly illuminate the source empty and spirited, vast and bright. Even though you may have lucidly scrutinized your image and no shadow or echo meets it, searching throughout, you see that you still have distinguished between the merits of a hundred undertakings. Then you must take the backward step and directly reach the middle of the circle from where light issues forth. Outstanding and independent, still you must abandon pretexts for merit. Carefully discern that naming engenders beings, and that these rise and fall with intricacy.

[20:44]

When you can share yourself, then you may manage affairs, and you have the pure seal that stamps the 10,000 forms. Traveling the world, Meeting conditions, you joyfully enter Samadhi in all delusions and accept its function, which is to empty out so as not to be full of self. The empty valley receives the clouds. The cold stream cleanses the moon. Not departing and not remaining, far beyond all the changes, you can give teachings without attainment or expectation. Everything everywhere comes back to the ancient ground. Not a hair has been shifted, bent, or raised up. Despite a hundred uglinesses or a thousand stupidities, the upright cauldron is naturally beneficent. Zhao Zhou's answers, wash out your bowl and drink your tea, do not require making arrangements or deliberations.

[21:53]

From the beginning, they have always been perfectly apparent, thoroughly observing each thing with the whole eye as a patchwork monk's spontaneous conduct." I just want to say that at any time, if a question comes up, you can bring it forth. I've changed the wording here a little bit. It would sound better to me. Anyway, so he starts out, he says, with the depths clear, utterly silent, thoroughly illuminate the source, empty and spirited, vast and bright. So this is a kind of description of Zazen, with the depths clear, in other words, nothing interfering, right?

[23:00]

It's like when, like a pond, when you, when the water is very still, you can see all the way down to the bottom. And when the water is, when you throw a pebble in, then you get ripples. And when you get ripples, the bottom is obscured. So, to quiet the mind, so that we can see all the way down to the bottom. This is another thing. So, with the depth square utterly silent, thoroughly illuminate the source. Illuminate the source. You know, sometimes she says, take a step backwards to illuminate the source. Dogen says the same thing. The Sixth Ancestor says the same thing in the Platform Sutra, to light up your dark space.

[24:07]

And empty in spirit is vast and bright. So empty has the feeling of stillness. And spirited has the feeling of action. So it's kind of an interesting combination, empty and spirited. It's like within activity is stillness, and within stillness is activity. It's a very basic understanding. Within, when we sit sadhana, would sit still. But sadhana is actually total dynamic activity, the most total dynamic activity in your life, if you really sit in sadhana, with the whole body and mind in concentration.

[25:16]

It's total activity within stillness. Sometimes we talk about...Karagiri Roshi used to talk about spinning a top. When you spin a top, it looks like it's standing still because it's spinning so perfectly balanced. And yet, if you touch it, it's spinning across the floor because of dynamic energy. So, spinning like a top is actually great. wonderful example. So, empty in spirit is vast and bright. So, vast means without limit, unlimited. There's no boundary in total brightness. So, this empty in spirit is fast and bright.

[26:20]

This is Zazen. This is how you should feel in Zazen. Let's see, this sounds pretty different from, say, the descriptions of Zazen which, say, Uchiyama Roshi gives in opening the hand of thought, where it's like the mind basic function is to excrete thoughts, or secrete thoughts, depending. Yes, thought secretion. Right. So it's sort of like, that sounds like there's just thought after thought after thought after thought, and like, this sounds, well, it says utterly silent, depth's clear, and I mean, My experience of thought after thought after thought is that it's just thought after thought after thought.

[27:23]

And that it doesn't feel particularly clear. As long as you don't grasp the thoughts, then it's clear. Clear doesn't mean without a thought. Clear means without attaching to anything. That's clarity. we say that a fish cannot live in pure water. So, sometimes, in Zazen, the mind has no thought. That's very wonderful, a wonderful feeling with no thinking, no thought, and then thoughts come up. And so, when we discriminate, we say, well, that was clarity, and this is confusion. or whatever you want to call it, thinking. But if you don't take up and discriminate, if you don't take up the thought and discriminate, then it's all clarity, above clarity and diffusion.

[28:29]

So, this is very basic, because The temptation here is to divide, to clear from the diffuse. And within the diffuse is clarity. And within clarity is diffusion. I don't want to say confusion, but, you know, the myriad thoughts. So, I think it's odd, then, we just let them come. Come on, you guys. I don't care. It doesn't bother me. I'm doing nothing. You can do your thing, and I'll do mine. We're very liberal. Wouldn't you say that the part that doesn't care might be the stillness?

[29:31]

Yeah, the part that doesn't care comes from the stillness. That's right, that's the stillness. It's simply, whatever happens, there's no upset. Nothing can upset. training in life. Especially at this time, when we have so much confusion in our world, how do we balance ourselves and keep our composure? So this is what Suzuki was always talking about. Keep your composure. Composure was his main word. How do you stay composed? through all situations. So, in darkness, all these situations come up, and you keep going down, you know, putting the tap further and further down, finding the center.

[30:35]

So, even though have lucidly scrutinized your image and no shadow or echo meets it. That means like being on the side of stillness, on the side of shadow or echo is like activity, you know, something that steps in front and casts a shadow and then there's solidity. So having no shadow or echo means no self, right? So even though you may have loosely scrutinized your image and no shadow or echo meets it, searching throughout, you will see that you still have distinguished between the merits of a hundred other things. In other words, you're still probably discriminating.

[31:40]

You're discriminating because You think this is the right way and this is the wrong way. This is the good way and this is the bad way. So, even though you may have reached that place of clarity, perfect clarity and pure stillness, there's something missing, which is the fact that you're discriminating that against activity. And then you must take the backward step and directly reach the middle of the circle from where light issues forth. That's my favorite statement. My favorite statement. To reach the middle of the circle from where light issues forth. That's like in Zazen or in any activity. to find that place where the source, the koan, what does your face look like before your parents are gone?

[32:57]

That's the koan that points to that place. What is your original face? Where is your original essence? So the Sixth Patriarch is always talking about essence of mind. So you should practice to discover or to penetrate essence of mind. That's the fundamental thing, the fundamental point. So he says, outstanding and independent, even though you are outstanding and independent, still you must abandon pretext for merit. So once you have achieved something, you should let go of it as an accomplishment or as a pretext for gain.

[34:07]

Dorgan talked about this all the time. Do not look for fame and gain. You know what I mean? Criticize all these monks for practicing in order for fame and gain. It says, carefully discern that naming or discrimination engenders beings, and that these rise and fall with intricacy. Naming actually creates is discriminating. I remember Suzuki Roshi talking about his title and his name, and he said, I do have this name, but I don't feel comfortable with it, because that's not really who I am. I'm not this name. But I go along with it, because people can identify me in some way. But that's not who I am. I'm not this name. And apples are not apples. Oranges are not oranges. So naming gives us some idea about things, allows us to have an idea about things, which is okay, you know, because otherwise we go to the market and we say, I want some of those.

[35:28]

But that's not what it is, and so we kind of get fooled into thinking that's what things are, but we name them. When we can share, when you can share yourself, you may manage affairs. And you may, and you have the pure seal that stamps the 10,000 forms. When you can share yourself, so this is like a shift. Before he was talking about finding the source, standing in the center of the circle, or why Now he's talking about sharing yourself, doing something. And, you know, the Diamond Citrus says, even though there are no beings, no sentient beings to be saved, we have to save them anyway. So when you can share yourself, then you can manage affairs, may manage affairs, and you have the pure seal that stamps

[36:42]

the 10,000 forms. That means, like, authenticity. You have reached a place where your understanding has some authenticity. And stamping the 10,000 forms means that you can meet each thing with authenticity. You can meet each person with authenticity. You can meet things with authenticity without being fooled by things. Traveling the world and meeting conditions, you joyfully enter samadhi and all delusions and accept its function, which is to empty out so as not to be full of self. Samadhi is described in various ways, basically means concentration, but it means also to be totally in each moment, moment by moment, without a sense of self.

[37:58]

It's different than concentration in an unusual way. It's to connect with our fundamental self moment by moment. So that's why Zazen is called Samadhi. And there are many different Samadhis. There's the Samadhi In Bendoa, Dogen talks about ji-ju-yu-zamae. Zamae means samadhi. Ji-ju-yu means self-joyous or self-contained samadhi. And then there is ta-ju-yu samadhi, which means others.

[39:02]

It refers to other people. So jijuyu includes tajuyu. In other words, jijuyu is the samadhi of the self, the samadhi of zazen, the samadhi which we enter when we do zazen or when we practice selflessly. And tajuyu is the samadhi that we offer to others. It's a contagion, a virus. It's the light that we offer to others and which illuminates and allows others to realize that they have that themselves. But nobody enlightens anybody else. But we do hold up a lamp so that other lamps emit, other lamps can be influenced, be influenced.

[40:17]

So, and then there's this samadhi of komyo-zo-zama, samadhi of radiant light. and that's the samadhi of jagat. Komi or jagat, I'm on it. Time, 40 minutes. Thank you. Okay, so I just want to go on just a little bit more on this one. And then there's the samadhi of one act. Dogen talked about the samadhi of one act. That within the samadhi of one act, Everything is included. The whole universe is included in the samadhi of one act. Guche, when he was asked a question, always raised one finger. His disciple raised one finger to him and cut it off. He always raised one finger.

[41:21]

And in this one finger, this is his one-finger samadhi. Everything is included in raising up the finger or in holding up the fist. or in the shop, the mid-size shop, you know, the whole universe is included. So, let's take a little break, about five minutes, just to stretch your legs. Don't go anywhere. So, So he says, traveling the world, meeting conditions, you joyfully enter Samadhi in all delusions.

[42:27]

This is called the world of activity. It's called the realm of delusion. And enlightenment is to be able to know this is delusion. The realm of delusion is to not know this is delusion. So, in all delusions means, like in all activities, in every situation, to enter Samadhi in all situations. You know the six worlds in the Buddhist, the Tibetan circle? where the twelvefold chain of causations on the outside and the six worlds are in the center, and then greed, hate, and delusion are the axle that it all turns on.

[43:30]

And in each one of the six worlds, the heavenly realm, the fighting demon realm, which we're experiencing, the animal realm, the heavenly realm, the hungry ghost realm, and the human realm, Each one of these realms has a bodhisattva. In some of these tantras that we see, there's a circle, and in the circle is a bodhisattva in each one of those realms. And the bodhisattva is like you. How do you find your samadhi in each one of these realms without escaping, so to speak? How do you enter? the realm of fighting demons and not get caught by it and not retreat from it and be a conduit for light in that world.

[44:36]

fully enter samadhi in all delusions and accept its function, which is to empty out, continuously emptying out, letting go of self, so as not to be full of self. And self is what drives the six worlds. And in order to be Bodhisattva in the six worlds, you have to let go of self. so that you're not driving the world. That's called not creating karma in the sixth world. Yeah. Is turning the dharma wheel sort of an antidote to that? Or how are they related? Well, you're talking about Letting go of the conditions that create the various steps of the chain of causation?

[45:57]

Yes. Well, that's one way of looking at it. It's like you eliminate the conditions which are causes for grasping, clinging and attachment, basically. So that letting go itself is letting go of the conditions which create those causes. And so he says, the empty valley receives the clouds and the cold stream cleanses the moon. Valley, clouds, moon, these are all metaphors that he uses throughout. These are key terms for him.

[47:02]

The valley receiving the clouds and the moon traveling around the mountain, traversing the mountain. He uses them constantly. And so here, but a little bit differently, he says, the empty valley receives the clouds. This is like, clouds are, you know, clouds and water are, a novice monk is called unsui, clouds and water. You know, water seeks its lowest level and has no special form. And clouds are continually changing form. And so, this world is likened to the world of the clouds, where we see forms continually, oh, there's an elephant, oh, there's a camel, there's a blue-eyed show, you know.

[48:14]

So, the empty valley is like emptiness, right? It's like the receiver, you know. And so, to be like the empty valley, you need to receive everything, to hold everything. And this is like big mind. Big mind, as Suzuki Roshi described, The big mind includes everything. The mind expands to include everything. So the big mind is like the empty valley. And it receives the clouds. Whatever comes, you receive it. And the cold stream is the active part. The cold stream washes over, it just cleanses. It kind of washes over the moon. So the moon, you know, stands for illumination or enlightenment. So it has the feeling of harmonizing the thing, both in receiving and in activity.

[49:27]

So the empty valley receives the clouds, and the cold stream cleanses the moon, or washes over the moon, not departing and not remaining, not going or coming, far beyond all the changes, you can give teachings without attainment or expectation. So, without coming or going, just being where you are, if you have these qualities, not being influenced by change. We're not letting change sweep you away from the fundamentals. In other words, through all the changes, you remain in the fundamental. Then you can give teachings. Then you can teach without even trying. Actually, because teaching just comes naturally. It's not something that you try to do.

[50:32]

or think up something, but it just comes naturally because it comes from who you are. So we're all teaching something, right? We're all teaching who we are, from where we are, from where we're coming from. So you can do this without attainment or expectation, which is, you know, You just simply do it for the sake of doing, because that's what you have to do. So everything, everywhere, comes back to the ancient ground. The ancient ground is like your original faith, right? So not a hair has been shifted, bent, or raised up. Despite a hundred uglinesses or a thousand stupidities, the upright cauldron is naturally beneficent. The effort I call them is the big, hot part of practice.

[51:45]

Missionaries are boiled by animals. And if they survive, they're OK. Well, despite a hundred uglinesses, that's a funny kind of phrase you always use, despite a hundred uglinesses, in other words, no matter how stupid you are, how many transcriptions you cast, the upper cauldron receives you, you know, you can still step into it, no matter, you know, there's always Redemption is at hand. Always. That's very important. Sometimes people say, well, you know, I'm not good enough to practice. When I'm better, I'll start practicing.

[52:47]

As soon as I get rid of all my problems. How does that relate to karma? How does that relate to karma? Well, if you can be saved from your transgressions, so to speak. And what about your karma? Well, you know, karma is not fate, so that karma can be turned at any moment. So, we can, you know, stop certain aspects of karma, but we don't have to stop our karma to enter into practice, because you can't. The wonderful thing about practice is that You don't have to know anything, and you don't even have to be good. Thank goodness. You just step into it. And then it's like jumping into the ocean and start swimming.

[53:50]

So, and then your karma, you know, affects what you do, but since But swimming in that ocean of dharma, if you really put your effort into swimming in that ocean of dharma, it purifies your karma. And that's what the cauldron is. The cauldron is the ocean of dharma. And you jump in and start swimming without knowing anything. This is why we really appreciate the newest students, you know, because they don't know what thought is in there, you know, they think it's meditation. They sit there and their legs start hurting, you know, but they think it's big effort, you know, and it's very pure, because they don't know. And so that's an enlightening experience, whether they know it or not. Just the first time you enter a practice in 2000,

[54:55]

It's an enlightening experience, but you don't realize it. And you still create karma. Little by little, you know, if you practice assiduously, your karma will start to be refined, melt away, and you won't be creating so much karma, hopefully. But, you know, you still can do it. But, and then the karma that you're no longer creating still has its residual effect. So, you just have to let that effect, you know, be there until it dries up. Just like the people in the heavenly realm of the six worlds, You know, their karma somehow put them into that realm.

[55:57]

But even that karma is continuing. And when it's no longer as a basis, then they migrate into some other realm. Maybe into the hell realm. Nobody stays. Your karma can only sustain you, or the effects of your karma can only sustain you for so long. So when you stop feeding it, then it becomes, the effects become weaker. So the main thing is to stop feeding your karma. Stop feeding karma. And it's hard, you know. There's karma, karmic activity, that you will never stop feeding, probably. Start thinking about young people, you know. They get habits, they're hard to break. And then when they get older, the habits are so ingrained, that when people get older, and thinking about this, eating certain things, and smoking certain things, and drinking certain things, become such a part of a person, and then when they get older, in their 60s and 70s, they see that those things are not good for them, but because it's so much a part of them, it's such a comfort, and they can't let go of that comfort.

[57:27]

in order to be happy. It's hard, so you should teach our kids better. Anyway, the Cauldron. So here's what it says in the I Ching. In the I Ching it says, to change things or to transform things, nothing compares to the Cauldron. This is the vessel used to refine the waters, forge sages, cook buddhas, and purify adepts. You didn't see the Buddha's teaching. There is one. How could it not be very auspicious and developmental? Cook buddhas are great. I love that. Forges sages, cooks buddhas, and purified addicts.

[58:29]

I remember when we were sitting in Zazen one time, Lidia actually said, you're all like loaves cooking in the oven, getting done. So Zazen itself is a cauldron. It cooks you. That's why I didn't mention that, if you really practice assiduously. So, despite a hundred uglinesses and a thousand stupidities, the upright cauldron is naturally beneficent. And Zhao Zhou, meaning Zhou Xu, answers, Zhou Xu's answers, two answers, wash out your bowl and drink your tea, do not require deliberation.

[59:32]

From the beginning they have always been perfectly apparent. So these are two koans that appear. Zhouzhou's wash out your bowl, you know the monk, you probably know this one, the monk comes to Zhouzhou's monastery And he has an interview with the abbot. I guess it's Jaojo. And Jaojo asks him, where did you come from? And when a monk enters the monastery, usually they have an interview with the abbot. And the abbot asks them where they came from and what they've been doing. The response from the monk should be, I've come to this monastery, I've heard about you, please teach me.

[60:36]

You know, that's a good response. Then you don't have to ask questions. Apparently he didn't say that. And this is a monk who had been around. He interviews the monk, and the monk tells him where he's from, and Charuja says, well, have you eaten yet? Have you had your...

[61:07]

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