As you can see, we've rearranged the Buddha Hall, the Dharma Hall here. We've been planning to for some time. And I don't, I guess, anyway, to my ear it certainly sounds different, maybe because the microphone, the speaker's right there. Can you hear in the back? No. Oh. Anyway, we've been planning, that's better, to change the Buddha Hall so that we can put in some chairs for people who aren't used to sitting on the floor. And the occasion for the change

[01:12]

came recently when somebody, I can't say has given, but is in the process of giving us this beautiful Amida Buddha. Can I tell the story, Dan, as well as I know it? It's Java, isn't it? It must have been some years ago, I don't know, 60 or 70 years ago, in a wealthy family, a young girl, her mother died when she was three or so, something like that. And this is just a story, I don't know if it's true exactly, but anyway, the father married the housekeeper who, I guess, anyway, for some reason didn't treat the children

[02:20]

very well, and the little girl at four years old decided to commit suicide. And she didn't because her governess was a Japanese woman who was very kind to her and was a Buddhist. And I guess the little girl connected this warm feeling from this Japanese woman with the fact that this woman practiced Buddhism. Anyway, as I understand it, the governess didn't last long because they found out she was being nice to the little girl, something like that, and she was fired or eliminated in some way. And this girl had quite a difficult life,

[03:21]

and when she was an adult she began to see a psychiatrist, who she later married. And the psychiatrist, it's stranger than fiction, isn't it? And the psychiatrist, you know, wise beyond his time, said, you don't need psychiatry, you need to return to the Buddhism of your governess, if you're going to get back some feeling for your life. So he bought her, is that right? He bought her, yeah? He bought her this Buddha. I think the stand, I'm just guessing, but maybe it's, maybe actually there's some information that the stand is a later date than the figure. But anyway, he bought her this Buddha and she, when she was quite old, before she died, she died, right? She gave it to a friend

[04:30]

of Dan Welch's aunt. Okay. And Dan Welch's aunt's friend heard about how wonderful Dan was and then sent her from, from this woman, from the aunt, and she decided that it shouldn't be sold. She had it repaired herself for about twelve hundred dollars, some repairs a couple of years ago. She decided it shouldn't be just an art object, but should be a Buddha with a practicing group, and so she wants us to have it if we want it. On the back it has written things like, I gave money to restore this Buddha five hundred years ago, you know, such and such a date,

[05:35]

several hundred years ago, 1700s, signed princess so-and-so. Anyway, there's a list of donors on the back. It's quite a wonderful figure, I think, and if you don't object, we'll probably keep it. Some of you are here, I think, for the first time and maybe you've read something about Buddhism and Zen and you've received some practice instruction in Zazen this morning. I don't know if you'll stay or what you think you've gotten yourself into,

[06:41]

but our practice is, we can talk about it and we can do it, but it actually doesn't exist in the realm of talking or doing. It's almost, it is impossible, in fact, to say what it is. But where are you going to look for the nature of this universe, except in your own nature? There's no place to look, you know, except in your own nature. And we call this Buddha, we call this nature, actually true, the true Buddha. And this Buddha cannot be approached by your small mind,

[07:55]

by your selfish mind or your mind that divides the world up into parts. So, collecting and protecting. We don't need, you know, a Sukhirishi doesn't need a gravestone or some monument to mark his existence and you don't need some special accomplishment or enlightenment to mark your existence.

[08:59]

You know, you just give up the idea of special or of accomplishment. Just what's before you. You know, I'm not talking about the so-called ever-present now. Maybe I mean the ever-present everything. That's always enough. It was enough when you were born, you were born with enough and you have enough now. So, just the air, just the subtle vibration of your own breath is enough. And

[10:08]

anyone that tells you, you need more than that, is wrong, don't believe. So, I don't mean to give up the idea of development, of your inner search or your inner and outer practice. But, if you tend to just what's before you, then the actual dharma of Buddhism will open up moment after moment. So,

[11:22]

just what's before you now is our path. So, the Suzuki Roshi, before I went to Japan, gave a lecture about model subject number 18 of the Blue Cliff Records and it's about Nanyo Eichu or Chū Kokushi. Kokushi means the tutor of the emperor. And the emperor asked him, a hundred years from now, what will you need?

[12:32]

This is a way of saying, after you die, what will you need? What kind of monument would you like? And Nanyo Eichu said, an untiered mound will do. Usually, a Buddhist mound is divided up into several parts, earth and water and fire and air and sky and enlightenment or emptiness. I think those are the parts anyway. Anyway, we make a symbol for them. And he said, just an untiered mound will be enough.

[13:35]

The emperor asked him, what kind of mound would you like? And Nanyo Eichu was silent for quite a long time and then said, do you understand? And the emperor said, he didn't understand. I think you understand, you know, or you think you understand. We have to be careful though that we don't think that not speaking is the way to go. We have to be careful that we don't think that correct understanding. That's also making a big monument.

[14:45]

So, Suzuki Roshi said several times in lectures commenting on this story, which do you want? The whole earth or a small stone that you can move and carry? What do you need? Some whole earth that's your practice or do you need some actual useful, useful strict rules? Some small stone, he said. Some practice which lets you see yourself. So,

[16:41]

if you want to know the nature, if you want to look for the nature of the universe, if you want to see Suzuki Roshi's tomb, Suzuki Roshi's monument, it's impossible to see if you want to see it. So, how to keep giving up, recognizing that what is before you is enough, you know? So, we're always trying to gather all the fruit, you know? There's enough everywhere.

[18:16]

You don't, as long as, you know, maybe the best feeling is to feel helpless. If you feel helpless, you know, helpless but unafraid, you can be open to what's before you. So,

[19:20]

so much to say. It's actually rather difficult to speak to you each week when there's so many of you who are new. So, when you, as you, if you decide to practice, you know, your own, to be deluded or enlightened is your own choice. And if you choose to be enlightened, just give up, you know, any idea of accomplishment or development or something special,

[20:28]

and accept what's before you as a gift, you know, a constantly renewing gift. It's very subtle and it will lead you into the true practice of Buddhism, of your life, you know? And if you're practicing in this way, you know, then we can develop, and we can talk about some difficulties that arise in your practice. But to begin practice, you know, and to begin over and over again, you just have to keep reminding yourself that what you already have is enough.

[21:36]

And if you tend to that, you know, that's our path. To bring yourself back to that realization over and over again, each moment is practice and is enlightenment. But as soon as you start thinking, you know, as soon as you try to figure yourself out, to grasp some understanding of yourself, you're lost immediately. And, of course, as soon as you worry about your relationship and level or something like that with other people, you're into some kind of architecture, some tiered realm.

[22:54]

So, last night I spoke with the practice period, city practice period students, and I mentioned a beautiful simple Zen poem, which is, after the wind stops, the petals, the flower petals, you know, continue to fall. And while the bird sings, the silence of the mountains deepen. So, what kind of barrier is there, you know, in your life that makes you seek distraction?

[24:14]

You know, or prefer some artificial jewel? To find some way to confront this barrier, we do Zazen. And maybe nothing makes you do Zazen exactly, except ... Well, there was a famous Zen master named Oryo, Egon, I think was his name. Anyway, he's famous for three statements, and one statement is,

[25:19]

what is the matrix? What is, out of what does everything arise? Everything arises from a causal nexus or some matrix. Where is your causal nexus? And he answered himself, this morning I ate white rice soup, and now I'm hungry again. That kind of hunger, you know, some kind of hunger maybe is what brings us back to do Zazen.

[26:23]

You know, to sit down without distraction on our, maybe on our causal nexus. Not knowing what it is, willing to give up interpretations, having no reason exactly to do Zazen, but some sense, some sureness, you know, that you also, you know, include everything. That there's nowhere else to look for the nature of the universe except in yourself, you know. But how can your eyes see your eyes? How can your mind see your mind? How can you see yourself?

[27:33]

You can't, you know. We can't even have words for, we can say something like, when you become the seeing, or become the being, or are the being, but those are, you know, some pale imitation. Actually, they're rather misleading. All you have to do is trust this great being that moves through each day, that is each day. That's before you each moment, you know. If you're satisfied with this much.

[28:39]

So, as I discussed last time at Green Gulch, if you want to understand the Eightfold Path, if you want to practice the Eightfold Path, it starts out with the knowledge of suffering, and with an intuition of the eighth, you know, samadhi, a state of mind or being beyond conceptualizing. The seventh one is mindfulness. So, as long as you're in the world of conceptual thinking, and in the world of effort, you know,

[30:30]

you practice mindfulness, bringing your attention back to what you're doing. And in order to practice mindfulness, you have to have some care in how you live. So, I think number six is right livelihood, how you take care of your activity with other people. And four and five, then, are right speech and right action, how you act and how you speak, your own individual expressions. And before that are right views. I think the first one is right views.

[31:42]

Forget now what the others are. Anyway, to practice, you know, Buddhism, you need this kind of care, how you speak and how you act, how you live with others. Right views means knowing that everything's changing, knowing what suffering is. So, wisdom, right views, precedes morality, right speech or right action, right livelihood. You know, there's an interesting expression that without, it says, what it means is, without

[32:57]

practicing the eightfold path, if you have some experience of samadhi or some state of mind beyond our strategic brain, it's like a bee flying into an unclean hive, it comes right back out again. So, your hive, you know, your own life, you have to take care of it in this kind of way. And finally, if you can practice the first six steps, then you can practice mindfulness. And if you can practice mindfulness, giving up thinking, you know, satisfied with just what's before you now, you know, right now, without any idea of anything, then you'll

[34:04]

be able to exist in the way we call, you know, samadhi. So, everything is present, you know. So, I always feel a little strange talking to you, you know, like this, because I don't know anything you don't know. Buddha doesn't know anything we don't know, you know.

[35:12]

He sat just like this, you know, on the same ground, in the same way. And just that was enough, you know. So, does anyone have any specific questions you'd like to talk about? Yes. All right, what do you mean, what is strategic mind? That mind which is always collecting and protecting.

[36:23]

Okay, yeah. A little louder. I find you have to move by your wits, unfortunately, you know, that presumes all kinds of discriminatory actions. So, when you speak about going beyond that mind, you could be talking about giving it up completely, or, you know, or if you are, I don't see how you could do it. I sort of try my own little way, but I find that I have to, I have to apprehend the world, you know, in a certain way, to keep my head above water.

[37:40]

You know, if I'm going to do anything, I still have to have this kind of mind. Don't you do work as a carpenter, or? Sort of. Do you always walk around with your hammer? No. Don't you put it down sometimes? Yeah, okay. So, please put your strategic mind down sometimes. Is it possible to put it down and think about it? Oh, yes. Even when you've picked it up, you've put it down. But if you say, I've tried in my own little way,

[38:50]

you know, that's pretty hard, then you can't put it down. Your way isn't little. If you characterize yourself that way, whatever you say or do causes trouble. So, you're not little or big. I mean, all of us do that, you know. We, to be polite, we characterize ourselves as little. Or because we're scared, we characterize ourselves as little or big, you know. But what's big or little? So, did you say originally to put away your strategic mind completely?

[40:13]

Do you mean in context to what I just said? In context of what you were speaking about, the whole text of what you just said. Did you say to put away your strategic mind completely? You can do both, is that right? You can put it down for a while and pick it up again, or you can put it down and figure it out. But we need our strategic mind, actually, for very minor tasks. But we use it for the big topics, you know. Life, death, you know. We try to figure out our life, you know.

[41:15]

And our strategic mind is useful for certain kinds of things. But mostly, you know, we can depend on what I call the great being of each day. If it's going to be more than intuition, maybe you need faith. Anyway, there's some, actually, you've raised some technical point in Buddhism, without knowing it, I think, which is there is some difference between

[42:17]

using strategic mind or using everyday mind and what we mean by, sometimes we say everyday mind too, but how we exist giving up strategic mind, you know. Sometimes picking it up and using it, sometimes not having any thought in our mind. But there's also a way in which you don't even need strategic mind. But that requires some great confidence and some giving up everything. Some willingness to die, you know, right now. Then something carries you, you know. Yes, pardon me.

[43:29]

Why is faith a problem for you? I think it implies a giving up of self and a giving up of that strategic mind. And I'm sort of curious, how do you do that? Faith means wisdom, maybe. You know, when you see the limits of what you can figure out, and how little, actually, your life is based on what you've already figured out, you know, then you can just give up, you know. And people call that faith. But we don't have faith in anything. We give up, even if there's nothing to help us. You know, usual idea of faith is you give up to Buddha or God, and then we give up, even if it means disaster, you know.

[44:39]

Without any concern, we give up. Who cares, you know, after all? Everything is so temporary and in a fading light, you know. And every time you try to grasp your life, the light fades. Hmm. Way in the back, Hugh? If you give up your mind, you make contact with the enigma, with the whole, like a train. Like a what? A train, a three-wheeled train. Like a trade. Hmm. Now, I imply that, actually, sort of to encourage you. But it's really not a trade.

[45:47]

Just give up, that's all. Hmm. Yes. The only way to consider that you're not trying to gain enlightenment. Because I'm always torturing, saying, ah, you're doing this because you're trying to gain enlightenment. Because sometimes we are watching my actions in that way. So, I don't know. Hmm. I just try to do the best I can, like putting in function.

[46:51]

I don't have the machine. I don't know very well how to use it. Hmm. Can you all hear what she said? Hmm. I don't know if I can exactly repeat it. I repeated part already. Hmm. She said, how can you be free of the idea of attaining enlightenment unless you consider yourself already enlightened? Is that right? Otherwise, we torture ourselves with, that maybe that we're not enlightened, or something

[48:01]

like that. So, for her, or for us, all we can do is put, is be attentive to our functioning. Something like that, she said. You can forget about the idea of enlightenment, you know. If you can actually, now, know you're the macrocosm, know that just what's before you is enough, that's enlightenment. If you want to change that, hmm, that's not enlightenment.

[49:03]

She said, give up and change your mind. Who gives it up? Hmm. And the best answer for that always is you give it up. And who's that you? Hmm. Hmm. I don't know. You know, there's a, out here, I see, I don't know how many heads. 100 heads, 150 heads. It's quite interesting because I see you all entangled, and out of each of your heads is

[50:28]

coming all these things, and they're all, you know, intertangled. Each of you is some kind of whole world, you know, of thoughts about what your nose is like, and what has happened to you, and what's going to happen to you, and yet you experience some kind of gap. But what is you, you know? Is you all of that stuff that surrounds each of your heads, you know, is it just your physical body that sits here? Is it this whole space that we're in? How can we give up, you know, the distinctions of subject and object?

[51:38]

So the question of who gives up doesn't arise, you know, even. Maybe you need immense confidence in nothing at all. If you want to be a little bit better, then you don't have immense confidence, and you actually know, I always say, you actually know, and it's true, you know, and everything is trying to guide you. You are always receiving some sense, oh, I didn't have to say that.

[52:39]

I should do that. This is enough. But actually you don't listen, you know, because the commands or voice of your small mind are so much more powerful. And even when you know, oh, I hear that loud voice again, and it's going to get me in trouble, you know, still you follow it because your willingness, you know, is not able to work with that small warning voice. But it means you still think there's something to attain.

[53:47]

You still think this world is out there and it lasts a long time, and it lasts an instant actually, and the instant is inside you. And in comparison to that instant, everything else is in darkness. So, we just return to our cushion, you know, or return to being satisfied right now with whatever you have. Not satisfied because it's good or bad, you know, but because it's the actual body of

[55:00]

Buddha, which you, each of you, has some chance to participate in if you choose. So, we represent these figures, you know, to give you some hint, you know, of what you actually are. Thank you.

[55:45]

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