As I say every year, it's always nice to meet with just a few, less of us anyway, on Friday before Saturday. I like it that we start as I said, without meditation. Because I know most of you meditate, but still I'd like to start with the feeling of our ordinary mind. Because I've, of course, been struck over the years, since this is what I do, at the different, if not unordinary mind that arises through meditation. And what that means for our culture and our

[01:13]

The culture I grew up in. And our conception of what a human being is. And I was just in New York for a week because Easter is a month later I was able to go to this meeting. It was a rather complex event, but the core group were so-called pioneers. They were Buddhist teachers, not just Zen. Did I say all that? No, try to... I will consider to be one of the pioneers. I don't need this much.

[02:50]

We can get scissors and you cut them too. At the break, we can do that. Yeah. Anyway, and I actually was the oldest, you know. It surprised me a little too. But the question was, both, which is obvious, succession. And there was a next generation of teachers there, too. And the other main topic was monastic and lay. Because it's clear that practice in the West is going to be primarily lay practice.

[04:07]

And yet, I guess all, I think all of the so-called pioneer teachers, had extensive monastic practice, primarily in Asia with Asian teachers. But the next generation, and that's sort of 200 teachers that arrived later in the week, none of them have much connection with Asia or even with monasticism. So Eric asked me earlier if we could have the topic this weekend on monastic and lay.

[05:25]

So I said sure. What was the topic going to be though? Do you remember? You think before that? I think there was none. There was one. I see. Ah, okay. Awareness body. Oh, we'll have to talk about that too. And I think we'll have to talk about What is the essence of monasticism? If monasticism makes a difference, what is the essence of that difference? Now, we happen to have... with us.

[06:39]

We flew in at ruinous expense, Brother David. Well, that's not true. He was just in a nearby monastery. But my guess is he may have more monastic and varied monastic experience than any other person on the planet alive today. And perhaps more than any person has ever had. Because It's of the ease of transportation now. And because he's practiced in Zen monasteries and other places as well, Catholic monasteries.

[07:44]

I tease him and call him a Zenedictine. So I shouldn't be talking here, he should be sitting. But maybe after the break we can talk him into saying something. He has to leave this afternoon. And Brother Thomas. Who is my new brother. Um... Thomas Merton wrote Second Story Mountain and was the most famous Catholic monastic in the United States in the 60s and 70s, I guess.

[09:02]

In the 60s. Seven Story Mountain. And he said that, I don't remember exactly the wording, but he said something like, he discovered that Buddhist meditation He discovered that Buddhist meditation seems to or does produce a very similar kind of person to Catholic monasticism. And that seems to be the case, my experience too.

[10:10]

So that means that something like under the skin of different religious institutions and teachings, the practices of meditation and monasticism produces a similar kind of person. Maybe a religious person a kind of primordial or some kind of originary religious person. If this is so, this is interesting and worth some examination. During the night, I'm still a bit jet-lagged.

[11:12]

And during the night, I was... turning over the questions that will be part of this seminar. And I found myself asking I was trying to find out what is it that makes a monastic? And I think I was pondering also the question of why is a monk associated with a cell or a cave or, you know.

[12:35]

I mean, you can define a monk as somebody who lives in a cell. a room, a space of some kind. And the word monk comes from monos, which means alone. And I don't really know the history of Catholic monasticism or even Buddhist monasticism very well. But both started out doing it alone, like St. Anthony in the desert. And early Buddhist monks were in caves usually by themselves.

[13:57]

They were hermits. Yeah, but somebody like St. Anthony or other... charismatic monastics attracted followers. And it seems that you can't always retreat farther and farther into the deserts. There's not enough deserts. It seems to me that maybe Catholic monasticism substituted the vows for the cave. Obedience, stability, the transformation of life.

[15:06]

For Benedictines, chastity, obedience, and so forth. They allow you to be singular within your society. And At some point in Buddhist monastic history, particularly in China, the idea came about that the practice with others is a process of mutual embodiment Which is actually a different kind maybe not better, but a different kind and maybe quicker way of practicing than practicing by yourself.

[16:45]

And it develops compassion in a very particular way. And Chinese Buddhism went a step further, particularly Zen Buddhism, and said that monasticism isn't a way of life but a way of practice. And the essentials are essence of monastic practice can be realized in the 90-day three-month practice period.

[17:48]

And there was a, just as Sashin's make some kind of sense in seven days which is different than five or ten. 90 days seemed to be a unit that did something that was different than all year round. And less than 90 days, St.

[18:56]

Matthias, didn't work the same way. So what happened in East Asian monasticism is people would go for one or two three-month periods a year, and then they'd wander around in between. And what happened in Asia is that people went to one or two access periods in the year and in between they simply went their own ways. doing their second three months in a year at a different monastery than their first three months. Now, going back to Thomas Merton, I have to assume, I don't know much about his life, but I have to assume that primarily knew the effects on himself and others of Catholic monasticism.

[20:04]

At some point in his life, meeting He said, hey, these are my brothers too. There's some familial-like kinship. he felt. He was supposed to actually come and visit, it was arranged that he was going to stay with me in Kyoto. Did you know that just before he died? I mean, I was young in those days, and I guess I was, and I took these things for granted.

[21:07]

Oh, some Catholic monk's coming and they want him to stay with you. And I was young at that time, at least I think so, and for me it was somehow obvious that a Catholic monk was coming and wanted to be with us. That wasn't a big deal. I say, geez, this was a wonderful opportunity. As I feel lucky to know Brother David. So I started out as a kind of blank slate. Slate? Anti-religious, atheist, etc.

[22:10]

And Look at me now. What happened? I did have an experience of what concentration could do. So I was open to meditation and yoga. But still, just... wandered into Zen practice through Ezra Pound. And was, you know, completely moved by Suzuki Roshi. But still wanted nothing to do with religion particularly. confirmed layperson.

[23:23]

But Suzuki Roshi came to me at some point and said to me, I need a place to meet face-to-face with practitioners. On a regular basis, daily basis. Now, to many of you, you've heard me go through this before. But Yeah, I'd still like to say it so we're all on the same page. So Sukhiroshi said this to me, so I started looking for a place and found Tassajara. And I had no particular idea about it, just yes, so I looked. But I was really completely astonished and stay astonished at how immediately Tassara transformed the practice of the song.

[24:42]

And then in a similar way. Coming to Europe with no particular idea in mind. How Sechin and then Johanneshof transformed the practice here. Is it loud enough? Or come sit right here. I understand, yes. Thank you. You can sit next to Suzanne. Oh dear, it's so much fun to see this old friendly face.

[26:21]

He's 85. Ten, what? Ah, the same, sorry. Ten years ahead of me. Hi. So anyway, I'm trying to understand what is developing the context for us discussing what's essential in monastic practice.

[27:30]

And how that can be part of already is or could be developed to be part of. And what is also, I didn't mention, but If there's a monastic component within the Sangha, it seems to affect the whole Sangha, even those who don't necessarily go to Yohannesov for Christ. And what I haven't said yet, but what is also important, is that it makes a difference whether there is a monastic practice in the lay practice, in the lay Sangha, and that is now independent of whether you go to Yohannesov or not.

[28:32]

Ivan Illich said to me once years ago in the 70s, he said, Catholicism is losing its way. And he says it's losing its way because it's losing its monastic center. Not in this case. So it seems he felt that it was important for the whole of Catholicism to have a monastic component. So anyway, we're trying to figure this out. Now I'd like to shift in the direction of what may be the essence of practice.

[29:38]

At least for a few minutes before we have a break. Let me start with as I have often in recent seminars A definition of Zazen which emphasizes the mental component or concept, don't move. And I'm emphasizing this because generally zazen is a posture. Yeah, in which you sit still, relax, etc. But zen zazen functions primarily through the concept don't.

[31:07]

And you don't have zazen, if you don't have the concept, don't move. Don't move, don't scratch. And don't identify with thinking that makes the mind move. And you have a choice about what thinking or what mental formations you notice or identify with. So you identify with this concept, don't move. And so zazen becomes a process of discovering not moving. And deeper and deeper layers of not moving.

[32:18]

And you discovered an inner silence and inner stillness which begins to open you to the inner silence and inner stillness in everything. And you find your the mind of meditation supported by the inner stillness and silence in everything. You find your meditation, the mind of meditation, supported by the inner stillness you find in everything, in the world.

[33:48]

I mean there's an inner, there's a stillness in this even when I ring it, as well as in yourself. And if I ring it, you can hear it returning to stillness. So the concept don't move. opens you to the not moving of the world. Within movement, there's a not moving. I came home from school instead of my father, I remember a long time ago.

[35:00]

I don't know how it occurred, but the definition of parallel lines is they don't meet. And my father said, Go tell your teacher they meet in infinity. He didn't usually try to make trouble. And he met something like infinity means in, not in. measurable, not finite. And when things are not measurable... Sorry. You can't say they meet or don't meet. Now I found it useful in recent months to practice with the word inseparable.

[36:29]

That's a parallel practice to when you're sitting, the concept don't move. So when everything I see and do, the concept of inseparable is present. Yes. Now I'm not saying emptiness. I'm making a few leaps here, but it's all right. We'll jump back later. So I'm not saying emptiness. I'm saying not separated, inseparable. Or not measurable.

[37:40]

Infinity, not measurable. In that sense, infinity is right here. All of it's not measurable. Now, I don't know if I can... get across what I mean right now, but I'll keep trying. But what I'm saying here is that this may be a kind of religious, you've never heard me use the word religious before, religious impulse. Which is rather primordial or not related to religious teachings and religious institutions. And not even related anymore to science. But some experience that's ultimately private for you.

[38:46]

Of... of each moment, which is neither interior nor exterior. And in our culture, the ideas of interior and exterior, separate and connected, are very hard to get away from. But if you do something like you have a methodology of bringing a concept like inseparable to each moment.

[39:52]

It brings you into immediacy if our practice is to practice to know how things actually exist. And that the closest thing we can say verbally to how things actually exist are words like immediacy. Or appearance. The momentary appearance. Immediacy literally means no middle. If you're going to be not in the present, as a concept which has past and future right beside it,

[41:07]

If you are going to be in immediacy you also have to be in immediacy inseparable The fullness of each moment. Now, this isn't the only way to be in the world. But it's a way to be in the world which is closest to how things actually exist. And it's a way to be in the world, which is the essence of Zen monasticism. As a process not only of individual embodiment as a mutual embodiment because it's all mutual.

[42:36]

Oh dear. So let's sit for a minute or two and then have a break. Returning to silence. Thank you.

[43:59]

Take away all missiles, all division. Nimmt fort alle Trennungen. With whatever technique you want. Mit welcher Technik ihr das immer tun wollt. I use the word inseparable. Ich verwende das Wort untrennbar. And the in part, not, not, not, is a way of practicing in English, move. Not even Buddha nature. Not measure it. Not separable.

[45:47]

Not even emptiness.

[45:48]

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