The introduction of the chapter of Gyoji is divided into five paragraphs. Dogen Zenji always describes, first of all, the very crucial points, what he wants to explain in every chapter. So the first paragraph is very important, because therein, Dogen always completely concentrates on describing the very crucial points, what he wants to tell us.

[01:11]

For instance, the same is to be said of Kanda Zenji, you have chanted every night. The first paragraph, the first sentence is very important. Originally, the source of the path reveals the essence, the full essence of circle. You understand what I mean, but this is a very crucial point, what we want to describe about Zazen is, about Buddha's way is, about Buddha's way.

[02:20]

So, in the first paragraph of Gyoji, he also describes a very important point there. I think it's not so easy to understand, but little by little I would like to explain. The way of Buddhas and Patriarchs has the greatest practice, so-called Gyoji. It reveals the full essence of completeness, like an endless ring, and of uninterruptedness. There is no interspace in the process of undergoing the awakening mind of practice, wisdom, and nirvana.

[03:39]

That is Gyoji in the full essence of completeness. Therefore, it is not something done by one's compelling force and another's, but the immaculate practice. The merit of Gyoji retains the presence of the self and of others. The way of Buddhas and Patriarchs has the greatest practice, so-called Gyoji. It reveals the full essence of completeness, like an endless ring, and of uninterruptedness.

[04:43]

Therefore, there is no interspace in the process of undergoing the awakening mind of practice, wisdom, and nirvana. That is Gyoji in the full essence of completeness. In this paragraph, Dogen says, what is Gyoji? So far, I described what Gyoji is. Briefly speaking, Gyoji is to retain, to see, retain the way-seeking mind, relative awareness, the body-mind, and so on. Dogen then says, all Buddhas and Patriarchs follow the principle of greatest practice, what is called Gyoji.

[06:00]

So, what is Gyoji? Dogen then says, it reveals the full essence of completeness, like an endless ring, and of uninterruptedness. I translated the word, Japanese word, Dokan, into English, as full essence of completeness. Dokan is the path, the way, the path of life, and so on. The path. Kan is ring or circle. Dogen then says, it reveals uninterruptedly the full essence of completeness,

[07:26]

full essence of completeness, like an endless ring. There is no interspace in the process of undergoing the awakening mind practice of wisdom and nirvana. That is called Gyoji, in the full essence of completeness. Then, there is no interspace, there is no interspace in the process of undergoing the awakening mind practice of wisdom and nirvana. That is called Gyoji, in the full essence of completeness. I think the other day I described what the Bodhi mind is, awakening mind is.

[08:36]

Plainly speaking, I think the Bodhi mind, awakening mind, the way-seeking mind is, what is it called, I think, if you use one word, I think it is called inspiration or encouragement, encouragement. Encouragement. Which enables, which inspires yourself to do something by realization of the truthfulness in life. This is question, the Bodhi mind, awakening mind.

[09:39]

So the other day I explained what the awakening mind is. One is to be straightforward, to be straightforward, to practice straightforwardness. The second is to practice the deep mind. The third is to practice compassionate mind, great compassionate mind. This is the practice of awakening mind. To tell the truth, those four, awakening mind, practice, wisdom and nirvana, four form completely a full essence of circle, full essence of circle, round.

[11:03]

Interruptedly, uninterruptedly. For instance, I mentioned the first practice of Bodhi mind is to practice the straightforwardness. In your daily life. Maybe you understand so well, straightforwardness, well, straightforwardness. Yes, I understand. As long as you are in Tathagata, your responsibility is to follow, to follow the schedule of Tathagata monastery.

[12:08]

Your brain is very straightforward. Yes, I understand. Yes, I must do. But actually, actually, you don't do that. Five minutes. Something tells you, something tells you, oh, why don't you stay in bed more. Five minutes, just five minutes, that's enough, please. Let me stay in bed five minutes or ten minutes, please. Five minutes. In the morning, you can listen the rain, you hear. I think always, well, the students maybe come to, I think it is okay to stay in bed. And the students come, run, just in front of my cabin.

[13:14]

Well, maybe I will have five minutes more, or ten minutes more. Yes, I can't stay five minutes. Have you ever think so before? I think always. Yes. But my brain understands clearly. The moment when you listen the rain, bell the rain, get up. I know so. But something compels me to stay in bed five more minutes, please. So understanding, understanding something with your brain is not enough, is not enough to understand your life.

[14:22]

So if so, what shall I do? If you understand something with your brain, yes, I understand, I must follow those prasadas to do. To understand something is to practice, to practice something, to practice it. And then, if you practice, I think after, if you practice, then you get up. You get up and wash your face. Before you wash your face, I think you still feel, I am sleepy. You are sleepy. But if you wash your face, I think cold water make your mind refresh.

[15:25]

Wow, wonderful. Thank you. Then you will wake up completely. The trouble has gone completely. It's not necessary to suffer from the, from a crop, crop of troubles. I want to stay in bed five more minutes or ten more minutes. If you feel refresh by washing, by realization of washing your face. Yes. And then, so to practice, to practice is to understand something, to understand something not only with your head,

[16:34]

but also with something else. What? But with your body and mind, you understand, wow, I am accustomed to get up early hours. It's very good for my health or for my health, for my life, spiritually and physically. You understand clearly. Now through the practice, through the practice. It is called self-realization, self-realization. It is called wisdom, wisdom. I mentioned before the other day, wisdom is, if you pour the water into the old-fashioned wheel-out, wheel-out pump,

[17:40]

in order to get new, new water from the ground. First, pour the water and immediately you should whirl pump with your hand. Shake your body. Don't stop. Again and again. If so, you can get the water from the ground. Then, if so, you understand to get the water from the ground is a means to understand, to understand the reason why you pour the water into, first of all, into the old-fashioned wheel-out pump. The reason why you whirl pump immediately with your hand.

[18:42]

So, that's why the wisdom is to listen to the Buddha's teaching and to consider the Buddha's teaching as you listen to it. And to practice. It looks like that the wheel-out old-fashioned pump work, work it hard to get the water from the earth. This is wisdom. This is wisdom. So, even though you want, you feel sleepy, maybe so, I give, I want to, I want to give a great sympathy to you, you know, with you.

[19:50]

If you feel sleepy, not only you, but everybody sleepy, but also everybody feels sleepy. So, even though you feel sleepy, the very important point is pour the water into your old-fashioned pump. And start to work pump immediately with your hand, with your body, with your mind. At that time, you understand something not only with your head, but also with your body and mind, what it is, what it is. What it means, what it means to get up early morning.

[20:52]

What it means to be sleepy. What it means to have a desire to stay five more minutes. You understand clearly. This is wisdom. Then through the experience of wisdom, complete understanding with your body and mind, at that time your life is settled on itself, which is called improbability. Well, this is my life. So, you feel cold water make your face, make your mind refresh. Yes, next, I have to go to Zendo, to sit. At that time, your life is completely alive.

[21:57]

But still, your head is thinking something, but that's okay, because all of us is like an old-fashioned pump. Again and again, you have to pour the water into your old-fashioned pump. This is, when you find, when you find yourself to live, to live worthy of living, worth living. Worth your life, to live your life worth living.

[23:03]

Your life, you will realize that life is gradually settled on itself. In other words, you will find, you will find, you realize that there is, there is something, a bright future before you. Aha, this is life. This is, this is what is called life. So, when the time comes, the time comes, when we get up, just get up, that's all. This is called Nirvana. Nirvana is something, is the improbability, improbability. So, from this point, those four, awakening mind, practice, and wisdom, and Nirvana.

[24:21]

Encouragement, realization of the encouragement. Practice yourself at the understanding, complete understanding, and Nirvana, which is called improbability. Form a full essence of circle. You cannot separate them with each other. When you say, this is my awakening mind, for instance, you say, yes, I believe the Zen, I believe in the Zen. What is to believe in the Zen? To believe in the Zen is not to think, just merely to think the Zen.

[25:25]

The Zen. To believe in the Zen is to practice it. To practice it is to understand what it is, not only with your head, but also with your whole body and mind. This is wisdom. Pouring water again and again, until you can get, you will be able to get the new water, fresh water from the earth. Then at that time, you can settle, you can settle yourself on the self, through the practice of the Zen. Yes, at that time we may say that I believe, you believe in the Zen. So you believe in the Zen is, is to, you settle on yourself, on the self, through the practice of the Zen.

[26:34]

Through the practice of believing in the Zen. So to believe in the Zen is the first stage of the practice, and also it is the last practice, the last practice. The beginning of the practice is the last, the end of the practice. Then practice is enlightenment. Dogen Zen says. This is true, this is true. You cannot practice only the waking, way-seeking mind, or only the way-seeking mind, ignoring practicing, ignoring practice. Practicing is ignoring understanding what it is, ignoring the, let your life settle on itself, in your daily life.

[27:40]

It's impossible. As mentioned before, Hoshi means, the body-mind is to practice the straightforwardness. So you have to practice the straightforwardness. You understand the straightforwardness, then next you practice it, then next you understand it clearly what it is. Pouring water into the old fashioned pump, again and again, day in and day out. At that time, straightforwardness, the practice of straightforwardness, settle itself, on itself.

[28:43]

Extend it into your daily life. For instance, if you want the same, if you want the tea ceremony, to learn the tea ceremony, first of all, there are lots of rules, lots of rules, which you have to follow. It's a very complicated rule. First of all, you have to sit still. It is pretty hard for you, hardest ones, for western people. But first, you have to sit still. Very neatly, very neatly, close, not pointing close. And straightforwardness takes you straight in your back.

[29:50]

Landing with your feet, again, three four. You can land, you can land what the tea ceremony is, through the book. But the book, without teaching, without teacher, without practicing it, is inadequate guide. You understand so well what the tea ceremony is, through the book, yes. Only to understand the tea ceremony, through the book, is not to master the tea ceremony. Next, if you want to master the tea ceremony, you have to practice. Practice. Through and through, pouring water into your old-fashioned pot.

[31:12]

Then, at that time, you understand what the rules is, gradually. Then, at last, you understand what the tea ceremony is. So, in the last stage, which is called Nirvana, in the process of practicing the tea ceremony, you can follow very smoothly the rules, what tea ceremony says. In the beginning, you have to always pay too much attention to what rule is, to the rules. So, the more you pay too much attention to the rules, the more you realize, you make lots of mistakes.

[32:28]

In the last stage of the practice, which is called Nirvana, after pouring water again and again, you see, rules is not the rule, what you have thought before. Rules goes on very smoothly in process of your practice. Practice. At that time, you may say you are master of tea ceremony. Then, it looks like, it is as if, it is as if, four seasons, four seasons of years, four seasons of years change.

[33:43]

Everything comes, everything comes forth in spring. Everything grows, grows in summer. We can have a lot of harvest in autumn. Then, we can store the harvest in the storage in winter. Our life, the practice of life is like four seasons. The change, the changing of four seasons of years. You cannot get on the spring, ignoring the summer, the autumn, the winter.

[34:53]

So, four seasons are uninterruptedly going on, connecting closely and deeply with each other. Without ceasing even for a moment. But actually, our head thinks, oh please, let the beautiful flowers stay a little more. If you see the beautiful flower falls, you think how disappointing it is that we are,

[35:58]

that we will be hurried into the winter without enjoying beautiful autumn season. In other words, the usual state of mind, usual mind, usual mind, not special mind.

[37:08]

Even though you are not straightforward, first of all, you have to think what is straightforwardness. You have to make every possible effort to see the straightforwardness. And then, if you see it even a little bit, you try to practice it. Because to see, to see the straightforwardness is to settle yourself on the self in the domain of nirvana, the input of ability, straightforwardness. Where straightforwardness settles itself completely in peace, in harmony.

[38:28]

So, in Buddhist practice, the beginning practice is the end itself. You try to see, you try to see what is straightforwardness, and then practice it. At that time, to see, to think of straightforwardness or deep mind is not the beginning, beginning, beginning practice. It is end of the practice itself. If you ignore this whole total picture of human life, you will never get to settle yourself on the self.

[39:39]

That's why, first of all, in the first paragraph, Dogen then says, in that way, in this way, the way of Buddhas and Patriarchs have the greatest of practice, which is called Gyoji. It reveals the full essence of completeness like an endless wave. Thank you.

[40:23]

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