tonight tonight maybe my last talk last lecture except except that in the coming session so I would like to talk a little more about the no self being self it would be very clear to see who did or where the responsibility

[01:14]

lies but indeed it doesn't exist a fixed being self because if they were such a fixed being of the self that would be based on three categories of its moral nature good bad and neutral the if the self has a fixed nature of good you know so well this nature can can never change so even

[02:15]

though you kill a man you are not marked for Batman but if the self has a fixed being of neutral nature not good nor bad this nature can never be stained by good and bad because it is unchangeable but indeed you cannot avoid the reality that good deeds have good results but actions produce bad results or even though the result of the deeds are bring about in the present life in the next life

[03:27]

the next after next life I don't know when the result brings up brings about but anyway it is very clear that good days have good result but actions produce bad result accordingly there is no fixed being of self there is a code no self from this point no self means that there is no fixed being of self but what is freedom of the self in the realm of no self I wonder if there is freedom of the self within in the realm of no no self

[04:46]

according to the oldest sutra so-called named the Agamas the three ideas were popular among the thinkers of ancient India in order to explain the freedom of self one is patriotism second is god will theory the theory of god will the third is accidentalism accidentalism if you have a time please read the uh the page 15 55 to 58 of the primitive buddhism it explained what fatalism

[05:56]

the theory of god will or accidentalism which were popular among the thinkers of ancient india in order to explain the freedom of self so generally speaking those three ideas are entirely one-sided and unreasonable but logically speaking it may be difficult to establish a new idea more than them more than those three ideas because logically speaking the life is really based on those three ideas patriotism the god and the theory of god will

[07:04]

or accidentalism but if you turn your mind to the practical aspect of life you realize that through your experiences a man has freedom of will know that the effort brings about its effects and believe that the least possibility you can avoid something bad and do something good but you feel really to be limited by a powerful force beyond human control trying to face it really completely you realize that a human effort comes to be

[08:16]

incapable and even the freedom of will not make sense before it for example let me think of the birth i am katagi and also i am japanese i was born between my parents my mother's name my father's name i wish i could make a choice of who should be my parents well i wish i could be

[09:22]

not a piece of katagiri, katagiri means a piece of tree i wish i could be not a piece of tree i wish i could be a whole part of the whole the whole tree but the moment when i i'm conscious of my birth my name was my name is already katagi and my parents are already my parents who run a japanese restaurant not the emperor of japan i wish i wish i could be a priest but it's too late if so there is no freedom there is no freedom for making a choice of your birth

[10:28]

you are completely absolutely not in the position to choose who should be my parents when i should be born no choice sometimes from this respect sometimes i think there is nothing unfair or i'm even a more unfair and even than birth so thus the self lies in the point which freedom and inevitability cross each other's

[11:35]

but you cannot discern how much the self is free or what part of the self has the power of freedom what part of the self in the past or in the circumstances has the power of inevitability there is a big problem for us how much the self is freedom in a sense you may say that's why in a sense you may say that all what the self is is really occupied by the by the power of inevitability for instance on account of the on account of convincing [...]

[12:49]

oneself of settling on the self repeated attempts of the practice has been made without any noticeable effect you know so well from your practice it's make you sometimes pensive it's make you sometimes upset or crazy at last it's lead you to be in mental hospital uh let's take uh my study of foreign language for example you know the how how long i studied english you don't know exactly how long

[13:53]

i don't know exactly too you know you from the junior high school i have studied foreign language particularly english i like so much english through the high school through the university and now still now i'm studying and speaking something in english every day but still my language is funny you know so well i know so so sometimes well i'm not qualified to master foreign language

[14:54]

and then discourage then from this point you know the principle of principle of fatalism or the god will theory are brought into being but according to my opinion i said always there is are exceptions in this world even though i know so well how poor my english is i am exception one of exceptions so i study every day so one of my friends said your english is infinite possibility infinite possibility that's good idea infinite possibility life is also infinite possibility

[15:56]

shakamuni buddha doesn't adopt those three ideas and put the emphasis on karma its influence and effort in terms of the present stage of time karma of the past acts as a sort of fate to the self of the present but the karma of the present is introduced by the free will of the self and yet the karma introduced by the free will of the self causes to restrain the self of the future

[17:07]

in other words the free will of the self is transformed into a fatal power you know karma has its own influence which seems sort of shadow shadow behind your life and this shadow influences present self present deed present deed now also present deed immediately leaves its own influence so-called shadow behind your deed

[18:19]

this is a karma this is karma so that's why i mentioned the karma of the past acts as a sort of fate to the self of the present but the karma of the present is always introduced by the free will of the self so for instance if you want to come to zen center and sit with us it is free to you you can make a choice if you don't want to sit in zen center that's all right so zen center is open to everybody zen center is free and you are free

[19:32]

whether you come to the zen center or not so from this point whatever you do that's okay something good something bad that's okay because you are free but you should keep in mind the karma the deed conduct introduced by the free will of the self causes to restrain self of the future it means there is a free will of the self and according to it you make every possible effort

[20:48]

to do something but the self the free will of the self is restricted by the free will of the self this is a big contradiction in life but unfortunately you have to carry this karma of the past when you're back there is no choice to see if you should or you shouldn't in other words the self is really the karma itself so the self comes into being within the confines of the karma this is really true if so there is no freedom for us

[21:51]

but it is really true that at every moment you can have the freedom to commit suicide and do something good and embark yourself in a new life so the reality is entirely based on the power of inevitability but there is the possibility to transform it into freedom this possibility is introduced by a moment moment in reality in other words freedom is given to you only within the confines of moments

[22:56]

how can you put it into practice this is the principle of the middle path middle way middle path doesn't take a certain position or standpoint so-called the middle way if you take a certain position or standpoint so-called middle way is someone said to the one of the Japanese governor who is speeching on the street in order in the what would you call the political movement

[24:02]

the campaign of the new government this governor says i am completely neutral without attaching to our conservative principle so now republic comes on and one of our audience says be careful to crash into a street car yes this is really true if you take a certain position or standpoint so-called middle way i am a neutral

[25:09]

you are always crash into the street car be careful but the middle path doesn't exist apart from both ends the middle path is introduced by looking at both ends if you take the position of the middle middle point middle path you lose immediately both ends and also even the middle point middle path

[26:19]

it means you crash into the street car then you lose the middle path and also you lose the both ends and then you crash and collapse on the street without breathing that's all it is so-called death so for example the half of the 10 pounds is five pounds you know so but strictly speaking this is very important but strictly speaking five pounds itself doesn't have the attribute of the idea of half

[27:31]

if you ignore the both ends okay did you understand hmm therefore the attachment to the five pound you can't lose the attribute of half for instance if you change the suitcase of 10 pounds into that of the five pounds you feel the five pounds has relieved you somewhat of your burden

[28:37]

and yet if you continue to walk carrying the five pound on your back at last you come to realize even five pounds is so heavy so heavy it means that you forget the half of the 10 pounds it means that you attach to the five pounds you completely lose the half and also the both ends I mentioned before you crash into the street car so that's why middle path is not to take a certain position or standpoint so-called middle path okay this is very subtle meaning be careful okay

[29:42]

the middle path is always introduced by the standpoint of the whole okay whole the loss of the whole implies no realization of the middle path so if you touch the standpoint of the middle path the whole is lost if the whole is lost there is no middle path nevertheless you may not say that the whole is the whole the whole itself is middle path

[30:58]

because the middle path must be chosen in the light of the whole okay looking at the both ends including the middle in other words looking at the whole and then you have to make a choice what to do because you will always be careful to look at the whole situation like driving on the freeway you drive a car on the freeway you pay attention of course to your own car where you are yes but to pay attention to where your car is means to pay attention to the whole situation of the

[32:13]

freeway the other's car what other's car are at that time your car is completely driven in safety this is true so you have to always look at the whole situation and then moment after moment you have to choose what to do that is driving in safety it is called driving in safety when you can't choose the middle way looking at the whole situation of the street the freeway so the traffic law says to drive in safety

[33:14]

safety if you can't drive in safety it doesn't matter how many miles your car runs 60 miles or 65 miles I know it doesn't matter so therefore the middle path is very critical towards the situation because it must be always paid careful attention to the function of the whole in this respect the middle path is the standpoint of becoming better becoming better this is very important this david dr just david translated the middle path

[34:23]

as the way of the more the way of the more it's mean that the the way of becoming better becoming better it is not the standpoint of the best the best is really really static when you understand a certain situation by your consciousness when you understand the middle path by your consciousness the middle path is the best way in life to live in this world but when you put into practice put it into practice the best way must be turned into the better way better the better way

[35:32]

best must transform into the better because you have to always looking at careful attention carefully whole situation and make a choice make a choice the whole situation is always moving moving fluid flowing dynamic the whole situation is something like that you have to watch carefully you have to make careful attention to this whole situation which is flowing the fluid dynamic and then make a choice so best the best is really static

[36:34]

while the better is dynamic in other words the better way to live is to understand the life itself which is alive dynamic fluid so the way of becoming better is the way of understanding the self is flowing flowing fluid dynamic this is middle path from this point the result as a conclusion of no self mentioned shakamuni buddha so

[37:42]

we have to pay very careful attention to whole situation and make a choice what to do so effort is directed to live under better condition day after day moment after moment year after year month after month this is middle path this is no self that when you can live in that way is called freedom to the self

[38:31]

@Text_v004
@Score_JJ