One day, all the disciples gathered together and listened to a sermon which the Master said. Some went, the Master said. The followers of Buddhism shouldn't hold fast to their own views. Even if they have formed an idea on some subject, they may well fear that something is surely the matter with it or that there is some better view. They should ask a good number of Masters concerning the subject and inquire into the sayings of our forefathers.

[01:11]

But you shouldn't give too much importance to them since you may well fear to be mistaken. Taking special care of confirming your conviction, you should give into any better view. Once upon a time, a Fuchang, a national teacher who lived in Nanyang, had a visit from a priest attending on the emperor. He asked the priest, what color is the grass in the southern part of the country? It is yellow. He asked the same question on his own page and received the same answer.

[02:19]

Then he faced the attendant priest and said, your view doesn't excel that of your page. You said that the grass is yellow and he made the same answer. Both are of the same view. Then even this page can teach the emperor the real color. Your observation is not beyond the ordinary. Afterwards someone said, why is the attendant priest to blame for making an ordinary answer? He made the same answer concerning the real color of the grass as did the page. He is nothing but a good teacher and he didn't recognize the words of the national teacher.

[03:31]

He can tell by this story that we need not follow the sayings of the ancients but should know only the true doctrine. It is but not only to entertain doubts but also to hold fast to an incredible principle and not make necessary inquiries. This is the whole story. The contents of this story are not so difficult to understand but it is not so easy to learn how to behave in daily life. According to this story. I think you know the stories in Zen Buddhism.

[04:38]

In Zen Buddhism, I think Soka Zen Master, who is, Soka means the nestle, nestle bird, nestle bird. Soka Zen Master was always sitting on the branch of the tree, on top of the tree. The Hakurakuten Emperor, the Hakurakuten was interested in Buddhism so well. One day, when the Emperor passed by under the tree, where the Soka Zen Master sat on the tree on it, asked him what Buddhism is.

[05:48]

He said, don't do bad deeds, do good deeds, do not do bad deeds, do good deeds. The Hakurakuten said, oh that's very easy, because I think Buddhism is not something like that. Because it is too much easy to understand, don't do bad deeds, do good deeds. It is very easy to understand, to do, to put into practice, maybe, I think so. So he said, even a child of three years, three years old, knows so well about such a principle.

[07:07]

Do good, behave, do not do bad, behave. Then the Zen Master said, even though a child of three years old knows so well about this principle, but a dad didn't do so, doesn't do so. How come? This is very important. This story is opposite to this story that I read. The priest asked, what's the color of the grass in the southern part of the country? He said that it's yellow. Then the priest asked the same question of his page. What's the color of the grass in the southern part of the country?

[08:13]

This page is a person who is between 7 and 15 years old. This is a child. He gave the same answer as this priest said. This priest is a priest. This priest is attending on the emperor. So he had a very good position as a priest, who was teaching, who was giving lectures to emperors, and took care of the Buddhist performing, performing, performing Buddhist services in the palace.

[09:20]

But your answer is the same. Your answer is the same as the page did. What is wise? What is clever? What is clever? Your answer is the same one as the page did. So he said, your view doesn't excel that of your page. You said the grass is yellow, and he made the same answer. Both are of the same view. Then even this page can teach the emperor. Yes, this child is possible to teach the emperor. Your observation is not beyond the ordinary. Afterwards someone said, what is the attendant priest to blame for making an ordinary answer?

[10:29]

He made the same answer concerning the real color of the grass as did the page. What's wrong? What's wrong? I think there is nothing to criticize which is wrong, which is good. But before the priest asked him, what is color? Asked him as a question, what is color of the grass in the southern part of the country? I think this priest was profound pride of himself. I think too much. Because I had the very good position as a priest who was to teach, to teach the emperor.

[11:33]

He made the same answer concerning the real color of the grass as did the page. Nothing but the good teacher, and he didn't recognize the words of the national teacher. So there is no word, no discrimination. Which is teacher? Which is teacher for the emperor? Because you did the same answer, you did the same answer as the child. From this point, the child can teach the emperor, you can teach the emperor. There is no discrimination. It is bad not only to entertain doubts but also to hold fast to un-incredible principles and not make necessary inquiries. Briefly speaking, the main point is to get rid of the egolessness.

[12:45]

And devote yourself to practice Buddhism, to practice your life, to practice your life. This is the main point. Tonight, I would like to explain a little more concerning this story. Okay. The original Taoist, the original Taoist used the word practice, the word practice, before wisdom. The original Taoist used the word practice, the word practice, before wisdom.

[14:17]

It means wisdom. The point is, why is it Dogen and Buddha used this word, practice, before the word wisdom? The wisdom is, to learn the wisdom is not to understand, not only understand wisdom, not only understand wisdom through your intellectual faculties. In other words, wisdom is not to understand only the conception and the word. Wisdom should be something revealed in our daily life as Buddhist knowledge.

[15:19]

Based on the reality of all things, all sentient beings. So, through this point, the wisdom is something to put practice into our daily life, at any cost, at any cost. Then, the Buddha and Dogen put the word, practice, practice, before wisdom. In Japanese, we translate Japanese, shugyo, shugyo, into practice.

[16:24]

I translate Japanese, the word, Japanese word, the shugyo, into the English as the practice, as a practice. The gyo means, gyo means, generally speaking, act, act, or deed, or action, action. This is the general word, the act, whatever it is, whatever they are, the gyo. So this gyo, generally speaking, the word, action, or deed, includes whatever kind of deed you do, you may do. A good deed or a bad deed, this is action, this is action and deed, or deed. But if you put the word, if you put the word, shu, before the action, shu means, shu means, to cultivate, to cultivate, or to refine, to refine.

[17:38]

So the practice is not merely the action, not merely the meaning of action, or the deed. What they want, what you want to do. In front of the Buddhist practice, all action, all deeds, what you are doing, what you are doing should be refined. Refined action, refined action, or refined deed. So when you say the practice is refined action, refined action, refined deed, it doesn't include but behave, but deed, but deed.

[18:45]

Or maybe it doesn't include even a good deed, even a good deed, because this is complete purity, pure action, pure action. So in Buddhism, we call it anti-fired practice, anti-fired practice, anti-fired practice. Like a lotus flower, like a lotus flower, the action of a lotus flower is revealing, revealing his own anti-fired practice, anti-fired practice. Even though he may grow, he may grow in muddy water. This is practice, this is our practice, this is our practice. Then when you say shu qi ye, shu qi ye, the practice of wisdom, practice of wisdom,

[19:50]

the wisdom should be revealed, should be revealed moment after moment as a practice, as a practice. You have to put wisdom, put wisdom into practice, moment after moment. This is shu qi ye, shu qi ye. So, you know, frankly speaking, when you sit in meditation for long years, maybe during the period of meditation, a period of long years, probably you may, you may experience enlightenment.

[20:52]

Then you think, OK, yes, I have got enlightenment. And then you have a chance, you may have a chance to have an interview before the Master. Please test me, please test me to see if I, if I have experienced enlightenment or not. And then Master says, please show it, right away, immediately, before me. Maybe someone said, like this, shu qi ye, shu qi ye. Or someone said, maybe took off, take off, someone, someone may take off the glass and sandals, straw sandals, and went out with them, with it, with them on his head. Bye-bye. Maybe. Maybe.

[21:55]

Whatever it is, whatever it is, if you can, if you do practice meditation for a long time, for a long time, long years, with wholeheartedness, yes, you can. You can experience enlightenment. And you can do, you can do, act, behave, actions. Can you hear me? Like this. Listen to this voice. This is enlightenment. Yes, you can do, as Zen Masters. But I don't know, I don't know whether it is, whether it is real meaning of enlightenment or not. For instance, if you are, if you were one of the circus performers, you have to practice hard, day after day,

[22:58]

you know, to cross, to cross and to ride on a rope, to ride on a rope, with safety, with safety, without falling into the ground. You have to practice hard, day after day. And you have to do the same things, day after day. In that time you can, at last, at last you can do, you can carry out. Or walking on a rope, with safety. Now all people, all people walk on the street with their foot, with their feet. But you try to, if you try, if you try to practice, you know, walking on the street with your hands, you can do, you would do. It is possible, it is possible. But I don't know, I don't know whether it is,

[24:05]

it is the reality, it is the understanding of the reality of human life. I don't know whether it is, it is the real meaning of walking on a street as a human being. The important point, the, to walk on a street, to walk on a street, whatever, with whatever you do, you may do, I don't care. To walk on a street is, important point is, to walk on a street is, you know, to walk on a street as a human being, as they are, as they are. It means that to walk on a street should have a close relationship with your daily life, daily life.

[25:17]

Not only a particular person, you know. To walk on a street should be open to everybody, you know. Right to Reverend Carnegie, or to all of you, even a baby, even a child. At that time to walk, the action, action what they, what they walk on the street has a close relationship to, with their own daily life. But, on the contrary, if you do practice hard, more than usual way, more than usual way, like a circus performance, it is, it is real natural, it is real, it is natural, natural situation that you would, you would practice, you would walk on the street with a hand.

[26:23]

But the important point is not to walk on the street with your hand. Important point is not to walk on the street with your head, with your, with your back. Important point is, to walk on the street is to walk on the street with your foot. As a human being, because it should be, it is, it is open to everybody. Not only, not only performance, circus performance. Even though you practice after the practice of wrong years, you may experience enlightenment. And you show, you may show, you may show what enlightenment is before then master.

[27:34]

Important point is, whether, is, it is not, it is not also, it is not also right answer, right enlightenment, right enlightenment. Right enlightenment, right meaning, real meaning of enlightenment is to show, to show it in our daily life. This is real meaning of enlightenment. That's why, even in Buddhism, the enlightenment is very easy in some sense, in a sense. But in the contrary, the understanding of enlightenment is not so easy. Because the, everything what Buddhism, Buddha teaches us should have, should have close relation with the understanding, the intellectual understanding.

[28:52]

And at the same time, the, through, the, through our practice, actual practice. In the, there is very interesting stories. Ahem, ahem.

[29:56]

Ahem. [...] Ah, there was, ah, the king, ah, named, ah, Ah, Virudhaka, Virudhaka. Ahem, ahem.

[31:07]

They're living in the, ah, the next country in which the Shaka clan's people, Shaka clan's people live. Ah, other, ah, prince, as a prince of his, ah, as a prince's foot, as his prince's foot, yeah, ah, his prince's foot. Ah, he had a chance, he had a chance to, ah, came into the palace in Kapilavats, ah, in which, ah, in which the Shaka clan's people lived there. Ah, he was invited by the king of Maka, ah, Kapilavats.

[32:23]

Ah, as a guest, he saw a newly built, newly built hall. At that time, he inadvertently, ah, ah, came into the newly built hall and slept. Ah, but the house, this hall had been built for the Shaka clan, Shaka, who was to be the king of the country. And no one was permitted, no one was permitted to enter it before Shaka clan. But he inadvertently entered and slept.

[33:28]

So, and since the king, ah, Bill, Bill Daka, ah, whom the Shaka clan had looked down upon as of low origin, entered the hall, entered the hall, they became furious. They became really furious at what he did, what he had done, he had done. And also they all humiliated the king, Bill Daka. They scrapped all the places where the king had walked, saying they had been polluted, polluted. And rebuilt, rebuilt the hall where he had slept.

[34:36]

This offended the king, Bill Daka. After he was an adult, taking the position as a king, he always, he always had, he always was thinking of avalanching the insult inflicted on him by Shaka clan. Then one day he tried to attack the Shaka clan's people. The Shaka clan's people were very surprised to hear this news. Then they went, they went to, they approached, they approached Shakyamuni Buddha and asked Shaka clan's people to save from this attack.

[35:50]

Then Shaka clan and the Shakyamuni Buddha was agreed with his requirement. Then he sat, he just practiced meditation under the dead trees, under the dead trees, which was, which was growing, which was growing near the Makara, near the country of Shaka clan. It was very hot, too hot. Then this king rushed into the Shaka clan's country with his soldiers, many lots of soldiers. On their way, this king saw the Shakyamuni Buddha sitting under the dead trees.

[37:01]

Then this king asked him, why did you sit under such a dead tree? Shakyamuni Buddha said, even a dead tree is very cool for me because this tree is growing, growing near my native country. Then he said, just sit meditation on the body under the dead tree. At that time this king, this king was very impressed by Buddha Shakyamuni's statement. Then he gave up, he gave up attacking the Shaka clan's people. Then he returned to his castle and he spent his life. But one of his followers forced this king to avenge, avenge the insult inflicted on him at any cost.

[38:19]

Day after day he told him, he told the king, you should attack, you should attack again and again. Then he took it into this king, took it into his head, I should, I should attack this Shaka clan's people. Then the Shaka clan's people, they asked Shakyamuni Buddha to save from this attack again. At that time he didn't, he didn't, he didn't help the Shaka clan's people. And watch, just watch, just watch them being destroyed, being destroyed. At that time one of his disciples, Maggarana,

[39:28]

Maggarana, discuss, discuss about, discuss about the attitude of Shakyamuni Buddha under such cruel tragedy. May I ask to you, Maggarana said, may I ask to you for a few minutes, if I am not disturbing you? Buddha said, is that you Maggarana? What is it? Maggarana said, yes, Lord Buddha. I deeply sympathize with you, Lord Buddha.

[40:33]

It must be distressing for you too, Maggarana. It seems that the people are still unaware of the matter, doesn't it? People are, people are just terrified, but they are still hopeful. Buddha says, are they? Poor people. Can they be rescued by any means? I think not this time. And what do you intend to do about it? I intend to watch in silence. That's all I can do. Maggarana said, but don't you, don't you think that would be too miraculous? Buddha said, yes, it will be too miraculous. And I am myself somewhat puzzled as to what to do.

[41:40]

But I cannot do anything else. There is nothing I can do but watch the people being slaughtered. Maggarana says, King Virudhaka, they say, is a horrible person. The Buddha says, what is horrible is not so much King Virudhaka himself, as the feeling of resentment within him. He must avenge the insult inflicted on him by our Shakka clan some years ago. And because of this, those who are living happily in this castle now will all be massacred before long.

[42:44]

Especially pitiful are the little boys and girls. Maggarana, those children over there who are having a merry time now will all be captured by King Virudhaka's soldiers and slaughtered. I thought of that too. I cannot see those children without tears. I cannot either. The children are too lovely. I cannot look them in the face. And then, after, during the fighting with each other,

[44:11]

many people were killed by the King Virudhaka and his soldiers. This king said, we won a great victory. This has dispelled the gloom I have felt for several years. Are you sure you killed every single person except the children? You killed every single person that humiliated me. One soldier said, I did, my lord. The king said, that makes me feel relieved. How many children have you taken captive? The soldier said, boys and girls, 8500 in number. The king said, the children don't know anything.

[45:17]

I am willing to set them free, but what do you think about it? That time this soldier said very awfully. Pardon me. But I think you should certainly not set them free. There will not be children always. There will not be children always. I said, what can we do to improve patient care? So they said, what do you mean by that? I said, not too long ago I operated on a woman who had been a patient of mine for 25 years. And on about the fourth postoperative day I had removed the uterus vaginally and she was doing very well.

[46:20]

I noticed she was depressed, very blue, and I knew her very well over the course of time. And I could talk to her rather straightforwardly and I said, what's the trouble? And she didn't look at me, kind of picked at the bedclothes a little bit like that and she said, nothing. And I said, come on, what's the trouble? And she paused for a while and she said, do you like dogs? And I thought, well, I like dogs. I like dogs all right, some of them. And then a light started to dawn. And I said, yeah, I like dogs, do you? And then she looked at me suddenly for a long, and she said, oh, yes, I do. And then the light got brighter and I said, do you have a dog? She said, oh, yes, I do. And I said, would you like to see your dog? Well, after she got out of bed and kissed the rings on my finger,

[47:21]

I went out and I wrote in the chart, patient may see dog three times a day, 45 minutes before meals. Well, when we got the top of the hospital back on, we had an immediate conference in the administrator's office. Rated, so to speak. Out of this then came the reluctance on the part of insurance companies to pay for such things as diagnostic procedures. Maternity care was considered to be uninsurable because it's common, albeit somewhat expensive, but something that you get into on purpose. And cosmetic things are not insured because, here again, they are things that you elect to get into.

[48:23]

They aren't exactly in the category of an illness. Now, I'm differentiating this from plastic surgery for the repair of burns and so on, which are cosmetic, basically, but here you're facing a specific problem. You aren't just making the nose turn up instead of down. And socioeconomic reasons were therefore excluded. Coupled with this, there have been complaints that the insurance industry should lead, that they should provide care even though the market doesn't demand it. Well, the realities of the market are that you can't sell things unless people want to buy them. You can't sell things at a, or rather, when you offer something more,

[49:28]

this means you've got to charge something more. And if your competitors don't choose to offer this to the market, the people in the market doing the buying, elect, maybe, to make their decision in terms of price rather than in quality, and these things cannot then be sold. The competitors... ...lunker against you all their lives for killing their parents, brothers and sisters. And there is no knowing what they may plot to do. So there is no other way, I think, but to kill them. Then the king and his all soldiers killed the children, even the children. And Magarana, one of the disciples said,

[50:42]

now all the 70,000 Shakya clansmen have been massacred. And King Virudhaka is about to do what he wants with those 500 boys and girls. And yet are we to sit here like this? Buddha says we are. Magarana says there are many arahants who think that they would rather hang themselves down, let their parents and brothers die before their very eyes. And yet should we stay here without any attempt to save them? Buddha says yes we should. Magarana says some arahants are beginning to lose faith.

[51:45]

Would you please tell us why we should stay here like this? Buddha says, Magarana, you ought to know better. My teachings are ways that are in harmony with the universe, through the past, the present and the future. Even if hundreds of thousands of adults and tens of thousands of children are killed by wicked people, my teachings will still soar majestic. My teachings are not only of the present world. My teachings do not regard the present life as supreme. It is destined to perish. My teachings will not be lost with the loss of our lives.

[52:51]

Neither will they be lost by King Virudhaka's wholesale slaughter. However if I were moved by my present feelings and stormed into King Virudhaka's palace, or begged for mercy in his presence, my teachings would fall to pieces in an instant. My teachings are the teachings of the universe, of the past, the present and the future. They are not teachings that will be impaired by the passing love of this present existence. If there are among you those who cannot give their whole mind to my teachings, and who cannot help losing their lives for those poor people who are being slaughtered,

[53:59]

let them lose their lives. However, let those who follow my teachings, the teachings of the past, the present and the future, stay here with me and stop the disturbances that are beginning to take place in this world. Everything vanishes, but my teachings will not vanish. Those who follow my teachings must think with the mind of the universe and the mind of nirvana. Tens of thousands of people have now returned to the places where they are to return. Magarana, don't you think that is so? Magarana said, I do, Lord Buddha. After the Buddha told him of this story,

[55:13]

he gave one of the stories as a parable. There were three men, three boys, by the pond. No, no, there were two boys. They were fishing, fishing on some kind of fish in a pond. In the bottom of the water, the fish were talking with each other about how awful human beings have done, because they are trying to catch us. How awful.

[56:18]

How awful. Not only this time, but also we have to, at any cost, we have to manage, we have to manage to revenge, revenge the insult, the insult inflicted on us. In the future, in our future, they are talking, they are discussing about it. One of the boys was willing to go fishing on some kind of fish. One of the other boys didn't fish at all. He kept standing by him and watched.

[57:19]

He was taking delight in watching them, watching what kind of fish would be caught by this boy. Buddha says, The boy, the boy who was taking delight in watching what kind of fish would be caught by the boy, is me. He is me. I think, in a sense, you may not understand so well

[58:23]

why the Shakyamuni Buddha didn't save his own native country's people from the terrible slaughter. On the contrary, the Shakyamuni Buddha was a very expert, expert to attack, attack the enemies, because he had practiced hard in case boys fooled. So Shakyamuni Buddha knew, knew how to attack, how to attack, how to win, how to win. By the impulse, by the impulse of the feeling,

[59:33]

according to his own abilities, of attacking, of attacking the enemy, probably he might, he might win, he might win. But what he might win, he might win is that there is someone, there is someone who loses the fight, who loses the fight, who loses the victory. Whatever he did, whatever he might do, he might do, there is something, a tragedy.

[60:40]

A tragedy. The Shakyamuni Buddha just kept watching them being destroyed. You know, when I was in Japan, one of the parents who lost their own son, he was 18 years old, passed away. With some awful disease, their son suddenly passed away. That time they asked me how to live, how to save, how to be, how to be free from his sadness.

[61:41]

Please teach me. I don't know, I don't know how to teach, how to save, how to save them from his grief, sadness, sorrow. It's pretty difficult. By whatever kind of sympathetic words would be given to them, no words, no words might not be saved from their sorrows, sadness. But there is, there is one of best ways, best ways to save themselves from the sorrows. It is to go plunging into the crying,

[62:48]

to be in the world of sorrows. Then all I had to do was to watch them, to watch them with silence. The presence, the present, only the present person who understands the reality of all things, the reality, the truth, the truth of this world, should make people relieved from their own sorrows. It is all right, it is all right, it is all right not to give any words to them. The most important point is that there should be someone,

[63:55]

there should be someone who understands the truth of this world. Even though he doesn't give any words, sympathetic words to them, who are falling into the difficulty, fall into the sadness. I think it is easier to give any sympathetic words to them, but it is not so easy to just watch them without any words. You know, it is very difficult, it is easy to strive, to join, to join the strike with the peoples. In order to get to justice and peace, but it is not so easy to watch, to watch them, to watch,

[64:58]

to watch what the reality of all things is, without joining, without joining strikes, any kind of strikes. It is not so easy, because the old people, old people may join the strike in order to get to justice and peace. If you are not, if you don't, if you don't join them, old people criticize you, criticize you. You are not American, you are not any of American. And nevertheless, nevertheless,

[66:01]

we have to, we have to keep, we have to watch, we have to keep watching, watching what the reality of all things is, with silence, with silence. It is not so easy, but it is a very important point, a very important point. Then I think for the Shakyamuni Buddha, it was pretty easy to join, to save, to help the Shakya clan's people, in order to save them from the tragedy, attack. But the important point is, is whatever happens, whatever happens,

[67:08]

we have to watch, we have to watch and seek for what the reality of all things are, with silence, with tranquility. This is very important. I think, you think, you think you cannot, you cannot help any others, any others. Even though you study Buddhism, you practice Buddhism, so you think, how awful I am. I try to manage to save others, at any cost. But what is help? What is help? Maybe you can, if you have money, you can give some money, some money to them, the poor people. But to give the money, to give the candy to people,

[68:14]

is not always to save, to help people. To save them from the suffering, from the sadness, or human troubles. I don't think so. The least individual, the least individual who has, who has incredible troubles, or sufferings, or sorrows, nobody touches it. No words, no sympathetic words are touched. There is nothing but, there is nothing but, you have to, you have to accept, that's all. You know, very often I,

[69:20]

I call me Mrs. Trudy Dixon. Mrs. Trudy Dixon, who passed away several months ago. Probably for her, she had a lot of things to tell you. What is truth? What was truth? What is suffering? What is suffering? What is pleasure? What is disease? But she couldn't, she couldn't, she couldn't give any words to us. She couldn't, she couldn't make a complaint, any complaint, to anyone, to Roshi, to me.

[70:22]

Even though she made a complaint, any kind of complaint, to me, to Roshi, to Buddha, to all of you, what might be saved from her disease, from her suffering, from her sorrowness? Nothing. There is nothing but keeping silence, that's all. That's all. It's pretty hard, it's very sad. It's very sad in a sense, but it's not very sad. Then Trudy Dixon, Mrs. Trudy Dixon, tried to, tried to practice Zazen, tried to practice Zazen day after day. His, the physical condition was incredible.

[71:30]

Was not enough to practice Zazen. She was very thin, she hadn't no energies, good enough to practice Zazen. But he did, with silence, with silence. And then when she came, she came across me and Roshi and all of you. What did he do? What did she do? She just smiled, she just, she just talked with, with something, not serious things. She was willing to talk with all of you, and with me, with Roshi. I think for her,

[72:42]

there is, there was nothing but a watch herself, watch herself, with keep, with silence. But on the contrary, in her mind, she said, one day she gave me one of poems, I don't remember exactly, but she said, you know, some voice, some voice of her children is coming out to my brains. A dog is barking, barking, dog is barking. In the playground, in the playground, my children's voice is coming. Now after a moment, after a few moments, there is just silence,

[73:48]

silence. Anyway for her, under the situation of Mrs. Trudy Jackson, there is nothing but herself, without making complaint, without telling something, how awful I am, how awful my disease is. Nothing was helped, no any words, couldn't be saved from her disease, from her suffering. But all she has to do is to watch pills exposed in rain,

[74:52]

pills exposed in rain. Disappearance, disappearance is Mrs. Trudy Jackson, disappearance is human life, I or you, your life. Maybe if you fall into the difficulty, you have, you can, it is possible to make a complaint, I don't like suffering, everybody thinks so, I don't like. And while there is some room to make complaint, it means, it means your difficulty is not real difficulty. It means you don't look at,

[75:57]

look at your reality, you do not look at the reality of all things. Because there is some room to make, to enter some complaints, I don't like. Everybody thinks that there is no room to complain, to make complaints, to cry and to shout. There is nothing but keep silence. And you have to take good care of, you have to take good care of your life. You have to watch yourself with silence, like pills exposed, exposed in rain. These pills, these pills, it seems, it seems that these pills are very weak.

[76:58]

But in a sense these pills are not weak, because these pills should stand, should stand in the universe, even though whatever happens around these pills, rains or fires or snows, it doesn't care. He knows, only he, only this pill knows so well himself of his past, of his future, of his present. We have to stand, we have to stand on the universe, on the earth, whatever happens around him. I think wisdom is,

[78:10]

it is alright to go, it is alright wherever you may go. Your life should be made a choice of your own life. If you find a better place to live in, but when you move, but it is possible, it will be possible to fall into, to fall into, to move. It will be possible not to, not to, not to move an inch. When there is no place, no place to go, to escape. At that time, what should you do? What should you do? When you get the disease of cancer,

[79:22]

there is nothing to take care of. When you get the headache, when you get the stomachache, you can't find a good medicine. Then you can't cry, you can't shout, ouch, ouch, help, help. It is possible. If you got the disease of cancer, maybe there is a good medicine to save, to rescue. But if there is no medicine to save you from your disease, what should you do? You have to watch your disease, you have to watch the process,

[80:24]

what your disease is going on. You have to watch yourself, watch your life under the situation, in the process of what your disease is going on. That's terrible, that's terrible. But you have to do, you have to do. Mrs. Trudy Dixon didn't make sad, didn't make sad. She said to me, all I had to do was to practice, to devote myself to practice Buddha's way. Regardless of whether her physical condition

[81:25]

was good enough to practice Zazen or not. She did, she carried on. This is wisdom, this is wisdom. This is the practice of wisdom. Within the world of practice of wisdom, it should include sadness, Buddhist conduct, Buddhist world, pleasure and sadness, all things. Buddhist world includes sadness, pleasures, original, general, ordinary person, Buddhist per Buddha, grass, mountains, stars, moons, the sun, rivers. You will find the same story,

[82:30]

the same story in the Gakudo Zuimonki, Zuimonki. One day I asked the master, what is the principle of undeniable causality, undeniable causality? It is inflexible. How can one get rid of the law? The law is obvious, and the cause and effect reveal themselves at the same time. If the cause coincides with the effect, how is the following effect caused?

[83:31]

Dogen replied, if such is the case, if such is the case, you should remember the nonsense anecdote of cutting a cat in half. Do you remember that story? Nonsense. Nonsense. Nonsense cut the head of the cat in half. Once his students divided into two factions who were quarreling over a cat. They discussed whether the cat possesses Buddha nature or not. The nonsense suddenly took hold of it and said, boil down your contention to one word. If you cannot do so, I will not cut this cat in half.

[84:37]

But if you cannot, I will. None of them could answer so. He cut it in two with one straw. Later, nonsense told a joshu of this and the latter took off his straw sandals and went out with them on his head. Bye-bye. What this behavior of joshus means is the main point of nonsense cutting the cat in two. This is a far more splendid measure suited to the occasion. The dogma went on. If I had been nonsense, then master, I should have said

[85:40]

even if you can answer in one word, I will kill the cat. And if you cannot, I will still kill it. Now, who on earth were quarreling over the cat? Who is discussing to see whether the cat possesses Buddha nature or not? Who is it? You? Or the other you? The cat says it, or you say it? Who can help it out of the difficulty? Who can help? Who can help it? Who can help the cat out of difficulty? A cat helps himself out of difficulty, or you help the cat out of difficulty? Who helps it? And I should say

[86:40]

I should have said in place of the students, it is because we all have released that way that we all keep silence. Now, master, now, master, kill the cat, please. And Dogen says, wanted to say in this way in spite of the students. Still nobody answers. Nobody answers to this question. Then Dogen then says, everybody keep silence. Please kill the cat. And I should have continued. The Reverend Nansen knows how to cut in two, but he doesn't know how to cut in one. In one. He knows so well how to cut in two.

[87:41]

But he doesn't know how to cut in one. Then Dogen's disciple Ejo said, Ejo asked the Dogen Zen master, what do you mean by cutting in one? Dogen answered, if the students say nothing and keep silence for a while, Nansen may say, when you keep silence the whole way reveals itself and you express. And let the cat loose. Let the cat loose. There is an old saying that one shouldn't be scrupulous about trifles in performing a great function. You know, let the cat loose.

[88:46]

This is important. If you are detached from any ideas whether the cat possesses a Buddha nature or not, from the viewpoint of Zen viewpoint, Zen Buddhist understanding, it is possible, it may be possible to cut the head of the cat in two. But Dogen then says, let the cat loose. The Dogen continued, this deal of Nansen cutting the cat is a great operation, operation of the way. This is pretty good, pretty good teaching for us. But he said, but the phrases, phrase cutting the cat is what carries

[89:47]

momentum to a new turn to enlightenment. This is pretty good. Without this phrase you cannot penetrate the mental attitude of enlightenment to touch all the earth. Mountains and rivers are the crystallization of the pure and mysterious mind of Buddha. This mind cannot be the Buddha. On hearing the phrase you must promptly understand that this cat is not the mere cat. It is the Buddha body. Then the students proactively opened their eyes to the reality of things. Dogen said again, this deed of cutting the cat is the deed of Buddha, deed of Buddha.

[90:48]

What do you call this deed? You may call it cutting the cat. I ask again, is it a sinful act Dogen answered, yes it is. How can we be delivered from the sin? To awake the students to the reality of things by the act of the Buddha is one thing, but erasing sinful acts is another. Even though the way, even though, even though the way, which was taken by the nonsense is best, was best. It is also, it is still a sinful act. It partakes

[91:51]

of both a Buddha act and sinful act. Whatever you think, whatever you do, it partakes of both Buddha act and sinful act. Then, Dogen then says, in the last, he said, however, the idea of awakening the student to the reality of things may be right, but you are best advised to do without such ideas. Even though cutting the cat is best way to awake the student's enlightenment, as much as possible

[92:54]

you have better not to do such a thing. This is very important. It is easier, it is easier to cut the cat, if you get enlightenment, if you detach from any idea whether the cats have the Buddha nature or not. It is easier, it may be easier, easier to cut the head of the cat. But nevertheless, nevertheless, he didn't, it is not so easy to cut the head of the cat, regardless of the idea of whether the cat possesses Buddha nature or not, and lose it. Let the cat lose. As mentioned

[93:56]

before, if you practice very hard as a circum-performer, it is possible, it is possible to walk on a rope with safety. Safety. But to walk, only to walk on a rope with safety is not always to walk on the rope of our lives. If you practice hard in order to walk on a rope with safety, it is pretty good. And also you have to walk on a rope,

[94:56]

on a rope of your daily life with safety. It is also an important one. You can cut the head, you can cut the head of a cat with one stroke of a sword. But it is not so easy to let the cat lose. It is not so easy to, not so easy without joining the strike with silence. It is not so easy to watch your life with silence. Your mind is always trying to make complaints

[95:57]

and shout, shouting, crying, what shall I do? It is not so easy to listen your shout to your complaint by yourself for yourself and walk step by step within your daily life.

[96:18]

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