I vow to teach the truth of the Tathagata's words. Morning. This morning, I'm going to comment on a verse of the sixth ancestor, Daikon Eno, and Chinese Huinong. Huinong was the sixth ancestor from Bodhidharma who brought Zen to China. And the sixth ancestor is very important because up to his time, this is in the early Tang Dynasty, Buddhism was coming from India to China and developed in China for 500 or 600 years, but was still somewhat scholarly.

[01:29]

and there was no meditation practice to speak of, no zazen, until Bodhidharma came to China. And then in the first five patriarchs, or ancestors, and the monks, of course, developed Chinese Chan practice, but it was felt that with the sixth ancestor, that the Dharma was originating from him, somewhat independent of Indian Buddhism. And so the sutra that was written around him, called the Platform Sutra, was considered a sutra, because all the sutras up to that time were, documents that came from India, the Buddha's words.

[02:34]

Sutra is supposed to be what the Buddha said, but of course nobody knows exactly what the Buddha said. Nothing was written down for three or four hundred years after Buddha, but there was memory and the Indians of course developed an ability to remember things. And so what they discussed among themselves and what they remembered became the Buddha Dharma, as far as Buddhism was concerned. And all these sutras were coming into China from India. And the Chinese were accepting them all as the Buddha's word. But then they started becoming contradictory and expressing different points of view.

[03:36]

But up to that time, the sutras were always the word of the Buddha, and are still considered so. We don't necessarily say that they're Shakyamuni Buddha's words. They're somewhat Shakyamuni Buddha's words, but they're the Sambhogakaya Buddha's words, the Buddha Dharma that's inspired by Shakyamuni Buddha. So this Platform Sutra of the Sixth Ancestor is a sutra that's considered a sutra by the Chinese that came out of China. Of course, a lot of the other sutras came out of China, too, but nobody wants to say that. Those are considered spurious sutras, like maybe the Shurangama Sutra.

[04:41]

But they're still good sutras, nothing wrong with them. They express Buddha Dharma very well. So the Platform Sutra is considered the Zen Sutra in a sense because it contains the so-called autobiography of the Sixth Ancestor and then his teaching. And of course it's been added to and so it's not you have to, when you read the sutra, study the sutra, you have to pick out what's authentic and what makes sense and what's just kind of propaganda for some of the teachers. Because in Buddha's time, I mean, in the time of the sixth ancestor, there was a lot of controversy over who was really gonna be the sixth ancestor. And the disciples of different teachers were kind of fighting with each other to see which school, which one of the teachers' schools would be the right one.

[05:48]

And in the Sando Kai, Sekito is talking about this very subject. He says there's no teacher of North or South. It's called the Southern School. The two schools are called the Southern School and the Northern School. And so he's laying to rest this kind of infighting between those teachers of the North and the South. But that's another story which I don't want to get into. I just want to give you some background. So, in this platform sutra, whoever wrote this poem, this verse which is attributed to the sixth ancestor, we don't know, you know, what are really the words of the sixth ancestor and what are someone else's words, of course.

[06:50]

But this verse really expresses what we like to think of as the sixth ancestor's teaching. So I'm going to comment on this verse, which is a kind of, a little bit of a summary of bodhisattva practice. And, and of the Sixth Ancestor's teaching. I've edited it in a way that I like better than what I, Long Mulan's translation, but I appreciate his translation a lot. But I just, I think I'll just start. So he begins by saying, One who is a master of the Buddha Dharma and has realized their essence of mind may be likened to the bright Sun in an empty sky.

[07:57]

Such a one teaches nothing but the Dharma for realizing our self-nature, which is their purpose for being in this world and to make people aware of erroneous views." So this is how this begins. So, one who is a master of the Buddha Dharma is one who actually has realized their essence of mind and can help others to realize their essence of mind. So the Sixth Ancestor uses this term essence of mind a lot. This is his way of speaking about our self nature. He uses self nature also. But essence of mind means reality. the very essence or quintessence of reality. So the one who is a master of the Buddhadharma and has realized their essence of mind may be likened to the bright sun in an empty sky.

[09:01]

So the sun, you know, just gives off light in all directions and doesn't discriminate which direction the light is pointing at, but it's simply the sun is round. So a master of the Buddhadharma is also round like the sun. Someone once expressed to me that when a teacher should be like a round glass with no, There are no corners, there are no sharp edges, there are no opaque surfaces, but simply transparent all around. And it's sort of like a glass with a candle in the glass.

[10:08]

and the light is just shining out in all directions. When one has realized one's essence of mind, then the light shines out in all directions. That's called enlightenment. And this enlightenment lights up the world and touches everyone that person meets. So there's no discrimination, one doesn't choose one person over another or this is called non-discriminating And it's not even so much purposeful as it is just allowing getting out of the way and allowing the light to come forward, to be expressed.

[11:19]

Sometimes a person doesn't even know that that's what's happening. Matter of fact, that's good that the person doesn't know what's happening. when one becomes self-conscious, then the light dims. So, one who is a master should allow the light to come forth in that way, just like the sun, just in the empty sky. and not be bothered by things, not worry about things, but simply keep that expression going all the time, no matter what happens. You know, often we see these old statues of Buddha from India or from China, and

[12:28]

Part of them is gone, maybe the arm is gone or a leg is gone or half of the face is gone, but yet they're still expressing something very strongly, even just through one part of their body. Someone left us a head of a Buddha, a Chinese figure, quite old, we haven't put it up yet, out yet, but just this old head, you know, full of wormholes, is just expressing the Dharma. So, such a one teaches nothing but the Dharma for realizing our self-nature. which is their purpose for being in this world and to make people aware of erroneous views.

[13:29]

So there's nothing else for this person but to teach the Dharma. And that's the purpose of being in the world. It's always been said that the purpose of a Buddha is to be a Buddha. And when Buddha Shakyamuni, according to the story, was 80 years old. He kind of knew that it was time for him to leave because he felt that his teaching was done, what he had to offer was done. and then someone fed him something poisonous. But he said, it's okay, this is what should happen. It's time for me to go because there's no reason for me to stick around any longer. I've done what I had to do. So then he says, well, then he says, to make people aware of erroneous views.

[14:38]

are dualistic views. You know, like there is a self, there is no self. If you think there is no self, that's an erroneous view. If you think there is a self, that's also an erroneous view. If you stick to either one, you're sticking to views. We get caught in this. This is a big koan for everyone. What is the self? And so when we read the literature, it says, according to Buddhism, there is no self. That's true. But on the other hand, there is a self. And on the other hand, there is no self. If you stick to either side, then you've fallen into the dualistic view of self.

[15:48]

Reality is in the crack. Yes, but. No, but. So we can hardly classify realization of the Dharma into sudden and gradual, but some will attain enlightenment more quickly than others. In those days, there was the controversy about sudden enlightenment and gradual enlightenment. Gradual enlightenment, of course, is step-by-step learning until you finally reach enlightenment. Sudden enlightenment is all at once one sees the whole picture. And it's all consistent. And some people think that the sixth ancestor is advocating sudden enlightenment.

[17:00]

This is called, Zen school is called the school of sudden enlightenment. But actually, he's not saying that. Sudden and gradual are simply relative and within gradual there's sudden, and within sudden there's gradual. When you split off, you're still sunk in duality. We have gradual, there's just several ways to talk about gradual and sudden. There's gradual practice until at some point there's a turning point, and then suddenly, everything becomes apparent, reality becomes apparent. And then there's gradual practice and a turning point, reality becomes apparent, and then there's gradual practice again. And then there's simply sudden enlightenment.

[18:04]

And then there's simply sudden enlightenment and gradual practice. our school is more like sudden enlightenment and gradual practice. Sudden enlightenment means that as soon as you sit zazen, you have touched enlightenment, but you don't know it, which is good. And then you practice for 20, 30 years, in gradual practice, which means refining your understanding. The reason that you continue to practice is because of that enlightenment, that spark of enlightenment. And then at some point, your enlightenment becomes mature.

[19:08]

Hopefully. If you practice consistently and sincerely, your enlightenment will mature. And then you'll have what's called realization. We hope. So this way of realizing the essence of mind is above the comprehension of the ignorant. We may explain it in 10,000 ways, but all those explanations may be traced back to one principle. So even though it's explained in 10,000 ways, you know, we still don't get it. But what is the one principle? My teacher used to say, everything changes. The one thing that is irrefutable reality is that everything changes.

[20:18]

And there's really nothing to rely on. as substantial. So what do we do? If we simply identify with who we are as substantial, then we have a problem. But as we know, everything is interdependent. And so our true self is our big self. When we cling to and identify only with our small self, then we have a big problem. So he says, in order to illuminate, the dark dwelling place of the afflictions, we should constantly set up the light of wisdom.

[21:47]

In other words, we should keep always aware of afflictions. Afflictions are what causes our suffering. We should really understand what it is that causes us to have suffering and how we set up the causes. for our own suffering and the suffering of other people as well. We're constantly setting these things up, and our habit patterns keep us tied to the wheel. So, you know, Dogen says, and others say, take a step back and shine your light inward. Take the backward step and shine the light of wisdom and take a look around, you know, inside.

[22:49]

Inside means to examine a little bit the causes of our suffering and how we are locked into our habit patterns keep us tied into our pain. So he says, erroneous views keep us in defilement, while right views remove us from it. But when we are in a position to let go of both of them, our mind is then pure. So right views and wrong views, you know. We do like to have right view. In the Eightfold Path, there is right view. But, right view is, there's a right view and a right view and a wrong view.

[23:52]

Right view and wrong view are opposites. But right view, that does not have an opposite includes wrong view. So we can see the entire picture. We must be able to see the entire picture and not just our special interest. It's very interesting when people are voting. I don't want to talk about this. When people are voting, most people are only, they vote dependent on their self-interest. Like a car tax, you know, a person will make an entire vote based on some self-interested thing, instead of looking at the whole picture, like what's really best for everybody. Most people vote for their little self-interest.

[24:59]

So, big problem, and it brings suffering down on all of us. So, erroneous views keep us in defilement. Erroneous views are, one way to look at erroneous views is to find fault with everyone, to see the other as a problem, and not to look at ourself and how we cause our own problems. And to always keep looking for the answer outside of ourselves. That's an example of an erroneous view. And the sixth ancestor talks about that later, about fault finding. I don't know if I'll get to that or not. I probably won't, but I may do it anyway. So, right view and wrong view. But when we are in a position He says, erroneous views keep us in defilement, while right views remove us from it.

[26:04]

Yeah, OK. But when we're in a position to let go of both of them, our mind is then pure. Pure mind means non-dualistic mind. That's what purity is. Suzuki Roshi, in Zen Mind Beginner's Mind, the first talk he gives, he says, we should keep our practice pure. Keeping our practice pure doesn't mean that, well, let me see how he says that. He says, the difficulty of keeping our practice pure isn't because we have trouble with our legs and zazen, you know, various reasons like that, the difficulty, big difficulty of practice is to keep our practice pure, which means non-dualistic.

[27:09]

So, you know, we divide pleasure from pain, and we divide good from bad, right from wrong, and we have all these dualities. pure understanding is that one includes the other. And when we see stuff come at us, we don't understand how we have created the situation. We just don't get it. It's always the other is doing something to us. But we create the situation for something always to happen. when we can understand in a non-dualistic way, then we know how to deal with a situation without getting caught by our own ignorance.

[28:17]

So he says, Bodhi, which is enlightenment, Bodhi is imminent in our essence of mind. It's our natural endowment. And an attempt to look for it elsewhere is erroneous. You can't get it from outside. Within our impure mind, the pure mind is to be found. And once our mind is set right, we are free from defilements, evil karma, and karmic retribution. That's a big sentence there. Attempt to look for it elsewhere is erroneous. within our impure mind, the pure mind is to be found. So from the time of the Buddha, Buddhists have been falling into separating samsara from nirvana, the pure and the impure. But of course, everyone else in the world has too. But

[29:25]

purity is found within the impure and impurity is found within the pure. There's really purity and impurity are relative values. Something's only impure relative to purity and something's only pure relative to impurity but there is a purity which is beyond purity and impurity and that's the non-dualistic understanding that purity is found within the impure, impurity is found within the pure. There is purity and impurity in a comparative way, but intrinsically nothing is pure or impure. Garbage stinks to us. At the bottom of the compost pile, you always find these mice that just love it. It's their home. And if you've ever turned over a compost pile, you find these little pink mice who, they're pink because their bodies have never seen the sun.

[30:40]

And you wonder what you're gonna do with them. Anyway. So, once our mind is set free, or set right, we are free from defilements, evil karma and karmic retribution. We stop creating karma, hopefully, because we understand how what we do affects us. when we understand how our actions create our life, then we have the opportunity, not necessarily the will, but the opportunity to stop creating karma that creates suffering for ourselves and others.

[31:45]

So if we are treading the path of enlightenment, we need not be worried by stumbling blocks provided that we keep a constant eye on our own faults, we will not go astray from the right path. So, you know, stumbling blocks, Dogen says, when you trip on something and fall to the earth, when you trip on a rock and fall to the earth, you use the earth to help you get up. I think that's just a totally wonderful statement. There's nothing that's really an obstacle we use our obstacles as ways to deal with our problems. And of course, Suzuki Goshi is always saying, a problem is our treasure. So we'd like to get rid of our problems, but actually, if you get rid of your problem, you just have another one to take its place, which is so.

[32:55]

I don't say don't try to get rid of your problems, but if you know how to use your problem, your problem, you have some way, you have something to work with. So working with the problem, dealing with the problem, staying with the problem is how we actually practice. When I used to come to Suzuki Roshi with a problem, he would listen to what my problem was, and then he would give me something else. He wouldn't take away my problem. He'd give me something added on to my problem, and then he'd laugh. And he'd say, oh, I'm sorry, I've just given you a bigger problem. So we should be happy about, you know, we can be happy about our life even though we have problems.

[34:07]

That way you can always be a kind of optimist. Yes, I have this problem. It's my problem. Instead of denying it, no, I don't have this problem, or I shouldn't have this problem, or I'm gonna try to get rid of this problem. When it's time for the problem to go away, it will go away. But haven't you ever noticed that the more you try to push a problem away, the bigger it gets? Yeah. So problems are bigger than we are. So we have to know how to relate to something big. What about trying to solve problems? That's okay. Go ahead. There's nothing wrong with trying to solve problems, yeah, there's nothing wrong with trying to solve problems. The biggest problem to solve is the problem of yourself, of course. There's different ways of using that word, problem. Yeah, and there's different ways of using the word solve.

[35:14]

There are different ways of using the word solve because, you know, solve a problem means that you don't You know, you're trying to untangle it or untie it or something. So, we don't want to get hung up with words. Solve a problem, okay? Even though you solve the problem, you may not want to get rid of it. And you may want to get rid of a problem. Yeah, it'd be nice to get rid of the problem. You know those, if you've ever, on your, computer screen. Sometimes you take an icon or something and put it over here, but it bounces back. Anyway, if we are treading the path of enlightenment, we need not be worried about stumbling blocks.

[36:15]

Provided that we keep a constant eye on our own faults, we will not go astray from the right path. In other words, as long as we see how we create something, how we make something happen, it's okay. That's called self-examination, not necessarily self-evaluation, but examination. How did that happen? How did this happen? What is my role in making this happen? Not, how did you do this to me? Since every species of life has its own way of salvation, they will not interfere or be antagonistic to one another. Therefore, if we leave our own path and seek some other way of salvation, we won't find it. Every species has their own way of salvation, actually.

[37:22]

Salvation means to save ourself from suffering and delusion. That's Buddha's message, to save one from suffering and delusion. And so ants have their own way. Termites have their own way. Dogs and cats have their own way. Human beings have their own way. We don't interfere with each other. But if you try to take the dog's way or the ant's way, it doesn't work. You have to take the person's way. And if we take trust in the Buddha dharma, we test it out. Does it work? If it works, do it. If it doesn't work, Do something else. People do that. I'm tired of this practice. You go and do something else. Then years later, they come back sometimes.

[38:28]

So he says, and if we plot on until death overtakes us, we shall only find regret in the end. If you wish to find the true way, right action will lead you to it directly. But if you don't make effort in a way, you'll grow up in the dark and never find it. So he's saying you really have to take it on as practice. And in a way that's wholehearted. I've always said, if you want the highest thing, you have to pay the highest price. Don't you? What the high price is to devote yourself totally That's the highest price. Had nothing to do with money or goods or... You pay with your time. Time is the most valuable thing in the world. But we don't always think so.

[39:33]

You pay with your time and effort. And then you get... You don't get something back. You get to do that. It's not like, if I practice the Dharma, what will I get? That's wrong thinking. Right thinking is, if I practice the Dharma wholeheartedly, I'll be able to practice the Dharma wholeheartedly with my time and my effort. Anyway, one who treads the path in earnest sees not the faults of the world. If we find fault with others, we ourselves are in the wrong. This is hard to swallow. When others are in the wrong, we should ignore it, for it is wrong for us to find fault. By letting go of the habit of fault-finding, we cut off a source of defilement. When neither hatred nor love disturb our mind, serenely we sleep.

[40:38]

One who treads the path in earnest sees not the faults of the world. Well, the world is full of faults, and we can point them all out. And we do fall into finding fault. There's a difference between looking at what works and what doesn't, or what, you know, whatever anybody does is, that we think is not right, is a fault. I'm always finding fault, you know, all the time. Every time I pick up a newspaper, I'm finding fault. But at the same time, how do I deal with that? There's a difference between seeing something that's not working or, you know,

[41:47]

seeing crimes being committed all over the place, and fault finding. Fault finding is looking for fault. It's like looking for the fault somewhere. And even when we see these faults that we, these big problems that we see being caused in the world, we have to look behind at the cause. What is it that's causing this to happen? What is the reason why all this is happening? And if we look at the reason behind what's really happening and go deeply into it, we can get some distance from our own emotions and our own judgments. Work in some way that creates, instead of simply making a confrontation, that creates a change from the basis.

[42:57]

Change doesn't happen through confrontation. I mean, it helps in some way. It helps to get our frustrations out and so forth. But the real work is between individuals and other sources is to see what the basis of the cause is and work from that base to transform things. So you have to be able to see all sides. Fault finding, in the sense that he's talking about, means not reacting, not simply reacting, because we become just like those that we're reacting to when we do that. We create more reaction. Reacting creates reaction, which creates reaction, which creates reaction, and then pretty soon everybody's backed up against the wall, defending themselves.

[44:11]

When others are in the wrong, we should ignore it. I don't know if ignore is the right word. You know, it's a translation of something. For it is wrong for us to find fault by letting go of the habit of fault finding. We cut off a source of defilement when neither hatred nor love disturb our mind, serenely we sleep. I think hatred and love means attachment to them. Of course we, you know, we hate, we love, but attachment to our, to those, strong emotions makes it very difficult for us to let go of them or to find a place where we're not controlled by them. When we're controlled by them then we're caught and there's a very strong emotions and we just go back and forth between them. Those who intend to be the teachers of others should themselves be skilled in the various expedients which lead others to enlightenment.

[45:24]

When the disciple is free of all doubts, it indicates that their essence of mind has been found. So, when your mind is free of all doubts, we hope. The pure land of Buddha is in this world. within which enlightenment is to be sought. To seek enlightenment by separating from this world is as absurd as to search for the horns of a rabbit." So, Pure Land, you know, in Buddhism, in China, they developed the Pure Land school, which took fruition more in Japan. the Pure Land, you know, Amida Buddha's Pure Land, which is kind of like, a little bit like Western heaven. And you simply, you know, the Buddhists of the Pure Land School gave up any thought of practice leading to enlightenment.

[46:37]

because during the 13th century, they felt that it was the age of mapo, where the dharma-ending age, where no matter how hard you practiced, you couldn't attain realization, couldn't be free. So they, especially Shinran, developed the Pure Land School, which was to chant the name of Buddha and of Amida Buddha, in order to be born in the pure land. And this also was in China. And so he's saying the pure land is here, or it's here, it's not in the West someplace. This is the West, this is also the East. East is the state of mind, it's not a place. And pure land is a state of mind or big mind. It's not a place you go to. And heaven and hell are not some places where you go to.

[47:43]

They're places that you create. So when the pure land of Buddha is in this world within which enlightenment is to be sought, to seek enlightenment by separating from this world is as absurd as to search for the horns of a rabbit. Right views are called transcendental. erroneous views are called worldly. When all views, right or erroneous, are let go of, then the essence of Bodhi appears. He said that once before. Transcendental means like the Dharmakaya, you know, the essence world, the essential world. Erroneous views are worldly views, dualistic views. When both dualistic and non-dualistic views are let go of, then the essence of Bodhi appears.

[48:44]

This stanza is for the Sutton school. It is also called the big ship of Dharma for sailing across the ocean of existence. Kalpa after kalpa, a person may be under delusion, but once enlightened, it takes but a moment to realize Buddhahood. That's the sudden, like a kind of sudden turning, and then boom. You see how everything fits together. Do you have any questions? Yeah. for that wisdom. Five months ago, I talked about my view of Iran, Iraq, and the United States. And today, I'm looking at the Persian woman, Iranian woman, got the Nobel Prize.

[49:53]

She created that story for women in Iran. and she opened her wings with peace and justice. And now I'm hoping that we Persian women and women all over the world to help for this energy to move. So that's what the essence of what you are talking today, how she created this story with nothing. She's the first woman is a lawyer. first Persian lawyer woman, and she thought she'd be in jail and everything, but what she's looking for is inner self-cleansing. And I can't believe how, I mean, I was looking for wisdom, how we can prevent US to go for war, Iran. Now the whole thing has changed, it's amazing.

[50:57]

And nobody could believe such a thing is going to happen. Iran is going to be in the news for the peace. Well, we hope so. But I hear the Iranian press is putting her story way down at the bottom of the... It's okay. It'll come out. I know the whole world knows. It's not going to last. We are waiting for the history. Thank you. So it's time.

[51:33]

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