Good morning, everyone. So we're in the second day of the three-day session. Welcome, everyone. And this is also, this weekend is the closing of our two-month practice commitment period. We've been studying this. Song of the Jewel Marrow Samadhi from our Chinese founder of the Soto Dzogon tradition, Dong Shan. And so I'm going to continue and focus on a few different lines today from this. It's on page 10 and 11, I believe, of our chant book. If you want to follow along, you don't need to. But what I want to talk about today are the lines, natural and wondrous, it is not a matter of delusion or enlightenment.

[01:03]

Within causes and conditions, it is serene and illuminating. And whether teachings and approaches are mastered or not, reality constantly flows. When inverted thinking stops, the affirming mind naturally accords. So all of this can be seen as commentary on what it talks about in the very first line, the dharma or teaching or practice or reality of thusness or suchness, the reality that we experience as we sit and are present, as we've been doing this morning. as we sit facing the wall, facing ourselves, seeing this body and mind as it is. This is what has been and continues to be intimately transmitted by Buddhas and ancestors.

[02:09]

And this song says, now you have it. So we've all sensed or tasted this in some ways. the practice then is preserve it well. How do we take care of this? Which means also delving into it. How do we experience it more deeply? How do we meet and engage in this reality of just this? This suchness, this experience of facing ourselves, facing reality. Beyond our stories, about who we are. How is this conveyed in our life and in the teaching? So, first of all, it's natural and oneness. It's naturally genuine.

[03:15]

So the characters for this literally are Tenshin, as in my teacher's name, Tenshin Zenki. Heavenly real, naturally real, naturally genuine. It's wonderful. But it's not a matter of delusion or enlightenment. So this reality of suchness, this genuine Engagement with our reality is not a matter of getting rid of some delusion or gaining or attaining some special state of enlightenment. It's right there in the middle of our confusion and grasping. It's right there in the middle of our awakening. How do we see this? So there is delusion. There is confusion.

[04:18]

There is grasping. There is anger and aversion. And the precepts are about not acting on those in a way that causes harm. But delusion is part of the reality of our life. And there is awakening, too. And that happens sometimes, even in the middle of Sashin. suddenly or maybe even gradually over some part of a period of zazen, feel this wonderful deep awareness of wholeness and integration and awakeness to how wonderful it is to be here. But it's not about getting some special state of being or mind, and it's not about getting rid of some particular human confusion. Right through both of those, within causes and conditions, within time and season, it is serene and illuminating.

[05:24]

So this suchness, this serene calmness, this illuminating possibility of reality, doesn't happen outside of the particulars of our life. It doesn't happen somewhere in some magical nirvana at the bottom of Lake Michigan or the top of some mountain in California or China or somewhere. Thanks to causes and conditions, each of you is here. Each of us has managed to encounter some glimpse of this possibility of suchness. That's what brought you here. Within the causes and conditions of your life.

[06:26]

Thanks to parents and teachers and great-grandparents and friends and family and co-workers and all the difficulties of your life, within causes and conditions, within time and season, even if you have asthma and allergies, and this is a difficult season for you with everything blooming. Whatever the season is, within time and season, it's this time, this season. And actually, there's the character for time and season, this moment, this situation, the compound, ji setsu. It's kind of interesting. Ji means time, like in the uji, occasion of time. which is the ordinary character for time. Setsu is an interesting character. It means the... If any of you have ever looked at bamboo, a bamboo plant has a... They can grow very, very tall and they can grow very, very fast, but there's a joint, a juncture between two sections of bamboo.

[07:39]

Setsu is that joint. So jisetsu, as a character, means a particular time, a juncture, like the joint in that bamboo, but in time. So there's a particular time when we happen to be taking the next inhale, or when we happen to find ourselves sitting on a Saturday morning at Ancient Dragons' End Gate. within causes and conditions, within some particular temporal situation, right then it's serene and illuminating. So, you know, it's possible, it happens sometimes, in some particular time, that people think, oh, if I only had a certain situation, oh, if in some other time, you know, next month or next year things will be perfect and then I can, you know, find something serene and illuminating. you know, if only some other time I'll be able to do this.

[08:46]

Some other time things will be perfect and I can arrange things so that then everything will be serene and illuminating. But Longshan is saying, this poem is saying, within causes and conditions, time and season, within some particular time, It is serene and illuminating. And it's not a matter of delusion or enlightenment. It's not a matter of some special mental or spiritual state. It's not a matter of getting rid of some particular confusion. or obstacle or bad habit. Now, you know, it's not that we shouldn't work on, you know, the things that cause us difficulty and the habits that may, you know, get in the way of our being able to be helpful to ourselves or others.

[09:50]

But this suchness shines through, this possibility of just this, is serene and illuminating, no matter what you think about it, no matter how much you fight it. So this is actually kind of a subtle and difficult point. We can imagine all kinds of difficult situations and say, no, it can't be illuminating then. We can't be serene in the middle of that particular situation. How can we be serene in the middle of some chaotic situation, in the middle of, you know, civil war or a flood or a tsunami or some horrible

[10:55]

argument between our co-workers or whatever. But somehow, suchness is right there too. But that doesn't mean we don't respond and try and help in some difficulty. So how do we respond? The precepts are about guidelines to how do we respond to And all of this is an expression of bodhisattva practice, of the practice of enlightened beings who are supporting this serene, illuminating situation. So how do we support kindness? How do we support the well-being of ourselves and others? in this particular time and situation, or in any particular time and situation, within causes and conditions, not trying to escape from the world of causes and conditions.

[12:02]

So this, I've talked about this song of the Jewel in Meru Samadhi in terms of these two aspects of suchness, the ultimate universal reality, and then this particular phenomenal situation we're in. And they're both part of it. And there's this process of integration going on here. How do we bring this awareness of ultimate, universal reality into this background reality, this background aspect of suchness, into the causes and conditions, time and season? So it's not about escaping into emptiness. We actually bring the awareness from our experience of meditation, our experience of wholeness and suchness, into everyday activity.

[13:07]

And it's not that we try and figure out how to do it and manipulate it. It's sort of a natural process. It's natural and wondrous. Within each time and season, within each particular time and season, there is available this possibility of the next serene, illuminating inhale and exhale. And then, how do we respond to this time and season? So a few lines down, it says, now there are sudden and gradual in which teachings and approaches arise.

[14:18]

Whether teachings and approaches are distinguished or not, each has its standard. Each has its principle. So there are various guidelines and teachings about how to practice, how to approach, a wholesome way to express this teaching of Seshnas. But then it says, whether teachings and approaches are mastered or not, reality constantly flows. So some people here like to study these teachings, these very strong principles. Some people here don't like to study those things. And either way, it's OK. If you like to do that, that's fine. Please enjoy it.

[15:19]

I like studying the Dharma myself. But the point is just to sit. The point is just to be immersed in this experience of suchness. There are lots of teachings, there are libraries full of teachings about what this is about and all kinds of philosophies. It can be fun to study, if you like, that kind of thing. But the point is that it happens in causes and conditions, and it's not a matter of whether you master those teachings or not. It's not the point. Naturally, by paying attention, by doing this practice of being present and upright in the middle of your life, reality constantly flows. This genuine situation of suchness is

[16:28]

always continuously, ongoingly, not present, not abiding. It's a dynamic situation. It's pouring out. It's flowing. It's changing. But it's constantly, ongoingly flowing. So reality is here. So that's part of why we can't pin it down. So some people like to try and figure it all out as if they could figure it out and then they'd have the answer. The answer isn't the point. It's this continuous engagement with suchness. So, okay, they get technical about the various teachings and approaches that are distinguished. In Chinese Buddhist philosophy, they somewhat, I think it's a jury, distinguishes two different kinds of suchness.

[17:40]

There's the suchness that's the ultimate, universal suchness, and then there's the suchness of phenomena, which is constantly flowing. But actually, suchness in and of itself is not static. Suchness is alive. reality constantly flows. So as we sit, you know, in zazen, our basic practice is just to sit, just to be present with whatever arises. Practically speaking, it really helps to settle and focus. So there are all kinds of different concentration objects that we offer. working with breath, working with sound, mantras, focusing on a particular phrase from the teaching. You could take, you know, natural and wondrous, it is not a matter of delusion or enlightenment, or whether teachings and their approaches are mastered or not, reality constantly flows.

[18:45]

Or just reality constantly flows. You could just sit and repeat that to yourself silently. You don't want to say it. what allows or disturbs your person next to you who might be focusing on, it is serene and illuminating. And then that would be disturbed if they heard that reality constantly flows, maybe. I don't know. Anyway. But it's important to focus. So that's a necessary kind of aspect. I was going to say the first step. But actually, it's because reality constantly flows, we have to do both all the time. There's the settling. Kind of stopping and calming. So practically speaking, in the midst of just sitting, we do need to settle. And whether you do that by following your breaths, or counting breaths, or listening to the sound of sounds, or

[19:45]

chanting, it was to yourself a mantra, whatever. There are many, many, many other concentration objects. To settle, to focus is really important. And then there's also this opening up, this spaciousness, to feel the space of the whole room. And maybe this is more the side of reality constantly flows. It's open. It's changing. And even if you get really, really settled, new stuff arises all the time. Maybe that's just my opinion, but still. It's available. Suchness is not dead. Suchness is still alive even since Dongshan's time.

[20:51]

within causes and conditions, time and season, it is serene and illuminating. So as you settle, it happens, the way humans work, that it may be that even if you get very settled, very calm, very serene, a new thought may arise, or a new truck may rumble by on Irving Park Road. Or make it very quiet again. Reality is alive. Reality constantly flows. So, whether teachings and approaches are mastered or not, You know, if you want to try and really study those teachings and approaches, we have a library full of books, and there are more books.

[21:57]

And thanks to Dave for taking such good care of our library. So that's helpful for some people, anyway, to study that. But the point is, here we are. Can we focus? And then can we open that up and feel the space of our lives and the openness of our lives. Right now, in this G-sensor, in this situation of time. And sometimes it might almost feel like, you know, the constant flow of reality can stop.

[22:57]

You know, sometimes you might feel like somehow it's damned up, you know, everything's blocked and you feel like stuck. That can happen. You know, sometimes in the middle of sashimi, I don't know, sometimes some pain can do that or something, I don't know. Or just, you know, some problem in our life might feel like, oh, she's stuck. But what this is saying is that even then, reality constantly flows. Change happens. So, it may be hard to believe, but if you keep sitting, even that situation will change. Sometimes you have to wait a long time. I've heard that the waiting is the hardest part. So patience is important.

[24:03]

But again, reality constantly flows. Even if it comes up against some blockage, it's working. So we don't always know how it's flowing. Sometimes we want to figure it out. But actually, you might think that, oh, that was a horrible period of zazen. I was just all distracted, or I was sleepy, or I was, you know. That happens. People tell me those things. But we don't always know how thought centers are working, how reality is working. how the flow is working. Sometimes just to sit still and upright through a period where you're really sleepy and groggy, or where your mind is all over the place, or where you feel really confused, or where you feel some distress about some problem in your life.

[25:09]

Just to be able to stay present and upright right in the middle of that. has some power that actually has some effect that we may not even realize, but that has some effect that really makes a difference. Maybe not now, but maybe in a month, or three, five. Just to find the willingness to be able to be present in the middle of this constant flow. There's a great dignity to that. But our thinking mind doesn't always recognize it. Sometimes it does. Our conscious thinking mind has its own power and is worthy of respect, but sometimes we get confused. So a little further down it talks about how

[26:11]

even when we're sitting still, we might be inside trembling like tethered cloaks and cowering rats. So, this suffering that we have, that kind of suffering, there's all kinds of suffering in the world, you know, and that's what this is all about. How do we believe that? It says the ancient sages grieved and offered the Dharma. But when we get caught up in some anxiety about some situation, and that's real, or when we're caught up in our sadness about something that's happened, that's real. But we can get So it says, when inverted thinking, led by their inverted views, people take black for white. When inverted thinking stops, the affirming mind naturally accords. This is the last point of what I want to talk about today. The affirming mind naturally accords.

[27:17]

What is this affirming mind? What does it mean to naturally accord? How do we find that affirming mind? How do we recognize it? How do we activate it? Sounds like a good thing. Sounds like it's helpful. Well, so in this case, I want to look at the Chinese words and some of the other overtones.

[28:18]

The mind, so mind also means the heart or spirit. So the heart that affirms is that one. It also means to accept or to undertakes. The mind that, well, we could just say the mind or the heart that says yes, but it's not quite that simple. I don't think it means just accepting everything just as it is. It's a deeper affirmation. It also means to undertake, to take on something. So, you know, when there's a situation where some response is required, how do we say yes to that? How do we take on a response. It's not about problem solving or fixing things necessarily. It's about getting in there to accept our engagement with that, this affirming mind, to undertake something, to take on the practice of suchness, the practice of the reality of seeing what's going on.

[29:39]

So it may be not doing or saying anything. It may be just watching for a while. How can you just patiently watch without doing anything and still say yes and still affirm the situation, still accept the situation? But we're ready to take on something. I think this is pretty subtle, this affirming mind. We might want an affirming heart that just jumps in. And maybe sometimes that's what is called for, to jump into a situation Say, yes, I'm going to fix this. I'm going to take care of it. And sometimes that works. Sometimes we can do that. But if we're coming from the place that is where we're serene and illuminating right in that situation, right in that time and season, maybe we can see, well, I'm not sure what to do.

[31:00]

And maybe sometimes we have to, you know, it's trial and error. Maybe we try something. And we were talking yesterday about respectfulness is auspicious, also meaning making mistakes is auspicious. So maybe you make a mistake, that's okay. It's not about being perfect. But this affirming mind is going to take on being engaged in the suchness of some situation. So when our distracted, tangled up thinking stops, the affirming mind naturally accords. So what does it mean that it naturally accords? So this accord means, we were talking yesterday about attunement and accord, and the character means that it allows something.

[32:11]

It acknowledges something, so we have to acknowledge the situation. This is an interesting character. It means to accord. It also means to permit, to allow. It also means to vow, to really take on. It also means to forgive. So the affirming mind naturally accords. allows and authorizes and acknowledges and forgives the situation. It's not about, you know, getting even or something. Subtle. What is this naturally according? How do we accord with situation, how to record with our own lives. What is this affirming mind that naturally accords with the situation? And someone in the discussion yesterday brought up, when we were talking about chanting and attunement and being a little out of tune and finding the tuning, and someone brought up dissonance, which I thought was really wonderful, that sometimes, you know, something that's out of tune can bring us a wider sense of attunement, that there's a

[33:26]

It's good to have discordance sometimes because it opens up a wider possibility for a deeper attunement. This is a subtle practice. How does the affirming mind find a deeper and wider sense of natural accord? So this is, as I was talking before about these, you know, we could say two sides of meditation, the focusing and the opening up. And I think this natural accord is, this affirming mind says yes to this wider sense of spaciousness of, Suzuki Roshi talked about giving the cow a wide pasture. How can we give ourselves the space to just be ourselves? In a way that's beautiful. and helpful to ourselves and all beings and each other. The affirming mind naturally accords.

[34:31]

So this isn't a simple just say yes. This is an affirmation that sometimes says, no, I can't do that. I'm not ready to do that. But maybe I'll think about it. Maybe I'll be ready next week. So this teaching, this practice, this reality of suchness, that has been conveyed to us is subtle. And what I'm talking about today is, what is the practicality of how we engage it? And there's these different textures. It's not about getting enlightened and getting rid of delusion.

[35:35]

It's subtler than that. It's always there, this reality is constantly flowing, regardless of what we think about it. So, you know, it's necessary to settle and to be present and to be open to the possibility of how this suction is flowing in us. and how we can meet each other and recognize the flow and work together. And this is kind of unusual in our world, you know? I just have to admit. But, and you know, not just in Buddha Dharma, Buddha's teaching, but in many

[36:36]

aspects of culture and human knowledge, there are all kinds of teachings and approaches, and some of them are very helpful. But we get tangled up. This is what human beings do. And yet, when we can get settled enough, It's just half a line here, but it's a lot here. The affirming mind naturally accords. So please consider how you can find this, meet this, engage this affirming mind. What is this naturally accord? How can we more deeply accord? with our life, and with each other, and with the world. So we have this opportunity today to settle into our space, to enjoy our breathing, to enjoy our sitting and walking together, and enjoy taking our meals together in Zendu, and cleaning the temple together, and naturally accord.

[37:59]

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