Good morning. Today is the opening session, I guess you'd call it, of our practice period. And this afternoon, later this afternoon, we'll be entering our shuso, Greg Denny, and the class will be on Dogen's Genjo Koan. I'm not going to talk about Genjo Koan today. I'm going to leave that for the class, but what I am going to talk about today is Samadhi. What is Samadhi? When we have a practice period, one of the main elements of practice period is to gather our mind, gather our body, mind and our entire practice

[01:28]

in a way that helps us to be mindful of how to practice and sets a tone for the rest of the year. So we gather up our loose ends and concentrate on a little tighter practice. So Samadhi basically means concentration, to pay attention to something. But concentration in Buddhism has various meanings. And concentration is usually called Samadhi. Samadhi means something like one-pointedness, directing the mind to some point so that it doesn't stray.

[02:46]

The Theravadins or the the old Buddhists, not Theravadins, I don't want to use those terms, but some of the descendants after him practiced various concentrations, various samadhis, and those samadhis were more or less to seek nirvana through concentration. So they were more or less a goal-oriented samadhi. Mahayana Samadhi or Zen Samadhi is a little different than that. They had various techniques. The old monks had various techniques called Kaksina, which they would meditate on a circle or meditate on a color blue or meditate on a certain object in order to enter a trance.

[03:59]

But Zen Samadhi is different than that. We often think of concentration as, or meditation as concentrating on one point. But concentration is sometimes concentrating on one point, but it's actually opening the mind So there is no one point. Opening consciousness, so there is no special point to concentrate on. So if you open your eyes, and just without thinking, just seeing, let seeing see. Let hearing hear. Let feeling feel. There's no self that sees, hears, or feels.

[05:07]

There's simply seeing, hearing, and feeling. So in our concentration, in our samadhi, samadhi is total attention. without a special subject. There's no special state of mind which we try to cultivate. Suzuki Roshi used to talk about it as Describe it like when I'm sitting here and I'm not focusing on any one thing, but my attention is everywhere.

[06:17]

So if someone, no one knows where I'm looking. So if someone on this side of Zendo thinks I'm looking at them, they won't move. But I'm really not looking at any particular person. It's just that there's no special subject, and so everything is included. I want to read a little from the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Ancestor about samadhi, samadhi and prajna. Samadhi is stability. Prajna is wisdom. Wisdom which is beyond thinking.

[07:24]

Panya is wisdom which is thought. P-A-N-N-A. Prajna, P-R-A-J-N-A. is intrinsic wisdom, which is not dependent on a thought process. It's simply the wisdom of what is, which is inherent. So he says, learn an audience. In my system, I don't know if it's a system, Samadhi and Prajna are fundamental. But do not be under the wrong impression that these two are independent of each other, for they are inseparably united and are not two entities. So wisdom or Prajna and Samadhi are not two different things.

[08:25]

Samadhi is the quintessence of Prajna, while Prajna is the activity of Samadhi. At the very moment that we attain Prajna, Samadhi is there, and vice versa. If you understand this principle, you understand the equilibrium of Samadhi and Prajna. A disciple should not think that there is a distinction between Samadhi begets Prajna and Prajna begets Samadhi. To hold such an opinion would imply that there are two characteristics in the dharma. For one whose tongue is ready with good words, but whose heart is impure, samadhi and prajna are useless because they do not balance each other. On the other hand, when we are good in mind as well as in words, and when our outward appearance and our inner feelings harmonize with each other, then it is a case of equilibrium of samadhi and prajna.

[09:31]

Argument is unnecessary for an enlightened person. To argue whether prajna or samadhi comes first would put one in the same position as those who are under delusion. Argument implies a desire to win. strengthens egotism and ties us to the belief in the idea of a self, a being, a living being and a person. Learned audience, to what are Samadhi and Prajna analogous? They are analogous to a lamp and its light. With the lamp there is light. Without it, it would be dark. The lamp is the quintessence of the light and the light is the expression of the lamp. In name, they are two things, but in substance, they are one and the same. It is the same case with samadhi and prajna. So samadhi is like the bait, the lamp, and prajna is the light.

[10:35]

So prajna is the light of the mind. So when we talk about light, we're talking about prajna. There are various samadhis in Buddhism. There's a sutra in which maybe two or three hundred samadhis are mentioned, but actually it's just a way of speaking about something. Samadhi is stability, And stability means the ability to not be turned over, upset, or perturbed. It's the imperturbable state. So when someone bothers you, you don't get disturbed.

[11:42]

It doesn't disturb you. You may get disturbed, but you don't hang on to the disturbance. You don't let it throw you. Nothing throws you. This is samadhi, the imperturbable state of equilibrium and a calm mind, which is the basis of that allows prajna to arise. So with that stability, the light of wisdom shines forth and it's not yours, even though you are it. So, Then he says, learn it audience.

[12:55]

What are dhyana and samadhi? Dhyana, that's meditation, right? Means to be free from attachment to all outer objects. And samadhi means to attain inner calm. If we are attached to outer objects, our mind will be perturbed. When we are free from attachment to all outer objects, the mind will be in peace. Our essence of mind is intrinsically pure, and the reason why we are perturbed is because we allow ourselves to be carried away by the circumstances we are in. One who is able to keep the mind unperturbed, irrespective of circumstances, has attained samadhi. To be free from attachments to all objects is dhyana, and to attain inner calm is samadhi. When we are in a position to deal with dhyana and to keep our mind in samadhi, then we are said to have attained dhyana and samadhi.

[13:58]

The Bodhisattva Shila Sutra says, Our essence of mind is intrinsically pure. Learn it, audience. Let us realize this for ourselves at all times, and let us train ourselves, practice it by ourselves, and attain Buddhahood by our own effort." Suzuki Roshi used to talk about imperturbability as soft mind. He didn't use the term so much imperturbability, but he'd say soft mind, the mind that knows how to yield, but at the same time, knows how to, is able to sit up straight, to have the right structure, and at the same time, softness. So, The balance of samadhi and prajna is called zazen. When we practice zazen, zazen sitting is samadhi, stability, imperturbability, and prajna arises as the light of the mind.

[15:22]

So this is not just in sitting. This samadhi is not a special state of mind, but it should be, when we practice, samadhi is present. We say samadhi and practice or enlightenment and practice are not two things. Prajna is like enlightenment, but samadhi is also enlightenment. The balance of samadhi and prajna is enlightenment. So Suzuki Roshi talked about composure. composure and stability and imperturbability.

[16:32]

Don't let things disturb your mind. So when we get caught by things that disturb our mind, we lose ourselves. We lose our samadhi. So in our six-week practice period, I would like us to be aware of whether or not our activity is, whether or not we're able to have stability in all of our activities. You can't recognize samadhi as a thing. Oh, I see, now there's the samadhi. No, it's not something you can recognize as a thing. But you know when there is a body and you know when there isn't. You know when there's stability and concentration and imperturbability.

[17:40]

So we should be practicing this. And when prajna arises, Prajna arises and when Prajna arises, it's like the light of the lamp and you are able to shine in all directions. without discrimination. As soon as you start discriminating, like, I like this one, I don't like that one, this one's good, this one's bad, then Pragya is dead.

[18:53]

So there are different kinds of samadhi. There's the samadhi of ichigyo, one act. Each act is a complete act. When each one of our acts is a complete act, with that kind of concentration, that's the samadhi of one act, moment-to-moment samadhi. without losing that power. Komyozo Zamae is Samadhi of Radiant Light. So you are always immersed in the Samadhi of Radiant Light, which is your brilliance. If you think I am brilliant, it becomes darker and darker.

[20:14]

In Bendoa, which is an early fascicle of Dogen, when he came back from Japan, he wrote Bendoa, was his treatise on what he had gained in Japan, what he had learned in Japan, and what he had brought back. And so this kind of announcement of, this is what I learned, this is what I'm teaching, this is the Dharma. So it starts out like this. It's called, Bendo is like the wholehearted practice of the way. He says, all Buddha Tathagatas together have been simply transmitting wondrous dharma and actualizing Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi, which means incomparable awareness or enlightenment, for which there is an unsurpassable, unfabricated, wondrous method.

[21:37]

I don't know if method's the right word here, but wonderful way. Unfabricated means it's not something contrived. This wondrous Dharma, which has been transmitted only from Buddha to Buddha without deviation, has as its criterion Jijuyu Zamae, Jijuyu Samadhi. So he said this is the basis that has wondrous dharma which has been transmitted only from buddha to buddha without deviation has as its basis criterion jijuyu samadhi jijuyu samadhi means self-fulfilling or self-joyous samadhi samadhi which arises from zazen actually for disporting oneself freely in this samadhi Practicing Zazen in upright posture is the true gate.

[22:40]

Although this Dharma is abundantly inherent in each person, it is not manifested without practice. It is not attained without realization. When you let go, the Dharma fills your hands. It is not within the boundary of one or many. When you try to speak, it fills your mouth. It is not limited to vertical or horizontal. Buddhas continuously dwell in and maintain this dharma, yet no trace of conceptualization remains. Living beings constantly function and use this dharma, yet it does not appear in their perception. The wholehearted practice of the way which I am talking about allows all things to exist in enlightenment and enables us to live out oneness in the path of emancipation. When we break through the barrier and drop off all limitations, we are no longer concerned with conceptual distinctions.

[23:43]

So this Jiju-Yu-Zamae is Dogen's way of talking about Zazen. But Zazen is not limited to sitting on the cushion, as we know. We can practice this Samadhi. The Samadhi that Dogen is talking about, GGU Samadhi, is the oneness of Samadhi and Prajna. Same as what the Sixth Ancestor is talking about. Same as what Buddha was talking about. Not talking about, but practicing. Jijuyu Zamae is self-fulfilling or self-joyous Samadhi.

[24:48]

Actually, when we practice this without discrimination of good and bad, right and wrong, like and dislike, joy naturally arises. And even though there are many things which don't seem right, things which are troublesome and so forth, that joy is always underneath everything we do. So when one practices this way thoroughly, there's a buoyancy to our life. No matter what's going on, we don't get caught up in blaming outside circumstances for our problems.

[26:05]

because we know that our problems are caused by our self. And when we start to blame outside circumstances for our problems, we turn off the light. Dogon says, take the backward step that illuminates the self. That means always keep the light shined on what you're doing. It's very easy to shine the light out there and say, oh, they're making me miserable. They're making me unhappy. Life is always changing. The surroundings are always changing. Brutal things are always happening. But how we take care of ourself is the most important thing. how we respond to circumstances from where we are, rather than reacting.

[27:18]

So to keep our mind calm is to always be aware of our own light, whether we're covering it or letting it be free. If we're always freeing our own light, then we're not so much disturbed by circumstances, to the point where we lose our balance, or lose our composure. So, I think that this is kinjo koan. To study the Buddha Dharma is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self, to let go. and to realize that the 10,000 dharmas are creating me, and I'm creating the 10,000 dharmas, and to have perfect freedom within those circumstances.

[28:26]

As soon as you find yourself being caught, you should realize, I'm caught. Let go. So this is how we study Genjo Goan. Genjo Goan is our everyday life as it emerges from Zazen, from sitting. So this is the wonderful point about sitting in the morning. The rest of your whole day proceeds from Zazen. as Zazen. You have the perfect freedom to do whatever you want. You can maintain that freedom or you can allow yourself to get caught.

[29:29]

But it's all up to us. So our practice is, during this practice period, to be careful not to be caught by things and not to blame circumstances for our problems, even though we have big problems caused by circumstances. Maintain a samadhi mind all the time. This is continuous zazen, continuous practice. Do you have a question? What about blaming self? What? you know, there's, oh excuse me, excuse me for living, you know.

[30:36]

Blaming self is the same as blaming other. It's really not that different, just the reverse side. So you should acknowledge when you do something that's not good and Acknowledge that when we see our own fault, we should recognize it, and then light a piece of incense and bow, and I'm so sorry to all the Buddhas and to everyone, people that you affront or whatever, and then turn around and move on. right direction. That's true repentance on the spot. If you let it simmer and go nuts. So that's called renunciation.

[31:39]

To get rid of something right away. Let go of something right away. The sooner the better. So renunciation is like continuously letting go. It's not something that you do, I mean, you can do this, but it's not, as I said, not dumping all your stuff in the river. That's not renunciation, the river will. So why are you dumping it in me? Letting go moment by moment. So you're always finding your freedom. You're finding your freedom moment by moment. Somebody says, you did this and that, you don't deny it. even though you didn't do it. Oh, okay, I did that, but what about this? And then, oh, I see, you didn't do that. So to deny is to create the schism. Better to take it in and say, oh, okay, I did that, I guess.

[32:43]

Yes, I did that, I guess I'm guilty. But what about this and this? So, You accept it first and then you can talk about what you actually did do. And then that puts everyone in a reasonable state of mind to hear what you have to say. But as soon as you deny something, you create a schism. You lose the calmness of your mind as soon as you deny. You become perturbed and you get turned over. So denial, very bad. even though you did something, didn't do something. You know, if you can accept that with patience, then at the right moment, the truth will come out. Yes. I forget who it was who was accused of having a fathering a child.

[33:51]

We think it's Hakuin. Hakuin. his response was, oh, he's back. And I kind of liked that more than, oh, yes, I did. Yeah, that's right. No, you don't say, oh, yes, I did. That's good. Good point. It's not, oh, yes, I did, but, oh, did I do that? Yes. Mark? When I'm sitting zazen and thoughts are coming and going, problems and coming and going and trying to... Are you saying that as long as you don't hold on to them, then even though they're coming and going, that's soft, imperturbable mind? Yes. You don't let anything disturb your mind. You only see it as a problem. If something comes up and you say to yourself, oh, this is a problem I have, but actually it's just something that came up, you're calling it a problem.

[34:53]

Do you understand what I mean? Yeah. So it's a lot of work to drag yourself out of this situation. And I'm a new grandfather. And I'm this little creature that's... Do you think there's a way that we can raise our children so that there's not as much work needed to reach equanimous situation? Well, I think if we realize that we're creating our own problem, we can say, what am I doing that's creating this problem? I think just keep asking that question. It's not like, how can I fix this problem, but what am I doing that's contributing to this problem?

[36:02]

Because if you deal with yourself, that helps to deal with the problem. But if you try to fix the problem out there, it's harder. So how can I It affects the situation and makes it into a different kind of situation. So if we want to make these little ones have an easier time, we just keep working? Yeah, it's really, we have to keep working on ourselves if we want to change something in them. Because I remember when my son got me so angry. You know how they do? I hit him a couple of times, you know, and then he said, well, if you hit me, there's no reason why I can't hit you.

[37:09]

That was his logic, and his child logic, you know, is pretty pure, but it's not real. I mean, he's not supposed to hit me because he's a child. So we made an agreement. I will never hit you. and you'll never hit me, we'll never hit each other, we'll never have... And so by doing that, I had to change my way of relating. And by changing my way of dealing with the situation, changed his way of dealing with the situation. So I didn't ask him not to do something, I myself took on changing myself so that it would affect him and the way we relate. It still seems sad that there's so much work to do.

[38:11]

I know. It seems to be perfect now, and I know it's going to develop and have all these problems. I know, but you know, Like with children, it's not what you tell them, it's what they respond to, it's what they see in you that they respond to. Like dogs, you know, like animals. They go for who you really are, not for what you say. And we say so many different things because they're all ideas we have. Well, let's try this idea, try that idea. But it's really who we are that they are influenced by. And we don't even know who we are necessarily. That's one of the big problems. We don't know who, you know, what they're being influenced by. So they're really big, they're our teachers. Yeah, okay. Catherine? I'm very struck by the feeling I'm hearing behind, which is that wish to spare new beings suffering.

[39:20]

For me, it's been really important to change my response to the child's suffering with a way of embracing, I mean, that being has taken life on this plane, and life is suffering. And the suffering that he has is just as important for him as my suffering has been for me. And that's how he's going to grow, it's how he's going to become compassionate, So, while I wanted to protect him as a little child, I really, at many, many points, over and over again, have to keep letting go of that desire to spare him. That's right. He owns his suffering and he's entitled to it. Totally. Yeah, because, and we have to stand by and watch them suffer. Otherwise they can't, suffering is a rite of passage. And we all have to get through it.

[40:25]

Otherwise, it's really hard to have compassion unless we experience that suffering. If it was very deep, we can have very deep compassion. And finding our way out of it, finding our way to be free from it. What's the best way we can apply this to leg pain? Think pain? It's not a problem. Let go of it as a problem. Because we don't want it, it becomes troublesome. That's the biggest reason why it's troublesome, is because we don't want it. As soon as you say, I don't like this. So, the second noble truth is, because we don't like things, we suffer. It's very profound. Oh, as you're talking, and I think even as you and Doug are speaking, I think about the quality of humility.

[41:31]

And in Christian terms, it's said that one accesses humility by experiencing the grace of God. How do we do it in our practice? Well, by experiencing the grace of God. It's the same thing as knowing exactly where your place is. Knowing exactly you're not inflating yourself and you're not deflating yourself. It's being in exactly the right place. I know who I am and this is who I am. And I'm not trying to be somebody else. I'm not trying to be something I'm not. I'm not trying to be less than I am. So then, when something comes, you don't exaggerate and you don't underestimate. You simply respond to everything in the correct way. It's so easy framing an understanding or a question that way around I to have the I constellate itself.

[42:42]

Yeah, well... That seems like it's a big problem for me. humility is, you can also say, is knowing that even though there is no self, that you still have it. I think from listening to the discussion, there's a place where faith comes in. like my older daughter is going through a fairly big problem right now, and I see my role as standing by and seeing her and letting her suffer, but also trying to convey some kind of sense of, you'll figure this out. There's a place, and I don't know what it is,

[43:45]

but something will happen. Well, that's right. The faith that you know something will happen. As long as you feel that you're in the groove, the right groove, not trying to do too much, not trying to do little, and allowing something to happen, but that you're always there with what's happening. that something will happen. Yeah. So it looks like it's time to end. Something will happen. What's next?

[44:28]

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