The story which occurs in the book is written by Tohru. Soji Fu was famous, one of the famous Chinese philosophers, Soji. To tell the truth, this person was called Suoxi. But there were two persons who had the same pronunciation, Suoxi. So we temporarily called this man Suoxi.

[01:03]

This man, Suoxi. There is very short stories in this book, very interesting stories. Once upon a time, there were three kings. One was the king named Suoxi. In the country called Nankai.

[02:17]

Nankai means south. Kai means sea, Nankai. The other one was the king named Kotsu. In the country called Hokkai. Hok means north. Kai means sea. Third one was the king named Kuntun. Kuntun in the country called Chuo.

[03:25]

Chuo means middle. Anyway, once upon a time, there were three kings. In the Nankai, in the Hokkai, in the Chuo. One day, this Kuntun, the king Kuntun, invited two kings, Shiku and Kotsu, to treat them. He treated them with various delicious dishes. The Kuntun's method of treatment, hospitalization, was very wonderful, very wonderful.

[04:36]

No mistake, no mistake. Everything very good. Then, the two kings were very appreciated. The two kings appreciated so well. They appreciated very much to this king. Then, they wanted to give something as a reward, because he treated them so well. Then, one day, two kings talked over about this present. What should we give him as a reward? At that time, they were talking about what should we do.

[05:45]

Then, they had very good ideas. Because, they said, a human being possesses seven holes in their own bodies. Seven holes. Seven holes. Seven holes. Anyway, seven. Maybe more than seven. Anyway, they think, they think a human being possesses seven holes in their body. Then, we should, you know, this hole means something that the human being gets pleasure, take pleasure.

[06:49]

Take pleasure, take delight in doing something through this hole. Through this hole. You know, you can, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and navels, and secret point. Anyway, seven. They think, they think a human being possesses seven holes. But, they think themselves, we have already seven holes. That's why we are very happy, you know. But, this king, I'm sorry, they are very sorry. They were very sorry for him, because they don't, he didn't, he didn't have seven holes. They, this king, the quantum means chaos.

[07:52]

Quantum means chaos. And, shuku, kotsu means, shuku, kotsu means, what would you say, anyway, you know, speedy, speediness, speediness, and quickness, quick, quickness. Anyway, whatever they do, they can, they can carry it out. They could carry it out, carry out anything very quickly and fast. Anyway, because they have seven holes, you know, they have seven holes. They, their character was very quick. They were quick to do anything, you know, completely.

[08:56]

But, this quantum, chaos, this chaos, the chaos was very limited, limitless, limitless experience of his characters, you know. From inside of their, you know, their eyes, he was very moving and slow, and slow. And, they wondered, they wonder sometimes, what was, what was his pleasure, what was his pleasure. Because he didn't have seven holes. Then, they were very, very sorry, very sorry for him. Then, they are talking about, we should, we should try to make a hole. So, one day, day after day, they tried to make a hole, make seven holes for him.

[10:06]

And, after finishing, after finishing making a hole, he passed away. He passed away. This is the whole story. Very interesting. And, very interesting story, and it has a very profound meaning. Very interesting. You know, the, I have very interesting friends in Japan. All were very funny friends, funny, funny friends. One guy, one guy used to, to become a Zen monk, Zen monk, and the famous Zen master named Hashimoto Roshi, Hashimoto Roshi.

[11:26]

He was born, this, this friend, this guy was born in Kyushu, Kyushu. He has, he is, he was very strong muscles, so he used to be a fisherman, fisherman. Then, after, after being, after being taken, taken in, a novice, novice monk, and the Zen master named Hashimoto Roshi. But, Hashimoto Roshi was very severe, very strict. You know, he tried to, he tried to follow the Dogen, the same way of Dogen's life. Through according, according to the Shobo Gendo, the book named Shobo Gendo.

[12:35]

He, his life was very strict, very severe. But, this man, a friend of mine, was not so severe, not so strict. His mind as, like a, like a contour, was very limitless, limitless expanse of his characters, you know. Because he used to be a fisherman, he was, he used to play with very big oceans, sea, Japan's sea. So, his character is very, so big. Then, one day, the, when, when this friend, this guy walked on the passage in the, in the Gendo, in the temple, inside of the temple.

[13:38]

And, he came across the Roshi, Hashimoto Roshi, you know. At that time, this Roshi found a piece of papers on, on the wall, on the passage, passage. Then, he says, his name is Honmyo, his name is Honmyo. Honmyo, take this papers, take this papers out, take, take this, take out this paper and throw it into the dust box, dust box. Then, he said, his, his answer is very interesting. He never say, he never say Hai, he never say Hai. So, he says, pick up, pick up a piece of paper and open the door, open the window and throw it away.

[14:56]

Ha, ha, ha, ha. Very funny, no? Then, Reverend Yokoi, my friend, asked him, please study Buddhism. Inspire, because you are always sitting meditation, practice meditation, you know, whole year. So, sometimes you should study the Buddhism, you know. But, he never study, he never study Buddhism. And, he, he was concentrating, concentrated on practice Lajna, day after day. And, then after this event, he, he, he leave, he left, he left, he left his, he left his master's temple.

[15:59]

And, he, he was wondering, he was wondering all part of Japan, to seek, to seek for the damn masters. And, now, this guy, as mentioned before, never, never shooted, never shooted man in the war, in the Second World War. He always shooted gun, you know, to the sky. He never shoot a person in the end war, in the Second World War. Then, now, he stayed a very small temple. And, he concentrated on carving the Buddha statue, Buddha statue. This is one of my, a friend of mine. And, the other friend is, was so clever.

[17:05]

So clever. But, he never, he never graduated from, you know, the, what, grade school. No, he, he graduated, he graduated from the, just, just grade school, you know, grade school. But, he, he didn't like, he didn't like school. So, he gave up going to school, middle, high school, junior high and senior high. And, he, he concentrated on reading a book, you know, western literature, western philosophy, Chinese literature, Chinese philosophy. And, Japanese too, also. And, also, besides, he learned a language, foreign language. So, at that time, he spoke, spoke a foreign language about, what, four, at least four foreign languages.

[18:19]

He could speak, he could speak four foreign languages, Greek, Russian, French, German, and English a little bit. And, he studied Sanskrit and Pali. He was very clever. And, he, he became the priest, he became a priest under the famous Zen master named Sawaki Roshi. But, he couldn't, he couldn't stay, he couldn't stay under, under the Sawaki Roshi. Because, he wanted to, he wanted to, to do anything, what, what he want, he wanted. He, he, he, he, he didn't like, he didn't like some rules, some principles.

[19:26]

He didn't like tie down, tie down at some rules, some principles. Even the Zen monastery, he didn't like. So, he, he always reading a book, he always learning the foreign language without teachers. Now, he, he disappeared. I don't know, I didn't, I don't know where he was. As, you know, one of my friend, Levine Koi, said that he was, he might be, he might be in Hokkaido. Not priest, another priest. He get back, he returned to his previous life. The other guy was also very clever.

[20:31]

He, who became the priest under the same Zen master, Sawaki Roshi. But, he, he was always thinking of the, what, what is for, what was the purpose of, purpose of, you know, his life, you know. You know, the, he became a priest, he became, he, before becoming Zen priest, he studied Christian. He studied Christian and he became the teacher of Christian Sunday school. And, he didn't, he didn't satisfy himself with the Christian, Christianity. So, he became a priest of Nichiren school. But, he didn't like Nichiren school also. So, then he became a, he convert to become the Zen priest.

[21:40]

But, he liked so much, he liked so much, one plus one equal two, two plus two equal four. He was very clever. But, the, Sawaki Roshi was not, was not logical, was not logically. He was very, you know, the limitless expense of his character, you know. So, he ignores financial situation, he ignores to always doesn't know what, how, in how situation his own temple was. Even though there are many, there were many his own disciples, he didn't care. He always going, taking trip. He always took trip all part of Japan to give lectures, to read, to teach how to sit.

[22:52]

And, so, he think, he think it's better, it was, it was better to change the masters and his own teachers. Because, if he stayed, he stayed under his masters, Sawaki Roshi. He never took good care of myself. So, he thought, I should change the masters. So, he changed the masters, you know. That's okay, he changed the masters. Then, he got the new teacher who is teaching in Komuso University. And, he had also a very big temple in Kyushu. Now, he became, he become, he has become the head of this temple.

[23:56]

This temple is very big. Financial situation is very good. If this guy stayed under the Sawaki Roshi, he never take, he never become, he never become the head of this big temple. Because, this, the master doesn't care, doesn't care whether we have to, we have to have the temple or not. Anyway, three, three friends. Three friends are completely different type. But, Reverend Yukoi, a friend of mine, always advised them, you know, they please study Buddhism. And, at the same time, practice Zazen, that's all right.

[25:00]

But, you should study Buddhism. And, you should stay under, you should stay, you should stay constantly under the Sawaki Roshi. But, he changed, he changed his master. Now, Reverend Yukoi advised him, one of my friends advised one of my friends to study Buddhism, to go to school and study Buddhism. But, he never, he never studied, he never go to attend to the school. And, study the literatures, philosophers, what he would, what he wanted. Without teacher, without school. Now, you understand what he happened around his life. And, Reverend Yukoi advised the other guy to study Buddhism.

[26:06]

But, he didn't study Buddhism. He concentrated on just practice, meditation, that's all. And, now he stayed in a small temple and concentrated on carving, carving the Buddha statue. Oh, there is no room to criticize, criticize three of them. Here, their life, their life are their life, their life is their life, their life is very valuable. But, the important point, important point, that's all right, that's all right, whatever you do. So, from the Buddhism, from in the side of Buddhism, whatever you do, it is all right, it is all right. When you want to go this way, that's okay, that's okay. When you want to go the other way, that's okay.

[27:10]

You want to study Christianity, you want to study I Ching, that's okay. You should go. But, important point, how, when, where, you should aim at, what, you know. How important point is, how, where, when, what you should aim at. This is very important. Then, as Dogen then says, the Dhamma is, Dhamma is to settle yourself, to settle oneself in the Dhamma, in the Dhamma. Without being distracted. Dhamma is, Dhamma is not something, something like self-absence. To settle yourself in the Dhamma means, when, where, how, and what you should aim at, wherever you may go, wherever you may go.

[28:16]

Ah, plainly speaking, the, as mentioned before always, the, every place, every place, ah, every matters, ah, every moment, ah, when you in account, when you in account, is the completely, the absolute field, ah, to let the flower of your life force bloom. Ah, what is the object, objective, what is objective, what human being should aim at. Ah, so, the, my three, three friends, my three friends, life, age or life, wherever you, they may go, they may go. Because they have to, they have to settle themselves at a certain place, where they ought to go, they ought to settle themselves.

[29:26]

This is Dhamma. This is truth. You know, the, the truth is very limitless, expansive, ah, of its characters, like Kuntung, like a king of Kuntung. Very big. Now, when I was a college student, I start, I read, I read a book of, a book which is, which was titled, ah, I forgot the name. Ah, The Study of, The Study of Being and, Being and Non-Being. In the, ah, metaphysical, metaphysical, ah, after finishing reading this book, I was very happy, you know, wow, wonderful. Because I understood, you know, what emptiness is, what, you know, nothingness is.

[30:34]

Wow, wonderful. What being and non-being is. Very nice. So, everything is very bright, you know, for me. Oh, wonderful. Then, I, ah, I explained, I explained how, how, how happy I am to the, you know, Reverend Nyokoi, who was, who is teaching in, at Komodo University. He said, you are very stupid. Put your happiness. You are very stupid. At that time, everything cut off completely. At that time, I thought, I think, I can't, I can't stick it out no longer. Because there is nothing, you know, there is nothing. Then, after, after writing the papers for, for my graduation, graduate, in order to graduate from the, you know, thesis.

[31:44]

For long, for long thesis, you know. On the Buddhist psychology. That's not, especially, I, I was interested in the delusion, human delusion. So, I studied the seventh mind. Seventh mind was the origin of the English, which is called mana. Mana, ah, manashiki, manashiki. Ah, at that time, I was also very happy, you know. Because I understood, I understood, I took, took it into my head that the, I understood the, what human England was. I was very happy, but now I don't. Next moment, I didn't, I didn't find, I, I, I found, I found myself to understand nothing.

[32:54]

To understand nothing. Because that understanding, the understanding, my understanding at that time was very poor, you know. Very poor. Ah, anyway, ah, my understanding through the book, the study of being and non-being. Ah, ah, was, I think it's alright. I think it's alright. But, the question is, the question is, the excitement, the question is the excitement. How happy I am, you know, through the understanding, through the understanding of the, ah, the being and non-being. I was very happy, but the eleventh, ah, Ryukoi said to me, you are stupid. At that time, there is nothing. Under the nothing, under the world of nothing, emptiness.

[33:56]

How should I do? How should I do? That time I thought, I can't, I can't stick it out, no longer. To stay, to stay this world, to study Buddhism, to practice Zazen. I really can't, I can't stick it out, no longer. But this is very important. Then, how should you do? How should you do? How should you do? How should you behave? How should you aim at? Now, what should you aim at? This is very important. It's not so easy to understand, but Zazen is always, Buddha is always telling us in that way. Then, wherever you go, that's alright.

[34:58]

But, important point, you should never forget the how, what, when should you aim at. This is very important. Ah, like a coupon.

[35:13]

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