And the other day I was having a conversation with someone who was kind of troubled about spiritual life. And right away I could see that this person was having a problem probably an old problem, because he was dividing spiritual life from mundane life, and looking for something called spiritual life, or life on the astral plane, or enlightenment. looking for enlightenment outside of ordinary life.

[01:15]

So most people, when they have an idea of enlightenment, think about enlightenment as some extraordinary experience outside of ordinary life. Or think of enlightenment as something spiritual. So it's very difficult sometimes to deal with people who I think have an idea about spirituality and an idea about enlightenment. In Buddhism, we don't divide the spiritual from the material or the spiritual life from ordinary mundane existence.

[02:32]

If you think about spiritual life and strive for some spiritual plane of existence, it's still material understanding. Spiritual and material are both on the material level, materialistic level, so to speak. So spiritual and material or ordinary are just two extreme aspects of the same thing. If you try to attain some spiritual understanding or spiritual level

[03:37]

outside of your ordinary, material, mundane existence. It's just a dream. And people pursue this dream. In Buddha's time, there were ascetics. And Buddha himself was an ascetic. Buddha followed the ascetic path. He followed many of the paths of his time in order to try to understand the truth of existence. So he became an ascetic. And even many Buddhists became ascetics in order to... They felt that if they divided, if they got rid of the mundane side of life, then the spiritual life would show through.

[04:45]

And in a sense, it's true. In a sense. When you stop the activities of greed, ill will, and delusion, then spiritual life comes to life. But stopping greed, ill will and delusion doesn't mean to leave material existence. We always have to deal with material existence. And in order to bring forth so-called spiritual understanding, it has to come through our daily activity. So in our Zen practice, we put emphasis on daily activity, mundane existence.

[06:06]

I said to this person, well, why don't you just enjoy your life as it is right now? Why not just accept your life as it is right now and enjoy it? What are you looking for? And then the person said, well, if that's the case, then it's just like saying everybody doing what they're doing is just enlightened activity. Isn't that so? Well, in a sense, yes, it is so. But there is a difference. Everything is enlightened activity. All activity is enlightened activity. But we make judgments on it. So it's very difficult to realize our own enlightened activity and the enlightened activity of the universe.

[07:14]

To settle down, settle on this moment completely is not the same as what everyone is doing. To say, just settle down, settle on this moment's activity, is very different than most ordinary activity in the world. Because most ordinary activity in the world is based on greed, ill will, and delusions. So people settle in greed, they settle in ill will, they settle in delusion. To actually settle down on this moment is not the same.

[08:25]

To settle down in absolute, complete freedom, holding on to nothing, just appreciating the life of this moment for what it is, very different than just doing what you want. People say, oh well, Zen is very simple, you just do whatever you want, and that's enlightened activity. But it's not the same. So what I was saying to this person is, instead of beating your head against the wall, searching for something, Just settle down in this moment. This is what you're looking for. But to a person who is looking for something, this looks, this can't be it.

[09:37]

This moment, this moment's life can't be it. It's gotta be something else. So, We see people rushing around, passing it by. You know, it's like there's a jewel lying in the middle of the street, which everybody's looking for, but they keep running around, passing it up. And it's right there. But they're rushing around, rushing around, and they don't see it. Or they see it, but they can't believe that that's it. This can't be it. It's not spiritual enough. So enlightenment is not so difficult. It's not something far away.

[10:41]

Realization is not something far away. but it's just hard to see, hard for us to accept when we see it. This can't be it. So, ideas we have about enlightenment and spirituality are still Just ideas. The idea you have about enlightenment is not what enlightenment is. So as long as we're in this world, this is where we have to find our place. Unfortunately or fortunately.

[11:46]

This is where we have to find our enlightened life, within the place and the circumstances that are given to us. So enlightenment is Not dividing the material from the spiritual. There is no material and spiritual. Enlightenment is beyond material and spiritual. Usually in religion, Religion talks a lot about spiritual life and seeking some spiritual life.

[13:02]

In Zen practice, Buddhism, we just put attention on what we're doing on each moment. This is why we sit Zazen. Today, most of us are sitting all day. Not to seek enlightenment, but to express enlightened life. Enlightenment hurts. Enlightenment is not necessarily pleasant. You may not like it. If you have some idea about enlightenment as being something that you like, that's not it. I'm sorry. If you can accept the pain in your legs, if you can accept doing something that you don't like, if you can accept the rules in the Zen Dojo,

[14:21]

If you can accept being Japanese, even though you may not like it, you're getting close. If you can accept doing things with others, even though you always like to do everything alone, If you can accept putting down ego and just accepting things as they are, you're getting close. You know, we have the Kuan Mu in Buddhism. Does the dog have Buddha nature? Mu literally means no.

[15:26]

But if you think no, then you fall into one side. So good to think just Mu. If you have the koan Mu, everything you do, you do it with Mu. Everything you do becomes Mu. This means when yes and no come together, beyond yes and no, beyond spiritual material, then you have some understanding. But the understanding is not in your head. The understanding is in your activity. Not so much in what you think, but in what you do.

[16:47]

So someone may come up with the right answer. When you read the book on Zen, the teachers and the students are having a dialogue, and the student comes up with the right answer. And the teacher says, you're enlightened, and you may be my successor. This is a story out of a book. And the story out of the book points to something. The story out of the book makes it look like if the person has the right answer, then they're enlightened. But having the right answer is not enough. Having the right answer is the beginning of practice. If you have the right answer, you have to prove it with your life.

[17:52]

Oh, that's a very good answer. Now please study for 20 more years. So, enlightened practice means that you have the ability to not divide the spiritual from the material aspect of life. If you get too spiritual, start getting too spiritual, then your teacher should question that

[18:57]

Say, please wash the toilets. Please make some bread. If you get too mundane, then the teacher has to say something like, Please don't see everything as so solid. What you see looks solid, but is not solid. What you think is a thing is not a thing. All forms are empty.

[20:02]

When we start feeling that things are secure, Teacher has to tell you, form is emptiness. All forms are empty and interdependent. And when you start getting too spiritual, teacher has to tell you, emptiness is form. Everything has a form. Take care of the form. Recognize the form. Don't get lost. Be respectful to the forms around you and include them in your life. So every day we chant, form is emptiness, emptiness is form.

[21:03]

That which is form is emptiness, that which is emptiness is form. This is the enlightened statement. When you start getting too far out, one way or the other, this brings you back to right here, right now. Form is emptiness. Emptiness is form. Form is form. And emptiness is emptiness. And right in the middle, everything is just as it is. So this person I was talking to, I encouraged to please come and sit zazen.

[22:11]

Overcome your doubt about doing something and sit zazen. Get out of your idea that you have in your mind about some spiritual plane. Stop worrying about obtaining some spiritual plane. Just be ordinary. For people who are seeking enlightenment, it's very hard to be ordinary. But you cannot find enlightenment outside of your ordinary, outside of ordinary activity. If you want to find enlightenment, you have to find it right there in your situation. So, Zazen makes it easy.

[23:32]

because spiritual and material are gone beyond. But sometimes we don't understand what Zazen is. Please enjoy Zazen. We sit Zazen in order to enjoy the activity of Zazen. It's not just as some other enjoyable activity, but the enjoyment of our life as it is. As it is, is the key. If you have a pleasant experience, that's very enjoyable. If you have a painful experience, that's also enjoyable.

[24:38]

But we tend to divide it, you know. Wonderful, nice experience is enjoyable, but difficult, painful experience is not enjoyable, because we have some idea of joy, which is also dualistic. We keep trying to get rid of the bad stuff so that we can just have the good stuff. And when we have the good stuff, that's called enjoyment. But our true enjoyment doesn't depend on the good stuff or the bad stuff. Good and bad doesn't matter. good moment or bad moment is just this moment. This is why koan Mu is such a wonderful koan because whether you're enjoying yourself or not, Mu is just Mu.

[25:49]

Another word for Mu is enjoyment. It has nothing to do with what's going on. It has nothing to do with whether I'm sad, angry, happy, elated, jealous, resentful, generous, stingy. So we do have desire.

[27:10]

And in Buddhism, desire is the root of unhappiness. But it's also the root of happiness. Desire is great, and it's awful. And it gets us into trouble, and it divides the world for us. but it's also the cause of our happiness. So, where should we put our desire? Of course, the highest desire is the desire for enlightenment. So, we should have that desire for enlightenment, definitely. But, if you stick to some idea about what enlightenment is, it's always a dualistic idea.

[28:15]

You cannot have an idea about enlightenment without it being a dualistic idea. Because as soon as we think of enlightenment, we think of something that we don't have. Or we think of something that is better than what we have. And it's hard for us to accept the fact that what we have is the best thing there is. I'm sorry. It's just hard to accept. This is what? So it's a big koan for us. The biggest koan in our life is this. So what is this? It doesn't mean that things don't change.

[29:22]

Things are always changing. Everything's changing. And at the same time, everything's the same. As soon as things change, I will be happier. Maybe happier for a little while, until they change again. But that's not happiness. That's just being happy. So if we really sit Zazen sincerely, really penetrate Zazen, we should be able to understand this. feelings, states of mind, ideas, thoughts, they all come and go, the scenery of our life.

[30:32]

But in the midst of it, there is someone who is settled, someone that is not disturbed by either good things or bad things, enjoyable things or miserable things. There's someone that's not disturbed. Who is that? So today, We have actually a short Sashin, not so long. But please concentrate when you sit.

[31:39]

Be completely where you are. When we wait, when we are completely aware and awake to where we are, this is Dazen. But, you know, we fall off and we start to... the mind starts wandering. We get sleepy, maybe. And we forget our posture. And we forget our... pay attention to our breath. And we have to keep coming back. Keep returning. Always keep continuously waking up. to where we are. This is Zazen. A million times in a period of Zazen to keep bringing ourself back to Zazen. Letting go of distractions.

[32:41]

Letting go of the distractions of our mind. But that doesn't mean that we have to that those distractions are not enlightenment. If you recognize this is distraction, this is delusion, that's all you need. The main thing about being enlightened is to realize what delusion is. And then delusion is enlightenment. So we say, stop thinking, does not mean to stop the thoughts in your mind. Stop thinking means stop being bothered. Don't be bothered.

[33:47]

Don't let anything bother you. means stop the dualistic dividing up of, I like this, I don't like that. How do you actually just stay settled, calm, without anxiety or desire for something, moment after moment? and stay awake. When a thought comes, you realize this is a thought. This is this thought. If you have a deluded idea, you realize this is just a deluded idea.

[34:55]

That's enlightenment. Enlightenment recognizes delusion. If you know that you're a little bit crazy, that's very good. If you think, I'm not crazy, I don't have any delusion. You should be careful. So, if you don't recognize delusion, then you're really deluded. But if you recognize delusion, if you recognize moment after moment the delusion, that's enlightenment. It's nothing special. It's just being awake to reality.

[35:58]

And then You base your practice on enlightened mind, enlightened body. So most important thing, it's important to be enlightened and to bring forth enlightenment. That's very important. But most important thing is just to practice So that's why we put emphasis on practice rather than some idea called enlightenment. If you really practice, enlightenment is there. Don't worry about it. You can't know what it is. You can only do it. It's like you can see out of your eyes, but you can't see your eyes. You'll never see it. You see your eyes in the mirror. But what you're seeing is the mirror.

[37:04]

You're not seeing your eyes. Just seeing a mirror. The eyes cannot see themselves. But you see anyway. Or seeing sees. Or there are things seen. So rather than trying to grasp something called enlightenment, just do practice. Then enlightenment is there.

[38:08]

But if you try to grab hold of it, it's gone. You know, some person said, well, when I look around here, I don't see any enlightened people. Why doesn't he see any enlightened people? You're probably right. But I also don't see any unenlightened people.

[39:11]

All I see is ordinary people. We have this idea, you know, an enlightened person is supposed to have some characteristics. I don't know what those characteristics are. Maybe self-confidence, a glint in the eye. KILL THEM ALL!

[40:09]

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