Good evening, everyone. Good evening. So last Monday evening I spoke about the Dharamhala discourse from Dogen's extensive record. Okay, we're making technical adjustments for this space for the time. So, I spoke last week about the Dharma Hall Discourse from Dogen's extensive record about courage and facing fear.

[01:02]

I want to talk about two of them tonight, about zazen and about vow, which we just chanted. Dogen's chant for arousing a vow. I'll read through them, each in turn, and then talk about them. These are both from 1251, the next to the last year of Dogen's teaching. And Dogen, of course, was the teacher, the Japanese monk who went to China and brought back the Soto lineage to Japan and founded what we now call Soto Zen that we've got this year. So, in this first one about Zazen, as Dogen says, what is called Zazen is to sit, cutting through the smoke and clouds without seeing merit, just become unified, never searching, never reaching the end, and dropping off body and mind.

[02:11]

What are the body and limbs? How can it be transmitted from within the bones and marrow? Already such, how can we penetrate it? Snatching Gautama's hands and legs, one punch knocks over empty space. Karmic consciousness is boundless and without roots. The grasses sprout up and bring forth the wind of the Buddha's Buddha way. So this is a brief description of our Zazen practice. It says, what is called Zazen, sitting meditation, is to sit cutting through the smoke and clouds without seeking merit. So our practice is just to sit. And we cut through, which is to say we see and let go of.

[03:15]

all of the smoke and clouds of our body and mind, of the world around us, of thoughts and feelings that come up. It says we cut through that without seeking merit. So this is not about getting something. This is not about getting some reward. We just do it. We just sit and cut through. all of the smoke and clouds, which is not to say that we try and exterminate them, because they appear endlessly, but we just cut through, we don't get caught, which requires some regular sitting over a long period of time. Ben Duggan says, just become unified, never reaching the end. So to sit upright, we find the unity of wholeness of our life.

[04:23]

Just sit, just become unified. Find the unity of all of the thoughts and feelings and pain and difficulties of this life. Without end, never reaching the end, This is an endless practice. In dropping off body and mind, which is Dogen's phrase for zazen and for complete awakening, just let go of body and mind. It doesn't mean harm body or mind, just let go, drop off. Then he says, what are the body and limbs? How can it be transmitted? From within the bones and marrow. So what are the body and limbs? What is this physical practice? So we're now sitting here together at Ebenezer, and the people on Zoom can partake of this.

[05:26]

But this is a physical practice. This is a somatic practice. What are the body and limbs, he says? Dropping off body and limbs. Now, is this body now our appendages? And then how can it be transmitted from within? From within the bones and marrow, from the guts. Already such, how can we penetrate it? So already, our life is just this. Our body, our mind is just this, just what it is. And yet, how do we dig into it. How do we appreciate this suchness? Then he says, snatching Gautama through his hands and legs, one punch knocks over empty space.

[06:36]

So, as we see and feel the Buddha in our seat. It just comes through empty space, which is to say, you become totally unified with empty space, with wholeness, with everything. Everything is right now, here, on your seat. Primal consciousness is boundless, without roots. grasses sprout and bring forth the wind of the Buddha way. So when we do this zazen practice, we are planting something. As we settle into being present, being unified, or recognizing how we are unified in this body-mind, We're planting seeds and something sprouts.

[07:46]

Zazen manifests in our life. So again, this gets to the heart of the Zazen practice. gave us, transmitted to us, and of course, many other ancestors since, in Japan and before in China and India. So again, just sit, cutting through smoke and clouds, not seeking merit. You don't need to get anything from this. It's just, this is life. Just become unified, never reaching the end. So this is something that we do with our body and limbs as we let go of body and mind. The second dharma hall discourse that I will speak of is kind of what the process is then when we are fully unified in zazen.

[09:01]

The family style of all Buddhism's ancestors is to first arouse the Thao to save all living beings by removing suffering and providing joy. So in the chant we did, Ehekosa Hotsuganman, this is another description by Dogen. So what is the process of finding deep faith, arousing joy, commitment, Thao, arousing the Thao? finding the determination to make our life meaningful, to commit to just being present in this unified life. Again, that means to remove suffering from all living beings and provide joy. This practice can look kind of grim, but actually,

[10:09]

We can only do it if we are willing to enjoy our lives in the world and our engagement with all of the difficulties of the world. Dobin continues, only this family style is inexhaustibly bright and clear. In the lofty mountains, we see the moon for a long time. As the clouds clear, we first recognize the sky. cast loose down the precipice, the moonlight shares itself within the 10,000 forms. So we might see this as literally going up to the mountains, as Dogen moved to the north, that's the capital of Kyoto, and set up his monastery deep in the mountains. But this is also about our sitting practice. Whether over a day or over one period, In the lofty mountains, we see the moon for a long time.

[11:16]

Even if it's only 30 minutes, and we keep coming back to it, this is not the mountains. And the moon is right here. And the moon is, of course, this image, traditional image in Zen, exactly for becoming unified. Never reaching the end. So we need to keep coming back to this practice of sitting up again and again and again. Never reaching the end. And when we do that, we see the moon. We see, we feel, we sense. something complete, something whole. So when they talk about the moon, they're talking about the full moon. Of course, the crescent moon has its virtues as well.

[12:22]

But anyway, we see the moon for a long time. And then he says, as clouds clear, we first recognize the sky. So the first one says, cutting through the smoke of the clouds. But we can also just let them clear. And we see the openness, we could say the emptiness or the spaciousness of reality, of our life and the life of our world, including all of the suffering, including all of the difficulties. And yet there's something Open and clear. Behind the clouds. Not separate from the clouds. Then Doge says, cast loose down the precipice.

[13:23]

The moonlight in the streams flowing down from the mountaintop. The moonlight shares itself within the 10,000 forms. This is our practice. To take care of all the myriad things. to share our sense of openness, to share our sense of awareness, to share this possibility of coming unified, to share this process of penetrating this sessions that is already here. As the clouds clear, we first recognize wide open sky, cast loose down the precipices, the moonlight shares itself within the 10,000 forms. And then Dokin says, even when climbing up the bird's path, taking good care of yourself is spiritual practice.

[14:26]

So this bird's path is, in a way, the heart of this arousing a vow of commitment of that we chanted about. The Bird's Path is an image that, well, it goes back, I think, to some of the Virginal Wisdom Sutras, but Dongshan, the founder of Tsao-tung, Shoto-zen in China in the 800s, just as Dogen brought it to Japan, and Suzuki Roshi brought it here, Dongshan talks about the Bird's Path. So each of us, on our own seat, is climbing up the bird's path. Each of us is on the path, on the way, in the process. With this image of the bird's path, we see birds flying by. Kirsten is with us on Zoom.

[15:32]

She took people to a bird watch and they saw bald eagles and many other birds. So the ocean is on the bird's path in another way. But all of us, we're flying in this bird's path, in that process, in that practice. And the thing about the bird's path is we don't see it. We can see the bird flying, but we don't know. Somehow the birds know when they migrate, where they're going. It's remarkable. But for us, when we see the bird's path, It's not like an airplane when you see a trail of exhausts in the sky. It's just wide open. We don't know where we go. We take this vow to remove suffering and provide joy for all beings. We don't know how it works.

[16:33]

We can't see the steps on our path. Things happen in our life Change jobs, or move to a new house, or whatever. Travel to see old friends, whatever. Many things happen as we become unified, never reaching the end. So the Spirits Path is a good image for this because there's some human tendency to want to know how this all works. If I sit, you know, if I sit sozzing tonight, or if I come to an all-day or half-day sitting, or, you know, over some time, where do I get to? Where does the path go? What's it all about? And yet the bird's path is, we can enjoy the birds, but we don't see, we can't see the

[17:35]

range of their path. We don't see how that works exactly. We just know that the birds are flying free through space, through the clouds, through the open sky. So maybe I'll just read these again and then have some discussion and questions. So the first one is about Zazen and how Zazen sprouts up. How Zazen is a seed that keeps going. He says, what is called Zazen is to cut through the smoke and clouds without seeking merit. Of course, merit shows up sometimes. Good things happen. Benefit happens. But it's not about seeking merit. It's about just flying on our path, our unknown path. Just become unified, Dogon says, never reaching the end.

[18:41]

Just feel the oneness, the wholeness, the unity of all things. All the different problems of the world are all together, interconnected, totally interconnected, with no end. Then Dogon says, dropping off body and mind, letting go of our sensations and thoughts and letting go, just letting go, radical letting go. And he says, what are the body and limbs? How do we actually do that? How do we appreciate it in our bodies? So sitting together in this room, we feel all these bodies around us and we feel our body. Of course, sitting at home in your Zoom space, that can happen too, but it's nice to sit together with others. Already such, how can we penetrate it?

[19:47]

How can we really fully engage in just this suchness? Snatching Gautama's hands and legs, one punch knocks out empty space. So this is... Maybe this is some of Dogen's kind of extreme... Stephen Hein was here yesterday talking about extreme masters. But knocking over empty space sounds like some powerful activity. But it's also just... Here we are. Primate consciousness is boundless, without roots. The moment goes here and there. The grasses sprout up and bring forth the wind of the buddha's robe, style, family style of buddha.

[20:50]

So as our zazen practice together sprouts, as the seeds of zazen start to open up and spread and even flower sometimes. Buddha's way is here. And then to talk about this in terms of vow, so I'll just read through this, and I really want to hear your comments and questions and responses. He says, the family style of all Buddhas and ancestors is first to arouse the vow to save all living beings, right? removing suffering and providing joy. How do we remember the brave suffering people of Ukraine? How do we extend our good wishes to them? How do we provide joy for ourselves?

[21:56]

How do we, you know, there's a practice Thich Nhat Hanh talked about, about smiling a little bit. It's awesome. and we can't see the smiles behind the masks, but they might be there. Only this family style, Duggan says, is inexhaustibly bright and clear. In the lofty mountains, we see the moon, we see homeless, the enemy, for a long time. We have to keep coming back to it. As clouds clear, we first Start to recognize the sky, the openness. Cast loose down the precipice. This moonlight shares itself within the 10,000 forms. This is the point of our practice. How do we share this? It's not about proselytizing and trying to get everybody to come to success. It's just how do you and your body and mind, how does each of us express

[22:56]

share ourselves in all the merry things. And then again, even when climbing up the birch path, taking good care of yourself is spiritual power. So on the birch path, and we don't know where we're going. We don't know what life and death will bring us. We can't pin it down. We take good care of ourselves and each other. So it's important to take care of yourself, to enjoy this process. Dogen says elsewhere, just experience the vital process on the path of going beyond buddha. This is a vital process. This process of zazen and vow, they go together. Some vow, some commitment, some determination. brought you to do this strange practice of just sitting upright and allowing yourself to fall.

[24:06]

So that's a little bit of what Dogon says. I'm interested in questions, comments, responses. Has anybody felt frostbite sprouting around them? Yes, you. It was a wonderful box. I was kind of struck by karmic consciousness boundless without but we understand that.

[25:09]

Yeah. We can't pin down the process of cause and effect, the karma of our consciousness and our bodies and our life. It's boundless. And you know, part of, when he says without roots, that's pretty provocative because the point of karma is this cause and effect. So everything that happens has innumerable causes and conditions. And everything we do will have innumerable effects, each one of us. Look, in Ehekosapatsukamon, we melt away the root of transgression. And so there's some sense that there's a root classically to form consciousness. Exactly. But here, Dogen says that actually, Where is it? Yeah, after talking about punching through empty space, karmic consciousness, he says karmic consciousness is boundless.

[26:23]

We are interconnected in so many ways with everything. And so, there are roots and there are no roots. It's openness, it's everything that ever was and will be on this planet and every other planet. This is the realm, this is the space he's talking about. So there are roots, but we don't have to be caught by the roots exactly. And part of that is to study the consciousness. So he also says in Genjo Koan, to study the way is to study the self. So we see our habit patterns, we see our patterns of getting angry, our patterns of greed, our patterns of confusion. And the more we do that, this is the real work of Zazen, is to see, and this is how karma clutches us, is boundless, without roots. We actually look at the roots of our habit patterns, how we react to various

[27:32]

thoughts and feelings and events. And when we crunch through the empty space, we don't need to be caught by them. We can see them. Sometimes some things, some habits, some habit patterns go away. Some never go away. And yet, we don't need to react. We can respond to them. We don't need to Make trouble, cause harm. You just see. Now this is a process, a vital process. This is an endless process. For many lifetimes, maybe, you could say. Anyway, I think this is the realm he's talking about. I don't know if that helps. Just a little addendum. So I thought of that punching through empty space, like reaching back from a pillow at night.

[28:37]

Yes. Or baby Buddha reaching up to the stars. Like Buddha's birthday. Yeah. Like Sunday. Other comments or questions? You know, MacDougall is speaking from this deeply experienced and awakened place. A great genius of awakening. David Weiner, did you have a comment? I was struck by the image of the moon sharing itself with everything below it. And I was thinking about the people who have shared themselves with me. and the ways that that has impacted my life. And I think about, you know, the ways in which I share myself with others and, um, and the ways in which that impacts people.

[29:44]

It impacts people in different ways. And of course, um, you know, we don't treat each person the same and yet there's some, you know, something that is shared that's, that's, something that's always the same, and maybe it's just the spirit of sharing. Yeah, that image of the moonlight flowing down the precipice, it's like the reflection of the moon in the streams as they flow down the mountain. But it's a metaphor for how Zazan sprouts, how Zazan expresses itself in our lives, in the world. And yet, you know, he talks here about the birch path, It's kind of mysterious. We don't... You know, you can remember, you can think of people who have inspired you and shared something. Either... Sometimes not intentionally, sometimes just by who they are.

[30:45]

You know, it doesn't have to be a lot of words. Just seeing somebody relax completely, for example. Or... seeing somebody helping somebody else, or just being fully present in some way, or some random act of kindness, as they say, or some expression of joy that inspired us. All of this is the activity on the bird's path. It's our process, but we can't pin it down. The comments or responses? Jerry has her hand up. Hi, Jerry. Hi. I was struck by that idea of joy. And to sit and be in the presence... Jerry, hold on one sec.

[31:49]

We're having tech difficulties. Technical difficulties. Jerry, can you try saying something? Hello? No. Oh no. We can hear her in Zoom land, just so you know. Alex Peltz, can you say something? And just so we can see if it's maybe Jerry's computer? No, it's us. Okay. We can all hear each other here in Zoom land. Can you try talking again? Thank you. Thank you for your patience. Thank you. I was thinking about the idea of joy and sitting as, you know, when we sit and are in the moment, that's in a way falling in love with life again.

[33:09]

To be, when we get out of the moment, it's a rejection of life. It's like, okay, I don't wanna be in my life. I wanna be someplace else. And that to learn to sit in the moment is to learn to fall in love with life again and to fall in love with what's right, really, truly there for you. Whether you like what's there or not is not the point. The point is, whatever it is is absolutely lovely. And to be there, I never thought I would say this because I spent years sitting thinking it was hard And not that it's easy, but it does bring a tremendous amount of joy, which is sort of the surprise in the package to me, I guess is what I would say.

[34:12]

Yeah, I think that's great. Thank you. Thank you, Jerry. Yes. Joy is just to fall in love with being here. Yeah. Being who we are together in this world. And, you know, just to take it back to... Dogen talks about knocking over empty space. That's what I thought of when you were talking. It's like whatever emptiness or lack we feel, space is very wide. And when we can just be with it, yeah, to fall in love with... Life itself. Yes. Thank you. Yeah, it's wonderful way of saying it A little bit louder, I think.

[35:28]

I'm thinking of rooks and how we mentioned rooks and how they tangle and they grasp. And I see it in the work that I do at the hospital as people are And instead of, as Jerry said, enjoying the moment. It's hard sometimes. Especially when you're a family member and you're seeing a loved one die. And you're with them in a room. And you're grasping for that moment. Those roots. And how it is to be present. I just think of how it is for some people if they could just be present with the love that they have for their loved one and be with that and not be

[36:45]

That's the image that's coming through for me tonight. I'm trying to find that balance. Yeah, he talks about removing suffering and providing joy. And he talks about this in terms of openness, spaciousness. And yeah, your chaplain work, David, gets at the core of this. Sunil, are you also doing chaplain work now? I am. So we have a number of chaplains in our sangha, and this is the core of... right in the middle of suffering, right in the middle of loss, right in the middle of illness, right in the middle of losing loved ones. How do we share something? It's not about happy face joy, it's about seeing the openness and wholeness of all of our lives. Yes, on some level there's, in the bound, in the spaciousness, there's no roots, but practically speaking, there's, as you were saying, David, these tangled twining roots are all so deeply connected.

[38:13]

Everyone. And when we see that, there's no, you know, there's no method, The birth path means that there's not one particular process or instruction manual. It's just open. But how do we be present in the middle of suffering and share this possibility of all this? That's our challenge. And easier said than done, of course. But thank you for doing the work. I think of it because I remember when my mother died and I was with her, and how it was a very liberating thing for me. And in part because I had guidance from my cousin Stuart, who is Ambo, who is in California, and helping me guide me through the process. It was a very open process.

[39:16]

And then I see people who I write about, you know, for my work and how it's just the opposite. It's so much hanging on and not being able to be present in that moment, not being able to share that love and let go. So dropping body and mind, letting go. Yeah. Letting go. Letting go. Allows openness and love. Yes. So this is our challenge, and this is the heart of our practice. This is dealing with suchness, the deep reality of our lives. And there's no one route to it. We're all on the bird's path. So good luck, everyone. Please take care of yourself.

[40:17]

climbing up the verse path, taking good care of yourself is spiritual power. So we each find our power by taking care of ourself in the middle of this process. And we have to stop for tonight. But thank you all very much for listening and for sitting together, people on Zoom and people here in the room. So can we have a closing chant? Beings are numberless, I vow to free them. Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to end them. Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them. Buddha's way is unsurpassable, I vow to realize it.

[41:25]

Beings are numberless, I vow to free them. Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to end them. Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them. Buddha's way is unsurpassable. I vow to realize it. Beings are numberless, I vow to free them. Delusions are insourceable, I vow to end them. Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them. Buddha's way is unsurpassable, I vow to realize it.

[42:31]

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