I selected introduction, introductory poem, and conclusion, and one poem each season. So altogether six poems. waka poems for early spring, middle spring, and late spring, and summer, fall, and winter, the same. The one I choose from the three waka poems for spring is about early spring, where golden dew, that is, 31 syllables.

[01:34]

And my English translation is, although it is snowing ceaselessly, at the gate of the mountain valley, the oboe is singing. When I talk about poetry or poems about the seasons in Japan, it's very difficult to talk to people living in California. The sensitivity and also the appreciation of Japanese people, the appreciation of each season are kind of different.

[02:35]

from people in California. There's no four seasons here. Not only in California. In 1993, I moved from Kyoto to Minneapolis. There's no four seasons there. You know, almost six months is winter, and very short spring and short fall. and the rest of the time is summer, so only two seasons. And after Minneapolis, I moved to Los Angeles. There's no four seasons. Most of the year, it's hot, and it's not like a winter. And I moved from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Again, there's no seasons. It's much better than Los Angeles. It's a spring all year round, but somehow I feel something is lacking.

[03:44]

One of the reasons I decided to move to Indiana is four seasons. I need four seasons. Cold winter, hot summer, and beautiful spring and fall. That is an important part of my life. to be different from Japanese people in the ancient times when they lived with lunar calendar and also people using solar calendar. In lunar calendar, from 1st to 3rd

[04:45]

4th, 5th, 6th month is summer. And 7th, 8th, 9th are fall. And 10th, 11th, 12th month is winter. Those are our English names for those seasons. What are those seasons called in Japanese? In Japanese? Haru, Natsu, Akini, Fuyu. Anyway, you know, also the concept of spring or the seasons are different from solar calendar and lunar calendar. That is, you know, the Chinese New Year starts around February 10th.

[06:04]

That is a new year in lunar calendar. And that is the beginning of the spring. That is around halfway between winter solstice and spring equinox. I think our common concept about But in the lunar calendar, halfway between winter solstice and spring equinox is the beginning of the spring. And that means around February 10th is the coldest time of the year. That means this is about the yin and yang energy. You know, the day is the shortest on the winter solstice.

[07:10]

And the length of day and night is the same in the spring and fall or autumn equinoxes. But halfway between is the coldest time. That means in energy, And strongest means never stronger. After this time of the year, young energy starts to recover. So this is the coldest time, and yet, you know, young energy stops growing. in energy and young energy. Young energy is getting stronger from this time.

[08:13]

The beginning of spring is the coldest time of the year. That is the difference, I think, between our concept of spring, starting from spring equinox. So when we read this poem of Doran about the early spring, although it is snowing ceaselessly at the gate of the mountain valley, the walrus is singing, spring has already come. If we think spring But for the people who live in that calendar, this is every year. Every year, beginning of the spring, is coldest time.

[09:16]

And the place Dogen lived, that is in Echizen, they have a lot of snow. In Kyoto, where Dogen was born and grew up and lived until He was 43, except when he was in China. I lived there for many years, so I know that we are there. But at the end of January, we have a trombone song. And wobbler is singing. But, you know, Echizen is not so far away from Kyoto. from Siberia come across the Japan Sea and hit the mountain, and it go up and become snow.

[10:36]

So often, they have 10 feet of snow, and the entire town is covered with snow. Now, on Taiji, live not far from Echizen, by the ocean, the Japan Sea, they still sometimes can't fit in the snow. So it's a lot of snow. So when Dogen lived there, in the beginning of the So probably because Dogen was from Kyoto, probably he was looking for the sign of spring.

[11:38]

And he heard the opera, his singing, one of the first singing. You know, opera and plum blossom, or ume. It's a kind of a combination. When the plum blossom blooms, the wobbler comes and starts to sing. Dawkins sometimes composed a poem about plum blossom in the snow. So those two, plum blossom and this tiny the first sign of spring in the world, which is completely covered with snow. And so this poem, let me read it again. Although it is snowing ceaselessly, at the gate of the mountain valley, the wobbler is singing.

[12:48]

Spring has So within the winter, spring is already there. That is kind of a sketch of the scenery and his experience of beginning of spring. You know, Waka poem is longer than haiku, but still very short, so there's no Poets don't write the thinking in the poem, just describe the scenery and express how they feel. So this is like a small sketch with watercolor. So if we have the same experience, we really have the

[13:55]

deep impression of how Dogen, you know, like take a photo of one scenery without any so much explanation. So it's kind of difficult to feel what is there unless we have same experience. But for the people who have the same experience, we, you know, Fat Dogen wrote many thoughts This is how we appreciate haiku or waka poems. With a very short poem, something can be transmitted. So these are the poems about the seasons. But in Dogen Zenji's tradition, we also So, as I said this morning, those poems, Waka poems by Dogen was part of his biography, written by, I think, 10th adult of Eheishi.

[15:18]

That means more than 100 years after Dogen. So, you know, today's scholar doubt, they doubt everything. to be skeptical of their job. So, you know, some scholar says there's no evidence that all of these Waka poems were written by Dogen. And that is true. We can doubt, because there's no evidence. And some poems in the collection of Dogen's Waka by a different person or people. So we can count. Because I'm not a scholar, I don't need to. So I'm happy. I treat all of these worker friends as dogs. Anyway, so in the 17th or 18th century, a great Sōtōzen

[16:26]

monk scholar named Menzan, Menzan Zuihou, take those about 60 waka poems out from that biography. And he found several more wakas, possibly by Dogen, and made one collection and printed, printed and published. And he, Menzan, titled the made the title of this collection as Sansho-Do-Ei. Sansho is the name of the peak, or mountain peak, near Eheji. And Do is Wei, or Dao, and Ei is a poem. So... Menzan's presentation of Dogen Waka poems as an expression of the Way, or Tao, or Buddha Way, or Buddha Dharma.

[17:33]

So we try to understand or interpret this very simple, short poem of the scenery of the early spring as his expression of Dharma. And commonly we interpret this as a very important part of Doge's teaching. That is, practice and realization are one. Practice means we practice. And realization, practice, realization is a translation of shu and shou. And shu is practice. And shou evidence or proof. But this kanji, Chinese character, can also be read as satori. So, shu and shou are satori.

[18:36]

It means, in our process of practice, practice is a cause, as a common sense. and realization or satori is a result of our practice. And this expression, shu shou, is an abbreviation of a little longer expression, that is, mon, shin, shu, shou. Mon is to listen or hear, to hear. Shi is to think. And shu is practice. And shou is This is our result. That means, as a process of our practice, study and practice Dharma, first we hear, listen to someone's teaching. And when we hear the teaching, we think about it, consider whether this makes sense or not, whether this teaching is doable or not to me.

[19:47]

And if we think as intellectual thinking, if we think it makes sense and doabu, then we put that teaching into practice. And through our practice, practicing our experience using our body and mind, not only thinking, through our experience we see work well to me, or not. So that is the meaning of shisho, or practice realization, or practice verification. So this verification means our practice verifies that teaching is true. So this is a kind of process or stages. Hearing, thinking,

[20:50]

practicing and realizing that teaching was really true. When we see that teaching is true through our experience, we don't need to think anymore, and we don't need to believe, because we know through our body and mind as our experience. That is the meaning of shu and shou. But Doren says, shu and shou are one. That means shu and shou are not two separate stages. It's not a cause and result. But shu or practice is its self-manifestation. That means you don't need to wait until you finish practicing. But within practice, The realization is already there.

[21:53]

So these are not two separate stages. You first described the stages, and then you described Dogen's innovation of that. Is that correct? Yeah, Dogen's interpretation. He kind of negates a common understanding of Buddhist practice as a stage or a process. moment of practice, verification is already there. So this means within winter, spring is already there. So spring and winter and spring are interpenetrating each other. So even though the scenery world is covered with snow. That means the entire world is still like winter. But this tiny bird thinks spring is already here.

[22:58]

And this is really spring. After the first day of the first month, it's really spring in the calendar. But somehow we have to find We have to look for a further sign of spring. And this tiny bird singing, spring is already here. According to Dogen's teaching, our practice is this omra. Even we study the Dharma and practice, still we are not so different from ordinary people. so many delusions and self-centeredness. So, it's really difficult to find enlightenment in our practice, when we close, look at ourselves.

[24:07]

And yet, when we allow bodhicitta, always seeking mind, aspiration, and receive the bodhisattva precept and take the bodhisattva vow. The ceremony you had this morning was about this vow. Dependence, precept and vow, bodhisattva vows. When we receive bodhicitta, receive the precept and take the bodhisattva vows, try to practice as much as possible. So it's kind of difficult to see we are already Bodhisattva. Bodhisattva means Buddha's children. But within our practice, in our tradition, the essential practice is zazen or sitting.

[25:21]

of our ego-centered mind or thought, even we let go, they are there. When we are sitting with this upright posture, facing the wall, we can, Togenzetsu calls this sitting as just sitting, or shikantaza. Even if we sit, facing the world with this posture, we can do two more things besides just sitting. One is thinking, another is sleeping. Even if we sit in this posture, if we are sleeping, what we are doing is the same as what we do in our bed. So sleeping is not pleasant, and thinking is not pleasant. If we think, within this post-surface in the world, that thinking is the same as what we do in front of a computer.

[26:30]

In order to understand letting go of thought, or in my teacher's expression, opening the hand of thought, we have to make a clear understanding of the difference between thoughts that are coming and going, and I think. When thoughts are coming, even when we sit in this posture, our heart continue to work, function, to eat, and send the blood to all the body, and our stomach continues to function, to digest what we ate, and our entire body is working. There is no reason, only our brain stops working. And the function of our brain is to produce thinking.

[27:53]

So it's not possible to stop our brain, same as we cannot stop our stomach functioning. But when we are sitting, thoughts are coming and going. But if we, the person sitting, watch or see those thoughts coming and going, and think about it, and think about making evaluation. Often I think, I don't like this memory, or I have this, or I think this is a really good idea, or that is terrible. That is thinking. In this case, when we think, and thought, all those different kinds of thoughts coming and going, and this person becomes subject, and those thoughts become object.

[29:04]

So our mind is separated into two parts, subject and object, and we start to interact within our mind. So our mind is separated into two pieces, subject and object. Whenever we are aware that something is happening, that is how we grasp our thought, or memory, or anything happening in our mind. Whenever we find we are doing such an interaction, we open our hands, we stop, and return to just sitting. And this just sitting is to keep our posture upright, as if air goes down to our abdomen. Air doesn't go such deep. Air goes through the lung, but we need to make sure our abdomen is more deep.

[30:12]

And we keep our eyes open. We don't close our eyes. That means we don't sleep. And letting go of thought means stop this interaction. We need to understand that thoughts are coming and going, and I think. So I often say, thoughts are here, but I don't think. Thoughts are coming and going, but I don't think. Whenever I start to think, I stop it and return. Those are four points. Four points mean upright posture, deep and smooth breath. and keep our eyes open, that means no sleep, and letting go of thought. Whenever we do, you know, whether sleeping or feeling, we stop them and return to just sitting. That is, in my understanding, that's our practice of zazen, just sitting.

[31:16]

Within this just sitting, you know, even we open our hand, or letting go of thought, and return to just sitting, next moment we start to think. If we can calculate, for example, a 15 or 40 or 50 minutes period of zazen, maybe the length of thinking might be longer When we try to return to just sitting, this one period of zazen is zazen. But if we think, it's okay to think. It's okay to think means when we have this separation and interaction, we create karma.

[32:22]

But when thoughts are just coming and going, We don't make karma. In a sense, just sitting means we make a vow or we make a determination that I do nothing based on those thoughts. Thoughts are just there, and in a sense, idling. But I don't think. This is a kind of strange thing, strange to say. When we drive a car, put the air into neutral, the engine is still moving, same as our brain is still moving, but the car doesn't move. So we are not moved by, based on, or brought by our thinking.

[33:23]

So during Zazen, we don't make karma. And the birds' thoughts coming and going in our consciousness came from our karma or karmic consciousness. And when we grasp them, we create new karma. But then we open our hand. You know that past karma? Karma means everything we experienced in the past. From our birth, while before our birth. If those thoughts coming and going from this karmic consciousness, it's idling, like a car when the gear is in neutral. So we don't create a new karma. So in that sense, when we sit with this attitude in the Zen, and we let go of our dualistic

[34:34]

thinking, then we are released from our karma, our karmic consciousness, and dualistic thinking in one moment. And this one moment is important. That means we can be released from this karmic consciousness in one moment. That is very important awakening. And we are free from So this is like an ogre singing in the winter. We are still deluded human beings. Our brain continues to produce deluded, ego-centered ideas. is there.

[35:34]

Spring means realization or awakening or satori. So satori is not some kind of condition of our brain. But satori is when we open our hand and not being pulled by our karmic consciousness. Then, you know, the reality beyond thinking. appeared through our practice. That is what Dogen meant. Practice and realization was a real one. But still, we are deluded in one way. We cannot say, I am enlightened person. We are still deluded. is we cannot see it and grasp it as an object.

[36:42]

When we start to do such a thing, we make a separation and try to observe it and evaluate it. So there's no way to evaluate it as an object. That's a problem or a difficulty of our practice. So the only thing we can do is keep practicing without evaluation. That is what just sitting means. Anyway, we interpret this poem of early spring as a voice of our practice, especially when we are beginner, you know, we can't see any difference. We are still deluded in our sense of human beings. And yet, within this practice, and I talked only about the Zen practice, But even when we do some small, good, helpful action for the person in front of us, within this action, the reality beyond separation appears.

[37:53]

The next moment, times. So, allowing bodhicitta is not only one time in our life, but we have to repeatedly, continuously allow bodhicitta. That is why we need to do the bodhisattva ceremony, if possible, every day. That means we renew our vow That's how, even though we are still devoid of human beings, you know now, Buddhadharma appeared in our practice.

[38:56]

And in my understanding, that is not only Dogen's unique teaching, but there is a kind of a short sutra entitled, Butsu Yui Kyo Ryo, or Buddha's Last Teaching. This is the So that's why this is called the final teaching of Shakyamuni. The main theme of this sutra is impermanence. Even Buddha Shakyamuni died. But at the end of his final teaching, Even if I live 100 more years, the situation is the same.

[40:09]

I taught as much as I need, so this is a good time to stop it. So anyway, I'm dying. And he said, after my death, you should study my teaching and practice it. And if you practice following my The indestructible Dharma body of the Tathāgata is always present. This teaching is very interesting. That means he is dying. And basically, in the Aryan Buddhist teaching, his dharma body means his teaching. His teaching was also called dharma. So his dharma is always there.

[41:14]

But we need to practice. That means, if we practice following Buddha's teaching, this indestructible dharma body is always present. In our logical We were thinking, think, what about if we don't practice? If we don't practice, does our body disappear? Is this really eternal or indestructible or not? That's a good question. But of course, Buddha trusts his disciples to continue to practice. And they did. That's fine. It's tradition. teaching. So within our practice, Buddha's Dharma body reveals itself.

[42:17]

And I think this is the same structure with Dogen's teaching of practice and realization or verification are one. That means in our practice, actual practice, using this body and mind, Buddha's Dharma body or realization or verification appeared or revealed. So this is really an important point of not only Dongen, but also Buddhist teachings or Bodhisattva teachings. How can we maintain the Buddha's eternal life? I would have to maintain eternal life. But that is only the way we can keep the Buddha's dharma body alive. That means through our practice.

[43:19]

So our practice is very important. No matter how imperfect our practice could be, our practice is very important. This is the only way the Buddha Dharma probably can continue. That is my understanding of this Vagabond. Please. So a question about, in this poem he's saying, Although it is snowing ceaselessly, the warbler is singing, spring has already come. In Genjo Koan, he's saying, I think it's, don't think of winter as the beginning of spring. Those are different points, correct?

[44:22]

But here he's saying that the seasons are interpenetrating and they contain elements of each other. So I'm just asking if you could distinguish for some of us, there's a different point that he's making in those two different kichens, I think. I think spring does not become summer. Spring and summer is not really two different things. And spring becomes a different thing. You know, winter and early spring is almost the same thing. And late spring and early summer is almost the same thing. So there's no such distinction between spring and summer. I think that is what Doge meant. We shouldn't think spring becomes summer. But warblers exist in this country?

[45:47]

In America? Yes. But I'm not sure whether warblers in this country and geese in Japan are the same thing. There are many species of warblers, but maybe not the same warblers as Japan. Because I have heard that Japanese and geese sound They sing in a different way, different music. Do plum blossoms really bloom in February in Japan? In Kyoto, yes. Because they bloom in California, but it's California. Maybe from a different kind of plum. Yes, American plum blooms in mid-February. could say anything.

[46:57]

Dogen in most of his poems, he uses, well you talked about it in an earlier poem this morning, about how he's using images that everybody knows, that are familiar to all Japanese. So in a way he's not saying anything special. What is it about him? I wonder if you could say anything about the way that he's using the language here that makes it his. Well, if we read Shobo Genzo, we see the language is very unique. No one writes in his way. But when he writes a waka poem like this, he doesn't use any difficult Buddhist terms, at least when he writes about seasons.

[47:59]

In some wakka poems, he describes kinds of Buddhist teachings, but still it's very different from his writing in Shoto Genzo. So it might be difficult to find his uniqueness in his wakka poems, At least not so much like Shobo Genzo. Let me go to the next poem. This is a poem about samurai. In Japanese, Yamanohano, konomeku yoi no tsukikage ni hikari mo usuku tobu hotaru kara.

[49:00]

My English translation. The moon begins to rise above the mountain's brown. In the glimmering evening moonlight, fireflies take wing, glowing thinly. So this is the scenery of, I think, early summer. And the time when the sun is already set, but still it's not dark. And the moon starts to rise from the mountain below. So the moon is still small. And you can see the fireflies are flying with dim light.

[50:03]

So there are three different kinds of light. Sunlight is still there, and it makes the sky really beautiful. And the sun is already set, and the moon is not yet completely right. So this is a time between daytime and nighttime. I think you are familiar with the expression Dogen used in Fukanza Zengi. In English translation, That expression and this poem is connected. That expression is, turn the light inward and illuminate the self. In Dogen's original, this is

[51:09]

is to go forward or to progress or improve, but taiho is to backslide. So usually, commonly, this is a negative word, but in Fukanza Zen, Kintokyo used this expression in a very positive way. And this taiho, or backward step, is translated as turn right inward. And eko, henshou, is actually a description of the scenery in the same time of the day, but the sun is always set, but the sky is still bright and beautiful. That means the sun is always set, but the sunlight turns the light and you know, farmers working in the field until sunset.

[52:40]

So this is the time to stop working and return home. And yet this, you know, the sky is not yet dark. You know, this darkness and light appeared in Sando-kai. Darkness means no discrimination. And light means discrimination, and during daytime we have to make discrimination and make choices what I should do in order to do a good job, you know, what I should do, which is better this way or that way. And often we are successful, but often we are not so successful. So we feel like heavenly beings, or a heavy dweller, or a hungry ghost.

[53:47]

That's how our life in the daytime is. But in the ancient times, night is really dark, and they didn't have electric lights, and the oil was very expensive, so they couldn't keep the light burning. lantern burning all night, so night is really dark. So this is about discrimination, about duality and non-discrimination. And night is the time people rest, and daytime is when people need to work. But this particular time of the day is between darkness and light. The daytime work is already over, but we don't need to sleep yet.

[54:50]

That is the scenario of the other thing. Do you understand? We don't need to think and make Sunlight is already set, and yet it's still illuminating our mind. This is really a beautiful and restful time, but we are not completely in non-discrimination. Still, discrimination is coming and going, but we don't need to grasp which one. So that is a scenario of Zazen. That is why we use this expression, Eko Henshou, in Fukan Zazen. And when I asked a Chinese person what this expression, Eko Henshou, means, the person said, that is a kind of a condition, not a condition, something that happened before we die.

[56:02]

I never die, so I don't have no face. But when someone dies, right before dying, somehow their face becomes red. That is what is called Eko Hensho. As a friend, I looked up a Chinese dictionary about this expression, Eko Hensho. The dictionary said, expression means second wind in English. Second wind. That means when we do some exercise and we become tired and we feel there's no energy anymore. But somehow new energy comes up and allows us to continue. That means our personal willpower doesn't work anymore. But somehow the energy deeper from our thinking, where our personal willpower comes up and allows us to continue.

[57:13]

And during Sesshin we often experience this. You know, after many periods of Zen, we often say, I cannot do this anymore. But somehow we have to stand up and go to the Zen door. somehow that energy, deeper than my thinking, whether I can do or I cannot do, somehow that deeper energy comes up and allows us to see, to continue. So that is the meaning of this expression, Eko Henshou. So the English translation, you know, turning up the light inward and illuminate the self doesn't really convey these various meanings.

[58:15]

But there's no perfect translation. It's possible. So basically the meaning is instead of our light always go outside and check out what are these, and make a variation and make a choice. That is what we usually do. And turn the light inward means instead of going toward those things outwardly, but turn the light inward. So the meaning is not wrong. The meaning of English translation is not wrong. That is mainly But other kind of connotation lost in the process of translation is very important. That means our practice is not done by our personal willpower.

[59:24]

But when we give up and we say, I cannot do this anymore, find the energy deeper and broader than me, we find that energy is working within these five senses. But usually, because we think our thinking or our brain is the owner and operator of this body and mind, then I think I can do this, then we stop it. But somehow you know, that makes flower blooms and birds singing, allow us to keep sitting.

[60:27]

So I think this waka, the scenery this waka describes is the same with what Dogen said in Hanzo Sengi. So this is, in a sense, this is a scenario of another thing. And we are like the dim light of fireflies. And moonlight and sunlight are much larger. Of course, we cannot even compare. But still, when we, you know, the fireflies fly with on the fireflies and the moonlight and sunlight are really one light. This is another meaning of this, I think, this poem. That means no matter how small and how weak our practice based on our bodhisattva vow can be, but still, this practice based on bodhisattva vow is not really simply

[61:41]

from our thinking. But this comes from, as I said, much deeper energy, or in Uchiyama Roshi tradition, life force. The life force allows me to practice in this way, no matter how small and weak it can be. So, you know, fireflies being, you know, light, Can I go to the next one?

[62:45]

Any questions? Good. The next one is a work about the autumn. I choose this one. In the collection of Dogen Uwaka poems, this is titled Gyoju Zaga. Gyoju Zaga is walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. Those are the four things we can do using our body. Walking, standing still, sitting, and lying down. This expression In the translation, we are thinking that he protects rice.

[64:05]

The scarecrow in the mountain's small paddy doesn't doesn't exist in vain. But we like dull negatives. Anyway, this is a scenario of autumn, around late September and early October in Japan, on a rice paddy. And in this poem, it's a small tiny rice paddy with the mountains. It's not like a huge rice pie in a frame. And when the rice grows and is ready to harvest, you know, human beings are not only animals who come

[65:11]

I think this is a feast. Many birds, like a crow, so many birds come to the rice field to get those grains. And human beings are not so generous, so we want to make them not coming. I don't think how a square crow could work. But somehow, traditionally, human beings, not only in Japan, made square crows to prevent the virus to come to the rice field. This is not a big rice field, very tiny in the mountain, so not many people appreciate The scarecrow, no one come to see, say, you are doing a good job.

[66:23]

So no appreciation, no one watch. But somehow, scarecrow is there, and scarecrow in Japan is called kagashi, and kagashi is often like a bounce. using a dark brown or black robe and having a bamboo hat. So, Kagashi looks like a Buddhist monk, a traveling monk. So, Kagashi is sometimes called a monk. So, monks are standing on the rice field. in the autumn, and human beings experience I'm here.

[67:37]

What am I doing? So this means good for nothing. But somehow, because of the scarecrow, the bird doesn't come. So actually, the scarecrow protects the rice. In Menzan's collection of Dogen's work of poems, this poem was entitled, instead of Gyojo Zaga, or Walking, Standing, Sitting, and Lying Down, Menzan changed the title. Menzan's title is the same. So our Zazen is like a scarecrow dance.

[68:37]

Just being there. And don't think even this is good for something. And yet, it's not in vain. And Saoki Yoshida likes this point. older version, previous version of Zen Teaching of Homeless Kodo, I selected Sawakiroshi's painting of Scarecrow and this waka poem by Dogen. And according to Sawakiroshi, this is what we do, not what we do, but what our Zazen does, just being there. Nathan doesn't think I'm doing an important job, but just sitting. But still it's not in vain. It's not in vain, but it's good for nothing. to be good for something else.

[69:54]

But we think if this is good, that means this is good for something. That means this is a means or a method to gain that thing. And that thing is more important than what we are doing. And we often or commonly think our Zen is a means or a method to get something. more precious than just sitting. But our zazen is a good period. It doesn't need to be good for something else. It doesn't need to be some means or effort to get something good. And this is the same as nirvana. In Parinikaya, Buddha had a conversation with one of his disciples, and the disciple asked something like, what is meditation or contemplation good for?

[71:13]

And Buddha said, it's good for Then the monk asked, what is nirvana good for? And Dogen said, you don't know the limit of questioning. That means don't ask. That means nirvana is good. We cannot say nirvana is good for something else. Because that is, not Dogen, but Buddha said, that is the final place we need to reach So Carastel says Nirvana is good for something else. And in Fukanza Zengi, Dogen says, this Zazen is a dharma gate of peace and joy.

[72:18]

Peace and joy is a translation of anger. the translation of Sanskrit was Sukkha. Sukkha is the operation of Dukkha. Dukkha is suffering. And Sukkha means nirvana. So according to Togen, this valley is itself nirvana. And at the very end of Khandzazen, he says that And this expression, treasure house, came from the Lotus Sutra. I think you know the parable of a poor son who left his father and became very poor. But somehow he returned to his father's house, but he didn't know that the owner of that house was his father.

[73:25]

Anyway, his father After 20 years of training, this son, little by little, would grow and become mature. And when the father died, he was dying, the father said, this person is my real son. So everything, all of my wealth is his. That was the father said finally. And the son said, I didn't expect this, but the treasure has opened of itself and come to me. So Dogen used this expression, kozo, or treasure has opened of itself, in Fukanza Zengi. That means, in his teaching, this Zazen is, save us, this poor son inherit his father's

[74:36]

entire wealth of his father, that went into Nirvana. So, in Dogen's teachings, our Zazen practice is not a method to gain something more precious or valuable than sitting, but this is the final precious In Japanese society, we expect to work hard and to make money, make a lot of money. to get more and more fame or wealth or money or whatever, you know, thought variable in this society.

[76:03]

So when I first read Sawaki Roshi's saying, In the autumn, the season of harvesting in the mountains, the way this scarecrow is existing is like what we do in our land. It's just been there. like a thief enter into an empty house.

[77:06]

We make an effort to enter the house, but because it's an empty house, we can gain nothing. We are good for nothing. But because this is an empty house, you know, the thief does need to escape. No one chase after him. So it's very peaceful, but no satisfaction. That is the nature of our Zen practice. It's peaceful, restful, and yet if we expect something more than just being there, then we make a mistake. Japanese, in my English translation, are grasses lying unseen in the field under the snow.

[78:37]

The white helm hides itself in its own appearance. So this is a scenario of winter. As I said, in Echizen they have a lot of snow. So this entire world is white. We cannot see anything. But within this white world, everything is white. There is a white bird, called a white heron. So it's very difficult to How can I say? See that the bird is there because the color of the bird and the color of the entire world is the same color. So it seems like this bird, the white heron, is hiding. But hiding within its own appearance. So everything is revealed.

[79:40]

and we can't see the birth. That means we can't see the separation between the birth and the rest of the world. Everything is white. We make prostration every day, so I think you understand what Dogen is writing here. Your prostration is different from what he's saying here. is like this white helm, hiding itself within its own appearance, within the world of white.

[81:01]

And this white one color is the color of Five parts of our body, means both knees and both elbows and our head, forehead, should be on the ground. And we hold our hands like this and press about the same height with our ear, like this. And this posture, But I think it is simple. We put Buddha's feet on our hands and this means Buddha's feet is the lowest point of Buddha's body and our head is the highest point of our body.

[82:12]

That means we put That means we didn't take refuge in Buddha's teaching. And probably, this is what I think, so I'm not sure if it's true or not, probably this posture is the posture in the ancient India. person in front of us. If we put our both knees, elbows, and the head on the ground, there's no way to attack the person in one action. But the person standing in front of me can do anything. So this means I completely surrender to that person.

[83:20]

So this posture refers to complete surrender. I don't do anything, but you can do everything you want to do. So this is really a posture of being vulnerable. That means me, this person making prostration, and the person in front of me. In our case, Buddha is not competitive and not equal, but everything comes from Buddha, I accept.

[84:36]

That is what this posture means. And in this case, So we validate everything within this network of interconnectedness, and there's no boundary between but someone else saw.

[85:59]

You know, this is a very common practice in this country, in Sotoken tradition, but I'm kind of an exception. I'm sorry about that. Well, anyway, I never saw my clothing, but somehow I never lack of clothing, and I never ... Now boil rice, but still I always have something to eat. That means someone or something or interconnectedness allow me to receive all those foods, not only foods or water that allow my physical body alive, but even the information I have, When I was a kid at a school, everything is a gift, even the language.

[87:06]

In my case, Japanese language is a gift from Japanese society. Unless I went to a Japanese school, I couldn't speak and write Japanese language correctly. As I said, language is a source of problem. and we create this ego-centered idea using the language. Even that language we create, ego-centered idea and expression, is a gift from the culture or from the society. You know, Japanese language was a kind of a fruit of all of the effort of all people, millions of people lived in that country for millions of years. And I received it without any, how can I say, exchange.

[88:12]

That is really a gift, free gift. But somehow, when I use that gift from the society or world, I create many egocentric ideas. That is how we live. But when we make prostration, I kind of take a vow not to use the gift I received from the entire world to harm others. white blood in a white world, in a small country, that we interpret this term as a teaching, as that kind of teaching with no separation.

[89:15]

This practice of making frustration, not only full frustration, but even when we do gassho and wang, this is the same thing. I think this gassho, the process of this gassho, also means I don't have any intention to attack you. When our hands are open and together, And we keep space here. That means I cannot hide any weapon. We can't hold anything. And we cannot attack from this posture with one action. Then I want to attack the person in front of me, I have to do something like this. And if I do this, the person can escape. I think this is a posture or expression.

[90:28]

I have no intention to attack you. And in this case, this is done between friends. So this is an expression of trust and friendship. This is the time to stop. Before that, any questions or comments?

[91:13]

@Text_v004
@Score_JJ