We've been talking this week about stories, a couple of stories, about the great master, Jojo, or Joshu in Japanese, from the 800s. Well, 700s and 800s, he lived 120 years. And as with many of his stories, these stories point to the concrete to us immediately before him. So, the monk came for instruction and... and... Jao Tzu said, have you eaten breakfast? And the monk said, yes, I have. And Jao Tzu said, then please wash your bowls. And... so, the story has to do with when you have nourished yourself, when you have... settle deeply, deeply, deeply into zazen and this awareness.

[01:04]

Please wash your bowls. And again, at lunch, please wash your bowls. And at dinner, please wash your bowls. And again and again. Study thoroughly. So in his first comment in the Book of Serenity, which I'm referencing for these stories, Hongzhe says, opened up, the mind ground meets of itself, and now a guest to the monastery having studied to the full, but was there enlightenment in there or not? And once on the commentator talks about those who enter by way of conditions never regress, and yet the old brother is not through yet. So endless conditions, endless entering into the way. And then we've been talking about another story. A monk asked, what is the meaning of the founding ancestor of Bodhidharma coming from the West?

[02:21]

And Jato said, the cypress tree in the front of the hall, or the cypress tree in the garden out here. Very direct. Nothing special. No esoteric, philosophical, abstract doctrine. Just the cypress tree right in front of you. And the monk said, Teacher, don't use objects, don't use an object to guide people. And Jatra said, I'm not using an object to guide people. And the monk said again, what is the meaning of the ancestral teacher coming from the west and charging us at the cypress tree in front of the hall? So just this, what is in front of us? How do we meet this? So these stories we've been talking about are preliminary to

[03:29]

the story I want to, that I mentioned yesterday, that I want to talk about today. And maybe the most famous koan in all of Zen, or one version of it is. And I'm going to talk about the version that's in the Book of Serenity from Hongzhi about a dog. And as I said yesterday, in Tang China, dogs were not, you know, high-class, pedigree, pampered, domesticated pets. Dogs were kind of scavengers that roamed around. Anyway, the full version of the story, or a fuller version of the story than is usually told, a monk asked Zhaozhou, does a dog have Buddha nature or not? Zhaozhou said, yes. The monk says, Since it has, why is it then in this skin bag?"

[04:33]

Zhao just said, because he knows, yet deliberately transgresses. Another monk, and I don't know if it says on the Chinese original, another monk. It just says a monk said, So, you know, again, was this one monk who wandered all over China asking questions? Anyway, a monk asked Zhaozhou, does a dog have Buddha nature or not? And Zhaozhou said, no, in Japanese mood. And just that part, does a dog have Buddha nature or not, Zhaozhou said no, is the first case in another Koan collection, the Gateless Barrier, Mumonkan. Many, in some Zen traditions, practitioners spend years, sometimes decades, just focused on just that question and just that answer, even though there's another answer in this version.

[05:38]

Does a dog have a good nature or not? Jajo said no. Mu and monks are advised in Mu Man's commentary that this is not the no of yes or no. This is some ultimate no, beyond the meanings of yes or no. Anyway, in this version, this fuller version, does the dog have Buddha nature or not? Jayajiva said no. The monk said all sentient beings have Buddha nature. This monk had studied and knew that this was the teaching prevalent in China from the Mahapanirvana Sutra. And then, why wouldn't a dog have any of it? And Zhao just said, because he still has karmic consciousness or impulsive consciousness. So, this is a fuller version of the story. And Zhao Zhou's responses,

[06:48]

while they might seem enigmatic, actually are very reasonable, clear responses based on fundamental Buddhist teachings. In the introduction to the Book of Serenity case, Wansung, the commentator, says, a gourd floating on the water, push it down and it turns, a jewel in the sunlight, it has no definite shape. It cannot be attained by mindlessness, nor known by mindfulness. So you can't get it by just getting rid of thoughts or mind, and you can't get it by just doing mindfulness practices. Measurably, great people are turned about in a stream of words. Is there anyone who can escape? So this yes and this no also mean it has or it doesn't have, u, arimasu in Japanese, u and mu. So the commentary to the case gives some of the context.

[08:03]

And I'll expand on that. The point of this monk's question was to broaden his perspective and learning. He didn't base it on his own fundamental endowment. So Wansong was saying that this monk was kind of Asking from some somewhat theoretical place. It wasn't about his own experience. Zhaozhuo said, yes, using poison to get rid of poison, using sickness to cure sickness. The monk also said, since it has, why is it then in his skin bag? He didn't realize he himself had been born in the belly of a dog. Zhaozhuo said, he knows you're deliberately transgressors. Well, of course, this isn't just about a dog. This is about each of us. And then there's the question about what is this business about Buddha nature?

[09:06]

This is kind of the fundamental question. What is Buddha? It's not different from the question, what was the point of Bodhidharma coming from the West, or whoever it was that came and brought Chan from India to China, or brought Buddhism from India to China, which happened 500 years before Bodhidharma, anyway. What was the point of Suzuki Roshi coming to California? Is there a point? One of the commentaries said, well, it's just three years of riding on a boat from India to China. Dogen said. What is Buddha? What is Buddha nature? What is the point of our sitting on a Saturday morning in Chicago.

[10:12]

What is Buddha? I would suggest maybe a more useful question is, how is Buddha? How is it as we sit upright and face the wall, face ourselves? That's what this story is about. And these stories, you know, again, The point of these stories is not to figure out something. It's not to reach some answer. These aren't riddles to solve. The point of all these stories is that they point us back to our own experience of just sitting, just settling into this space of zazen, the space samadhi of this room. But a little more than that. So, you know, these commentaries. from Wansong or Hongzhi or Dogen, you know, there is poetic phrases.

[11:22]

Some of you are caught or intrigued by one phrase, some by another. Some of you find one story appealing and some find another appealing. Some of you are really irritated by one story or another. And the point of that is, again, not to figure anything out, But as you settle, and here we are in the fourth day of Sashin, for many of us, most of us, and those joining us benefit from that. So we're all on the fourth day of Sashin. And as we settle, and enjoy our inhale and exhale, and kind of open up to this space, that we are creating together, it can be very peaceful, it can be very restful.

[12:26]

But also, please, pay attention. And how we pay attention is that something, some phrase, some question, it may be a question in your own life, but some phrase may may inform your own sitting. And it may be different for each of us, but he knows yet deliberately transgresses. What is that about? So I'm going to give some response about these responses of Zhaozhou in terms of Buddhist teaching, but that doesn't finish the matter. So whichever phrase or poetic line appears in your zazen from my babbling up here, use that to inquire into that space of zazen you're settling into.

[13:32]

Again, it's not something for you to figure out. Allow the question to join you as you settle. Jiaozhou said, yes, of course a dog has Buddha nature. Well then, why is it in the skin bag? And we know from great master Shuto or Sekito, Song of the Grass Hut, we chant sometimes, he ends that Song of the Grass Hut by saying, don't separate from the skin bag here and now. So this is a kind of, stock phrase for that which is sitting on your cushion. At least one way of seeing that which is sitting on your cushion. This skin bag here and there. And here they're talking about the skin bag of a dog. Probably a dirty mangy dog. This is Tong China.

[14:38]

This is not a dog who's been sent to the dog grooming shop. And Jadra said, he knows yet deliberately transgresses. So maybe I shouldn't say this. Maybe I should not offer you interpretations. But just to show you that Jadra is not just pulling some random phrase out of nowhere. Yeah, a dog enters Buddha nature. A being enters a skin bag. having Buddha nature because Buddha nature knows that it needs to re-enter the world and help other beings confused by this fundamental ignorance to enter the way towards realizing this space of zazen, or however you want to say it.

[15:47]

So deliberately, Bodhisattvas transgress, Bodhisattvas enter the world of greed, hate, and delusion, and enter skin bags. That's how we got born. That's how, that's why, why, well, anyway, that's what happened. All of you here have glimpsed this, more or less. And this group being So wonderful and noble. I would say more. But anyway, that's just my opinion. Anyway, so somehow you got born. Somehow you transgressed. You entered the karmic world. You were attracted to this world of greed, hate, and delusion because you wanted to help the rest of us. So, you're stuck in this skin bag.

[16:52]

Uh-huh. So that's one side. Then the monk asked, or some other monk asked some other time, does a dog have Buddha nature or not? And the judge said, no. Forget about it. No. No Buddha nature. And the monk said, quoting scripture, all sentient beings have Buddha nature. Why doesn't a dog then? And Jatra said, because he still has impulsive consciousness, he still has karmic consciousness, still caught up in fame and gain, greed and anger, trying to get somewhere, trying to manipulate the world to get the things that she thinks will make her happy or get rid of the things that he thinks will prevent him from being happy, and so forth. So no, no Buddha nature there. Just karma.

[17:54]

Just the world. Just the life that some fish turn away from when they see a straight hook. Anyway, so no, no Buddha nature. So, you know, Jajo's not, Jajo's giving, you know, actually, reasonable, intelligent, dharmic answers. He's not trying to be, you know, Zen, whatever. So I want to talk more about this. So I, you know, having given some interpretations of Jayaja's responses, that's not, that doesn't end the questions in this story by any means. So here's Hongzhe's verse comment in the Book of Serenity about the story.

[18:56]

A dog's Buddha nature exists. A dog's Buddha nature does not exist. And here it comes. A strayed hook basically seeks fish who turn away from life. Chasing the air, pursuing fragrance, cloud and water travelers, In noisy confusion, they make excuses and explanations. Making an even presentation, he throws the shop wide open. Don't claim him for not being careful in the beginning." And then he talks about a story. And I'm going to skip this for today. Maybe I'll come back to it. It's a story about this sort of an interesting story. about a king and a minister and, anyway, in a great jewel. But let's skip that right now. So a dog's brood in nature exists. A dog's brood in nature does not exist. A stray hook basically seeks fish who turn away from life, chasing the air, pursuing fragrance. Cloud and water travelers in noisy confusion, they make excuses and explanations. Making an even presentation, Jadra throws the shop wide open.

[20:02]

Don't blame him for not being careful in the beginning. And Wang Zong's commentary, Hongzhi wants to meet with Jiajia, that's why he versifies in this way. And then he refers to Ying Tianzhen who said, a straight harpoon catches ferocious dragons. Watch out. A curved hook catches clams. So we've been talking a little bit about this straight hook because it's referred to also in the story about washing the bull. Afterwards, chasing the air, pursuing fragrance like hunting dogs. They make excuses and explanations, a noisy confusion. Confusion, what juice is there in a dry bone? Basically, Jiaozi just wanted to trade on an equal basis. Jiang Chenghong should freeze Jiaozi's arm for him. Don't blame him for not being careful in the beginning. Then there's this interesting thing. Guizhong asked a scholar, what classics and histories do you work on?

[21:06]

The scholar said, I have mastered 24 styles of calligraphy. Guizhong made a dot in the air. He said, understand? The scholar said, no, Guizhong said. And you said you knew 24 styles of calligraphy. You don't even recognize the first stroke of the character always. He used it as a model containing all elemental stroke patterns. I'm not sure what character that is. Do you have any idea, Paul? It's a dot in the dark. Ah, OK. Oh, of course, yeah. OK? Yeah, so Inspector Libos asked, I don't ask about the 12 branch teachings of the Three Vehicles. What is the meaning of Chan? Again, the question, maybe literally it's what is, why did, what was the point of Bodhidharma coming from the West? Huizong raised his fist and said, understand? Huizong said, no.

[22:07]

Huizong said, this great scholar doesn't even recognize a fist. I say everybody watch the lion turn. This is kind of funny here because we have, you know, we have in the room, I don't know, half a dozen professors, scholars, I include myself as a part-time professor and a doctor and a few lawyers and, you know, Anyway, very learned group, but we're also here sitting. And so I think you all recognize if this one comes at you. Anyway, it is not just saying a dog has buddha nature or not, especially this, he knows but deliberately transgresses and he still has impulsive consciousness, are extremely careful to look ahead and behind, careful in the beginning, safe but in the end.

[23:13]

Then Wansung gives another Different verse comment by Hongzhe on the same case. Jiaozhuo said, yes. Jiaozhuo said, no. A dog's good in nature. All over the world, excuses and explanations. A red face is not as good as honest speech. When the heart is true, the words are surely coarse. Old Chan uncle of over 100 years. This is referring to Zhaozhou. And so Zhaozhou is not in the lineage that we chant at midday. He's not in our lineage because his lineage died out. But he's an uncle of all Zen religions. So we had him on our altar on Earth in this group. Don Quixote has changed for eyes when he meets with someone. So Zhaozhou was very skillful. So Guangzong says, Zhaozhou's heart was true and his words honest. This is the straight hook, basically, who seeks seeking fish who turn away from life. And then it tells the story.

[24:19]

King Wen of Zhao went hunting and saw a chong zhiya in the valley of the Bo River, three feet away from water, fishing with a straight hook. The king thought this strange and said, how can you catch a fish with a straight hook? Ziya said, I only seek fish who turn away from life. So, we've talked about this earlier, but again, earlier in the commentary, one song says, a straight harpoon catches ferocious dragons, a curved hook only catches crams. We've come here looking for And now I want to turn to Dogen's commentary on the same story. And by the same story, I mean the fuller version.

[25:20]

So this may madden some of you, but I'm going to read it anyway. A monk asked Jaoja, does that dog have the Buddha nature or not? And Dogen says, the meaning of this question must be clarified. It asks neither whether a dog has Buddha nature or whether it does not have Buddha nature. It asks, does a man of iron still practice the way? Which is, you know, Nomanondal's note says, a man of iron is one who has awakened to the Buddha nature. A woman of iron, too, of course. Jiaozhou blundered into a poison hen and his resentment may be intense, Stokenn continues, but it is a means of seeing half a real saint at last after 30 years, which refers to another story of an old master who finally found a good student. Zhaozhou said, no, or mu. So in Dogen's version of the story, he puts the no first, as opposed to the Book of Surrender version, or the yeses version. Zhaozhou said, no. Hearing this word, Dogen continues, the course of practice to be pursued opens up.

[26:32]

The mu, the Buddha nature declares itself to be, the mu the dog declares itself to be, both must be utterances like Zhaozhou's mu. So does the mu a bystander calls out. Such a mu is a sun with stone-melting power. So this may sound familiar to those of you who have worked with Mu in the other way. The monk said, all sentient beings, everyone, have Buddha nature. Why doesn't the dog? What this essentially says is, were there no sentient beings, there would be no Buddha nature. There would be no dog either. Essentially, it means what? Dog. Buddha nature. What need have they to be called Mu? That's kind of already too much to say no. And Zhaozhou said, it's because the dog exists in karmic consciousness. Dogen says, the meaning of these words is that existence for the sake of others is karmic consciousness. It puts them together.

[27:32]

Existence for the sake of others is just like deliberately transgressing. But that's karmic consciousness. Although his existence in karmic consciousness is existence for the sake of others, it is dogma, it is buddhanature, karmic consciousness never understands the dog. How could the dog encounter buddhanature? Important question. Why should we bother encountering buddhanature? Whether we speak of existence in karmic consciousness, existence for the sake of others, or a dog-moo, Buddha-nature-moo, they are always karmic consciousness. And we remember that one never regresses by entering through conditions. So here we are, in the midst of karmic consciousness. Here we are, immersed in the fourth state of sasen, heart.

[28:35]

Dogen continues, and quotes, a monk asked Zhaozhou, does that dog have Buddha nature or not? This is the second version. And then Dogen says this interesting thing. This question signifies that the monk has skillfully gotten hold of Zhaozhou. We thus see that making utterances and posing questions about the Buddha nature are the ordinary rice-eating, tea-drinking occurrences in the lives of the Buddhas and ancestors. So these stories, you know, this is just, you know, like making tea in the afternoon, like taking some food from the second bowl with our chopsticks. Zhao Zhou said, it has, or yes. The manner of this has, yes, is not, they'll get continuous, not the has employed by exegetes of the doctrinal schools. It is not the has-possibly by the Sarvastivadana scholars who talk about existence and what the elements of existence are.

[29:43]

You must go beyond and learn Buddha nature. Buddha being is Jayaja's being. Jayaja's being is the dog's being. The dog's being is Buddha nature being, Dogen says. The monk said, if it already has Buddha nature, what's the use of its pushing into such a bag of skin? This is the way Dogen reads that. Why would Buddha nature take on such a skin bag? This monk's utterance asks whether Jaojo's being is present being, past being, or established being. And we would have to reply that the original being in Jayaja's utterance, or the fundamental being, appears to refer to one being among various other beings. But in fact, it is the fundamental being shining alone. Should fundamental or original being be something that pushes into? Should it be something that does not push into? The act of pushing into this bag of skin is a case of erroneous striding.

[30:47]

But it is not, therefore, in vain. So, you know, getting born, being in the world of Chicago or the planet Earth at this perilous time in our history, it's a big mistake. You know, we've all made a terrible mistake deciding to be born here, you know. It's really, it's... Why choose this time? You know, why be born here? In Chicago? How many of you were born in Chicago? There's just a couple. Anyway, somehow we all found our way here. Terrible mystery. And yet, Jorgen says, it is not in vain. It's not a waste of time. Chicago needs us.

[31:51]

The world needs us. We need each other, actually. Thank you all for being here. I'm so grateful. I'm really am. For each one of you. So, it's a mistake, but, you know, it's really important. So the monk had asked, it already has Buddha nature, what's the use of it pushing into such a bag of skin, and Jaojo said, So again, it's because it does it knowingly, it deliberately transgresses. And then Milton comments, as a mundane utterance, these words have long circulated in the world, but now it is Zhaozhou's utterance. He is saying that it transgresses on purpose in full knowledge of what it does. There are probably few people who would not have doubts about this. And then this translation says, the words pushing into are difficult to understand in this context, but in fact, they are not really needed here.

[32:57]

Not only that, many quotes from Chito, if you want to know the undying person and his hermitage, you must not leave your own skin bed here and now. The undying person, whoever he may be, is never at any time separated from this skin bed, from this bag of skin. to transgress knowingly is not necessarily pushing into such a skin bag. Pushing into such a skin bag is not necessarily knowingly and deliberately transgressing. It has to be deliberately transgressing because it is known. Anyway, this part he took as getting You should be aware that deliberately transgressing may as such contain concealed within it daily activity that constitutes the intoxicated body of suchness." So that sentence is, I think, pretty cool.

[34:00]

You should know, you should be aware, Dogen says, that deliberately transgressing may as such contain concealed within it. daily activity that constitutes the emancipated body of suchness. Daily activity. Everyday mind is the way, Judges. This is what is meant by pushing into. At the very time the daily activity constituting the emancipated body of suchness is concealed within it. Yeah, at this very time, the daily activity constituting the emancipated body of suchness is concealed within it. It is concealed from you and from others as well. So buddha nature doesn't necessarily know that it's buddha nature or even care to call it buddha nature. What bother adding such a word here? But although that is indeed true, do not say you are not yet free of ignorance. That's not all.

[35:03]

The eminent priest, Yunju, Dongshan's disciple, whose name is Duchat, says, you may learn all there is to know about the Buddhadharma, but in doing so, you completely falsify the bearing of your mind. So again, it's okay if you forget everything you've heard in these talks this week. Hence, even if your partial halfway study of the Buddhadharma Hence, even if your partial halfway study of the Buddha's dharma has long been in error, for days or even months on end, it still cannot be anything but the dog pushing into such a bag of skin. It is a case of knowingly transgression. But that itself is no other than being Buddha being." So, I guess you all slipped off that straight hook. OK, that was a lot of words, but I wanted you to hear what Dogen has to say about this story and say more about it.

[36:07]

Well, it's time now. Well, it's almost time. But anyway, even if you, oh, this last part again. So Yonju says, you may learn all there is to know about the Buddha Dharma. There's a lot. There's so many. Even just in what's been translated into English, and there's a lot that hasn't been, there's a lot. Libraries, the important texts of Buddhism, anyway, there's a huge amount of stuff to read if you're into that kind of thing. But even if you learn all there is to know about that, in doing so, you completely falsify the bearing of your own mind. This is what Yonjur Dowie, whose name we recite amongst all the other names at midday service this week, that's what he said.

[37:09]

So Dogen says, even if your partial halfway study of the Buddhist Dharma has long been in error, for days or even months on end, still it cannot be anything except the dog pushing into this bag of skin. It is a case of knowingly transgressing, which again is what Bodhisattvas do. That itself is no other than being Buddha being. So this idea of this dog and Buddha nature And part of the problem with the question, does a dog have Buddha nature? As I mentioned yesterday, Doga, in the beginning of this essay that I've been reading from, it's a long essay about Buddha nature, makes the point that Buddha nature is not some thing that you can have. The verb has or not, the verb yes or no, also can be have or not have. And it's not that kind of thing. Buddha nature is a way of talking about the same question.

[38:14]

What is Buddha? How is Buddha? What is it that we settle into that we can't quite... we sort of have some sense of out of the corner of our mind, you know, as we settle into zazen on the fourth day of sushumna. And yet, there's this story from Jaja about this dog sitting on our cushion. Buddha nature. What is this Buddha nature? There's an American Buddhist scholar named Robert Scharf who talks about how this issue of Buddha nature doesn't come up in India because it's the Chinese who think about nature in this way, about human nature or the nature of things.

[39:24]

So this is a development of Buddhist awareness or teaching or thinking that is Chinese and it comes into Chan and Zen, this question gets into this question of buddhanature, what is the nature of this awareness we settle into again, or that we kind of taste, as we open up to the tenderness of our own experience, to the fragility of our own experience on the fourth day of sushumna. And again, the point of asking a question is not to get some answer. That's irrelevant. The point of asking such questions or being caught up in the imagery of straight hooks or what have you is simply to pay attention as you're settling.

[40:34]

as you're opening up to being kind to the ache in your shoulder or knee, or the places of frustration or fear in your heart, or whatever it is. To being kind to yourself as well as each other, of course. So please enjoy, as I say, this zazen, this settling. Please enjoy the, you know, and part of that is focusing. So whatever helps you to focus, whether it's a phrase from a teaching or a mantra or counting your breath or paying attention to your breathing or paying attention to sound or, of course, returning to awareness of your posture and your uprightness.

[41:48]

Whatever helps you to focus and settle, that's important. And by the way, just as a footnote, I went around today and made some, for some of you, some postural suggestions. It's not corrections, you know. You have to find your own uprightness. So there's this settling and focusing, but then there's also, as part of that, there's a kind of opening. There's a kind of space that we connect with. There's a mind-ground meeting of itself. You might think of it that way, if that appeals to you. So there's an opening, there's a kind of flexibility, and sometimes we need to return to the focusing, sometimes we can open up. Anyway, this is a dynamic practice.

[42:52]

It's not one thing, and there's not one right way to do Zazen, or to let Zazen do you. But as you settle and open into Zazen, or as Zazen settles and opens you, you can use these stories that Jaojo has left us, or somebody has left us about Jaojo, to keep returning to awareness. It's not about just finding this deep peace and just kind of... You asked yesterday about this important question about serene or silent illumination, and these stories and how they work together in this practice is that we settle into serene illumination, but then something from these stories, whichever one appeals to you, or maybe just a line, a line from one of these poems,

[44:03]

It calls you to look, pay attention, pay attention to what's going on. Not to get some answer or some explanation or some understanding, but just be aware, pay attention as you're settling, as you're opening up. Gently, kindly, Bring awareness to that settling, to that opening. So Hongzhe's comment on the cypress tree story, the bank eyebrows lined with snow, the river eyes contain autumn, the ocean mouth drums waves, the boat tongue arrives the current, the ability to quell disorder, strategy for great peace.

[45:27]

All Zhaozhou, all Zhaozhou, stirring up the monasteries, never yet stopping. Uselessly expending efforts, still the cart was made to fit the groove. Originally without ability, still it was made to fit the groove. So please continue heading the stall, whether or not it has Buddha nature.

[46:16]

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