The substance of Buddha's body is the treasures, the triple treasure. The shape of Buddha's body is the three pure precepts. Refraining from all that is unwholesome, practicing all that is wholesome, and benefiting all beings. The function of Buddha's body is the ten great precepts. The way to bring Buddha's life into our daily activity is these ten great precepts.

[01:12]

These ten precepts, as coming from Buddha's mind, are beyond our human comprehension. When we hear them, as human beings, they may sound like moral instructions for human beings. If we hear them as Buddha's mind, we may not understand them at all. The point is to receive them and live with them day after day.

[02:30]

The first of the ten great precepts is not to kill. Dogen Zenji makes the essential comment on this by saying, life is not to kill. Let the Buddha seed grow and succeed to the life of wisdom of the Buddha, taking no life. Life is not killed. So here we hear four different ways of talking.

[05:13]

One is not to kill. The other is, life is, quotes, not to kill. And next is Buddha taking no life. And last, life is not killed. The Prajnaparamita Sutra says, you should investigate with clear perception what kind of a thing is called life, such that we want to cut it off. Also, what reason is there for ending such a life? Arriving at this perception, one realizes that self-natures are completely empty, and

[06:17]

after all, all self-natures are empty. Life is not to kill. And, life is not killed. There is no killing of life which is not to kill. This is Buddha's mind. And receiving this precept, that life is not to kill, carrying it with you in your heart through the day, the precept that life is not killed, is a way to bring Buddha's

[07:27]

mind into your life. To carry the precept of sentient beings, that you can kill life, and that life involves killing, is to bring the life of a sentient being into your life. And, perhaps, to be involved in killing, and not killing. This precept here is a Zen precept, which is about bringing Buddha's mind and Buddha's teaching into your life, embodying it with your life, by receiving the precept that life is not killed, and life is not killing. This lets the Buddha seed grow and succeed to the life of wisdom, of Buddha not taking

[08:39]

life. Again, we human beings do not understand this, or we may think we understand it, that's fine too. It doesn't matter. The point is that you receive such a precept again, and again, and again. I'm happy to discuss with you all the complications that your mind throws up about receiving this precept. The important thing is to receive it and live with it. Every time you receive this precept, the action of mentally, physically, and vocally receive this precept, that action of receiving mentally, physically, and verbally, especially physically

[09:47]

and verbally, causes an effect which goes on forever, like gravity. There's no end to the action of receiving this precept. That action of receiving the precept's got nothing to do with your behavior at some other time. If you become involved in wrong action, that has its effects. Receiving the precept is not right or wrong action. Going for refuge is not right or wrong action, but receiving the precepts is something that causes a shape, a function, in your life forever, and in the universe forever. I'll just put a little footnote here.

[10:51]

In the Abhidharmakosha it's called avijñapti-rupa. It's called a form that you cannot cognize with your eyes and so on. But it's something out there beyond time and space that is a resource for all beings forever, forever. There's no end to it. So, again, to come forth with your life and receive these precepts within and without of whatever understanding you have, that's the fundamental thing. As soon as you do that, you're doing exactly the same thing that a Buddha does. A Buddha has this precept moment after moment, accepts this precept moment after moment. Then, Kyoko comments on what Dogen Zenji said,

[12:02]

Living and dying are not before and after, he says. And I think I mentioned before, too, that the Buddhist precepts and Buddhist teaching, too, has nothing to do with before and after. And having nothing to do with it doesn't mean we reject it either. We don't reject the world and say there is no before and after. Buddhist teaching is not about before and after. And living and dying are not before and after, and have nothing to do with before and after. Before and after are what human beings are involved in.

[13:13]

Human consciousness is involved in before and after. And we talk about something between called the present, too. But the present for us is totally involved with before and after. There's another way called Buddha's way, which is not about before and after. It's really between the two and having nothing to do with them. So, then Kyoko says, just not taking life is, and I'll say the Japanese first, zenki-gen. Zenki-gen. [...] Zenki means what I said before can be translated as the whole works. And for people who don't speak English as a first language, the whole works can be heard

[14:33]

on the level of colloquial English or standard English. Standard English, the whole works means that the whole works. Colloquial English, the whole works means everything. Okay? Could you follow that? Like there's a thing, there's a whole universe, okay? And the whole universe has a function, it works, all right? And the other meaning is, which is colloquial English, not standard English, is just everything. The whole works means everything. The entire universe is called the whole works, okay? But here we're saying that the whole universe has a function, and of course the function of the universe, what direction could that have? It must be in all directions at once.

[15:37]

In other words, another translation of Zenki besides the whole works would be total dynamic working. It's everything working with everything, towards, everything towards and away from itself, everything being supported by everything and supporting everything. All this function altogether, that's Zenki. And gen means manifestation. So life is Zenki gen. Life is a manifestation of the whole works. Death is a manifestation of the whole works. And just not taking life is manifestation of the whole works. When we understand that life is the manifestation of the whole works, the word to kill and not

[16:58]

to kill, or the words to kill and not to kill, are not as they are used and understood in the world. When, quotes, the three worlds are mine only, all things have true marks. Marks and to kill and not to kill are beyond their literal meaning. This is what's meant by just one vehicle or one brilliant indestructible precious precept. Kill and not to kill are beyond their literal meaning.

[18:10]

This is what's meant by just one vehicle. Just one vehicle means manifestation of the whole works. What's that like? Well, again I think of the little wind bell hanging like a moth in emptiness, not being concerned with north, south, east, west, good, bad, just being a wind bell, not comparing itself to anything else, having no desire, no individual interest.

[19:18]

Just hanging like a moth in emptiness, not being concerned with north, south, east, good, bad, just being there in the manifestation of the whole works. Life is just like this.

[20:21]

It's just, life is just lifing. Taiyo is just taiyoing. Death is just dying. Delusion is just deluding. That's all. The wind bell is just hanging. The wind is just blowing. It moves the wind bell. The wind bell is just moving. No idea of wishing it was moving some other direction reaches it.

[21:26]

It is manifesting its gravity and the movement of wind and all this is all it does. It is the whole works and that's enough and that's so simple that the human mind cannot stand it. That's why the human mind receives this precept, receives this precept over and over again so that it can stand, so that it can tolerate being so simple. So that taiyo, the human, can stand taiyo, taiyoing, can stand being something that nothing

[22:31]

can reach that is just itself in vibrant life where life is just not killing and where this life cannot be killed. Such a life cannot be killed, is not killed. This life cannot be compared to something else. It simply must be understood as it is, as it is, moment after moment, as it is, namely the whole works being manifested as it is. This is not to kill. Receiving the precept not to kill means to receive the precept of life as it is, means to receive the precept of you as you are, where nothing can reach and where you cannot be

[23:38]

compared to anything else, where you cannot be compared to yourself in the past or future, where you're actually living between past and future, in a place where past and future cannot reach, which we call Buddha's world. And when you live in the place where past and future don't reach you have entered Buddha's world. This precept, when it's received, takes you to that world and the action of receiving this precept makes the life of Buddha exist in the universe. You cannot do this precept, just like you cannot die, just like you cannot live.

[24:44]

Life is not something that can be done, death is not something that can be done. Death can only be dying, life can only be living. You cannot do yourself, you can only self yourself. This is called uprightness. This is the relationship between precept and uprightness, that you stand up in the middle of life which has no before and after, that you sit upright in death which has no before and after. Life which is simply as it is, lifing.

[25:50]

Everything else, everything else is simply vanity, vanity. All is vanity. But again, it's very difficult for us to live in this world because our consciousness has gotten used to being in the conceptual world of before and after. We're very comfortable there, we're uncomfortable, human consciousness is uncomfortable living in Buddha's world because it doesn't understand what's going on, because past and future don't apply. Conceptual world is where we're used to being and the conceptual world is where we separate

[26:58]

ourselves from each other. In the world of Buddha there is no separation between us. There is only life, lifing. There is no harm. There is no killing. This is the working, this is the function of Buddha's mind. Thank you.

[28:14]

Kyoko says, killing and not killing are not the same, but this precept of Buddha is beyond such distinctions. With humans and celestials, or with the precepts of humans and celestials, precepts for the impure, bad results are brought forth by killing, but nothing is separated by beginning and end, just as a shadow comes along with form. So, in the precepts for the sramana, sramana is a

[29:36]

kind of monk, since the three worlds are detested by the sramana, the fruits of humans and celestials are not sought after because the sramana want no residual future karma. Although their intentions vary, they discriminate killing and not killing from the point of view of birth and death, cyclic birth and death. But, in all versions of the Mahayana precepts, not killing is found. No, excuse me, just not but. In all versions of Mahayana precepts, not killing is found, but in each instance of not to kill is not with reference to beginning or end, but it is just not to kill. So, in other versions of these precepts, the idea is that these people want to get away

[30:45]

from the triple world, the world of birth and death, but because of that, the way they understand the precept is from the point of view of birth and death. Mahayana precepts also include this precept of not to kill, but here it doesn't have to do with beginning or end, with birth and death. It just is not to kill. Not to kill is mind only. Not to kill is the three worlds. Not to kill is sentient beings. Not to kill is not to kill. Not to kill is one precept. Not to kill is ten precepts. This understanding is the meaning of maintaining Buddhist precepts.

[31:53]

Besides this, do not expect any other result. Not to kill is not to kill. This understanding is the meaning of maintaining Buddhist precepts. Besides this, do not expect any other result. Again, the human mind does not necessarily like to hear this. When we say, don't expect any other result, we might think, well, what about saving the world? What about becoming utterly free from every possible trace of suffering in the world? That utter and complete freedom and happiness is not something else. It is no other result from not to kill is just not to kill.

[32:56]

There is no other result from not to kill is the manifestation of the whole works. There is no other result to be expected besides life is the manifestation of the whole works. All the wonderful things that are called the Buddha way are nothing other than lifing. I'm nothing other than Mari Hangela Singh. Don't expect any other result.

[34:07]

The precept light of the Buddha issues from the mouth according to conditions and not without causes. The light is not blue, yellow, red, white or black. It is not form. It is not mind. It is neither existing nor not existing. It is not of the things of cause and effect. The precept light of Buddha issues from the mouth according to conditions and is not without causes and it is also not a thing of cause and effect. It is not form. It is not mind.

[35:11]

It neither existing nor not existing. In other words, no concepts reach it and it's also the concept of it being someplace else doesn't reach it either. And also that it's without causes and conditions doesn't reach it either. But it's also not a thing of causes and conditions. That doesn't reach it either. It is utterly free. Therefore, it's also utterly free to be present in our lifing. And is exactly the same as our lifing. So how do we understand these words? Kyoko says, as the light of the precepts is already the true mark, then all things are

[36:21]

not to be denied. And yet, it says, no blue, yellow, red, white or black. And not form, not mind. However, among all the things that belong to the three worlds now, not one thing is without being blue, yellow, red, white or black. I already explained this. Then, where can we see the precept light? Because of this, the not of not form, not mind, isn't the not of yes and no. We should know that it is the not-together. The not of not form is not the not of yes and no. It is the not of no-together, or not-together, or not Buddha.

[37:25]

The excellent expression and radiance of not-together is itself things of blue, yellow, red, white and black. Form, mind, existence, non-existence, cause and effect. This being so, when we receive Buddha's precepts, there is no skin, flesh, bones and marrow of transmigrating in birth and death. And it is said that we are the same rank as a greatly enlightened one. Of the same rank as a greatly enlightened one means that we are the same rank as a sentient being. When we understand attaining the way together with all sentient beings on earth, what is there to be killed? I'm reading this to you and talking to you about this, but it's not easy to get this.

[39:00]

It has to be read a hundred times probably. Which is one of the nice things about translating something is that you do tend to go over it, and over it, and over it. So the precept light is not one of these colors. It's not form. It's not mind. It's not existing. It's not non-existing. Then they ask, well, but there's nothing in the world that's not one of these categories. So how are we going to see the light? Well, you see the light. By first of all understanding that when we say not all these things,

[40:09]

that it's not the not of yes and no. It's not that not. It's the not of not Buddha. And it's the not of not Buddha. And this not Buddha, or this not the Tagata, the radiance and expression of this not Buddha is itself red, yellow, form, mind, existing and non-existing. So again, the light of this precept not to kill is not Martina, or green, or mind, or form.

[41:13]

It's not those things. But if it's not those things, where are we going to see it? Because that's all we've got. Well, the not that's used here is not the not of yes or no. Like yes, there's Martina, or no, there's not Martina. Or we have blue, or we don't have blue. It's not that one. It's the not that we use with Buddha, not Buddha. And the not Buddha has a light too, same light. And that light is simply Martina, blue, yellow, and so on. This is what we call lifing.

[42:17]

The light of this precept is the life of Buddha's mind. This being so, when we receive Buddha's precepts, there is not the skin, flesh, bones, and marrow of transmigrating in birth and death. The skins, flesh, bones, and marrow of transmigrating in birth and death, did you feel them just a little while ago? When you heard someone saying, it's not all these things. Was there some birth and death there around when you heard those things? Did you grasp them? And then you heard, well, maybe you could accept it. And you say, oh, okay, it's not that stuff.

[43:25]

It's not there, so you got rid of that. It's not that. But then you heard, well, then where are we going to see this light? Well, okay, now we're going to find out. Well, then you find out you're going to see it in Natta Tagata. Because this not is not the not you just used to eliminate all that stuff. It wasn't that not. As a matter of fact, it's a not that when you put it in front of Buddha, it's the not that brings the light into everything. But it brings the light into everything in such a way that it doesn't have the slightest bit of skin, flesh, bones, or marrow of birth and death on it. Could you here feel any birth and death? Any transmigrating in birth and death as you listened? Or could you stay in the mind that is between before and after?

[44:29]

The mind that was being, that was you-ing or me-ing through the whole thing? Now, when you receive this precept, at the time of receiving this precept, you have the same rank. You're just like the Buddha. When you receive the precept, you're the same rank as Buddha. When you hear about this precept and you think about it, and your mind tries to understand it and you don't, or you do, or you feel okay about it, or when you say, oh, I got it, it's not that. It's not blue, red, yellow. It's not mind form. Okay, I got it. That is not receiving the precept, necessarily. When you receive the precept, you're the same rank as a Buddha.

[45:33]

But being the same rank as a Buddha means that you're the same rank as a sentient being. What's the rank of a sentient being? When a sentient being is just a sentient being, that's called manifesting the whole works. Receiving the precept is receiving the precept of a sentient being that way. But again, the human mind, our consciousness, is not comfortable with this, so it flits away from that. It has trouble living in this world between yes and no. So, someone told me a story.

[46:39]

Right here, it happened here in this valley recently, about this. This person received news of something to the effect of illness in the family. And this person was in the hospital. And to make a long story short, this person has a good imagination and made up a world, a horrible world. A world full of death that's not dying and life that's not lifing, but death that can be cut off, life that can be cut off. A world that she could imagine. In a world you can imagine, you can imagine life being cut off. Killing happening. Being killed happening.

[47:41]

This is the only kind of world we can imagine. Dying being done. Dying happening to things. She imagined a world like that and she became very excited and upset. Right here in this nice little valley. She then made an effort to ascertain which of the possible stories it was. Calling all over the world and eliminating some possibilities and then coming down to a more specific set of possibilities which were equally horrific but now a little bit, slightly more certain. Then she went to work in the kitchen. Totally distraught and probably extremely embarrassed to be in a Zen monastery and have this poisonous sea going on. And she was given

[48:43]

a turnip, a bunch of turnips to save her. And she asked turnips to save her and the turnips saved her. She got to cut the turnips. She got to be there turnip cutting. The world of birth and death, the world of before and after were always a hair's breadth deviation away but by continuously going to the turnip and cutting it one is saved. And

[49:50]

of course later she found out that all that she imagined was simply imagination totally a dream and then she got caught up in the dream of being relieved from the dream by being a different dream. So it wasn't that dream now she can have another dream which she liked kind of and then she realized that the new dream she was in which was much more pleasant and which she felt justified imagining the health and happiness of all these people that that was just a dream too and actually they might actually be in worse condition than she had dreamed of if she didn't know. But the point is also that as she switched from dream to dream where did her turnip go? She lost her turnip again. To go for refuge

[50:56]

and to receive these precepts is receiving something like a turnip and in fact every moment you get a turnip and we need to somehow find out what is the turnip this moment? What is the Tayo this moment? What is the Martina this moment that you have to work with? What is the thing that is the manifestation of the whole works right now? To free us in the midst of this constant flow of dreams. To protect us from the endless vanities that we tend to get involved in. .

[52:04]

So the kitchen staff is leaving and going to the Buddha land where they will have vegetables to save them. Or rather vegetable cutting to save them and soup making to save them. To each of us have something to work with. Do you have some suffering? Is there some suffering to be suffering? Is there some suffer to suffering? Do you have a life that can be the manifestation of the whole works right now?

[53:29]

. . So I I feel that now perhaps that you have heard about the refuges the three pure precepts and the first of the great precepts that you pretty much have the ground work. I will continue for the rest of the practice period to discuss the other great precepts with you but it seems like you have enough

[55:28]

to get started on your practice and so I ask you do you have something do you have what you need? Do you can you receive the precept of not killing? And I don't know if you haven't been talking in this situation but I feel like now it can be opened up but maybe you're not ready at this moment but particularly if anybody doesn't understand how to do an inconceivable thing

[56:29]

you could speak you could ask a question you could express yourself yes can you think about what might happen when we ourselves do that I don't know what you're saying there's a kind of expression it actually happens in coordination ceremony when a person receives

[57:43]

buddha's precepts then they say having received buddha's precepts you now have the same rank as a greatly enlightened one one who receives buddha's precepts has the same rank as a buddha so it's kind of a quote from that ceremony yes the meaning of that is that you have the same rank as a sentient being well for me it's because I was reading you a text you want me to try to guess why they had ranks in the first place in buddhism I would say the reason for ranks is that people think that a person's one place and a buddha's another place people think that they're not the same level as buddha right? I mean people think that way so because people think that way the buddhas address that issue

[58:44]

and say well when you receive these precepts you're the same rank as a buddha but that doesn't mean you move from some rank you were before to another rank it means you're actually the rank of a sentient being and I think to bring up the idea of rank is to just recognize that the discriminating mind has these ranks in it there isn't really any rank because that's what he just said the rank of a buddha is truly the rank of a when a sentient being is really a sentient being that's what it means to be a buddha and receiving buddha's precepts is a way to really be the rank of a sentient being which makes you exactly the rank of a buddha so receiving these precepts is a way for us to actually be willing to be what we are as it is

[59:45]

and that's our buddha nature so how are you doing? do you feel ready to be this sentient being? to let this sentient being be itself? what? right, do you feel ready to receive that precept of completely being yourself? so this is something the buddha rejoices over to see someone who receives that precept does anybody else lack anything that they need to receive this precept? I'm not asking you to say you're receiving the precept right now

[60:46]

I'd like to know if you have any if you have any any something more you need to know in order to receive it in order to receive the precept of life is not killing and life is not killed the precept of the manifestation of the whole works any problems? these words have the unmistakable ring of freedom it's difficult to know why I can't feel completely liberated something

[61:50]

resonates doesn't ring yeah you say that so what about what about that what about that what about that something that you say doesn't what about that something that doesn't can that be the manifestation of the whole works can that very difficult to believe

[63:00]

be uprightness yes just now just now is now truth just now it's my truth just now it's your truth can you accept that precept I'm manifesting it yeah you're manifesting it you cannot know this it's not before or after that your mind knows it's more where you receive this precept and practice it receive the precept of freedom even though you cannot know it it's the receiving it's the taking it into your life

[64:04]

we can't know it we can sort of say I know it but that's actually just you know a dream about it we're talking about deportment beyond hearing and seeing here we're talking about doing something that goes on beyond time and space do you need anything more to do a practice which is beyond time and space I'm not saying you should say I'm saying please say so if you need more to do a practice beyond time and space what do you need more for the practice

[65:09]

of time and space need a turnip for the practice of time and space you've got turnips you've got a body full of juice that's what you've got for the practice of time and space yes yeah yeah yeah right yeah yes yes

[66:09]

yes that sounded like a huge turnip you just talked about a huge turnip there that's a turnip a back with a piece of heavy equipment going over it is a turnip be run over by it that's the world that's the conceivable world of birth and death that you have to work with sounds like you've got enough birth and death the world beyond birth and death the world beyond hearing and seeing the way you get into it is through this body being this this steamroller body is your entrance point

[67:21]

to this other world I know it's a matter of life and death for me to do this in this world if you go over the hill like you know if you go over the hill then every step of going over the hill is the place you go forth from and you say yeah but that isn't going over the hill well that's right but the wanting to go over the hill is another kind of turnip the wanting to go over the hill

[68:23]

is another gift to you to save you the not believing is another turnip that's given to you to save you you've got to have some piece of stuff to be saved by red, yellow, blue, green, white form, not form existing, not existing cause and effect we have to have something, you've got plenty these are the things you use you use the stuff of these dreams to save you from the dreams somehow in the midst of the dreams you have to find something that you actually take and say this is my thing to work on this is my rock the pain gets to be so much

[69:30]

that like that lady you flip out right you go crazy and then maybe somebody walks up to you and says, sister sister regain your presence of mind if the pain gets to be too much beyond your ability to practice patience then you're done for you're temporarily disqualified from the game you've said, I ain't gonna stay here anymore I'm not gonna practice patience anymore, so there you go but when you see the consequences of that when you taste the results of that you come back maybe the pain's not so bad anymore maybe it's the same maybe it's worse but you come back into it and you say

[70:31]

I'm gonna work with this turnip I'm gonna receive the precept for example of life is not killed I'm gonna receive the precept of this life is the manifestation of the whole works I may have to cry my way into it I may have to slide my way somehow I'm gonna get into this body that I've got I'm gonna get into this mind that I've got and I'm gonna use this to save myself I'm gonna use this to save myself this and the practice of patience is essential when it's painful and it's painful often so the practice of patience is extremely important

[71:32]

in being able to tolerate pain but also tolerate a world of no before and after where you feel very anxious and uncomfortable because you're not used to living in such a world where before and after are not even eliminated but they're just somehow not reaching you if they're pushed away they're still reaching you but a world where they don't even reach what's the entrance point to that world? your suffering body your doubt your sentientness so simple so demanding there's the precept

[72:45]

there's the precept can you receive it? can you receive it now? can you receive it again and again every time you receive it it's a little bit more alive in your life so this teaching is for bodhisattvas this is for people that are actually charted for complete perfect enlightenment for the benefit of all beings who want to help beings now as best they can but who want to become you know as completely effective in helping people this is a teaching preached for heroic spirits it's extremely challenging very simple but I really

[73:49]

to tell you the truth I really believe it's a good teaching I can't really fault it but I know it's hard for us to keep on that being to train at being ourselves completely but I do I thank Regina and Kone and Stuart for voicing the human mind the human consciousness which has trouble

[74:50]

understanding and expressing its trouble understanding it's good to admit to admit that mind so how are you? I can't tell struggling it seems as though it keeps going in a circle this kind of talk it's like

[75:50]

and every time it comes back around to just such humanist but before that we're hearing about not humanist not of this world and I get confused because I can't understand why we need all that if it keeps coming around to the same place which is I guess voicing in some ways Regina's question it's like what is it not human are we really talking about something that is metaphysical or are we talking about just this life here and is that the same thing are we talking about something that's metaphysical it's like

[77:00]

it gets out in the mists and then you pull it back and when you pull it back it seems clear but I don't quite know why we've gone out in the mists and I feel like I must be missing something if I weren't afraid I was missing something I'd just be comfortable with where you pull it back to which is that sort of related to this business about why bring up the rank of a Buddha I have a feeling it's similar I wrote down and starred things here like you keep referring to human understanding and when is it not human when are we not human beings in the world not in the world well I guess we're not human beings when we're actually satisfied with living in the place where we don't understand

[78:02]

and making an effort in a place in a way that has nothing to do with past or future that's not human that's not the human way so for when a human being accepts a precept and they hear it in terms of past and future that's nice if it's a wholesome precept they say oh I know what that means I'll accept that precept in terms of past and future then it's a human being accepting a precept in their terms and then they are working on their ethics which is fine but when a human being accepts a precept after hearing that this precept is not about past and future then the human being enters into a realm where they don't know what's going on it's still a human being there but now the human being has willingly accepted something which they do not understand then the human being is different than an ordinary human being

[79:05]

still a human being but not saying I don't want anything that I don't understand, get that away that's the difference so telling you that these precepts are not telling you beforehand these precepts are not of the realm of human comprehension and then you still receive them then the human being is like a Buddha but from the human point of view you have just received something which you do not understand you have willingly accepted something into your heart which you do not understand you're using human to mean ordinary our ordinary life, our ordinary way of understanding and when it's not human to mean when you've gone beyond that or is that reducing it to our ordinary life actually has the possibility

[80:05]

of encountering something which is not just human but when we encounter it we feel it as human beings we feel it, like for example to spend your life cutting turnips and feel good about that you feel like a human being who feels I feel okay about cutting turnips forever why? because of my understanding my human understanding which allows me to continue cutting them why do I do that? because I've received a precept which says life is not killed I've received a precept which is not my human understanding so I'm a human being who has received something a precept a law which I don't agree with which I don't see in the realm but there's a difference before I received the precept I said I do not have things in my life

[81:07]

which I don't understand I exclude from my life things I don't understand I don't have no foreign bodies in here everything I've got here is part of my system I've just allowed something into my system which is not mine which does not fit in my system can you use another word a few other words than receive? accept so accept something you can't understand yeah like again the precept so so that's the act that you're talking about the act of sincerely saying yes I accept this precept and it doesn't and you said so I understand it doesn't mean that you that you have some sort of nice thing that you've just figured out about it

[82:07]

and none of us know how we might feel about that we could feel not very much or a whole lot or a lot today and not much tomorrow so it's really free of marks just just receiving it yeah unless you're actually lying about it actually lying about it what do you mean lying saying that you're going to receive it but really that's not receiving it just receiving it like someone gives you something that you don't understand but you just take it and it could be done ceremonially or not ceremonially right so you can do it ceremonially or not ceremonially you can just receive a turnip and you don't feel like the ceremony or you can in the morning you can say to yourself I receive this precept just say it to yourself it's kind of a ceremony you can say that and this business

[83:14]

this teaching is to tell you how thoroughly is to explain what we mean by life is not killed life is not killed is then amplified by saying life is not killed is the manifestation of the whole works that you've not only received something you don't understand but you've received something which is incredibly potent and vital it's not just there's lots of things maybe you don't understand that you could receive you could receive various mathematical theorems and carry them around too that's fine which you maybe never would understand but everyday you take that theorem into you day after day this is a teaching that you're taking on which you don't understand which is also describing to you how to live namely live as the life which is not killed what life is it that you have

[84:16]

that is not killed receive that precept which is also called not killing it's the life which is not killing or killed what is that? it is that no matter what's happening to you throughout your entire life is never the least bit diminished it's always radiant it is even in life there's just lifing and in death there's just dying death is exactly the manifestation of the whole works too you receive that at the same time that you receive the precept of life is the manifestation of the whole works all that comes to you when you receive the precept not killing and again when you realize you're getting all that then you don't understand what the precept means anymore but it has something to do with you being you completely which also you do not understand

[85:18]

that's why we have this precept because people do not understand what it means to be themselves completely so this precept brings up how inexhaustibly vast it is to be us we are the manifestation of the whole works and when we understand that that's our real life and that life can never be killed and that life can never kill because there's nothing but it and there's nothing higher than it it's the same as a Buddha and there's nothing lower than it is it coming in? and then the question is when you hear all this do you say okay, I'll receive that I'll receive all that that is for me in my life right now and do you understand that that's what we mean by uprightness in Zazen

[86:20]

that's what uprightness is uprightness has that the quality that comes to you that is realized in receiving that precept and then to do it every time you do it it has it transforms the universe so it's the same as taking refuge in Buddha but it's taking refuge in Buddha now in a slightly different way called the function rather than the substance this is the function this is the function of taking refuge in Buddha is to think about like this precept and the others now I feel bad going on so long but again I feel I hope that

[87:21]

after is this the seventh day yes this is seven days I'm hoping that you know in a way that I could just sit here with you and just keep going you know and going and going and your pain and difficulty would become something that you could continue to work with but at the same time I you know I'm sort of telling you this not because I'm going to do that but because I'm telling you that I'm aware that I've gone on a long time and that you might be having difficulty but part of what I'm hoping is that you're taking care of yourselves right now and that if somehow it happened that everybody but you felt okay about this going on and on this discussion going on and on that you could take care of yourself

[88:21]

part of what Zen training is about is that you can take care of yourself that if you have to uncross your legs you can do that that if you have to go to the toilet you take care of yourself if you have to say could we stop this discussion you could say so it's okay I'm saying this what I'm saying to you now is to empower you to participate and take responsibility for what happens I could have said that at the beginning of Sesshin but I didn't now I feel like through the initiation of seven days everyone has a sense of what would be appropriate namely we don't know what's appropriate that's a sense of what's appropriate

[89:25]

sense of what's appropriate is yeah what about not perceiving how is it different from perceiving? how is it better to perceive well the advantage of receiving it over not receiving it is that there's no difference when you receive it there's no difference but if you don't receive it you don't understand that that's the advantage of receiving it does that make sense? no? that's why I don't understand well just generally speaking Buddhism is like a robe you know the point of putting on a robe is to understand that it doesn't make any difference before you put it on you say I don't want to and that's because you think it would be different therefore you say I don't want to

[90:28]

if you really didn't think it made a difference you wouldn't not you might not do it but if someone said you want it you'd say okay but you could also receive it pardon? not putting it on if you really think it didn't make a difference okay if you really thought so then you would be happy to put it on wouldn't you? you might not want to but you'd be happy to right? I don't know not so? you don't think so? yeah maybe but most people that have to put it on at first when they put it on it's a test to see if they can still feel that it's no different when you first put it on or when you first think about putting it on most people say yeah but what about this, this and this they think it would be different and therefore they have some problem with it but it really isn't receiving it and not receiving it aren't different

[91:28]

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