There seems to be a practice going on here. There's a temple and human beings have assembled to partake of a traditional monastic exercise program But the practice seems fine. And then there's the issue of the realization. The Chinese character, you know, the Dao means the way, but it also means enlightenment.

[01:01]

a realization of enlightenment. So today is a day to celebrate the realization of enlightenment. Are you ready? Oh, good. I'm so happy to hear that. You've probably heard this question before. What is the practice of the way? You've heard that question before? You have? Yeah, I've heard it myself. In other words, what is the practice of enlightenment?

[02:09]

And What is the practice of enlightenment? Master Ma said in response to that question, the way does not belong to practice. Enlightenment doesn't belong to practice. Did you know that? Well, anyway, have you heard that before? You know, I've been thinking about that for a while and I think that's worth considering, that enlightenment doesn't belong to the practice. There is

[03:18]

however, the practice of enlightenment. But attaining anything you attain, any attainment through the practice, is subject to regress. Now, if you say that there's no need of practice, that's just superficial. There is practice of the way, but if you think that you attain the way through the practice, And you practice in order to attain the way.

[04:23]

Or you attain something through practice that doesn't hold. There is no enlightenment without practice. And enlightenment does not belong to the practice. And practice doesn't belong to enlightenment. Enlightenment doesn't own anything. And a practice that owns anything is not the practice of enlightenment. Okay?

[05:32]

We got a practice here. We got a practice here. Maybe even you got a practice here. This is like medicine for the practice. While there's a practice, We need to take the medicine of the teaching so we don't think that this practice owns the enlightenment, or that we're going to attain enlightenment through this practice. We practice because when there is enlightenment, there is practice. Because there's enlightenment, there's practice. The practice verifies the enlightenment. And the enlightenment verifies the practice. There is no need of practice.

[06:37]

The way does not need practice. The way doesn't need practice. But there's no way without practice. The way doesn't need practice, but we still have to be careful not to defile it. And it is the practice or the way. Somehow, I don't know, there seems to be a possibility to defile the way, to defile enlightenment. So we must not defile it. What's defilement? Defilement is any kind of contrived activity. Any way you practice through which you will get something. Anything, but in particular, especially, most of all, supreme perfect enlightenment.

[07:47]

Most of all, practice through which you will attain, you will enter the Ocean Seal Samadhi. So we got the practice, we're all set. All we got to do is understand the practice. as inseparable from the way, not owning the way, not being owned by the way, something we enjoy wholeheartedly, but practice without being contrived about it. So there's training in non-contrivance. training in non-defilement, the practice in an undefiled way.

[08:54]

So, that's what I've been talking about. Undefiled way to practice, the undefiled way to experience, the undefiled way to experience life moment by moment. So, whenever an experience arises, Whenever an experience comes, whenever an experience arises, whatever comes, meet it. With no grasping. With complete relaxation. right now, whatever, responding to this situation and dealing with whatever is coming, then everything is the way.

[10:11]

Another way to say this is, put an end to all conception. But that can easily be misunderstood. You might think that that means put an end to all conception. But if you do, that's an example of a conception. Put an end to all conception means that you don't grasp any of your conceptions. Did you know that all conceptions have an end? So when a conception comes, it comes as a beginning and an end. So at the end of the conception, put an end to the conception. Like there's a conception, I got a conception, it's called Carolyn, and there's several people I could apply that to around here. There's a Carolyn.

[11:23]

There's a Carolyn. So there's a Carolyn conception and then sort of like, so the practice is when the Carolyn conception comes, put an end to it. Like, Carolyn conception. That's it. In the Carolyn, there's just a Carolyn. That's an end to Carolyn conception. Do you understand? That is uncontrived. If you try to do that, you're not putting an end to the conception. This is to meet somebody, or to meet the conception Carolyn, without thinking what Carolyn looks like. This is to be undefiled. This way of practice, this undefiled way, is not to be hindered by good and evil.

[12:32]

Not to be hindered by good and evil means when good comes, meet it with complete relaxation. When evil comes, meet it with complete relaxation. So some people come in to me and say, how can you meet evil with complete relaxation? What if it's like in the form of a big, you know, 566-pound turkey coming to peck at you? You've got to be a martial artist. I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, as a bodhisattva, you must be a martial artist. You must be able to meet evil, martial evil, with complete relaxation. If you just want to be a martial person, you don't have to relax.

[13:43]

But if you want to be an artist, you've got to relax. when the big aggressive force comes at high speed, you gotta like relax. You gotta know how to move with it so you don't get hurt. And if you're tense, it won't be good for your health. I don't say I am a martial artist, but I want to be. I want to be a skillful martial artist." And you know, from what I've heard about the Buddha Shakyamuni, she was a skillful martial artist. She was attacked by mass murderers and serial killers, and also relatives. No kidding, a relative sent a wild

[14:45]

bull elephant running at the Buddha. Buddha had nice relatives, almost like yours, huh? You think you've got problems? So did the founder. But when the elephant came, the Buddha, very skillful martial artist, took care of the elephant. I think he kind of like patted it, gave it a peanut. Hey, attacker, want a peanut? Wait a minute, you're not supposed to be saying that. Woody Allen, you know him? I think, you know, he's a pretty good martial artist from what I've seen. At least he talks a good show. And he told me that a lot of Jewish kids in New York learn to be, you know, very funny growing up in tough neighborhoods.

[15:54]

Because when they get attacked by those big Italians, they've got to know how to, like, lighten up. Hey, Jesus killer! And so on, right? So in one of his movies, where he's playing a part of a convict. He's in prison. He's in a chain gang, I think. This guard, this real mean guard comes up to them and lines up the new inmates. He starts screaming at them with various kinds of weapons in his hand, just like Mara. You know, screaming at them about terrible things that are going to happen to them if they make one slight And then he says, are there any questions? And Woody Allen raises his hand and says, yes. What is it? Do you think it's okay to pet on a first date?

[16:59]

This is called meeting what comes with complete relaxation. And of course, what does the guy do? It disarms him. What is he going to do to that? Whoa. If you have some preconceived idea, some fixed perspective on what's going to be appropriate, you're, what are they called? dead in the water. Of course you have perspectives. Of course you have ideas. You see, here it comes, here it comes, here she comes, here it comes. I can do this, I can do that, I can do that, I can do that. Yeah, yeah, you can do a lot of things, but how about releasing, relaxing, letting go of all your brilliant ideas and see what it means to me. without grasping anything.

[18:15]

Watch and see how the body behaves in the meeting. Let the event unfold as it actually unfolds. This is the way. It's not the practice to get the way, it is the way. You're not grasping evil. You're not rejecting evil. You're not praising evil. You're just meeting it. And you meet it in this intimate, relaxed way. It's disarmed. But if you think ahead, if you wait for the turkey to come, you're not relaxed. Keep letting go of the future turkeys as the turkeys come. Closer and closer, newer and newer, fresher and fresher, here comes the aggressor.

[19:22]

There's a lineage from the Buddha through the Vimalakirti Sutra to Master Ma, to Dogen, to us. A lineage of this ocean seal samadhi. With what understanding, what understanding realizes the way? It's this Ocean Seal Samadhi. Ocean Seal Samadhi. What understanding? Previous thought. It is only through gathering of many, many dharmas that this body is formed. When it arises, only dharmas arise.

[20:59]

When it ceases, only dharmas cease. When dharmas arise, they don't think I arise. When dharmas cease, they don't think I cease. Prior thought moment, succeeding thought moment, Each thought moment does not wait for the other. Prior Dharma, succeeding Dharma, each Dharma

[22:19]

does not await the next. The Buddha said this in the Vimalakirti Sutra. And Master Ma said, this is the ocean seal samadhi. I say this is the understanding that comprehends the way. This is meeting whatever comes with complete relaxation. When something arises, when something happens,

[23:22]

It's only something happening. The something that's happening does not think, I'm happening. This is not grasping what's happening. This is complete relaxation. Every event is completely relaxed. isn't attached to itself, doesn't think it has a self to attach to. It just, because it's relaxed, it arises and ceases. And it doesn't wait for the next thing or the last thing to be over. This is the ocean seal samadhi.

[24:25]

This is the ocean-like harmony of all things. This is the way things are in perfect harmony. So the Buddha said this, then Matsu named it the Ocean Seal Samadhi. He saw that in this way of seeing, of understanding what's happening, we enter into the ocean, oceanic awareness of the Buddha. It's a strict, simple practice, very simple. Just let the arising be the arising. In the arising, there's just the arising. In the arising of the pain, there's just the arising of the pain.

[25:28]

In the ceasing of the pain, there's just the ceasing of the pain. Thrabha. Thrabha. Thrabha. There's a beginning and an end to the concept pain. And there's only the arising of pain in the arising of pain, and the ceasing of pain in the ceasing of pain. And this is a simple practice, a strict practice, a pure practice, a clean practice. This is a way to clean the object, the pain object, and clean the awareness of the pain. of all grasping, of all tension. This is the ocean seal samadhi. According to Master Ma.

[26:34]

Dogen then quotes the sutra and Master Ma Master Ma goes on and says this, he says this is the ocean still samadhi. And what is the ocean still samadhi? It is to shi, all dharmas. And shi means to embrace and sustain. In the chant that we're doing at noon service now, it says fulfill. The three pure precepts, fulfill. all wholesome garments, fulfill the regulations and ceremonies of Zen. That fulfill is another translation of this word. So the Ocean Seal Samadhi is to fulfill everything. which also means to nourish everything, which means to mature everything, which means to be devoted to everything, which means to receive everything with Buddhist compassion and to receive everything as Buddhist compassion.

[27:44]

Whatever is given to you, it is Buddhist compassion and you receive it with Buddhist compassion. This is the Ocean Seal Samadhi. And what is the way of receiving everything that's Buddha's compassion? In the arising of Dhammas, there is only the arising of Dhammas. In the meeting with this person, there is just this person. In the ceasing of the meeting with the person, there is just the ceasing of the meeting with the person. In this way I receive Buddhist compassion, and in this way I receive with Buddhist compassion. I, I should say I, there is the fulfilling of each meeting, in this way. And then Master Ma says, it's like hundreds of thousands of rivers returning, different rivers returning to the ocean.

[29:03]

When they return to the ocean, they're all called ocean water. The ocean has one taste that embraces all tastes. In the great ocean, all streams are turbulently mixed together. And this is important, I think, to emphasize that in the mixing there's turbulence. When this being comes to meet us, when their world meets our world, there is an initial impact, initial shock of when our worlds meet. You come with your story of the universe, I come with mine, and when they meet, there's turbulence when they mix.

[30:11]

We do not live in the same worlds. We live in the same universe, made of many, many worlds. Each of us has our own world, and when we meet, worlds clash. That's why there needs to be considerable relaxation. This is a world-clashing event when we meet. We need to relax for the shock. Otherwise, it turns into trauma. For good reason. We're talking about world-shaking events meeting each other. This is the Ocean Seal Samadhi, to be in this meeting.

[31:19]

And when we wash with the water of this ocean, we wash with all the water of the ocean, Master Ma says. And then, Several hundred years later, the Master Dogen says, please study the teachings, these teachings, and meditate on them in detail. But, you know, it's just like right now. Whatever's happening, who's ever coming, responding, and dealing with them with the understanding that everything is enlightenment. You know what I think?

[33:02]

I think a really, my idea of a good martial artist is not somebody who wins. Or I should say, not somebody who defeats somebody else. I think a really good martial artist, a true martial artist, is someone who has entered into a practice where everybody wins. but I'm not going to cling to that idea. I practice judo. Did you know that? I do. And in judo we say play.

[34:06]

Now I haven't been to any official judo meetings for about 36 years. But once a judoka, always a judoka. I gave away my gi, my judo outfit, when I first came to Zen Center. And I kept my belt for a few years after that. But now I don't know where it is. I won't tell you what color it is. But anyway, I played judo. And you know what judo means? the gentle way or soft way. But I'm not saying I'm good at it.

[35:20]

In other words, some people play judo, they forget that it's judo and they lose their softness But a key factor in learning Judo is being soft. You learn so much more when you're soft, when you're relaxed, when you're pliant, when you're letting yourself be thrown all over the room. They say that the founder of Judo, you could throw him all over the place, but he never went anyplace. Wherever you threw him, you went there too. You're never alone.

[36:21]

You're never disconnected. He's always with you. Diana's gonna give me the video of West Side Story, so get ready. I'm so present. Oh, so present. I'm so present and witty and gay. Oh, so present. We're so present. Oh, so present. We're so present and witty and gay. Soon I'll know the rest of the words.

[37:23]

Hmm. Well, you know, I just can't stop these songs. When you're a Zen, you're a Zen all the way from your first session to your last dying day. Is there relaxation spreading through the Sangha?

[38:58]

Are you ready to meet enlightenment? Are you ready to meet all dharmas? Please enjoy this wonderful practice.

[40:21]

And may it not be defiled. Tension and equity

[40:47]

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