If I may say again, there is the instruction to settle the self on the self, and then there's the instruction to learn the self, to study the self. to follow the self, to think about the self. And to learn the self, to study the self all the way to the end, to completely study the self means to forget the self, And this study is learning the Buddha way.

[01:24]

In the practice of settling the self, we give up temporarily, we give up thinking. Let go of thinking, you could even say let go of your intentions, your actions, Sit and at the same time let go of any intention to sit. Just sit. And even let go of the intention or any thinking about settling the self on the self. Once settled, then think. Intend.

[02:51]

act. But this acting or this thinking is from a subtle place, and this is best if this thinking is very deep. This is not thinking to figure something out. Once settled, act deeply, think deeply, intend deeply. And I suggest to you at the beginning something you may find out at the end, and that if you say study the self, or you could even say study one's self or your self, but this self, we don't mean a self that's opposed to other selves.

[04:39]

We don't mean somebody other than you and we don't mean the you that's not somebody else to be opposed to somebody else. The great teacher Dogen says, when all dharmas are buddha-dharmas, or you could say at the time that all dharmas are buddha-dharmas, there are delusion,

[05:51]

enlightenment, practice, birth, death, Buddhas and sentient beings. is the time, is the when we expound everything as Buddhadharma. It's the time when all our intentions

[06:55]

devoted to Buddhism. Yeah. Once settled, there is a time when phenomena are the Buddhadharma, are Buddhadharmas.

[08:27]

When all phenomenal dharmas are Buddhadharmas, there's a time, and that's the time when you think, when you intend. That's the time of thinking and intending that each phenomenal expression is devoted to the Buddha Dharma. And To think this way is the fundamental act. To intend this way is the fundamental action. It is action, it is intention, it is a vow. It's not trying to figure out the time when all phenomena are buddha-dharmas.

[09:44]

It is intending that this time be the time when this thinking and this intention is devoted to Buddhadharma when this activity is devoted to Buddhadharma. It is single-minded devotion to Buddhadharma without trying to figure out what Buddhadharma is. It is finding your place right where you are. that the practice will occur here and the practice will realize the fundamental point.

[10:51]

The practice will realize reality. The time when whatever is happening whatever phenomenal thing is Buddhadharma. This is not quite the same as to say that Buddhadharma is all actions. It's to say, rather, that we perform all actions as Buddhadharma. In the Buddhadharma we don't really say what things are.

[11:57]

We don't say the way things really are. We talk about how we say how they come to be. How they come to be, no one can say how they are. We can only say how they come to be. When all dharmas are buddha-dharmas, then there is delusion. This can be called the genjō koan, or the manifestation of the reality.

[13:20]

of the reality of delusion, the realization of the fundamental point of delusion. When all dharmas are buddha-dharmas, then there is enlightenment. Then there is the manifestation of the reality of enlightenment. Then there is practice. Then there is birth. Then there is death. But when we say birth, we're not saying what birth is, we're saying there is the manifestation of the ultimate reality of birth. There is the manifestation of the whole works of birth.

[14:28]

When all dharmas are buddha-dharmas, there is the manifestation of the whole works of birth. There is the manifestation of the whole works of death. The heart A settled meditator in this tradition is the manifestation of reality. And when all dharmas are the manifestation of reality, then there is delusion. And then there is There is delusion, which is the manifestation of ultimate reality, of delusion.

[15:39]

Settle the self on the self. Study [...] the manifestation of reality as the self. Or study the manifestation of the of the Self. Study the Genjo koan of the Self. At that time, intend to expound, intend to do the Buddha work of expounding every phenomenal Dharma as genjo koan, as station of reality.

[17:41]

Make every phenomenal expression an opportunity to expound the Buddhadharma. At that time, there will be, there can be, there are delusion and enlightenment men and women, birth and death. This is also said to be, this time, phenomenal things our Buddhadharma, this time is the time of what is it that thus comes.

[18:55]

It's the time of what Long ago, I've heard a monk came to see the sixth ancestor. The sixth ancestor said, where are you from? And he said, I'm from Mount Soong. The sixth ancestor said, what is it that thus comes? The six ancestors said, now is the time to expound all dharmas as Buddha dharmas.

[20:08]

But then something happened. The monk responded and he said, to say that it's this misses the point. This is a big step, a big turn. It turns from the time when all dharmas are buddha-dharmas to the time when all dharmas are without abiding self. And at that time there is no there are no There is no delusion or enlightenment.

[21:49]

Birth, death, Buddha. When expounding all phenomenal dharmas as Buddha dharma, if someone says, well, what is it? To say that it's birth, illusion or enlightenment misses the point.

[23:02]

So we expound, we intend that everything everything will be Buddha Dharma. We expound, we intend, we devote all of our actions to Buddha Dharma. And if someone asks us what it is, we don't point at any of the things which we expounded as Buddha Dharma. Matter of fact, we say, I'm not going to point. Am I not pointing? as an expression of my devotion to Buddhadharma. I'm not going to try to figure out how my expression is and I do not try to figure it out as another expression of Buddhadharma.

[24:10]

Because these dharmas, all these dharmas that are at the time of being buddha dharmas, these dharmas lack a fixed self. They cannot actually be found. We are devoted to make things that can't be found. when looked for thoroughly into expressions of Buddhadharma. We are expounding all of our actions, we are intending all of our actions as Buddhadharma and also understanding that we can never find the actions which are so dedicated and so given. In this way, we realize that the Buddha way is fundamentally leaping.

[25:36]

It's basically leaping beyond. Beyond abundance and lack. Beyond it is and it isn't. There is and there isn't. Delusion and enlightenment. Birth and death. And the way of leaping beyond birth and death is by being born as an expression of Buddhadharma, and dying as an expression of Buddhadharma, and practicing in all ways as an expression of Buddhadharma, while simultaneously understanding that there's no existence of the practice

[26:56]

that can be grasped. Don't try to figure this out, but be open to receive it. Have you found your place where you received it? Have you found your place right where you are? And if you find your place right where you are, without trying to figure out how, are you devoted to the practice occurring

[28:05]

and realizing the fundamental point. Now of course this whole conversation requires that you settle where you are that we settle this doesn't work unless we're willing to settle into the place we are and as you know it is difficult to completely give up resisting this particular fundamental this phenomenal dharma of the moment but it is dharma of the moment this basic thing that's happening right now right where we are it is that which we have the gift to receive and devote.

[29:16]

But if we resist what we're being given which is very difficult not to resist what we're given but if we resist it we can't really devote it. If we can accept and settle with this then we can give it to the Dharma. We can devote it. our current intention, which we do not make by ourselves but we make together with all beings, then this intention can be devoted to the Dharma, the Buddhadharma. And Sashin is an opportunity to find this place where the practice occurs. where there is a time when all dharmas are buddha dharmas and where all those dharmas lack fixed self and where there is leaping beyond

[30:42]

gain and loss. I don't say what delusion is. I don't say what enlightenment is. Delusion is the manifestation of the reality of delusion.

[31:59]

And enlightenment is the manifestation of the reality of enlightenment. But no one can find out, no one can ultimately find out what delusion and enlightenment are. But we can realize the genjo in the genjō koan of enlightenment. And whether it's delusion or enlightenment, there is realization of genjō koan. The practice occurs. Is there anything you'd like to express?

[33:03]

As Buddhadharma, of course. Yes? How is the trouble in the Middle East Buddhadharma? I don't say that the trouble in the Middle East is Buddhadharma. Rather I expound the trouble in the Middle East. And I intend, I think of, I act and express the trouble in the Middle East as Buddha done.

[34:12]

And trouble in the Middle East for me means my trouble with this misery and violence. My experience of it. I devote my suffering about this to the Buddha way. And that means that I don't get into what the trouble in the Middle East is. I do not get into what it is or what it isn't. I veer away from such concerns. because I want to make the thought trouble in the Middle East, Buddha Dharma.

[35:18]

So I want to see, I want to realize, how does it come to be? How does it come to be? We need to understand this. I need to study the trouble in the Middle East as studying the self. Studying my self which is not different from your self. This is how, this is what we mean by when all dharmas are buddha dharma. Then there is trouble in the Middle East. At that time when there is trouble in the Middle East. There is trouble in America.

[36:24]

There is trouble in the Zendo. I'm not trying to figure out how the trouble in the Middle East is Buddha Dharma. I want to make, perform, live the trouble in the Middle East as Buddhadharma. I want to make realize create, intend in all possible ways, participate in the truth of this violence, of what it really is.

[37:28]

This is my for the Buddha Dharma in relationship to this violence. Is there anything you'd like to express? At that time, it sounds like grandmother and my granddad Yes, this is another name for this practice is early mind or old guys, old girls mind. We're almost too weak to get on the airplane.

[38:40]

but like Suzuki Roshi said, now I'm old and I can't sit up straight anymore, but I can try. We can try to make every every exhalation and inhalation the performance of the Buddha way. Every breath taking care of the triple treasure. every thought of concern for the welfare of people at risk, make that the Buddha way. Devote that to the Buddha way, which includes not saying what it is or isn't, not taking sides, not demeaning others, Yes.

[40:04]

giving oneself over to pain and suffering. That's what is happening every moment. You're not going to resist that. You're not going to take it. You're not going to give up yourself. Accepting victimization. And I think, I definitely, I feel strongly that it's, I know it's very difficult, but acceptance of victimization, I think, leave the ground scale to things like the government. Because it enables completely different people to express anything regarding what needs to be very careful about. This whole idea of accepting victimization Discrimination isn't necessary because... Would you like to look at this issue a little bit now that you mentioned?

[41:38]

My response, if you want to take the word or the... the word which represents some phenomena, the word victimization? Or are we talking about a case where victimization is a phenomenon that's actually occurring? Is that the situation we have, for example? So what am I saying? I'm saying how do we expound that as Buddhadharma? Do we do that carefully? Well, if we don't say what it is or what it isn't, then I would say we're tuning in to expounding the phenomena of exhibition, expounding it, intending that Buddhadharma will be expressed in the way we meet this, the way we relate to, the way we act in relationship to this.

[42:53]

This could lead us not to say what it is or what it isn't, but to discover how it comes to be. If we see how it comes to be, we can participate in liberation from it. If we do not see how something comes to be, but rather in terms of how it is, to say, it is this way or it isn't this way, if we get into substantializing some unwholesome, terrible situation, or even a good situation, a pleasant situation, if we don't make it into an opportunity to expound and realize, then even a good thing can enslave us. and harm us and others. So I agree with that we must be very careful about every phenomena. We must be careful to find the way to expound it.

[43:59]

So we say, I want to expound this this phenomena of violence as Buddhadharma. How does this come to be? Buddha Dharma is about how things come to be, not what they are. It's a voice saying they're this way or they're that way, which we have to be very careful. Now we have identified, we have named the problem, whatever it is, birth, death, cruelty, violence. religious war, all these things we had before us. Now, in every action in relationship to it, I want to expound Buddhadharma. I want to find how this is Buddhadharma. I want to look at how I think about it.

[45:04]

Because how I think about it is my entry into participating in liberating beings from this situation. Yeah, so that's a really good example because that, what you just said, is a non-Buddha Dharma understanding of karma. It's a religious understanding, but it's not the Buddhist understanding of karma.

[46:10]

But some other religions understand karma in that way. And I do not want to... And I want to expound the difference between the Buddha's understanding of karma and other religions' understanding of karma. I want to expound that difference also as the Buddha Dharma. But before I get into that, I just would say, first of all, that that's a different religious understanding of karma. Buddhist understanding. The Buddhist understanding led the Buddha to reject the caste system. It isn't that he accepted or didn't accept it. He non-violently opposed it. In a non-violent way, he basically... ...community which was free of the caste system. Because he had a different understanding of karma than other people in India at that time and since that time the other understanding of karma or other understandings of karma have persisted over the centuries with the Buddha's teaching of karma so karma is the teaching appears in other Indian religions and spiritual traditions besides the Buddha Dharma so part of what we're looking at here is expounding the teaching of karma

[47:37]

properly. Actually probably I would do more later in the session. Yes? How do you discriminate between true compassion and compassionless? How do you discriminate between true compassion and compassionless? How do you distinguish between compassion for others and nothingness? Well,

[48:59]

I guess I feel it's good that you would be open to the possibility that there would be some impulse or some intention to escape from fear of anything, but in particular there might be an intention or a wish to escape from fear of nothingness or fear of what else? What other kind of fear did you mention? fear of loneliness. Yeah, so it could be that if there's fear for loneliness, there could be a wish that there would be freedom from or relief from fear, and that could be compassion. But there could also be an impulse to escape from the loneliness, which I wouldn't say is not compassion, but it's sort of it doesn't necessarily help developing compassion to try to escape from fear.

[50:08]

So we have the practice of patience and generosity as compassion practices. We don't have like, what do you call it, precepts, patience and escape. So escape is not really usually on the list of compassion practices. However, being aware of the impulse to escape does help develop compassion. And I think many of us can notice maybe some impulse to escape from some discomfort. many opportunities to tell the difference between taking care of our posture and trying to escape from pain. Sort of the balance between a reasonable response to pain and fear can arise, but the fear is not necessarily helpful.

[51:10]

And then when there's fear, then there can be like a feeling of wanting to escape. And there could even be a wishing to escape before there's fear. We learn to work with our pain and other people's pain without fear and avoidance or hatred. And learning this is part of giving, it's part of precepts, it's part of patience, it's part of diligence, it's part of concentration. All these practices come to bear on pain and they help us notice intentions to escape. But the fundamental thing I'm mentioning is that when there's an intention to escape or when there's fear I intend at that time to devote this experience to the Buddha Dharma.

[52:22]

I want to learn from my fear and my impulses to escape and pain all these experiences, all these dharmas I wish to expound, I wish to realize as Buddhadharma. To say they are Buddhadharma or aren't Buddhadharma but to expound them as Buddhadharma, to make them Buddhadharma, to take care of Buddhadharma while in pain, to take care of Buddhadharma while in pleasure, to take care of Buddhadharma and care for it while afraid. Now, it may happen then that when caring for Buddhadharma while afraid, the fear may subside, but not because I'm trying to escape it, but because I'm devoted to Buddhadharma. Just like if you're taking care of a child, when you're taking care of a child's welfare, even though you may previously have been afraid that they're going to be hurt in some way,

[53:28]

when you calm down, or whether you concentrate, dash calm down with caring for them, fear moves away. You're just concentrated on what is it that thus comes? What is it that thus comes? That's what you're concentrating on. How is this an opportunity to care for Buddhadharma and Sangha with this pain? Does that make sense? or hard to say, but harder to do. Yes? Are you saying that by everything being a manifestation of Buddhadharma, that there is no other self? It's that everything is a manifestation of Buddhadharma. It's more like everything is the Buddhadharma manifestation of everything.

[54:41]

Even if you say it in the incorrect way, still there's no place to go, right? However you say it, there's no place to go. Even if you don't say it, there's no place to go. Even if you've never heard of Buddhadharma, there's no place to go. But then when you're practicing, also there's no place to go. And when there's no place to go, there's practicing. When you realize there's no place to go, the practice occurs. And so if that's the case, then why even mention it? Well, the reason is to encourage us to find our place where we are. Because otherwise we may not realize how necessary it is to find our place where we are. But once you find it, then nobody has to tell you anymore that the practice occurs, because it does. You don't need to know it if it's happening. But we do need to find our place where we are.

[55:42]

We do need to do that. We need a lot of encouragement. So here's this big encouragement. If you actually realize there's no alternative, and you really accept that, then you will find your place right where you are. And then the practice will occur. But it really has been a... Now it will occur and you get to enjoy it and teach others. And then you can expound everything as a Buddha Dharma. ... Is it our I of practice? Yes, it's the I of practice. And the Genjo Koan is helping you find your I of practice. I think the Aya practice, part of what it would serve is help you find the resistance to being in the place right where you are.

[56:57]

Somehow we have this wonder, these mental constructions, which is wonderful that it can, but it can construct a resistance to what there's no alternative to. And the Aya practice partly spots that. Buddha sees that. There's two ways to hear that. One is that the I of practice will expand, but the other is that the I of practice is limited. and that we should accept that and understand that. If we understand that the I practice is limited, that's correct.

[58:05]

And then the limitation doesn't hinder the realization of the practice. No, I think more the leaping occurs when you find your place right where you are, and the place right where you are is limited. We have trouble not resisting limitation, but to accept limitation all the way to the end of limitation realizes leaping, which is fundamentally what the practice is. But it's hard to accept limitation. We have to train carefully and consistently to fully accept and make room for our limitation. And when we do, we find the place and the practice is occurring.

[59:18]

We don't make it occur by finding our place and only we can find our place and we must do this. That's our job. The world is requiring us and requesting us and we request that we would be able to find our place and that's our job. That's our responsibility and it's our responsibility to help everybody else find their place. It's our responsibility to help everybody realize their responsibility which then helps us realize our responsibility and then we all together realize the practice. But it's hard to accept this limitation. Yes? Yes.

[60:21]

Did you hear what she said? In the first, when he first says, when all dharmas are buddha dharmas, there's delusion, enlightenment. The next line, he doesn't mention practice. Reverend Wren said, is that because it's assumed, did you say? It goes beyond saying that it would be there? Yeah, in a sense it goes beyond saying because you don't get in this place of that all dharmas lack a fixed self unless you're practicing. But another way to say it is that the reason why it's taken out of the list is because the next line is about practice. The first line is a teaching. The first line is a teaching. The first line is like expounding everything as Buddha Dharma. But not telling you that everything is Buddha Dharma, but telling you about when you expound everything as Buddha Dharma. It's about the time when that's the way everything is for you, because that's your life, that you're making everything Buddha Dharma.

[61:39]

That's your grandmotherly mind. That's the teaching that you're expounding. Then the practice is that when you practice this way, you don't find anything. And then there aren't really any things. And then there's leaping. So that's right. The next lines are about the way it is when you practice the first line. So the first line is the teaching and it's also the teaching of the teaching. It's that you are devoted to make everything Buddha Dharma. And the next lines are the practice of not finding any of these things which you're not finding. So again it's not that you say, well the problems in the Middle East are Buddha Dharma and peace in the Middle East isn't. The way things happen in the Middle East, the causes and conditions and how they work to create this suffering, the Buddha teaches. To see how the suffering occurs is the way to realize liberation.

[62:46]

To see how the bondage and cruelty occurs is the Buddhadharma, is seeing the Buddhadharma. The Buddhadharma explains how suffering arises and how it ceases. To practice it is the next lines. Yes. So we don't mention practice in the third and fourth lines because the third and fourth lines are teaching the practice. Namely, don't make a self of any of these dharmas. Realize these dharmas are selfless and also realize leaping or forgetting of the self. May our intention equally extend.

[63:50]

@Transcribed_v005
@Text_v005
@Score_87.16