Here's a story. The name of this scripture is sometimes expanded to say the Mahayana Sadharmapundarika Sutra. The Mahayana, the great vehicle, lotus flower of the wonderful law scripture. So it's a Mahayana text. It has to do with this path of universal salvation. It's the path of bodhisattvas. It's a scripture for the path of bodhisattvas, for the great vehicle, practice of the bodhisattvas. And so there's a story, many stories about where the Mahayana came from, how it appeared in the world.

[01:01]

So one story is that at a certain point in history, some people who felt drawn to the Buddha's teaching and wanted to have the Buddha be their teacher and wanted to practice the Buddha's teaching, they felt that the establishment, the established organized community, not so much the lay community, but the lay community somewhat was in relationship to the established monk community, that it had become problematic for some people who wanted to practice the Buddha way. They had two problems with it. One problem was with the structure of the community and the other problem was with the understanding of the teaching.

[02:10]

So there's a story that some people who were really interested in the Buddha and the Buddha's teaching felt that the establishment was not so much too monkish or too much dominated by the professionals, the full-time monastics, but that the monastics were kind of like somewhat inclined or leaning towards their monasticism. and leaning away from people who weren't monastics, leaning away from people who were living in non-monastic environments, which is almost always the majority of people, the majority of humans, but of course also the majority of non-humans.

[03:15]

So there's a story that some people who were wanting to be the students of the Buddha and really respected the Buddha and venerated the Buddha and venerated the teaching and venerated the community, they felt the community was structurally biased away from the world towards a certain kind of life that wasn't really like out there in the difficult space with everybody. Of course there's difficulties in monasteries, but there was some feeling that some of the people were leaning towards the difficulties of a monastery as opposed to the difficulties of non-monastery. That was one kind of thing, the spirit of let's have a practice which is really practicing together with everybody and not kind of preferring to practice in some environment over another.

[04:24]

And the other problem in this story is that there was a criticism of the understanding of the Buddhist teaching of no-self or the Buddhist teaching of emptiness. That along with this leaning away from the world, there seemed to develop a kind of leaning towards emptiness as being nothing, nothingness, and death and nirvana or nothingness and death. A kind of nihilistic bias in the understanding of emptiness. So that's another part of the story is there was a wish to find a more positive a more positive rendition or a more positive understanding of selflessness, that selflessness wasn't nothingness, wasn't nihilistic, wasn't death. So that's a story about some of the problems that the people who created the Mahayana had.

[05:32]

And then the Lotus Sutra is seen as one of the main texts that came out of the spirit. So two big things in Lotus Sutra. One is a positive interpretation of selflessness. A positive interpretation of the ultimate truth of emptiness. And also a positive feeling for like being out there interacting with everybody. not excluding the monks, they need help too, but really plunging into the life of all beings and being up for the difficulties that that brings as part of the true spirit of the great vehicle. And so, yeah, so now I come back again to the Lotus Sutra and say that

[06:37]

in one sense, one way to talk about the Lotus Sutra's positive interpretation or positive teaching of what emptiness is, is that the emptiness is the highest truth and the highest truth, the wonderful truth, is the truth of one vehicle. the truth of one vehicle that unifies all vehicles. The one vehicle of the whole universe, how the whole universe is one vehicle. This is the positive interpretation of emptiness. emptiness, the highest truth, the wonderful truth, interpreted positively, is the one vehicle of the universe that unifies all beings.

[07:51]

This wonderful Dharma and the teaching of this wonderful Dharma in some sense could be said to be located in the first part of the Lotus Sutra. And the first part means the chapters that come before chapter fifteen the first fourteen chapters of the eight twenty eight chapters the first fourteen are about this wonderful dharma and the last fifteen the last fourteen from fifteen to twenty eight are about the buddha the first are about the law of the universe. The truth of the universe as the universe being one vehicle.

[10:05]

The truth in a positive sense of the universe unified as the truth, that that's the truth. or the way it's unified is the truth. The second part is the life of the Buddha, the living Buddha. And some people, when they saw the sutra this way, they called the first part the cause and the second part the effect. The truth is the cause of the Buddha. That's one way that people saw the sutra. But another way to see the sutra is to say that the first part is the traces and the second part is the origin.

[11:22]

which in some sense is the opposite of the first part. The first part seems to be the cause, the second part the effect. The second way of looking at it is that the second part is the source or the origin of what? Of Buddha. It's the Buddha. And the first part is the traces. The traces of what? The traces of the Buddha. The traces of the Buddha are the teaching. and the way and the law of the way of the Buddha. The law and the life. So that was an early division that appeared in China and has become pretty much accepted down to the centuries from about around 400 A.D., for the last 1600 years, that interpretation of the structure, the twofold structure, the two main ideas of the Buddha, of the teaching, two main ideas of the Lotus Sutra are the idea of one vehicle, that that is the truth, the truth of how we all have the same practice,

[12:49]

We're not only practicing together, but we're doing the same practice together. And that that is the unifying truth of the universe. And the second part is that the life of the Tathagata is such that the Tathagata is, as you just read, is always right here. The Tathagata is saying, I'm always right here. And he means right here. for each person. Like right here where I am, right here where you are. The Tathagata is right in your face right here all the time. The Tathagata is face to face with all beings. Those are the two big ideas of the Lotus Sutra. And now I want to tell you another way of seeing this sutra. which is... Well... This is another story that

[14:14]

one reason for this teaching which you just recited, you just recited the verse section of the teaching of chapter 16. So chapter 16 is the center of the second part, is the center of the second half of the scripture. It's the center of the effect part of the scripture. It's the center of the origin origin of the whole thing is this eternal Buddha who's always living with us right now, teaching us right now. That's the origin, that's the center of the second part. And so one story about where this teaching came from is that it came from the time after Shakyamuni Buddha left Sakyamuni Buddha went away in history, and then his disciples, knowing that he was gone, started to look for other Buddhas.

[15:24]

And they found other Buddhas, fortunately for them. And this sutra is not saying that there's just one Buddha. the sutra is saying that a particular Buddha did appear in history and went away, and he told you the reasons in this chapter about why he went away. But he didn't say there's no other Buddhas. He went away to help people so that they would practice. But some people, instead of practicing and then realizing they didn't go away, they went and found other Buddhas. Which is fine. I mean, you know, I'm glad they did. And there's actually some other scriptures about people finding these other Buddhas and how great that is. They're all good, these Buddhas.

[16:33]

I remember one time we had this ceremony at Zen Center and the priests who had already been ordained and already received their priest's robe, received a second robe which was made in a more traditional way than our first robe. And so these robes were made for all the priests that had already been ordained. And we had a ceremony where Sir Zechariah gave us these robes which people made for us. And then afterwards, but the robe is a different style from the first kind of robe, so we didn't exactly know how to put on the second robe. So after the ceremony we asked Kadagiri Roshi. Suzuki Roshi gave us the robes but then he ordained us and then he gave us these robes. But Kadagiri Roshi was there for the ceremony too and we asked him afterwards how to put this robe on. And he was trying to explain and he was having a little trouble explaining. And then one of us noticed that Suzuki Roshi was over in the corner putting on the robe.

[17:44]

So anyway, these people found these other Buddhas because Shakyamuni Buddha went away. So one of the reasons for this chapter 16 is to show that all these Buddhas are really unified in the one vehicle and the eternal Buddha. All these Buddhas, including Shakyamuni Buddha that appeared in India, the Shakyamuni Buddha that appeared in India is an emanation of the eternal Shakyamuni Buddha. that you just read here basically. And it's also explained in other chapters in this sutra that the historical Shakyamuni Buddha is an emanation or a biophysical version of the eternal Shakyamuni Buddha. And other Buddhas are also basically part of the eternal Buddha. So this teaching is offered to unify all these Buddhas No problem with them.

[18:51]

Just understand they're not multiple Buddhas. They're emanation of one Buddha. Infinite emanations of one Buddha. The second reason is to remind people and let people know that the one Buddha is eternal, is always here. And the third reason for teaching this is to let us know that the eternal Buddha who has a unifying teaching and who unifies all Buddhas, also there's a rhythm to the eternal Buddha. And the rhythm of the eternal Buddha is the bodhisattva practices. So that last point leads to another way of seeing the Lotus Sutra. So now if you just look at the Lotus Sutra having these two parts, The first fourteen and the last fourteen, the first are the traces of the original teacher, the teachings of the original teacher.

[19:58]

And the first fourteen are centered on chapter two and the skill and means because all these first fourteen chapters are skillful means of the Buddha. And the last fourteen are about the origin of the skillful means. The first fourteen are centered on Chapter 2, the last fourteen centered on Chapter 16. People saw, oh, there's another way to look at the Lotus Sutra, and that is to look at the chapters from 10 to 22 as teaching bodhisattva practices. So they overlap, the two parts, but you can also pick up that part of the sutra and look in and see, oh, there's all these practices for bodhisattvas, for these beings who are in the world. And being in the world, these beings have a hard time. And in these chapters, there's a repeated encouragement to those who are practicing in the world

[21:09]

about how hard it is and encouraging them to live in the world and help beings and also encouraging them by telling them about other stories about other bodhisattvas who have lived in the world and had a hard time and did really well having a hard time. So then this section is about the rhythm of the eternal. The rhythm of the eternal, always-present Buddha is the practices and the actions of human beings. So the first part is the law, the second part is the eternal Buddha, and this third part, which overlaps both parts, is human action, human bodhisattva action in the world. And this action is the rhythm of the eternal.

[22:13]

The eternal has a rhythm to it. And the rhythm of it is the activity of human beings who are bodhisattvas. So it's the truth, the law, the life, and the practice. The law, the life, and the practice. Or the dharma, the Buddha and the Sangha. So the Buddha is the origin, the Dharma is the trace, and the Sangha overlaps both. And it's the practice of human beings overlapping the Buddha and the Dharma. So this is the Lotus Sutra's Mahayana triple treasure. The Sangha are those not just who live in monasteries, they're not excluded, but if they're in a monastery they have to be in a monastery where they're completely open to the world, to all beings.

[23:32]

And just not being in a monastery isn't good enough. You have to be not in the monastery and teaching this Mahayana and having a hard time because, as people say, it's fine here, but what about at work? They'll think I'm weird there. Yeah, they will. It's very likely they'll think you're weird. They'll give you a hard time. And these chapters are about 10 to 22 about how hard it is to be a bodhisattva at work. By the way, I was very happy to hear on the radio that CBS News did a poll, which they've been doing for 25 years, asking people if they thought the country was on the right track. And 14% thought it was. I was happy to hear that.

[24:34]

That's, I don't know who those 14% are, but I'm glad it's down to 14%. And that's the lowest it's been during the entire time they've been doing the poll. Which again, seems right, just a little too high. So now it should be easier to practice that work now that only fourteen percent think the country is on the right track. But still it would be hard. Over and over in these chapters I'm talking about that are talking about the activity of human beings in the world to teach the Mahayana. Over and over again it starts out by saying, blah-de-blah, in this evil age, in this evil age. In other words, in this evil age, in this evil age where people are doing the stuff that they're doing, it's hard to teach this in this place.

[25:44]

The lyrics that you're saying, it's hard to teach in this place. It's hard to teach in the world. It's hard to get people to listen to this. That's normal. Don't get discouraged that it's hard. Understand that's just part of the deal. That's what it means to be in the world. Teaching in heaven is in some sense easier. That's the world too, but it's actually hard there too. Because those people are so blissed out, they don't listen to you either. It's just that they don't beat you up there. But in other parts of the world, they give you a hard time. They think you're weird. They treat you meanly. And this way of looking at sutra is to see the places where the sutra is telling you over and over again how people are mean to people sometimes who are kind. They mean to people who are kind.

[26:46]

This is what that part's about. So that's the Sangha. Okay, so that's... That's how the Lotus Sutra is the embodiment of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. That's the way it embodies it. And that's, you could say, because of this is why the Lotus Sutra is... a sutra which all the different sects, they all revere it because it is a universal teaching for everybody. This wonderful version of the Three Treasures. So I mentioned last week one of these chapters This chapter actually, I mentioned chapter 13, 14, and 20 last time, and these are chapters which I particularly wanted to bring up are encouragements to teach the Lotus Sutra in the world.

[28:00]

And the first two are in the first part. So, and in some ways it's easier to start with chapter 14 than chapter 13. At chapter 14, yeah, it's a little easier to take in a way. Not totally easy, but it's a little easier. So I thought I'd start to tell you a little bit about chapter 14. It'll take a while. Probably won't be able to finish it tonight, but I can start it. So it starts out the same way the chapter 13 starts out. It starts out by saying, at that time, the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Manjushri. The son of the Dharma King spoke to the Buddha, his dad, saying, world-honored one, rare indeed are these Bodhisattvas.

[29:09]

I was referring to the bodhisattvas of chapter 13, which I haven't told you about yet, because they're a little bit harder to take. Maybe later we'll get to chapter 13. But those bodhisattvas over there in chapter 13, they are rare indeed. They're not different from Manjushri, but... he's just like awestruck by these bodhisattvas in Chapter 13 who are making this big, horrendously awesome commitment. So he's just saying that they're really rare and wonderful. And he says, reverently according with the Buddha, they have made great vows. And their vow is that in the evil age to come, not just now, but in future difficult times, when people who show up who do not want to hear the truth, in difficult times to come, they will protect, keep, read, recite, and preach this lotus flower of the wonderful law, Scripture.

[30:27]

They committed to that at the end of chapter 13. Manjushri is saying that they have done this. And then he says, World Honored One, how are these bodhisattvas able to preach this sutra in this coming, in the evil age to come? How are they able to? Part of the reason why, he doesn't say it here, but I thought I might mention, since you haven't read chapter 13 recently, part of the reason why they're able to teach in the evil age to come is because they made this great vow in the previous chapter. Because they committed themselves to do it, no matter what. That's part of the reason why they're able to do it, is they dared to make this vow to to protect and recite and copy and teach this. That's part of the reason why they'll be able to do it is because they said they would. They promised and they committed to.

[31:33]

And so just stop there and just think about whether, where you're at in terms of, well, working backwards, are you ready to teach? the Lotus Sutra in the evil age to come. Because this chapter is about those who want to. Do you want to teach the great vehicle teaching of the Lotus Sutra? Or any great vehicle teaching? Do you want to teach it? Do you want to protect it? Do you want to recite it? Do you want to copy it? And so on. Do you want to? So this chapter is about those who want to. And those who want to and have vowed to. Now how are they going to do it? So the Buddha says to Manjushri,

[32:36]

if any bodhisattvas, mahasattvas, if any enlightening beings, great beings, want to, desire to preach this sutra in an evil age to come, they, he, she, should be steadfast in four methods. Okay? Four methods. First method, actually I'm about to tell you this, The four methods are four methods of body, number one, speech, number two, mind, number three, and vow, number four. So those are the four methods in the sutra. First method through body, next through speech, next through mind, and next through vow. So those four methods, that's how they will be able to teach. If they want to, if they want to teach and protect this teaching, to help the Buddha out.

[33:45]

In the previous chapter they say, don't worry, don't worry. We'll teach this. We'll make sure that this... We'll protect this teaching. We'll make sure that people are receiving the teaching. They may not listen to it, but we'll make sure that they get exposed to it. So now, how can we do this? Four methods. Method number one, he is called... being steadfast in the bodhisattva's spheres of action and intimacy. That's number one. Being steadfast in the bodhisattva's spheres or places of action and intimacy. And if they are steadfast in the bodhisattva's spheres of action and intimacy, they will be able to preach this sutra to all living beings.

[35:09]

Another way to translate this is the first of the four methods is first they should abide in the practices and associations proper to bodhisattvas. Another way to say it is the first of the four methods is to dwell securely in the place where bodhisattvas act and in the place that bodhisattvas approach with intimacy and familiarity. To dwell securely in the place where bodhisattvas act and in the place that they approach with familiarity and intimacy. So first comes the place where bodhisattvas act. There's two aspects of the first method, action and intimacy.

[36:25]

So the action part is, Manjushri, why do I call a bodhisattva, why do I call this a bodhisattva mahasattva sphere of action? If a bodhisattva abides in a state of patience is gentle and agreeable, neither nasty or overbearing in his or her mind, is imperturbable. Okay, let's stop there. How do you teach this great Mahayana Dharma? How are you going to be able to do that? Well, first of all, if you have to want to. If you want to, how are you going to be able to? If you want to, this is how you'll be able to. Be patient, gentle, agreeable, and not be nasty or overbearing. And your mind, this translation is, the mind is never perturbed.

[37:35]

Or another translation, which I kind of like, is they're at heart never perturbed. On the surface you might be perturbed, but deep down you're not perturbed because of your commitment and because of your gentleness, your patience, your agreeableness, your non-nastiness and non-overbearingness. You're not perturbed in this difficult place where you're trying to teach this wonderful unifying truth of the universe. That's the first part, which is, I think, again, to me that sounds like, wasn't that easy? I mean, doesn't that sound good or natural and true? Not easy to be that way, but wouldn't that be helpful if you're going to do this kind of work? If you're going to be in a place where people are being mean to you and not paying attention to what you're trying to teach them and being distracted and, you know, having lots of,

[38:43]

habits to the contrary of the way you're being and the thing you're teaching? Wouldn't that be helpful to be patient? I have to, and I can be, and I have the opportunity to be patient quite a bit. And I'm not complaining, but people come and thank me for various things, but sometimes I kind of wish they would thank me for my wisdom and compassion more. But they actually are thanking me for my compassion, and the form of compassion they really thank me for is my patience. They say, thank you for being patient with me all these years. That form of patience they thank me for. Patience is real important in this teaching business. and gentle, gentle, gentle, gentle. They don't very often thank me for being gentle, but once in a while they do.

[39:47]

And I often say, I will try to be more gentle. And they almost, they all usually say, okay, fine, yeah, go ahead. And not nasty and not overbearing. Here's another one. another translation of this easy part. This is the easy part. I think, isn't that easy to hear? Wasn't that easy to hear? Even if you don't want to be that way, wouldn't you like your teacher to be that way? The one who's trying to teach you the Lotus Sutra? Wouldn't that be fine with you if they're like that? Yeah, it makes sense, right? At least for them to be that way. If a bodhisattva, mahasattva, takes his or her stand on perseverance, gentleness, compliance, never violent, and never alarmed in mind. Okay? Another one.

[40:49]

If a bodhisattva mahasattva dwells in the ground of forbearance, if she is gentle, agreeable, good, and acquiescent, does not give to fits of violence, at heart becoming, and not at heart becoming alarmed. This is the first part. So if anybody here would like to teach the wonderful truth for all beings, this is one thing that's recommended to help you be able to during tough times and easy times too. The next part is more difficult. Still we're in the section of the first method of the sphere of the bodhisattva's action. The next part's a little trickier. I'll read these translations first. So the bodhisattva's sphere of action, the first part, you got it? Right?

[41:52]

What's the first part of the bodhisattva's sphere of action? Yeah, that's the first part. Second part of the bodhisattva's sphere of action is that with regard to phenomena, They take no action. That's the next part, a little more difficult to understand. What's the sphere of action of bodhisattvas? Well, with regard to phenomena like people, they take no action. That's their sphere of action. Like they meet somebody, what's their sphere of action? They don't take action. What do they do? How do they act? Well, I already told you, they're gentle, persevering, patient, compliant, not nasty, they aren't inclined towards fits of violence, that part you got. Now also, they don't take any action in response to, or with regard to, or with respect to phenomena, people, animals, whatever. They don't. What kind of action don't they take? They don't take any action.

[42:54]

They don't just ignore them, do they? No, they're patient. Right. But what don't they do? They don't, like, interact and say, like, you're haircut? They're not nasty and they're not overbearing. They don't do any action. That's the way bodhisattvas practice. That's their action, is they're with beings without acting. And you could say that they're doing something here, but anyway, it says that they... They take no action with regard to beings and phenomena, but observe the reality of phenomena. So they're gentle, compliant, all that good stuff with everybody, right? With the people they're trying to help. They're gentle, not nasty and so on. And they don't take any action with regard to the people that they're trying to teach. But they do observe them.

[43:55]

So they don't ignore them. That would be doing something. They don't ignore them, that would be doing something. They don't turn away, that would be doing something. They face the phenomena in this kind way, this compassionate way, and they observe the phenomena in the way it really is. That's not taking an action. That's the way they are with the beings that they're trying to teach. The way the beings are. They're trying to teach beings the way the beings are. So they're with the beings the way the beings are. That's how they teach. That's their activity. Their activity is not to take action, except in the sense of being with people and observing them. They're always observing. Like talking to Liz last week, Elizabeth last week, about the snails. in her garden. I don't know what she's going to do with those snails. Bodhisattva's action isn't to do anything about the snails.

[44:58]

It's to be gentle with them, patient with them, not fall into fits of violence with them, but also observe the snails and observe the way the snails really are. That's the way bodhisattvas are with snails. And Elizabeth had the problem with the snails, right? She was wondering, how can I be with the snails? She wasn't talking so much. I don't know, do we get into you teaching the snails? Did I tell you to teach? Did I tell you to do that? Yeah. Teach the snails the Lotus Sutra. So how do you teach the snails the Lotus Sutra? You don't take any action with regard to the snails. You face the snails and you observe the snails and that's the way you teach the snails. And then you watch to see what the snails do after they hear the Lotus Sutra. Does that change their dietary conduct? You'll see. You'll see. Maybe they'll go to this place that you don't think they want to go. Across the street. I don't know what they will do, but they will hear the Dharma according to the sutra.

[46:07]

Don't have pity on me for this. This is the least of my problems. Speaking of these glasses. So again, isn't that nice and fun? What's the bodhisattva sphere of action? The first part is straightforward. The second part is the bodhisattva sphere of action. When it comes down to it, if they don't take any action, they just observe the way things are. And then it goes on to say, without acting or making any distinction. This is the practice, this is the action of bodhisattva, mahasattvas. Another translation is, after the nonviolence and everything, is further, she performs no act with respect to phenomena. He performs no act and commits no discrimination. And I wrote a note here and it said, without acting and without committing to any discrimination.

[47:22]

It isn't that they don't discriminate, like this is a snail and this is a Republican. It isn't that they don't make any discrimination. They do discriminate, Republican, Democrat, McCain, Obama, Clinton, they make those discriminations, but they don't commit any of them. They don't commit the discriminations. They don't commit to them. The dissident mind makes the discriminations, and they watch those discriminations the same way as they watch what's discriminated. They watch the true mark of the discriminations, which means they don't commit to their discriminations between... between Bush and Obama? They don't commit? Huh? I'm really confused about one thing. One? Only one? Why did the monks in Vietnam who were lighting themselves on fire and the monks in Burma or wherever Burma is called?

[48:24]

You haven't learned the name yet? No, I'm sorry. It's okay. I have it here. Go ahead. So, are not only the doctors, because they seem to be taking an action. I'm not judging their practice. If you, when you see somebody else doing an action, then that's a phenomenon for you to practice with. That's a phenomenon for you to be patient with, gentle with, etc. And if you're practicing that way, then you Don't take action with regard to the person you think is taking action. You just observe what the true characteristic of that person is. Then you're in a place where bodhisattva is practiced. Then if you're in that mode, you will be able to teach the Lotus Sutra. You're not committed to the discrimination that they are acting or not acting. If you think they're acting, fine, that's a discrimination. Don't commit to that. And I'm not committed to talking you out of it. You see, this is a way of being in this difficult world where you can teach the Lotus Sutra.

[49:36]

What do you mean by not committing? Well, it looks like, you know, again, this translation says they don't make discriminations, but I don't understand that they don't. I understand that they do, but that they don't get caught by them. They're very relaxed and gentle and patient with their own discrimination process. What? They're not attached to their discriminations. Right, they're not. So in that sense they don't commit or they don't commit to. You know, they're not like joined, they're not like buying into their discrimination process. They're discriminating, discriminating, but they're not tensing up around their discriminations. Previously we're saying they don't take action with regard to phenomena, but what do they do? They observe the true marks of things. And then it says it again, that they don't take action and they don't commit discrimination.

[50:41]

If there's discrimination, you would do the same thing to your discriminations as you do to everybody else. Like I've often told you, Suzuki Roshi said, non-discrimination which is a bodhisattva practice, doesn't mean you don't discriminate. He says it means you study everything. Non-discrimination means you study everything. You meet a Republican, in other words, you discriminate a Republican, you don't, you just study the Republican. You meet a Democrat, you study the Democrat. You don't just study Democrats, you study Republicans too. You don't just like, okay, I'm willing to study Democrats, but I'm not going to study Republicans. I'm just going to buy into my discrimination of them. You study everything. In other words, you treat everything the same. In other words, you don't take action. You just observe the true character of everything. That's the bodhisattva's place of action. That's the first method.

[51:42]

And here's another translation which is quite different, but I think brings out another aspect of it. These glasses fit better when I bent them together like that. Somebody must have sat on these things. I really don't know, honest. Okay, so patient, gentle, agreeable, neither nasty nor overbearing, mind under perturbed. Moreover, he has no laws by which to act. That's another translation of takes no action. No laws by which to act could be also no way to act. But here I think it's mentioning kind of like no laws. So when you meet somebody, you don't have something like a law by which you relate to them, which means you study everybody. You have no way. And one interpretation of this is that the way that they relate to everybody is they relate by the middle way.

[52:44]

In other words, when you meet somebody, you don't go into the extreme of realism or nihilism. like this person is there really or they're not there. You don't get into that. They get into this middle way of being with them, which is really not doing anything, just being with them. It's just being with them without any kind of like program about how you're supposed to be with them, without any law or rule about how you're going to be with them or how you're going to act with them. Bodhisattvas, that's what bodhisattvas are with people, is they're with people without any way to be with them. So this is a little bit more difficult than just being gentle. But you have to be gentle in order to be this way. You have to be patient in order to be with somebody without having a way to be with them. Maybe you've met some people who when they're with somebody they like them to have a way to be with the person. In my line of work people are often wondering how they're supposed to be with me.

[53:49]

They get into a situation where they're not sure how to be with me. They think, oh, how am I supposed to be with you? The issue that we're looking for a way to be with people gets raised. And then we kind of go, well, how about giving up a way to be with me? How about just be with me without having a way to be with me? How about being with me without having a way to act with me? You've got to be patient and gentle in order to tolerate that. And then the next one is, so there's two parts in both these translations. The third translation or the first translation is, what do they do? They have no laws by which to act. And the next one is, they see all things as they really are in their reality. Okay?

[54:51]

So the first one is they take no action but they see things in their reality. Another one is they have no way to act, no law, no rule by which to act, and they observe. So you're with people, you're with beings, you have no way to be with them that you're relying on, and you're watching them. You're not distracted from looking at what you're working with by trying to figure out what you're supposed to be doing with it. That's the first part. The next part is nor do they proceed along the undivided way. So the next part is that the way they are with beings is that they don't take action and they just observe the way things are and they don't rely on that either. then hold to this way which doesn't discriminate.

[55:57]

So this is like really, I think, to the core of the way of bodhisattva practice. And it includes, in some sense, it's not necessarily away from the core, but it depends on things that are kind of easy to understand, like gentleness, perseverance, not being nasty, and being calm. So those who make this commitment need to be this way, but then they have to go to the heart of the matter, which is to be with what's happening, really be there completely. without being distracted by a way to be there or some rule by which you're going to act. Be that way. That's the first aspect of the first method that makes it possible to teach the Dharma. Yeah, so then there's a second part, which is the sphere of intimacy.

[57:05]

But I think maybe I should stop now because I'm going to give you a chance to respond. So next week I'll get into this fear of intimacy and also get into the other three methods of Chapter 14. And then Chapter 13 and all the other chapters are more material on how bodhisattvas practice teaching the Dharma, which again is the rhythm the human version, the human version of the Truth and the Eternal Buddha. But again, part of what we're doing here is these are actions, but actions where you don't forget the Truth, which is one vehicle. Okay? So there's one more thing I would say before I stop is when you're practicing the teaching of the one vehicle, the way you teach it is a one vehicle way of teaching.

[58:12]

It's not like you gonna teach them. So this way of being with them where you don't do anything is more like this one vehicle. Now my vehicle and your vehicle, one vehicle. I'm trying to open us up to the one vehicle. I'm trying to open us up to the practice we're doing together, rather than the practice of me teaching you. So the way I teach you is I teach you by not doing anything, so that opens us both up to what we're doing together. You and I, but you and I and everybody together, the whole universe here. So we're doing the Sangha thing, the human thing, which is kind of overlapping the eternal Buddha and the universal truth. That's why it goes with this strange teaching of the way of action being not to take any action and have no rules or way to figure out what to do with people and be with people that way.

[59:15]

Try it. That's actually the way you really are right now. Anything you want to bring up now? Yes, I don't know. Let's see. Laurie and John and Jerry and Charlie and... Yes, Laurie? The phenomena that we're reading are also phenomena that would make up our so-called self, not just the other, right? So your own feelings and your own... Yeah, your own discriminations. Your own pain. So when you have pain, be gentle with it. Be patient with it. Not get nasty with it. Not get overbearing with it. Your own stuff. But don't take any action with regard to your own stuff either. Look at your stuff and see what the way it is. And don't have some set way about how you're going to do any of those practices either.

[60:15]

That's how to be with yourself. And that's how to be with rocks and snails and rats and humans and Democrats and Republicans. This is how bodhisattvas need to be if they want to teach this teaching. John? I think it's pretty obvious, but I always think in terms of slogans, when you were saying that, I just thought of the phrase, no agenda. Because that's such a common part. Yeah, no agenda. It's like, someone has an agenda, you don't know if you have an agenda. It's just, that's the way. Yeah. With regard to phenomena, no agenda. No agenda. No expectation, no rule by which to relate to it. This is the mode in which the Dharma is transmitted. along with that other stuff, which isn't agenda stuff exactly. You don't have to make being gentle into agenda, but if you start making gentleness into agenda, you're not supposed to do it that way. So practice gentleness without having a way to practice gentleness, you know, because that's another phenomenon.

[61:21]

Like I say, it's easy at the beginning, and then it gets stricter as you get to the center of this teaching. And the next page, you, if you want to, you can look it up. Chapter 14, look in the sutra. You can look ahead and find out. The next section is really also quite difficult and wonderful. But one, and its difficulty is so wonderful. Jerry? Well, I was trying to figure out how to hold perseverance. Yes. Because ordinarily I think of perseverance as trying really hard. Okay, drop that word and think of… Constancy. Patience, patience. Patience and constancy. Endurance. Just endurance, staying with it. Being with it. Being with it, being with it, being with it. Being with the difficulty of people who don't want to listen to you, don't want to look at you, don't want to respect you, don't want to appreciate you, don't want to… receive you. Just be with the pain.

[62:22]

Be with the pain of that. Be with the pain of their pain. Be with the pain of their pain of not wanting to hear about the teaching. Yeah. And not moving. Who was next? Charlie. There are a lot of forms in Soto Zen. Are those ways of being with each other? Those are things to be with. All those forms are like, they're specially set up little beings for you to like practice being gentle, patient, not overbearing, not having fits of violence towards. And also they're things, they're forms for you to be with without taking action upon them. and to observe their true nature. And they're set up just for this meditation purpose. They aren't, you know, like... And they're easy because they're not like saying, don't practice me, or you're a weirdo.

[63:26]

You're calling them weird. So they're patient little bodhisattvas who are like offering you a chance to treat them like they're your enemy. Even though they don't hurt you at all. People treat them like they're nasty little creatures. So they're just set up just exactly for this purpose of practicing this way. To see if you get into, in this case, to see if you get into, you've got a form, a Zen form. So you approach it. Do you want to have a way, a rule by which you act with it? Probably you do, but you're not supposed to. I'm sorry, I didn't know what a Zen was. For example, enter the zendo and bow. For example, sit upright in posture with your eyes open but cast down, not moving during sitting. These are forms. Bowing a certain way, offering incense a certain way, eating a certain way, walking a certain way.

[64:28]

We have all these forms and ceremonies which we offer and they're set up to see if you can practice them be in the place where bodhisattvas practice when you practice them. Rather than be in the place of, I'm going to do this form and I have a way that I'm going to do it. So, you know, we have so-called, I don't know what you call them, Zen teachers who give people these forms and then they watch the people come approach the forms with a way to act with the forms. And the Zen teacher says, Oh, excuse me, I'm taking the forms away for a while. Can't have them anymore. Well, how come you took them away? Because you have a way of doing them. So you can't do them anymore. Bye-bye. This is the kind of strict teacher who takes away your forms. Or like that story, the famous story of the tea teacher who tells a student to clean the

[65:37]

clean the garden, and he cleans the garden, breaks up all the leaves and stuff, and the teacher comes out and says, try again. So he does it again, and he goes through it several times. He just keeps cleaning and cleaning, and finally the teacher comes out and goes over to the tree and shakes it a little bit, and a few leaves fall down. Are you following this? No? Patience for you. Gentleness with you. Am I being gentle enough? You're not sure? I'll do it one more time. You come and I say, does anybody want to learn how to ring a bell? And you say, so I show you how to ring the bell. and then the next day I see you ringing the bell.

[66:39]

But I feel like you're, like you're ringing the bell, you're using what I taught you as a way of ringing the bell. You're using what I taught you as a rule by which you ring the bell. And I see you, I kind of, sort of read your mind because I can see your body. I see you're using what I taught you about how to ring the bell as the way to ring the bell. And I did show you how to ring the bell to see if you would use the way I taught you as a rule or procedure by which you would ring the bell. And sure enough, there you are. And then I say, drop it, Charlie. And you say, what are you talking about? And I say, well, drop it. And you say, I don't know what you're talking about. So I take the drum, the bell, ring it away from you. And then I say, now ring the bell. And you say, give me the striker back. And I say... You promise not to use it this time? And you say, yes, sir. And I give it to you and you ring the bell without having a way to do it.

[67:41]

And I say, see what I mean? And you say, uh-huh. Getting it now? Yeah. That's how we do it when we're not busy. That's how we use the forms in bodhisattva training. Give people a form. Give people a phenomena. Say, no, take care of it. And you watch them going over to take care of it. I'm going to take care of it. I've got this way of taking care of it. I'm going to take care of it. Say, excuse me, no, no, no. No. Get away, get away, get back up. What did I do wrong? You had a way to do this. You know. It's like adopting a technique. What? It's like adopting a technique. Adopting a technique, holding a technique. You've got an agenda, as John said. You've got an agenda, you've got an expectation. You've got to think, okay, there's the bell.

[68:44]

He taught me how to hit the bell, and I expect that if I do it the way he taught me, it's going to ring, and I'm going to do the job, and then I'll get paid, and I'll be a grade 10 student. So the teacher can see people who are sneaking up to the bell with an agenda. They can see the expectation. If I just get a few feet closer to the bell, and I get the striker, and I hit the bell, it's going to ring, and I'm going to be a successful then bell ringer. You can tell the person's got that. And you might be wrong, but you're suspicious that they are. And all you got to do is just say, could I have that bell to the striker, please? before they get there. They say, how come? Can I have it? Please give it to me. No, you can't have it. I'm going to keep it. Were you expecting to ring the bell? Yes, I was. Well, can I please have the ringer? I'd like you not to ring the bell. What's going on here? And I don't know what I'm doing, right? Because I have no way of doing this thing called teaching this person how to ring the bell. But somehow I feel...

[69:47]

the Lotus Citra is alive. And I'm really not losing my patience here. Yeah. So, no attachment to one way or another and no attachment to not attachment to one way or another. In other words, the middle way and not attached to the middle way. This is the hard part. The easy part, you can just work on the gentle, patient, you know, not nasty part for quite a while. Don't worry, you've got plenty to work on. But when you're ready, you can move to the inter-sanctum of bodhisattva action, which is no action, according to any idea you have of what action is. It's not that. Okay? Yeah. It's a great sutra. Zen is one of the flowers that comes up out of the sutra.

[70:53]

I was going to make notes on the structure of the sutra and I saw this nice green piece of paper. I said, that would be a nice color to use. And I turned it over and there was a picture of a lotus on the back. See the lotus? An event for women. A flower show. A lotus flower show. Would you pass the sutras back, please?

[71:27]

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