I have this memory that I checked on what the theme for the fall practice period here at Green Gulch is. Did I tell you about that? And I think it said, Zazen? For the welfare of the world? or Zazen for the welfare of all beings. And then I think maybe there was a colon and it said, the pivotal activity of all Buddhas. The pivotal activity of all Buddhas, of course that's for the welfare of all beings. Right?

[01:01]

Right? But Zazen, again, many Zen students sit in meditation halls and they don't necessarily understand that what they're doing, sitting there, is they're sitting for the welfare of all beings. To me it seems like if Buddhas are sitting, they're sitting for the welfare of all beings. If Buddhas are walking, they're walking for the welfare of all beings. If they're driving in a car, they're riding in a car or driving a car for the welfare of all beings. Everything they do is for the welfare of all beings. So when they sit, that is also... So we can, when we're sitting, our sitting could be for the welfare of all beings.

[02:08]

Our sitting could be the pivotal activity of all Buddhas, which is for the welfare of all beings. When I talk like this, sometimes people come to me and say, I have a confession to make. I'm not sitting for the welfare of all beings. I'm only sitting for myself. That person came and said that to me a few days ago in Sweden. And I don't know what I said right away, but later I thought, well when I first started, when I first went to Zen Center to practice Zazen, I thought I was practicing Zazen as a form of training so I would become a great person, a person who would be helpful to other people,

[03:40]

But it was mostly about training me. So when I went to Zen Do, it was for training me. I kind of forgot that I was training me to be of service to all beings. But now I don't come to Zen Do for me anymore. And yet I still get trained. Now we've been chanting this poem, about a thousand-year-old poem, written by Tien-Tung Hung-Jer, about the vast and magnificent function

[05:10]

of sitting meditation. The pivotal function of all Buddhas, the functioning pivot of all ancestors, knowing without touching. things. So zazen, which is the pivotal activity of all Buddhas, is a kind of knowing without touching things. This knowing is not consciousness.

[06:13]

It's not perception. In consciousness, there's somebody there who knows things, who touches things. That's normal consciousness. Zazen doesn't tamper with that normal consciousness. In Zazen that normal consciousness becomes so wholehearted that it pivots. and reveals that it is not consciousness.

[07:17]

But not consciousness is also not this knowing. This knowing is the way consciousness pivots with not consciousness. In wholeheartedness, the mind of normal consciousness where somebody's here touching things, that consciousness becomes so fully itself that it becomes not-itself. And that dynamic between itself and not-itself is a knowing. It is the knowing of the Buddhas. that pivoting of consciousness and not-consciousness is not consciousness, but it is a mind. It is a knowing. And it's a knowing without the touching. And it's a knowing without touching, which is how the knowing with touching

[08:28]

Consciousness is pivoting with not that knowing with consciousness. Without touching things is this knowing. This knowing is without touching things. And maybe help to put quotation marks on it. This knowing, quotation, this knowing is not touching things. Quote, not touching things. Quote, not touching things is, quote, this knowledge. There's the pivot. not touching things, is pivoting with this knowing. This knowing is pivoting with not touching things.

[09:30]

This knowing is the pivotal activity of Buddha's. This is Buddha's knowing. This knowing is realized by wholeheartedly, by being wholeheartedly conscious. By being wholeheartedly a knowing which touches things, you realize the knowing which does not touch things.

[10:38]

And then a line or so later in the poem it says, knowing without touching things is inherently subtle. No. Knowing, yeah. Knowing without touching things, the knowledge is inherently subtle. Not touching things, which is this knowing, is inherently subtle.

[13:07]

The Chinese characters actually, they more literally say, of itself, instead of inherently. This way of knowing of itself is subtle. Not touching things is this knowing. This knowing is not touching things. That way of knowing of itself is very subtle. And that character for subtle also means minute or thorough. And again, our access, our normal human conscious life access to this knowing is in the wholehearted conscious moment.

[14:20]

of where there seems to be a knowing which touches things. When that knowing is wholehearted, it is knowing which does not touch things, or it is not touching things knowing. The poet who wrote this poem also made a collection of Zen stories called the Book of Serenity. And just about half an hour ago this phrase came to my mind

[15:37]

In the subtle round mouth of the pivot, the spiritual work turns. In the subtle round mouth of the pivot, the spiritual work turns. That's a line from a poem which this poet also wrote in the Book of Serenity. I have the rest of the poem here, but I'm going to wait to tell you that till later and just concentrate on that one line. In the subtle round mouth of the pivot, the spiritual work turns. This is one line from a poem which celebrates a Zen story. And the story it celebrates is a story about a bodhisattva named Prajnatara.

[16:42]

Prajnatara, who might have been a woman, but also might have been a man. But if Prajnatara was a man, I think Prajnapara was not abiding in being a man. and was ready to realize not a man. Prajnatara is also the teacher of Bodhidharma, who we call our first ancestor in China. Back in India, Prajnattara got invited to lunch by a king. And I think it was often the tradition that when monks got invited for lunch, which was the main meal for Buddhist monks in those days, they could also have snacks earlier in the day, but

[18:05]

Lunch was often the big meal. And then after lunch, they would recite scriptures for their, if someone donated the lunch to them, they would then recite scriptures in the donor's home. So the king serves a dinner, maybe to Prajnatara, and who knows, Bodhidharma might even have been there, little Bodhidharma. sharing the lunch. After lunch, the king said to Prajnatara, well, why don't you recite scriptures? I guess he didn't recite the scriptures, just ate the lunch and maybe was just sitting there quietly. Well, why don't you, when's the sutra chanting going to start? And Prajnatar said, this poor wayfarer, when breathing in, does not dwell in the five skandhas.

[19:18]

When breathing out, does not dwell in the 18 realms of experience. I always recite this scripture. This is the scripture. I recite hundreds, thousands, millions of scrolls. Breathing out pivoting with breathing in, pivoting with breathing out, pivoting with breathing in. He wholeheartedly breathes out and it pivots with wholeheartedly breathing in. He breathes out until the breathing out is not breathing out.

[20:27]

He breathes in until breathing in is not breathing in. This is the subtle round mouth of the pivot where the spiritual work turns and there's no abiding in body and mind when wholeheartedly breathing out and no abiding when wholeheartedly breathing in. This is the scripture of that ancestor. Here Again, the poet who is pointing out the pivotal activity of all Buddhas, here the poet points out the pivotal activity turning in the mouth of the pivot. Maybe when we are breathing out, there is a knowing which is touching the breathing out.

[21:43]

When we're breathing in, maybe there's a knowing which touches the thing called breathing in. Then there is abiding in breathing in and out. But in the wholehearted presence for breathing out which touches, we enter the knowing which is a knowing while breathing out which doesn't touch things. And we have a not touching things which is knowing. And then the poem says, knowing without touching things is inherently subtle.

[23:35]

Knowledge which is inherently subtle is ever without discriminatory thought. So when I see that without discriminatory thought, I might think, oh, that means there's no discriminatory thought. And then another way of looking at it is

[24:41]

this knowing which is inherently subtle, is without discriminatory thought, is a further instruction into the subtlety. the ancestor Dogen says, when we use this this knowing, this knowing which is not touching things, this knowing which is subtle, when we use it,

[25:58]

it is brisk and vigorous. And the expression which is translated into English as brisk and vigorous, in Japanese, if you say that expression, it is ka-pa-tsu-pa-tsu-chi ka-pa-tsu-pa-tsu ka-pa-tsu-pa-tsu pa-tsu-pa-tsu-pa-tsu And it's an expression which the characters mean, vigorous and vital. But the sound is understood as the sound of a fish. breaking through the surface of the water, flying into the air, and splashing back down.

[27:02]

This knowing is so much itself that it leaps beyond itself. And there's no like, how am I doing as the thought is flying through the air and splashing back down into the water. And discriminatory thought could be the fish. Discriminatory thought can be like this too. Because again, the way discriminatory thought is not discriminatory thought is when discriminatory thought is very vigorous. So vigorous that it realizes that it couldn't be that thought without not that thought.

[28:14]

It realizes that. It proves that. It verifies that. And there's no inside or outside. There's no thought about it. It is the thought for the moment. And it is wholehearted. And it is kapatsupatsuji. It is already realized. It is already this knowing. And this knowing is what liberates beings. And not being this wholehearted is living the life of a dream of abiding in inhaling and exhaling.

[29:17]

And if I'm living the dream that I'm abiding in inhaling, It's not the end of the practice. It doesn't mean that the next moment I can't wholeheartedly breathe into not abiding in the breathing because I already am not abiding in the breathing. All I have to do is give myself to the program of reality. The ancestor is not abiding in exhaling. The ancestor is not abiding in body and mind while exhaling. We can be just like the ancestors. Earlier we said, before Buddhas were Buddhas, they were just like us.

[30:20]

Before we're ancestors, we are just like us, of course. But when we are just like us completely, we are ancestors. ancestors were just like us completely, not sort of just like us, completely like us. And therefore ancestors did not abide in being us or themselves. So there does sometimes seem to be inhalation and exhalation. Then in addition to that or along with that, there could be trying to wholeheartedly inhale and trying to wholeheartedly exhale.

[31:29]

So the ancestor could have said, when I'm trying to wholeheartedly exhale, I don't abide in trying to wholeheartedly exhale. When I try to wholeheartedly exhale, or when I try to exhale halfway, a half exhale, when I try to exhale, I don't abide in mind. When I try to be wholehearted in my exhale, I don't abide in the thought of trying. no matter what I'm up to, I do wholeheartedly and therefore I don't abide. Even if I'm trying to not abide, even if I'm trying to be wholehearted, I'm always wholehearted.

[32:42]

And if I think I'm not wholehearted, then I can be wholeheartedly thinking I'm not wholehearted. And then I probably should confess, I think I'm not wholehearted. Like I said before, somebody says, I'm not practicing for the welfare of all beings. I'm only practicing for the welfare of one. If you could possibly wholeheartedly practice for the benefit of one, you wouldn't abide in that. And then you would be practicing for the welfare of all. Because not abiding in body and mind is the scripture of those who are living for the welfare of all.

[33:49]

And this is subtle and it's free of discriminatory thought. Louder, please. Although there may be discriminatory thoughts. There may be discriminatory thoughts. Yep. But they're not my job. They're sitting in the bleachers watching me. unless they want to get off their seat and come and join in wholeheartedly being discriminatory thought, and then they are without discriminatory thought.

[35:04]

Then they are the knowing which doesn't touch anything. Everything I've said today is a setup for a punchline to a great joke. And you have been listening to this setup, and I just told you that it was a setup for a joke, for a punchline to a joke,

[36:24]

and you heard the punchline. The punchline was when I told you that there was a punchline that you were set up for. And I guess that most of you, when I told you there was a punchline, you didn't see the punchline, it just worked on you. Because usually, not usually, actually sometimes that is a way of doing a punchline is to tell people that was the punchline. But I didn't tell you that that was, I just said that there was going to be one. That this conversation was a setup for. And you found it without me even knowing that you would. I heard you laugh. I didn't know that the punchline had already arrived. And then I found out that it had because

[37:26]

you laughed before I thought I said the punchline. And when I said all that I've said, I mean all that I've said in my whole life. And all that I've said today is a setup for a punchline. And when the punchline comes, the punchline pivots with the setup of the joke. And then you realize that all that was said before, which you didn't know was a setup for a joke, you just thought somebody was telling you some stuff. Now you realize, oh, that was part of the joke. we do keep forgetting that our whole life up to this moment is a setup for the punchline of this moment.

[38:29]

We keep forgetting that. And that's fine, because then we can remember it again for the next punchline, for the new, brand new, vigorously jumping setup. And how wonderful it is that you listened so carefully to the setup that all I had to do was tell you that it was a setup and you found the punchline. I didn't have to say anything clever. You found the punchline. Where did you find it? I didn't say anything. Oh, yes, I did. I said, all that I said is a setup for the punchline. I said the word punchline. But that's all I said, right?

[39:31]

And you got it, because you were listening to the setup. Now maybe while you were listening there was some discriminatory thought, I don't know, but somehow you were listening to that too. And then that became a setup. So I beg the forgiveness of those who have heard me tell this story before. Like Maya probably heard it five times. Please forgive me, Maya. And Kathy maybe has heard it three times. I'm sorry, Kathy. But some of you have not heard this story, have you? That was the punchline. But that's not the story.

[40:35]

And that was the punchline for what little I told you before. They can be really short setups like those. Here's a longer one. Are you ready? to listen, to set up. In, I think it was 1987, Pope John Paul came to visit the United States. And one of the places he went was Carmel, California. There's a mission there, Carmel Mission. And he said, I think the mission was founded by Hunisiparo Serra. Is that how you say his name? Hunipara Serra.

[41:41]

Is that right? He founded the mission. And the Pope went to that mission. And while visiting the mission, he also set up an audience. Yeah. He invited lots of non-Catholic priests, mostly bishops, to come and meet him. And he also invited one Buddhist abbot to come and meet him. And we met in the mission. And also at that time Clint Eastwood, was the mayor of Carmel, so he was also invited to meet the Pope. And so we met the Pope. And yeah, that was nice. And then I think after that, the Pope and his entourage, he has lots of attendants, and his attendants are bishops.

[42:56]

And I really thought they were great attendants. And they really were like, you know, vigorously jumping fish. The Pope was also a vigorously jumping fish, but he was more like the lazily swimming type of vigorously jumping fish. And they were like more rapidly swimming, vigorously jumping fish. So anyway, I think after Carmel, the Pope's tour continued. Have you heard this story, Mia? You probably have, but it's not vivid. So the tour goes on and the Pope goes to Montana to visit a cathedral in Montana.

[44:05]

And, you know, driving in Montana, there's vast stretches of Montana where there's no people around. So the pope's driving in the limousine with his chauffeur. And the pope, that pope was a Polish pope. And he said, well, before I was pope, I used to drive a lot. I used to love to drive. And have you heard this story, Jill? Charlie, have you heard this story? You have? Charlie's heard it. So anyway, you want to finish it? So, is it a good joke? Do you see the pivots? Kathy, do you remember this joke, Kathy? Did you see the punchline?

[45:13]

You see the punchline? You see the pivot? What happened? There was knowing without touching. You didn't make that funny, did you? You didn't manipulate that into a punchline, but it was. How did that happen? There was knowing there. Before the punchline functions, you can see it, but when it happens, it disappears. Watch. So they're driving, and the Pope says to the chauffeur, I used to drive a lot, I love to drive, but now I can't drive anymore, I have to ride in the in the back of limousines. And the chauffeur said, well, you know, we're out in the middle of nowhere, so you could actually drive for a while.

[46:24]

So they pull over and they change places, and the Pope drives. And the Pope, again, out in the middle of nowhere, the Pope can drive the limousine pretty fast. So the Pope starts driving the limousine fast. and faster and faster. And then the Pope notices that there's a sound of a siren behind him and flashing lights. And I think probably the chauffeur says, I think you're holding this. You probably should pull over. What? See the pivots? He didn't make that happen. I didn't make that happen. So what was the pivot? What happened when it worked? Do you see it? It's very subtle.

[47:26]

It's subtle. It's not touching things. At that time there's no touching of things. And there's a knowing. And there's always material available for the pivot. So anyway, they pull over and the highway patrol officer comes up to the car with the book to write the ticket and looks at the Pope and and goes back to his car and gets in the car and his partner says, did you write the ticket? And he said, no, I just couldn't do it when I saw who was driving.

[48:32]

And his partner says, it doesn't matter who's driving, you should go back and write the ticket. So he goes back again to write the ticket and It doesn't write it. I'm not in charge of these punchlines. You're finding more than never been found before. I think it's because you're wholeheartedly listening. If you wholeheartedly listen, I guess you find punchlines ahead of my punchline that I'm heading towards. And I am too. Like about 15 punchlines have happened before I got to the punchline. Now here it is. I'm telling you beforehand. That's another one.

[49:34]

So he gets back to the car and his partner says, Did you write it? And he said, Nope. And the partner says, Well, who is it? Such that you can't write the ticket. And the guy says, I don't know who's in the back seat. But the Pope's the chauffeur. And the show goes on for the rest of our lives.

[50:44]

Set up punchline. Wholehearted listening. Liberation. Wholehearted thinking. Wholehearted touching. And the pivot to not touching. all day long, but we have to be here to get the joke and to be released. But both me and Kathy were really laughing, even though they'd heard it several times before. Are you wholehearted about that observation? Yes, I thought it was very cute. They're still laughing. as I said earlier.

[51:56]

May our intention equally extend to every...

[52:12]

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