I'm thinking about all of you and what might be helpful for you today. And I'm also thinking about Shakyamuni Buddha. I'm thinking about how he told us he spent his time, how he lived his life. And I'm wondering how he took care of himself such that he awoke.

[01:06]

is helpful to you, whether the way he practiced could be the way that you all practice, and that if you practiced the way he practiced that you would also realize the freedom and wisdom and compassion and skillful abilities to teach that he realized. According to tradition, according to what has been handed over to us, he sat like we all are right now.

[02:51]

He also stood and walked and reclined on his right side. But he said that everything he did, all these postures he assumed, in all these postures, he was steadfastly diligent and resolute. And that by being upright and diligent and resolute in everything he did,

[04:02]

his body and mind became imperturbable and flexible, gentle, firm, spotless, undefiled. He said that he gave himself completely and totally to whatever he was.

[05:14]

The way he was was all he was, and he was determined to not move from that because he thought that would be good. in order to realize the goal which he had in mind all the time. And his goal was to understand suffering, its nature, to understand its cause. to understand its origination and thereby realize release from suffering and understand the path to the release from suffering.

[06:34]

When he met people and they asked him about the practice and the teaching, he would respond by speaking. When he was done speaking, he would return to the meditation practice which he was doing before he spoke, he would settle back down again into being whatever was coming to be for him until the next request whereupon he would respond immediately with no deliberation.

[08:11]

And when he was done talking, he would again simply settle into awareness of what was happening. In this way he realized the way. He emanated a great compassionate light all the time, simply by virtue of his own inherent virtue, which is exactly the same he said, as the virtue of all living beings. Our virtue is

[09:33]

the way we are. We realize our virtue by not being distracted from the way we are. This is the pure and simple color of true practice. This is called upright sitting or upright standing, upright walking, upright reclining.

[10:36]

This is the door to the awareness that all Buddhas have employed to enter into liberation. The awareness which all Buddhas have employed to enter liberation is called the self-fulfilling awareness, or the self-receiving and self-employing awareness. To receive and use what you are in the moment.

[11:52]

That's what the Buddhas use to enter enlightenment. And once entered, that's what they use to receive and enjoy the enlightenment itself. That awareness, that practice, and enlightenment are the same. One of the strange things about human nature is that it is hard for human beings to simply receive and use themselves. Even if we're told, even if we're showed on a piece of paper signed by Buddha

[12:57]

that that's all we need to use. We still have a hard time simply using this self, receiving this self, and employing only this self as a way to enter the awareness of the Buddha. Even though all Buddhas have used the same practice, The practice of receiving and employing yourself is selfless practice. If you have a self, which you do have some sense of a self, simply to receive that simply to honor the fact that that's the way it is and use that and nothing more or less, and not trying to improve that or get rid of that, simply receive and then use, this is the awareness which fulfills the self.

[14:15]

That simply means that you settle into whatever is happening now and that you don't move. That all day long, you don't move. that you can move your hand through the air and touch someone or pick up a cup and you'd never move. Each moment you're not moving. And you appreciate that. You receive that moment and don't move from it and you enjoy it. And you don't let that enjoyment disturb you either.

[15:27]

And if it goes away, it goes away. And if it comes again, it comes again. Always you're not moving. And the Buddha is resolute and determined and diligent about practicing this unmoving, devotion to simply being a living being, which requires eventually constant mindfulness, flexibility, and so on, diligence, determination, and decision that you're going to practice the way of the Buddhas and confidence that they must have practiced that way, that no other way makes sense, that they always have used not some special thing, they've always used simply what is coming to be at this moment.

[16:46]

And they said, Human beings have trouble using this. They want to use something else other than what's happening. The Buddha's mind, at the occasion of his first awakening and all other awakenings, was nothing special. There was no special quality to his state of mind. It just said it was the way it was. And he had to work very sincerely to just finally let his mind be what it was. And then he entered the awareness of all Buddhas, where he saw the way things are. where he could see how all suffering dependently co-arises.

[18:13]

And he could also see how the end of suffering dependently co-arises. And he could see the path to freedom from suffering dependently co-arising. All this was revealed to him in the awareness of dependent core arising, in the self-fulfilling awareness that he spontaneously entered by simply not moving moment by moment. And it's normal and quite common for a human being to wonder what would happen to her, what would happen to him if he adopted this practice.

[19:30]

How could one live one's life? What kind of a thing would you become if you simply were yourself moment by moment? Would that really be okay with everybody, including yourself? Would that mean giving up fun? Yes, it would. Would it mean giving up misery? Yes, it would. It would mean giving up everything, period. And it turns out that when you give up everything, especially you give up all self-concern, you just wind up being yourself, which of course you always were, but you couldn't see it because you weren't willing to give up everything else.

[20:33]

But you actually don't have to do some big giving up everything. You just have to be willing to give up everything and if you're willing to give up everything, then all you have to do is be yourself. That will realize giving up all self-concern. It's a positive way to do something that sounds negative. This practice, this selfless practice, is exactly the same as enlightenment. They're no different. And the enlightenment which you will attain this morning, if you practice this way, is not the end of your enlightenment because if you practice this way you will naturally give up this morning's enlightenment and move on to the next one.

[21:42]

it will get deeper and deeper. It'll be much deeper tonight than it is this morning if you practice this way today. And the way you give it up is by simply, in the next moment, receive and utilize how you are. Just like the Buddha said, he realized the way, he understood suffering, its origination, its end and the path to the end of it.

[22:49]

He understood it. His heart was content. His life work was accomplished. And then he simply continued to receive and enjoy that freedom, which is exactly the same as receiving and enjoying himself. Then when people talked to him, he responded. When he was done talking, he simply returned to receiving and employing himself. When they called again, he responded. When he was done, he returned again to simply being himself. When they called, he gave up being himself and was himself responding to the call. When the call was done, he went back. back and forth for 50 years. That's how he lived, his enlightenment going deeper and deeper into the pores of every living being he met, showing them the same practice that he was always concentrated on.

[23:58]

He tried some other things besides this way, and he tried very hard those other ways. And among those who tried those other ways, he was one of the best, if not the best. But the other ways didn't give him what he wanted, which was freedom from misery, from the great mass of pain. which he was quite aware of and deeply affected by. He was a very uncomfortable person. He had lots of anxiety. He wanted to be free, and he wanted everyone else to be free. This was his goal. He tried other ways that didn't realize his goal. This way, which I'm talking about, is what he said was the way that worked.

[25:15]

And I don't remember offhand if he said that this way was the most difficult. I don't remember if he said that. But if it isn't the most difficult, it still is just about the most difficult. But people can practice this way because you all have the basic ingredients for this practice, the basic ingredient moment by moment, which is just what you think is happening. That's it. That's all you have to work with. That's all you have to work with. That's all you need to work with. That's all you can work with, and so on. But again, being human beings, we think we have an alternative. which is fine to think that if you give it up and don't fall for that alternative and act as though you didn't really understand that you had an alternative.

[26:30]

And so now We have this very short time called the rest of our life to do this practice. So since we don't have much time, it seems like it would be good to start soon. And also because we don't have much time, don't rush. Don't miss the next chance. I didn't bring a book in today.

[28:10]

Where did this talk come from? Did I just make it up or was it something that was passed to me? And who passed it to me? And what do you have now? Did something get passed to you? What got passed to you? Where did I get the stuff that I passed to you?

[29:18]

Was it something I was taking care of before I came in here? And now I tell you and I pass to you what I'm taking care of? I think so. Is it what I think my ancestors were taking care of and passed to me? That's what I think. Now you have it. And please take care of it. Take care of it and pass it on if you want to, if somebody asks for it. I pass this to you because I thought you asked for it. I wouldn't have bothered you if you didn't do those three bows and chant that thing about the pure and simple color of true practice.

[30:25]

But since you did that, so I thought, oh, I'll give you some more that that person said, that Buddha, Dogen person, who is exactly you. This is the pure and simple color of true faith. When you come to me

[31:36]

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