The Buddha way is to allow the self to return to its true home. which is the domain of the oneness of all being and the interconnectedness of all life. It's the domain of utmost respect for each other. The Buddha way is to allow the self to return to this true home, which is the realization of the emptiness of our separation, the emptiness of our independent existence.

[01:34]

And the first step in this return is the practice of repentance. We just read the vows of arousing the mind written by Dogen Zenji where he speaks of the power of repentance or the great function of repentance as a pure and simple color of true practice.

[03:19]

This repentance is not something which is realized by oneself or by someone else. It's not realized by your own power or someone else's power, but it is by genuine faith in this true home, by genuine faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, that we become repentance itself. When we become repentance itself, we see the straight path right before our eyes, which transcends the wound of separation between ourselves and all beings.

[05:04]

I saw a scene of a young man being placed in prison, and his father was also placed in prison with him, and they were put in the same cell. And I thought, well, I felt sad that they were being put in prison because they were innocent. But I felt good that he was in prison in the same cell with his father. I thought they would have a great opportunity to get to know each other. And they did. In this rather long story, the part that touched me most was one scene where they were lying in bed, separate beds, and the father had turned his back to his son.

[07:04]

And the son said, what's the matter? I think the father said something like, I'm just really worried about you. I'm really upset about you. You're ruining yourself." And what the son was doing was he was taking LSD with some of the other inmates And I don't remember exactly the conversation, but then I think the son said, OK, I won't take any more drugs for the rest of your life.

[08:34]

I won't take any drugs until you die. Will that make you happy? And his father said, no. I don't want you to take drugs even after I die. And then the son said something like, OK, I won't take drugs even after you die. Now are you happy? And the father said, I think he said, yes.

[09:41]

At that time, I think I first identified with the Father. And I felt, yes, I would be happy if I felt that everyone would not only have that attitude until I died, but even after I died. telling the story, I can also identify with the son. It's both hearing that kind of commitment from others and making that kind of commitment myself. And both hearing and making these kinds of commitments are not something which you do by your own power and not something somebody else does for you.

[11:38]

It's something that you do in communion. Or I should say, it happens in communion. It is born in that way. This repentance practice is the first step in returning to our true home.

[13:29]

It is the first step in going for refuge in the Buddha. going for refuge, of the return flight to Buddha. The middle of returning to Buddha is the actual receiving the refuges ahem

[14:52]

The great teacher, Huey Ngan, in his Platform Sutra, introduces the practice of repentance, the practice of formless repentance. And I think he says that it's useless to just say words, to merely say words before the Buddha, to confess error and evil actions before the Buddha. I was shocked to see that.

[17:21]

The first way I read it was it actually said it was useless to say these words before Buddha, and then later it says it's useless to merely say it before Buddha, useless to confess before another. He said what repentance is, is to never again engage in error, in mistaken and evil actions. How could we never again engage in error? Repentance is to never again do evil, never again to be in error.

[18:44]

So it appears to me that what repentance is, is to enter into the faith in the Buddha so that you and we together become repentance itself. We become the never again violating the precepts. We become the practice of repentance. And by settling into this kind of upright sitting where we observe delusion arising and by its own nature turning into light.

[21:15]

In that presence there is a never again violating There is never again action based on a wounded heart. There is no action, there is never again action based on belief in the separation of self and other. And this kind of settling is repentance. And based on this repentance, we can receive the precepts, which is to be immovable.

[22:36]

in the enlightenment of self and other. Someone came to me and confessed that he was confused and discouraged and had lots of views and ideas about everything. confused in the swirl of delusions and discouraged about it all.

[23:58]

I asked him what his practice is or was in that situation. And he told me to love everything. And I asked, even the discouragement and confusion and fixed views? I don't remember if he said, yes, even those, but then he said something about not running away, not running away from confusion,

[25:05]

discouragement and various kinds of thinking about what's going on. Loving these appearances does not mean you like them or that you think they're good or that you indulge in them. It's more like not running away. It's more like sitting still, not by your own power, not by another's power, but just sitting still. It is just sitting still, not something you do called sitting still. It is just sitting still, not running away from confusion and discouragement and so on.

[26:10]

not running away from your opinions about things, but not indulging in them either, just being upright in them, becoming repentance itself. Not running away means not killing them, not pushing them away, not eliminating them, not annihilating them. It means not stealing by them or from them. It means not lying about them, and so on. It means receiving the precepts.

[27:15]

That's how we practice with this confusion, becoming repentance and seeing the never again, will there be any actions based on this confusion. I won't say there is such a thing as repentance. I would just say that's what repentance is. It's the light. It's the appearance of the light in the middle of this confusion. It's the steadfastness which is ready to receive this light which is faith in this light, which is caring for whatever appears so thoroughly that it turns into light, that we see that it is light, and receiving this light.

[28:50]

It is admitting the darkness completely and seeing the never again of the darkness. This is to not kill what is appearing before your eyes. And this is to nurture the seed of Buddha's wisdom. All things have the Buddha nature, which means that all things have clear light and lack inherent existence.

[30:30]

Confusion, repentance, receiving the return, and returning to the light, and then again confusion, repentance, refuge, light, darkness, repentance, refuge, light, dark, repentance. So repentance is the never again, and the repentance is done over and over. So the Buddha is repeatedly noticing the appearance of darkness and by faith in the light we settle into the darkness or we accept completely and thoroughly the darkness and receive the light again.

[32:57]

And then the world changes and then there's darkness again, which again we admit, acknowledge, avow. And in this process there is never again wrong action. And there is admission of wrong action and admission of confusion. This is the pure and simple color of true practice, of the true body of faith, of the true mind of faith. This is the gate that all Buddhas have used to enter into the practice of Zen.

[34:16]

I hope that this talk helps all of us to be ready to live this day as Buddha's way.

[35:33]

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