The chant we just recited was a bodhisattva vow written by a person in what we call the Zen lineage in Japan named Tore, Zen Master Tore. So he was a person who aspired to be a bodhisattva and this was one of his vows that he wrote. And this morning we chanted another Bodhisattva vow written by another more ancient Asian master named Dogen. That was one of his Bodhisattva vows that we recited. And may we attain maturity in Buddhist wisdom. May we. And I mentioned this morning that I'm... somehow meaning to talk about this word, this Chinese character, which you're familiar with.

[01:14]

It's quite, you see it around Asian bookstores and things like that in the West a lot. In Japanese, it's pronounced do. In Chinese, it's pronounced dao. In Japanese, do. So, it means a path, a road. But in China and Japan, you see maybe various streets, such and such, like... A lot of the streets in Kyoto have this character, and then another character which means principal. And then like third street is third, the character for three, and then dori, this character, and another character which means principal.

[02:17]

So it means a road or a path. So in Chinese, in Sanskrit, This is a translation of the Sanskrit word marga, which means path. I use it that way in China. So in Sanskrit, marga means path and also means practice. So this character means path. Usually you don't talk about it as practice, but a path in Buddhism is a practice. This character was in China in circulation in China long before Buddhism came. Buddhism came around 2,000 years ago to China, but before Buddhism, this character was in use. And again, it meant road, or path, or a way of life. But it also means speak. So-and-so spoke in this character.

[03:23]

And then, and as you all may know, there's a famous, there's a very illustrious text, which is called the Taoist text. And, where's Homer? There we are. And it's called Tao de Ching, Tao de Ching. This character, Tao, and de means virtue, and ching is scripture. It's one of the main... Scriptures are the Taoist school. The Taoist school is the school of the Tao. Taoist. And so it starts out by saying, the true Tao cannot be Taoed. In that case, it's the true Tao cannot be spoken. But you can also, that's the way they usually translate it, the true path is the path that cannot be spoken. But you can also say, the true path is the path that's not the path.

[04:28]

Or the true speaking is speaking that's not speaking. But they usually translate it, the true path cannot be spoken, this path. So this means path, but again, it means a way of life. It's a great way of reality, of the nature of the universe. That's the Tao. But the Chinese Buddhists use this to mean a path, but they also used it to mean enlightenment. So in Sanskrit, marga means path, or practice, and then one of the words for enlightenment is bodhi. So this character can translate marga and bodhi. And of course, in our tradition, the path, The marga and the enlightenment are the same thing.

[05:32]

So we often chant, the way is perfect and all-pervading. That's the word they usually translate. It's this character. But you could also say enlightenment is perfect and all-pervading. But if it's perfect and all-pervading, if the way, if the practice is perfect and pervades everywhere, which is the same as enlightenment, perfect to pervasion, why do we have to practice? And then it says, and yet if there's a slightest discrepancy, in other words, if our activity is not in accord with this way or this path of this enlightenment, it's kind of like, it's almost like the way doesn't pervade. And that relates to another story, which many of you have heard, is a Zen teacher is fanning himself, and a monk says, the nature of wind is permanent and reaches everywhere, so why do you fan yourself?

[06:52]

Zen teacher says, you may understand that the nature of the way, of the wind, is all-pervading, but you don't understand what it means that it reaches everywhere. And monks say, what is the meaning of it, reaching everywhere? And the teacher found himself. Your practice is the meaning of the way reaching everywhere. Even though it does reach everywhere, the meaning of it is your practice. He's the great character which means both practice and enlightenment in Chinese prison and speak, which is also very interesting to me. If your speech isn't practice, then it's like the way doesn't reach everywhere.

[07:54]

If the way, if Enlightenment reaches everywhere. Why do you have to talk, teacher? Another word that I want to relate this to is the word for a practice place, which many of you have heard the term dojo. And that compound, Do, uses this character, Do, and another character which needs place. So, there can be Zen dojos. Zen places of practice. But also, it's a practice place, a way place, but it's also an enlightenment place. A dojo in Buddhism is an enlightenment place.

[08:58]

But all these other traditions like Aikido dojo, judo dojo, karate dojo, and all those other arts like flower arrangement. It's a do. It's a path and it's a enlightenment. Tea ceremony, archery, archery is kudo, a path. of archery, or the enlightenment archery. We're all practiced in dojos. A dojo also means, translates a second term called bodhi manda. So the dojo is a bodhi mandala. It's where you sit, where you practice enlightenment. So again, coming back to the theme of this year, This is a good place to build a sanctuary.

[10:04]

This is a good place to build a dojo. This is a good place to build a bodhi-manda. Wherever you are is a good place to build a dojo, a bodhi-manda, where you practice enlightenment, where there's enlightenment practice. At Tosahara, outside the... I believe, outside, we have a little plaque given to us. It's a nice plaque from the headquarters of Soto Zen. It's not as good as a disabled person plaque. It's a nice plaque, and it says that this is a place for practicing. So it's a San Zen, which means practice dojo. So this is our... Chinese lesson for today. And this will be located in your friendly neighborhood, Temple Kitchen.

[11:08]

Can I have that book, please? This is the Book of Serenity. It's an English translation of a Chinese collection of Zen stories, of Zen conversations, Chinese collection of many, what basic, 100 basic face-to-face transmissions. And in the commentary, there's many other stories of face-to-face transmissions. This is a book full of wonderful stories of bodhisattvas, or at least people who are aspiring to be bodhisattvas, having conversations with bodhisattvas. And some of these stories, only the Buddha is talking. But again, I say to you, whenever the Buddha is talking, the Buddha is talking to everybody.

[12:14]

And again, the story I told you at the beginning is the fourth story in this book. It's called The World-Honored One Points to the Earth, or Points to the Ground. The Chinese character there means earth and ground. So again, the world-honored one, the Buddha's walking along on the earth and points to the earth and says, this is a good place to build a sanctuary. In this case, they don't use the Chinese characters for dojo. They use the character for sanctuary. And then in his group, always traveling in a group, even when you can't see Buddha's students around her, Still, there's this inexhaustible, inconsistible group that the Buddha is sitting in the middle of it, of all living beings. Wherever the Buddha goes, all living beings go with the Buddha.

[13:19]

So he's walking with his group, points to the ground, says, this is a good place to build a sanctuary. And in his group is various divine beings, one of them is... emperor of the divine beings, Indra, takes a blade of brass, sticks it in the ground, and says, the sanctuary is built. And the Buddha smiled. This is the conversation. Good place. Okay, the response. Put the grass in. The Buddha smiled. That's the story. Number four. And then there is, what is it? Then there's number 41, right? Up to 41, on your way to 100. Let's see what number 41 is. This is 53, which is another good one.

[14:31]

But I'm going to go back to 41, sorry. So this is called Lupu. Teacher Lupu is about to die. Okay, so I'm going to talk to you for a little while, and then... Because if you listen well, we're going to give you a cheat. And some tea. Right, Linda? Okay, so... Here's the introduction, you want to hear it?

[15:38]

Yes. Who knows, this might be apropos of our world today. We'll see. Sometimes, out of loyalty and sincerity, denying oneself, the pain and cramp is hard to express. Sometimes, calamity extends to other people, but one doesn't take responsibility. What about to pass away, to die. We are cut down cheaply. At the very end, there is the most care. Tears come from a painful gut. It's impossible to hide or escape anymore. But is there anyone with cruel eyes?

[16:42]

When Lupu was about to die, he said to his group, I have one thing to ask you people. If this is so, this is adding a head on top of your head. If it is not so, this is cutting off your head, seeking life. That's what he said to his group. as he was about to die. These are his final care for his students as he was about to die. If this is so, this is adding a head on top of your head If this is not so, this is cutting off your head, seeking light.

[17:53]

That's how he started. And when the conversation starts. At that time, a monk, or excuse me, not a monk, but a head monk. So, oftentimes, there's a head monk in a monastery. Like, over at Gringot, we have practice periods. At Tassajara, our city center, we have practice periods. And I have a head monk. Like I say, Shisho, which literally means first seating. So when she saw the head monk said, green mountains, or the green mountain is always moving its feet. Don't hang a lamp in broad daylight. The teacher offers this. The head monk says, the green mountains are always moving their feet. Don't hang up a lamp in broad daylight. They're having conversation.

[18:55]

He's trying to have a face-to-face transmission as he's dying with his group. And the monk comes forward, the head monk comes forward to try to practice this with him. And Lu Po said, what time is this to make such a speech. Or, one of the ways to put it, how can you talk like this at a time like this? Or, this is no time to fool around with such talk. Then, another elder comes forth, his name is Yan Song, and said, leaving these two paths, What are the two paths? Did you hear them? Leaving these two paths, I request the teacher not ask the question you just asked.

[19:57]

Is that clear somewhat? The teacher has these two paths. If you say it's this, that's like putting a head on top of your head. If you say it's not this, that's cutting your head off, trying to get something. The monk comes forward and says, you know, why do you put up a light in midday? And the teacher says, basically, why are you talking like that? And the elder comes forward and says, I'm putting aside what you just said. I ask you not, I ask, I request the teacher not ask what you just asked. Okay? This is a conversation at that time, back in ancient China. Lu Pu said, not yet, speak again. In other words, didn't quite get it, try again.

[21:05]

Pretty good, I'm adding that. Not yet, try again. He didn't invite the other monk to try again. Not yet, try again. So then the elder, Yansung, says, I don't care if you can say it all or not. Yansung. And then, I think this is a mistake, typo. It says Yansang, but I think it means... Mmm. It's funny. It says, Yansang said, I have no attendant to answer the teacher. I don't know what's going on there.

[22:07]

Anyway, that was our conversation in public. And that evening, Lu Pu called the elder Yansang to his private quarters and said, your answer today was most reasonable. You should experientially realize the saying of my late teacher. Quotes, before the eyes there are no things. That meaning is before the eyes. It is not something before the eyes, not in reach of the eyes or ears. That unquote. And then he says to the elder, which phrase is guest and which phrase is host? If you can pick them out, I will impart the robe and bowl to you.

[23:12]

In other words, I will complete the face-to-face transmission with you, if you can pick out which phrase of my teacher was host and which is guest. And the elder says, Elder Yansson says, I don't understand. And Lupus said, you should. And Yansong said, I really don't. It's kind of a serious situation here. We have this teacher who is about to die and he wants to give his final transmission to his group. The head monk comes forward and he's kind of like, the teacher doesn't want to go further with him.

[24:20]

The elder comes forward, the teacher wants to go in more depth. He gives him a chance. The elder says, I don't understand. The teacher said, you really should. I really don't. Time's running out. Gansang says, I really don't, and Lu Pu shouted. I think the recorder just stopped. Because of the book landing on it. How long has it been stopped? Five seconds. So Lu Pu then, the elder says, I really don't, and Lu Pu shouted and said, how miserable. And the monk said, Our A-monk asked, not the elder, what is the teacher's meaning? And Lurtko said, the boat of compassion is not rowed over pure waters.

[25:24]

Over the precipitous straits, it is wasted effort to set out a wooden goose. A wooden goose? A goose. Sometimes if you're going through rapids, you might put a piece of water, a wooden goose, in the water to see where the goose goes, so you can follow the goose. He's saying, in precipitous straits, it's a wasted effort to put the goose out. Here's people trying to have a conversation, an intimate conversation, and we can talk about what they're up to, but the main thing I want to say today is here's an example of an attempt by a noted teacher, excellent students, and it's difficult.

[26:29]

It's difficult. And That story is actually only part of it. Oh, actually, I think how miserable is also going to be translated. It's tough. It's tough. And then, look, we died. Right after that. We could... We could converse about this story.

[27:34]

We could converse about this conversation for a quick while. I can imagine that you would bring many things into question if we did. And I would be happy to do so. And there's many other conversations which we could converse about for the rest of our lives. And these conversations are what the Buddha way is. So anything you want to bring up? It's Katie.

[28:38]

earlier about the two ways of where I'm going, that the solitary time gets settled and the conversation. And maybe if you can say more about how to skillfully use those together when the conversation is difficult, when there is struggle when it's difficult to move forward back to property and when it's difficult to go away and expect the fire thing out and settle and what we do when we're in the middle of the struggle. Yeah, so you're initiating a conversation with me about what you just said okay and uh so when you were talking i was thinking about someone who was in this room who came to see me i don't know how many decades ago and uh on more than one occasion she said when we were talking she said to me when you stop talking please

[30:11]

Because while I was talking to her, she was unable to, like, be aware of herself. And she sensed that she needed me to stop talking so she could, like, be solitary. She sensed that she was having trouble, like, actually conversing with me because she was losing track of her side of the conversation, which is how she feels and what she's, you know, how she feels and what her posture is. So she asked me to stop. So she could check in. So I stopped. And then she, like, checked in. And she felt present again. And I said, okay, continue. Do you remember that? Do you remember that? Looks like you don't. I thought that sounded familiar. I hope I was okay to help you.

[31:14]

But that's good. She sent on some occasions that she came to talk to me, but then when I started talking to her, I think maybe she felt, I could say overwhelmed by what I was saying. Okay, fine, but just a second, where am I? So she asked me to stop, and I would say, in general, you can do that with me. If I'm talking and you're losing track of yourself... and stop me. I'll stop. Find yourself again. So sometimes you feel like this conversation is too much for me. I have to go. I need some time alone. You sense that for yourself. And I hear that from a lot of people, that they're in an intimate relationship, and they're a partner in the conversation, they're interlocutor, is chatting away or yelling away or whatever, and they're like, they can't be present anymore, they're on the verge of running away, which can be seen as abandonment, or they're going to fight back, because they're on the verge of losing their integrity.

[32:35]

So I say, I think you should have an understanding with your interlocutor that You can have time out. You can go away for a while. And, you know, kind of regroup. But I also recommend that when you do that, especially if it's like somebody, not necessarily a teacher of Buddhism, but maybe an intimate partner, that you say, I need space. And I need one hour or one day. And, you know, I will come back. Don't just run away. is that they don't know. Some part of them doesn't know you'll ever come back. So, I said, I need space. I need an understanding that I need space to find myself and calm down so I can meet you in a skillful way. We should let people do that, and we should ask for it. We should learn to ask for it. And we should have an understanding that we can ask for it.

[33:36]

So with a Zen teacher, you should have an understanding about that, I would say. Now, the other way around also occurs. Look at the stories. The student's chatting away. The teacher's okay with it, but the teacher feels that the student's not really present with what they're saying. Like, I don't know what, they're trying to impress the teacher or something. Or they're getting too much under their head. Anyway, they're not really present, so the teacher often says, go back to the zendo and calm down. You're not following what you're saying. Or you're not listening to me. But they don't necessarily say that. They just say, go sit. Many stories like that. Where the teacher feels like interlocutor is not able to be present. And interlocutor is not asking for the space to read. Return to their presence. So you have to watch. Learn to watch while you're talking, while you're listening.

[34:41]

Are you... Are you taking care of your own face? Are you paying too much attention to the other face? And or too little to your own? And the same. That's a very important point. Thank you. And in the middle of my answer, you might have needed to stop me, but you didn't. Yes. In the beginning of that story, he says, if you don't understand this one way, it's like having another head. So that's kind of, like, useless, right? But the head on top of your head is like, maybe two heads. Well, it's kind of, to make it into this is unnecessary. Perfect. You know, you don't have to, like, make what you have into this. And to make it not this... That's extra.

[35:42]

That's adding something you don't need. And the other one is if you try to avoid that tendency to make something into something because you don't want to get in trouble. And that's cutting your head off. So then he's leading up to, well, what are you going to do? And this monk comes forward and he kind of says, you're getting colder. And then the other guy comes forward and does pretty well. But not quite. So he went to try again later. Sounds like turning away and touching a book wrong. It's very much like that. Turning away and touching your balls wrong. So I thought that the she-sauce response was a good one, because it sounds like that's what he was saying. It sounded like the she-sauce was saying... Why do you love a lantern in the daytime? Yeah, why?

[36:45]

Anyway, he thought it was good, and maybe it was. And then the teacher said what he said. And then she so shut up. And instead of him talking, the elder came forward and said what he said. She so could have said what the elder said, maybe. And the conversation would have gone on, but... She also could have said, well, what about you, teacher? Or he could have shouted, it's tough, it's tough. A lot of possibility why he stopped it. He didn't go on. Doesn't mean he was wrong. It just means, it seems like his part of the conversation was then shifted to, you know, maybe you could say he passed the baton to his big brother. I don't know. Yes?

[37:45]

I'm really taking with the precipitous waters and the wooden goose. And the way it's kind of hitting me today is that there's immediacy. You just have to, you can't, there's nothing to follow. It's echoing when you said right after the election about we have to be adults now. So it's kind of echoing that there's nothing that we can follow. The rock's not going to lead us anymore. The rock's not going to set a good example for us. We can't look outside ourselves for dignity and poise. And that being said at that moment of death, there's nothing to follow. You just need to be in the waters. You need to be in the water. And don't look for... Again, don't look for some... This is it. Be in the water, in the rough water, rowing away without this is the way to go.

[38:48]

Yes, exactly. You could be, I think this is the way to go, but that's just me thinking. So we don't try, again, try to stop thinking that this is the way to go. That would be to cut your head off. So find the balance and not look to someplace else. And also don't do it by yourself. Nobody's going to do it for you and you can't do it by yourself. And I have this fantasy that you guys are okay with that. You don't think you can do it by yourself and you don't think somebody else is going to do it for you. But that you are going to do it in face-to-face meeting with the other. Because that's Enlightenment is, and that's tough some of the time. And if it's not tough, then it's tough later.

[39:50]

And if it's tough later, then it's not tough later, and so on. It's very dynamic. These waters are really white and wonderful. It's a fragile situation. Let's be careful, and let's meet. face to face because the opportunity is always there and let's take care of being present with our own face because that's what we have to give and then help other people give their face to us completely which they are of course because the way of totally giving your face to this intimate communication is reality We have to practice it. Otherwise, it's kind of like it isn't reality. It's like we can be half-hearted. That's true.

[40:53]

And if you are wholehearted about being half-hearted, you'll be free of being half-hearted. So now, since you've listened so well, we will do our dedications and have a little tea party. Unless there's something else you want to say before we conclude? Thank you for making the great effort to be here with us today. It was a joy. Everybody helped me in many ways. And part of the helping was, you're going to do that? How are you going to eat up the stairs? And people back at Greenwich, you know, I had to convince them that I was going to not push myself too hard, so I asked for a bed to lie down, and I brought a massage table just to the right height, and so I could rest.

[42:02]

So I don't think I pushed myself too hard today. And even though it was not difficult, I still enjoyed it. Usually my one-day sittings here are really hard because I see about 20 people and give two talks and sit 40 periods. But today was pretty easy and I think I won't get any trouble now, right?

[42:30]

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