There was once a man who lived in China who considered himself to be a disciple of the Buddha Shakyamuni. His name was Jiri. He was called a Zen teacher or a Zen master. But he's not in the teaching lineage of what we usually consider to be the Zen schools. But he was a meditation master. And Chinese Zen teachers have referred us to his teachings because he systematically presented ways of working with the breathing practice and the breathing process which are not found in traditional Zen texts.

[01:06]

So last week I addressed the practice of breathing in the way of the Zen school, which is to practice breathing as though reading a scripture. And when reading the scripture, what one is doing is one is looking at the thread that runs through all things. So when following the breathing or counting the breathing,

[02:27]

or however you work with your breath, one way of doing that is to recite the scripture, recite the thread, sing of the thread which runs through everything. there is a unique breeze of reality. There's not two reality breezes. There's not two Dharma winds. There's just one. And this breeze gently flows into, gently breathes into,

[03:32]

each and everything. Watching your breath is an opportunity to observe this unique breeze of reality. Can you see it? the mother principle, also sometimes called creation, continuously works her loom and shuttle, incorporating the patterns of spring into the ancient brocade.

[04:37]

Every moment Creation offers a new, fresh springtime pattern which is joined to our entire past from beginningless time. In this new pattern which is appearing right now, there is a unique breath of reality. Can you see it? Can you see it? Are you ready for it? Are you watching for it? Whenever you meet a living being, can you see the Dharma?

[06:54]

Can you see the truth as it manifests in this person, in this living creature? Can you see the breath of truth in this pattern of springtime presenting itself to you now. This is called having eyes of compassion. This is called observing living beings with eyes of compassion. It's not eyes of pity, although if they're suffering you can see it and you don't shrink away from seeing their suffering.

[07:56]

But you see more than their suffering. You see the truth of their suffering. you see something about their suffering, something in their suffering, which connects their suffering to every other suffering. And strangely, being able to see this is called, or it accumulates, it assembles This vision of each sentient being, this compassionate watching of each sentient being, assembles an ocean of happiness, an ocean of blessing beyond measure. Watching your breath, can you see it flow into everything?

[09:27]

Can you see that your breath is the unique breeze of reality? Can you trust your breath? Can you trust this unique breeze which runs through everything and runs through your breath? Do you want to see reality? It might be right under your nose now. This way of talking about breath is a way that some people can't get interested in.

[10:46]

So the meditation teacher Jiri taught six methods, the method of counting the breath, the method of following the breath, the method of the breath stopping, and the method of contemplation of the breath, the method of returning or turning the breath around, and the method of purity, or purity of the breath. Taught these six ways, but really they all come down to one way. So you can just sit still.

[11:52]

And if you sit still and do nothing but sit still, if you give up everything but sitting still. That sitting still is eyes of compassion. When there is sitting still, there is seeing, there is observing sentient beings with eyes of compassion. The eyes in stillness

[12:55]

These quiet eyes are eyes of compassion and they look at sentient beings. These quiet eyes looking at sentient beings assemble an ocean of happiness. Counting your breath includes sitting still. Counting your breath accomplishes these quiet, compassionate eyes. but this is counting in its completeness.

[14:04]

And you can tell one of the ways to see if counting is complete is does counting include following? Does it include stopping? In the completeness of counting there must be following. You cannot count without following. And in order to count completely, to thoroughly and completely count means to count effortlessly. It means to count so fully that there's nothing left that you can apply to counting. Everything has been given to it. When everything is given to the counting there is also at that time following the breath quietly without counting.

[15:16]

You will be able to see in such a complete counting that someone is sitting there following the breath without saying a number. When everything is gathered into the counting the mind is one-pointed and there is no activity no activation of mind around the breath the thinking stops. And this complete counting includes following and stopping. So one way to understand stopping is just simply to count completely or to follow completely.

[16:23]

And if you watch this principle of how counting in its totality, in its completeness, in its thoroughness, includes following and stopping, and I'm not yet ready to show you how it includes the other three. The level of complexity I'm not going to try to do tonight. just if you can see how it includes how the thorough counting includes following and stopping then this is an example of how when anything that's done in its completeness leaps out of itself leaps off itself transcends itself. And first of all, most importantly, it becomes and realizes not-itself.

[17:35]

This style of living called completely living. This style of breathing called completely breathing. This style of counting the breath called completely, thoroughly counting the breath is what's called the style of Zen. It's called a Zen person. And they call this, this style in Japanese, which is the sound of a fish breaking the surface of the water, flying into the air and plopping back down.

[18:51]

It refers to that energeticness of a vigorously jumping fish. In the Wheelwright Center, on the wall, there's a picture of one of these fish jumping out of the sky, jumping out of the water into the sky. This is the gold fish breaking out of the net, breaking out of the water. How does it break out of the water? By being a fish. By being a fish so thoroughly that it transcends fishiness. Fish swim in the water.

[20:01]

Birds fly in the air. And no matter how far this fish swims, it never comes to an end of the water. And no matter how far the bird flies, it never comes to an end of the air. If a fish leaves the water, it will die at once. If the bird leaves the air, it will die at once. Water means life, and fish means life. Air means life, and bird means life. The same applies to human beings. Human beings... live in breath. Human beings live in confusion. And no matter how far you swim you never come to an end of the confusion.

[21:10]

If you leave the confusion you'll die at once. And when you die from leaving confusion you become what's called a Buddha. And the way you leave confusion and die is by being completely confused. But if you're not yet ready to be completely confused, you can work up to it by completely breathing. By counting your breaths so thoroughly that you

[22:20]

transcend counting, and become following, stopping, contemplating, returning, and purity. So that you realize all the different Dharma gates, all the different entrances into the truth. Now, if the senior people in this community, if the abbot of this community doesn't completely follow his breath, it's still possible that someone else could completely follow her breath

[24:03]

But if the abbot doesn't completely do something, how can he expect anyone else to do so? So without expecting anybody in this community to do anything completely, still that I would really wish somebody, at least in one moment, would do something completely thoroughly and demonstrate that all things are ultimately liberated, that all things in their completeness, in their thoroughness, leap off themselves and become free of themselves.

[25:13]

I wish, I really wish somebody would verify that teaching. And I'm not saying that I can do that myself or you can do it by yourself. And yet without doing it by yourself, Without you doing that, you can realize this. You can do this by yourself. But you can realize what it means to be completely your breath in a moment, to be completely your thoughts in a moment. You can realize what it means to completely follow your breathing.

[26:17]

And I wish someone would realize what that means and show us freedom from following, freedom from breath, freedom from self. But I'm not sitting here saying, why don't you do that? I'm saying, please do that. And if you do, I would like you to come and show it to me. And I don't know about showing it to other people. They may or may not want to see it. I want to see somebody we've realized how things in their fullness transcend themselves. However you do that, I don't care if it's through breathing, through sitting still, through a thought, through a muscular contraction, whatever.

[27:30]

This kind of fullness, this kind of thoroughness is not that far away. I think actually most of us, or a lot of us, are just a hair's breadth away from this completion. I try not to take such a situation personally, but I kind of think, well, if you hope this for people, please do it yourself. Please realize it yourself. And I'm happy to take that responsibility, to receive that responsibility. And I don't want to blame myself and say, I guess if people aren't working this thoroughly, maybe it's some sign that I'm not working this thoroughly.

[28:53]

So again, this encourages me to be more thorough. There was a teacher in our lineage named Yaushan, and one day he was sitting, following his breathing, And a monk said to him, teacher, what are you thinking about sitting there so still? And he said, I'm thinking so thoroughly that I'm not thinking. I'm thinking so completely that my thinking has leaped off of thinking. In that assembly, among his students, there was some other monks who were also in our lineage.

[29:58]

One of them was named Yunyan. And Yunyan and his Dharma brother, Dawu, for 40 years, never laid down. And then someone said, When things like that happen, you know there's enlightenment in the community. When there's students in the community that work that thoroughly, you know there's enlightenment in the community. I'm not saying that Yaoshan was enlightened, although he was, but that there's enlightenment in the community Now, I think there's a little bit of enlightenment in this community because you people are practicing very sincerely.

[31:04]

I don't know where the enlightenment is, but from what I understand, enlightenment is all-pervasive. It pervades all of our bodies and minds. And I feel like it's pervading fairly well, because you people are pervading very well. But I wonder, has it pervaded all the way into everything for you? Do you see it every moment? Can you see it in the garbage? Can you see it in the fresh foods? Can you see it in your shoelaces? Can you see it in your breath? Has it pervaded that far? We have a nice setup here, a lovely hall, and now we even have rain.

[32:10]

Isn't this a good enough situation for each of you to go all the way? Is there anything you lack? Is there any way we could encourage you more to go all the way in your meditation? To do your meditation however it is for you, however you're attempting to do it completely. Is there anything more you need to go all the way? I'm not going to scream right now, but I feel like it. Because I'm knocking on the Dharma door.

[33:16]

But I don't want to be rough because it's a gentle matter. This finding the way to go all the way needs gentleness. It's subtlety. And I don't want to use all my energy all of a sudden. I want to think of how we can steadfastly moment after moment moment after moment thoroughly follow through on what we're doing. I'm looking for that. I'm looking for that. in every person, in every sentient being I see. I'm looking for that unique breeze of reality and I'm wondering, are you looking too? Have you seen it? Are you watching this breath of Buddha?

[34:25]

Do you understand that Buddha is breathing in you right now? Are you interested in becoming completely free? It's very simple. Just pay complete attention to your breath, to your posture, to whatever's happening. I didn't say it was easy. I said it was simple. It's one thing. What are you reaching for?

[35:30]

Is there some stick down there in your hand? Were you reaching for the stick? Was it time for me to stop? Isn't it time for me to stop? Let's listen and see when it's time to stop. Let's listen and see when it's time to stop being lazy. Let's listen and see when it's time to dedicate ourselves completely to the way of Buddha.

[36:32]

Are you ready to start? Are you ready to start? Good. It reminds me of a story. One time our teacher, Suzuki Roshi, went swimming in the Tassajara Creek at the Narrows. He was down at the Narrows, at the edge of the Narrows, and the students went swimming. So he got kind of excited and went swimming too with the beautiful ladies.

[37:52]

And he forgot that he didn't know how to swim. So he went down below the surface of the water quite a ways and he said he saw many beautiful legs. And the students thought their master was a great diver. And they were very impressed with how long he could hold his breath. But after a while, they thought, maybe too good, maybe too long. So they went down to check and got the impression that actually he was drowning. So they pulled him out. And he said, after that, I really started to practice. This is our teacher.

[38:54]

And we said to him at dinner after, he said that in a talk, and in that night at dinner we said, Roshi, but didn't you already really practice?" And he said, well, yes, but then I really started to practice. You people are doing really well. I'm not kidding. I'm really inspired by your effort. You're doing really well, really. You are. You're such good students of Buddha. Are you ready to really do it all the way? And I heard you say yes. So I'll join you in that. Okay? And we may fall on our face and forget now and then, but that's our intention.

[39:57]

Our intention is to completely follow the way. and to see the truth in everything, in every living creature, to see it with our eyes of compassion, our quiet, present eyes.

[40:25]

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