with the support of the great Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, I will attempt to speak about the six subtle Dharma gates, the six subtle ways of working with our breath, so that we may enter into the Dharma. So that these six ways will become gates that we can enter. Last week I talked about the subtle gate called counting the breath.

[01:11]

And this counting of the breath includes the other five gates. It includes the gate of following the gate of stopping, the gate of contemplation, and the gate of reversal, and the gate of purity. This practice of counting the breaths includes the practice of just sitting. When we were practicing with Suzuki Roshi, we heard a presentation or a sequence of a

[02:33]

that one could start practicing by first counting the breath, then following the breath, and then practicing just sitting. And that is true, that one can do that. However, I want to emphasize that by giving ourselves completely to the counting of breath, the practice of just sitting can be realized The basic principle of just sitting can be applied to the practice of the counting.

[03:51]

And that principle is that when you're counting your breathing, at the moment you count your breathing, you're not doing anything at all except counting your breathing. When you're counting, of your breath is just your counting of your breath. When your counting of your breath is not doing anything at all except counting your breath,

[05:07]

When you completely concentrate and devote your entire life to counting your breath, when you're counting your breath, then your counting your breath will reach a place where you're not counting your breath. Then your breath counting will be following your breathing, stopping your breathing, contemplating your breathing, reversing your breathing, and purifying your breathing. Then your breathing will be liberated from breathing.

[06:17]

And you will be liberated from yourself. And there will be no you or other. No here or there or in between. When we use whatever we're involved in as though there were absolutely nothing in the world that we could do other than what we're doing, when we realize that this thing we're involved in now is the only pursuit possible, then you will see Buddha. However, if there is the slightest bit of reservation, and if you're involved in anything else other than what you're involved in, then you'll be doing counting in a way that is still a good practice to do.

[07:42]

But then the counting will not be the same as just sitting. And the counting will not... you will not be able to realize that the counting includes all the other practices. However, you can continue to practice the counting until you're able to completely accept the practice you're doing to the complete limit of that practice. And there again, finally realize Buddha's mind. through this very beginning practice. And when you do this very beginning practice all the way, then quite naturally you produce the next practice. You naturally would flow into opening another door called following the breath.

[08:53]

and naturally open the other door called stopping the breath and so on. In particular what I'm emphasizing is that by completely counting your breath you realize the fifth stage or the fifth door which is the door of reversing your mind. And again When I say reversing your mind, I don't mean you reverse your mind. I mean your mind will be reversed in the medium of totally devoting yourself to what you're doing. For the moment, whatever you're doing, don't do anything except that. And if what you're doing is this sequence of six subtle dharma gates, you will naturally flow into the next one.

[10:03]

Because when you completely give yourself to one, it naturally produces the next. And you don't have to wonder when you should go into the next. You don't have to push yourself into the next. The next will simply come forth. And then that will be the practice that you're doing. And that too, then, can you completely give yourself to that one. There are many gates to Buddha's mind. There are many gates to liberation. Everything that ever happens can be a point of entry into the subtle mind of Buddha. Still, once you enter through one thing, if you use the next thing, you go deeper. Although everything gives entry, still, by using one thing after another, you go deeper.

[11:13]

Another day, another moment, and one step deeper into the mystery. So I will now talk about the next practice of following. But if you hear the tone of my voice, there is a however, which is that you don't have to willfully move on to the next practice. You can hear about it. but it will naturally and spontaneously arise when you thoroughly do the counting practice. It will immediately, the counting practice, when done thoroughly, will immediately lead to the following practice.

[12:28]

which is the practice of following. Immediately means there's no mediation, there's nothing in between. You don't have to get to the end of counting and then do a thing which gets you into following. And as counting reaches its limit, and turns on itself and becomes following. And when you completely practice following, you will realize that following completely includes counting and so on. Following includes stopping and so on. And counting and following includes stopping because when you reach the end of counting, which means when you reach the end of yourself, through counting at that point you realize stopping

[13:37]

Once you realize stopping and you completely give yourself to that, you realize contemplation. And so on. Once you realize contemplation naturally, you realize reversal. to reach the place of total devotion to whatever you're doing sets up the revolution of your consciousness.

[15:07]

And to take care of yourself from the point of departure into the meditation until reaching that place is to practice compassion, particularly for yourself. is to help yourself enter into the circumstances of your experience and to be upright and honest and flexible and gentle. And in that way you completely inhabit body, speech and mind and realize not doing anything at all except the practice which is happening now.

[16:15]

So compassion and loving the practice in this way leads to its total exertion and that leads to insight which will then allow you to be even more purely compassionate, which can allow you to be compassionate beyond and free from your idea of compassion, will allow you to accept not your idea of compassion, but Buddha's compassion. So what is the subtle gate of counting, of following. It is, as I think you know, just to follow your breath. At that time, you don't need to count anymore in order to count. At that time, because you have counted so thoroughly, you can count without counting.

[17:27]

Like I said last week, when the dance teacher said to me, when you can keep track of the step or the counting while having a conversation about something other than counting, you're not a beginner anymore. When you can go slow, slow, quick, quick with your feet without saying that, then you have just included saying that. When you thoroughly can count one to ten, you don't need to count one to ten. And naturally, as a testimonial to your complete exertion of counting from one to ten, you don't count from one to ten. You just follow. But included in that following is one and so on. But the counting has become subtle. Or to put it the other way, the counting has become too gross for your mind.

[18:36]

And your mind, you could say, rejects the grossness of the counting, but rather your mind is so subtle, it includes the counting without even having to say it anymore. So then you just silently follow the breath. in and out. And by following the breath in and out we naturally become the bodhisattva of great compassion. By simply following our breath we become the regardor of the cries of the world. Through simply sitting still and following our breath as it goes out and dissolves

[20:00]

at the end of itself. We develop a genuine intimacy with ourselves and a genuine sympathy for ourselves. Genuine, real compassion for this person who has to breathe. And we see that at the limit, at the extreme, at the brink of the breath, the breath becomes not the breath.

[21:10]

At the brink of the exhale, the exhale is no longer the exhale. it spontaneously, immediately becomes an inhale. It becomes not an exhale. And again, inhaling with total devotion, we realize the limit of inhaling. And at the limit of inhaling, at the limit of us doing nothing but inhaling, the inhaling goes beyond itself. We witness it transcending itself and becoming a good old-fashioned exhale. Which again, if we can devote ourselves to what we're doing, to what we seem to be doing, to our karma of body, our karma of body breathing,

[22:21]

of breathing body karma, of thinking that we are breathing, and even saying to ourselves in our head, I am breathing out. Whatever the form of karma, which is whatever the form of thinking, by giving ourselves to that completely, we will realize the turning around, the exhale turning to the inhale, the body turning to no body, the thinking turning to no thinking, the speech turning to no speech, and the self turning to no self. By this simple practice of following the breath, you can realize the fundamental Buddhist teaching of no-self.

[23:23]

So simple and so difficult because we must give up absolutely everything else but taking care of this. There is no other pursuit at such a time. This is meditation. We've heard stories of great practitioners working devotedly for thirty years.

[24:38]

We've heard of great practitioners working for innumerable lifetimes, serving and learning from the Buddhas. But it all comes down to this. Will we give ourselves completely to following our breath? This is not the whole story of Buddhist practice. This is just a gate into it.

[25:42]

You can enter through this gate. Once you get in there, then you can come forth from that meditation practice and really practice giving ethics, patience, enthusiasm, and of course meditation and wisdom. You can carry out the natural implications of the Dharma which you enter through such a practice back out into everyday activity. Before that time still we can do these practices But when we give up everything and enter this meditation practice, then when we do these practices, we will really be effective.

[26:46]

They will really be a joy, and we won't get tired anymore from practicing them. This is how to kindly, compassionately get yourself into being very strict with yourself for your own good. No one else does this for you. Each of us must find a way to totally devote ourselves to just this pursuit, no matter what's happening. We must find a way to do that which isn't too rough or too soft, too strong or too weak, which isn't indulgent or compulsive, but simply perfectly hits the mark of what we're doing right now.

[28:19]

with body, breathing body, thinking, and speech. Speech. Breathing. Thinking. This is a little talk, a little speech about the subtle Dharma gate, the subtle gate to Dharma called following the breath. Please join all the Buddhas for one week doing this practice.

[29:30]

Enjoy your breathing. Enjoy your thinking of breathing. Enjoy your talking about breathing for a week. If you can give yourself to it completely, you will save all sentient beings. Excuse me for doing that.

[30:07]

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