I would like to say something that I've said before, and so you may say that I'm repeating myself. Now I'd like to repeat myself. Do you allow me to repeat myself? I'd like to talk again about, kind of summarize or review about the Samatha and the Paschana. So what's

[01:01]

our Samatha? What is it? Going to the Source. Samatha is going to the Source. It's tranquility. It's going to the Source, but also remember that it's not just going to the Source, but it's following the stream to the Source. Don't forget we need the stream. The Source, what does the Source look like? It's a pool. It's a pool. Does it look like a pool? How can you find this pool? By sitting quietly. Any other idea of how you find this pool? Follow the stream that flows out of it.

[02:14]

There's a pool, maybe someplace, but it's up in the mountains. From here you can't see it. It's a, you need a stream to find it. Yes? Which way do you think? No, the stream doesn't flow towards the Source. It's like the source of a river. The stream runs away from the source, downhill. So our effort is to go uphill, back to where the water starts. And what's the Paschana? Could be any type. It's translated as insight. That's a common translation of it. Another

[03:28]

translation is higher vision. Are you familiar with the Japanese Buddhist term that was coined by Dogen Zenji, Uji? Not so familiar with it. Well, one of the words that Dogen Zenji has created for us, or created for us 700 years ago, is Uji. U means being, or existing, and Ji means time. So it's often translated as time being, or existence time. Time being is not so good, that's reversing it. U is existence, or being, and Ji is time. So it's existence time, or being

[04:30]

time. So in that sense you can say Samatha is to observe or look at Uji. So for Zen Master Dogen, existence is always caught up in time. Whenever you look at something existing, or something being, it's inseparable from time. So the Paschana is to observe being in time. And when the yoking, or merging of Samatha and the Paschana, what's that? Nirvana. It's Nirvana. Any other names for it? As a practice. It's the practice of Nirvana. Being yourself. Any other names for it?

[05:40]

Just one more please. Zazen. So in the Zen centers, our practice is usually called Zazen. And Zazen is a combination of Samatha and the Paschana. When Zazen is proper Zazen, it's the balance of these two, perfectly yoked and merged. And what we went into detail about was the fact that we can view Samatha as a kind of like a pond, basic nutritive water. And the observing of existence as a kind of lotus that grows out of this water. So in this way we can see that the lotus depends on water for its life. So to actually observe being time, or the time of

[07:00]

being, you need this tranquility. And to actually, the other side though, which I didn't emphasize, is that it goes the other way too. So we emphasized more or less last night the fact of how insight depends on composure. How the flower of insight arises from the pond of tranquility. But it goes the other way too. Because the pond needs the lotus to be a beautiful pond, to be a beautiful lotus pond. So the lotus enhances the pond, and the pond is the source or base of the lotus. And it's the same with composure, with tranquility. In other words, there has to be some insight in order to have calm.

[08:03]

Calm leads to insight, but before calm, there's insight. You have to have some insight in order to become calm. In order even to think about sitting down and facing your life, you've already had some insight. So there's a cycle of insight-tranquilization, insight-tranquilization, of a stable, calm situation, nutritive situation, which is enhanced and beautified by some involvement in things. And this involvement in things is insight. But that insight then drives one right back to become calm again, which then produces more insight. This cycle has two members in it. Calm, calm, insight, calm, insight, calm, insight. But you can

[09:16]

expand it and put more than two in. And the next member in the cycle, which is usually put in, is effort or energizing. And that goes between insight or vipassana and concentration. Because what happens is when you have concentration, the mind is stabilized. But if it's too true concentration, as we said, it flows, it becomes destabilized, it gets agitated. So true composure of a living creature gives rise to some agitation, some thought, some consciousness, some objectivity. That fragments and disturbs and

[10:30]

actually innervates the creature to some extent. When you're concentrated, you have your maximum energy. However, maximum energy naturally flows and gives up, gives up. It doesn't hold on to its energy. Maximum energy doesn't. Less than maximum, or less, I should say, not maximum, but optimal. Less than optimal might very well want more or hold on to itself. But optimal energy, optimal intensity naturally says, okay, I'll give away some of my energy. I'll get involved in something. I'll become fragmented and agitated. That's insight. So the insight, although it beautifies and brings the full vitality to composure, it also, in a sense, disturbs the energetics of the situation. That's why the next stage,

[11:36]

before going back to concentration, is a kind of energizing phase, where the energy has to be collected again. Then one becomes concentrated again and agitated again. You go round and round like this. Maybe that's enough for you. I don't know what you think. Any questions? If these are all associated, what makes it possible to experience mostly one, or mostly one of the other? How does one perpetuate an unbalanced state?

[12:52]

Well, you know, another way to talk about this is being and becoming. Another way to talk about it. That constant samatha, when it's fully established, is like pure being. But pure being of a living creature naturally flows into becoming. So another way to talk about this is a kind of balance between being what you are and becoming something. So, again, the paradoxical language is that by being mindful of your being, you separate yourself from your being, in a sense, and turn it into becoming. But this mindfulness of your being, which itself is like becoming, as you keep doing it, becomes pure being, which naturally then reflexes into becoming.

[14:13]

So, in other words, there is some difference between just being and, in a sense, being aware of what you are. There's some separation there. So everybody's walking around just being. But also, most people are going around either becoming something from that, or being aware of what they're being. And if they're aware of what they're being, they are becoming. But the mindfulness of your being, which is becoming, leads to just being. So, it seems like you can do one or the other. But whenever you do one, the other one's right there. Because becoming is actually simply an awareness of the other side.

[15:18]

And being is simply the culmination of being aware of the other side. So, really, they're both always there. But you emphasize one or the other, back and forth. So, tonight I'd like to broach the topic of how this practice of zazen, how this practice of shamatha vipassana, is how you give it, or how you receive it. So, in a sense, in a way, you could say, I've been experimenting with you for two days, and you've been experimenting with me for two days. How about giving and receiving shamatha vipassana, or giving and receiving this poem by Wong Wei, or giving and receiving the practice of zazen.

[16:30]

Now, I don't know who's giving and who's receiving. And some of you may think, well, I think it's pretty clear, since you're taking the role of sitting in this place, you're giving, and some of us are receiving. And if I say, well, I'm not so sure that I'm giving and you're receiving, maybe I'm receiving and you're giving, you may have trouble understanding that. You may have trouble understanding how you are giving me, how you are transmitting to me the zazen practice, or the shamatha vipassana. You may have trouble seeing that. And I'm saying to you that the transmission of the practice in Buddhism only occurs if it's mutual.

[17:43]

So if you don't feel like you're giving me the practice of zazen, then I haven't given you the practice of zazen. So if you don't feel like that, then that's the way it is, and I'm not exactly sorry, because I'm not in a hurry. I don't mind if you don't feel like you've given me the practice of zazen, which means that I haven't given you the practice of zazen. However, I would like to give you the practice of zazen, and have you received the practice of zazen, and I would like you to give me the practice of zazen. I would like that very much. That would be wonderful. So we've been practicing, we've been practicing and talking about how to do the practice. But now the question is, have you received it, or have you just been listening so far, and you're getting ready to receive it?

[18:52]

But again, if you're ready to receive it, then also you have some responsibility that you have to take to this process. This is also, of course, the transmission of compassion. No one said compassion. I said, what's another name? Another name for zazen is compassion. So this is also the transmission of compassion. Compassion is also not one-directional. So there is an expression again, Dogen Zenji's expression, well it's not actually his, he took it from the Lotus Scripture, but he wrote a classical on it in Shogun Genzo called Only a Buddha and a Buddha.

[20:02]

And this is from the Lotus Scripture, which says in chapter 2, Only a Buddha and a Buddha can exhaustively penetrate or comprehend things as it is. In other words, one person by herself cannot look and see reality. Now, one person by herself can look and see quite a bit, a kind of reality, but not exhaustively, completely, deeply see the bottom of reality and the top of reality. It takes two. And not only that, but it doesn't take one that's pretty good and another one that's fairly good. It takes two Buddhas. Not one Buddha and somebody who's almost a Buddha, but two Buddhas.

[21:08]

It takes two Buddhas looking at reality to see reality. If you see reality, but you don't think that I see reality, then we say you don't see reality. If you see reality and you think I see reality, but I don't think I see reality, we don't see reality. Or if you see reality and you think you do, and you think I do, and I think I do, but I don't think you do, we don't see reality. Not only do we have to mutually create reality, but we have to even know that the other one is creating reality. And not creating reality any more or better than I am. It's this kind of communication that's necessary in order to convey compassion.

[22:14]

You know, when I say it that way, it may sound, well, this sounds impossible. Such an agreement, as I said before, there can be some compassion in this world. What are we going to do in the meantime? This may take years. But, I'll leave you with that problem for a while. And just say that, I don't know how it doesn't take, it actually doesn't take any time at all to do this. But it does happen in time. So now how can we, if we, if two of us can practice Sazen, how can two of us get together and realize that each other are practicing Sazen? How can we check each other out?

[23:24]

How can we use each other to help each other? And just as an example of how we work together, you know. How things, just as a kind of a partial sketch, you know. This sketch is not done, this story is not done, but just to give you some sense of how one might work on something. Let me give an example, namely the example of my personal history with the poem which I've been talking about.

[24:33]

The poem of Wong Wei. In my middle years, I've become rather fond of the way. I've retired to the South Hill area. This is not in the poem, but the South Hill area is an area near Chang'an, where Chang'an was the capital of the Tang Dynasty. So not too far from this huge capital of this vast empire, he had this little retreat at a place called South Mountain, South Hill. So I've retired there and when the spirit moves me, I go off to see wonderful sights that I must see alone.

[25:54]

I walk upstream to the place where the water ends and I sit and I look for the time when the clouds have cropped up. Or I may meet someone along the way and forget about going home, laugh and talk and forget about going home. That's the poem. I had a personal involvement with this poem over quite a few years and also a number of Zen Buddhists have had a personal involvement with this poem over a number of years. And many of those people have had a personal involvement with myself. So I'm entangling you in this web of involvement with this poem.

[27:00]

And before I entangle you in the web, I wanted to mention something. And that is, someone told me that I said something which I may have said, but I wanted to make clear. One point. And that is, when Wang Wei says, I walk upstream to the source and sit and watch the moment when the world comes up. Or I may meet someone along the way and we start talking and laughing and I forget about going home. Going home means either back to this hut or to the source, either way. Someone thought I said, and that's not compassion, to get distracted along the way. But I'm not saying that. To be walking, to be doing the meditation, to do the tranquilization practice, and to meet another living being and start talking and laughing with them and forget about even going to the calm place, that's an alternative.

[28:24]

To forget about going home is also possibly compassion. Does that make sense? Anyway, that's how I feel. So, that can be compassion too. You don't have to. That's why I said, don't take it too seriously, this practice. Because again, what is this practice? What are we talking about? I'm just talking, I'm giving these words and making these gestures. But these words and these gestures are not, you know, I'm just flaring about here, you know.

[29:35]

So, last thing I said last night was, body of truth, arms and legs of lies. In other words, you have a body of truth, unshakable sitting, unshakable unification of shamatha and vipassana. You feel that, and you take that with you everywhere. But your arms and legs get involved in all kinds of stuff, and your mouth too, and say all kinds of things, which in a sense are lies. That may not completely accord and perfectly demonstrate your essential feeling of practice.

[30:47]

But the example of the Buddhas is that they're willing to do that. We say, if you relegate, as soon as you speak it, or as soon as you put it into literary form, it's relegated to defilement. As soon as you try to convey it, it always gets corrupted. But the daily activities of Buddhas is to wave their long hands and feet, but they know they're lies. But these long hands and feet are connected to the body, a body of truth. So how can a body of truth with lying hands meet another body of truth with lying hands and find each other?

[32:00]

As soon as the truth comes out into my hands, it's a lie. As soon as it comes out of my foot, it's a lie. My feet and hands cannot capture my whole body. But in fact, I have to. I have to bend it into some form, some partial form. And so does the other person. So that when the hands and feet meet, when the lies meet, the body meets. So it's mind-to-mind, body-to-body, and finger-to-finger, face-to-face. Doesn't matter what.

[32:57]

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