The substance of Buddha's body is the treasures, the triple treasure. The shape of Buddha's body is the three pure precepts. Refraining from all that is unwholesome, practicing all that is wholesome and benefiting all beings. The function of Buddha's body is the ten great precepts. The way to bring Buddha's life into our daily activity is these ten great precepts.

[01:11]

These ten precepts, as coming from Buddha's mind, are beyond our human comprehension. When we hear them, as human beings, they may sound like Buddha's mind, we may not understand them at all, the point is to receive them. And live with them, day after day.

[02:27]

Not to kill. Dogen Zenji makes the essential comment on this by saying, life is not to kill. Let the Buddha seed grow and succeed to the life of wisdom of the Buddha, taking no life. Life is not killed. So here we hear four different ways of talking.

[05:08]

One is not to kill. The other is, life is, quotes, not to kill. And next is Buddha taking no life. And last, life is not killed. The Prajnaparamita Sutra says, you should investigate with clear perception what kind of a thing is called life, such that we want to cut it off. Also, what reason is there for ending such a life? Arriving at this perception, one realizes that self-natures are completely empty, and

[06:11]

after all, all self-natures are empty. Life is not to kill. And, life is not killed. There is no killing of life which is not to kill. This is Buddha's mind. And receiving this precept, that life is not to kill, carrying it with you in your heart through the day, the precept that life is not killed, is a way to bring Buddha's

[07:20]

mind into your life. To carry the precept of sentient beings, that you can kill life, and that life involves killing, is to bring the life of a sentient being into your life. And, perhaps, to be involved in killing and not killing. This precept here is a Zen precept, which is about bringing Buddha's mind and Buddha's teaching into your life, embodying it with your life, by receiving the precept that life is not killed and life is not killing. This lets the Buddha seed grow and succeed to the life of wisdom, of Buddha not taking

[08:31]

life. Again, we human beings do not understand this, or we may think we understand it, that's fine too. It doesn't matter. The point is that you receive such a precept again, and again, and again. I'm happy to discuss with you all the complications that your mind throws up about receiving this precept. The important thing is to receive it and live with it. Every time you receive this precept, the action of mentally, physically, and vocally receive this precept, that action of receiving mentally, physically, and verbally, especially physically

[09:39]

and verbally, causes an effect which goes on forever, like gravity. There's no end to the action of receiving this precept. That action of receiving the precepts got nothing to do with your behavior at some other time. If you become involved in wrong action, that has its effects. Receiving the precept is not right or wrong action. Going for refuge is not right or wrong action, but receiving the precepts is something that causes a shape, a function, in your life forever, and in the universe forever. I'll just put a little footnote here.

[10:42]

In the Abhidharmakosha it's called avijñapti-rupa. It's called a form that you cannot cognize with your eyes, and so on, but it's something out there beyond time and space that is a resource for all beings forever, forever. There's no end to it. So, again, to come forth with your life and receive these precepts within and without of whatever understanding you have, that's the fundamental thing. As soon as you do that, you're doing exactly the same thing that a Buddha does. A Buddha has this precept moment after moment, accepts this precept moment after moment. Then, Kyoko comments on what Dogen Zenji said,

[11:52]

Living and dying are not before and after, he says. I think I mentioned before, too, that the Buddhist precepts and Buddhist teaching, too, has nothing to do with before and after. And having nothing to do with it doesn't mean we reject it either. We don't reject the world and say there is no before and after. Buddhist teaching is not about before and after. And living and dying are not before and after, and have nothing to do with before and after. Before and after are what human beings are involved in.

[13:02]

Human consciousness is involved in before and after. And we talk about something between called the present, too. But the present, for us, is totally involved with before and after. There's another way, called Buddha's way, which is not about before and after. It's really between the two and having nothing to do with them. So then Kyoko says, just not taking life is, and I'll say the Japanese first, Zenki Gen. Zenki means what I said before, can be translated as the whole works. And for people who don't speak English as a first language, the whole works can be heard on the level of colloquial English or standard English.

[14:25]

Standard English, the whole works, means that the whole works. Colloquial English, the whole works, means everything. Okay? Could you follow that? Like there's a thing, there's a whole universe, okay? And the whole universe has a function, it works. All right? And the other meaning is, which is colloquial English, not standard English, is just everything. The whole works means everything. The entire universe is called the whole works. Okay? But here we're saying that the whole universe has a function. And of course the function of the universe, what direction could that have? It must be in all directions at once. In other words, another translation of Zenki, besides the whole works, would be total dynamic working.

[15:33]

It's everything working with everything towards and away from itself. Everything being supported by everything and supporting everything. All this function altogether, that's Zenki. And gen means manifestation. So, life is Zenki gen. Life is a manifestation of the whole works. Death is a manifestation of the whole works. And just not taking life is manifestation of the whole works. When we understand that life is the manifestation of the whole works,

[16:43]

the word to kill and not to kill, or the words to kill and not to kill, are not as they are used and understood in the world. When, quotes, the three worlds are mine only, all things have true marks. And to kill and not to kill are beyond their literal meaning. This is what's meant by just one vehicle. Or one brilliant, indestructible, precious precept. Kill and not to kill are beyond their literal meaning.

[17:56]

This is what's meant by just one vehicle. Just one vehicle means manifestation of the whole works. What's that like? Well, again I think of the little wind bell. Hanging like a moth in emptiness. Not being concerned with north, south, east, west, good, bad. Just being a wind bell. Not comparing itself to anything else. Having no desire.

[18:58]

No individual interest. Just hanging there in the manifestation of the whole works. Life is just like this.

[20:06]

It's just... Life is just... Lifing. Tio is just tio-ing. Death is just dying. Delusion is just deluding. That's all. The wind bell is just hanging. The wind is just blowing. It moves the wind bell. The wind bell is just moving. No idea of wishing it was moving some other direction reaches it.

[21:11]

It is manifesting its gravity and the movement of wind and all this is all it does. It is the whole works and that's enough. And that's so simple that the human mind cannot stand it. That's why the human mind receives this precept. Receives this precept over and over again so that it can stand, so that it can tolerate being so simple. So that tio, the human, can stand tio, tio-ing. Can stand being something that nothing can reach.

[22:15]

That is just itself in vibrant life where life is just not killing and where this life cannot be killed. Such a life cannot be killed. Is not killed. This life cannot be compared to something else. It simply must be understood as it is. As it is, moment after moment, as it is. Namely the whole works being manifested as it is. This is not to kill. Receiving the precept not to kill means to receive the precept of life as it is. Means to receive the precept of you as you are. Where nothing can reach and where you cannot be compared to anything else.

[23:23]

Where you cannot be compared to yourself in the past or future. Where you are actually living between past and future. In a place where past and future cannot reach. Which we call Buddha's world. And when you live in a place where past and future don't reach you have entered Buddha's world. This precept, when it's received, takes you to that world. And the action of receiving this precept makes the life of Buddha exist in the universe. You cannot do this precept. Just like you cannot die. Just like you cannot live. Life is not something that can be done.

[24:30]

Death is not something that can be done. Death can only be dying. Life can only be living. You cannot do yourself. You can only self yourself. This is called uprightness. This is the relationship between this precept and uprightness. That you stand up in the middle of life which has no before and after. That you sit upright in death which has no before and after. Life which is simply as it is.

[25:32]

Lifing. Everything else, everything else is simply vanity. Vanity. All is vanity. But again, it's very difficult for us to live in this world because our consciousness has gotten used to being in the conceptual world of before and after. We're very comfortable there. We're uncomfortable. Human consciousness is uncomfortable living in Buddha's world because it doesn't understand what's going on because past and future don't apply. Conceptual world is where we're used to being and the conceptual world is where we separate ourselves from each other.

[26:41]

In the world of Buddha, there is no separation between us. There is only life, lifing. There is no harm. There is no killing. This is the working, this is the function of Buddha's mind. Kyoko says, killing and not killing are not the same.

[28:14]

But this precept of Buddha is beyond such distinctions. With humans and celestials or with the precepts of humans and celestials, precepts for the impure, bad results are brought forth by killing. But nothing is separated by beginning and end. Just as a shadow comes along with form. So, in the precepts for the Sramana, Sramana is a kind of monk.

[29:19]

Since the three worlds are detested by the Sramana, the fruits of humans and celestials are not sought after because the Sramana want no residual future karma. Although their intentions vary, they discriminate killing and not killing from the point of view of birth and death, cyclic birth and death. But, in all versions of the Mahayana precepts, not killing is... no, excuse me, just not but. In all versions of Mahayana precepts, not killing is found. But in each instance of not to kill is not with reference to beginning or end, but it is just not to kill. So, in other versions of these precepts,

[30:22]

the idea is that these people want to get away from the triple world, the world of birth and death. But because of that, the way they understand the precept is from the point of view of birth and death. Mahayana precepts also include this precept of not to kill, but here it doesn't have to do with beginning or end, with birth and death. It just is not to kill. Not to kill is mind only. Not to kill is the three worlds. Not to kill is sentient beings. Not to kill is not to kill. Not to kill is one precept. Not to kill is ten precepts. This understanding is the meaning of maintaining Buddhist precepts.

[31:33]

Besides this, do not expect any other result. Not to kill is not to kill. This understanding is the meaning of maintaining Buddhist precepts. Besides this, do not expect any other result. Again, the human mind does not necessarily like to hear this. When we say don't expect any other result, we might think, well, what about saving the world? What about becoming utterly free from every possible trace of suffering in the world? That utter and complete freedom and happiness is not something else, is no other result from not to kill is just not to kill.

[32:35]

There is no other result from not to kill is the manifestation of the whole works. There is no other result to be expected besides life is the manifestation of the whole works. All the wonderful things that are called the Buddha way are nothing other than lifing. I'm nothing other than Mari Hangela Singh. Don't expect any other result.

[33:46]

The precept light of the Buddha issues from the mouth according to conditions and not without causes. The Buddha's precept light the light is not blue, yellow, red, white or black. It is not form. It is not mind. It is neither existing nor not existing. It is not of the things of cause and effect. The precept light of Buddha issues from the mouth according to conditions and is not without causes and it is also not a thing of cause and effect. It is not form. It is not mind.

[34:49]

It neither existing nor not existing. In other words, no concepts reach it and it's also the concept of it being someplace else doesn't reach it either. And also that it's without causes and conditions doesn't reach it either. But it's also not a thing of causes and conditions that doesn't reach it either. It is utterly free. Therefore, it's also utterly free to be present in our lifing and is exactly the same as our lifing. So how do we understand these words? Kyoko says,

[35:52]

as the light of the precepts is already the true mark then all things are not to be denied and yet it says no blue, yellow, red, white or black and not form, not mind. However, among all the things that belong to the three worlds now not one thing is without being blue, yellow, red, white or black. I already explained this. Then where can we see the precept light? Because of this the not of not form, not mind isn't the not of yes and no. We should know that it is the not to talk about or not to talk about. The not of not form is not

[36:53]

the not of yes and no. It is the not of no to talk about or not to talk about or not Buddha. The excellent expression and radiance of not to talk about is itself things of blue, yellow, red, white and black form, mind, existence, nonexistence, cause and effect. This being so, when we receive Buddha's precepts there is no skin, flesh, bones and marrow of transmigrating in birth and death and it is said that we are the same rank as a greatly enlightened one. Of the same rank as a greatly enlightened one means that we are the same rank as a sentient being.

[37:57]

When we understand attaining the way together with all sentient beings on earth what is there to be killed? I'm reading this to you and talking to you about this but it's not easy to get this. It has to be read a hundred times probably. Which is one of the nice things about translating something is that you do tend to go over it and over it and over it. So the precept light is not

[39:00]

you know, one of these colors, right? It's not form, it's not mind it's not existing, it's not nonexisting. So then they ask, well but there's nothing in the world that's not one of these categories so how are we going to see the light? Well you see the light by first of all understanding that when we say not all these things that it's not the not of yes and no. It's not that not. It's the not of not Buddha. And this not Buddha or this not the tagata

[40:03]

the radiance and expression of this not Buddha is itself red, yellow, form, mind existing and nonexisting. So again the light of this precept not to kill is not Martina or green or mind or form. It's not those things. Alright? But if it's not those things where are we going to see it? Because that's all we've got. Well the not that's used here is not the not of yes or no.

[41:07]

Like yes there's Martina or no there's not Martina. Or we have blue or we don't have blue. It's not that one. It's the not that we use with Buddha. Not Buddha. And the not Buddha has a light too. Same light. And that light is simply Martina blue, yellow and so on. This is what we call lifing. The light of this precept is the life of Buddha's mind. Alright?

[42:19]

This being so when we receive Buddha's precepts there is not the skin, flesh, bones and marrow of transmigrating in birth and death. The skin, flesh, bones and marrow of transmigrating in birth and death did you feel them just a little while ago? When you heard someone saying it's not all these things. Was there some birth and death there around when you heard those things? Did you grasp them? And then you heard well maybe you could accept it and you say oh okay it's not that stuff and it's not there so you got rid of that. It's not that. But then you heard well then where are we going to see this light? So then well okay now we're going to find out. Well then you find out you're going to see it in Natta Tagata. Because this not is not the not you just used to eliminate all that stuff. It wasn't that not. As a matter of fact

[43:23]

it's a not that when you put it in front of Buddha it's the not that brings the light into everything. But it brings a life into everything in such a way that it doesn't have the slightest bit of skin, flesh, bones or marrow of birth and death on it. Could you here feel any birth and death? Any transmigrating in birth and death as you listened? Or could you stay in the mind that is between before and after? The mind that was being that was you-ing or me-ing through the whole thing. Now when you receive this precept

[44:28]

at the time of receiving this precept you have the same rank. You're just like the Buddha. When you receive the precept you're the same rank as Buddha. When you hear about this precept and you think about it and your mind tries to understand it and you don't or you do or you feel okay about it when you say oh I got it it's not that it's not blue, red, yellow it's not mind form, okay I got it. That is not receiving the precept necessarily. When you receive the precept you're the same rank as a Buddha. But being the same rank as a Buddha means that you're the same rank as a sentient being. What's the rank of a sentient being? When a sentient being is just a sentient being

[45:29]

that's called manifesting the whole works. Receiving the precept is receiving the precept of a sentient being that way. But again the human mind, our consciousness is not comfortable with this so it flits away from that. It has trouble living in this world between yes and no. So someone told me a story right here it happened here in this valley recently about this. This person received news something to the effect of illness in the family. And to make a long story short

[46:31]

this person has a good imagination and made up a world, a horrible world. A world full of death that's not dying and life that's not lifing but death that can be cut off life that can be cut off. A world that you can imagine and a world you can imagine you can imagine life being cut off. Killing happening. Being killed happening. This is the only kind of world we can imagine. Dying being done. Dying happening to things. She imagined a world like that and she became very excited and upset right here in nice little valley Tazar. She then made an effort to ascertain

[47:32]

which of the possible stories it was. Calling all over the world and eliminating some possibilities and then coming down to a more specific set of possibilities which were equally horrific but now a little bit slightly more certain. Then she went to work in the kitchen totally distraught and probably extremely embarrassed to be in a Zen monastery and have this poisonous sea going on and she was given a turnip, a bunch of turnips to save her and she asked turnips to save her and the turnips saved her. She got to cut the turnips. She got to be there

[48:33]

turnip cutting. The world of birth and death, the world of before and after were always a hair's breadth deviation away but by continuously going to the turnip and cutting it one is saved. Of course later she found out that all that she imagined was simply imagination, totally a dream and then she got caught up in the dream of being relieved from the dream by being a different dream. So it wasn't that dream, now she can have another dream

[49:39]

which she liked kind of and then she realized that the new dream she was in which was much more pleasant and which she felt justified imagining the health and happiness of all these people, that that was just a dream too and actually they might actually be in worse condition than she had dreamed of if she didn't know. But the point is also that as she switched from dream to dream where did her turnip go? She lost her turnip again. To go for refuge and to receive these precepts is receiving something like a turnip and in fact every moment you get a turnip and we need to somehow find out what is the turnip this moment? What is the Tayo this moment? What is the Martina this moment?

[50:41]

That you have to work with. What is the thing that is the manifestation of the whole works right now? To free us in the midst of this constant flow of dreams. To protect us from the endless vanities that we tend to get involved in. To protect us from the vanities that we tend to get involved in. So the kitchen staff is leaving

[51:51]

and going to the Buddha land where they will have vegetables to save them. Or rather vegetable cutting to save them and soup making to save them. To save them. Do each of us have something to work with? Do you have some suffering? Is there some suffering to be suffering? Is there some suffer to suffering? Do you have a life that can be the manifestation of the whole works right now? Right now.

[53:12]

Right now. So, I... I... I feel that, you know, now perhaps that you have heard about the refuges, the three pure precepts and the first of the great precepts that you pretty much have the groundwork. I will continue for the rest of the practice period to discuss the other great precepts with you. But it seems like you have enough to get started on your practice.

[54:48]

And so I ask you, do you have something? Do you have what you need? Do you... Can you receive the precept of not killing? And I don't know if you haven't been talking... we haven't been talking in this situation, but I feel like now it can be opened up. But maybe you're not ready at this moment, but... particularly if anybody doesn't understand how to do an inconceivable thing, you could speak,

[55:57]

you could ask a question, you could express yourself. Yes. ...think about what they have... ...and I think... ...ourselves... There's a... you know, there's a kind of an expression. It actually happens in coordination ceremony. When a person receives Buddha's precepts, then they say,

[56:58]

having received Buddha's precepts, you now have the same rank as a greatly enlightened one. One who receives Buddha's precepts has the same rank as a Buddha. So it's kind of a quote from that ceremony. Yeah, the meaning of that is that you have the same rank as a sentient being. Well, for me it's because I was reading you a text. You want me to try to guess why they had ranks in the first place in Buddhism? I would say the reason for ranks is that people think that the person's, you know, one place and a Buddha's another place. People think that they're not the same level as Buddha. Right? I mean, people think that way. So, because people think that way, the Buddha's addressed that issue and say, well, when you receive these precepts, you're the same rank as a Buddha.

[58:00]

But that doesn't mean you move from some rank you were before to another rank. It means you're actually the rank of a sentient being. And I think to bring up the idea of rank is to just recognize that the discriminating mind has these ranks in it. There isn't really any rank because that's what he just said. The rank of a Buddha is truly the rank of a... When a sentient being is really a sentient being, that's what it means to be a Buddha. And receiving Buddha's precepts is a way to really be the rank of a sentient being, which makes you exactly the rank of a Buddha. So, receiving these precepts is a way for us to actually be willing to be what we are as it is. And that's our Buddha nature. So,

[59:02]

how are you doing? Do you feel ready to be this sentient being? To let this sentient being be itself? What? Right. Do you feel ready to receive that precept of completely being yourself? You do? Well, this is something the Buddha rejoices over. To see someone who receives that precept. Does anybody else lack anything that they need to receive this precept? I'm not asking you to say you're receiving the precept right now. I'd like to know if you have any... if you have any... something more you need to know

[60:04]

in order to receive it, in order to receive the precept of life is not killing and life is not killed. The precept of the manifestation of the whole works. Any problems? These words have the unmistakable rig of freedom. It's difficult to know why I can't feel completely liberated. Something resonates very deeply but doesn't bring it. Yeah, you say that.

[61:11]

So what about what about what about that? What about that something that you say doesn't? What about that something that doesn't? Can that be the manifestation of the whole works? I can't say otherwise. It's very difficult. Can that very difficult to believe be uprightness? Just now it's my truth.

[62:14]

Just now? It's not true? Just now it's my truth. Just now it's your truth. Can you accept that precept? I'm manifesting it. Yeah, you're manifesting it. You cannot know know this. It's not before or after that your mind knows. It's more where you receive this precept and practice it. Receive the precept of freedom even though you cannot know it. It's the receiving. It's the receiving. It's the taking it into your life. We can't know it. We can sort of say I know it but that's actually just, you know, a dream about it. We're talking about deportment beyond hearing and seeing here.

[63:30]

We're talking about doing something that goes on beyond time and space. Do you need anything more to do a practice which is beyond time and space? I'm not saying you should, you should say, I'm saying please say so if you need more to do a practice beyond time and space. I need more for the practice of time and space. What do you need more for the practice of time and space? Need a turnip? For the practice of time and space you've got turnips. You've got a body full of juice. That's what you've got for the practice of time and space. Yes? Yeah.

[64:41]

Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yes. [...] That sounded like a huge turnip. You just talked about a huge turnip there. That's a turnip. A back with a piece of heavy equipment going over it is a turnip.

[65:49]

Be run over by it. That's the world, that's the conceivable world of birth and death that you have to work with. Sounds like you've got enough birth and death. The world beyond birth and death, the world beyond hearing and seeing, the way you get into it is through this body being, this steamroller body is your entrance point to this other world. ... I know it's a matter of life and death for me to do this in this world. If you go over the hill, like, you know, if you go over the hill, then every step

[66:54]

of going over the hill is the place you go forth from. And you say, yeah, but that isn't going over the hill. Well, that's right. But the wanting to go over the hill is another kind of turnip. It's another... The wanting to go over a hill is another gift to you to save you. ... The not believing is another turnip that's given to you to save you. You've got to have some piece of stuff to be saved by. Red, yellow, blue, green, white, form, not form, existing, not existing, cause and effect, we have to have something. You've got plenty. These are the things you use.

[67:56]

You use the stuff of these dreams to save you from the dreams. Somehow, in the midst of the dreams, you have to find something that you actually take and say, this is my thing to work on. This is my rock. But if the pain gets too quick, the person may think... Yes. ...the pain is too much... Yes. ...so they abort. They just say, I do not want... Exactly. The pain gets to be so much that, like that lady, you start walk... you flip out. Right? You go crazy. And then, maybe, somebody walks up to you and says, Sister, Sister, regain your presence of mind. If the pain gets to be too much, beyond your ability to practice patience, then you're done for. You're temporarily disqualified from the game.

[68:58]

You've said, I ain't going to stay here anymore. I'm not going to practice patience anymore. So, there you go. But, when you see the consequences of that, when you taste the results of that, you come back. Maybe the pain is not so bad anymore. Maybe it's the same. Maybe it's worse. But you come back into it. And you say, I'm going to work with this turnip. I'm going to receive the precept, for example, of life is not killed. I'm going to receive the precept of this life is the manifestation of the whole works. I may have to cry my way into it. I may have to slide my way. Somehow, I'm going to get into this body that I've got.

[70:03]

I'm going to get into this mind that I've got. And I'm going to use this to save myself. I'm going to use this to save myself. This, this. And the practice of patience is essential when it's painful. And it's painful often, so the practice of patience is extremely important in being able to tolerate pain, but also tolerate a world of no before and after, where you feel very anxious and uncomfortable because you're not used to living in such a world. Where before and after are not even eliminated, but they're just somehow not reaching you. If they're pushed away, they're still reaching you, but a world where they don't even reach. What's the entrance point to that world? Your suffering body. Your doubt. Your sentientness.

[71:13]

So simple, so demanding. There's the precept. Can you receive it? Can you receive it now? Can you receive it again and again? Every time you receive it, it's a little bit more alive in your life. This teaching is for bodhisattvas. This is for people that are actually charted for complete, perfect enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. Who want to help beings now as best they can, but who want to become, you know,

[72:20]

as completely effective in helping people. This is a teaching preached for heroic spirits. It's extremely challenging, very simple, but I really, to tell you the truth, I really believe it's a good teaching. I can't really fault it. But I know it's hard for us to keep on that beam. To train at, you know, being ourselves completely. But I do, I thank Regina and Cone and Stuart

[73:32]

for voicing the human mind, the human consciousness which has trouble understanding and expressing its trouble understanding. It's good to admit, to admit that mind. So, how are you? I can't, I can't tell. Struggling. Struggling.

[74:33]

It seems as though it keeps going in a circle, this kind of talk. It's like, and every time it comes back around to justness, suchness, humanness. But before that, we're hearing about not human, not of this world. And I get confused. I get confused because I can't understand why we need all that if it keeps coming around to the same place. Which is, I guess, voicing in some ways Regina's question. It's like, when is it not human? Are we really talking about something that is metaphysical or are we talking about just this life here and is that the same thing? Are we talking about something that's metaphysical?

[75:36]

Yeah, which is just a word. I'm not so interested in the concept as a problem, but it's like, it gets out in the mists and then you pull it back. And when you pull it back, it seems clear. But I don't quite know why we've gone out in the mists and I feel like I must be missing something. If I weren't afraid I was missing something, I'd just be comfortable with where you pull it back to. Is that sort of related to this business about why bring up the rank of a Buddha? I have a feeling it's similar. Yeah, I wrote down, I starred things here, like you keep referring to human understanding and when is it not human? When are we not human beings? In the world, not in the world. Well, I guess we're not human beings

[76:39]

when we're actually satisfied with living in the place where we don't understand. And making an effort in a place, in a way, that has nothing to do with past or future. That's not human. That's not the human way. So when a human being accepts a precept and they hear it in terms of past and future, that's nice, if it's a wholesome precept. They say, oh, I know what that means, I'll accept that precept in terms of past and future. Then it's a human being accepting a precept in their terms and then they are working on their ethics, which is fine. But when a human being accepts a precept after hearing that this precept is not about past and future, then the human being enters into a realm where they don't know what's going on. It's still a human being there, but now the human being has willingly accepted

[77:41]

something which they do not understand. Then the human being is different than an ordinary human being. Still a human being, but not saying, I don't want anything that I don't understand, get that away. That's the difference. So telling you that these precepts are not, telling you beforehand these precepts are not of the realm of human comprehension and then you still receive them, then the human being is like a Buddha. But from the human point of view, you have just received something which you do not understand. You have willingly accepted something into your heart which you do not understand. So you're using human to mean ordinary, or ordinary life, or ordinary way of understanding. And when it's not human to mean when you've gone beyond that. Or is that reducing to human? Our ordinary life actually has the possibility

[78:48]

of encountering something which is not just human. But when we encounter it, we feel it as human beings, we feel it. Like, for example, to spend your life cutting turnips and feel good about that. You feel like a human being who feels, I feel okay about cutting turnips forever. Why? Because of my understanding, my human understanding which allows me to continue cutting them. Why do I do that? Because I've received a precept which says life is not killed. I've received a precept which is not my human understanding. So I'm a human being who has received something, a precept, a law, which I don't agree with, which I don't see. But there's a difference. Before I received the precept, I said I do not have things in my life which I don't understand.

[79:49]

I exclude from my life things I don't understand. I don't have no foreign bodies in here. Everything I've got here is part of my system. I've just allowed something into my system which is not mine, which does not fit in my system. Can we use a few other words than receive? Accept. So accept something you can't understand. Yeah. Like, again, the precept. So, so that's the act that you're talking about, the act of sincerely saying yes, I accept this precept. Um, and it doesn't, and then you said, so I understand, it doesn't mean that you have some sort of nice thing that you've just figured out about it. Um, and none of us know how we might feel

[80:51]

about that. We could feel not very much or a whole lot or a lot today and not much tomorrow. So it's really free of marks, this receiving. Yeah. Unless you actually are lying about it. Unless you're what? Actually lying about it. What do you mean lying? Saying that you're going to receive it, but really... Right, that's not receiving it. That's not receiving it. Just receiving it is just receiving it like someone gives you something that you don't understand, you know, but you just take it. And it could be done ceremonially or not ceremonially. Right. So you can do it ceremonially or not ceremonially. You can just receive a turnip and you don't feel like the ceremony. Or you can, in the morning, you can say to yourself, I receive this precept. Just say it to yourself. It's kind of a ceremony. You can say that. Okay. And this business, this teaching

[81:53]

is to tell you how thoroughly this light is to explain what we mean by life is not killed. Life is not killed is then amplified by saying life is not killed is the manifestation of the whole works. That you've not only received something you don't understand, but you've received something which is incredibly potent and vital. It's not just... There's lots of things maybe you don't understand that you can receive. You can receive various mathematical theorems and carry them around too. That's fine. Which you maybe never would understand, but every day you take that theorem into you. Day after day. This is a teaching that you're taking on which you don't understand, which is also describing to you how to live. Namely, live as the life which is not killed. What life is it that you have that is not killed?

[82:54]

Receive that precept. Which is also called not killing. It's the life which is not killing or killed. What is that? It is that no matter what's happening to you throughout your entire life is never the least bit diminished. It's always radiant. It is even in life, there's just life. And in death, there's just dying. Death is exactly the manifestation of the whole works too. You receive that at the same time that you receive the precept of life is the manifestation of the whole works. All that comes to you when you receive the precept not killing. And again, when you realize you're getting all that, then you don't understand what the precept means anymore. But it has something to do with you being you completely. Which also you do not understand. That's why we have this precept

[83:56]

because people do not understand what it means to be themselves completely. So this precept brings up how inexhaustibly vast it is to be us. We are the manifestation of the whole works. And when we understand that, that's our real life. And that life can never be killed. And that life can never kill because there's nothing but it. And there's nothing higher than it. It's the same as a Buddha. And there's nothing lower than it. Is it coming in? And then the question is, when you hear all this, do you say, OK, I'll receive that. I'll receive all that that is for me in my life right now. And do you understand that that's what we mean by uprightness in Zazen. That's what uprightness is. Uprightness has that

[84:57]

the quality that comes to you that is realized in receiving that precept. And then to do it every time you do it, it transforms the universe. So it's the same as taking refuge in Buddha, but it's taking refuge in Buddha now in a slightly different way called the function rather than the substance. This is the function. This is the function of taking refuge in Buddha is to think about like this precept and the others. Now, I feel bad going on so long, but again, I hope that after... Is this the seventh day? Yes. Yeah, this is seven days.

[86:00]

I'm hoping that, you know, in a way that I could just sit here with you and just keep going, you know, and going and going and your pain and difficulty would become something that you could continue to work with. But at the same time, I... I'm sort of telling you this not because I'm going to do that, but because I'm telling you that I'm aware that I've gone on a long time and that you might be having difficulty, but part of what I'm hoping is that you're taking care of yourselves right now. And that if somehow it happened that everybody but you felt okay about this going on and on, this discussion going on and on, that you could take care of yourself. Part of what Zen training is about is that you can take care of yourself, that if you have to uncross your legs, you can do that.

[87:02]

That if you have to go to the toilet, you take care of yourself. If you have to say, could we stop this discussion? You could say so. It's okay. I'm saying this, what I'm saying to you now is to... empower you to participate and take responsibility for what happens. I could have said that at the beginning of Sesshin, but I didn't. Now I feel like through the initiation of seven days, everyone kind of has a sense of what would be appropriate. Namely, we don't know what's appropriate. That's a sense of what's appropriate. Sense of what's appropriate is... Yeah? What about not receiving? How is it better to receive?

[88:11]

Well, the advantage of receiving it over not receiving it is that there's no difference. When you receive it, there's no difference. But if you don't receive it, you don't understand that. That's the advantage of receiving it. Does that make sense? No? Well, just generally speaking, Buddhism is like a robe, you know? The point of putting on a robe is to understand that it doesn't make any difference. Before you put it on, you say, I don't want to, and that's because you think it would be different. Therefore, you say, I don't want to. If you really didn't think it made a difference, you wouldn't not, you know, you might not do it, but if someone said you want it, you'd say, okay. Pardon? If you really think

[89:12]

it didn't make a difference, okay, if you really thought so, then you would be happy to put it on, wouldn't you? You might not want to, but you'd be happy to, right? I don't know. Not so? You don't think so? Yeah, maybe. But most people that have to put it on, at first when they put it on, it's a test to see if they can still feel that it's no different. When you first put it on or when you first think about putting it on, most people say, yeah, but what about this, this and this? They think it would be different and therefore they have some problem with it. But it really isn't. Receiving it and not receiving it aren't different.

[89:55]

@Text_v004
@Score_JJ