Today is December 4th, but usually we call it December 3rd. On December 3rd, 43 years ago, our compassionate founder, Shogaku Shinryu Daisho, was suffering, or he was in pain, and December 3rd was the last full day of his life. the body which was there that day.

[01:06]

Tonight we will probably have a memorial ceremony to remember, to remember. And tomorrow we will have another ceremony to remember his life his death. I said yesterday something like, he said, our way is helping others There is no special way to do so. Still, he suggested that to let others know our human nature and to let them know our problems is the best way to help them.

[02:25]

On another occasion he said that we need to be enlightened to be able to help others. And a few minutes later someone asked a question like, you said that we need to be enlightened in order to help people. But perhaps that means that almost everyone in this room would not be able to help people. Then Suzuki Roshi said something like, enlightenment has many meanings. For a bodhisattva, enlightenment is understanding Others are our self.

[04:04]

Others are our true self. All others are our true self. Each and all others are our true self. In order to understand that others are ourself and be in a state of mind to help them, we take care of our mind by calming it without any contrivance.

[05:29]

And Suzuki Roshi said over and over, with no gaining idea, wholeheartedly sit without trying to get anything. Give ourselves to wholehearted sitting. to a serene, open, flexible state without trying to get it. If such here, say, thank you very much. I have no complaint whatsoever. If such a state appears, say, thank you very much. I have no complaint whatsoever.

[06:55]

And continue to practice wholeheartedly. The Precious Mirror Samadhi, the song of the Precious Mirror Samadhi says in English, the teaching of suchness has been intimately communicated by Buddhas and ancestors now, so keep it well. Keep it well by being wholehearted in each moment without trying to gain anything while taking care of the teaching of suchness.

[08:11]

The teaching of universe, all living beings are our true self Taking care of this is a way to help others. sitting here in meditation and trying to get something may be a distraction from maintaining for the teaching of suchness.

[10:02]

Yesterday we heard the story of Fa-yen coming to meet Di-tsang. Dharma eyes coming to meet earth treasure, earth treasury, earth store. There's a story about a day when Palyan was meeting Ditsang and told him he was going on pilgrimage. And Di Tsang said to Fa Yen, what is the purpose of ?

[11:39]

And Fa Yen said, don't know. And Di Tsang said, not knowing is most intimate. One of the words, one of the compounds that's used in Chinese for work, for pilgrimage is extensive study. Study. I'm going on a thorough study. I'm going to extensively study. Fanyin said. Di Tsang asked, What is the purpose of this extensive study? Fanyin said, I don't know. Di Tsang said, Not knowing is most intimate.

[12:49]

The teaching of suchness has been intimately communicated by ancestors Now you have it. Keep it well. How do you keep it well? Not knowing. Taking care of this, which is everything that is coming to you as your true self, that this could be so. Protecting and maintaining this free of gaining knowledge.

[14:05]

This intimate caregiving of others being our self intimate. This caregiving without knowing. said to Falyan, not knowing his most intimate, the story usually goes on to say, at those words, Falyan was greatly enlightened.

[15:19]

Or, I might interpret it and say, at those words, Faryan realized this most intimate situation, this most intimate practice, which is the practice which is the same practice and the same enlightenment as ourselves and all beings. And in the human mind the thought might arise, well, okay, if I have now realized, if I am realizing by not knowing with calm which I don't possess, without trying to gain anything, if I now have realization of this most intimate knowing, why do I have to continue the practice?

[16:48]

Why is it necessary to continue to maintain it? In times like that, we often hear, a hair's-breadth deviation fails to accord with the proper attunement in the jewel mirror samadhi. Sanzazengi, after basically saying that this great, intimate, reality of suchness pervades everywhere. What need is there for ? And yet, if there's the slightest discrepancy, it's like others are not ourself.

[17:53]

The teaching that others are not ourselves has not been intimately communicated by Buddhas and ancestors. That has been intimately communicated by deluded consciousness. That transmission seems to be going on a lot of the time in this world. This person who's talking to me is not me. Not my good friend. The Buddhas are transmitting the teaching that whatever is coming is the Dharma. That doubt is, again, deeply Dharma. If you don't doubt it, great.

[19:10]

And in the next moment, if we don't practice again in the same way, we have a slight discrepancy. And that discrepancy is enough space for this person is not me to stand up and insult us, be unkind to us. This person is not me. this person who thinks I'm great or this person who thinks I am not worthy of respect. Such a big job to maintain the Buddhadharma

[20:19]

by a wholehearted practice, without trying to gain anything. What's the point of maintaining the Buddha Dharma? Oh, the point of maintaining it is that in maintaining it, beings are liberated from suffering. It seems very challenging to find the balanced, tranquil mind that can maintain this teaching which has been given to us moment after moment. If we miss a beat,

[21:35]

then we have a practice of revealing and disclosing that we have missed a beat before the Buddhas and ancestors. And the revelation of our being distracted from caring for the teaching of suchness, that revelation before the Buddhas and ancestors eventually melts away the root of getting distracted. And we become more and more steady and continuous in this by means of the precious mirror samadhi, caring for the teaching of suchness. And in this carrying, doing Buddha's work, which is Buddha. Buddha is Buddha's work.

[22:38]

And Buddha's work is beings are liberated. And Buddha's work is the same practice and the same enlightenment of all of us right now. Pāyien now is awake to a not knowing which is most intimate with the teaching of suchness.

[23:49]

And he's talking to his old friend, Shushan, And he says to Shirsan, what about this hair's breath deviation? What about this hair's breath difference? How do you understand it, good friend? And Shirsan says, If there's a hair's breadth difference, it's like the distance between heaven and earth. And Fa Yan says, pretty good, but how can you get it like that? And Xishan says to Fa Yan, about you, brother.

[25:01]

And Fa Yan says, if there's a hair's breadth difference, it's like the distance between heaven and earth. And Xushan bowed. It doesn't say Sushant was awakened. Today I imagine Sushant was awakened already and they were just playing together, maintaining the teaching of suchness. How do you maintain the teaching of suchness? If there's a hair's breadth difference, it's like the distance between heaven and earth.

[26:14]

If there's a hair's breadth difference between your practice and the practice of the Buddhas, if there's a hair's breadth difference between your practice and the practice of all beings, we fail in proper How do you understand that? If there's a hair's breadth difference it's like the distance between heaven and earth. Get it that way. How about you? If there's a hair's breadth difference it's like the distance between heaven and earth. If there's a hair's breadth difference, the Buddha seal is broken.

[27:31]

The Buddha seal is that there's not a hair's breadth difference between your practice and the practice of all beings. Nobody's an exception to that, not even that person who gave you this difficult face to look at. The Buddha mind seal seals all differences into one suchness. But if we don't take care of that, it's like we never heard of it and other people really are below average.

[28:43]

We have an admonition or it's kind of implied not to make telephone calls. I confess to you that I made a telephone call yesterday. I called the woman for whom I performed a wedding Ceremony four. Yesterday I told you about this woman and I guessed that this story occurred about 30 years ago. So I called her to ask her how long ago she was married and she said 29 years ago. I said, I told a story about you and your husband today.

[31:14]

And I told her the story and she told it to me a little differently. The way she told it was she went to the jeweler and the jeweler, you know, and being rather unkind to her. She was trying to find out about different kinds of sapphires and he was kind of impatient with her that she didn't know what kind of sapphires she wanted. it wasn't just about the money, it was about that he was being unkind to her. And then in the process,

[32:18]

She saw the Buddha and asked him about the Buddha in his store. And he told her that he was practicing Zen at Green Gulch. And she told him that he was going to be performing the ceremony. And when he found out who the friend was, he was really startled and sorry that he had been so unkind to her and deeply apologized. And then she said to him, I really appreciate that you're being kind to me now. It would be good if you treated everybody like their Buddha, not just people who are connected to your good friends.

[33:33]

She said, please remember to treat everybody as Buddha. He said, I'm sorry, I will. And then when the wedding happened, she received a gift in the mail, and the gift was the Buddha. And she said, it's the most beautiful Buddha I've ever seen, and I still have it. When people are not kind to us, it may be difficult to ask them about the Buddha that's sitting in their heart.

[34:48]

They don't always have a Buddha there we can see to remind us to ask them. So they can say, I'm a disciple of Buddha. So then we can tell them, I am too. As a matter of fact, Buddha's going to be performing a ceremony for me quite soon. What's the purpose of this ceremony? I don't know. What's the purpose of our intimate relationships?

[35:57]

But I do want to take care of them, even though I don't know what they are or what the purpose of them is. Thank you. Thank you. Roshi. Thank you, Fa Yan.

[37:27]

Thank you, Dietzong. Thank you, Dongshan. Thank you, unfriendly jeweler. May our intention equally extend to every being and place.

[37:50]

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