The seven day retreat comes after seven days of the spring practice period here at this temple. During this seven weeks prior to now, we have been studying two old stories. And it seems to me that these two old stories are appropriate for our life of practice and indicate the process by which the reality of freedom and compassion and wisdom are realized in this world and the process of study and teaching

[01:30]

In addition to these two stories, which I feel provide an overview of the process of practice, we have been studying the Buddha's teaching of the Eightfold Noble Path. So this retreat inherits these two stories and the Buddha's teaching of the Eightfold Path. and I feel it may flow quite well into this final week. The first story I recited this morning to you I'll do it again now.

[02:38]

Long time ago, in the Tang Dynasty, in the golden age of Zen, in China, one of the great masters, who is the co-founder of our lineage in Japan, together with his teacher, Dungsan. Cao and Dung, those two teachers together are the founders. He said to Elder De, Da means virtue. He said to Elder Da, the true body of reality of the Buddha is manifested in response to beings.

[03:53]

Like the moon reflected in water. Please show me, please tell me about this principle of response, about how this response, this manifesting response functions. Elder De said, it's like a donkey looking into a well. And Thala Shan said, he said quite a lot there, but he only got 80%. Elder De said, What about you, teacher?"

[05:04]

Thao Chan said, it's like the well looking at the donkey. So, that's the story. That's the story about how the body of Buddha, the true reality body of Buddha manifests in this world. So I say that I agree with Tsao-Shan that Elder De got eighty percent, and also I would say that Tsao-Shan also got eighty percent. Not 20, but 80. And 80% and 80% together make 100%.

[06:10]

And their dialogue is a classical example of what they were talking about. Their response to each other in that interacting between them the reality body of Buddha was manifested in this world for us to see and hear for more than a thousand years. If you understand this story and practice it interactively with all the beings you meet, the reality body of Buddha will be transmitted through such a practice. For me, it's like we're jumping rope here together.

[07:55]

I don't see the rope, but I feel it swinging. Like in the schoolyard, when children are playing together, sometimes one one girl or one boy has a jump rope and is jumping by herself, swinging around, and another girl or boy can join her. Sometimes the other girl or boy says, slow down, I can't get in. Please slow down. Do a double step between. Sometimes two people are holding a jump rope from a wider jump rope, and then people go in and join the swing of the rope.

[09:04]

And sometimes more than one person can get in. Have you ever seen this? When I was a boy, the girls tended to dominate this game. But the boys sometimes could play. If the rope is going too fast or too slow for you, I welcome you to say, stop. And I will stop the rope. from swinging and we can start over again so you can join in. The most important thing is not that I'm swinging the rope or somebody else is swinging the rope, but that there's an interaction and you can join in the game, in the play.

[10:16]

It's not that there's a thing called the Buddha Dharma which is sitting out there somewhere. The Buddha Dharma is the thing that is realized in the interaction among beings. When beings are wholeheartedly interacting, the Dharma is manifested. The Buddha nature is all-pervasive in all things. And it is, in fact, the interaction between all things, and that all things can interact. When we are wholeheartedly interacting, that reality manifests. We can see it. We can experience it. The next story we studied, I mentioned him yesterday morning.

[11:58]

The next case is a story of a Zen teacher, Wang Bo. He went into the hall of his temple, and he said to his group, he said something like, what was it? what did you come here for? What is it that you came here for? He said. And then he took his big staff, he started swinging it to try to chase them out of the hall. But they didn't leave. And he said, you are all drag slurpers. If you go on like this, People will laugh at you. And in the end, how will you have today?

[13:00]

Then one monk came to play and said, well, what about all these monasteries all over China that say Zen on the door? Oh, excuse me, I forgot one line. After that he said, don't you know that in all of China there's no teachers of Zen? And then the monk came forward and said, what about all these monasteries where it says Zen? You know, where there's big assemblies of monks and there's instruction and meditation. What about that? And Wang Bo said, I didn't say there's no Zen in China. I said there's no teachers. So there he was, the great teacher, coming to talk to the monk, swinging his staff, chasing him out of the room, but they didn't move. They wouldn't play. He's not the teacher. He's the famous teacher, but he's not the teacher because they won't play, because they think he's a teacher.

[14:16]

These two stories, if you put them together, they're very big and create a space for us to practice together this week and forever. And so I will maybe, I might not say another word about them, but I'll be thinking about them all week and probably for the rest of my life. They teach me how to play, how to respond with all of you. I trust those stories. Those stories are what I came here for. If Wong Bo asked me what I came here for, I would say I came here for this story. Part of what this is about is that being drag slurpers means that you are using Buddhism or using Buddhist practice.

[15:49]

You're reaching over to get it, to use it, rather than letting go of it and seeing how it comes up. So in that context, we teach the ancient teaching of the Eightfold Path, But if I bring up the Eightfold Path, can I bring it up without slurping the dregs of the ancestors? If I feel myself reaching to get the dregs left by the ancient ones, to get them and bring them up here, I don't feel right. I let go and let them sit. I don't want to bring up the Eightfold Path even though it's a wonderful teaching. I don't want to bring it up if I'm reaching for it over on the shelf to tell you something. I want the Eightfold Path to come up in response to you.

[16:50]

Maybe it never will. We'll see. We covered three folds in the first seven weeks of practice period. Maybe the other five will come up this week. If you're awake, you'll spot them. They'll have familiar names. Before this session, I asked the people in the practice period here at Green Gulch to consider what their intention, what the focus of their intention for this session would be. And I asked them if they found an answer to that question, to please write it down on a piece of paper, and I would like to see it.

[18:00]

So many of them did that. And I said that I put a little box, pretty little Japanese box, on my altar in my room. And you could put your note in the box. And they did that. And I read what they wrote. And I'm very glad I asked them to do this because it was very encouraging to me what they wrote. The focus of the intention of these people is, each focus is a little different, but all of these focuses, every one of them was wonderful.

[19:03]

So I'd say to all of you who gave me a little note, wonderful. I completely support your focus for this sitting. If you forget it and want to know what it is, you can come to me and I'll show you the note. Now I say the same to the other people who are coming here for this session. I ask you, please consider what is the focus of your intention for this week of meditation? And it could be also, I could also ask you, what is the focus of your practice this week?

[20:09]

But I could also ask you, what is the focus of your practice for this lifetime? They might be the same thing. So again, I'm interested in something, but it's not for me to tell you what you're supposed to be interested in. Fundamentally this opportunity here is for you to discover what is your concern in this life, to discover that and to sit quietly and deepen your intimacy with what is your ultimate concern in this life. to get more, to more deeply familiarize yourself and acquaint yourself and fluid with what you want to do ultimately with your life, how you want to live this life.

[21:31]

I wish I had warned all of you a week ahead of time for you to think about this, but I ask you now, every one of you, what is your ultimate concern? What is the focus of your practice as Sashin? And if you can find it and you would like to write it on a piece of paper, please do so and put it in a little box on the altar of my room and I'll read it. I'd like you also to sign it, if you don't mind. Now, in a way, a thought crosses my mind, popped up in my mind. If you haven't thought of anything, maybe you'd like some examples, give you some ideas. Because I could tell you what the other people said and you could just take some of theirs.

[22:48]

Oh yeah, I like that one too. But I didn't really mean you should, you need their help. But in a way, still, what they said, even though it may not be your focus, you may be inspired to hear what their focus is. to know the kind of people, the kind of hearts and minds you're sitting with. Do you want to hear? So, in a sense, before each one of these statements is the statement, my intention for this session is The focus of my effort during this session is... I may not say that over and over, but that's where they start. The focus of my practice, the intention of my practice is wholehearted presence.

[23:58]

to follow the schedule, give myself over to the process and watch what arises, to discover that being honest, mindful of myself, and concerned about the welfare of others is what I really want to do. Question.

[25:12]

Question. to see myself, especially the aspects I'm afraid of looking at. And the person who gave me this note was on a piece of paper, one of those, one of those little, you know, Zen calendars or something, where they have these cartoons or sage sang for each day, and on the back of this note, you know, about seeing myself especially when I'm afraid to look at, on the back was a quote from Henry David Thoreau, which is, it's as hard to see oneself as it is to look backwards without turning around.

[26:37]

practice concentration and mindfulness. To focus 80% on breath, to give up personal power, and to think of Khandzayan in the morning and to think of Khandzayan at night. To be present and intimate with whatever comes up. To practice dhyana, to practice concentration to open to sadness.

[28:12]

Is this too rich? The rope's not swinging too fast? Your heart's not getting too full? It's getting too full? Take a break. Take a break and look inside and see what's most important to you during this week.

[29:41]

Cultivating loving kindness, forgiveness towards myself, and sitting with awareness and strength for others. Take care, be kind, fearless, and devoted. wholeheartedly present in each moment.

[32:24]

What is this moment after moment without manipulating my experience? There's quite a few more, but I feel I can't read any more.

[34:39]

But I really think they're all wonderful aspirations, wonderful focuses. You know, the word focus means heart. In the Latin kitchen, the Latin household, the Roman household, the focus was the hearth. Again, what is your focus? Although the Ino said, you know, writing during session, I think it's okay to write this down if you want to. What is the focus? What do you want your focus to be? And the interaction, the responses that occur here this week are the way that the body of Buddha is manifested all day long, moment by moment.

[36:31]

like a donkey looking into a well and the well looking at the donkey with no teachers of Zen and Zen all over the place Can we be diligent and wholehearted enough to be home as this great reality body manifests itself here?

[37:52]

We don't say this is easy. just perhaps that it's our heart's desire. And so like that song, that song or that dance that I Brought up yesterday, the hokey pokey. Put your whole self in to this sasheen. You take your whole self out. You put your whole self in and you shake it all about. You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around.

[39:02]

That's what it's all about. Your job, my job, is to put your whole self in. Your whole body, your whole mind, your whole heart. Then you can take it out and put it back in. Only you can prevent forest fires. Only you can put your whole body in nobody else only you can give yourself entirely to this process of liberation and only you can hold back but there's an art to it and nobody can teach it to you you just have to keep trying

[40:07]

a million times to put yourself wholly into it. It's all you have to do for seven days. No one expects anything more of you unless you get a telephone call. We're all here to support you making this Buddha effort and realizing Buddha body. with everyone. And although that may be funny, it's not a joke. Thank you very much. May our intention

[41:02]

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