who received from Yun-Yan the Jumir Samadhi and then started singing about it. And he said, the teaching of Bhasmas has been intimately communicated by Buddhas and ancestors, now you have it. So keep it well. And then he went on to sing further about his life. And in the end he says, if you can keep doing this, This is called the host within the host, teacher within the teacher.

[01:11]

I have the same problem here now that there's so much wonderful material and I want to I want to turn it all up for you, but that might be a little too hysterical if I go that fast. So I probably won't be able to, but anyway, if I start, you know, really looking stupid, please go like this. save me from my enthusiasm for this teacher named Tungshan Liangzhe. Liangzhe means good servant or good boy. When he was a child, he was studying with his tutor and his tutor was teaching him about the heart system in Chinese.

[03:06]

When he got to the part about where it says no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, and so on. A little boy reached up to his face and said, but I have eyes and ears, nose, mouth. Why does it just say that they don't exist? And Tudor thought, was quite surprised, and thought maybe he should go study the Heart Sutra with somebody else. So he sent him to study with a man named Limoix. understanding of emptiness is rather crude and incomplete unless there is a recognition of the potency and omnipresence

[04:42]

and reality of constructive imagination. Emptiness is always and ever coincident with the imagination of the unreal. You don't have emptiness floating around in mid-air. Emptiness is the nature of unreal imaginations. Emptiness is the nature of concepts. And little boy, little girl, they know the reality, the concept.

[05:49]

The reality, the concept, the mouth. So if somebody tells them they're empty, they also say, yes, but there's a reality to them. So this is what we study in Lost and Founders, thirty verses. You have to have both of these things, both these principles. The non-existence of things, non-existence, emptiness, lack of inherent existence is one thing. And then the reality that the non-existence is produced.

[06:54]

That's a reality too. Those two realities together are necessary to really understand what's happening. And this little boy already could feel that. Maybe he was Vasubandhu in a past life. So, he set off and visited this teacher and as he got a little older, I don't know exactly how old he was, but he visited Nanchuan. Nanchuan is a disciple of Master Ma, Ma Tzu. And when he arrived at Nanchuan's place, Nanchuan means South Spring, it's a location also.

[08:03]

And that was where his temple was. When he arrived at Nanchuan... I've got to tell this story. One day Nanchuan was out in the fields with his friends, doing a little gardening work. And this monk was coming to Nanchuan. He walked up to the people and he said, What if you walked up to Nanchuan and said, which way to Nanchuan? And Nanchuan, I think he held up the sickle and said something like, this is a sickle. And the monk said, I really wasn't asking about gardening.

[09:14]

I was actually saying, I actually wanted to know, where is Nanchuan? And Nanchuan looked at me and said, guts! Really well! So I think the monk finally found Nanchuan. So anyway, Dungshan came to Nanchuan too. And when he arrived, they were preparing to do a memorial service for Master Ma. You know how we do the night before a memorial service? We do a sort of preparatory memorial service, like that kind of thing. the real memorial service is the next day but you kind of prepare for it the day before usually. So they were preparing a vegetarian feast for Master Ma and people were getting ready and Nan Chuan said, I wonder if Master Ma will come back tomorrow.

[10:27]

What do you think? regular monks said to me. A young man who just came, whose name was Yang Je, a good servant, came forward and said, he will come if he has a companion, or he will come if there's a companion. This little story is celebrated in his song of the Jewel-Bearing Samadhi, where he says, it responds to the arrival of boyish energy. It responds to the inquiring kid. And Nantuan said, he made a pun on this kid's name by accident.

[11:32]

I don't think he knew his name, but he might. He said, this good servant is worthy to be carved. No, no. He said, this good servant is worthy to be carved. And then the boy made a pun on his name and said, don't make the good into the bad. In other words, don't ruin me by giving me too much attention. So anyway, that was when he was quite young. He was walking into places like that and doing things like that. And then we come to a wonderful and rather complex interaction.

[12:35]

which is quite difficult to follow. But still I want to bring it up again. I've been bringing this up many times over the years. And it's a story that has lots of layers and so on. So I'll just say it and discuss it a little bit. And it'll just be another example of this story. There's several translations of this story, and they're not too different. They're pretty close, so I feel fairly confident that we have a pretty decent translation. I don't think it's that easy to translate, though. Slight nuances make a big difference. So he's traveling around, and he comes now to visit that kind of husky guy that kicked over this platoon.

[13:39]

Remember him? Guishan. So he went to Guishan and the teacher receives him and he says, I have heard about the teaching of the national teacher Junk, National Teacher Junk. National Teacher Junk is a direct disciple of the Sixth Ancestor. National Teacher Junk had died. He's already dead. But a young man is inquiring about this teaching. And he says, I really don't understand the subtleties of it. Could you please teach me about it?

[14:42]

And Guishan said, well, do you remember the story? Could you recite it? And he said, yes. I said, well, please do. He said, when a monk came to see the national teacher and asked the national teacher, What is the mind of Buddha? National teacher said, it's a wall, tiles, and pebbles. The monk said, well, aren't those non-sentient beings? Isn't that non-sentient being?" The teacher said, yes.

[15:46]

The monk said, well, did they expound the Dharma? And the actual teacher said, they expound the Dharma constantly. incandescently and unceasing. The monk said, why can't I hear it? The teacher said, although you may not hear it, don't hinder that which does hear it. The monk said, well, who can hear it? The teacher said, all the sages can hear it. The monk said, can you hear it, master?

[16:54]

He said, no, I can't. The monk said, well, If you can't hear it, how do you know that the non-sentient beings expound the Dharma? And the teacher said, fortunately, I can't hear it. If I heard it, I would be like the sages, and then you wouldn't be able to hear the Dharma I'm teaching you. The monk said, well then ordinary people have no part of it or have no hope of salvation. The National Treatise said, I teach ordinary people. The monk said, what happens to ordinary people after they hear you?

[17:59]

And he said, they're not ordinary people anymore. The monk said, what sutra did you get this from? And one translation of this says, well, I wouldn't be a noble person if I was saying things that you couldn't find in the sutras. This translation here says, clearly you shouldn't suggest that it's not part of the sutras. Haven't you seen the Avatamsaka Sutra? It says, the earth expounds dharma, all beings expound it.

[19:08]

Throughout the three times, everything expounded. And Yangja completed his narration, his story. So it's a story within a story. Now we're back to the, he's there again, The young monk is there with Guishan. Guishan says, we have that teaching here too. And Liang just says, well, please explain it. And Guishan lifts his whisk. He says, do you understand? And Deandra says, no.

[20:13]

Please, explain. The Malkibarn of a mother and father will never be able to explain it to you. Deandra says, well, is there somebody that you know that might explain it to me?" And Guishan says, Yeah, there is somebody who you might be able to respect. And he lives over in basically lives over in Hunan. He's living in those stone caves, and his name is Yunye.

[21:17]

If you are able to push aside the grass and gaze into the wind, then you will find him worthy of your respect," Guishan said. And then Yangjai said, What sort of a man is he?" And Guishan said, once he said to this old monk, Guishan, what should I do if I wish to follow you? And I told him, you must immediately cut off all links. And then he, Yun-Yan, said to me, Guishan, then will I come up to the master's expectations? I, this old monk, Guishan, said, you will get absolutely no answer as long as I'm here.

[22:31]

kind of a complicated story. Should I go into it or should I go on? What do you think? Well, it seems like the national teacher in Guishan is saying pretty much the same thing, right?

[23:45]

So far. Oh, I got to finish. It's not really done. The story's not really done. Excuse me. So then Deng Xian heads off to look for Yun-Yun and he leaves Guishan and heads off to these stone grottoes where Yun-Yun is living. And he makes reference to the previous encounter with Guishan and then he asks again, what kind of a person can hear? the Dharma expounded by non-sentient beings. And Yunyuan said, non-sentient beings are able to hear it.

[24:53]

And then the boy asked, can you hear it, teacher? And Yunyuan replied, if I could hear it, then you would not be able to hear the Dharma which I teach. Why can't I hear it?" asked Liangzhe. Yunyan raised his flywhisk and said, can you hear it? Liangzhe said, No, I can't." And the yin-yang said, you can't even hear it when I expound it. How do you expect to hear it when a non-sentient being expounds it?

[25:56]

And the yin-yang just says, in which sutra is it taught? that non-sentient beings expound the Dharma." And Yunnan said, haven't you seen it? In the Amitābha Sutra it says, water births, tree grows, all without exception recite the Buddha's name, recite the Dharma. Reflecting on this, Tungshan composed little verse. How amazing! How amazing! How rare! How are you to comprehend that non-sentient beings expound the Dharma? It simply cannot be heard with the ear.

[27:00]

When the sound is heard with the eye, then it is understood. he had a little insight. So the two interactions, I guess, pretty much make it clear. Insentient beings are expounding the dharma. Something does hear the dharma. I can't hear the dharma, maybe, but at least that doesn't hinder the fact, that doesn't hinder what does hear the dharma expounded by insentient beings. Yunyen said, insentient beings are the ones who hear the Dharma expounded by insentient beings. If I could hear the Dharma, then you wouldn't be able to hear the Dharma that I'm teaching, because I wouldn't be a sentient being able to teach you.

[28:09]

The Dharma taught by insentient beings is taught by insentient beings, but it's It's not really something that sentient beings can hear with their sentient ear. And yet, it is taught by sentient beings that insentient beings teach the Dharma. They teach that. But the ones who are teaching that not teaching the Dharma as an insentient being, but the ones who are teaching, the insentient beings teach the Dharma. They don't hear it themselves, and therefore they can teach it to others. So, I have a guess as to how it is that the teacher doesn't hear

[29:14]

the Dharma that's being broadcast by sentient beings. But I'm not sure if it's correct. Well, what I think it's saying is that the teacher does hear what sentient beings are broadcasting in terms of his own, he hears them At the level of perception, maybe, he hears me. At the level of perception, you're not a sentient being. the level of perception you're not a sentient being.

[30:16]

Sentient beings have psychological problems. Sentient beings have selves. I can't hear it. The one, and also the mouth of somebody born of a mother and a father cannot teach you about this. But still, And you can't hear with your ear, but you can hear it, but not with your ear. Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter. Therefore ye soft pipes play on, not to the sensual ear, but more endeared. Pipe ditties of no tone. It says, the unique breeze of reality.

[31:19]

Can you see it? Do you have your paw raised? dwelling in the uniform character of all life. That's the samadhi of oneness. So anyway, Goetia says, please explain. So what does he do? He raises his whisk. Poor guy. That's all he can do. Did he get it? Even your head does the same thing.

[32:23]

Get it? No. Even what I do you can't get. How are you going to get the other thing? But still, insentient beings are constantly hearing this, don't worry. They're going, hey, juice city. Keep those things rolling, you know. High potency, you know, popular music coming through all the time. But we have to, we here up in Conceptville, we have to abandon concepts. And abandon means no hand on. Abandon the concepts and therefore be released from the bonds of deemings, of judgments. As I said to somebody yesterday, deemings of course are demons.

[33:24]

Demons are deemings. Demons are judgments. Be released from these judgments by not putting hands on concepts. Abandon the concepts. Abandon the wonderful products of the creative imagination, which are unreal. And after you abandon them, Keep respecting them. I do have eyes and a mouth. So this is a fortunate person, this Lianzhi. He got to meet Guishan, Nanshuang, and Yunyan. Somehow he couldn't work it out with Guishan, but he somehow could live with Yunyan for a while.

[34:36]

And so there he is now. He's down in the stone grottoes with his teacher, having a little insight. And probably in his 20s now or something like that. Yeah, I got through that pretty fast. That's good. I thought I'd never get out of there. Thanks for your help. Okay, so now, one day, Yunyan, I mean, Liangjie comes up to Yunyan and says, I still have some habits that are not eradicated. Yunyan says, what have you been doing? And he says, I haven't even concerned myself with the Four Noble Truths. Just like Sagan said to the Sixth Ancestor, remember?

[35:44]

And Yunyen said, are you joyful yet? And he said, it would be untrue to say that I'm not joyful. It's as though I had grasped a bright pearl in a pile of shit. Now this, again, takes me back to, uh, to, uh, what's his name? Sagan Gyoshi, which again I think this is kind of an echo of Sagan. We're at the beginning of what's called Soto Zen school.

[36:51]

Sagan spawned a lot of stuff, but this emphasis on not even starting to practice the Four Noble I'm staying so close to the ground that you're really dealing with shit. Whatever you're going to find, you're going to find down in shit. You're not climbing up to the top of mountains here. And Rumi said, The minute I heard my first love song, I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don't find each other someplace. They're always in each other in the start.

[37:52]

And Lao Tzu says, the supreme good is like water. which nourishes all without trying to. It is content with low places that people disdain. Thus it is like the Tao. In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep it simple. In conflict, be generous and fair. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you love. In family, be completely present. When you are content to be simply yourself, and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you.

[39:00]

Sagan said, you know what he said, but he also said, in addition to this thing about not even practicing the Four Noble Truths, he said, before I studied Zen for 30 years, mountains were mountains and streams were streams. When I arrived at a more intimate knowledge, I came to the point Or mountains are not mountains, and streams are not streams. And now that I am of the very substance, I am at rest. Or it's just that I see once again that mountains are mountains, and streams are streams. The accomplishment of the work of great peace has no signs.

[40:29]

You're walking around Tassajara. You've accomplished the work of great peace. There isn't necessarily going to be a big neon sign on top of the mountain saying, you've got it. You're not necessarily going to sprout a little bump on your head, but you might. I had this great dream the other night, really great one, but the culmination of it, I was down in the waterfront of San Francisco in a huge outdoor theater, and there was this jazz concert that was gonna happen, and I was down right down on the stage, you know, with all these kind of down-home black people, and the big easy chair, which I dragged to the, on the stage to sit on,

[41:50]

was sort of going through the stage, because the stage was all soggy. And I noticed that some precipitation was coming down on the stage and making it soggy. I looked up, and there was a huge skyscraper with tomato juice squirting out of all the windows. And I thought, the triumph of Christianity, and then across the top of the skyscraper it's set in big neon lights, Christianity, bah, bah, bah! That won't necessarily happen. But the creative imagination does keep producing these wonderful images. But that's not necessarily the sign.

[42:52]

That's the unreal. That's not the sign of the accomplishment of great peace. The accomplishment of great peace is to stay close to the ground. Don't even start practicing the Four Noble Truths. Of course you can practice the Four Noble Truths because for Zen people, for a Buddhist, the Four Noble Truths is like shit. It's like toilet paper, it's just common stuff to us, right? It's our daily bread, so to speak. For us, the Four Noble Truths are our village songs, no big deal. But if you start making a big deal, you start saying, well, I'm going to start studying the Four Noble Truths, and then I'm going to go on from there to several other things. You start doing that, you can do it. You can climb that ladder as long as you stay close to the ground when you're climbing that ladder. Does that make sense?

[43:56]

As long as it's just village songs to you, and festal drinking, you can do things. You can practice concentration. You can study the senses. You can even become an expert. as long as you realize how petty being an expert is. And that is just because you're a human being, real, low, down close to the ground human being, that you kind of have a little bit of need to be an expert. Does that make sense? I have this kind of a weakness, I need to be an expert. So let me be an expert. Okay, go ahead, be an expert. Okay, thank you. But lastly, let's talk about the Four Noble Truths. I studied them and I know a lot about them, so I'll tell you about them, okay? Yeah, we would love to hear what you have to say.

[45:01]

All the monks can hear about what one monk found out about the Four Noble Truths by studying them and learning a lot about them. But this is a human need, you know? It's okay. Because, in the end, mountains are mountains. Humans are humans. And, again, I like that I hear Dogen saying, when the Dharma completely fills your body and mind, you realize something's missing. When it doesn't, you feel satisfied. When I tell you about a practice or you read about a practice, when you first hear about it, you think, ooh, how neat, how happy you are, how satisfied to hear it. But as you get into it more, it becomes not very satisfying.

[46:07]

The more you get into it, the more you realize something's missing. You don't look happy to hear that. Here, plod, makes, down, makes, plow, down, down, cillion, shine. I had to memorize that poem seven more times. Want to try to do it together? Yes. Huh? Did somebody make a sound? I said yes. I caught this morning, morning's minion, kingdom of daylight's dolphin, dappled dawn-drawn falcon, in his what? Riding. In his riding highly. Oh yeah, start over.

[47:12]

I caught this morning, morning's minion, kingdom of daylight's dolphin, dawn-drawn falcon in his riding of the rolling level underneath steady air and striding high there how he rung upon the winfling wane of wind. Like a skate heel swings, sweeps Like a skate's heel sweeps... On a bad wind, I know you guys, it's very bad. The whirl and gliding rebuffed the big wind. The whirl and gliding rebuffed the wind. My heart stirred to the bird. The achieve of the mastery of. Brute beauty and valor and magic.

[48:20]

Brute beauty. Brute beauty. And valor. And pride. And act. Brute beauty, and valor, and act, from ear of pride to the ear of public. And the fire that breaks from within. A billion times taller, luckier, more dangerous. Oh, my Chevalier. No wonder of it. Sheer Plog makes clouds and cillions shine. And blue-green fingers on my deer. All golden symbols in dash all over me. Yeah. So anyway, Sheer Plog. sheer plod makes plow downshilling shine.

[49:23]

Soto Zen, sheer plod. So in Soto Zen, it's good to live a long time. So you can just keep plodding and plodding until you get pretty good. But it's also important, really important I think, to do what you love. And also it says here, in governing don't try to control. So I want to say, like to the priest I ordain, I don't want to control you, but we are connected. and you got to remember we're connected and everything you do we do together and if you don't like that that's too bad because that's the way it is water lilies on the great river

[50:50]

Brilliant red on the green water. Their color is the same as our hearts. Their roots branch out, but ours can never be untangled. So one water lily can't control another water lily, but One water lily better not try to get away from another water lily. Eat it. Otherwise, there's going to be a problem. There's going to be some pain. Somebody's going to say, ouch. What's going on? Don't you realize what's happening? So they were together a while, and then at a certain point, the Angge was going to leave, for some reason or other.

[52:04]

And he said, if after many years someone would ask if I am able to portray your likeness, how should I respond?" And yin and yang said, after being quiet for a while, just this person. Or another translation is, say that it was just this, or say that just this is it. Dumshan was lost in thought. Yunyuan said, Master Jie, having assumed the burden of this great matter, you must be very cautious. Liang Jie remained dubious about what Yunyuan said. Later, as he was crossing a river, he saw his reflection and experienced a great awakening to the meaning of the previous exchange.

[53:20]

He composed another verse. Here's a picture of him crossing the river, looking down at his reflection. Kind of a scruffy little guy. He has a little mustache. Looking a little older here. Pulling his robes up so they don't get wet. Can you see a little bit? It's Chinese painting. This picture makes me look a little like Jesus. Earnestly avoid seeking outside. Lest it recede far from you. Today I am walking alone, yet everywhere I meet him.

[54:32]

He is now no other than myself, but I am not now him. It must be understood in this way in order to merge with suchness. And then one more story from this line is later, when they were doing a memorial service for Yun-Yin, a monk asked, �When your former master said, �Just this is it,' Was it actually this? And Dungshan said, I'll call him Dungshan now because he's left in his teaching.

[55:46]

Dungshan said, it was. The monk said, what did he mean? And Dungshan said, at that time, I nearly misunderstood my former teacher's intent. The monk said, I wonder if the former teacher actually new reality?" Dungsan said, if he didn't know it, how could he have known such a way in which to answer? If he knew reality, why did he go to the trouble of answering it in that way? And then at another memorial service for Yunyan, a monk asked, what teaching did you receive at Yunyan's place?

[56:49]

And the master said, although I was there, I didn't receive any teaching. And the monk said, since you didn't actually receive any teaching, why do you conduct a memorial service for him?" And Dumshan said, why should I turn my back on him? And again, the monk said, if you began by meeting Nanchuan, why do you now conduct a memorial service for Yunyen? And he said, it is not my former master's virtue or Buddha Dharma that I esteem, only that he did not make exhaustive explanations for me. And again, the monk asked, since you are conducting this memorial service, this memorial feast for your former master, do you agree with him or not?

[58:06]

Dungshan said, I agree with half and don't agree with half. The monk said, why don't you agree completely? And Dungshan said, if I agreed completely, then I would be ungrateful to my former teacher. The part particularly I want to point to is that I don't esteem so much his virtue or his Buddhadharma, but only that he did not make exhaustive explanations. This is in Chinese called shuopao. Shuopao means to directly indicate, and sometimes when I'm giving a lecture or something, I have something I want to say and I don't get it across. And later I feel kind of bad that I didn't really articulate it just right, so that I feel like sometimes I say things and people go, I can tell it just really gets to people and they get it.

[59:19]

Other times I know what I want to say and I really feel enthusiastic about it, but I notice it doesn't work. And I sometimes feel bad afterwards. But then I sometimes think of this, and I think, actually some angel is protecting me from being really clear. so that I can't actually say it exactly right. I try and you don't get it, but then you complete it. So sometimes I feel like there's some, that little bit of dullness or something comes to help me from doing it just right so that you'll get it. you're left with this thing which isn't quite right and then you finish it. Which I think is related to I half agree and I half don't agree.

[60:28]

Which is also related to when dharma fills your body and mind, something's missing. And this poem, which Suzanne recited to me, goes something like, several birds trying to get on one branch. A cherry blossom falls halfway. I forgot what I was going to say. Now, the 100th story in this record of Dongshan is a monk comes forward and says, among the three bodies of Buddha, which one doesn't fall into any category?

[61:35]

And Dongshan says, I'm always intimate with this. In our little book, are you telling me that I shouldn't talk about this? Are incentive things telling me that this is enough? I'm always intimate with this.

[62:40]

I'm always close to this. So the image of this practice period that I presented to you early on was a great assembly of bodhisattvas circumambulating the Buddha, doing all kinds of wonderful and difficult practices, joyously walking around, aligning themselves with the Buddha. whose essence is universal love and compassion, all infinite living beings.

[63:45]

Circumambulating the Buddha, circumambulating the teaching of suchness, circumambulating love, not identifying with it and not being separate It's a massive fire, a thermonuclear fireball. If you touch it, you'll get burned. Many scandals lately in America of religious leaders are about people who touched it, who identified Each one of these stories are these guys, these gals, they identify with the fireball.

[65:00]

And you identify with the fireball, what happens to you? You turn into a fireball. Have a fireball. I can do what I want. I'm a fireball, so I should be able to play cop and robber on the street, chase a few robbers. Why not? I'm a fireball, so I have AIDS, but so what? I'm a fireball, so I can have affairs with my students. I'm a fireball. So I can do anything I want. I can drink, because I'm a fireball, because I'm one with it. I'm the Buddha. I'm universal compassion. Anything I do will be perfect. Watch. See, that was great, wasn't it? Yes, sir. So all these scandals are of these people, these spiritual leaders who got too close and they identified with the true self. But if you turn away from it and you're separate from it, that's a cold hell.

[66:03]

So what we do is we walk around it. We walk around it and walk around it until we're really intimate with it. And as we get closer, before we identify with it, which we'd never want to do, before we really have the proper intimacy with it, the last closeness, some problems may occur. And those problems may take 20, 30 years to iron out with your teacher. But it's also simply ironing it out with yourself. It's also simply being willing to be content with just settling with you and being yourself. It's not just with another person. Having a relationship with another person is a way to get the thing you're doing inside outside so you can see it better. But really it's just an external model of what you have to do inside.

[67:09]

Inside you're walking around the Buddha. But inside you can't see the false. so easily about how you are relating to the Buddha. Inside, you go up and you grab Buddha and you say, I gotcha. But Buddha doesn't say anything inside. Buddha says ... But if you grab Buddha outside, Buddha will say, I feel you're kind of closing in a little too tight on me here. Back off. Inside, if you say, that ain't me, Buddha will just sit there. But if you say it outside, he gives a response. So the relationship with a teacher is to just get it outside so you can get some feedback on it from another person. So you can see it more clearly. So you can see that turning away from it or touching it, neither one are right. Liking it or disliking it are extra. But it's the same thing that's going on inside.

[68:18]

The way you relate to your own Buddha nature, you will relate to your teacher the same way. The faults in the way you relate to your Buddha nature will be projected out. When you have a perfect relationship inside, when there's no coughing or sighing in the mind, when the mind is just like a wall, your relationship with your teacher will be just like a wall. All bonds of deemings will drop away. All demons will drop away. fighting demons, lecherous demons, they'll all drop away and they'll just be the relationship. Just like they'll just be inside, just the relationship. But this final attunement, if there's a hair of threat deviation, you're dealing with a cosmic fireball.

[69:23]

As far as this deviation, something like that is a big deal. A lot of energy there. So we have to be patient to settle with this. It takes a long time. And all these practices we do are to help us in this work of settling with our Buddha nature. easy to lose a lot of energy or gain a lot of energy around this stuff. And there's one word, you know, which I wrote down and read in big letters at the beginning of the practice period, and I again and again wrote it down and said, talk about it today, talk about it today, and it always seems to be kind of like, Now I don't like to reach up on a shelf and bring something and give it to you.

[70:26]

I don't like that. You understand what I mean? I don't like to sort of like come in and say, I have this in mind and this is what I had in mind before I came in here, so now you're going to get it. I like to wait for it to come up. Even if I think about something beforehand, I wait for it to come up as I'm talking to you. There's one thing which I wanted to tell you from the very beginning. I never could figure out a way to un-artificially bring it up, and I still can't, except that it's one of my last chances, so I'm going to bring it up. I wrote it in red ink here. You don't have to read it, I'll read it to you. That's what I'm here for. It's a Japanese word, it's kudasai masenka. Kudasai Masenka. Kudasai means please. Like, please give it to me. Please do this or something. Like, please stand up.

[71:31]

Tatte kudasai. Please pass me the salt. Gomashio o kudasai. It means please give me the gomashio. Kudasai Masenka is a little bit different. Ma Senka, Ma Senka means ... it's a question mark after the ... the Ka is a question mark. So it's not just ... you can't do this in Japanese, you can't just say Kudasai Ka or Kudasai Ma Ka, but anyway, if you could say it, you can do it in some cases, but it would be kind of like saying Instead of saying, please give it to me, it's kind of like, please give it to me, question mark? Or could you please give this to me? Okay? That's the ka. So you have kutisai, which is please, and then the ka means, could you please? And the sen, the ma-sen part, means not.

[72:34]

In other words, you're saying, please, but maybe you don't want to. Maybe you don't want to. Gee, I don't know what to do exactly because I want you to and I'm not sure you want to so maybe probably you don't want to. And it makes the word longer too, by the way. It makes the interaction longer. It is more polite. When I was learning Japanese, I've told you some stories about this. He voluntarily assisted me in Japanese lessons. He'd say, how's your Japanese going? I'd tell him. And he would teach me more. Which always amazed me that the Zen master would spend his time teaching this kid Japanese. Thought he had better things to do. But I guess he was willing to keep plowing the dirt, you know.

[73:39]

And whenever I said a sentence and I said, kudasai, he would always say, kudasai masen ka? He'd always want me to say the more polite and questioning mode. So that's the word. It's the word that I want to tell you to begin the practice period, which is a very polite And it's a word about intimacy. It's a word which says you're reaching out and asking for something, but you're really thinking about what's over on the other side. You're not turning away and you're not touching. You're in this dynamic with this other person, with this other being. There's a real politeness there. And another quality of sotosan, I think, is sotosan is very polite, really letting people be where they're at.

[74:51]

And you want to interact with them, but they're so good with the way they are, you want to be very careful with the situation. You don't want to be careful, like avoid it and get away from it. You want to come up close. But, and then things get complicated. I just thought your true Buddha heart Oh could assign my sinker

[76:06]

and shall be presented every day and place, with the true merit of the Buddha's way. Shakyamuni, say Ando. Mokshambhujin, say Ando. OM OM NGUR YOD DE SE GANGAKU PUTSU DROD PUTSU DROD SE GANGAKU These are the risks I have to endure with them. Diligence are intestinal. I have to endure with them. Thou art the strongest, I am the weakest.

[77:23]

Thou art unsurpassable, I am the greatest.

[77:31]

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