Last night and this morning we observed the annual ceremony of Buddha's Pali Nirvana. And there was a Dharma statement made this morning which said that those who say, I enter into nirvana, are not my disciples.

[01:08]

Those who say, I do not enter into nirvana, are also not my successors. It's not quite right to say that Buddha really entered into peaceful extinction. It's also not quite true to say that this didn't happen. In the dedication this morning, we heard that the Dharma body of the Buddha can live in duality.

[02:21]

With the Dharma body, there is no coming and going, or it fills all things. This could be called Right View. or the wisdom of emptiness. But in the Buddha way, this wisdom is chock-full of compassion. So, compassion for all living beings is emptiness. whose essence is skillful compassion, manifests a person in the world, to meet people in the world, a person called Buddha.

[03:26]

To have right view without this skillful appearance the bondage of a bodhisattva. On the other hand, to have this skillful appearance of a Buddha without understanding and not coming and going is also the bondage of a bodhisattva. Integrity, right view and compassion. Later in the dedication, with confusion cleared, the form of Buddha appears. When confusion appears, the form of Buddha appears. In other words, the form of not coming and not going.

[04:42]

The form of not being born and not dying. form of no grasping and no seeking it appears and confusion clears. And when there is no grasping seeking confusion clears and the form appears. Medicine is to live world with no grasping and seeking. To engage in the world wholeheartedly with no grasping and seeking. Especially not grasping wholeheartedness. In the Bodhisattva Sutra, as I mentioned to you before, the Buddha said that some people are hard to teach.

[06:35]

They think so the eternal, all-pervading Buddha doesn't seem to convert them. The Buddha shows Nirvana blissful, eternal, peaceful freedom. This attracts such beings to actual practice. But, then he says, there is actually no real joyful, eternal Nirvana.

[07:40]

But this morning we said how grateful we are for this joyful, eternal Nirvana. The eternal joy of Nirvana has blessed all beings until the present moment. This unreal thing, this unreal eternal joy of nirvana has blessed all beings to the present moment. It has blessed beings by attracting those who would not be attracted by the real Buddha, the nirvanic Buddha. This attracts them. So now we have to practice because Buddha was willing to appear and seem to disappear and later in the Lotus Sutra

[08:57]

Buddha says, thus since I attained Buddhahood, an extremely long period of time has passed. My lifespan is an immeasurable number of uncountable eons. And during that time, I have constantly aided here. I have constantly abided here without entering extinction. With people originally I practiced the Bodhisattva way, the lifespan that I acquired then has yet to come to an end. However, although in fact I do not actually enter extinction, I announce that I am going to adopt the course of extinction.

[10:10]

This is an expedient means which the Thus Come One uses to teach and communicate. What is the reason for me doing this? Because if the Buddha remains in the world for a long time, those persons with shallow virtue will fail to practice If the Buddha appears to remain for a long time, if the, not the eternal Buddha is always here, but if Buddha manifests and seems to last a long time, those with shallow virtue will fail to plant good roots.

[11:25]

But living in poverty and loneliness will become attached to the five desires and caught in the net and imagination. If they see that the thus come one is constantly in the world and never enters extinction, they will grow arrogant and selfish or become discouraged and neglectful. Either they will become arrogant and selfish or discouraged and neglectful. These are two responses to the Buddha's standing alongside. They will fail to realize what it is to encounter the Buddha and will not approach her with respectful and reverent minds.

[12:29]

Therefore, as an expedient means, that thus come one says, monk, you should know that it is a rare thing to live at the time when one of the Buddhas appears in the world. How is it? Because persons of shallow virtue may pass innumerable hundreds of thousands of ten thousands of millions of kalpas with some of them and others never seeing one at all. For this reason, I say to them, monks, let us come on, it's hard to get to see. And living beings hear these words to realize how difficult it is to encounter the Buddha. In their minds, they will harbor longing and will thirst to gain upon the Buddha, and then they will work to plant good roots.

[13:35]

Therefore, the thus come one does not enter extinction, speaks of passing into extinction. Good people, the Buddhas, the thus come ones, all preach the law such as this. They act in order to save the So what they do is true and not false. Someone might accuse the Buddha. If it's false, then there's going to be a nirvana around here pretty soon. there's going to be an extinction. When really, the Buddha doesn't really think there's going to be an extinction.

[14:40]

He manifests this delusion of extinction. He eludes this talk of extinction in order to help beings. Suppose, for example, there is a position who's wise and understanding and knows how to compound medicines to effectively cure all kinds of diseases. She has many children, perhaps 10 or even 100. She has so many children, she knows what to do. She goes off to some other land far away to see about a certain affair.

[15:57]

After she leaves, the children drink some poison that makes them distraught with pain, and they fall withering to the ground. At that time, the mother returns and finds that her children have drunk poison. Some are completely out of their minds, while others are not. But they're all sick. See, mother and far off, they are all overjoyed. And kneel down and entreat her, saying, How fine that you have returned safely. Are we for stupid? Mistaken and by mistake drank some poison.

[17:04]

We beg you to cure us and let us live out our precious lives. Mother, seeing her children suffering, follows various prescriptions, gathering fine medicinal herbs that meet all the requirements of color, fragrance, and flavor. She grinds sits and mixes them together, giving a dose of these to her children. She says to them, this is a highly effective medicine, meeting all the requirements of color, flavors, and flavor. Take it, and you will be relieved of your sufferings and will be free of all ailments. Those children who have not completely lost their senses can see that this is a good medicine, outstanding in both color and fragrance.

[18:20]

They take it immediately and are completely cured of their sickness. Those who are out of their minds are equally delighted to see their mother return and beg her to cure their sickness. When they are given the medicine, they choose to take it. How come? Because the poison has penetrated deep into their mind. So they no longer function as before. So although the medicine is of excellent color and fragrance, they do not. May I add, they are confused. So the mother thinks to herself, Hmm, my poor children. Because of the medicines in them, their minds are completely befuddled.

[19:23]

Although they are happy to see me and ask me to cure them, they refuse to take the excellent medicine. I must now resort to some expedient means to induce them to take it. So, she says to them, you should know that I am now old and worn out. And the time of my death has come. I will leave this good medicine here. You should take it and not worry that it will cure you. That it will not cure you. It will. Having given these instructions, she then goes off to another land where she sends a messenger home to announce to her children, your mother is dead. At that time, the children, hearing that their mother has deserted them and died,

[20:39]

with great grief and consternation and think to themselves, if our mother were alive, she would have pity on us and see that we are protected. Now she has abandoned us and died in some other country far away. We are shelterless orphans. We are exiled as born through the death of our mother and no one to rely on. Constantly harboring such feelings of grief, they at last come to their senses and realize that the medicine is in fact excellent in color and fragrance and flavor. And so they take it and are of all effects of poison.

[21:43]

The mother, hearing that her children are all cured, immediately returns home and appears to them all once more. As soon as we take the medicine, Shakyamuni Buddha and all the Buddhas who seem to have left this world So the Buddha appears in the world and gives us the medicine and then has to go away, so we'll take it.

[22:49]

And then the Buddha tells us in the Lotus Sutra, by the way, that was not a real departure. I'm always here. So if the Buddha is always here, some of us won't take the medicine. But if we think the Buddha is really not here, that's not taking the medicine. So then the Buddha tells us that I'm not really God, in order to help us take the medicine. But some of us won't take the medicine then. For example, One day, the Zen master, Bao Chi, was fanning himself. And a monk who said, that the Buddha is all here.

[24:02]

And the Buddha is not only all here, but the Buddha is in everything, everywhere. He says, Master, if the nature of wind is permanent and there is no place it doesn't reach, why then do you fan yourself? And Bhakta replied, Although you understand that the nature of wind is permanent. Bhakta replied, You do not understand the meaning of it. Mom said, what is the meaning of it reaching everywhere? And Gaccha just kept fanning himself. What is the fanning that we're doing here?

[25:11]

Hmm? What we're doing here, we do this practice of fanning ourselves. All day long, fanning ourselves. Are you fanning yourself all day long? Somehow we have to make ourselves available to receive the medicine. But here we are, our body's here, where it is, here's the body. Is it available to receive the medicine?

[26:13]

The medicine's coming all the time. The wind, this medicine, this wind, every moment, it's coming and it's reaching every place. Are we receiving it? Are you receiving it right now? The nature of wind is permanent and reaches everywhere. Because of that, the wind, the Buddha's house, brings forth the gold of the earth. Is, is, [...] The wind of the earth bringing forth the gold of the earth is the gold of the earth being brought forth now. And it makes fragrant the cream of the long river.

[27:20]

Another translation would be, you know, It ripens the yogurt. The long river. The long river. The fanny. The body. It's the wind bringing forth the fragrance of this long river. Are you available? Yes, you are. You're placing yourself at the wind's disposal. Your body is exposed to the wind blowing on you now. You're giving your body to the wind so that it can mature.

[28:30]

sit here. We walk here. We recline here. Here we are. We give our presence. We give our body. We give our mind. We give it to be matured by the wind. Moment by moment, we offer our life for this cream of compassion to be cultured. We are not confused. We know we don't have to grasp anything or seek for something other than this. No matter what's happening, we make it available to the wind.

[30:00]

No matter what's happening, no matter what's happening, no matter what's happening, the wind meets it. And in the non-grasping of it, and the non-seeking in it, maturity comes. If we If we miss the chance, we miss the chance, and it may be necessary for Buddha to leave the world again. That's hard to come by. Remember, Buddha already did this once, to tell us not to waste any opportunities. This moment is a rare opportunity, and so if this Can you give up being distracted from where the wind is reaching?

[31:25]

Can you give up the way you are be the reaching of the wind. A true form of Buddha appears.

[34:25]

What is confusion? Confusion is everything I see. How does confusion clear? When I stop grasping everything I see and stop, give up, seeking. As long as I'm grasping things, I perpetuate the confusion about things. That I think things are real. Making myself available to the wind means giving up grasping things and seeking any things.

[35:33]

Can I sit? Can I be here? And allow there to be no grasping or seeking. That power of habit there may still be a fairly constant appearance of things. Can there be a renunciation of grasping for them? It is a wind, a breeze, blowing along among the trees of these things, gently reminding us not to grasp the way things appear, gently reminding us

[37:38]

They're reminding us. Don't seek for anything. Don't seek for anything. Not even the greatest thing, the most wonderful thing. Do this so your compassion will not be locked up. Do this to release your compassion. And if this confusion clears, if the grasping and seeking stops and true form appears

[38:55]

Then, practice things which you no longer grasp so that your right view is not in bondage. So round and round. But now, I suggest working on right view, the wisdom of emptiness, Enter it by no grasping or no seeking of anything, of any of the things that are appearing to us now. Consider that the wind The Buddha is reaching you through everything you see and everything you hear.

[40:02]

Every voice is the voice of Buddha, and every face, even a sleeping face, is Buddha's face. An angry face. A distracted face. A confused face. An ungrateful face. A happy face. A grateful face. A vigilant face. A distracted face. Every face you meet. Looking at you. Looking at the ground. Every face. You sing. Buddha. You sing. Don't grasp me as I appear. Don't seek a different face from this one.

[41:21]

I vowed to practice in such a way. I humbly beg you to practice this way too. so that your compassion will be released into this world of suffering, unhindered by confusion and wrath. Please give yourself to the practice.

[42:19]

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