May I say again that the practice of the Buddhas has been sometimes presented as having three aspects. Ethical discipline, shila, concentration practice, dhyana or samadhi, and wisdom practice, pranayama. And I mentioned that later in the tradition it came to be understood that these three include each other. And in particular, the concentration practice of our family is not just concentration practice, It's not just tranquility practice.

[01:04]

It's united with wisdom and ethical discipline. If we follow our breathing or count our breath or just sit and give up discursive thought, that concentration practice in our family includes wisdom and ethics. Now I'd like to suggest that the ethics practice of our tradition, of our family, includes the other two. That ethics in the Bodhisattva precepts as we understand them includes wisdom and concentration. So I propose that wholehearted sitting

[02:20]

is a way to understand what the precepts are, what ethical discipline is. In wholehearted sitting we realize what ethical discipline really is. And ethical discipline is a way to understand what wholehearted sitting is. So wholehearted sitting is the bodhisattva precept of not killing. Wholehearted sitting is the bodhisattva precept of not stealing. Wholehearted sitting is the bodhisattva precept of not misusing sexuality. Wholehearted sitting is not lying. Wholehearted sitting is not using intoxicants and so on.

[03:28]

Those precepts teach us what wholehearted sitting is. And the students of particularly Koen Eijo, the students of Dogen, put together a set of teachings on the precepts that they understood from their teacher, Ehe Dogen. And this essay or this collection of teachings is called Essay on Teaching and Conferring the Precepts. And in there, each precept has a little comment. And I feel that these comments on each of these precepts helps us understand what it is to just wholeheartedly sit.

[04:42]

Very simple and all-inclusive wholehearted sitting. just using this body and mind. Fully. And again, I guess I ask, in this body and mind, is there the aspiration to realize Buddhahood for the welfare of all beings? To realize Buddhahood in order to fully, to most fully protect and liberate all beings. Is there an aspiration for that great realization of Buddhahood?

[05:50]

And then I also am suggesting that this term, grandmother mind, which Dogen used, is an aspect of consciousness, or can be an aspect of our consciousness, which helps us remember how to take care of this great aspiration and it helps us remember that this body and mind can be no other than the Buddha way and the Buddha way can be no other than our present practice. If my present practice has shortcomings.

[06:52]

If my present practice is immature, grandmother mind believes and understands that this immature practice is the one that I have to offer to the Buddha way. And that the Buddha way is none other than my current practice, which might be immature. So the first teaching, the first precept teaching of the ten major teachings for wholehearted sitting is the precept of not killing. And the comment is, life is not to kill.

[07:55]

Let the Buddha seed grow and succeed to the wisdom of the Buddha's to the wisdom of not taking life. Life is not killed. I hear that as instructions about how to wholeheartedly sit. When we hear Life is not to kill. A thought may arise, for example, but in my life, I have killed. For people who think that they have killed, this is a teaching which is saying, your true life is not to kill.

[09:06]

your wholehearted sitting is not to kill. Always remember that your life is not to kill. That life is not to kill. Not even your life. Life, true life is not to kill. When sitting, true life is not to kill. remembering that, taking care of that teaching, allows the Buddha seed to grow, allows Buddhahood to grow in this world, allows the best thing our life can be for all life to grow if we sit that way. Life is not to kill. Let the Buddha seed grow. Succeed to the Buddha's wisdom of not taking life.

[10:25]

Life is not killed. True life is not killed. Precept. Bodhisattva precept. of not stealing. The family comment is, in the suchness of mind and objects, the doors of liberation open. In the suchness of conscious mind which has objects. The doors of liberation open.

[11:27]

Our conscious mind has objects. Our conscious mind has a subject. They deceptively appear to be separate. that's not the suchness of them, by applying all types of compassion, all three types of compassion that we talked about to mind and its objects, by opening up the conscious mind and being compassionate with the intense, dynamic life of our conscious mind, suchness appears, is revealed, and the doors of liberation open. When we sit, our conscious mind has objects. All the objects are calling for compassion.

[12:32]

sitting and allowing compassion to come to all the objects of thought while we're sitting. When we're sitting, our conscious mind has a subject. Again, being compassionate to the subject. Every moment, be compassionate to mind and objects. Allow and welcome compassion from mind and objects, moment by moment. This is again how to sit. How to sit with a conscious mind, an unconscious mind, and let the wisdom mind open. As you may have noticed, Sometimes people report what's going on in consciousness to a friend, a bodhisattva friend.

[13:49]

And maybe they even ask what to do about what's appearing there. And the friend might say, what you're talking about is calling for compassion. And then the person says, yeah, but. Yeah, but this is such a terrible thing. Everything that appears in consciousness is calling for compassion. It's not calling for cruelty. It's not calling for killing. It's not calling for elimination. It's calling to be listened to and observed with compassion. Even though it says, I'm here to kill you. I hate you. I'm going to eat your life up. or I'm going to kill somebody else, some other precious, vulnerable being.

[14:56]

I don't want your compassion. I just want to cause harm. This is something that appears in our mind, calling for compassion. in taking care of our conscious mind in this way. The suchness of mind and object is realized in the doors of liberation open. This is another instruction in wholehearted sitting. Wholehearted sitting. In wholehearted sitting there is compassion for everything that appears in consciousness. there is also wholehearted compassion for the invisible, unreachable, unconscious cognitive process. Best wishes, unconscious. Precept of not misusing sexuality.

[16:03]

Because the three wheels are pure, nothing is wished for. All Buddhas are on the same path. Free wheels are giver, receiver, and gift. Because they're pure, or you could say when they're pure, nothing is wished for. This is another way of understanding wholehearted sitting. Wholehearted sitting is wholehearted sitting. It doesn't wish for anything. It's wishless. It is the sitting of one who wishes for the welfare of all beings.

[17:14]

And the sitting does not wish. In the wishless sitting, the wish for the welfare of all beings is realized. precept of not misusing sexuality is the precept of giving. And giving that is purified of me being the giver, me being the receiver, me being the gift. It's all three working together without abiding in any of them. This is all three wheels are pure. In here, we're on the same path as all Buddhas, not misusing sexuality.

[18:26]

For and in all Buddhas, the three wheels are pure. all day long, all night long. If we notice any impurity in the three wheels, that's a time to remember the previous precept, which is about taking what's not given, which is about taking. not about receiving, receiver and gift being pure, but about taking, maybe me taking. So the third precept also comments on the second precept of not stealing and shows us in the suchness of mind and objects, giver and receiver and gift are pure. And this is the path all Buddhas are on, this same path.

[19:38]

They're on the same path as not misusing sexuality. There is sexuality. It has a function. It's part of what makes human Buddhas. It's not bad. It's an opportunity. to practice the three wheels pure. And again, if we notice some shield coming there, look at the previous precept, but also practice confession and repentance. Oh, I'm stuck. I'm stuck here in this. These three wheels are stuck. I confess and repent stuck wheels. I'm abiding in being a receiver. I'm abiding in being a giver. I'm stuck there. I'm sorry.

[20:40]

I veered off from three wheels being pure. I got distracted. I'm sorry. Now I go back to practice the bodhisattva precept of great compassion, not misusing sexuality. With all Buddhas, This is wholehearted sitting. In the past eons of Zen Center, quite a few particularly young men and middle-aged men, used to tell me that they spent their periods of sitting thinking about sex. At that time I hadn't yet heard the teaching of our school on that precept.

[21:48]

I'm sorry I couldn't help them with this teaching. Looking back, I think it would have been helpful for them to think about the three wheels are pure. Because they were kind of into one of the wheels, the wheels of getting something. Or perhaps giving something without receiving anything. Or receiving something without giving something. This teaching was not, I didn't know about it, I couldn't help them with the teaching. However, I still could, yeah, I still could be friendly to them and sympathize with how painful it was to spend many hours in this zendo thinking about sex. Partly, in some cases, to keep awake. As I mentioned earlier, I've been having a little difficulty

[22:57]

being awake, particularly for the first two periods. And I have not been, I just thought just now, I realized I could have been, I could have been thinking about sex to wake myself up. But I don't think I'm going to, but now I realize that, you know, maybe if worse comes to worse, is that how it goes? If I'm really going to fall off my seat, maybe it would be helpful. I don't know. But maybe I could think about sex as the three wheels are pure, but that might not wake me up. That might be just like, oh, how it lies. That might be more like a lullaby. precept of not lying.

[24:00]

The dharma wheel has all inclusively turned. In wholehearted sitting, the dharma wheel has wholeheartedly turned. In wholehearted sitting, the dharma wheel is wholeheartedly turned. Without moving, the whole dharma wheel has wholeheartedly turned. There is no excess in wholehearted sitting. There is no deficiency. This is the precept of not lying. With one complete moistening of sweet dew, not with, one complete moistening of sweet dew bears fruit as actuality and truth.

[25:03]

Wholehearted sitting is one complete moistening of sweet dew. And again, one complete moistening of sweet dew bears actuality as truth, bears fruit as actuality and truth. And maybe one more today. Bodhisattva precept of great compassion not using intoxicants. Where nothing can be brought in, that is where everything is inviolable. Inviolable means imperturbable, indestructible.

[26:17]

Each thing where nothing can be brought in is revealed as indestructible. For its whole life of a moment, it cannot be destroyed. Where nothing is brought in, that is revealed. That everything is undisturbable, inviolable, unbreakable. That is precisely the great radiance. These are ancient comments from our family ancestors about wholehearted sitting. When something can be brought in, really things are still inviolable, but bringing things in, we distract ourselves from that.

[27:38]

Forgetting grandmother mind, we bring things in. Forgetting that whatever this is, the Buddha way can be no other than it. We forget that and bring something in And then it seems like, you know, we don't see the great radiance of whatever it is. So this precept is pointing. I don't hear it saying don't. I hear it saying not. Not bringing anything in. This is precisely the great radiance. So those are the first five precepts of great compassion of the bodhisattvas.

[28:43]

These are not about our personal purity. They are about wholehearted sitting, which is practiced as great compassion. We might get purified. We might become, you know, virtuous. That's okay. That's not the point of it. The point is to practice compassion through these precepts, to practice compassion through this sitting. And if there's any virtue, the three wheels are pure. Give or receive and gift with all virtue that might come. Virtue is not prohibited. I don't know if anybody wants to make an offering, but just in case, could Shugyo and Shindo please move your seats over that way a little bit so you're not so close to the speaker?

[29:59]

If there is a speaker, Good morning.

[31:14]

Good morning. I remember a practice story you once shared about Tassajara working on a pipe with a Dharma friend and maybe bypassing the full or the wholehearted effort and then getting a hit later and then going back. Is that the... teaching you're speaking about in motion? Like, is that embodied? Yeah. I think that's a story. You know, we were fixing water pipes, but I think we weren't practicing wholehearted sitting. And also, if we look at those precepts, I think maybe we find some of those precepts were not being taken care of the way we were taking care of it, the way we were repairing it. we had many, there were many breaks in the pipe, and so we fixed one of the breaks.

[32:20]

But we were thinking of the next break to fix, and so we felt like we don't have much time to fix this one. So we did it incompletely. And, yeah. But somehow, when we moved on to the next pipe, we realized that that's not what we're atasara for. We're not here to fix the pipes. We're here to fix the pipes as an opportunity to fix them wholeheartedly. And maybe we'll not even finish fixing one, but we may half finish fixing one wholeheartedly. And that is where the Buddhas live. Buddhas don't necessarily successfully finish fixing even one broken pipe. But they do sometimes get assigned to pipe fixing. And then before they finish fixing even one break, they have fully realized the Buddha way.

[33:30]

Then maybe somebody comes and says, actually, go work someplace else now. They never finish. But they realize the way in the half-finished pipe. We finished and moved on before we actually wholeheartedly practiced it. But somehow we realized that that wasn't what we wanted to do. So we went back and did it again. So that was a great moment in our lives. And it was a great moment in the history of Tassajara that two young people had such an experience. Can I mention one more thing? Did you finish the last thing? I did my best. Does wholeheartedness inherently carry some warmth in your experience? It doesn't carry anything.

[34:34]

But it's filled. It's filled with great compassion. It's filled with great warmth, but it doesn't carry it. Occasionally, the practice opportunity language is a little overwhelming for me. The world becomes a little cold. I've got all these opportunities here, all these things to miss or get, but The letting go of everything might sound cold. But the real letting go is only possible with great compassion. Is there a synonym for opportunity for this book? Well, you know, the Chinese character that often we translate as opportunity is the one in my name. So it means opportunity. It means function. It means working. So it's, yeah, this is a great working.

[35:39]

This is a great function. This is a great opportunity. Or also activity. This is a great activity. So in sitting still there's a great activity. And the fullness of that activity doesn't hold anything. And to realize that we need to practice compassion, and it's full of compassion. If we're just concerned for our own welfare, or even for some people, we don't open to the fullness of the activity of the Buddhas. And if we hold on to anything, that holding on closes the door somewhat to the fullness of the activity. And if we take care of those things, even a little bit that, I mean, for... Yeah, and then those can be cared for wholeheartedly. And in caring for our resistance to wholeheartedness, we can discover wholeheartedness in the midst of our resistance to wholeheartedness.

[36:53]

In caring for feeling overwhelmed, Caring for that. Let me try to do that now. I don't know if I'll get any more. All right. You can come up this way, I think. It's a little shorter distance. You can bow any way you want. I think you can just tilt it down. That's good. I'm a little nervous about touching this because of Julian. Good morning. Good morning. I just wanted to share a little story and then hear your thoughts about it. So I used to work on this large-scale organic beef farm near the Adirondacks in upstate New York.

[37:57]

And there are about 90 cows there. And there was one cow that had a lame foot. So it was in a lot of pain. And my coworkers decided to shoot it. And I just want to know your thoughts in terms of relation with the first precept about not killing. In this case, is it not compassionate to kill the cow? No. Well, again, we have three types of compassion. One is wanting to free a being of suffering and taking the being per se as what we think they are. But we do think the being's like this and we do want to free them from suffering like that. So that can be one type of compassion.

[39:01]

I don't know if they had that type. Maybe they did. Another type of compassion is to bring in the teachings in relationship to your feeling of wanting to protect and liberate this being from suffering. you know, question your understanding. Have a conversation with other people who are trying to understand life and death, who are trying to understand compassion. Bring in the possibility that I'm ignorant about what this cow is and of what compassion is and who I am. Bringing that in. That's the second type of compassion in short. In both these first two types, I'm still sort of in the realm of seeing the suffering as an object.

[40:04]

The first type liberates us from the problems. The second type, the first type has problems. So even if people would shoot a cow because they want to protect the cow from suffering, and maybe even liberate the cow. With that understanding, that way has defects. It's a defective form of compassion. Even though it is called compassion, it's defective. And that type of compassion is not, you know, it's not sustainable. And it's not liberating. Even though it's somewhat beneficial, maybe. The second type freezes from the first type. but it still has objects. And having objects in the first two types drains us. We don't yet understand the suchness of mind and objects so we can take a life. The third type freezes from the first two types. It doesn't get rid of them. It just embraces them and liberates them.

[41:10]

And that would be to be intimate with the cow. And in that story that you told, I don't know if anybody in that situation realized great compassion. In other words, intimacy with the suffering of the cow. You saw something that looked like suffering. You cared. They cared. They wanted to protect the being from that pain. But did they actually become intimate? That would be the question. The third type is the type that really liberates the being. That's what liberates the cow and even perhaps someone who's shooting it. But in that story, I guess we'd have to look carefully and have a dialogue with everybody to see if people had reached great compassion with the cow. The Bodhisattva's compassion includes all three because

[42:12]

One of the things that great compassion embraces is people's attempt to be compassionate. It also embraces people's attempt to be cruel. But the intimacy with compassionate practitioners who have not yet realized great compassion and intimacy with those who are not even trying to be compassionate, that's what liberates beings. Beings who aren't even trying to be compassionate can be liberated with great compassion. So the real compassion is the kind that it doesn't have objects. The other types are kind of warm-ups, which are somewhat beneficial, partly because they're warm-ups, but also they can help somewhat in the meantime. So in the story we'd have to go back and do a lot of research to find out what kind of compassions were operating in that case. I had a case where I witnessed somebody kill a deer who had died here on this property with a compound fracture, and the person wanted to free the deer from pain.

[43:20]

And I was supporting him to do that, but I really felt like we just increased the deer's pain before he died, or before she died. I felt like it was trying to be kind but really causing a lot of harm. I didn't feel like we taught the deer how to be intimate with its suffering and be free. And that would be a lot more work. That would be like move in with the deer or move in with the cow. You know, like live with the cow. until you realized intimacy and until the cow realized intimacy and winked at you and said, would you please cut my foot off or kill me? I'd like, you know, bodhisattva assisted suicide. But they didn't have time to do that probably. Maybe they did, I don't know. It's hard for me to judge.

[44:22]

They just wanted the beef. Yeah. So, you know, in my case, that's what I want to do with suffering beings, is I want to become intimate with them, because that's what I really believe liberates us. And these other ways are approaches to understanding great compassion, objectless compassion. To notice, I still think it's an object. Okay. And then again, study that and be kind to that. You're welcome. Thank you, kitchen, for making lunch. May the three wheels be pure in the kitchen.

[45:27]

Yes. I feel like I'm sitting over here with stuffed ears. You should be wearing your mask. Anyway, I'll talk. Can you hear me better now? Can you hear me better? No? No? You're having trouble hearing me? It's like words get dropped. Words get dropped? Yeah. Well, it's partly you. Are my words getting dropped? And you think if the microphone was farther away from me? Has this been the case for the whole talk or just since the microphone was put there? Oops.

[46:35]

When you were giving the talk, you were clearer to me. And when people started coming up... My voice became less clear? You engaged in conversation and it was less clear. I also request everybody that comes up to be as clear and loud as you can. Okay. So, can you hear me clearly now, Sola? Yes, I can hear you very clearly. All right. Yes, Anne and Tracy? I really appreciate the precepts that the ancestors have dialogued about that you're sharing.

[47:44]

It's so loving that they... they know the path is narrow or something and they just feed, they give the feedback of like, this is on, this is off. And assuming everybody's on and off, it's very powerful, the literature in the Zen world. I'm just always dazzled. Excuse me, could you hear her well? Could you hear me? Maybe back away a little bit. I talk kind of loud. That's good. How's that? And the other thing I found... Too loud? No, I agree with you about how the teachings, how they guide us onto the narrow tightrope of Buddha Way. And the, what's the word, the request or to ask us to practice enlightenment for me is so relieving because I can practice anything.

[48:54]

I just, I don't know whether I'll achieve it, but I definitely can practice and I actually like to practice. So that too has really buoyed me up And I'm going to tell you a little short story about how I fell off and I need help. I was practicing enlightenment on my cushion. And I heard voices from some people in Minnesota. And they said, well, we don't want you to enlighten us. you are ... you have implicit bias and you are a phantom." And it was like a knife. And I ... because I perceived it as being other than my own mind. And I reacted ... Can I ask a question? Yeah. Did you remember compassion for these voices?

[50:00]

No, what I did was I didn't want to go into ill will. I was like, I knew that was a trap. So did you say you did forget to practice compassion with the voices? Did you forget? I said I didn't want to go into ill will, so I said, well, then I'd like you to awaken. I will support you in you awakening. That's very good. So I did that. Yeah, yeah. But I felt slayed. I guess I wasn't completely wholehearted. Maybe not, but that was a good start. For all the people who don't want you to practice awakening, wish them that they would. That they would awaken. Yeah. Wish that for them. And then if you look and you notice that wasn't really wholehearted, you know, Well, it probably wasn't, or it would have had a better effect. I guess I thought it was wholehearted. I don't know about that part. It's very hard to see the effect. So again, we were fixing the pipe.

[51:03]

We noticed it wasn't wholehearted. We went back and tried it again. But I didn't really necessarily feel like we could tell by the effect, but we could tell that we went back and tried to do it more wholeheartedly. Right. So I think what you're trying to do there is definitely fixing a pipe of wishing, of practicing compassion. And when people seem to tell you that they don't want you to do it, that you wish that for them. And then if you notice it's not wholehearted, try again. Do I need any grandma for myself in that moment to go, or it's just better to wish them wholeheartedly love? Well, I think when you, when somebody tells me that they don't want me to practice awakening, and I remember, and then I wish them to practice awakening, grandmother has arrived. Oh, okay. Okay, so I'll just work on doing it better. Grandmother's always nearby.

[52:07]

Yeah, Tracy... And Vanessa, could you hear that? Great. You're welcome. Please tell us if you're having trouble hearing because we do want you to hear if you want to. Yes. Welcome. Thank you. Okay. Two things for clarification, please. Yesterday you emphasized practice awakening, practice realization, and I realize I don't know what is that. Well, it's like when I'm talking to you right now, I'm practicing talking to you about Dharma. That's my practice right now. And this is also the awakening right now.

[53:11]

Awakening is this conversation. That's practice awakening. So is practice a verb? Is that a verb or an adjective? Are you describing the awakening or is it the thing you're doing, the practice part? I think it's a verb. So we're practicing enlightenment, practicing awakening. That's what you were talking about. We're practicing awakening and also our practice is awakening. Because if, you know, it's okay to say practicing awakening, but that could be, have a little bit of separation in it. I'm practicing to awaken rather than this is practice awakening. This is practice which is awakening. There's not the slightest separation there. So we're trying to use words, so maybe Can we say it in such a way that we can know?

[54:16]

Is there a slightest discrepancy between practice, between our conversation right now is our practice? This is our practice. This is our Dharma discussion. And do we think that there's an awakening or a Buddha way that's other than this conversation? If we do, there's the discrepancy. So I want to practice Dharma discussion as awakening. Okay. That's helpful. Thank you. And then you were also emphasizing and said you were going to, for a long time, the immediate, direct realization. Right? So I was sitting this morning and I was... I was trying to see what does that mean on a moment to moment basis. So I was sitting and so then I noticed my thoughts and I let them go.

[55:21]

But it was like, what's the practical application to us knowing there's something called immediate direct realization as we're practicing zazen? What do you do with that information? Like I was sitting there, like I was hoping for it or, no, that's working. I just didn't know what to do. So you're sitting there. Yeah. This body and mind is sitting. Yeah. And right here, sitting, settle down into awakening as this sitting, as nothing other than the sitting you're doing. So it wouldn't be a thought I have about it or an assessment I have about it at the moment? Well, it could be. If there's a thought, then this is a body-mind thought.

[56:24]

And just right in that body-mind thought, settle into awakening through nothing but that body-mind thought. That's what it would be. Now, I'm saying that to you But it's not the same as when you have the thought, settle into the Buddha way, which is nothing other than that thought. This is instruction for you to do that with whatever thought you have. Okay, thank you. That's immediate realization of the way. And to have something else that's going to be used to have a realization in the way, that's not immediate. That's not right now, right here, with this body and mind.

[57:28]

Thank you. You're welcome. I have one more thing I'd like to offer. You were talking about listening. Can you, were you able to hear that? Good. Good. Yes? Yes. You were talking about listening. And I wanted to share that two days after 9-11, I was in Berkeley, and Thich Nhat Hanh came to the Berkeley high school. So it was like, I think 9-11 might have been on a Tuesday. This was like Thursday night. And there's about 3,000 people listening to him. And what he said about 9-11, so moving, I still remember. You know, nobody knew what it was. It was like, are we under attack? Is the world coming to an end? The terror? He had one message. He said, the people who did that bombing haven't been listened to.

[58:29]

what caused that was a lack of deep listening. And it was such an unexpected message and so profound, and I just wanted to offer that. Thank you. You're welcome. I heard this young Russian woman talking about this current tension over Russia and Ukraine. she said, I think the problem is we don't understand each other. Yes, Maya In the precept of not lying, one complete moistening of sweet dew.

[59:45]

Could you say something about that? The Dharma wheel has all inclusively turned. All inclusively turned. there is no excess, there is no deficiency. Therein, I receive the anointment of sweet dew. And that, right therein, the mark is directly hit. And therein, that bears fruit as speaking the truth. Is sweet dew the fruit of the universe? Is it the fruit of the universe? I mean, like, where does it come from?

[60:47]

It is the fruit of the universe, yes. And it comes from the universe, yes. And it enlightens us, yes. But we need to be in the space of no excess and no deficiency in order to receive it. And when we receive the universe, that bears fruit as truth. I also would like to ask something about something you said yesterday. You were talking about the difference of Hangzhi and Dogen Zenji and discussing the pearl rolling in the bowl. And I think you said Dogen Zenji would give the pearl a little nudge, something like that.

[61:53]

What is that nudge? It's like playing with the pearl. Not to get it to roll, because it's already rolling, but just something playful. Like, good morning, pearl. How's it rolling? How's the rolling today? But as a generous, respectful, and so on. Playful gesture. And that's the way of, that's part of what wholehearted sitting is, is to look at the pearl rolling in the bowl and then play with it.

[63:04]

Hongzhi says, just clearly observe it. You don't have to play with it. I think Dogen is saying, play with it a little bit. And he also said that part of talking to a teacher is to learn how to let your mind play. So you got this conscious mind, which is devoted in sitting to observing genjo koan, which is the pearl rolling in the bowl. And in this contemplation, there's kind of like a right and left hand that can play with it a little bit. Not to get anything, but just a spontaneous gesture of play and creativity. So Dogen's saying, a little prodding, and Hongjo is saying, just observe. Slightly different, because this isn't like, you're not trying to change the way it's rolling, not trying to get anything from it.

[64:06]

You're just kind of like enacting, you know, enacting and maybe even testing, testing whether you can interact in an ungaining way. Like you just happen to have a question. May I ask a question, Pearl? Hey, Pearl, can I ask a question? That may be enough. Pearl may say yes, and you weren't trying to get anything. You just had a feeling like, I got a gift here to contribute here. That seems like a little bit more Dogen, what he was talking about. And Hungry is just saying, without prodding. What is that? Even without prodding could be a playful thing. So it's like making an offering to the universe? Making an offering to the universe, which is a pearl rolling in a bowl all day long. Maybe that's what Dogen's pointing to. So when we're sitting the pearl is rolling in the bowl right in front of us.

[65:28]

Sun-faced Buddha, moon-faced Buddha is right in front of us offering itself for us to watch it with compassion and listen to it with compassion and enjoy this wonderful rolling of practice in light.

[65:58]

@Transcribed_v005
@Text_v005
@Score_89.64