This morning we celebrated the birth of the great teacher, Ehe Dogen, and we chanted the verse section of chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra. I've heard that among the many chapters of the Lotus Sutra chapter 16 because chapter 16 is telling us that the Buddha's are with us right now practicing together with us This was so important to him and not only him, but a number of the teachers in our very big family.

[01:15]

I remembered that the Buddhists are practicing together with each of us all day long and all night long. The way they're practicing together with us is non-thinking. The way they're practicing with us is beyond thinking. the way we are practicing with Buddhas is partly thinking and also non-thinking and not-thinking.

[02:23]

Buddhas practice together with our thinking practice Someone asked me a couple days ago, what kind of effort is appropriate, or what is appropriate? And I said, appropriate has the etymology of apropos, to the point. So appropriate to what? And so what kind of effort would be appropriate to the Buddha mind seal?

[03:31]

The Buddha mind seal is the way the Buddhas practice with all beings. What kind of effort goes with the way Buddhas practice together? What kind of effort is appropriate to realizing the way Buddhas are practicing. The way they are practicing is that they practice together on the same path with all Buddhas and all sentient beings. This point is made over and over again in the concept of bodhisattva precepts. We're on the same path. So what kind of effort?

[04:44]

And I mentioned that I asked Siddharth Gurshe, I think I asked Siddharth Gurshe, what is right effort? Of course, I asked him this more than 50 years ago, because he died more than 50 years ago. And he said to get up when the alarm clock rings with no hesitation. When we get up, if we do get up, when the alarm clock rings, all the Buddhas are practicing together with us when we get up.

[05:50]

The Buddha Mind Seal is there when the alarm clock rings. It's also present before the alarm clock rings. When we're asleep, Buddhas are practicing together with us. When I was a child, I heard, and maybe I even said, now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Now I lay me down to sleep. pray the Buddha sleeps with me. This is not asking Buddha to do any extra work, because that is the Buddha's work, is to practice with us when we're awake or asleep.

[07:01]

This relationship is a bright pearl. luminous of itself, in itself. And this pearl rolls in a bowl. I've heard. The Zen master is A bowl rolling of itself. A Zen master is a person, maybe, who's practicing and celebrating that the Buddhas are practicing with her. What's her effort? Her effort is her effort.

[08:08]

When she gets up, that's her effort. And when she gets up, the Buddhas are with her. That's the Buddha. And Suzuki Roshi said, unhesitatingly, in other words, get with the program. you're getting up. So get up when you get up. Because when you get up, Buddha gets up. And if you hesitate when you get up, you hesitate being with Buddha. I don't know if this really happened, but I think I've heard that maybe it did. One time he was maybe sleeping, and the alarm clock got up and he jumped up so fast he hit his head on a shelf above him.

[09:13]

That was his instruction, get up without hesitation. That's I ask for good right effort, but that's the effort that's appropriate to realizing the Buddha mind seal. In your action of getting up when the alarm clock rings, that action is used as an opportunity. That action is your effort And the Buddha way is right there with you. And you hear that when you get up or forget. Now, he didn't say right effort is when the alarm clock rings, don't get up. But I would say, if the lime crock rings and you don't get up, right effort is to get up with no hesitation.

[10:22]

Because the pearl that's rolling on itself is there for people who stay in bed, too. If you really are celebrating it by staying in bed, congratulations. If you're celebrating it by getting up, congratulations. Now, I also... I don't know the origins of this image, but The teacher Hung-Jer Jung-Jue did bring this image up and it's present in the Book of Serenity, Case 36, on Master Ma's Unwell. So Master Ma is Sun-Faced Buddha, Moon-Faced Buddha. He is the pivoting of Sun-Faced Buddha, Moon-Faced Buddha.

[11:29]

there is the Buddha mind seal. There is the bright pearl. And it's rolling of itself. Of itself, on itself, by itself, to itself, for itself, it's rolling. And I don't know how the Chinese, you know, which preposition to use there, but it's rolling itself, on itself, for itself, and so on. This is the practicing the Buddha Mind Seal through his actions of talking to the director of the monastery. And so that's what it says in the book of Serenity. It just, the bowl rolls of itself. And other places, Hongzhi said, a pearl in a bowl rolls of itself without prodding.

[12:34]

And a slight difference in Dogen, who really appreciated Panjur. There are many, many teachings about how to practice sitting meditation. And the only one Dogen Instruction on sitting meditation that Dogen really appreciated was Hung Juer's teaching on meditation, on sitting meditation. But still he had a slightly different take on this. Pearl in a bowl rolls of itself, Hung Juer, without prodding. Rolls on itself with prodding. So I would like to harmonize these two teachers, one of whom didn't know the other, but the younger one really appreciated the older one, and they had somewhat different ways of dealing with this Buddha mind seal.

[13:50]

They both said that the practice and the realization are not two. Here's the ball rolling. Don't prod it. Dogen sang, prod it. So I really can't say this is what Dogen thought, but this is how I make peace between Dogen and Hongzhiro. Whatever we're doing, what we're doing is being attended and sponsored and embraced by Buddha's practice. Whatever we're doing is in solidarity with great compassion. We cannot get away from it.

[14:52]

This solidarity is a bright pearl, and it turns of itself. However, whatever we're doing is an effort. We are always making an effort. I'm making an effort, and my effort is an intimate relationship with Buddha's effort. And I remember now that my effort is the celebration of the rolling. In that sense, whatever I'm doing prods the pearl. And also, the pearl prods the bull.

[15:55]

And therefore it would be appropriate for me to celebrate everything I do as the pearl rolling in the bowl. Because everything I do is not just everything I do, it's everything I do to Buddha's who are in the world with me and you. And not only am I celebrating my practice with the Buddhas, Buddha Mind Seal, but I'm celebrating everybody's practice with the Buddha Mind Seal. And this is not in addition to what I'm doing. It's just celebrating what I'm doing. It's just doing what I'm doing with no getting ahead or behind so that I don't miss my effort. which can be seen as prodding, prodding, enlivening, celebrating, playing with the Buddha mind seal.

[17:17]

It's not adding anything to it. It's fully embracing it and fully joining it and fully settling into it, but not anything in addition. Fully settling is my thinking, And beyond thinking, intimately, settling into that is nothing in addition to being right here. And yet, I'm celebrating it by being right here without hesitation. I'm polishing the pearl by doing nothing in addition to what I'm doing. Because the pearl is not an addition to what I'm doing. It's being completely with. One day, Yuen Yen was sweeping the ground.

[18:31]

Yuen Yen, Cloud Cliff, Dung Shan's teacher. He was making an effort. Was he doing it unhesitatingly? He was sweeping the ground, they say. That's all they say. His Dharma brother, Da Wu, came by and said, you're too busy. Yun Yan said, you should know that you're too busy. he's making an effort.

[19:34]

And with him, something else is making an effort, but that effort is not sweeping. That effort is the effort of being with him. That effort is not busy. That effort is being with his busyness. Yuen Yuen could have said, you're thinking too much. But he didn't. He said, you're too busy. There's one who's not busy who's here too. And we are intimate. Da Wu said, well, are there two moons? The busy one and the not busy one? Are there two moons? my practice and Buddha's practice? You could say, you're too busy.

[20:42]

And then I say, you should know there's one who is not busy, Buddha, who is with me. Are there two moons? And that was the question. And Yuen Yuen did not say, yes, there are. Or no, there aren't. He just raised his broom and said, which moon is this? Here's my activity. Is this my activity or Buddha's activity? Which one is it? Da Wu walked off. They were very good friends. I don't think they were biological brothers. They were Dharma brothers. Wonderful, intimate friends who were, both of them, making an effort all day long, just like guess who?

[21:57]

All day long they made an effort and all day long the Buddhas were practicing with them. All day long they were busy. And all day long the Buddhas were working hard and not being busy. Because Buddhas aren't doing anything in addition to what we're doing. Because they aren't anything other than what we're doing. They don't have to do any more work than our work. We're the workers. They're the awakened ones. And what are they? Nothing other than our effort. So, Sir Guruji said, make no hesitation. Get with the program. Get up on that pearl and ride it. And when you ride it, your body and mind, or your booty, will polish that pearl. We are effortful beings.

[23:07]

The universe is an effortful orchestra. It's dancing with us. It makes a wonderfully wholehearted effort each moment. And it makes us effortful creatures. We are effort. [...] What's the right effort? Make it unhesitatingly. Be with it. Ride the pearl. Completely there. Which you are anyway. But celebrate that. Celebrate that you are completely there. You are completely here. You are settling into the Buddha way. You can't get away from it. You can't get away from the Buddhas who are practicing with us. So we do make an effort and we're not going to stop making effort.

[24:15]

And making wholehearted effort is more effort than the effort we're making. And as I mentioned before, that piece of calligraphy over Sukhreshi's door said, cloud driver or cloud driver. And then non-thinking. So riding a pearl, riding a cloud. embracing this territory and embracing the road. Which moon is this? Is this the busy one or the unbusy one? When I speak and say, is this the busy one or the unbusy one?

[25:32]

Was that speech busy or was that the unbusy? And when I say it's You can't separate the two. If you've got a busy one, you've got an un-busy one. If you've got an un-busy one, one's with the busy one. The un-busy one's always with the busy one. So Grandmother Mind reminds us to be with that pearl and ride it, to plow through those clouds that we're in anyway.

[26:37]

And then, before I overlook it, I said I would talk about the story of the Zen teacher whose name was Baijong, Baijong Waihai. And he... I think Waihai means having an ocean in his bosom. And Baijiang is the name of the mountain he lived on. He's teaching at this monastery called Baijiang, and whenever he gives a talk, there's in the back, there's somebody in the back. See somebody in the back there now? Who always came to the talks. After coming for many times, when everybody else had left, that person came up to the front and told Bai Zhang that he wasn't a human.

[27:51]

He looked like an old person. But he or they said, I'm not. I'm not a human. I used to be, I used to live on this mountain a long time ago. And there was a congregation here. And I was in a position to do Dharma. And someone asked me if a highly cultivated person, a Daishugyo person, a great practice person if they fell into karmic cause and effect. Literally, it's just cause and effect. The Buddha did teach karma has consequence. Does the person of great practice fall into karmic cause and effect? And I said, no, they don't fall.

[28:58]

born for 500 lifetimes as a fox spirit. So now I ask you, teacher, for a turning word. I ask you to turn a word. So Bhai John took the words of the fox spirit's former time when he was the teacher took the words, not fall, and turned it to not ignore. He changed it to not fall, not ignore. And that turning, that turning of the pearl liberated the fox spirit, or as some stories say, the fox spirit was greatly awakened by the turning by the turning of the pearl.

[30:06]

If we think and believe we don't fall into cause and effect, by that gesture we create the dream world of falling into cause and effect. If we think we don't fall into it, we fall into the dream world. If we think we do fall into it, we fall into the dream world. We fall into the dream world of falling into cause and effect. If we do not think of falling into, we don't fall into either. We do not fall into either. We live in the world of great compassion, which embraces karmic cause and effect.

[31:22]

It intimately practices with karmic cause and effect. In other words, the Buddha intimately practices with karmic effects, the Buddha does not get into or falling. If there were any not falling, the Buddha would practice intimately with that. If there were falling, the Buddha would practice intimately with that. This is not ignoring thinking, and the consequences of thinking. Again, the story could have been said somewhat differently. The ancient monk could have been asked, does the highly cultivated person fall into thinking? And they would have said, no, they don't fall into thinking.

[32:26]

Change it from, turn the word from not fall into thinking to not ignore thinking. And not ignore thinking as nothing in addition to the thinking. The Buddhas don't add to our thinking. They fully embrace it. So fully that they do not abide in it or abide outside of it. They are nothing other than our thinking. And the Buddhas don't grasp not ignoring cause and effect. They don't grasp not ignoring our thinking. They embrace our thinking. And Lotus Sutra says they are embracing our thinking right now and they're waiting for us to wake up to their embrace.

[33:36]

by practicing compassion with what we can see. And when we practice compassion with what we can see and think about enough, the Buddhas will reveal, will reveal what is beyond what we can see, what we can think. And that will look exactly like what we see and think. There seems to be an art to learning and practicing pearl riding.

[35:16]

There seems to be an art to embracing the Buddha mind seal. The rolling pearl is changing all the time, very subtle, easy to lose track of, easy to slip off of. The boat of compassion is not over smooth water. Things are changing all the time. But there is an opportunity to make whatever effort we have as a celebration of pearl riding, cloud driving, of non-thinking great compassion, of beyond thinking great compassion. And even my thinking of, I wish, I wish sometimes that great compassion wasn't beyond my thinking.

[36:24]

I wish I could think of it. And Great Compassion embraces my wish that I could think of Great Compassion. Because then I could get a hold of it. And if I could get a hold of it, who knows what could be done with it. It could be packaged and sold on Amazon. Or eBay, which is a little more intimate. ...really more intimate. So I'm going to do something really anti-superstitious now. I'm going to do the dangerous thing of saying Looks like we're going to make it through this intensive without dying.

[37:31]

It looks like we have been blessed during this very risky situation of being so close together for three weeks. Never before, never before in all the 28 January intensives that we've had, has the assembly, the Great Assembly, been so healthy? No question. Never before so healthy. I don't know if anybody got sick of anything during this time. And not only... Not only didn't anybody seem to get sick, but the healthy people decided to spend their time in this room. You could have all been healthy out in the hills, but no. You're in this room and in the kitchen. It's amazing.

[38:37]

Because healthy people sometimes follow the schedule. They think. So the attendance has been more complete than ever before. And the illness level has been less than ever before. And we're surrounded by great danger throughout the whole weeks. And maybe tomorrow we'll all test positive. But I didn't want to wait till it was over and not have a chance to say to you how blessed we were up to this moment. It's amazing, isn't it? And again, the Great Assembly, which includes each of us, has made a great effort as a whole and individually. Everybody in this valley has made a great effort.

[39:38]

It's wonderful. It's marvelous that you should care for this practice. It's amazing. And again, I was afraid to say that because then I thought I'd get slapped in the face. But anyway, up till this point we have been so blessed and you were part of this amazing event. And I'm just so grateful to the universe for making each one of you be how great you were. And then we have the rest of today to continue this amazing practice, this astounding practice, together with all the Buddhas.

[40:44]

At least that's the story in our family. We have not done this practice alone. We've done it with all the Buddhas. And we couldn't and we could have not known that or not remembered that but I've been bothering you by saying this over and over so it's hard for you to avoid confronting the proposition and practicing together and together with all Buddhas all the way through. What time is it now? 1059. The kitchen is going to leave in one minute, right? Is there anything you want to say before you leave, kitchen? With your mask on, I guess. At some point Timo will say, mask off, but not yet.

[41:51]

Anything you want to offer, kitchen, before you leave? I see. Wait. I see a kitchen hand in the back with a mask on. Yes? You're welcome. Are you leaving now? Yeah. Goodbye, Valerian. Goodbye, Melina. Goodbye, Erica. Goodbye, Sonia. Yes, Sonia? I want to say that I've been thinking about not thinking and not thinking. And the story of the shoemaking came to mind.

[43:01]

While the shoemaker and his wife were sleeping, secretly these elves would come in and make those shoes. And then in the morning, the shoemaker would see all these products. And I was thinking, sometimes it's like these little elves that come in. Yeah. Yeah, right. Thank you. Yeah, you're welcome. Yeah, we have two elf workshops.

[44:05]

Is that enough for today? Is that enough time? Oh, Kat? I'm a little nervous right now. Can you hear me? Yeah. I'll put these on, though. You're a little nervous. I have a little story. When I was becoming abbot or abbess, I went to Tassajara to see Suzuki Roshi's stone.

[45:26]

I went to the memorial site and I started to cry because there's a crack through the stone. And what I thought was his students, his sadness is his students. And so there was a lot of struggle among us because of that. So I have this great wish that your students will be good friends to each other and support this new abbot in every way they can. It's a really hard thing to do, to say yes to that request from this community. And even though it's an honor, and I have been honored to do it, I still feel deep concern for my dear Dharma friend who will ascend the seat. And I want to express my gratitude for doing that so long ago. I think you're sitting right behind the mountain seat that I saw you become abbot.

[46:29]

And so, anyway, I just wanted to say that to this community. Please, please be friends. Please help each other. And please take care of this responsibility that's being asked of someone. And thank you for your teaching. Thank you. Anything else this morning?

[46:56]

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