Zazen is the key that unlocks the Buddhadharma. Zazen is the key that unlocks the meaning, the import of the Buddha's teaching. If you think of zazen as concentration, then that's partly true, that concentration is key to understanding the Buddha's teaching. To be in a concentrated state when you investigate the Buddha's teaching, of course, is key, is essential. It is in a concentrated state that we understand the Buddha's teaching. But I'm suggesting now, and I think Suzuki Roshi meant too, that zazen is more than just concentration.

[01:08]

It is an investigation in a concentrated state. It is a study which is compassion. It is a compassionate study in a concentrated state. Compassion is a concentrated state. and it includes study. So in this concentrated compassionate state where there's study, that study in the concentrated compassionate state, that's the key which unlocks the meaning of Dharma. We had two stories we're looking at. One is a story of Yakusan Igen Daisho sitting.

[02:11]

And I imagine him sitting in a concentrated, he's in a concentrated state, and he's compassionately inquiring into everything that's being given to him, and unlocking the Buddha Dharma. And his way of compassionately inquiring is called non-thinking. He's studying thinking. He's compassionately studying thinking and unlocking the Buddha's teaching about thinking. Shakyamuni Buddha, on the occasion of enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, was sitting in concentration investigating karmic consciousness causation.

[03:27]

He investigated and discovered, depending on ignorance, Karmic formations arise depending on karmic formations. Discriminating consciousness arise depending on that. Craving, clinging, becoming, birth, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, the whole mass of ill, he was contemplating, he was investigating, and he, through this investigation, the Buddha's Dharma was unlocked, and then he told people about it. All these cases are people sitting, investigating, sitting in a concentrated state, compassionately investigating, thinking about the process of thinking. And now the story is of Master Ma, Matsu, sitting in a concentrated state all the time.

[04:36]

And now another teacher is coming to ask him about what's going on and asks him what he's intending to do. And Intention is a definition of karma. Intention is related to, not exactly the same word, but in this case I would say it's synonymous with saying, worthy disciple, what are you thinking to do here? And Matsu says, I'm intending to become a Buddha or I'm intending to make a Buddha. Or, I'm thinking to become a Buddha. I'm thinking to make a Buddha. Dogen Zenji recommends when you hear the question from the teacher, what are you thinking to do? He recommends investigating the question.

[05:42]

Quietly investigate the teacher's question. in a state of concentration, compassionately, lovingly study, lovingly study the great teacher's question to his great student. What are you thinking to do, sitting? Lovingly inquire about this question. Inquire in a way that you love to inquire. Inquire in a way that you're not in a hurry to get done inquiring. Inquiring with an ongoing sense of, I would continue to love this question for the rest of my life. And in loving it, every moment is an opportunity for the Buddha Dharma to be unlocked and revealed. Some Zen students say, can we do this in the Zendo?

[06:50]

Sitting in the Zendo in a state of concentration is an excellent opportunity for unlocking the Buddha Dharma. You don't have to wait until you get outside to unlock the Buddha Dharma. It's okay to do it in this room. If you leave the meditation hall and are walking around in the valley, is it okay to be concentrated then too? Yes, I think so. And is it okay to lovingly inquire into what's going on as you're walking around? Yes. Anywhere you are. When you're concentrated, it's a good opportunity now to inquire, to investigate, to practice the essential art of zazen when you're sitting in this room. Practice the essential art of zazen when you're walking around. Wherever you are, yes, practice the essential art of zazen, non-thinking, which is to investigate thinking and not thinking.

[07:58]

to investigate thinking to make a Buddha. If you're not calm and you've heard this story, why don't you just calm down? And when you're calm, then Dogen Zenji says, quietly, calmly inquire into the teacher's question. What are you intending to do in sitting? What are you thinking to do when you're sitting? Investigate that question. Such an effort to investigate this question is is what? It's essential. This kind of questioning the question is essential to the realization of the Buddha Dharma.

[09:12]

Sitting and questioning, sitting calmly and questioning is essential to realizing Buddha Dharma. This story is an example of the teacher. It didn't say that Master Nanyue asked Matsu a question. It didn't tell us what his posture was. It didn't tell us, did he sit down and then ask him? Or was he standing? Or was he kneeling? We don't know his posture. But whatever posture he's in, the great master is practicing questioning. The great master is unlocking the Buddha Dharma with his wonderful student, who's sitting. All we know so far is he's sitting. And Dogen Zenji says, investigate the teacher's question. And this investigation, this is the kind of effort that's essential.

[10:18]

Someone said to me quite recently, I understand your teaching, but I still have a question, or I still have questions, or I'm still questioning. And I thought and said, that's like saying, I understand your teaching, and yet I have not yet killed the process of wisdom. It isn't that you understand the teaching and then no more questions. If you understand the teaching and no more questions, you're not making the effort that realizes the Buddha Dharma. When you understand the teaching, you do still have questions. It's not, I understand the teaching, but I still have questions. It's, I understand the teaching, therefore I still have questions. I understand the teaching, therefore I continue to lovingly investigate everything.

[11:29]

Again, to my mind it comes, Suzuki Roshi said, non-discrimination is not not discriminating. It is to investigate everything. He said study. It is to study everything. That's non-discriminating wisdom. And then it flashes in my mind, there was a little boy once who lived in the southern part of the United States. I think Alabama. His name was George Washington Carver. And he loved plants. And he knew how to heal sick plants. When he was a little boy, he knew how. And all the women in his village, in his town, brought him their sick plants and he would take care of them and heal them. And they would say to the little boy, how do you know how to heal these plants? And he said, I go into the forest and I love everything and everything tells me their secrets.

[12:43]

calmly loving the question, what are you thinking to do in your sitting? Calmly questioning yourself, what are you thinking, what are you intending to do in the sitting? You are ritually enacting Buddhahood. The ritual instruction is, what the ancestors have done. What did the ancestors do? What did the great teacher do? He asked questions. What did his disciples, what did his successor Dogen suggest? Question the question. Investigate the question. Investigate the thinking. So then we move on eventually because for some reason there's another line of the story, but we may never get there actually.

[13:52]

We may just stay with that question of the teacher. But moving on anyway, the disciple gives an answer and he says, I'm intending to become a Buddha or I'm intending to make a Buddha. And guess what Dogen Zenji says when he gives that answer? We should quietly, thoroughly investigate this answer. We should investigate this statement. I'm thinking to become a Buddha. I'm thinking, I'm intending to make a Buddha. And then Dogen Zenji gives, you know, an example of how you might investigate, like you might think, Does this statement, I'm intending to become a Buddha, does that mean, what does it mean, I'm intending to have a Buddha, make a Buddha, of a Buddha?

[15:00]

Is it to mean I'm intending to get a Buddha, to make a Buddha? Does it mean that Buddha has two faces? Does it mean that this intending is dropping off body and mind? Does it mean that dropping our body and mind is intending? And then we can make statements, but when we make statements, we can make statements as questions. Zazen is always... I'm restraining a... what do you call it, a commercial. But now here it comes. You always get your best buys at Cregan's. Zazen is always intending to make Buddha.

[16:08]

You may think, well, my Zazen isn't always intending to make Buddha. Somebody said, and I'm not going to tell you who, to sort of like back up the statement, I just want you to know that somebody you've heard of before said, Zazen is always intending to make Buddha. Zazen is always intending to become Buddha. Zazen always includes the intention to become Buddha, and the intention to become Buddha is always Zazen. you may not know that you're intending to become Buddha. But you, you who is practicing zazen, you who is sitting calmly, lovingly investigating your thinking, that is intending to become Buddha.

[17:19]

That is the intention to become Buddha. someone might ask, like me, I might ask, when I'm not paying attention to what I'm thinking, when I'm not welcoming what I'm thinking, when I'm not careful of what I'm thinking, when I'm not patient with what I'm thinking, when I'm feeling aggressive and hostile towards what I'm thinking, when I'm not aware of what I'm thinking, when I'm trying to get away from what I'm thinking, is that intending to become Buddha? And I might just say, no, that's not intending to become Buddha.

[18:20]

That's intending to be a sentient being. And it is also simultaneously successful at being a sentient being. This intention is always in zazen, though, because zazen is to investigate the thinking. And in investigating the thinking, you are doing what all Buddhas have done, are doing, and will always do. This intention to become Buddha is before becoming Buddha, is after becoming Buddha and is at the very moment of becoming Buddha. Caring for karmic consciousness is before becoming Buddha, after becoming Buddha, and at the very moment of becoming Buddha.

[19:25]

Not taking care of our thinking, not taking care of our karmic consciousness is before being a sentient being, after being a sentient being, at the very moment of being a sentient being. But when a sentient being practices non-thinking, a sentient being intends to become Buddha. A sentient being is practicing the essential art of zazen. Someone asked me, what is thinking? And when the person said, what is thinking?

[20:32]

I said, before talking about what thinking is, could I mention to you that when you ask me what thinking is, that is the essential art of zazen. Before we get into talking about thinking, you're already practicing zazen when you ask that question. Now, do you want me to talk about thinking? I will. But when I do, I want to be investigating thinking while I'm talking about it. So I don't postpone, I don't talk about thinking and give up non-thinking. I use non-thinking to talk about, I want to use non-thinking to talk about thinking. And I'm willing to talk about thinking. But I don't want to talk about thinking if it will distract you from investigating thinking. I don't want to talk about thinking and distract you from the essential art of Zazen. I don't want to talk about thinking in such a way to distract you from your intention to become Buddha.

[21:36]

Or not your intention, the intention. The intention. The intention. Dogen Zenji also suggests that this intention to become Buddha entangles all the other intentions to become Buddha. The intention in you to become Buddha, your study, of your karmic consciousness, your study of your thinking intimately with your study of not thinking intimately, your study of their intimate relationship, your study is your intention to become Buddha and your intention is entangled with all intentions. Each one of our intentions is unique and it entangles all the other ones.

[22:42]

But we often think that this one is the one we don't want to do. But this is the one we have to take care of. It's not the ones that other people are doing. It's not the one that certain great teachers are doing. They have a different intention that they're practicing. But they're taking care of theirs, and we must take care of ours. And ours is the one that we have the most trouble taking care of. Some people are, you know, it looks to me, when I look at my thinking, I think some people are going around trying to take care of other people's thinking. And when I see that, I ask if the person would like me to remind them to take care of their own.

[23:48]

And they often say, yes, thank you. I thought for a second that person's intention was more interesting and important than mine. Now the story moves on to a kind of, I find it a very, what's the word? It's a section that I find difficult to be balanced in.

[24:51]

So I hesitate to go into such a difficult situation. It's like walking a tightrope in a windy, in a windy, on a windy day. And it's kind of windy in here now, which is kind of nice. How windy it is here. Are you okay with the wind? All right, with the wind? It's a little drafty in my neck. Would you like the door shut? Would you shut the door, Julian? It may be easier for me to tightrope walk now, too. So now, after the student says, I'm intending to make a Buddha, I'm intending to become a Buddha, the teacher picks up a tile.

[26:09]

Lots of tiles in China. In Japan, too. Got a lot of tiles there. So it's often easy to find one and pick it up. And if you can find a rock, rub the tile on the rock. If you go to China and you find a rock, a tile, you can rub it on a rock. And if you have a companion, they might say to you, what are you doing? And you could say, I'm ritually performing Buddhahood. I'm doing what Nanyue Huirang did a long time ago. I'm trying to make a mirror. There's such a story in this amazing tradition.

[27:16]

that we have masters who pick up tiles and rub them on rocks and say they're trying to make a mirror. This offers an opportunity to investigate. What is he up to? Is he really trying to make a mirror or just pretending to make a mirror? Or is he pretending to be a Zen master? Or is he really a Zen master? Is he really a mirror maker who doesn't have the right materials? Or is he really a Zen master? Or is he just pretending to be a mirror maker so he doesn't care what the materials are? What's he doing? I can say he's practicing the essential art of Zazen with his student So the student sees him doing this.

[28:24]

The student's sitting, you know, probably in traditional posture, and the teacher might have been sitting in traditional posture with him. And then the teacher gets up and starts picking up a tile and rubbing it, which is not... There's not very many meditation manuals which say, take a tile and rub it on a stone and make a mirror. It's usually like, cross your legs, sit upright, Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth and so on. But here now, there's a Zen master who is rubbing tiles on rocks. Is that Zen practice? Is that great compassion? Is asking this question the essential art of Zazen? I don't know if this question is the essential art of Zazen, but I propose to you that asking questions about what the Zen master is doing when he's rubbing the tile.

[29:25]

So the Zen master asks the students, what are you doing sitting? And the student then asks the teacher, what are you doing rubbing tiles on rocks? And the teacher then responds and says, I'm trying to make a mirror. So then the student investigates again. How can you make a mirror? by rubbing a tile on a rock. And the teacher then asked the student a question. How can you make a Buddha by sitting in meditation? There's many ways to investigate this story, and there's many ideas to have about this story. But let me just tell you some of the ideas about having this story so you cannot hold onto them anymore. One idea is that these are two realized Buddha ancestors, and they're playing.

[30:27]

And Matsu is sitting which he's sitting, which is a sitting, which is a making of Buddha. He's sitting intending to make a Buddha, which is always zazen. And the teacher is asking him questions, which is always zazen. And the teacher is rubbing the tile, which is always intending to become Buddha. And the student is asking the teacher a question, which is always intending to become Buddha. And the teacher answers the question, which is always intending to become Buddha. And the student asks the question, which is always intending to become Buddha. And the teacher answers the question, which is always intending to become Buddha. They are simply together intending to become Buddha, realizing Buddha together in this unprecedented, never-before-seen dialogue.

[31:34]

Then the teacher says, and then the student says, well, what way is right? What's the right way or the wrong way? Is there a right way or a wrong way? And again, one way to see this story is the student is playing with the teacher, saying, is there a right way or a wrong way, as a way to intend, as a way to make Buddha. Is there a right way or a wrong way? Is there a right way or a wrong way? Is there a right way or a wrong way? You're asking that to make a Buddha. You're asking that to become a Buddha. You're not asking that to get anything. You're giving your playful, investigative, compassionate body and mind, a drop-off, and ask the question, is there a right way and a wrong way?

[32:43]

This is the master talking. And then the teacher says, well, it's like when you have a cart with a horse or an ox. If the cart's stuck, you hit the cart or do you hit the ox?" And then Matsu doesn't say anything. And of course Dogen Zenji would say, when the teacher says, it's like when you have an ox cart, investigate that. When the teacher says, do you hit the If the cart gets stuck, investigate. What does getting stuck mean? Do you hit the cart or the horse? Investigate that. You can say, well, you hit the cart or you hit the horse. You can say that. But nobody said to not investigate the question.

[33:51]

In matter of fact, the question should be investigated. And it's possible that you should hit the cart, not the horse. Don't you think? Might be better? Might be better to hit the cart. Maybe some people say, well, obviously hit the cart because you don't want to hurt the horse. You don't want to hurt the ox. So hit the cart. Somebody else said, no, no, you should hit the ox. Hit the ox. Well, I say investigate the question. I don't have an ox here. Do you? But I have the question. I can work with that. So can you. And then Matsu doesn't say anything. Of course, investigate that silence, this silence of a Buddha ancestor. Investigate it. You don't have to go on to the rest of the story, just spend the rest of your life investigating Matsu's silence.

[34:58]

The great teacher's posthumous name is Great Silence. It's the silence of becoming a Buddha. It is the stillness of becoming a Buddha, which completely includes dropping off body and mind through the process of non-thinking. Total engagement in thinking. We usually say total engagement in a mobile sitting. Total engagement in a mobile thinking sitting. A mobile thinking sitting. Total engagement in that. Total investigation of that. Great silence. Suzuki Roshi commented on this case, but fortunately for you, I don't remember what he said.

[36:04]

But if I think about Suzuki Roshi, it seemed like in America anyway, he usually hit the cart, not the horse. So none of the horses ran away. They just kept looking at the strange cart driver who was hitting the cart all the time. Why is he hitting the cart? I'm not saying you should hit the cart. I'm just saying I think that's what he usually did is hit the cart. Maybe in Japan he hit the ox. I don't know. But in America, I think if I had to vote on whether he did hit the cart or did hit the ox, I think he hit the cart. But, you know, although he hit the cart, I don't think he ever really thought that the cart was stuck.

[37:17]

I shouldn't say never, but most of the time, I don't think he thought the cart was stuck, but... The ox often thought the cart was stuck. As a matter of fact, the cart was often saying, I don't want to pull this cart anymore. And then the security would hit the cart. And the ox would start investigating what was going on and wonder what a strange situation this is. So I'm not suggesting that you go around hitting carts, but I am suggesting that we investigate whether we should hit the cart of the ox and whether the ox cart is stuck. And what are we thinking of doing when we're sitting? Every period of sitting, we're thinking, what are we thinking of?

[38:21]

Every period of sitting we are thinking we are sitting. What are you thinking of sitting for, as, by? Now, the easy part of the story comes. Got through the hard part. I don't know if I fell off the rope or not, but anyway, now we come to the easy part. And it's wonderfully complex too. And so then after this silence, this great silence, the teacher gives further instruction. The teacher says, And there's basically two different ways that the translation goes. One way the translation goes is the teacher asks a question next, teaches, the teacher teaches by asking a question, and the other one the teacher seems to be making a statement.

[39:32]

So in one version the teacher says, Are you practicing sitting meditation or are you practicing sitting Buddha? I'm sorry, but this TV program always comes back to me at times like this. And it's a TV show that occurred in the 50s, I think, in the United States, and it was called You Are There. And they would reenact in this show many historical events.

[40:35]

So I just thought, you know, that reenacting a historical event here today, and the historical event is, Nangaka Ejo as Baso, Nanyue Huairang as Matsu. Are you practicing sitting meditation, or are you practicing sitting Buddha? So we could have somebody in pretending to be the great Zen teacher, Nanyue, and go up to you and you and you and ask you and [...] ask you and you and you, ask each of you, are you sitting in meditation or are you sitting Buddha? Did a Zen teacher ever ask you that?

[41:38]

A Zen teacher could ask you that, maybe, because the great ancestor asked, so we could reenact that. So they would do this on a TV show, and then after they would do the reenactment, they would say, everything was just as it was then, except you are there. So we could make everything just like it was in China, except you are there, and you're the student who's being asked. Or you could be the teacher. you can be the great teacher who asks the great student, are you practicing sitting meditation or are you practicing sitting Buddha? Right now, I'm deeply touched that this happened supposedly in the history of our school, that a teacher asked a student a question like that.

[42:52]

And I must admit also that I'm thinking, I think I'm going to ask some people that. When people come to talk to me, I think I'm going to ask some of them, are you practicing sitting meditation or are you practicing sitting Buddha? I have a few more doksans probably before this intensive's over. I think maybe I'll ask some of the people who come, are you sitting, are you practicing sitting meditation or are you practicing sitting Buddha? Now in the case of Matsu, Matsu didn't answer. Another translation, however, is also available. And the other translation is, when you sit in meditation, you are, when you're practicing sitting meditation, you are practicing sitting Buddha.

[44:05]

So supposedly the teacher said to his student that when you practice sitting meditation, you are practicing sitting Buddha. I find those two practices beautifully compatible. And I... If I meet those translators, which I could do, I will ask the ones who said, who made it a statement, what led them to make it into a statement. So Kaz Tanahashi made it. I think he worked with Norman Fisher. I think Kaz Tanahashi and Norman Fisher made it. When you are sitting in meditation, you are practicing sitting Buddha. That's the way they did it. And Karl Bielfeld and Andy Ferguson made it. When you, are you sitting in meditation or are you sitting Buddha?

[45:15]

Yeah. So part of non-thinking could be that you ask yourself questions, that you investigate yourself, just like the ancestors were asked questions by their teacher and just like the ancestors questioned themselves. You could question yourself in a similar way. And also you could be questioned in a similar way. this ritual performance of ancient questions is an ancient practice and a practice which we can practice right now and which we are practicing right now. And when we practice it, we are practicing intending to make Buddha

[46:29]

And when we intend to make Buddha, we practice this. The teaching goes on. Nanyue's teaching to Matsu goes on. But again, I just want to say that in this ongoing process, it is seen as a Buddha teaching a Buddha. It is one intending to make a Buddha teaching one intending to make a Buddha. It is the teacher teaching the student and the student teaching the teacher. If it's all right with you, I will stop now and save the remaining teachings of Nanyue for tomorrow.

[47:44]

Is that all right if I stop now? if there's anything you'd like to offer. You could put it right there, yeah. Could that come a little closer? Thank you. So my question is, can you hear me? My question is, when I see a thought coming up and I wholeheartedly welcome it, am I also realizing non-duality in that very moment?

[49:02]

Are you realizing non-duality in that very moment when you wholeheartedly welcome a thought that comes up? Yes. Yes. You're not realizing it, no. But the question realizes it. Okay. When you ask that question, there is no you separate from the question. When you're wholeheartedly asking the question, there's no you separate from the question, and there's no question separate from the answer. And there's no question separate from the thought that you're welcoming. that realizes non-duality by totally engaging duality. It would feel a little bit more fancy. Do you wholeheartedly feel fancy? Yes. then there's no duality between fancy and feeling fancy.

[50:04]

Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you for your courageous questioning. Could you please sing silence?

[51:13]

Thank you. This morning we chanted the Fukuhanza Zengi.

[53:08]

Congratulations. I believe it means universal instruction for the practice of the ceremony of Zazen, something like that. In it, it refers to Sanzen. Is Sanzen the same as Zazen? In Rinzai, sanzen sometimes means a meeting with the teacher, kind of like dokusan. But usually it's understood in Dogen's teaching that sanzen means zazen. In a section that gives a number of instructions for the practice of this ceremony, it says, have no design on becoming a buddha. I don't understand. Let's see. You don't understand when he says, have no designs on becoming a Buddha. Sounds like the opposite of what he says at another time.

[54:13]

Like, have no intention to make a Buddha. Right. Whenever you wholeheartedly intend to make a Buddha, there is not intending to make a Buddha. Thinking and not thinking. Thinking and not thinking. Right. When you wholeheartedly engage in making a Buddha, there is always not making a Buddha. So that instruction can be given either way. Yes, and it was. To the same effect. So Dogen Zenji says, whenever you sit zazen, you're always intending to make Buddha. And he also says, on another occasion, when you are sitting zazen, do not intend to make Buddha, or there is not intending to make Buddha.

[55:20]

If you sit zazen and you really work at not intending to make Buddha, you'll realize that there's always intending to make Buddha at the same time. There's a kind of a cue. Good morning.

[56:33]

Good morning. I had a little turning yesterday, and then you turned it again this morning. I thought, So I've been thinking about this call on hitting the cart or hitting the ox for years and had no clue. I couldn't understand why you would hit the cart or what the question was about. And yet, I'll just say yesterday for the sake of this conversation, I thought, well, of course you would hit the ox since I identified as the ox. Or hitting meaning encouraging study. So I felt quite satisfied with that. But today, when I heard the story again, I thought maybe hitting the cart would be hitting on or

[57:45]

questioning the story that you believed of hitting the ox. And then that kind of fell away. So it seems now like it's not one, it's not the other. Well, there's another opportunity, too, which you kind of brought up. It says when the cart, when driving an ox cart... and the ox cart gets stuck, do you hit the ox or the cart? But there's a third opportunity, which you just brought up, which is hit the stuck. Right, which for me was the story, identifying the particular story. I'm emphasizing, actually, hit the stuck. Yeah, I got that today. Instead of where she emphasized hit the cart. Yeah, that's what I usually do. But now I think people are ready to hit the stuck.

[58:49]

Right. Hit the traffic jam. Right. Hit the entanglement with your compassionate and inquiring mind. Right. And while you're at it, hit the cart too. Never hit the ox except on Sunday. Is it Sunday? No. Okay. Okay what? Yeah. I'll have to look at that. Are you intending to make Buddha? Yep. Wow. It's come to that, huh? Yep. Shall we move on? I want to tell you one more story. You do? To study the self is to forget the self. Oh, that one. Yeah? Yeah. couldn't figure out what you would forget. You couldn't?

[59:53]

But now I've got it. You do? I do. This Buddha says is to realize that the self is a dependently co-arisen, wild, many-featured character, which is what I might realize on studying This bubble machine. I thought that's what you're going to forget. Well said. Thank you. Thank you. something I've been investigating pretty calmly but a little bit fervently.

[61:27]

Fervent investigation in calmness? Yeah. Is, if the ancestors were alive now, would they still think that Mm-hmm. Practice is sufficient. Would they still think that practice is sufficient? Yeah. Do you say? Mm-hmm. What makes you think they used to think practice was sufficient? I never heard the ancestors say practice was sufficient. What did they say? Hmm? What did they say? Oh, they said practice was enlightenment. Would they say that now? Would they say that now? Do you intend to make a Buddha?

[62:31]

Yes. That's what they say now. Okay, let me be more direct. Is that what they say now? Probably. Is that what they say now? Yes. Is it enough? Is it enough? You're the one who brought up the glaciers and the species and what's happening outside of this valley. Is it enough to be patient and kind and compassionate and upright with zeal? I think that question is a distraction. Isn't that what inquiry is? Isn't that what the point of inquiry is? I think that question distracts you.

[63:32]

From enlightenment? Yes. Well, then what's inquiry? That. That was inquiry. Now you're not inquiring, but a moment ago you were. Now you're trying to get something. Now you gave it up. That's inquiry. Inquiry isn't to ask a question and then expect somebody not to tell you that you're just distracted yourself. Inquiry is not that? No. Inquiry, you ask a question, then somebody sets up the distracting question, and you inquire into the question. I mean, you inquire into the response. I'm reminded of the statement, you cannot direct beings.

[64:46]

You can only disturb them. So you ask questions, but I'm not directing you. I'm giving you an opportunity for another question. and I hope to continue on the path of not saying enough and not saying not enough but doing what I believe in and welcoming Any further questions?

[66:04]

Do you think people not living in a monastery or a practice center have different jobs than those living in the practice center, in the world? I do think that. I think the treasurer of Green Gulch has a different job from the treasurer of Pachamama. I think we do have different jobs. Do you wish we were all here? Do I wish everybody was in this room? Or a practice center? or a monastic? Do you think that would be the best way for the world? I wish that the world was just like it is and everybody would wake up to that it's the way it is.

[67:20]

Then without changing anything, without moving a particle of dust, we would realize great enlightenment and harmony right now with the current situation and act from that enlightenment together. That's what I wish. I wish everybody was happy and fearless and totally devoted to everybody else who in this case just happens to be the same. But if there's anybody who has not yet realized that, I wish those who have realized it would share their happiness and fearlessness and concentration and zazen practice with those who have not yet realized it. But I wish everybody realized it already. But I accept that some people, like my grandson, are not yet ready to concentrate. I'm very happy to support him until he is ready.

[68:25]

But I would be okay with me, although I lose the kind of grandson I have, it is okay with me if he realized Buddhahood right now. I kind of wish that rather than wait till later. then all the Buddhists could figure out what to do. It would be no need for any Buddhists to travel to teach anymore, so they wouldn't have to have cars. Everybody could stay right where they were, wouldn't have to go to the movies. But we still have to maybe figure out how to move food around, so that would still be a challenge for us. But a lot of the movement we do wouldn't be necessary anymore. I apologize to the people who wish to ask questions, but we would like to have a memorial ceremony now.

[69:41]

for Maya Wender's mother, and we felt that we needed to end about 11.30 in order to get everything together before lunch. So is that okay? Thank you. So can we conclude our morning event? Maya Wender.

[70:07]

@Transcribed_v005
@Text_v005
@Score_90.47