Someone told me recently that they thought I first started coming to Texas to visit the Houston Zen community in 1994. So if that's so, I've been coming here to the Houston Zen community for 13 years. Or 30 times, anyway. I also came to Texas in 1965 on my way to Mexico. Also, recently someone called me Clark Anderson. I didn't like Sergeant Anderson very much at that time, but I practiced not being attached to my likes and dislikes.

[01:12]

And I suggested, and then I thought, well, what about General Anderson? And I think that's where most people see me, they see a General Anderson, in the sense of, you know, The general protective category. I think most people see me as a general rep. It's like most people see you as a general. Oh yeah, that's you. Generally, that's you. Well, there's something about a lot of things you've been called. When you talk to me, you just realize that what you're saying through your eye is a general version of me. So you can call me general if you wish. And I thought about, what about private Andersen? I didn't like that either. But nothing attached to him like in private Andersen. Like in the pond. Corporal Andersen. That's good. Corporal. Corporal Andersen. The meditation practice which I feel most heart for, the meditation practice which I would like to encourage, is not limited to sitting posture.

[03:23]

It's not limited to any posture. And it can be realized in any posture. The meditation practice that I'm most wanting to encourage is what I understand to be the meditation practice of the Buddha, which is practicing wholeheartedly not being attached to anything, not being attached to delusion, and not being attached to enlightenment. And while you're sitting here, if any delusion derives in our minds, I would like to encourage

[04:38]

being upright with those illusions, not attaching to them, and not trying to get rid of them. If enlightenment should happen to come up while we're sitting here, that's good, but I think even better is letting go of enlightenment, leaving behind it. That would be what I think the Buddhism ancestors would practice, or how they practice. Leaping beyond delusion into enlightenment. Leaping beyond enlightenment into enlightenment. Leaping beyond enlightenment into delusion. Wholeheartedly Living.

[05:44]

Giving up discrimination. Giving up seeking. And if we're not giving up seeking, to confess it and repent it. And if you are giving up seeking, do it again. So this is a practice of meditation which is, the one I'm talking about now, is identical to enlightenment.

[06:59]

Enlightenment is not being attached and not seeking. Of course, Buddhists are not attached to their practice and don't seek anything. Well, that's enlightenment and that's anyone into practice that way, it's also enlightenment. Or another way to put it is, enlightenment isn't just being that way. It is that way in action. It's acting that way. It's walking that way. It's walking that way. It's thinking that way. So a Buddha is not just a Buddha. A Buddha is a practicing Buddha. And the sixth ancestor then thought that a Buddha is the practice of Buddha, or Buddha is a practicing Buddha. And the character that they used is the character which means to walk, to practice, to be committed to the precepts.

[08:13]

And it also has the connotation of the kind of activity that we do together. It's the kind of walking that we do together. It's the kind of practice that we do together. So Buddhists are not only practicing Buddhists. Enlightenment is not only the practice of enlightenment. It is the practice of enlightenment together. And what's that like? It's like walking and not being caught by the discriminations that are arising while you're walking. Not being caught by the discrimination of left foot and right foot, for example. Not being caught by the discrimination of walking and stopping and sitting and standing. So, I don't want to go on, but that's basically the practice of meditation of the Buddha, according to Pastor Landerson.

[09:24]

Sitting here, not seeking anything. Talking to you, not seeking anything. Listening to me, not seeking anything. You and I not being caught by discrimination, in the moment of not being caught by discrimination, and not seeking anything, we enter the practice of Buddha, the meditation of the Buddha, the samadhi of the Buddha. And then, of course, if one does it moment after moment, the samadhi gets deeper. One moment like that counts, but to do it repeatedly, somehow Buddha practice can get deeper and deeper by being connected to other moments of Buddha practice.

[10:48]

without any discrimination catching those either. Now, there are other kinds of meditation practices, some of which are quite good. Like, for example, practicing concentration is good. The Buddha practiced concentration very well before realizing Buddhahood. Also in past lives, before realizing Buddhahood, Buddha practiced concentration. That is a kind of meditation. And you can do it in sitting posture. So it could be called Zazen. But not everybody who starts in concentration is doing the same practice as the Buddhists in Ancestors. Also, I think you've probably heard about some people who practice meditation with the understanding that this meditation will lead to enlightenment.

[12:20]

And the meditation leads to enlightenment. Then, once enlightenment is realized, they would think you don't have to continue to do that practice to serve the purpose of getting you to enlightenment. So there are quite a few people who want to be a disciple of the Buddha, who maybe consider themselves to be a disciple of Buddha, who maybe even are considered to be great teachers of the Buddha way, who teach a way of meditation that leads to enlightenment. And then once enlightenment is attained, they say it's not necessary to continue practice, because you've arrived at the goal. But that understanding comes from being caught by the discrimination between the practice and the enlightenment. So in the tradition coming from Dogen, kind of up to here right now, there is the understanding that

[13:31]

The view that enlightenment and practice are two is not in accord with our tradition. The view that they're one is, and according to that view, practice will be realized in the enlightenment of every moment, and there will be no end to the practice, and no end to enlightenment. Um, if you don't have, you might give it away. I don't know.

[14:50]

I don't know. I don't know. If there's anything coming up that you'd like to expect, you're welcome to come forward and do so. I'm not sure if there's any questions.

[16:11]

That's a good question. Just express yourself. Okay. If you have any comments, I could also say, if you have any feedback for me, please come. Okay. Because when you're talking about, you know, seeking, that struck me nearly heartily, because if you didn't know all kinds, when you're seeking, you know it, though, you would see that, you know, how unsatisfactory my life was, because you wouldn't seek, you know, something like that. So it's a very private matter. See, it's just like, it's just realistic, you know? Uh-huh. Yeah. I know what it's going to be. You think that the life is separate from Buddhahood.

[17:12]

Yeah. When you think you're practicing, it's sort of from Buddhist practice. Every moment we want to play together, each moment, you could think, oh, this person sitting here, the way this person's practicing, sitting on my feet with me, that practice is separate from Buddhist practice. And then you could, like, believe that. And there you would not be doing the practice of Buddha. Because Buddha does not sit, talk, and know, and think, my practice is separate from Buddha's practice. In fact, I tell you nothing Buddha does for intelligence.

[18:18]

My practice is Buddha's practice. Must be. You want to do it? Yeah. But going through like that, oh, one thing they just realized was the fact that some Buddhist practice. And it's possible that you would, I don't know what, be just like you already. and not be caught by the idea that you're a little bit, or more than a little bit, separate from dual practice. Well, if you don't get caught by the discrimination, you still may have some problems, like, I don't know what, getting old?

[19:24]

moving your marbles, going blind, losing your hearing, have a lot of sick friends or be sick yourself. These are very possible conditions that we might under-focus. Know some people that don't appreciate it very much. Yeah. And that situation can be discriminated from being really appreciated and feeling really good and being totally happy and greatly compassionate and wise, you can discriminate. And you can not be caught by it. And then you would have a practice of good ancestors. Likewise, you have problems that you have. You could also have some likes and dislikes, like you could like the temperature in the room or not. You could like lunch or dislike lunch.

[20:28]

Well, no, some of you might have liked lunch, but at least some of you might have disliked it, like you didn't take part in it. But regardless of what you thought of lunch and what you think of the room and the people in it, whether you like them or not, it's possible to not be involved in those likes and dislikes. Because it's very similar to not getting involved in the discrimination between your present state and the Supreme Enlightenment. Now, I'm not saying your present state is the Supreme Enlightenment. I'm not saying that. It's not. But I know. Only the practice of Buddha is available. And treating enlightenment is available. It's right available right now. And not having the beauty to separate from it is the practice.

[21:38]

Also, having a view that you're the same as it is also not the practice. That's another discrimination. Do you understand me? You discriminate on the same as completing life. Getting caught by that would be another thing that a Buddha wouldn't do. If my Buddhist practice would be caught by the discrimination, this is Buddhist practice. And I'll tell you what Buddhist practice is. You could make a discrimination about that and get caught by that. Or not. It's actually, I have a dissemination for you that I don't want you to get caught by. Here it is. It's slightly better, or maybe even quite a bit better, to be caught by the delusion that you are separate from supremacist enlightenment.

[22:41]

It's somewhat better to be caught by that one than to be caught by the dissemination that you get, that you're actually supremacist enlightened. That's the worst thing to get attached to. And when you don't get attached to that discrimination, I just totally read it. But formally speaking, it's better to be fucking excited when we fuck it than to be fucking excited thinking that we're the same. That's good. We don't take people to the hospital who think they're separate from Buddha. We don't give authority to people who think they're separate from Buddha. Anything else you'd like to express?

[23:51]

Boop, boop, boop, boom. Any other feedback from you? I think that's a good thing.

[25:24]

I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. The transcendent practice is what Bodhisattvas sometimes call paramitas. Are you ready about that? Paramitas? It's often translated as, literally, going beyond. Like, giving probably to mean giving which is going beyond and so on.

[26:31]

And usually in toilets we don't put, you know, like sacred Buddhist things in toilets. But in Gideon's toilet, they had the characters which mean going beyond. And at first my father thought, oh my God. The kid could throw himself a turn. It's not about the toilet. It's not about, well, yeah, go beyond where you're supposed to be and put it in the toilet. That's what they think, right? Don't be attached to it. sacred in the fire.

[27:39]

Yes, you may. You didn't say happy man. Yes, you did. You did say happy man. You said we could cuddle man. Cuddle man. Cuddle man. Cuddle man. Reverend Encarnacionis? Reverend Encarnacionis? Encarnacionis? Yes? It's intimidating a little bit to come up here like this. That's one expression I wanted to say. Thank you very much for letting us know. I'd like to ask you about whether... You can hear well up there, can't you? Yes. I yell? No. No? You're not yelling. Would you like to? No.

[28:42]

Are you sure? I'm sure. Okay. Well, if you think of mine later, go up here. Okay. In my life, in my practice, it's real different for me when I'm with other people from when I'm on a cushion or by myself at home. Can I say something? Yeah, go ahead. She said one in her practice is very different when she's with people and when she's not with people. Yeah. She actually didn't say when they're not, but she said it's very different when I'm with people rather than being alone. Yeah. Right. Another way to put it is my practice is really different when I think I'm with people and when I think I'm not with people. Well, that's probably the answer to my question. Yeah, right. But even just today, being here, I made a mistake with the Oriente, and I've realized that I thought I was an expert.

[29:44]

I mean, because I've done it pretty many times. And I had this awful feeling of, you know, bad feeling about myself and, you know, that I was dumb. And is it... I guess, are they equally useful, the things that you see when you are in relation to other people and the things that you see when you are meditating? I mean, are... I don't know about evil, but everything's useful. You told me that including evil is useful, too. That may be the best. That may be the best. Anyway, I'd also want to say that when you think that you're making a mistake and you feel bad about it, that helps you see that probably you're caught by the dissemination of mistake and not mistake.

[30:57]

And some vision of myself that I wasn't quite aware of. See? And some idea about myself that I knew something. That and that idea that you know something Except you're caught by that. You don't just have the idea, you're caught by it. You're caught. Yeah, really caught, and you're surprised by it. Yeah, and sometimes you have the idea and you're not caught by it. It's possible to have the idea, I'm unskillful, and not be caught by it. Just have the idea. Just like have the idea, also have the idea other people are unskillful. and not be caught by those. It's possible. And that's what we're trying to find, is a mind that thinks things like mistake and not mistake and just be caught by what you really want. Just set your mind.

[32:03]

I'm still trying to find get more information from you about whether sitting in silence reveals the same thing. It can. Sitting in silence, you can, well, you know, there's not talking and then there's also not talking but hearing a little message arise in your mind, like, I'm separate from the person next to me. or I'm sitting well, that thought can arise in flat. And you can grasp it, which is quite easy, and also not get involved in it, not grasp it, not get trapped by it. You can think, you can be sitting and you can think of something you did that popped in your mind,

[33:08]

or you can think of something right now that you feel for somebody in the room, some kind of unkind thought, and you can see that that's an unkind thought, and you can actually feel pain at that unkind thought, and also not be caught by it. So feel pain at the unkind thought, but not because you're attached being kinder on that, but just see the thought causing pain and see it very clearly. Have it be illuminated. And being caught up in that discrimination tends to make it harder to understand the discrimination and understand the effect of the discrimination of someone being attached to it. And when you're with people and you do an action, so your kindness takes a physical, when they hear it or see it or you find it, it seems to me that somehow, maybe Dale told me what, and maybe I don't know if I got this right, that that was created karma.

[34:36]

So, you know, since that quote works, then, I mean, it just exists in your mind and, That's not exactly worse. It's the next step. I think having in your mind is also karma. Karma is basically, karma is always cognitive. Karma is a cognitive representation of your relationship with the universe. The basic meaning of karma is how your mind is construed, constructed, storytelling about new relationships with the world. That's the basic karma. And that has consequences. And if you then speak from that particular point of view, or that particular story of your relationship with the world, then that's called vocal cognitive.

[35:46]

But that's also cognitive because it's physical, but cognitive because it's a physical expression that has the thread of your story about your relationship. So if you look at someone and you think, this person is precious, I value them, I want to benefit them, I see myself in a relationship of sympathy and love towards them, that's common. My mind has just created a story of being in a very warm, loving relationship with this person. And that has consequences. Then if I speak to her, mindfully, that picture of my relationship with her goes into my speech. And if I make a posture with my body towards her, it may also, it's in view with that attention, with that cognitive representation of my relationship.

[36:58]

So all three of them, body, speech, and mind, but the body and speech are only common when they're imbued with this cognitive pattern. Vocal activity and physical properties that don't have this cognitive element are not common. Their physical activities are not common. Trees falling off and leaves falling off the trees are not really common because the leaf does not intend The belief doesn't have a picture of its relationship with gravity and the seas and so on. So it's activity but not karma. Your hair growing longer is not really karma. It doesn't come from the intention. It doesn't come from your picture of your relationship with people. But the activity of your body is not karma. If you exhale and somebody puts their hand on your mouth, you know, you get the sound that's not karma.

[38:02]

Karma can be a person patting your mouth, but the sound is not coming from your intention. So not all of our activity is karma, but all of our karma is intentional, cognitive activity. And one more thing I wanted to say is that at the beginning when she said, uh, I think about it being different when she practices with people, and I change it to different when you think you're practicing with people. And when you think you're not practicing with people. Those are two different common situations. Two different pictures of the relationships of the world. The way I see it is I'm not with people, or the way I see it is I'm with people. But that's not really true that you're with people or not with people the way you think it. You think you're not with people. Somebody might be standing behind you.

[39:03]

But when we think we're not with people, it's hard for us actually to understand what's going on if we believe that. That's why we generally suggest people practice in such a way that they think they're with people And usually the people who are practicing in such a way that people look at them and say they're not practicing with people. In other words, certain sages, certain sages who are out in the mountains by themselves, and people say, oh, look, she's up there in the mountains all by herself, and she's not practicing with people. The master up in the mountains doesn't think that way. They think that way. They don't believe that. They know that they're always practicing together with people. But if you don't know you're always practicing together with people, then you probably could go someplace where you think you are practicing together, because in reality, practice is what you do with everybody.

[40:15]

Now, if you're in this event center right here, and you go into the next room, and you're preparing, like, for the informal tea, putting the cookies out, you may not see anybody else in the room, but you might think, I'm practicing with people. I'm making their snacks. But you could also be in there and think, I'm not practicing with people. I'm making snacks for them, but I'm not practicing with them. So I'd like to eat a lot of snacks myself right here without, you know, I think of all of them, in fact. And, you know, it's kind of rolled on the street. It might have to happen. It's a way of thinking about things. And some people, even in a room full of people, may say, I'm not practicing with these people. It's a delusion that we often have when facts are true.

[41:17]

The delusion, I'm not practicing with people. I'm not practicing with everybody. It's such a delusion. You may have heard about it. I've seen it somewhere. But it's a delusion. And also, the idea that you're practicing together with everyone, although truly you are, the idea you have about it is not actually it. The way you're practicing together with everyone is inconceivable. It's also true that you are. To believe that teaching and know that your version of it is not it, that's good. To have that story that you're practicing together with everyone and then now grasp that, now hold to that, I would say, and that's good. That's something to watch out for, your idea that you're with people or not. And I would say that if you don't get caught by either idea, that will lead to the opening into the realization of the process that you're actually being done together with everybody.

[42:33]

That you're embracing and sustaining all beings, and all beings are embracing and sustaining you. That's the samadhi that the Buddhists are practicing. The candidate new church, that's the self-fulfilling and receiving samadhi. That's the samadhi of the Buddhists. The awareness of embracing and sustaining everyone and being embraced and sustained by everyone. The realization that samadhi comes from one thing attached to any story, including mine. But again, if you have a story that you're practicing with some people and not others, and you don't attach to that story, that will lead you to realizing that you're practicing with everyone, and everyone's practicing with you. If you have a story that you are practicing with everybody, and everybody's practicing with you, if you don't attach to that dissemination,

[43:38]

that non-attachment will open you to see, to realize, what you're not attached to. And that's production. Another story, it won't lead you to realize what you're not attached to. Not being attached will not lead you to realize that you're not practicing with people. In the meantime, it puts the constructs of people I totally understand that it always sucks. That's a lot of work to practice together, and it's a lot of work not to practice together. Either way, it's a lot of work. That's something different. Thank you. You're welcome. Thanks for coming. And I wanted to give you a forecast for future for the future meetings, and that is tomorrow I would like to look to you at the Bodhisattva Precept of Regulation of Eternity.

[44:49]

I'd like to look at it with you in this way, to look for how it is that if you have bond of eternity, if you have regulation, of conduct and teaches about ceremonial behaviors. And if you do not, if you don't care about them much, not arguing, but you just don't care much, then you might think that you weren't attached to them. For example, like a way of often eating. You don't care about it. You might not notice. You might think you're not attached to how the infant is often.

[45:51]

But if you put quite a bit of energy into how the infant is often, then you may notice And when people offer a different way from that, or when you offer a different way from that, you're somewhat irritated or nauseated or pained. And then the doctor will think, well, they do not care about this bone because it's a care bone. And what you and other people do is annoying. And if you look at that tomorrow about how these forms of ceremony, in one sense, what that precept is, is it's realized. That precept is realized when you avoid evil by doing these forms.

[46:59]

together with nothing attached to them. And the other way to do it is when you're attached to these forms, these forms help you see how you actually, with these natural forms, can notice how you actually have a problem with human beings who are not dating them in the way that you want them to be done. So that pivot between form, evil, and non-attachment, or form, evil, and attachment, avoiding evil and non-attachment to ruin the form, that's the look that I see tomorrow. thinking I'm trying to bring up this evening.

[48:02]

And one more thing on this point, you can watch for the rest of the night, you know. For example, when the sailors come in, sailors can watch and you can watch. And when you're using your bowl, You can watch yourself and you can watch the other people and you can notice how you feel about yourself when you do various things with your bow and your chopsticks and your spoon. You can notice how you feel about that and you can notice how you feel about the other people and what they're doing. I can not explain how you feel, how you feel about life. Just don't care about it. You can pick up some genetics and you can review your findings tomorrow. There's so many opportunities. Service not having to make a machio yesterday.

[49:29]

You can protect with a machio. Food, a machio, the bowls, the way the service holds off, the way they serve you, the way they perceive. Service has opinions about the diners. The diners have opinions about the service. Getting my aim at it, actually, with this, like, actually working towards realising a dharma body of Buddha that even is born. That's right. But there's no further offerings from you. Perhaps we could have some walking meditation and sitting meditation before the next ceremony that we attempt to do, somewhat in relationship to the tradition of self-defense.

[50:49]

Thank you.

[51:01]

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