There's a memory appearing in consciousness that the name of this class is having to do with intimate communication. Communication? Communication? Some other people have that memory? Something like that? And we've been looking at stories stories so far some of them more than a thousand years old supposedly from China and some more recent stories also from the Blue Cliff record which have been offered as possible examples of intimate communion, intimate communication between maybe between bodhisattvas.

[01:22]

And last time we talked about a story of a Buddhist monk named Zhaozhou having a conversation with another monk. And the monk asked Zhaozhou, What is Zhaozhou? It's kind of an intimate question. I've asked some people that question, a similar question, recently. What is Jeremy? Kind of intimate. Yeah, it's kind of like an intimate question, yeah? It's kind of intimate.

[02:36]

So Jiaojiao asked the monk, he asked, what's Jiaojiao? And Jiaojiao said, East Gate, West Gate, North Gate, South Gate. So that was Zhao Zhou's, we can use that, you can use that as an example, as a case of intimate, of talking in intimacy. And there's, it's a little bit hard for me to move on from so many stories of Zhao Zhou's intimate conversations with people. But we can come back later maybe, if we have a later.

[03:37]

For me, it's more courageous to go forward into new territory, the next case. I don't want to let make a nest out of the great Zhao Zhou's communication. But I'm tempted to do so. The next example in the book is, in this translation, is called Mu Zhou's Thieving Phony. Even phony. And sometimes there can be kind of a warm-up, intimate communication. You know, like somebody might say, want to have coffee sometime?

[04:49]

Or want to go have dinner? And people... do something like dinner as a kind of warm-up. You can kind of watch how people deal with food, you know, before going anywhere. So Muzhou, there's a story about him that he was a student of Wang Bo. And Wang Bo is going to be the next case.

[05:55]

This is case number 10, I think, and next time it's going to be Maybe. And that's going to be the great story of Wang Bo. One of the great stories of Wang Bo. One of the really great stories of Wang Bo. Another story that's so, I get goosebumps thinking how, what an introduction Wang Bo has in the next story. But for now, I just mention that Mu Zhou is a disciple of Wang Bo. Excuse me. Even though Wang Bo is such a great bodhisattva, all we know is when he died. We don't know when he was born. So it's hard to celebrate Wang Bo's birthday party. Muzhou. Muzhou. Linji died in 866.

[07:12]

So Mu is a student of Wang Bo. And Linji, who is the founder of the Linji school, of Zen, which was the big, at a certain point was most Zen in China was descended from Linji. And Linji is a student of Wang Bo also. And when Linji came to study with Wang Bo, and the head monk, the Shusou, at Wang Bo's monastery was Muzhou. And Mujo saw Linji for years, and he saw that Linji was practicing wholeheartedly.

[08:22]

So he said, one day he said to Linji, how long have you been here? And Linji said, three years. Have you gone to talk to the teacher? have you gone and asked the teacher any questions? And Linji said, I'm going to ask. And Muzhou said, asking what is the essential meaning of the Buddha Dharma. So Linji did go to Wong, according to his elder brother's encouragement. And he asked Wang Bo, what's the essential meaning of Buddha Dharma? And Wang Bo hit him. He said to Linji, what happened? What did he say?

[09:25]

He said, well, he hit me. Mungo said, it would be good to ask him again. Minji had been at the monastery for three years. He'd been eating together with the teacher for three years. So now it's time to get intimate and ask the teacher a question. Like, import of the Buddha Dharma. So he went and asked again and Wang Bo hit him again. So, although it doesn't say in the record, I think maybe he said to Linji, what happened that second time? He said, he hit me again.

[10:26]

And I think Mujo suggested, go ask him again. And he did. He received another hit. And then he went to the head monk Mujo, his elder brother, and said, I, you know, my karmic accumulations have really greatly hindered my realization. I can't understand what's going on. I don't know if I'm right or wrong. I think I should just give up and leave this place." And Morjo said, uh, well, if you leave, you really should go say goodbye. in brackets. And you can stand far away when you do. So then Muzhou went to Wang Bo and said, this young monk is really wholehearted and someday he's going to be a great tree and help everyone.

[11:52]

So please give him some appropriate instruction. So Linji went back to Wang Bo a fourth time and said, Teacher, I'm leaving. And Wang Bo said, Well, you don't have to really leave. You can just go over that hill. visit Da Yu, my friend, and he'll explain to you, brackets, what I'm doing, you know, what this conversation is about. Anyway, I'm going to stop there for now and just say he did go over the hill and the story goes on. But if you need me to, I'll go back and finish the story. But for now, I just wanted to point out But this is Mujo when he was in the monastery with his teacher as head monk.

[12:57]

And this is how he helped the founding of the Linji school. Maybe it's easy to see his kindness. Maybe not. To keep sending him back into this intensity. As I mentioned, I don't know if I said it in the Dharma talk on Sunday, but I did say it at some point that Shakyamuni Buddha was a martial artist. He did receive some aggression during his teaching career and before, and he was also raised as a martial artist. in his family. He came from a family of warriors, so he was trained in martial arts. And when he became the Buddha, he became this Buddhist.

[14:01]

So this particular section of the history has quite a bit of martial arts going on, lots of intense physical interaction and verbal interaction. at this particular section, this particular era of the Zen history. Lengyi is like the, what's the word? He's the great shouter. And maybe we'll get to Lengyi later and deal with his shout. For now, Just wanted you to see how Muzhou was with Linji and Wang Bo. Also Muzhou helped the founder of another school.

[15:10]

There's another one, one of the other schools in China was called the Yunmen School or the Yunmen Gate. for the Yuen Muns. And according to the dates as far as I can see, when Yuen Mun was like 13, he went to see Mojo. And If I look at the dates of Yunmen's life and the dates of Muzhou's life, it sounds like Muzhou had already retired from being abbot of his monastery. Muzhou is the name of his hometown. His monk name is Daoming. So I think he had already retired because because Linji was born so much later than him.

[16:23]

And he's living like in his own little house, not in the monastery. And Yunmin comes to see him. Yunmin knocks on the door. Well, before I tell you that, Muzhou Daming was a well-known teacher in China before Yan Men was born. And then he retired, but still monks kept coming to see him from all over China. kind of the bravest monks in China went to see him because he was . His welcoming center was different from Gringoge's welcoming center.

[17:29]

Nothing against Gringoge's welcoming center. I'm not saying you should be like Muzhou. If Muzhou saw people coming, he would slam his door shut. And they say he could tell the development of the monk by listening to his footsteps as he approached his house. But even he still shut the door. Anyway, here comes the young and future great master, Yin Man. Muzhou hears his footsteps. come up to the house, knocks on the door, and Mujo says, who is it? Who is walking on my bridge? And Yunmin says, it's me.

[18:38]

And Mujo says, go away. And he comes back the next day and the next day. And I don't remember if it was three days in a row or three days and then a fourth day. But anyway, on the final day he came back, he came up to Mujo's door and before Mujo could close the door, he stuck his foot in the doorway and Mujo slammed it shut with his foot in the door and broke his foot. That's what Wong Bo did when he heard stories about his teacher.

[19:50]

Maybe Mujo is your teacher. He slammed the door on Yen Man's foot and Yen Man had a great enlightenment. He was asking for instruction. I forgot to tell you. He said, I think Mujo said, who is it? He said, it's me. He said, what do you want? He said, I need instruction. My mind is... awake and Mujo said, go away. And then he stuck his foot in the door, the door slammed and his mind was liberated. However, that was not the end of his career. He then went on to study with a number of other teachers and he did not become Mujo's successor. Mujo helped him get started, wake up from delusion, and then other teachers helped him deepen his realization, and he became a successor, who earlier stories we've been studying.

[21:04]

Another great master. Gives you a little feeling for Muzhou. kind of the softer welcoming to Linji and a little bit more intense or severe welcoming to Yunmen. But this person in this case helped two of the greatest masters in Zen history. He helped them get started. Now this story, the monk in this story is, in a sense, anonymous. It just says a monk. And there's an introduction to this story, which is totally relevant, but I'll get to that later, if there's a later.

[22:10]

So in this case, Mujo says to teachers, which is typical in Zen stories, when a monk comes to a teacher, the teacher usually says, where are you from? Even now, if you go to Japan or Korea or China, usually they'll ask you where you're from. It's a... Where have you studied before? What kind of Dharma have you heard before? And so on. So here's this very intense bodhisattva who sends people on dangerous missions of enlightenment again and again. Now the monk comes to see him. Where are you from? And this monk yells at Muzo.

[23:17]

Mougeau didn't close the door on this guy. Maybe he was not yet retired. Maybe he was an abbot and he had a different kind of welcoming center at that time. So people could come in and he would say, And then they would go, And then Mougeau said, I've been shouted at by you. Once. And the monk shouted again. So this is being offered to you in conversation. Again, as I mentioned, Linji, the little brother of Muzhou Daoming, really developed the shouting practice as a form of intimate communion.

[24:39]

And here we have his elder brother, his elder friend. The monk comes to him and shouts at him. And then he says, I've been shouted at once, and the monk shouts again. Okay? And the story goes on a little bit. And so Mujo says, well, you can shout three times or four times. And then what? And although things are pretty intimate, somehow there's a little blockage here, I think. I'm not sure. But Wood Joe's new friend doesn't have anything more to say. No shouts, no door slamming, no thank you very much, no donations, nothing.

[25:48]

And then Mujo hit him. The great, kind Bodhisattva hits the monk, who's not saying anything. When he was shouting, Mujo said, I've been shouted at. And then shouted again. You can shout some more, and then what? But the monk doesn't say anything, so when the monk doesn't say anything, Mujo hits him and says, What a thieving phone you. Or, you know, another translation is, what an empty-headed fool. That's an example

[27:04]

I suggest that that's an example, an ancient example of the intimate communication of bodhisattvas trying to realize the illusion of separateness of beings, the illusion of the apparent separation of awareness and what we are aware of. And I'm going to say something now which I don't want to, I'm not trying to inhibit you. that I mentioned to some people between last class and this class that I feel that in the last story when dear Jaojo when asked what is Jaojo and he said Eastgate

[28:29]

Westgate, Northgate, Southgate, that when he said that, when he asked the monk, no, when the monk asked him, what is Zhaozhou? And when he said what he said, I suggested that was an example of the wooden man singing and the stone woman dancing. For me, I felt that that was the example last week of the wooden man singing and the stone woman dancing. And I would say in addition, although it doesn't say so in that part of the song of the Jilmir Samadhi, that the singing of the wooden man and the dancing of the stone woman are simultaneous. So for me, that story was about that.

[29:35]

And this story is also. This is the wooden man. singing, and then Zhaozhou says, where are you from? That's a stone woman dancing. And he's the wooden man singing, and Zhaozhou's with him dancing, and then Zhaozhou sings, where are you from? And the monk shouts. And Zhaozhou says, I've been shouted at once, and so on. This is again and again, the wooden man singing, the stone woman This is this picture, a picture of an inconceivable intimate communication. And the part I want to mention is that after that picture of this inconceivable dancing and singing, it says, this is not within reach of feeling or discrimination.

[30:47]

How could it admit of consideration and thought? So I'm not telling you not to have feelings and not to have thoughts, but just kind of forewarn you that these stories of intimacy, the intimacy that the stories are about, are about an inconceivable intimacy that we already have. So be careful. as we proceed in the intimate conversation of this evening. Have you had enough to eat? Want dessert? You do? Paul? You didn't know you were bringing dessert?

[31:50]

Aren't you a waiter in this restaurant? Aren't you one of the servers in this restaurant? Tonight I'll be your server. Isn't that you? Aren't you my server? I have said that before. Didn't you raise your hand? You weren't holding a tray? You didn't want me to call on you and ask you what you have for dessert? You weren't? You were? I was just going to ask. Okay, yeah. So what were you going to say? This has now been promoted to dessert. Thank you. You're so welcome. So what is for dessert, Paul? It is inconceivable intimacy. Oh, what a dish. Tonight, for dessert, we have a special. It's inconceivable intimacy. How much does it cost? You already have it.

[32:58]

No. Right. Now I have to pay for it. Now that you've given it to me, I have to take care of it. That's a high price. Do you have anything else for dessert? By any chance? This inconceivable intimacy. Comma, did you say? Yep. We also have commas for dessert. We already have this inconceivable. How do you know that you have it? How do you know you have it? If it's inconceivable. Ah. Well, that's another story. I believe that that story is a story that has Zhaozhou in it and his teacher, Nanchuan.

[34:11]

Should we go look at that story? Well, maybe before we say what one of the punchlines of that story is, the story is this is not on the level of knowing and not knowing. What we're talking about is not on that level of knowing and not knowing. Knowing is delusion. In other words, conscious knowing is delusion and not knowing is nihilism. This is not on that level. We're talking about something... Knowing and not knowing is delusion. Conscious knowing and not knowing is in the realm of the conceivable. We're trying to liberate the consciousness with this inconceivable liberation of Buddha's wisdom. ...knowing and not knowing. But however, it is fine to ask, how do we know? And when you ask that question, you're saying what Zhaozhou said to his teacher.

[35:15]

more than a thousand years ago. And that question, how do I know? A great Zen master asked that question, and his teacher said, it's not in that ballpark. It's not within reach of knowing and not knowing, feeling and discrimination, like discrimination between knowing and not knowing. It's not in that realm. However, it's not separate from that realm. It is the liberation of that realm. and you have this already. Says who? Says the Jewel-Mir Samadhi. Who's talking in that song of the Jewel-Mir Samadhi? Who says that? Now you have it, so keep it well. Who's saying that? Are you saying that? Well, I heard you say that the other day in Zendo. Was that you that said it? Yeah, you were one of those, a number of you people said that.

[36:17]

You said that. You said, keep it well. But a lot of people are saying that. I'm just one of the people who says it. I'm just one of the people who sings. Now you have it, so keep it well. Thanks for dessert, Paul. Anything more? Are you going to comp me some stuff? Everybody know what comp means? Huh? Comp means like sometimes the cook gives you a free dessert. They comp you. It's an abbreviation for what? Complimentary. You're such a nice guest. then I'm going to comp you dessert. By the way, you're welcome to mess up my order.

[37:27]

See if I can welcome you when you mess up my order. Joe calls the lung. a phony. Is that the same kind of thieving or thief that Sujan was called for asking about his eyebrows? You know, I was thinking about that. Is it a thieving phony or is it like a phony thief? I'm not sure. I thought there's a thief and now we even have like a thief that's a phony thief. Or is it that he's a thieving phony? I'm not sure. But it's related. And the way it's related is that these are both stories about intimacy. The previous accusation of thievery was in an intimate conversation. And this one is too. These stories are jam-packed or chock-full. Do you know what chock-full means, Lisa?

[38:33]

You know what full means, right? Chock-full means really full. It means I'm chock full of compassion when they talk like this. Hence, that's for us to talk about. Thanks for being our server. I've got to tell this story. Zhao Zhou's teacher was Nan Chuan. So the monk comes and says to Zhaozhou, what's a Zhaozhou, right? Remember that story? One day a monk came to Nanchuan and said to Nanchuan, where's Nanchuan? Nanchuan was outside the monastery cutting grass with a scythe. The monk comes up to him and says, Where is Nanchuan?

[39:36]

And Nanchuan says, this is sharp. Can you see how Zhao Zhou is Nanchuan's student? What is Zhao Zhou? East Gate. What is Nanchuan? This scythe is sharp. And the monk says, I didn't ask you about your scythe. I asked you Where is Nanchuan? And Nanchuan shows him where Nanchuan is and says, it costs $30. I had to tell that. Excuse me. Or forgive me, I should say. Don't excuse me. Forgive me. Do you forgive me? Bradley does. Do you forgive me? Thanks, Bradley. One forgiveness will do me until I meet Sarah. Are you one of the servers here?

[40:40]

Apparently. Apparently. Thank you for all these stories. Oh, you're welcome. I guess I'm one of the servers, too. I just wanted to say something. Okay, that seems appropriate. You're like the best person to do that. When you think about intimate communication, I think about it as some kind of knowing or telling of one person's experience to another or others. And I'm just aware, I guess tonight I'm feeling that I'm sitting in the room with all the people whose names we've said in class.

[41:46]

And I'm wanting to be more intimate with this moment and the people in this room. You want to be more intimate with this moment? Did you say you want to be more intimate? You want to feel it? Do you want the kind of intimacy where I respond to you right now? It's not within the reach of feeling. I hear that you want feeling, and that's fine that you want it, but the intimacy is not within reach of feeling. you have it already. And if you want feeling, the feeling is part of the intimacy. We are intimate with you who want a feeling of the intimacy. But the feeling of the intimacy is not going to reach the intimacy.

[42:52]

That's my little shout. I would say about 99.9% of the time you do not. I mean, you know, during a day, if you felt intimate 55 times or 175 times, then 99.9% of the time you do not. Some people go through the whole day and do not feel it and are totally blind. inspired by the realization of it, and they have no feeling of it. And they're just like, you know, just working it joyfully with everything they do. But they're transmitting it, they're practicing it, they're remembering it, and they maybe don't feel it once. Some people might feel it six times. And feeling it is nice, but the feeling of it is not it.

[43:58]

It's not within it. And most human beings are kind of addicted to feeling reality, which is a distraction. Reality does not get put into consciousness. The reality of consciousness is there, but our feeling about reality is not reality. But we We like to reduce reality to something that could be felt or to a feeling. So... Pardon? Faith? The faith in this teaching is the faith that now you have it, so take care of it. And one of the ways to take care of it is Listen to the, later in the song it says, this thing you're taking care of is not within reach of feeling or discrimination. So if you think, the thinking that you have it isn't having it.

[45:04]

That's just a thought. I don't have it. I feel it. I don't feel it. It's not within the reach of those things. And having those things, people who have those things, have it. No matter how much we think and no matter how much we already have it. And one of the ways to take care of it is to hear the teaching that it's not by feeling and discrimination that you're going to realize it. It's by remembering that you have it and making everything you do taking care of it. But again, the monk says, well, how do I know if I'm taking care of it or not? It's not within the reach of your knowing that you're taking care of it or not knowing you're taking care of it. By remembering it. Well, like we say, by expressing it by your three types of karma.

[46:09]

That when you're thinking, your thinking is given to expressing this intimacy. When you speak, the speaking is an expression of it. When you gesture, you're using that. This is also called grandmother mind. That no matter what you're doing, you never forget the intimacy. Just like grandmothers don't forget their grandchildren. And they don't have to work they just always remember, no matter what they're doing. If they're playing the piano, if they're saluting, if they're tap dancing, if they're washing dishes, if they're getting slapped in the face, they don't forget their grandchildren. So in this way, no matter what's happening, we remember the intimacy. We remember the intimate communication. We remember and then we kind of remember that what's going on now is the current situation in which I remember.

[47:13]

It's not so much that you slapping me in the face is the intimacy because I can feel the slap. It's that you slapping me in the face is the current opportunity for me to remember intimacy of you and me and all of us. And there's not more intimacy but there is more realization We got the full amount of intimacy in this gut. Just what we need, but we can realize it more. But to realize it more, we have to be more mindful. We have to pay more attention to what's going on and then pay close attention so that we don't get fooled by what's going on. Like when somebody appears to be separate. If we're attentive to that, we realize that that's an illusion. If we don't pay attention to it, if we ignore looking at it, then we fall for it. And then we should be remembering the intimacy all the time.

[48:16]

Not should be, but that's how we have more realizations, which means more peace, which means more fearlessness. And in order to have more realization, we have to have more compassion with the feelings and discriminations. Feelings and discriminations. My mind is making discriminations, and I'm not trying to control you, but would you please stand up? Is it okay if you have to open this window? Yeah. And that's another point, is that one of the things we can do, one of the practices we can do to realize intimacy is to give up trying to control the people in this class, including me.

[49:30]

Someone told me today that they used to try to control me, but they're kind of giving it up. What? You confessed it. Not yet given it up? Considering giving it up? Contemplating the possibility of giving it up? Slap him! Work for you? Wow, ow, ow, ow, he hit me. He hit me. Can you sit down? I didn't do that to convince you. So I find that I have faith in giving up controlling people

[50:35]

promotes the realization of intimacy. And also giving up trying to control me, me trying to control me, and also you trying to control me, promotes giving up giving that up, promotes realization of intimacy. It doesn't increase it. We're already intimate. And our intimacy sponsors everybody that's trying to control me, is sponsored by And so now that that's been sponsored, now everybody who wants to control anybody in this room can now consider the possibility of giving that up as a gesture towards realization. You don't have to control intimacy. Matter of fact, you can, and neither can I. And even if all of us together cannot control it. As we say, even if all the Buddhas in ten directions with their Buddha wisdom try to measure the merit of one person's intimacy, they would not be able to fully comprehend it.

[51:37]

But they realize it. They realize the intimacy of one person and they also realize the intimacy of all beings, but they can't control it. Buddhas cannot make us be intimate, and they cannot make us be un-intimate, and they cannot make us realize it, and give up trying to get us to realize it. And that's how they get us to realize it, is by saying, please realize it. Help me be a successful Buddha. Is that enough for tonight? Okay. Okay, is that enough? You've had dessert? You haven't had coffee? Are you our coffee server?

[52:41]

What did you say? You're ready now. Okay. And shall I bring you a bill? Or are you going to bring me a bill? Okay. When are you going to bring it? Great. And before you leave, I just have something more to say to you. Can I do that next week? I wanted to tell you a great Bodhisattva about this case. And it starts out kind of straightforwardly. This is English translation, okay? This is a poem by a great bodhisattva named Sway Do. And it starts out by saying, two shouts and a third. Follow that? Adepts. recognize the opportune moment for change.

[53:56]

If you call that riding the tiger's head, then they both turn out to be blind men. And just by coincidence, I found this drawing by Hakuin of two blind men trying to cross the bridge. Do you remember that poem now? Two shouts and a third shout. Adepts, the adepts, these two people, recognize the opportune moment for change. If you call this riding the dragon's head, they both turn out to be blind people. I leave you about this case and next week I'll tell some more stories and we can go a little bit more thoroughly into the poem.

[55:15]

Is that okay? Some of you people are really smart. But you're all intimate, which is inconceivably delicious.

[55:59]

@Transcribed_v005
@Text_v005
@Score_87.16