huh

there are many topics dharma topics which i would actually shy we actually are sort of up for me to discuss with you and
i
i can hardly imagine having enough space to bring them all up but i'm going to bring some of them up
carolyn would like to sit in your seat up here
anyone
pardon
okay
so one of the topics like talking about is the first or of the so-called major bodhisattva
precepts
and
that's one topic that precept of the first as a major
person tells us also called the heavy bodhisattva precepts the first one is gives the precept of not killing i'd like to talk to about that
nothing i'd like to talk to you about relates to the name of this practice place know about what i like to talk about the mind of know abode
the body sought was mind of no abode
i also like to talk to you about
the buddha
and i also like to talk to you about
our our basic practice in so-called soto zen our basic practice
i've concentrated awareness
on
buddha
how's the like to talk to about the teaching of chapter sixteen and the lotus sutra chapter sixteen of the lotus sutra is a m
very important chapter especially or in soto zen
as transmitted through the japanese ancestor a dog and whose versus we just recited
and i like to talk about how
chapter sixteen and our basic practice or related and how our basic meditation practice of concentrated awareness on buddha is also a spoken of in the lotus sutra chapter sixteen

i'm kind of like and i'm a
sort of opening inspiration about how to bring all this up i already did
or i should say was already brought up
accidentally
earlier when we were sitting i i
i said
that we are sitting together
we still are upright
and i asked is this sitting together
filling the whole universe and as a whole universe this filling the sitting together

so i know i asked that question
and now i proposed to you
that sitting together or walking together
are standing together
upright
in the way that fills the whole universe and in the way that the whole universe fills
are sitting together i propose do now that that is buddha
that is what is meant
buy me by the word buddha buddha is how
our practice together fills a whole universe and how the whole universe skills are practice together that's buddha
i propose that you
so buddha is a practice
and it's the practice of all beings together
and the practice of all beings together fills the whole universe and of course the whole universe
when it fills the practice of all beings together that's what i mean by buddha is a practice
and
in this school to be ah
to be concentrated on that
buddha
it's not some it is not so much to be concentrated on historical person who lived in india
but it includes that because the historical person in india
whole people in this world about the actual buddha
open people's
mine's to the actual buddha
which is a practice
so in the school week we are encouraged to
receive the teaching and used the teaching that the practice and buddha is the practice of all beings together
and of course
i'm a bot is not just one person
what is the practice of all beings together
but one person can enter
the practice of our bags
you
can enter the practice of all beings
because the practice of all beings is always available to you
so you can enter it you can eat it
and you can let it enter you
and consume you
it's not new all by yourself but you all by yourself can enter the realm of new you not all by yourself at all
you can enter the round of buddha
and again
to beware of that to be mindful of this actual buddha which is the practice of law to be mindful of the practice and buddha is the central mindfulness of this school

and we do rituals like sitting together here
to an act to physically and mentally enact
the mindfulness of the of the total practice
a buddha the total practice of all biggs the sitting is a ritual enactment honoring and celebrating
small bags
we're doing a personal exercise
give ourselves to the practice of all beings we're doing a personal exercise to open ourselves to the practice of our bags which is always of course
and this is what this which is always of course near but you can't see it
so ah
in one of the teachings of dog and he says he describes the rome he describes the way all beings are working together to perform buddhist practice and i think maybe today we we will recite this teaching
this description of how the story actually a story about how all beings are interacting
how the humans and non-humans in the celestials in the walls and the tiles and the grasses and trees and the water in the wind how they're all interacting to perform buddhist practice
to perform buddha we recite that maybe today
and in that text and says after after telling a story about this this one practice of all beings working together it says all of this however does not appear within perception
all this however you can't see
now of course has you know you can look at the ocean and die van and think that you see the ocean but you can't see the ocean you can just see a little bit of it like a part the splashes in your face you can see you can taste it in
but that you don't taste the whole motion
you can see it you can touch you can taste it but you can enter it and live it and you can have your own little perceptions of it but the way it's all working is not is not one year perceptions
even know you're a perceptual being in the ocean same way you can enter buddha have your perceptions
or you can have your perceptions and not enter buddha
but that's not so good
in this school is not good enough to enter buddha it's good to enter buddha and like buddha enter you
but just don't expect that this that the buddhist something you're going to be able to perceive
that's it's not mixed with your perceptions and your perceptions aren't excluded they're included but they don't get it
so that seeking by the ancestor a hey dorgan connect with the lotus sutra
which made it will also recited a chapter sixteen where the buddha says i'm always thinking about how i can help beings and the buddha says i'm always close to all beings i'm always close
the buddha is saying i'm always close to each of you
do you and everybody else however
i can't be seen
my perception but i'm always close although i can't be seen it people practice in a certain way and open to me they will see me in a different way than they usually see things
they'll see me by practicing

and as i mentioned in one day sitting earlier this week was it earlier this week
was it like monday is still the same way read saturday's ended son my son is the beginning towards the beginning of this week i mentioned it during one day sitting that and i mentioned it here too
that one way to talk about zen is
first one part is cleaning the temple and the other part is
ha
here's a practicing buddha
for one part is tidy up the the body and mind and the other part is enter
the buddha mind
mr parts
sometimes if were really up if our houses msc for body and mind as a mess we feel like i give me a break i don't why i'm not i can't i'm not gonna lie i can't enter buddha i gotta like get my wife's permission to go to meditate i got i gotta i gotta i gotta clean house i brought a
get a babysitter for my dog i have to
okay tidy up
is it all tied it up now
to take care of everything the house clean
get your clothes on the brush your teeth
are you ready okay ready did you clean up enough very tidy enough well not tidy up more
are you tied it up enough to
to walk into the ocean of buddha's mind and go swimming
if you don't feel ready
i don't know
to do some do some exercises brush your teeth put some put some medical vaseline on your body so it will be so cold whatever you need were wetsuit
and when you ready enter the ocean so first and so we have you know we have to settle down in our body and mind first we have to feel that's okay with the world if we just stop thinking about later today
can i really not think about later today
well yeah i don't think so what more you need to be able to give it up
i need somebody to tell me it's all right for me to do this okay have a cleaning i need that person can ask him
okay you can set you can bear
satire is okay with susan that you're here
is it okay with susan if you don't think about this evening
okay so everybody has to tidy up me probably to get ready to enter the actual practice
so you have to pay the up you have to clean the temple although we didn't do that today we didn't want actually air and clean the temple for us
heron aren't cleaned up so you can come right in here you don't clean up being as community your sit down and then you just have to clean up your body and mind
and then when you're ready and when you clean up your body and mind when you're ready you can enter the name of this temple
you can enter the mind of know abode
you can enter buddha

so i yeah
sounds gonna tell your bathtub
via
some sad stories about the mind of know abode
if you're ready
are you ready
okay so
here's one story once upon a time there was a zen master and his name was

because name was
xiang young
xiang xiang xiang young and
i saw he was in a situation of giving it
a talk meeting with his
our his monks at he practiced with and he said
ah

carolyn news up
there's a m
some paper in that room was many people and it's kind of on the green grey green paper it's a like a a newsletter would just don't get it so he says he says to the monks he says
it's like a person up a tree
up a tree i think the trees like on the side of a cliff about a thousand feet above the ground
a person's up in a tree on a cliff
and
can he's biting one of the branches is is biting one of the branches with his mouth
he's not holding onto the tree with his hands or feet
and someone comes up to him and says
one
the ancestor coming from the west
history first to another story
the the the
the spiritual
not historical really
the spiritual founder of the zen school and china's called bodhi dharma and he supposed to have come from the west india
he went west he came from the west and he went east to it to check to china and in china he he gave people the practice of the buddha
that i've been talking to your buck
so then and then people after it after that
india in the tradition that looks back to him they often ask what was his intention in coming here
and then over the centuries many teachers as many students and many students as many teachers what is the intention
of the ancestor coming from the west so
ha ha

so the zen teacher
xiang yan
set up this this situation for the monks k
and then he says so if you're like if someone's in a situation or of your in that situation
where you're hanging by your teeth
a thousand feet in hair
and someone comes to you and asks you excuse me what is the intention of the ancestor coming from the west
and then a zen teacher says now give you if you open your mouth to answer ah you will forfeit your body and a lose your life
if you don't answer him
while you flunk buddhism one or one
you don't answer that question so as not
that's not so good
so he says so what we will have to practice when we're in that place so i'm proposing that that place
that's that's the mind of no bowed where you're hanging by your teeth from a tree
a thousand feet up and people are asking you what's the point of buddhism
that's also what is like being close but not seeing
the torso what a sight to be a boot all around you
and now you're ready to
respond and i'm not saying that you should open your mouth and fall to your death
i'm not saying you should hold on and fail the test i'm saying that this place is the place
where the ancestors lived this is the mind of know abode
but maybe you want to tidy up a little bit before you go to that place
i'm going to go sit today is it okay if i never come back
because i i published an open my mouth
than i might not be able to come back
where do we do there
so that's what he asked that's the question that situation he's trying to
people imagine the mind of no abode
and then
how you respond to the question in that space
so at that time a senior monk
came forth from the group and said
i'm not asking about when he's up the tree
please tell us reverend teacher how but when he's not yet up in a tree
and the teacher laughed heartily

and then again this is a dozen ancestor dogan says
remember
remember
we should realize that all buddha ancestors
who answered the question
paul boot ancestors who answered the question
what is the intention of coming from the west had answered as they encountered the moment of up in a tree
biting the branch
that's where the as for the boot ancestors are that's that's they're encountering that place that situation when they answer the question
and all booed and sisters who asked about the intention of the ancestor coming from the west
have asked it has they encounter the moment of
up the tree biting the branch
okay so there's one more big topic but i think i'll talk about that
later in the afternoon the topic of the wonderful practice of the practice the teaching practice the practice of the teaching
the teaching not killings
i'll talked about that later
it's kind of related to this but i think i already have
i brought up a little bit
so am i are we tied it up enough to encounter the moment
of
the mind of know about to encounter the moment of
buying a branch a thousand feet up
and and now from that place
ah
you're welcome to answer the question of
what is the intention of the ancestors
whoa i won't say one more story which if i think a lot of you heard it's kind of real it kind of comes up
in relationship to the to the someone i just told
now this story is not so historical the when i just told you supposedly
how are our rica record of something that a zen teacher actually
sad and something or the students who has a name came forward and talked about but this story is not so historical the story is just about a girl
sometimes they say it's a boy who was walking around along this planet on the ground
in a place where there's tigers
and the tiger starts moving towards the person but the person doesn't want to be close to the tiger
so the person starts moving away from the tiger
kind of running away from the tiger and a person comes to a cliff
how this person just i guess happens to have a little love
as a rope with her so she tied the rope onto something and lowers yourself over the cliff
as the one of those tall cliffs but the same size as as cliff for the trees
it's about one thousand feet tall and she's hanging from el capitan by this rope
the tigers looking down at her drooling
and drops of drool are coming down hitting her on the forehead

ah chee strong she can hold onto their roof if she knows how to make little how to turn around us
hold on so she's chicken on for a while here maybe the tiger get bored and go away
and if he doesn't
she's getting in or she can be know she can live on his saliva
tiger soul i was very nutritious

but she notices out of the wall of the cliff a little rodent emerges and looks at her and looks at the at the rope and thinks ah the rope i could use that to enhance my nest so that the road and started to gnaw on the rope
the rodents gnawing on the rope
and the road starts to get frayed
so she becomes afraid that the ropes gonna break and as she will fall
but she doesn't want to climb back up real quick because a tiger still there
when she notices it is
some wild strawberries growing on the cliff side
when she reaches out and
harvests some strawberry and she eats it and it's very delicious

yes
yes glory
well so after that story told
almost for my to opposite with up to opposite worlds and you could say yeah
and i was waiting to see which
when you were going to tell him for of course you didn't have while
and one did you say it has to morals you've heard and your way to see what moral i would bring up but of course i didn't say any more specific
not killing
yes so one is that but you will say the miles long as easy to she she'll need to but she could
i was too i was talking that during that one day sitting i was doing something i don't know what i was doing but
maybe gordon can remember i was doing something and somebody asked for an explanation and i somehow wasn't able to give it so somebody else gave it
this is one of the nice things about the zen tradition as as there's a history of teachers not giving explanations and referring them to other people
like master moth you know say what's the people in non-conductive what's the moral of this story and master moss i'm heading to the glass laurie
and then laurie in this case we'll see what laurie does well what's the mean what's the moral here of this story of the of the girl hanging
from the rope above and also i mean what kind of story as that they can have to i opposite
yeah
two opposite and also something in between the two opposite
what kind of a story is that they could have infinite morals
what kind of story is that sounds like a sensed her
zens very fortunate it gets to be with the story that has infinite meanings and by the way
the lotus sutra emerges
from a samadi called the samadi of infinite meanings
lori should i tell him i my our canvas everybody see went to take them are now we we can you can tell us the to opposite you can canvass people aren't you just move on and forget about the meaning of the ancestor coming from the west
but he is
yes but you know anyway
at the lunch break if you want to find out
glass sister lori that she might tell you but she also might say
i'm tired
glass brother john
you guys came he might tell you buddy miles and might say when it comes to this i don't know anything at all
and then you might come back to me
and if you do you will be re-enacting our our tradition
by the way is anybody trying to get anything
the mind of no abode
includes everybody who's trying to get something but it's not trying to get anything
but if any of you want to get something you're welcome in this mind which isn't trying to get anything

yeah i did you want to say something young lady and well i don't know anything either
answer i did you think

she thinks she knows that that she wouldn't answer
a strawberry

yeah stepping off a hundred paul he said to associate the strawberry with that why not
huh
for the taste contest a strawberry or you could say the mind of know abode is the mind which really enjoys the strawberry
just enjoys it doesn't doesn't concern about the next one
cause there might not be next one
there might not even be in any more tiger saliva were just eating strawberries right now
here's another story
about that which i
sometimes tell you again and again
i was over and in berkeley about thirty years ago
be twenty nine
and i was with the daughter
of my wife
and the son of my wife's old his friend
one of her oldest friends and we were at a beach by this lake in berkeley called lake anza
and i was learning how to swim
really how to swim
after get into that later if you want to hear about it but anyway on the beach while i was learning how to swim
the little people the two year olds were sitting naked in the sand eating strawberries of all things
and the little girl my wife's daughter
says to the boy's mother
while pointing
ah at his genital
she said what's that
and the boy's mother said is a penis
and then the woman pointed at my daughter and said what's that and my daughter said a strawberry
so when i emerged from the water and heard the story i thought oh that's the mind of know abode

handers as laurie may be able to explain to her there's to morals of that story that are opposite
yes i didn't catch the to or he didn't
ah yes miss
reminds me

this is something they say in the black community everything's everything

yeah right
yeah has the same meaning
everything is everything

it's when
as a child
now sometimes i am now are you a child now
and were inquisitive
i'm the child is a child is an inquisitive necessary that the child i know you you can if your child you can be inquisitive so if your child now you can be in college should be inquisitive go ahead the inquisitive but i'd like if you to be a child the
are you a child yes yes i'm a child and i'm wondering how you kind of like focusing on this thing you're interested in yes okay are you are you biting down hard on this
not really why don't you go ahead and buy it on a explore and i kind of like
i'm just kind of can you explore with your teeth
it doesn't feel as good as with my hat where i find you can use your hands to
you can you you can use your has to assist your teeth
i want you to use your teeth matches your hands
my teeth are hard yeah your hat yeah
your teeth are hard to your teeth or hard you can use teeth to explore things
you can use hands to just use party your body or child internet the limit yourself here's your whole body when you want to explore
young lady it's
the points it's a point a point
that it's not lost now but there times i lose that point using the point who
lose the point
and when i lose the point i'm not it's mm-hmm yeah
i don't like it
know for you he don't like it
when you lose the point
when we lose the mind of no abode
when we stop engaging
with hanging
from the tree branch by our teeth when we when we lose that point
when we're we're out of touch with the place that we want to be
and being a child helps
ah the child childlike helps us find that point that's why we have this story heard the stories for you to help you be like a child who would do a silly thing like climb up in a tall tall tree and bite it
and then be available for answer exam questions
the teachers as i have some sand questions for you but i'm not going to ask your first oh amen i tell you where to go and when you get there
i'm going to ask your question
someone has set on make a setup for you can you how to be a certain way so you get ready and then i'm asking ask your question that you can answer from that place
but the instructions to get you to the place
and then from that place you will be asked a question and then
or be given us be given something to deal with like a
ah a mouse gnawing at your rope
so in a place you will be given
a question
someone will bring something to you you will be given a gift and then various responses can from company that place and they can be diametrically opposed the responses
we're concentrating on getting to the place
so in the story the last story laurie her to opposed more our morals to oppose responses
but in response to this question what is the meaning of the ancestors coming there's more than two repose responses as infinite oppose responses that have happened over the centuries
where people came to the place they went to the the the
they were in the place and they asked from that place where they are in their place and they were questioned from that place
are there in that place and an answer from that place
so here's a sample of responses
and
and the responses are one way to to check to see if we were in the right place in the bodhisattvas
place of know board
and if we lose that place well we should go back and try again to find a place again and again and again
because it's a momentary thing it's to encounter the moment of being that way and again the movement of being that way
and in that place people may come and ask us
for various morals various meanings
so let's see how do we do this

i don't know i don't have enough of these for everybody so could you share these these are
pieces of cardstock paper details upstairs please
maybe they don't need that many of how many are there
you get enough there's two for all you need is three upper-right because you have six people just takes three up there and then this is cardstock paper on which is written a verse section of chapter sixteen of the load etc
this is a chapter where the where they were the trans historical buddha tells us
who he really is who she really is

tell recorded

okay can you see one
this extra is okay send the actors back please
okay

versa the lifespan of the to target urge chapter of the lotus sutra know
that time the world honor on wishing to restate the meeting spot religious design
the same last
policies of us

the
the cia
the

the sad cause
he the has
sexy to realize is a extensively
a for me
and firstly a sad thing is straightforward
hi i'm in my wish to see the i said that i am a service
guy in my say for the
the see
cc cc four days
right day by signing state
you of here is that i have passed since to society that mean something
plan
one
cheap
a spiritual traditions
he has
we saw the mastery vehicles your mouth and also
oasis against the ravaged by ray fi
hi
house
the
signs when you see
the
the
the
he's been so
the causes and conditions
the
the
the last year's eve
steve
she
be difficult to me that
yeah

synopsis
hey
the
yes
perseus
the

the
can i say often see
last
it's asked to provide desires recovery
the past
the is a way
the or areas eyes for this is said
see how can i was living beings
ashrae and too quickly

so we came here today and we are
heard the teaching
this teaching for example
and maybe we're
ready to hear
the buddha's teaching i'm always close but they failed to see me

in sometimes cleaning the temple means
taking care of whatever you need to take care of
in order to
be displays
of no abode
where you can open to the to the buddha and the practice of the buddha
and enter it

in a little while we may take a break from sitting here and go out and have lunch

so ice ice i i suggest before we go on our break to consider as to continue the practice
i'm being
in his mind of no abode
as the as our food
and our hunger and our friends come to talk to us
they may say how are you feeling
but you understand they're really saying what is the intention of the ancestor coming from your west
and you're in a place of know abode to respond
would you like a carrot

when is the moral of lunch
and so on see if you can continue the practice of the body soccer practice and nine of mine of of nine one one
the body sought for practice of the mind of know about see people practice in lunch
this is a a strange restaurant here
where you can actually practice than during lunch
can have a zen luncheon will you actually
go to the place of know abode and eat
in that place
and then see if you can continue to practice the mind of know abode in the work period
and so on so now see if you can put these teachings to practice into practice
see if you can eat lunch
with the teaching that the buddha is telling us that she's always close to us while we're eating lunch while we're sitting together why we're working together see if you can be mindful of that teaching that this practice is always present with us
this resource is there
but we do sort of need to remember it otherwise we forget it
and it's not easy to remember it when we get really hungry
or people get really
complimentary
so usually have to recite often be after very cite scripture we we dedicate the merit and we say may our intention equally extend day me we can say may the ancestor
jurors intention equally extend
the buddha's intention and our intention and ancestors intention
gay
may the buddha his intention and the ancestors intention and our intention equally extend to every being and place where the to married
his way beings are numberless i vow to save them delusions are inexhaustible i love to end them dharma gay are boundless i
the as way is unsurpassable i vow to become