In the midst of fierce flames, all the Buddhas have turned the wheel of the Dharma in the midst of fierce flames. Calmly, joyously, in the midst of Intense change. Kind of thinking they do. It's called not thinking.

[01:03]

It's also called turning the light around. It's also called a backward step. As soon as a thought occurs, Being aware of it, it vanishes. Remaining thus forgetful of objects for some time, they are naturally unified. Body and mind drop away of themselves.

[02:12]

And the original face manifests. In the midst of brilliant, uncontrollable cosmic forces, we sit. with complete gratitude, not trying to be the slightest bit different, thinking of that which doesn't think.

[03:34]

Thank you. Living in the midst of unbelievably dynamic energies. Unable to get a hold of anything.

[05:09]

The mind can find no place to take up residence. The thinking has no both. This is not meditation. It is the front door to the Buddha's teaching. It is the true door to great peace and bliss.

[06:34]

From this place, from this way of living, we are able to work for the benefit of all beings. We are willing to live in the world. There's nothing to do. But if there is the slightest discrepancy, heaven turns into hell. If there is no discrepancy, hell turns into heaven.

[07:50]

Amok asked Dungsan, among the three bodies of Buddha, which one does not fall into any category? Dungsan said, I'm always close to this. And yet, this closeness rips your heart if it's outside.

[09:29]

And the ultimate familiarity seems like enmity. Everyday, in a thousand ways, things don't go the way we want.

[10:44]

Should we fix the things or should we settle? I'd recommend settle first and then see if they still need to be fixed. What I'm speaking about is not meditation.

[12:27]

It is simply the donagate of repose and bliss, the practice realization of totally accommodated enlightenment. Traps and snares can never reach it. This practice is undefiled for anything people do.

[13:37]

During this session, I was not able to completely put aside, cast aside all involvements and cease all affairs. One of the problems of meeting the session is that you have to talk about things like schedules, and any other things you have to discuss. It's very difficult to not continue to deal with affairs in those circumstances. Also, I have a commitment to try and support a certain young woman from one place to another every week. And I usually do it myself, but I had to arrange for other people to do this, which I did. In this process, I talked to my wife.

[15:06]

And she told me that she was thinking of having our vacuum cleaner tuned up. A while ago, the power head on the vacuum cleaner started kind of smoking. And I stopped using. She was going to take it in to get it fixed. And I asked her to let me fix it. It didn't work the way you think. I did fix it. And I was very proud. But now she wants to get it kind of like tuned up.

[16:19]

She thinks I don't know how to do that. So I said, please, let me do it. And she said, hey, how about a little division of labor? You just concentrate on enlightenment. I'll take care of the vacuum cleaning. She said, OK. Don't spread yourself thin, Tenshin. Since that time, I've tried not to spread myself thin. I think it's a good idea. Let's concentrate on our job. It's difficult enough to do one thing completely, right? Difficult enough to sit on your seat. And let's try to do that.

[17:22]

And if we can do that, we did our job. And then let's see what happens. Let's study the life that we have after . But look at ourselves after we settle and see, how is it? How do things work once you're not wriggling anymore? Dogen Zenji says that this state of not wiggling is the downgrade of reposing bliss, or rather, the state of not spreading yourself thin, of not trying to do more than your job.

[18:46]

In that state, the mind is lighted, turning around constantly and illuminating itself. In the settled state, thinking goes on. But the type of thinking that goes on is called non-thinking. In other words, although it's still thinking, because you're not doing somebody else's job, the thinking you're doing is a transformed thinking. It's not transformed by any contrived activity. by any application of techniques, but it is transformed. You may not know it's transformed, but it is.

[19:58]

Or you may know it's transformed, and it still is. It's beyond, you can't hurt it, fortunately, no matter what you think about it. And yet there is a silent illumination, an illumination beyond consciousness, a deportment beyond hearing and seeing. This is called the Buddha's essential functioning. The ancestor's functioning essence knows without relating to objects and illuminates without reflecting upon objects.

[21:21]

Knowing without relating to things It knows its knowing is subtle of itself. Illuminating without reflecting upon objects, its illumination is mysterious of itself. Its knowing subtle of itself is thought with no discrimination. Its illumination, mysterious of itself, is the sign without the slightest mark. The thought with no discrimination is knowing. Its knowing is completed without other. The sign without the slightest mark is illumination.

[22:28]

Its illumination is revealed without choice. The water is clear to the bottom. A fish swims slowly. The sky is vast and finds no boundary. A bird flies far away. This is a poem by the man who compiled the Book of Serenity, Wang Shishoga, Sung Dynasty Soto Zen teacher, Dogen Zenji's grand . Then Dogen Zenji

[23:38]

rewrote this poem about what it's like when you're sitting still. He changed it a little bit. And he said, this is not an improvement. This is just the way I like to say it. It starts out almost the same. The Buddha's essential function, the ancestor's functioning essence, manifests without deliberation and accomplishes without ignorance. Manifesting without deliberation Its manifestation is intimate of itself.

[24:49]

Its manifestation, intimate of itself, has never been defiled. Its accomplishment, realized of itself, is neither absolute nor relative. The intimacy that has never defiled drops away without dependence. The realization that is neither absolute nor relative penetrates without intent. Clear water soaks into the earth. The fish swims like a fish. The sky fasts and penetrates the heavens.

[26:03]

The bird flies like a bird. After roasting your essential nature in the midst of the five skandhas for more than five days, I hope you're tenderized enough to let these words sink into your flesh and speak to yourselves that are sitting still. If these words don't seem to be for you, please don't get in the way of who they're for.

[27:22]

I'm saying these words, and I'm talking to somebody, definitely. I can feel these words are reaching someone. Please, don't anybody get in the way of this communication. Sometimes I think of saying things and I wonder if they're too much.

[28:30]

Recently, I've been asking myself a question. Do you think that that kind of activity will tickle people's voodoo nature? You're in the pot now. You're in the womb. I think you are.

[29:36]

A lot of you are, anyway. You're in the crucible, the cauldron, the womb, where Buddhas are growing, cooking. And some of these cooking Zen students are wondering how they could continue to cook after Sesshi. Anyway, for a little bit more than one day and a little bit less than two, you still have a pot. So please enjoy cooking some more. You may have heard of the Shobo Genzo.

[30:43]

Have you heard of that? It's sometimes translated as treasury of true Dharma eyes. Have you heard of the Shobo Genzo body? Shobo Genzo is many things. But one of these is, it's a collection of 95 chapters written by Doleys and Schubert. Big book. And often translated into English as treasury of true Dharma eyes. But the word that they translate as treasury, zo, also means womb. So I don't like that word treasure for these Dharma eyes. It makes them sound like diamonds, which is fine, but too hard for me. Sometimes dharma eyes can cut, so then we should use them.

[31:46]

They should be diamonds or rubies, animals, or something like that, or sapphires, a sapphire blade to cut through attachment. But other times, dharma eyes are soft and gooey and changeable. And the dharma eyes that Dogen Zenji is talking about that are stored in this womb are words. If you look from outside of the womb, if you pick up the book, hear the words from outside of the womb, these words just kind of sit there, maybe like diamonds. But you get in the womb with those words, they jump around like vigorously jumping fish.

[32:55]

They turn. And you turn with them. With the help of all sentient beings, with the help of all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, it is possible for us to enter the cauldron and to witness the joy of these dharma eyes. Turning the light around is a dharma eye.

[34:06]

Studying the backward step is a dharma eye. Or perhaps I should say, where is the dharma eye in the words, study the backward step? Is the dharma eye studying Is it backward? Is it back? Is it word? Is it step? Where is the I of the Dharma? Turn the light around and illuminate the self. Where is the I? Is it turn? Is it around? Is it the? Is it light? Is it illuminate? Is it the self? Somewhere in these words, there are many dharma eyes, many turning words, words that turn and transform beings if beings study them in the pot with the words.

[35:29]

So I'm just telling you to do what you've already started to do. You're in the park now. Keep studying. I don't know if this is true, but it seems to me that You want to know how to continue to stay in the path for sesshins over, to stay in such an intense realm. One thing that might be helpful is to enjoy this study so much that you will continue. is to find what it is about this situation that is really what you're closest to already.

[36:43]

And that love may sustain you. That love of these dharma eyes may sustain you, even when you don't have the support of 60 people following a schedule that requires devotion and self-surrender. Although none of our effort perhaps has been perfect, everyone's effort so far has been deeply moving to me. Following the schedule as well as you have, sitting so well, And some of you, your first saschid, it's really awesome to me. So I feel like you all still either have gone through the gate, or you're really close to going through.

[38:26]

Just a little bit of resistance left, maybe, holding back just a tiny bit. Or the other thing is you're pushing a little bit too far. The effort isn't maybe quite on yet. Try to find something in the remaining hours. Try to find just the right effort. You must be very close to settling perfectly. You all look very close. I want to say, except for one of you.

[39:29]

You see, who thinks it's them? And who thinks, oh, no, it could be me? So please, accord, accord. Make your heart, set your heart right on the heart of your heart.

[40:37]

Find your heart and put your heart right in your heart. Or see how your heart's right in your heart. Accord in this way with the ancestors' samadhi. Yeah, I've got a message.

[41:21]

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