The English word homage has a connotation for many of us of praise or, is that right? Pay tribute to? Yeah. Maybe honor and also maybe even worship a little bit? No? I don't know. Anyway, it has connotation of some of those connotations, but I think the main meaning of homage is to align yourself with sort of join in with the person.

[01:01]

So it's wonderful to worship Buddha and that is part of our practice, to worship. But homage means that you actually align yourself, you put your life in line with the Buddha. When you put yourself in line with Buddha, you do it from some place, like you do it from right here, and then from here you try to line up with Buddha. If you can't, then move over a little bit and line up someplace else. So you actually are joining Buddha's life, and so Buddha can join your life. It's wonderful to worship Buddha, but Buddha would like you not only to worship, but also to join the work, you know. Carry on the family tradition. I also, yes.

[02:06]

What does worship mean? What do you think it means? Well, actually, I think worship has maybe, again, two aspects. One aspect is, I think, the praise. Several aspects to worship. One aspect of worship is alignment. I think Maybe worship might be a more general category, which would include alignment, praise, and formal gestures, like formal activities like bowing, and so on. So I think worship might include all those. So I think that the three aspects are praise, alignment, and formality.

[03:10]

or ritual to carry those. Okay? . The what? . Another thing I want to mention before I forget, I want to say something before I start talking about what I want to talk about. because once I start going, I might forget these things, and these are very important.

[04:13]

One is that they usually call this day, we often say Enlightenment Day, right? But in Japan and China, they call it Jodo Day. Jo means, sometimes translated as attain, but it also means to become or accomplish. And do is not enlightenment, but the way, the Buddha way. So it's actually, if you look at that name of the day, it's the day that Buddha, that Shakyamuni became the way. Not the day he got Not the day a light bulb went off, which it happened, that happened too, but the day he became the way, or the way and the way became him.

[05:15]

It's a little different. It's not so much like, oh, I get it, or oh, I got it. It's a little bit more intimate than that. or a lot more intimate than that. And because you are the way or because Buddha became the way, his authority was different from somebody who had become enlightened. And we could go on forever about what that difference is, but one small thing I might say is that to be enlightened or to understand deeply, that's pretty good, but to become the way means, one of the main things it means is that you continue to practice.

[06:31]

That by becoming the way, it's not like you got enlightened so much as it is Anyway, I can't express it. Yeah? Uh-huh. And then this is your saying, it came back to me what it was again. It's like, you become the way so. Keep slipping. Well, I guess what it's, it's so, it becomes so intimate, you know, that it's not like there's light shining in on you anymore or this thing that happens to you.

[07:37]

It becomes so intimate that that it just becomes the way. There's nobody else but the way. It's so transcended. And therefore the Buddha has to practice, has to keep practicing because that's all there is left is the practice. Right, right. And that's all there is. Without subtracting the person, the person doesn't get tossed out or anything, but the person is just the way. All that's left is the Buddha way. It's so chock-full of the way that there's nothing but the way. That kind of feeling is a little different than this thing of enlightenment that sometimes we think about. I'm not saying I never get knocked off balance or get shaky, because I do.

[09:11]

But this week I've been pretty solid and pretty present here. And the thing that's shaken me up most, the thing that's knocked me off the most, strangely enough, is your sincerity. I'm staggered by your sincerity and your devotion to practice through all this difficulty. It's staggeringly inspirational. I'm not quite able to stand up and keep walking in the midst of your effort. But I'm trying to not get disturbed by it.

[10:14]

In the sense that trying not to see it as an object. But let it be part of the... causal nexus of my life. Then I can be peaceful even in the midst of this bombardment of fascinating practice that you are presenting. I haven't been paying any compliments to individuals during this session, it's too much, but I really think you people are doing wonderfully, even though I really wouldn't know one way or another if you were, but I feel like you are. Also I want to say that this has been a particularly complex session because we have not only a lot of people coming from different areas, we also have lots of leadership, complex leadership group, and we also have the Siddhartha Yerushalayam memorial service and all that comes with that.

[11:51]

We have the Jodo ceremony. And tonight, at the end of the session, the last part of the session after dinner, we're having dinner early, so then we're going to have an initiation ceremony, a bodhisattva initiation ceremony at the end of the session for four people. So it's been rather complex in that way for me personally, and I think you all have felt that. And yet, very solid in the face of all this complexity. A number of you have said to me things like, can't we just keep doing this?

[12:53]

And someone else might say, can't we keep doing this? What am I saying? Someone else said, maybe we need to have two years, Sachin. And the reason I think why people say this, part and many reasons why we say it is, one of the things I want to highlight is that I think there is a sense in this event of the importance of and the possibility of intimacy, of really meeting each other and settling what the Dharma is together, this possibility seems to be closer or the slight distance away from it seems to be almost tangible at times like this to many of us.

[14:17]

So we appreciate that and we wonder how we'll be able to continue this subtle and intense work without this opportunity of us gathered together, bumping into each other, again and again and again every day and seeing the slight differences of opinion we have about each other from moment to moment and being able to perhaps tell what's me and what's you and what's the interaction and all that can just be settled out by constant bumping in and so how can we continue this is such a difficult proposition that it might seem easy just to stay in sashimi Again, to quote one of you, the imperative of intimacy becomes more clear during Saishin and what an awesome challenge it is also becomes noticeable.

[15:40]

And perhaps even the courage to take on the challenge, but also Remember if you get excited it becomes a pitfall. So how to feel inspiration and feel commitment and feel imperative to do something in an urgency and yet be very careful not to blow it. It's very difficult. That's why we wash our hands. So to remind us that we have to develop a subtle touch to be able to, you know, meet things not too hard, not too soft, that just how, you know, how to shake hands with people. Very subtle art that we have to learn. This is basically what I feel, and it's the most important thing.

[16:53]

I don't really need to give another Dharma talk about this fascinating material. However, since we're here, and I have all these wonderful books, Bodhidharma's teacher said, as you know and have almost memorized, this poor wayfarer does not dwell in the realm of body-mind breathing in, does not become involved in myriad circumstances breathing out, I just reiterate this scripture hundreds, thousands, millions of scrolls.

[17:57]

Not dwelling in body and mind. breathing in. A cloud rhino gazes at the moon, immersed in his radiance, engulfed in his radiance. Not involved in myriad circumstances, breathing out. A wooden horse. Flies. Free and unbridled.

[19:14]

These are lovely expressions, lovely pictures about what it's like to follow your breath with the ancestors. But even these words, as nice as they are, be careful because they can give rise to various thoughts and sentiments which which might be distractions. But I mentioned it anyway. Even the pink rose of my dream, when it first arose, I had no idea what it was or how it would function in my life. And if I go back to that rose again to guide me on my path, I may become hung up in developed associations

[20:25]

not dwelling in the realm of body and mind, and at the same time realizing that the way is only realized through this body and mind. Representing, humbly representing the lineage, I say to you that I really hope that you find a true teacher of Zazen. To help you practice Zazen in accordance with the Dharma.

[21:40]

I hope that we all learn that the true teacher of zazen is zazen. That zazen realizes zazen. Please stop using zazen to solve problems and only consolidate all your problems into one problem. Not denying your problems. No, no. Please don't do that. Denying your problems, as I said, the first day of sesshin would be some kind of adaptation, some kind of accommodation to samsara, like locking yourself in your room or becoming catatonic.

[22:53]

Without denying your problems, only have one problem, the problem of zazen. the problem of just sitting, the problem of suchness. Have all your problems be that problem. Don't be fooled by others and don't be fooled by yourself in thinking that there's some other problem There's no other problem. I hope we can learn that and work on that problem.

[24:02]

And I've called this many names. This attitude has many names. It's called eating, drinking, sewing, sitting, walking, whatever you're doing, don't forget the one that's not busy. And also, I want to reiterate that the basis, the thing that makes this practice that I'm proposing be the same as Buddhist practice is that it's based on universal compassion. That's the seed of the whole thing. We do this practice, but we make sure that the place we do it is in the midst of all beings.

[25:17]

Dogen Zenji had a conversation with his teacher in China And his teacher told him that the meditation practice of the Buddhas and the Founders, the main characteristic of it is that first of all, it is for great compassion. The birth of this meditation is in great compassion and therefore the Buddhas and ancestors, even though they have the yogic power to practice wherever they want in the universe of psychic experience, they always practice in the realm of desire.

[26:38]

And in particular, they practice in the southern section of the realm of desire. That's the center that they sit in. And by sitting in the midst of the suffering of all beings, by situating themselves at the focal point of all suffering beings, In other words, they sit in the slums of sentient beings. Their radiance extends to all other realms, but the center where they sit is in the, well, it's in the slums, but it's in the section of the slums where the beings are called humans. That's where they practice. And because they sit there, they develop what's called meekness of mind, or softness of mind, or flexibility of mind, or... What do you call this?

[28:08]

Like, not obsequious, but... Humility and... Anyway, acquiescent. Modesty, acquiescence, that kind of stuff. The reason why they do that, that softness develops because they are surrounded by the suffering of all beings. That's where they sit. And by sitting there, they develop this meekness of mind. And this meekness of mind then... is a key causal ingredient in their vow to drop body and mind. And the vow to drop body and mind is the authentic seal of the Buddhas and it causes

[29:13]

this kind of practice which you've seen demonstrated by Shakyamuni Buddha, Bodhidharma and Bodhidharma's teacher, which is the practice of suchness. The practice of suchness is the practice which grows up out of the vow to drop body and mind, which is born out of being connected to all sentient beings suffering which is born out of being connected to some such in beings suffering and then immersing ourselves in. The Buddhism, the Buddha, the one great cause for the appearance of Buddhas in the world is birth and death, is the suffering of all beings. If Buddhas came into the world to fix birth and death, Buddhas don't come into the world to fix birth and death.

[30:21]

Buddhas are only a response to birth and death. Not an adaptation or a repairing of it, but they grow out of birth and death. And not only that, but they grow out of the birth and death of all beings. They don't smooth out birth and death. If they did, they would also evaporate. They are simply a response to birth and death. Dogen also asked his teacher, in that context, about this teaching, which is translated, one way it's translated as spiritual correspondence and permutation of the way. We say in the Jilmira Samadhi, inquiry and response come up together.

[31:45]

This is the same thing. And again, referring back to what we were talking about earlier about worship, there is one night in the Zendo, Around midnight, Dogen Zenji's teacher, Ru Jing, gave a little lecture, and he said, the one bowed to, the one receiving the bow, and the one making the bow, their nature is empty. Both their natures are empty. The place in between the one bowed to and the one bowing, the relationship is this thing called spiritual correspondence.

[33:02]

permutation or mixing of the way. So when we bow to Buddha, we enter the space of both the activity of bowing and that which is bowed to is empty and there is this There is this, the way is getting permutated all the time. It's getting mixed. And there's an association and a inner conversion going on there and also a moving and responding kind of thing going on. So that again refers back to worship but also to the Buddhas sitting in the middle of all sentient beings. They're sitting there and between the Buddha and all sentient beings there's this very dynamic interaction going.

[34:09]

They're all sitting in cause and effect together, causing each other and also almost changing places. Learning is going in both directions. And also the inquiry, the movement towards the zeal for practice and the response to it, they happen simultaneously. And so Dogen, this is a side thing in a way, but Dogen says, he refers back to this lecture and he says, but isn't that teaching of this spiritual reciprocity and spiritual inquiry and response and permutation of the way. Isn't that a teaching of the scripturalists or of the lineage of the teaching?

[35:20]

Which, again, as I mentioned earlier, he was concerned about the Zen, which is a special transmission outside the teaching. He said, here's another is another lesson in what the special transmission outside the teaching means. And Ru Jing said, you must know the purport of this spiritual correspondence and permutation of the way. You must know this. And then he said, if there were neither spiritual correspondence nor permutation in the way, the Buddhas would not have come into the world." And so on. But this is the part I was referring to. You must not consider the teaching of the scripturalists spitefully. If you should regard the tradition of the Buddha Dharma as unacceptable, you would have to use a round okesa and a square Buddha bowl. If you, in other words, we have in Zen this special transmission outside the teaching, right?

[36:30]

But if you think that means that you're supposed to find the teaching unacceptable, then you should wear a round robe and you should use a square bowl. So we need to understand the scriptural tradition in order to have a special transmission outside of it. To understand this interaction between... Again, it's not between Buddha and you exactly.

[37:53]

It's between that which receives the bow and that activity. It is the relationship between the activity of receiving the bow and the activity of bowing. It's not between Buddha and somebody else. It is in that dynamic. We must understand that dynamic. It isn't just the activity of bowing all by itself. When you bow, something receives the bow. And the something that receives the bow Something responds and moves when you bow. And the relationship between those two is the receiver and the giver of the bow, and everything in between, all that together is what we're being asked to understand.

[39:00]

And all that together is what's called zazen. Just like when you sit, it's not just that you're sitting. Something responds to your sitting. What's happening is not your sitting and not that response. What's happening is that whole thing. That's suchness. That's why when they say, what is it that thus comes? You can't say it's this or that. In the Blue Clip Record, the first case is Bodhidharma's vast emptiness. The second case, I think, or the third case, is Master Ma is unwell. Third case.

[40:07]

So somebody says, well, there's somebody who's sick, right? Master Ma is sick. So then the monk says, is there someone who's not, is there someone who's not sick? And the teacher says, yes, there is someone who's not sick. And the monk says, well, do you have the one who's not sick to help you? And he said, no, I help the one who's not sick. Is that right? Even before I said the things I said this morning, I had the feeling that what I was concerned for you to understand and for me to understand, that you understand quite well what I was hoping you would understand.

[42:32]

Now the hard work comes of figuring out how we're going to take the next step. We have the rest of this day, but then we should really end the session. a definite end to it and figure out what the meaning of what we've realized this week could be. Maybe even It might be good for each of us to let go of this great attainment and make a vow, make some vow.

[43:54]

Now with the energy and clarity Tonight, four people will be making a vow, making vows. Perhaps you could join them, or at the same time or around the same time, if you have some special vow, you could make it at the same time. One historical note is that when Dogen went to China, it appears that what had happened was that Bodhidharma's statement that Zen was a special transmission outside the teaching

[45:15]

that some of the Zen practitioners at that time thought that what that meant was to disregard the canonical teachings, to literally disrespect Buddha and Dharma. and Sangha, because Zen was such a hotshot school that it kind of like didn't even need the triple treasure. Now that might seem ridiculous to you, and it is ridiculous, but what I mean is you might not be able to understand how someone could feel that way. But it is actually possible in a Buddhist center that the people start having so much confidence in their practice and think they're so neat or that their teacher is so swell and they're such great students that actually they do this transcendent thing of not even needing the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha anymore because they're it.

[46:27]

And it looked like something like that happened in China. at least, it looks like it happened to some considerable extent. The Zen people were actually saying, you know, we're the Zen school, we're really, we're even better than Bodhidharma Sangha. We don't need it anymore. Because Bodhidharma said you don't, you're outside that. It's a special transmission. Aside from the tradition. So that's why Dogen's asking these questions. See, Ru Jing is a Zen teacher who's dropping these canonical, these scriptural, traditional teachings. And Dogen said, but that's a traditional teaching. I thought Zen wasn't. And each time he asked, Ru Jing says, this is Zen, yes, but it must always be grounded in the tradition of the ordinary Buddha Dharma and Sangha. And that means the true way of Buddha Dharma Sangha is not to cling to Buddha Dharma Sangha,

[47:35]

but it also definitely does not mean to throw it out. So, even today here at Zen Center, I myself came to Zen Center, I did not come to Zen because of Buddha Dharma Sangha. I came to Zen because of the special and a special quality of Zen is what attracted me. The special skill and means of the Zen teachers is what got me to Buddhism. And this Buddha-Dharma-Sangha thing was something that gradually I've had to get used to. Because the Zen door, what Dogen is proposing and what I went for was the true door to to Buddha Dharma Sangha or the true door to life is correct sitting. And I didn't see any Buddha Dharma Sangha on that.

[48:39]

But Dogen, who says that the right door, the correct door to the Buddha Dharma is sitting, he also says, do you revere Buddha Dharma Sangha or not? It is evident that the authentic transmission of the Buddhas and ancestors from India to China is reverence for Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. It is evident that the authentic transmission of the Buddhas and ancestors from India to China is reverence for Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Unless you convert to them, you have no reverence. Unless you revere them, you have no conversion. The merit of conversion to Buddhadharma Sangha is surely accomplished when there is this spiritual correspondence and permutation of the way. Whether you are a being in heaven or a hungry ghost or a beast in hell, once you have spiritual correspondence and permutation of way, there is surely conversion.

[49:56]

And Dogen said this, I think, because actually there is endemic in this special school, this Zen school, a little bit of unclarity about whether you actually need to revere and convert to the triple treasure. And he's saying you do need to do that. And incidentally, when that happens, we just, by coincidence, find the one thing that we can agree with all other Buddhists on. All the other schools revere and convert to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. And again, there's a little bit of elitism in Zen, and sometimes we're not so sure we want to hold hands with those lesser schools. And sometimes they don't want to hold hands with us either.

[51:01]

You guys think you're better than us? Well, forget it. You're not better than us. But if we convert to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, we won't feel we're better than them anymore and they won't feel we're worse than them or better than them. We will join with all disciples of Buddha through this triple treasure. And again, when I heard what Dogen Zenji's practice was when he died, I was surprised. I would have thought that he would just sit. Wouldn't you think so? I mean, after all that 95 chapters on just sitting? He hung in his room — he was too sick to get back to Eheji — he hung in his room, on a pillar in his room, a scroll which said, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha.

[52:11]

And he walked around the scroll, taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. The teaching of suchness and the practice of zazen is, he feels, the most effective way to really take refuge in Buddha Dharma Sangha and to really convert to them and have them convert to you. But that's what it is. And I thought very humble of him to do that practice at the end of his life. So tonight anyway we culminate the session by this by enacting this very subtle process of spiritual correspondence and permutation of the way of the Buddhadharma Sangha.

[53:15]

We are the Buddhadharma Sangha, that is the Buddhadharma Sangha, everywhere is Buddhadharma Sangha sort of bubbling and cooking together in some way. I just, you know, I kind of, I feel like I'm this little, I'm, well, like, what is it? Richard, where's Richard? You here? He gave up. Like, you know, we're a little, oh, there's Richard. Yeah.

[54:17]

We're sitting in our little cups, you know. or we're little carrots and potatoes and vegetables. We're bouncing around, you know, in this pot, in this soup pot of the Buddha Dharma Sangha, you know, getting flipped around all over the place, mixed up in this great stew of interconnectedness and, you know, mutually helping each other cook the great the great buddha dharma sangha soup okay or sticking through all right and we're little we're little pieces of grain getting bopped around and you you can flip over backwards and forwards and pop up out of a pop a little bubble but you always come back down in and again and it's it's really you know it's safe i mean you can you don't have to worry about it

[55:18]

Causation always takes care of you. You know? You can never get outside of it. And this whole thing, you know, the whole thing, the totality is not busy. Another way to look at it, you know, I'm thinking... It's like, you know, we make our little efforts, or our big little efforts, or our stupendous little efforts, or our fascinating little efforts, and the unbusy one smiles. Yeah, it's really great, thank you. If you guys weren't so busy, I wouldn't be able to be not busy. This is the, you know, this is the relationship.

[56:21]

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