This morning I offered the story of the teacher Baijiong and the wild fox. So at one point, supposedly, when the wild fox he was asked, does a highly cultivated person fall into cause and effect? And he said no. So then he got 500 lives as a fox. If he had said yes, some other result would have happened. I don't know what it would have been. If he said yes, they do fall into cause and effect. Something else would have followed. there would have been consequences of that. So then he asks, please give me a turning word.

[01:03]

And the teacher says, well now ask me the question. does a highly cultivated person fall into karmic cause and effect? And the teacher turned does not fall into does not obscure. He didn't turn it from does not fall into does fall. And if the monk, if the person had said does fall, he wouldn't have turned it probably to not fall. I don't know. Anyway, he turned it to, does not obscure cause and effect, does not deny, does not ignore. The highly cultivated person does not ignore cause and effect. is offered in many Zen contexts, but one place it's offered is in an essay by Ehe Koso.

[02:18]

We chatted this morning. Ehe Koso, Dogen Zenji, He gave that story and the chapter he gave it in is called Deep Faith in Cause and Effect. The chapter is not called Falling into Cause and Effect. The chapter is not Falling into Cause and Effect. The chapter is called Deep Faith in Cause and Effect. Train yourself. to develop deep faith in cause and effect so that no matter what's happening you believe that the causal process is what deserves your presence. Then if there's unwholesome action the study, when there's unwholesome action, brings peace.

[03:27]

If there's wholesome action, the trust in deep faith and cause and effect, that brings freedom and peace. But that's a that has to be a deep faith because the right and wrong are spinning around all day long. Right and wrong and can't tell which are spinning around. And in the midst of that we turn and keep studying the causal process of our self, of our relationships. Now the Buddha does say, avoid doing unwholesome and do the wholesome. So, fine. But it isn't that I trust the wholesome and don't trust the unwholesome. It's that I trust the causal process of the wholesome and the unwholesome.

[04:35]

I try to do good. But I notice sometimes I'm not sure I did. If I'm not sure I did, I admit I'm not sure I did. If I think I did, I admit I think I did. That's part of being where I am. And now that I'm here, I can practice the Dharma, which is letting this situation practice deep faith and cause and effect. And if the monk says, okay, I heard you say deep faith and cause and effect. Now, would you offer, give me a turning word? I don't know what the teacher would have said, but I think the teacher might have said, you're already free. The monk didn't say, give me a turning word after he gave him a turning word.

[05:47]

The monk said, now I'm free. I'm free of cause and effect by your turning word. But he didn't say, now I don't fall into cause and effect. He just said, no. Thank you. But again, we have to train in order not to get disoriented by all this karma. And disoriented from what? From deep in causation. deep faith that this is what we should be paying attention to, and also we cannot see causation. We see stories about causation, but we can't see causation, so we're having deep faith in seeing. But the ones who have deep faith in this invisible causal process realize it.

[06:50]

understand it. They understand the invisible coming together of causes and conditions and dispersion of causes and conditions and coming together, they understand it. And they're happy about understanding it. So when we're sitting, sitting could be, our sitting could be a practice of perfect wisdom. Our sitting could be good friendships. our sitting could be deep faith and cause and effect. Those are synonyms. Deep faith and cause and effect is practicing perfect wisdom, is good friendship.

[07:56]

And from this practice of good friendship, wisdom, deep faith and causation comes the appropriate response. The Buddha's our deep faith in cause and conditions, cause and effects. The Buddha is our perfect wisdom. The Buddha is our good friendship. From this good friendship, the appropriate response to sentient beings, which is to demonstrate deep faith and causation, to demonstrate perfect wisdom, to demonstrate good friendship and open people to open sentient beings to good friendship, open sentient beings to perfect wisdom, open sentient beings to faith in causation, faith in karmic causation, and accepting that that comes with karmic activity. So we're not trying to get away from karmic activity.

[08:59]

We're trying to find the correct position to be in it so that the correct response can come. I agree with that. But I certainly don't want to abide in them. I hope you don't either. Thank you all for another splendid day. No abode. Thank you, Eileen, for your vast network of arranging activities. Thank you, Karen and Karen, for cleaning this place so well the last couple of days. Eileen cleaning last weekend.

[10:03]

They've been cleaning the place because they prefer to clean rather than to kill. I don't know if you prefer. Anyway, they're committed to not killing rather than killing. And by cleaning, they hope that rodents will go someplace else to hang out. They seem to be using this place as a racetrack. And I thank you for ringing the bells. Thank you for arranging the appointments. Thank you all for making this place. I was in the interview room and I found a stack of lists of people coming to one-day sittings. You know? All these one-day sittings about twelve or so a year for

[11:10]

I don't know how many years. Fifteen or seven years. Huh? Fifteen at least. How many? Fifteen? Yeah. So anyway, a lot of people have been practicing here. It's impressive. And you are some of them. So may our good health continue so we can continue to of the bodhisattva's non-abiding mind. Thank you. Thank you. Great teacher. Thank you. May our intention equally extend to every being with the true love of Buddha's way.

[12:06]

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