I want to say that last week I asked everybody something like, you know, what is your commitment about this particular case, 47? And a number of you spoke in class. And some of you didn't, but then later you sent me things in the mail. So I appreciate, really deeply appreciate what you said in class and also... But you sent it in the mail. They encouraged me to go on in this study. And we have some new people in this class. Elizabeth and Pat. Who else is new? Susan, you missed the first class. Steve, do you have copies of this? I don't know. Do you have any more? I only have one here. Do you have the book, Pat? Yes, I do. Do you have the book? Do we have any more copies of the book if you want to borrow them?

[01:07]

We don't need it. It's just a copy of what's in the book. Okay. Okay. You don't have to read the book. So we've been telling this particular case already one week, but it's a very simple case. So maybe you can join your new people. It's simple, but it's extremely profound, as most simple stories are. Most of the simple stories in this book, anyway. It's a very, very deep story. So... It's like one of the greatest poems of all time or something like that.

[02:11]

So it's like if you don't understand right away what it's about, then you're lucky because then you won't have to give up that understanding later. Because your understanding should definitely evolve. I mean, everybody's understanding the story goes deeper as they study it. It's that kind of story. Very, very deep story. And just of course, I want to mention that one of the people in our ongoing colon study class, Jerry Fuller, passed away today, stopped breathing this afternoon here at Green Gulch. And so that happens in the study of the Buddha way that some of us drop away. And then others of us go on, continue to study.

[03:16]

And I don't mean to coerce you or anything, but he specifically asked that you people continue to study these koans. I asked him what he wanted me to do and you to do. I said, just keep going along with your study. course. He said, excuse me for teaching you like that, but he said, it's okay, you can teach me. So please continue. You don't have to stay in this class, but please continue your study. And again, I will continue to go through this until I die. And if I die, If any of you survive me, would you please continue studying this? You will? Yes. Thanks.

[04:17]

Makes it more interesting for me. So I imagine that some of the people in this class are not real familiar with this teacher in this story. Is that right? Jiaojo. So he's also in this book twice before. He's in Case 18. where a monk asks him that very famous question, does a dog have Buddha nature or not? Somehow this Buddhist teacher got somebody to come up and ask him that question. You know, I mean, I'm not criticizing Shakyamuni Buddha, but nobody came up and asked him, does a dog have Buddha nature?

[05:27]

as far as we know, or if they did, they didn't think it was worthwhile mentioning again. I don't know, maybe he didn't give a good answer. Zhao Zhou probably didn't give an answer either. He just said, in one occasion he said, in Chinese, Wu. And in another occasion he said, You. In other words, you can use the word which usually means no. No, there isn't any. And the other case, yes, there is. Anyway, that's the case. That's case 18 of this book. If you read that case, that may help you a little bit. This case. Then, he's also in case 39, which is another wonderful story. A monk comes to see Zhao Zhou. And Zhao Zhou says, or the monk comes and says, would you please instruct me?

[06:34]

This is case 39. The monk comes and says, would you please instruct me? And Zhao Zhou says, have you had breakfast? Have you eaten breakfast? And the monk said, yes, I've had breakfast. And Zhao Zhou says, wash your bowls. Another story. And in the booklet record, there's many stories of him, but in particular, he's number three, or he's number two. He says, you know, the way is not difficult. The great way is not difficult. The ultimate path has no difficulty. That's what he said. The beginning of this booklet record. Just avoid picking and choosing. That was his statement, which is at the beginning of this book.

[07:39]

Okay? You might look at that case, too, just to get you some feeling for this teacher and his teaching. But then, after, that's at the beginning of this book, then, in case 57, which is called Zhao Zhou's Stupid Oath, a monk comes up to him, so people have heard now the words out about Zhao Zhou that, um, that he said this thing about the ultimate path is not without difficulties, is without difficulties, just avoid picking and choosing. So then the monk asked him about that later, you know, in the years after that. So when monk comes up, he says, the ultimate path has no difficulties, right? Just avoid picking and choosing. And then the monk says, what is not picking and choosing?

[08:52]

And Zhao Zhao says, in the heavens and on earth, I alone am the world honored one. What is not picking and choosing? Between heaven and earth, I alone am the world honored one. The monk says, this is still picking and choosing. Zhao Zhao says, stupid oaf. Where is picking and choosing? The monk was speechless. Zhao Zhao said, the alternate path is not difficult. just to avoid picking and choosing. The monk says, what is to avoid picking and choosing? Zhao Zhao says, between heaven and earth, I alone am the world honored one. Okay, you got that?

[09:55]

Did you memorize it? You didn't memorize it yet? Okay, one more time. The ultimate path is without difficulties. Just avoid picking and choosing. What is this? What is it to avoid picking and choosing? Okay, you got that part? Arlene? Want to say that? Say what you can say and I'll coach you. The ultimate way is to avoid picking and choosing. Well, no. The ultimate way is without difficulty. Right. Actually, the ultimate way isn't exactly to avoid picking and choosing. It's just that it's without difficulty if you do avoid picking and choosing. The ultimate way is that if you do pick and choose, it won't be difficult. If you want to pick and choose, it's okay. It's just that then it's going to be really hard.

[10:57]

That's all. But if you avoid picking and choosing, it won't be difficult. So what is avoiding picking and choosing? I would be According to Jojo, anyway. Between heaven and earth, I'm the only part of one. Well, that's close. I alone in the world honored one. That's what the little Buddha said, did you know that, when he was born? Pointed up to heaven. and down at the earth, like this, and said, between heaven and earth, I alone and the world honored one. So Zhao Zhao is reenacting that, but also making it fresh too. This is an example also of, Zhao Zhao said this on this occasion, it was not on the occasion of being born as a little boy, it was on the occasion of being asked, what is it not to pick and choose?

[12:03]

So probably that was the first time that anybody said that particular thing to that question. However, all Buddhas have always talked like this. So then the monk says, you're still picking and choosing. And then Zhao Zhao says, stupid old, where is the picking and choosing? And the monk was speechless. That's case 57. Case 58. A monk asked Zhao Zhao, The ultimate path has no difficulties, just avoid picking and choosing. Isn't this a cliché for people these times? Zhao Zhao said, Once someone asked me, and I really couldn't explain for five years. Case 59. A monk asked Zhao Zhao. The ultimate path has no difficulties. Just avoid picking and choosing. As soon as there are words and speech, this is picking and choosing.

[13:10]

So how do you help people, teacher? Zhao Zhou said, Why don't you quote this saying in full? The monk said, I only remember up to here. Zhao Zhou said, It's just this. The ultimate path has no difficulties. Just avoid picking and choosing. The original story is longer than that. So then the monk holds part of the story, and Jaja says, why don't you do the whole thing? And the monk says, I only remember the beginning part. So Zhao Zhou says, it's just this. And then he just quotes the beginning part. Case 60. Yin Man held up his staff to the assembly.

[14:15]

And he said, this staff has changed into a dragon and swallowed up the universe, mountains, rivers, and the great earth. Where are they to be found? Oh, well, I'll stop there. Let's go back to our story. Our story is same guy, Zhao Zhou. The monk says, what is the meaning of the patriarchs coming from the West? Which means coming from India. And Zhajo said, a cypress tree in the yard. That's the story in here.

[15:20]

But it's an abbreviation, right? Then the monk says, teacher, you shouldn't answer using an object. And Jarjo said, I didn't. Did he say, I didn't? Well, actually, this particular translation says, I'm not using an object to guide anybody. The monk says, you shouldn't use an object to guide people. And he says, I'm not using an object to guide anyone. Another translation is, he says, I didn't. I didn't do that. But anyway, he says, I. The monk said, what did he say? Oh, the monk said, then what's the meaning of the patriarch coming from the West?

[16:21]

Zhao Zhou said, cypress tree in the yard. So I just like those stories I just told you.

[17:23]

Later a monk comes up and says to Giorgio, does the cypress tree have Buddha nature? Can you see how somebody might say that to him? Doesn't that make sense? See, in the Buddhist teaching, Mahayana Buddhist teaching, all sentient beings have a Buddha nature, right? So then it makes sense to say, well, there's a doll. There's a cypress tree. But also, somebody asks them, what's the meaning of Buddhism? What's the meaning of the teacher coming from the West to teach us? The cypress tree. The dog. Under the kitchen table. Right? So then you say, well, does it have Buddha nature?

[18:28]

So does the psychic tree have Buddha nature? Jojo said, yo, it has. It has Buddha nature. Monk said, well, if it has Buddha nature, when will it become a Buddha? Jojo said, when the sky falls to the earth, And Long said, well, when's the sky going to fall to the earth? Fall to the earth, Chagyo said. When the side of the street becomes Buddha. So that's lots, certainly lots of stuff there to work with. So you can look at, oh, you have lots of stuff to study now.

[19:32]

When does the cypress tree become Buddha? Does the cypress tree have Buddha nature? Does the dog have Buddha nature? What does it mean for the sky to fall to the earth? What does that mean in our lives here? And also, just to make things all the more fun for you, I didn't ask you a question just now. And these monks didn't ask a question either when he said, what's the meaning of bodhidharma coming from the West? That's not a question. But of course, it is a question, too. I mean, you know it's a question, right? You got that? Do you know that's a question? So you know that. In other words, we're not rejecting that's a question, but also it's not a question. Ultimately, it's not a question. So you should have those two truths, right?

[20:37]

Or two moons. It's a question, but it's not a question. As part of your study, it's helpful if you can learn when you hear questions to not hear them as questions. You know, hear them as questions, but you can't hear a question as not a question unless you're already identified as a question. You'll also be able to hear them as statements. Questions as statements are often very close to Buddhist practice. our statements which in the form of questions are in some ways closer to our practice because they're not so self-righteous they're more you know open-hearted and you know more kind of they have more of a spirit of readiness and openness to what's happening if you ask a question that's really good but usually when you ask a question although questions tend to be open they're often sometimes still directed someplace

[21:39]

but in some ways, if you take away the question and quality the question, you open the question up more. If you make the question into a statement, it's a bigger question, in a way. Or if you make statements but also understand them as questions, that makes your statements now set, linear. So they don't reject the way you usually think, in other words, but also abandon the way you usually think. But not throw in the trash heap to let go of it. Of course that's part of what it means for the sky to fall to the earth. But still, what does it mean for the sky to fall to the earth? And hear that both as a statement and a question. And when does the sky fall to the earth? When the cypress tree in the garden becomes Buddha. That's when. Does that make sense to you exactly, but does that strike you as somehow true?

[22:50]

Does that work with your body? I don't know. Does it? Something's got to give, in other words, right? So it might as well be you. Things have to turn here. And already they have, which is why you're in this class repeatedly. But then we have to turn it again. OK? So here we are. So please, help yourself. Is the table sufficiently set for a feast of the fools? Are there still some smart people here who can't talk?

[23:57]

Yeah, I mean, everybody got the stuff to work with now? Anybody, can you remember all the stories that I just told you? Any difficulty with the forks and the spoons and to know where the condiments are and where the plates are and where the candlesticks are? If you have any questions, you know, if you need any refresher course on any of the materials offered to work with, it's fine with me to ask questions. So you can play with this stuff. Of course, there's much more to play with, but this is what I'm offering for tonight's... There's more things on the menu if you need anything else, but do you know what's already been offered? Do you know what tonight's specials are? Do you remember them? Do you need me to go over them again? Do they sound delicious? Yes.

[25:05]

Yes. How can the cypress tree become enlightened? How can it become enlightened? Did you hear what Jojo said? Did you hear what Jojo said in response to that? I don't know what you mean. Yes, I did hear. What did he say? When heaven doesn't know it. Or when heaven falls to earth. Right. Can you work with that a little bit? to imagine what that would be like? I can imagine. You can? Yeah. So can you see how that would help you understand how that cypress tree is becoming Buddha? Difficult in seeing that, how the cypress tree is such that it can become Buddha.

[26:09]

I can see it coming forth. You can see the cypress tree coming forth? Yeah. As what? Cypress tree? Yeah. Cypress tree. Yeah. Could you see the psychic tree coming forth as a psychic tree and not hindering being a psychic tree? Yeah. Okay. If that happened, can you imagine something other than that would be Buddha? Everything. Pardon? Everything. Everything what? Everything else. Everything else would come forth, yes. And would that be Buddha? Yes. So now you see how it would happen. That's how it would happen, just like that? Yeah, by then I'm like, hmm, hmm, there's got to be someone who realizes it. It's not the cypress tree who's going to realize it. Well, how can the cypress tree come forth by itself? It can't come forth by itself.

[27:10]

It cannot come forth by itself, no. So, if it comes forth by itself, Doesn't everything also come forth with it? Also come forth with? Yes. Through. Pardon? Through who? Through. Is that free? Well, could it be you? Could be? Yes. So it could be you. So that's how this tree becomes through you. Right. Or through Zhaozhou. For Zhaozhou, it's through Zhaozhou. For you, it's through you. That's how. But in this specific case, that's what I want to say. It doesn't mention anyone. It doesn't need to. We have you. If we didn't have you, then we wouldn't be able to study this case, would we? There would be no way. But we do have you. So you can ask the question you asked, but now the question is, does the psychistry come forth and realize itself or not?

[28:17]

It does? It does. Okay, then are we okay now? Yeah. Okay. You're welcome. Yes. Oh, excuse me. Linda, where's next? I was just thinking about in grade school when you used to draw the sky as a band across the top, and they pointed out that the sky actually, you have to draw, color it in blue all the way down to the... three down the bottom of the tree. Uh-huh. So this guy does is fall to them. Yeah, it is. And that's when this type of tree becomes Buddha. So it already has? It already has. But that's what he said. He didn't say, the monk said, Does the Sai Krishna have Buddha nature? He didn't say anything but. It has. He said it has. Yes, it does.

[29:21]

The monk said, well, then does it become, when does it become Buddha? Jarjo said, yes, it has Buddha nature. It has Buddha. The monk said, does it have Buddha nature? Jarjo said, yes. The monk said, when? When? [...] This guy comes down falls on the earth that's when if you say it already has that's fine but already has is different from when okay do you see the difference between already has and when do you do you play creating once Yeah, well, but when is a question, but when is also not a question. When is not just a question. When is a time. Already has is not a time. So it's two different situations. Already has, he said.

[30:23]

Does it or does it or not? He said it already has. Yes, it has. But he says when. He wants to know when. And you know, in the Chinese that this is written, the when... The one that they use, usually the character for when, is jisetsu. And ji means time, and setsu means an interval, but it also means it has a picture of a knot, a place where the bamboo come together, you know, those little knots there, not the knot, but the joints in bamboo, that's setsu. So the character, the word jisetsu is usually the word they use for when. Time, at what joint, at what place, at what, you know, concrete nodule of time? What is the nodule in time that the cypress tree becomes Buddha? And it's at this nodule when the sky touches the earth. It's at that kind. And the fact that it already has is not in contradiction to that.

[31:27]

It's in dynamic relationship with that, but already having Buddha nature is not the same as realizing it. You have to realize it at a time or a place. So think about the difference between the fact that you are by nature Buddha and that you need to realize it at a time and a place. You can't realize it at, like, just a place. You also have to realize it at a time. You can't realize it just at a time. You also have to realize it at a place. You have to be at a time, or the time has to be at you. Or anyway, at a time, place, you have to do it at a place. Otherwise, even though you are Buddha in nature, In our Buddha nature, actually, even though you are, you're totally miserable until you realize it at a point in time and space. And when you realize it at a point in time and space, other things happen too at the same time.

[32:35]

The mountains and the rivers realize it. The sky and the earth realize it. A sentient being becomes a Buddha. A sentient being whose nature is Buddha becomes a Buddha at a time. A sentient being has Buddha nature, but where and when does it realize it? What is the meaning of Buddhism? Cypress tree in the garden. For us, that's a time and a place. It's already got the Buddha nature. When does it become Buddha? When does it realize Buddha? At this special time. Earth and sky meet. They meet at a place. They meet at a time. They don't always meet.

[33:38]

Even though they already meet. Um, when you're talking and using the word object, and you're going for the purpose of thinking about it, studying it, are they referring to object in the sense of subject object? Yes. Because it seems, uh, Cha-Cha was making quite a statement about how he sees things. He's saying he's not using an object. Yes, he's making a statement. about how he sees things, that he doesn't think it's an object, right? Also, he doesn't think it's a subject. So there it is. It's kind of like a big assignment for you to now look for the way to see cypress trees and people, see people, living people,

[34:46]

Dying people see people as not objects out there or subjects. How about metaphor? Fine. Fine. But when you make the metaphor, that metaphor is not subjective or subjective. So if your metaphors can be free of being objective or subjective, then maybe you can learn that everything you see has a path. Everything you experience has a path which is free of subject and object. If you can find that, then you can use whatever that thing is, like the cypress tree. The cypress tree is then, you might say, as Dogen Da Vinci does, the cypress tree is rooted in complete freedom. Can I just say one more thing before I call on you, even though I just did?

[36:00]

So again, see if you can find a way to relate to things which is free of treating them as objects or treating them in terms of your subjective impression. This is a possibility for us. Linda? Linda? What did you mean when you said they already meet, but they don't always meet? Yeah. So, someone could, you know, already the sky meets the earth, right, in a sense, right? But they don't always meet. When don't they meet? You know when they don't meet? If you guess, they get one guess, or six. Go ahead, guess. When don't they meet? Uh, when, uh, I'm not there. That's one time. What's another time? Hint? Remember what Linda said? She said they already meet.

[37:04]

Well, she also said that when we're kids, we draw the sky off the ground. Oh, okay. Don't we? They don't meet then. They already meet, but they don't meet then. In other words, Cypress Tree already has Buddha nature and is becoming Buddha nature when sky touches ground, but also we don't have sky touching ground, therefore we don't have sky falling to the ground, therefore Cypress Tree doesn't become Buddha. Even though it already is. Go ahead. So it seems like you're talking about the pinnacle, right? Yes. Of course I am. That's right. And something else. And realizing. Right. Dependent coreizing and realizing. Right. And also realizing it means teaching it. And teaching it means teaching it and having somebody understand the teaching.

[38:05]

Already this guy is falling to the ground. But is somebody understanding it and teaching it? When the sky touches, falls to the earth, there is understanding and teaching. There has to be somebody there to realize that for it to happen. Then there's understanding and teaching. Even though it's already happening. We don't have to do anything. Everything's working just as it should. But we have to understand everything. We have to understand everything. There actually can be no exceptions to what we have to understand. But we don't have to make things happen. In fact, we don't make things happen. Things happen through dependent co-arising, not through my power. Yes, or yours. When you say we have to be there for it to happen... Are you saying that this idea, or is that the idea stage of heaven meeting earth or co-canonizing is something that is specific to our ability to understand as humans?

[39:22]

When you say it doesn't happen, we're not there. No, I didn't say that didn't happen if we aren't there. It's already happening. It's already happening. It has to be realized, though, for us. And you're saying, is this some particular thing for us? This situation, this story that you're saying? The ability to understand from the rising is a specifically human kind of thing. Proceed through just the way we're built and the way that we see that it has no meaning outside of our path. be they meditative or intellectual? It has meaning outside of our faculties. However, we are, as far as I know, the only beings in the neighborhood that can understand it. And we are the only beings who need to personally understand it.

[40:24]

We need to personally understand it. In other words, we need to understand it in terms of our person. We need that. We personally need that. And other people personally need us to do that. Everybody in this room needs you to personally understand this. And also, you not just personally understand this, but they need you to tell them and explain to them how you personally understand it. And you need to understand that they personally understand it before and after you personally understand it. If I personally understand it, you need to hear that from me, and then I need to tell you now, you need to do it. And then if you can accomplish that, and the two of us can do that, then we need to get everybody else, all other human beings, to realize that. That is the sign that we understand it. Do not need to understand this, but they need us to understand it. Because if we don't understand it, we're going to harass them indefinitely. Well, perpetually.

[41:26]

Perpetually. Even though there's resistance, this is still a perpetual motion machine of our delusion. There's no indication that it's going to stop except by enlightenment. So yes, this is particular to us, even though it directly helps all the beings that don't have this particular assignment by their nature. It's our Buddha nature. Now, do all the animals and clients have Buddha nature? Yes. When do they become? When do they realize their Buddha nature? At this time in heaven and earth? Meet. But we have to witness that in order for them to realize it. They have the Buddha nature, the cypress tree has the Buddha nature. Dogs have the Buddha nature, but the time they realize it is when we realize it. And for us, we must realize dependent co-arison. They are dependent co-arisen. They don't have to understand this teaching because they don't have a person.

[42:29]

by which to understand it. You don't need to personally understand it. We have a person, therefore we have to personally understand it, and we have to understand that the person dependently correlates us. That's our destiny. Do you find your destiny compelling? Is it called a traitor? Did you see that train? This guy comes up. He does this apostrophe to the camera and says, I find our destiny very compelling. Did you wear this cypress train for this class? No, I didn't, but I did. Oh.

[43:34]

That's how you hear things. Yeah. Yes. When, that word when, is it happening? Is it a happening? Yeah, uh-huh. So when the sky meets fear is when it happens. Mm-hmm. So whether I'm there or not, it's always happening. That's right. But if you're not, if you are there, you know, you experience liberation. If you aren't there, you're in prison. You're a person at prison. If you are there, you have personal liberation. However, this particular thing is more than just personal liberation because you're at the place where the cypress tree realizes Buddha. So it's not just personal liberation. OK.

[44:36]

And this is the last part. If you're present for this thing that's always happening, this particular thing that's always happening, if you're present for that, if your person's present for that, then your person participates in this, then your person liberated. But this particular thing is, by definition, the time in the sight mystery also becomes Buddhist, so it's not just personal. Although it has to be personal, you can't be left out. It's not just you that wakes up. It's you and all beings wake up. Yes. They wake up because I see so. I know. Because you say so? Not because you say so, no. But because you wake up. You have to say so. And also, when you say, I wake up, that's not you that you're talking about. Even though because you wake up, you can talk like that.

[45:38]

But when you wake up, you wake up from this individual self. This individual self is a delusion. Personal awakening is awakening to the delusion of the person. The delusion of the prison of being a person. Being a person is a prison. It's the main prison we've got. Waking up to that prison means you're released from that prison. And that's how you can say between heaven and earth, I don't know. That's where it comes from. It comes from being released. You could talk like that now. Before that, I don't know what you're bragging or something. Again, you know, this Zazen is, we call it, unconstructiveness and stillness, right? You're in an unfabricated place. In an unfabricated place, in an unfabricated time, unfabricated way of being.

[46:41]

It's not made. Each person is made, but the fact that you're made is not made. You being you is not made. You being at rest in your dependent core rising, that's not a made thing. And from that place, we say, although it's not fabricated, although it's not constructed, this presence is not constructed. It's presence with what's constructed. When you're present with the things that is constructed and just present with it, you enter into the constructedness. You enter into how it's constructed. That presence is not constructed. That presence is just being with how things are coming to be constructed right now. And that unconstructedness is not without speech. That unconstructedness is not without speech.

[47:45]

It doesn't necessarily talk, but it can talk. Words can come up out of this space. So Buddha can say, I am Buddha. That doesn't mean the Buddha looks at himself and thinks he's enlightened. In fact, the Buddha does not do that. The Buddha does not look back at a person and say that person's enlightened. That's constructed. The Buddha settles into the person, realizes unconstructedness, and talks, and says various things like... I'm Buddha, I'm the World Honored One. But also the Buddha says, I, together with all beings, realize the Buddha way. Various things can be said. Various utterances can emerge from not just your Buddha nature, but being still in your Buddha nature.

[48:48]

being subtle and absorbed in your Buddha nature. And then there's speech. Yes? Is that how he teaches? By being in his Buddha nature? He doesn't actually teach. Doesn't he just teach by being that person who now understands? Yeah, but... that by just being that person who understands, also that person can respond to circumstances appropriately. But it's not like doing something, it's just a response, a dependently co-arisen response. So there can be speech or not speech. Sometimes the Buddha wouldn't answer questions. Sometimes the Buddha was asked questions and he didn't say anything because it wasn't appropriate to answer. Understanding and teaching are two separate things, yes.

[49:59]

You can understand and not teach. By not being asked to teach. How do you teach? You teach in response to the request. If the Buddha, if someone understood and was like in a club of a bunch of other people that understood, they might not ask this person to give a talk. They might just kind of hobnob sign But when a Buddha runs into a sentient being who doesn't understand the Buddha's knowledge, the Buddha naturally feels a request from the person and therefore wants to show the person this wisdom so that they'll be free from their suffering.

[51:06]

So sometimes people say that the cause of the Buddha appearing is suffering beings. And so now we've been studying Nagarjuna, so it isn't the cause of the Buddha. It's a condition for Buddha. Suffering beings is a condition for Buddha. And a condition for suffering beings is delusion. So delusion is a condition for Buddha. You can't have Buddha without delusion. And you can't have delusion floating in mid-air. Delusion has to be hooked into a deluded being. So deluded beings and delusion are conditions for Buddha, but that still isn't the one great cause for the appearance of Buddha. The great cause for the appearance of Buddha is that Buddha wants beings to open up to Buddha's wisdom. You could have deluded beings and delusion, but that wouldn't be sufficient for the Buddhist to appear. The culminating condition is that there's a desire to teach this to people.

[52:10]

But it's a response to people suffering. The Buddha looks at all beings and if they weren't suffering, the Buddha would just... Well, I mean, the Buddha looks at people and sees them as happy peoples, the Buddha is just plain blissed out. The Buddha was just a happy, happy, happy, happy when he saw how people were. Then the next thing was he saw, oh, but they're still suffering. But then he thought, well, what can I do about it? He didn't know he had the power to teach. Nobody told him that that would come along with the enlightenment, but it did. He got the understanding and the knowledge of how to teach. He didn't know it. Then they asked him, and he found out he could teach, too. Turns out you're not really a Buddha until you do teach, but you can understand without being a Buddha in a sense. Then when you teach, you have the understanding and the teaching, the understanding and the sharing.

[53:17]

Then you have a full understanding. Just like you people can understand the pentacle rising, but if you start teaching it, you can understand it better. That's why you need to become teachers in order to really understand this teaching. I mean, you all do eventually need to be teachers if you want to understand as teaching. You cannot understand it fully without teaching. So, you know, there's no rush about this, but there is a kind of urgency about this. You must do this if you're wanting to help people in the most profound way, then you have to have the most profound understanding of the teaching. And teaching is a supplement to studying. It will deepen your understanding. So I guess I just, I haven't maybe asked you this lately, but

[54:24]

Have I told you lately that you have to become a teacher? If you're a bodhisattva. Have I told you that lately? Did you know that? Well, what do you think? I mean, are you ready for that? I mean, are you ready to consider that? Are you thinking you're just going to be... It's okay to be a student your whole life, but that's okay. It doesn't mean when you become a teacher you stop being a student. No. As a matter of fact, one of the characteristics that you should look for in a teacher, does the teacher continue to study? Or does the teacher say, hey, there's no more Dharma for me to learn, I'll just teach from now on. It's actually a good sign that the teacher keeps studying, or at least to try to study. At least that they try and want to study, because there's always, you know, Well, there's some wonderful teachings out for us to teach.

[55:32]

Most of the great teachers continued to study all the way to the end. Like Hakuin, you know? He was very precocious and had great enlightenments when he was just a youngster. He just kept studying and kept having more and more great enlightenments. His last big one was when he was 46 and he was reading the Lotus Sutra at the time. And then from that time until he retired was just 12 more years. From that time he taught for 12 more years. Then he had to retire because he got too sweet to teach Zen. So why not you like to retire? Well, as you can see, it's going to be pretty soon, right?

[56:34]

I got to finish the book. Well, I could retire even before I finished the book. All I got to do is come to class, right? And you can teach it. I just got to make sure that the class keeps going. I don't have to be a teacher. But the cross did class my mind. The thought did cross my mind that, you know, when we finish this book in around 2003, what do we do then? We start to build a quick record. How many cases? One hundred. Exactly? And some of them are similar, so that'll be interesting to study them that way. And then when we finish that, then we can have a class where we study them simultaneously. That will take us into the later part of some of our lives.

[57:35]

We'll have a lot of funeral ceremonies as part of the class. Tonight's class is a funeral ceremony. My wife said, I'm really glad you're in the death business. Yes? It doesn't seem possible to not be a bodhisattva. It doesn't seem possible not to be? No. Okay, great. Thank you. So, how do you guys feel about teaching this material? Any problems with that? Scared. Scared? At least you're dressed for it.

[58:40]

So are you. Susan? I just have to say that I had a delightful moment when I was reading this case when I read the part where the late master really didn't say this. And... I actually entertained for a moment the fact that something that I believed had happened hadn't really happened at all. I had to let go. I started to play with walking that way. I didn't really have a brother or something. I didn't see what that would feel like to let go of something that I so thoroughly believed.

[59:48]

But it was just this little release that was... what she said. Maybe that didn't happen. Maybe it didn't have that release. Please feel free to comment on this evening's meal. Yes. When I started studying this, things kept hitting me, just for the election.

[60:53]

And I drew a parallel between Bodhi Godman coming from the West to the power of me to a blind. Speaking of the salvation of all beings, and then the fulfillment of the Bodhisattva Thao, And that just thought it down to being here. It just kept happening to me. And in a way, I don't trust it. In another way, it felt lonely. It was fun. What don't you trust? Well, it's like my imagination, but it's all. Well, in what way don't you trust your imagination? Well, I guess I think I have to be right. But there's just one way to interpret this. But I guess there's you on that, too. Well, let's see now. Back to your imagination. Your imagination is fine as long as you remember that it's just your imagination.

[61:58]

It's not more than that. We're not saying that the cypress tree is more than a cypress tree. But then you just said we have to understand that... You have to understand. When I say you have to understand, I mean I need you to understand. I have myself to understand. And I would also say you need yourself to understand. And I would also say you need me to understand. Right. And you need to understand that I understand. And I need you to understand, and I need you to understand that you understand. So if you understand, you need to tell me that you understand. I need that. Now somebody might say, that's what people do. Aren't you busy? Do you have time to understand that Miriam understands? I mean, forget about Miriam understanding. Do I even have time to check into the fact that she does understand? And does she have time to understand Miriam and have time to tell me?

[63:00]

This is a lot of work. It's a lot of work for her to understand and then she has to talk to me about it too until I get it. which means probably may perhaps that you'll understand and I won't get it and perhaps I'll say no way and then you're going to have to like oh yes and maybe okay I don't or I'm going to come back and say well I've changed my mind no I really do understand and let me tell you this way so all that that's what it takes now what kind of a critter is up for this What do we call that kind of recruiter? What's it called? What? Carol. Carol. Wow, congratulations. What's another name for Carol? Bodhisattva. Arlene's another name for... Arlene's not a name for Carol. Bodhisattva's another name for Carol and Bodhisattva's another name for Arlene and another name for Miriam.

[64:01]

Bodhisattva. Bodhisattva is one who takes on this level of work. It doesn't mean you think you can accomplish it today, though. Like somebody said, somebody told me a while ago, I want everybody in the world to love me. I said, that's not unreasonable. I mean, don't we all? But it is unreasonable to expect it to be accomplished last afternoon. Although it's already so that everyone loves you, in fact, everyone already loves you, but to realize it is not necessarily realistic to expect to realize it in the near future, even though it's already so. But we want that, and we want everyone to understand that we love them. But first of all, we want to understand that we love everyone. And then, once we realize that, we want everyone else to understand it. And then we also want them, we need them. We want them and we need them to tell us that they do understand.

[65:02]

And this case is a perfect case for this, right? Perfect case for it. There's obviously nothing else to be done with this case but this kind of work. Well, maybe it's not obvious, but it's pretty clear. to me, but that's the kind of involved we're talking about here. That's why the story is very simple for us to get down there into this. Bodhidharma took this long walk all the way from India, all the way over to China. He didn't have to come, in a way, but he did. And what was the point of it? What was his intention in coming? This kind of thing. Yes? Does there have to be an agreement in the understanding? Yes. So that's where we get in trouble with interpersonal... Yeah.

[66:05]

That I need to understand, and you need to understand, and I want to understand, and you want to understand. Yes. But I'm not in agreement with what your understanding is. Right. So now we've got conflict? Yeah, but we had conflict before that too, but... Oh, you may not even think you do understand. I may think you do. Okay. Hey, we need to actually find agreement with all these ancient beings eventually. That's what's necessary. Nice. Huh? Nice. I thought you said it was impossible not to be able to suffer. Oh. Sounds like you think there's an alternative all of a sudden. Now that you find out what it really was. Well, maybe that's wrong. Actually, I think it's not necessary. I can do it for yourself after all. Okay, so what she's just now saying is a form of this bender that I feel on too. Bender, did you say? Bender.

[67:05]

Having to get agreement. Having to realize agreement? Yes. Then it goes back to the thing about teaching by imitation. Yes. Yeah, that too. You can't force this teaching down people's throats. I mean, you can, but then does... And then a bodhisattva has to do with the willingness. Not necessarily. I'm totally mixed up. I'm just doing this because I want to get it better. Yeah, well, we'll clear up in just a second. It's really very simple. Go ahead. I can't. So anyway, Jeanette can do it for you. I was thinking of... An example, when you said that somebody has to be asked to be taught, and I thought, well, that's not right. And then I was thinking over my day, when did a Bodhisattva want to teach me something today?

[68:08]

And at noon time, I was riding my bike home, and I wanted to get home to eat. and my neighbor was with her little boys, about one year old, down, it was really low tide, and they were down in the rocks, like this. I said, what are you doing? I was up on the pier. I said, what are you doing? And they said, we're listening for craps. And I said, and I wanted to listen, but I wanted to, and I couldn't hear him. She said, just listen. And she said, the mother said, okay, get off your bike and come down here and listen to the crowd. So I got up and I, and I, I was listening, but I couldn't hear because I, I wasn't present, but I was willing. And so I listened, the little boy was very, very quiet. Very, very quiet. And all of a sudden I heard this, They really make noise. These crabs make noise. And she was telling me how they were waiting all year for these crabs, and they didn't understand if they go away or that there's a season for crabs.

[69:11]

And then we were really still, we were really doing thoughts, and even this little boy. And all of a sudden, all these crabs started coming out out of the rocks. I mean, a lot of them, maybe like 20 crabs. And so I was thinking she's a Bodhisattva that cared enough to get me off my bike to come down. But I was... You asked. I asked. And then I was thinking, well, is a Bodhisattva only telling us pleasant things? I mean, most of the time that's not the case anymore. Sometimes with Bodhisattva's time, I ask things that are more difficult. But that was a pleasant one that occurred to me. Did anybody have any questions about the case, how to study it? Yes, how to study it.

[70:16]

Do you have some questions about how to study it? How to study it. Well, do you understand how to investigate this relationship between the sky and the earth? Can you study that? Well, that will help you understand when cypress trees become Buddha. There's a lot of different details and possibilities about how sky and earth meet and cypress trees become Buddha. That's one area you can work on, right there. That's a little pivot there. There's a little eye there. You can use that to get into the story about the cypress tree. What else? Any other ideas of how to, like, you have to find some place to work, right? Some place to focus in.

[71:18]

Like that story, what is it? The Shobo Genzo Zenki. Shobo Genzo, the whole works, that fascicle. It's like this, okay? This story is like this. Both these stories. The story of the, when Saipas could become Buddha. That time, that when. Okay? And the when, when the Bodhidharma comes from the West, the Cypress tree in the garden, the when of the Cypress tree in the garden, all these points. Another one is like this. All of our experiences are like this. They're all Buddha nature, but in terms of study, you have to see the when of them, when it happens. So it's like this. When, when, when, When you go out in the water, in the boat, out in the water, you can't ride in the boat without a boat.

[72:24]

Even though you work the oars and you've raised the sail and you work the tiller or the rudder, you wouldn't be able to do that without the boat. But also, you make the boat into a boat. A boat's not a boat if nobody rides in it. So you make the boat, and the boat makes you. You ride the boat, but you couldn't ride the boat without the boat. Also, the water and the sky and the edge of the water, they also make the boat. And they're all circumstances of the boat. And those are the circumstances of the boat, and those circumstances are not the circumstances of something else. Everything comes together around that boat, and you make the boat a boat, and the boat makes you a rider in the boat, and the boat gives you a ride. It's like that. You need to, like... And then he says, study that particular time.

[73:27]

Study a particular time like that. You need to pick a time like that to study. You need to make a commitment to a place where you realize how you're contributing to the place, the event, and how the event contributes to you. How you make it happen, how it makes it happen, and the circumstances around it. You need to do that. You need to see how you make your own suffering. How you make your own prison. How you make yourself. How you make your feelings. How you run away from your feelings. Or how you meet your feelings. You've got to pick something. Some place, some time. You can do it with the story. Since we're talking about the story, that would be fine. You can do it with anything, but you can also do it with the story. If you can do it with something else, you can apply it to the story. If you can do it with the story, you can apply it to something else. I have some difficulties there.

[74:29]

I cannot understand it unless I realize. Right? Yeah. Right. Exactly. So, how is it to say this? Understanding and realization? Yeah. The synonyms. Don't you see what they're saying? No, I'm understanding it. I know what I can't understand. I know what I cannot understand. Yeah. And this I cannot understand unless I realize it and then I will understand it. That's right. I will not get to it by my pure understanding or my trying to understand it. In my logic, I won't get to it. Oh, I see, by your logic. Oh, your present understanding will not take you to it. No, you have to give up your present understanding. You have to put your present... You don't have to... fight your present understanding, you just need to give it up and study. This is another meaning of when sky touches the earth. We have to give up our understanding in order to study this material.

[75:33]

According to our present understanding, we don't study this material. Right? Isn't that our present understanding? Isn't it your present understanding that you haven't been studying this case? You need to give up that understanding and not necessarily grab a new understanding, just study the case any way you want to. But, you know, I'll just give you some suggestions about how to do it. Can you make this case into something that has, you know, various dynamics converging on it? Well, you know, we have a class now, right? which some of you come to on Monday nights. That's a factor in studying this case for you. Some of you would maybe not study this case in this lifetime if you hadn't come to this class. Now you're in this class, so here this case is in your life. What else is contributing to you studying this case? And what is contributing to this case? What's the history of Zen that makes this case?

[76:38]

Why is this case in this book? How does it happen that this case is so important in all the stories that have happened, in the billions and trillions of stories that have happened in the last thousand years or so? What's this doing in this book? Why do we value this so much? How does it happen? If you don't value it, then what do you value? And if you value something, are you studying it? And is what you're studying more valuable in this case? If so, fine. Then tell us about that. We can use your insights on this case. If you're in this class, you can bring anything you want to this case. But, you know, probably if you're that kind of person, you could study this case, too. After all, Jiajou could talk about a lot of different things, but he said the excitement tree. If he could talk like this... Maybe you can too, especially since you've been in this class now for two weeks talking about this thing.

[77:39]

Isn't not understanding as much Buddha nature as understanding? Of course, yes. All sentient beings, including the sentient being of understanding and not understanding, understanding and not understanding, are the Buddha nature. Yeah. So... Do you understand, do you realize the Buddha nature of understanding and not understanding? That's what we're talking about here. Do you realize it? Do you realize the Buddha nature of understanding? Do you realize the Buddha nature of not understanding? If you don't realize, then you're suffering. You're still in prison. In a place where people don't, where beings don't meet, is that why, even though they don't always meet, in that place where they don't always meet, to value understanding or agreement, agreement or understanding over not agreeing.

[78:46]

and not understanding is dangerous. We don't have to value agreeing and understanding above not agreeing and not understanding. You don't have to do that in order to agree and understand. You don't have to do that. You just have to work towards agreeing and understanding. We need to agree and understand, but you don't have to then make that better than something else in order to do it. Probably that wouldn't help. No, it would be a stumbling block. Nobody said, don't do that. You can do it, but it's not going to help. What's going to help is to work on, just concentrate on understanding, on realizing, and sharing, and agreeing. Work on that. We need to do that. But you don't have to make that better than something else. By invitation. By invitation? Yeah, lots of invitations going on. They need to happen. You need to invite some people and they need to accept your invitation and they need to invite you. Or eventually maybe you need to invite them to invite you.

[79:50]

You need to tell them, I'd like to let you know that I need you to invite me. You need to invite me. And also, I am now inviting you to invite me. But I want it to be a real invitation, not just because I asked you. And now that you've invited me, do you understand how necessary it is that you invited me? We need to get better and better at inviting people and getting invited. It's tough, though. It's tough. It's tough business to do this. But little by little, it can happen, I think. But we should stop now. And next week, I think we should stay in this case. Although the case after this, you can peek at it if you want to. It's a cutie. It's about Vimalakirti in Muncher Street. Yeah, it's a good one.

[80:52]

It's out of the Vimalakirti Sutra. You can read the sutra if you want to. It's in the chapter on the... the door to non-duality, or the non-dual ganadorts. You can see them look at 48, but I think we should work on more on this. And I would like you to... Wow. It's getting late, but... Do you have a homework assignment? Huh? No? You don't have one? All right. Sue Muren says she doesn't have a homework assignment. Who else doesn't have a homework assignment? You don't? Yes, I do, actually. The people who don't have a homework assignment stay behind for a little bit. I want to make it clear to you. Everybody should leave this class and go home and do their homework. Right? You don't understand what the assignment is. then stay after class. There is an assignment.

[81:56]

I made a request. Did you hear it? If you didn't, stay after class. If you did, please stay after class if you're not going to do it. If you heard the assignment, you're willing to do it, then you can go home. Otherwise, please stay after class for a little while, okay? May I have a perfect choice?

[82:22]

@Transcribed_UNK
@Text_v005
@Score_83.01