Intellect and Consciousness. There is still this. Even studying an ordinary and holy path is already too exalted. Even investigating beyond mind, intellect and consciousness, there is still this. Even studying an ordinary and holy path

[01:08]

is already too exalted. The red-hot furnace skirts out iron bars. With tongue, sword and lip-spear, it's hard to open them up. Without running afoul of the point, please try to bring it up. Master models unwell. The monastery superintendent asked, Teacher, how is your venerable state these days? The great teacher said, Sun-faced Buddha, Moon-faced Buddha. One device, one object,

[02:25]

one word, one phrase. The intent is that we will have a place to enter, that we will find a channel to the truth. Still, this is gouging out a wound in healthy flesh. It can become a nest or a den. Complication leading to complications. The great function appears without abiding in fixed principles. The intent is that we will realize something gone beyond.

[03:29]

It covers the sky, covers the earth, and cannot be grasped. It covers the sky, covers the earth, and cannot be grasped. It covers the sky, covers the earth, and cannot be grasped.

[04:33]

It covers the sky, covers the earth, and cannot be grasped. Sun-faced Buddha, Moon-faced Buddha. Sun-faced Buddha, Moon-faced Buddha. It's not easy to say anything about this. It's not easy to say anything about this.

[06:10]

After twenty years of bitter struggles and fierce practice, the noted Zen practitioner, Sui Du, of the Sun Dynasty, said, Sun-faced Buddha, Moon-faced Buddha. What kind of persons are the sacred ancient emperors? Twenty years of bitter struggle I have made. How many times have I gone down into the Blue Dragon Cave for you? This distress deserves recounting.

[07:24]

Clear-eyed, path-rogue monks should not take this lightly. Yesterday, we went into this a little bit, into this twenty years of grieving. Sui Du grieved for twenty years, and broke out the bottom of the lacquer bucket. And what can you say? Sun-faced Buddha, Moon-faced Buddha. For twenty years, I've been struggling. After twenty years of bitter effort, he could say, I've made twenty years of bitter effort.

[08:28]

After going down into the Dragon Cave, how many times, he could say, how many times have I gone down into the Dragon Cave? And he says, after making this effort, I can recount this effort. And it deserves recounting. Did you bring your notebook today, Wendy? Could you read that, this poem? It deserves recounting. Could you read that, Wendy?

[10:00]

Could you read that, Wendy? Could you read that, Wendy? It deserves recounting. It deserves recounting. What did they call that in the Christian Church? Didn't have a question and answer. I mean, back and forth, they called it SDP? Or is it called back and forth, is that what it is? Anyway, let's do that, okay? You say one line, I'll say one line. Praise. Praise. Only in the realm of praise can grieving work. Only in the realm of praise can grieving work. And so everybody. You say it. Only in the realm of praise can grieving work.

[11:05]

Only in the realm of praise can grieving work. The guardian hymns of a weeping source. The guardian hymns of a weeping source. Washing over the stream of our complaints. If you just hear it, it kind of goes. Washing over the stream of our complaints. Let's put that in two. Let's put that in two. Washing over the stream of our complaints. Washing over the stream of our complaints. To keep it clear upon the very stone. To keep it clear upon the very stone. That there is the arch of triumph and the altar. That there is the arch of triumph and the altar. Look around her shoulders. Look around her shoulders. Dawns the bright sense that she may be the youngest sister. Dawns the bright sense that she may be the youngest sister. Among the griefs hidden in our hearts.

[12:05]

Among the griefs hidden in our hearts. Joy knows and longing has accepted. Joy knows and longing has accepted. Only grief still learns. Only grief still learns. Upon her knees, night after night, she counts the ancient curse. Yet awkward as she is, she suddenly lifts the consolation of our voice, glaring into the pure, nocturnal sky. This poem by Suedu and this poem by Rilke have, for me, a similar feeling.

[13:39]

They're both talking about the art of grieving, the process of grieving, which knocks the bottom of the bucket out, knocks the bottom of the dragon's cave out. For me, although I can hardly remember doing it, I love the idea of, what do you call it, swimming in the ocean and then you come to a cave, right? And you go into the cave, you swim into the water in the cave. And pretty soon you come to the end of the cave and there's water there, but then you dive down under the water through a tunnel, you know? And you come up in another place, into another world. And see, that happens actually, the world's sometimes built that way. You can dive down and you come up in another place, in a vaulted room, where the water comes up again.

[14:47]

The dragon cave maybe has a bottom like that, where you can dive down deep, deep, deep, and come up in another place. This is going down into the water is grieving. This is what, this is our psyche, eastern and western psyche have similar stories. Demeter, no, not Demeter, Persephone, goes down into the water. Down into the water of Hades, before she comes back up as a woman. And the Zen monks, anyway, do this practice of limiting themselves to some fixed frame,

[15:58]

some concrete, finite situation, schedule, a body, a seat, a spine, breath. We limit ourselves to this, and if we can do that, and stay with that, naturally we go through this process. You don't have to try to grieve, that's not the point. However, as the grief comes up, because it naturally comes up as you focus on anything, single-mindedly, naturally the grieving, the pain comes up. When you're a beginner, the pain seems to be in your knees or your butt. In the end of the practice, I think the pain is mostly in the butt, not so much in the knee. Maybe it's worse at the beginning, more intense, I'm not sure.

[17:04]

It seems to be clearer where it is. But the grieving is always there. But still, this is only one side of practice, which the great Suedju points out in his verse about Sun-Faced Buddha and Moon-Faced Buddha. But there's another poem by another ancestor, in Tien-Tung, Hung-Ger, and it goes, Sun-Faced Buddha, Moon-Faced Buddha, Stars fall, thunder rolls, Like a mirror, regarding objects there's no subject to be,

[18:13]

A pearl in a bowl, rolling on itself, Gold refined a hundred times before the hammer, Under the scissors, silk of a single loom, Going down in the dragon's cave, and picking some topic, some object, some device, some word, some phrase, This picking some topic and staying with it, you can go down into the dragon's cave again and again. And this process, and the grieving that comes with it, should be praised. If you don't praise it, it won't work. You should know, this is an ancient tradition, it should not be taken lightly.

[19:17]

It should be honored and praised. Because grieving works, if you do it right. However, still, it's gouging out flesh in a healthy body. It's doing an operation on someone who's healthy already. One day, Yun-Yan, Yun-Yan is a teacher of Dong-Shan, Yun-Yan and Dong-Shan are ancestors of Tian-Hong. One day Yun-Yan was sleeping, and his brother came by.

[20:23]

His brother's name is Da-Wu. He said to Yun-Yan, you're pretty busy, aren't you? Yun-Yan said, you should know that there's somebody who's not busy. And Da-Wu said, well, then there must be two moons. And Yun-Yan took his broom, held it up and said, which moon is this? Then monks like you and me have to do something.

[21:25]

Sweep or sit. If you sweep and sweep and sweep, you will get in touch with your breathing. It's a kind of basic thing. It's a lot like sitting. It's a thing you do. It's a kind of busyness. It's a kind of insult to your Buddha nature that you have to sweep and sit and go down into caves. But all the while, there's somebody who's not busy. Even though you're busy, all the while, there's somebody who's not busy.

[22:35]

All the while you're grieving, there's somebody who's far beyond grief. Therefore, why don't you just pick something and work on it? Because whatever you pick, it's kind of sad and an unnecessary operation. So it doesn't have to be the perfect thing. It's just like sweeping. And you don't need to switch from that to something else. Something better, something more effective. The effectiveness is not so much the thing you're doing, but the fact that you stay with it.

[23:40]

So people ask me, you know, well, should I follow my breath, or should I count my breath, follow my breath, or just sit? Or should I work on a koan, or should I... many, many possibilities. Should I just work on my posture, or should I also work on my breathing, or should I just work on my breathing and forget about my posture? And my feeling is, any of those things are fine. Posture and breathing are the most common. And breathing is the most universally accepted among the various limited topics. It has all kinds of good qualities, but the point I'd like to make is that pick one and stay with it. If you jump from posture to breathing too much, or from posture to breathing to working on a koan to etc., etc., you may get distracted from your breathing.

[24:55]

The movement kind of distracts us from that breathing, which is always right there. So we don't stick our nose down in the grieving, we just simply sit still, confine ourselves to some topic, and naturally, because we don't run away, the grieving that's always there comes up. So that's why you should work at enjoying yourself while you're sitting, but enjoy one person, one posture, one breath, sitting. If you enjoy that, naturally you go through this process, and you'll go down. But remember, this is kind of busyness, this whole thing I'm talking about is a busyness, a highly recommended type of busyness. But at the same time of this busyness, there's something that's not busy, something that's smiling at us as we make this effort, something looking down at us saying,

[26:12]

Oh, isn't that nice? Look at them trying. They're successful, they're unsuccessful, they're having a hard time, they're relaxed, they're confused, they think they should change to something else, they're having problems, now they're settled, now they're upset. But something is always there, smiling, seeing our perfection, enjoying these Zen monks sleeping, seeing the ancient drama of somebody busy, somebody not busy. Which one is this, the busy one or the not busy one? We don't say which one this is, we ask the question. Even while you're sitting still, is that busyness? Is it a different moon from the one who's not busy? Is the smiling, grand old Buddha different from the one who's trying to sit still?

[27:15]

Which one is it? Min Yan walked away, and Da Wu walked away. So again, making our effort, knowing that someone there is not making any effort. Someone doesn't have to make any effort, it's not necessary to do anything. Somebody's not doing any manipulation, somebody's not gouging out any flesh, somebody's just completely already at peace and enjoying this wonderful little show of our effort. But we can't stop making effort. We can't stop sleeping, we can't stop sitting, we have to be magic.

[28:24]

And even if you just fall over off your cushion and lie down on your side, or take a two week break from Zazhing, still, there's no way to avoid being busy. So since there's no way to be avoided, why don't we accept it, praise our busyness, praise this, and dedicate ourselves to something. Because we always dedicate ourselves to something. We always are doing some busy little thing with our whole body and mind. We're always doing that. So let's do that. Sun face Buddha, Moon face Buddha.

[29:39]

Thunder rolls, stars fall. A mirror, a moon, regarding forms without subjectivity. A pearl, in bold, rolling on itself. Busy pearl, busy pearl. Rolling on itself. Pearls only can roll on themselves. And find gold a hundred times, and bore the hammer.

[30:53]

A hundred scissors, a silk, a single loom. Yunyan and Dongshan, another story. Amongst the Yunyan, the speaker, is that woman, and that one, one or two? And Dongshan said, on behalf of Yunyan, Yunyan didn't answer. Yunyan said, it's like a man holding on to a tree. Or like a man holding on to his wrist, when the tree is better. Or a man holding on to a stick.

[31:55]

Is that one or two? You don't have to worry about all the stuff I'm saying. You've got plenty of work to do. But still, I'm saying this to you. I'm saying this to you because in your busyness, in your occupation, in your vocation, in your invocation, in your inward listening that you're doing, if you do that sincerely, you're unguarded, you're vulnerable.

[32:57]

And I can say these stories to you, and they go in, and they go deep down, and they stick in your heart. So I have a chance to put this stuff into you, if you're busy. You're too busy taking care of yourself to defend against these stories. So I just give them to you, again and again. Drop these words, these little time bombs into you. Someday, they'll be very useful. Maybe during the session, maybe not. I don't suggest you turn around and try to do something unnecessary. Just let these stories come in. And you keep busy with your job. You know what your job is? Follow the schedule. Lengthen your spine. Try to sit still.

[33:58]

And take care of all the little tiny pieces of dust. Sleep in them, keep them clean. You have a lot of work to do. If you do that, the words that I'm telling you of the ancestors, and the barking of the dog, will teach you. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but don't worry about when. You're being fed. Wonderful, unsurpassed teachings are coming into you. When the servers, when you give the grimacio back, please put the spoon so that the hand goes towards you. When the servers give you the grimacio, the hand goes towards them, right?

[35:02]

Did you notice that? It's a kind of a little politeness. To give the grimacio, the hand goes towards the one who's giving it, has a hand that goes towards themselves. You give it that way. And when you give it back, you also give it back with a hand that goes towards yourself. Now maybe you think it's more polite to give it with the hand that goes towards the person you're giving it to. This is a matter of convention. We've decided that it's more polite to hand it with the hand that goes towards the one who's giving it. The point is, it's a little chance to be polite. The servers get to be polite to the leaders, the leaders get to be polite to the servers. This is another little busyness. Also, if during your breaks you spend your time being busy,

[36:06]

washing your face, washing your feet, washing your teeth, doing these kinds of things, it will help continue your concentration. Also, trying to be on time will help your concentration a lot. And you will learn a lot about yourself if you work on trying to be on time. And you will probably discover various things you want to do towards the end of the break. One more something or other. If you take the bell very seriously, the bell that says GO, you can catch yourself wanting to do some number more of whatever they are. And you can notice the relationship between greed and being on time.

[37:14]

So being on time, the schedule is actually a wonderful teacher, a wonderful thing. You may have noticed, but it's fairly heavenly outside. The weather is not only perfect, but it's a kind of a... It's even got a kind of special flavor on it. It's really wonderful out there. And we're in here. It's very beautiful. Now I want to tell you something about somebody's mind. This person would like it to be cold and foggy outside since we're in here. It seems kind of a waste that we can't go out there and romp in flowers and grass.

[38:31]

It's been foggy here for weeks and weeks. And yesterday and today seemed to be the most beautiful days all summer. How many beautiful days do Zen monks waste sitting indoors? Which way of life is better? The one of being out in the flowers or the one of being inside?

[39:43]

Feeling that. Almost feeling the smell of flowers coming through the window. Maybe we open the door a little bit so we can just smell a little bit of the flowers. Just sort of waft through here a little bit. Master Mao was not feeling too well.

[41:08]

Somebody came to visit him and said, How is your mental state these days? And he said, Sun face Buddha, Moon face Buddha. Can you see his face? How sick was he anyway? Was he on the verge of death? This huge, super great Zen master. He had 139 enlightened disciples. Can you imagine having one? 139 enlightened disciples. Since Shakyamuni Buddha is the all time record of it. Shakyamuni had supposedly 500. This old teacher, not feeling well.

[42:15]

Can you see his face? Or her face? Her face. By the way, what about this face business? Why Sun face and Moon face? What's this business about face? Why do they talk about the original face? And not the original foot? Or the original ear? Or original armpit? Original etc. Why original face? Why face before your parents were born? Why do they talk about the transmission of the teaching, be in front of Buddha's face? Does it have something to do with the breath coming in and out here?

[43:28]

In the face area? Does it have anything to do with the truth being right under your nose, or in front of your face? All of you right here, does it have something to do with that? What is this face business? Where is this Sun, where is this Buddha's face? What is this? No one has answered this question in the history of time. This is a new one for you. You don't have to worry. No one will compare you.

[44:29]

What is this? My impression is that we as a group are not intoxicated enough. We are getting pretty settled. The third day, that means we have about four and a half days left. We can really settle down now. So why don't you just try to pick one thing, even if it's not the best thing,

[46:29]

just pick something, and see if you can stay with it, and become totally renewable on that, whatever that is. Posture, or being. And then, at some point, just let sitting realize itself. Just let Buddha's way realize Buddha's way. Not move from that. Just let Buddha's way realize Buddha's way.

[47:47]

This kind of effort is business. In this way we should be busy. And without thinking about anything else, still know that there's somebody who's not busy. There's somebody who doesn't have to do anything. That's right up there all the time. That's right up there all the time. So, I'll spend four hours and I'll do,

[49:01]

I'll do one where I can get this. In case you forgot from yesterday. Attention beings are numberless. I vow to save them. Defilements are inexhaustible. I vow to cut them. Channels to truth are boundless. I vow to enter them. Buddha's way is unsurpassable. I vow to become it.

[50:06]

Sentient beings are numberless. I vow to save them. Defilements are inexhaustible. I vow to cut them. Channels to truth are boundless. I vow to enter them. Buddha's way is unsurpassable. I vow to become it. Sentient beings are numberless. I vow to save them. Defilements are inexhaustible. I vow to cut them. Channels to truth are boundless. I vow to enter them. Buddha's way is unsurpassable.

[51:12]

I vow to become it.

[51:16]

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