You know so well, our practice is Shikantaza, but it is not so easy for us to understand what Shikantaza is through your body and mind, not only with your intellect senses. I think it will take you a long time to understand, to get a taste of Shikantaza. So, as long as you ride on the board of so-called Shikantaza, don't get off. Try to continue to ride on the board of so-called Shikantaza until you get to the destination of what you want.

[01:08]

To tell the truth, you cannot. You cannot get off. Because Dogen Zen says always, first of all, you should find yourself what you are. In Japanese, Dosho Eo. Dosho means path or Tao in Chinese. Sho means place. Dosho Eo means you should settle on yourself at the ultimate place. Ultimate place. In other words, ultimate place is you yourself.

[02:14]

You yourself, what you are. What you are. What you are standing on the earth. This is the Dosho. Dosho Eo. First of all, you should find yourself to settle on yourself at the ultimate place. Then you can understand something as it is. You can understand something as it is. This morning, Tatsugami Roshi said that Zazen is the faith. Zazen is faith. Generally speaking, faith. If you say, if you call Zazen, in terms of the faith, our faith is you.

[03:25]

At any cost, you stand up firmly on the earth with your foot. With your foot. You have to settle yourself on yourself. With your foot. This is Dosho Eo. Generally speaking, it is faith. It is faith. In Shobo Genzo, which is called Shinjin Gakudo. Shin means body. Jin means mind. Shinjin Gakudo, to learn. To learn the body and mind. Gakudo means to learn the body and mind is to learn the Buddha's teaching. So in Shinjin Gakudo, Dogen Zenji explains about the time, or about the practice.

[04:33]

He said, yesterday is past. It is past. To come from today. Today is today. To come from today. Tomorrow is the future. Tomorrow is the future. To come from today. Yesterday is not the past. Not merely past. Yesterday is past. To come from today. Today is today. To come from today. Tomorrow is the future. To come from today. This is very important.

[05:37]

Usually the past. Our past. Usually our past has gone from our daily life. And enjoy playing something. Playing games. Now only the past, our past, go to some place. Apart from today. And enjoy playing by himself. In other words, your only head is going on. Has gone to some place. Your body is here. Your head has gone. Has gone to some place.

[06:40]

And enjoy by himself, by itself. Playing games. But Dogen Zenji says, yesterday is past. To come from today. Yesterday means, if you want to go to the yesterday. Don't bring only your head. If you want to go to the yesterday, you have to go there. Carry your body and your brain too. Body and mind. To say what under your brain, go to yesterday and enjoy playing something. Is to say that you look like seeing some shores.

[07:46]

Some shores on the stage. I think we are very interested in a gorgeous aspect of life. Like a beautiful flower. When you look at a beautiful flower, you are very enjoyed to see it. In Japan, when the cherry blossom blooms, all men and women go to see the cherry blossoms, blooming cherry blossoms. And drinking sake. And singing the Japanese folk song. With dance. I think, of course, cherry blossom is beautiful. It is alright to go to see the cherry blossom.

[08:47]

Drinking sake or with dance, that's alright. But man is apt to forget that it's life force. Man is apt to forget the cherry blossom, forget the great fact that cherry beautiful blossoms, beautiful cherry blossoms, cherry flowers are uphold by it's life force. This is very important. But all men and women just enjoy looking at just gorgeous flowers, blooming flowers. Nobody pay attention to it's life force.

[09:49]

If you are only delighted in the gorgeous aspect in life, in cherry blossom, in life of cherry blossoms, your understanding is like seeing, enjoying the show on the stage. Even the cherry beautiful cherry flowers must be uphold by it's life force. This is very important. Then, the problem is that human being try to risk their life, risk their life to see the show

[10:52]

without paying attention to anything else. All we have to do is just to see the show on stage. This is problem, this is trouble for human being. So, yesterday is past to come from today, today is today to come from today. Tomorrow is future to come from today. Means today is your life force. Today is life force which is vivid, alive, vividly alive. So, in the verse, the Aztokan then says, first of all, you should find yourself what you are.

[12:01]

You should settle on yourself firmly, standing on the earth firmly, steadily. So, today is completely your own life force, life force. Life force is always living, always living vividly. Even though you understand what you are, what human being is, in terms from scientific way of thinking, or biographic way of thinking, biological way of thinking. Now, how do you deal with your life force coming up the bottom of your mind, bottom of your earth, something comes up.

[13:06]

Something is coming up, coming up that you cannot understand exactly. Whatever you use, whatever you use way of thinking, understanding, in terms of scientific way of understanding. Technological way of understanding, you cannot. It looks like the streaming water coming up, coming from the depth of the earth. Human beings are interested, just only interested in seeking for the fountainhead of the river, that's all. But there is still something more, the fountainhead of the river.

[14:09]

It means the vivid water, streaming water is always streaming. The vivid water comes from the depth of the earth. How do you understand this? How do you understand your trouble coming from the depth of the earth, of your earth? You can't understand what suffering is, or this is my suffering. Then I want to say, even though you sit meditation, you don't understand what you are. Then, for the one week session, many people made complaints. Saying, the more I sit meditation, the more I don't understand what Zazen is.

[15:13]

Because there is nothing to get. Zazen itself doesn't give some solution of your problem. Even though you practice Zazen, you can't understand so well what Zazen is, what you are. What trouble is, what pleasure is. It's very scrutable, very scrutable. It means, they are always vivid. In other words, your life is always vivid. Beyond, beyond the interactive senses. Then, the important point is, we have to understand, we have to understand the streaming water. Streaming water.

[16:14]

Not only, not the understanding seeking for the fountainhead of the river. You have to understand the streaming water. Water is always vivid, and streaming. Streaming. Then, the today is today to come from today. So, it doesn't mean what to be, what to be. What to be, what to be means to be fountaining in the air. Of air, mid-air. What to be, today is today to come from today is not what will be, what will be. Today is, today to come from today is to return to life force of your life.

[17:28]

In other words, to return to life force, which is, which your stage, which your stage, which many shows, many kinds of shows, running on the stage are supported by your life force. So, Zazen is, Zazen make you return to your life force, even though you don't understand. This is the, our practice, our practice. It will take long time to understand what this kind of power is, or it will take you long time to understand what you are, who you are.

[18:31]

But, the moment after moment, how you settle on yourself, or what you are. Today, not yesterday, today, today. Today, that time, you can see many kind of shows as they are. But problem, our problem is that we take it into our head that, there are all, that we risk our life to see many kind of shows, which are running on the stage, so called brain, thoughts. I don't think so. Your thought, your stage is your stage, that's all right.

[19:37]

What is, what is to support, to upheld, uphold? What is uphold? What is to support? Then, think, before you risk your life to see this many kind of shows, running on the stage of your brain, there is something important. It is called life force, it is called zazen, which enables you to settle on the self.

[20:43]

On the earth, today, when tomorrow comes, you should settle on yourself tomorrow, with body and mind, not only with the brain. This is shikantaza. Of course, there is nothing to see it. Of course, even though you practice zazen more and more, you have some doubt, that the more you, there is nothing to get. At that time, this occasion, this is very important occasion, when you confront, there is nothing to get. This is very important occasion. Your practice, in your practice,

[21:45]

when you think there is nothing to get, nevertheless, you can settle on yourself, by your foot, on the earth, today, tomorrow, yesterday. At that time, it is shikantaza, it is shikantaza. It is the dosho, dosho means, kike unza, in other words, kike unza means, to return the origin, the origin of your life force. So, at least, during zazen, whatever you have, whatever kind of troubles you have, at least when you practice zazen,

[22:49]

you should concentrate on zazen itself, on the stage of today, on the stage of now, on the stage of here. This is to return the origin of your life force. Niggawaku

[23:16]

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