The explanation of Ten Merits of Buddhist Love might be very strange for you, funny lecture for you. But in a sense, I'm very glad to give such a lecture to you. Because, even though you think Buddhist love is very strange, funny love, I think it is one of effective, it is effective on my talk anyway.

[01:03]

Because you understand how strange, how funny Buddhist love is. I don't want to expect anything, how wonderful Buddhist love is. Whatever you feel from Buddhist love, that's okay. But all I have to do is to explain what it means to wear Buddhist love in terms of my responsibility to give a lecture. The Shakyamuni Buddha tried every possible effort to give a great suggestion.

[02:39]

How to learn the truth, which means the way of learning of being in fullness of one's whole being. In terms of the aspect of clothing, the food, the clothing, the house, the forms, requisites of our lives. Particularly in terms of the aspect of the clothing, the Buddha gives a suggestion how to learn the truth.

[03:46]

This is the meaning of Buddhist love. The last Sunday, I mentioned some of the aspects, some of the subjects. How to acquire the truth, or how to acquire the acceptance of the ultimate fact, or being in the fullness of one's whole being, of life. Quoting the verse, it is as follows.

[04:52]

The nature of the person who bows, and his object which is bowed is absolutely emptiness. This responsive intercommunication between one and the truth is beyond the reach of meditation. The important point is when and how can we learn the source of responsive rapport between one and the truth.

[06:05]

Particularly in our daily life. Then the Buddha says, the nature of the person who bows, and the object which is bowed is absolutely emptiness. In other words, it is the great experience of responsive rapport between you and the truth. When you become one with the you who bows, and the object which is bowed. That time you can experience the responsive rapport between you and your Buddha nature.

[07:16]

Also it is beyond the reach of meditation. Most of you, I think, they practice Zazen for a month, or one year, or more than one year. Even though, how long, no matter how long you practice Zazen. The practice of Zazen is, while the practice of your Zazen is effective to you.

[08:29]

Your Zazen, the practice of your Zazen is not complete. It is not a complete practice of your Zazen. For instance, while you expect something from the practice of not only Zazen, but also the chanting, the sutra, or bowing, or walking, or eating. Or praying to God. Such a practice is not complete. Because there is still something, something like object which you expect from the practice of Zazen.

[09:41]

Such as, what is enlightenment? What enlightenment is like? Imagining how wonderful enlightenment is, maybe, you know, if you get enlightenment. At least while you are expecting something, even the slightest expectation in your mind. Such expectation, in a sense, encourages you to practice Zazen, spur yourself to practice Zazen.

[10:58]

But, in the process of doing something, whatever you may do, not only Zazen, but also doing something in daily life. It is sure that you must be faced with completely nothing, nothing to expect. In other words, completely you discourage. In other words, it is the time when you are at loss what to do with Zazen or even yourself.

[12:12]

You are at loss what to do with yourself in the domain of the practice of Zazen. At that time, there is completely nothing to expect. Even though I gave lectures again and again, a thousand times, a million times, how wonderful Zazen is. Such a lecture is like the Nenbutsu or like the diamond which is placed in front of a cat or a dog. You are completely not interested in the presence of a diamond or Zazen. Because your Zazen is completely faced with nothingness, discouragement what to do.

[13:28]

But, the important point is that true practice should start from this point. It is pretty difficult, but your true practice must start from this point. From this point. At that time, you cannot find completely the object. Object which is called Zazen. Zazen that could give you a greater suggestion to your life. And also, there is nothing to exist.

[14:42]

In your daily life, you find yourself, you couldn't find, you couldn't find even yourself to exist. That's why there are many passing of crisis, which many people jump into, jump over the Golden Gate Bridge into. Boom. Boom. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Boom. Ah. Ah. Then, the last Saturday, last Sunday, I mentioned the Art of Tea Ceremony or the Art of the Archery.

[16:10]

And there is very interesting, you know, the poor. The boar, the boar is broken. Arrows are all gone. This critical moment, no fainting heart, no fainting heart cherish. Shoot with no delay. The boar is broken. Arrows are all gone. This critical moment, no fainting heart cherish. Shoot with no delay. This passing of crisis is considered very important in order to enhance the higher the level of human life.

[17:38]

Which will enable man to be aware of what it means to live in the fullness of one's whole being. This is very important, you know. The boar is broken. Arrows are all gone. The critical moment, the fainting heart cherish.

[18:43]

Shoot with no delay. Shoot with no delay. Don't jump into the Golden Gate Bridge, you know. Don't jump into the ocean from the Golden Gate Bridge. Don't jump into the ocean from the Golden Gate Bridge. The ocean is, ocean, all the Golden Gate Bridge to jump in order to commit suicide is in the wrong direction to aim at your crucive, a crucial target. Once more again, you should shoot your own heart with no delay right now. You are faced with a critical moment.

[19:51]

You find yourself to despair. You find nothing to, nothing in the practice of Zazen. You find nothing in the daily life. It means the boar is broken, the arrows are all gone, nothing, completely nothing. Then, no fainting heart cherish this critical moment. There is nothing to leave any room for looking around.

[21:07]

What shall I do? If the least, even the slightest things to be left any room for looking around your life, your life is getting worse and worse. Then, at last, you have to jump into the ocean of the Golden Gate Bridge. But this, at this moment, important point, no fear, no fainting heart cherish and shoot with no delay. Don't look around.

[22:08]

Shoot yourself again. Shoot yourself again is to settle on yourself once more. Just once more. Just once more. Not twice. Once more. With the complete impact of being in the fullness of your whole being, that time you will find some little seed which will grow and make beautiful flowers or fruit.

[23:15]

And someday, I don't know when, this world, the next world, or next next world, I don't know when, the nature of the person who bows and the object which is bowed is completely emptiness. Emptiness means that you are completely faced with nothing to expect. Saying the bow is broken, the arrows are all gone. Nevertheless, there is nothing to leave any room for shouting, what shall I do, what shall I do.

[24:23]

All you have to do is shoot with no delay to yourself once again. That time it means that you become one with you and your life, your life and the truth. You and the truth which you can be in the fullness of your whole being. Silence.

[25:41]

It looks like, it seems to me that such a state of the psychological understanding of human mind is like the big mountain which is collapse, which collapse, collapse. Suddenly, the big mountain collapse and wet. Before big mountain collapse, you are always wondering, what shall I do, what shall I do. Going there, going here, looking around your life, looking around many choices.

[27:01]

Then always you hit your forehead against the glass, against the doors. Every time you try to go out, to get out of your life in order to seek for anything, what you are expecting. Then when you recognize how much you feel pain by hitting your forehead against the wall many thousand times. Then you get completely exhausted and you collapse, you collapse in the small world of your daily life.

[28:24]

Then you think there is nothing but to sit, because even though wherever you may go, there is nothing to get, to expect. Then such a realization, self-realization impels you to sit. At that time you can practice Zazen with full attention. While you are expecting something from Zazen, your Zazen is not Zazen with full attention.

[29:35]

At that time, the nature of you who do Zazen and Zazen which is practiced by you is completely nothing. But there is, there exists something, I don't know what it is, I don't know what it is. When you sit, when you sit Zazen with full impact of doing Zazen, there exists something which you cannot explain in words.

[30:48]

On the other hand, your Zazen is complete, full completeness of practice of Zazen. And then someone, when someone looks at your Zazen in that way, doing in that way, your Zazen absolutely changes. The other characters, in other words, your Zazen makes others be impressed. From your Zazen, other people are impressed by your Zazen or your Zazen is wonderful, how wonderful your Zazen is.

[32:14]

In other words, because within your Zazen, there exists something like harmony, harmony, peace, peacefulness. If you ask what peacefulness is within this Zazen, within this Kassho, within this bow, with full impact of being in fullness of your whole life, whole being, you couldn't answer to this question, but you feel something, something like peace or something like harmony. This is the posture of Zazen, posture of bow, posture of Kassho, the posture which you try to practice the art of archery.

[33:39]

When you hold the arrow and bow, the posture is not merely posture, which is seemingly in vain, but posture is very important, because within the posture of your body, created by your body, there must be something like peace or harmony, which will give others peace and harmony. Which cultivate others, which help others. This is your posture.

[34:46]

That's why when you practice Zazen, we are always telling you posture is important. So, straighten your back, pull your chin, have proper posture of your hand, but there are quite a few who have proper posture of your back, head, chin, and hand. Most people do like this, [...] your hand is like this. From those postures, nobody felt something like peace or harmony.

[36:01]

Even though only you feel peace sitting in Zazen, it's not real complete Zazen. Our practice is doing Zazen with all sentient beings. This is important, with all sentient beings. The purpose of the practice is not open only to you. The purpose of practice must be open to you and all sentient beings, others. At that time, you learn something, as Shakyamuni Buddha says,

[37:19]

Responsive rapport between you and the tools is beyond the reach of meditation. The fullness of your whole being, when you are faced with complete despair, testifies to what it means to live in the fullness of your whole life, whole being. At that time, what you understand, what the responsive rapport between you and the truth, you and the Buddha nature,

[38:31]

you and the big world, where all sentient beings live, exist. Then, when you can practice Zazen, the bow, or bow of Gassho, or eating, in that way, you can accept, you can accept the ultimate fact,

[39:32]

that where all sentient beings exist, with soft-heartedness, whatever happens in the process of your Zazen, your mind is always busy, you realize your mind is busy, you realize sometimes that your mind is completely gone, towards eating, or Indian Buddhism, or Tibetan Buddhism, yoga practice, It is not necessary to be swayed away, to be caused by various kinds of delusions,

[40:44]

which appears in the domain of your practice of Zazen. When you make failure of your business, you could be faced with complete despair. But, don't forget that there is still something to make you alive,

[41:57]

even though you hate your own life, even though you hate the others' kindness, even though you hate the kindness given by others, don't forget that your life is always supported by kindness, and furthermore, compassion, which exists in the big world, regardless of the idea of whether you like or dislike.

[43:04]

If you cannot have some room to accept such a kindness given by others, regardless of the idea of whether you dislike or like, your life is at last getting worse and worse, and you become completely loneliness, become isolated from the human being, all sentient beings, all societies, because we are always existing in the big world where the harmony exists,

[44:32]

the content of the harmony, which is called the soft heartness, exists. Then, such is the way of life, you may say that such a way of life is based on Buddhist way of life.

[45:42]

So, if you accept the Buddhist way of life, as mentioned before, as long as Buddhist love is considered very important, in order to enhance the higher level of human life, in terms of the aspect of closing, how to learn the truth, we have to accept the Buddhist love before you analyze what Buddhist love is.

[47:12]

With the full impact of being in the fullness of the whole being, within the acceptance of Buddhist love. With the progress of Mahayana Buddhism from China to Japan, the people in China and Japan have accepted the Buddhist love in a different,

[48:22]

in wrong directions, in wrong direction, because even the priests were proud of themselves to wear something like a robe, because it was given to the priest by the emperor who had higher rank. So, even the priests in China and Japan didn't know what the real robe was,

[49:29]

which has been handed down from Shakyamuni Buddha to Bodhidharma to Dogen and to many patriarchs. When Dogen went to China, he found the true robe in the Polin Monastery in China, and it was down from Shakyamuni Buddha to six patriarchs he named. Then he decided to make possible effort to make the people be aware of what true robe was. The first of four or five merits of

[50:49]

Buddhist love which occurs in this sutra are devoted to explanation of just how great Buddhist love is. Then the sixth merit tries to be devoted to explanation of the reason why Buddhist love is great. According to the way of making, according to the way of dealing with, kashaya, this is kesa, robe,

[52:01]

the way of choosing materials, the way of taking measurement of the person who is about to wear, the first one says that Buddhist love is the field to provide one with great opportunity of covering a sense of disgrace and of bringing about the merit in times to completely free the reflection upon one's disgrace.

[53:10]

Then when I was in Japan, I had a chance to meet a great painter at the famous temple which is called Zenkoji, who lived there. I met him with a famous Zen master named Hashimoto Roshi to see the original Buddhist bowl which is used by the priest in India, or kesa. This painter went to India to paint, to imitate the one of great painting on the wall at the great temple in India.

[54:26]

Concerning the life of Buddha, not only the painting, but also he explained a lot of things in India. At that time, he said, there was a priest who put the stress on wearing nothing, nude. Also, people paid great homage to him bowing on the ground,

[55:41]

touching his forehead with two arms and two knees to the ground. Also, Indian people have some custom to throw his long hair in front of Buddha. The priest, who he is about to pay homage, and priest are trying to step over the hair, long hair.

[56:44]

The people are great happy to see stepping over their own hair by the priest. Some person cut off the hair, which was stepped over by the priest, and put it in his family's altar. Day in and day out, he paid homage to it. The lady said that one of priest had a big lion by him, which was completely broken in.

[57:49]

I don't know what kind of religion they belong to. In the United States, there are some who insist on having great pleasure with nude, nothing to wear, lives in nature, lives in the deep of the mountain. Even though they are delighting living his life with peace. Such a peace is open just to himself, not to others.

[59:17]

Because of such a peaceful mood, I'm afraid it stimulates the impulsive emotion. Even the enlightened person. So, in Buddhism, it is said Buddha tell us to cover your navel and around the knees. Recently, the knee look style is very popular in our day. Then, Buddhism is viewed to provide one with great opportunity of covering and sensing disgrace.

[60:36]

The end of bringing about the merit in terms to complete fully, reflecting upon one's disgrace. If you wear the bodhisattva, it is natural that your navel and your knees are completely covered with the bodhisattva. But, there are some who wear the small bodhisattva, which is called rakusu. Originally, this rakusu used to be the same size as this one.

[61:45]

Originally, Dogen Zenji put emphasis on wearing the bodhisattva, not only the priest, but also all people, and even the insect, all sentient beings, he said. When you wear such a big robe, in terms to work, I think it's pretty hard to arrange, to deal with it. So, more than men have got good idea to make it short, make it small, which you wear rakusu now.

[63:04]

But, even the small rakusu, small size of rakusu, is made according to the same way of making. And, the second is kashaya, which is called buddhist robe. This one, to avoid the suffering from the heat and the cold, and poisonous insect, and to acquire the ultimate being in life with the immovable quality of the way-seeking mind. Day in, day out, wherever you are, we are very happy to have a chance to wear the buddhist robe, even the rakusu.

[64:22]

Because this rakusu is made according to the principle of the truth, I will explain about this. Some of the days, Not only kashaya leaves, but to avoid the suffering from the heat and the cold, and the poisonous insect. But also, the aliens want to acquire the ultimate being in life, by the impact of becoming one with the fullness of your whole being.

[65:43]

Day in, day out, whatever you do. Also, this basic attitude of life will give great influence to others, will help others greatly. So, as I mentioned in one of the poems, according to the art of archery, The bow is broken, arrows are all gone. This critical moment, the long-fainting heart cherished. Shoot with no delay. You should memorize this crucial point again and again.

[66:52]

You should tell to yourself again and again. There is always something, there is always something which will help you, regardless of the idea whether you like or dislike. For this, you have to realize the harmony in life, moment after moment. And your mind must be soft-hearted to accept such kindness given by others, regardless of the idea whether you dislike or like.

[68:00]

You must learn what harmony is. You must learn what soft-heartedness is in daily life. Okay, do you have a question?

[68:19]

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