Open page at 74, Zenki Shobo Genzo Zenki. In the culmination of its quest, the great way of all buddhas is emancipation and realization. Emancipation means that life emancipates life and that death emancipates death. For this reason, there is deliverance from birth and death and immersion in birth and death. Both are the great way totally illuminated.

[01:03]

There is discarding of birth and death and there is crossing of birth and death. Both are the great way totally illuminated. Realization is life. Life is realization. When the great way is realized, it is nothing but life's total realization. It is nothing but death's total realization. Dogen Zenji comes to point out the most important point in the beginning of every chapter in the first paragraph. So, the first paragraph is very important. Zenki, the word Zenki comes from Zen Master Engo's remarks.

[02:16]

Open page 76, Zen Master Yuan Wu Ko Chin said, Life is the manifestation of the total dynamism. Death is the manifestation of the total dynamism. Dogen used the words from Zen Master Engo's remarks. Open page 77, Zen Master Yuan Wu Ko Chin said,

[03:41]

Life is the manifestation of the total dynamism. Death is the manifestation of the total dynamism. Open page 78, Zen Master Yuan Wu Ko Chin said, Sho is life. Ya doesn't make sense. No meaning. Just the word which put an emphasis on Sho or Zenki. So, Sho is life. Zen is total. Ki is totality. Zen is totality.

[05:10]

Ki is function. Gen is manifestation or realization. Shi is death. Ya, Zen, totality, Ki is function or working. Gen, realization or manifestation. So, life is the manifestation of total dynamism. Death is the manifestation of total working, total dynamic working. Life is the manifestation of total dynamic working. Then, Dogen used these two letters, Zenki, as a title.

[06:22]

Zenki. So, Zenki means Sho, Ya, Zen, Ki, Gen, or Shi, Ya, Zen, Ki, Gen. Zen, or you can say, not only about the life and death, you can say, Gassho, Ya, Zen, Ki, Gen. Eating breakfast, Ya, Zen, Ki, Gen. Sleeping, Ya, Zen, Ki, Gen. Walking on the street, Ya, Zen, Ki, Gen. Whatever you do, there is always Zen, Ki, Gen. Life is Zen, Ki, Gen. Talking is Zen, Ki, Gen. Then, Zen, totality.

[07:24]

Totality is the total state. Zen is the state in which the same and one quality of things fills and leaves no space for anything else to break into. This is the meaning of Zen. The state in which the same and one quality of things fills and leaves no space for anything else to break into. For instance, if you are American, and there is no other people who have different nationalities, Japanese, Chinese, and so forth.

[08:48]

Everybody is American. It's not necessary to put an emphasis on, I am American. Everybody is American. In Japan, there is a public bathroom. Separated, men and women. Women's size and men's size. If you are a man, you should go to the men's side. Well, there is no problem. But if you go to the women's side, immediately you kick it out. So, everybody, if you go to the men's side, well, there is everybody men. So, no problem. Everybody men. When I went back to Japan last year, I lived in the United States for 10 years or so, so I completely lost the sense of Japanese public baths.

[10:06]

And, unconsciously, I went to the bathroom, the public bath, and opened the door and got in. Then, men sit right in the front, between the men's side and the women's side, which is good enough to see everybody, like this. Collecting the money from the people. And then, when I stepped in, this man looked at me, uh-oh, uh-oh. I didn't understand. Why did he say, why should he say, uh-oh? So, I just kept standing just for a while. Then, look at the inside. All women. Uh-oh. I'm sorry. I got out. So, Zen is one thing completely filled.

[11:19]

Occupied space and time. There is nothing, no space to break into. It is called Zen. Zen. Totality. And, key is function, or working, or activities. So, Zenki means activity, or working, or function, filling the universe in all directions, which nothing is defective. This is the meaning of Zenki. So, Zenki is named in another expression. For instance, the world prior to germination of any subtle sign, or the self prior to one's parent's birth.

[12:37]

Something like that. The same meaning. Zenki, or the self prior to one's parent's birth, or the world prior to germination of any subtle signs. Something like that. I would like to make the meaning of Zenki clearer.

[13:38]

Okay. Sitting here. Let's... You should make it clear for you to know where you are. When you do the Zen, where you are? You are present, past, and future. Here, you are in the present. It is very clear. But, what is the present, what is the past, what is the future?

[14:39]

You should make it clear. The meaning of past is the time has gone already. So, past doesn't exist in the present. Now, how about future? Future is the time which will not come yet. So, future also doesn't exist in the present. But, when you sit the Zen, well, you realize there are lots of things which you experienced in the past. Thoughts, ideas, or many kinds of things which you experienced in the past.

[15:46]

If so, more or less, the past is existent not in the past, not in the future, but in the present anyway. When you sit the Zen, you realize I am thinking my experience in the past. While in Japan, sitting in A.H. monastery, sitting in the Zendo of A.H. monastery. Oh, this A.H. monastery is better than this Zendo, something like that. So, that's A.H. monastery. Zendo of A.H. monastery is something which has gone in the past already. But, anyway, past exists in the present. From this point, you cannot ignore past.

[16:49]

Now, how about future? Future is also, well, in many ways, exists in the present. For instance, if you sit the Zen, well, you will expect enlightenment. If you read the book by Philip Koppel, everybody knows. All students really expect to attain enlightenment. Then, sitting the Zen, but Katagi says, just sitting the Zen. But, Philip Koppel says, attain enlightenment. Then, you think, how wonderful enlightenment is. I really would like to attain enlightenment. But, enlightenment is not coming yet. Doesn't come yet. But, the future is really existent.

[17:51]

In the present. In the present with you. Or, if you sit the Zen, your body is really in here. But, your mind is taking a trip all over the world. Well, I would like to go to Paris. I would like to go to England. And so forth, which you have never been there. It's also future. So, future and past, you cannot ignore the presence of future and past. How about present? The present is very clear. The present is the place where you are right now, right here. But, the question is, how do they exist?

[18:55]

How do they exist in the present? That is the question. Past, future, and present all exist in your head. In your head. Exactly. Exactly in your head. So, past, present, and future are something pictured by your head. How about present? The present is also something pictured by your head. Because, even though you're sitting, you think something, Oh, my concentration is good now. So, if you realize the concentration is good, you really think,

[20:00]

Oh, my satsang is good. Next moment, concentration is moving to the right, to the left, What's the matter with me? Oh, my satsang is terrible. Something like that. If so, present is also what you're thinking. It's something pictured by your head. So, present is not real present. It's very shaky because present is something completely sandwiched between the past and the future. So, sometimes you go to the past, sometimes you go to the future. How wonderful enlightenment it is. I really want to get enlightenment. That time your present is going to the future. Oh, I would like to go back to the A. H. Monastery.

[21:04]

That present you're saying is really go back to the past. So, present is very shaky. So, past, present, and future are all whatever. All something pictured by your head. But, prior to germination of any subtle signs, which is called past, present, and future, pictured by your head, it is called, just that. Just that. It's called, Dogen used Nikon. Nikon means eternal nowness. Eternal nowness.

[22:10]

Literally, Nikon is nowness. So, nowness is here. Here and now. So, when you sit, your whole body and mind sit at the pinpoint. Nowness. And this nowness is not the period of time which you have thought. This nowness is that which thoughts doesn't arise. That nowness is time and space before thought arises.

[23:17]

Thought arises. This is nowness. So, strictly speaking, you cannot name nowness or anything like that, or any kind of name, conception. You cannot use any conception. That's why Dogen Buddhism uses very often the word, prior to germination of any subtle sign or the self, prior to one's parent's birth, and so forth. It is the time and space, time and space, before you can think. This is nowness. This is nowness. And also, this nowness is completely attuned in universe. This nowness is always working with the universe.

[24:22]

So, the self, prior to one's parent's birth, is the world where all energies of universe comes into this nowness. Your zazen is not the zazen you do. Zazen is something which you can tune into the universal rhythm. So, from this point, this nowness is eternal nowness, through the past, present, and future. So, Dogen Zenki explains this state of human life, or human world.

[25:47]

Zenki. Life is a manifestation of total dynamic working. Then, if you do gassho, gassho must do here. Gassho should be done not here. Usually, we should do anything here. I mentioned yesterday, on the Sunday, when you eat breakfast, all you have to do is just eat. In this state, prior to germination of any subtle signs, if so, when you eat breakfast, all you have to do is just to eat. But, when a thought even slightly arises,

[26:52]

you think, I am eating breakfast. Or, I am eating the cookies. I am eating the pizza, and so forth. But, that eating of pizza, you can think is not real state of eating pizza, tuning into universal rhythm. If you think even slightly about some activity, it is really something which happens here. Then, you think that is real eating, real meaning of eating. Or, for instance, if you do the Zen, and realize your concentration is best,

[27:56]

at that time, you think, oh, maybe this is enlightenment. Also, if you feel something flashing, like a flashing, like a lightning of thunder, then you think, oh, this is enlightenment, wonderful. But, it is not real enlightenment. It is not real enlightenment. That enlightenment is something created in your head. Real enlightenment is something prior to thoughts arising. It doesn't arise before prior to thoughts arising. This is enlightenment. That, the Zen, is tuning in to universal rhythm.

[28:58]

Gassho. Gassho is the manifestation of total dynamic working. When you do gassho, you shouldn't do gassho here. You shouldn't do gassho in your head. You should gassho in nowness. So, when you do gassho, just do gassho. So, shikan gassho, when you eat, shikan eating. Shikan means, in Japanese, shikan, like this. Shikan is wholehearted devotion. Shikan is complete or pure or undefiled state, where you completely turn into the pure state of activity or undefiled activity. It is called shikan.

[30:02]

Prior to germination of subtle signs. It is called shikan. When you do gassho, do gassho, just do gassho. At that time, shikan gassho is ongoing here. Now and here. Now and here. So, now and here means, we are a person, we are a person who is present, who is present of being located in the intersection of time and space. This is time, this is time, and this is space. So, we are always, moment after moment, we are a person who is present, concentrating,

[31:06]

of being located in the intersection of time and space. You can get out from here. This intersection is called nowness. Nowness. Or this intersection is linked to past, past and present and future. And all space, including a tree, birds, everything exists simultaneously. This is called universe, or something more than universe. Then you can sit, when you sit here, when you do gassho, when you walk on the street, moment after moment, your walking is ongoing

[32:11]

at the intersection of time and space. It is called nowness. Nowness is zenki. Nowness must be zenki. Total manifestation of total dynamic walking, regardless of whether you understand or not. It's really so. This is life, this is death, this is gassho, this is zazen, this is walking. Thank you. Okay. Do you understand? Any questions? Yes.

[33:13]

Is the character for zen in zenki same as character in zazen? No, different. Zazen. Zazen. This is zen. Zazen is sitting. Zen is zenjo, which means tranquility. So different. You said that enlightenment is before the arising of thoughts.

[34:16]

What happens to enlightenment when the thought arises? How does our thoughts relate to enlightenment? Thoughts are many thoughts here, okay? Thoughts... Thoughts, idea or notion, or experience, whatever. Real experience is that which you cannot grasp. Real experience is before you can think. But anyway, thoughts, enlightenment or delusion, or good concentration or bad concentration, and so forth. All happen here. But this is not something wrong. This is something which happens in the universe.

[35:24]

Universe. Then before you see, you enjoy yourself to seeing this, you're already here. You're already here. Before you think this, or before you see them, it looks like a puppet show, okay? This is a stage of a puppet show, okay? Puppet show. Happiness, unhappiness, or poverty and wealth and many kinds. Political, monk, enlightenment, Buddha, life and death, many things here, okay? And then we think we enjoy ourselves to watch the puppet show. And then people misunderstand, okay?

[36:31]

When you experience through this show, people think, oh, this is real life. At that time, your zazen is really upside down. Like this. Yes. Head is down. You sit upside down. Because you judge, you measure your life from here. That's why people create lots of trouble. Look at the people in the world. They forget completely body with the universe, okay? This is just a part, part of the universe. But you cannot ignore that. You have to see the total picture. Total picture of you and with the universe, okay?

[37:36]

With emphasis on the dot. Yes. And then from beginning to the end, all you have to do is to settle yourself on the self. Right now, right here. Constantly, constantly. And then if you do so, well, naturally, you can experience happiness or unhappiness, good concentration or bad concentration. Well, good concentration is something good? No, I don't think so. Moment after moment, changing, okay? Then next moment, you can experience good concentration or bad concentration. So you can, if you sit always here, constantly, you settle yourself on the self here, you can see the whole picture. Oh, that is perfect show. But most people don't know that that is perfect show. Perfect show is very important.

[38:42]

But you should know that is perfect show. And then, life as a whole must be peaceful or harmony, harmonious. It is called shikan. Shikan time, shikan gassho, shikan walking. Okay? Any other? Is there like, you talked about, say, just eating before there is thinking. Centering on, I always wonder if there is some kind of thinking, prior thinking. You know, thinking that is just the same as eating, shikan eating or something, shikan thinking. Or is thinking so different from all other activities that it must be?

[39:45]

When you think completely, there is no thinking. But while you are completely influenced by a kind of activity, which is called thinking, it's really thinking, it disturbs your life. But real thinking is no thinking. So, complete thinking, complete thinking. So when you do gassho, when you hold this, just hold this, okay? But it doesn't mean, it doesn't mean just hold like this, okay? When you put this stick on the table, well you have to know all picture, okay? This stick doesn't leave alone, okay? I mention always, even this stick is living with everything, okay? Universe. If so, you have to see this table, okay?

[40:48]

You have to see this man. You have to see the cloth, you have to see this pot. You have to see everybody in front of me. Then put it like this, okay? Then gassho, that's enough. So just do it while watching simultaneously, okay? Simultaneously you can see the total picture. Not only this. I mention sometimes it looks like a driving car on a freeway. You can concentrate yourself, it's pretty easy. And you can concentrate on your own car, it's pretty easy. But you cannot ignore other cars and also weather, okay? Sometimes storms come when you go to the mini office, okay?

[41:49]

In a winter, terrible, okay? Even though you say I am good driver, best good driver, well I don't think so. You have to watch the weather, okay? If the road is completely frozen, okay? Well, even a flat or smooth freeway or surface road, very slippery, okay? Even though you carefully drive, something slipping, you slip. So moment after moment you have to be good driver, okay? Always good driver, right now, right here, good driver, okay? Watching all circumstances, weather, all circumstances around you and around your car, okay? Mini office, mini solar, weather, everything. Then drive. That is called driving activity, now and here.

[42:56]

It's called Zenki, okay? So driving is the manifestation of total dynamic working. At that time, that driving is completely tuning in to the universalism, okay? Universalism. That driver is called good driver. So that good driver is supremely good, supremely good driver. Beyond conception of good or bad, okay? Because moment after moment you must be good, okay? You must be good, but this good is completely beyond conception, okay? Good or bad. Next moment you have to be good moment, good driver. And then next moment you have to be good driver, okay? That is Zenki. So in Zen, use very often difficult term, sort of, I mentioned before, the word prior to germination of subtle signs, okay?

[44:12]

But word is word. But actually in your daily life, very simple, okay? Very simple. When you took the stick, you should watch carefully, okay? Watching everything carefully, and then hold it, take it. Something like that, that's all. It is called shikan zazen, shikan walking, shikan gassho. Is the puppet show that we're watching Alaya Vijnana? You mean Alaya Vijnana? But actually you cannot see the Alaya Vijnana, okay? Because you are already Alaya Vijnana, okay? Alaya Vijnana cannot see itself. For instance, your eyes can see your eyes, no?

[45:15]

Okay? Alaya Vijnana is just Alaya Vijnana, okay? Just be right. Be right. Right. If you're enlightened before, if enlightenment occurs before the conception of thinking, is that what you said? Before thinking is enlightenment. Yes. Then how does anyone know there's enlightenment? Well, through this. Oh, because they thought about it. Yes. Through this. But totally, okay? Totally, I mention always that totally. Okay, totality. Totality is very important. Your life is not yours, okay? Your life is total. Total. Something total. It means your life is completely sustained by everything.

[46:18]

It's called totality. Total life. Total function of the life, okay? So, your life must be now and here. It's a very good place. No other place to manifest your life as totality. Tuning in universal rhythm, okay? This is called enlightenment. Or buddha. Or sometimes dharma, okay? Dharma. Sometimes it is called, well, dharma nature, okay? Dharma nature. Or suchness. Many, many kinds of terminology. Terminology. Don't worry about terminology. So then, who decided, I mean, Shakyamuni in the sutra says he acknowledges his own enlightenment.

[47:28]

So which mind of Shakyamuni was aware that he was enlightened? We are always interested in that. Who verifies? Who verifies my enlightenment? Well, actually, buddha verifies buddha's enlightenment. Well, universe... Well, there is no word, so let me use the universe, okay? Or buddha. Buddha means a state of being filled, okay? Filling the universe, okay? Or working, the state of being which is working with the universe, okay? This is called buddha. This is called dharma. So it verifies, it verifies enlightenment.

[48:31]

It verifies delusion. It verifies present. It verifies the past and future. Okay? That's a hard one. If you think... If you think, it's very hard. Because complicated. Because there is no space. I mentioned Zen, Zenki, Zen of the Zenki. No space, no word, no special word. No space, no word, no partition between you and universe, okay? Completely same. But it is not same. Two, okay? You and universe. Your life is really so. On Sunday, Saturday, I mentioned, taking example of the sleep and sleep, okay?

[49:35]

Do you remember that? You don't? Can you separate, can you separate, can you analyze who is sleeper, who is, what is sleeping? You can't separate. When you sleep, oh, you are sleeping like a log. If so, what's that? What's that? You cannot separate. There is no separation between sleeper and sleep. Just sleep, like a log. But the moment when you analyze it, okay? Even slightly, there is a sleep, there is a sleeper. It's not real sleep, it's not real sleep. That is conception, okay? But real sleep or real sleeper are completely one, okay?

[50:39]

With each other. Oneness. But oneness is not combination of two things. If I use the word oneness, oneness, you think, oh, combination of two things. I don't think so. Because even though you sleep, you are really here, and sleep also here. So, within the oneness, there are two. But, they are not two, they are one. So, in Kegon, in Buddhist philosophy, one is all, all is one. Okay? In other words, it is called ultimate. Ultimate reality. Ultimate reality. Prior to the thought coming up. It is ultimate. Thought or reality.

[51:40]

Okay? Any other question? Any other question? The understanding of Zenki is very important. Zenki is very evasive. Evasive conception. Concession. Very difficult to understand. But, actually, it is very simple. Very simple. Very simple. Difficult to understand.

[52:41]

@Text_v004
@Score_JJ