This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at www.sfcc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Good morning, everyone. Let's do an audio check since that seems to be important. Are we good? Great. Well, welcome to all of you who are here in person and welcome to all of you from all over the Internet and wherever you're located geographically to join us by Zoom. Today, we're having a one day sitting here at City Center and we have online participants also. And this is part of our. Ten week fall. practice period, which David Zimmerman and I are leading together.

[01:03]

Thank you very much, David. It's been a pleasure doing this with you. And the theme is an appropriate response encountering Suzuki Roshi's teaching on the Blue Cliff Record. And by the way, for any of you who don't know me, my name is Ed Sadezon, and I am the central abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center. wife always kindly reminds me when I am talking to introduce myself, so it's a wise thing to do. So the Blue Cliff Record is a collection of 100 koans, Zen stories, and today I will address case 84, titled Bhimla Kirti's Gate of Non-Duality. But before doing that, I want to suggest a practice for those sitting today that comes from a column we studied in our class Tuesday called Seppos, Seppos, What Is It?

[02:06]

So when Seppo was in his hermitage on Mount Seppo, two unnamed monks visited him and bowed to him. Seppo saw them coming, pushed open his gate, jumped out and said, What is it? The two monks repeated back, what is it? And then Seppo made a bow to them and went back to his room. So that's kind of an unusual thing to do, I guess. Given that these monks had been on pilgrimage, probably traveled long distances to meet Seppo. That's all they got from him. What is it? Anyway, undeterred, they went on pilgrimage further and ended up going to Ganto. And Ganto was teaching on Ganto Mountain. And Ganto said, where did you come from?

[03:11]

And the monk said, we came from Rhiannon. Ganto said, then you must have met Seppo, haven't you? The monk said, yes, we have. So Ganto and Seppo were old friends that had practiced together, and actually they had the same Dharma teacher, and they'd both been given transmission by the Dharma teacher, both of them outstanding Zen masters. And so Ganto said, well, what did he say? They told him about what had happened and said, he did not say anything. He just bowed and went back to his room. Thereupon Ganto said, oh... What have I done? When I was at Toksan's place with him, Toksan was their teacher, I should have let him know my last word. If only I had told him that, he would not have been thrown into such confusion. If only I told him my last word. So the last word is... The Chinese characters for that are translated as either... It's kind of...

[04:18]

very complex and ambiguous. It could be goodbye wishes, the last word in an argument, a final speech of a dying person. That was how Suzuki Roshi first interpreted the final speech of a dying person or the last minute decision or the ultimate truth. So I think in this case, he was saying, I should have just told him the ultimate truth and then he wouldn't have been so confused. So, Ganto's kind of playing with these people. Seppo already was by then a distinguished teacher. Seppo ended up, his disciple was Yunman, who founded one of the five schools of Zen, and another one of his disciples founded another one of the five schools of Zen. So Seppo was quite a teacher. So anyway, the two monks spent the summer, probably was a summer practice period, with Ganto, and at the end of the summer, they came up to Ganto and asked, what was the meaning of this behavior of Seppo, and what did you mean by how I wish I had told him my last word?

[05:30]

And thereupon, Ganto said, if you want to know my last word, this is it. Okay. So, what is it? This is it. Kind of reminds you of when Dung Shan left Yunnan, who he'd studied with for 20 years, and said, in the future, if someone asked me what your teaching was, what should I say? And Yunnan said, just this is it. So in some sense, it's kind of straightforward. Just this moment is it. Just this is it. What is it? Just what's happening in this moment. That's one way to think about it. Many other ways to think about it. But what I thought I would share with you, and this is the part I wanted you to think about during the one day sitting you're sitting, is this was Suzuki Roshi's commentary on this little story.

[06:34]

Dogen said, this is Dogen, Suzuki Roshi commented. He says, Dogen said, breathing in, Or breathing out, after all, what is it? Dogen was the founder of Soto Zen in Japan, 13th century founder of our school of Zen. And he said, breathing in or breathing out, what is it? That's a good question, isn't it? Something we should be able to answer, right? We breathe in, we breathe out. Do we know what it is? Do we really know what our breathing is? So, Suzuki Roshi says, no one can tell what it is. No one can tell. Now you may not be calm, he goes on, you may not be calm or patient enough to wait for the right answer. You can't figure it out with your head, so you have to wait for it to come.

[07:40]

But let us ask ourselves if our activity is either subjective or objective. Let me point this out. What do we mean by it? When we say, what is it, our breathing? Do you mean breathing itself or the idea of breathing? If you mean the idea of breathing, it will be another matter. If you mean breathing itself on each moment... You have solved the problem already when you breathe in and out on each moment in calmness with big mind. You have solved the problem when you breathe in and out on each moment in calmness with big mind. You know, Suzuki or she's... uses the term small mind or busy monkey mind and big mind, which is kind of universal mind.

[08:43]

So if you can sit in zazen today and breathe in and out on each moment with calmness and big mind, then you will understand that the right answer to what is it should always be this is it. That was our koan and some commentary by Suzuki Hiroshi that we studied on Tuesday. I wanted to share it with those who are sitting today in case they're wondering what to do late in the afternoon and your knees hurt. What is it? What is your breathing in and out? Can you just be completely one with your breathing? end your pain. So, on to Imla Kirti's gate of non-duality.

[09:48]

So, these koans usually have an introductory paragraph, and then the main case is stated, which is a story from someplace, and then commentary. So, the introductory pointer here is, there is nothing to be decided upon as right or wrong. If we get away from right or wrong and forget all about gaining or losing, we will become utterly naked and independent. Basically, free and at ease. If we get away from right and wrong, forget about gaining and losing, we will be free and at ease. Well, that sounds good. just give up our discriminating mind, we'll be free and at ease. It kind of reminds me of that saying from, Zhao Zhao always used to say, the great way is not difficult if you just don't pick and choose. So, obviously, we just quit discriminating and we'll be free and at ease.

[10:50]

Of course, that really doesn't work. But anyway, it kind of points to something in this case. And here's the case. Bhimla Kirti asked Manjushri, what is a Bodhisattva's entry into the Dharma gate of non-duality? So we've always heard about non-duality and what's the entrance into the Dharma of non-duality? And Manjushri was the Bodhisattva of wisdom, the wisest of all the Bodhisattvas. His little statue sits in the Zendo. According to what I think... In all things, no words, no speech, no demonstration, and no recognition. To leave behind all questions and answers, this is entering the Dharma gate of non-duality. Well, it's saying you can't say very much about it for sure. And this was preceded by 24 other bodhisattvas, or 32 other bodhisattvas, who had expressed lots of different versions of how to enter the gate.

[11:57]

So then Manjushri asked Vimalakirti, we have all each already spoken, now how should you tell us, good man, what is the Bodhisattva's entry into the Dharma gate of non-duality? So Vimalakirti, when asked that question, was silent. Later, Suedo made a comment, which was, what did Vimalakirti say? He said, completely exposed. So this is a very famous koan, Vimalakirti's silence. It's like a lion's roar is silence. And it comes from the Vimalakirti Sutra, which I was going to bring, but I forgot to bring it, a beautiful Mahayana Sutra. And Vimalakirti is the hero of the Vimalakirti Sutra. He is depicted as a wealthy lay disciple. of Shakyamuni, Buddha, whose wisdom and elegance exceeded all the other disciples.

[13:04]

Robert Thurman, whose translation of the Vimalakirtri Sutra I like, refers to the Vimalakirtri Sutra as a masterly faceted diamond refracting the radiance of all the other Mahayana scriptures, beaming them forth in a concentrated rainbow. beam of diamond light. That was a lot to read, and I didn't read it very well, but basically Robert Thurman thinks the Vimalakirti Sutra is the greatest of all the Mahayana Sutras, and it has become, over time, one of the most widely read and beautiful sutras in the Mahayana collection. And what I like about it is that the hero, Vimalakirti, is a layman. and was considered the wisest of Buddhist disciples, which I think is very encouraging to us, who are mostly in America living essentially lay lives, and that we too can fully embrace the way and the practice.

[14:08]

The text praises the spiritual possibilities of a householder life. William Mellikirti was a family man, a businessman, a politician. lived a very full lay life. Heigen Leighton, in his book, Faces of Compassion, says, Generally, Vimalakirti, in all his activities, embodies the Mahayana view of being in the world, but not of it. Vimalakirti fulfills liberative work without being trapped or fettered by worldly desires or attachments. not being tracked by worldly desires or attachments. But a central point of the Vimalakirti Sutra is that the Bodhisattva can only be awakened in the context of intimate contact and involvement with the follies and passions of the world and its things.

[15:13]

So, Bodhisattva that's fully in the world, and not caught by it. An awakening can only happen in intimate contact and involvement with the follies and passions of the world and its beings. I really love that. You know, we don't have to go off and live in some mountain peak in a cave for 20 years to understand the Dharma. We can live... fully in the passions and follies of the world. And with intimate contact, we can understand and practice the Dharma. So that's the basic thrust of the Vimalakirti Sutra. And I'm going to say a little bit more about it because there's an important element I want to bring out. This doesn't seem like the usual lectern that we have here, but anyway.

[16:21]

Yeah, I would like the taller one. That would be great. I'm having a hard time seeing my notes. So, while my worthy Jisha brings the taller one, this is like a magic trick. Oh, this is much better. So Bhimla Kirti was, the entire sutra takes place in Bhimla Kirti's room, where he was sick. And the Buddha, sensing that Bhimla Kirti was sick, asked some of the bodhisattvas to come visit him, because that's what bodhisattvas do.

[17:24]

We go visit sick people. It's a good thing to do, go visit sick people. But he couldn't get any of the bodhisattvas to go visit him because... Every time they went to visit Bhimala Kirti, he so exposed the weakness of their dharma that they just didn't want to go visit him. All of them said, no, no, we can't do it. So finally, Buddha said, well, Manjushri, surely you will go. And Manjushri goes on and on describing Bhimala Kirti's wisdom and skillful means and finishes exclaiming, with his feeble defenses, he will not be able to withstand Bhimala Kirti's questions. So Manjushri... He's not looking forward to it, but he says, since the Buddha requested, he will go and convene with Vimalakirti in his sick room. So, of course, this is very exciting to all the other bodhisattvas to see this match between Manjushri and Vimalakirti. So, all 32,000 of them decide to come with Manjushri to Vimalakirti's 10 by 10 room.

[18:26]

So, Vimalakirti, perceiving that they're all arriving, empties his room and makes room for them all. This is just like this magic thing that happened where I just changed my lectern. Things just happen magically. So how did he do that? He does that by emptying his mind. And when we empty our mind, truly empty our mind, then we can let the whole world in. And that's when we can know how to respond. So Vimalakirti emptied his mind, his room, and let 32,000 bodhisattvas come in. And Manjushri asked him, When's come the sickness of yours? How long will it continue? How does it stand? How can it be alleviated? Good thing to ask somebody who's sick. And Vimalakirti replied, Manjushri, my sickness comes from ignorance and the thirst for existence, and it will last as long as it's due to the sickness of all living beings.

[19:37]

For all living beings to be free from sickness, I also would not be sick. Why sickness is inherent in the living world. You ask me, Manjushri, whence comes my sickness? The sickness of the Bodhisattva arises from great compassion. So that's why Vimalakirti was sick. He was empathetically compassionate to all the sickness in the world. What a wonderful bodhisattva. Sakurashi said, Vimalakirti's way is a good example of the bodhisattva way to help others before helping himself through suffering the same suffering with others in accordance with the circumstances and temperament of the people. So this takes great courage to actually face the enormous suffering in the world. We know anybody that picks up the New York Times or any newspaper in the morning reads the suffering all over the world, and it doesn't take much to observe even the suffering in your family, the suffering in your own mind.

[20:51]

How can we be with our own suffering? and the suffering of the world with some composure. And that is the central issue of the Vimalakirti Sutra, how to show compassion and love with this suffering world. So, now we're going to get to the... key element of the Bhimala Kirti Sutra, which is the chapter nine. He's finally gathered all these 32,000 bodhisattvas in his room. They've discussed his sickness. He tells them why he's sick and suffering. And so he asked them this important question. What is a bodhisattva's entrance into the Dharma gate of non-duality?

[21:51]

Because if you can enter the Dharma gate of non-duality, then you can eliminate your suffering. And 32 of the bodhisattvas in this chapter 9 give excellent answers to that question, but each one of them has a little bit of a shadow of dualism. So Manjushri, being the sharpest of them, was the last one of the bodhisattvas, and he responds, According to what I think in all things, no words, no speech, no demonstration, and no recognition. To leave behind all questions and answers, this is entering the Dharma gate of non-duality. And then, as I said earlier, Vimalakirti's response was silence. You cannot speak at all about it. How you entered the Dharma Gata non-duality is beyond what can be spoken of.

[22:53]

Very famous aspect. And what's beautiful about this little koan is it's a summary of the entire Bhimala Kirti Sutra. As some of my friends sometimes say, that's what Zen was about. It would take the kernel of something for those busy Zen students so that they didn't have to read a 150-page sutra. Get to the essence of it. How do I enter the Dharma gate of non-duality? What does it mean, this answer of silence? Do I want to get in the Dharma gate of non-duality? So Sukaroshi made a comment about that. He said, Vimalakirti did not say anything when he was asked about the Dharma gate of non-duality.

[24:00]

But this no answer in this case was the best reply ever given by a disciple of Buddha to the eternal teaching of non-duality. However, later, even Zen students became attached to this silence without knowing that we should realize the same truth even in the prattle of an old man. So, if we get too hung up thinking that, oh, we cannot talk about it, we cannot understand, we cannot enter the Dharma gate of non-duality except through silence, then we're going too far on one side. So, Sikuroshi is saying, even the prattle of an old man can teach us the Dharma gate of non-duality. So even though we've been warned to be careful about saying anything about the Dharma Gate of non-duality by both Manjushri, the Bodhisattva Wisdom, and Bhimala Kirti, the wisest disciple of the Buddha, we're going to finally enter forth and say a few things, but I'm going to use Siddhikiroshi as my guide.

[25:18]

So here we go. Oneness of duality is the essential teaching of Buddhism. Oneness of duality. Oneness and duality are the two sides of one reality. One side of reality is diversity, everything that we see here. And the other side of it is universality. Universality, you might say, oneness. total interconnected of everything. And then he goes on to say, when universality reveals itself in the diversity of phenomenon, then we have universal validity, which is at the same time the deepest personal meaning. When universality, when oneness reveals itself in the diversity of phenomenon, or when the absolute is another word we use, reveals itself in the diversity of phenomenon.

[26:26]

Then we have universal validity, which at the same time has the deepest personal meaning. Universal validity, it means that our actual phenomenal existence is validated by the oneness of the universe. And he adds deep personal meaning. What does he mean by that? Universal truth is perceived as unique and personal to yourself alone. Universal truth is perceived as unique and personal to yourself alone. Can you be validated by reality itself? Can your personal, totally unique existence, be validated by the great universe as it is wheeling on its way. And what would that mean?

[27:30]

So Guruji goes on and says, enlightenment is the acceptance of all teachings as if they were only for you yourself. From this acceptance brings a great gratitude to all Buddhas. So practice is experiential. What does it mean to be touched by big mind, as Suzuki Rishi mentioned earlier? What does it mean to be touched by the universe? What does it mean to feel the total interconnectedness of everything in you, in your life, and be validated by the power of that? I think we all have, all of us who practice, in fact, all human beings feel that, feel that.

[28:33]

And I think some of the essence of that is we get a sense of impermanence, that things are always changing, a sense of the feel for this fact that things are always changing. So there's nothing that you can hold on to, which is a kind of relief. And because of impermanence, there's really no you there either, which is also a great relief. I think also when we feel somehow touched by this bigger universe, there's an aliveness to it. Everything seems alive. And a kind of warmth and hospitality in life. We feel something bigger than our small self, which is a great relief. And that connection gives us a kind of confidence in life itself.

[29:43]

One might almost say faith in life. I think that grows over time with practice. And that faith and confidence that comes from feeling that validity of connection to a bigger world gives us some resilience in the midst of the difficulties that we face and a deep feeling of gratitude to have a life that we can live. go on and cover one more point that Sikarishi brought forth. Above the earth there is sky, below the sky there is earth, in the light there is darkness, in the darkness light.

[30:53]

The good exists because of the bad, the bad exists because of the good. There is nothing good nor bad by itself. This is hearkening back to the pointer. The good is something you want to do and the bad is something you do not want to do. Once having decided to do or not to do something is what you actually do that counts. Within this comprehensive understanding of reality, the true sense of everything that exists will be the aim of your activity. And so everything will encourage your practice. I think that's beautiful. He's saying, if you have, you have to act. And you act as best you can. But if in your actions you have the sense of the connectedness to all of reality, the sense of connecting to what's going on around you, then that will encourage your practice.

[32:02]

Then you will know how to act. I think this is true. I think when we are able to be in our own being, stand on our own feet, own our own suffering, own our own experience of life, then we can be open to meeting another person. And if they're in their own life, the two of us, the two of us together can meet, and in that meeting, validate our life together.

[33:10]

It's much better having this higher. I should have noticed that earlier. I know we have two of these things. I kept wondering why I'm reaching over there. Well, I all hope you that are sitting today find some time in sitting to drop away a lot of the content of your busy mind. It's a good place to do it. And start to feel your bigger connection to the world and to your life. And if you're wondering, you know, how to steer that ship, pay attention to your breathing. Pay real close and intimate attention to your breathing. Become one with your breathing. and one with your whole body. So, of course, you used to say, let your consciousness fill your whole body.

[34:20]

And even those who are not sitting, as I said, all day today with us, please feel free to pay attention to your breathing and enjoy the feeling of just being alive. Thank you very much. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. Our Dharma talks are offered free of charge and this is made possible by the donations we receive. Your financial support helps us to continue to offer the Dharma. For more information, please visit sfzc.org and click giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[35:08]

@Transcribed_UNK
@Text_v005
@Score_95.5