As you know so well, our practice is the 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 the Shikantaza. So as long as you ride on the board of the so-called Shikantaza, don't get off. Try to continue to ride on the board of the so-called Shikantaza

[01:01]

until you get the destination for what you want. 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 find, you should settle. You should settle on yourself at the ultimate place, ultimate place.

[02:04]

In other words, ultimate place is you, yourself. You, yourself, are what you are, what you are. What you are standing on the earth, this is the Dosho, Dosho-eo. First of all, you should get, you should find yourself to settle on yourself at the ultimate place. Then you should, at that time, then you can understand something as it is. You can understand something as it is. This morning, Tatsugame Roshi said that Zazen is the faith. Zazen is faith.

[03:09]

Generally speaking, faith, if you say, if you call Zazen, in terms of the faith, the other faith is you, at any cost, you stand up firmly on the earth with your foot, with your foot. You have to settle yourself, find 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.

[04:11]

Shinjin Gakudo, to learn, to learn the body and mind. Gakudo means to learn the body and mind is to learn the Buddhism, Buddhist teaching. So Shinjin, in Shinjin Gakudo, Dogen Zenji explains about the time, or about the practice, about the practice. He said, yesterday is, yesterday is past, is past. But to come from today, that today is, today is today, to come from today. That tomorrow is the future, tomorrow is future, to come from today, to come from today.

[05:11]

Yesterday is not the past, not merely past. Yesterday is past, to come from today, today is today, to come from today. Yesterday, tomorrow, tomorrow is future, to come from today. This is very important. Usually the past, our past, usually our past has gone from our daily life and enjoy playing something, playing game. Now only the past, our past, go to some place, apart from our today, and enjoy playing by himself.

[06:25]

In other words, your only head is going on, has gone to some place. Your body is here. Your head is, has gone, has gone to some place, and enjoy by himself, by itself, playing game. Ah, but the Dogon Zen says, yesterday, yesterday is the past to come from today. Means, if you want to go to the yesterday, don't bring, don't bring only your head. If you want to, if you want to go to the yesterday, you have to, you have to go carrying, you have to go there, carrying your body and your brain too, body and mind.

[07:33]

Ah, to say what you, what onto your brain, go to, go to yesterday and enjoy the playing something, is to say that you looks like seeing some shows, some shows on the stage. Ah, I think the, we are, are very interested in a gorgeous aspect of life. Ah, like a beautiful flower, you look, when you look the beautiful flower, you find, you are very enjoy 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, ah, singing the Japanese folk song, done with dance.

[08:42]

Ah, I think, of course, cherry blossom is beautiful. It is all right to go to see the cherry blossom, drinking sake or done with dance, that's all right. But man, ah, is apt to forget that it's life force, it's life force. Ah, man is apt to forget the cherry blossom, forget the great fact that cherry, beautiful blossoms, beautiful cherry blossom, cherry flowers, are uphold, uphold by it's life force. Ah, this is very important, but all men and women just enjoy looking at just gorgeous flowers, blooming flowers.

[09:53]

Nobody pay attention to the, it's life force. Ah, if you, if you are only driving in the gorgeous aspect, in life, in cherry blossom, in life of cherry blossoms, Ah, your understanding, your understanding is like seeing, enjoying the show on the stage. Even the cherry, beautiful cherry flowers, ah, must be uphold by it's life force. This is very important. Ah, then, ah, the problem is that human being, ah, try to risk their life, ah, risk their life to see the show without paying attention to anything else.

[11:09]

All we have to do is just to, just to see the show on stage. This is problem, this is trouble for human being. So, the past, yesterday is past to come from today. Ah, 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, ah, vivid, alive, vividly alive. So, in the verse, the Ashtogin then says, first of all, you should, ah, find yourself, you know, what you are.

[12:13]

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 what, even though you understand what you are, what human being is in terms from scientific way of thinking, or geographic way of thinking, biological way of thinking. Now, how do you, how do you deal with your life force coming up the bottom of your mind, bottom of your, of your earth?

[13:15]

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

[14:23]

It means, the vivid water, streaming water is always streaming. What does, the water vividly, the 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. Well, this is my suffering. Then, I, I want to say, you know, even though you sit meditation, you know, you don't understand what you are. Then, the, the, for the one week session, many people, ah, make complaints. Saying, the more you, I sit meditation, the more I don't understand what Zazen is, because there is nothing to get.

[15:30]

Zazen itself, Zazen itself doesn't give some solution of your trouble. 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, you know, very scrutable. It means, it, it is always, they are always vivid. In other words, your life is always vivid. Beyond, beyond the interactive senses. Then, the, the important point is, we have to understand, we have to understand the streaming world, streaming world. Not, not only, not, not the understanding seeking for the fountainhead of the river.

[16:39]

You have to understand the streaming water. Water is always vivid, and streaming, stream. Ah, then, the today is today to come from today. So, ah, it, it doesn't mean what to be, what to be. Ah, what to be, what to be means to, to font, to be fonting in the air, in mid of the air. Mid air. Ah, 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, you know, to return to life force of your life.

[17:45]

In other words, the, to return to life force which is, ah, which your, the stage, which your stage, which, which the many show, many kind of shows, running on the stage, are supported by your life force. So, Zazen is, ah, Zazen make you return to your life force, even though you don't understand. This is the, our practice, our practice. Um, 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.

[18:50]

But, the moment after moment, how you settle on yourself, or what you are. Today, not yesterday, today, today. Um, that time, ah, you can see, ah, 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.

[19:51]

Your thought, your stage is your stage, that's all right. What is, ah, what is to support, to up, help, uphold? What is uphold? Um, then, think, ah, before you risk your life to see many kind of shows, or running on the stage of your brain, there is something important. It is called life force, it is called zazen, ah, which enables you to settle on self.

[21:03]

On the earth, today, when tomorrow comes, you should settle on yourself tomorrow, with body and mind, not only with brain. Ah, this is shikantaza. Of course, there is nothing to see it. Of course, even though the, you practice zazen more and more, you have, ah, 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.

[22:07]

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, the dosho, dosho means, kike unza, in other words, kike unza means to return to origin, the origin of your life force. So, the, at least, during zazen, whatever you have, whatever kind of troubles you have, at least when you practice zazen, you should concentrate on zazen itself.

[23:16]

In the stage, 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. Zazen.

[23:35]

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