Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Jujji suru koto etari negowa. Tate maturam. An unsurpassed penetrating and perfect dharma is ready in that way. Even a hundred thousand million kappas, having to see and listen to, through and under and accept, I vow to take the truth of the Thakkhana's words.

[02:31]

Good morning, everyone. And welcome to the last class of the practice period, our pilgrimage through the Mountains and Waters Sutra together. And I just want to take this time together, this time to kind of see basically what it is that we have, how have we been impacted by our study of the mountains and waters, both Dogen's fascicle, but also the environment in which we have found ourselves in for the last three months. So we'll take some time to do that together. And I did, my hope is to finish, within an hour so that we have time to attend to other matters. And I finished the fascicle itself during Sashin, the last day of Sashin. And I want to say that this, it was a risk for me, you know, leading this, teaching this fascicle.

[03:36]

I've never taught on Dogen before, formally like this. And so I appreciate all your patience. and willingness to wade into this text with me together. And I really enjoyed how we brought it alive with our own mutual studies. So that was very important. And I really appreciated how you offered so many different facets of this beautiful and challenging particular fascicle. For some of us, it's been a revisit. uh others of us this is the first time so it served more as an introduction to the fascicle I have no illusions that uh we've done it justice and uh like most of Dogen's work you can revisit it many many times and still find new aspects new facets that uh reveal themselves uh only because of the fact that you've taken time to kind of

[04:38]

go through one layer and then come back and continue to kind of deepen into other layers that are there and available. And also your life, I find as I practice, the longer I practice, life takes you deeper in a way that you can't see the teachings until you have reached a certain point in your life, a certain point of experience. And it just seems to be that's just what's required. So they kind of reveal themselves in due time when you're ready, when they think you're ready to hear and receive them. And the main point of all this is to encourage your practice. So in what ways has Dogen's particularly, his particular teachings and thoughts and ideas on what are mountains and waters encouraged and supported your practice? All this is geared towards liberation. So how is the study of mountains and waters a liberative study?

[05:43]

What is it that frees us from suffering? Just both for ourselves, but also with each other, because in our tradition, we save all beings. We do this together. It can't be one at a time. So the last The last day of Sushi and I went over the last lines of the fascicle, and there was something that Okamura pointed out, two aspects that he pointed out at the end of his commentary on Sansa Rikyo. And one of them was that he thinks Dogen is primarily expressing the spirit of Shikan, as in Shikantaza, which Shikantaza, as you know, is just sitting. And I just thought I'd share briefly what he says. is we need to understand this practice of just doing in the context of all of Dogen's teachings and practice.

[06:46]

This attitude becomes a poison when we say that whatever we are, Buddha is hidden in war in... Oops, I'm reading the wrong one. There it is. So I think... Dogen wants to express the spirit of Shikan and Shikataza, just sitting. This word, just, or simply, is the cornerstone of Dogen's teaching. Mountains are just mountains, and waters are just waters. In the case of Zazen, we just sit. We do nothing else. Really, nothing else. Do you guys know that? Do you understand? We do nothing else. We do... You could say we do not doing, but even the doing not doing becomes a doing if you do it incorrectly. So nothing else, just presencing is another way that I kind of think of it. Shikantaza is often used as an approach to meditation practice, meaning sitting without koans or other techniques.

[07:51]

I don't think this is what Dogen meant when he used the expression. I think this word Shikantaza is the final answer to his question. Why do we have to practice if we're already... in Dharma nature? If we are all enlightened from the beginning, why do we have to go through the long and hard study and practice? Maybe some of you already have that question for yourselves as well. Why do we have to do this whole practice period thing, get up at 3.50 in the morning if we're already awake? Why are we doing this? Originally, this expression, Shikantaza, was not used by Dogen himself, but by his teacher, Ru Jing. We not only sit when we eat, we just eat. When we work in the kitchen, we just cook. When we clean, we just clean. When we chant, we just chant. This attitude of just is the answer Dogen discovered through seeing the two virtues of mountains and waters. It means the reality of all beings abiding peacefully in their Dharma position, just being this one, and also constantly walking, being the impermanence each thing is.

[08:56]

These are the contradictory aspects of one reality, When we see both sides of our life, what can we do? What kind of attitudes we maintain toward our lives? The answer is to just be attentive and put our whole energy into whatever we are doing right now. When we are sitting in the zendo, we just sit 100%, nothing else. This is one aspect of just sitting. And he also talks about just being the Dharma position that you are, just being what you are completely. embodying and inhabiting this one, expressing this one completely, owning, if you will, your life and the accountability for this being completely. And the query is, how do we do that while also understanding the context of relationship with every other being who is being just their Dharma position at the same time? So this question of mutual accountability, how do we... identified, how we acknowledge it, and how does it rise up together?

[09:57]

And how do we respond to it together? Finally, what Dogen wants to say is, just be as it is, just do it. We want to do many things at the same time. Just be in one place at one time, he says. Just do one thing at one time. This just doing naturally brings us to the next stage. Our practice is not a preparation for the next stage, but by doing what I am doing now, this practice brings us to the next moment. So again, just moment by moment. Kate, I think there's a chair over there. Is that right? Next to Greg? Yeah. Oh, that's the mic. So this just doing one thing is doing it in such a way that there is no future that you're trying to get something from. But in this case, it's just being completely this moment in each activity. However, he underlines with a caution. And the caution basically is that if you just do just doing without a context of understanding how that just doing relates, you can do great harm.

[11:08]

And so he says we need to understand this practice of just doing in the context of all of Dogen's teachings and practice. And I would say actually all of the Buddha Dharma. This attitude becomes a poison when we say that whatever we are, Buddha is hidden. In war, in vermin, in selling drugs, or whatever, if just doing lacks the context of Dogen's teachings, it can be used to justify killing in war or in many other harmful contexts. That is not what Dogen is saying. He's teaching this attitude in the context of mountains and waters as the true reality of all beings. In the context of the Buddha's teachings, this is how we avoid harm, in which contact with others causes argument, fighting, tears, and anguish. To be a Buddhist student, we have to receive precepts, precepts of the guidelines for our way of life. We should understand this just doing teaching within the context of receiving precepts and studying Buddhist teachings of how to live peacefully in harmony with all beings.

[12:12]

And then he goes on to give some example, for example, Zen at War, how Zen was used during the World War II as ways to justify killing. And this has happened at other times. And so whenever the Dharma is co-opted by the separate self and used to justify any harm to any other being, it's corrupted. and not to be trusted, and it is not the true dharma. The true dharma always has, in its very fiber, this reminder of our interconnectedness, and to harm one being is to harm all beings. To save one being is to save all beings. So how do we live that understanding? So again, this basically points back to we're profoundly intimate, profoundly intimate. everything you do impacts everyone and everything else, everything.

[13:13]

So how will you live your life knowing that? And that's what we study. How do I live this life, this dharma position, knowing I'm intimately connected with everything and everything else, so everything I do is going to impact the entire universe? That's a big weight to receive. But it's not us alone that's doing it. We are the whole universe expressing itself. So how do we give ourselves over to the universe expressing itself through us? Where do we step out of separate self, separate ego, and allow the universe to flow through us and bloom through us in this particular way that is liberative when we're able to balance on Manjushri's sword. So I just wanted to offer that final kind of context.

[14:15]

And I don't know if you have any thoughts about that, questions about that. I guess it's just awareness of there's always going to be consequences regardless. Who is the one that's afraid? When there's no separate self, no perception of a separate self, there's no fear.

[15:18]

being aware of that. And that's, again, that point. So how do you understand there is selfing happening? I'm currently conditioned to have to work with this self. And if I am able to trust the deeper place of non-separation, the wisdom and the awareness that knows already we're not separate, and act from that place, that deepest heart expression, then we're trusting, we're giving ourselves over to this larger universe doing what it's doing. And we're a vessel for it to play out. And it's learning through us. It's really learning what is it to awaken through this particular Dharma position. So as we make our best effort, and we're going to make mistakes along the way, the universe is benefiting from our effort and our own learning and discovery in some way.

[16:25]

Maybe helpful? I don't know. Oh, thank you. I have a little gift for you all. So I thought it would be nice to collect a number of the poems and koans. I'll keep these. I think it will be enough. Poems and koans and particular phrases that were used during the drama talks by the Chisseau and myself and put them in a little collection here for you to revisit whenever you might like. I want to really express a lot of gratitude to Tessita who helped enter in stuff and organize it and make it so beautiful and organize the printing and everything.

[17:31]

So she's been a great help. Thank you very much, Tessita. And she so did some proofreading as well. So I hope you find some, yeah, some Residents were revisiting some of the jewels that we were able to. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, the calligraphy on the front is by Paula Petroneira, who lives at City Center. She's an Argentinian artist. And for those who know Diego, Diego's wife. So she also did the calligraphy of the mountains on the back of Shisou's rakasu. I did the lettering, but she did the mountain. And also Taishin's rakasu, she also did the mountain scenery. So anyhow, I hope you enjoy that.

[18:33]

And then I'd like to maybe hand out for our next exercise. Are they all the same? They're all the same. Do I have them? Yes. almost included the fascicle itself, but I figured you could find that elsewhere. So rather than me jabbering on, I thought we'd now take some time, get into small groups, and share with each other some of the reflections, understandings, experiences that we had together walking through this

[19:43]

classical and through the teachings of the mountains and waters in which we found ourselves. And so the handout right now is questions for the sharing. We'll get into triads. And does everyone have a sheet? Are we short? Here's... There's another one. And Peter. So again, this is kind of open form. I posed six questions for you to help prompt your reflections and basically what are some of the takeaways of your study of the fascicle and also the natural environment around us.

[20:56]

Your overall understanding of the fascicle is someone to ask you what was it about, what would you say? What particular phrases, images or teachings from the fascicle or from the practice period stood out for you and why? How do you think they touched you? What spoke to your heart? What pierced your marrow? And what was your overall experience of living with this sutra for three months? How has it changed or impacted you? And finally, what questions does our study of the mountains and waters leave you with that you're interested in further investigating? So this is, I see this is an older, I'm reading from an older version. So you guys have a little bit more fleshed out. expression of it. So let's get into groups of three. I'll let you organize yourselves. And each of you, I would say let's start with eight minutes for each person. I'll ring the bell. Is there a bell over there? Doe on bell.

[21:59]

I'll ring the bell to give you time for transitions. know when to switch. And then we'll have about eight minutes at the end for you to have open sharing in your small group. So as each person's talking, let them fully express themselves. And at the end, some open sharing within your group. And then we'll come back together and see if there's anything that was particularly outstanding for you that you wanted to bring forward and go from there. Okay, find your partners. And I'll ring the bell to start.

[22:30]

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