This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at www.sfzz.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. During these five days, I've been telling stories about the ancestors Samadhi. Stories about the Buddha's Samadhi. The Buddha sitting upright and in face-to-face transmission with the sky and the earth and all beings enters the way together with all beings. is a story about the Buddha's samadhi.

[01:06]

And then the next story is the Buddha sitting upright in the self-fulfillment samadhi, the other fulfillment samadhi, raises a flower and winks. facing him is Mahakashapa his close friend for many lifetimes there's 19 stories of past lives of Shakyamuni Buddha where Mahakashapa was with him

[02:09]

Now, on Vulture Peak, they meet again. On a certain day, the Buddha, again, sitting in samadhi, face to face with Mahakashapa. Mahakashapa gets the joke of the Buddha's samadhi, and his face breaks into a smile. And the Buddha publicly entrusts this samadhi, which is called the treasury of true dharma eyes, the subtle mind of nirvana samadhi, to Mahakashapa. Then later... After the Buddha passes away, Mahakashita continues to practice in the midst of this samadhi which has been transmitted.

[03:24]

And sitting in this samadhi with Ananda face to face, Ananda says, world Ireland gave you a gold brocade Kesa was there anything else he gave to you Makashipa says Ananda Ananda says yes Akashapa says, go. Knock down the flagpole at the front gate.

[04:28]

Ananda realizes the samadhi. face to face that he's been sitting in the whole time but now he wakes up to it and an okesa comes down from the sky and rests on his head Here is a story about the samadhi of the ancestors. One way to hear the story is that Ananda thought that the World Honored One gave Mahakashapa a gold brocade robe.

[05:43]

But really there was something more than that. And he was wondering, what more is there besides our daily life of giving each other food and robes? understanding is he knew there was nothing more than the Buddha giving Mahakashapa the robe but for the sake of us he asked either way Mahakashapa says ananda And either way, Ananda says, yes.

[06:46]

So, when called to and responding this realizes reality. And there's nothing more than reality. But people may think there's something more. And the story goes on. So you might think there's something more. But I would say the story could end right there. And then, after it ends, the next version of that story could arise and what's the next version of that story go and take down the flagpole at the front gate and the next part of that story Ananda has great awakening and the next part of that story

[08:13]

Or the next story, the okesa. Is it the gold okesa? I don't know. Comes down onto Ananda's head. It's an ongoing process of face-to-face transmission. It's an ongoing process of self-fulfilling, other-fulfilling, self-fulfilling samadhi. each moment in its own way. One moment called, is there anything else? Next moment called, great awakening. Great awakening to, is there anything else? I think I said earlier that in some monasteries in India, when they're having a Dharma event, they raise the flag.

[09:40]

But they also, in particular, raise the flag when there's going to be a debate. And the different debating parties, they have their own debate schools and they raise their own flag. And then if you lose, in the debate, it's curtains. You have to take your flagpole down. Not just the flag made, but the whole pole. In some situations also you have to turn your robes inside out and become a disciple of the person who won the debate. This is why in the history of Buddhism there's been some shyness about going to debates. Things are not so dramatic these days in our debates.

[10:51]

But anyway, go take down the flagpole could mean many things. It could mean the debate's over. Could mean you lost. Could mean I lost. Could mean we lost. Could mean we won. Anyway, it could mean the debate's over. There's no more debate. We have finished the debate. perfect enlightenment we finish the debate it could mean have no doubt your yes in response to my ananda this is the samadhi no more debate about that

[11:56]

but wonderful ancestors after Ananda and Makashapa had the same question that Ananda had. In addition to putting on robes and taking off robes, is there something more? that the Buddha has transmitted? In addition to serving meals and receiving meals, is there something more to the Buddha Dharma, to the Buddha way? This question has been asked.

[13:09]

And again, in some cases, the person who asked it said that I wasn't being ironic. I wasn't doing that just for the welfare and happiness of all beings. I really kind of think there might be something more than putting on the robe and taking off the robe. I think there might be something more than washing my face and sitting in the meditation hall. In the case of Ehe Koso, he told his monks, there's not some Buddha Dharma in addition to our life in this moment. There's not a Buddha way in addition to me talking now and you listening. And when I stop talking, there's not a Buddha way in addition to me not talking and you listening to silence.

[14:22]

There's not another Buddha way. But people kind of think, well, isn't there? There must be. There must be a little bit better Buddha way than the way things are right now at Tassajara. You may not think that, but some ancestors have thought that. Great ones. Bio shows. They've thought that. And they didn't keep it to themselves, so we know about it. And there's a lot of them. There's a lot of these stories. And I can't tell in each story whether the person was just kidding.

[15:26]

Like, there's no other Buddha way than me going to this Zen master and asking if there's another Buddha way. So I'm going to go and ask if there's another Buddha way beyond this conversation we're having right now. Just to get into the books. Dogenzenji who said our daily actions in this monastery are expressing the Buddha mind seal are expressing and are the Buddha way when he said that some of his greatest disciples didn't believe him and one in particular one really wonderful one was named

[16:30]

Tetsu Gikai Dai Oshou. He was very respected in the community. He was the tenzo, he was the director. When he was tenzo, the kitchen was some distance from the monk's hall. And after the meal was prepared, he walked through deep snow to bring the food to the monks. He really wanted to take care of the monks, and he did. But I guess as he was carrying the food through the snow to feed the sangha, he thought, where's the Buddha way? When's the Buddha way going to come? I mean, I'm happy to serve these people, but what about the Buddha way? Must be something a little bit... more than just carrying food through snow to monks.

[17:35]

He thought that, apparently. And so when Dogenzenji was dying, at that time he was the director. And he was doing a very good job as director. Therefore, he was the director. And Dogenzenji was very grateful to him. And he got to be close to the great teacher. And he was with the great teacher when the great teacher was... about to die and the great teacher says come closer and he came closer and he said I'm really sick I don't know if I'm going to survive but if I do you know maybe someday I can entrust the Dharma to you but I haven't done it yet because you lack grandmother mind and What Dogen Zenji means by grandmother mind is that you believe that all your daily actions are expressing the Buddha mind seal of the ancestor samadhi.

[18:43]

When you're sitting in the zendo, you are expressing, you are displaying, you are raising the flag of self-fulfillment samadhi. And when we raise the flag, of self-fulfillment samadhi, the entire phenomenal world becomes the self-fulfillment samadhi. And the whole sky turns into enlightenment. That's Dogen's teaching, right? And the people who got to live with him, one of the leaders, didn't believe it. And so Dogen said, grandmother mind, is believing and even eventually understanding that when you express the Buddha mind seal in your thought, in your words, and in your posture, the entire phenomenal world turns into the Buddha mind seal.

[19:51]

He didn't believe it, even though he was doing all those practices. He didn't believe that... He thought there was something more to... There's something more than this that realizes the whole phenomenal world as the Buddha way. And so, no entrustment for you. You're a wonderful director. I trust you to take care of this monastery. but you don't believe my teaching. He didn't say that. He said, you lack grandmother mind, which, and that's Doga's teaching, is our daily life together is the Buddha way. It's not like we have this daily life and then there's sort of hovering above it or slightly up, you know, over in the mountain someplace, there's the Buddha way and that's really awesome.

[20:54]

It's like really wonderful. It's like inconceivably marvelous. But it's not like you walking down the road here, going to the zendo or leaving the zendo. It's not. It's something more than that. It's something else. So Ananda says, is there something else? And he says something else to something pretty special, like getting a golden robe from the Buddha. You might think, well, if I got a golden road for the Buddha, I probably wouldn't think there was something else. That would be fine with me. That would be enough. Okay, I got it. This is the Buddha way. But still, somebody watching might say, is there more to it than that? Now, if the Buddha just gave you a glass of water, you might say, well, anything else? And Dugan Seji says, you know, when somebody comes to visit you, give them a place to sit and give them some water.

[22:01]

If you give a person a place to sit, that's an opportunity to have that seat giving as an expression of the Buddha mind seal. And there's not another Buddha way. But again, Tetsukigai, great ancestor, didn't believe it. He thought there was something more, something beyond being a good director and being close to Dogen Zenji. And so close that Dogen Zenji could say, you lack grandmother mind. And I'm dying. And if I keep living, I'm sure you... I'm sure you will realize Grandmother Mind eventually. And then we can have a nice entrustment. And, of course, you know, this sounds kind of far out that this okesa came down onto Ananda's head, but that actually is part of the entrustment.

[23:24]

Traditionally, in a case, it comes down on your head. We don't usually think it's coming from heaven. We think it's coming from, like, the sewing room. Like, the sewing room is, like, somewhere around ground level. And it comes from the sewing room up to the ceremony hall and then gets put on your head. You know, we don't think it goes from the sewing room up to heaven and then down to the head. But sometimes it does, of course. But not always. Sometimes it's at a low altitude. And then it gets raised up a little bit by human hands onto the head in the ceremony. And then it goes on the body. Now, again, even when we go through that process, people still think, is there some other Buddha way? Is there another Buddha way, for example, like with Ananda, where it comes down from the sky?

[24:26]

Now, that would be the Buddha way. I could see that as the Buddha way, yeah. I wouldn't ask for more if I saw that. That would be like, okay, this is the Buddha way. That is really great. Did you see that? That ocasa come down from the sky and land on her head? That was like totally the Buddha way. Well, that's true. It would have been if that happened. That would be the wit. But somebody, like Ananda, might say, is there something more than that? This is human mind. Is there something more? And we're not trying to get rid of that. Just realize that when you think, is there something more, there's not another Buddha way at that moment than you thinking, is there something more? For you to be in a temple wondering if there's something more, there's no other Buddha way than that. And you can use that, is there something more,

[25:28]

to express the Buddha mind-seal. Like, is there something more? That's displaying the Buddha mind-seal. That's what I want. And then after, it turns out that Dogenzenji did not have a chance to entrust Tetsugikai with the Shobo Genzo. with the treasury of true Dhammas. He didn't get a chance. He died too soon. And when I tell the story, I think of Dogen Senji saying, so I'm going to Kyoto, the story goes on, it says, I'm going to Kyoto to get medical attention. And if I can't come back, you could come and see me there.

[26:29]

But he didn't come back and Tetsugikai did not get a chance to go. He went from Eheji to Kyoto to get medical attention and he died in Kyoto. He didn't come back to Eheji. So he left and Tetsugikai did not get to see him anymore. And they did not get a chance to perform the entrustment. like Mahakashapa and the Buddha got a chance to do that. And... Ananda and Mahakashapa got a chance to do that. But not Tetsugikai and Dogenzenji. And... One time, Suzukirashi was sick. I didn't really know how sick he was. Most of us didn't. And... I was the director of the city center. And by the way, he didn't tell me that I lacked grandmother mind.

[27:31]

He didn't tell me anything about it. He just let me be the director. And I was also the director in Eno. And so he was going to go to Tassajara. It was like springtime, 1971. He was going to go to Tassajara for basically the rest of the summer was the idea, I think. And I said, I would like to go with you. And he said, kind of like, okay. He didn't say, you can't go, you're the director. But when he said okay, I thought, but maybe I shouldn't go. I want to go, but maybe I shouldn't go because... I'm the director and also a lot of other people would like to go to it and if you know and make they can't go so it might not it might be disturbing if I went and he said oh yeah right and then he said well maybe something will work out and something did but I didn't get to go to tough are so I missed being with him his last summer here

[28:49]

And then in August he came back from Tatsahara and he was yellow. And we thought it was hepatitis, but it wasn't hepatitis. It was liver cancer. Anyway, it worked out. He came back. I got to see him again and I got to be with him from August to December while he was dying. It worked out. I can't say, but I kind of feel like during that time that I was with him when he was dying, I wasn't thinking, is there some other Buddha way? I wasn't even thinking, this is the Buddha way. I was just like, I just felt so kind of good about...

[29:53]

being there with this sick teacher. And it was really great. And I wasn't looking for another Buddha way. But Tetsu Gikkai, who is much greater than me, he was looking for another... Maybe if I was a little bit better student, I would be looking for another Buddha way. Maybe because I'm a little on the slow side. that I don't even think, is there another Buddha way than this? But anyway, then I didn't. I was like, I had my job. So after Dogenzenji died and Tetsukikai didn't have a chance to see him again, after quite a while, he believed the teacher is teaching. And he told... his elder brother, Ko'un Ejo Dayo Sho, you know, I didn't believe our teacher's teaching.

[31:03]

I didn't have grandmother in mind. Now I do. So, anyway, I think maybe about a year and a half after Dogen Zenji died, then his elder brother, the second ancestor in Japan entrusted him with the Shobu Genso. And he became super-grandmother-mine kind of a priest. In other words, everything he did in daily life was where it was at. No, you know, let's do something special for the Buddha way. Everything was the opportunity. some people in discussing the story of Ananda and Mahakashapa, they think maybe the reason why they take the side of Mahakashapa, excuse me, Ananda actually thought there was something else that the Buddha gave other than the robe.

[32:28]

In other words, that the that the Shobo Genzo is something other than the robe, or the glass of water, or the handshake, or the good morning. And that he didn't understand that because he was such a phenomenal listener to the Buddha's teaching. He was so into that that that learning got in the way of his realizing the practice. So there's a caution here to not let learning the teachings distract you from the practice.

[33:31]

When... When learning or listening to teachings, how can we do that without thinking there's something other than listening to the teaching? Because oftentimes when we listen to teaching, we think we're going to get some understanding from this listening. We're going to become well-educated. We're going to become a great scholar. We're going to become a great Buddha. So some people feel Ananda, because of his service, got too caught up in his service of learning so much. And because he learned so much, he was hearing the teachings, but he was not hearing the Dharma. He was hearing the teachings from the Buddha's words. He was hearing the words

[34:34]

but not the Dharma. Because he was so much into listening to the words. Or maybe not enough into listening to the words. Maybe he wasn't just letting in the herd there would be just the herd. I don't know. But there's a caution in the comments on this transmission story that he He had too much. He learned and listened to too much. And you don't have to be like that in order to hear the Dharma. But we do have to be diligent about putting on the robe and taking off the robe. Drinking the water, serving the tea. sitting upright.

[35:35]

But not to get something else than what we're doing. There's not another Buddha Dharma than this moment of sitting. And studying could actually promote the feeling that there's going to be something really great coming that's other than this moment. And maybe if you look into your mind, you can see that tendency between reading a book to practice reading a book and reading a book to get something really great. Because in the Buddha Dharma, we're living face-to-face with each other. We're giving our face to each other. but there's not a single thing being given and not a single thing being received.

[36:40]

Maybe if somebody, you know, at Tassajara gives you a wrench in the shop, maybe you can just receive the wrench. But if they give you a beautiful thing like this, you might think, is there something else to Buddha Dharma? and been given this carved piece of wood. Some old time Zen teachers wrote poems about this story and one of them said, if you can find or offer a turning word you will see that this conversation between Mahakashapa and Ananda is still in session this conversation is still going on

[37:57]

Can you almost see that it's going on still? Even without yet offering a turning phrase. Thank you, Tassahara Great Assembly, for this unsurpassable five-day session. Thank you, all Buddhas and ancestors, for this unsurpassable five-day session.

[39:09]

could say it's still in session there's still a session happening now can you see it time i was at tasahara in the spring of 1969 and the abbot of zen center the the senior teacher at zen center named suzuki roshi was supposed to come down to this valley and be the teacher for the practice period but as i told you before he never made it however one day i was coming up the little incline from

[41:31]

where we now have the garden. I think my cabin was maybe down that direction. I was coming up the hill, and on the bridge, I saw Sazigureshi standing there. And I was very happy to see him. I didn't literally think, oh, this is the Buddha way. He's here. And I got closer and I saw it wasn't him. It was Chino Sensei, who from a distance looked like Suzuki Rishi. But I was happy to see him too. And one day, one night, during a Dharma transmission ceremony, I went into the Kaisando as part of the ceremony, and in the entryway of the Kaisando, I saw Suzuki Roshi.

[42:53]

And I was, in this case, I wasn't exactly happy. I was more like, ooh, whoa. But it wasn't him. It was his son. It was his son, Hoi Tzu Suzuki Roshi, who in the dark, You can imagine, in robes, might have looked a little like his father. But it wasn't really Suzuki Roshi. Now, if you went over to the Kaisando now, and Suzuki Roshi was in the Kaisando, and you met him, and it really was him, it's possible that you wouldn't think, is there some other Buddha way? You might think, hey, this is the Buddha way. This is cool. I mean, he's not even alive anymore, and I get to meet him in the Kaisando. This is like really, this is the Buddha way. I'm going to go tell people. Hey, come on, look, see who's in the Kaisando. Not that I'm afraid to stay here with you or anything like that.

[43:59]

I just want to tell other people, see, you don't have to go. No, I think I should go. Yeah, but if you go to the shop and you see Dan in the shop, do you think, oh, this is the Buddha way? Does Dan think, this is the Buddha way? And it's not really that this is the Buddha way. It's just that the Buddha way is not something other than this.

[45:01]

It's not this, and it's not other than this. That's why you can't get away from it. There's no alternative to this, not this, and not other than this. You're stuck in in the middle of not this and not other than this from now on. So everybody you meet, you know, everybody you meet face to face, the Buddha way is not other than this meeting. And you can notice to think, well, I think actually maybe it is a little other than being with this person. Now, if this person was a Zikurashi, I think I could say, okay, it's not. If I met a Zikurashi, I could say, okay, the Buddha way is not something other than this.

[46:07]

But for this person, I think it might be quite a bit other than this meeting. This meeting is like, I had enough of this meeting. I'm not saying I had enough of the Buddha way, but I've had enough of this person. Or I've had enough of me. Anyway, yes, maybe so, but having enough of me, the Buddha way is not something other than me having enough of me. It's not other than your daily life. Poor daily life, calling, calling. Ananda. And what does Ananda say? Yes. Daily life is calling you. Do you say yes? If you do, the conversation of face-to-face transmission between Ananda and Mahakashapa is still alive here.

[47:12]

If you say yes when you're called by the moment to face-to-face transmission. It's not like... Yuki! And then Yuki said, just a minute, let me get my makeup on. Let me straighten my robe. I'll be right with you. It's more... No, yes! Here's what Ananda said. And again, people wrote poems about this. Ananda, yes! They say... Which was most intimate? The call or the response? Which is most intimate? Mahakashapa? Ananda? Ananda? Yes. Which is most intimate? Somebody asked a thousand years ago. Which is most intimate?

[48:15]

But then that's just one translation. Another translation would be they're equally intimate. When Mahakashapa says, And she says, yes, they're equally intimate. Now. But again, I can look in my mind and say, do I kind of a little bit feel like this particular conversation needs to be a little bit brighter to be the Buddha way? I think maybe a little bit... a little bit brighter would be better lighting for the Buddha way. And then you can see, I doubt this teaching of Grandmother Mind. I actually think, you know, I actually think, yeah, this is not really quite all set up properly for the Buddha way.

[49:24]

Just adjust it a little bit then. Now. No, maybe not yet. Now. No, no, not quite. There's no end to fixing things up so that they would be the Buddha way. But while you're trying to fix it up, every time you try to fix it, that is the opportunity. That's your daily life. So that's the Dharma flag of this week that I have raised with you.

[50:27]

That's the Dharma flag that you have raised this week with me. Do you see it? Fluttering in the Dharma wind? You know that it would be untrue. You know that I would be a liar if I were to say to you, Buddha, we can go no higher. Come on, Buddha, light my fire. Come on, Buddha, light my fire. Try to light the night on fire. The time to hesitate is through.

[51:35]

No time for wallow in the mire. Now we have a chance to choose. We can join the Buddha's choir. Come on Buddha, love my fire. Come on Buddha, love my fire. Try to light the night on fire. 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, visit sfcc.org and click giving.

[52:21]

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