Dogen's Ginjo Koan. I don't know how many of you, can you hear me? I don't know how many of you are unfamiliar with Dogen's Ginjo Koan. How many of you are unfamiliar with Dogen's Ginjo Koan? Oh good, you're all familiar with it. That's good. So you know it's to study the Buddha and the main, the heart of Ginjo Koan is to study the Buddha way is to study oneself. To study oneself is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to be enlightened by the ten thousand dharmas. To be enlightened by the ten thousand dharmas is to be freed from one's body, mind, and mind and those of others. And no trace of enlightenment remains. And this traceless enlightenment is continued forever. So I used to talk to Maizumi Roshi a bit and I expressed my feeling that Ginjo Koan, that this part of Ginjo Koan

[01:14]

was Dogen's way of expressing the five ranks and he agreed with me. And so then this came out. So I think I have a feeling that he wrote this after we discussed it. And you know Dogen didn't ascribe much credence to the five ranks but he incorporated the five ranks in his own writing and presented it in his own way. So that's what we both felt was happening here. And so I put, you know, there's Tozan's, Tozan described the five ranks in two different ways. And if you've read your study book you'll see that there's another way of describing it and

[02:24]

Akin Roshi in his commentary uses the other way, which in a way says shift or orientation for the first one, service for the second one, virtue for the third one, collective achievement for the fourth one, and virtue upon virtue for the fifth one. And you'll find that in both Charles Luck and in Akin Roshi's description. So that's a more kind of step by step practical way of practice, outline. So then I made some comments on the left, bringing the whole thing up to date. The first one is like to turn on or turn toward actually. And the second one is to tune in. And

[03:30]

the third one is to drop out. And the fourth one is to do your thing completely. And the first one is far out. At the time, it all seemed to correspond. So you can take that away. And if I have time, well, we won't. It's good for your understanding, though. So I'm going to start here on the page where we left off, which I don't know is your page. Ninety one. OK. Ninety one. Ninety. Where it says. But if the student having reached this state. Ninety one.

[04:32]

Top of ninety one. OK. So I'm changing the wording a little bit. That's what I want to start. But if you instead of students. But if you haven't reached this state, we're going to be satisfied with it. That is before you would be living in a deep pit of fixation in a lesser rank of bodhisattva hood. So this is Hakuen's way of driving you on and not letting you be content with your. What you feel is or be satisfied with where you are. Complacent. I think complacent is good. Even though we should be settled where we are, we shouldn't be complacent about where we are. Complacent. Interesting. Complacent.

[05:34]

Something about place. Maybe complacent. With. Together with the place that you are. But in a lazy way. So he says, why is this so? Because you are neither conversant with the deportment of the bodhisattva, nor do you understand the causal conditions for a Buddha land. Now, I want to talk a little bit about a Buddha land. Each one of us has. Everybody has a sphere of influence. Everybody has a sphere of influence. Sometimes we say, gee, I have no power.

[06:44]

I have no authority. But actually, every one of us has a sphere of power and authority and influence. And even when we feel we have no influence, that's influence. So a used car dealer has a sphere of influence on the corner of Van Ness and whatever. And a bodhisattva has a sphere of influence, which is your aura, so to speak. Everyone has an aura, A-U-R-A. Sometimes I can see your aura, you know, with this light around your head. But, you know, we do have aura. Someone has measured the aura of a frog. The light the frogs give off. I don't think, I don't know if we've measured in the same way the aura of a human being.

[07:54]

But everyone has an aura. It doesn't look like the painting of an aura. It doesn't look like St. Anthony, but it's an energy field. Maybe call it an energy field. And this energy field is unique to everyone. So a Buddha field is a Buddha's field of influence. Not necessarily trying to make it influence anything, but it's simply the influence that a place has. We say Tassajara is a kind of power place. It has its certain influence and aura and field of influence. I mean, and with the monks practicing at Tassajara, this is quite a powerful Buddha field.

[09:04]

So individually, we each have a bodhisattva field or Buddha field, and collectively we have a powerful Buddha field. So when people come here, they come into our Buddha field and are influenced by that. We don't have to do anything except make their bed and feed them. So summertime is where our Buddha field is expressed, and people come into that field. So it's a very important time, because this is how the world meets Buddha. Well, both. A place has its own kind of aura, but in combination with the monks, it becomes a Buddha field.

[10:11]

So it's a power spot with the Buddha field. So there's a lot of strength, a lot of light there, here. So when we practice here in the summertime, it looks like we have jobs, but they're not jobs. A job is something that you get paid for. We have positions, practice positions. So someone's practice position is to make the bed. Someone's practice position is to cook the meals. Someone's practice position is to take care of the zendo. It's really all the same. They're just different positions of the same practice. So how we comport ourselves is what enhances this Buddha field.

[11:24]

If we realize that that's what's going on, and not just we're doing this in order to get two practice periods. There is a payoff, but the payoff should be within the activity, not with what you get. The payoff has to be within the activity. So this is a Buddha field. And although you have a clear understanding of the universal and true wisdom, universal and true wisdom is the same as equality wisdom, which is the wisdom of when manas is transformed. The transformation of manas becomes the universal wisdom. He calls it universal wisdom here, and we call it wisdom of equality, where that's the horizontal.

[12:34]

So he says, although you have a clear understanding of the universal and true wisdom, you cannot cause to shine forth the marvelous wisdom that comprehends the unobstructed inner penetration of the manifold dharmas. Marvelous wisdom is the marvelous observing wisdom, which is when mano-vidana is transformed into the marvelous observing wisdom, which comprehends the unobstructed inner penetration of all dharmas. That's the vertical. That's to understand the wisdom to comprehend how everything is interconnected and hierarchical. We don't take away the positions.

[13:38]

In the horizontal, it doesn't matter what your position is, what the position of anything is. That's not what the focus is. But in the vertical, the position of each thing is important. Trees are trees, and they're not shrubs. A flower is a flower, and a tree is a tree. A flower is small, and a tree is big. And a mouse is little, and an elephant is big. Of course, only in comparison. For an ant, a mouse is huge. So big and little is really just arbitrary. But in the horizontal, a mouse is equal to an elephant. A tree is equal to a flower. Although you have a clear understanding of the universal and true wisdom,

[14:45]

you cannot cause to shine forth a marvelous wisdom that comprehends the unobstructed inner penetration of the manifold dharmas. The ancestors, in order to save you from this calamity, have provided the rank of coming from within the real. That's the third rank, right? Coming from within the real. And if you look on your chart, you can see where that is. That's in the middle. That's the black dot surrounded by the white field. Yes. Well, it's different than what it seems different, but it's not. As you'll see, it looks a little confusing there. That's true. I was confused, too.

[15:47]

But the elephant of my doubt, the rhinoceros of my doubt fell down when I began to understand it. So... So the coming from within the real. With nothingness, or emptiness I think is better than nothingness. Within emptiness there is a path leading away from the dusts of the world. Even if you observe the taboo on the present emperor's name, you will still surpass the eloquent ones. I think it's better the eloquent ones rather than some eloquent one. The eloquent ones of yore who silenced every tongue. So, in other words, within emptiness there is a way to be free within the dusts of the world.

[17:03]

So leading away from the dusts, that's the translation. I don't think it's leading away from the dusts of the world. It's not being overwhelmed by the dusts of the world. That's leading the dusts of the world. You can't leave the dusts of the world. I'm sorry. Matter of fact, the name of the book that this was from is called Zen Dust. So, we practice within the dusts of the world. So, within emptiness there is a path. Within the dusts of the world, I would say. Within the dusts of the world there is a path. John Roo says, coming from the noumenal,

[18:17]

in a cloud of dust he follows a secret road beyond the reach of dust. He excels in keeping unsaid things tabooed at present. Yet he says more than the most eloquent tongues of the past. These can be translated in so many different ways. Anyway, the taboo on the emperor's name. The emperor, I may have talked about this once before, I think. Sometimes I can't remember whether I talked about it to everybody or to somebody. Certain things. But the emperor's name is taboo. When the emperor would go through town, just like now, when George Bush goes to some foreign country, they clear the streets for a mile around so nobody's on the street. That's what they do in China. The reason, if you've ever been to the Imperial,

[19:22]

to the Great Wall of China, no, the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City has these huge walls to keep everybody out because they're always afraid of being killed. The emperor's always so paranoid of being poisoned or shot or killed in some way that nobody around, nobody gets through these big, thick walls. So it's very similar, actually. So the name of the emperor is also taboo. You can't say his name because it's kind of sacred. It's too sacred to be spoken about. So even if you observe the taboo on the emperor's name, you will still surpass the eloquent ones of yore who are silenced every time. In other words, you can't say, don't explain.

[20:29]

You can't explain this, really. And that's the taboo on the emperor's name. It's like you can express it, but you can't explain it. You can be it, but you can't see it. It's like even if you keep the taboo, even if you are silent, you still, in this rank, in this level, should be able to express the dharma. That seems to be what he's talking about. So, coming from within the real, within emptiness there is a path, there is a path within the dusts of the world, is what I would say. And that's like Genjo Koan. The essence of Genjo Koan is how you practice in the dusts of the world

[21:33]

as an extension of Zazen. That's actually Suzuki Roshi's definition of Genjo Koan. As how your life is extended, he didn't say into the dusts of the world, but into daily life. How your practice is extended into daily life, or how your practice is extended from Zazen into your daily life. That's Genjo Koan. And that's the koan that you're practicing with all the time. People say, well, of course in Soto Zen we don't have koans. We have the biggest koan of all, which is continuous, totally continuous. It's called continuous practice. Continuous practice is Genjo Koan. There's a koan, the koan, which is the thing that's closest to you, closer to you than hands and feet, on each moment.

[22:34]

And the koan is the koan of the dark and light, the balance of dark and light. What is it? So sometimes people say, well, I don't feel much hard practice. It's because if you don't feel the weight of practice, the hardness of practice, it's because you're not aware of what practice is. So mindfulness, without mindfulness there's no practice. And without understanding how to practice on each moment continuously, there's no practice. There's no vacation. There's no time out. Even time out is practice. Lying down is practice.

[23:39]

Going to the bathroom is practice. Sleeping is practice. Getting upset is practice. Getting angry is practice. Being bored is practice. No. Is practice when practice is practice. There is no potential practice. It's either practice or not practice. But within the realm of practice, even when you're off, it's practice. Even when you forget, it's practice, because it's within the circle of practice. I can't hear you. Well, you know, we say once you begin to practice, you can't get out of it.

[24:49]

No matter how far you go away or whatever you do, you may have a vague memory. I remember when I used to practice, but it's still there. You may abandon this practice and do something else. And you may say, well, that's outside of practice, but it's not really. Once you're aware of practice, how can you get out of it? Get out of here. Get out of here. So, sorry about that. You're stuck. Once you sign on, it's like the Roach Hotel. That sounds awfully horizontal of you. Yeah.

[25:54]

Vertically. Right, yeah. Yeah. But it's not my fault. Yeah, meaningless practice is still practice. It's just meaningless. Yeah. Because once you realize Buddha, Buddha doesn't go away. We're half ordinary and half Buddha. Half ordinary and half Buddha. And when we practice, we bring ordinary and Buddha together. So, how do you abandon practice?

[26:56]

Well, you leave Buddha behind, or do you leave ordinary person behind? Do you make a split? I'm no longer Buddha. But it doesn't matter what you say. You're still Buddha. You can't wash Buddha off. Or you can't ... What do we say? Pass Buddha off, or something. It's like once you lose your innocence, it's over. Once you lose your innocence, it's over. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So then, he says, on the ... So, this third rank is called the interconversion of the first two ranks.

[28:08]

Right? So, the first two ranks, form is emptiness, emptiness is form. That's the basis. And this is the interconversion of form is emptiness and emptiness is form. This is ... where ... It's called the coming from within the real. Coming to the balance of activity and ... The real and the seeming, so to speak. Interconversion. Interconversion. And ...

[29:14]

You know, there's ... In simple terms, being and doing. Being is simply ... pure existence. Just being is pure existence. And doing is the activity of being. So, in order to justify our existence, we do. But, Zazen is simply being. Huh? Doing is volition of being? Well, doing ... I don't know about volition. Doing is ... doing is activity. Doing is activity.

[30:16]

And being is simply pure existence. So, that's the dark and the light. Being is the dark. Just pure existence. And doing is ... is the light side. Activity. Activity. So, here's the balance ... the perfect balance. Interfusion between doing and being. Within doing, there's being. Within being, there's doing. So, whenever we do something, the ... the essence of practice ... This is the essence of practice. That within our activity, we're simply being. And within our being, we're doing. So, when we do something, we have a goal. We want to accomplish something. You know. We say, no gaining idea. Which is the opposite of our usual activity,

[31:19]

because in usual activity, we're focusing on accomplishing something. Meeting some end. Which is okay. We ... that's what we do, you know. We want to eat, so we have to go to work and cut the vegetables and cook them and serve them. That's doing. But within the doing is being. So, how do you ... how do you manifest pure activity of being within whatever you're doing? That's called the realm of practice. You never ... you don't leave the pure practice of pure existence. You don't leave big mind. You don't leave the absolute. It's just that in activity, we focus on activity. And in stillness, we focus on pure existence. But they're both ... just ... they're the same thing.

[32:20]

They're two sides of one coin. So, on this side of the coin, you have pure existence. And on the other side of the coin, you have pure activity. Yes. So, is that why within being, you're doing the don't-see-it-as-feeling? Yeah, you could say that, even though that's not what it says. But I would say that's great. Say it again. Within being, you're doing the don't-see-it-as-feeling? Yeah. That's right. Don't forget who and where you are.

[33:28]

So, when we're, say, going from here to there, we're walking from here to there, we want to get from here to there. And so, in our mind, we have the goal of getting from here to there. But when we go from here to there, in practice, we're paying attention to this position of the body. What kind of step are we taking? How is our breath when we're walking? What is the position that we're on in each movement? Because this is where our life takes place. It also takes place in the goal, but the goal is not as important as where you are. You say, what am I going to do when I leave Tassajara? You've already left. It's okay to think about what I'm going to do when I leave Tassajara. It's like, what am I going to do

[34:35]

when practice period is almost over? What am I going to do? Or how am I going to, you know, I'm already thinking of the end. Before, and we think, oh, it's getting closer and closer and closer. It's not getting any closer to the end. It's just our mind is getting closer to the end, but our body's not. There's no end. It's just, there's just one thing after another. But we create these divisions in our mind. But it's just one thing after another. You know, how am I going to get through Sashinis? It's seven days. But if you look at seven days, you have big problems. So people say, well, what kind of attitude should I have when I enter Sashin? I say, well, just go to bed tonight, go to sleep and wake up in the morning and go to Zazen.

[35:35]

Just like you always do. There's nothing special about it. Just go to Zazen. And then, do the next Zazen. And the next Zazen. And each moment of Zazen. There's no end. Even though there is an end to this certain activity, if you look at it as an end, you create a problem. Oh, I only have two more days, you know, or it's almost time for the bell to ring. You're already, that's, I wouldn't say that that's not practice, but it's a problem that you create within your practice. People say, my mind was going on all, you know, blah, blah, blah. I only had one minute of real practice. Well, you had, the whole time was real practice.

[36:38]

It's just that you had a big problem within your real practice. So, it's just a problem, that's all. Don't get discouraged. The problem you had wasn't that your mind was going for 39 minutes. The problem you had was that it bothered you. That's the problem. You got bothered by it. You made, you caused yourself a big problem by being bothered by it. At the same time, you want to do good zazen, but you did the zazen you did. Or the zazen happened as it happened. That's all. That's all.

[37:39]

I understand the difference of the five ranks, but at the same time, I feel that they're all the same. They are all the same. All the ranks. Yeah. The first one has the phenomenal within the real, and the second one has the real within the phenomenal, and at the end, also, the black has the white in it. So, they're not really different. No, they're not different, but they're different balances of the same, of the two aspects of one thing. There are two aspects of one thing, and the five ranks are the different balances that we experience. That's all. You should not see them as two things. That's what we, that's what we say over and over. They are not two things. They're just stillness and activity.

[38:41]

That's one thing. Actually, there are three things. There's the absolute, and the relative, and the integration. So, there's really only one thing with two sides, with two. So, we're talking about it. They really don't exist at all. It's just a way of talking about something. So, if you start believing in that there's something, some solidity to it, or division here, that's not right. It's simply a way of talking about something. In order to talk about something, you have to discriminate it. So, we're discriminating on purpose, discriminating means to break it in half and look at the two sides of one thing. So, if you have an egg, hard-boiled egg, you cut it in half, and you say,

[39:42]

this is the left half, and this is the right half. But it's just one hard-boiled egg. And this side, you know, an Easter egg, because you paint one side dark and one side light. But it's really one egg. But it's like Humpty Dumpty, not like Humpty Dumpty. Okay, I really want to get to the essence of this thing. Good luck. In this rank, the Mahayana Bodhisattva does not remain in the state of attainment that he has realized. But, from the midst of the sea of effortlessness, you let go of your great uncaused, you let go, you let go your great uncaused compassion to shine forth. So, in other words, this is like effortless practice.

[40:45]

The third rank is like effortless practice, because the Absolute and the Relative are so in sync that it's effortless. It's like riding the wave and driving the wave. Effortless practice is like a surfer. You know, when the wave is just right, the surfer rides the crest, and so it feels like you're driving the wave, but you're also riding the wave. And so there's this place that's effortless. That's what's so much fun about. That's what the thrill of surfing is, is that there's one place where it's totally effortless. And that's the way practice should be. Totally effortless. So we expend great effort in practice in order to get to the place where it's effortless. So when you say,

[41:49]

is practice hard? Or is practice easy? Practice is not hard, and it's not easy. It's just what it is. Sometimes it's hard, and sometimes it's easy. What's hard for one person is easy for somebody else. And what's easy for some person is hard for somebody else. So, it's not hard or easy. It's simply getting to the place where it's effortless. And when we do our chanting, you know, that's what we should be thinking about. The whole Guan Yu and all the members of the Sangha could be, and sometimes are, in such sync that the whole thing is effortless. So, and when we have that kind of feeling in our practice all the time, we're light.

[42:50]

We feel light. We don't feel heavy. We feel, you know, lighthearted. And, it's like play. Yeah. I'm listening to that big creak out there, so you have to... Oh, yeah. Yeah. Well, it's because your mind is loose. That it, you're not burdened down by mental activity that keeps you from being open to certain kinds of intuition. So, you know, when people are sitting Zazen, and I come around

[43:51]

to correct posture, which I haven't done much here, at least half the people are so stiff that they're like statues, like poured into cement. I don't know how a person can sit that way, but people do. And it's not necessary to sit with such rigidity. Zazen is not rigidity. Zazen is being totally loose, totally free, without any, without being rigid. So, you know, there are three joints in each finger, and there are five fingers in each hand for most of us, and then there's the hands and the wrists and the arms, and the upper arms, and all these parts are independent. They're all really independent, otherwise I couldn't go like that. But if they weren't independent, I would go like that, or move like this.

[44:53]

But I'm flexible. Why put yourself into a position where you're stiff? So Zazen is a position where your body, all the parts of your body, are co-operating to do this one thing. And each one is doing Zazen. Each part of your body is doing Zazen. The little finger is doing Zazen, all the joints are doing Zazen, independently. All the organs in your body are doing Zazen, all the atoms in your body are doing Zazen, independently. But they're all doing it in this joyful orchestration, harmonious way, all led by the desire to sit up straight. And when you exert this really good effort, it doesn't mean that you're stiff, that you're poured in concrete. It means all the parts are balanced.

[45:56]

So what you're looking for in Zazen is this balance. So when you get off the cushion, you're light and energized, instead of being tired and sore. Of course, you know, sometimes parts of your body do get sore. And that happens to everyone. It happens to me. Basically, to have this lightness and to practice it. So this is like effortlessness. In this rank, the Mahayana Bodhisattva does not remain in the state of attainment. That's right. You have to let go of attainment. I am enlightened. No. But from the midst of this sea of effortlessness, you let go of your great uncaused, you let your great uncaused compassion shine forth. Standing upon the four

[46:59]

pure and great universal vows, you know what those are. Right. You lash forward the Dharma wheel, that's very dramatic, of seeking Buddha above and saving sentient beings below. So it means that, you know, you reach up to somebody who has some, who can teach you, and you reach down for somebody that you can help. So that's practice. That's Bodhisattva practice. You reach up to someone who can help you, and you reach down to someone that you can help. Okay. Then, this is the so-called coming from within, the going to, the going to within, the coming from.

[48:00]

This is the key to the whole thing. The whole thing turns on this phrase. Coming from within, the going to, the going to within, the coming from. And I won't explain it, because you already understand it. If you try to understand it, it's hard. But if you just let it be there, you do understand it. It's kind of like the infinity symbol. Right. The going to, the coming from, the going to, the coming from, the going to. It's the inner conversion of sometimes one, sometimes you're aware of pure activity, sometimes you're aware of pure being, pure being,

[49:05]

and sometimes you're aware of just activity. And when I was practicing with Suzuki Roshi, we'd have sashin, and he'd say, after sashin, you should sit zazen. Don't think, now I'm taking a break, now I'm resting from this. No, it's just the next thing. Just sit zazen again. And when you leave the zendo, just don't even think about zazen. Just go to work. Just do the activity. Because without, without trying to create something, you just do your work, wholeheartedly, in the same way that you do zazen. You can't take zazen with you into the into your daily life. You just have the same attitude in zazen, in daily life,

[50:06]

that you have in zazen. Then, it's just all one practice. It's just all one thing. But, if you think about, well, what are the qualities that I have in zazen? You just practice those qualities in your daily life. So that's why it's important to know what you're doing in zazen, or to practice zazen thoroughly. Hmm. So, that's okay. So, this is called, this is the so-called coming from within, the going to, the going to, within the coming from. Moreover, you must know the moment of the meeting of the paired opposites, brightness and darkness. Therefore, the rank of the arrival at mutual integration has been set up. That's the fourth rank.

[51:06]

To know the moment of the meeting of the paired opposites, brightness and darkness. The arrival at mutual integration. When two blades cross points, there's no need to withdraw. The master swordsman is like the lotus blooming in the fire. Such a one has in and of oneself a heaven-soaring spirit. So, the arrival at mutual integration, when two blades, two blades means the absolute and the relative, of course, brightness and darkness, when they meet, there's no need to withdraw. So, this is what he calls arrival at mutual integration. It's like the lotus blooming in the fire, which is a rare occurrence. But it's also

[52:11]

like the lotus blooming in the fire. The lotus and the fire are, one is water and one is fire. So, it's the integration of water and fire. So, the heaven-soaring spirit, this is the fourth rank, and it's like what we call active samadhi. Zazen is passive samadhi. Well, it's active within passivity. And, this is the rank of passivity within activity. This is the white circle, just total activity, without thinking about like the black is totally not there. It's like the moon, full moon, actually. In the full moon,

[53:11]

you don't see the dark side of the moon. And, this is very much like the moon. The moon goes through its phases, and sometimes you see a little sliver of white, right? But, the rest of the moon, you know the rest of the moon is there, and if you look hard, you can see it. And, it's dark. And then, sometimes, the moon has a little sliver of dark, and it's mostly white after the full moon. So, here we have just the full moon. I can't hear you. I still don't understand why the symbol for this rank is all white. Like, if the two are integrating, then where does the black go? Well, the black is on the other side of the moon. This is the full moon. This is the face of the full moon, which is just totally white.

[54:13]

And, you don't see the dark side of the moon. It's there, but it's not, it's hidden. Totally hidden. So, why do they say it's integration? It's total integration because, the one side covers the whole thing. Say it louder. Yeah. Well, I don't know why water would dry. It's just a way of speaking. Um, well, the nominal

[55:14]

and the phenomenal coming together, there's no need to avoid their crossed swords. So, What? Maybe it means there's no need to cling to one or the other? There's no need to cling to one or the other. And, they're not, um, they're not against each other. They're not trying to eliminate each other. So, yeah, that's right. Yeah, there's no, there's nothing to fear. There's no need to, um, withdraw. It's just a little funny, but, I think that's it.

[56:15]

Yeah, they're not, even though they're crossed, they're not fighting. I think that they, they meet. Right. Yeah, that's right. And they're equal. There's no need to battle. That's right. Same thing. Oh. Shall I continue? In this rank, the bodhisattva of indomitable spirit turns the dharma wheel of the non-duality of brightness and darkness. Um, you stand in the midst of the filth of the world, your head covered with dust, and your face streaked with dirt. You move through the confusion of sound and sensual pleasure, buffeted this way and buffeted that.

[57:15]

You are like the fire blooming lotus, that, on encountering the flames, becomes still brighter in color and purer in fragrance. So in other words, you enter the world, this is entering the world, this is, you know, total immersion in activity, where the dark side of the moon is not even seen. You're just doing. And the more adversity you meet, the brighter you glow, the more energized you are. This is true practice. You don't let, you don't get overwhelmed by things, but it makes you stronger. It's the same thing in Zazen. Actually, the more adversity you have in Zazen, the more difficulty you have in Zazen, the stronger it makes you if you stay with it. How long? There's no such thing as long. There's only how.

[58:19]

So, you enter the marketplace with empty hands, yet others receive benefit from you. This is what is called to be on the road, yet not to have left the house, to have left the house, yet not to be on the road. So it means, like, wherever you are, it doesn't matter whether you're on the road or in the house. You know, we say, left home person. So, and we think of a left home person as a monk. But how do you leave home without leaving home? And, so, wherever you are, you can practice. You don't have to leave your home to practice. But, if you practice correctly, it's leaving home. So, you are an ordinary,

[59:26]

are you an ordinary person? Are you a sage? The evil ones and the heretics cannot dishonor you. Even the brothers and the ancestors cannot lay their hands on you. For anyone to try to indicate your mind, it would be no more than the horns of a rabbit or the hairs of a tortoise that have gone beyond the farthest mountain. Still, you must not consider this state to be your final resting place. Therefore, it is said, such a one has in and out of oneself a heaven-soaring spirit. What must you do in the end? You must know that there is one more rank of unity attained. So that, we'll save that for next time. What I would really

[61:00]

like to study with all of you sometime is the various Buddhist understandings of birth and death. That would be a very interesting class. Huh? What do you do that in May in Berkeley? Yeah. Yeah, that's right. I'm thinking about that.

[61:30]

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