Good afternoon. People are still coming in. I'll wait a minute. Or maybe not. I thought I'd start with just a little review of what I talked about yesterday and the day before. So I've been talking about teaching of Buddha and nature, and somewhat focusing on Dogen's teachings about it, but going in various directions. So I'll start with just one line that I've been mentioning from Dogen, from his extensive record. Dogen is the 13th century Japanese priest who brought this tradition of Soto Zen from China to Japan.

[01:02]

And he says, Bodhisattva studying the way should know how Buddha nature produces the conditions for Buddha nature. So everybody who practices here is engaged in what we call Bodhisattva practice, practice of supporting awakening in the world. And Dogen says we should know how Buddha nature produces the conditions for Buddha nature. So this may, in some ways, is mysterious that something could produce conditions for itself. And yet, that's what he asks us to do, to look at how Buddha nature produces the conditions for Buddha nature. How do we support awakening in ourselves and in others? How does Buddha nature encourage more Buddha nature?

[02:04]

How does Buddha nature encourage the spreading of Buddha nature? So I started with that, and we looked a little bit at... There's this essay about Buddha nature in Dogen's other major work, Shobogenzo, where he turns a phrase from one of the major sutras in the Mahayana Bodhisattva tradition that conventionally is read as, All sentient beings without exception have the Buddha nature. So I talked about how this is one description of the contents of the awakening of the Buddha and of all Buddhas, to see that all beings are fully endowed with the wisdom and kindness and clarity of the Buddhas. So when a Buddha awakens, they don't awaken by themselves. They awaken seeing how everything awakens. This is one definition of what a Buddha is. And we talked about how this applies not just to people, although that's of course our main concern,

[03:10]

but to the world itself. And Dogen talks about when one person completely expresses the wholeness of the Buddha mudra, the position of Buddha, then space itself awakens. So Dogen changes that Chinese statement from, All sentient beings without exception have Buddha nature, to, All sentient beings, whole being, Buddha nature. This is from the Mahaparinirvana Sutra. So I'll read the Japanese for Reverend Kusada, who just arrived. I was talking about the Pure Land yesterday, and we have a Pure Land teacher with us, who appeared conveniently. It's amazing how these things happen. So the original sentence in Japanese is, And he reads the shitsu-u instead of completely have, like arimasu, to whole being.

[04:20]

U can also be existence. So what it means, or my reading of it, is that when we experience our own wholeness, this is Buddha nature. That sense of connectedness, that sense of that it's actually okay, that we actually are connected with everything, just being present and aware in this body and mind. This is what Buddha nature is. So again, reviewing what I talked about the last couple of days, Dogen also talks about if you wish to know Buddha nature's meaning, you must contemplate temporal conditions. So this teaching of Buddha nature is not some abstract philosophy. This is very much the emphasis in Zen. So trying to understand some philosophy of Buddha nature is not at all the point. How can you see Buddha nature producing conditions for Buddha nature in temporal conditions,

[05:27]

in some particular time and space? In each time, in each situation, there is the possibility for realizing that we're connected with everything, for realizing that it's okay to be the person you are sitting on your chair right now, that there is a way in which you are connected with the wholeness of the whole Buddha sphere, the whole Buddha realm, the whole possibility of connection. But that doesn't happen in some abstract context. Buddha nature only happens in a particular temporal condition, in a particular time and place. So again, it's not an abstract philosophy. It's about how do we see how Buddha nature produces the conditions for Buddha nature right now, in some particular time. So I also talked about the last two days,

[06:30]

that from the point of view of this tradition of Soto Zen that comes from Dogen and Suzuki Roshi, who founded this monastery, that we don't emphasize seeing Buddha nature. So this is controversial, and a number of you have talked to me about how you want Kensho, but actually Kensho is not our practice. And Kensho is not important, and Kensho is not the point. It's okay if you have Kensho. Kensho is literally seeing the Buddha nature. And it refers to these dramatic experiences of Satori, when the monk asks the teacher something, and the teacher says something else, and suddenly, ah, the monk is awakened. And usually that's a translation of Kensho. And there are branches of Zen, historically and today, that emphasize very much having some dramatic experience. And some of you want to have that experience, and that's okay. There's nothing wrong with having that experience, but that's not the point. In our tradition, the point is Genjo rather than Kensho.

[07:36]

So Genjo, as in Genjo Koan, one of Dogen's writings, Genjo means to manifest, to make real, to actually make something happen in the world. So the point of our practice is not to understand something, or figure out something, or have some dramatic experience of realizing something, but how do we share and express it in our lives, in this temporal condition, or in some particular temporal condition. So our practice, again, is Genjo rather than Kensho, to actually express and manifest and share the Buddha nature, rather than just seeing it. It's not enough to see the Buddha nature. It's not enough to understand this. What Dogen says is, Bodhisattva, again, this... I've been coming back to this sentence from Dogen's extensive record. Bodhisattva studying the way should know how Buddha nature produces the conditions for Buddha nature. So how can we actually use our Buddha nature

[08:39]

to produce conditions for Buddha nature? How can we see how Buddha nature produces conditions for our Buddha nature? How can we receive the benefits of Buddha nature and share the benefits of Buddha nature? How to Genjo this in the world, in our lives, in this particular situation, is the point of this practice. So that's a review of the first day. And yesterday I talked about that, and I also talked about the Soto Zen approach to the Pure Land, that actually what we're doing is developing this space of enlightenment that Dogen says happens when one person completely sits and Genjo's Buddha nature and thoroughly manifests Buddha nature. Or we could say just when one person sits down and sits upright

[09:42]

and looks at the reality in front of them and is present with that and willing to meet it and to be responsive. So there's this... One aspect of Buddha nature teaching is called in Sanskrit, Tathagatagarbha, which means that we all... Buddha nature is this potentiality. So garbha means embryo, and tathagata is one way of talking about Buddhas. It means the one who comes and goes in suchness, in reality, the one who meets the reality in front of them all the time. That's one name for the Buddha. And this teaching of tathagatagarbha, which is a way of talking about Buddha nature, is that all beings are embryonic Buddhas, are Buddha embryos, that we're all in the process of being born as Buddhas. And one of the practices of that is to see others as Buddhas,

[10:42]

to see the Buddha nature in others, to see Buddha nature and appreciate and recognize qualities of Buddha nature in our friends and in the people we respect and like, but also maybe people we have a little bit of a hard time with, to see how there may be Buddha nature there, or even people who... I talked about this idea in early Buddhism that there were some people who could never become Buddhas because they were just so hopeless. And that idea is what originally was considered orthodoxy, and now we say no, is that actually everyone has somewhere this potentiality for Buddha nature. So sometimes we have to stretch a little bit, but seeing this Buddha nature, this potentiality, this is the side of tathagatagarbha that is the embryo of Buddha. But then I also talked about how this word garbha in Sanskrit means both embryo and womb. And so not only are we baby Buddhas in production,

[11:45]

taking birth as Buddhas when we do this practice, but also each of us is a womb for Buddhas, for all the Buddhas around us. And then this particularly relates to the space of a Buddha field. So I talked about this more yesterday, and just to say a little bit about it, that part of this idea is that when a Buddha awakens, the space around them actually becomes what we call a Buddha field, or a Pure Land, Buddha Kshetra in Sanskrit. So I talked about it in terms of Tassajara yesterday, and how it's very easy to see this idea of Tassajara, that the space of Tassajara actually supports our practice of awakening. And so in some ways this valley is a womb of Buddhas, it's very clear. But also it works the other way, that each of us is a womb giving birth to this space of the tathagata, the Tassajara tathagata, the Tassajara Buddha,

[12:47]

that as I said in the beginning, that Dogen says in one of his very earliest writings, when one person sits down and completely is present, fully present with themselves, meeting what comes up, that all of space becomes enlightened. So I'm still wrestling with that image. But it has to do with this idea of Buddha fields, or Pure Lands, and how we actually change the space around us. So doing this practice, many of us come to meditation practice wanting stress reduction, or calmness, or some sense of inner peace, or something like that. But actually it's impossible to do this practice alone. When we are engaged in this practice, there are many people helping us. So at Tassajara we see Sangha working, we see all the people practicing here together in the meditation hall, we see the support of the guests coming and the mutuality of that. So it's very easy to see this idea of Tathagatagarbha

[13:50]

and this mutual interactivity, this interactive aspect of this practice of womb and embryo working together back and forth, and both are womb and both are embryo, between people, but also between the people and the actual space of this Tassajara Buddha field. So technically we're all historically in the Pure Land of Shakyamuni Buddha. Since historically he awakened 500 BC, more or less, in India, and this historical cycle of studying the Dharma, of studying Buddhism, happened thanks to him. Of course simultaneously we're also in the Pure Land of Amida Buddha and many other Buddhas. So there are actually many Buddhas that are happening in ways we can't necessarily see. So that's all kind of a review of what I talked about

[14:52]

the last couple of days. And I want to talk today about the nature side of Buddha nature. And then somebody asked me yesterday, well, what about difficult places? So what about, Trevor asked about a Vietnamese temple in an inner city where there are gangs. Well, how does the Pure Land work there? How does this process work in that kind of space? So I want to try and respond to that. And as I mentioned at work meeting, if I have time, I want to talk a little bit about Dogen and his dream theory. But before I go on to talk about nature and Buddha nature, are there any comments or questions up to here? Yes. So yesterday you talked about the difference between Kensho Zen and Genjo Zen. Can you say something now about the difference between our school and the Pure Land school? Well, you know, I'm not talking about this in terms of sects

[15:54]

or in a sectarian way, because there's Kensho in Soto Zen and there's Genjo in Rinzai Zen. And so it's not about, there are particular teaching traditions. So I actually, so for those of you who haven't, I mentioned Reverend Kusada who's here who just arrived, who's on the faculty with me at the Institute of Buddhist Studies. So we both teach in the seminary for the Jodo Shinshu school. And he is an expert in Jodo Shinshu liturgy and ritual, and his first time at Tassajara. So please show him around and make him welcome. But in the Jodo Shinshu school, they talk about this as the Pure Land of Amida Buddha, who is one of the Buddhas who is around, and I'm sure he's around Tassajara too. Are there any Amida Buddha images here? There's one in the city center. I don't know if there are any here. We have Kannon. So I offered incense to Kannon, who is one of the main Bodhisattvas in both Soto Zen and Jodo Shinshu. So the history of it is complicated.

[16:56]

They both evolved in Japan. The same time as Dogen, there was another great teacher named Shinran who founded the Jodo Shinshu school. So they have common roots in Japanese Tendai Buddhism. So I can talk to you after about the history if you're interested in that. But there's a basic commonality of all Japanese Buddhism that comes out of this way of seeing space as alive, really, and seeing how we enact that and express that as the main point. So in that sense, Jodo Shinshu people usually don't talk about practice so much, although there was a conference in February on meditation in Jodo Shinshu that I spoke at. So there's actually a lot of similarity, even though it seems very different. Their approach is more devotional. Our approach is more meditative. But I would say there are really two sides of one gassho. So any other comments or questions?

[17:57]

Yes? Yesterday you said that Kensho was not enough, and then you also said that it's not important. And then today you said it's not important. And in creating a Buddha field, when you say that when a Buddha awakens, a Buddha field is created. Yes. Could you say what you mean when you say when a Buddha awakens? How does a Buddha awaken, or what does that mean when you say that? A Buddha awakens when they see that everything is singing the Buddha song. The sound of the stream, the blue jays, the breeze. And when a Buddha sees that everything is the Buddha song, is that different than Kensho? Kensho is fine. It's okay to have Kensho. And maybe it's too much for me to say it's not important. It's just that it's not enough. Is it a prerequisite for creating a Buddha field? In my opinion, no. Because in creating the Buddha field, everybody sees that there's this possibility of awakening everywhere.

[19:04]

And so then we have to talk about different approaches to what Kensho is. And actually, the Rinzai people and Soto people who focus on Kensho, ultimately they're doing Genjo too. So it's really not a problem. But I'm just emphasizing that we actually have to express it and share it and make it real, rather than just understand it or have some dramatic experience about it. Okay, so now that I've spent half the time reviewing the last two, now it's time for today's class. So I want to talk a little bit about the nature side of Buddha nature. And it's one of those wonderful bilingual puns. So busho, the nature of Buddha nature, means the nature of something, the qualities of something. Like it's in David's nature to sleep.

[20:06]

Or, you know, what is the nature of a Zen student? So that's what that nature means. And yet, when we say nature in English, it has nothing to do with this Japanese word, shō, or Chinese character that we say, shō. Nature also means to many of us, the world of nature, like Tosahara as opposed to city center. You know, that there's the world of nature, you know, and mountains and streams. So the landscape of the world of nature. There was not a traditional word for that in Dogen's time. There wasn't a traditional Japanese or Chinese word for nature like that. Because that's just where they lived. They didn't have electricity or email or any of that stuff.

[21:08]

There was just, you know, mountains and rivers. So they didn't need a separate word for nature as opposed to, you know, cities and concrete and fluorescent lights or whatever you think of as not nature. So it's very interesting that there's this bilingual pun, though, because part of the way that this idea of Buddha nature has been taught is through images of what we might call nature. So I'm just going to read a couple passages from one of Dogen's predecessors in China, Hongzhe, who lived in the 12th century. This is from a book I translated, Cultivating the Empty Field. And he uses nature imagery and metaphor to talk about the naturalness of this awareness, the naturalness of this process of waking up together with everything. So it's just filled with actually passages that are relevant, but I'll see if I can pick out a couple. Yeah, here's one.

[22:14]

He says, people of the way journey through the world responding to conditions, carefree and without restraint. Like clouds finally raining, like moonlight following the current, like orchids growing in shade, like spring arising in everything, they act without mind, they respond with certainty. This is how perfected people behave. Then they must resume their travels and follow the ancestors, walking ahead with steadiness and letting go of themselves with innocence. Anyway, this image of clouds finally raining, you know, it's very natural. Moonlight following the current, the images of the moon reflected on the surface of a stream as it flows down the mountain and we see the moon in each part. And spring arising in everything, orchids growing in shade. This process is very natural. It happens so awakening doesn't happen according to our expectations, Dogen says somewhere.

[23:16]

Of course, nothing happens according to our expectations. Doesn't mean we shouldn't have expectations or plans or, you know, but things don't happen according to some idea or theoretical construct. Another passage like this. Just resting is like the great ocean accepting hundreds of streams, all absorbed into one flavor. Freely going ahead is like the great surging tides riding on the wind, all coming onto this shore together. How could they not reach into the genuine source? How could they not realize the great function that appears before us? Zen practitioner follows movement and responds to changes in total harmony. So he uses these images from nature just to show us this natural quality of our being in harmony with the space around us and the world around us and meeting it just directly and openheartedly.

[24:23]

So in, you know, in India and Tibet, Buddhism mostly uses, often uses kind of philosophical doctrinal kind of statements. Starting in China, some of the stuff that Andy was talking about there. The most Zen teaching involves a lot of poetry and images and just evoking the sense of things rather than trying to put it in some kind of philosophical context. So these images are very helpful in terms of helping to, helping to see how Buddha nature produces the conditions for Buddha nature. Let me just randomly find one more. Traveling around in completion without centers or edges, cutting away corners.

[25:37]

The circle revolves, leaving no residue in the empty cave. In the clear sky of autumn, the moon is cold, its radiance bathing the night. The perfect weather of spring is embroidered clouds and elegant flowers. The gateway is open and can be passed through. The wheel of energetic attention turns back to the particulars. So, so there's this wonderful kind of bilingual pun of Buddha nature and how we can see that in what we call, we think of as the world of nature, just in the natural world around us. And even in cities, you know, weeds grow through concrete. There is nature happening everywhere. There's a problem with this idea of nature too, though. And I mentioned this, I think, yesterday or the day before, that we hear natural and one meaning for us of the word natural is automatically, spontaneously, on its own, things happen. So it's possible, some people may think, that if you just do enough practice periods of Tassajara or sit enough periods of Zazen or go to enough Buddhist lectures or read enough Zen books that naturally you will become enlightened.

[26:52]

So it's not like that. Buddha nature, so I was talking about this yesterday in terms of subject and object. And the whole image of the womb and the embryo and both being both, I think, is very helpful to this. But that there's a responsibility in this practice. So it may be the same as the effort of the water rushing down the Tassajara Creek. Maybe it's not any more strenuous than that, but we don't know what effort the water is making as it rolls over rocks and so forth. But there is some responsibility in the practice. So that's the other side. It's not natural in the sense of automatic. So this is the side of our practice of precepts and of actually having to take on how do we produce conditions for Buddha nature. How do we support Buddha nature to produce conditions for Buddha nature? Maybe we don't do that, but how do we allow Buddha nature to express itself in a way that supports us to practice and to awaken and to share kindness and clarity?

[28:02]

And how do we receive Buddha nature from the world of nature around us? So it requires something of us. It's not passive because it's not a dead objective world out there. So I was starting to talk about this yesterday. That space itself, when Dogen says that space itself becomes enlightened, he's talking about this quality of the world as alive. So the world is not what we think it is. That doesn't mean that there is not great value to science and study and to analysis of the world. It doesn't mean we should not use our intellect in discriminating consciousness. It just means that reality goes beyond that. So this is something that Zen and Buddhism emphasizes, that we can't see the whole thing. And in some ways this is obvious. I can't see this doorway behind me. There could be somebody standing there making faces and I just wouldn't know it.

[29:04]

Probably there's not because you're not giggling and laughing. And you can't see the Kannon back in this window here, which I can see. Most of us anyway don't have eyes in the back of our heads. So there's a limit to what we can see. There's a limit to what we can hear. There's a limit to our spiritual and intellectual faculties too. One example I've been using recently that I like is I don't know how dolphins do zazen. Do any of you? There are people who actually talk to dolphins, who have actually figured out the language and communicate. But they don't sit in the way we do. And they have a bigger brain than us. But they don't have to spend, use parts of that brain figuring out how to use the products of opposable thumbs. They don't have that. So how do dolphins do zazen? Well, I don't know. That's not my business. I only teach meditation to humans mostly. But it just shows that there is much more than what we can see and know.

[30:11]

So I wanted to mention, I'm jumping around a little bit here. But before I forget, this idea of temporal conditions in a particular time and place. There's a particular way that nature manifests these conditions for Buddha nature. So for those of you who live at Tassajara, you can ignore this next part. But for those of you who don't, my favorite movie about Buddha nature is a movie called Rivers and Tides. Have any of you seen it? It's about an artist named Andy Goldsworthy. He does these wonderful displays showing nature unfolding, showing the nature of nature. So he does things like using pine needles, sticks together a bunch of leaves in a coil and then puts them in the stream. And watches as they unfold and float downstream over time. And you see actually the patterns of the stream in a way that you couldn't by just looking at the water.

[31:14]

And he also does things like icicle sculptures. So there's one in the movie. One of the opening scenes is when he's somewhere up in Canada, very far north. And early in the morning before the sun's out, he takes these icicles and kind of puts them together. And he likes this kind of coiled line. So he has these icicles going around and then through a rock. And then it comes out the other end of the rock. And he makes this beautiful icicle sculpture. And then as the sun rises, watches it melt. So he's playing with temporal conditions and putting nature in temporal conditions. He also builds structures on the beach at low tide. He builds like little domes made of wood. And then watches as the tide comes in and carries them away. And some of the things he builds last longer. But anyway, he's from Scotland. And I think he's doing one of the museums in San Francisco. He's doing some exhibit.

[32:15]

Earthquake tectonic. That's right. At the De Young? Legion of Honor. Yeah. Anyway, he does these amazing. So I really recommend that movie as a really good movie about Buddha nature. Because you really see temporal conditions in the world of a Buddha field. And that he creates. So anyway, I just wanted to mention that. That we can actually see how Buddha nature produces conditions for Buddha nature. We can actually see how nature gives us opportunities to wake up and be present. And see the world in front of us. But again, you see him doing it. So it's not that this doesn't happen naturally. It happens through our involvement and awareness and caring. Okay, the next part.

[33:19]

I'll pause for a second. Are there comments or questions about Buddha nature and nature? Okay, well, yesterday I was talking about Tassajara as this wonderful, very transparent example of a Buddha field. And Tathagatagarbha. And how the space, because this was a sacred space before any Buddhists came. When Native Americans were here. There's something about this space. And yet also by each of your presence and work and activity to bring awakening to this valley. It becomes more of a womb of Buddhas and vice versa. So there's a way in which we can see the space of Tassajara and the practice mutually supporting. So then Trevor asked this very good question.

[34:21]

What about in the example you gave. I don't know if you had a particular temple in mind. I read a short story about this Vietnamese neighborhood that had lots of gangs. And there was a big temple in there. And a lot of the families were involved in. There was this abbot of the temple. He said that he ruled over the neighborhood by his physical presence in the lair. You know, that's what he had to do, I guess. Yeah, so this is a kind of idyllic space. That some of you are guests and come in and feel like this is just this paradise. Of course, there are poor Zen students working very hard and sweating to make it so. But also it's this beautiful space. When I practiced at City Center years ago, the San Francisco Zen Center. It's a better neighborhood now. But I remember sitting in the Zenda some mornings and somebody would yell for help. And a bunch of us would run out onto the street in black robes and try and see who needed help.

[35:27]

I think it's the same process in a place like that, in a place like this. By practicing, so we live in. So I would say this is Buddha's, Shakyamuni Buddha's, Buddha land. This is his pure land. But there's one teaching about pure lands. That there are Buddha fields that are pure Buddha fields and impure Buddha fields. That's one way of looking at it. And this Buddha field of Shakyamuni Buddha, we might say that some parts of it are impure. That there are difficulties. That obviously we know that the whole world isn't like Tassajara. That there is, and of course Tassajara is like the whole world too. Because everybody who lives here brings the world with them. But in the world, so called out there, there is corruption and war and injustice and so forth. And poverty and sickness. So how can that be a pure Buddha field?

[36:33]

So the world, the Buddha field that Shakyamuni created is called the Saha world. The world of endurance. And there are some sutras where Bodhisattvas come from different galaxies from other Buddha fields. And their Buddha there says to them, You shouldn't think little of the Bodhisattvas there. Because they have to work very hard. Because it's such a difficult world. So in some sense we are given this opportunity of practicing patience. Because of the difficulties of the world. But I would say the basic dynamics of our practice and seeing how that supports the space around us is the same. Whether it's Tassajara or inner city or America. It's true that we live in a very dark ages. And very difficult times. And nobody knows how to bring peace and the corruption of our governments and so forth.

[37:38]

So just to hold that question is important. How does our practice make a difference in the world? Sometimes we can't see how it makes a difference in the world. And yet it does. Just a little bit about the history of the Buddhist order. In some sense when Shakyamuni Buddha started this order of monks and nuns. That has evolved into Sanghas like we have today. He was trying to set up some alternative to the usual ways of the world. So places like Tassajara technically formally exist in some sense as countercultures. As an alternative. Places where people are practicing intentionally and consciously like this. And trying to create a space that is welcoming to people to come in. This was part of the history of the whole idea of the Buddhist Sangha or community.

[38:55]

That we can see alternatives to the usual world. The world as it usually is. As part of the idea of it. In the sense that Tassajara may seem idyllic to you. Whereas a neighborhood with gangs is dangerous and dreadful. This is showing an alternative. So one of the ways that Buddhism works in the world to help make it a pure land. Is just to show possibility. Again, how we allow our Buddha nature to produce conditions for Buddha nature. That's the big question. So that question is... To hold that question is awakening. To be aware of that question. To consider that question. It doesn't mean that because Buddha completely awakened. That suddenly everybody in the whole world was happy and had everything they wanted.

[39:57]

In fact, the first noble truth is that people don't have what they want. Or they have things they don't want. And yet that's the nature of a Buddha field. So this again is part of the responsibility side. We have a responsibility as practitioners to share and express. That possibility of awakening we see in our own practice. In our own uprightness. In our own willingness to be present and to meet the world around us. To be ready to respond. So in some ways I think the main aspect of Zen meditation practice is patience. To be watchful. To be present. To be ready to respond when there is some way to respond. It looks like it's passivity. But it's not. It's important that your practice not be passive. But that actually you're paying attention to the problems on your cushion or chair. The problems with the people around you.

[41:01]

The problems in the world. In the whole world. So we don't know what's going to stop the war in Iraq for example. But it might be people sitting up in the mountains meditating. Might be as much a part of that as, you know, for those of you who are going to be around on September 24th. There's a big demonstration in Washington and San Francisco and many other places. But the people who will be sitting here meditating are also part of that. Yes? That people meditating in the mountains can make a difference? I believe it. Yeah, I really believe it. Thank you. Because I've seen people who've spent time at Tassajara. Because there is transformation in this practice. It's not that we get something exactly. It's that there's a kind of opening that's possible. And I've seen it over and over and over again. And it makes a difference. And it doesn't necessarily fix everything. And part of how it works is asking hard questions like you just did.

[42:07]

To actually really be willing to face. I don't believe this. You know, this feels... I'm working really hard and it's hot out and I don't feel like going to the zendo tonight. That's part of the reality. And yet, sticking... This is why I talk about genjo instead of kensho. That what's really important is sticking to... Is sustaining a practice. Sustaining our devotion to Buddha nature. I can't understand so far. Where is the relation or where is the war in Iraq influenced by you sitting here? I don't get it. Well, it may be that you should leave Tassajara. And go and work for some peace organization. It may be. I don't say that... That's possible. So we each have our own way of doing... Of responding to the world. We each sit in a different chair or a different cushion.

[43:11]

So each in our own way we respond. But I do believe that if you're sitting here at Tassajara. But without necessarily following the news of each day. Because you're not going to get it from the mainstream media anyway. But aware that there are problems in the world. That your concern... That energy of your concern makes a difference in the world. And your question about whether you should be at Tassajara or be doing what. I don't know. If you're not sure what else to do. Maybe you should just stay at Tassajara. But there are people who are doing things. And of course the war in Iraq is just one huge big example. But there is corruption and cruelty and injustice. And unhappiness and unnecessary poverty. And unnecessary disease all around the world now. This is the kind of pure land we live in.

[44:13]

The Saha world. The world of endurance. So this is very tough training. There are pure lands that are very beautiful. And the whole world is like Tassajara. And it's easier. But you all signed up for this one. So congratulations. Thank you. So whether you're formally doing this practice. Or if you're a guest who showed up for this talk. To me, just showing up means that you're involved in this. Somehow, you know, here you are at Tassajara. And you came to hear a talk on Zen. Whether or not you've ever sat Zazen. Still, there's this caring about the nature of the world. And the nature of your reality. That must be behind that. Behind the fact that you're here. So there's a Dharamhal discourse in Dogen's extensive record.

[45:25]

It kind of sums up our whole practice. To me, it responds to this. It doesn't necessarily respond to the war in Iraq. And I really appreciate your question. Thank you for asking that. But I'll just read this and talk about it a little bit. Just this number 434 on paper. To save all living beings. By removing suffering and providing joy. So all the Buddhist ancestors. This is Shakyamuni, Amida, Dogen, Shinran. All, you know, Rinzai. The family style of Buddhas is first. Arousing the vow to save all living beings by removing suffering and providing joy. So that's what got us here. That's the starting point. Some of you came to meditation practice because you had some particular personal problem. Or some loss. Or some sorrow. Or something in your own life. And that's okay. But somewhere in there was this caring about trying to, we say, free all living beings.

[46:27]

Or save all living beings. This is this basic vow. It's easy to forget sometimes when you read books about Zen that it's a Mahayana practice. That it's about devotion to all beings. That we care about benefiting all beings. And part of that is realizing that we are connected. When we experience whole being Buddha nature. When we feel that wholeness. We know that we're connected. That the suffering of people in Iraq is connected to us in some way. Not just by our tax dollars. Anyway, so he says the family style of all Buddhas and ancestors is first. Arouse the vow to save all living beings by removing suffering and providing joy. Only this family style is inexhaustibly bright and clear. In the lofty mountains we see the moon for a long time. As clouds clear we first recognize the sky. So to me this is about Tassajara.

[47:29]

It's about practice too. But in the lofty mountains we see the moon for a long time. It's true. The sky here is, you know, you can see the sky in a way that you can't anywhere else I've ever been. And many of the people here have come to the mountains to soak in that. To really let the moon penetrate your body and mind. As clouds clear we first recognize the sky. So the same character that's used for sky is also the character for space or emptiness. We first, as the clouds, so metaphorically this refers to the clouds of our own conditioning and preconceptions and attachments that get in the way of our expressing Buddha nature. As clouds clear we first recognize the sky. So that's true. It's true on the literal level. There's not many clouds these days at Tassajara. But anyway, this has to do with the rhythm of practice for all of us whether or not we live at Tassajara.

[48:32]

There's this time of turning to the mountains. Of sitting and seeing the moon. Of soaking in the possibility of wholeness. The moon is an image of roundness or wholeness. It represents this possibility of whole being, Buddha nature. Thank you. So in the lofty mountains we see the moon for a long time. As clouds clear we first recognize the sky. Cast loose down the precipice, the moonlight shares itself within the 10,000 forms. So this is an image of the streams running down. But this is also about the fact that maybe with the exception of Leslie, everybody eventually leaves Tassajara. And that's part of the point of the practice. And of course Leslie leaves Tassajara by staying here and helping keep it going. But even those of you who have been here five or seven years, as some of you have, there's this rhythm to our practice.

[49:39]

Which has to do with stopping and looking at the moon. And then letting go down the precipice, sharing itself within the 10,000 forms. So this is the side of Genjo. Maybe first some of you really need to focus on seeing the moon. Maybe that's the side of Genjo. But the point of it is that then how do we go out and express this? And I think, so getting back to your question, I'm sorry I forget your name. My name is Laila. Hi Laila. So part of, I believe that part of your sitting at Tassajara is also going out of Tassajara. There's an expression that's there too. As well as the seeing into. We talk about turning the light to shine within. But then we come back into the world. So fortunately you have guest season. So you have guests coming in. So they make it easier for you. You don't even have to leave Tassajara to share yourself with the world. Yes? It is just kind of tricky.

[50:39]

I'm chewing on that one since a while. Seeing what's going on in the world. And there are so many places actually where you could influence the world or help. Or you know, there are just so many places which need help. That's right. And I feel kind of helpless or just restless. Because I see all these points. And I'm not sure, you know, what can I do? And then I feel helpless or overwhelmed. Because there would be so much to do. And there is actually no, it's an endless game. So people out there feel that way too. Right. Yeah. So wherever I am. We don't know what to do to help. I'm overwhelmed with all that. And the practice is to hold that question.

[51:41]

But don't be overwhelmed. Learn to sit upright and be present with it. And at some point you might get the idea of something you want to do. And then you'll go. And you should do it. Well, I'm here. But now that you're here, be here and feel that question. And really let it work in you. And see what can I do. Because I don't know what for me to do. But I certainly don't know what for you to do. I think for all of us to try and bring awareness and kindness into the world makes a difference on all the levels. And there are people who go to Iraq and witness there. And there are people who go to other difficult places and witness there. But part of what you're doing here is preparing yourself to be able to not be overwhelmed. If you ever get to one of those places. Oh, okay. Oh, that makes sense. Thank you. Good. So the last sentence of this. Cast loose down the precipice. The moonlight shares itself within the ten thousand forms. Even when climbing up the bird's path, taking good care of yourself is spiritual power.

[52:46]

So he starts by talking about arousing the vow to save all living beings. But he says in the end, after sharing, after it, it shares itself within the ten thousand forms. Even when climbing up the bird's path, taking good care of yourself is spiritual power. So part of what you're doing here is taking good care of yourself. I hope. That's part of the spiritual power that actually has, that actually does the gangeling. It actually will help the space of the Saha world. Yes. Yeah. So this is an image from Dongshan, the founder of Soto Zen in China. Actually, somebody was asking about Soto yesterday. This question of non-Sentient beings expounding the Dharma, this question of the space of the Buddha field, the space of awareness in the so-called non-Sentient world. That was the main focus question of Dongshan.

[53:51]

So our whole school, this whole lineage of Soto Zen starts from this question of how does space become enlightened? How do so-called non-Sentient beings also teach us the Dharma? And this is a reference to this bird's path is an image. So when we see birds flying overhead, we don't see any path or trail. We may see a path or trail where deer have walked, but we don't see the path or trail where birds have walked. So this is an image for this invisible path. Now, of course, birds, I don't know if they see a path, but they seem to be able to follow the same migratory paths for centuries. So maybe they do see a path. But anyway, this image of the bird's path is this image of the path that we don't know. Just like Laila doesn't know how she's going to help bring peace to the world. And yet there's a path. There is a path. And it has to do with temporal conditions and expressing Buddha nature, you know, in this situation. So what he says, even when climbing up the bird's path, even when you're able to follow, even when you are following the path that we can't see, that we don't know, that we don't know the answer to.

[55:05]

And yet we're holding that question. Taking good care of yourself is spiritual power. So this whole question of the world or the space around us, the Buddha field and oneself, they're not separate. Which leads me into the thing I was going to talk about, about Dogen and string theory, but it's actually time to stop. So if any of you want to stay, we can talk about that. But we should we should kind of formally close for those who have to leave.

[55:39]

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