Dogen presents the Gyoji, the maintenance of Buddhist practice, maintenance of practice, consisting of four categories of Gyoji. One is religious awakening. Second is putting it into practice, which is called usually the practice. The third is bodhi, which means self-realization, in other words, wisdom.

[01:22]

Through a practical effort, we can get a taste of what it is. When you understand what it is, a practitioner's code is based on self-realization. This is wisdom. Through and through the practical effort, we have to get a taste of what it is.

[02:38]

It is called, it is the self-realization in Buddhism. But self-realization is not to understand something with an intractable sense, as you know so well. But I am afraid that we have to understand something with an intractable sense. And also, we believe that it is self-realization, in other words, religious awakening, which is called enlightenment. Enlightenment. Self-realization has a very profound meaning.

[03:58]

Because self-realization is something which penetrates the body and mind, every inch of our body and mind, through practical effort. Standing upright with your foot, day in and day out. This is nirvana. This is nirvana. So, the experience based on self-realization is not enough to practice. If you experience, if you undergo the self-realization, which lets the people see into the depths of human life, or all living beings,

[05:13]

based on the dimension of generation and extinction. This is the self-realization enables man to see, to have insight deeply into the human life, the model of all living beings. If so, after ongoing the self-realization, we have to show, we have to manifest in our daily life. Standing upright with your foot, extended into our daily life.

[06:17]

This is very important. At that time, the practitioner is called the enlightened man. The person who is free from any attractions. This is nirvana. So, simply speaking, nirvana is emancipation, free from, freeing from, the circle of transmigration, simply speaking. Sometimes, there may be someone who believes,

[07:29]

that only the experience of self-realization is a sort of enlightenment, a sort of Zen Buddhism. That's why such a person makes lots of mistakes. For instance, the master or Buddha says, everything is Buddha nature. If everything is Buddha nature, according to this radical understanding, it is possible that even the feces is Buddha nature. Then the monks ask the Zen master, is it okay to call you feces?

[08:37]

At that time, the Zen master would give a big applaud to him, stupid! We make lots of mistakes in that way. Someone is given one of the koan moves. Then, many times, he would have a dog sound and describe his experience through his practice in front of the Zen master. At last, he walked with two hands and two feet, like a cat and a dog, saying meow. At that time, the Zen master gave a certificate, you are enlightened man.

[09:40]

One of the Zen master said, he is stupid, Zen student. If you understand, of course, even though you walk with two hands and two feet, like a cat, saying meow, it is also a move. It is not something bad, but in terms of Buddha's eye, I think Buddha says, oh poor guy, please practice more. Buddha says always, but we don't understand. Because we believe that self-realization is absolutely the soul of enlightenment.

[10:43]

So self-realization must be alive, must be alive in our daily life. For this, we have to practice self-realization, practice day in and day out, after experience of self-realization. Which enables man to see into the depth of human life and all living beings. Self-realization, it is true that self-realization should enable man to understand the law of transiency, the principle of transiency, the dimension of generation and extension, the principle of transmigration. But it is not enough for us to practice.

[11:52]

After that, we have to continue to practice in order to penetrate it into our body and mind. This is nirvana, the emancipation. So self-realization, emancipation, enlightenment, wisdom must be vivid in our daily life. Which is called emancipation, which is called tranquility, which is called walking step by step with dignity. Uh...

[12:56]

The... Our practice, according to Dogen's way, is not sort of practice which we try to reach the higher level from lower level. Through practice, in order to enrich, cultivate human being, the nature of human being. Uh... Our practice is the end itself. The purpose of practice is the end itself. So the awakening mind, if you experience, awakening mind you experience, religious awakening mind you experience is identical with emancipation,

[14:22]

the experience of emancipation itself, of being free from transmigration. Uh... Our practice should be so. In other words, one step in order to reach the other shore, the one step is identical with the goal of the other shore, which is called the other shore. If you ignore the one step, you can't reach. So within the one step, there is completeness, the full essence of completeness. This is our practice. Uh...

[15:38]

Uh... Uh... Dogen Zen says, the Gyoji is not something done by one's comparing force and another's. Uh... Our practice is not something done by one's comparing force and another's.

[16:45]

Uh... this is very important point. The Dhamma Lakshana school in Buddhism divides the function of cognition into four. One is Asobung. Asobung is a mental phenomena, mental phenomena, which is the image of object which appears within the consciousness. This is Asobung. Uh...

[17:52]

In Buddhism, we don't accept the object which exists, which is regarded as a substance, as a substance. Uh... In usual sense, Uh... We think that there exists something in front of you, and then we can see it. But in Buddhism, we don't say that. Uh...

[18:55]

First of all, we have mental phenomena, first of all, mental phenomena. For instance, here is Bob. Here is Bob. I see the Bob. Usual sense, usual sense, Bob exists before I see Bob. This is common sense. This is the usual way of understanding. Bob exists, Bob is here, in front of me. Then I recognize he is Bob. But in Buddhism, we don't say that. First of all, we have image of the object which is called Bob within the consciousness first. The image of the object which appears, which appears within the consciousness is first important point.

[20:09]

And then, this image of the object projects into the Bob. So this Bob is sort of a temporary tentative being, which is created by image of object which appears within my consciousness. Then, I see the Bob, and then we understand who is Bob. Yes, Bob. Yes, I understand who is Bob. Then from my viewpoint, I understand, I try to understand who is Bob. And then I explain who is Bob, what is Bob, what kind of personality he has, and so on.

[21:17]

So sometimes my understanding is out of the questions, out of true nature of Bob himself. I always focus on Bob in order to explain who is Bob, always. But this arrow, it is pretty hard to hit the right mark, which is called Bob itself. Always I miss, I miss, my arrow is always miss. Going in the wrong direction. But my mind, the image of object which appears within my consciousness tries to hit the mark, which is called true Bob.

[22:28]

But this mark, this arrow, this effort is always miss. Something, there is something miss. Because when you see the Bob, this guy describes who is Bob in different viewpoint from me. So you, first of all, have image of object which appears within your consciousness first, and then your image, the image of object which appears within your consciousness, see the Bob. That's why you have different viewpoint, different criticism from me. In common sense, you say the Bob exists first, and then I can see the Bob.

[23:36]

I can describe who is Bob. If so, even though there are hundred people, all hundred people should see the Bob properly without different viewpoint. But why the hundred people have their own different viewpoint with each others? Because each has the image of the object which appears within his consciousness first, then it makes you project into the object. It is called Bob. But this Bob, what you can see is not true Bob.

[24:40]

This Bob what you can see is the image of the object which appears within your consciousness. This is Buddhistic way of understanding. It's funny, isn't it? Is this called illusion? Yeah. It is called Makyo and so on. So I can see the Bob, this Bob is Makyo. Nobody can the true Bob. Nobody can see the true Bob. Don't worry about it. Even though how many hundred people criticize you, nobody can see the true yourself. So only you, only you know the true yourself, what you are. This is Buddhistic way of understanding.

[25:46]

Then, Sobhan. The Dharma Lakshana, as called, divides the function of the cognition into four. First is Sobhan, the image, mental phenomena, which means the image of the object which appears within the consciousness. First of all, we have image, sort of image. Then second is Khenpung. It is Khenpung, referred to discriminating such phenomena. Such phenomena. In other words, the function of consciousness, which perceives, which perceives the first, the first things,

[26:51]

first state, Sobhan, the image of object, which appears within your consciousness. This is called Khenpung. So, first of all, I create, I create the image of the object, which appears within my consciousness, which is called Bob. Then, next, I can see, oh, he is Bob, he is Bob. Then I try to criticize him. Oh, he is not so good. Oh, he is so-so. He is a good student, a good spirit, a Zen Buddhist, and so on. This is Khenpung. This is Khenpung. The second stage. And third one is Jishobun.

[27:54]

Jishobun is the self of itself. Jishobun is the power that discriminates. The power. Jishobun is the power which discriminates. In other words, the function of the consciousness, which collaborates the workings of Khenpung, Khenpung. This Jishobun is a very interesting category, a conception. For instance, as mentioned before, if you sleep,

[29:00]

if you try to go to bed and to sleep, start to sleep. As you sleep completely, you don't know. You don't know what you are doing. You don't know you are sleeping, what you are sleeping. In other words, you know what your body is. You explain your body, consisting of such and such, consisting of head and two arms, two feet, stomach, and so on, many organs.

[30:00]

And then you say, you think that we can't handle, we can't handle our body. We can't handle our body by ourselves. But strictly speaking, you cannot handle completely your body by yourself. For instance, you cannot lift your body by yourself. I can lift your body, but I cannot lift my own body. I cannot lift my own body by myself. When you sleep, you cannot know, there is no way, there is no way what you are doing. At that time, you show the power with this cleanliness.

[31:17]

And this is the third point. The fourth point is SHO-JI-SHO-BUN. It is the proof or assurance of that power. Which means the function of the consciousness which collaborates the workings of the SHO-BUN. So, sometimes you ask, you ask, who, dear, who approved, who approved me, who approved you to enlighten, to practice the Zen, to do something good, to make right effort. Who approved, who is approval?

[32:52]

So, when you sleep, the Zen master says, when you sleep, you should just sleep, you should just sleep. This is true. But what makes you sleep? Strictly speaking, you try to seek, you try to research the state of sleeping. What makes you sleep? Zen master says, just sleep, when you sleep. Yes, this is true. Why can't we sleep? What makes me sleep? Think this is, it is very natural that we should make such a question.

[33:58]

What makes me sleep? The question you make, what makes me sleep, means that there is something, there is something which compels you to sleep, compels you to sleep, moment after moment. I think it is, it is called shoji, shobun, in other words, it is the, it is the causal relations. Causal relations of time and occasion and so on, according to the Dogon's understanding.

[35:08]

The time and occasion make you sleep, make you sleep, strictly speaking. Now, who realized, who realized this time and occasion? Who realized? Who collaborates the fourth stage, which is called shoji, shobun, in other words, the time and occasion which makes you sleep? The third stage, only the third stage collaborates the fourth stage. The shoji, shobun, in other words, time and relation, the causal relation and time and occasion which makes you sleep.

[36:29]

It looks like a relation between the mother and the child. A child always makes a complaint, a child always annoys his mother with a foolish complaint, please give me candy, give me candy. The mother says, no, no, no, I don't want to give you candy because candy make your teeth bad, I don't want, but children want candy and cookies, lots of cookies. A child always annoys his mother with a foolish complaint. That time mother refers to shoji, shobun, the first stage, the causal relation, time and occasion which makes you sleep.

[37:51]

The mother knows so well what happens if you eat, if you eat lots of candy and cookies. So mother sometimes pay no attention to him, just let him cry sometimes. Just let him cry, just let him give up the time and occasion which make him cry, make him cry. And also this time and occasion is not so helpful for the child, because child himself must aware himself through his practice, through his practice.

[39:15]

Through the crying, through the hungry, through the hunger, hungry. Time is, time and occasion for the child is just going on, just going on. But if the child continues to annoy the mother with foolish complaints recklessly at random for a long time, sometimes time and occasion give a big blow sometimes. Nevertheless, if and unless the child awakes himself, how foolish that complaint is.

[40:45]

He cannot understand himself and also he cannot understand what make me complain, what make me annoyed, what make him annoyed his mother with foolish complaint. All he has to do is to awake himself through crying, through making foolish complaint. Thank you. Thank you.

[42:33]

Thank you. Through the dynamic activities, just to sleep for instance, just to sleep. Through the just to sleep, through the experience of just sleeping, this dynamic activity is what make you sleep.

[43:43]

Who prove, who prove you to attain enlightenment, to do Zazen? Strictly speaking, time and occasion make you do Zazen, make you do Zazen. What time and occasion? You can't explain what time and occasion. Of course you can explain with intellectual sense, but actually it's pretty hard to explain what make you do Zazen. Strictly speaking, time and occasion make you do Zazen. Yes, I understand. But what is time and occasion? What make you do Zazen? In other words, who prove, who prove me to do Zazen?

[44:57]

You say, time and occasion prove me to do Zazen. Then I ask you, what's time and occasion? But you don't explain, you cannot explain what it is. That's why the fourth stage shows disopen, the function of the consciousness which collaborates the workings of the third stage, disopen. The third stage should know, should know fourth stage shows disopen. So do Zazen, know what you are doing.

[46:03]

Just sleep knows completely what you are doing. In other words, just sleep collaborates what you are doing. Philosophically speaking, I think time and occasion, causal relation of time and occasion collaborates what you are doing. But actually, how can you believe? In other words, what time, what is time and occasion? Practically speaking, there is nothing but to say that just do Zazen collaborates what you are doing. That's all.

[47:11]

So from this point, your Zazen is not done by yourself, your compelling force. Your Zazen is done by the causal relation of time and occasion. It is a huge expanse of universe. It is called Buddha, it is called Buddha. So Dogenzin says, our practice is not something done by one's compelling force and another's. This is the true meaning of our practice which is called Gyoji.

[48:35]

Thank you.

[48:50]

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