This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at www.sfcc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Good morning. This morning during our full moon ceremony, I was struck... again strongly about how many of our precepts have to do with the karma of speech. And each time we recited them and recited the short commentary by Dogen, I saw over and over again the and the attention that's been paid to these actions of speech by our teachers, by the Buddhas and ancestors for our benefit out of compassion.

[01:17]

And all practice period long we've been looking at speech and the karma of speech and very, very practical kinds of things. Things we can really look at in our own patterns and notice and bring attention, shine the light of our own mindfulness and attention and see what happens. And find a way to meet many, many situations. And how difficult it is to practice these precepts and observe them year after year after year after year. And as Suzuki Roshi says, just to sit, this is how we practice the precepts. So when we sit, what precept is being not observed?

[02:25]

So our sitting and our precept life and our wisdom and compassion are all supporting one another. So much so that supporting in such a degree and dependent on each other in such a degree that you can't really say that they're separate. So during the sesheen I've not wanted to take up the practices that we've been talking about all practice period. But look at silence and look at maybe the what can't be said. What's unable to be spoken about and yet we have to speak. Diego the guest student manager

[03:34]

the work leader pointed out something to me which I didn't know, and I wanted to let maybe you know, but our big bell downstairs, the dencho, has, I think it's embossed in the bronze, or in the metal, certain characters on the front, there's like four or five characters, and on the back, and the translation of that poem is right next to the bell, and On the front, the part that we see the characters mean, speech can move heaven and earth. And around the back, the characters are, a cry can stop mountain, the mountain or a town. So this is on the dencho, on our bell. And that bell, you know, the sound of the bell as speech is, as expression, as communication speaks to us.

[04:37]

It conveys the meaning. What does it say? It says, you know, come to the zendo. Come home. Take refuge. Come sit. Come practice with sangha. Come participate in a ceremony to renew your precepts or celebrate precepts, come to the Dharma Talk. That bell is speech, and it says, the poem is, it can move heaven and earth. And I think you might say, well, no, speech can't move heaven and earth, but we have been moved by speech. Our world has turned upside down. by words and expression in all forms, whether it's wordless or words, whatever kind of speech it is, we are moved and changed and transformed.

[05:52]

And as Dogen says in the kind speech vesicle, the last line, kind speech can turn the destiny of a nation It also reminded me of the poem, For Whom the Bell Tolls, which is, you know, that last line, never send to know for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee. The death of someone, the suffering of someone is our suffering, is not separate someone over there. the bell tolls for us and our loss and our pain. And that second line, the cry, can stop a mountain or a town. And what it reminded me actually of is this reproduction of a painting that I have hanging in the rooms that I occupy

[07:01]

And the painting is called The Song of the Lark, Song of a Lark. And it belonged to Steve Stuckey, Abbott Steve Stuckey. And it was offered to me after he died, if I wanted it, by his wife, Lane. And it's a painting that I've always loved. It's a reproduction, you know, so it's just like any reproduction. It doesn't carry the aliveness of it. of the painting. However, some of you might know the painting. It's by Jules Breton, 1884, Song of the Lark, and it's a young woman, probably a peasant woman. She's barefoot, and she has on a kind of work dress with a big apron, and she's carrying in her hand a I think, or some kind of, maybe scythe is too big, a small, curved farm implement.

[08:05]

And she's in the fields, and the sun is rising, and she's standing stock still. And way off in the distance, you see these birds. They're very faint, and the name is Song of the Lark. And I pictured this dawn of the lark, this long, beautiful, and she stopped, you know, she was just stopped in her tracks in the middle of her work, struck by this sound. Cry can stop mountain or a town. And we are struck, you know, by beauty and music and sounds, smells, tastes, and touchables, you know, we are stopped right still if we're open and ready and there and present.

[09:10]

This particular painting, this is kind of a side note, saved the life of the, as I just found out this morning, of the comedian Bill Murray, who, writes about doing a stand-up, doing some kind of routine, and it did not go over well, and he was really, really downcast and upset, and thinking of doing himself in. He was in Chicago, and he thought, well, I'll go down to the lake, and maybe cast myself into the lake and float around for a while. Anyway, he decided to go to the Chicago Art Institute, and he came up, the original of Song of the Lark. And he looked at that young girl who's like standing there, stuck still, and he thought, you know, a new day will come. The sun is rising, the Song of the Lark. I can go on, you know. So he credits that painting with kind of saving his life, which is another kind of cry that can stop mountains or a town.

[10:24]

to be struck by that, transformed. So when you hear the bell, what is that speech that you're hearing? There was a poem by Dogen's teacher, Ru Jing, which is a very famous poem about a wind bell and what the wind bell communicates. And it's the wind bell, it's really about our practice as if we were wind bells or like a wind bell. And when Dogen read this poem, he was also struck, you know, and... He did a hundred prostrations after he read this poem by his teacher.

[11:26]

And then in his discussion and conversation with Ru Jing about it, he clarified parts of it. But Ru Jing said, many people have appreciated this poem, but you have really understood it. And Dogen communicated that understanding, expressed that understanding with a hundred prostrations. Just... bow after bow after bow. And the poem is, this is Shohaku Okamura's translation. There's different translations, but this one is, the whole body like a mouth hanging in empty space, not questioning the winds from east, west, north, or south, equally with all of them speaking Prajna, wisdom. Ding-ding, ting-a-ling, ding-dong, ding-dong. That's the poem.

[12:31]

And I imagine that ding-dong, ting-a-ling is on a amount of poetic bell sounds. I don't know what it is in Chinese, what those sounds were that are expressed in that poem. So the whole body, this is us. like a wind bell, hanging. And those of you who have wind bells, a wind bell will hang and it will respond, whatever direction the wind comes from, and respond by making it sound. And that's what Ru Jing is saying about us. Whole body, like a mouth, whole body becoming that organ of Communication and speech and response and expression. Whole body like a mouth hanging in empty space. Hanging, or this is also translated as hanging in emptiness.

[13:34]

That's us. Our whole body is just in emptiness. Responding. Not caring where the wind comes from. and for what, and with whom, and how we'll be responding. Whatever the wind, wherever it comes from. We don't question. We just turn and respond. Hear and respond. This is an image for wisdom, for our practice of wisdom and compassion, I would say. Not questioning. Oh, how come they're asking for help? I don't want to help them, and I'm going to help them. Or respond to, just responding. Whole body like a mouth, hanging in empty space. Not questioning the wind's direction, nor east, west, nor south, it doesn't matter.

[14:36]

Equally with all. Speaking of prajna. And then that sound. Ding, ding, tingling, bong. bong we just hung the big old bancho at Green Gulch in the new bell tower and the sound has space around it now it was in a tree for many years a little bit hidden and now it's on the front in the front empty space lawn and it sounds and you can hear it if you're up hiking you can hear the bell stopping the mountain or the town of Muir Beach or any town. So whether it's tingling or bong, whatever the form, the sound of response takes, it doesn't question. And each of us has our unique, completely unique way to express ourselves.

[15:46]

Last night during Zazen, for those of you who were there, I told the, it's the third koan in the Book of Serenity, and it's an East Indian Raja invites the ancestor Prajnatara. And Prajnatara, and we chant Prajnatara in our list of Buddhas and ancestors. In Japanese, han-nya-tara dai-yo-sho, bodhai-daruma dai-yo-sho. So han-nya, just like the han-nya shingyo, is Japanese for prajna, wisdom. And prajna-tara means jewel of wisdom. And prajna-tara was the 27th ancestor. Bodhidharma was his disciple. Prajna-tara was Bodhidharma's teacher. And there's... You know, the stories are... It's hard to know what's legend, but it doesn't matter.

[17:03]

These are teaching stories that have truth, that ring out prajna. So in the story, the East Indian Raja invites Prajnatara to a feast. And in these feasts or at these meals, when Raja, when someone was invited, usually what the Buddha's disciples would do would be recite scripture or give teachings, chant the teachings of the Buddha. There was a kind of exchange. A meal was provided and teaching was given. It's a kind of standard way to come together when you're offering a meal, you receive Dharma, and the merit of your offering comes back in the form of hearing the teaching. So, Prashnatara was invited to the feast, it says a feast, but he didn't recite any scriptures or give any teachings.

[18:14]

And so, the Raja said to him, how is it that you're not chanting scripture? And Prajnatara said, this poor wayfarer, he's a mendicant monk, this poor wayfarer does not dwell in body and mind when breathing in, does not get involved in myriad circumstances when breathing out I reiterate this scripture, hundreds, thousands, millions, I always reiterate this scripture, hundreds, thousands, millions of scrolls. So this was Prajnatara's response to how come you're not giving me any words of the teaching?

[19:20]

And he did respond in words, but his scripture, his teaching is, and this is a meditation instruction, I don't dwell in body and mind and get very all caught up in karmic formations, let's say, when breathing in, nor do I get involved in the myriad circumstances, everything that's going on. out amongst the folks and in the objects of mine. I don't get involved when breathing out and this breathing in, just breathing in, breathing out, just breathing out, breathing in, meditation instruction, I know I am breathing in, breathing out, I know I am breathing out. unifying our body, breath, and mind into one suchness, not getting involved, not dwelling, staying with, breathing in and breathing out.

[20:34]

So this was Prashnatara's response to the king. And this story has been passed down for us, for our practice. and thinking of our breath itself as precious scripture. And the scriptures were written on scrolls, palm leaves, that were sewn together. And that stitch was suture, like a suture, which is sutra, comes from the sewing together of these pieces of palm leaves. into long scrolls that could be rolled and carried. So this stitching the ancient scrolls with our breath, with our in breath and out breath as scripture, we're scripted, we script with our breath.

[21:40]

And the script is fresh, you know, each breath. So Prajnatara was thought of as a bodhisattva who had manifested, he was quite unusual fellow. So what is it that can't be spoken? And we've heard that the meaning is not in the words, yet it responds to the inquiring impulse. We've heard that it's not in the words itself, but the words are pointing. This was one of the first stories from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, where the words are pointing to the moon.

[22:49]

And don't get involved with the finger that's pointing. Look to the moon. And I remember thinking, I don't understand, I don't get it, I don't get it. The words are important. And the words are important. How we express ourselves. Words, speech can move heaven and earth. And yet, and I came upon this, which I, this is a kind of mystery. This is from the Book of Serenity commentary. The Hawaiian school says, inner reality is complete. Words are partial. When words are born, inner reality is lost. This is mystery upon mystery, ever more wondrous. Integration and harmonious communion the impartial, non-leaking bloodline.

[23:51]

I've been turning this, I haven't wanted to say it out loud to you, because I'm still turning it, but I just had to. In reality, it's complete, words are partial, and then when you say the words, do you break, you know, or muddy, Or this says reality is lost. And yet, we have to say something. And I wanted to tell you or share with you some stories about you have to say something. Speak, speak. Integration and harmonious communion between the words and the wordless, what we can express and what is unable to express. unremitting, unnameable Buddha Dharma. The impartial, non-leaking bloodline.

[25:04]

I was talking about leaking and outflows and Manjushri leaking by pointing. Pointing, clearly observe. Pointing at thus-ness which you point at something which the finger itself is it what are you pointing to inner reality is complete words are partial and yet out of compassion even though it's a non-leaking bloodline and bloodline here I think is I understand that as our precept lineage one circle of one circulatory system of Buddhas and ancestors, Buddhas and sentient beings. In truth, non-leaking bloodline family. So Dogen has a fascicle called, in Japanese, dōtoku.

[26:10]

And in English it's been translated as expression or voicing the way. And the dō... means to speak, and the toku means to be able to. So to be able to speak, to be able to say something. Or Tanashi-san translates it as expression. This fully expression, fully expressing ourselves. And the do also can mean the way, so that's why I think this do, that means to speak, is also the way. But in this context, it's about speaking, but it's also the path or the way. So voicing the way, being able to express the dao or the way. Do. Being able to say something. We're called upon to say something. So dotoku, this term is used in different places.

[27:16]

It wasn't a coin term. Dogen does coin various, puts words together to make a particular Dogen way of expressing something, but this is in the literature pre-Dogen. And it comes up with the wonderful teacher, Leiman Pong. Leiman Pong was a student of Sekito Kisen and Matsu, he lived during that time. whatever that was, 800s, 900s, China. And he was, he made the decision not to become an ordained practitioner, but to remain as a layperson. And that was his choice. And he lived, you probably know a little bit about him, with his wife, Madam Pang, and his daughter. Ling Jiao, Acharya, who we mention.

[28:20]

And he made bamboo implements and sold them on the streets for his work. But he had been rather wealthy and decided at a certain point, I think after his awakening, to take all of his worldly possessions and bring them out to the middle of the lake and sink the boat. I never knew whether Madame Pong was happy about that or not, and Ling Zhao. But anyway, I think they probably were. They were all enlightened, the whole family. So there's lots of wonderful stories about Lei Wen Pong. And this one, he was visited by a person who was studying with him, a man by the name of Bao Bai Ling. So one day Bao Ling said to Lei Wen Pong, Whether you can speak or not, and this is this dotoku, whether you can, dotoku has, be able to speak, whether you can dotoku, whether you can speak or not, you can't escape.

[29:30]

What is it you cannot escape? This is this question, whether you can speak or not, whether you say something or you don't say something, you can't escape. You can't escape from the non-leaking bloodline. You can't escape from the reality of how we exist. You can't somehow get away. You are it. You can't escape. Whether you can speak or not, you can't escape. What is it you can't not escape? And Laman Pong blinked his eyes, which is reminiscent of the story of the Buddha holding up a flower and blinking. You know, and his disciple Makakasho Makashapya smiling. And that transmission story between us, so Lemanpang blinked.

[30:35]

And Bao Ling said, outstanding. He liked that expression. And Laman Pang said, you mistakenly approve of me. And Ba Ling said, who doesn't, who doesn't? And then Laman Pang said, take care of yourself. And he left. This is the story, and then there's a follow-up story, which I want to... relate to you in a moment, but I'll just say it again. One day, Bao Ling said to Layman Pang, whether you can speak of it or not, whether you can do toku or can't do toku, you can't escape. What is it you can't escape? And the Layman blinked. And Bao Ling said, outstanding.

[31:37]

And Layman Pang said, you mistakenly approve of me. And Ba Ling said, who doesn't approve, who doesn't approve? And Laman Pong said, take care of yourself, and hightailed out of there. He didn't stick around for more praise, you know. Ooh, tell me more, how wonderful I am, and outstanding. So this was asking him to express himself, to speak, the ability to speak, the ability to express, not just himself, but to express that which can't be expressed. that words don't touch, words don't reach, that we can't say it, but we have to say it. We have to say something. So the follow-up story, Baoling, it's also with Baoling, he was one day in his quarters and Leiman Pang came up to him and said, excuse me, Laman Pang came into the quarters, just entered the room.

[32:43]

And Bao Ling said, men of today speak, men of the past spoke, what do you speak? And Laman Pang slapped him across the face. And Bao Ling said, you cannot avoid speaking, you have to say something. And this may be where Karagiri Roshi got the title for his book. You know, his one book was Return to Silence, and his other book was You Have to Say Something. I think it may have come from this story. So, men of today speak, men of the past spoke, or people of today, but this is how it's translated. People of today speak, people of the past spoke. What do you speak? And Leman Pong. hit him, slapped him, expressed himself that way. And Bao Ling said, you cannot avoid speaking.

[33:49]

You have to say something. And then Lehmann Pang said, speak, speak, and there will be a fault. And Bao Ling said, pay me back for that slap. And Lehmann Pang said, try giving me a slap. Come closer. M. Bao Ling said, take care of yourself, and he left. So those two stories are kind of like bookends. They had a relationship, these practitioners, you know, that built on, you know, these expressions and actions supported one another to express the Dharma, to dōtoku, to fully express. And, you know, when Laman Pong blinked or slapped, you know, was he trying to avoid Dōtoku and expressing?

[34:52]

He was just fully expressing himself, but Ba Ling comes back and says, you can't avoid it, you have to speak. Just like the Buddha had to teach, even though at the beginning of, after the Buddha's enlightenment, he... Wasn't sure he was going to, but he was encouraged. You have to do toku, you have to express the way. You have to voice the way. How come? Out of compassion. This is one way that beings can be met even though you can't say everything. And there will be a fault. You know, Lehmann Pan says, there will be a fault. If you speak, there will be a fault. Already there's leaking. Already the inner reality is lost. And it's only partial.

[35:54]

Right now. But still, we give it a try. You know. Suzuki Roshi calls this tongueless speech. And the... what he says about, not a Dharma talk, but Tesho. Tesho's another name for giving a Dharma talk, which is speaking about what cannot be spoken of. Tongueless speech. It's different than a kind of a class, academic kind of rendering of the teaching. It's just an expression, a shout. Tongueless speech. And someone might say, but wait a minute. If you're gonna speak, then you've gotta have What do you mean? But this is, this is Prajna language for saying what cannot be said. And this loving relationship, you know, where he says, pay me back.

[36:55]

You gave me a slap, so you owe me for that one. And pay me back for that. And Laman, Kong saying, come closer, you know, and his friend saying, well, take care of yourself, and slipping out, which of course echoes taking care of yourself from the day before, whenever it was the last time they brought up this speaking. Thank you, Kitchen. So we have to say something and we also have to be silent at times. Those speaking and silence are expressions, expressions of the non-leaking bloodline.

[38:02]

And I would say ultimately there is no leaking because it's It's complete. But until we understand that it feels like leaking, looks like leaking. So how are we going to fully express ourselves? And we can only express as far as our practice eye can see. We can't express more than that or it's just as they say in one of the koans, drinking the dregs, you know. It's just somebody else's words. So in giving a Dharma talk, one has to be, I have to be very careful of not expressing or trying to express something way beyond what I have a feel for, or an experience of, or a sense of.

[39:07]

And at the same time, to challenge myself to say what's never been said. So I often in lecture I feel that I feel of two body minds about asking for questions. One is I want whatever has been presented to percolate and turn and for not that you need to remember it, but whatever way that you were met by the words or the stories or the images, to let that be. That's one side. And the other is, what questions might you have to clarify something that's confusing or don't understand or what comment that you have?

[40:12]

And in Sashin in particular, sometimes my sense is to let things remain in silence, let the words just hang in empty space in the silence. And I also am wrestling with all these other things and bring up and have you... But too much is too much, right? Too many stories is too rich a meal, you know, it's too much. So I will ask if anyone has any questions. If I was Sleiman Pong, I might say, speak, speak.

[41:38]

No, that's fine. That's fine to just silently absorb whatever you're absorbing. So breathing in, this poor wayfarer does not dwell in body and mind when breathing in. does not get involved with myriad circumstances when breathing out. I reiterate, I always reiterate this scripture, hundreds, thousands, millions of scrolls. And what becomes, what gets in the way of that meditation instruction or that sazan instruction might be You can check this out. Discursive thinking, which does get involved and does dwell and does kind of block the gathering of the mind.

[42:48]

And discursive means digressing from subject to subject, leaping around, subject to subject, without any order. This is discursive kind of. and wandering, meandering, rambling, and being diffuse. This is all discursive thinking. There's not a problem with thinking. We're not trying to get rid of thinking. We're trying to gather that function, that full function of body-mind into one suchness. And what helps and works with this discursive thinking that's leaping from subject to subject and meandering, wandering, diffuse, rambling is paying attention to a non-conceptual object.

[43:53]

A non-conceptual object is something like posture or breath. this will support the giving up, the letting go of the discursive thinking, that rambling, the rambling rose, meandering, ooh, let's think about this and this and this and this, coming back to this poor wayfarer does not dwell in body and mind, discursively thinking about all that internal stuff. does not get involved in myriad circumstances, leaping from subject to subject, elaborating, following trains, breathing in, breathing out. I know I'm breathing in. I know I'm breathing out. That simple will help us.

[44:56]

And that practice itself, practice, you know, we say, Practice realization is naturally undefiled. Practice realization, the practice is not practicing in order to get something at the end. The realization at the end of something, the practice itself is the full dotoku, expressing the way, voicing the way, expressing really. Doesn't need a voice voice, it needs full expression. So let's return to the Zendo and practice together and find this full expression right on our cushion. Thank you very much. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center.

[46:01]

Our Dharma talks are offered at no cost and this is made possible by the donations we receive. Your financial support helps us to continue to offer the Dharma. For more information, visit sfcc.org and click giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[46:21]

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