Good morning. Case 4 of the Book of Serenity. The World Honored One points to the ground. As soon as a single mod of dust rises, the whole earth is contained therein. With a single horse and a single lance, the land is extended. Who is this person who can be master in any place and meet the source in everything? Listen. As the World Honored One was walking with the congregation, he pointed to the ground with his finger and said, This spot is good to build a sanctuary. Indra, emperor of the gods, took a blade of grass, stuck it in the ground and said, The sanctuary is built. The world-honored one smiled.

[01:16]

So yesterday I started talking about the preliminary steps that we take before receiving the Bodhisattva precepts. The first step is the vow. I vow to live for the benefit of all beings. And the second step is confession and repentance. I avow all my ancient twisted karma, all the harm done by me through greed, hate, and delusion. So today I want to start talking about the 16 precepts themselves. And I'm going to do that through the end of this session and also next session until we get them all done. The first three of the sixteen bodhisattva precepts are the refuges. They are also known as the triple treasure, the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.

[02:19]

Taking refuge in the triple treasure World round is considered how you become an official Buddhist. It's really all you need to do. I take refuge in Buddha as the perfect teacher. I take refuge in Dharma as the perfect teaching. I take refuge in Sangha as the perfect life. So I think these are very powerful words. I feel that when we chat them, you know, here in our perfect life at Zen Mountain Monastery. And although I'm sure we all have unique feelings about what these words mean, I think it's helpful to turn them over and try to deepen our understanding of how these words affect our practice and our community life.

[03:24]

What do they mean? What is Buddha? So long ago, Buddha, the perfect teacher, set in motion the wheel of the law. And I imagine there was a moment in time, a moment when there was just perfect stillness. Kind of reminded me of shouting into a canyon. Hello? Wait. familiar voice to echo and reply. Hello? Which also reminded me of this very sweet experience I had quite a while ago now, maybe 10 or 15 years. I'd taken my daughter and some of her schoolmates on an overnight camping trip to a cabin in the north coast of California.

[04:31]

There were about six of us in the cabin, and a lot of them had never been away from home before or slept out on their own, so it took a while for them to go to sleep. Finally, they were all quiet, and I went to sleep. A couple of hours later, there was this kind of pitiful and muffled cry. Is anybody awake? Is anybody awake? And this little boy had somehow gotten himself turned upside down in his sleeping bag. And he couldn't figure out how to escape. Just imagine being upside down. Is anybody awake? I thought he had the most amazing composure given the circumstances. And yes, we are all awake now. So this is the cry into the silence. Hello? So the awakened one calls out, and then hopefully there's a response.

[05:39]

Someone responds. In the case of the Buddha, it was Kondana, the one who knows who responded. I hear you, and I understand you. I understand what you're saying. What a joyful moment that must have been for the Buddha. He wasn't alone. So, Kondana became the Buddha's first disciple, and he requested the full admission, saying, Lord Buddha, I wish to go forth under the Blessed One and to receive the full admission. And with that request, the triple treasure became manifest in our world, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Slanga of two treasures. At that moment, at that instant, the news traveled right up to the Brahma world, and this 10,000-fold world element shook and quaked and trembled, while a great measureless light, surpassing the splendor of the gods, appeared in the world.

[06:47]

So this request by Kondana to take refuge in the Buddha and in the Dharma was in the form of a call and response. very familiar form that we use in our community to this very day. Sometimes we call it question and answer or practice discussion or doksan. I looked up doksan and it means literally a private consultation. Well, that's what I've been doing, private consultation. People come in and they say, how are you? I'm like, well, I'm fine. the end. And how are you? Madhana said, Lord Buddha, I wish to go forth under the Blessed One. And Lord Buddha said, come Bikshu, your understanding of the Dharma is well proclaimed.

[07:53]

Live the holy life for the complete end of suffering. So I think it's obvious, but without the Buddha and his teaching and without the Sangha, we wouldn't be here. There would be no here, no us, and nothing to talk about. And I tried to imagine how my life might have been had I not taken refuge in the triple treasure, if there were no triple treasure, to receive my life, where all of us might have wandered off to. Taking refuge, Suzuki Roshi says, means that you adore the Buddha, you adore the Dharma, and you adore the Sangha, and that for you, taking refuge is an active adoration. So, you know, I think before you decide whether you adore the treasure or not, it would be good to think more about, what does it mean?

[08:56]

What does it mean? How do I feel? First there's the Buddha, which you know means to be awake. Are you a god? No. Are you a water spirit? No. Are you a demon? No. Are you a human? No. I am a Buddha. I am awake. It's a quality, not a person. So there are lots of things that have been said about Buddha. In fact, we use the word all the time. We chant it and we offer fragrance and light and food and tea. We dress like the Buddha. We try to act like the Buddha. And we study the words of the Buddhas and the ancestors as best we can. And it sounds kind of like adoration, all these things we do. At least it has the look of adoration. And yet in the Zen school, our understanding of Buddha is that Buddha means that you're taking refuge in who you truly are.

[10:12]

You are Buddha. And this word refuge means to fly back. In other words, to come back to your senses, come back to who you are, your true self, which is infinite, inexpressible, beyond our ability to imagine. So it's not something that we can change, or that we can destroy, or that we can transform by any kind of effort, personal effort of our own. There is no person. Buddha is not a person. It's a quality. Awake. And... even though I think it's kind of frustrating when we come to realize the truth of the matter about who we really are, which I think all of you have probably noticed by now. And the fact of the matter is that this truth about reality is that reality always wins.

[11:22]

And the shortest word that we use for this identity of who we really are is the word thus. There's also a few more words that Zen master Dongshan said as he crossed the river and saw his face reflected in the water. He said at the moment of his awakening, just this person. Reminded me of the story of Yunnan with the broom. Just this broom, just this flower, just this moon, just this moment is awakening. There's no other possibility. What other moment could you possibly have than this one? In the first case of the Book of Serenity, as a collection of koans that were written out in the 11th century,

[12:32]

We are given some clues about the Buddha, who the Buddha is or isn't, and where we might find him or her or it, as the case may be. So this is the case that I recited to you the first night of Sashin. One day the World Honored One ascended the seat. Manjushri struck the gavel and said, clearly observe the dharma of the king of the dharma. The dharma of the king of the dharma is thus. The world-honored one then got down from the seat. So for those of you who have not read this case, it goes on to ask us a few questions, the commentary of the case, about... what we might imagine a Buddha might be. First question is, how can a Buddha, meaning the whole of reality, bear to sit on a carved wood seat sporting devil eyes?

[13:40]

So, as it turns out, that's the seat I'm sitting on right now. The carved wood seat. I don't know about the devil eyes, I can't see them myself. Sometimes I hear things about my face. What's that eyebrow doing growing up? Really? My mother said I used to do that when I was little. What are you doing with my eyebrow? Just looking at you. Checking you out. Hard to open the seat. Well, I don't know about the devil eyes part, but I do know that it is a hot seat. Which is why I like the part about the Buddha then got down and hurried out the door as fast as her little legs could carry her.

[14:46]

It's just kind of mob control. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, there's a few books you might read about Zen in America and in the West and in Asia. one of them being shoes outside the door, one of them being Zen at war, and one of them being the red thread. We have to be careful of how we behave, how we treat one another, what we think, what we do, how we express our adoration of the triple treasure. So these exposés aren't just about scandal. They're about truth-telling. We need to tell the truth. It's the most important of all the precepts. And the dangers of sitting on the hot seat. I told my friends that when I write my memoirs, I'm going to call it Shoes Inside the Door.

[15:53]

And those shoes are going to be mine. Okagi-sama. So another question from case one, which turns the heat away from the teacher and on to the community. This one is, before you people come to this teaching hall, and before the teacher has left her room, when will you attain realization? What are you waiting for? You waiting for Easter, Christmas, Fourth of July, the end of guest season? When will it come for you? Is anybody awake? So I like these questions because it really reminds us we're all in it together.

[16:56]

It's not about me or you. It's about all of us, each one of us, finding our way together. Sangha. third of the triple treasures. There's also a very lovely verse that is written by Zen Master Wansong, who collected Hongjuan's, Hongjir's koans into a single book, Book of Serenity, and added his own verses and commentary. This was the one that Leslie recited in the dining room the other day. The unique breeze of reality, do you see? Continuously, creation runs her loom and shuttle, weaving the ancient brocade, incorporating the forms of spring. But nothing can be done about Mamjushri's leaking. So I think this verse connects the two truths. Underlying theme of our practice period is the two truths.

[18:01]

Can you see it? The unique breeze of reality? That would be the ultimate truth. the one you can't miss. You see it all the time. You are it. Continuously, creation runs her loom and shuttle, weaving the ancient brocade. So dependent co-arising, therein emptiness of all dependently co-arising phenomena. Empty of inherent existence. My cup is empty. And then we say, ah, spring. This is the conventional designation. Such a tiny expression for such a magnificent arrival. Every tree is bursting. New buds, leaves, flowers.

[19:08]

Everywhere you look. Ah, spring. Finger pointing at the moon. So this is the layer that we put on top of the ancient brocade, independent core rising. So that we can understand it, we can talk about it, we can point to it, we can be clever about it. We give it a name, Spray. It's something so easy that we even teach our children how to do it. And then on top of all of that, Manjushri, points at what appears to be a person sitting on the carved wooden seat. Clearly observe the dharma of the king of the dharma. The dharma of the king of the dharma is thus. As though he could actually point at the Buddha, at reality itself. Thus. Which is when one song, with a kind of feigned exasperation, says, nothing can be done.

[20:16]

about Manjushri's leaking. And that's right. That's really true. Nothing can be done. We have to point and talk and gesture and try to understand what's going on here. We have to explain it. We have to explain reality. We have to explain birth and death. We have to explain love. All of that, right? Don't we? Or do we? Do we have to explain so much? Isn't it obvious? So that reminded me of another Leonard Cohen song that I was listening to as I was driving down here after my last departure and return from the city. And this one, you know, I can't remember the tunes. I'm sorry, I just have the lyrics. It goes something like, it's a little bit like the En Mejiku Kanong Yov. Seven times he says, I can't forget, [...] I can't forget.

[21:21]

but I can't remember what. Then he sings the same thing again. I can't forget, I can't forget, and so on. And then he says, but I can't remember who. So I thought, well, that's really familiar, you know. I have the feelings still, but I can't remember what or who. I don't know if that's enlightenment or old age. Probably both, or neither. So these are all classic Zen koans from the Book of Serenity, these questions. I think the koans, the more I listen in on these koans and read the koans, I think they're really there for the teacher's amusement. I've always thought of the Book of Serenity as the Book of Anxiety. Really? What? Is the flag waving? Is your mind waving? Show me your mind.

[22:23]

Who's kidding? Who? Like, what is this? We all just scratch our heads and try really hard and squeeze our minds as hard as we can and then they hit the bell and you're out of there. Bring in another one. So here's another good example. Case 37 from the Book of Serenity. Guishan's active consciousness, to prove my point. Driving away the plowman's ox... pulling its nose around, taking away a hungry man's food, holding his throat tight. Is there anyone who can administer the poison? Here's the case. Guishan asked Yangshan, if someone suddenly said, all sentient beings just have active consciousness, boundless and unclear, with no fundamental to rely on, how would you prove it in experience? Yangshan said, if a monk comes, I call her. Hey you. If the monk turns her head, I say, What is it?

[23:28]

If she hesitates, I say, Not only is their active consciousness boundless and unclear, they have no fundamental to rely on. Guishant says, Good. Very good. So, As enjoyable as koans might be, for the teachers anyway, I think most of us aren't as amused by the questions we have to ask, the serious questions that we bring. Certainly don't feel that it's funny, the questions you ask about your lives. Very moving and very deep. And you're not kidding. You have questions here at the monastery, things like, you know, important questions. Should I ordain? What would that mean to my life? How will I make a living if I do something like that? Who's my teacher? How do I know? Will anyone ever love me? Why am I so angry all the time?

[24:36]

These are real koans from the heart. So nothing can be done about Manjushri's licking Because the bodhisattva of wisdom is trying to help us. He hears our cries, as does Kuan Yin. Cries of the world. And they want to help us. And they don't know how. Even the Buddha didn't really know how. He tried many different things. If there was just one way to help us, he would have done it. Just zap. All better. Doesn't work that way. So the best Manjushri could do was to point at a seated figure that looked like a Buddha. And, you know, maybe the Buddha can help you. Why don't you ask him? Clearly observed, the dharma of the king of the dharma is thus. And yet every time Manjushri points, the Buddha gets down, gets off the seat, vanishes.

[25:39]

And that's because any time we place the Buddha outside of ourselves, we are lost. We will never find the Buddha looking away from who we are. Being Buddha means to be awake. It means to be unattached to your ideas about Buddha. Your ideas about anything. Whether you think you're rotten or whether you think you're fabulous, it doesn't matter. Being unattached to those ideas is Buddha. And ironically, being a person who has those ideas is a prerequisite for becoming Buddha. If you don't have ideas like that, there's no practice. There's no way to discover what Buddha is. Buddha is being unattached to your thoughts about anything. So step number one is this very mind is Buddha.

[26:47]

Amazing. This very mind, the one you have right now, is Buddha. That's a teaching from the Buddha to you, to your mind. You are Buddha. Step two is no mind, no Buddha. Very quiet. Silence. And waiting for the echo. But in either case, imagining that you can run away from who you really are is simply delusion. And what kind of a delusion? It's the delusion of running away from who you really are. So seeing that is called insight. Insight. Show me your mind.

[27:51]

Show yourself your mind. What's it doing? Taking refuge in Buddha is to return to who you are, including all of your delusions. Taking refuge in the truth of reality and the truth of human life is not one and it's not two. something Rep says in his book, Being Upright, about taking refuge, struck me as important to remember, so I'm going to read it. Trusting that you are Buddha does not mean that you identify with being Buddha. It's not something special about you that makes you Buddha. It's simply that you, being you, is Buddha. And it's not that you are so virtuous that you're Buddha, but that you, being you, is virtue. To take refuge in Buddha means to give up running away from yourself.

[28:56]

It means to recognize your responsibility to live in accord with your own Buddhahood. In other words, to assume that you are Buddha and then to act like it. I noticed one day that Greg had a sign on his door that said, what would Mal do? And I thought, maybe it should say, what would Greg do? What would Hakusho do? What would Kim do? And Jeff? Each of you, what would you do? This all puts signs on our doors with our name. Because that's the most important question. What are you going to do? You're Buddha. Now act like it. Goodbye kitchen. I know what they're doing. So the second of the Triple Treasure is called Taking Refuge in the Dharma.

[30:04]

And the Dharma is what the Buddha taught. So I want to read you a passage from the lovely Pali Khan. This is something the Buddha said at the time of his death. Ananda, I think you all know, Ananda was his cousin and his attendant for his entire teaching career. So Ananda heard all of the teaching. And the beginning of each sutra, it has this little sentence, thus have I heard, and that's Ananda speaking. Thus have I heard, the Buddha said. So whenever you read thus have I heard, you're hearing Ananda's voice. Ananda, you may think the word of the teacher is a thing of the past. Now we have no more teacher. But you should not regard it so. The Dharma and the discipline taught by me are your teacher after I'm gone. The law I have taught has no secret version. There is no teacher's closed fist about the good things. Now I am old, Ananda.

[31:07]

My years have turned eighty. Just as an old cart is made to carry on with the help of makeshifts, so too, it seems to me, the blessed one's body is made to carry on with the help of makeshifts. For the blessed one's body is only at ease when with non-attention to all signs and with cessation of certain kinds of feelings. He enters upon and dwells in the signless heart deliverance. So, Ananda, each of you should make of yourself an island with no other refuge. Each of you should make the law their island and no other refuge. Either now or when I'm gone, it is those, whoever they may be, who make themselves and the law their islands and no other refuge who will be the foremost among my disciples. Of those, that is, who want to train. How could it be, Ananda, that what is born, come into being, formed and bound to fall, should not fall?

[32:09]

That is not possible. Then the Blessed One addressed the bhikshus thus. Indeed, bhikshus, I declare this to you. It is in the nature of all formations to dissolve. Attain perfection through diligence. This was the perfect one's last utterance. So it's a very important part of our understanding that the teaching is the Buddha, not the person. And therefore the teaching has carried on and is continuing on up until this very day. And I think it's somewhat fortunate for us that we don't bear the burden of deifying the Buddha, although we get a little close sometimes with our ritual apparatus. And we have to be careful and to really be sure that we're just showing our gratitude to the ancestors and that our gratitude includes our willingness to carry this teaching through our own lives.

[33:23]

And I thought of the image of the honey ants. I don't know if any of you have seen honey ants, but they have these giant abdomens, a bit like the beautiful abdomen on the arm right now. And their abdomens are full of honey. And they hang from the ceilings and providing nourishment for the nest of ants. Amazing. Wonderful. Which is, you know, I like it as an image of All of us, you know, we're called vessels of the Dharma. There are big atoms full of the teaching. Our swollen hearts dedicated to the triple treasure. So then the last one, or second last, of the triple treasure is what is the Dharma? This is a very good question, and there's both a very long and a very short answer, so I'm going to give you the very short answer.

[34:24]

As in the Prajnaparamita literature, there are two extreme versions. There's one version that's 100,000 lines long, and there's another version that is the letter A. All of that is the target. Because Dharma basically means the truth. What is the truth? And the truth is what each of us must find out for ourselves. And then we will have to live within the circle of light of our own understanding as best we can. As far as our eye of practice can reach, the eye of practice is called the Shilbo Ginzo, treasury of the true Dharma eye. the last of the three treasures is the Sangha and I think we just have to look around to see what that is all about and how grateful we possibly could be to have each other and to do this practice together it's just very greatest gift I can imagine so thank you all

[35:36]

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