Good evening. So happy to be talking to you, being with you, sharing practice with you tonight. Yeah. Well, I want to start the way I always do, by thanking and acknowledging my late teacher, the old Buddha of the East Bay, Sojamal Weissman Roshi. And to say that this talk is just to encourage you in your practice. I would also like to thank Artanto, Linda Gallion, for inviting me. This talk follows on from a talk I gave three weeks ago. However, if you weren't here three weeks ago, don't worry about it. Not important at all. What if we made it our practice here at Tassajara to achieve levitation?

[01:10]

If we were all practicing, we're going to levitate, okay? And we're going to direct all our energy, all our communal resources... towards the effort of learning to levitate. Okay? Yeah. And you might think, that sounds a little silly. I don't know if I... Do I want to make that my practice? I don't know. I mean, gravity is pretty relentless, I feel. They say it's one of the strong forces of the universe. Pretty consistent, as far as I know. My experience, gravity, pretty reliable. Why would I do that? Seems like absurd, futile, and a tremendous waste of effort.

[02:13]

Yeah. Well, if you think that, I agree with you. And yet... It occurs to me that many, many people spend a whole lot of time, maybe most of their time, trying to either grasp or push away whatever it is they're experiencing at this moment. Oh, I want more of that. Oh, no, I don't want that. Just all the time. Me too. Definitely, including yours truly. We do it a lot. Maybe you could even say we do it as a practice. Sometimes you can make it your practice. But the thing is, it's not only futile, it is literally impossible.

[03:23]

It's impossible. You can no more grasp or push away your current experience than you can levitate. It can't be done. But we try and try and try. And we convince ourselves and each other. We give each other lots of reinforcement. strange kind of effort. This talk is called The Taproot of Soto Zen. And I've been talking about suchness or thusness. It's not a concept. It's not a thing. It's something that's difficult to talk about. not definable it's not quantifiable I have it on good authority namely the Tanto tells me that pretty soon we will be chanting again the song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi Hokkyo Zamai back in the Zendo

[04:58]

the Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi starts out, the teaching of thusness has been intimately communicated by Buddhists and ancestors. Now you have it, so keep it well. What is this teaching of thusness? And speaking of taproot, this Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi, famous Zen poem, is attributed to Chinese Tang Dynasty Zen teacher, Dunshan, Dunshan Liangzhu, Cave Mountain Good Servant. Now, Dunshan and his disciple, Saoshan, is where we get Soto in Soto Zen. Did y'all know that? Some of you knew it. So the to in soto is tozan in Japanese for dungshan.

[06:09]

And the so is zaoshan, sozan in Japanese. Why isn't it toso? Because soto sounds better, actually. That's why. Really, zaoshan is not so famous. Dungshan Yes. Dungshan. Here he is. You can't see this very well. This is the record of Dungshan. The only English translation that I'm aware of by William Powell. Yeah. In Japanese, it starts out, the teaching of the Dharma. The Dharma is Dharma. Nyoze is thusness. So in sutras they say thus have I heard, they start out Nyoze. And this character Nyo also shows up in Nyorai, which means Tathagada, thus come one.

[07:24]

Nyorai is the calligraphy on the cover of Zen Mind Beginner's Mind. This calligraphy was made by Suzuki Roshi here at Tassahara. When he picked up a dead yucca leaf, he said, that could be a calligraphy brush. Dipped it in ink. I'm sure he experimented a little bit first. That's what you see. on the cover of Zen Mind Beginner's Mind. Nyo Rai, Thus Come One. Speaking of the Thus Come One, I'd like to share one of my favorite Zen stories of all time. I was unsure whether to call it a koan or not, because...

[08:29]

I understand koans are stories that have been collected into koan collections. And I didn't think it was in any koan collection. Actually, it's in Dogen Zenji's koan collection. Did you know that? Ehei Dogen made his own koan collection. Just 301 of his favorite stories. This story is about the sixth ancestor in China, Huynang, sometimes called the Chinese Buddha, and his disciple, Nanyue Huairang. And the very first time they met. This story is so alive for me. I can just picture it so well in my mind's eye.

[09:29]

First time they ever met. Young man, new monk in the monastery, coming in for Dokasan the first time, private interview with the teacher, comes into the room, doesn't say anything, hasn't had a chance to say anything. And Wei Nung says, what is it that thus comes? That's a pretty heavy thing. Lay on somebody on your first encounter. What is it that thus comes? Nanue was speechless. I can just picture it. I can't. I can't even. Turns around and walks out. Okay, I'm out. That's it. None of that is in the story, but it's kind of how I picture it. He didn't say anything.

[10:33]

He just walks out. The story is related by Dogen in actually one of his essays in Shobo Genzo. Dogen says, Nanyue studied this lump of mud all inclusively for eight years. That's right. Eight years, he didn't go back and talk to Hoi Nong again. Stayed in the monastery, and I'm sure he had many different work practice positions, probably a guest cook, maybe worked in the stone office, cabin crew, I don't know. Story doesn't say. After eight years, Dogen says, he then presented the move to Hoi Nong. This is a phrase from the game of Go, by the way. He made this move, presented a move to Huynang. I understand now. When I first came here, you instructed me.

[11:34]

What is it that thus comes? Then Huynang said, how do you understand it? Nanyue said, speaking about it won't hit the mark. Huynang asks a really good question. Ueno says, does it rest on practice and realization? Or does it depend on practice and realization? And Nanyue said, yay, Nanyue! It's not that there's no practice and no realization, it's just that they cannot be divided. They can't be divided. They can't be separated. Another translation I like is they can't be defiled. It can't be defiled. Practice realization is just one thing, and it's not a thing.

[12:36]

This is the crux of our effort. It's not practice now and realization later. It's not that there's no practice in realization. It's just that they can't be divided. about it won't hit the mark, said Nanyue. And in the Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi, Dongshan says, just to depict it in literary form is to stain it with defilement. And yet here we are. Here I am. Blah, blah, blah. Well, it's a Dharma talk.

[13:41]

I guess talking should happen. I'm just trying to share some of my appreciation for this practice. Last Sunday I went for a walk And I walked up the Tony Trail to the top, to the gap, where the willow fire stopped. And I looked down on the Burns car. I went by myself. It was very pleasant. I think it's pretty important. for people to be able to be by themselves sometimes in the wilderness, in the woods, in a natural setting, from time to time.

[14:56]

Just like every single period of zazen, It's an opportunity to kind of let this settle. Kind of let it come down into here. Being by myself, I wasn't talking to anybody. hear a lot of this going on, just like some of us experience in zazen. I know that may not be relatable at all. But also just like zazen, an opportunity to just let it chill.

[16:07]

That's when I had the thought, not only is it a waste of my effort to keep trying to grasp or push away whatever my experience is, that it's actually impossible. It cannot be done. It can't be divided. It can't be defiled. I looked out across the Burns car. I don't know how many acres it is, but it's a lot. A lot of black and gray ash and black sticks. But I'd say black

[17:23]

mile down there. I'm not very good at estimating distances. It was ways off. Smack in the middle of the burn scar. It was this gigantic yucca in full bloom. Like that. That's why I could see it. There was nothing else. You see him around here, just like six feet, eight feet tall. Just life. Life showing up. What is it that thus comes? The last, no, second to last line of the Song of the Jewel Mirror of Samadhi, Dungshan says, practice secretly, working within, like a fool, like an idiot.

[18:41]

What I take from this is, don't worry about it. Each of us is unique and each of us is fully expressing Buddha Dharma. No need to compare our practice to somebody else's or compare our practice to an idea of what practice ought to be. Do your best. Just show up. Show up for your community. Show up for whatever state of mind it is. I like it. I don't like it. Show up for it. That's all. I'm wondering if anyone here is familiar with Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band.

[20:07]

No? It's a really old, old school West Coast funk. That one big hit, which you might know. Maybe you don't know the name of the band, but maybe you know this song, Express Yourself. Press yourself. Whatever you do, do it good. Whatever you do, do it good. And then Charles Wright presents this move. He says, or rather he sings, it's not What you look like when you're doing what you're doing. It's what you're doing when you're doing what you look like you're doing.

[21:12]

Express yourself. Okay? It's not what you look like when you're doing what you're doing. It's what you're doing when you're doing what you look like you're doing. That's deep. Don't worry about it. there isn't anything special for you to achieve. Just stop trying to fight gravity. Surrender and rest. Yes, I am still preaching the Dharma of rest. in case you were wondering. Rest in this quality of life where just this is enough.

[22:16]

Nothing else to seek for. Just this. Nyose. I feel that this is such an intimate community right now. Such a remarkable time to be in Tassajara. I feel there's no need for Q&A. We're so close. If there's any questions, I'll see you at breakfast. Or we can have practice discussion. Go for a walk. Whatever you like. I think I'm done now. And I thank you all very much for your attention.

[23:20]

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