Puritsu Suzuki is the son of Shunryu Suzuki, founder of San Francisco Zen Center, and is currently the abbot of Rinsoen Temple in Yaizu, Shizuoka in Japan, and also Tanto, practice leader at Heiheiji Temple Training Monastery. So he will be speaking today, and he's assistant Reverend Kiyonagi, also from Heiheiji, will be providing translation. So thank you, and please give your attention to Suzuki Rokshi. Good morning.

[01:10]

Good morning. It was a lot of驚き, and I had a lot of pride in the U.S. in the United States. We arrived to the United States, San Francisco, on the 25th of August, and we spent five days

[02:28]

in the city. We had so many surprising events. One of them is the symposium for two days. So many people were so eagerly and seriously talking about the current situation of the Zen Buddhism in the United States and the future of the Zen. It was So moving, I was touched and I was surprised and I was touched by their great effort on what I saw during the symposium. It's been 40 years ago, but you still have the name of鈴木春流.

[03:37]

And鈴木春流's teaching, and you still have to keep it in the past. My father and teacher passed away 30 years ago. But all of you are still remembering his name and doing what he told to do. And you taking refuge to what he presented. This is also... Very surprising.

[04:56]

There was a birthday party for me. I became 70 years old. And there was a surprising big party yesterday at the city center. It was also my surprise. I got another surprise this morning on the way from city of San Francisco to come to here.

[05:59]

Barbara Wenger, the wife of Reverend Dairyu, Michael Wenger, gave a ride to us between San Francisco to here. But on the way, she got tired. Her tires flat. She got flat tires. I'm very surprised. The car stopped. She pulled her car and... The right next car coming behind us stopped right away. 30 seconds. 30 seconds. It was surprising.

[07:02]

They rescued us to bring to here. He was a very nice person. With two young boys. Four of us were suddenly making a kind of blocking on the way. Two boys were more surprised again. There are so many surprises in our life. Fortunately, we could make it by 10 to 10 here.

[08:21]

And we were able to be ready for this lecture. About 10, 10 o'clock. He was a very nice driver. He was a very nice driver. It was very nice to me. It was a good thing that happened. It was a good thing. [...]

[09:23]

It was a good thing. It was a good thing. It was a good thing. Getting the flat tire was an unexpected matter, unexpected happening, which was not desirable. non-desire, indesirable, undesirable. Sorry. We have so many things happening in our life unexpectedly. This morning, we got a flat tire, which was we did not expect, and this desirable.

[10:32]

But those who saw us in trouble was a person who was interested in Buddha's teaching, who knew about Gringosch. So he kindly extended his helping hand to us. It was a very great good And another good happening was that two young boys were looking at his father, helping other people. That was another good happening. There is many undesirable things happening in our life, but this one undesirable thing turn out to become two or more good events, good happening.

[11:38]

Doguen禅師 said the cause and the effect is appearing here without it being hidden nothing. If we look at this living with care and with a warm heart, then we can see how apparent the cause and effect are appearing, manifesting themselves.

[12:58]

The most typical is this wild nature. surrounding us, which manifest themselves without being hidden. Cause and effect, that's typical cause and effect. It's all one of them.

[14:27]

Dogenzenji appreciated this wild, great nature as one of himself. You may know the famous poem by Dogenzenji, haiku or waka poem by Dogenzenji, which goes, spring has cherry blossom, summer has cuckoo singing, Autumn has the moon. Winter has cold snow, which is refreshing and refreshing us. For Dogen Zenji, I think without the disappreciation of this wild great nature, I think Dogen Zenji's teaching was not accomplished in that way.

[15:59]

Behind the teaching of Dogenzenji, there is a great appreciation toward the wild nature. The poem I just introduced, spring has cherry blossom, summer has cuckoo, singing, autumn has moon, and winter has cold, This poem is titled as Original Face.

[17:07]

Original Face means the original form of this nature. 道元禅寺は永平寺へ来てから I was in Kyoto from A-H-H-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H-E-H This poem was presented when he went to Kamakura capital, far away from Eiji.

[18:25]

He was residing in... deep in the mountain, but he was ordered or he was asked to come down to the capital of Kamakura to meet the contemporary prime minister at the time. Then he presented this poem to the people. I mean, he made this poem. It's a place where you can go. You can go.

[19:31]

. [...] When he met the prime minister of Kamakura government, he talked to him, like, give away your power. Don't cling to your power. And to all other people, he presented the message

[20:32]

Keep yourself away from the power, fame, and attachment toward the materials. And go to the place, quiet place. That's the message by this poem. 道玄禅師の和歌の中にですね峰の色谷の響きも見ながら我が釈迦の声と姿峰に咲く花の色ももみしの色も 谷川を流れる川の音も風の音も全てが仏打の声である私の心の叫びであるというふうに歌っておられる

[22:01]

Another famous poem by Dogen Zenji goes like this. As you may know, and as you may know better translation of this poem, let me try with my vocabulary. The color of the mountain, color of the, color of the hill, color of the mountain, the sound of the valley, that's Shakyamuni Buddha is preaching to us.

[23:08]

Duke Genzenji was thinking that all this great nature, all the universe, he always thought it is living, alive living. living life. And he appreciated every one, every each thing around and in his life. I'm going to use it.

[24:22]

I'm going to use it. Mi, ima da wale ni arasu. Sa ra ni iずれのところ ni ka, Ich konjin o tasneu, U shi deありますが,この意味は,山の中の、山の中の人というものは,本当に山を愛する人である. This is my body.

[25:27]

This is my body. I have no [...] body. I also would like to introduce another poem which I like.

[26:35]

This was in the form of the Chinese a way of poem, which is called ,, which goes like this. The mountain person is the person who loved the mountain. Everywhere you go, he thinks he is the mountain. His body is mountain. He's one with the mountain. But he never think the mountain is his. He doesn't think. He owns the mountain. There is nothing more than mountain he forgot about himself.

[27:39]

There is no There is nothing else but mountain. No more than that. No him. We went to the mountain, Tassahara. Deep in the mountain, there were few human beings. Mountain.

[29:13]

was mountain embracing that small number of human beings, where human beings were using the mountain, which I can't tell. Guruji was there too. I was honored to be able to sit there at Tassahara. 山中の人というは山を愛すべき人なり。

[30:36]

And just then I felt the air that I exhale now is that of the mountain. And I returned the air back to the mountain, which maybe melted into the rock in the mountain. I was feeling when I was sitting there. And remember, couldn't help but Remember this poem, the mountain person is those who love the mountain. Wherever he goes, he thinks he is the mountain. So and so. We are all together. ゆったりと呼吸をするとき私から私にくっついているすべてのものが自然に落ちていく吸う息とともに吐く息とともに私が誰であるとか何者であるとか

[32:13]

So I say no more than I am. And the most simple, [...] simple. plus the legs, and when we make the posture immovable, and breathe. While breathing, I think many things which have been attached to me, one by one, dropped off.

[33:27]

Who am I? How am I? All those things are dropped off, one by one. And becoming the simplest being. When you become the simplest being, the time you are the mountain person. The most simple, the most simple, the most simple, the most simple,

[34:59]

When you become the simplest being, then that's when we are able to say we are one with heaven and earth. one with this whole universe. Carrying something with you, then it may be hard to become one with the universe. Very hard, I think. When you become the simplest being, then this universe, or whole nature, heaven and earth, will accept us.

[36:08]

This country, America, especially this area, Bay Area, having Tassahara, Green Gouch. This is the most, this is the best place to practice Zazen. I think there are many people. But so many people are interested in going to Japan to practice zazen.

[37:31]

There's a word, short word, For a short phrase, one step, one step is the jazen hall. One step, one step is the practice hall. There's a phrase like that. Wherever you go, if you cultivate your mind there, and with warm feeling to look at the things around, It becomes the practice hall everywhere you go. I am very grateful. I'm not sure how to teach people.

[38:36]

I'm not sure how to teach people. [...] I am now living in the Eheiji and with so many young training priests I everyday sit Zazen And I am so grateful about this. I am originally not the person like teaching something to others or educate somebody, something like that.

[39:48]

I am not that kind of person. But living together with them and touching The beginning mind of the young training priest is very, very joyful. I really enjoy to be with them and sit with them and myself having back the beginning mind that is very happy. I'm really enjoying the life of A.H.

[41:00]

The young training priests are also grown in this modern culture, modern society. So it is just like there's nothing too different from those in America. They are grown in this very convenient and civilized world. So when I started living together with them, I felt a little bit gap with them. And felt like, are they really Japanese?

[42:05]

I thought what the Japanese should be. Or maybe they may look like an alien from the space or something like that. That much, I was not able to really be one with them. I was not able to do it. Yes, but meanwhile we lived together for a while and I found they are not different. I may be able to be called alien too. I don't know.

[43:31]

This is a gentle heart and a gentle heart. This is the gospel of道元禅寺 and仏陀 of禅. So those aliens, each other, sit side by side and regulating posture, regulating the breathing, and do the Zen. To exhale,

[44:40]

up to exhale and inhale between each breathing, having a soft and warm heart. This is the Zazen of Dogenzenji. This may be the Zazen of Shukamuni Buddha. That's what I thought.

[45:46]

That's what I thought. [...] That's why I'm not a good person. I don't know if it was when I was in the age of the age, but I don't know if I was in the age of [...] the age.

[47:15]

That's what I'm saying. Talking about Japan, in Japan there are maybe fewer practitioners of Zazen. Not so many people as in this country, not so many people in Japan doesn't practice Zazen. The reason I think is why they don't practice Zazen is because

[48:20]

So many people think that Zazen is to train yourself or discipline yourself to make yourself a better being or stronger or better being, something like that. But people don't like that. The life of Zazen is a very harsh, severe training. The more severe, the better you can be. This kind of idea. So people did not accept this way of thinking so much. So they tried to keep away from Zazen. They don't like to practice Zazen so much. But this was really wrongly taken.

[49:23]

This idea about Zazen was really wrong, I think. I don't know when this kind of wrong mistake was made, but I think it is wrong. Zazen is, when you sit in the form of Zazen, at the moment, Zazen is completed. There is no need to think to become better or to do better. When you sit in this form of Zazen, then that is a completion of Zazen. You are already in the goal. You place your body in the peace, already peace in the mind. That's what it is.

[50:59]

This is our goal. We want to go there. [...] But he told me, he said,

[52:25]

Shakyamuni Buddha was looking at the people he thought the suffering I am feeling is this [...] commonly they feel suffering so in order to make the suffering to end to put the end, to seize the suffering, and give the comfort to them. Shakyamuni Buddha taught the way, taught the way how to. And that it was handed down toward Dogen, through Dogen Zenji, and it is the way of the Zen.

[53:37]

Shazen is being in the peace of mind, peace of heart, being in the stable, safe, safeness of life. And they say, it's good. You do this. No more. We have so many greed. I want to do this. I want to have that. I want to go there. I want to go here. I want to come back here. Therefore, we have so many sufferings. Shakyamuni Buddha was, I think, saying, please don't move anymore.

[54:49]

Don't want anymore. And sit quietly. Don't move more. I came from Japan and I added a little bit of air pollution. I'm sorry. Sorry.

[55:35]

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