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The clouds have ited, and the vallys that had. been ‘covered with mistean now beseen cleat, The snow that had covered the peas, preventing them from being seen clea, 5s gone, an thei forms ae revealed. The clouds have dsappeared, and the whole landscape is rewaled exactly as It "When the cloud depers, the inside of the cave brightens” During the winter, the mountains were completely hidden under the snow. But vith the water days of sping, the snow melts and the shapes of the mountains sre again reveled, The completely white world in which everything is covered with snow isa word ‘of complete equal, of everthing as one Inthe winter scenery wecan know thisjoy Butwhen the sow melt all ewe. The ‘mountains complexion is again evident, Before, everything had been one layer of white; now each mountaln can be seen individually to have te own shape, and we can enjoy that senery fly ‘Those clouds that had been covering the lines ofthe valley are burnt away by the morning suns rays. The detas of the scenery are clare, and we again feel the freshness, Even though we are looking at the same scenery, appears few, and we can receive with 2 great freshnes, The ocean of clouds that had covered the valley res, and the mountains” strong lines” are fevealed, Everything is fresh Because the natural scenery constantly bom anew and fresh, we never te of. We have to empty our minds at times, not caning around 30 many thoughts, ‘or we become very heavy and confused Emplying our md and not hoiding on to anything at al, we embrace a new way of feeling, anew way of looking at things and thinking about them. 1 we don't make ths efor, then the clouds of ‘grumbling and csstsfaction come we lose the frestnes and there Is no end to the misunderstanding Zazen allows us to dear out the clouds fand snows of misunderstanding and be revitalized, We cant go slack our effort todo th.And all the grasses, trees, and forests send forth new shoots Somuoku enrin kotogotoku ho hasu iN Ph ae DEG “This pase spat ofa couplet Field fe cannot burn them all completely away, ‘And. all the grasses, tees, and forests send forth new shoots 160 In Nara there's «field thats set on fie annual. In days ast, this field of the Wakalusa Mountaln was fought over by the monks from the temples af Kafuke and Toda and othe Kasuga sine, Both Temples hadmany monks, andsorve were \warors, The fighting became so severe that finally a wise person set fire to the field between the temples and sald that the fre’ path would mark the boundary, ‘The monks from both temples agreed to this ‘Though there's no conflict today, the ttadivon of butning the field continues find fr something everyone enjoys. ft Keeps the mountain green, since burning thepast years died grasses makes teaser for the new ones to sprout In adtion, the resting ashes provide nutrition for the new spring growth For these reaso%s, a butning of the fields, the rice pais, and thelr small connecting paths is longstanding traction, In hature the old grasses are renewed in this way, and the resulting ‘ren sprouts inspire our hope (Our bodies as ell are always being revitalized and shed. Hakuin Zen, im his work known as Yasen Kanna (The Night Boat), wites that all living beings are ‘made from yin and yang; ths relationship i what composes all beings. Prior to that, there's a power and energy contained in usat bith that crculates thoughout our ‘organs. The argarselate to each othe, Working together The various kichannel, the keiraku, also bring life energy to all pats of our body. The nutrton fom the food we eats ying, and it combines with the yin and creates throughout our phystal body. ‘Thelungs area ynorgan and ate set above ‘ur diaphragen behind them we have the lve, which fa yang organ, Our heart the sun, and the kidneys are water. The inhaling breath goes fram the heat tothe lungs; the exhaling breath, from our iver to ur lange, Whenever we exhale, the K circulates througy all the keaku’ ducts, for three inches In exhaling and three inches in inhaling and inthis manner our breath is built. Our ki channels though the keiraku ity times a day and the fluids always seek to go davmward in our body. No matter what else we may need to do, ‘ur azen and our mind have to be cared for. We cant ignore our body and overuse itor its res wl bur toa hat. The mothe (the hngs) and theater the hear) take power from ths ki. Without they get ted, and other organs suffer when our body gets weak, the four tlement of our organs~eart, a ite and ‘water-lose thei balance, When we don't maintain this harmony, we can become I, One hundred sleknesses can aie fom this imbalance F we're not cael, No medicine can cure ths, no matter what tdctor we might cal We have to be correct in our efforts wwe force and push too hard, we sink and settle low, becoming. sick. and fxperiencing unhealthy symptoms. In days past the sage sad that we've got to keep our heart's ki fo. Then we wont be overwhelmed by hat and cold and the K will nat move eur bedy around and our blood circulation wil be regular There will be no need ta take ary medicines ut those whe havent learned th are abways Ina hurry ealsng thelr mind’ kito a high place. We have to make efforts, but we Furey we create pressure on out heat Soshl sald, "Those who are true persons, inorder to agn theif, should do twith thelr heels. For gathering the opinions of many people, doit fom the throat” In thisway Sos taught how kl isgathered in the tanden by abdominal breathing, and fur breath then comes out our heel “Another person of old said that for people tohavea true way of ling and being, the i should be put nto the tanden, Then me bring forth ligt. With this light, we wil know perfect balance and capability. To gather that ki wel, we must putin our Ball’ ful tautnes. Then, the warrh of dur quiet calm, deep ‘energy won't ‘overheat te lungs, because the Ki moving through the lungs and heart wont be verencted,And. all the grasses, tees, and forests send forth new shoots [All things are given lie by the same life energy. These words tell Us to cay this tnergy. Last years meadows are burned, fd the new grasses have turned the and Steen, from the ashes, new ie comes forth, Nature i aivays belng reborn. So are our bodies, as we exhale and inhale, putting K into the bely and thence into the whole boc. n that way we Erg our Kematuraly nt ul tautnes. Eventhough this traning can be dct, tt must be done, Without eetresting or giving up, we ‘an do fo the very finsh, People of old learned this and applied efforts to be able tollvein ths way. A single blossom opens and the world is in spring Ikka hiraite tenka no haru AED RE ‘These words tell ws that in one flowers blooming we can find the aval of spring ‘The Buddhe was bom among hundreds of flowers blooming at Lumbini, and his first words were, "in all the heavens and 61all the earth, ther is only One.” As @ human he expressed the greatest fignty of all fumane” truest mind, pratsing with these words while pointing Fisright ane! tothe ky ands left hand to the ground, Pointing to the sky, he taught that there f no god or heaven oF Buda to which we should be attached and worship. Ponting tothe ground, he indicated that there are no devils or other things by which we can be bound or that can make us suf. Nothing i: more full of chithan humans, and with this energy ‘mulitudesofpeoplecan lveharmoniousy. Tis huge mind finside each of us, and isto awaken to this wisdom that we have been bom as humans This what he sas wth the words, "In all the heavens and all the earth there i anly One” From his awakening by the banks of the Niruzen river, the Buddha taught humans the Truth continuously. That very Budcha had awakened at seeing the morning star and exclaimed, “How! wondrous! How wondrous! All Beings trom the origin are tendowed with this same bright ler mind to which Ihave just avakened, Only by boeing caught by attachments and dese do they net realize this!” He awakened to this trth, and then for forty-nine years he brought thisawatening toallbeings, spreading teveryahere and putting everyting he had Into reaching Al people and living and manifesting this truth. He taught everything in his suas, then finally he llently hed out anelower, and Kasho Sonja smiled spontaneously, The Buddha sad,“ havethe True Ohara Eye, the Marvelous Mind of Nivana, the Tue Form of the Formess and the Subtle Dharma Gate, independent of words and transmitted beyond! doctine, This have entrusted to Mahakashyapa.” At the age f eighty, on the fitenth of Febeuary, nthe shade of the sala re, he said, “I aught everyone I could and am finished now, end fr those that remain | let the kari affilaton with this trath” He taught the Dharma completly and Herat all who heard, and with this he Finished his ie. In the same way, all plants, as they give birth to flowers, find the meaning of their being aie in that exstence which Is present ne flower blooms and fe petals open; the results come forth naturally, We fist have to give birth to that flower, the greatest joy of ou Ife, AE one person's awakening there i the awakening ofall trees, grases, and flowers, s the Buddha had experienced with his own awakening He knew that was the awakening of all people and that therein isthe greatest joy Sf all humans, There Is nothing greater than this, and nothing missing Int. No soctal fame or production or ood fortune fr postesions or any education oF knowiedges as great a the joy of human Ite In awakening to our deepest mind “Then, with that awakened mind, we give birth to the awakening of as many people as possible, This i the greatest joy of all people. We alto can be born and ean dle Under the lowers, can finish tiie asthe Budha oid lease be one with this great nature; know that when the one flower blooms al ofthe words then in spring Fragrant, the lone plum by the valley stream Keibai ichi dan kanbasshi TE ig J TEN Wn the wey ne tng, ange Bargin bch cng oe a ead eet Mean Beane anda Met te ee pela ae, Se tae okal ae apeh retary hones pn wee 102biosoming in his own font yard Seeking spring fn this mountain and that valley, having walked around. looking teveryuhere, never could find i. With tied feet, a wilt |tetumed home, and there n the garden bythe front gate two. tor three blossoms were on the pm tee, realized tat | cin’t have to go looking far spring, twas already there, We can read this poem as one weleoring spring. We can aso see I asa description ‘of looking forthe Path or truth or even Tooking for the Buddha. The pl flower self ot spring, yet where the flower booms ands fragrant, without mistake we experience spring and the promised Tand. This promised land & not to be found somewhere in nda, In Chia, or at the eight-cight temples of plgrimage in Japan. Yeti our mind's seted, no mater where we are we can sit ule The, for the fist time we wal mest the ving Buddha Fragrant, the lone plum by the valley stream No matter where we go we can't find a ing Bua to gassho to. But we do razen unt we tealze the despst fmptines we can ind the tue Buddha ius asthe plom Ise not speng, the Satin that form we nd the bith tthe Biiddha, We most not fst dscover that but mate afm and determined vow to rele soon ete ing Buddha 9 its ie tow ours into the Buda and are embraced by we ae, 95 hua, the Buddha Dhara Huan, a they fre, are buddha, and chaning the burda’ name our vic cain to the Burda vtin vs, That the gash an the vay of zazen, Wen we repeat the Buddhas name the form of the Buddha Ismanested by humans the chanting of the Buddhas name ets calling ot nthe Fragrant, the lone plum by the vale stream The iron tree blossoms, the whole wide world is spring Tetsuju hana hiraku kogai no haru SEAS Dogen Zenji wrote in the Shobogenza about the most basic Koan of al “To study the way & to study the self To study the se isto forget the self“Toforgetthesefistobeenlightened byallthings To be enlightened by all things is to remave the barter between self and other ln this way he taught the most basic Buddha Dharma, Learning the Buddha's way isn't about graspng grand concepts fr mastering exotic philosophies. Ie not about contemplating the beginning ofthe univese or changing carers and farming more money. Nor it about being respected by others for following Some noble truth. To really learn the Buddhas way fs to meet and encounter the true you; there you wil discover the te Buddha, When a deep place i realzed directly, we know the source of the universe from our own experience Each and every person’ life energy and heath ae aligned in doing ths Knowing our true se srt about Understanding the commonly held idea ofa se. Our true sa not the modem Ide ofan ego and not some character oF personality that canbe mentally designe Nether iit some legal entity or erated persona When the Buddha sa, “inalltheheavens and inal ofthe earth there is only One,” thatwas umans"basic truth spoken just os tor knowedge or ie experience, but It Stl has the fl ight of the heavens and earth radiating through It Tis radance isthe timate roat ofall human beings and ther source. instead of allowing that Ite energy to become hardened Into an tego, we can be one vith society and with the heavens and earth, Being a one with Socety and the heavens and earth Is the truest base fr us and ou te energy, This is why the Buddha said to look nse cureelvesand take refuge there ratherthan looking for reluge in anything outside, This the self that sof the Dharma, The Buckdha also said, "Who sees me Sees the Dharma, and who sees the Dharma sees te.” This seis the Dharma, exact ‘Ancients calle this the usshin or Bussho, Buddha Nature or Buddha Mind. It was also called the grea-clearbight-ound= perfectmirorsmind, or was said to be Find as 1 I was also ceterted to as the Sif that is embracing all things, and Rizai Zen called it the tue person of ro tank which comes and goes through the openings of this physical body. Ths Is not something that ‘can be known conceptually but is that which perceives through al of our senses and apertures, Joshu used “mut to refer to this tue sl ‘which Is nota name, nora form, nor an Ability Hakuin Zen called tthe sound of fone hand lapping ‘Today modem philosophy cals t the absolute characterless sel to have fwatenessexperiencing-awareness 5 nother way ts put ut theres no need for dificult words here. We need to let 0 of the ideas of form, of being male oF {emale, old or young, ich oF poot, good cor bad. We have to let go of ail of thors fexpresions and of any idea of having for not having, We have to let go of any texplanation and become ite energy sek This tue self must at lest oncebse realized eal. (Our truest self snot something that has tobe analyzed, explained, and accounted for, i's nothing tke that; Ws completely separate from all of that. We have to awaken to our original true nature and {ary We have to let goof the modem flea ofan ego anda legal entity of» se, of all our hafdened concepts of who and ‘what and how we are To study the way Is to study the se Ta study the se isto forget the se Toforgetthe sefistobeenlightened byal things To be enlightened by all hings is to remove the barter between sh and other Humans in every situation have a difict time letting go ofthat ego, fe don't, ‘we can't realze that tue set that the Bncients talked about. We get caught on the outer layers ofthe kimono and cant see the true esserce undereath To study the self to forget the salt ‘The ancients sad that we must do this as we come an also as we go, al the time, never mising a Let, Al of the Paelachs "tuggled though this letting go of ones ‘own thoughts and ideas about things to se the trae energy and return to This is called the Grea Death Many negating words such as void and empl are used to describe tis. We don’t ‘want iothear about something that seems 50 negative; we want to lve in 2 world Of Joy and postive ideas. But this Mus not such 9 pin mu or energy. An iit ‘tence inside this me, ‘Toforgetthesetistobeenightened by allthings To be enlightened by all things to remove the barrier between so andother ‘Thisisto know the true selfand ga beyond any separation. Right thee, 3 huge, wide ‘pen tate af minisbomn, and tom there We tum to our gular awareness. Thisis ‘where the lowerbiooms onthe ron tee, But it we do not die totally fst, we can't realze this towering, jst 8 people have 4 hare time reaing ator they are not {wate of ther deisons fst [A the Niruzen Fiver, after being on the mountain for si yeats doing ascetic traning, the Busha ance again entered Zazen and|et goct everything. He entered the absolute slate of muy forgetting ‘everything that We have to enter this State of mind, or we ean know the tue ‘meaning of Buddhism. But that deepest darkness snot yet the furthest point. We let_go of everthing and come and go fron that deep, dk place. Then we know the timate state of mind rom which the Buddha saw the moming star and sid, "That's tl Tha’ tt That's mel" Hakan hear the moming bel inging and was suddenly awakened, The sarah of mi Can also be broken through by hearing the wind-the mu becomes the wind, and ‘we know that we ourselves have become that. Without an ego we realize the truest So That which fe not eur ego Becomes the tue Sl, and then we ean realize that everything & our te Sef. Only once we have forgotten our manufactured sel can web confirmed by all ofthe tenthousand things. Putsimply we swap an other for our sl This like a parent who always puts the needs ofthe child fist. The parent gives everything forthe child’ cultivation, 0 matter how miserable or city or painful Only by knowing tis tue self can ve be truly educated. In a single flower or one moment’ scenery we can realize this roe Sell IIs our duty to manifest thi and become it. Poets finds this true sf. the rain and wind and all growing things and wre about i Sales people find it in what they sel and trough the people they fneunter. Scents find truth in what they research-when forthe fst ime we find this tue self we see how the whole universe works, and this s what It means to realize Buddha To encounter that rue Salis to se everything become Buddha To forget the sl sto be enlightened by allthings ‘Tobeenightenedby allthingsistaremave the bari between self and other Thismeans that we know thatthe worlds who me are and that we are allaleady Hoerated harmony. This our most bas oan, in hich we ate all contmed by al others and we see that all of us are one great being, that tall me. People who are alive sll always de, and what laughs wil abvays cry, But all of it Is mu. When we experience the truth rect, we are aivays laughing wth this ‘world and with this trae emptiness. We then now mu completly If all day long we continue, whether we are coming oF going, then the ifn tree Gives forth a flower: Bom as. humanin this world, we can encounter. thi awakening of our true mind. We wil ee how wonderfulitsto be human and know that thi i the greatest good fortune, To realize ths drely isthe greatest thing we can do. This isnot the good fortune of a single generation. For all those to come, we now ths tre joy and ve bith to that true sel This the truth of the Buddha Dharma, The ton tre blossoms, the whe wide world is spring 4 (Koos OP EKOM The hundred flowers that come with spring - for whom do they bloom? Hyakka haru itatte ta ga tame ni ka hiraku FUCA Abate Setcho offered a poem forthe case about Seppo in the Blue Clif Recad known 35. *Seppo' Gian of Rice” Seppo says tothe assembly, “Pickup the whole great earth Inyour fingers, andi as big asa gran of fice. Throw down before your i ikea laequer bucket, you don't understand,beat the rum to cal everyone to look” Tiss the poem Setcho wrote ‘An ox ead disappears ‘Ahorse head emerges Inthe mirorof Soke absolutely no ust, He beats the drum for you to come Took, but you dont see When spring aries, for whom do the hundred flowers blaom?™ Seppo Gison Zeji (622.908 ad) lived fn Seppazan, or Seppo Mountain, asthe Abbot of the temple there, He had rained wih Tokusan Zenji,_fom whom he Fecelved transmission. Seppa took along time to become cutvated. As they sy, teat vesel te carved for lage tres, land large trees take a long time to grow. When he was young, Seppo went three alilerent times to train with Master Tost Zenj, an he was aso with Master Tozan, were he entered the assembly nine times, yet at nether of these places was he tly enlightened, He was so fstated ats slaves and thickness that he went fon a lengthy pilgrimage, offering merits at every opportunity to ad his great vow to breakthrough, no matter what. He cared alge rice paddle with him on this pilgrimage, and everywhere he went he ad the job of cooking rice, He would prepare the rce for as many as eight oF hinehuncredmonks, which snota simple task it truly was hard labor. There was time for zazen, but hed his work wth a ‘teat mind forthe possi of everyone’ awakening, Today the Seppo Quarters i ‘one ofthe names forthe kitchen, His older brother dicple Canto was a very advanced monk. One day Ganto and Kinzan and. Seppo were traveling Together, as they often di, 10. clanty thelr tra mind. Though he was younger than Seppo, Ganto had broken through tan ealy ages he was gute diferent in temperament from Seppo. Seppo did his teaming consistently and without ceasing bout couldn’ break through. Once when Seppo and Ganto were doing pilgrimage together, they were snowed in by a bzzars, Canto, since he could nat do any more traveling, rolled out hs futon and slept Seppo sat zazen al through the night, ‘warking 0 his tae of mind. Atmidhight, ‘when he saw that Seppa stil had not gone tosleep, Ganto sai “Why don you stop and gp to bed? Le dawn and get some Sleep” Seppo answered that he was nat yet'in the state of mind where he could Sleep that easy. Hs deepest mind was sila tangled mess, He tol Ganto that a5 tong as he ha that, even he lay down, he could not seep, GGanto arose and sal, "Now what I $0 sical? Tell me your state of mind” Seppo explained in detal, describing feverything he had been tough, “To this Ganto replied vigorously, “Look at what you sayingl The things of true ‘ale stent things that come in fom the cutside gael” When Seppo heard that, he abruptly Understood diecthy awakening deeply and. completely.” Spontaneously he prostated to Ganto, saying, “Today for the fist time | have hear the teaching.” He was so deeply impressed and moved that he shouted ut in a loud voce forthe fist time a the age of frty-ine While Seppo had been a. rather slow and dul monk, ence he did awaken, hs function was lke aballof igh, and those ‘who rained wth him knew hs power wel Mee and more people gathered around him, unt there were never fewer than a thousand training with him, Armang the forty or more great monks to whom he give birth were Unmon Bunne Zen, Gensho shibl Zen, Hofuk ten Zen Yosei Dogo Zenj, and Suiga Retan Zen. ‘Seppo Zen ofthis Seppo Mountain once said to the assembly gathered there, "Ths ‘wort, | ean pick it up in my fingers and it becomes ke a grain of ice in size. blew, and it-dsappeared somewhere. Pease tveryone, find and gather i up, ring the bal beat the drum and look frit” ‘Thiswhole univer, patito alitlepinch, becomes the size ofa grain of rice: this is what he sald, Ths I truly huge, beyond tcancet oF bragging. One wine doesn now may think that’s what iti, but talking about i useless. But this did't start with Seppo Zen. A similar story is found eater inthe Viola Ste The Ucchav!Vimalakiti_ replied, feverend Saripura, for the Tathagatat and the bodhsatvas, theresa iberation ‘alled "inconcehabl.” The bochisattva ‘who lives in the incancevable liberation an pat the king of mountain, Sumeru, which Is 50 hig, 50 great, So noble, and so vast, int a mustard seed. He an perform ths feat without enlarging the mustard seed and without shrinking Mount Sumer, And the dltes of the assembly of the four Maharajas and of the Trayastimsa heavens donot even know where they ae “only those bengs who are destined to be dlscplied by miracles see. and understand the putting. of Sumer, into the mustard Seed. That, reverend Sariputa, fan strance to the domain of the inconcehable lberation of the bodhisatvas” This Is how Vimalaitl tought, He sald that although the auddhas have satori and liberation, which are inconcevable Schlevements if Boehsattvas can realze thi liberation ofthe Buddhas, then Mount ‘Sumeru can be put info one mustard seed, wih this seed not seeming nattow or restive, and Mount Sumer ot being twisted of deformed ether. Al ‘of those Buddhas living there, a5 Is, on Mount Sumeru, ere as contained inthe smuslard seed Ths show i's writen, and Vioalakit wasntjust tein tales to make 8 point. Ourstate of mind kets. we Understand it wel, we know how clearly itis expressed hee For example, our eyes are nat so large, only: about three cenumetes in width Yer those three centimeters can take In the whole univer in'a glance. A huge ‘mountain, a great ocean, can ft into our smal eyes. How can such a great miracle happen? Ws pessble because there's world beyond size, beyond any lens, where theres only emptiness, Mu is not nothing,” buta place where everything that is can settle wth no conceved dea of good of bad, Its that huge If our ‘mind, our ie, our energy. (Oh! Great al embracing Mind! Ie Impossible to measure the height ofthe heavens, yet the Mind fs above the heavens. Te impossible to measure the thickness of the earth, yet the Mind is below the earth ‘Thesun and the moon shine with great radiance, yet the Mind is the source of that radiance ‘within the Mind, the four seasons open in ther sequence, ‘thin the Mind the sun and the [All ofthe ten thousand things exist ‘within the great Mind. (Oh! Great all embracing Mind! Our Mind holds the entre universe ‘There's no sense of narrowness, not even when awe encounter ‘ficulties, Wwe encounter them they don't confuse ts, ‘We resolve them with spaciousness and Simplicity, not with concepts but with our mind’ actuate hold on to our ego fver and over again we may face things. but we get smal and ae easly caught. Setcho sys, ‘An ox head disappears ‘horse head emerges Inthe mitarof Soke absolutely no dust He beats the drum for you to come look, but you dont see: when spring arrives, for whom do the hundred flowers bloom?” One after the next each thing appears and dsappeas. Everything comes In front of the miror and then disappear, infinitely ‘The Sth Patriarch, Sokei, offered this poem:“Theres no Bodhi tre, Nor stand of a mitor bight Since als void ‘Where can the dust alight? This bright miror for which there is no stand som the origin emp; ths mind Shows all happenings, wit no speck left bebind, The sun as well is only the Inind’s one moment of exercise, A the things ofthe world are only moment’ appearance in the miro, ths why We ‘at find where they went ut Zenis not nlc theres anything lke that remaining, then there are stil ‘utter and shadows in the universe, Our State of mind is pure from the origin, without one thing added or subtracted Inthe spring tthe hundred flowers, and inthe autumn, the bright moon. In the Surimer the cool Breeze biows andin the winter thee ls soo, so cold, white, and pure Inthe spring these flowers. bloom fenyuhere. For whom do they Bloor? ‘Tey bloom for no one; beyond sel and another theybloom Beyondsubjectand ‘object they bloom, They are ofthe world beyond division into tw, the mysterious world of the nal-two, For whom does the breeze of summer biow? For whom {does the auturn moon's beauty fate fd shine? For whom f the winters snow Spare and bright? I's not for ou rind fr to exist merely as phenomena in the wor. When the world and we become ‘ne, each and every phenomenon shines wath truth, and ths what all of us have to know with our true inner master. The realzation ofthis wath i the place where Wwe can add inno extra thoughts or ides, Sd this Zen, The ultimate great jy and happiness present, What could be mare Joyfulthan the creation ofthe heavens and arth, that pure blooming of phenomena Into the way ofthe word? B : Pressed by a rock, the bamboo grows at a slant [Hanging from a cliff, the flower grows upside down] Ishi oshite takanna naname ni ide [Kishi ni kakatt ite hana sakashima ni shozu] FER I A Grasses, even if they are weighted down by a rock, wil, of themselves, gue forth {anew sprout, A bamboo shoot, even if 1S beneath a tock, will push forth and break though a crac, 1 ‘becoming a new sprout reaching upward,a chrysanthemum seed has been topped on a rock wall twill sprout even IFithas to grow upside down, and when the time ght the plant wl bloom, These phrases ate from the Kolan Kokugo of Daifo Kokus In the Records of Rina itis writen that when Ojo was calling on Rinzai and they went to see the zendo, joj asked i tn the zendo there were monks reading sutras, Rnzal rep, "No they arenot reading any sutras.” DaitoKokushi brings up thiscase ancl ass, “Why did Rizal say that?” Answering he says, “A bamboo that has been pressed ‘down on by a rock without fall wl send 8 shoot right up through a crackin that rock" (One of Daito Kakashi monks asks hie about the next part of the exchange between ‘Ojo and Rinza “Ooi then asked, ‘Well then, are they doing zazen?” tnd Riza said "No they ate not doing az! Why die say that?" Dito Kokushi answer, “Hanging from a ifthe lower grows upside don.” What this means that we wl nly bring forth our truest and greatest energy when Wwe afe working against things, when ‘reumstances are against us. ve are safely harbored, f we ate confortable and protected, the real shoot won't bust forth Shima Akito asthe pen name of aman wo was condemned to be execited. HS briginal name was Nakamura Satome, He was bom on August 28, 1932, to ' poar family ving na pot vilage in Manchuria, where setters had. gane in ‘reat numbers Because the situation in China was so severe and. dificult, Akishito's family Felumedo japan. Butafter they were back in Kashivasal in Nigata, his mathe died of tubercles Having had tuberculosis himsel, he missed. school frequently, tnt hea the lowest graces in his lass land was shunned and ignored by other, He began roaming about, never going home and of course nat going to schoo The wandering, stealing, and shopliting continued, as he did what he needed to stay alve. He became a confused and Unstable youth He couldnt hold a job because he ‘wouln't do work he did fee ike doing Sand would argue with his boss and get fired. Without a job, he had no. way to ‘obtain the necesstes of diy fe In those ays, Japan was «poor country, and nearly everyone Ived in poverty, but he ‘was starving and miserable In 1959, om a rainy night, he was so hungry that he went to a big house in the small vilage. Thinking that no-one ‘was home, he snuck in the back gate Sand pleked a purse out ofa drawer inthe Ketenen, In twas two thousand yen, a hhuge amount of money at the time. The ‘woman who ved thete suddenly came back and was astounded at finding him in the house. He was shocked by het aval and ‘panicked. Without even knowing ‘hat he was doing, he grabbed a cleaver and slaughtered er He as caught, tried, found gully, and sentenced tobe execited. Whilehe wasin prison, the chaplains and the quads ted to edhcate him, but he had no Interest and expressed great gief about his birth, ‘wishing never to have been bom. He ‘ced out that people had ignored him and hated himy and now he was to be fexecuted, This was his e's unlucky Tate, and he wished he had never been bor, He ied about that constantly, But the Chaplain Kept tling him that there must have been one happy thing in hi Me, he must have one memory that wasnt aifcul, But he couldn't remember a thing that was happy in his whole te He was moved to Matsuyama prison, where he had access to books. There he read essays by Kako Ken, a wellknown writer, nthe book tiled The Emperors New Clothes, he read about an autistic child who had never been able to speak and thus drew pictures to tel what was inhis heart When he read that essay, he remembered that when he was in junior high school, fis art teacher, Yoshida Kodo, ha tod him that even though his pletufes were unsklful they had excellent Eompastion, He had had an innate ability to. work creatively, without copying others. His teacher had encouraged him ashe drew, and Fe remembered that and Wanted so much to tak to her again that he wrote and asad her to send a picture by her students, She responded with 3 cating letter, endosing a picture and & photo as well as three poms. Here he fencountered tanks poetry for the fist time In those the Brit poems he et 9s i his hometown was aight infront of his ‘eyes Inthose sho poems he could see all ‘ofthe scenery ard all of his past history. He was captivated by this mystery, He received permission to have a pene and paper and spent all of his free time Wwnting tank, He rust have had inborn Talent, and he threw himself into. his wing. The guards. encouraged. him land every day gave him the poems from that day newspaper. These poems were by people fram allover, with the best ‘ones selected to appear in the paper, Kubota suo, the best poet ofthe time, was incl! in the selection, and when Shima Aashita sew one of his poems he was stopped short He sad that even though he was aprsones, he was aay writing, and though he never knew when he would die, he knew that his instincts surged through the poems. He wanted tovadmit and atove for his crime, At the same tie he wanted tobe alive and with the slightest encouragement he could ‘express that amarement at being ave From this place, hs tanka were bor. ‘One ater anothe, he sent his astonishing tanka to Kubota lsu, who said ne had never seen poet ike tha. Kubota iso sadthat while he had never ret Akihito, from his poems he could sce him ving in smal soltary cel rom which there was no way fo see outside There was only a very high and smal window with gas that he could not see ‘ut ven fhe could have seen outside, there was only a and garden beyond the window, (On ane side ofthe cel there was a door through which the guard put hs food and through which his quard could look inom him. n his world where everything was decided for him, his deep thoughts flourished. The expression of each rind moment was to see Ife, and seeing his He he reflected on i He said that he had to de to pay for what he had done, and that he had only 2 small amount of Stability in each day’ le, and frory this Place his poems were bom, Hi poems Were never the same. twas to this degree that he wrote about today’s deep life and his profound experience of 1 and his ‘worts were felt deeply by this poet who Fesponded to. Akshito® poems every single day Ashita was sad about others and about missing people. One poem went ike this Ie had had a mother ever would | have commited Such a ifetaking creme if only | could apologize to her He was sayings | mised out on any love frommy mother. Starving or love, tise vas aways lonely. But now I greet death tach day, with one day less to live, The ants come to see me; [hope they come today to, | put a aft of candy dovn for ‘hem ana wat fo hem tod The sentence with the inl penalty decided longing fora longer ie ke the ant chased by a finger Hewasintheworstpossblecircumstances, Hekew there wat na way he would ever leave the prison alive. Pressured by that fact, wth an empty mind, he ust crawled afters ie, The ants could leave, but he never could, His thoughts were simple and base ‘The condemned criminal wanting deeply to do something a lst far Society-but wo wll want HIS eyes ver with this ie there must be some way lean be of use. 'have given nothing tnd wil have left nothing behind to be Femembered for-this is 0. melancholy, Here tam bon inthis world, | want t leave something and not ust be resentedby people. He became thi state of mind, but he krvew tha the only thing he could do would be to give his eyes. But who would want the eyes ofa murderer? No fone would want his eyes. He wanted to leave something behind i the weld, but alle could see was how dirty and tainted hhe was and ellecton that ah look a sect and sadly, 11 had had a mother never would Ihave committed sucha ifetaking crime IF only I could apologize to her 1 my mother had been around, | would probably not have ended up as'a person Who murdered others. This would not have happened. But I killed’ a woman wi had! two children, | took tom those Children what. was my most important thing, a mother Those two must hate fand fese hate me. | mised my mother So. much and yet | klled thele mother wth my own Bate hands. When he wos Stine would remember and elect on wthout pause He received letter from his father Since his mother hac ded, hs father a all alone, having to do all of the shopping and all the housework by himsel. When hhe went ut to shop, people would point and say that he was a muederers father, Because his father didnt want to hear that Ne would always go shopping when he knew people wouldn't be around. In tone instant of overheatednes and pane, ‘Aso had taken away al of his father’s {good fortune and secu Akishito lived or eight years inthe prison, very day wondering this was to be Nis last day. Every day he was pursued by the fear of dying that day Heel tha only by accepting his mistake could he ber of his guilt and that dying was the only way to atone for it. Then one day, the Se He wrote ths poem on the evening tore his execution: Having come this far never knowing about possessing this lear mind pressed by tomortow moming’s execution only the ast right et ‘Alter eight years of fearing death and boeing horfied tha this day would come, ow it was here. He knew that hs dying ‘would compensate for the death of the Tather, but his instinct was to stay ave, Although this was a horayin time, is incl was t peace, Why was he so setled row, when he had dreaded this day and ben aa for eight years? He could not lunderstand The prison in the November weather ‘was usually chilly, ut he Fel very warm, Iwas the lst night he had-was that why? But wey this quiet clear mind? He had never knawn he even had this mind Had he known this ming sight years ago, hhe wouldn't have killed someone, would not have committed the crime. Now with this clear quiet mind he was seeing how he had lost his true sel Fning ts truth ‘ety, he kn it for the st ime In the Dhammapada the Buddha says, ‘We are what we think having become what we thought, Like the whee! that follows the crt palling ox Sorrow folows an ev! thought. ‘We ate what we think having become what we thought, Like the shadow that never leaves Happiness follows a pure thought “These are truly the words of the Buddha, This is that’ Nivana “cscovered by the Buddha where greed, anger, and Ignorance have all been extinguished “These three-greed, anger andignorance- -are all resuls of the ego ite, through which we gather dese, becoming attached, leading to the heaviness wit ‘which we then cormit mistakes. ‘We have to daily and purfy our mind lun fs so transparent that there fe not tone thing let to hall on to or belive in [Alishito didnot tain, nor did he have an education, yet leaking straight at death, his inner being was able to see that mind that fo lfferert from the Sudha, jst 45 Rirza sad, themonks are not studying No, they are not reading any sutas” "well then, are hey doing zazen?” "No they are not doing zazen,” Pressed ty a rock, the bamboo ‘grows at aslant Hanging from cif, the flower ‘rows upside down ‘only when we mest up with great ‘oppositin, an opposing force, can we see ‘oF tue source from afar and know how to see clearly anc cietyHarsh winds gust across the great plains, Misty rains darken the enormous sky Taiya ryohyo satsu sats Choten sou momo KE SR, EER oR This describes a truly expansive scenery, a wide-open plain” reaching in every ‘ection, were the horizon and the sun fre one in their vastnes. The wind blows Continuously with nothing to obstuct ‘Aways, alvays blowing it ils the huge space and then, suddenly, an enormous 166 7 rain cloud appess, and the expanse is Covered with rai as Taras the eye can This huge, spacious scenery without boundary 6 aur infinite state of mind We are one with the universe. The whole of space I fled with great rain clouds ‘quenching the thisty earth, This state ff mind te the state of mind of Buddha Nature. Is note thi snot the ea thing ‘The Buddha said afte tha in these three worlds there is only one person, and ths Berson i this hate world. He said often that we depen on things of form, of depend on a sel or depend on an othe, then we are IWng ina house that buming down, This word wil always burn and dsappeat ike a house on fre. Nothing wl remain, There's not one plac in this world that’s Secure; upon which we can depend. We have no place to tun, Uberation comes, ‘only with dscoverng our true nature. Ths wotld throbs with pain and misery-how fan there be Iteration? Ihe Buddha's taught tirelessly everywhere he went for fortynine yeas. Al 84,000 sutras. are bout achieving hiberatin and nothing ke, When we realize this we know that the sheep cary the ceer ear, and the horse ‘ar, the teachings ofthe three vehicles, are not actualy. separate but are al telling the one Tath These areal various segments, parts ofthe one road and the fone Dharma gate. Inthe teaching of the Buddha there no such thing as a large vehicle oF «small vehicle, entering by hearing oF entering by experiencing, depending on sor depending on other ‘There are no sue diferences. The great way only ane, hat imate Great Way that iberates. Al people are one Halain Zen said in The Song of Zazen, Not two, not thre, straight ahead runs ‘the Way” Whats this great path? ‘The Buddha said “Ihave the True Dharma lye, the Marvelous Mind of Nirvana, the ‘True form of the Formless and the Subtle Dharma Gate, independent of words and transmitted beyond doctine. This have tntrusted to Mahakasyapa” Put another way, is the complete and pre unequaled awakening. Is the deep, Solermn, true awakening to human's tort sacred character. We are allo the Same objective and subjective, one and the same, prioe to any dsion. What a wonderful awakening fe to realize that the universe and lare one becoming! In Zen its sai, “The heavens and earth and Lae of one roo, all things and Tare tne becoming” The mountains are me, the river is me, the flowers are me, and the birds are me. There self and No ther there. No reason to separate these Bt al, To awaken to this mind Iso know the Buddha Dharma and Zen “The world Is becoming more and moce advanced —technolagcally, but "the World of mind f not at al explored or Understood. We tak about the freedom of individual, freedom of the state, freedom of countries, freedom of worlds bout we speak this way because we ae al aught on this ega and do not recognize that these Ireedoms are all one and the same. Only when we recognize this an lve stand on ths tre se a6 the one sat ‘which the base forall of us, and from there hep each other. Thisis true for al of humankind, and is something eveyone knows, We need to let go of ourselves to Feceve ths, accepting everything. We fil know that this the source of great energy and awareness, but we jst don't do it To walk and actual this f the truth of Zen, “tall he boundless reais of space not even a hair can be inserted, fom the Tits past to the immediate present ‘we have never separated from this very moment” All that surges though the Universe astheultimatesubjectiematched pevfecly. We have to realize ths unt we fe the flower, until we hear the bid and itis ourseles singing, unt all things are me and the whole woe is mysel. This hhuge awakening must be realized, This where past, present, and future ae us andwe are never separate from this present ‘moment. Thisripplecontinuesineach and every moment In every moment we are making history, o what we express must be the true mind moment, and that true rind moment i the Buddha Dharma As the Sith Patriarch said, *Ta externally be bringing frth na thoughts to what we perceive and to be unmoved by anything thin, this i zazen.” ‘Weare, in everyday and inevery moment, working on ths awakening forall beings, “Then the recom ofthe Suddha Ohara willproviderai to thiswholeworldandto Al people and all extences and quench thelr deepest tit. Quiet meditation does not always need hills and streams Once mind is extinguished, even fire itself is refreshing Anzen wa kanarazushimo sansui 0 mochiizu Shinto o mekkyaku sureba hi mo onozukara suzushi BR ALI AG BRA OBL BPR ‘Thisis a wellénown couplet roma poem by To junkaku. To junkak said that atthe hottest time of sumer, you should close thegate put on yourrobes, and do zazen Then the sparse shade fom the bamboo and pines vl reveal coolnes, 16‘Quiet meditation does not always need hls and streams ‘Once mind Is extingushed, even fire sels eteshing For zazen we don’t need a cool place, it halite thinking has fallen away, then teven when i's as hot as fe we can accept the heat aft’ cool When we do 2a2en, we don't need to go into the mountain, IF we make choices this way, what were doing isnt eal zazen, As Daito Kokush sad, “if we do zazen fn the bridges of Shjo and Goja streets, fight smack among all the people who are coming and going, this our sazen.” We do not have to be deep Inthe mountains to polsh our zazen, That not the point. very day fn our busy ves in the busy wort, smack dab in the middle of tverything, right there we extingush cur stmal selves completely and st through to this stil place within, More than i the fulet mountalns, clarity i found here I's better to be inthe heat and among the busting crowds than tobe coo and auiet with a defended, narrow, smaleminded nd guarded zazen. In the midst of the hheatand te clatter, we let go of ourselves and go beyond that dlided go mind, Then our zazen alv, ‘Our zazen then moves. beyond the ancepta. A monk askea Master Iozan CGohon Zenj "When cold and heat come, how can we avoid them? Master Tozan said, “Why don’t you go to the place where there Is no cold or heat” ‘The monk sid, “What i the place where there sno cold or heat?” Toran replied, "When it is col, the cold kils"your when it hot, the heat kil you" The monk questioned Master Tozan ohon Zen in-a way that was already dualistic. He had fallen into that divided place, but Tozan saw through him and Used his strong power of the path to cut ‘everything away from under that monk, Master Shishin Goshin. Zenji further revealed: “Master Shishin Goshin Zenj picked this out and sald, “Tozan puts the collar on the sleeve and cuts off the shitront under the armpit. Gut what ouldhedo? Thismonkedicn’ like. ’Right then a monk came forward and asked Shishin "How are they to be dealt with?” Alter along silence Sishin sad, “Pacelul mediation does not requite mountains and rivers when you have extinguished the mind, ire tse cool” In the world today, we're s0 insecure about the conditions of everyday te that ‘wearealwaysof two minds. Wer looking for peace and happiness and secutty. Even though our mind fe divided, were trying to design a word that’s happy and peaceful. These!s a gap between the idea Bnd ts realty. This maker us agitated, allowing no reluge “The problem ist our feelings, or whether we're het of cold, oF figuring cut about Ite and death, but that we have that mind of two, We have to breakthrough that to Understand that ths very place the land oflotuses and this very bodys the body of the Bua, We have to realze this pace, this truth, in each and every moment and ‘wherever we ae, We have to realize this fully. Our zazen can’t be something we do only when we ae siting In siting, moving, In every activity ofthe day, we maintain this taal state of mind ri Step by step, tread the blue waters and green mountains 4 5} Ho-ho tojakusu, ryokusui seizan : % BALA RAT uy ‘This describes amonkon pilgrimage. Step by step, wherever yougo, donot let go of the te nature, Do not separate from i This is whats meant by *step by step.” Shak Gessho lived more than one hundred years ago, when Japan was 3 168entering a new era politically, He tet a poem about making a deep vow, about bringing forth a deepening mind with that vow, and then leaving our homeland and seeking the Fath f we make such a vow, we won't stop until complete ‘nly then can we return home, We have to: make this deep vow and begin. We have to undestand is not about going home to aur ancestor graves and leaving tur bones there, Our vow has to be made from this deepest mind, Unt ts filed, we don't return and we don't retreat, because everythere we go there ae cleat blue mountains, WHEREVER we are Whats this blue mountain? inthe pas it has always been the symbol of our true Inind, asm Satoba's poems. Hewes that throughout ths whale word, everywhere Isa place to bury my bones. This whole world is my grave, says Sotobs. Ths very expression fs the blue mountains, In the wold of the Buddha’ path wherever we reside Is the dojo of Zen In the Vimalakiti Sutra, Kokon Daj Seeking the Path and the Truth, and for doing that he has gone to practice with the Buddha in the town of Vaal Kokon Dojiwas in the town atthe very moment that Vimalakirt retumed from afar. He ret Vimalakii asking, “Where are you Fetuming from?” Vimalait_answered, “am coming from the dojo.” Butin the uals tine, Uoj souly Heed Lo the place whete the Buddha was, where each and every day people were receving traning from the Buddha, And this place ‘asin the mide of Vail. So why did ‘imal who was coming fom outside town, say he was coming from the dojo? Koko Daj asked him again, "Where i that dojo? and Vimalait sai, “Every footsteps the dojo" Kokon oj thought a dojo required a balling and the Buddho, that twas & place where everyone would gather and fo zazen. He thought thatwas a dojo. But ‘mala wasn’t so lived in hs seeing, Instead, hesad, "The tru clear min, that Is the dojo." ls not abuleing ora form, but our very mind. A mind that i honest and doesn’t deceive tse, Thisis the doo, “This is what Vimalkit was saying Ever if there isn't 9 temple, oF even a bulking, no. mater witere we work in the word, no matter were we ve, four rind is pure and simple, then that the ojo. Ths what he was saying, In our evenyday mind, we can’t le and deceive oureelves. For mind to always be Shining brightly, we have to realize ths Tnind and be with everyone In socety, ‘We have to be settled and centered, <0 that no matter what happens we won't waiver. Our mind has to be established, Sand then we can see this word ceary tnd know this wisdom and functioning “Then we can be in society with a mind of compassion and touch everyone with that. This compassionate mind the ojo tn this way Vimalakiti said that a dojo Is not something of form but in each person's deep mind, In our simple and [ear mind there the doje. Siting in the moon-water dojo, Toying with the emply flowers in theaie ‘We have these words a5 well, Out mind is Ike the moon reflectedin water Ourrind rmust be like fresh, clear, ers, scenery. ‘The moon doesn't think about being reflected, nor does the water think of self Sr rfleting, Nethor are they attached “This state of mind i the most profound and subtle place of Zen and the dojo. To lve everyday and not be being attached, to flow natural sto st in the moon water dojo, The empty flowers are each nd everything we do; we don't leave Anything behind nor become attached to Snyone. We can be happy or sad, but we: live each and every moment’ expression completely, not taling anything along behind us very day we Ive like this, and that I the dojo Vimalakiti was teaching about a dojo that 6 nota spectic farm or shape but the dojo of ur being Hate koa the dojo nour ming, then no matter where we go Inthe world, were we areis the dojo and ‘we can always clanty and pur our min No matter where we go step by step, we practice not holding onto extra thoughts, not being attached to them. Step by step, treed the blue waters and green meuntaine Alar pure mindis then realized, and we practice every day in this WayClouds rest on the mountain peaks, utterly still Water flowes down through the valleys bubbling noisily Kumo wa reitd ni atte kanputetsu Mizu wa kanka ni nagarete taibosei SEE AA ik Ak Fie PANIC ‘The duds sem to have become caught ‘nthe tips of the mountains and then ‘quelly setled in, At the foot of the tountains 2 valley stream runs strongly and sturdy, never stopping v f « we . In the sky, the big clouds pass over the mountaintops sc luxuriously, matching them pertecty Trecloud'sformembodles empty mindedness; so does that of the {urging mountain streams At the extremes cf the mountaintops and the valleys, both the clouds and water behave natural, While the clouds are dulety enfolding, the nature of water iS to flow without stopping. The water doesnt stop to think about how tanslent things are. Only humans do that. Thats the eason we besome insecure and have conflict, When we allow ourselves to be pulled around by circumstances, we are fac fromm empty mind. Each moment that we find ourselves being pulled around by ‘our ind, weave to do as Darura Dash instucted letting go ofall connections to things that ave external, and cutting away all concetns with anything that Within, when our mind i Ihe a tall fire wal at that timewe are atone with the Path” Fromoutsdealknds of things come ats, Creating static a noe We cit trough tent paying ateton to any of I Ts i what we Rave to pactee, We dont ‘want to have comtant waves of good and Dad ke and ake, rllng though our minds We dont stp the ensaugh, but instead see we eveything as one. By not being pulled arcund by extemal, nd thatirsge and ouside re one. Ts the iin weave te ulate, bd or tat wwe employ zuzen, The Sinth Patriarch sald that in each and ‘every moment our mind § pulled around by various thing We use zazen in this way: “To extemaly be bringing forth no "thoughts to whatever we percave and 0 be unmoved by anything within.” While viewing the word of good and bad, clever and Ignorant, sek and heathy, od land young, we dont respond with Fear of fesstance, Rater ke miro, we accept tral without adding thoughts to what appears, This state of mind isthe "a" of Zzazen, People thnk of zazen and always associate t with a certain form, but es the mind that has ost, not the body. People are always thinking about good and ev, about what & right and what is wrong, judging everything, That’ our Usual state of consciousness, But when We do that, we lose our ue matey, pulled round by extemals and allowing them to {il our mind yith evry Kind of thought Insecurity arses easily rom ths But this not about NOT seeing good and baad. We do see good and bad, and me do know wat Is good and what I bad, but we don't judge everything and then get pushed around by the judgments, wwe do, we no longer see things clear ‘Al that emains ae our judgments: When ‘eget attached! to aur ideas o things, we fant function correty, and that’s why webecome confused, (Our mints activity has to be aligned. A Single moment of confusion Keeps us from seeing and hearing clearly. To not be confused by the extra thinking, we do Zzazen, Body and mind are one becoming, a they say about the doje for Zen. Our mind and our body become one and the same activity; one moves within the other. When our body 1s quietly sting, fur ind alo sts quietly The mines and body's direction have to be one and the same, This fs mind and body being one becoming. When we ea, we ust eat; doing zazen, we just do zaze, Working, we jst work AI day we make thor to cutwate the state of nct being moved around by thoughts, and this Zaren’ssuble favor, doesn thappen just because we put our bodies inthe form of siting zazen. No matter how well west IF we are fll of thinking, t's nt zazen. tf weave all sorts of relevant thoughts as ‘we work, that's nat correct working. we Stay busy judging everything nif, that’s not correct ving. We have to use our awareness correctly. When we move, we move; and when we ae sil, we atest, Clouds dwell on the mountain peaks, completely ti Water flows dovin through the valleys, babbling noisySometimes we ate quiet, and sometimes Weare energeticandactve.n accordance with necessity, when we need to move ‘quickly we become” the movement completa, We forget ourselves “and become the act of work, This isthe subtle flavor of zazen, andi doesn't just happen in the zendo, Moving sen sting zen Everything we do sour place of practice, twenty-four hours a day. Unest we are aivaye in accordance withthe moment, matched perfectly with what we do, tS “To extemaly be bringing forth no thoughts to whatever we perceive and fo be unmoved by anything within, ‘We always try to move our mind outward, but fs not tke that we extend out mil out othe ten thousand things, that isdelsion,f we have ther all come tous that ssato” What fs necessary comes to us, and we respond as appropriate, and that i ator, This & what Dogen Zen ays Things arse and disappear, one after another. Is asf wee siting on a ain watching through the window as the cenery passes. We see everything as it passes, and then its gone. Whether we're happy or sad, we'e not palled around Witte seted and expenence everything with a quiet mind, The scenery changes agsin and again "and again, but the ‘Stence of our mind does not change at all. We have to awaken to that mind, and So we sit firmly and deeply. This state of min Isat. ‘Thoughts themselves aren'ta problem as Tong a5 we don't add to them. Scenery is jst scenery, one frame at atime. ts ‘only when we mix our thoughts and the ‘cenety all up together that we fee busy. Iedoesnt need tobe so complicated. No matter what comes, we simply take care ‘of one problem ats time and clear each thing as it ares, We have to see this way Because the Buddha had nospeclal house, ‘everywhere he went he was home. At Master Bankel said, “The ming, just ast is" Wherever we go, we know peace of min. Rizal Zen) taught not to add any thoughts or associations to whatever we perceive He said that to ld no second Sr third thoughts s worth more than ten years of pilgrimage. Its normal t think Tes normal to fel pain and hurt: we are hot on hat days and cold on cold days That these mind moments are is a matter of coutse. But we always add on more. We need tbe simply hat when we Srehot and coe! when we are cool. When inking and eating, we doit without any ‘extra thoughts, We have to see thisceay fnd wer ani, oF one after another we make an init of problems. ‘Our living energy 1s now! now! now! het! ere! here! we hold this precious, its mare valuable than many yeas inthe dojo. Thi ba better way to grasp the mind of naw, Worying about whats part and what might comme i unhealthy. we ‘donot add these things to our min then we are naturally setts We have to let go of our preferences, otherwise they become clatter for the mind nordertahaveaclear simpleming, We have tobe able to accept eveything Without a straigttforward mind, we wll be always pushes and pulled around and never know tue est {Our naive sich Tee eens of ariver-aays lowing, never stopping ‘Our mind, too, & always new and new land now When is always clear, we can receive everything clear and purely. Tis iiving zazen, Clouds dwell on the mountain peas, completely stil Water flows down through the valleys, bubbling nosy ‘Amid the abundance of this immense nature, we sit easly and timly and fre embraced by this natural motion, Uundeuded. by our mind’) apparent busyness. We canseefewith acter, plain rind! that movesin one straight ineWater flows cold from the bamboos’ edge The breeze blows fragrant through the flowers Mizu wa chikuhen yori nagareidete hiyayaku Kaze wa kari yori sugikitatte kanbashi ARB Pic HH a PUTER RE ‘The water in the grove of tal, green bamboo Is cool and refreshing on hot summer days The water that comes ‘ut of the groves depths feels cooler than any ether The wind seems much ‘more fageant ate it blows through the mounds of blooming flowers. The world Ait. Yet the water, the bamboo grove, the lowers, and fragrances are NOT what these lines ae talking about ‘The bamboo i aways straight and honest, itis said. it pieres our clear mind with putty. The Rowers each have a fragrance ‘We have to see their meaning in terms ‘of our mind's exence and our sprtual ‘experience, Someone with no experience won't understand, no matte what they're to Butwith experience, you cen understand, and training. is the ground of that experience Clanfying our te nature to know that deep state of mnd is man’s challenge I society seh “desies surface and emotions fue ou Ives, Our te natures Spar from that, “in our mind there fa depth so profound that waves of grt and joy cannot reach there" a5 one ancient poetized. Our mins te base is able fo understand Socal joys, but t can go deeper than that, The gris of this weld are shallow in comparion to. the depths of our mind, We must experience this tue base, The Buddha realized mind's source by extinguishing the flames of greed, ange, and ignorance, and the words he teed to desenbec it were "the serenity of ‘These three-greed anger and ignrance- care what cofise sy leading tothe dhiness of gumbing and ignorance But becuse we se himan we cn resize the mind where deste dt each, and know this place, Once we have touched this center no nater what clouds of ty ther This wha all beings want tout this ase, soy decays Humankind has this deep wisdom and huge openness of mind. Because ofthis, we don't ave tobe afrald but can meet ‘every moment's phenomena with our deepest truth, From ancient times until today people have been willing to train to experience ths, because knowing i lec is the deep wish four true mind Many leeve the path and don't complete theirvow, Thosewwhofinsh area verysmall percentage of those who begin, Budcha fad the Pariarhs were able to complete thisdeep vow, andthe importance of their ‘example for usis beyond expression, That which humans can't begin to expres, the pain and suaferng ofall off sight here ‘We want to make our ife’s value clear, but todo that we've got to let go of al karmic connections and possessions. Not fone of the patriarchs pursued this path casually. The Buddha did six years of ascetic training, Niso Eka Dash, to show his deep determination, cut off hs am and then worked unt he opened deeply, In tealzing the true source of mind, humans’ tues vale s rade marifest tach days work, we have fo remember thet forts, “How many times | have gone down into the Blue Dragon’ cave for youl” How much has been given, how much Ife has been put at stake by those who seek the truth! Those seeking the truth have had to confront the fearful dragon with ts necklace of gold, How many tines have we had to enter that dragon's deep cave, Tis how the ancients spoke oft ‘We cry tears af blood, From moming unt evening and ram evening until morning, tears of blood pourfrom aur eyes. Our lege hurt. We ae pulled out af the zendo by Senior students and hit by our teacher at Sancen, We it constantly and continually ‘Within the pain and sleepiness, we seek to lary the true mind. Not in social happiness and satisfaction but in suring, ‘we continue for more years and then even more years Conly one who's Wed through this can know hat lt means to not be stopped by the extremes of winter, to continue fon even with snow and frost covering fverything. People who have. trained know what it's like to ery alone at how dificult 1s. Anyone who has done this knows this state of mind, ver it we are deeply awakened we cant think lightly of It and waste time, ‘We cant be indulgent, or our sufleing will be useless. This & what these words ie teaching us: "How many times have Ggone dawn inta the Blue Dragon’ cave for you!" Who is this "you"? For twenty oF thity years, we give our whale ie to iow out bonne dear nature, Only one who's done tis can taste the waters that flow old from the bamboos’ edge. Only oneWith this experience can know the truth ‘ofthe breeze that Blows frageant through thelowers, No matter what tangled mess ‘comes along, such a person fs unmoved by it. Such a person loves everyone as a matter ofcourse, ‘A monk named sassa Hokuin trained at Sogenii under Gisan Zenrai Zen. While he was there, a eter came saying that his home temple north of Kyoto had burned and he needed to return, Hewas enzo at ‘that tine and when he read the eter he threw it into the fie saying, "If go back now can only help build a temple. have to go fnsh my training fist. A temple important, but if leave my traning now itwillnever be completed” He made this fim vow ancl put te fete into the fire ‘One of his fellow monks told Hokuin that he was astonished at his deep vow and decision. Hokuin had been told to return home and lint go, while that monk wanted so much to go home, so much to be tee rom the tc fe of raining, that he would have given anything for such 4 leter to come from his home. He had ‘even asked the priest at his home temple to please write and ask for hs retun, but the priest hadn't done so. Now Hokuin was old to come andhe didnt even want to-go. To the monk, Hokuin seemed 50 advanced! Master Gisan heard this story and sad that, having been born to a poor fay land’ grown up In a poor household, he knew what wasto lead a challenging ie and to have to save every drop of water He had wanted to go to school, but he