Principles of Practice, Talk 3: High Resolve
March 21, 1986 Dharma Talk by Dainin Katagiri Roshi
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Transcript
This transcript is in rough draft stage.
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Katagiri Roshi: In Samyutta Nikaya, Buddha mentions that due to impermanence, life is characterized by suffering. Due to suffering, there is the practice of no-self. Life is characterized by suffering because all are impermanent. We have to practice no-self because we suffer. This is Buddha’s teaching.
I think it’s a little bit difficult to understand. It seems to me that … it is a little easier for me to understand what he says, but actually it’s very difficult. My understanding sometimes is very vague, because life is characterized by suffering, because they all are impermanent – it seems that we understand this teaching pretty well through everyday life, but still we don’t understand exactly, and our understanding is very vague. It’s not clear. And also, we have to practice no-self because we suffer – this is also not so easy to understand.
So I think yesterday I mentioned, impermanence is the truth that mind is moving. The mind is moving, the world is moving. “The mind is moving” means we fabricate [the] dichotomized world, dualistic world. In other words, we always discriminate, we always see something objectively, at a distance. So this is a dualistic world. This is called impermanence, we say impermanence, because constantly going like that, without stopping at all, even for a moment, always going like this. This is a dualistic world where we live. And not only human beings; all sentient beings live there.
How we experience this point in our everyday life? I mentioned yesterday that is reflection or to discriminate.
So only man has the capability to discriminate or to reflect upon himself, his life. And also this reflection is based on the depth of existence, because we don’t know why we reflect, why we discriminate the world and the self. This is suffering, we say. This is suffering.
So yesterday I mentioned, what makes it possible for us to reflect or to discriminate? If you go back to, if you really see, if you really go deeply to the bottom of the reflection, we don’t know what it is. So finally we say it is ignorance. Ignorance is, we cannot, it’s very difficult for us to touch exactly what it is. We cannot grasp it in our hand. But even though you don’t know, you cannot grasp it in your hand, or even though you don’t know from where it comes, still it really exists, right now, right here, and also it influences your life. So we cannot ignore it.
So practically, the question is always considered how we should take care of this ignorance. Because it’s real, it’s fact, it’s truth. Even though you don’t know, even though you can’t grasp it in your hand clearly, still it works every day. So very naturally we have to really take care of that, the ignorance rooted in the bottom of reflection or discriminating consciousness. This is called suffering.
So suffering is completely beyond your discriminating consciousness. In other words, suffering is not conscious suffering. Suffering is not something created by your consciousness. So that’s why suffering assumes a kind of very serious proportions in life, very serious. Whoever you are, always there is suffering.
For instance, if you become happy by success of business or your vocation or professional job, task, etc., still there is a feeling of uneasiness in the bottom of your life. That’s why constantly you have to make every possible effort to maintain it in the same way, as best as you can. So that’s really suffering. Even though you don’t notice it, it’s suffering. So suffering is completely beyond your conscious world. So before your conscious fabrication, there is a suffering.
So suffering is very interesting for us, for human beings, because suffering is … fabricated by discriminating consciousness or reflection. And is – what would you say – unconscious effort. Unconscious effort which allows you to aspire for knowing the bottom of reflection or discriminating consciousness. This is suffering.
So suffering is created by our reflection. But on the other hand, suffering is a constant unconscious effort of human beings which allows you to aspire, to seek for, what the bottom of the reflection is. In other words, what makes it possible for reflection to work. We try to know. This is suffering.
So suffering comes from impermanence, which means to allow your mind to move constantly. By the vibration of your mind, then we create a world which is called a dualistic world. So we can discriminate, we can look at ourselves objectively. This is reflection. Constantly we look, as we turn around the shadow of our lives. Constantly. This is characteristic of human beings.
So, I think you can see a little bit the reason why the Buddha mentioned that due to the impermanence, life is characterized by suffering.
So suffering for human beings is very serious proportion in life. It’s really serious. Completely beyond your consciousness or your unconsciousness. Complete beyond. It’s there. That’s why we say the Noble Truth: suffering is noble truth.
So, mostly dukkha is understood as something created by our consciousness, conscious world. It is true, but on the other hand, suffering is something more than that. So it’s coming up from the bottom, before, prior to creating your conscious world. Completely beyond. That’s why it is called Four Noble Truths.
So if you have suffering, that means it’s pretty difficult, it’s very serious in life, but on the other hand, it means you can continue to maintain your life. Because that is unconscious effort. Suffering is unconscious effort which allows you to try to know, constantly, what’s at the bottom of, what makes it possible for defection or discrimination to be, to exist. So constantly, you can live. In other words, as long as you exist in this world, you cannot stop suffering. So it’s suffering.
So if you see this kind of image of suffering, even vaguely, realization of the truth of suffering gives a direction to you. How do you take care of suffering? You can see a certain direction. You can get instructions, okay? Some instructions, how to take care of human life. If you realize, if you see even a dim image of suffering – how it is structured, from where it comes, how it is created – then this awareness is pretty helpful for us.
So I think yesterday I mentioned the naturally only humans try to know the bottom of reflection, discriminating consciousness, constantly. The bottom of, basis of discriminating consciousness is exactly the same as eternity, the vastness of existence.
So it’s pretty difficult to say. According to The Awakening of Faith, you know, tathagatagarbha, that is the truth itself, simultaneously when the tathagatagarbha moves by causes and conditions, then tathagatagarbha turn into alayavijnana. The alayavijnana implies the human samsaric world, but the bottom of the alayavijnana is exactly tathagatagarbha, so-called truth. So it’s very close, very close.
But yesterday I mentioned that let’s put the partition, very thin partition between, in order to explain. Because even for a moment, you know, the samsaric world appears from this, you know, the tathagatagarbha, so-called truth, even though we don’t know, there must be something which turns truth into the samsaric world. In other words, you sleep pretty well, becoming one with sleep, so no sleep, you don’t know you’re asleep. But when you wake up, there must be something which make you wake up. But I don’t know what it is, we don’t know what it is. Because it is something causes and conditions. Some conditions are arranged, and then you can wake up. But conditioned elements are very complicated. Very complicated. Because myriad, myriad conditioned elements in the vastness of existence, and then connected with the physical and mental situation, and then you can wake up. You know? So it’s pretty difficult to say what the conditioned element [is]. But anyway, what we can experience is the belief in that there must be something which makes you wake up. So that is something. Okay? So I say that something is, if we say something is called causes and conditioned element.
So, truth is exactly something tranquil, but simultaneously it’s dynamic, active, very active.
So I think if you see the very thin partition between, and then you can wake up from the sleep. At that time, it’s very difficult to know the first thought of waking up to understand. It’s very difficult to understand, to know the first thought, first moment of waking up.
So that first thought, or the first moment of waking up is exactly the same as truth, tathagatagarbha. So that is the bottom of the reflection, or discriminating mind, the exact bottom. So that’s why you don’t know, you don’t know real waking up. But waking up what you have known is something created after second thought, if I explain.
So from this point, yesterday a little bit I mentioned that the first thought, we must be there and we have to practice in the realm of the first thought, first moment. Because it is the inception of the creating samsaric world, and also it is the inception of getting into the truth. So simultaneously. But we don’t know what it is, but we can see it. So we as best as we can, we try to be there, and practice there. At that time, there is a way how to take care of the samsaric world, and human suffering, and delusions, enlightenment, et cetera.
So that is, let’s see the world of the first moment, first thought. This is very pure and clear. Very clear and also transparent, very transparent. So your thought, your activities must be very simple, and clear, and, what would you say, very attractive, pretty. And also it’s silent, very silent. Your activity, your thought is very active over there, which is clear and simple and active and silent. Very silent.
But it’s very active, so you have to do something. So what kind of activity is there? So this we call undefiled practice. This is called shugyo (修行) – usually we say “practice,” but it’s not the usual practice, it is very profound, refined practice. In other words, your activities, your deed must have a very [important] application or fitness or commitment to right now, right here. This is your activity. How do you do this? This is not something you should decide, you should make a decision to do something by your consciousness. In other words, it is not something [alternative]. If you face, if you face a gassho, you have to do gassho, but it doesn’t mean ignoring the conscious activities. Conscious activity exists there, but if you really practice in the pure and clear, simple and silent practice, I think you have to do, you have to have very [important] fitness and commitment and application to the gassho as it is, exactly. This is called undefiled practice, we say. And according to the Vimalakirti Sutra, in Chinese we say profound mind, but in this book, Robert Thurman translates it as high resolve. This is very good translation: high resolve.
I think if you see page 16 of this book, Vimalakirti mentions the bodhi-mind related with the direct, straightforward mind and the profound mind and the practice. Because the bodhi-mind is really closely related with straightforward mind, that means very positive thought. In other words, the bodhi-mind constantly allows you to go directly, to direct your [abode] to the truth as it is. Under all circumstances we have to open ourselves toward that truth.
So that is positive thought, very positive. Not in terms of pros and cons or success and failure. Completely you should open yourself and move toward this one. Under all circumstances. That is keeping the life, keeping the world in peace, in harmony, on and on, every day, all circumstances. That is bodhi-mind.
So that’s why that bodhi-mind is connected with the straightforward mind or positive mind, very positive attitude toward human life.
And then at that time, when you can see the bottom of the samsaric world, that bottom of the samsaric world is nothing there. Nothing to analyze, nothing to think of it, but it’s there. It’s something real, which is influencing human life constantly.
So that is, I mentioned, the first moment, the very first moment when you come out of the truth and create samsaric world, this is the first moment, first thought. So you have to return to this first thought. This is our practice. Instead of looking at the first moment or first stage, first moment, first thought, objectively. We can see objectively, if even for a moment we can see, if you experience it. But it’s not something you can have a notion of the first moment or first thought, but you have to live, you have to live up to it, or you have to practice there. That’s a little difficult to continually do, because our world is surrounded by discriminating aspects of human life, so constantly we are out of this first moment.
So, in this first moment, in the rhythm of the first moment, we have to do something simply and clearly and silently, but very stable, steadfast. [Then] how do we do this? We can do it with high resolve. This is called profound mind, high resolve.
High resolve is more practical than the notion of profound mind. Very practical. We have to have high resolve, and then do. In other words, you have to do something with an air of resolve, with no excuse. Because it is first thought, first moment. In the first moment, how do you get up? How do you wake up? We don’t know. After understanding, waking up, and then you can get into? No. Exactly no excuse. With no excuse, you have to wake up with an air of resolve, exactly. Prior to your consciousness. Exactly. This is high resolve.
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So, high resolve means you have to practice with no excuse and with an air of resolve. Then, at that time, your ego, the selfhood, is put aside. The selfhood drops off, naturally. This is called shikan, we say: shikantaza. Just wholeheartedness, or samadhi, when you really do with one-pointedness.
This is letting you to be right here, with [pertinent] fitness to right now, right here. At that time, you can drive a car really safely. Whatever happens, you really put the brake, exactly. If an animal comes up in front of the car, immediately you put the brake. Before you think of the life of the animal, life of you, or the condition of the circumstances of your car, or thinking of traffic law, et cetera, you immediately put the brake. And then after that, you realize, “Oh, I’m more there. Oh, I am exist. Oh, I don’t hurt animal.” You can see. That is discriminating world is going on and on, after the first moment.
So, in the first moment, you can do very simply, clearly, and very [steadfast]. But it doesn’t mean [to] ignore your conscious level, conscious world. It’s there, constantly. That’s why, in the second thought, immediately discriminating world comes up.
So, that is called egolessness. Or shikan-taza.
So, this Vimalakirti Sutra says here, if you practice with high resolve, then Vimalakirti Sutra says here, “Noble son, Bodhisattva’s buddha field is a field of high resolve. When he attains enlightenment…” In other words, when you can practice Buddha way, or when you deal with the human life with high resolve, that means when he attains enlightenment. “Living beings who have harvested the two stores, and have planted the roots of virtue will be born in his Buddha field.”
So, this is very interesting. So, if you do, if you practice like this, what’s left? What is useful for us? Is that clear? Or, why we have to do this? Or, we have a question: can we be free from the samsaric world or suffering?
But, the question we make, so-called “can we be free from suffering or samsaric world?” It is already the dualistic world. We always poke our head into the samsaric world, and then trying to understand. But [what] we are talking about is not something about the events which occurs in the samsaric world. We are talking about something occurs in the bottom of the samsaric world, so-called the first stage, first thought.
That is, you have to do with high resolve. And then if you do this, very naturally you can “harvest the two stores,” means, I don’t know what they are, but the two [stores] is wisdom. You can harvest wisdom and also its virtue – beauty. Maybe beauty. Beauty means the functioning of the wisdom.
So, you can harvest the two things, wisdom and the functioning of wisdom.
And the Vimalakirti Sutra says, “and you can have planted the root of virtue.” Here it says virtue, wholesome[ness]. You can plant the root of wholesome[ness].
So, let’s see from the beginning […] “Noble son, a Bodhisattva’s buddha-field is a field of high resolve. When he attains enlightenment, living beings who have harvested two things and have planted the roots of wholesome, will be born in his buddha-field.”
“Noble son, a bodhisattva’s buddha-field is a field of high resolve. When he attains enlightenment, living beings who have harvested the two stores and have planted the roots of virtue will be born in his buddha-field.
So, if you continually practice like this, as a result, you have already planted the root of wholesomeness, because it’s very pure. Wholesome means not the good opposed to bad, or right opposed to wrong. Wholesome is exactly beyond the idea of good or bad. This is the first thought, first moment, first thought of the world. So, if you do it, before you think of it, that practice allows you to have already the wisdom and its functioning. So, you can get it immediately. That is called the root of wholesomeness. Very natural. And then, that leads you to be born in the Buddha’s world. So, very naturally you can create a wholesome world, peaceful world, next moment.
So, what we can do is, constantly cultivate this practice. Be in the realm of first thought and practice there, and then simultaneously you can get the wisdom and its functioning, which is called root of the wholesome.
So, you never lose it. You never lose it. Because wisdom and the functioning of wisdom is already planted in the bottom of your life. So, you never lose, whatever happens, all circumstances. That’s why, next moment, you can live, you can live in the Buddha land.
So, how can we be free from karmic life? Well, just be there and practice. Very naturally, you are free. Exactly.
But our consciousness doesn’t believe it. [He laughs.] Because consciousness is already involved in the very complicated world. So, we don’t believe it. But if you make your mind very clear and simple, going to the bottom of that reflection and discriminating world, then you can see how the first thought is working. And then, this is a really great light of instruction, how to live.
So, all we have to do is, to be there and practice as best as we can.
This is called egolessness.
So, very naturally, suffering begets selflessness. Okay? Suffering. Because suffering is fabricated reflection and discriminating mind, and simultaneously it is constantly unconscious effort, which allows you to go on and on, knowing the bottom of the samsaric world. So, very naturally, you can see how to live, how to take care of the samsaric world. So, let’s go down to the bottom, and then be there, and try to live.
But still, in the samsaric world it is very difficult. That’s why there are several skillful methods, so-called six paramitas. Let’s follow this way.
[Tape change.]
So, giving, constantly giving. This giving is not the usual giving. Giving paramita. Paramita means “perfect accomplishment.” So, giving must be accomplished perfectly. That means, completely open, and just do it.
So, that is giving, and also precept. Precept is Buddha’s suggestion how to live. Buddha’s suggestion – not moral suggestion, not ethical suggestion – Buddha’s suggestion. The suggestion of the truth, how to live.
And also effort and patience, and also wisdom and dhyana.
So, let’s do this. And then, very naturally, we can come back to the source of samsara. So that’s why mindfulness is pretty important for us. Let’s come back. So, mindfulness is constantly remember. You must remember, not only with a thought, but you must remember that first thought of the samsara with the whole body and mind. So, that’s why you can come back.
And then, you can be in dhyana, so-called meditation, or samādhi. You can be there.
So, that is the practice of egolessness.
So, that’s why Buddha says, “Suffering begets selflessness.” Egolessness.
And impermanence begets suffering. Suffering begets egolessness, naturally. That’s why Dogen Zenji says, “If you want to have bodhi-mind, you have to observe very closely or contemplate impermanence.” How transient the world is, how fragile human life is.
Because yesterday I mentioned, human beings always forget returning to the source of samsara. And always stirring up the world created after second thought. So this is real suffering, constantly. That’s why Buddha gives pity, Buddha gives sympathy to all human beings like this. Because human beings completely forget.
That’s why Buddha’s teaching constantly [reminds you to return] to the source of the samsaric world: the source of reflection, source of discriminating mind. Anyway, let’s return. This is the teaching of Lotus Sutra, teaching of Prajnaparamita, teaching of the Vimalakirti Sutra. Anyway, let’s go back.
And then if you go back to that source, you don’t know what it is, but there is really a kind of astonishment, enormous astonishment. Then from this astonishment, you can build up philosophy, psychology, Buddha’s teaching.
So what is the beginning of the teaching? Philosophy and psychology, Buddhism? It is just astonishment, just surprise. That surprise is described as the Buddha land, [in a] literary sense. Beautiful Buddha land is coming up, adorned with various seven jewels, et cetera. So very naturally you can build up a wonderful world. Because it is just astonishment. Nothing to pin down. But directly you can feel it, you can touch it. Something touches your heart.
So just surprise, big surprise. Then from this big surprise, the human world is coming up, and philosophy is coming up, physics is coming up, Buddhism is coming up, Christianity is coming up, God – any ideas are coming up from this. So finally what you have to do is, let’s go back to that simple and silent and clear world. So-called just surprise, huge surprise.
Just like facing the moose when you drive in the countryside, I mentioned. Exactly that one. “Wow!” – that’s it. When you say “wow,” next moment, “A moose!” – it’s too late. [He laughs.] When you really face the moose and the whole world, it’s just a surprise. So just wow. And then, the whole world is coming up from this: katagiri, cars, and countryside, wilderness, and animals, and also trees, birds, insects, the whole world is coming up. And then we can create a poem from that. And we can create physics from that world. How moose is connected with nature, you know? And including me, including modern civilization, so-called car. Anyway, it’s connected. So you can create physics, you can create psychology, you can create philosophy, you can create spiritual life.
So it’s very simple, a very simple world. But it’s really huge, you know, the shock for you. That’s so-called spiritual life. It’s really spiritual life.
So the purpose of spiritual life, simply speaking, you should touch this enormous surprise. That’s it.
Well, if you explain what it is, it is simple, very simple, and clear, and silent. But simultaneously, the whole world is coming up. That’s why Dogen Zenji constantly says in the Shobogenzo, “Self is the whole universe.” The mountains, rivers, pebbles, all sentient beings, all are buddhas. The whole world is coming up.
But that whole world coming up, very simple situations, that is first thought. We can confront it with. This is the egolessness. We have to practice this one.
And then, next, we can understand what faith is. What is religious faith?
Then Dogen Zenji says, “Faith is, you should believe in the Buddha way, the way, if you want to practice Buddha’s teaching, you should believe in the Way where there is no confusion, no perverted views, no mistake, no myths construed.” Nothing, exactly nothing. It’s very simple. Nothing means very simple, clear, active, silent. That is the realm of the first thought, from which your life is “panoram-orized,” [he laughs about trying to pronounce the word,] your life is really “panoram-orized” – present, past, future, and also extending into the whole space, you know, [he laughs,] different moons, and planets, and Mars, and planets which you have never thought about. You can spread your body and mind into the whole world.
So that is Buddhist faith. And then you can really understand what Buddhist faith is, what real religious faith is.
Okay, do you have a question?
In [Shobogenzo] Zuimonki and also Diamond Sutra, Dogen Zenji mentions very strongly the practice of egolessness. Very often, here and there. If you read the Record of Things Heard, he constantly recommends us to practice egolessness.
It’s not the negative, pessimistic way, okay? That’s why I explain like this. You should accept in that way.
For instance, you can read, you know, Zuimonki, Book 1, Number 4, [or] Book 4, Number 3, and you can see. Okay? For instance:
If you would be free of greed, first you must leave selfhood behind. In order to leave selfhood behind, the contemplation of impermanence is the foremost of mental disciplines.
And also he says:
The foremost concern of a student is first to detach from the notion of self. To detach from the notion of self means that we must not cling to this body.
So very naturally, you can practice giving paramita.
And also he says:
For sanzen gakudo, it is the first opportune way to throw away one’s selfhood to assert itself. When you listen to the teachings under a great teacher, it is the terminal abode to penetrate the great Way, to practice with being free from one’s selfhood.
This is nothing but the point I have mentioned: be in the first moment, the first thought, and practice there.
That’s why in history, Kyogen Zen master attained enlightenment when he saw the beautiful flower of a plum tree, plum flowers, and then immediately he attained. And also another Zen master attained enlightenment the moment when he listened to the sound of the pebbles hitting bamboo. Immediately he attained enlightenment. His experience of listening to the sound of the pebbles hitting to the bamboo is the first moment. It’s very clear; that’s why he can exactly join, participate in the vastness of existence, so-called truth.
Or, Gensha Zen master attained enlightenment the moment when he hurt in his toe by stumbling over a rock, when he came across the river. Then he said, “From where the pain comes?” The moment when you say, “Ouch!” – from where does this come? Because “Ouch!” is nothing but surprise, astonishment.
So if you practice on a daily basis in shikantaza, exactly you can face this opportunity. In many ways; not exactly the same as the ancestors did – in many ways.
So there are lots of examples in the histories.
Question: [inaudible]
Katagiri Roshi: … You cannot exactly experience the same thing, same type or style of experience, so-called enlightenment coming from the plum flowers, or the sound of the pebbles hitting the bamboo trees. No. Anywhere.
Questioner: But the quality of enlightenment…
Katagiri Roshi: Same, same things. That’s what I mean.
Questioner: So it would just be a continual practice, like you say, of shikan, or that first thought? Constantly practice that, it sort of opens?
Katagiri Roshi: Yes, that’s true.
Questioner: So you open to… maybe some [kind] of experience you might have?
Katagiri Roshi: Yes. But there is no guarantee. [Laughter.]
I tell you [about] your freedom. I don’t want to “quote” a certain, you know… promise. I don’t want that. I’m not talking about some [interruptions]. I always want you to be free from anything.
Otherwise you cannot continue to practice shikantaza. If I say, “Yes, you can get a complete attainment if you practice this [way],” you are already caught by suffering. So you never attain enlightenment.
So that’s why I say there is no guarantee. Because it depends on the karmic life, [he laughs,] your karmic life.
Questioner: Did you have that experience?
Katagiri Roshi: Maybe or maybe not, I don’t know.
[Some laughter.]
That depends on you anyway. I already said, you know, four things, you know: completely open, whether I attain enlightenment or not, I already mentioned, you know, open. And then you ask me. This is already you and I getting into the dualistic world and then talking about the “did you”? [Laughter.] [Katagiri Roshi laughs.] And then I give an answer: “Yes, I did.” If I say so… you say, “Are you sure?” Already you are playing hide and seek. Do you understand?
Questioner: Mm-hmm.
Katagiri Roshi: So it depends on you, anyway. I cannot say anything.
But sometimes people want to know exactly, otherwise people are very restless. At that time, I say, “Yes, I did.” But sometimes, if I say so, people become very crazy, so I say, “No.” [A few people laugh, and Katagiri laughs.] Because I have to take care of real human beings anyway.
Questioner: So you’re saying, forget about it.
Katagiri Roshi: Yeah, I think so. [He chuckles.] Whether I have experienced that one or not, it’s not our business, no. It’s Buddha’s business.
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Question: I think your example of the moose is in many ways like the example of the sound of bamboo striking… [inaudible]
Katagiri Roshi: That’s true. Exactly.
Question: I have a… [inaudible]. [Laughter.]
Katagiri Roshi: Sure, anybody. Everyone can have such an impression. Because it’s very natural. [He laughs.] But the quality of the experience is different.
Listening to the sound of the pebble hitting the bamboo tree can be listened by anybody, and get the impression from that sound. But a certain person completely attains enlightenment, a certain person just listens to. Some are completely, “Oh, that’s it,” you know? They are there, exactly first moment, but they don’t pay attention to nothing, just be, “Oh, I can hear,” that’s it. Impression, but it doesn’t affect so much human life as a whole.
So impression from that is influencing not only individual, okay? Through that impression you have to see you and the whole world, simultaneously. And then, that is a big surprise, huge impressions.
Question: Is it permanent?
Katagiri Roshi: Oh yes, it’s exactly permanence. No, do you mean impermanence or permanence?
Questioner: No, I’m wondering about the experience of this one Zen master, when the pebble hit the bamboo tree. In two weeks did he forget it and become ordinary again?
Katagiri Roshi: Yeah, ordinary again.
Questioner: Or was he permanently enlightened?
Katagiri Roshi: “Permanently enlightened” because that is… [laughter] permanent enlightenment. Yes, it is! But what he has to do is come back to the ordinary people, ordinary life. But enlightenment is going permanently.
Questioner: So if his life is changed forever…
Katagiri Roshi: […] Yes.
Questioner: Not just for a few minutes?
Katagiri Roshi: No. Exactly.
That’s why if you do this with high resolve, very naturally you […] harvest wisdom and its function and plant it in your life. So you never forget it, you never get away from that, if you do it.
But if you touch that wisdom, that is already the samsaric world. That is already the samsaric world, changing constantly. That’s why beyond the samsaric world, what you do this, immediately you can plant it. You can plant that wisdom and its function as the root of the wholesome. That allows you to be born in the Buddha’s world. That is the next step: then you can create the Buddhist world. In other words, if you sit down in peace, without any excuse, just sit down – then next moment, you can create a peaceful world. Even though the world objectively creates a lot of violence, etc., if you sit down, you can create a peaceful world. That’s what we do, “Please light the candle once every Sunday.” That is a unique way, finally we can do it.
So just sit down, and then create. Because if you sit down, immediately you can harvest wisdom and the function of wisdom. […] root of the wholesome. So very naturally you can create. Because you immediately become peaceful, beyond the intellectual sense. And then, people feel peaceful. Very practically, it is true. Do you understand what I mean?
Question: I had a question about a word. […] Impertinent? Important?
Katagiri Roshi: “Impertinent.” Impertinent?
Someone: I think you mean pertinent. It should fit the occassion?
Someone: “Impertinent” means “impolite.”
Katagiri Roshi: Oh, “pertinent.” I’m sorry. Not impertinent, pertinent. “Perfect.” [He chuckles.] Exactly fitting in the bullseye.
1:11:47
Question: Roshi? … so-called enlightenment, … pebble striking bamboo… The difference between the experience that they have, when they hear the pebble striking the bamboo, … when I hear that same occurance… is that do to … Immediately preceding that moment, the Zen master was in samadhi? And when his stone strikes the bamboo, or he stubs his toe, he realizes that moment that previous to that point that he had been in samadhi but not aware of… What I’m getting at is, what is the difference between … Why does that precipitate this experience of enlightenment, and yet every one of us goes through this in life constantly, without having experience, without saying, “Wow, that was wild. Enlightenment there.” Is it because of the fact that they were in samadhi before that moment, and then they realized that here they were in some state of existence where they had an awareness of themselves.
Katagiri Roshi: I think… Please tell me later if I don’t answer your question properly. I think that particular teacher – not only that particular teacher, everyone – lives, strictly speaking, in the realm of the first moment and first thought of the samsaric world. But ordinary beings are very interested in the samsaric world fabricated by after second thought, third thought, et cetera, and involved in so much. So they don’t pay attention to the source I mentioned. But particular teacher, this person and that person, who practice continually returning to the source of the samsaric world – this is their practice, every day, based on the six paramitas as I mentioned. So being mindful of that first thought and the simple life, materialistically and also mentally. And clearly, steadfastly, and also very silent, every day. It’s not conspicuous, it’s not fancy practice. This particular person constantly takes care of everyday life in that way.
Then, when the time and life conditions are arranged, that practice anyway comes up – blooms, in a moment.
But everyone has this opportunity to attain this kind of enlightenment, but in a different way. Some experience very sharply, a very strong shock, like lightning or thunder, something like this. But some experience very slowly, like sneaking into their life, before they are conscious of it. But later, they can realize, very slowly. But either way, anyway.
So we have an opportunity to attain enlightenment, but it depends on intention, how strong you practice, you take care of your life, in the realm of first thought, of samsara. That’s what Dogen Zenji says in this Record of Things Heard. He mentions that way. Not the discussion of teaching, which teaching is good or bad; it depends on the intention, degree; how much intention you have in the practice. So that is. Is that alright?
Questioner: Only intellectually. [He laughs.]
Katagiri Roshi: Oh. Fine. That’s fine. [He chuckles.]
So I think the important point is, if you do zazen, that’s why zazen… when you do zazen, zazen must be taken care of fully, with wholeheartedness. But usually we don’t, you know? If you look at your zazen and everyday life, even though, no matter how often you listen to how to do zazen exactly and properly, but if you do zazen, very naturally, zazen is taken care of by your feelings and ideas. So very naturally, very sloppy zazen, et cetera. [He laughs.] So that’s why, even though you do zazen, anyway, you really do zazen exactly. When you wash your face, you really wash your face. If you continue to practice like this, very naturally, time will mature, [time and] occasion become arranged, and then naturally something happens. “Something” means oneness with the whole universe, the rhythm of life, universal life, comes up.
In the bendo-e, some of you [saw] Narasaki Roshi. Narasaki Roshi’s life is… you know, if you look at him, very naturally you can feel that one, each moment is really perfect, stand up still, silent, and steadfast. [Whether his] gassho, bow, standing, and talking with us, anyway, it’s really very sharp, but very soft and compassionate, very steadfast, and very silent. But it’s really directly going, something.
So this is a person. So that practice is very important for us. That person is the so-called right teacher. Later I will explain right teacher. It’s really right teacher is something like that.
1:20:42
Question: Hojo-san, yesterday you used the word surrender. How does that have to do with being […] the first moment, surrender. Will you talk about [that]?
Katagiri Roshi: Surrender?
Questioner: Yes.
Katagiri Roshi: Do you understand surrender?
Someone: I think you said “surrender body and mind into perfect tranquility.”
Katagiri Roshi: Yeah. Is that the question?
Questioner: Well I just thought you might talk about surrender… [inaudible].
Katagiri Roshi: Surrender is in other words to give, to offer, to give yourself to perfect tranquility. Completely give.
For instance, if you want to make a poem, you have poem of the wilderness and the pine trees, you have to give yourself to the pine trees, you know, directly. Not the kind of, not the kind of project you into the pine tree, etc. But complete give, that means physically and mentally you have to give to the wilderness. And then, this is, you can make poem. You can touch the spirit of the wilderness.
That’s surrender. But it’s very difficult to do like this, because always the self comes first. So even though you seem to surrender, but still you are thinking of yourself first. And then we think how much we should surrender. So always we are thinking about that. So always there is some “adjustment” we try to make, you know, in terms of conscious world. But to surrender your body and mind to the total […] perfect […] tranquility is completely you have to give yourself.