This is the first day of this. September/October 2024 sesshin, seven day sesshin. There are different words for or different translations, rather, for the word sashin. The ones that I've come upon the most are I heart are touching the heart mind, collecting the heart mind, and Gathering the heart mind. And really each of these translations conveys beautifully our our purpose. We gather our limbs together, gather our efforts and our energy. And there is a tenderness and intimacy that is intrinsic to practice, no matter which practice you're working on, whether it's following the breath koan work, or shikantaza.
To touch the heart mind is to touch this moment to not separate ourselves from it.
And another thing about sasheen as a retreat. It's not retreating or taking a break or escaping from our everyday lives, but it's a turning inward again. Becoming intimate with this one mind that we all share in our lives. We can spend so much time and energy looking outward, focused on our to do list, getting things done, making a living, planning The trajectory of our lives, keeping up with appearances looking looking for rewards, looking for results, for praise, for validation.
That's not our work this week. We're here to do inner work.
And it's it's vital work. It's so needed in our lives and in the world right now. Put up all these barriers, we misuse our mind in ways that create conflict and division, confusion, harm.
For this, sashin, I'm going to start with reading from a book by Guo. Gu the essence of chan, A Guide to the life and practice a. According to the teachings of Bodhidharma.
And in it, he comments on the teachings of Bodhidharma, who is recognized as the founder of the Zen school, the founder of the work we're doing here in sashin. He also appears in a number of koans. And it's it's timely to take a look at Bodhidharma, because in a couple, two or three weeks from now, we will hold at Arnold park our annual Bodhidharma celebration. And it's a celebration that's held around the world. Sometimes it's called Bodhi day, and it's traditionally held on October 5. We end up doing ours as close as possible to that date, depending on what our calendar permits.
And the story of Bodhidharma, it's one that many, maybe all of you, have heard of before. He's typically depicted as the wide eyed, bearded barbarian who sat facing a wall in a cave for nine years.
But let me first say a little bit about Guo. Gu in case you don't know about him, there's a biography in the back of the book, but I've also read some interviews with him and learned about his background just by doing some research online. He was born in 1968 so he's a Generation X teacher, and he says that it was at the age of four when he was first exposed to meditation practice. While growing up in Taiwan, he and his family moved to the US in 1981 and one. And a little fun fact, during his teen years, he was a bass player in a punk rock band, and eventually he started practicing zazen with his teacher, who was the chan master Shang Yan.
After Guo Gu graduated from college, he was ordained as a monk. Guo Gu is actually his Dharma name. His birth name is Jimmy Wu or sorry, Jimmy YOU and I learned that Guo Gu translates in English as results from being the valley, results from being a valley. And he says it comes from a Chinese proverb to be as humble as a valley. And he says a valley is humble because it is empty, resting at the lowest part of earth, yet is able to support and nourish all life forms.
After Guo Gu became a monk, Master Sheng Yang appointed him as his personal attendant and translator, and later he authorized him as a teacher. Today, Guo Gu teaches mainly at the Tallahassee chan Center, which he founded. It's located in Florida. By the way, Tallahassee was one of the places that was along the. Path of the hurricane, the devastating hurricane that happened over the past few days, lots of flooding.
Another note about Guo Gu is that he, at some point, decided to leave monasticism and return to householder life while continuing as a teacher. And he became a scholar, just like his teacher, Sheng yen. He completed a PhD in Buddh studies from Princeton, and he's currently a professor of Buddhism and East Asian religion at a university in Florida. So let's dive into the text, the essence of chan A Guide to Life and practice according to the teachings of Bodhidharma. And this is one of several books authored by Guo Gu I'm going to start with a section where he gives an overview of the legend of Bodhidharma, and he begins with some historical details. He says Bodhidharma was either either a Persian or South Indian monk. The several existing historical records about his life do not agree as to his origins. These records do concur, however, that around 527, CE, there was a Western monk named Bodhidharma who taught meditation at Mount Song in luyang, China, and who passed away in China at the ripe age of 150 150 that's really hard to believe. Maybe it's the power of zazen, but actually, his both his nationality, where he came from, and his age have been the subject of a lot of debate among scholars. And you know, the historical records just aren't clear from back then, for obvious reasons, so we can't really distinguish myth from fact. There's some scholars who even question whether he even existed at all, and that's okay. Myth has a value, at the very least, can point us in the right direction. But Guo Gu does not question whether Bodhidharma was an actual person and an influential Zen ancestor. But he does mention that some of the texts attributed to him may not be entirely accurate, word for word, and there's one text that's considered very important, attributed to Bodhi Dharma. It's called two entries and four practices. Two entries and four practices, and I'll get to that later on. But first, Gogu tells the story again. This is probably one that many of you know about Bodhidharma. This is what he says. Bodhidharma was no ordinary missionary. News of his arrival in China soon reached Emperor Wu a great patron of Buddhism, the emperor was very proud of his accomplishments, which included building monasteries and sponsoring translation projects. He wanted to meet this famous, learned monk, and he summoned Bodhidharma to court. A spirited dialog supposedly ensued. Bodhidharma arrived at court looking rather tattered in a sashed robe, unkempt beard and bare feet. He, as was the custom of Indian Buddhist monks, the Emperor told Bodhidharma that he had been working very hard to establish Buddhism in China. He asked him how much merit he had earned, none whatsoever, none whatsoever, Bodhidharma replied.
What a crude thing to say. This was no way to answer an emperor. Bodhidharma, head could have been chopped off for such a reply.
So, yeah, keep in mind that Bodhidharma was addressing this very powerful emperor, quite a lot of prestige, and he certainly wasn't accustomed to people speaking to him that way. He could have took it as a total insult, and he did have the authority to punish him if he wanted to. And then Guo Gu continues the story. Emperor Wu was astonished, no merit, none whatsoever he pressed, was it a total waste then to do all the good deeds that I did? And guguo notes at that time, Buddhism was understood not only as a system of beliefs and practices, but also as an effective means of accumulating merit.
So yeah, here we have Emperor Wu, who spent a lot of money, a lot of time and energy, creating infrastructure for Buddhism to thrive in China, monasteries, temples, supporting the livelihood of teachers and monks, and he assumed that he was going to gain something from it, that he would earn merit. Maybe he thought that it would ensure his personal good fortune moving forward, or favorable legacy after he died.
While, while, good deeds in the present is a matter of karma, whatever we say or do does have an effect. That doesn't mean we should actively try to improve our karma that's clinging to self interest, seeking gain. It's like trying to be a do gooder, be the best Zen student that you can so you can feel good about yourself, wanting to be looked upon favorably by others, wanting to make an impression,
rather than simply responding and doing What needs to be done with no self coming from the heart.
And Guo Gu says, When Bodhidharma reply. To the Emperor, none whatsoever, no merit. He gave us his first teaching. Our True Nature does not increase or decrease, because all things are interdependent and interconnected. All deeds are empty, not because they are void of meaning, but because nothing is fixed and separate and
that's that's what it means to say that our, our true self, is no self, that nothing is isolated or apart from anyone or anything else. We're all deeply interwoven, whether we realize it or not, and this is exactly what we're Waking up to in practice the wholeness of life you
guo. Gu says the none in none whatsoever is Wu in Chinese. In Japanese, it is mu, which means empty.
That's one translation of mu, just like the word sashin. There are variations of it. Others are no not does not have it's not what you think. I
but we don't need to, and shouldn't ponder and think about translations. It's just just an abstraction, just a bunch of words. All we need to do is give ourselves to moon. This, it and
Guo Gu then says Bodhidharma, reply is a play on words. How much merit do I have? Empty but is it really No? In emptiness, there is fullness, because everything is connected. It's just as we recite in the Prajnaparamita, emptiness is only form. Form is only emptiness, not two.
And Guo Gu says a person is able to generate merit because of the merit of everyone else. In the Emperor's case, everyone in his kingdom, including his officials, his magistrates and his workers, was involved in his projects. Therefore all of them had also generated merit. You.
It's the same as the food that we eat. There are countless beings and things
that make it possible for the food that we eat to land on our plate and nourish us, honey bees, the soil, rain, farmers and laborers, tractors, trucks and truck drivers,
grocery store workers and all so that we can live and practice and be in this world and
really all, all of life is one great, massive, giant extended Family. I
All of life is the Sangha.
So who is there to earn merit?
Guo. Gu says the Emperor thought that there was an independent I who could gain something. Surely he had destroyed all of his religious merit. This is how we usually function. From the point of view of me, my, you and other. Chan Buddhism says that these three aspects of who we think we are, permanent, separate and independent are mere assumptions these. This assumption of I or a permanent self, is so deeply ingrained into our wiring that we think it is real,
but our true nature, and the true nature of all things, is that we are not separate but interconnected, not independent, but interdependent, not permanent, but impermanent. And and then he says, Guo Gu is made up of non Guo Gu, and we can insert any, any name there, all my thoughts, opinions and experiences come from my interactions with everything else. My own views are just a collection of other views.
But views are not the problem. The problem is that we live our life on the basis of attachment to an ingrained assumption and identity, namely, that we possess a permanent I when we have thoughts such as my merit and your merit, there's something to be gained and lost. There is competition and resentment. There is success and. Failure. This is how we create suffering.
The same applies to practice here in Sachin, a
our individual efforts, if you can call it, that are not separate from the efforts of the people sitting next to us and everyone else in the Zendo here, in person and online, we really can't speak of my practice. It's really just practice, just effort, get the the me and the I out of the way.
Also the her, him, them out of the way.
What is it? What is it that sits, that breathes, that eats, sleeps, all the activities we engage in throughout the day. What is it? Who is it do?
No merit, no gain, no loss, no failure, no good Zen students and no bad Zen students.
Just just the trying, just the practice and
and Guo Gu goes on with the story. After Bodhidharma answered none whatsoever or no merit at all, the emperor said, You are a Buddhist monk in Buddhist robes, yet you do not even know your own doctrine. Who are you? Who is it that stands before me? And Bodhidharma replied, Don't know. Don't know. It's really interesting to see in Guo Gus translation that he actually leaves the word I out instead of saying, I don't know, it's don't know.
How could one not know who they are? We see ourselves as a somebody. We see ourselves as an identity, a personality, as having a life, but that's all just a cluster of thoughts,
a sticky knot of thoughts at that, and it arises out of our relationships to others and.
Others that are actually not other.
Guo. Gu says to know suggests a me who knows as well as in it to be known, it includes a label, a concept, a self and other, hence don't know the emperor was already irritated by Bodhidharma first answer, but now he was just confused. He knew that Bodhidharma was a great monk, yet Bodhidharma first reply seemed to show that he did not know his own doctrine, and his second answer showed that he did not even know who he was. Actually, Bodhidharma gave us his second teaching with his reply. Don't know, had he said, I am Bodhidharma, the famous Indian monk, the Emperor probably would have bowed to him. But Bodhidharma did not say that, nor did he say I don't know. By saying simply don't know. Bodhidharma like a sword slashed through all conceptualizations, all oppositional assumptions of subject and object, such as you and I, all ideas of time and space, of now and then and here and there. In one fell swoop, he cleared the mind of all the unnecessary clutter that prevents us from seeing our true nature.
But the Emperor did not understand when Bodhidharma eventually left the Emperor needed his advisor to explain it to him verbally and conceptually, the way I am doing here. I
I just get rid of the eye. Drop it and
instead of telling yourself, Oh, I'm so tired, poor me,
there's just sleepiness. Not even that that makes it into a thing. It's just yawning, just nodding off, just taking a nap
just being in a body.
But just as Gogu says, that's all words, it makes it into some kind of abstraction, a mental construct.
Practice is about being, not thinking. Being
Guo Gu says we may think we know ourselves and others, but really. We do not because of our rigid assumptions. We categorize things in terms of good and bad, specifically things that are good or bad. For me, because of this discrimination and self referentiality, we cannot really see the people in front of us, let alone our true nature. We have a fixed image in our mirror, and this fixed image always gets in the way of reflecting what's actually around us. Bodhidharma was testing the understanding of the emperor who failed miserably. Unfortunately, I
that's how it is ordinarily for most of us, if not all of us, this default mode of looking, seeing others in the world through self centeredness, self interest such a source of confusion and conflict and dissatisfaction in our lives,
one of The primary ways it shows up is expecting the worst of a situation or expecting the Worst intentions in other people, assumptions of all kinds and
and then in the case of the Emperor, it was clinging to the idea of earning merit, expecting to get something out of his good actions in service to himself.
Guo Gu says, Through Bodhidharma answers, none whatsoever, and don't know he was revealing the highest Buddhist truths, which are selflessness and not grasping after expedient teachings, such as doing good deeds in order to accrue merit and gain Higher rebirths. To have merit assumes that there is something someone performing the good deed, that there is someone else receiving the benefit, that there are sentient beings and that there is an actual meritorious act. These four aspects, self others, sentient beings and the act itself are what Buddhism refers to as the four emptinesses. So self others, sentient beings, actions all empty.
And saying they're all empty, it can be easily misunderstood if we try to see it intellectually, emptiness can have a negative connotation, as in meaningless, vacant, absent or just blank. But that's not what Bodhidharma meant when he said None whatsoever. And don't know i.
As Go, go, go says, Everything depends on something else, nothing separate or outside us. Nothing's fixed or permanent. For that matter, I
so whatever you're experiencing right now, it's just this for now, because it will pass
Guo Gu goes on to describe what happened next in this exchange with the emperor, he says Bodhidharma was not crazy. He was just testing the Emperor. In fact, he was speaking in perfect accord with Buddhist doctrine, but the Emperor, not understanding, replied, since you do not know, please leave. This was actually a very kind way of dismissing Bodhidharma. In those days, anyone speaking thus to the emperor would have been beheaded. It was therefore gracious and unusual for the Emperor to give such a break to this strange looking monk. It is said that after Bodhidharma left, the Emperor conveyed the exchange to his advisers. One of them was a learned monk who, upon hearing the words, none whatsoever joined his palms together and said Bodhidharma gave the true teachings.
The Emperor, of course, then requested that Bodhidharma return to the court immediately. So did he suddenly realize that he had been caught up in thoughts about getting merit, or maybe he was doubling down thinking now he needed to make up for turning Bodhidharma away, make up for his past misdeed and ensure Good karma in the future.
In any case, Gogu says he the Emperor, offered to build Bodhidharma, a monastery where he could live and teach the Emperor and everyone else at court. But it was too late. Nothing would bring Bodhidharma back. He was gone. Nothing could bring him back in the koan version of this dialog, which is the first case of the hekiganroku, or the blue Cliff record. The last line is, even if everyone in the country were to go after him, he still would not return. Even if everyone in the country were to go after him, he still would not return. No one could ever find him. He's nowhere to be found.
Where did he go?
It's like asking, Who is this standing before me? I
What is this? I This? Mean, it's the same as asking, what is this? What is mu i.
What is it? I
Is there anywhere for it to go? Where did it go? I
