Blue Cliff Record Case 44: Ho Shan’s Knowing How to Beat the Drum, Talk 2
April 27, 1983 Dharma Talk by Dainin Katagiri Roshi
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Transcript
This transcript is in rough draft stage.
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0:00
Katagiri Roshi: … the forty-fourth case.
[A student reads:]
“Ho Shan’s Knowing How to Beat the Drum”
Ho Shan imparted some words saying, “Cultivating study is called ‘learning.’ Cutting off study is called ‘nearness.’ Going beyond these two is to be considered real going beyond.”
A monk came forward and asked, “What is ‘real going beyond’?” Shan said, “Knowing how to beat the drum.”
Again he asked, “What is the real truth?” Shan said, “Knowing how to beat the drum.”
Again he asked, “‘Mind is Buddha’—I’m not asking about this. What is not mind and not Buddha?” Shan said, “Knowing how to beat the drum.”
Again he asked, “When a transcendent man comes, how do you receive him?” Shan said, “Knowing how to beat the drum.”
The verse:
[Another student reads:]
One hauls rock;
A second moves earth.
To shoot the bolt requires a ten-ton crossbow.
The old master of Elephant Bone Cliff (Hsueh Feng) rolled balls—
How could this equal Ho Shan’s “Knowing how to beat the drum”?
I report for you to know:
Don’t be careless!
The sweet is sweet, the bitter is bitter.( From The Blue Cliff Record, translated by Thomas Cleary & J.C. Cleary)
1:56
Katagiri Roshi: Today, we will study the verse.
One hauls rock;
A second moves earth.
Let’s look at the commentary. This is a pretty good commentary.
First, “one hauls rock”: that comes from the story of Kuei Tsung. In the commentary it says:
One day Kuei Tsung gave the general call to labor (summoning everyone) to haul rock. Tsung asked the Duty Distributor where he was going. The Duty Distributor said, “I’m going to haul rock.” Tsung said, “For now I’ll let you haul rock, but don’t move the tree in the middle.”
In Japanese, we say Ino for where it says Duty Distributor here.
This is a little bit questionable; I am not clear [about] “hauls rock”. In English it says “hauls rock”; I don’t know, do you understand how to “haul rock”? And then, “Tsung said, ‘For now I’ll let you haul rock, but don’t move the tree in the middle’” – do you understand “the tree in the middle”? What does it mean? How do you haul rock?
Student: Well, haul rock means to move from one place to another.
Katagiri: Yes, I understand that.
Student: “Don’t move the tree in the middle,” I don’t understand. [Everyone laughs.]
Katagiri: Well, I can’t imagine it from the English translation, but probably this is [like] when I was a child, or in ancient times, grinding wheat or raw soy beans into flour by rubbing between two pieces of very thick, round stone. Two pieces of rock, about this size, this thick, and the two surfaces coming together have a very rough surface, with grooves. [There is some discussion to arrive at the word “grooves.” Katagiri Roshi laughs.] And in the center of the bottom of the rock there is an axis of wood, and then the top rock is put [on] there, and when you turn the upper rock, [the bottom] doesn’t move. The handle is on the side of the upper rock; you hold the handle and then you can turn just the upper rock. And then on the opposite side of the upper rock, there is a kind of hole, where you can put the wheat or any kind of grain while you turn. Can you imagine this? [He chuckles.] When I was a child, we made flour like this. I think this is [the analogy].
(Transcriber’s Note: This is called a rotating millstone. You can find images online.)
And then Zen Master Kuei Tsung says, “For now I will let you haul rock, but don’t move the tree in the middle.” “The tree in the middle” means the axis in the center of the rock. It is already fixed, it is already with the rock. Don’t move it; if you move it, you cannot grind. And also, it’s already there, completely beyond your control. You have to just follow there. [He chuckles.] So it’s kind of order, or principle. If you want to grind wheat or roasted soy beans, that is the principle. You cannot ignore it.
So that’s why he says, “Don’t move the tree in the middle.” That means whatever you do, there is a principle you have to focus on. If you slip off, [then] you [still] do something, but sometimes it doesn’t make sense.
Do you know [what] Dogen Zenji says in Shobogenzo Bendowa? He doesn’t criticize other schools chanting the name of Amitabha, or chanting sutras, or offering incense. He says, “It’s not necessary to chant [a] sutra [or] offer incense to the Buddha, all you have to do is just sit down.” It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. And also he says, “When you chant the name of Amitabha, most people chant Amitabha just like a frog croaking in the rice field in the spring.” It is not criticizing the other schools. But not only for particular schools, not only religious practice – whatever you do: if you miss the point, well, your life becomes just like a frog croaking in the rice field in the spring. You make every possible effort to live, but it doesn’t make sense, it really doesn’t work. Do you understand?
Well, how can I say it? [He laughs.]
For instance, if you want to be a football player, or a baseball player. Well, you have to catch the ball, and you have to play the baseball game with the people. But there is a certain principle no one can ignore. If you ignore this principle, no matter how long you practice, [you won’t catch the ball]. [If you ignore the principle,] “practice” means running on the ground, here and there, catching the ball as you like. “As you like” means according to the satisfaction of your desires. If you don’t want to do [something], you don’t. The baseball is [going to] this side, [and] if you don’t want to go there, it’s not necessary to go, you can go [the other] way. That [is] “according to satisfaction of your human desire.”
In everyday life, you should get up in the morning. That is daily routine. So when you get up in the morning, there is a certain principle there. When you get up in the morning, how can you get up? [He laughs.] Well, get up. Get up means you should use your body; you cannot get up from your head. Well, you can say there is a kind of principle, or discipline, or maybe manner. Very naturally, it comes up. So if you miss this [principle], even though you can get up, it doesn’t make sense, you know? Or you can go to the bathroom, well, walking with your hands, you know? You can do it. You can reach the bathroom [that way]. But it is not universal. If you are a human being, you have to walk with your feet. There is a principle. So when you get up in the morning, there is a principle, and you cannot ignore this. Then, get up in the morning.
So no matter how long you are running here and there on the baseball field ignoring the principle, rules, regulations, or guidance – just enjoying the baseball game according to the satisfaction of your desire – at that time, well, it’s pretty difficult to become a baseball player. Maybe you can do it as a hobby; you can be a baseball player as a hobby. Well, a hobby is a hobby. When you do something as a hobby, you can quit any time, because it’s a hobby. But if you’re a professional, you cannot stop, you know? Because if you become a professional, even if you don’t like it, people put you in a certain position called baseball player. Do you understand? If you become a football player or baseball player as a professional, how can you escape? [You can’t.] But if you become a football player as a hobby, well, you can quit anytime. Just according to the satisfaction of your desires, you can stop, or you can participate. But if you don’t like [it], you cannot do it.
So there is a principle; whatever you do, there is a center you have to follow. That center is practically very simple. Very simple.
15:17
In the human world, good and bad, right and wrong, suffering and pleasure, all are interwoven. If you suffer [too] much, you cannot arouse bodhi mind, the way-seeking mind, the aspiration for seeking for the truth. You cannot do it, because [you have] too much suffering. On the other hand, if you are too happy, it’s [also] very difficult to seek for the truth.
Well, actually […] maybe some of you experience [this]. Is there anyone who experiences [being] very happy, perfectly happy? No one? I hope. [Laughter.] But if you are too happy, [you can’t] maintain the spiritual aspiration for seeking for the truth.
Because this is the reality which you are present in: where good and bad, right and wrong, suffering and pleasure, all are interwoven, completely beyond your speculation. That’s why reality is very evasive. You don’t understand what the reality is. Sometimes you can know [it]; but if you touch it, it disappears, and next moment a new one comes up. So it’s very evasive and very vast. In other words, it’s very active, very dynamic. You can’t pin down what is the real reality where you are present.
So, from this point, all you have to do is to be present in the real reality, which is very evasive. […] There is some reason, principle. What’s the principle? The principle is that reality is completely interwoven by pleasure and suffering, right and wrong, good or bad, loss and gain, pros and cons, and lots of things. So if you attach to one side too much, you cannot seek for the truth, you cannot live in this world. Anyway, it’s pretty hard. If you attach to the other side, it’s also very difficult.
The important point is, you [can’t] understand what [is the] reality you are present in. So finally, all you can do is [say], “I hope,” or “I want to do something” – and build up something.
But even though you want to do [something], maybe [that] something you want to do will not just appear. So all you have to do is, you can have a hope that [you] want to do [it], right now. That’s all. Because next moment, you don’t know. But even though you don’t know, you cannot stop doing [something].
So [if you see the present life in terms of the next moment], it’s very dispiriting, hopeless, because next moment we don’t know what happens. So we ask, “If we don’t know next moment what will happen, why do we have to make every possible effort to live? Why don’t we sleep?”
But you cannot sleep. You cannot take a nap in the human world.
So even though you don’t understand the next moment, you cannot help doing something. So you want to do something right now. Anyway, you can hope. You can […] want to do something. You cannot expect a [certain] result. Nevertheless, you will have to do [something], and also you cannot help [but do something].
[You may think] “you have to do” means somebody orders you to do [something]. At that time, you’re mad at [them]. But it’s not [that]. [The] principle is not somebody ordering you. Principle is something [where] you have to be just present there, and do something. That’s all we have to do. Because reality is very evasive; completely interwoven by pros and cons, success and failure, and nothing to pin down. If so, all you have to do is […] do something, directing yourself toward a better way. That is your effort. So let’s do something now.
If you think [about the] next moment, you feel uneasy, restless. But you have to do [something]. Even though you will not be able to see result which you expect now, [still] you have to do [it].
22:13
So you have to do [something], but that is not [an] order [from someone]. So very naturally, [we ask,] who has to do [something]? What is the obligation? For what? For me? For others? No.
I want to practice zazen, I want to study Buddhism for [myself] – yes, it is true. For myself for what [reason]? For the sake of deepening my life. What do I mean, deepening my life? [He chuckles.]
Yes, for a certain period of time I can learn lots of things, and then deepen lots of things, and then I can see a little more broad picture of the human world. For a certain period of time – for fifty, sixty years, anyway. And then what happens, at the end of the sixty years? It’s time to go ahead, [he chuckles,] to the other side. To death.
When I die: what is it that I have done? I have studied and deepened my life for the sake of myself, for the sake of making my life happy. And then when I die, where is the happiness?
Well [he laughs], in the moment right before my death, [it’s] all gone, completely all gone. Happiness is no-happiness. Unhappiness is gone, happiness is gone, health is gone, un-health is gone. All gone. And then completely I have to fall into the abyss. Do you understand? Perfect unhappiness. Absolute unhappiness. [He laughs.] According to our sense, perfect unhappiness. Completely beyond happiness and unhappiness, what shall I do? I don’t want to die. I want to know what happens after death. [But] whatever I say, no matter how long I scream: “I’m sorry, Katagiri; please go ahead.” [Some laughter.]
I have to [be confounded] with that moment. Do you understand that?
This moment is the real reality you are present in. It’s very evasive, because this moment is really interwoven by pros and cons, success and failure, life and death. Right in the middle of death, from moment to moment, is it exactly death? No. It’s not death, it’s life, because right in the middle of death, from moment to moment, you have to live. Until real death comes. If real death comes, you don’t know what death is, because you become one, exactly death. At that time, how do you know death?
[There is] no way to know, because knowing is characterized by knowing something in the dualistic world. But if you become exactly oneness, you don’t know. There is no way to know.
[It is] just like being killed by a gun: boom, that shock. Only shock, and no pain. When you die, [there is] no pain – right in the middle of death, you don’t know what’s pain, what’s pleasure. You don’t know.
But before you die, death is coming into you, approaching you, crossing [over] to you: at that time, you know death. But that death is not real death; that death is something you can know. So it’s an object. [Subject], object.
So death is subjective happening. Life is subjective happening. So you don’t know. If you accept death or life exactly subjectively, there is no way to know. All you have to do is – just throw away “I want to do,” “I don’t want to do,” or “I have to do,” or “I haven’t to do,” or “I cannot help doing something,” completely no words – all you have to do is, just do it. That’s [a] simple practice.
27:50
So that’s why in this case, in the beginning it says, “Ho Shan imparted some words saying, “Cultivating study is called ‘learning.’” In the dualistic world we can cultivate study, knowing something, and stuff lots of knowledge into our head. That is learning, through your six consciousnesses. But this is [only] one of the ways of living in this world. It’s important, but it’s not the final purpose or most important purpose of your life.
On the other hand, “Cutting off study is called ‘nearness.’” That means no matter how long you study, life is very realistic. If the morning comes, you have to get up and you have to go to work. So let’s do it! Forgetting the studying and putting knowledge into your head – you know, “let’s do it, let’s do it!” Constantly.
Those are the two excessive ideas. [The first is,] “Let’s study human life step by step, through your knowledge.” The other side is, “Let’s be realistic, let’s do something, let’s do something!”
But both are pretty close. Every day, “just do it” – that’s pretty nice. So, it’s nearness.
In other words, I told you, if you want to communicate with the TV set, at the minimum you should know how to handle the TV set. Practically, all you have to do is just push a button, and then the whole world comes into the screen. This is very practical: it’s not necessary to know how complicated are the electronics behind the tiny switch, or how many people work at the TV station, […] or how many people [work on the show]. Even though you don’t know, all you have to do is just push a button, and then you can communicate with the TV set.
So very naturally, you can see a little bit the broad scale of the world. So you feel good. But it’s not exactly… [He laughs.] So that’s why here it says it’s nearness. It’s pretty near. It’s pretty near to the center of the universe, but it’s not exactly the center. [It’s] not exactly understanding the whole picture, which is working dynamically.
31:15
So that’s why next is, “Going beyond these two is to be considered real going beyond.” That means [going beyond the] two excessive ideas.
I told you, if you have too much suffering, you cannot stand up straight in this world, [and] if you are too happy, you cannot stand up straight either. That means to make your life straight up, you have to go beyond both: not suffering, not happy. Not unhappy, not happiness. So a little bit happy and a little bit unhappy. [He chuckles.] Don’t you think so? Check your life. Can’t you see your life exactly?
[You might say], “I am a happy guy.” Maybe Katagiri’s a happy guy. I don’t think Katagiri is a happy guy. Even though I don’t say anything – in my heart, still, [there is] some suffering. A little suffering, a little happiness – it’s alright. It’s alright. But the important point is you cannot attach to either side of them. All you have to do is go beyond both. And then, let’s stand up straight.
“Let’s stand up straight” [is] very simple. I want to do [something], but I don’t know in the moment [what it is], but I have to do [it]. No one orders me to do [something], [but] I have to do this. Who orders it? I order? No. This “I” is very small. Somebody orders it? No. Who orders it? I don’t know. [Then] why do I have to say [that] I have to do [something]? I don’t know! But even though no one orders me, even though no one asks me to do something, [still] I cannot help doing something. Do you understand?
Let’s [look at] your everyday life. Who orders you? Who makes you practice? Who makes you live for a certain period of time? No one orders [it]. Do you order [it]? No. Does God order [it]? No. God is very quiet. Buddha is very quiet. Nothing, no one. No one orders you, no one asks you to do something – but you are there, so you cannot help doing [something].
[…] Finally – what shall I do? I cannot help doing [something], so let’s do it. “Let’s do it” still means something in words; [but] “I cannot help doing” means I cannot stop it, […] I cannot have any idea to do or not to do. Anyway, finally, just do it.
Finally, when death comes: “Please, go ahead.”
Who says, “Please go ahead?” Who gives me guarantees I will go to heaven? No one. Have I created my own guarantee to go to heaven? No way. [He laughs.] When I die, who dies? This guy dies. No one goes with me. Only I alone have to go. So how can I create a guarantee by myself? [Maybe] by spiritual life I have created a guarantee, but right in the moment of death: “I’m sorry.” This guarantee also goes, [along] with my death. So, nothing. Nothing – but I have to go. But not “I have to go” – I cannot help going ahead.
So that’s why a Zen Master says, “Please, go ahead.”
This is death. Death is life, exactly life.
36:12
Everyday life is just like this. But you are too happy [in] everyday life. Too many things: lots of materials, lots of choices there. If you’re too happy, you cannot have the opportunity to have the way-seeking mind.
For instance: if you fall in love with somebody, you feel really happy. At that time, you don’t care about religion. Don’t you think so? [He laughs.]
And then, if you [crash], if you fail to fall in love, then you start to think something. “What happened? Am I a happy guy, or am I not a happy guy?” And then you start to cry. And then even though you cry by yourself, you don’t know how to save [yourself] from your suffering, so you try to ask somebody, “Please help me.” And then that is the first gate to get into [the spiritual realm].
But at that time [there is] too much suffering, so you don’t have any space to get into the spiritual realm. [He laughs.]
So, too much suffering, and the other side is, too happy.
Too happy means exactly the same as infatuation; over-excitement …
[Tape change.]
… well, everything is happy for you, so no need [for] help from anybody, [or] anything. That’s fine. But life is not like that.
So that’s why Buddhism always says, “That’s fine, but make your mind calm, anyway.” [He laughs.]
That’s why Buddhism is not an interesting religion. Other religions always gives you lots of excitement: “You should believe this thing, and then you can go to heaven after death,” et cetera. So you’re really excited. If you are infatuated with that religion, well, you’re really happy, you [create] something. But Buddhism doesn’t do that; [it] always pours water [over] your head. [He laughs, and a few people laugh.] Pretty calm. So [it’s] not interesting, no excitement. That’s pretty hard.
So that’s why people ask me sometimes, “[Why does] Buddhism ignore human affection or feeling?” I don’t think Buddhism ignores human affection or feeling. Buddhism knows pretty well what affection or excitement is; that’s why [it says,] right in the middle of excitement, “Please take care of excitement in an appropriate way.” That’s all we have to do. That’s why Buddhism always says, “Don’t be blinded by excitement.” Because if you are exactly blinded by excitement, you don’t need anything, because your whole life is occupied by excitement.
So, Buddhism is not an interesting religion. I don’t want to recommend you to study it.
[Everyone laughs.]
40:30
And also, actually, the final goal you can reach is a very simple practice, because [it’s] just like this. What is real, beyond those two, [happiness] or pain? What is this? The Zen Master says, “I know how to hit the bell.” That means very simple practice. Knowing how to hit the bell is simultaneously real beyond pain or not pain.
That is a little bit difficult to understand, because that process of hitting the bell is not hitting the bell according to your actions.
[Let’s say] the bell, and the stick, and your six consciousnesses, and your body, and also circumstances, the bell tower, et cetera – each of them are devices, machines. And then you can operate all [the] machines by what? Your actions. So “let’s hit [the bell],” you know? [He chuckles.] But your action is very “stinky,” because that action is characterized by your karmic life coming from your past. So you don’t know what your action is. Action is completely different [for everyone].
Everyone has a different action. Katagiri acts in a different way, [his] gassho is different. If you do gassho, even though I teach you one gassho, everyone does gassho in a completely different way. They understand what I [taught], but if they do it, a different gassho appears.
That’s why Dogen Zenji says, “Shikantaza: all you have to do is just sit down.” Doing zazen for the sake of doing zazen: everyone knows [this], intellectually. But if they start to do it, they don’t do it in that way. [It is] crooked, because we always do something by our own actions. Even though I do something exactly, still my stinkiness comes up.
So, the bell, the stick, the bell tower, and your six consciousnesses and six [sense] organs – all are machines, just like a car, and then you can operate them by your actions. But that action is always characterized by trying to satisfy your own desire. That’s why if you don’t want to do it, you stop. That is your actions. [Whether you know it or not], completely that is your actions.
This is a human problem. So all we have to do is: let’s refine, polish, these actions. By what? This is so-called compassion, or peace, or softness, or kindness, or magnanimous mind, or respect, appreciation; lots of terms there.
Well, those are nothing but the lubricant. By this lubricant, you can operate all the machines very smoothly.
To operate all the machines very smoothly by [lubrication] means you come close to Buddha’s teaching, Buddha’s way: to live with all sentient beings, to think of others, and help others, very naturally.
But [as I said,] your action is characterized by satisfying individual desires: my own desires, so I don’t care [about] others. This is very stinky actions. Whether you know or don’t know – even if you know intellectually, actually you don’t act very elegantly or softly or magnanimously. You don’t. Selfishness comes up, very naturally. That’s why you hurt anyone, consciously or unconsciously. That’s why you have to pay attention to your actions every day.
So in a Zen monastery we don’t say your action is bad or wrong. [We say,] why don’t you practice? When you get up in the morning, please get up in the morning thinking of others, thinking of all sentient beings: “I am getting up, I am starting to live with all sentient beings.” So sit up on the bed, and let’s chant the verse: “I am getting up in the morning now with all sentient beings.” This is a simple practice. And then if you finish [that], let’s stand up and go to the bathroom. When you wash your face, let’s chant the verse: “I am washing my face with all sentient beings, in order to make my mind pure.” Like this.
This practice is pretty good. Even if you don’t know how this practice is helpful, through this practice you can polish or refine your actions, pretty deeply. So-called magnanimous, or compassionate, or softness, kindness. Thoughtful; something like this.
That’s why [you should do this] every day. If you do this practice every day, that is something real, going beyond suffering or pleasure.
This is the wood in the center. You can grind the wheat into flour by rubbing between the two pieces of rock; by your action, you can do it. But “don’t move the tree in the center of the rock.” That means that “by your action” is fine, but what is the wood in the center? That wood in the center is exactly a kind of lubricant. Peace, respect, appreciation, patience… discipline, offerings, giving, effort, energy, zeal, calmness, tranquility… wisdom. This is the wood in the center; don’t move this. All you have to do is just follow [this]. Regardless of whether you like or you don’t like, you have to follow this, otherwise you cannot grind the wheat into flour.
So practically, this is simple. What is this? That’s why the koan says, “I know how to hit the bell.” This is just practice.
49:26
Finally the monk asks, “When I meet a person who really experiences [reality] beyond the two excessive ideas – suffering, pleasure, et cetera – how can I deal with him, how can I meet him?”
[Ho Shan] says, “I know how to hit the bell.”
Because if you hit the bell, you cannot hit the bell according to satisfying your desires. No. You have to hit the bell with the life of the bell, with the life of trees, life of birds, life of nature, life of spring, life of you, life of the bell tower – exactly becoming one. That means be mindful of all sentient beings around the bell, around you, and then let’s hit [the bell] together. At that time, how can you hit the bell by your desires? [You can’t.] Very naturally, you hit, and simultaneously all sentient beings join your actions. So you have to think of others: birds here, grasses here, let’s hit the bell together. Simultaneously, your action becomes very magnanimous. Very tolerant. Very modest. Very kind. Very compassionate. But very stable, very stable – because all sentient beings support your actions.
So very stable, but very soft. Very stand up straight. But it’s exactly [to] hit [the bell]. So very naturally sound comes up. Very smoothly, wonderful sound comes up from the bell. So people can know, who hit the bell.
That’s why in Eiheiji or in [other] monasteries in Japan, each time we hit the bell, we bow. One full bow; and then hit again, and one bow again. Even right in the middle of winter, in December. The tall bell is outside in the snow and cold. [You are] wearing the robes, and anyway, one hundred and eight hits. You have to bow one hundred and eight times, outside in the winter. It’s cold. But, no way to escape. So that is really good practice. [He laughs.] Even though you want to hit the bell by your desire, you can’t, because winter is there. So even though you want to hit immediately with vitality, your hand doesn’t work very well, because it’s cold. [He rubs his hands.] You warm your hands, and then, hit it. [He laughs.] So it’s pretty nice: always being mindful of you, being mindful of winter, snow, and the situation, quietness. It’s wonderful. It’s hard, but it’s pretty good, pretty good.
So that’s why the koan says, “I know how to hit the bell.”
53:30
And,
A second moves earth.
(The commentary:)
Whenever a newcomer arrived (at his place) Mu P’ing would first order him to move three loads of earth. Mu P’ing had a verse which he showed to his assembly saying:
East Mountain Road is narrow, West Mountain is low:
New comers must not refuse three loads of mud.
Alas, you’ve been traversing the roads so long,
It’s so clear, but you don’t recognize it and instead get lost.
“East Mountain Road is narrow, West Mountain is low” – that is various aspects of human life: suffering [and happiness], pros and cons, success and failure, falling in love or failing to love, et cetera. But those are nothing you can escape. So if you see suffering, you have to deal with suffering. You have to carry the loads of mud, if it is necessary.
“New comers must not refuse three loads of mud” because this is the reality you live in, woven by suffering, pain, good and bad, right and wrong, et cetera. So if you see the [West] mountain which is lower, you have to deal with this.
So, no excuse. But if I say “no excuse,” you are mad, because [you think] I order you. But I don’t order you; this is the principle. This is the ultimate principle you have to follow. No one orders you, no one asks you. No one asks you to commit suicide by your suffering, no one. No one asks you to escape the suffering; no, no one. No one asks you to stick to the suffering; no one asks [that]. But you don’t ask yourself to do that. Finally, all you have to do is, completely beyond I want or I don’t want, finally, I cannot help doing. I cannot help dealing with the suffering, right in the middle of suffering. So, day by day, you have to do it. Next moment, the suffering disappears, another kind of suffering appears.
This is “no excuse.” You have to do it. Very simple. That’s why, “I know how to hit the bell.”
This is the point: you have to learn how to hit the bell. If you hit the bell too [hard], you cannot seek for the truth. In other words, if you have too much suffering, you cannot seek for the truth, because [it’s] too much. If you are too happy, you cannot seek for the truth. “You cannot seek for the truth” means you cannot stand up straight every day. No. So how can you deal with [the bell], how do you know how to hit the bell? “How to hit the bell” means every moment. When you get up in the morning, you have to hit the bell. Just like pushing the button of the TV set. “Get up in the morning” means just hit the bell. But how do you hit the bell? You should know.
But you hit the bell [is] really complicated. [He laughs.] A complicated sound comes up, you know? When you get up in the morning, how can you hit the bell? Do you know how to hit the bell? “Yes,” you say, “I know how to hit the bell” – but lots of complicated sounds come up! Sometimes I cannot hear it. Sometimes I’m really confused. Even myself, I can get up in the morning by my actions, but it’s very complicated.
So why don’t you get up in the morning, as simple as you can? Very magnanimous mind, very compassionate. It’s pretty hard, so every day, you have to learn how to hit the bell. The real way: not the idealistical way, the real way. The real way is something you have to learn in the process of walking in the mist, constantly. And then you can learn what is the real way to hit the bell.
Before doing that, even though you know the way, that way is idealistical, nothing but ideas, concepts. So sometimes it doesn’t work. The real way is something you have to learn right in the middle of process of hitting the bell, and then you should know how to hit the bell. So how to get up in the morning, how to wash your face. You should learn.
What is love? Love is not discussion. You should learn what real love is, through the process of living, through your life. Helping each other; not always showing your desires first. Anyway, you should learn real love in the process of living with people, thinking of others, helping others. And then you can learn real love.
That real love is pretty hard to explain. But it makes your life stable. Wherever you may go, you can love somebody. Always.
“Alas, you’ve been traversing the roads so long”: We have been already right in the middle of the way so long, from the past. We are already there; that is [the] real reality you are present [in]. Whether you realize it or don’t realize it, you are there. So no excuse; you have to just live there.
“It’s so clear”: It’s so clear. It’s very clear. It’s too clear to know, anyway. [He laughs.] Because if you become one exactly, it’s very clear. For instance, if I, Katagiri, become one as Katagiri, it’s very clear: this is Katagiri. It’s pretty hard to say, [but] it’s pretty clear to know. Do you understand? This nose is my nose. So my nose is very clear [to] me. But how do I know? My nose is right in the middle of my face. And then I say, “touch it” – “oh yes, this is my nose.” It’s already [that] I know the nose in the dualistic world. So I create a gap. [When] my nose is exactly one with Katagiri, at that time it’s very clear, absolutely clear. But it’s pretty hard to know.
“But you don’t realize it, and instead get lost”: If you don’t know this clearness, if you don’t realize this clearness, you get lost. That’s why Zen Master [Kuei Tsung] says, “I’ll let you grind the wheat into flour, but don’t move the tree in the center.” That is the center.
1:03:15
(Continuing from the commentary:)
Later there was a monk who asked Mu P’ing, “I don’t ask about what is included in the three loads. What about what’s outside the three loads?” P’ing said, “The Iron Wheel Emperor commands in his realm.” The monk was speechless, so P’ing hit him.
“Inside of the three loads” means the quality of the three loads. [The monk] understands the quality of the three loads; that’s why Zen Master [Mu P’ing] always asks newcomers to carry the three loads of mud. But the monk asks about outside of the loads. That means: why? The reason why I have to do it, outside [of] the loads. In other words, when the quality of the three loads appears in our human dualistic world, what is this? Is this [an] order? Or is this [morality]? Or is this something philosophical? That’s why the monk asks, “What about outside the three loads?”
P’ing said, “The Iron Wheel Emperor commands in his realm.” The Iron Wheel Emperor means completely no excuse. Iron is hard; the hardest entity. No one can move it. No one can ignore it. So “its Emperor commands in his realm,” that means the principle, the law of nature. No one can move it, no one can ignore it.
That’s why, very naturally, you should do it. Very naturally a Zen teacher “orders” you to do it: even though you don’t like it, do it. If you complain, the teacher [picks you up and puts you] on a zafu anyway. Because you cannot escape. In order to let you know, the teacher has to do something like this – because this is natural law, the law of nature, or principle, so-called “the Iron Wheel Emperor commands in his realm.” That principle is the whole universe; the whole universe is occupied by this principle. So this principle always commands you to do it. Whether you don’t like it or you like it, just do it.
This is why Hsueh Tou said, “One hauls rock / A second moves earth.”
1:07:05
“To shoot the bolt requires a ten-ton crossbow.” Hsueh Tou uses the ten-ton pull crossbow to explain this case: he wants you to see how Ho Shan helped people. If it’s a monstrous dragon or tiger or some other fierce beast, then you use this crossbow. If it’s a tiny bird or a creature of little consequence, of course you mustn’t use the crossbow lightly.
Well, this everyday practice, knowing how to hit the bell, is really using a heavy, ten-ton crossbow. It means, very stable practice. No one asks you, no one orders you, but it’s very stable. Just like using a ten-ton crossbow, it’s very stable, heavy.
And then, what can you hit with this ten-ton crossbow? You have to hit the enormous creatures, monstrous creatures. But what is it? It is kind. It is exactly the same as a little creature, like a rabbit. It means, when you get up, get up. When you wash your face, wash your face. That is a kind of little rabbit. But, don’t be careless. You cannot ignore this practice.
So even though you hit a little rabbit, you have to use a ten-ton crossbow. At that time, your action becomes very magnanimous. Very tolerant. Very stable. Very straightforward. Very patient. Very compassionate. Very kind. Very intimate. Very friendly. Very directly intimate; directly become one. [Great] human warmness there.
1:09:58
“The old master of Elephant Bone Cliff rolled balls.”
[The old master of] Elephant Bone Cliff means Zen Master Hsueh Feng. [He] always rolled balls when a newcomer came; that is the same way as this Ho Shan (or Mu P’ing?) did, exactly the same.
But if you read these Zen stories, then most Zen people try to imitate this way. Well, if you imitate, imitation is imitation, okay? [He chuckles.] Kind of [like] a koan. In order to solve the koan, sometimes Zen students imitate what a Zen Master did in the past. […] Very dramatic: screaming, shouting, et cetera. Or sometimes throwing away books, or your hat, et cetera. But this is nothing but imitation.
Don’t imitate. If you want to do [it], you should discover [it] by yourself. It’s not necessary to make your life dramatic. No. Even if you cannot say anything, that’s fine; it is also your own [creative] life. If you can go in that way, without saying anything, constantly standing up straight like this – it’s fine. Great [koan]. But most Zen students try to imitate in order to solve the koans, or human life. No. That’s not [the] right way.
But there are lots of examples there, that’s why this Blue Cliff Record says it like this.
1:12:34
I report for you to know:
Don’t be careless!
The sweet is sweet, the bitter is bitter.
The mountain in the [west] is low; at that time, you have to take care of the mountain which is low. If you see the mountain which is higher than the other, you have to deal with mountain which is higher than the other. So when zazen comes, you should deal with zazen as it is. When the morning comes, you should deal with the morning. When you have to get up in the morning, you have to deal with getting up in the morning as simply as you can, as it really is. Sweet is sweet, bitter is bitter.
Bitter is not something wrong, bitter is one of the decorations of real reality, which makes your life work. Sweet is not always sweet; sweet turns into bitter. Bitter is not always bitter; bitter turns into sweet… someday. Only when you deal with bitter as it is [does] bitter turn into sweet. When you don’t [deal with bitter as it is], bitter is always bitter, giving you lots of suffering. Because you create bitter by your misusing bitter, misunderstanding bitterness. So you create more and more.
So that’s why [it says], “Don’t be careless.” Whatever it is, don’t be careless. When you see wash water in the basin […] this is a spiritual opportunity. You can manifest your spirit, your human warmness, human compassion, and offer your body and mind into it: communicating with each-other, the water and you. At that time, the water supports your life.
Dogen Zenji always talks about this kind of practice in Eihei Shingi: the regulation of monastic life. It’s a very interesting work. Most people don’t pay attention, because he’s always talking about how to wash your face, et cetera. In other words, it’s pretty usual daily routine. Everyone washes your face, so why does Dogen have to say how to wash your face, you know? [He laughs.] It’s ridiculous. Even three year old boys know pretty well how to wash their face. But – even an eighty-year-old man cannot wash his face in an appropriate way. So that’s why [Dogen] has to say it.
So that’s a very interesting work, but no one pays attention to it. Most people are interested in philosophy [he chuckles], very complicated philosophy. They love it. They don’t pay attention to very simple daily routine. But the real important practice is always in the daily routine.
So, you cannot be careless. But I don’t mean you should be nervous. No. You cannot be meticulous. […] If I say, “Please be careful,” your action or behavior becomes meticulous. No, it’s not meticulous, okay?