Blue Cliff Record Case 51: Hsueh Feng’s What Is It? – Talk 2
January 18, 1984 Dharma Talk by Dainin Katagiri Roshi
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Transcript
This transcript is in draft stage.
0:00
Katagiri Roshi: The Verse:
The last word
Is spoken for you;
The time of light and dark pair by pair:
Born of the same lineage, they share the knowledge,
Dying of different lineages, they are utterly separated.
Utterly separated—
Even Yellow Head (Buddha) and Blue Eyes (Bodhidharma) have yet to discern.
South, North, East, West, let us return—
And in the depths of the night together look at the snow on the thousand crags.( From The Blue Cliff Record, translated by Thomas Cleary & J.C. Cleary.)
2:03
The last word
This verse describes the point of the last word.
“The last word” is not the usual meaning called “last word,” but the implication of truth, or [the] ultimate place, where [we] cannot go any place. “Ultimate state of existence” – we can say so.
Just like a terminal station of a railroad. You cannot go at all, because it is the end. But it’s not the end, because from that terminal station you can go to some place you want to go. So the end of the railroad station is not the end but the beginning of your trip.
So, the last word is not always something last, it is not [a] last state of situation or being. The last word is the end, or ultimate terminal station, but it’s not the terminal station, because you can go any place from that end.
This is a reality; this is a total picture of real reality you live in.
So, finally you cannot say anything. It’s pretty hard to pin down what [is the] real reality you live in.
Even though you are right in the middle of difficulties, you cannot go any place if you really believe it is something real. You cannot go any place, but it doesn’t mean the end of life. Still there is life; there is a great power to let you be alive from that point. It is a terminal station, but it’s not a terminal station. Still you can be alive, you can be free from difficulties, even though you are in the difficulties. Even if you are sick, it is not the end of life. [Even in] the end, still there is a chance to be free from sickness.
That is always. This is the real reality you live in. It teaches you always like this.
So finally, you don’t know what to say.
This is the last word; we say “last word.” The truth… whatever you say.
The last word is spoken for you, not for others. It’s not others’ story; this is already your story. Because it is already spoken – not for us, for you. Even though you don’t know what is the real reality you live in, it’s already spoken, that’s why you are already living there.
So, constantly you have to live there and practice it. Make your life mature. Deepen your life.
7:12
In Prajñāpāramitā – you can see this book, in the English version translated by Edward Conze, […] verses of Prajñāpāramitā. This is a very interesting scripture in Buddhism. Some day I would like to study this one with you. (Transcriber’s Note: This might be referring to the book that is now titled Perfect Wisdom: The Short Prajnaparamita Texts by Edward Conze, or perhaps The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines & Its Verse Summary translated by Edward Conze.)
Of course, Prajñāpāramitā always emphasizes emptiness. But emptiness is not something [where] you have to always explain or speak about something in terms of emptiness. Emptiness is not that you explain […] or you speak of everything from emptiness, or it doesn’t mean that you should act on everything from emptiness. This sutra [says] you are not only thinking of everything from emptiness, or acting on everything from emptiness, but you should dwell in [emptiness]. It says dwell. “You have to dwell in” means you have to be present in emptiness. While you speak of everything from emptiness, you create a gap between emptiness and you, because you are talking about [it]. And also if you act on everything from emptiness, it seems to [be] no attachment, so you don’t attach [to] anything because everything is empty.
In this sutra, Subhuti talks about emptiness, Subhuti acts on everything from emptiness. Buddha says it is true, because he doesn’t have any attachment, but it is not the real way of Buddhistic life. Because you have to live in the emptiness, instead of looking at the emptiness in terms of emptiness – in other words, objectively. If you see even slightly everything from emptiness, it is nothing but the wheel of life, seeing everything objectively. But this sutra says “you have to dwell in” means you have to live in there. It means you have to be one with emptiness. It means your body and mind is emptiness.
So, what do we mean by “dwelling in emptiness”? The sutra mentions a very interesting point. At that time, to “dwell in emptiness” means not to realize emptiness, not to know emptiness, but to make your life mature. That is to dwell in.
If your life is right in the middle of emptiness, that is not to think or to realize or to attain enlightenment; it doesn’t matter. But “you have to make your life mature” means you have to deepen your life by continuation of dwelling in emptiness.
And then what does that mean? This sutra says that means that you are not afraid, you don’t lose heart. You are not upset. You are not… well, surprised. Even though you speak about it or even though you are right in the middle of emptiness.
That’s an interesting point. If you sit down in zazen… if you think zazen even [a little] objectively, you analyze already, so you think zazen. And also if you do zazen very [straightly], and then you experience something, at that time you really feel happy, but it is not an important thing, because still it is something you are always looking at objectively.
The real doing zazen, it means to do zazen is to let you be in peace [and] in harmony from moment to moment. For this, you have to dwell in zazen itself. No gap between you and zazen means nothing to grasp you in your hand. If even slightly [there is] something you can grasp, it is already the dualistic world, because you can see something objectively so that’s why you can get it. Don’t you think so? If everything becomes one with you, nothing to get in. So all you have to do is you have to dwell in zazen itself. That is called shikan, so-called wholeheartedness.
At that time… well, what can I say? Nothing to say, you know?
So sometimes it is called the last word. But last word is not something to explain, it’s something clear, which exists always.
Anyway, to dwell in zazen is nothing to get in, [no way to] get something in your hand. So at that time, most people are very confused, upset. So-called boredom… [He laughs.] You feel boredom. And also you don’t like it; [you are] upset, afraid. If you get the spiritual fascination through zazen experience, you’re very surprised, you know? But that is nothing but the experience of spiritual fascination. Next moment, it disappears. So finally all you have to do is just continuation of dwelling in zazen, dwelling in zazen. That’s all we have to do. But if you achieve continuation of being present in zazen itself as one, most people are very surprised – confused, afraid, upset. Surprised. Because nothing.
So, this sutra says, “A bodhisattva is not afraid, does not lose heart.” “[Does not] lose heart” means not afraid, not surprised, not upset, not confused. That means to achieve continuation, to achieve… undisturbed series of thought.
You have to practice this, in order to be one with zazen. It’s pretty hard. Because nothing; all you have to do is just one. Oneness is not [something] you can know. If you know something, it’s not oneness. If you become exactly one with something, merging with something – well, nothing to know. If there is nothing to know, you are very surprised! You feel boredom. You don’t like it. You don’t stay with it. But that is the real reality you live in, so all you have to do is to achieve continuation of living there constantly. That’s pretty hard. If your mind is upset, you cannot do it.
So that’s why this sutra said you have to contemplate with an undisturbed series of thought. That is called to dwell in emptiness. Emptiness means oneness. Dwell in the truth. Without being afraid, without losing heart. That’s why you can achieve continuation of undisturbed stage of thoughts. By this thought, you can continue to live in.
That is bodhisattva.
19:12
So here it says,
The last word
Is spoken for you;
It is [that] the last word is already with you, even though you don’t know it.
So all you have to do is continually to keep your eyes open and try to dwell in there.
Dwell in means [that] as a first step you try to understand it, or you try to contemplate. But to try to contemplate is [that] you have to contemplate your life, others’ life, and all sentient beings with an undisturbed series of mind. That is most important. Continually we have to do it.
A bodhisattva always lives in the human world, but a bodhisattva never “goes blind.” But usually we go blind pretty easily; contaminated by.
That’s why first this verse says, “The last word is spoken for you.”
20:54
What is the last word? Next it says,
The time of light and dark pair by pair: …
“Time of light and dark”: in Buddhism, particularly in Zen, darkness means the truth. Truth or equality. Or peace.
And light is discrimination or phenomena. Distinction. No, not distinction. Distinction?
[It’s] “the time of light [and dark]” because light and dark, phenomena and the truth, are not separated. It’s interconnected, interpenetrated, always. At super-speed, so your naked eye cannot see it. But practically, it’s always interconnected.
That’s why you don’t understand the real reality, what real reality is. Because real reality consists of perfect harmony between the truth and phenomena.
So, what is the last word? The verse says, “the time of light and dark pair by pair.” So, two of them are one.
23:00
The other day I drove through the country around Hokyoji to Rochester […]. It was a beautiful day, and while driving the car, I looked at the mountains covered with snow. A very sunny day. Trees, hills; sometimes cows, horses.
It’s very beautiful. It’s really beautiful.
[…] It doesn’t say anything, but outside is very severe cold. Severe weather, severe cold, is very beautiful, because… something more than the term severe or not severe. Exactly… I don’t know how I can say it. Severe cold is very beautiful.
You know, before winter, before you get snow, well, the autumn is very cloudy, which makes people melancholy, pretty much. But when we get snow, everything becomes very bright, you know? This kind of weather is clear. You cannot experience it any other place; even in Japan, we cannot experience this kind of weather. Very severe, but it’s very clear and very beautiful, beyond severe or not severe. Perfect. Beautiful.
Then look at the mountains and the trees, and with a little bit of snow, each tree is just standing on the mountains. Well, it’s really beautiful. I say beautiful, but it’s something more than beautiful. [He laughs.]
It doesn’t say anything, but I was very impressed. Not only I; all of you are very impressed by that situation with the snowy mountains and trees in sunny days. It’s really beautiful. Something more than the term beauty, the definition of beauty. So I cannot say anything. Just, “Wow!”
If you experience something more than beautiful, well, you cannot get any words, so you just say “wow,” you know? You cannot find any appropriate term. So just face it, just dwell in and be present with it.
At that time, with an undisturbed series of your thoughts, your thought [and] your mind is very calm, because you become one. You are completely caught by that beautiful scenery. So you can open yourself completely to nature, and be one with it. At that time you can dwell in there.
If you dwell in, nothing to say, because [it’s] oneness. You cannot say “it’s beautiful”; [it’s] something more than beautiful. Or you cannot say “it’s pretty.” You cannot say “that’s Minnesota winter”; you cannot say so either, because something more than [that is] there, something more than I try to explain.
So finally, I don’t say anything.
And if I don’t say anything, well, trees, mountains don’t say anything to me.
But it doesn’t mean that they don’t say anything. They say [lots]. Because I and all of you are completely drawn in by this nature. So, they speak of something more than human terms, so-called beauty, or ugliness, or whatever it is. They speak.
So that is so-called last word. I cannot say anything, [and] they don’t say anything to me, but they say a lot.
So I cannot tell them anything, but I have lots of things to tell the trees, mountains. Lots of words inside, but I cannot say it with words.
So, nothing to get in my hand, in terms of a sense of give and take, or pros and cons, success and failure, loss and gain. Nothing. Just be present, dwell in. At that time, nothing.
And then sometimes people are very confused, surprised, because if you feel good, you are completely surprised by beauty, or something. But if you don’t feel anything, you are completely surprised, confused by, infatuated with something [that is] nothing there. You are completely infatuated with beauty or not beauty.
So if you look at the trees: the life of tree is something more than the term so-called tree. Behind the tree is beautiful nature, beautiful… well, energy, or life force of nature. So, even though you cannot say what it is, if you look at the tree in that situation, well, you can see the tree, but something more than the tree. Simultaneously you can see the tree with the whole beautiful life force of nature. That’s why you feel [its] beautiful.
[…] In terms of the light, so-called phenomena, you can use words: “that is a tree.” But the tree’s life in real reality is something more than the term, because the beautiful life force of nature is there. It’s a huge world. Okay?
So, that is the darkness. In terms of the darkness, the beautiful life force of nature, behind the tree is darkness. You cannot say anything, but it works, it’s always at work in the tree. In trees, in mountains, in snow.
So, “pair by pair”: “the time of light and dark pair by pair.”
That is an opportunity you can know what the last word is. [It is] spoken to you.
For this, it is not something you have to realize, or you have to see something, or you have to know something. You have to be present with it constantly, and don’t be surprised. Don’t be surprised, and don’t lose heart. Anyway, continually be there.
33:16
That’s why next it says,
Born of the same lineage, they share the knowledge,
“Born of the same lineage” means be present with nature and the trees, the beautiful life force of nature. Anyway, dwelling in, constantly to dwell in. That [is the meaning of] “born of the same lineage.”
The other day I told you, when you want to be great mountaineer, you have to be one with the mountains. How can you do it? Just climb, climb the mountain. Every day; even in the snow. In winter and summer, we have to be one with, be present with the mountains.
To be present, be one with the mountain is to make your life deepen and mature. If your life is mature, very naturally you can live with the mountain exactly in the same way as the mountain’s life. So, mountains give your maturity to you.
How can you know? You try to climb the mountain constantly.
Well, whatever you do, this is a very basic practice for us.
So here it says, “What is the time of the light and dark pair by pair?” In other words, how can you learn the last word? How can you know the state of the terminal station [where] you cannot move an inch there? But you can know, you can go everywhere from that terminal station. How do we know?
This verse says, “Born of the same lineage, they share the knowledge.”
If I know the mountains covered with the snow while driving the car, I can share my knowledge with the mountains, how beautiful it is. That means simultaneously mountains share their own knowledge with me.
In other words, if I look at you, it means you look at me. Don’t you think so? If I look at you, it means you look at me. Because to look at or to know or to be with something means to share knowledge [of each other].
So that’s why Avalokiteshvara in Buddhism [is] a very interesting Sanskrit term. Avalok has two meanings: to observe and also to be observed. In other words, to look at and also to be looked at, to be looked by.
So Avalokiteshvara means to listen to the sound of the world. In other words, I look at the world with an undisturbed series of mind; simultaneously the world looks at me with an undisturbed series of its thought. That’s why, very naturally, the world and I go in peace.
But if I look at the world with disturbed series of thought, the world looks at me in the same way. So, completely confused.
So all I have to do is, anyway, to look at the world in peace, in harmony. Simultaneously, the world shares its own knowledge with me.
That’s why “born of the same lineage” means “they share the knowledge.” [It’s] simultaneously to share the knowledge. So even if you don’t want to be a great mountaineer, the mountain makes you a great mountaineer, if you continue to dwell in the mountains and make your life deepen. Very naturally, the mountains share their own knowledge with you.
39:20
Dying of different lineages, they are utterly separated.
If so, oneness, or “sharing the knowledge with each other,” or “I am present with the mountains constantly as one,” [does not mean a] combination; [it’s] not “mixed up.” …
[Tape change.]
… you have to continually learn what the mountain is, you have to continually learn who you are.
So to learn you, to learn the mountains, and then be one with the mountains, you can share knowledge with the mountains, [and] mountains share with you. [But] “dying of different lineages, you are utterly separated,” “utterly separated” is you and everyone lives from moment to moment.
I always tell you, human beings are living always in a moment. If you die, who dies? No one helps you. When you die, no one.
When I cut my finger, you say, “Sorry, Katagiri” – but who feels pain? Whose blood comes up? Not yours! My blood comes up. Who feels pain? Not your pain. My pain.
Whatever you say, I have completely experienced my own pain. No one touches it.
But I have to dwell in there, without being afraid, without losing heart; continually carrying an undisturbed series of my mind. Contemplating the situation, contemplating myself and others.
That is called emptiness; the last word. Last word is something which makes your life deep. Pretty deep. Not flat.
That’s why everyone is separated, constantly separated. The more I try to explain who I am, the more people misunderstand me. So when I come to the dead end, [he laughs,] I cannot say anything. I try to correct the misunderstanding of others, [but] the more I try, the more confused [they get, often]… Have you ever experienced that? Sometimes, you can correct, but correction of the misunderstanding is not always right correction. [He laughs.] The correction is also miscorrect.
So always, constantly there is a gap between you and others. Even a wife and husband, boyfriend and girlfriend. Well, it’s pretty hard. Because everyone is living in a moment.
From this point, all we have to do is to live in the moment, right now, right here. And in the moment we each-other create our own life.
I am sitting here, and looking at all of you, and talking about some aspect of Buddhism. So, I am sitting here, completely my own world. “My own world” means about your world. Your world is also sitting here, listening to my talk; that’s your world. So I create my world, you create your world. Thirty people create thirty kinds of world, and coming together here and creating something.
But if you do something, the same thing together, so-called listening to one guy’s talk, okay? And then it’s pretty peace[ful]. But still [a] different world is created by everyone, because inside you are always analyzing, synthesizing, and criticizing. [He laughs.] Apparently [it is] very calm, but inside always burning. Everyone’s inside is always burning, and there are different criticisms, and laughing, and crying… Don’t you think so?
So from this point, in terms of living in the moment after moment, everyone is separated. That means you live in the moment and create your own world. The other’s world at that time is not separate from you, because if I create my own world, your world is in my world. Do you understand?
“Your world becomes in my world” means your world becomes [the] quality of my life. You understand that? Not separated! Your world is completely the quality of my life. Not separate. That’s why if you talk with me, I can share, I have to take care of. We can be trained. Because others are not others, others are quality of your life. Do you understand?
So that’s why I have to look at all of you and try to explain some aspects of Buddhism, as best as I can. Even [if there is] one person here, even if many people leave here and only one person is left here listening to my talk, I have to talk. Okay?
On the other hand, I have to think why the people left! Because many people become the quality of my life. Because I create my own world, completely, so my own world is including all of your life. Your life is my world, my life.
So I look at these guys […] in terms of my viewpoint. So he is not he, he is my world. Do you understand that? That’s why you can criticize somebody else. [He chuckles.] Always criticize. But if you criticize, you always look at somebody objectively – that’s why it’s very difficult to share your life with each other in terms of compassion or warm heart.
So you have to know the two aspects. If you climb the mountains, you are completely living and dying in the same way as the beautiful life force of nature. You can live in the same way as the mountains, you can die in the same way as the mountains. But [it] doesn’t mean [it’s a] combination or mixed-up: you are you, and mountains [are] mountains. So constantly you have to learn who you are, what mountain is.
So that’s why we have to analyze what the moment is, how human beings are living in the moment. How? That’s why in [Buddhist] psychology, we look at the human beings right in terms of the moment. And […] Buddhism understands we create our own world in a moment. So other’s world is completely absorbed into your world, created from moment to moment.
That’s why your life is very deep. Because other’s world becomes a quality of your life. You cannot separate.
50:30
Okay. So, next:
Utterly separated—
Even Yellow Head (Buddha) and Blue Eyes (Bodhidharma) have yet to discern.
Well, even Buddha Shakyamuni or Bodhidharma cannot understand it, cannot know what it is. But anyway Bodhidharma and Buddha Shakyamuni – or ancestors, your parents, your grandparents – continued to dwell in the beautiful life force of nature constantly, making their life mature, instead of knowing or analyzing constantly. [That] is a part of human activity, but it’s not all.
So, it is not something to realize or to know, but to dwell in and make your life deepen or mature. That means that, here it says, “even Yellow Head (Buddha) and Blue Eyes (Bodhidharma) have yet to discern.” It’s not a matter of discussion. No. It is something you have to do.
South, North, East, West, let us return—
That’s why, let’s return to East, West, South, means, let’s return to you. Let’s return to your own world – that means the center axis of the top, so-called you. Let’s return. Because you are you, but you have a great capability to continue to dwell in mountains and rivers and winters, sharing the knowledge with each other.
So here it says, “South, North, East, West.” That means different kinds of human beings, different kinds of beings: trees, birds. Let’s return to individual life. Look at your life. Look at the trees. If you see the mountains while driving a car, let’s return to the trees. Just look at the trees. And at that time, you can say it is tree, but it’s not a tree, it is something more than a tree, because there is beautiful life force of nature there.
But is it completely beautiful life force of nature without [the] tree? Yes, it is a tree. So, beautiful life force of nature, and tree, you can see becoming one, interconnected, interpenetrated.
So [you might ask,] “What do you mean? Where should we return?” So next it says,
And in the depths of the night together look at the snow on the thousand crags.
“In the depths of night” – the complete darkness, okay? Darkness means the truth. Complete darkness: let’s look at it together. Let’s look at it together in the same way, and let’s together look at the snow on the thousand crags.
Many kinds of beings exist. Covered with the snow, it becomes bright. Even in the darkness, each crag appears in brightness. Complete darkness means everything becomes equal, but each crag is each crag.
So, let’s return to each crag in the darkness: that means, if you look at trees in the severe winter, well, from where do you feel something, so-called beauty? From where?
Some part of the tree? Or inside of the tree? Or outside of the tree? Or from your idea?
No. If you look at the trees in the severe winter in the mountains, real beauty comes from the full presence of the tree, just standing there. Just standing there; becoming one with the severe winter.
Just like your sitting. Let’s return to you, okay? How beautiful you are. How do you experience this?
It becomes just like a tree, standing constantly in the mountains, in the severe winter. Dwelling in the severe winter and making his life mature and deep. It’s pretty deep. There is something more than a tree that you can see through your naked eye.
That’s why the shikantaza we do, just doing zazen, means you become just one tree, standing in the mountains.
That practice is very quiet. But it is really oneness.
Because it is tree, but there is something more than tree. So nature, and also tree: individual life, but [there is a] big world there. So that’s why people feel something beautiful, from that full presence of the tree, which keeps standing constantly in silence. But it’s not silence: silence says lots of words. That’s why people feel good. You are impressed by the beautiful mountain covered with snow in the severe winter.
So, from this koan, the Zen master says the last word is “just this is it.” Just this is it means just right there, just be there. It means just trees are [just they are] standing there.
That is the last word. Nothing to say! But everyone learns something from that.
And also you can learn your life, living like this. If you live like this, you can learn a lot.
Okay.
So… do you have a question?
1:00:16
Question: Hojo-san? I’ve heard that Shakyamuni Buddha [inaudible] has excellent quality. [Inaudible.]
Katagiri Roshi: Shakyamuni Buddha has excellent quality? Uh-huh. Yes… Well, what’s the question?
Shakyamuni Buddha is all of us, anyway. You also have excellent quality.
But we don’t know how excellent our quality is; that’s why in history Buddha Shakyamuni showed us, demonstrated how excellent his quality was. Because without an example, it’s very difficult to know how excellent our quality is. Alright?
So that’s why we have to look into the history, century after century. Human history is very important for us.
Is that alright? That’s your question?
Questioner: Yes.
Katagiri Roshi: Also, the historical human called Siddhartha, Buddha Shakyamuni, is not merely a historical being. He must be alive in our days.
So, from this point, all of us are exactly Buddha Shakyamuni. But we don’t know exactly by ourselves, that’s why Buddha Shakyamuni twenty-five hundred years ago demonstrated a good example to us. That’s why we follow [it], and we have to learn how excellent our quality is. This is a point we have to learn, every day.
1:03:00
Question: Every time we have a talk like this, [we recite], “An unsurpassed, penetrating and perfect dharma is rarely met with, even in a hundred thousand million kalpas.” Now, a hundred thousand million kalpas seems to be a very, very long time; longer than this earth will exist. What are some of the conditions for being able to encounter this dharma, considering that, say, myself and the people are going to die, again? And what are the conditions for the Dharma to exist on a planet or some place?
Katagiri Roshi: [Laughs.] You already [measured] three thousand eons. And three thousand eons is eternal time, period of time, okay? How can you measure it?
Questioner: I guess it’s impossible.
Katagiri Roshi: It’s impossible. So stop it, anyway. [Laughter.]
Stop [counting], [accumulating]; all you have to do is just to be present in the eon, right in the middle of eons period of time. Walk. Don’t you think so? If you try to measure that eternal time, it makes you exhausted. [He laughs.]
I always tell you, [it’s] just like a person right in the middle of ocean, okay? Nothing to get in. Nothing to hold on. So it’s really [that the] ocean is the eternal world; nothing to hold on. What do you do? Do you want to count how far the other shore is from you? It’s impossible to count, to measure. Okay?
Questioner: Okay.
Katagiri Roshi: If you try to count and then understand the eternal period of time, and then you want to practice, it’s really impossible to do that.
And even though you… well, if you want to understand that eternal time, you can do it. But your mind is always restless. In order to be free from restlessness, you have to be present there, and free. Walk.
That is called make your life mature. That is peace.
1:06:30
Question: Um, I have a question about… A lot of times I wonder why I’m on this path, and why humans constantly are looking for enlightenment, or going back to the true life. How did we ever get off the road? Why? Is it just solely to learn? Or… why? Why did we ever come out, why did we ever try to separate ourselves?
Katagiri Roshi: Separate from … ?
Questioner: From… the life force. Why [do] we choose to pretend like we’re separate from the oneness?
Katagiri Roshi: Uh-huh. Because we have a mind. Okay? We have consciousness.
The energy of the consciousness is to separate, analyze, you and object and everything. This is the energy of consciousness and your mind. Alright?
So very naturally, you can slip off from the life force itself. On the other hand, by analyzing, synthesizing, and trying to understand your object and yourself, then that is called the self.
You know that Descartes says, “I think, therefore I exist.” Okay? [He chuckles.] So, you cannot ignore that energy of mind. Thanks to the energy of your mind, you can appreciate the presence of the self. That is called self.
But the energy of the self means the quality of the self has the great power to bring the harmony to your life – looking at this life, so-called present, and past, and future, including life and death. This is the energy of the self.
Energy of the self is very powerful because [we are not only] looking at this life, in terms of making [a] better living, conflicting with or fighting each other – not like this. Like birds, and insects, and woodchucks, you know?
I always say “woodchuck.” [He laughs.] Woodchuck is always living in the trees, and dogs just walk under the tree, immediately, [sound], you know? But this action is to see his life in terms of instinct. He is always looking at his life, just a small world, in terms of instinct. But the energy of the self is very powerful to look at this life and [other lives], all the world, okay? Understanding as a whole, as a one. That is a quality of the self.
So that quality of the self is very vital. So that is called energy, life force.
Life force itself is simultaneously birth, your life. Life force is something coming up […]. So that is just like spring water gushing out from the ground.
So “let’s return to the source” means life force constantly gushing out. That is, when […] life force comes up, it is called birth. And when you are born in this world, simultaneously you have a mind and consciousness. So analyze, synthesize. […] In other words the energy of the consciousness and mind comes from life force itself. You cannot ignore it.
So thanks to the life energy of the consciousness […] you can see, you can justify, you can confirm you, so-called the self. That energy of the self is not looking at only this life, but a big world: past, present, future, as a whole, as a one. This is the energy of the self.
And then if you understand like this, then we can return to this energy again. That is called spiritual teaching.
So…
So.
[Laughter.]
No particular reason why we have to do it, because we already are there. So all we have to do is just to learn where we are, what is the self, what is the consciousness. Not analyzing [and] synthesizing the consciousness, but by the consciousness we should know the limitation of the consciousness. [He chuckles.] In other words, through the consciousness we should learn what the consciousness is. Because consciousness is nothing but the energy of life force.
So we should learn through the consciousness. Very naturally you can know limitation of consciousness by the consciousness. [He chuckles.] Alright?
In other words, I always try to explain, or try to point out, pin down, what is the real reality you live in – always using lots of words, and what is the best word… [He laughs.] But sometimes I [go], “Yes! This one.” But it’s not. [Unintelligible.]
So, using the words, with your best effort, you should learn what the limitation of the mind, consciousness is.
There is no particular reason why we have to do this, because we are there. So we should learn, day by day, what the mind is, what the self is, what the energy of life force is.