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Teisho October 2 (1992)
by Harada Tangen Roshi, Bukkoku-Ji
This important sesshin, each of you sitting here with all your might, your efforts proportionate to your aim. So you are breaking your bones. If you examine the way that you are practicing now, I think that you will become aware that your efforts are still mild. You won’t be satisfied to practice this mildly to stop here, and so you probably will be able, upon reflection, to pour yourself even more wholly into your tantei. You are able to practice this tantei. To do this one doing, with all your might.
The great roots of belief, it’s belief in the great dharma. To believe in dharma. We’ve just chanted the founder’s Hotsuganmon. You chanted once, just this once. Newly, freshly. Your chanting is just this one chanting. Mu. In this wholehearted fresh chanting, the Hotsuganmon comes alive. Chanting in this way, you will be moved by the life of the Hotsuganmon. In this life, and all lives to come, may we be able to hear the true dharma. Even just this one line. If you can hear even this one line. Existence, all existence is the union of countless aeons of all existence. The beginning is beginning. The world isn’t just this planet Earth, right? Just recently a space ship was taken up to orbit the Earth, taken up just a bit above the Earth, mind you. Those aboard could look down on this Earth from that little distance away, and someone said, one astronaut said, the space is vast, and it’s completely dark, black. There are bright forms, but no twinkling. Remark to the vastness. Looking at the Earth this way, how precious, how under-appreciated, how warm. This is the chance to see and to appreciate life in all its vitality. Deeply. This astronaut spoke with the spirit of seeing the Earth itself as one mother of life.
All things are in complete harmony, all things are friendly. As the sees deepen inwardly, as the mountains of the earth, this deepens to greenness. Lively, shiny, bright green. In its essence all being is in harmony.
Getting along, working together, mutually helping, protecting, covering each other. Everything, everyone doing its best, being itself. Together with all beings. This abundance that we are blessed with, this reality can’t be expressed. But how wonderful to be able to deeply, right to your bones, appreciate this blessing, which is our Earth. I wish everybody could have the chance to go up to space and look at this being Earth. And be able to see how wonderful we’ve got it. Be able to see how wonderful is our world, how superb, and how beyond complains. But unfortunately, most unfortunately, those who can see this preciousness are few and far between.
And even if we had a chance to go up in a spaceship and look and be odd, for once, as soon as we land on Earth, we proceed to separate and divide again. It should be that there is no separation, no distance, but we divide and separate everything one by one by one. We set ourselves over and apart from others. And with this attitude it just can’t help to be that we get the feeling that if it’s going well for me, then that’s all I can really be concerned about. I, me, me, mine is the sculptor of this world of opposition. Holding on to this me, holding tightly, we create our cramped world. Of course there really is no such thing as I, me, mine. You are actually the universe. You are now, as you sit here receiving all of life. Great, great life. And you are responsible for the world. You can’t help it answer to this great wonder. In accordance with everything, you practice each doing as it is to be done. One doing, one wholeness doing. Everything is me. But because we don’t understand this, we don’t perceive that everything is me, we all are going about creating separation. While in reality there is no such thing as separation anywhere. If there were, I’d like to see it.
I me, mine, what is it? What’s behind this notion? How do you answer if you are faced with questions about this me? Is I, me, mine big? Is it little? Not big, not little. Is it intelligent, stupid? Not intelligent, not stupid. Your false assumptions about self are constant, so they seem very hard and solid. You really forget who is creating this notion. And you have a constant feeling that there is such a beast as I, me. I am always talking to you about this misconception of self, this misunderstanding, this mistake, false impression. You clutch to it so tightly, to this false impression. This clinging to a notion of self, this is the creator of pain and suffering. Suffering starts with the notion of self. And there is not so much as a hair’s breadth of a self. It’s right what you are saying, really.
Really, it’s right. Because everything is you. Happening just as it’s supposed to happen. Being, just being. It’s not hot, not cold. The heat and the cold cease with the autumnal equinox, it’s been said. Up until recently, you repeated it over and over. It’s hot, boy it’s hot, isn’t it? With the autumnal equinox, suddenly, it’s no longer hot. Yesterday evening a sound of the little wind blowing through the bamboo outside my door. Somebody good with words composed this song for us. Yesterday evening, a sound of the little wind blowing through the bamboo outside my door. The feeling of early autumn. Always together, embraced in the all, nurtured by all, thanks to everything, this true emptiness, wonderful existence.
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