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Teisho October 4 (1992)
by Harada Tangen Roshi, Bukkoku-Ji
We are well through this important sesshin. You have days now of zazen power under your belts. And now you are able to steadily stay with it. The I of I am doing zazen has fallen by the wayside. There is just zazen. You have become zazen. And zazen is just exactly this one tantei. Your ears have formed calluses and you’ve carved them out, and heard and formed more calluses and dug those calluses out. That’s the extent to which this what I am saying to you has been chewed up and stuffed into your mouth. Just this one doing. Just to stay with it. Just this one doing.
Be in accordance with this. Cleanly let go of body and mind. I am here now in this temple already 38 years, and this is the only thing I have ever said. One foreigner has even told me, "Roshi, you just only know the words only doing. You do not know any other words." Ichi tantei, one doing. Just this. What else is there to do? What else is there? No happening is precious. No happening, no event, no incident, no thing, from where does a happening spring? An event is just something on your mind.
There is nothing on my mind, no unrest. This is, this is to say there is no thing. Nothing on your mind means that you are holding on to nothing. Cleanly, sharply letting go, freshly breathing this breath. Nothing bring, nothing grasp. This is all that I can teach you. Of course, it’s even better if you can come to me and say: Even if I want to hold on to something, can’t. Even if I wanted to grasp something, I can’t." There is no grasping. But as long as you are holding on to the notion of me, the notion of I, the notion of mine, then you are most certainly holding something.
How many times have you been told that you are not to cry out, that you are not to speak. It just does not penetrate into your ears, it’s like even if you are listening, you can’t hear. Your crying out and speaking is just evidence that you are completely wrapped up in own self. Just me, me, that’s all. What’s making you do it? Nothing. The fact is that you are holding something in your heart, you are holding a heart. You are holding, grasping a self idea. You would not let go, you would not drop it.
Thanks to everything you are, thanks to everything. So, if it’s thanks to everything that you are, then there can’t be any you. Just thanks to everything. Makes sense, does not it? Practicing earnestly, you might come to me and say, I’ve heard that I am everything. So that must mean that this body is just a piece of dirt. So I might as well just throw this self into a garbage pail. Your understanding is not complete. Of course you are not to throw yourself into a garbage pail.
You are not reborn, you have not awakened to the realm of allness, to the realm of everything. To the realm of oneness. You’ve just heard it, and you thought it good, you’ve run it through your head, and you’ve seen that what you’ve heard makes sense. And that’s all. And so you come to me saying that you’ve become a piece of dirt.
There is a time when it’s just fine to become a piece of dust. That’s when you know that even though you are a piece of dust, there is no place to throw away.
Heaven and earth is a piece of dust. When you can say this because you’ve really seen it, because you know it, then I’ll say, that’s fine. Where can you be thrown, obediently practicing the practice that you’ve been given, practicing as you’ve been shown, throwing down the judging mentality. If you practice this way, of course you are practicing with a deep desire to meet with your true self. Of course you cannot say it does not matter. Of course you want to meet with your true self. Practice this way and you will be able to meet with the original heart. You will be able to meet with yourself, as you really are.
Already always together with all beings, with the great Earth, we attain Buddhahood. Can even somebody like me, knowing ‘and here is another sesshin down the drain,’ can even somebody like me, with this feeling attain Buddhahood? Of course. But why? The reason is, because this is your life, this is your world. Even a pebble has its time to attain Buddhahood. A piece of dust becomes Buddha. The shining piece of dust. Piece of dust. Piece of dust.
The greater this shining… What is shining piece of dust? Even if you hear this through the filters of your common sense, it makes perfect sense, does not it? If you save up hundred thousand yen, that's a hundred thousand one yens, they all come together nicely. But where you are off, is that you are seeing each one as separate, and taking it together as a collection of separates.
That’s where you are wrong. The great earth is shining. What’s shining? Piece of dust. Life is always only one. One in the all. We are not a collection of separates.
This is the way it is, so what do you think? No happening is precious. The power of all together. An example for this is right now this sesshin. Each one of you is just earnestly practicing ichi tantei. Becoming one with this, the great vow, the vow to awaken for the sake of all beings. The great vow is the vow of this group. It’s the heroes’ vow. Already this, right here. It’s not too cold, it’s not too hot.
Whatever point of life you receive, life is blooming. Whatever you receive, blooms. You are blooming, this opening up means that all solidity has melted. It’s neither too hot, not too cold. What a shame not to realize this. Morning gruel, lunch rice.
Did you eat your rice porridge this morning? 
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