January of the year two thousand and one. This is when the curtain opens on a new century. Every person welcomes a new era. With various thoughts and ideas we greet this new year and new century. We look back over many things that happened in this past century. Some are considered evil, such as two great world wars in one century, and some are considered good, such as the technological advances and our higher standards of living. The level of abundance in our lives has increased, and we were able to taste the flavor of that advanced life in this past century. Some have gone to war and have come home safely, and some have died in war. Those on the front lines of war tell us stories of how it is, of the human costs, and come home to say that there is nothing as awful or as beautiful as human behavior. Everything comes forth from humans; there is nothing greater than a human being. Both misfortune and fortune come forth from humans. This means that only humans can liberate humans. You must have a deep passion and determination to do that. For the century to come this is, I believe, the starting point. From their deepest mind humans must know their humanity, recognize it, and take responsibility to live in accordance with that understanding. The Buddha taught that each and every human should be independent and stand on his or her own two feet. What does this mean? Do not depend on your attachments, but believe in your clear Buddha nature and develop that clear nature. Without realizing that true nature humans will not be liberated. That is why it is humans who will be able to liberate other humans.

God is love. There will be no true peace if we only depend on an idea of a saving God and relinquish our own responsibility rather than giving life to that love ourselves. We are also afraid of a devil. Instead, we should depend on our own passion and determination and live in such a way that we don’t succumb to attachment, desire, or fear of some evil or devil.

Why do humans fight? Why is there conflict? I am often asked this. It is because our brains did not change completely with evolution. On top of our old brain a new brain has been placed. This is the view of science. On top of our spine we have a lower brain, our reptilian brain from the time we were reptiles. This makes our heart and breath move and regulates all the functions needed for survival. The direct and active participation in being alive comes from this lower brain. Then when we eventually became mammals in our evolution we became a higher-brained being. Our greater brain is called our mammalian brain. This mammalian brain on top of the reptile brain likes to be comfortable and has many emotions connected with this search for comfort, such as happiness and sadness. This mammalian brain perceives everything that happens around our bodies, receiving and processing complex information. We can notice and see things clearly, relate to others around us, and use imagination. These are the same well-developed qualities we see expressed in dolphins and whales, and we are connected to these creatures by this common mammalian brain.

As humans we have further developed the highest quality of brain, and it is that part which clarifies and brings liberation to all beings. So we are functioning with a brain that is the combination of our past as well as present evolution. We have both a vicious will to stay alive in our lower brain and an awareness beyond our own individuality. When still living in the woods we were afraid of many physical dangers, like falling from high places and being prey for larger animals. We knew great threats. This great fear is still deeply ingrained in our brain, and scientists believe that this response is invoked when we face danger. Primitive people, cultured people of the twentieth century, and people today have the exact same instincts as those of other creatures. We have not evolved from hearing that voice of war. We have the ability to develop huge weapons to slaughter millions of people. I wonder how we can call ourselves cultured people? With this much culture we seem to have a well-developed society, but with the reptile’s instincts, along with a great imagination, we are a danger to ourselves and the earth. The animal character that we can’t go beyond in our deepest being is something we must review in our behavior; we must become aware of how it lives within us.

Twenty-five hundred years ago Buddha saw clearly the ignorant lack of understanding that produces war and murder. In fact he strictly forbade all violence and murder. When his country was at war with its neighbors Shaykoku and Shinyaku he chose instead to set aside weapons and follow the way of the Buddha Dharma. For peace and respect he asked his countryfolk to preserve his way of not taking life and not fighting back when attacked. This was something that could only happen under the holiness of his teaching. But rather than follow the Buddha’s rule they took the path of ruin. His people lost their land. This happened in Buddha’s lifetime, although he tried to stop it. In front of the forces from the offending country, Buddha stood as they approached to attack. In the desert of Biriror, Buddha put down his body in the hot sun as an obstruction to the oncoming forces. Three times he tried to turn back their encroachments, but it was impossible. He said it was the result of seeds the Shaka clan members had planted themselves, and that they would have to reap the results from past actions. Weren’t they the very ones who should have taken the honor to live in the Way, to preserve peace and harmony and dare to resist violence, and to lead others as an example?

The members of the Shaka [Shakya] clan were proud of their descendants and did not want to mix the bloodline. They did not believe that mixing with neighboring tribes was to their advantage. They felt they were a superior group who had no cause to send their daughters to their barbaric neighbors. When the Shinyas requested a marriage between their prince and a Shaka princess, they came up with a clever plan. The Buddha’s cousin Mahanamaga was the ruler at this time. His youngest daughter was born from a slave, and he sent this offspring to the next country, pretending that she was a legitimate princess. She married the neighboring prince, and they had a child named Biriro. When Biriro was older she was sent to her mother’s home city of Kapira, to the old Shaka castle where the Buddha was raised. She was accepted by the castle children, her cousins, and played with them. As they played in the royal gardens a Shaka elder found her and grew enraged. Saying that Biriro was not a Shaka member, as was commonly thought, but merely the descendant of a slave with no right to act as an equal to the royal children, he had her thrown out in disgrace. Naturally this caused a great furor in the Shinya clan. They had been deceived and betrayed by the Shakas and deeply resented this. Their princess was shamed by the Shaka clan! She knew in her heart that some day she would pay them back. When Biriro was old enough she went over the advice of her brother, Prince Gida, and ordered the troops to attack the city of Kapira. Buddha tried to stop the war but could not. He had to accept the fate of his clan, the karma of their pride and misdeeds. For the Buddha, who unswervingly and continually prayed for peace, what a painful and devastating thing that must have been to watch.

People always speak about peace. The Buddha was against living comfortably and indulgently, catering only to desire, but he did not say humans must cut their natural instincts. He was not caught on asceticism or on indulgence; he advocated the middle path. He was against murdering and wars, but he understood deep-rooted human instincts. He was not for killing all of our instincts; he taught the middle way. In the Dhammapada he says, “Don’t speak from resentment. Forget your resentment and then speak. Always speak from the truth.” These words tell of his actual experience.

Today the majority of the wars that occur are religious conflicts. This matter of war between different religions is said to be the central issue, but even within a single religion there are conflicts between sects, with old prejudices lasting for many generations. In one country there are bad feelings, pressures, force, violence, everyone being moved around by their allegiances. Add to this economic developments and poverty, and there is little true religion that can protect the people. While religion should be the path of saving all people, instead it becomes that under which they suffer. How contradictory this is. The things occurring around us, the crises and destructive battles, cause us to proclaim, “But I haven’t done anything wrong, why does this happen? From the time I was born I have never hurt people in this way, never deceived people in this way, and I haven’t killed anyone.” But it is not a matter of the time from our birth until today; we don’t know what we have done in the past. As Buddhists, in accordance with the Buddha’s words, today we suffer in confusion and delusion, and have crises and dilemmas, all because of things done in the past. Right now we are harvesting the results of those things. It is not about resenting the heavens, or resenting other people. All comes from seeds we have planted. All people are reaping what they have sowed. This is the Buddha’s way of looking at it, living in natural accordance with cause and effect.

No matter what painful state of mind we suffer, we should keep our mind open. Look at the essence and see through the past clearly. Then no matter what bitter or salty thing we encounter, we receive it directly and quietly, accepting it and not blaming it on heaven or others. Today we are living the life we live because of our actions in the past. All suffering today is the effect of past causes. Today this is an unpopular way of looking at things; people doubt this and say, “I don’t want to hear that it is like this. I don’t want to accept my suffering, I want to blame it on others.” Nevertheless, no matter what comes up, what addresses all of it is to join our palms in gassho and say, “Thank you. Thanks to the difficult things with which you have insulted me, I am able to let go of my difficult karma from my past.” This karma will now disappear. To not resent or argue with others but to thank them is the way.

We have to know that our pain is also our joy. As Ryokan said, when we meet a crisis we just meet a crisis, and that is fine. When we get sick we just get sick, and that is fine. When we die we just die, and that is fine. No matter what pain, suffering, and struggle we encounter, we don’t think of it as a great suffering. No matter what crisis comes, we don’t consider it a huge crisis. Give birth to this state of mind. Whatever conditions come to us, we receive them naturally. We can just accept whatever comes to us when we are empty minded. When our mind is clean, we can receive anything. This is the way we have to become to be able to accept our lives. When our eyes are empty, we can see everything and anything.

Even if we don’t like what we see and think we don’t want to look at it, our eyes don’t hate it. Even if we disregard a person we don’t like, it is just the human being looking away. The eyes have never disliked something, because our eyes are empty. If our mind was empty in the same way, it could receive anything; no matter how unpleasant something was, we could receive it spontaneously and innocently. The state of mind that could receive anything that comes along is that natural mind we can return to at any time. In the sanzen room to understand the meaning of Muji means to actually meet every circumstance as it is. We discover we are not really empty after all. When we are told something we don’t want to hear we get angry, because our practice is not thoroughly deepened and realized yet. Even if we don’t do sanzen and zazen, if we can laugh no matter what happens to us we have truly understood Mu.

Far better than sitting lukewarm zazen is to joyfully embrace every hardship that comes to you. It is of far greater value to welcome whatever happens everyday than to just sit on a cushion. This is what is most important. To receive resentment from someone else without returning it is the real practice. To return resentment is the world of animals. Receive anger without retaliating. If we don’t look at it this way we will be eternally unaware of our own mind. We call this revenge “justice” today, and say it is for “justice” that we return violence for violence. It happens so frequently that people perform violent acts on behalf of their idea of justice. Saying it is for justice to do violent acts, have war, and kill people is a very weird way of looking at things. How can there be a justice that requires killing another person? People are using “justice” as an excuse for killing people and for war. What is justice? To pierce through those mistaken ways and ideas of justice and change resentment into love is the only place where there is true justice. Have a heart warm enough to receive all resentment. The more shame people bring to us, the more we should consider it our practice. That is the way of becoming a true human. To clarify the state of mind that can be wrongfully accused and accept it fully is true training. We must clarify as well the comfort we feel upon being praised. To be insulted and accused of things we can’t remember and drink it all down is the true world of Mu. We give life to this state of empty mind. We experience this Mu in our lives. Even without understanding Mu in our heads, we make it live within us through our patient, accepting awareness of everything. We have to see Mu, emptiness, everywhere.

There are four pillars of action toward world peace. The first pillar is to end war. All religious wars will remain unresolved without the willingness to absorb resentment. We must see the actual truth and go beyond the pain we receive from others and find the place in which we are united, not separated. I myself am a Japanese person, and I have to carry for my whole life the sins Japan gave rise to in the last world war. I am aware of this. I am also concerned with the actions of Japan’s religions and priests. There is both good and bad, the corrupt and the mistaken. I have been given many reasons to carefully review the state of Zen in Japan. We must all look at the religious wars today, and without being involved, understand and see through them. We have learned this pain so we have to work together and build a world of peace, and I believe in that. To make true harmony and peace, we have to somehow stop these religious wars. That is my deepest vow, and I want to tell the whole world about it.

The second pillar is to take care of our earth. The overdevelopment of technological progress has to be seen clearly. In the twentieth century science and technological progress have developed in a very strange way. Of course our standard of living has risen greatly, but we have to be aware of all the different effects of it and see all aspects. We receive the grace, but we don’t take responsibility for it. The greenhouse effect, the destruction of the environment, dioxins, the hole in the ozone: all are side effects of the improvement of technology. Our joy is one-sided, for the present moment only, and will leave great problems for our descendants. Several years ago, there was a meeting of Buddhists, Christians, and scientists. The Christians said, “The scientists have got to stop because they are killing any belief in God.” The scientists had a terrible response: “No, we will find something to offer people as a substitute for God. There is no need for people to endure more than they need to, which is why we have technology.” But now we are at a place where we do not need to build more and more just to progress further.

In China there is an interesting story about a disciple of Confucius named Shiko, who was sent by his teacher to the country of Shin. There he met an old man working enthusiastically in his garden. He went to the well and filled a bucket with water, which he then poured over the garden. Although he was working hard, he was making little progress, and Shiko called out to him. “Grandfather, that is a terribly difficult job. If you use the right system you can bring a hundred times more water in one day; then you won’t have to break your bones with effort, and your work can proceed quickly and conveniently. How about that?” The old man raised his face and looked up at him, saying, “How do you do that?” Shiko said, “You make a pulley with a rope and a big heavy stone and a pail, and draw much water from the well, and let it flow all over the garden.” The old man looked at his face again and laughed as if Shiko was a pitiful thing. “Thank you very much for your kindness,” he said, “but I learned this from my teacher: if you want to have a convenience you will have a lot of self-conscious thinking coming in, wondering shall I do it this way, or shall I do it that way, and then lots of confusion comes into the world. If you think how to be extra inventive, the natural way of thinking will be lost, and we will only have many thoughts. Our mind gets upset with all these extraneous thoughts, and there will be no way for us to know the true natural path. It is not that I don’t see how to bring water up in a bucket, but I don’t do it because I don’t want to sacrifice simplicity.” He spoke this way, and Shiko could not respond; he only nodded and left.

After this Shiko could not stay grounded or find his center, and his students said to him, "Since you have seen this old man you are changed; what does it matter what that old man said?" Shiko replied, “I learned from Confucius to do things in the best possible way, to garner the best possible results and hold precious what you are doing. But now I can see this is not the true way of a sage. I now understand. Those who follow the path are endowed with complete virtue and can observe the natural way from birth, and be in that empty-minded state. This is the way of the true sage. That old man working in the empty state of mind is unattached to everything. He is in the mind of his birth and is not confused by self-conscious awareness or the need for fame. He holds his clear mind precious no matter what, whether praised or insulted; if he is spoken badly about it doesn’t move him. This is a person who is in his completely natural virtue. How about me? I am really moved around and wondering. I cannot find a settled way of seeing this. Just that little bit of wisdom from him, and I am completely moved around. I am truly ashamed.”

As Lao Tsu said, “Know what is sufficient.”

This is not about receiving or attaining something and then retaining it and feeling satisfied. We cannot possess what is not ours. We must always deepen our mind within the actuality we are living. Around me there are many things to be thankful for from science and technology, and I use them with great convenience. I am not resisting the benefits of technology. Electric lights are brighter than candles, and it is easier to cook with gas than with wood. It is easier to use a flush toilet, and when chill winds coming through the door a little heat is preferable. There are many things to be used for convenience, but to seek for them and depend on them is misguided. Not doing that is important. To accept what we are given exactly as it is, and be flexible and resilient, free and abundant, is the naturally spontaneous human way. If time passes, things will open; if we seek for them, they will not be realized. Even without knocking the door opens. True liberation is to realize we need not seek because we are already endowed with all we need. Of course when we are lacking necessary things like food we may have to use genetic technology for food production, but the results of unclear, untested gene technology cannot be good for people. We want to have excellent descendants by changing genes and experimenting with cloning, but if we want to make champion descendants how do we measure them? How do we set the standards for this? When we talk about cloning humans we say we want to make only the best and keep only the good traits, but the harmony of the whole picture is what matters. It is not about thinking we should make one standard form for humans. Even if we make a race of people who don’t get sick or diseased, humans still cannot live eternally. Even the healthiest person has to die at some point.

More than that, we should be aware of our limited, unsatisfied mind and immediately let go of it. As soon as we can, let us know that open, abundant, clear mind. Making this effort now is of the greatest importance. To do many bad things for a long time in a long life is not the point. To not let go of our essence is what is of the greatest importance. We are digging within in order to realize this expansive, huge mind inside. Maybe I will be laughed at by others saying that this is an old-fashioned way of looking at things in this technologically advanced world. But, won't we be shown that this expansive mind is what we should have remembered as we destroy things with technology and science? Seeing our current rate of ecological destruction I think we ought to put a brake on our technological development. This is our responsibility and our opportunity. If technology increases unchecked we will not only destroy God, we will destroy ourselves as well. We must see clearly what is sufficient.

The third pillar involves liberating the weaker people. With six billion people we begin this century. In the twentieth century we focused on our own progress, but there were so many issues we did not address by just doing that. The desperate boat people, the refugees without sanctuary, the problems of aging and the sick, all of these involve all of us because we ourselves will also live through illnesses and know death. Buddha experienced this as well. He said if you lose one leg you can still stand, but if you lose both legs you fall. We are all interdependent. I am not alone, and no one exists alone. Every single existence is relating to many other existences in order to stay alive. This is because from the origin it is all one great whole. To directly perceive this instantly is satori. If we change the words, satori is “no ego.” Our preconceived small self is dropped. It was that place of no ego the Buddha was enlightened to when he knew the oneness of the whole universe and experienced it with his whole body. That is what Zen is about. That is why people who do Zen practice are at the center of the liberation of all beings. They are practicing awareness of the truth. They should stay on the front line of liberating others. Caregivers as well who are doing Zen training are also of great value. The caregiver retreats at Seattle Tahoma One Drop Zendo are consistently progressing in this direction. It is definitely an expression of this era. The people of training at Sogenji, while still having responsibility in the dojo, without putting that aside or belittling it in any way, are also participating in caregiving. This is an excellent example for many people of training. Those who are training to become the center of these movements will give support to Tibet, India, Nepal. If we look at this we see how possible it is to bring our training and caregiving together.

But when we offer ourselves and serve society it must not be done without deep essence, or it will end in a bad way. There is no true liberation without deep essence. Everyone has seen this. It is about balance between the full taut state of mind within and responsibility of liberating people without. This is the job of a person of training. To serve society cannot wait. We have to care for every minute we are given, yet we must deepen. If we are deluded we are haphazard, and our offering will not help; it will become systematized, institutionalized, and formalized and will lose that warm, abundant state of mind. Without losing time we develop and deepen within. This is truly the root point that will help others. A Zendo life has no fat; it is training without anything extraneous added, training for the ability to help relieve pain in society. People who train can deepen their essence and at the same time help each other. Each person’s work, effort, and energy are supported by everybody else in that deepening. We continue for a long time and realize that essence which can truly liberate other people. We don’t bring our ego to it but always keep our feet on the ground, deepening within, and with our deep breath we encounter every moment. This is the effort of the dojo.

In the eighth century Yoka Daishi gave us his ‘Song of Realizing the Way.’

Haven’t you met someone seasoned in the Way of Ease, a person with nothing to do and nothing to master, who neither rejects thought nor seeks truth?

The real nature of ignorance is Buddha-nature itself. The empty, illusory body is the very body of the Dharma. When the Dharma-body is realized, there’s nothing at all. The original nature of all things is innately Buddha.

Elements of the self come and go like clouds, without purpose. Greed, hate, and delusion appear and disappear like ocean foam.

When you reach the heart of reality, you find neither self nor other, and even the worst kind of karma dissolves at once.

If these words were lies, uttered to deceive others, my tongue would be torn out forever!

The instant you awaken to the Ch’an [Zen: awareness] of the Tathagata, all practices and means of liberation are perfected at once.

In life’s dream, passing from heaven to hell, each realm seems real. But with awakening, the whole cosmos is completely empty.

No bad fortune, no good fortune, no loss, no gain - in nirvana there’s nothing to ask or seek.

Dust builds up on a mind-mirror not cleaned. With one decisive stroke now, lay the glass bare! Who is it that has no thought? Who is it that’s unborn?

The fourth pillar is to realize the equality of all humans. Thanks to Kobutsu Zenji, last year we were able to visit Arkansas's death row and give jukai (naming) ceremonies to Koson Koji and Dainin Koji. We drove to the Arkansas state prison and met Jack Jones, thirty-six years old, and Damien Echols, twenty-six. They were deepening their state of mind following Kobutsu’s zazen instruction, and they had requested dharma names.  It was a ceremony with great meaning for them. With hands bound in chains they bowed with bright glowing faces. They approached with heads bowed, smiling. Having lived with people of training for many years I could see in the bright faces of these two prisoners the same radiance as any person of training. The way they approached was with the mind of a training person. They said they had waited one hundred days for this moment.

Of course we have to despise their crimes, but if we remove the criminal skin they are the same as we are. They have insecure mind. They had come to a settled place and yearned for an even deeper settling inside. This deep vow is everyone’s truth. They have death right on front of them, yet they are alive within that. Those who live under the eye of death have an urgent need to be clear and settled. About death row, they said: “Concentration is everything here. We are given life every single instant. We know every day could be our last day.”

To see the life energy each moment is enlightenment. People living in daily life just let this awareness leak out. Jack Koson Jones said, “I have no time.” This is actually true for him. He is slated to die this year. We are not any of us given infinite time. When we depend on a tomorrow we dilute today’s sharp reality. “I am a criminal.” He said. “What I did I completely regret, but to my sorrow, I can never repent it enough. I have no way to apologize to the victim. I can only apologize with my death. But if I were in society I could not have reached this repentant state of mind, and when I see this I feel grateful for my situation. As horrible as my crime was, it has lead me to a good practice. Not just because I live on death row, but because I am in these desperate circumstances I have the fortune to find the Dharma. I am thankful for zazen. Everyday I sit for as long as I possibly can because there is no way for me to have a peaceful mind without that sitting. Sometimes I read, but there is no book as good as this reality.”

In this way Jack and Damien have been guided by Kobutsu. Without that guidance they could not possibly have come to this point in their practice and deepening. We offered to a Buddha statue in the visiting room, and Kobutsu read the sutras of repentance and of honoring the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. They did prostrations and received their rakusus. They showed greatly relieved states of mind at being disciples of the Buddha. It was hard to part. Dainin said he had one thing to say to all of the students training. “Go straight!” He said this as if speaking to himself, strongly, deeply.

Before Arkansas we were at the Los Angeles One Drop Zendo. There we met a lawyer who told us, “People working against capital punishment are working to end punishment by execution, but they are not saying that these aren’t real crimes and criminals. They are fighting punishment by death because so many criminals are economically disadvantaged, too poor or disenfranchised for proper legal representation, and racially and ethnically discriminated against. This lack of equality should be corrected by the federal government, but instead the government is repeating the same crime of killing. This punishing is on the same level as the original crimes.”

Of course we must detest the crime, but solving it with an “eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” has to be abandoned. Daruma Daishi (Bodhidharma) said, “Do not punish people with punishment, but with virtue.” And Lao Tsu said, “Use grace and gratitude to fight resentfulness.” How else will these criminals change their minds? Of course we’d like a world with no criminals, but we can’t bring those killed back to life. To take the remainder of the criminal’s life and bring it to the light is our responsibility. This cannot be done with prejudice and inequality.

We should bring the full taut energy of our interior mind to everything we do. This is the Chinese year of the snake. Common wisdom despises snakes, but in Buddha’s teaching they are frequently symbols of rebirth. The process of getting rid of bad habits and realizing our better character is the same as a snake molting its skin. Our baby skin is soft and supple, with no resistance or stain of society. As our skin becomes stronger and tougher we become socialized and our bright awareness fades. Limiting ego and personal identity become our new clothes. We suffocate under our small-self idea of what we are. We suffer from being at the center of everything we think about. “I am this, I am that...” We see ourselves as an individual human and use that as an excuse. We give free play to all our desires for personal benefit.

Even when we say that sentient beings are also animals, we must not lose our ability to review our behavior and progress in awareness. Don’t be caught on an idea of an eternal soul or a next life. Be here in this very instant and do not lose that direct perception. Make efforts to awaken. Lift up out of the ego stratum as if you are a snake shedding its skin. Do not love and hate excessively; do not resent and seek revenge. These come from ego identification and make human relations difficult. Grow and become bigger. Let go of that thick skin. Be a Buddha with nothing extra and a human with nothing missing. Have a state of mind so abundant there is no division between self and others. Your joy is my joy; your sadness is my sadness. A warm mind is wise and compassionate. When born we are this warm mind.

I am one bit of Buddha-nature; each person is a bit of Buddha-nature; everything seen and heard is Buddha-nature; the past, the present, and the future are all Buddha-nature. All existence is the same Buddha-nature. We have to sit, sit, sit until we pierce through that ego skin and shed it. Let go of a personal identity. Don’t be clever and trivial.

Myoko Harasiaichi said, “In letting go of the molting skin we welcome death in a joyful gratitude to Amida Buddha.” This is the immutable truth from ancient times. Buddha teaches, “Go beyond all evil and all good.” A human’s mind is a mirror, original and complete. It is limitless, huge, and infinite, like a huge floating mirror. This is the Great Round Mind. A mirror shows the form in front of it. If a man comes before it, it shows a man; if a child comes, it shows a child. There is no self and no other. A warm state of mind could not do something wrong even when told to do it and wants to do good without being told. Hold on to nothing. Be clear, empty, bright. The mirror has no face of its own. It takes things as they come. This is the teaching of the Buddha. To know that this warm, wise, and compassionate mind is ours from the beginning is called awakening, enlightenment, and satori.

Our greatest joy is to realize that this state of mind has been ours since birth. Bright and clear, everything coming from this original mind is good, all against it is evil. In the Song of Enlightenment of the fourth Patriarch Yoka Daishi, it is taught that the bright moon in the sky is like our mind. We have many thoughts, many waves that rise and settle; when our mind is clear it reflects everything like still water. Our mind is no different from the Buddha. Whether a fool or a scholar, a saint or an evil person, each has the same value as a human being. If we clarify our mind with deep samadhi we will know we have the mind of the moon in the transparent water. The clear open mind of the Buddha is in each person. Naturally it arrives.

There is no person Buddha could hate. In Zen no one is hated. Everyone is the same. Anyone is welcomed, evil people or stupid people. All who do zazen and realize this one moment of clarity are the same. Do not be attached to things; instead, become totally honest. Become a true person of ease. Remain unmoved by everything and realize the world of the samadhi of Mu. Receive it completely and taste its flavor completely. Develop this state of mind for the twenty-first century. This is the only way to end these religious wars. Let us really put our feet on the ground. We should put every effort into bringing this peace for everyone, for all people as equal. This comes not from formal zazen, but from the deepest point in our mind.