Good morning!
We can now see colored leaves incessantly falling. Ryokan’s last moment poem is “Showing the back, showing the front – alas, falling leaves’re.” The popular poem says, “Falling fall leaves, non-falling leaves, but non-falling leaves are also falling leaves.” We are all falling leaves and our defilements are also falling leaves. Then, tree trunks expose themselves to the golden wind, turning into truth/peace.
The Buddha in truth/peace told us the Four Holy Truths and the Eightfold Holy Way. The first truth tells of suffering, the second the suffering-sources, the third suffering-sources’ cessation, and the fourth the way to suffering-sources’ cessation. The second is identified as thirst, coming from nescience, the third is nirvana, its cessation, the fourth is the Eightfold Holy Way leading to nirvana/Bodhi, ultimate peace/truth.
Nirvana is cessation of karma wind, ultimately no self (-sameness/-sovereignty), thus no conditioning, no becoming, no birth-death, no fear, no defilement, etc. The Four States are awake, asleep, sound-sleep, and shikantaza, single-minded sitting. The fourth, caturīya, is also called tulya, balanced, complete control. This is free, full function, unlike other states conditioned and constrained.
Zen practice embraces both on and off the zafu, sitting cushion, entering into nirvana and extending it into karma ken/kinetic with free full function, unconditioned and unconstrained. On and off are inseparable sides continued and concentrated, cultivated and communed, commanded and communicated, advancing to the depth and flying to the height like two wheels and two wings.
11/10/2018 C.E. Dharma talk
お早うございます！
今は止めどなく紅葉が散っているのを見る事が出来ますね。良寛の臨終の歌は「裏を見せ、表を見せて、散るもみじ」でした。良く知られている歌に「散る紅葉、散らぬ紅葉も、散る紅葉」があります。私達は皆散る紅葉であり、私達の煩悩も又散る紅葉です。そうすると、木の幹が金風に曝されて（体露金風）、真実・平和になります。
真実・平和にあるブッダが四聖諦と八聖道を説かれました。第一諦（真理）は苦、第二諦は苦の源、第三諦は苦の源の滅、第四諦は苦の源の滅に至る道です。第二諦は渇愛、第三諦は涅槃、第四諦は究極の平和・真実の涅槃・覚醒に導く八聖道と比定されています。
涅槃とは（業）風の滅で、究極は無我（同一性・統御性）であり、こうして無条件付け、無転変、無生滅、無怖畏、無煩悩などとなります。四状態は覚醒、夢眠、熟睡、只管打坐です。第四はチャトリーヤともトリーヤ、平衡、完全統制とも呼ばれています。これは他の三状態が（業で）条件付けられ制限された状態であるのと違い自由で十全な機能です。
禅の実践は坐布上で坐禅して涅槃に入り、それを自由十全な機能、（業）縛なく制限ない坐布上と坐布外（坐禅外万事）の両方を包摂します。坐布上と坐布外は二輪で地底に深行し、二翼で天頂に飛翔するように継続・集中、修行・確証、統制・透脱の不可分の両面です。
2018共通年11月10日 法話
The above photos were taken at Mt. Akagi and sent
by Mr. Noriyuki Otsuka from Japan.
He was attracted by the etymological root of
tree and true coming from dhṝ,
the root of dharma, enduring.