Good morning!
The compassionate rain last night and this morning revived the life of all – we are now surrounded by abundant, refreshed green. Water maintains life forms and air supports life function. Great respiration/respite, mahā assāsa/āśvāsa, is nirvana. The four states are waking, dreaming, sound sleep, and the Fourth (Catrīya, Balanced, Tulya), nirvana, beyond karma (with which the other three).
The Dharma (norm/law) of all dharmas (forms/phenomena) applies to posture, breathing, and minds. Breath controls life: heart rate, blood pressure, etc. Good posture/breathing/mind makes good life. Breath is life (iki:息/生き, pāṇa/prāṇa). Zen makes the best use of this – best posture, breathing, and mental state bringing into nirvana, awakening, prognosis, etc., as in the Six Perfections, etc.
Buddhist practice of the Eightfold Holy Ways, Sevenfold Awakening Limbs, etc. (collectively called the Thirty-seven Way Items) in Theravada and the Six Perfections in Mahayana are for nirvana and awakening. The Eightfold Great Person’s Awakening/Awareness, Four Embracing Matters, etc., are applications of them, seeing, stilling karma, seeing, serving dharma, and saving all beings.
Nirvana is perfect rest in free, full function in limitless life, light, love, and liberation with holy, wholly wholesome, way and world. It is going back to the true life like tree (brain core, autonomous nervous) functions of breathing and metabolism, unlimited by (brain peripheral and surface) functions of karmic conceptions, emotions, and volitions as in the Fourfold Holy Life/Limitlessness.
September 29, 2019 C.E. Dharma talk
お早うございます！
昨夜と今朝の慈雨が全ての命を甦らせてくれました―私達は今沢山の蘇生した緑に取り巻かれています。水は命の姿を保ち気は命の働きを支えます。大呼息（mahā assāsa/āśvāsa）は大安息で、涅槃です。四状態は覚醒、夢眠・熟睡・第四位（Catrīya, 均衡位, Tulya)、即ち業を超えた涅槃（他は業あり）です。
諸法（形態・現象）の法（規則・法則）は姿勢・呼吸・精神にも当てはまります。息は心拍・血圧等の命を統制します。良い姿勢・呼吸・精神は良い生涯になります。息は生きです（pāṇa/prāṇa）。禅はこれを最善用します―六波羅蜜等におけるように最善の姿勢・呼吸・精神状態は涅槃・覚醒・般若（智慧）を齎します。
上座部の八聖道等（集合的に三十七道品と呼ばれます）や大乗の六波羅蜜の仏道実践は涅槃と覚醒の為です。八大人覚・慮、四摂事等はそれらの適用で業を見、静め、法を見、仕え、一切衆生を救うものです。
2019共通年9月29日 法話
