Good morning!

 

April 8 is the Flower Festival commemorating the Buddha’s birthday. It is the time when all kinds of flowers start to bloom, which bear fruit in the fall. The legend is that the Buddha walked seven steps and, pointing to heaven and earth, said, “Above and under heaven the self is solely precious.”

 

The self he mentioned is not the karmic self – karma machine – but the dharmic self – dharma body. Karma machines create only karma products – samsara suffering. The dharma body develops fruits in flowers – unsurpassed awakening in unconditioned peace or anuttara samyak-sambodhi in nirvana.

 

Dogen wrote the Universal Recommendation for Right Zazen (Fukanzazengi) and the Realization of Universal Truth (Genjokoan), in which he describes how to realize universal truth in peace, avoiding the slightest discrepancy in delusion, which would lead to liking and disliking – desire and divisiveness.

 

“Marking boat,” wherefrom one loses one’s belonging, is the karmic “here now,” which must be seen in dharmic perspective. Bodhi (awakening) in nirvana is the marvelous miracle wherefrom one can flower and fruit in marked masterpiece or minor mistake, with karma kinetics in the karma ken.

 

4/10/16