KANNON GYO. Avalokitesvara s sutra. Commentary by Alain Liebmann

Transcription

1 KANNON GYO Avalokitesvara s sutra Commentary by Alain Liebmann

2 2 Avalokitesvara, or Kannon in Japanese, in certainly one of the pillar of buddhism phylosophy. It is the symbole of compassion (karuna), and wisdom (prajna), which are, both, the essence of buddist practice. Avalokitesvara is the exemple of the perfect bodhissatva, the one who looks down to Earth, sees and listen the misery and sufferings of human beings and saves those who believe on him or her, and ask for help and support. Originally Avalokistesvara was masculin, but while travelling in China and Japan he as been represented as feminin, generally as a young and beautiful female, full of love and compassion. It is easy to see the relation between Avalokitesvara and Mary there and, from a buddhist point of view of course, Avalokitesvara had certainly influenced Christianity and, with time, she took the forme of Mary, who has the same qualities and virtues. Anyway, Avalokitesvara is behond masculin and feminin and its saves them both, without any difference. Avalokitesvara is traditionally represented with 11 faces and 1000 arms. In the palm of each arms there is an eye. His 11 faces, 1000 arms and spirituals eyes helps all sufferings and divers sensistives beings, including animals. He can deal in any circonstances and save anybody who sincerely regreat his bad karma and ask for support during a difficult period of his life. The 11 faces represents the same symbole, it can help all kinds of human beings, takes their form, and helps them to be free from their painful and complicated karma. In order to salve an alkoolic, it will take the form of an alkoolic, for a prostitute or a junky, it will take the form of a prostitute or a junky, for a businessman, it will take the form of a businessman, for a cat it will take the form of a cat, etc. Avalokitesvara is also the protector of children, the disables, vulnerables and protects those who believe on him from catastrophes or bad influences. This Sutra is one of the most important with the Hannya Shingyo and the Lotus Sutra. It is respected in all Mahayana traditionals sects, including Thibetain as well as Theravada and others buddhists branches. The Dalaï Lama is supposed to be the reincarnation of Avalokitesvara. To speak on a modern langage, Avalokitesvara is the symbole and the exemple of the ideal bodhissatva who spends all its energy and all its life listening the suffering and misery of all human beings and gives his hand and love to everybody in order to save them. It is completely muso, no form, mushin, no spirit, and because of this, it can take all kind of form and spirit, because it is not attached to any of them. The Kannon Gyo, is a teaching in order to save others, to love everybody and to listen, understand and support all uman kinds with compassion and wisdom.

3 3 At this time, the bodhissattva Mujinni, (which, literally means good man), promptly stand up from his seat, takes the corner of his kesa and put it in his left shoulder, then, he did gassho in front of the Buddha. He said : - Dear Buddha, by which karma, for which reason, this name of Kannon is attribuate to you? - (Buddha answered) Mujinni, there is hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, an infinity of sensitives beings on this world and all of them support a lot of suffering. If they can listen, with a concentrate and deep mind, if they spell, ask for, invoke the name of Kanzeon Bosatsu (Avalokitesvara in sanscrit), if they listen it, not only with their ears (intellect), but also with their heart (mind), with a mushotoku approach, quickly Sokuji, all sensitives beings can obtain satori, true freedom and non-attachment. When somebody keep the name of Kanzeon and take care of it, protect it, even if he is entering inside a big fire, this fire will not burn him, because, by the power and dignity of this bodhissatva, that person will not be touch by the fire. If you are trapped by the furious waves of the ocean, if you call the name of Kanzeon Bosatsu, quickly, you will find a place less dangerous such as an isle or a bank near you. Then, the sutra explains the seven difficulties a human being can meet during his life : 1. Fire. When the Sutra speaks about fire it doesn t means only concrete fire, this is also the fire created by impulsions and passions, over-emotivities, too much aggressivity, fighting and arguing all the time. It is said on the Buddha s will Sutra that, to be angry and agressive is worth than to be a mortal snake, or a dangerous burglar. 2. Water. The same for the image of water : to drift, to sink as an image of uncontrol of the direction of our life, to be intoxicated by alkohol or any kind of illusion. In Mahayana buddhism, everything is possible, you can even smoke or drink alkohol, have sex, but it is necessary to control ours passions and desires. Il you are controlled by alkohol or any dependency (any kind of drugs such as money, power or even love), you lose your freedom. Excess of everything is dangerous. Since we are born, we eat, drink and run after desires. We create even artificials dependencies such as smoking, running after sex and drugs. Only human beings are like that. Animals do not go to cabarets in order to meet prostitutes. 3. Suffering or difficulties with people we do not like. 4. Opposite. Suffering or difficulties with peoples we love. 5. The suffering of that we cannot obtain what we really want. 6 and 7. Energy. Too much or not enough. When we are young, quickly we are impatient, angry, jealous, fighting for no reason. This could bring those people in dangerous situations Opposite, if we are old, sick, handicaped, if we have a bad balance of our energy, that can also bring a lot of suffering. NI SA ZE GON SESON KANZEON BOSATSU I GA IN NEN MYO KANZEON ZEN NANSHI YAKU U MURYO

4 4 Mujinni, the bodhissattva of the perfect understanding is called Kanzeon Bosatsu, because he can helps all human beings who are in difficuties with all kinds of suffering. What are those difficulties? Inside the spirit there is eight kinds of sufferings, from birth until death and seven kinds of accidents : - Accidents with fire. - Accidents with water. - Accident with wind. - Accident with weapon. - Accident by devils. - Accident of restrictions, such as to be in prison, dependant on drugs (could be money, love, any kind of illusion), attach to something, or some philosophy, ideal or religion. - Accident provoked by thiefs or bad peoples. If you invoke Kannon you can escape those accidents. HYAKU SEN MAN NOKU SHUJO. JU SHO KUNO MON ZE KANZE ON BOSA YAKU : hundred SEN : thousands MAN : ten millions NOKU : hunded millions. It exists an infinite number of people searching for money. GON : silver KON : golden RUKI : emerald SHAKO : beautifull sheels MENO : agates SANGO : corals KO HAKU : amber SHINJU : pearls. Then, the sutra enumerates a lot of treasures, as a symbolic meaning. During their life, people, always, are searching for treasures. They run after honours, beautiful women, healthyness, love and sex, entertainment, parties, alkohol, drugs. All of thoses things are not as bad in themself, but are not genuine either. If a big wind is blowing and makes your boat drifting through the Rasetsu s country, where the devils eats human beings and drink their blood, if you invoke Kanzeon, everybody will be save. If somebody practice every day zazen and sees an accident, if he concentrates himself religiously he can helps everybody. When you wear the kesa or the rakusu you become Kanzeon Bosatsu. This is not a miracle. Zazen is the best way to be Kanzeon Bosatsu, but if we get sick, then, it is difficult to practice meditation, but we still can invoke the name of Buddha Amida. In the Soka Gakkai and Nichiren sects, people repeat all day long his name, from morning till evening. In Japan, those who are condamned to death penalty, before their execution, recite Namu Amida Butsu. By reciting and repeating thoses names we can become mushotoku. Religion, meditation are necessary for human beings. This is just the essence of humanity. Those who are searching for spiritual connection have just a deep instinct for life and anybody well balance will, naturally, search for that connection with the invisible world.

5 5 Twent-five years ago, master Deshimaru said already that we are arriving in a crise of our civilisation. One day the bad karma of everybody will appear clearly in front of each one of us. This is the Last Judgment of the Bible. The eight treasures which is speaking the Kannon Gyo are not only precious stones, but symbolic of course. For instance, emerald symbolize big merits. Ordinary peoples just like materials treasures or visibles merits such as diamonds, gold, emerald, pearl. They do not appreciates spirituals merits or merits which do not belong from this material world, this is why they cannot understand mushotoku, which, in fact, can brings a lot of benefices. In buddhism, memory, concentration, capacity to understand others, to be open mind are a much bigger treasures. All the treasures which is speaking the Kannon Gyo under the form of gold or emerald are, in fact spiritual treasures which we can use in our daily life, such as to be courageous, honest, clear etc. What are the seven treasures of our daily life : 1. Nen kakushi. Memory, to be able to be concentrate in all our actions of daily life. To be aware on what we are doing here and now, all the time. This is enlightment. Do not act like a ghost, a phantom. If you do something, be aware of the consequences of what you are doing, do not be ignorant or irresponsable and, eventually, face the consequences. This is what we call karma. 2. Taku kakushi. To select. To take a decision, a responsable choice, made wisely and which is able to make the difference between what is good and what is not good for you and for others. Unfortunately, a lot of people are not able to see the difference between good and bad or think only about the quick satisfaction of their desires here and now; for instance to have an affaire with somebody which can be pleasant at this particular instant, but, are unable to see behind the immediat effect of the phenomenoun, and, in future, will bring their life in deep troubles. It is also important to select between good and bad memories. Stupids peoples just keep their bad memories, they are almost attached yo there problems. They literately chains themselves to their mistakes and are attached to their ignorances. With such approach they will keep their fears and anxieties in their consciousness and it will appear into their dreams and will influence inconsciously and negatively their decisions. Wise people, automatically select memories and eliminate the negatives ones. During zazen, the subconsciousness of everyone arise and, inconsciously, we are able to cut our bad memories. To select is very important. 3. Shojin kakushi. Effort, bravery. Some people just practice effort for satisfy their desires or their ego, they spend all their energy and all their life in order to have a comfortable material life. They use wrongly their energy. To practice effort in order to grow up our spirituals desires is better. Practicing effort for the way, keep going zazen despite the difficulties we have to face during our life is a much better dimension.

6 6 4. Ki kakushi. Enjoying to see others happy. Most of the time this is the opposite, people are jealous of you if you are happy. But to be genuisly happy from happyness of others is really Kannon Gyo. 5. Jo kakushi. Concentration. To control our contradictions. For instance we would like to do more zazen but the reality of our life makes it difficult to do it. How to resolve that problem? In order to keep healthy I should not smoke but my body want it or I shouldn t drink that much but my friends push me to do so and I m so weak to refuse it, etc It is important to control our mental contradictions. Jo : concentration with the body by doing zazen is the best method. 6. Sha kakushi. To abandon attachments, abandon our mental and intellectuel thougths which reassures us. To abandon our illusions and the olds thoughts that make our individuality or our personality. To abandon the self which make us particular and to melt into the infinity of the universal spirit. Our ego disappears into the immensity of nothingness mu. By abandoning everything, we lose nothing and, at the end we go behond nothing and everything, we go behond the duality of me and the cosmos because I am the whole cosmos and the cosmos is totally me. 7. E kakushi. Wisdom. With the practice of zazen, naturally, automatically, unconciously, wisdom appears. Through the journey of our life some storms, thunders appears. We lose our husband, we go to jail (could be spiritual jail), or we have a cancer, or even we lose a big amount of money which put our life insecure. The Kannon Gyo says : If the black wind (typhon) blows on your boat and drift it where are living devils from Rasetsu country, where they eat people and drink their blood, if you invoke the name of Kanzeon Bosatsu, everybody becomes Bosatsu, completely free and happy.. If someone invokes the name of Kanzeon, it is not a miracle, no mysterious or mystic, magic or whatever. Call it deeply with a strong voice and a big concentration of mind, this is very important. Pronouncing the name of Kanzeon with all your faith will bring you, naturally, big merits. If you continue zazen, materials pleasures take less importance. They becomes naturally useless. Desires of everyone are differents. Some get mad for a beautiful woman, but after 8 or 10 years, they become not that much interested anymore and starts to see them with a deeper regard. They start to see their mental imperfections and later, will see their body deterioration. Then, with time, the fairy becomes a witch, complications and karma appears and life becomes hell. It is the same for those who are searching all their life for material comfort or honours. What is the point to be famous or rich when you are over 90. All those things suddenly seems frivolous. It is important to use properly our life, otherwise you will regret it deeply later. It is important to have a high spiritual dimension. Mahayana is not ascetism, it is not necessary to cut or to stop your desiresl, but, with the ages, naturally, the dimension of desires change. There is a story about Nanda and Andari. They were followers of Buddha and have been married recently. They were young, beautiful, cleaver and very happy.

7 7 She was doing her make up, a bowl on her hand. Then, Buddha Shakyamuni was passing by. Nanda wanted to offer him something. Andari begged him not to go out, but Andari told her he will come back quickly. When Nanda opened the door, the Buddha Shakyamuni was already fareway. He then, run after him, until the temple. The Buddha asked him : - Do you want to receive ordination? Unconsciously Nanda accepted. Then the Buddha ordonned his secretaire to shave him. He then becomes a shave monk. After the ordination, Nanda wanted to go away, but, each time he was going out, something interrupt him. Then, he tried to escape from the door behind, then Buddha appears. Where are you going? - Andari, my wife, is waiting for me! - Is she beautiful? - I never saw such beautiful woman in all my life! - Have you seen the perfumed mountain? - No, never! - I will show it to you. Then the Buddha use his magics power in order to show him the paradise ; he put his kesa above Nanda s head, which recover all his face as well. Then Nanda could have a total view of the paradise. He saw a lot of wonderful women who were dancing. He never ever saw such beautiful women before, and among them, there was a particular one which attracted his regard, she was even more attractive to him than any others, but she looked lonely and thoughtful. She didn t dance and speaks to anybody. Then Nanda asked to the Buddha : - Why, she is alone and thoughtful? - Ask her! He then came near by and ask her why she was not dancing happily like all the others? She answered : - In another world, where Nanda is living, he became a Buddha s disciple and if he receive the shiho he will come to me on this world after his death. I m waiting for him. Many men already ask me to mary them but I have refused to everybody. I keep myself for him alone. The Buddha then asked to Nanda : - Who is the most beautiful? - It is just another dimension. Andari looks like a monkey in comparaison to her. Then Nanda forgot completely Andari. He wanted absolutely to obtain the shiho and practiced zazen every day and every night with big ardour. While he was doing zazen all the time, the others disciples did not respected him, because his motivations were not pures, he was not at all mushotoku.he asked then to the Buddha s secretary : - Despite that I practice every day ans every night with big ardour, the others monks criticize me? Why is that?

8 8 - Your goal is to mary that young woman you saw in paradise. Your practice is not genuine. - But, I follow the Buddha s way! - Apparently, yes, superficially, yes, but, deeply, from the roots, it is different. Ask the Buddha! Then Nanda entered to the Buddha s room and ask him : - Why Ananda told me that my practice is superficial? Then the Buddha again, put his kesa above his head and recover all his face. He then told him : - Have you ever see the hell? - No, never! - Have a look The vision was horrific, horrible. Some devils were eating people, cutting legs and arms, tongues and eyes, etc. In some part of the hell, several devils were acting to prepare a big cooking pot, full of boiling oil. - What are you doing? - We are preparing a big pot of boiling oil for a monk who want to receive the shiho in order to be the husband of an angel, but his love is impure. He is only a sexual maniac. We are just waiting to sink him directly on the big pot. At that exact time Nanda obtains satori. The meaning of that story is that, each one of us is practicing zazen in more or less of a good way, but nobody does it perfectly, I would say, far from that. We should practice without hesitation until the last stage. You must enter into the coffin with the zazen posture, if not physiquely, with your mind abandoning everything, because everything and everybody will abandon you at the end. We must understand that, at the end of our travel, there is nothing, absolutely nothing to be attach to. Never forget that truth. Then, Deshimaru speaks about sexual desires. How to resolve them? Following the Kannon Gyo, if you concentrate your mind on Kanzeon Bosatsu, those desires stop instantly. With the practice of meditation, we can control our sexual instincts. Then, that energy can be sublimate on an higher level. Basic instincts are the same for everyone : eating, sex. It is very strong, particularly for young peoples. How to resolve it! What can we do? Master Dogen said that, we must control our desires, but it is difficult. In our modern civilisation we eat to much and there is to much stimulis about sex (publicity, papers, movies, etc.). The Buddha s secretary Ananda, before following his master, was a young, cleaver and beautiful man, nowaday we would say sexy, or attractive. Inevitably, he was sexual obsess and got quite several affairs with some women and his karma has been quite complicated and sometimes very painful. Even big masters or wise men, quite frequently, commit mistakes about sex. It can be very difficult to control, it is often stronger than the reason and it could be a problem. There is several words in sanscrit in order to explain sexual feelings : kama, sensual desires, kama sutra, the book which teach how to practice sexuality at its best, how to transform your primitive energy on divine energy. Even sex can be sacred, more than that, it has to be sacred. If you have sex, have it completely. We can say the same for eating, spleeping, working, doing samu, meditation if you do something do it well.

9 9 Zen is not tantrism, neither ascetism. During some periods of your life you will fall from one extrem to the other, and then, you will have to balance between the two sides, and, at the end, you will have to abandon everything. If you turn that energy through a higher dimension, you can realize something great. If you concentrate yourself on Kannon, then shiki becomes ku and sexual energy can realize holyness. One of the others big primitives bonnos is angryness and jealousy. If somebody get angry, at that precise moment, if he concentrates himself on Kanzeon Bosatsu, his angryness disappear. If he is too much in love, or too much attach to somebody or hates to much somebody, then jealousy and angryness appears. Those kind of complications are called accident by fire. Long time ago, was living a king who was always angry and jealous. He wanted to change his karma. He orders somebody to search for a mantra to heal himself. The servant runs all around the country for several months, and, one day he found an old ermit who told him : that parchment contains a magic mantra which is very efficient, but it cost it is very expensive but if it is good, I take it Then, he came back and gave the parchment to his king. He told him : when you feel very angry, open it, but be patient, do not do it to quickly, because if you do so, the parchment will lose its power. The king takes it. Later on, he saw his wife speaking with a man and got quickly jealous. He wanted to kill the man. Then, he remember the parchment : I must be patient he tought Later on, when he saw the man who was speaking with his wife, he realized that it was his father. He tought that the parchment was very efficient, then, he was very curious and excited about the mantra which was inside, he couldn t wait more and opened it, then he could read the mantra, it was wrote : be patient. Then, the Kannon Gyo speaks about the three poisons, which are : ton, jin, ki. Ton : desires Jin : angryness Ki : stupiduty, ignorance. It is impossible to cut completely those three poisons but it is possible to sublimate them, to transcend them in an higher level. If you can transcend your sexual energy or your angryness, then the idiot becomes wise. This is Kannon Gyo. Almost everybody ask to themselves : what am I doing on that world? what is the deep reason for that? Nobody knows. This is the karma. The karma does not know the reward and the reward does not know the karma. In that place of no-knowledge is the way. The way does not remains there and do not escapes from there either and it is not a cul de sac either. Inside ourself is the inexhaustible treasure and its teaching is done unconsciously, naturally, automatically mushotoku. The genuine pleasure comes unconsciously. If you wait for nothing, if you do not expect anything, then, genuine happyness appears. We do not know the real meaning of our life. Anybody knows what or why they are even doing zazen here and now on this dojo, but what we know is that, we are just doing it. This is just the result of our past good karma. Of course, we come by ourself, by our own will, but are we really master of the direction of our life? I m not that certain. Sometimes decisions come from something deeper than ourself, such as the cosmic order, even if we do not realize it, it does control us. Just like the energy of the Sun and the Moon, Venus, Mars and Jupiter, have an influence on our mind, completely unconsiously. We think that we control ourself, but we are completely dependent of the cosmic order and of the actions we have done in the past, and the retribution of such actions positives or negatives will have a direct influence on our future Some people would like to

10 10 come to the dojo or would like to come to the Summer Camp in the Aran Island, but they cannot come, their karma do not allow them to do so. Some people would like to come on the morning zazen in Galway, but they are too lazy and stay in bed. This is the easy way, this is their karma. They know that zazen is good for them but they cannot come because the karma is stronger. Angryness starts with stupidity and finish with regrets. It is completely useless. To be angry transform happyness on misfortune. Somebody who get angry brokes harmony between friends or between the sangha. It can also destroy the intimity of a family. Friends become enemys. Even a beautiful woman who get angry becomes a devil. Angryness is not only express by langage, but also by the body, eyes, and, of course, through the mind. It destroy and perturb seriously the nervous system. Il is very bad for the liver and the intestins. Angryness is fire, we must sublimate the fire energy and make it positive. Then the bonnos becomes satori. A japanese proverb says : what is the best thing we can do? to be patient. A sutra says : the virtue of patience is behond all the precepts patience is bitter but its fruits are sweat. The virtue of patience opens all doors. A fisherman in a hury and angry will lose his fish. So, what can we do with our sexual energy, angryness and stupidity? be patient. In Japan, when a woman want to have an husband, she prostrates herself in front of Kanzeon and venerates Kuyo, the memory of the deaths or Buddha, so she will be able to have a boy very lucky and wise, or a beautiful little girl with the virtues of decence, delicatesse and good behaviour. Before she will be born, her karma will already be good. She will be loved and respected by everybody. The best for a young boy is intelligence, wisdom, wealthyness, somebody who is not lazy, stupid or unhealthy. For a little girl, beauty, courage, healthyness both mental and physique. The boy is the symbole of wisdom, the girl, emotion from something which is not fixed. The boy is the symbole of the Sky, the girl, the Earth. The boy represents the right side, the girl the left side. Man express, woman keep, protect Somebody who is too much emotive, or too much in love, becomes attached and jealous Somebody who is to chast and cold keep people indifferent Somebody who believes too much in god becomes passionate and fanatique If we are not emotive feeling we have a lack of friendship. People wo have no affection are not interesting. To control is very delicat. Always keep the middle way Too much chastety brings sexual obsessions Not enough faith brings people bery bad, with no morality at all. Life is a big koan. It is not necessary to study mu or ku or some complicated intellectuels koans ; our life is a big koan in itself. How to balance our energy properly? Those who are too much perfect are not loved If you make up too much your face you become vulgar People do not like those who do not realize their duties, neither those who disturb constantly others People de not like those who are always expecting for luckyness, they do not like either lazy people. In christianity they always expect for a miracle, but in buddhism, there is always a cause, a karma which brings effects. Do not wait for a miracle, mushotoku mind is better. We must educate our children in a way that they will be loved. If we take care on that point, everybody will love them. During a mondo, Mujinni asks to the Buddha : how Kanzeon Bosatsu educates people in this world, how he practices seppo? how he speacks? which methods uses he? which power?

11 11 Zen conferences have nothing to do with universities conferences. If you want to become a master you must not educate people with your knowledge. Even the sound of the wind through the pins trees is a big conference. The song of the birds also. At la Gendronnière, once, I used the birds songs as an answer to somebody s question during a mondo. The sounds of the river, mountains are big teachers. There is that poem which says : The colour of the moutain The sound of the valley The movement of the sea Are doing a big conference This is the voice of Shakyamuni Buddha, the teaching of the dharma. Everything is a big conference. Since I am in Ireland, I practice every single day, most of the time twice a day. Often I spend my week-end in Cork or Galway, for a zazen day. This is also a big conference. Sometimes people criticized Deshimaru because he liked to drink whisky and smoke cigarettes. But it is only phenomenoun. He never ever missed a single zazen. This, in itself, is a big teaching. Often people ask me to do a lecture, to explain more about zazen or the posture, but if you show the good exemple by your practice, you do not need to speak a lot. More you speak and more it becomes complicated. The posture is quite simple in itself, the breathing also but difficult to practice, it takes time to understand it, and the state of mind is so simple that people cannot understand it. Again, mu : nothingness ku : emptyness, are the key of zazen, the essence. Already right now, you know everything about zazen. It is time to abandon your intellectual understanding and to start to understand with your intuition, your practice. While you are practicing in the dojo, it is not necessary to learn, to study or to pass an exam. You are completely free and you must learn through your inside observation. Master Daïchi said : what is that genuine freedom which comes from the grass of that field? The green, smelly grass, all around the river, leaned over (penchée) by the Spring wind? When the cow eat it, she obtains complet satori. Master Isan was always walking with a cow. In Asia, sometimes cows have a ring on their nose. Issan s cow did not needs any, it was free. It eated the green, smelly grass from the field near the river and when Nissan had finish his meditation, he called it and peacefully it came to him. He rides it and the cow asks him : where do you want to go? As you want. The relation between the master and the disciple is very intimate. If there is no disciple, the master feels useless. Sometimes, on the dojo, there is nobody, or may be one or two persons. I feel a little bit sad. I think to myself : may be my teaching is to strong, I push them too much, I should speak more, do a shorter zazen? The cow do not escape if the master is not to severe. Education is very delicate. Always, it is necessary to adapt to circumstances and everyone is different. It is like to play with a kite (cerf-volant).if you pull (tirer) to hard, its falls. Sometimes, it is necessary to let go of (lâcher) a little bit the string in order to help the kit to arise on the sky, but if you give too much freedom, it will fall down as well. It is necessary to control. Let a little bit air, then bring it back to you, this is the true educational method. If you ask too much too quick, everybody will disappear. For those who want to become Buddha and are searching for the Way, Kanzeon has become the Buddha s body and educates on this way. If you want to educate somebody you must take his level. In order to educate a cat, you must become a cat, in order to educate A or B you must take the same mind as A or B. If I only translate

12 12 the sutra to you it is only knowledge, but, when I speak during zazen or during the kusen, it is penetrating the neurones and our body and mind are particularly receptives during meditation. Of course the godo must be completely honest and pure during the teaching, otherwise il could simply be brainwashing. Some new age priest or modern guru know that perfectly and use such method for their personal benefices. If they behave like this they are worst than devils. Education is difficult. You must adapt all the time. There is different kinds of people which different experiences and different needs. For instance if I criticize catholicism in France nobody care but if I do the same here, in Ireland, people will not like it at all, if I speak too much about sexuality also, but in Scandinavia or France people will accept it much easily. Education is difficult, it is important to watch the face of the person you are speaking to. If it is to strong or shoking to him or her, it is not good. At the end, the universal teaching is shikantaza, the practice itself, deep silence and quiet atmosphere which is in the dojo during meditation. Germans, Scandinavians, Irish, French, everybody can understand that universal teaching. Kanzeon is represented with several heads and many hands. It has 33 aspects, which symbolize an infinity of forms. It has to save all sensitives beings and in order to do that it takes the form of everyone of them. If it want to save a business man, it will take the form of a business man, a junky, a junky, a young girl, a young girl, etc. Master Eishin wrote : in the Sarhat world, there is the ocean of suffering. Human beings, because of their ignorance, are suffering. They are surviving among the agitated waves of phenomenouns. In this world are six blots, blemish. 1. Ko joku. Joku : mud, pollution, intoxications, impurities. While growing up, this civilisation is creating a lot of impurities and our society is degrading. People do not respect anything anymore, and lazyness is a must nowadays. Obtaining money without doing any effort is the ideal of a lot of young people. An honest person is not respected anymore. Politicians and powerful people are ready to do anything in order to grow up their power and their ego. 2. Kan joku : dogmatisme, wrong point of view. People who are too much rigid on their beliefs. Religions but also politics. Ideologies then becomes fascist, sectarian and create big mistakes. It is a big problem nowadays. 3. Bonno joku : blots dues to desirs, bonnos. People who follow to much their desirs lose the control of their life, then their freedom. Before desirs were quiet reduce to the minimum but nowadays, with the new way of life, the society creats a lot of useless bonnos and life becomes more and more complicated. Too much freedom is not good either, to much exces in any direction are dangerous. 4. Shinjo joku : happyness decrease. People escape from religion, they abandon god or Buddha. They do not respect an holy or a wise person anymore, nor the olds peoples. They do not even respect life either. It is so easy to kill somebody nowadays that some kids even do not realize what they have done, they think it is like a video game. Only those who have a spiritual practice do not degenerate, but if you abandon zazen, body and mind become weak. As soon as they meet a difficulty, ordinary peoples quickly abandon and escape. Morality is mock or forgotten. In such way merits diminish and misfortune appears.

13 13 5. Mojo joku : blots of life. The food is degenerating. GM food is everywhere. American companies hardly try to impose what they considere is good for you. MacDonald and Coca Cola are everywhere, even in China or in Africa. Quality of life degenerate incredibly quickly. Even in the art of war, before you needed to fight hard with a sword, you needed a lot of courage and recklessness but nowaday a fat man can distroy the planet itself in front of his computer, while eating a hamburger. The brain and the body become impotent and people cannot sleep without tablets. So, we have to survive among the Sea of Turments. This is life. Some people try to escape and commit suicide. This is total foolishness. How to cross the Sea of Suffering? Impurity must becomes purity, bad, good. How to behave on that rocky sea? Zazen is the big door and everybody can experiment it. In the end, it is not that difficult. In the dojo or in a retreat in Connemara we mix with other peoples, we share and experience life together, we harmonize and explore our mind with the body. It is a very interesting experience. Zazen itself is already Kannon. All your behaviour must reflect Kannon. When you speak, when you eat, when you work, etc. If you drink alkohol, control yourself. This is also Kannon. It is not necessary to stop everything and to be an ascet. You can swim on the Ocean of Life, but you must learn how to swim, this is zazen. Then everybody and everything becomes Kannon. Mountains, flowers, trees, rivers, the Earth, are Kannon realization. Everything become peaceful and phenomenouns becomes quiet even if difficulties appear. Some people escape dirtyness and practice purity alone on the top of mountains, like some kind of holy person, without mixing at all with society. That kind of people, even if they are saint, are dogmatic and certainly not bodhissatvas at all. They are not able to abandon their purity in order to save people who are lost and disorientated on the Sea of Suffering. Those who keep and protect their purity for themselves are, at the end, completely egoïstic and useless for humanity. If you follow to strictly the kaï or the precepts you cannot help humanity, you just save yourself. At the end, those kind of saints are worst than devils. In order to save an holy person Kannon will take the form of an ascet. It will go to his ermitage and will speak to him. Are you able to harmonize with others? Why are you escaping society, can t you help inferior peoples? Holy persons and saints are to individualists. This is the Theravada phylosophy. It is interesting to see that in buddhism holy persons and saints are fare to be considered as perfect and Kannon needs to save them as well as it also does with the inferior worlds. In the India mythology, people thought that livings beings are living on Earth and on the Sky. On the Sky leave holy persons and saints and on Earth all kinds of animal forms and ordinary human beings. If it want to save human beings or animals, it has to take an ordinary human body or even an animal form In our modern civilisation, spiritual ideal has disappear, now materials ideals are the only targets of the young generation with big teeth : communism, capitalists. Spirituals ideals are completely forgotten. Politicians from every side are corrupted, there ideals are purely about power and money or fame. So, now Kannon must take the form of a politician, scientific, doctor, phylosophe, poet, intellectuel, religious, etc. It has to take the form of everyone of us. It takes the appareance of the trinity : Brahma the creator, Vishnu the protecteur, and Shiva the destructeur. Kannon must govern and educate them. By which means?

14 14 By Tokudo which means generally ordination but here means education, help, salvation. Kannon takes the aspect of Bonwo. Bon : cosmos Wo : king. It takes the form of the Cosmos king. It takes the form of Taishakuten (Indra in sanscrit), the god who govern the Asura (devils) or the god who protects buddhism. The Buddha uses all the hindouist deities. If it want to educate or help Jizaiten, it takes the form of Jizaiten, the powerful god who govern the world of desires. Taishakuten is the god who respects deeply upraightness (droiture) and morality. He protects the kaï : not to kill, not having a bad sexuality, not lying, not abusing meal and drinks, not criticize, etc. Jizaiten is just the opposite. He loves to infringe (enfreindre) the kaï. He is a god-devil. There is here an apparent contradiction. He is a god who governs the world of desires. He can plays with all your desires, phantasms or weaknesses. It is not good to drink to much whisky or to be to much concentrate on sex, but sometimes to be a devil is a good thing. This put you stronger. People who are too much idealistic are often full of illusions. Those who are too much moralistic are cold and rigid, they are not funny at all. But to be too much free and doing always what ever you want is also dangerous. When we are weak, sometimes we must test ourself, like the japanese sword which you put on the fire in order to get the blade (lame) stronger. Sometimes you must realize your weaknesses in order to go behond. Sometimes the devil is necessary. It is interesting in buddhism an holy person is not only seen as holy and a devil is not only a devil. Everybody, in public, likes to show an image of respectability, gentelness, with big smiles, softness and correctness, all in the right place, they like to show a good appareance, with a high morality image but when they are not exposed to the public regard, they change totally their attitude. People do not want to become a devil, they have afraid of him but sometimes you must conquer him, rid the dragon and control the devil which is on you. This is Jizaiten, the god-devil. Then, there is Daijizaiten, the big Jizaiten, the destructor Shiva. He governs storms and chaos. He jump into your bad karma, into your dirtyness and weaknesses. He is the king of the devils and control them. Kannon can takes the aspect of Bishamonten, the king of wealthyness and fortune. All thoses gods and devils are either moralists gods, or either materialistic gods, but they all govern our desires. Human beings sometimes needs a big holyness, big moralities, but also sometimes they like big money and sex. It looks contradictory, but it is the reality of human beings. They are just like that, wether you like it or not, this is the reality. Thoses good and bad deities have been created by human beings because they represent their tendencies. The same individual can have big spirituals desires but also strong physicals desires as well. How to control those contradictions? Everybody is different, every spirit is particular, everybody has a different karma. I resume what I said precedently. In reality, we all have all those deities and devils on each on of us. - When Kannon want to help, to save or to heal Bonwo, the king of the Sky, the highest divinity of the cosmos, it becomes Bonwo. - When it want to save Taishakuten, the saint, the pure ermit, the theravada, it takes the forme of Taishakuten.

15 15 - When it want to help Jizaiten it takes his appearance. - When it want to help Daijizaiten, it takes his appearance. The two tops are gods and the two others are god-devils. None of them are superior or inferior. This is just the differents sides of the same person which are on us. When you give too much freedom to the gods they become devils. By the control of ourself, by the observation of ourself through meditation we can understand what is genuine freedom. On the Kannon Gyo, Jizaiten, the god of freedom is a devil, because in our spirit coexist those two aspects : sometimes we want to be holy and sometimes we prefer to be devil. Everybody is like that. Bonwo and Taïshakuten are beneficial deities and Jizaien and Daijizaiten are malefic deities. Buddhism does not make any difference between god and bad deities, they are just as they are, it does not judge them. Sometimes good is bad and sometimes bad is good, but also, do not forget that, good is good and bad is bad. Then, Deshimaru speaks about hundreds of others gods from India but is is too long for us. Anyway, we can say that, Kannon takes the form of the thousands aspects which are on us. A good deity can be negative if we do not understand it deeply and a bad deity can be positive if we can abandon our attachment to our illusions. Just like the practice of meditation, if we do not change our old habits, even if you practice zazen all your life, the benefice will be zero. * * * * From now, is the second part of the Kannon Gyo, which is wrote like a poem. It repeats the first chapter but in presented in a different matter : SE SON MYO SO GUN O vénérable master of this world who possess the splendide posture GA KON JU MON PI Again, I want to ask you something BUSSHI GA IN NEN By which karma the child of Buddha MYO I KAN ZE ON Called Kanzeon (Kannon) GU SOKU MYO SO SON Is the Baghavan with mervellous aspects? GE TO MU JIN NI Buddha Shakyamuni answers to the bodhissattva Mujinni : NYO CHO KAN NON GYO

16 16 Please, listen the practice of Kannon ZEN NO SHO HO SHO Which, quickly is realized everywhere GU ZEI JIN NYO KAI His vows are deeper than the deeper ocean RYAKKO FU SHI GI And for eternity we will not be able to conceive it JI TA SEN NOKU BUTSU With the help of all numerous buddhas O HOTSU DAI SHO JO GAN It creates pur wills GA I NYO RYAKU SETSU For you I will explain it MON MON GYU KEN SHIN Listening his name, watching his body SHIN NEN FU KU TA By concentrating my spirit without let pass anything vainly NO METSU SHO U KU It is possible then to make disappear a lot of sufferings KE SHI KO GAI I Even if we suffer a lot of persecutions SUI RAKU DAI KA KYO If someone push us into a big fire, bigger than the hell NEN PI KAN NON RIKI Exactly, if you concentrate all your energy on the power of Kannon KA KYO HEN JO CHI That huge fire will become a lake or a big ocean WAKU HYO RU KO KAI If you drift and random on the big ocean RYU GYO SHO KI NAN And the devils, the big fishs and dragons want to eat you NEN PI KAN NON RIKI Exactly, if you concentrate all your energy on Kannon power HA RO FU NO MUTSU The waves will not disturb you and the devils will let you go in peace WAKU ZAI SHU MI BU If you are on the top of the Sumi mountain

17 17 I NIN SHO SUI DA And someone push you on the crater NEN PI KAN NON RIKI Exactly, if you concentrate all your energy on Kannon power NYO NICHI KOKU JU You will be like the Sun on the Sky WAKU HI AKU NIN CHIKU If you are persecuted by malevolant persons DA RAKU KON GO SEN And are falling down in front of Kongo mountain NEN PI KAN NON RIKI Exactly, if you concentrate yourself on the power of Kannon FU NO SON ICHI MO You will even not lose a single hair WAKU CHI ON ZOKU NYO If you are surrender by thiefs, killers or rascals KAKU SHU TOKA GAI And if one of them has a sword and his threatening you NEN PI KAN NON RIKI Exactly, if you concentrate yourself to the power of Kannon GEN SOKU KI JI SHIN Each one of them will become compassionate WAKU SO O NAN KU If you suffer the disgrace of the emperor (or the authorities) RIN GYO YOKU JU SHU And military peoples bring you to the scaffold (échaffaud) NEN PI KAN NON RIKI Exactly, if you concentrate yourself to the power of Kannon TO JIN DAN DANE The sword of the executor will smash into 1000 pieces WAKU SHU KIN KA SA If you are put in jail, the neck encircle tightly (enserré) on a piece of iron collar SHU SOKU HI CHU KAI Hands and feet attached NEN PI KAN NON RIKI Exactly, if you concentrate yourself on the power of Kannon

18 18 SHAKU NEN TOKU GE DATSU Quickly you will obtain total freedom SHU SO SHO DOKU YAKU If someone bewitch you (ensorceller) or poison you SHO YOKU GAI SHIN SHA Or want to persecute you NEN PI KAN NON RIKI If you concentrate yourself on the power of Kannon GEN JAKU O HON NIN Those malevolances will return to those who perpetuate it WAKU GU AKU RA SETSU If you meet devils spirits who eat people DOKU RYU SHO KITO Or the killer dragon or several others devils NEN PI KAN NON RIKI Exactly, if you concentrate yourself to the power of Kannon JI SHIPPU KAN GAI Exactly, nothing will harm you NYAKU AKU JU I NYO If you are surrender by dangerous animals RIGE SO KA FU And their teeth and clawes (griffes) terrorize you NEN PI KAN NON RIKI Exactly, if you concentrate yourself on the power of Kannon SHISSO MU HEN PO Thoses animals will escape for ever GAN JA GYU BUK KATSU If you are bite (piqué) by a mortal snake : viper, naja or scorpion KE DOKU ENKA NEN And their poison burns you deeply NEN PI KAN NON RIKI Exactly, if you concentrate yourself on the power of Kannon JIN SHO JI E KO By the sound of this sutra, they will escape UN RAI KU SEI DEN If the thunder ring out (retentit) and lightings spurt out (jaillissent) everywhere

19 19 GO BAKU JU DAI U If the rain hail (grêle) or if it is raining torrentially NEN PI KAN NON RIKI Exactly, if you concentrate yourself on the power of Kannon O JI TOKU SHO SAN Quickly, everything will stop SHU JO HI KON YAKU When heavy difficulties or accidents appears on sensitives beings MU RYO KU HIS SHIN And if infinites sufferings assault his body KAN NON MYO CHI RIKI Then the splendid power of Kannon NO GU SE JEN KU Can save all sufferings beings from the social world * * * * NYO CHO KAN NON GYO Please, listen the pratice of Kannon ZEN NO SHO HO SHO Which is realizing itself quickly and everywhere GU ZEI JIN NYO KAI His vows are deeper than the deepest of the ocean What is a big vow? There is two kinds of wishes : ordinaires ones and highers ones. Everybody does somes vows. When we are young, we vow to pass our exams, this is the student vow. After young men vow to seduce a beautiful woman and young woman vow to marry a young man. After that we vow to have a good job and win a lot of money. Almost everybody run all their life for thoses purposes, but always money escape from your nose and you have to run hard and fast and spend a lot of energy in order to satisfy your standard life for you and your family. After, if you are lucky enough to have satisfy thoses wishes, you vow to be part of the elite and search for honorability and respectability. This is what people call happyness. Almost everybody die with that vow. But somebody who is really cleaver will understand easily that, this is not at all satisfactory. There is something deeper than that a deeper vow There is the fourth vows the bodhissattva recites every morning at the end of zazen, during the ceremony : SHUJO MUHEN SEIGANDO

20 20 BONNO MUJIN SEIGANDAN HOMON MURYO SEIGANGAKU BUTSUDO MUJO SEIGANDO SHUJO MUHEN SEIGANDO. Sensitives beings are infinite, nevertheless I vow to save all ot them. Nowadays, in our modern civilisation, human beings become mads, there is everywhere infinity of suffering, their spirit is complicated and dirty. They are completely attached to their small desires : money, drugs, alkohol, sex, passion for frivolous things such as sports, gambling, etc. They are suffering and sinking into the muddy ocean of passions. BONNO MUJIN SEIGANDAN. Our bonnos are infinite, nevertheless I vow to eliminate them. Bonnos are infinite as we know it. It is difficult not to run after and to cut it is very difficult either. For instance, running after a woman takes a lot of energy. Even during zazen bonnos appear, but we can observ them, we can watch that we are not always good. Some people are obsess by alkohol, others by power or sex. During a sesshin we must completely cut our desires. If we eat too much or drink too much, we become obsess, we cannot stop to think about, all the time. To reduce our bonnos is a big vow. It is not necessary to cut them completely because it is impossible, but simply to decrease them, and with time, wisdom will appear. HOMON MURYO SEIGANGAKU. Homon : the dharma s door. Nowadays there is a lot of translations about buddhism or zen. But there is more than sutras. Some writers make commentaries, some study the commentaries and make commentaries about it. Almost all traductions are completely wrong or superficials, they just translate word by word, or in an intellectual way, without any experience or practice, they just translate the image, the appearance of the teaching, but cannot go to the essence of it, because they have no experience of wisdom themselves and for that reason cannot explain it deeply. They just give theology course. There understanding is laughable and not respectable. This is why, my dears disciples (this is Deshimaru speaking), I translate directly for you all those sutras, from the essence and with my own long experience of meditation, I explain it to you. I open for you the doors of the Dharma. BUTSUDO MUJO SEIGANDO. Butsudo : the Buddha s way. We make the vow to follow the highest path through our meditation practice, the highest dimension for a human being, but to carry on is very difficult. If we continue zazen we can realize the fourth nobles vows which help us and also help all humanity. Those fourth vows are deeper than the unfathonable (insondable) ocean. We just know that world, limited by birth and death. We cannot penetrate the metaphysic or eternal world, we just can imaginate it. After having spend some time on this world, we will have to die, it is just like a dream. To believe that we will stay young for ever or our life will continue for ever is just a big mistake, one day or another we will have