June 5-6, 2026 -OUR MONTHLY 3-hour Treeleaf ZAZENKAI- Fourth Mysterious Talk for You

[Jundo]

A fourth mystery from a long-ago masterpiece ...
... but no particular order ... jump on in ...

The Fourth of Ten Mysterious Talks by Master Tong'an Changcha
(TEXT BELOW)

Dear All,

Please sit our Monthly 3-Hour Treeleaf Zazenkai LIVE with Zazen, Heart Sutra and more. We meet in our Zoom Scheduled Sitting Room here:
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JOIN ZOOM >>.
The password (if needed): << dogen >>

For local times, please check the Practice Calendar here: TREELEAF Practice Calendar (8am to 11am Japan time Saturday morning, New York 7pm to 11pm, Los Angeles 4pm to 7pm, Friday, London Midnight to 3am and Paris 1am to 4am on early Saturday morning) and also sittable any time thereafter:
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However, "one way" live sitters are encouraged to come into the Zoom sitting, and just leave the camera and microphone turned off.
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Audio recordings of the Talks during Zazenkai are available here:
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Treeleaf Zendo Podcast

The Sitting Schedule is as follows:
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00:00 - 00:50 CEREMONY (HEART SUTRA IN JAPANESE / SANDOKAI IN ENGLISH) & ZAZEN

00:50 - 01:00 KINHIN
01:00 - 01:30 ZAZEN
01:30 - 01:40 KINHIN
01:40 - 02:20 DHARMA TALK & ZAZEN
02:20 - 02:25 KANNON STRETCH
02:25 - 02:55 ZAZEN and METTA VERSES
02:55 - 03:00 VERSE OF ATONEMENT, FOUR VOWS, & CLOSING

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ATTENTION: Everyone, when rising for Kinhin or Ceremonies after Zazen, get up slowly, don't rush, hold something stable, you won't be "late," so TAKE YOUR TIME! Make sure you are careful getting up!

Gassho, Jundo

STLah


PS - There is no "wrong" or "right" in Zazen ... yet here is a little explanation of the "right" times to Bow (A Koan) ...
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Chant Book is here for those who wish to join in: CHANT BOOK LINK

The other video I mention on Zendo decorum is this one, from our "Always Beginners" video Series:
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Sit-a-Long with Jundo: Zazen for Beginners (12) - Basic Zendo Decorum At Home
https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/show...093#post189093

I also recommend a little Talk on why small rituals and procedures are so cherished in the Zendo:
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SIT-A-LONG with Jundo: Small Things in the Zendo
https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/show...s-in-the-Zendo

[Jundo]

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[Jundo]

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Today we find precious jade and priceless dragon jewels in a once classic text of Soto Zen in China, long forgotten until recently revived ...

The "Ten Mysterious Talks," or "Ten Talks of Unfathomable Depths" (十玄談), by the 10th Century Soto (Caodong) Master, Tong'an Changcha (同安常察, Dōan Jōsatsu).

We will explore the fourth of the ten. (Translation by Daigaku Rumme):

(However, jump in any place if just joining us ... there is no particular sequence to take in order!)



4. The Transcendent within Dust and Dirt

That which is impure is impure by itself; that which is pure is pure by itself.
Highest wisdom and delusion are likewise empty and even.
Who could say that nobody can appreciate Bianhe’s jade?
I say that the jewel of the black dragon shines everywhere.
Only when the myriad dharmas disappear does the whole thing appear.
The Three Vehicles split up and assumed only provisional names.
Truly outstanding people have determination that knows no bounds.
Do not try to go where the buddhas have already gone.

濁者自濁淸者淸
菩提煩惱等空平
誰言卞璧無人鑑
我道驪珠到處晶
萬法泯時全體現
三乘分處假安名
丈夫自有衝天氣
不向如來行處行

The truly terrible legend of Bianhe's Jade ...

A man from Ch'u named Bianhe found a piece of unpolished jade at the foot of the Ching Mountains. He offered it as tribute to King Wu [of the Chou dynasty]. King Wu had it inspected by a jade expert, who declared it to be ordinary stone. [Bianhe] had his left leg cut off [as punishment]. When King Wen came to the throne, [Bianhe] once more presented the jade. King Wen took it to be ordinary stone, and [Bianhe] had his right leg cut off. Bianhe wrapped the jade carefully and wept tears of blood. When King Ch'eng ascended the throne, Bianhe once again presented the jade. King Ch'eng said: 'Dear sir, throughout All-under-Heaven men whose feet were cut off are many. Why should you be crying so bitterly?' Bianhe replied, "I am lamenting not the loss of my feet, but for the calling a precious gem an ordinary stone and for their dubbing an honest man a liar." As soon as the stone was cut, it appeared that it was truly fine jade, and it was made into a jade ring. Legend has it that it was pure white and flawless. The king of Chu named it Heshibi, Master He's jade.

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"Plucking the Pearl from the Black Dragon" is an ancient Chinese legend that refers to a precious pearl hidden beneath the chin of the Black Dragon. The Black Dragon dwells in the depths of an abyss. To obtain the pearl, one must dive into the abyss, wait for the dragon to fall asleep, and then seize the opportunity to steal it. The idiom denotes obtaining an extremely rare and precious treasure.

Dogen in Tenzo Kyokun quoting a poem by Master Xuedou ...

One, seven, three, five.
What you search for cannot be grasped.
As the night deepens,
the moon brightens over the ocean.
The black dragon’s jewel
is found in every wave.
Looking for the moon,
it is here in this wave
and the next.

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[Jundo]

Oh, alas, lost a giant tree in a big Typhoon here at Treeleaf Japan yesterday. It was about 3 stories tall. All composite things are impermanent.

Fortunately, it fell well ... missing our Zendo (and the electric lines and many things) that were in its path!
. tsuku.jpg

Gassho, Jundo
stlah

[michaelw]

There is a lot to be said for bonsai and cloud pruning.
Glad the zendo was spared.

Gassho

MichaelW

[Kotei]

Oh, alas, lost a giant tree in a big Typhoon here at Treeleaf Japan yesterday. It was about 3 stories tall. All composite things are impermanent.

Fortunately, it fell well ... missing our Zendo (and the electric lines and many things) that were in its path!

Oh no! I am feeling with you. This winter and high snow load did so much to the garden over here that I still need to accept.
Bows,
Kotei sat/lah today.

[Shinkon]

Oh, alas, lost a giant tree in a big Typhoon here at Treeleaf Japan yesterday. It was about 3 stories tall. All composite things are impermanent.

Fortunately, it fell well ... missing our Zendo (and the electric lines and many things) that were in its path!
. tsuku.jpg

Gassho, Jundo
stlah

Oh my! That is a very large tree that will take time to remove and repurpose.

The one bright pearl! That tree contains the one bright pearl that is also the tree in through, with, and under All. Also, I need to get something to eat; this may be a low-blood-sugar response.
See everyone tonight!
Shinkon
satlah

[Jundo]

The one bright pearl! That tree contains the one bright pearl that is also the tree in through, with, and under All.

It is so.

Now, go wash your bowls.

Gassho, J
stlah

[michaelw]

Now, go wash your bowls

There's an idea. Turn the tree into Oryoki bowl sets as a fund raiser.
I will take dibs on a set.

Gassho
MichaelW

[Tairin]

Thank you everyone. I sat with you this morning.


Tairin
sat today and lah

[Houzan]

Thank you. Sat with you all on this one last night and tonight

Jundo: I struggle a bit with the two opening lines:

That which is impure is impure by itself; that which is pure is pure by itself.
Highest wisdom and delusion are likewise empty and even.

It’s the word “likewise” I struggle with. I read the first line as “emptiness is emptiness, form is form”. And then he flips it and says “form is emptiness, emptiness form”. But when he says “likewise” he seems to suggest that they are similar, which to me is a bit confusing. It would be saying that “form is form, likewise, form is emptiness”
which seems a strange way to say that both descriptions are needed to paint the full picture.

Gassho, Hōzan
satlah

[Jundo]

Thank you. Sat with you all on this one last night and tonight

Jundo: I struggle a bit with the two opening lines:

That which is impure is impure by itself; that which is pure is pure by itself.
Highest wisdom and delusion are likewise empty and even.

It’s the word “likewise” I struggle with. I read the first line as “emptiness is emptiness, form is form”. And then he flips it and says “form is emptiness, emptiness form”. But when he says “likewise” he seems to suggest that they are similar, which to me is a bit confusing. It would be saying that “form is form, likewise, form is emptiness”
which seems a strange way to say that both descriptions are needed to paint the full picture.

Gassho, Hōzan
satlah

Hi Houzan,

The original Chinese is something like this:

impure-things-itself-impure-pure-things-pure
濁者自濁淸者淸
Bodhi(Enlightenment)-Bonno(Delusion/Obstructions)-equally-empty-equal/level/flat/calm
菩提煩惱等空平

So, I take this as similar to Dogen's point that (1) we leap through all opposites such as birth/death and pure/impure and enlightened/unenlightened, while ALSO SIMULTANEOUSLY (2) birth is purely birth in the time of birth, death is purely death in the time of death, pure is purely pure and impure is thoroughly impure, and likewise for you and me, this and that, and all other opposites and contrasts ... such that (1) and (2) are "not one, not two" like two sides of a no sided coin. The realization of this fact is enlightenment, while being lost in the world of "only seeing the differences" is delusion.

So, yes, both descriptions (1) and (2) and their unifier (both being "not one not two" as both true at once) are needed for the full picture.

When we appreciate this, the precious jade and jewel are everywhere, even though often hard to see.

Then, as the next line says ...

Only when the myriad dharmas disappear does the whole thing appear.
萬法泯時全體現

That is something like saying that "when all the separation of separate things vanish then, from another way of seeing, the WHOLENESS appears which MANIFESTS IN AND AS each separate thing which each individually shows itself as also the WHOLENESS in the guise of each separate thing." Pure is purely WHOLENESS, impure is purely the WHOLENESS, birth is purely the WHOLENESS and death is purely the WHOLENESS, and you are purely the WHOLENESS and I am purely the WHOLNESS, etc. etc. So, we are the pure/impure and you/me of before ... but now very different because ALSO known as each the WHOLENESS.

The "The Three Vehicles" of Buddhism, with their different approaches, are all purely the WHOLENESS and seeking to realize the above truths each in their own way.

Does that help a bit?

So, the tree did not fall in my garden because, in the WHOLENESS, no tree or garden and no place to fall ... and yet, ALSO, the tree fell in my garden as WHOLENESS WHOLLY FALLING IN WHOLENESS, with tree as WHOLENESS and falling as WHOLENESS and garden as WHOLENESS. It is now THOROUGHLY tree which is the whole of reality as tree, THOROUGHLY falling which is the whole of reality as falling, THOROUGHLY garden which is the whole of reality as garden,

(I did not hear it fall, by the way, as I was not there to hear it fall! Maybe it made no sound? )

Gassho, J
stlah

[Shui_Di]

Glad that the tree fell where it should be fell.

It met its impermanence, but it is in the hug of the earth mother now.

Seeing the tree, I remember our Soto Zen stitch on the rakusu

Gassho, Mujo
Stlah

[Shui_Di]

The tree is standing still, the earth is flying around.

[Kotei]

Thank you for the talk and for sitting this together.
Gassho,
Kotei sat/lah today.