Dear zen friend

1) We have been under perfect weather. 

Flowers have decorated gardens. 

New phoebes are about to born. 

A deer and a fawn were walking along the road. 

I attended a memorial service on Sunday. 

Memory of corona looked fading away. 

A year ago at a burying site in large field, people were wearing mask.  

Normal life is coming back. 

2) There is news in which Elon Musk and Bill Gates are arguing. Elon tries to open the twitter for everyone and every speech. Bill wants Twitter company to keep current regulations. Big money is moved around about the case.  

Isn’t America a nation of free speech? What does Constitution say? 

Their arguments may be a good chance to clarify free speech. To logically clarify freedom would have given a great contribution to American civilization. 

Buddhism had experienced logical pursuit of the Dharma more than 2000 years ago. A view of continuity was studied for centuries. The movement was named Hinayana. The ultimate continuity showed that all things are permanent and all time, past, present, and future  exist. 

A view of discontinuity began with impermanence. Time does not exist but flows. So flow things. Is the idea of impermanence established truth? No,  Impermanence  must flow,  too. That impermanence discontinues is named emptiness. Emptiness is the ultimate truth. These ideas and movements are names Mahayana. 

Buddhist Sutras say there are 18 emptinesses. Emptiness must be ultimate. Are there multiple ultimates?  I could  not figure out those emptinesses.  Indian scholars and priests must have understood the logic. This might have been an attempt to explain varieties of the world. 

Both continuity and discontinuity were sincerely and honestly studies. As a result, it is known permanence is not ultimate truth,

and impermanence is not ultimate truth. Each idea does not fulfill conditions of  truthfulness? 

Free speech should be sincerely and honestly argued and studied.

Regards.

Eishin Ikeda

Valley Zendo