The Seven Points of Practice

Offered by Kosho Uchiyama-roshi in the last formal talk he gave at Antai-ji, on February 23, 1975.

1 Study and practice the Buddha-dharma only for the sake of the Buddha-dharma, not for the sake of human emotions and worldly ideas.

2 Zazen is the most venerable and only true teacher.

3 Zazen must work concretely in our daily lives as the two practices (vow and repentance), the three minds (magnanimous mind, parental mind, and joyful mind), and as the realization of the saying, "Gaining is delusion, losing is enlightenment."

4 Live by vow and root it deeply.

5 Realizing that development and backsliding are your responsibility alone, endeavor to practice and develop.

6 Sit silently for ten years, then for ten more years, and then for another ten years.

7 Cooperate with one another and aim to create a place where sincere practitioners can practice without trouble.