This podcast is offered by San Francisco's Zen Center on the web at sfcc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Good morning and welcome everyone. This morning's Dharma talk will be given by Rev. Taishan Hiroshi from Japan. And he will be speaking in Japanese. So our old friend, Tagaku Rumi, will be translating for us. Tagaku trained in Japan for 27 years at Ushunji Monastery with his teacher, Sekei Harada-reshi. And he's the first American-born monk to serve in the position of General Director of the Soto Zen Ludus of North America Office, which is headquartered in LA, where he now lives.

[01:07]

And previous to that, he was Administrative Secretary to the Soto Zen International Center in Japantown in San Francisco. And during the time he held that position, he lived here with us at San Francisco Sun Center for seven years. Sophie's really an old friend. Dick Beckley, would you please introduce Reverend Yoshi? I will. Thanks so much, Rob. It's a great pleasure to be here and to introduce Reverend Yoshi Taishu. And here's the head priest of a town called Fumont, which is in the southernmost of the main islands of Japan called Kyushu. And he is in a special rank of teachers called, in Japanese, Tokuha Kiyoshi. About 40 priests who represent the overall head priest of the Sotoshi on those occasions when that priest is unable to attend various ceremonies and functions in Japan.

[02:19]

And so he's a professional speaker. He's the ninth such that we have invited through my office. And I have the pleasure of traveling and translating for these teachers over the years. It's a wonderful opportunity to be back at CityCenters. So thanks so much for being here. And I would like to present now Reverend Yoshi. Thank you. [...]

[03:21]

Good morning. Good morning. I'm here in the south of the宮崎県 of信岡市. I'm here in Fumonji. I'm here in吉井大俊と申します. I'm here in the United States. [...] This is an image of the image that I have heard about.

[04:25]

I have heard about the fact that [...] I have heard about And I've got a lot of music that I've got, and I've got a lot of bread and fun, and I've had a lot of [...] fun. I think it's important to talk to each other. I think it's a card.

[05:28]

I think it's a card. I think it's a pretty good card. I think it's a [...] good card. Yes, this is my very first trip to the United States. As you can imagine, I think, visiting a new country, of course, I've heard about America, I've seen it represented on TV and the movies and so on, but actually coming here is a different experience. And I have to say I've been surprised by some things, a little bit of culture shock, particularly in America. where Americans seem to be very, well, enjoying their food and speaking in loud voices. And not only that, with music too, really the level of the sound is surprising, much higher than in Japan.

[06:37]

Also that... Well, ladies and gentlemen, three years ago in Japan, there was a huge earthquake, the South Japan Great earthquake. Thank you.

[07:39]

So that's why I am really happy to live and live and live. What is the key? I am the key. I am the key. I am the key. I'm sure you remember that about three and a half years ago, in Japan, there was a great natural disaster. There was, first of all, an earthquake, followed by a tsunami, in which about 20,000 people perished. And then, directly after that, there was the accident at the Fukushima nuclear reactor, where... A considerable amount of nuclear radiation was released and still is a problem.

[08:40]

But not only natural disasters, as you know, following the news, wars ongoing around the world, terrorist activity and so on. And for me, the question really is, how is it possible for us to live a happy, satisfied life? Among all of this difficulty, these kinds of difficulty. And I think the key is really for us, for those of us who practice Zen, in the practice we call the Zen. Thank you very much.

[10:01]

I'm going to give you a question. That's what I'm talking about. I'm here to give a talk but I wouldn't be able to give a talk if you people weren't here to listen and since I don't speak English

[11:31]

I'm dependent on a translator. My assistant is here to take care of various details, driving and so on. I'm thankful that the abbot is here. It's through the good graces of the abbot, the tanto, that this event was set up today. And the point I'd like to make is that nobody lives their life completely independent of others. In other words, we're dependent on other people and our environment to live this very precious life. We call this in Buddhism the law of causality, that things arise together, that nothing exists independent of something else. I've read the books of Suzuki Shundu Roshi, of course the founder of the San Francisco Zen Center, And he is as well says that we live our own lives but we live our lives together with those people around us.

[13:01]

The body, the heart, [...] and the heart. The heart, the heart, the heart, the heart, and the heart. The heart, the heart, the heart, and the heart. In our everyday life, we're always doing something. At any moment, we're doing something. And what we're doing takes place through body, speech, or the mouth, and mind. We can divide these into three different things, but in actual fact, these three things are one thing. They work together as one thing. and it's through the activity or the function of those body speech and mind that we are able to live our lives

[14:24]

That's why I don't know. I think it's very important. Because everybody has a different face. Some people are quiet, some people are gentle.

[15:27]

We can see from their facial expressions, some people are very bright, and so on. And it's because of this difference that we are able to function in the world. If everybody had the same face, we wouldn't be able to distinguish between them. American people are really smiling. They look at their eyes. [...] that's really wonderful I think we would really prefer to encounter smiles as opposed to somebody who's angry and in that sense I think we could say that a smile is an offering it's something that we're giving to another person

[16:50]

Now let's talk. What are you doing? What are you doing? First of all, the words are important. The [...] words are important. Do you know what I'm going to do? So, when you say that [...]

[18:16]

That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. this is necessary in life to be able to express our thoughts in words to other people and here in America again I noticed that people are very actively involved in doing that exactly that in very energetic words, expressing their opinions and ideas to other people.

[19:20]

And this is important. I think to express ourselves in a bright way is important. Words, we have the ability to lift people's spirits if we see that somebody is suffering. If we see that somebody... is not well. We have the power through words to encourage that person, to lift that person's spirits. In the same way, we can also use words in a negative way. We can hurt people. And of course, this is something we would rather not do. In Buddhism, we say that the power of words that we exert or put out in the world, that energy will come back to us. So if we... If we use words that are uplifting to other people, that are able to lift other people's spirits, that energy is going to come back to us in a like manner.

[20:26]

Also, if we use words that are hurtful, those words eventually will come back and in a like manner hurt ourselves. 2500年前に人は生まれながらに口の中に斧が生じている悪い言葉を語ることによってその斧が自分自身を着るのであるという忌ましめを残してくださっておりますし道元様もですね言葉を大切にした方です相手のために自分も含めて相手のためになるかどうか3回繰り返して本当になるなと The Buddha said to have one of his teachings is that everybody at the time of birth is born with an axe in their mouth.

[21:29]

And this is to say that we have that power. There is that power through words of hurting other people with words. And in a likewise manner, as he said earlier, if we use words that are hurtful, that are meant to destroy another person, that energy will return and hurt us as well. Dogen's energy is said to have been very careful with words to the extent that he thought three times before he replied to somebody. He thought three times, is this really going to benefit the other person as well as myself? It was to that extent that he was very careful about what he said to other people.

[22:36]

I have to say that I've not always been careful myself with words. There are times when I've looked back and said, why did I say that? But the fact is, once we say something that we regret, it's really not possible to erase it. And I think the only thing that's possible to do is to apologize. But it's to that extent that words have that power to lift up and to break down. This is the first one.

[23:49]

This is the first one. Another main function of the mouth is of course to eat. And when I speak in Japan, I often ask the people who are listening, how many times do you chew your food? And I think it's good to chew your food a lot. In fact, I recommend chewing the very first bite you take 50 times. Have you, are you able to do that?

[24:52]

It's to that extent that chewing your food is very important for your digestion. This is a disease. It's [...] a disease. The reason why it's important to chew your food well is to mix the saliva in your mouth with that food. That's really the way to prepare it for easy digestion. It is said that if you have a lot of saliva in your mouth, that that is good for your immune protection, your system, your immune power.

[25:59]

On the other hand, if you don't have much saliva, that's an indication that that your immune system your power of immunity is not so good so that's why we recommend chewing your food well For many years now I've been eating a macrobiotic diet. I'm sure many of you are familiar with that.

[27:01]

That's the idea of eating whole grains. In Japan, that means I mainly eat brown rice and not the white rice. And then we eat a very traditional Japanese diet that includes miso soup, the pickles, natto, fermented soybeans, other kinds of fermented foods, sea vegetables, and of course lots of vegetables. We believe that that is really a good healthy diet. That's what I'm saying.

[28:28]

The reason that I've been eating this kind of food for about 14 years is that my wife some 30 years ago had a miscarriage. And as a result of that miscarriage, she lost a lot of blood. She had been very healthy until that time, but from that time on, she really seemed to lose her basic energy. and we went around we asked doctors what to do about that and they suggested eating lots of protein which means eating meat and so on and she did this for a number of years but was unable to really regain her health There's no effect on it.

[29:35]

There's no effect on it. We really tried a lot of different methods for her to regain her health, acupuncture, shiatsu, and other various, there are many different kinds of traditional But she would get better for a while, and then she would once again lose her energy. And it was through macrobiotics that we realized that, of course, energy coming from the outside is important, but perhaps more important is the energy that comes from within.

[30:52]

Really, 10 years later, the body has become a thin face. It was a good thing. [...] so anyway for 10 years or so she really suffered through this this problem and then about 20 years ago we found this diet and as I mentioned we mostly eat whole grains and natural She became even more healthy than she did before her miscarriage.

[32:19]

What did you change? Okay. Anyways, I've also benefited quite a bit as well. I've lost weight. I feel lighter. I have more energy. And most important, perhaps, is I don't catch colds anymore. If I do, in those cases, when I do not feel well, I'm able to get up quickly. So, my wife and I have this macrobiotic diet, and I'm really happy to be here.

[33:33]

So, I thank you very much. This macrobiotic diet diet, and I will say, one word, is that the Chinese 4,000 years of the use of the引用 of the law. This time, I will say, so both myself and my wife are very much grateful to have come across this particular diet I won't speak any more about that now but it is based theoretically on old Chinese principles primarily yin and yang Go back 4,000 years. Yes.

[34:52]

私はできるだけそれを忘れると言いますかしております皆さんもいろんな解消法あると思いますが私が一番いいのは皆さんと一緒にした座禅です頭でいろんなことを考えますもやもやしたのぼせがあります自分の至らなさ情けなさそういうものが浮かんでまいりますところが足を組み手を組み背筋を伸ばして座っておりますとその頭の This is a strange thing. It's [...] a strange thing. Body, the mouth, and lastly, the mind, the three functions that we need in our life.

[35:58]

Regarding the mind, we're always thinking of something. And we could call those negative and positive thoughts. Oftentimes we're dwelling on negative things. things that we're anxious about, things that we regret we've done, worries we have. And I think we're all looking for a way to dissolve or eliminate those negative things that seem to dominate our life. And I think really the best way is this practice of zazen. Zazen is a way of letting go of those thoughts that... Sometimes seem to dominate us. And for me, I think this is the very best way to do that.

[37:13]

Shijio道joの門を叩いて初めて座禅をしましたその座禅最初は私にとっては苦しい修行でした足を組み手を組み座りますとやがて足が痺れてまいります痺れるだけならいいんですがやがて足が痛くなる早く座禅が終わらないかなってただ頭で思うそういう座禅をしておりました I think you've all had a chance to do Zazen. I'm presuming so, some more than others.

[38:13]

I first began to do Dazen some 30, 35 years ago when I went to live in the monastery. At the beginning, it was very painful for me. Almost like some kind of ascetic practice. Legs hurting, back. It was like I was always waiting for the bell to sound. I don't know if you've ever had that experience. I didn't... I was just waiting for the bell because it was so painful. And I find myself trying to concentrate on my breath in order to do that, to pass the time. Of course, in time, with time, we are able to find a way of sitting without so much pain or difficulty. And this is important. But this is the way... for us to really find a way to live our life such that when we deal with other people when we come in contact with other people in our life family, friends, people at work and so on that we can live a peaceful life and interact with them in a shall I say a peaceful or a calm way

[39:39]

乗り越えていくと精神力が高まってそして悟りに近いような何かそういう境地に至るんじゃなかろうかというそういう座禅を手段としてその目標に向かって座るそういうものだと思っておりましたところが道元様は俯瞰座禅の中で座禅は修禅にはあらずただこれ安楽の訪問なりとお示しでありました So at the beginning, it seemed to me like I was just building power so that I could withstand the pain. But once I went beyond the pain, then it seemed like, well, I was really developing a higher level of spirituality, shall we say. It even seemed like I was approaching enlightenment. However, in the course of my practice, I came across this teaching of Dogen Zenji in the Fukanza Zenki.

[40:39]

where he says Zazen I teach the Dogen teaches is not step by step learning meditation it's not a means in other words to an end and so at that point I realized that I had been using Zazen as a means to get something修善というのは習う善と書きますね自分の意識で心と体をコントロールして And this is the idea of what you can do and what you can do and what you can do and what you can do. Learning meditation, once again, is this idea of using Zazen as a means to achieve your goal, your objective.

[41:49]

You want to become something, so you're going to use Zazen to reach that. But here Dogen is saying, don't do that. Zazen is not step-by-step learning meditation. It is simply the Dharma gate of peace and comfort. So I realized that I was trying to use Zazen to reach something. And here, Dogen Zengi is clearly teaching, no, it's really giving up your ideas of what you want to achieve and your objectives. And simply by entrusting yourself to Zazen, that of itself, this peace and comfort in life, in our existence, appears. So in other words, expressing that is that it's not the self what we think of as a self that is trying to control and to put things in order in order to achieve

[43:03]

But rather letting go of that desire to control and reach a goal. 生児を離れて仏となるとあります when you simply release and forget the body and mind and throw yourself into the house of the Buddha and when functioning comes from the direction of the Buddha And you are in accord with it.

[44:05]

Then, with no strength needed, and no thought expended, freed from birth and death, you become Buddha. 私たちを支えているこの内外の大自然も含めたこの座禅を支えてくださっている大きな働きその働きにお任せをしていくときそれと同時に今度は仏の方より働きがありましてそれは私たちの五感あるいはだけでは感受できない無限のものですそういう何か遥かなところから So you're throwing yourself into the house of the Buddha.

[45:27]

But what is the Buddha? What is this the Buddha here? This is really the environment, shall we say. Both outside and inside that allows us and gives us the power to do the Zen. So it's both the environment, inside and outside, the self. This is my mind, [...] my mind. Of course, that's not what I'm trying to do. That's what I'm trying to do with my mind. But that's what I'm trying to do with my mind. I'm trying to figure it out. [...]

[46:30]

and the fact is though in our everyday life that there is this desire to control to direct things from our side so here you see the difference between completely entrusting yourself to the house of the Buddha the environment and our reality, shall we say, around us and giving up this desire to control and to direct. And by releasing and really entrusting ourselves to this environment, then you see this ability, shall we say, or this natural function coming from the Buddha which allows us to be one with our environment such that we are freed from birth and death. So, everyone, what do you feel like in the world?

[47:37]

Well, it's different. But, I am now, at school and school, I always say, you know, what can you do to be able [...] You can't do it. It's important. To conclude, I'd like to pose this question.

[48:49]

How do you people see the world? The world that you live in? For myself, I have to say when I look around, I feel there's too much emphasis. on ability, on what a person can do, and comparing that with what somebody cannot do. So, for example, in school, there's a huge emphasis on grades and results. And if you're in the workplace, there's a lot of emphasis on what a person can do. So if a person can do a lot, they're paid a lot. And if a person is unable to do a lot, they're paid not nearly as much. And I think there's too much emphasis on comparing people for what they can do against what they cannot do.

[50:00]

Think of a newborn baby Or likewise an elderly person A very elderly person or perhaps somebody who's sick in bed. These are people, if we look at them in terms of what they can do, they really perhaps are unable to do anything. But that's not to say that there's no value there. And I think what's important in our life is to be able to recognize and appreciate the value of life and existence no matter what form and no matter what form we encounter it

[51:27]

that life began in the beginningless beginning and will continue on and on forever we have through the conditions of our mother and father in particular have received this very precious life but then of course there was their parents and so on and so on and this is all connected we happen to be here right now here in this room with this very precious life but it's important to realize this interconnectedness of things and this is the teaching of Buddhism今の世の中は非常に便利で豊かになりましたある意味それはありがたいことでありますがその裏では様々な 現代社会の欲望が渦巻いているというふうな気をいたしますそういう中でいわゆる吸う息だけではない吐く息があって初めて息が成り立つように求めるだけではない求めないという豊かな世界に

[52:56]

our life in the modern times has become very convenient and comfortable but on the back side of that on the other side of that I have to say it also means that we live within a world pool of desire so how are we going to really be happy and satisfied within that condition? That's my question. So I ask you to realize that in our life, we breathe in, but we also have to breathe out. We seek and we have desires. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but at the same time, there's also a time for letting go of desire and letting go of what we're seeking for and I think it's really through this in and out process that we can discover and realize what it means to live a rich fulfilling life

[54:25]

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. In my own life, I have to say that the Zazen taught by Dogen Zenji, we say Shikan Taza. Nothing to realize, nothing to attain. A kind of Zazen where there's no ranks, there are no divisions. We can't say that one person's Zazen is better, or worse than another. A Zazen that he recommended for everybody, as you know, for Khan Zazen, regardless of gender, age, race, belief, creed, and so on.

[55:35]

This is something that nobody can fail at. This is the Zazen that has really been the saving grace in my life. This is the 四官多座の総統禅に ご縁をいただきました。 This is the 四官多座の座禅というのは 一人で座って 一人で自己満足するような 内向きの座禅ではありません。 This teaching of Shikantaza, as we say, just sitting, based on the teachings of the Buddha, Doge and Zenji,

[56:53]

Keizan Zenji. This is not a practice where we're in it just for our own satisfaction, for our own comfort and peace. This is a form of Dazen, a practice, a Buddhist practice, that really includes, we could say, the whole universe, where we are doing this practice for the well-being of all things, in all things. This is The practice that we have inherited and received from these teachers. Another way of expressing that is that when we breathe, for example, or seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching the five senses, our life

[58:22]

is a constant exchange with our environment. So in that sense, it's really to experience the oneness of our environment, to let go. We have that tendency to hold on to and to be attached to our own experiences and interaction with the world. But Zazen is really a way of releasing and letting go of that desire to control and simply being one with our environment. that's the end of my talk I've spoken a little bit longer I was supposed to watch the time thanks for sitting here so quietly anyway my last words are please continue sitting please do this practice every day thank you thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center our Dharma talks are offered free of charge

[59:47]

and this is made possible by the donations we receive. Your financial support helps us to continue to offer the Dharma. For more information, please visit sfcc.org and click Giving. May we all fully enjoy the Dharma.

[60:03]

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