Good morning. Just so that we know who's in the room, how many people are here for the first time? Welcome. Welcome. And how many people have been practicing here for 20 years or more? Welcome. And how many people are someplace in between? Welcome. Today I'd like to talk with you a little bit about bodhisattva practice. Bodhisattvas are awakening beings or enlightening beings. And there was a teacher who came here from Japan a long time ago. And... Well, maybe some of us might not think it was that long ago. It was in the last century.

[01:02]

And he used to start his talk, bodhisattvas. He would say, bodhisattvas, bodhisattvas. And so he was addressing his talk to bodhisattvas, awakening beings. And the basic... foundation of our school is that everyone, not just in this room, but everywhere, all the way through every single cell or atom that we're made up of, that everyone is made up of, doesn't just have Buddha nature, the nature of awakening. Every cell is Buddha nature. All beings, every being, the whole being is thoroughly and completely of the nature of light, of the nature of awakening.

[02:14]

So it's important to remember this as we go about our daily lives with each other the way it really is, the way it is day by day. or as we walk through our lives moment after moment, day by day, doing what we do, that everything we encounter is 100% Buddha nature. Well, how come it feels different? And it's because of our habits and our preconceptions, because of the differences that are created, not ultimately real, that it somehow escapes our view. It's as if we were trying to look at something really beautiful. Have you ever been in a movie theater where there's a very, very absorbing thing going on on the screen, and then the people in front of you start going, crackle, crackle, crackle.

[03:25]

It's kind of like that. Because of our habits and preconceptions, we get distracted from how everything really is. That's not really how it is. It's what we think. We might not even think we think that, but it's the way it appears temporarily. There's a Zen saying that says, generations of nobility temporarily fallen into poverty. Generations of nobility is us, everyone, everyone in this room. So if you're here for the first time, it's because your journey, because that voice has said, well, wouldn't it be nice if I looked at this and saw if this was actually applicable to me? if it actually meant something to me, wouldn't it be nice to do that this morning?

[04:27]

I don't know what I'm going to see, but wouldn't it be nice to go and find out? So, brings us to the subject of our talk. And it may be roundabout, we'll see. So... I've been thinking about difference this week, particularly because last weekend I had to take a surprise trip to New York to see my mother and to interview people who might be able to give her some help at night. There's a chance that we might lose the person who's been helping her at night, and she has Alzheimer's and she needs that help. So I went to interview people. And while I was there, I learned that someone I deeply care for since childhood is having a big crisis.

[05:32]

And so I stopped in to see that person. And my twin sister, who lives in L.A. and has nothing to do with Zen, and I had been arranging a concert. for my mother at her house for some time so I could take care of that concert in person while I was there. Now my mother is a Holocaust survivor and the people who came to visit her in her house were 12 children from a synagogue on Hillside Avenue on Long Island. Their parents And then the guests I invited, who were a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor who I discovered through someone in this community a few years ago, who escaped around the same time that my mother did, and her son-in-law, and a cousin of mine by marriage whose husband was also a Holocaust survivor.

[06:41]

And... So the kids were supposed to come around 1.45, and at 1.15 the doorbell rang, and it was them. And so my mother wasn't quite ready. She was in the recliner. She can't really stand or walk. And these are American children, clearly, from New York. And as they came in, I could see that they were not really connecting with my mother. that there was a perception of difference. She was not really able to talk to them. She had eaten, and so she was sleepy. And also, she was going through a difficult time when she wasn't really remembering who I was, much less anybody else. And so I thought, I have to do something. And I went to her dresser where there's some pictures. some photos from Vienna, and there was one from when she was a child.

[07:47]

And I brought it out, and I wish I could show it to you. It's a very serious-looking little girl. And she's wearing a white, low-waisted dress. She has light hair, and she has part of a smile, but... Really, basically, she's serious. And she's holding a doll very, very tightly. I guess when the picture was taken about 1928 or 29, photos were a big deal. And so she might have been a little bit afraid. And it was one of her publicity photos from when she was a concert pianist. And so I said, here, do you want to see a picture of my mother? And the kids crowded around. And they looked at the picture and And they looked at my mother and they said, is that the same person? And they were looking again and again.

[08:48]

And then they started asking questions. And the first question was like, how old were you? She said, well, I was seven or eight. And she answered them. She said, I was seven or eight. And my mouth dropped open. And they said... what was the name of your doll? And she said, it took a long time for her to answer, and she said, Mimi. And they said, did you enjoy being a concert pianist? How was that for you? Because they were kids who were singing. And she said, I loved it. I loved the attention. Can't you tell? LAUGHTER And suddenly the kids saw my mother as a real person, and because they did, she could speak to them. It was like a miracle.

[09:50]

And so then the other Holocaust survivor came. I'm not using names. I'm protecting the innocent. And And then they started singing. And as they started singing, my mother sang along. And she clapped when it was time to clap. And she sang along with the words. So just that one photo, just that one experience of mutual reality. was enough to draw something out of my mother that had not been there the whole weekend. And anyway, as my mother heard the songs and sang along, I saw that she was starting to cry.

[10:56]

I had propped her into a chair, and she was starting to cry, and I... I handed her one of the party napkins. I had gotten some party napkins and juice and cookies and things for the kids. And one party napkin after another began to get drenched. And then the cantor, who was the head of the choir, said, now may I dedicate a song to you, to my mother. my cousin and the other woman who was there, they said, yeah, yeah, yeah. And he clearly trained in opera. He started singing, oh sole mio. And he sang it to them like, you know, incredibly Italian with hand gestures and, you know, heart. And it was amazing.

[11:59]

It was just amazing. And then my mother said, I'm so happy. And I said, what? And she said, so many Jewish children who care. Anyway, so that happened at the beginning of the week. And then that was on Sunday. And then I took a red eye back. And on Tuesday, I was in a ceremony at... Grace Cathedral, in which religious leaders from five traditions called for immigration reform. And it was interwoven with the stories of particular people who America's immigration laws have affected badly. So for instance, there was one family in which the parents were tricked into coming to

[13:00]

I guess it's called BCIS or INS or something. It has initials that I can't remember. But the office, whatever the modern name is. It used to be INS. And they were tricked into this. And when they showed up at the office, they were arrested and deported. So the young person was left caring for her brothers and sisters. And the... people who were legal in the family had to figure out what to do. And so that was one of the stories. Another story that someone told was he's a teenager, he's a senior in high school, and his only memories are from the U.S., but he's not legal, so he can't get a driver's license, and he can't get a social security number, and he lives in fear. So the religious leaders were united to stand up for us to have one law for people who were born here and people who were not born here.

[14:02]

And I represented Zen Center at that occasion, thanks to Jordan's invitation. And so I've been thinking about difference. It was a very, very powerful experience of the effects of difference on people's lives. Like my mother's tears. The meaning of Jewish children who cared is very poignant to her because of being a Holocaust survivor or the impact of being different on the lives of those young immigrants who spoke. And I realized that the practice of Zen and actually any practice of Buddhism, any practice of non-duality has an amazing thing to offer. to us, which is a mind, a heart and mind that transcends difference, in which we can meet and see people and the beings around us for who everyone and everything really is.

[15:11]

And we can actually advocate for institutions, institutional responses that go with that perception. So that's as clear a an argument for socially engaged Buddhism as I can think of. But even if we don't practice what's called socially engaged Buddhism, just through seeing people as more than related to ourselves, just to seeing people different from ourselves as more than related to ourselves, we shine a light on the world. So... Anyway, the Buddha's message is clear in this respect. Now, he didn't say go out and do something that hurts the people you love. Go out and be a wild radical. He didn't say that. But some of the things he did in his congregation were pretty profound.

[16:15]

Some of the things he did weren't so profound in that way. So, for instance, he... he would ordain people who were not of the same class, not of the same caste. As a matter of fact, there's a story about one man who was a collector of night soil. And so he was of the caste formerly known as Untouchables. that Mahatma Gandhi called children of God. And so the rule was that someone of Buddha's class or caste could not be touched by someone from that class. And even to be touched by the shadow was considered to be defiling.

[17:15]

And there had to be a special ceremony, series of ceremonies to cleanse that person. So the Buddha was passing by and noticed that man in the shadows, and he said, come out and listen. What's your story? And the guy said, no, I'm sorry, I can't, because my shadow will cross yours. And the Buddha said, no, please come. And the man refused a second time, and then the Buddha said... The Buddha invited him and actually ordained him because he really wanted to hear the Dharma and practice the Dharma. But only his self-categorization as an untouchable prevented him from doing that. And so that was the Buddha's skill and means. The Buddha ordained people from a wide variety of situations.

[18:18]

Now, that did not extend to every situation. So, for instance, the Buddha gave his foster mother a hard time when she asked for ordination, even though, you know, from my point of view, where did he get those values if not from her? But excuse me. That's not the Dharma, so I shouldn't say that. That's personal. That's a personal editor. personal comment that I should not be giving from this seat, but anyway, considerate humor. And later, much later, after he was convinced to ordain her, and she had been practicing as an ordained person for many years, she said, Lord, he said yes, and she said, you know, now that I've been practicing for many years as an ordained person, could we take another look at that rule that says that a woman who's been ordained for any amount of time and is of any age has to do a floor bow to any monk, even if he's only been ordained for a day.

[19:39]

And the Buddha said, no. And she pressed him. She said, She didn't say, son. She said, Lord, why not? And he said, his point of view at that time was, even in the villages, if a man bows down to a woman, that man is not respected. How about in our community, even more so in our community, that depends on the goodwill of donors for our food. So the Buddha did... You can't categorize his response. You have to look at what really happened or what happened according to the sutras to find out the situations in which he did break convention and the situations in which he did not. But what are the teachings of the Buddha that apply to

[20:45]

the perceived difference between ourselves and another. So I'll just talk about them briefly, if that's okay. I think maybe the first one, the first and foremost of all of them, is dana. Dana, you know, in the modern Buddhist community, often we say, dana, there's a dana box, or please give dana as a donation. Please give donations. And that's become part of the words that are used in the Buddhist community. But dana just means giving. It's not about giving something in the way that people usually give things, or in an unconsidered way, I should say. Because who knows how people usually give things. Sometimes people give things in the hope of something coming back. Sometimes people give things out of a pure heart. So there's many ways in which people give all kinds of things.

[21:49]

But the Buddhist teaching about giving is that we can give material resources and we can give fearlessness. So I think the first thing, if there's a perceived difference between ourselves and another person, that we can give material resources and we can give fearlessness as a way of bridging the gap. fearlessness means reassurance to ourselves about difference, reassurance to another person about difference. The difference isn't just the kind of apparent or skin-deep or social or money differences that we know about in the normal world. Difference is really the variety... of everything is included in the world of difference. So the giving of material resources and fearlessness to bridge a gap when we think there's a difference really opens the door to not being dualistic.

[23:01]

And I think another... feature of our practice in relation to difference is taking refuge, the act of taking refuge in Buddha or awakeness, in Dharma or the teaching, and in Sangha or the community of everyone and everything, like religious leaders from five different traditions taking refuge in shared values and a shared sense of sanity or kindness to encourage people. as we did on Tuesday. Particularly, also the pure precepts. Today's the full moon ceremony, so people who lived here recited the three pure precepts. I vow to refrain from all action that creates attachment. I vow to... What's the translation we use? Not do good... make every effort to live in enlightenment, and live and be lived for the benefit of all beings.

[24:06]

Thank you. But another translation that's used at Green Gulch is, I vow to embrace and sustain right conduct. I vow to embrace and sustain all good. And I vow to embrace and sustain all beings. There are many translations. It's the same precept. So the precept of embracing and sustaining or living and being lived for the benefit of all beings is important. Nonviolence. Some of the things we do in relation to difference are violent. So the practice of nonviolence is an important part of Buddhism in relation to difference. Non-slander, not putting other people down. Non-stinginess. I'd like to point out that we have a living example of embracing difference, particularly difference of country or of origin here at San Francisco Zen Center.

[25:09]

I was in a practice committee meeting a few weeks ago, and you may or may not know that Paul Haller, our abbot, is from Ireland. and that somehow since his abbacy, many of the senior staff at San Francisco Zen Center are European. So this is important, that culturally San Francisco Zen Center is an organization of the world and not just a local organization. I think this is a really important physical example of... of the light that can be in difference. And there's so much more I could say about this, but I can see that your legs are getting a little tired. And if you need to change your position and reestablish your contact with the ground, please do.

[26:10]

Don't worry about moving. There's not a giant sky god of stillness who's going to get you. Okay? So... Refresh your position and sit in a way that creates peace and attention in your body. It's like, welcome the differences that come. They tell you things like, oh yeah, I didn't sleep enough last night, or it's a nice day outside and I can see the clouds coming, I want to get outside before it starts raining again, or whatever. This is the world of difference. And it's our light. It's the richness of our life. Just a little bit more about this. You know, at San Francisco Zen Center, Suzuki Roshi suggested that we step away from the Japanese hierarchy of Buddhism for a while to establish ourselves in the basics of our practice.

[27:20]

Basics of our practice include zazen, precepts, work practice, meeting. And to be able to let those practices really take root in our bodies, our words, and our thoughts. Suzuki Roshi thought it would be a good idea if we incubated a little while on our own. But recently we've been coming together with the Japanese hierarchy a little bit more. So some of us are registered in Japan and I'm part of that group of people. And what I've noticed since I have closer connection with the Japanese lineage and the Japanese structure is how valuable those teachings are, how interesting it is that we're people from different countries who practice the same practice.

[28:21]

And how we can learn from each other. How the lineage really has been given to us through Japan. And so it's respectful to be part of, to have contact with the people and the friends of the people who gave us that form. And also how America, with its own tradition about work, its own tradition about men and women doing activities together, its own tradition, its very strong tradition of family unity and values, America has its own tradition that's made up of the melting pot that we are. and how we have a lot to give to Buddhism as a tradition. But sometimes the people who were born Buddhist and the people who took on Buddhism as a practice as grown-ups don't get together very much and don't do things together very much.

[29:34]

And this is something that I think that San Francisco Zen Center could do and actually sometimes does. Like, for instance, we do mochi pounding at New Year's, particularly our senior Dharma teacher, Zen K. Blanche Hartman, takes a group of people to pound mochi for New Year's. And sometimes we go and study in the temple of our lineage. But... I could imagine San Francisco Zen Center one day maybe getting together to help Buddhists, whether born or made, to help train, for instance, Nisei, Sansei, or Yonsei people in the United States.

[30:37]

you know, as part of a world practice of the Buddha way. Or interfaith practices. America has a very strong tradition of interfaith activity that maybe we could contribute interfaith refuge, the idea of interfaith refuge projects. Like, I don't know, about 20 years ago, all the people in... I heard from a Quaker that all the Quaker groups in the country decided together, together, over a couple-year period, to do an act of civil disobedience. And because it was, you know, it was the question of what law are we bound to follow, they had to have a nationwide conversation. Okay, so this is an amazing... I mean, what if Buddhists... nationwide or worldwide, or people who are interested in the Dharma, had a nationwide conversation about anything.

[31:42]

Wouldn't that be amazing? And this is a way in which our practice could also be realized. So what I've really been talking about all this time is the practice of maitri, or friendliness, and karuna, or compassion. two of the four immeasurable practices that open the heart and prepare the mind to receive non-duality. So that eventually in practice, not only do we receive an understanding of non-duality from the non-dual nature of everyone and everything, but we develop skill. in understanding when to come from the world, from conventional reality in our actions and speech, when to come from ultimate reality in actions and speech, when to come from anything in between. So this is actually a cliffhanger now. Stay tuned to this Saturday morning channel.

[32:47]

Not just me, but other lecturers for further conversations about... the world of non-duality and the world of duality and the way they interact with each other through skill. I do want to read a poem that wasn't written by a Buddhist, if I can find it. Excuse the pieces of paper. This is the poem that... my parents saw when they came to Ellis Island in 1952, if I can find it. Excuse the... Okay, so I kind of have it memorized, but I'd like to read it. And this is Emma Lazarus's poem at the base of the Statue of Liberty. It's called The New Colossus.

[33:50]

the new Colossus, the Colossus of Rhodes. Wasn't that the old Colossus? A statue that was one of the seven wonders of the world that stood astride, what? Can you remember? Some water gateway of some great city that I used to know. Huh? At Rhodes. Okay. Thank you. At Rhodes. Hence its name, Colossus of Rhodes. And the new colossus is a different kind of symbol. She's not standing astride anything. Actually, one time, didn't we, at Tassajara, we have this Fourth of July parade, and one time, I think we dressed you up as the Statue of Liberty. Yeah. Yeah. A flashlight, yeah. But also, the banner, did you know that the banner around the Statue of Liberty says, Liberty Enlightening the World?

[34:58]

Okay, actually the Buddhist translation of that is freedom. Freedom from bondage, enlightening or awakening the world. And that's why it was a really good parade float at Tassajara. Actually, I think you were drawn by two gentlemen. in a garden way cart. It was wonderful. So, The New Colossus. Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, with conquering limbs astride from land to land, here at our sea-washed sunset gates shall stand a mighty woman with a torch whose flame is the imprisoned lightning, and her name, Mother of Exiles. From her beacon hand glows worldwide welcome. Her mild eyes command the air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

[36:03]

Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp, cries she with silent lips. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door. So, you know, really, I think that when we fall into the world of separation, that's a promise that we can't keep. And when we fall into the world of freedom, That's a promise we can keep. Okay? So maybe it's enough said about that. And I would just like to close with a prayer for you. It comes from the Metta Sutta.

[37:06]

It's not the words of the Metta Sutta, but that's where it comes from. So this is... my prayer, and I hope for you. May you be happy. May you be joyous and live in safety. May you receive respect, kindness, and goodwill. May you be protected from harm. May you be seen heard. May you be welcome. Thank you very much.

[37:57]

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