This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at sfzc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Good morning all together. I remember the last time I gave a a talk. We were still all or some of you sitting here in Green Gulch in the meditation hall. And now see you all in your spaces, including me in this little quarantine space. I just came out of quarantine and visiting family. Well, the nice thing is, at least I can look closer into your faces.

[01:02]

So much happened in this last year that I feel like I cannot even start without acknowledging the crisis around the world right now, the pandemic, racial oppression, climate change, all of these causing a huge amount of suffering. And so when I thought like, well, what would be a contribution of mine to that? The word refuge came to mind. people looking for refuge in a time where it's not even available what they thought refuge would be. Like people are looking for refuge in Green Gulch to come to a retreat or just to sit in the Zendo and it's neither safe nor are we allowing it.

[02:18]

And that happens around the world, everywhere at the moment. So I want to talk about refuge. And maybe before I start, I feel a little bit of the urge to mention the realm I'm talking about refuge. It's just the realm which seems appropriate to me, the realm where I feel like I can say something about and that should not diminish in any way like what we usually call like the worldly realms of taking care of things. So when I talk about refuge now, I just focus on the practice aspect and I really cherish that people out there are giving their lives and to work on strategies

[03:29]

scenarios to help people. So I chose a koan. It's koan, it's a case number four, Book of Serenity. I think maybe you all know what a koan is, but I just mentioned, I mean, our tradition, in our Zen tradition, koans are texts which are transmitted since generations, since centuries. to bring over some teaching. And there are often these unconventional stories to give us a teaching which is not so easily easily graspable by our, by our so rational mind often. The case four is called The World Honored One Points to the Ground. And you might be very familiar with it.

[04:31]

It's actually a pretty famous case. And maybe it's so famous because it doesn't seem so difficult to understand. And actually, my wife just a few days ago told me, like, I think what you're talking about, because I just told her, is in that year-end letter from Zen Center. So you find the case there. Really nice description. I looked at it. If you want to make your day short, you can just look at the end letter and enjoy. And if you're not so much believing in saving time, I'm happy if you stay with me. So, I think I'll just read it. The world on everyone points to the ground. As the World Honored One was walking with the congregation, he pointed to the ground with his finger and said, this is a good spot to build a sanctuary, or sometimes translated refuge or temple.

[05:51]

Indra, the emperor of the gods, took a blade of grass stuck it into the ground and said, the sanctuary is built. The world, one at one, smiled. What's this koan about? Well, I would say my first take, no matter what it's about, if the Buddha smiles at the end, it must have been A really good thing, what happened in there. So... what happened? This all-knowing, seeing, world honored one, just a different name for that, for Gautama Buddha, points to the ground and says, this is a good place to build a sanctuary.

[06:59]

And Indra, Indra obviously understood and did something and said, it's built. What was his understanding? I know you probably all guessed what I'm gonna say. I'll say it anyway. We want to build a sanctuary. This, this is a good place. We don't have to look anywhere else. We don't have to wait for anybody else to do it. We don't have to wait for a change. Not even for the Zoom conference to be over. In the commentary of the case, it says, you can be the host within the dust right now.

[08:11]

I think it's translated with like, you too. But you could also say like, only you, only me can be the host of this life right now. How is that? That we can build refuge? That we can be the host? Indra demonstrates it. He picks up a blade of grass, sticks it in the ground. I think it's not really that simple. Or was it just a good joke? And that's why Buddha smiled. introduction it adds when a speck of dust is raised the great earth is fully contained in it and in the verse picking up what is at hand he uses it he uses it knowingly

[09:32]

It sounded like at least the people who wrote the commentary and the words felt like it was a pretty good joke. There's nothing more than his at hand, a speck of dust, a blade of grass, just an ordinary gesture. ordinary jester required to build what the Buddha asks for. Anyway, there is a part of this Koran which made me personally feel like, yeah, that's really the point that wants to be addressed. And that is the fact that this

[10:38]

Kohan is written in this little bit strange celestial setup. So, there's not just Buddha walking around with his disciples in the dust. No, there's this, in his congregation, there's Indra, the ruler of God, as it says, the master of lightning. It's a bit like, I think, Zeus, you say, in the Greek god realm. So he's like, I think another name for him is like the one with great power. So there's this ancient Superman, which walks together with Buddha. And instead of snipping with his fingers and just having this beautiful temple built there, this man with all the power of the world He takes a blade of grass and sticks it in the ground to say the sanctuary is built.

[11:49]

Sounds like that doesn't leave us with any excuse. No excuse of Oh, I don't have the budget. I don't have the crew. I don't have the time. I need to wait until my kids grow up. Or I grow up. And then there's another discovery I made in this story. Maybe you have seen that too. There's another sanctuary built in that story, just on top of Indra's sanctuary.

[13:01]

It's built by the Buddha itself. He doesn't even need a blade of grass. He just builds it with a smile. wonderful story. And do I trust it in my life? Do I trust that an ordinary action, like putting a blade of grass in the ground, is all what is needed? What would I do if the Buddha went up and said, this is a good place to build a sanctuary? Would it just freeze?

[14:11]

Say, oh, please keep six foot distance. Or where's my mask? Or maybe, oh, it just rained. Let's go out and get some grass. then, would that have built sanctuary? Even with all this hesitation and with all these rational concepts? Maybe he put up a smile anyway, just because he's such a nice guy. How about trying it together? All of us.

[15:13]

These days when I try something new out, what I usually do is, like on YouTube, like when I prepare my car or whatever, so I actually went on YouTube and checked out building sanctuary with grass. What I got was, mainly it was like a settlement landscaping tutorial. I didn't watch it yet. But I have developed my own daily version, which I would like to share with you. And I had done this version for something else before. So if you are up for joining me with a little exercise, it's like building sanctuaries for dummies like me.

[16:26]

So it's a three-step exercise. And yeah, please join me in. You can even unmute your camera or whatever it's called. It's very simple. First step is you just make a simple, ordinary move. Before you do it, just a move where you do it with an intention. You want to achieve something. Let's say like with this move, you want to... We often do these moves like... get more comfortable or to escape from, yeah, to escape from some discomfort. And so we scratch ourselves in the face or blow our nose or whatever. Since it's COVID, I don't want you to touch your face or anything like that. But find a simple move which seems good for you to just achieve a little goal.

[17:31]

And when you have thought about one, Just do it. You could cross your arms or you could cross your legs or you could find a new position. You could take a sip of water, whatever you like. Yeah, maybe I just take my glasses off because I feel more comfortable then. So right now, please, just a little move. exercise done now the second one is like do that very same move which you just did sort of not really in your body maybe or yeah like I said for an escape or so do that very same move with a mindfulness practice so you realize where you are

[18:39]

You're right here in that moment. You maybe feel the discomfort. You're aware of your body. And you do that move however you express your mindfulness practice. Okay, third part of the exercise. Same move, same action. But now, as I sometimes called it in the past, doing it as a ceremony.

[19:43]

What I mean by that is that this action, instead of for a purpose, goal of... of getting some more comfort. This action is done as a gift. And you just... you decide... you could say about the receiver. Think about anything you feel important in this life to support. a person, a thing, the universe, compassion, love, whatever. Do the same action for this. I think I want to do that once more with a little more refinement.

[21:12]

Up to now, I only mentioned the action. What I want you to do now is in this gift, in this gift, include the actor as well as the action. This person with all its thoughts, but this is a little bit silly, with all its emotion, whatever, you include in making this a gift. And if you don't know how or what, don't worry. Make this, I don't know how or what, part of the gift. There is nothing wrong. Say, this is a good place to build the sanctuary.

[22:20]

my exercise. The wonderful part I feel like about this way of practice is there can't go nothing wrong. It can be done with any activity, any time, any place. I take it back, not any time, just now. And for me personally, that is the same way I feel I want to practice Zazan. Like, Dogen calls it the ceremony of Zazan. The ceremony, the making a gift of the person who is sitting, and whatever happens, that part is the ceremony. I haven't mentioned it yet.

[24:24]

That is what I feel, what my little face is, what Indra did when he offered this blade of grass. as you might realize or not. Sometimes when you do this practice, that might work well for a second, but how about doing it like all day long? It might get quite a bit clunky. Even if you just try to stick a blade of grass in the ground here at Green Gulch, I don't know where you could stick a blade of grass in the ground without just kinking it off.

[25:27]

And then you put it in there and it kinks and you think like, why doesn't it stick up straight? Until I remember, oh, it wasn't about sticking up straight. It was about making this offering a gift, allowing it to extend to the universe and allowing it, allowing the universe to extend to me to do it. I think one thing is like when we make a gift, what is necessary is like we have to open our hand We have to let go, otherwise nobody can take it.

[26:28]

And when we hold the hand too long open, we might get a cramp in the hand. So it's important to relax and to close the hand maybe for some time, and then open it again to exercise, to play. How does it look like when a master does it? We have seen Indra. How about a master of compassion? How does he express compassion? How does she build sanctuaries?

[27:36]

I'm glad I found a nice figure. Jenny brought me a nice figure from our bookstore, which shows Avalapiteshvara behind me. She's often pictured like this, with thousand arms and, or many thousand arms, and many eyes, or in this case, Many heads. I'm not sure if you can see it. I don't want to pick her up right now, but maybe I can just move. Come around there. You can see all the room is full of arms. Anyway, I wanted to show you that because I wanted to give you a description from another koan about how this action looks like from her.

[29:11]

And the koan is case number 54. Book of Serenity. It's called Yunyan's Great Compassion. And I just read the first part. Like, Yunyan asked Davu, what does a bodhisattva of great compassion do with so many hands and eyes? And Master Davu said, it is like someone reaching back for the pillow at night. It is like someone reaching back for the pillow at night. That's how the action of the Masters looks. I think I would like to close here just by wishing us to find this effortless way of expressing compassion, of giving refuge, and to find it in our simple, everyday action.

[30:52]

or everybody of us, in their own authentic way. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. Our programs are made possible by the donations we receive. Please help us to continue to realize and actualize the practice of giving by offering your financial support. For more information, visit sfzc.org and click Giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[31:34]

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