If you weren't going to build this world, you wouldn't. For me, if you would say to me, I would. There's all this empty space, should I not sit there? Sit right here. I'll sit right here. Yeah. Start filling out the gap. We roll up the mat. ... [...]

[01:08]

Is that going to show you want to go here? No. I really want to. It's over here. [...] Does anyone have a backpack outside that has a phone that makes the beautiful sun?

[03:01]

I think we should have it. It's my pleasure. that are examples with the notion that you could pick the one you like.

[04:07]

So you're not sitting on samples as you could rather sit on examples. It is still a lot of gold. Thank you. That's fair enough. Look at it.

[09:05]

For those of you who have come for a Dharma talk, I'm sorry, but we're not going to have a Dharma talk. What we're going to have is an orientation to what we call a practice period, which is for the next nine weeks, I think, we will, each of us separately and collectively, we will try to apply ourselves to the process of awareness. Is the sign okay over there? A little strange. Should I move this up further? How's that? Same. Any ideas? Danny?

[10:14]

I've had a button pressed that changes the sound. Nope, they're good now. How is it now? Better. Better? Yeah. Thanks, Danny. OK. So when we have a practice period, there's a number of parts to it. What we are going to try to do this evening is describe the different parts. There's some people who live in the building who will participate. There's some people who don't live in the building. and they'll try to participate. There's some people who will join online exclusively, and there will also be some people who will show up for some events and participate in the others by joining online.

[11:33]

So when you combine those options of participation, when you combine them with the different things we're going to offer, you get quite a mix. So feel free at any point. And then there's some of us who've done many practice periods and think it's all obvious. If it's not obvious to you, you're welcome to ask questions. So what we'll do, we'll try to describe the different events that come together in a practice period.

[12:43]

And then we'll also point out who within the temple has certain roles like the Tanto, the Eno, and Tenzo, those sorts of things. And I know some of you, especially if you're in residence, you're fully versed in all of those roles. But just bear with us because some people are probably here for the first time. and are not familiar with those roles. And the overarching agenda of a practice period is, can we inspire, guide, and support each other's practice as we engage in a practice period? The practice period has a theme which I called the heart of Buddha and koans.

[13:59]

The notion being quite a simple one that as we apply ourselves, our awareness in the activity of sitting still in seated position, we start to get in touch with a fluidity that sometimes we describe as, say, impermanence. And as we engage that, it influences us. And we learn something. We start to realize something that our cognitive mind might not be able to keep up with the learning.

[15:18]

Because our cognitive mind wants what we're describing to be recognized, clear, conceptually cohesive. And the fluidity of what happens, even within our own being, it certainly when we're in an environment like this, the environment is so multifaceted that we, this fluidity that we're experiencing, actually we're experiencing it all the time, even when we're asleep, that has a way as we become, have a conscious and awake relationship with it, it teaches us a variety of things.

[16:29]

The nature of existence. It helps us see more clearly who we are as a thinking, emoting person. And it also... helps us to see how we relate to others, how preoccupied we are with different facets of our being, our wanting to have happen and our wanting not to have happen. And as we become informed with that way of being, becomes more pliable. Usually the challenge for us is to not get lost in our thinking mind and its creations.

[17:37]

And as we immerse in Zazen and discover a different way of being, then we can look back at our thinking mind and start to learn from it and start to relate to it as an ally. And this is the process of koan. It's when our mind becomes an ally, it's able to distinguish and discriminate as it examines our thinking. And then the koan, it just arises. As we start to look at what's going on, start to contact what's going on, and then ask ourselves appropriate response.

[18:45]

What's appropriate right now? So this is the kind of territory we'll explore in detail over the next eight or nine weeks with what I'd like to do. And before I do that, I'd like to introduce Vanessa. Next week, we'll have a dramatic presentation when I invite Vanessa to be the Shouseau, the trainee teacher, the role model of the practice period. So as I classified her, I called her...

[19:52]

choose so to be. And of course, she still has the option of declining the invitation. But here's what I thought. See this part, overview of the offerings? We could just go down and alternate in reading what's written. Okay. Would you like to go first, A.M. zazen? Sure. And you can ad lib as you see fit. Okay. Okay. Stray from the script. So morning zazen. So in addition to the usual scheduled zazen, which will continue, I presume, at the same time, there's also an informal... early zazen on Mondays from 6 until 7 a.m.

[20:56]

Okay. And that'll be in addition, could you just describe the daily schedule? Or do you know it yet? But I wasn't thinking. I know you know to turn up. To the zendo, early in the morning. I'm just about learning it, but there might be gaps in my knowledge, so you might be a more reliable source of information for that. I wouldn't like to mislead anybody. So usually, Tuesday through Friday, we have one long period of zazen with an interval in the mid, and that starts at... 640. 540. Thank you. 540 to 640. And what seems to have evolved is that you can also come, if you don't live here, you can also come from the outside.

[22:11]

And the interval will be 610. 603 to 610. 603 to 610. And then on Saturday, we have one period of Zazen at 630. And what I thought we could add would be an informal period of Zazen from 6 to 7 a.m. on Mondays, where we don't have any formal zazen, there's something about... Zazen will help to open up our mind, and the more we can facilitate that opening of the mind,

[23:15]

the more it becomes almost like a habit. But our usual habits are kind of ingrained and mechanical. And the habit of paying attention and being available for whatever arises, that's the habit we're trying to cultivate. And so having zazen, almost every day of the week, facilitates that for us. And we have so many evening events that there isn't really a time that we can say, okay, well, in the evening we'll sit from this time, like we'll have a period of zazen in the evening, We have so many other things happening, like classes and dharma talks, that it doesn't seem possible.

[24:21]

So what I would suggest to you, that in addition to have a morning zaza in practice, even if you just sit for 15 minutes before you go to sleep, that will help the mind shift into a more pliable and open state of being. Could you clarify something about the morning meditation? You said for people coming from the outside and then something from 6.03 to 6.10. I didn't understand that. Okay. So between 6.03 and 6.10 in the morning, if you come to the Laguna Street door, which is down in that corner, you can come in and Kevin, who will get to the full description of his duties, but he will be the person that will show you an empty seat.

[25:37]

So you're welcome to come at that time. Can I clarify on that also? You could also come before 603 and sit in the gaitan, the hallway. Then at 603, the zendo will become open for people to come. Okay. Can you all hear that? You can come earlier and sit in the gaitan, the hallway, and then at 603 on to 610, you are able to... Kevin will show you into the zendo if you wish to come in. Okay. There's also evenings out there too. Oh, thank you. There's early evenings out there at 5.40 to 6.20 and then a short service

[26:42]

And all this you'll find, the full schedule you'll find on the website with the exception of this informal period on Monday mornings 6 to 7. So we'll have a one day sitting this coming Saturday and then in about a month November 8th, we'll have another one-day sitting, and then we'll have a seven-day sitting in November 30th to December 6th, from Sunday to Saturday. You want to describe the details of Dharma Talks? Yes. Yes. The Dharma talks are scheduled on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings.

[27:55]

What other details could I mention, Paul? You could mention the time. The time. 7.30, I believe, on the Wednesday evening. This is a very new schedule to me. And on Saturday mornings at 10 o'clock. 10.15. 10.15. Here's what we'll do. We'll just go faster. And then... If we have your email address, we'll just send you what we're reading. And if we don't have your email address, after we finish in here, we'll put a sheet of paper out there and you can add your name and email address.

[29:10]

Okay, and then on Monday nights between 7.15 and 8.45, I'll offer a class, and that will be in the dining room. And then another thing we're going to add to the schedule is what's called Azazen Kai, and that'll be Friday morning from 9.30 to... And that's just a period of Zazen. We have four or five periods of Zazen, 30-minute periods. And you're welcome to come... You can come... Of course, you're welcome to come for the whole thing, but you can also just come for part of it.

[30:13]

You can come for the last period or the first period or two periods. Jim, do you know the protocol? Are you, Kevin, the protocol for signing up? Even if you've signed up for Sashin, do you need to sign up for the one-day sittings? Yes. So that's not so clear in this, but that is our process. Even though you've signed up for Sashin, that doesn't include signing up for the one-day sittings. that would be something you would do separately and then throughout this period of time we will have ceremonies and we'll just inform you we'll put the details of the ceremonies in the portal on the website and you can just keep checking in with that

[31:33]

So one of the things we're going to offer is small groups. The notion about a small group, what we call a small group, is that it's hard in just a couple of months, it's hard to get to know a large group and to feel comfortable in that large assembly. So when we have a small group of about eight or ten people, then it's easier to get to know the other members of that small group. And so in the next couple of days, we'll send you an email asking you if you'd like to participate in a small group. and then depend upon how many people sign up.

[32:45]

We divide into groups. The notion is that not only is it easier to know who's in your group, is that knowing who you're sitting with helps to create an intimacy that supports us just to be ourselves. We can all start with wonderful intentions, but usually the demands of life interrupt our wonderful intentions. Having a group you meet with on a regular basis, like once a week, is a to sustaining your practice. The next thing is the way seeking mind talks.

[34:02]

Do you feel informed enough to do that? Describe it. On Thursday mornings, from what I understand, there'll be a way-seeking mind offered by a temple resident, and that'll be just after the morning zazen, which we'll finish a smidge early, so that we can come up here and listen to a way-seeking mind talk. I think they last about 20 minutes. and with the permission of the speaker, they might be recorded as well, and I think only shared with temple residents. Practice period. Practice period participants. Okay, practice period participants. And the way Seeking Mind talks will be by invitation, I imagine. How does that work? Yeah. It's not only temple residents.

[35:04]

Okay. Okay, wonderful, yeah. So that'll be Thursday mornings. After Zazen and before Shoji, Shoji? Yeah, okay. Starting tomorrow. Starting tomorrow, wonderful. So if you don't live here, you're more than welcome to come in the morning. What time does it start, Tim? We're seeking mind. 645. 645? Oh yeah, we just finished it. Yeah. It'll be from 645 until about 7.05. Yeah. And one last point of interest is if you would like to have a practice discussion or

[36:07]

We have two categories of practice discussion. One is for David the abbot or myself. We call that dokasan. And then the other we call practice discussion. And once we see of the teachers who is going to participate fully, in the practice period, then we will let you know who's available for having practice discussion with. And so what I'd like to do now is have the key people, the kanto and The Eno, and maybe the Tenzo, and the director, and who am I missing?

[37:23]

The Sheikah. Sorry. Okay. Who? Work leader. Work leader. And maybe we could start with you, Tim. Yes. Yes. Do you want to stand up here? Sure. I'll stand right here. How's that? Is that okay? I'll stand up here. My name is Tim Wicks, and I'm the Tanto, or head of practice. And my job is to be of service to all of you. And if you have any questions about any of the ways that we do things, or any of the ceremonies, or anything at all, come and see me.

[38:35]

Good evening. My name is Kevin. I'm the Eno here. Eno is the head of the Zendo. So I'm the person who will find seats for you in the Zendo. And also here in the Buddha Hall, all the ceremonies that we will be doing during the practice period, I will be organizing and assisting with those. And evening zazen also. So it's evening Zazen 540 to 620, and then a service 630. So I will be often the first person you meet when you come into the Zendo door. And if you have any questions about the Zendo, anything to do with the forms, anything to do with Zazen there, I'll be the person that you can talk to. So thank you so much. I'm Choku.

[39:54]

I'm the director here, and I do a lot of behind-the-scenes things, but my office is over here, right here in the hallway, and if I'm not in a meeting, I keep the door open, so feel free to, if you have any question about anything, I can probably direct you to the right place to find the answer. I might be one of the other senior staff, but feel free to come and ask questions. Hi, I'm Ken. I'm head of the guest and student housing. So if you have a room here, I've already done this part of my job. But what I do is...

[40:56]

help you if you have problems with your keys, getting in the door, fixtures, if you have a problem with your beds, things inside your room. I also help with overnight sessions. So if you want to spend, if you're outside and you want to come for the one day sitting, I can help with the housing possibly. And so, and that's it. I'm Ellen. I'm the work leader, which means I have a rotating crew of people who keep the temple clean and sweep the tatamis. And working together with all the senior staff, we keep the temple clean and organized, work closely with the Sheikah and with the Eno. And during one day sits, I organize the dish crews. And during the Rohatsu Sashin, I'll be organizing the work period in the afternoon, so you will be a member of the crew during that time.

[41:59]

Anyone else you'd like to... Thank you to the online folks for speaking up and asking for what you need. My name is Dan Gudgel. I'm the director of online content. I live here at City Center, so if you have questions about the online stuff, if you're in the immediate area, feel free to track me down. David Chow is our main contact online. If you are signed up for the practice period... You almost certainly have already begun to receive emails from David. But if you have any questions about online stuff, David or I can both answer those questions for you. I'm Michael Novak.

[43:01]

I'm Paul's Jisa, or assistant. I follow him around. so if you need if you would like a dokasan with him please contact me and this saturday for example paul will be having dokasan so you can contact me and and we'll get you in so what i'd like to do now is just still working yeah what i'd like to do now is divide you into threes and then We'll take about 10 minutes for it and just talking about your intention for the practice period. Okay, so you could just join up with two people nearby. Anything else we should be adding?

[44:16]

Not that I can think of, but I don't know what you normally would. She needs to sound this off. When we're talking, we're broadcasting... Okay. I've done any kinds of in a museum. Thank you.

[45:33]

Thank you. It's lovely to see you all getting to know each other and express your intention.

[55:02]

What I concluded from that was your intention has a lot of energy to it. Which is a great way to start. So what we'd like to do, we're going to finish in about 10 minutes. But what we'd like to do is if you have any questions about the practice period, you're welcome to ask them. Yeah. Hello. I'm wondering when we'll be doing the small groups throughout the week. Everybody has signed up. We'll send out an email asking people if they want to be part of a small group.

[56:08]

And then we'll divide them up. And then the teachers who are going to lead the small groups will say when they're available. And so each teacher will... And then we'll try to have a... a spectrum of times when it's going to happen. Hopefully, there'll be some in the morning, the afternoon, and in the evening. Thank you. Okay. Hello. I have a question, which is, if there are people who have not yet signed up, but would like to sign up, how should they do that? you can sign up in a sheet that Ellen has just written down and placed on that table.

[57:10]

So if you could give us your name and your email address, and maybe if you're going to be in person, or I assume you're going to be in person, but also that would be a helpful thing to know. whether people are going to be online or in person. Hi. Can you sort of go through, of those many things, which ones will be available online? And if I'm trying to do kind of a hybrid of online and coming in, how that might work, which things I can do online, which ones only will be here. With the exception of the sittings, the Tuesday through Saturday, those sittings, you can join them online or you can be in person.

[58:22]

The Monday morning will just be in person. It won't be live streamed. The talks will be both, and the class, will be both in person and live streamed. And practice discussion? Practice discussion could be in person or online. Okay, thank you. Sure. Small group? Well, there will be an option to join a small group online. What is the topic of Monday night's classes and is there a recommended reading? What is the topic of Monday night's classes and is there a recommended book or reading?

[59:27]

Before I was saying, it's the heart of Zen and Koen's. So that's the theme of the class. And I will bring in certain materials. And then what I'll do, I will also write a summary at the end of each class with some suggested practices. And you can discuss that in your small group. Will there be a primary text for this practice period? Will there be... Primary text that we'll be studying? No. No. There you go. We have another online question. Okay. Okay. Gary?

[60:37]

Muted. Now I'm here, right? I have two questions. Can you hear me? Okay. Will there be Monday morning? I'm going to be commuting. I do not live in the Senate Center. Will there be... Zahran on Monday mornings, I mean, with all the bells and whistles, or will it be just informal Zahran on Monday mornings? There will be a bell at the start of the hour and a bell at the end of the hour, and anyone's welcome to join during the hour for the whole hour or for just part of it. Okay, so it's kind of a day off for the residents, is that correct?

[61:40]

Yes. There isn't a formal schedule on Monday mornings. Okay, thank you. And the other question is, will smaller groups be able to be done in person? Yes. If desired? There will be options to do it in person and options to do it online. Okay, thank you. Saturday morning zazen, you're still at 6... Oh. 6.45 for Saturday morning zazen? 6.30. 6.30? 6.30. Yeah. It's not going to... It's going to be the same as it has been up until now. Got it. Yeah. Except for one-day sittings. Except for one-day sittings.

[62:45]

Then there will be... an earlier period, an earlier start. We'll post the schedule on Friday. Cool. Thank you. Okay. So, you're always welcome to email us, especially if you're having trouble signing up for the just to be a practice period participant. If you sign up the sheet that's now on the table, that will be how you will, if you're not already signed up, you can do that. And if you have any questions over the next week or so, you can just ask us. You can email us through

[63:46]

Dan or David Chow. Or you can just come here while you're here and ask us in person. Okay. Thank you very much. And I hope to see you frequently. Please return the Zaflu's back to the show. Thank you.

[64:31]

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