This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at www.sfcc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Hi, my name is Greg Fain and I'm the Tonto or Head of Practice at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, which is the monastic branch of San Francisco Zen Center. Our monastery is in Monterey County and I don't know, it's a swell place to practice. I've been practicing there for some years. I'd like to begin by thanking and acknowledging my teacher, Sojin Mel Weitzman Roshi, the abbot of Berkeley Zen Center, which is my home temple, and to say that this talk is just to encourage you in your practice.

[01:20]

I'd also like to thank my brother Tonto, Reverend Kansan David Zimmerman, for inviting me to give this talk. The first talk in the City Center of 2017. OMG, Happy New Year. Happy New Year, everybody. So... Tassajara, you know, is a cloistered environment half the year and there's little coming or going and there's not so much contact with so-called outside world which is a nice quality in a remote mountain monastery but I want to assure you we do not live in a bubble

[02:26]

We don't live in a bubble at Tazahara. I assure you, we are aware of current events. And I'd like to talk a little bit about some thoughts, some ideas about practice that I've been having recently. I was looking at a totally, you know, neutral, wanting to be neutral approach, It was a science blog, actually, a blog for, you know, amateur interest in science. And it was summing up, you know, the major events of 2016 as media and, you know, news outlets. They do that kind of thing, right, end of the year. And trying to be, I think they were trying to be as neutral as possible. They said, the most talked about election in American history... I thought that was pretty cute.

[03:34]

Yeah, I think we could safely say we had the most talked about election in American history. But for a lot of people, I think it's not so funny. A lot of people I know are currently pretty scared. And not without reason. I think if you're not straight, white, male, maybe you have a legitimate cause to be frightened right now. Frightened. Fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of what may be. Anyway, I notice... That's a lot of my friends right now. I wanted to talk a little bit about how do we practice with this?

[04:41]

What is an appropriate response? I don't aim to give answers. I just want to talk about what is my practice in this? What are some approaches to practice maybe And so naturally, I want to tell a story about the sixth ancestor. Okay, bear with me. Bear with me. Zen is a lot of stories. There's a lot of stories in Zen. Last summer in Tassajara, I taught a class on the Diamond Sutra. So the sixth ancestor of Zen, Huenang, sometimes called the Chinese Buddha, he had a certain relationship with the Diamond Sutra, which, as the story goes, went all the way back to his childhood.

[05:45]

He was quite impoverished as a boy. He lived with his mom, his single mom, just mom and son, after his father died when he was very, very young. I think a toddler, when his father died. And then it was just Huy Nung and his mom just struggling to get by. And they moved to this town where Huy Nung used to go up in the woods as a boy of like eight or so, I think, and collect twigs and sticks from the woods and sell them in bundles for firewood. He would go around the town and sell his firewood. And apparently he was selling firewood one day when he just finished a transaction with a customer and he heard somebody chanting the Diamond Sutra, which he'd never heard before.

[06:47]

And as the story goes, which every scholar will tell you is probably apocryphal, you know, Who knows if it really happened? I mean, who knows? It doesn't matter, does it? It doesn't matter. It's a great story. So here's the little boy, Huenang, selling his... Of course, he wasn't called Huenang then. That was his Dharma name. I don't know what his name was. But he's selling his firewood in the town, and he hears this monk chanting the Diamond Sutra. Specifically, as the story goes, Towards the end of section 10, this verse, variously translated into English, produce a thought which is not supported by anything. Or, let the mind function freely without abiding anywhere or in anything. Red Pine, Bill Porter, says, give birth to the thought, which I think is interesting.

[07:56]

kind of cool give birth to this thought which is not supported by anything a thought which is not supported by anything what kind of thought is that and what kind of thought would that be usually we talk about thoughts you know train of thought and one thought follows from the next and you know i'm thinking how do you how do you produce a thought that's not supported by anything what kind of thought could that be Abiding, functioning freely. Let the mind function freely without abiding anywhere or in anything. Nowhere to go. Nothing to get. Just free. What kind of thought would that be? In the Heart Sutra, which we chant every day at Zen Center, we chant,

[08:57]

With nothing to attain, Bodhisattva relies on Prajnaparamita, the perfection of wisdom. And thus the mind is no hindrance. Without hindrance, there is no fear. Sounds good, huh? Again, how does that work? How does that work? You know, I think For the purpose of this talk this evening among friends, I would say no fear. That's a little ambitious maybe. I would say you're not caught by your fear. You're not caught by your reactivity. When you produce the thought, doesn't abide anywhere, that isn't supported by anything.

[10:02]

You're not caught by anything. It doesn't depend on anything. You're not reactive. You're not stuck. No hindrance, no fear. Or, if there's fear, okay, let it be fear. which means of the heart. Courage doesn't mean you have no fear whatsoever. It means going forward, staying present in the presence of your fear. That's all. Fear is normal. Fear is normal. And like I said, I think some people got pretty legitimate reason to be afraid. Hmm.

[11:06]

So we say, you know, you've probably heard this before, the usual response to fear or scary situation, fight, flight, or freeze. Right? And I see fight, reactivity, And flight, I'm moving to Canada. A freeze, just a kind of paralysis, a kind of numbing out. Kind of like, ah, this is hopeless. I'm not doing anything. But I would say there's another way. The Buddha way. Which is actively turning towards life. Fear, okay. Practicing in the presence of fear.

[12:08]

Going forward with fear, anyway. Okay. How many times have I said my zazen instruction in five words? Stay present for whatever arises. Want to know how to practice zazen? Sit down, take a stable position, stay present for whatever arises. This is what we're doing. Whether you like it or not, you stay present for it. And it's actually, it's active. It's a turning towards. Another thing I often say is that zazen itself the physical act of zazan, sitting up, upright, spine erect, your head balanced, top of your spinal column, feeling the slight lift in your sternum, breathing from down here.

[13:19]

This is a heart opening pose. You're open across here, you know? Let your shoulder blades slide down your back. Present. Open. Open. This is active. Actively opening your heart. Actively being present for whatever it is. For whatever's coming up. Staying present. And it's training in that. Our practice cultivates that capacity in all of us. And... allows us, remember the sutra says, a bodhisattva relies on Prajnaparamita. That's you. That's all of us. It allows us, when we cultivate that capacity, we can offer that to other people. We can give the gift of non-fear.

[14:21]

You cultivate confidence in your own practice. Zen is a religion of action. It's an active turning towards. And it's good to put your practice to the test. You know? You aren't always going to be able to have ideal circumstances. Yes, it might be a very good idea to go and practice in Tassajara or wherever, or to be in city center. That's a good thing. You support your practice that way. It's good to help you to cultivate that, but it's also good to put your practice to the test.

[15:28]

The teacher, Daljuan, said... A golden Buddha can't survive the furnace. A wooden Buddha can't survive the fire. And a clay Buddha can't survive the water. Listen to my song. Three Buddha statues, and none of them is real. I see a boy, then I meet a man. Once people believe in their own jewels, birds will sing and flowers bloom in spring. Isn't that lovely? I want to say that verse again. I just love it. Listen to my song. Three Buddha statues and none of them is real. I see a boy, then I meet a man. Once people believe in their own jewels,

[16:31]

birds will sing and flowers bloom in spring. Trust your own practice, actually. Don't hinge your practice. Don't make your practice something that relies on some particular set of circumstances, some idea of a gold Buddha. Three Buddha statues, none of them is real. Where's the real Buddha? Where's the real Buddha? An ice cream sandwich for anyone who can tell me where the real Buddha is. Thank you! Okay, I owe Maggie.

[17:32]

Even though she didn't say anything, she just went like, kind of shyly. Yes, yes, yes. Right here, behind the breastbone. Thank you. That's right. That's right. That's where practice happens. Not that it doesn't happen in the remote mountain monastery, but the remote mountain monastery is actually here. It goes with you wherever you go. eminently portable. And isn't that a good thing? Suzuki Roshi said, even if the sun were to rise in the west, the Bodhisattva has only one way. So you have confidence in your practice. And my teacher, Sojin Roshi, says all the time, Don't let anything push you off your seat.

[18:34]

Don't let anything push you off your seat. But actually, something is going to push you off your seat. I can guarantee it. So then what? Come back. That's all. That's all. Equanimity doesn't mean you never get flustered. Equanimity doesn't mean you never experience fear or reactivity. Equanimity is, can I come back? Can I come back? No? Oh, yeah, right. I know this. This place, this thought, which is not supported by anything, we all have it. We all have it. So, I guess I'm talking about faith, which is a tricky word for a lot of people.

[19:47]

So, usually I think in Zen, we usually say trust or confidence. You know, Mark Twain, faith is believing in things you know can't possibly be true. You ever heard that one before? I like that one. That's not the kind of faith I'm talking about. That is not the kind of faith I'm talking about. You find out for yourself You find out for yourself how the wooden Buddha can't survive the fire. You find out for yourself what kind of Buddha is real for you. And putting it to the test is how we find out.

[20:55]

Woo-hoo! This is practice in action. Zen is religion of action. Just do it. Just do it. And with that comes affirmation. There's affirmation of your practice. Faith affirmation. Like left and right foot going forward. Confidently. regardless of external circumstances. Even if the sun were to rise in the West, you have confidence in your way. So, I thought that giving the trend of current events recently

[21:57]

It might be a good idea if I learned a bit more about Russian culture. So I started reading The Brothers Karamazov by the great Fyodor Dostoevsky. And I'm afraid we'll be starting another practice period at Tazahara tomorrow. And I'm only up to part three, and I can't put it down. It's massively entertaining and amazing and intense in places. But early in the book, the youngest brother, Alyosha, is actually a monk at first. When the book starts out, he's actually a novice monk. He hasn't taken full... He hasn't gone into order, but he's actually spending most of his time in a local monastery.

[23:05]

In this monastery, this Russian Orthodox monastery, it so happens they have this tradition of elders who, I would say, speak the Dharma. They're like Zen teachers. So this is a revered elder, we would say a Roshi. It's kind of like that. His name is Father Zosima. And Father Zosima has audiences, which are kind of like what we would call a Shosan ceremony, like a public interview, a public audience with the teacher. So he's doing that, and there's people from the town coming to talk to him, and he's talking to them variously and giving them encouragement. And this woman says to him, she's having a crisis of faith. She feels like she's losing her faith.

[24:09]

And Father Zosima is sympathetic. And he says, he says to her, no doubt, It is devastating. One cannot prove anything here, but it is possible to be convinced. The woman says, how? By what? Father Zosima says, by the experience, the experience of active love. Try and to love your neighbors actively and tirelessly. The more you succeed in loving, the more you'll be convinced of the existence of God. And if you reach complete selflessness in the love of your neighbor, then undoubtedly you will believe.

[25:14]

This has been tested. It is certain. That's the kind of faith I'm talking about. You'll You find out for yourself. You do it. You actively love. So maybe the name of this Dharma talk is produce a love which is not supported by anything. Why? Because you must. Why? Because it's the sane response. The same response, in my opinion. Because we can. Because we're alive. So, on New Year's Day at Tassajara, we chanted the Lotus Sutra.

[26:52]

Pretty big book. 324 pages. Yeah. Sandy helped. She was there. A lot of people dropped in and dropped out so we could keep it going. The sutra got chanted continuously from beginning to end. I was there for most of it. Lost my voice. Takes about eight hours to chant the Lotus Sutra. If you're familiar with the sutra, there's a parable in it that's very... It's called The Parable of the Burning House. And it tells a story about a father with a lot of children.

[27:55]

And he has to go out and run some errands. And the kids are left in the house. And the house catches on fire. And there's only one way out of the house. And... It's small. Furthermore, the sutra goes on and on about how scary the house is. It's full of all these wild animals and crazy stuff. It's like, why were they living there in the first place? It's so wild. The father's outside the house. The kids are in the house completely oblivious to the fact that it's on fire. Completely oblivious. They're playing games, as kids will do.

[29:00]

They have their games. I don't know, the video thing. Whatever it is, they're completely absorbed in what they're doing. And they fail to notice. that the house is on fire, and the father tries various things, like, hey, the house is on fire. They can't hear it. They can't hear it. They don't want to hear it. And he thinks, maybe, can I get them out one by one, but there's too many children. What to do? So he says, hey, kids, I've got better games out here. You'll like these even better. Guarantee it. And he delivers the goods. That the kids can hear. Oh, there's better games over there. Okay, we'll go over there.

[30:02]

And thus, he saves them from the fire. So we're chanting this, and I'm thinking to myself, the climate change we're experiencing now is real and it's lasting. We are entering the age of the Anthropocene. Human impact on the planet, its resources, and our environment, the climate, the ice caps, that's all happening. And yet, somehow, shouting, hey, the world's on fire. Doesn't seem to be helping.

[31:08]

Being reactive. Maybe not the way to go. I'm not saying there's no place for social action. I think it's necessary, absolutely necessary. But from what kind of heart? From what kind of heart? Can we offer a better way? Can we offer... More interesting games. A better way to live. Isn't coming from reactivity. Isn't coming from fear. Producing a love that's not supported by anything. That's my premise.

[32:14]

Over the winter holidays, Linda Galleon and I, oh yeah, Tonto-san said I should mention you'll be seeing more of me. That's why he asked me to give the talk because I'm going to be spending more time in city center because Linda Galleon has moved here to be president. of San Francisco Zen Center. Yay! Which, this is her third day on the job. Second day on the job. Woo-hoo! Fabulous. Over the winter holidays, we went to Houston Zen Center and visited our dear friend, Galen Godwin Roshi, and practiced with her I can't even remember what we were talking about. But at one point, I said, I think that at Tassajara, we're in the business of manufacturing and exporting loving kindness and equanimity.

[33:28]

And she said, yes. It's like big response. Yes, that's right. And it's so important that you're doing it. But as I said before, and I think it can't be emphasized enough, you don't have to go to Datsahara to do that. If I thought that, I wouldn't be there, actually. This is the place of practice. This is the Bodhimanda. It's right here. It's behind the breastbone. You, each of you, each of you, actually have the capacity to produce the love that isn't supported by anything. Each of you have the capacity to give the gift of non-fear to a suffering world.

[34:35]

And you'll be happier too. That's a side effect. Better games to play outside the burning house. I think that's all I wanted to say tonight. There's a... Oh, well, we're almost out of time, but maybe time for a question or two. Thanks for coming out on this rainy night. Hi, Barbara. happened to Hoi Nung?

[36:05]

I think it's really a golden opportunity to investigate what it means to love someone that you're afraid of. This practice is not easy. having your practice challenged is not a bad thing. So I can't tell you what's in your heart, but for each of us to, as the guy says, learn to take the backward step that turns your light and shines it inwardly

[37:37]

And ask yourself that. What does it mean to do that? How can I produce the love that isn't supported by anything? Right? That's what I'm talking about. It's not supported by anything. I see no support. I see no why, you know? Jesus of Nazareth said that, right? 2,000 years later, it's still too radical to count to. Love who? You want me to love... No! You know, yes. As a matter of fact, yes. Yes. So, I can't tell you how. It's a swell question to ask. Huinang grew up to be the sixth ancestor of Zen. Oh, when he heard the verse, he had an enlightenment experience.

[38:45]

That's how the story goes. Yeah, whatever that means to you. Something went kaplooey, which kind of understandable. Eight-year-old kid produced the thought which is not supported by anything. What's that? Wow. Big enlightenment experience. Is that what you meant? That's what happens, yeah. And they all lived happily ever after. Okay. Well, thank you very much. Thanks for your attention. Good night. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. Our Dharma talks are offered free of charge, and this is made possible by the donations we receive. Your financial support helps us to continue to offer the Dharma.

[39:51]

For more information, please visit sfzc.org and click Giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[40:01]

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