Welcome, everyone, to this Dharma Talk. Can you hear me well? Thumbs up? Yes. Thank you. So let me take a look at this Zoom waffle so I can connect with you all. I like this expression, Zoom waffle. Great. Thank you again, everyone, for being here. And before I begin, I want to thank my teacher, Abbot Ed Sattison, as well as Abbot David, for inviting me to give this talk tonight. And I would also like to thank the head of practice, the Tanto, and the head of the meditation hall, Kodo, and all the team for making this possible.

[01:18]

So for those who are not aware of this or haven't been here for a while, we are currently in the middle of a 10-week practice period that started in September. And a practice period is a period of intensified and focused practice. We sit more, we have classes. There's usually a theme for the practice period. And the theme for this particular practice period is fierce compassion. enacting the bodhisattva principles in a troubled world. Beautiful title. And a bodhisattva, in a few words, for those who don't know or are not familiar with this concept, is a being who's dedicated to the universal awakening and is determined not to be enlightened until all other beings in space and time are enlightened as well. So they put on hold their own enlightenment until all beings are enlightened as well.

[02:28]

And they, in a way, return again and again to the world of suffering to aid all others in their path to awakening. So that's what a bodhisattva is. And in the Mahayana tradition, the tradition that our Zen comes from, the Buddhist tradition that our Zen comes from, These bodhisattvas are archetypes. Let's put it that way. Architects that represent different fundamental models or aspects of enlightened beings. And these bodhisattvas bring qualities such as wisdom, compassion, fearlessness, or awakening activity. So these beings bring forth these qualities, these virtues. And we have been talking about different Bodhisattva archetypes throughout this practice period, such as Manjushri Bodhisattva, who brings forth the capacity of wisdom, Samantabhadra as an archetype of beneficial or awakening action in the world.

[03:37]

Last week we studied and read about Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion. And this week, and today I'll speak about another Bodhisattva, mostly known by its Japanese name. It's Jizo Bodhisattva. Jizo Bodhisattva. And Jizo Bodhisattva is well known in Japan. And it also has other names in other languages. In Sanskrit, the name is Kashiti Garba. Jizo in Japanese, the whole name is Daigan Jizo Bosatsu. And in Chinese, and I'm sure I won't be pronouncing this correctly, is Dayuan Dizan Pusa. So those are different names for Jizo Bodhisattva. And their name may be translated as Earth Treasury or Earth Store, or maybe better known as Earth Womb.

[04:42]

So Kashitigarbha means Earth Womb. And Jiso is not that well-known in the West. And actually, that's kind of changing, though. More people know about this particular Bodhisattva. And they're not so very well-known here. But as I said, it's really well-known in Japan and in many countries, such as Korea and China. But when you set foot in Japan, that's the bodhisattva that most people encounter first. And there are a number of reasons for this, but one reason being that Jiso is considered protector of children and travelers, among other things. So you can see Jiso images in many places, such as crossroads or gardens or cemeteries. You will see Jiso statues. talk about that a bit further into the talk.

[05:45]

In the West, the way it came to us, Jizo is mostly known as protector of children. And because of that, that's the first part of Jizo's archetype that I will be talking about now. And it's not just usually it's not just about children. But it's said that Jisuo takes care of the souls of unborn children and those who die at young age. And that's a reason why Jisuo is venerated in Japan, and it's one of the main reasons why we know Jisuo here. So the legend says that... children who died at a young age or died before being born cannot cross the mythical river Zanzu. And this river needs to be crossed to get to the spirit world.

[06:50]

And those children are there, they can't cross. And the reason why they can't cross is because they're yet to accumulate sufficient good deeds or merit. And they're doomed to endlessly pile stones in this riverbank in order to accumulate this merit. So they pile stones. They do the stone pagodas. And every night, demons come and knock down the stones, knock down the piles down. So every day, the children need to build this stone pile, these pagodas again. And then Jizo comes to this place, comes to this shore, and protects the children under the rope, and hides them, and then takes them to the shore of awakening. So it's a beautiful story, a beautiful legend, and that is why it's so strongly seen

[08:00]

as this protection and everything that means. So there is a ceremony called the Jizo ceremony, maybe, or a ceremony for children who have died. In Japanese, the name is Mizuko Kyo. And Mizuko literally means water child. And Kyo refers to a memorial or a service or a ceremony. So this ceremony... that actually is being held in many places in the West nowadays. And we have had Mitsuko Kyo here at San Francisco Zen Center in Green Gulch many, many times, but also in other temples. We've had Jizu workshops here at City Center, and there is a Jizu statue at Tassajara, our temple in the Ventana Wilderness, our monastery there, and there has been Mitsuko Kyo ceremonies. And this is a beautiful ceremony that brings forth the possibility of grief, closure, transition.

[09:05]

And in this ceremony, parents or close family sew small red clothes, usually bib-like or like hats that are usually red. And during the ceremony, they place those on a Jesus statue. Also words about the children are said, different sutras are chanted during the Mitsukyo. It's a very moving, very beautiful ceremony. And when I lived in Japan, I was marveled to those Jizo gardens with sometimes hundreds, not thousands of Jizos, one beside the other with their red garment. It's something really, really beautiful. And And this ceremony, this Mitsukyo, it's just an aspect in itself for Jisō, and again, one of the reasons why we know Jisō mostly here. And if you want to know more about this, there's a great book from Jan Chosen Beis called Jisō Bodhisattva, Modern Healing and Traditional Buddhist Practice.

[10:17]

It's a beautiful book about Jisō, and I would really encourage you to read it if you're interested in this. So this is one aspect of Jizo, protector of children, and this main character in the water baby ceremony for children who have died. But today I want to focus on another aspect of this particular Bodhisattva archetype. So first I will tell you about one of the best well-known, yeah, probably the best well-known story of how Jizo Bodhisattva came to be in the Buddhist cosmology. And this story comes from a sutra called the Sutra of Past Vows of Kishitigarbha Bodhisattva, also known as the Kishitigarbha Sutra. And in the Kishitigarbha Sutra, the Buddha states that in the distant past, even before our historical Buddha, Kishitigarbha was a maiden of a Brahmin caste by the name of Sacred Girl.

[11:23]

So Sacred Girl, was a maiden of the Brahmin caste. And the sacred girl had enormous filial piety. And the sacred girl's mother had died some time before, and she was deeply troubled upon her death because she thought, or actually her mother had often been slanderous towards the three treasures and had not accumulated merit. So to save her mother from this great tortures of hell, where she thought her mother would be, the girl sold all her possessions, whatever she had, and then with that money bought offerings for the Buddha and daily offered this to the Buddha and prayed very fervently, very deeply that her mother would be spared from the pains of hell and appealed to the Buddha for help. day after day after day.

[12:26]

So while she was pleading for help at the temple, she heard the Buddha of that time telling her to go home, to sit down and recite his name, if she wanted to know where her mother was. So she did, she went home, she recited Buddha's name. And as she did, she was immediately transported to the Helmerion. And the images In this story, the Hebraim are very lively and harsh, and you can imagine things probably bubbling and all the heat. And when she got there, she met a guardian and asked for her mother. And the guardian informed her that through all her prayers and pious offerings, through all that she did, her mother had actually accumulated lot of merit and had already left the Helmryans and was already in the shore of awakening.

[13:31]

And of course, Sacred Girl was greatly relieved about this. And she would have been extremely happy with her mother, the shore of awakening. But then she looked around and saw all these other beings suffering in this Helmryan. And that touched her heart. very deeply. So as that happened, she vowed to do her best to relieve all beings of their suffering and to help them transition out of the Helm Realms until all Helm Realms were empty. And this gives birth to what's usually known as Jesus' vow, which it's very beautiful. And it goes like this. If I do not go to the hells to help the suffering beings there, who else will go? I will not become a Buddha until the hells are empty. Only when all beings have been saved, I will enter nirvana.

[14:36]

So if I don't do this, who else will? And until all the hells are empty, I'll keep on going back and back until all beings are saved. and only then I will enter nirvana. And that's the jesus vow. So Kshtiorba is often depicted as a simple monk. You might see some statues if you've been to Green Gulch, for example, there's a beautiful jesus statue there in the Zendo. There's a small statue also in Tassajara. There's another small statue in the garden here at city center. And this simple monk has a shaved head and monk robes, and her bare feet are usually visible, kind of indicating that they travel to wherever she is needed, barefooted. And they usually hold two things, a wish-fulfilling jewel in their left hand, and the right hand, she grasped a staff, a staff with six rings attached to the top.

[15:44]

And these rings jingle as Jizo walks wandering off predators and scaring away small animals from being stepped on and being hurt. So wish-fulfilling gem and the staff. And this wish-fulfilling gem, also known as chintamani in Sanskrit, it's actually a metaphor for the teachings and virtues of the Buddha. And it's said to be obtained from the dragon king, dragon king of the sea, I think it is. of the head of a great fish by the name of Makara, or from the relics of a Buddha. So very powerful, wishful feeling stone. And there is this phrase from the Buddha that says, within your own mind, you already have what you need to succeed, the ability to put others ahead of yourself. This is called virtue, the wishful feeling jewel. So this is related to this.

[16:47]

Wish-fulfilling jewel. So I don't think it's a kind of wish-fulfilling jewel like, oh, please, Jesus, I want a Tesla car. And you have a Tesla car, right? It's not that kind of jewel. It's more around bringing yourself to your deep wish of awakening. So as I said before, Jesus is not only the protector of children, but also of travelers. And that's why... As I mentioned, you would find Jesus statues in crossroads all around Japan and near places where travelers gather. And of course, we could think about this literally, the protector of the traveler, and that's actually the way it's often seen in Japan, where travelers will ask for Jesus' protection before starting a trip. So there's that aspect. And yet, there's another aspect of what travel might mean, when we're talking about this bodhisattva, and it refers more to the troubles of our path of practice.

[17:52]

It's a more subtle meaning. A path that takes us from one place to another, pretty much like a road, but referring to practice. It takes us from where we're at right now to awakening. And we can say that we are travelers or pilgrims on that path of practice. In her book, Chosun Beis makes a clear distinction and this is I think it's interesting to say between pilgrims in this path and wanderers and she says something like a wanderer has no destination or clear path necessarily and they're going from one place to another without really going anywhere and a pilgrim has an intention a deeper meaning in their travels so So this is important, I think, in the way in which we are pilgrims in this path and the ways in which Jesus archetype supports us in this path and not just wanderers.

[19:01]

And so in what ways does Jesus or his qualities aids us in the travel of this path? And there's three ways in which Jesus Keshitigarva, this archetypal bodhisattva, personifies the courage and the determination and fearlessness of that mind that has awakened to the truth of suffering and its cause. So that's important. It's courage, it's determination, and it's fearlessness. Jesus brings forth those qualities. And for what? So we could say it's courage to see that path, determination to engage, and fearlessness to move. And Jijizo Bodhisattva is an inspiration that brings all those qualities to our path as travelers in this path of practice.

[20:12]

And And what does this mean, right? Courage to see. And Sacred Girl had the courage to see into the fact that her mother was suffering. And seeing is usually one of the first intentional stages of our practice. And in Buddhism, we call this the first arising of bodhicitta. And bodhicitta means awakening mind, mind that awakes. And in this awakening mind is the intention to awaken to the reality of life and help others awaken as well. So it's not just my awakening, bodhicitta. It's also about the awakening of everybody else. So you're not just seeing when you're seeing, when you have the courage to see, you're not just seeing into your own suffering, but you also bear witness to the suffering of others. And what happens when you see? And I would say it's... Sometimes it's difficult to see something because when you see it, you usually cannot unsee it.

[21:19]

You might try to ignore it, negate it, you know, to turn your head, pretend you didn't see it. But once you see something, it's really difficult to unsee. So it takes courage to see and it takes more courage to continue seeing, to keep arising bodhicitta. You know, when you're in the street, sometimes it can happen. You can buy an accident and you say, oh, no, I don't want to see. I don't want to look. And the idea of seeing something that's really disturbing that you cannot unsee and that you would rather not do. So you rather not look. But sometimes you do. You say, OK, so what's going on? And you have that courage to see what's happening. actually happening. And, you know, same things happen sometimes with your own suffering that are not so pretty to see, not so pretty to see aspects of your life, as well as the lives of others.

[22:29]

So many times you go like with the accent, oh, I don't want to look. I'd rather not look. But Yuzo Boisawa brings forth this courage to turn to words, instead of away from your difficulties and from the suffering, your own suffering and the suffering of others. So this courage to see, and not only to see, but to keep seeing, to keep looking, to keep bearing witness of your own suffering and that of all beings is this first aspect that I want to bring forth and the first part of this path of awakening. But seeing, of course, is not enough, right? You might see it, but then you need to decide to do something about it. And here's where the determination to engage, which brings you closer from seeing to doing.

[23:31]

So courage to see and determination to engage, second aspect. And Sacred Girl had... clearly had this determination to engage in liberating her mother from suffering. Her path started with a conviction that she was the most important thing in her life and devoted herself to liberating her mother. And then she saw suffering. She saw suffering from her mother. And in some way, I think you can equate her mother with herself. And she saw the suffering of others. And she had the courage to keep looking, but also arose the determination to make that commitment to make every effort to save her mother from the hell's realm. And then the commitment to save all others until there's nobody else in the self realms. So that determination to engage was there after seeing.

[24:34]

And I think this is closely related to the notion of intention in our practice. In a way, our intention defines the way we engage. First, we saw something inside of us or around us that arose at awakening mind, the bodhicitta. And then we had the courage not to look away, to look and look again. And then we decide to engage, to engage in practice. And I can imagine that if you're here tonight or today, wherever you are in the world, listening to this talk, maybe there is or probably there is this courage to see and engage engage in practice present alive so it takes real determination to engage in practice right that that intention that brings forth your practice sometimes in in the temple not so much now of course because

[25:40]

due to the pandemic, we are not having so many new students. But sometimes in the temple, I come across new students, or I did come across new students, and have a conversation about what's going on for them. Why are they here? And usually I have some sense of bodhicitta. They're here. And then I ask them why they're here. So why are you here? And sometimes they get replies such as, well, because I want to be calm or I want to be happy or because I'm very stressed and be less stressed. And of course, Zen temple, why not, right? Should be the perfect place not to be stressed. And that's true. And then I want to look them in the eye, directly in the eye and say, okay, but are you willing to engage? Actually, I don't do that because I don't want them to think, you know, what's happening with this crazy monk and just go out the door.

[26:40]

But the question is there, right? Are you willing to engage? Because it takes determination. It takes real, real determination to engage. And setting your intention is difficult. It's not easy. And I think it's important to set your determination and your intention and then come back and back your intention again and again and remember why why you're here and why you're doing what you're doing and then to be honest about it right if your intention is a and you're doing b all the time you kind of need to stop and and reflect and say okay so is this a way i want to really live my life um but but actually to To raise that intention and to be clear and honest about it, it takes a lot of determination.

[27:43]

And facing your suffering, engaging with the difficult parts of your life and who we are, is like sacred girl going to hell realms to release her mother, to save her mother. And there is a beautiful analogy of the importance of relating to our difficulties, our suffering, and our ability to awake. And this is that to blossom, the lotus flower must grow through mud and dirty water. But then it blooms anyway. But actually, it needs that mud and dirty water to grow and bloom. And Thich Nhat Hanh, a well-known Vietnamese teacher, has this beautiful phrase where he says, there is a mud and there is a lotus that grows out of the mud. We need the mud. in order to make the lotus. Marvelous. And Abbot David said in the opening of our practice period, and Abbot Ed reminded us of this on Saturday in his talk, this phrase, this teaching from Ehe Dogen, the founder of our lineage, the Sotosensku.

[28:56]

And he wrote this text called Kuge, Flowers of Emptiness. And he says, The time and place that the blue flowers open and spread are in the midst of fire and in the time of fire. The time and place that the blue lotus flowers open and spread are in the midst of fire and in the time of fire. takes a poetic image of the lotus, the blue lotus, and associates it with practice and realization, blooming within the fire of samsara, blooming within the world of suffering. So this teaching from the lotus and the muddy water and the blue lotus blooming and opening within fire is disengagement, is this way of turning to words instead of... away from suffering.

[29:58]

And we often think that our practice requires leaving behind or presenting our difficulties. Yet the lotus flower, the lotus blue lotus, represents a bodhisattva that's awakened and it's dependent on fire, dependent on the mud to flower. So it requires to stay and investigate that which is just painful or troublesome or inconvenient in our world for ourselves and others. So I would say Jesus of Bodhisattva is an inspiration and some kind of guide in our transitioning, in our path, in our travels from the helm realm, from the suffering through the awakening of the reality of our life. And as we've said, I've seen our awakening happens in the midst of these difficulties and not by negating or running away from them. It's like sacred girl who must enter the realm of suffering to blossom like the blue lotus flower.

[31:07]

So this is the engaging part. This is your practice intention. Why are you here? Why are you really doing this? And then are you ready to act? Are you ready to move? So you've seen. You keep on seeing. Now, are you ready? Your intention arises, and now are you ready to do something about it? Because intention is great and it's fundamental, but it's kind of moot if you don't do anything about it. That's where the third aspect, this fearlessness to move, comes in. And in many ways, Jesus Bodhisattva has this quality of fearlessness and this fearlessness to move. You see the path, you're determined to walk on it. You have, you know, now to give the first step. And until now, you haven't moved. So this is where this fearlessness comes forth.

[32:10]

But then you take a step, but then you need to take another, and another, and another. And you do this without fear, deeply trusting the Dharma of our practice. Of course, when moving, you need to be mindful and careful in this exploration, step by step and into the hell realms of suffering of our own, of others. And this can be scary in many ways. And this might arise from deep trauma. So that's why I think the guidance of a teacher or a practice leader the support of the sangha and your spiritual friends are very, very important. Because even though you need to investigate this suffering by yourself, nobody basically can investigate it for you. You are not alone. And these are all very important steps or aspects of our investigation.

[33:14]

You're turning towards difficulty and your own suffering, and this fearlessness arises also in this way, knowing that you're not alone. in this path, that you're not separate, and that many, many ancestors precede you and guide you in this. Because, you know, in other words, fearlessness doesn't mean recklessness. This is not just about plunging into the suffering without taking care of yourself or others. Of course, it does take courage and determination to do this. No doubt about that. But this does not mean that you should put yourself in harm's way. or anybody else in harm's way. So this is an exploration and an exploration that needs to be done with a very big compassionate heart and a compassionate heart towards yourself and towards all beings. There is this notion about the comfort zone and many of you might have heard about this idea of the comfort zone.

[34:22]

And it said that, in a way, growth happens outside your comfort zone. That comfort zone is a place to be nurtured, it's a place to stay still, but it's very seldom that growth happens in your comfort zone. And growth actually happens when you have the courage to leave your comfort zone. And having said that, there's this other important aspect of this, which is what we can, it's known as a window of tolerance. So how much, how many steps can you take out of your comfort zone without it being something that's actually not beneficial? So it's that space, which is leaving your comfort zone, but within your window of tolerance that this step-by-step, this fearlessness arises and this step-by-step happens.

[35:29]

But again, this is very important. It needs to happen with a compassionate heart, with really taking care, not being reckless, not just going for it. And I would say also one important thing in this conversation fearlessness to move, is our capacity not to negotiate everything with ourselves all the time. Once the determination arises of your intention and you decide to move and you move, this constant negotiation with ourselves with what you're going to do or what you're determined to do can hinder your travel in this path. I remember hearing many times that Suzuki Roshi said that when he heard the wake up bell in the morning, he just got up, washed his face, and go to the zendo.

[36:42]

Instead of, you know, hearing the wake up bell and... starting that negotiation. Oh, should I go to Zazen today? Well, actually this month I have 100% assistance, so I'm good. I think today, and that negotiation starts. So, of course, be mindful. If you're sick, you need to be mindful of that. But if not, not to negotiate with yourself every aspect of what you're determined to do. And Sacred Girl, took that first step into hell to save her mother and immediately decided to keep walking the path. And I don't imagine her saying, okay, should I take the next path? Or just constantly went for it and going back to her intention and going back to her fearlessness and moving forward. Remember that vow. If I do not go to the hells to help the suffering beings there, who else will go?

[37:46]

I will not become a Buddha until all the hells are empty. Only when all beings are saved, I will enter nirvana. So you've seen, you've determined, you have an intention, and then you move fearlessly. And as I mentioned before, Kashidigarbha translates as earth womb. And I think there's something very relevant or important here, because... We enter the world of suffering not just to stay in the world of suffering and suffer forever, but actually to be born into a path of awakening with everybody else. And this is a beautiful image, and I think it's a beautiful kind of north star for our practice. This motherly quality of jizu helps us to understand the deep importance of this transition, not only for ourselves, but for all beings. and makes us feel held and nurtured in this path of practice.

[38:54]

So this determination to engage, this courage to see, and this feelings to move, Jesus of Bodhisattva is a profound inspiration to bring all those qualities to our lives and guides us every step of our practice. So keep on seeing and continue engaging. And without fear, just move and give the next step in your life and practice. So thank you very much for being here today. And there might be a couple of minutes for some questions. Thank you. Thank you, Susan. Shall we do that closing chant to transition? Then move into Q&A. Our intention equally extend to every being and place.

[40:01]

With the true merit of Buddha's way, beings are numberless, I vow to save them. Illusions are inexhaustible, I vow to end them. Dharma gates are boundless. I vow to enter them. Bada's way is unsurpassable. I vow to become. And yes, Suzan, it looks like we have two minutes. So if there is time for a question, yes. Please raise your blue hand. I can see Peter. Good evening Shauzan.

[41:02]

Could you speak about Jiso's connection to dementia and mental illness? To be honest, I don't know any direct connection. There probably is one, but I would say that there is definitely a source of suffering in that, right? And also it's of course a clinical state, right? It's something dementia or So I would say it's really important for anybody who's around somebody who is in that state and needs to engage, needs to help that person to connect with these qualities.

[42:12]

So I'm not sure there's so much of a direct connection there, but I would say there's a very important connection to all the caretakers and other people around somebody who's has this ailment suffering to be able with big compassionate heart, see, have the determination to set an intention and help and do something. So I would say it's important for people around that person. Thank you very much, Peter, for your question. Thank you for your response. So I believe we're going to have to end. Thank you so much. Thank you very much, and thank you all for being here today, and I hope to see you soon again. Thank you. You should now be able to unmute if you wish. Thank you, Suzan. [...]

[43:15]

Thank you, Suzan. Thank you, Suzan. Thank you, Sosan. Thank you. Sosan. Sosan Mountain. Good night, Sosan. Thank you. Thank you, Sosan. Thank you. Good night. Good night. Thank you. Thank you.

[44:02]

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