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. Good evening, everybody. Good evening here. Good evening there. Good evening everywhere. Tonight we're going to do something a little bit different than usual because we're really in a state of transition here at San Francisco Zen Center. So you may have noticed that the entry was a little bit different than usual and that we're in a little bit of a different space. And we have been in a little bit of a different space for the past month. You know, usually we have bathrooms and kitchen, coffee tea area, dining room, rooms.

[01:15]

You know, usually we have those things. And now we have a different kind of mandala. So... We might think that we've lost something because everything's a little bit different. So tonight I actually want to look at some of the universal teachings that are present in this room and just unpack what's here a little bit more so that we can feel the wealth of Sangha resources to take refuge in right here in this room. And so I wanna go into a little bit of the subtle teachings or the secret teachings that are behind how this room is set up. And so during this lecture, you're actually gonna get to be able to stand up and walk around and look at stuff so that you can see it too, but you don't have to.

[02:22]

And there's actually a PDF where you can see these things in print if you don't feel like standing up and walking around. And if you don't want to be on camera, you should know that this central axis from the equipment there to the equipment here is what's on the camera. So you can be in a different place if you don't want to be visible to the camera. Okay? Is that okay with everybody to do that? Is it okay with the people online? Thumbs up if it's okay with you. Tanuka, is it okay? Dan, is it okay with them? Thanks. Okay. So I want to talk a little bit about transformation from the point of view of Dogen Zenji, the founder of Soto Zen in Japan, the founder of our tradition in Japan.

[03:25]

I'm just going to use a few words because tonight I'm not depending on scholarly resources. I'm only going to speak from what has actually been transmitted to me. Okay? So it's not going to be a scholarly talk. So we get to be in ourselves and and feel the emotional impact of what we're seeing and how we are together. And then we get to discuss it. So I do want to leave about a while for discussion. So can you stop me at about, or give me a heads up at about like five or, okay, at about like five or 10 after eight? And then I might go for another five minutes, but then we'll have some time to actually register what we're seeing. And there's an infinite amount of this to do. So what Dogen Zenji said, this is from a document called the Kyoju Kaimon, a Dogen's essay on conferring and receiving the precepts.

[04:39]

And so this... document is a fairly long document, but one of the big pieces of it is an understanding of how we take refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. So there's three levels of taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. There's the single-bodied way of taking refuge, which means from the point of view of everything is one. There's the manifested way of taking refuge, which is our historical or conventional way of taking refuge, like I take refuge in this, okay? And then there's the skillful way of taking refuge or responsive in a situation, how do we take refuge? So that's called single-bodied, manifested, and maintained. Another way to speak about it is as different ways that Buddhas manifest.

[05:44]

So Buddhas can manifest as Dharmakaya, including everything equally. Or they can manifest as Nirmanakaya, like Mr. Buddha. Or they can manifest as Sambhogakaya, like practice. So Nirmanakaya means when we become awakened, that's Buddha in action. And that's Nirmanakaya. Historically, that moment happened. And Sambhogakaya is... when we practice skillfully in respond to a situation, that's shining practice. And that's a different form of Buddha manifesting in the world. So it goes with different understandings of the yogic side of Buddhism that's much more ancient than the Buddha. So this was part of Buddha's yoga practice as well that he learned from... his yoga teachers before he sat under the Bodhi tree.

[06:44]

But when he became a Buddha, his way was so powerful, particularly his teachings about the middle way and kind of staying in the middle of what we need and a moderate enough way of feeling that we can actually be aware of and moderate ways of speaking so that we don't stifle ourselves. But we do get across what we have to say in gentle terms. So the Buddhist way was so striking that it became Buddhism. Buddha was not a Buddhist. Buddha was a Hindu. And his followers were Buddhists. So what Dogen Senji said was that Sangha treasure is skillful because it can appear equally in the vast openness of being or in a speck of dust.

[07:47]

So it can appear in vast openness or within the dust. And to help people, it can transform into an infinite ocean storehouse. Or it can transform into teachings that are written on shelves and leaves. And it doesn't mean that they have to be written in tiny writing. It means that shells and leaves themselves are reality writing a message to us. So what is Sangha transforming to in this room? So this is called the Three Treasures Seal. And it says Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. And so it's given when somebody receives the precepts. So do you want to see something about Buddhist cosmology, about how the traditions of Buddhism see the universe?

[08:53]

You want to see it? It's not far away. Okay, so just for a moment, just look at this room right now. Okay, and... See how it's set up? You see there's a speaker, supposed to be awake. And then there's some more people who are supposed to be awake. Tonto Tim is supposed to be awake. Abbot David is supposed to be awake. And if Abbot Mako were sitting in the city center abbot seat, that is Azafu, she'd be there and be awake. But she's awake both there and there. Okay, so you see there's four corners. And you see there's four corners on this bowing mat and four corners on this bowing cloth. You can get up and see if you want. And if I were to open this robe up, you would see that there's four corners on it, but you can see it better on, let's say, Shoko, could you come up here a second and show them the four corners on your robe?

[10:05]

So that robe that Shoko's wearing is like an abbreviated version of this one. So Shoko is modeling a rakusu, or a small robe. And Shoko, could you point out the four corners on the robe? Two. Two? Two, yeah, okay. Just four corners on the robe. Thank you very much, Shoko. So this four corner, is a depiction of the universe. And so it's holographic. Each one of these, what's on the person, what we're bowing on, the bowing mat, and the setup of the room is all four-cornered like that. And the altar in the middle is a depiction of Mount Sumeru. the center of the universe, with the four corners being guarded, are the guardians of the north, south, east, and west.

[11:15]

And our continent, according to the cosmology or cosmogony of the tradition, the early one, is that... All of our practices originate in a continent called Jambudvipa. Jambudvipa is a jambud tree. It's a particularly kind of tree that grows in South Asia. And so it's called Jambudvipa, and the conditions there are said to be mild and conducive for practice. And there's also different beings in the north, in the west, and in the east who... can practice in different ways because they have different makeups and their continents are different temperatures and of different conditions. And in that square, guarded by the north, south, east, and west, there's a center.

[12:19]

So there's a center of the room, which is the altar. There's a center of the bowing cloth, of the bowing mat, which is the bowing you know, that this woven bowing mat has a bowing cushion on it, which has a bowing cloth on it, and each one of those has a center. And the center of the robe is here. So this robe is made of seven panels. Each panel has one short and two long piece. And the center of the robe is at about heart level. And the rakasu, the small rope, which you can see many people wearing here, the center is the upper middle piece. That's the centerpiece. And so it's all constructed that way. So that altar, let me show you a picture of a stupa.

[13:21]

Well, you know, so I have this, you can't really see it, but there's a circle with four continents and a stupa. But I've broken down the stupa a little bit. This is not a very good picture of the stupa, I'm sorry. But the stupa has different meanings. So it has different shapes that lead to a top. Okay? So most altars are, there's a tradition of how altars are constructed that I won't go into because I'm not a woodworker and I haven't been trained in it. But the stupa has a shape, and this shape is meant to evoke the shape of the Buddha with a head, a body, and legs. So the square is the legs, the circle and triangle is the body, and then that moon and the circle on top is the head. Okay, so that's what a stupa is meant to do. And the head of this stupa is the Buddha's face.

[14:26]

And the Buddha's face is at eye level. Just take a moment and look at Buddha's face and look at eye level. It was actually not measured to me, so it might be a little higher than eye level for me. But it might have been measured for Paul or for Mako. who are both taller than me. So I don't know. But let's look a little bit at what's here. Okay, so I'm going to bow. And you'll see what I do when I do a full bow. Okay, so you can stand up and you can see this bow. If you wish, just come around. And we'll also be looking at some of the things on the altar. So take a look. This is what's called a five-point prostration. Okay? So it starts with a bow. This is ga sho. And I do a little ga sho. And I don't want to put my feet or legs on this robe.

[15:33]

So I'm picking it up. And then I, less gracefully than some, but... you know, more gracefully than I've been in the past. I put down two knees and two elbows like this. And the arms and legs are the four guardians of this bow. And see what's in the middle. You see how my hands go up? These hands are for Buddha's feet. I'm lifting the Buddha above my head. So the Buddha is in the center of this bow. Okay? So that's how the bow goes. You create a little, you go down into the unknown, you guard it with the four limbs, and you lift up the Buddha as what you're bowing to. So that is also in the same form.

[16:39]

as the rest of the universe. Now, here I have a picture of the zendo, but you can also just look at the zendo. So in this zendo right here, you see that there are people who sit at the bells, like you sit at the bell, and you look in the middle, and so you might have noticed that, and this position is called the doan, you're the doan. When the doshi, the person doing the service or the lecturer bow, the doan responds. So the doan has to be looking. There's another instrument where the eno is sitting that's used in service. So those people are facing this way. The person in this seat faces this way. The person there faces this way sometimes for various roles. But everyone else faces the wall except for these four people, the guardians.

[17:40]

The guardians see. They're facing the room so that they can see everybody. And if something happens, like for instance, if somebody is hitting zazen and they suddenly go, and fall down, one of these guardians will jump up and run to them and see what's going on. That's the beauty of having people who can see. Yes, sir. 807? Okay, I'll go faster. Okay, so that's Buddha's cosmology. Now come and see what's on this altar, okay? So we usually don't cross the middle, so you can be on one side or the other. And I'll show you what's on the front and what's on the back. Okay, so why don't ecologically sized people stand in front and... tall people who can see stand in the back, okay? And you'll see that there's a Buddha here and there's a smaller bodhisattva or awakening being here and that there's three kind of plaques on stands which are called ihai.

[18:52]

They're memorial plaques or commemoration plaques. And you also see offerings of fragrance, light, and flowers. And this is traditional plaques. And you see it's on different levels, like a stupa. This level has an offering. This level has more offerings. And this level has Buddha. So it's on different levels. That's part of the stupa arrangement. So this Buddha is Shakyamuni Buddha. And you can tell it's Shakyamuni Buddha. And people at home can look at the PDF if you can't see. But you can tell it's Shakyamuni Buddha because... He has an ushnisha or top knot and his hair is curled. Those are some of the signs of the Buddha. Is there anyone who can't see? Should I get out of the way? Okay. And you can also see that his hands are in one of the forms of jnana mudra and that he's wearing a robe like the priests here who are wearing robes.

[19:57]

That's how you can tell he's a Buddha. But in front of him, look who's in front of him. What do you see? This is Manjushri Bodhisattva. And see how Manjushri holds a sword and a scroll. And sometimes from the scroll you see a lotus, like the one at Tassajara. You see a lotus coming from behind the scroll. So it means a lotus that grows in muddy water from the wisdom of of the Prajnir Paramita. That's what it means. Prajnir Paramita is the heart of the Heart Sutra. Okay, it's our, and this Gathe Gathe Paragathe Parasam Gathe Bodhisattva relates to the pieces of the stupa in a way that I'm not going to go into right now because it would take too long and I have to stop because the Eno said to. But I'll be fast here. Okay. Now, This one is Bodhidharma, the bringer of Zen from India to China.

[21:12]

This one is Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. So you see Shogaku Shunryu Daio Shou. So it's the Kaisan, the one who opened this place. Shogaku Shunryu Dayosho. And so he's named for Vulture Peak, where the Buddha was enlightened. And this is Daigenshuri, practice protector. Okay, practice protecting bodhisattva. So he's always in the background protecting us. Okay, I'll go more quickly. Okay, so there's ways that we came into the zendo today, which you can see. So... You saw that everyone is part of the world. Everyone's part of the representation of all the many beings of the world. There's the guardians of the north, south, east, and west. When we come into this space, we come in a certain way, and then we bow.

[22:13]

And this is the moment of entering this space of the world, of all beings, with this heart and mind of zazen. And then it is said that we bow to the seed, and away from the seat, but actually we're bowing to the seat of awakening, just like Buddha, and we're bowing to the entire universe. And everyone returns those bows. So I think what I'm going to do is stop now and sit down so that we can have a conversation. And while you're getting into your seat again, I'll just say what Bodhidharma said about zazen that includes the different levels of refuge. So he said, not to attach to external objects and not to attach to internal objects. So not to attach to these things, not to attach to our ideas of them or what they mean, with no coughing or sighing of the mind.

[23:22]

So no stuttering of the mind. Sit like a wall. Sit facing the wall. So whatever our wall is, thus we enter the way. So without glomming onto external objects or how we appear, without glomming onto internal objects or the meaning of all of it, We sit like a wall, that's our response, without coughing or sighing our mind. And so we enter the way. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. Our Dharma talks are offered at no cost and this is made possible by the donations we receive. Your financial support helps us to continue to offer the Dharma. For more information, visit sfcc.org and click

[24:23]

giving. May we fully enjoy the Dorma.

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