This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at www.sfzc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. So, Bodhidharma or Bodhidharma in Japanese. is considered the 28th ancestor in our lineage. And he is the first patriarch of Zen in China. And you can see the statue on the altar on the left. It's a modern sculpture of Bodhidharma. And we had a memorial ceremony for him, the annual memorial. ceremony for him this morning here in the Zendo. And our abbess greeted him and said, Bodhidharma, you have big eyes and a big heart.

[01:09]

So I'd like to, I was always very interested in these stories and maybe we find out what the big heart is. I can tell you about the big eyes. So one day when he was meditating, he was getting drowsy and was falling asleep, but he wanted to stay awake for the meditation. But his eyelids kept falling down, and so he ripped off his eyelids, and they fell on the ground, and there sprouted some beautiful plants with green leaves, and people made tea from these leaves, and they found when they drank this tea that they could stay awake. So now this is green tea that the Zen students drink to stay awake. And maybe we'll find out more about his big heart, too.

[02:11]

So there is this story that is very important in our practice that It's the story where he meets the emperor of China, Emperor Wu of Liang. And it is recorded in this book, in the Blue Cliff Record. It is the first case in the book of koans that was compiled in the 12th century. So it goes as follows. Emperor Wu of Liang. asked the great master Bodhidharma, what is the highest meaning of the holy truths? Bodhidharma said, empty, without holiness. The emperor said, who is facing me? Bodhidharma replied, I don't know. The emperor did not understand. After this, Bodhidharma crossed the Yangtze River and came to the kingdom of Wei.

[03:21]

Later, the emperor brought this up to Master Joe and asked him about it. Master Joe asked, Does your majesty know who this man is? The emperor said, I don't know. Master Joe said, He is the Mahasattva Avalokiteshvara, transmitting the Buddha mind seal. The emperor felt regretful, so he wanted to send an emissary to go invite Bodhidharma to return. Master Joe told him, Your Majesty, don't say that you will send someone to fetch him back. Even if everyone in the whole country were to go after him, he still wouldn't return. So this case is read by every head monk at the final ceremony. And at the end of the ceremony, the monk will show his or her understanding. by commenting on it.

[04:24]

So it seems to be a very important story. And if you have been around Zen Center, you will have noticed that we tell lots of stories and legends. And I think that's also true about other religions. In fact, it has been said that storytelling is the mark of being human. Why do we tell stories? I think we can't help it. We make up stories all the time. I first became conscious of this fact when my sister and I met in Berlin when she was a student at the college and I was visiting from my teaching job. And we reminisced about our childhood. We had not been close as children. And we hadn't seen each other for many years. So when we talked about things that had happened in the past, it turned out that we had very different memories.

[05:31]

The facts had been changed by our individual stories. And of course, we each thought that we had the right, the correct memory. But the more we talked, the more unsure I was. So over time, I realized I have a rich, a very rich and vivid imagination. My mind conjures up images and stories that I believe to be real and true. So one time during Sashin, I was sitting over on this town, facing the wall, and suddenly I felt a presence behind me. And I thought it was the teacher who was coming to adjust my posture. But then I thought, no, this is bigger than human, more like a horse. And then I knew it was a dragon. So I felt a hot breath in my neck, and I saw a pink light around.

[06:38]

I felt this softness in my back that I could lean into. And I was fully awake. I knew that this was not the usual reality. But it felt really real. It felt real, and it felt wonderful. But I didn't know what to make of it, so I asked my teacher, how do I know what is real? And she said, what is not real? In ancient China, and maybe even today, people seem to believe in dragons, and I think if you believe something, maybe it becomes real. But even in a very ordinary sense, we make up stories, and we're not even aware that they are made up. For instance, in this hall, you see this person sitting here, and many of you just have a story.

[07:43]

Well, it's a woman, an elderly woman, with black clothes and little hair and a German accent. You know, that's good enough. And some may think, oh yeah, she's a resident at Green Gulch and she's a priest and maybe some know me as a Ino or Tenzo or guest manager. And one person here has the story that I'm her disciple. And I can imagine that all these stories are different from each other. This makes sense because we have all different backgrounds and what matters to one person is unimportant to others. Our consciousness has been shaped by our environment, by the places where we grew up,

[08:49]

where we were born, what time we were born, our parents, the people we've met in our lives, and especially by our actions of body, speech, and mind. So we try to make sense of events, and we arrange our thoughts in patterns, and if these patterns agree with those of other people, we call them true. And this is called conventional reality. the reality that is believed to be true by a convention of people. And those who do not agree with these stories can become enemies. And sure enough, they are wrong, maybe even evil. Not so long ago, the difference between true and made up was not so obvious. historical consciousness, which makes a distinction between legend and history, is a modern phenomenon of the European Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th century.

[10:04]

So before science, people used stories to make sense of the world, to Yeah, they use them as tools. They use stories, dreams, and visions for communicating, for putting children to bed, for entertainment, and also for communication of maybe secret or dangerous. things that not everybody should understand. So there were made up stories and certain people could understand who were initiated. They could understand the symbolism and the metaphors. And I actually think that even nowadays we say, well, science is different, but there may also be stories.

[11:08]

And when you look at the internet or the or TV stories. There's lots of stories going on. I don't think there's anything else but stories. So the stories are the product of consciousness. And Buddhism holds that we make up stories as soon as we use language. Everything we say is a story. We give names to things and we believe that the word is the thing. We see it as a static, unchanging reality, self-existing entity, and we unconsciously lean toward it or turn against it. If we live in an environment which shares this understanding and these values, then our truth is confirmed.

[12:10]

Our stories are not questioned. if this conventional reality is the only truth there is, the only truth that we believe in, we're in trouble. We try to hold on to views of things because they do not exist in the way we wish them to be, we suffer. So as long as We do not accept a reality that is constantly changing, coming into being and passing away moment after moment. Life is experienced as a challenge, as unfair and unsatisfactory. So Buddhist practice is to look deeply into the nature of things

[13:13]

to the nature of our mind and the nature of our stories. Not believing what we think is a way to put our stories in question and include other stories and maybe give everything the benefit of doubt. So this soft mind will open up the world. We can rise out of our limitations and we're in awe of the beauty and the variety and the incomprehensible diversity of that which is. And now we can tell stories again knowing that they are as true or untrue as any others. They can back they can become fingers pointing to the moon.

[14:14]

And we may understand something beyond words. Historical facts are not so important because the essence of the story matters. So Bodhidharma's stories are teaching stories. We're inspired by the image of a wise being. What does it mean? that he was Avalokiteshvara. Avalokiteshvara is the bodhisattva of infinite compassion. When Bodhidharma first met Emperor Wu, the emperor asked, I have built temples and monasteries. What merit is there? And Bodhidharma said, there is no merit. Now that does not seem compassionate. I'm sure that the emperor was taken back by that.

[15:17]

He was a learned man. He had studied Buddhism and he knew about the relative and the absolute truth of the real and conventional and the highest meaning of these true truths, these holy truths, to be that they are not two. So he knew these things. And when he talked to Bodhidharma, he wanted to be confirmed in that. But Bodhidharma comes along and says, empty, without holiness. So that must have been very difficult for him. And it looks like he was not ready to hear the true teaching. And if we look closer, we can see that the emperor was quite full of himself. Maybe he tried to impress the foreigner, and Bodhidharma pushed him into deeper understanding. But unfortunately Emperor Wu was not ready to hear it. So there's a commentary to the case which makes this clearer.

[16:25]

It says there, without establishing written words, he pointed directly to the human mind. for them to see nature and fulfill Buddhahood. If you can see this way, then you will have your share of freedom. Never again will you be turned around pursuing words, and everything will be completely revealed. Without the mental defilements of judgment and comparison, everything is cut off and you are free and at ease. What need is there to go on distinguishing right and wrong, or discriminating? gain and loss. So that was Bodhidharma's mission, to free people. For me, this teaching says, do not get stuck anywhere. Not getting stuck in being or non-being, neither yes nor no,

[17:31]

And the wisdom teaching says also not getting stuck in yes and no, or no, yes and no. So there are four ways of getting stuck. Yes, no, yes and no, no, yes and no. So what do we do now? How can I practice with this? Tenshin Roshi's recommendation is to be upright. Do not lean in either direction. Watch your mind carefully. As soon as you see yourself taking a position, be careful. Don't get stuck there. Take your opinions lightly. We will have opinions, but we don't have to believe them. And we need to do that all the time. So Bodhidharma stories, and in fact most koans, emphasize non-duality of relative and absolute or conventional and ultimate reality.

[18:44]

We are very familiar with the conventional or the relative truth. In fact, in our modern world, we totally believe it to be the only truth. In fact, yeah. We have no access to the ultimate. Zen teachers recommend sazen, sitting meditation, and ritual as an entryway into the experience and understanding of the ultimate. And then the next step is to understand that these two truths are one. They are not two. They're not one and not two. The world that we're living in is one total, absolute truth, and it is also many things that are in relationship with each other. Emperor Wu did not understand that holiness separates things into holy and unholy, and really

[19:55]

There are not two realities. So enjoy your stories. Stories are a wonderful thing to be together and to celebrate our friendship. Thank you very much. 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.

[20:45]

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