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. Pretty wonderful. You believe all that? Really something. As you all know, the Buddha was born a very privileged person. He was wealthy. He was of high birth. He was a male. He was good-looking. He was intelligent.

[01:01]

He was skilled at many things. But as a young man, he observed the suffering of others. And it touched him. He saw an old person, a sick person, a person who had died. And he realized that the suffering of others was not other. than his own suffering he understood that the suffering he saw with his eyes outside of him was also his own suffering he found this knowledge impossible to ignore and it completely destroyed his happy life

[02:08]

he could not go on any longer. His desolate state of mind was so great and so profoundly disturbing to him that he literally could not bear to live another day as he was living. So he did something really drastic, he simply ran away from his life, leaving his wife, his parents, and everything he had known behind, without any idea where he was going or what he would do. The only thing he knew was that life as he had known it was no longer possible and that he had to find another way.

[03:13]

The next six years of his life were extreme and full of hardship. He made efforts in spiritual practice literally to the point of death. That's how desperate he was. But as we know, finally, he did find release of heart and peace of mind. As the texts say, he entered nirvana. And that drive that had burned up his heart was finally put to rest. He saw what was to be seen, he did.

[04:21]

What was to be done, he was at peace. And yet, and yet, Somehow, there was something in him that kept him going, even after this. He did not, as you might expect, go back to the life he had been living. He did not, as you might expect, retire to a peaceful life of meditation. Instead, he traveled tirelessly, sharing the Dharma for some 45 years. He established a large community with all the problems that this involves.

[05:23]

He interacted with the world. According to Mahayana Buddhism, he did all this because he was a bodhisattva dedicated to helping others. But maybe it was otherwise. Maybe even after nirvana, there was still some warm life force in him. Some small flame of suffering. that propelled him forward, making all this human activity necessary. Or perhaps these two possibilities are really the same.

[06:32]

Perhaps the pain and sorrow of being human and the endless joy of the bodhisattva path are exactly the same thing. Nirvana is not the end. Nirvana is not enough. Pain and desire continue. as long as life continues. Or anyway, it seems like that to me as I contemplate the Buddha's life. But at the end, final and complete

[07:43]

Peace did come. In the case of a Buddha, we don't call it death. It's not death. Death is just continuing pain. It's called parinirvana. Complete nirvana, without residue. A complete and utter letting go of life. This evening and tomorrow morning, as you know, I guess, we're going to hold ceremonies to commemorate this awesome event, the Buddha's final and utter passing, final and utter peace for the whole world. These days, now that we have translated the Sotoshu Manual of Standard Observances, the Gyo-chi-gihan, which had not been translated, years ago when I was around here a lot.

[08:48]

Now we can do the full elaborate ritual, more or less exactly as they do it in Japan. So thanks to our great and tireless Ino and our hard-working Doan Ryo, tonight And tomorrow morning we can do a full honor to Buddha's final passing. So to prepare us for the feeling of these ceremonies this morning, I'm going to read a little bit and reflect with you from the Parinirvana Sutra in the Pali Canon that recalls the last days of the Buddha's life. And the Blessed One, together with a large company of bhikkhus, went to the further bank of the river Hiranyavati, to the Sala Grove of the Malas, in the vicinity of Kusanara.

[10:11]

And there he spoke to the Venerable Ananda, saying, Please, Ananda, prepare for me a couch between the twin sala trees with the head to the north. I am weary, Ananda, and I want to lie down. So be it, Lord. And the Venerable Ananda did as the Blessed One asked him to do. And then the Blessed One lay down on his right side in the lion's posture, resting one foot upon the other and so disposed himself, mindfully and clearly comprehending. And just at that time, suddenly, the twin solitaries broke out into full bloom, although it was not the season.

[11:15]

And the blossoms rained down upon the body of the Tathagata and dropped and scattered and were strewn upon it in worship of the Buddha. And celestial Mandarava flowers and heavenly sandalwood powder from the sky rained down upon the body of the Tathagata and dropped and scattered and were strewn upon it in worship of the Tathagata. And the sound of heavenly voices and heavenly instruments made music in the air out of reverence for the Tathagata. At that time there was a monastic named Upavana who was standing in front of the Buddha, fanning him for his comfort.

[12:24]

And the Buddha asked him to move out of the way. And Ananda thought to himself, that's a little harsh for poor Upavana. He only means well. He's only trying to help. I wonder why the Buddha was not more sensitive to him. Why did he tell him to move? So Ananda asked the Buddha about this. And the Buddha said, I asked him to move because there are a lot of devas flying around in the Sal grove. There are so many devas flying around here in the Sal grove that you cannot wave a point behind of a hair anywhere without touching a dewa. And all these dewas have been grumbling.

[13:31]

They're saying, we came all this way to see the wonderful rare sight of a Buddha leaving this world, and now here's this big clumsy monk standing in front of us, and we can't see. That's why I asked Upavana to move. And Ananda said, gee, I don't see any devas anywhere. What kind of devas are around here? And the Buddha said, there are sky devas, and there are earth devas, all kinds of devas, and they're all weeping and tearing their hair. and throwing themselves upon the ground in grief. Ananda then asked the Buddha about funeral arrangements and the Buddha said, Ananda, you monastics are very busy.

[14:39]

You have your work cut out for you. You have to strive for awakening, tirelessly strive. You don't have time to make funeral arrangements. let the various classes of lay people who are devoted to me take care of that. What should we do with the remains, though? Ananda said. The Buddha said, you should treat my body just like is prescribed for the body of a king. You should wrap it in cloth 500 layers thick, and put it in an iron vat, make a funeral pyre and using all kinds of perfume cremate the body and raise up a stupa for the ashes in a crossroad shrine. So Ananda went off by himself to think about all this and he stood

[15:51]

on the porch of his hut and he leant on the doorpost and he started weeping. What am I going to do? I'm still not awakened. My heart is still not at rest. And now My dear teacher is leaving me. The Buddha always knew what people were thinking. So he knew that Ananda was thinking this and he called him over and he said, Ananda, you know that death comes to everyone. Don't worry. And then he said, not only to Ananda, but to everyone assembled there, he said, every Buddha in the past has had an Ananda just like this Ananda.

[17:11]

And every Buddha who will ever live will have an Ananda just like this Ananda. Ananda has four remarkable qualities. What are the four qualities? When people come to see him, they are pleased to look at him because Ananda was famously handsome. Everybody always loved to look at Ananda. Sometimes it was trouble for him that he was so handsome, but he was. That was the first quality that he had. The second quality was that when Ananda talks Dharma to people, they're always happy. They're always happy when they hear Ananda talking Dharma. The third quality that Ananda had was that when he doesn't talk Dharma to people, they're disappointed and they urge him to talk Dharma. I'll have to go back to the text again, but it seems like actually

[18:21]

There are only three things that the Buddha mentioned, although he said there are four. I couldn't find the fourth one. I think there are only three. Anyway, it's very interesting that here is Ananda weeping, and the Buddha is not consoling him by saying to him, don't worry, Ananda. Even though I'm gone, certainly you will awaken later. He's not saying that. He's not saying, don't worry, Ananda, even though I'm gone, you'll have other great teachers and that'll be fine. He doesn't say that. He says to him, Ananda, the way you are right now is perfect and very, very special. Forever. Throughout the entire past. and into the future, the unique role of being yourself has always existed and will always exist.

[19:30]

And people love you as you are right now. That's what, in effect, the Buddha is telling Ananda in his moment of grief. So then Buddha says to Ananda, go into town. They were camped outside of town. Go into town where the mala people live and tell them that tonight in the last watch of the night the Buddha will attain Parinibbana. And Ananda told them and they all came and gathered at the Sal Grove to wait for the end. At this point, a wandering ascetic named Subada, who had heard about the Buddha's passing and came to see, asked for instructions.

[20:43]

And Ananda said, no, no, I don't think this is the time. But the Buddha said, oh no, it's the perfect time. Have him come. And he came. And the Buddha and Subada had a chat. And Subada said, I would like to be ordained in your community. And the Buddha said, yes. And then and there, right then, he was ordained in the presence of the Buddha. And Subada was the last person. of the Buddha's many disciples. Then with everyone gathered there, the Buddha said, any final questions? Nobody spoke up.

[21:46]

And the Buddha understood by this that there were no questions. that everyone knew exactly what to do. So he simply said to them all, conditioned things are of the nature to pass away, strive on untiringly. And those were the last words that he spoke. Then the Buddha entered the first jhana, the first concentration state. Then the second, the third, the fourth. From the fourth, he entered the concentration state of infinite space. From there, infinite consciousness. From there, the concentration of nothingness.

[22:50]

And from there, the concentration of neither perception nor non-perception. And when he entered that state, Ananda said, the Buddha has passed away. But the great Anuruddha said, no, Ananda, the Buddha has not yet passed. Then the Buddha went backwards from the concentration of neither perception or non-perception to the concentration of nothingness, and so on, all the way back, step by step, to the first jhana. And then, in the first jhana, intensifying concentration, he went again to the second, the third, the fourth, and from the fourth jhanic state, the Buddha left this world.

[23:50]

his consciousness released to boundlessness, his binding unbound, his limitations fully transcended. In that moment, there was a tremendous, hair-raising earthquake and a huge peal of thunder. And then the various gods and monks recited verses to mark the moment. In the many pictures you can see commemorating this, you see the gigantic peaceful body of the Buddha lying on his side in final repose, surrounded by many, many smaller figures.

[24:55]

the monks and nuns weeping and disconsolate, the male and female bodhisattvas with sweet smiles on their lips. The monks are sad because they've lost their teacher. And the bodhisattvas are happy because they know that the Buddha's parinirvana is not the end, but it's the beginningless beginning. It's a piece of passionate theater that the true person has not passed away at all, but continues on in everyone and everything. If you've perused the Buddhist text at all, you know that these eight jhanic states are mentioned again and again.

[26:06]

They predate Buddhism, and they're defined variously in various places. I'm sure that all of you bodhisattvas sitting here have experienced jhanic states sometime in your sitting practice. These states progress from states that are pleasant and blissful, states that you can enjoy and know you're enjoying them, to states that are beyond knowing and enjoying with no thinking, no emotion, no experience even, but only deep equanimity, all the way to infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness. and neither perception nor non-perception that apparently appears like death, without breathing even. In our practice, as you know, we are not trying to shape our meditation experience in order to systematically develop these jhanic states.

[27:22]

So in our case, They do arise, but they usually arise spontaneously, not necessarily in some organized, sequential way. The Buddhist pundits in the past and in the present have debated how much jhanic concentration is necessary to achieve the goal of awakening, and how much is counterproductive and merely seductive. As we all know, concentration practice is a tremendous adventure. But maybe too much is not good. And in our practice, we are not exploring concentration practice for its own sake. Anyway, if you thought about it, you would have thought probably that the Buddha would have entered parinirvana from the ultimate concentration state.

[28:34]

But no, he doesn't. He goes all the way to the end and then he goes backwards and forwards again and he leaves right in the middle. So I wonder why. And could he have skipped all that and just left in the middle without going through all that? We could wonder. We could even wonder, like, how did anybody know what concentration states he was in anyway? We could even wonder, are they making this whole thing up? Who knows if anything like this happened? If you read the Mahayana Sutras, they don't just list eight concentration states. They list 8,000 concentration states, pages after pages after pages of concentration states, which names like, you know, great luminous moon concentration, endless light and heavenly flowers concentration, the great fragrance, names like that.

[29:49]

Anyway, it seems kind of common sense that since the Buddha spent his life practicing zazen, as we do, he was very familiar with many states of mind so that such states of mind were there for him at the end, even states beyond object and consciousness. To me, it's interesting that he tells Ananda, funerals are not for you serious practitioners. That's for lay people. It's ironic because, as you may know, in the Buddhist world, especially in Japan, it's all about funerals. All the send people, that's what they do. They take care of death.

[31:01]

In Japan, they say, you know, you go to the Shinto shrine for all the nice things, for the weddings, the baby namings. You go to the Buddhists for all the really depressing things. Death, serious illness. So people don't like to see Buddhist priests, you know, uh-oh. I'm sick in bed, here comes the priest, not good. not good. So it would appear that in many Buddhist cultures they did not take the Buddha's recommendation on this point. But there's something good about Buddhists taking care of death and also because death is so important. Not only at the time when we say Death is coming, but all the time. And also there's something not so good about it.

[32:06]

They say that in Japan the so-called, they call it, they call Japanese Buddhism sometimes, you know, funerary Buddhism. That's what scholars call it, because it's mostly about funerals and memorial services. And they say that in Japan that's slowly coming to an end as social customs change. For a long time that's been the way that Zen temples have been supported. Now that a generation is coming to its close, in the Western Buddhist movement we find ourselves also suddenly concerned with the practice of taking care of death. When someone in our community dies, if it's okay with them and their family, we sit with them as they are dying and we sit with them after they have gone.

[33:16]

We wash the body, we dress the body, we open up the window wide, we turn on a fan so we can sit with the body for some time, providing a space. for friends to come and visit since we have gotten used to death. When we sit there, we make it okay for others to come and say their last goodbyes. Maybe we're murmuring the Heart Sutra. The meaning of the mantra becomes quite profound. Gathe, Gathe, Paragathe. Rasangate Bodhisvaha becomes very meaningful in that moment. Maybe we're chanting the Dahi Shindirani and so happy we have that to chant. Sometimes when we're doing all that we can notice the room filling up

[34:31]

With sky devas and earth devas so thick, you can't wave even a hair anywhere without touching a deva. And all those devas are usually crying. And everybody in the room is crying outside or inside. And it's a very quiet, strong time. This is very much in my mind because in this last year or so we've had several deaths of close members of our sangha and we've done this. And right now as I'm speaking to you it truly is as if in this same moment I am sitting with

[35:33]

the body of Jordan Thorne, whom we all miss a lot. He was a good old friend. Some of us in the room were very close to him. I know our Chousseau misses Jordan. Still, as do I, he had a lot of life left in him. It was too bad he had to go. Then we go to the crematorium, as we did with Jordan, putting his body in the furnace. I remember after that we sat down, not knowing what to say, where to go, what to do, chanting, offering incense, more tears.

[36:39]

At this point, the dewas are thinking about something else. They're not around anymore. It's just us poor human beings. And then still later, friends and family gathered with full regalia. We do a funeral service, carrying the ashes into the Dharma hall. Dharma statements, waving the flame, drum crescendo, bringing to a conclusion the karmic energy of this lifetime. Family members, friends can speak, addressing the person who has passed, saying to them, thank you, thank you. We love you. You are so special to us. There never was anyone like you. There never will be. Anyone like you, please continue your bodhisattva journey.

[37:47]

So we say goodbye a third time. And then maybe again, when it's time to scatter or inter the ashes, we do that. We never stop saying goodbye. Maybe each year, on the anniversary of the death, we light incense, we light a candle, we chant, knowing that these people will live in us as long as we will be alive and we will love them, they also will be alive. And they will continue their bodhisattva work through us. After the Buddha passed, the Mahalas honored his body in the Saal Grove with joyous singing and dancing and music and flowers for an entire week.

[39:04]

On the seventh day, the Mahalas tried to lift up the body of the Buddha and carry it out the southern gate to the secluded place for burning but the body was too heavy, they couldn't lift it. And they asked Anuruddha, why is this body so heavy? And he said, it's because you have one intention, but the dewas had another intention. And the mala chief said, what is their intention? And Anuruddha said, they want you to carry the body out the north gate, not the south gate. carry it through the city, so that all the people in the city can also dance and sing and hurl flowers. And when they tried to go out that gate, then they could easily lift the Buddha's body, and they did that. While all that was going on, Mahakashapa, the Buddha's leading disciple,

[40:14]

who himself was traveling with 500 monastics, was on his way to Kusanara. He didn't know what had happened, but he met a monk carrying a single flower and said, where is that flower from? And the monk said, I got it from the procession honoring the Buddha's body. And that's how Makashapa found out that the Buddha had passed. And immediately many of the monastics with him fell to the ground, weeping. And Maha Kashyapa said, did you not hear what the Buddha's been saying for the last 45 years? You didn't hear that? Everything that arises, passes away, you didn't get that? Why are you crying? Meantime, back at the malas, they tried to light the funeral pyre, but once again, whatever kind of fire they used, it wouldn't light.

[41:19]

The Buddha's body wouldn't light. And so they said to Anuruddha, how come the Buddha's body won't light? And Anuruddha said, well, that's because you have one intention and the dewas have another intention. The dewas don't want the funeral pyre to be lit until Ma Akashapa gets here and has a chance to pay final homage to the Buddha. So they all waited. And finally Ma Kashapa arrived, didn't say a word, circumambulated the Buddha's body three times, at which point the funeral pyre spontaneously ignited into full flame. After the Buddha's body was burned, many rulers of many communities came explaining why it was that their particular community was the best place and the rightful place where the stupa with the Buddha's remains should be enshrined.

[42:42]

This is the kind of thing wars are fought over, right? But fortunately, they didn't have a fight. They divided the ashes into eight parts. And eight different stupas were erected in eight different places. So this is one practical advantage of cremation. You can divide the ashes up, right? Almost infinite ashes can be given here and there. People say you can only be at one place at one time. Not true. Suzuki Roshi can be up on the top of the mountain here with that wonderful seamless monument that the young monastics have. of those days lovingly brought up to that hill.

[43:50]

He can be there and at the same time at his temple in Japan, Rinso-in. It's good to have a place where you can go and honor the presence of a departed one, a pilgrimage place Before he passed, the Buddha also said that if people wanted to seek his presence, they could go to the place of his birth, they could go to the place of his awakening, they could go to the place of his parinirvana, and they would feel his presence there too. I'm sure some of you have been to those places and felt that. But we know that the Buddha's actual presence is certainly not limited to those places it is actually truly and literally on every atom of space in your body and everywhere else and you know this when you sit in Zazen I've been

[45:18]

thinking for some days about the passing of the Buddha, really meditating on it. And it reminds me that we all pass from this life one day and no one can know when that will take place. People nowadays are Many people are lucky and they live to very old age. But middle-aged people die. Young people die. Children die. Nobody knows when death comes. It can be sometimes quite a surprise. Maybe I've been thinking about all this too much because it occurred to me that when I was young, Tassajara gave me life, just as perhaps it is giving life to some of you now.

[46:35]

And that maybe the reason that I've come back here after so many years is to die. It occurred to me, maybe that's what I'm doing here. And maybe I won't make it through this practice period alive. So I wrote down on a piece of paper in the Hojo instructions for the disposal of my body in case of death. So Kathy and everyone will know what to do Just in case. I hope not. It would be really something. I hope not. But just in case. You never know. I did that. And I think you should do that too. Every single one of you should do that.

[47:41]

You should write instructions for what to do with your body. Just in case. Just in case. you should perish during this practice period. And you better do this before the session. Because you can't write during session. So I recommend, I think if you do this, it will focus your mind. And it will remind you exactly what is at stake in our practice. In Shobhogenzo, Dogen quotes a Mahayana version of the Parinirvana Sutra, because there's a Pali Canon version and also a Mahayana version, which is of course far longer.

[48:44]

He quotes the Mahayana version in which, before his passing, the Buddha gives a final teaching. And Dogen says, these are the last teachings of the Buddha. And he quotes at great length. It's the longest quotation in the whole of the Shobhogenzo. And it's called The Eight Awakenings of an Enlightened One. One, to have few desires, Two, to know how much is enough. Three, to enjoy serenity. Four, to always make diligent effort. Five, never to neglect mindfulness.

[49:51]

six, to practice meditation, seven, to cultivate wisdom, and eight, not to engage in hollow discussions. These eight awarenesses are very simple. and modest. And they describe a straightforward, committed life of serious practice. At Tassajara we are learning to love a life like this. And when we love this life that the Buddha recommended as his final teaching when we love this life, we can know that we will always be okay in this life, no matter what happens to us, no matter where we are, no matter what we are doing, no matter whether we encounter suffering or joy.

[51:16]

Probably no one here will spend a lifetime living this way. It's probably too restrictive and not quite enough fun. Probably all of us will need to do other things. But once we experience this life and learn to love it, Our life will forever be influenced by it. We will never forget it. It will be in our body and in our breath. Like a melody we've sung again and again and again. We'll always hear it deep in the heart.

[52:21]

Thank you for your precious and perfect attention. 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. For more information, visit sfzc.org and click Giving.

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