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 morning, everybody. Welcome to the crucible of Sashin. Sashin means to gather... body and mind. And this is the adventure that we have all embarked on together this week. A crucible is a place or a situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change or development. This is what happens in Sushin. As we sit together this week, we yield confidence co-create the crucible of this particular sushin.

[01:04]

Sushin is an extended opportunity to focus your mind within the support of Sangha. It's a time for you to devote completely to turning the light inwards. And it is a rare and precious opportunity. You've given yourselves a gift The gift of seven days to sink in and become intimate with yourself, to settle the self on the self. Think of all the things you had to organize and arrange in order to get yourselves here this week. The decisions that you've had to make, the arrangements that you've put in place, the dog sitters, the cat sitters, the child sitters. Perhaps you've had to take vacation from work or find people to do your job for you.

[02:09]

You've all made a great effort to get to this place. Some of you have flown across the country to be here. Some of you have had to just walk down the street or perhaps come across the city. And even for those of you who just live here in this building, like I do, and all we have to do is walk down the stairs, We have also had to get things in place so that we can participate together in this particular sushin. So if you think of all of the people who have been put in place to support you being part of this sangha for the next seven days, they too are a part of this sushin. So we've all put a lot of energy into clearing our lives so that we can sit this week. And it takes tremendous energy to get to a sushin, both physical energy and emotional energy. And it takes a different energy to sit one.

[03:15]

And each sushin is completely different. It doesn't matter if this is your very first sushin, or if you've done hundreds of sushins. Your experience this week will be unique to this time and place, and to this particular group of people. So, we're co-creating the container of Sushin. And this web of connection has already started being built. It started last night, when we all came into this room together, and the Eno read out the Sushin admonitions. So each sashin, as Paul said last night, is a whole world. And each one of you in this room is part of the tapestry of this sashin. And over the coming seven days, we'll weave a tapestry together.

[04:18]

As we sit in silence, side by side, we eat together slowly and mindfully. And we share breath and body and energy. Each day will build on itself. And throughout the week, we will become one body. And you, each one of you, whether you're in the kitchen or whether you're in the zendo, each one of you is an integral part of this tapestry. And your experience informs the flavor of this sashin. All your basic needs will be met. You'll be served delicious food, lovingly cooked by the kitchen crew. You have a comfortable place to stay where you're warm and safe. There's hot water to take a shower. And there's even bathtubs to relax in when your body starts aching and you need a little extra care.

[05:25]

And most importantly, You have people around to support you as necessary. You just need to ask, and the care and wisdom will be there for you to take refuge in. And then there's the schedule. The schedule is there to support you, as Iino said last night. Please follow the schedule completely. It's so much easier, and I'm speaking from experience here, so much easier to follow the schedule completely than it is to negotiate with yourself about which parts of it you're going to opt out of. And if you find yourself wanting to miss parts of the schedule, which is natural, it's important to reflect on why and be curious about what your intention might be in missing certain things. Because the energy we are co-creating that will carry us through together, means that if you're absent, your energy will be missed.

[06:36]

And the forms are there to support your focus. It is one of the reasons that we keep silence throughout Sushin, so that our focus can remain internal. So the chance to shine the light of inquiry inward. So why are we doing this to ourselves? a strange way to spend a week sitting in silence for hours on end in a room full of people as the days get warmer and longer? Might we be better served to go hiking in Marin or go camping in Yosemite perhaps or maybe even Mexico? Well clearly not right now because every single one of us has chosen to be here this week. So there's an energy pulling us into this space of self-reflection. not knowing how we're going to feel from one period of zazen to the next. It's always surprising to me how one period of zazen can go by in a flash, and the next can feel interminable with distracted thoughts like, what the hell is the dohwan doing?

[07:48]

Or have they fallen asleep? Or surely this period is longer than it's meant to be. And then getting up, doing kinin, sitting down for zazen again, and the next period of zazen can be so focused and so clear. And then you'll do kinin again and sit down again, and the next period of zazen, who knows, it could potentially even be completely relaxing. And this is the way it goes. Zazen, kinin, zazen. You watch the thoughts come and go. You watch your experiences come and go. You experience your body differently in every single period of zazen. So how do we settle into the rhythm of sushin? At first, as you get used to the schedule, it's kind of exciting and fresh because you're figuring out where you need to be when, how long it takes you to walk from your room to the zendo.

[08:49]

when you might have time for a relaxing cup of tea or a strong cup of coffee. So today and tomorrow, you might find yourself engaged and interested with a certain energy and a certain one-pointed focus, especially for those of you for which this is your first sushin. If you heard Mary's talk yesterday about the potential joys and frustrations and pitfalls of oriochi, you will have a wonderful opportunity this week to study your beginner's mind. Please try and enjoy it. Don't worry, you have 14 opportunities to practice Oreoki this week. And I am confident that by next Saturday, you'll have become a competent Oreoki practitioner. So as the days go on and the schedule becomes familiar and you get used to your work assignment and you find yourself comfortable with being a server and comfortable with being served in the Zendo, you probably will encounter different challenges.

[10:01]

Your body may start aching. Perhaps you'll start feeling tired, maybe even a little bored sometimes. Really important during those times that you rest. during the wet rest periods, and that during the afternoon stretching period, you do some exercise. And most importantly, be kind to yourself. And within that, please follow the schedule completely. If you find yourself getting restless or fed up, remind yourself why you've chosen to sit this particular sashin at this particular time. As winter turned towards spring, during this time of lengthening days. And as each day turned towards light, so does each of us turn towards the light that shines within all of us. And if the going gets tough, ask to speak to someone.

[11:02]

You don't need to struggle alone. Sashin is a solitary practice, but it should not be a lonely experience. After all, you're not a hermit. on a mountain, sitting in a cave on your own for hours a day. Your heart is part of the beating hearts in this room. And that warm heart to warm heart transmission will sustain each and every one of us through the days ahead. I'm going to read a poem by Rumi. which expresses the essence of Sushin. Each line is a profound truth and holds a jewel of wisdom, especially when in the crucible of Sushin. Guesthouse by Rumi. This being human is a guesthouse.

[12:06]

Every morning, a new arrival. A joy. a depression, a meanness. Some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all. Even if they are a crowd of sorrows who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. the dark thought, the sham, the malice. Meet them at the door, laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. This being human is a guest house. Every morning, a new arrival, a joy,

[13:10]

a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all. Even if they are a crowd of sorrows who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still treat each guest honorably. She may be clearing you out for some new delight. the dark thought, the sham, the malice. Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. This is the flavor of Sushin. This poem, Guesthouse by Rumi, is a beautiful reflection of the frailty and beauty of humanity.

[14:15]

It encourages us to welcome our ever-changing moods as they sweep through us and sometimes sweep us off our feet. There are many obstacles which block the road to spiritual progress, but there are five in particular which we call hindrances and which are often mentioned in Buddhism. They are sensory desire, ill will, sloth, torpor, restlessness, worry, and doubt. These are the mental formations or mind states that cloud our thoughts in meditation and also in our daily lives. Sensory desire is a particular type of wanting that latches onto thoughts or feelings. based on the five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. And as you can imagine, sensory desire presents a vast ocean to choose from.

[15:22]

It's limitless in its options. Hence, it is one of the things that blocks our ability to reach right concentration, because we could float endlessly in the sea of sensory desire. And ill will... refers to all kinds of thoughts related to wanting to reject. Feelings of hostility and resentment, hatred and bitterness. Ill will refers to the desire to punish or hurt or destroy. It includes hatred of a person or even a situation, and it can generate a lot of energy. And that energy, the energy that can be created by ill will, is both seductive and addictive. So it's a tricky hindrance. And ill will is the opposite of sensory desire as it's brought about by aversion rather than attraction. So they're really two sides of the same coin.

[16:22]

Sloth, torpor, refers to the heaviness of body and the dullness of mind. It's a lack of energy which can drag us down into disabling inertia. It can sometimes be construed as laziness or a lack of effort. We'll often experience drowsiness when we're in this state, and in meditation, this hindrance will sometimes send us to sleep on the cushion, whether you're in the Buddha hall or whether you're in the zendo. Restlessness, worry, is the inability to calm the mind, anxiety nipping at our heels. agitation, a constant companion. Another way of framing this is to call it monkey mind. It often manifests as looking outward and thinking how you could change things, how to fix things, how to make things better. And finally, doubt.

[17:26]

Doubt shows itself as a lack of conviction or trust. Self-doubt stops us moving towards what we want Doubt can undermine our deepest resolve, especially when we ask questions like, is this the right way? Or why are things like this? So don't dismiss them when they arrive. They're like the guests in Rumi's poem. They may feel like a crowd of sorrows who violently sweep your house empty of furniture, as the poem says. But sashin is an opportunity to invite them in, serve them a cup of tea, ask them to stay for a while, and begin to be curious about them. You have seven whole days to do that. Isn't that a wonderful thought? You have plenty of time this week to notice and experience

[18:29]

when one of the five hindrances is present in your meditation. But what you'll probably notice is that one of them is more prevalent than the others. One of them keeps coming back like an uninvited guest. But you have the time to investigate it, maybe even coming to understand it as the days go on, and accept his presence. In other words, you can start learning how to deal with it. Sometimes you can tell it to go away and it just does. And sometimes you have to allow it to be there until it wears out. It's important to be patient with the hindrances because that means that we're being patient with ourselves as human beings. You can't force them out of the door and you cannot invite them to leave because they want to be known and understood. So

[19:30]

To become a good student of the hindrances, our job is to study them, to become curious, but at the same time, not to indulge them. How do we do this? So the Insight Meditation Center, our friend Gil Fonsdale, teaches the RAIN formula to deal with the five hindrances. R, recognize which hindrance is present. A, accept that it's there. I, investigate it, become curious, invite it in. N, non-identification. This guest is just passing through. Rain, recognize which hindrance is present, accept that it is there, investigate it, become curious about it. Non-identification.

[20:31]

remember that this guest is just passing through. In the Dokkasan area on the second floor, there's a powerful golden warrior-like statue of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. The statue has 50 arms, and each arm is brandishing a tool, something that symbolizes a part of life. Among other things, a sword, a bell that looks distinctly like the wake-up bell, a pencil, a mala, a sutra book, a coil, a vajra, a sword, a spear, a rope, a bead, so many things in each one of the arms of Avalokiteshvara. There's also a small plaque next to the statue which says, anonymous gift for help in pursuit of the truth.

[21:33]

I feel like this sashin is the anonymous gift we have all given ourselves this week in pursuit of the truth. So please take refuge in a triple treasure this week. Please ask for support when you need it. Please take care of yourselves. And please have a rich and full sashin. Guesthouse by Rumi. This being human is a guesthouse. Every morning, a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness. Some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all. Even if they are a crowd of sorrows who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still treat each guest honorably.

[22:47]

She may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the sham, the malice. Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. This is the flavor of sushin. Thank you. 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 giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[23:43]

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