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. Good morning, everybody in here and everybody online. I feel... compelled to impart the news we have heard here in the temple this morning, that there has been a fire at Tassahara that burned the Zendo. And what is really most important, no one was hurt. And the fire was put out, and we don't have any more information at this point. But this, of course, invokes innumerable memories of times at Tassajara, of being sitting in that Zendo for a lot of us.

[01:06]

And in some ways, we just process this. And we help the world most if we just Holding Tassahara and everybody there in our hearts and minds. And I'm sure when more information is coming through, there will also be information how we can help and support. So what's best for us is just to continue here with the life here and not get too far pulled away.

[02:21]

So we are at the end of this practice period. That also brings tears to my eyes. I feel like a mother duckling that leaves the ducklings behind or has to leave them behind. I would like to stay here, but I also want to go home. It's both true. And that is one of the examples how many different tendencies or feelings or needs can live happily and with no problem in this body. It can hold them all. It's a really big house with many, many rooms. And so the question is not that there are so many rooms. The question is, can the doors to those rooms be open and there can be

[03:29]

traffic in that house. And so that's what we have to some degree, even though I haven't spoken about that aspect, we have been studying for the last 10 weeks. You know, we have explored, investigated and cultivated ways to inhabit the unique body we have been given. And for some, this has come easy and it's already kind of, they're already there. And for others, it has been challenging and has maybe been a long and windy road into foreign lands. however easy or challenging it has been, we all kept showing up.

[04:35]

And through that created a beautiful and sustained container for these ten weeks for everybody to be part of. And we paid attention to what resonated within us, resonated softly or loudly, and we have engaged, we have chosen to engage in some of those resonances. And when we discover that if we engage what is resonating in us, what sparks our interest, what connects us to the Oh, if we engage what is resonating in us, what sparks our interest, does connect us to the life force that continuously flows through this body.

[05:43]

So we have cultivated slowing down a fraction just enough so we ourselves notice that we have slowed down. We have paid attention to how we speak and how we listen to ourselves and to others. We have been practicing kind, encouraging speech We have been practicing not holding on to letting ourselves be and whatever arises in our consciousness to just be, which means we also created space around our experience and tried out if we can relax in the midst of it. And now we have been sitting together for five days in silence, opening our hearts, experiencing small or bigger glimpses of the complete interconnection of our being and life in this very body to everything.

[07:22]

And through this body, the connection to everything in this universe. I think maybe you would agree with me that we all discovered a tangible measure, that you can feel the difference of loving-kindness, patience, tolerance, generosity, and equanimity. And through that have already started to expand our window of tolerance. and our capacity to promote peace in ourselves, in our family, in our circle of friends, our workplace, and in our community.

[08:26]

And together almost every day we have taken We have acknowledged our ancient twisted karma and have taken refuge in Buddha, immersing body and mind in the way. We have taken refuge in Dharma by entering deeply the merciful ocean of Buddha's way. And we have taken refuge in Sangha bringing harmony to everyone. And the refugees, we have also in all our sittings taken twice, once in the morning and then again at the end of the day. And that is something you can continue doing wherever you are. It doesn't take much, but it could

[09:37]

connects you to an intentional life and connects you to the support that Buddha's teaching and sangha and everything offers us. You know, Dogen says, grass, trees and pebbles all expand the Dharma, walls and tiles. So the whole natural world is expounding the Dharma, is inviting us to be present, to let go of being caught up by worldly affairs, to pause for a moment and let ourselves be supported by the beauty that surrounds us. And to take refuge, our bodies are essential, it says, immersing body and mind, entering deeply into the merciful ocean.

[10:41]

You know, I just see ourselves plunge into the ocean. And bringing harmony to everybody is as much a matter of comportment, how we move about with our... co-residents, how we speak to them, these are all body actions. And our bodies do not need words or don't need concepts. They have no problem encompassing our own, whole, unfathomable being. They have no problem housing all aspects of our being. And they are completely, intricately interconnected and interdependent with everything in this universe.

[11:47]

You know, when I talked about engagement, there is a quote that is said, it comes from Goethe, but then I read somewhere that nobody can find it in his writings. So I don't know where it's coming from, but I think it rings very true. Whatever you can do or think you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. At the moment of commitment, the universe conspires to assist you." So what I find very important is, it says, whatever you can do or think you can, begin it. It doesn't say, do it. So it means, take that first step, begin it, start. When you take a first step, you will get information that you can't get if you haven't taken that step.

[13:08]

It's like if you walk up here at the next crossroad, you see left and right, and your view has changed. So it's with the first step, too. So begin it. Have the courage to take that one step, because then the information will be there. to let you know where the next step is. Is it straight ahead? Is it a little bit backwards? Is it to the left or is it to the right? But you can't know before you took that step. So the practice of refugees, any of the practices that we have tried out or suggested or you have engaged with, you can continue on your own.

[14:33]

Because intentionality is a very big power. What you intend to do, organize it. as nice as your day. So there are some people who have a practice of stating their intention out loud every morning. And by saying it out loud, we engage the universe to assist us. If we keep it inside, it stays inside our inner systems, which are like outer systems, like institutions, not looking forward to change. but rather lose a lot of energy to not allow change, to stay as they are. So that's our inner systems are the same. So if we just think something, we can think something halfway and it can be interrupted by another thought and we don't even necessarily notice it.

[15:36]

Or it worries what we have taken in so long till it fits without having to change the system. And so, to say things out loud, you have to finish the sentence. And the sound returns and touches your body from outside. And that has power, and part of the power is that the universe we live in is a participatory universe. We are its children. So you may all have situations where you heard something that was resonating with you, and suddenly you see this book in the bookstore jumping at you, or a friend talks about something that has to do with that, it starts appearing in your life, outside. Who has had this experience? Yeah, most of us. And that's the participatory aspect of the universe.

[16:42]

So we can engage that by clarifying our intention and by speaking it out loud every morning. So Marcia has, for example, a practice. She's a psychotherapist. Every morning she stops talking to me maybe half an hour before she has to go to see somebody. and just goes to her office, offers incense, has an altar in there, and says out loud her intention, which she phrases probably every day a little bit different, but it always encompasses not to do harm to anybody or anything. That's always in there, regardless of what else is. And then she may come back and do other things, but she prepares the space.

[17:45]

And you can do that at your home by stating your intention and having maybe a little ritual around it. If you have an altar, you offer a little incense, you bow, and you state your intention. In the Kalachakra initiations, the 11-day ceremonies that the Dalai Lama has offered several times in this world. The monks are practicing 11 days. The teachings are the last three days. The other days are just cultivating the space. And if you sign up for the whole time, you can sign up just for the teaching days or you can sign up for the 11 days, you have access to that space anytime you want. The cameras are not moving, they are just stable, so one camera is on the sand mandala that they create in that time for 11 days, and then at the end it gets swept up and put into some running water into a river or a creek, so it's impermanent.

[19:01]

But you can see how it's growing, and you see the monks doing their chanting. And you can feel that they are cultivating the space, the energy field, for the teaching to have the best foundation. And when you sit in there, it just is amazing. With their chanting, they conjure up all the feeling states and nuances of them and you feel them arise in you and then they ring their little bells and they dissipate like smoke. So you get a sense of how ephemeral those feelings are, that they can be conjured up and they dissipate. And they do that all day long and they get served tea in between and then there's some

[20:10]

Ceremonial, the Dalai Lama goes over, has to do something to empower the mandalas, next phase. And then you see that there is the same teaching and some of the same forms. They just come in slightly different colors or their occasions also are put together like ours, but the second fold is not sewn down, so they're loose. So you feel so at home. and so touched by understanding that everything is transient, so like the Zendor Tassajara II, which was supposed to be there for 10 years and has lived 40? Forty-eight. Forty-eight. Wow. So we, of course, would have wished it would last forever. So the practice of intention is incredibly powerful and helpful.

[21:21]

And nobody has to know but you, but it becomes a guide in your life. It organizes how you do things and what you choose to do. And then the other one that's very powerful is the practice of appreciation or gratitude. And so I would like to take this opportunity to thank all online participants, all commuters, all the residents, all the guests that showed up maybe for a few days, and the spiritual leadership of Zen Center, the staff, The admin, the Tonto, the Eno, the Sheikah, the Tenzo, the work leader.

[22:35]

Tenzo, work leader, yes, there she is, Neo Sho. maintenance, the kitchen crew, the servers. You fed us every day so beautifully. And I hope I didn't forget anybody. The shoe sole. Oh, really? You know, for this practice period, it's just a part of me. No, the Shouseau. Thank you. And we will have a Shouseau ceremony this afternoon, which is called Dharma Inquiry Ceremony.

[23:41]

So please ask a question that comes from your heart and has to do with your practice. A question like, Chousseau, what is your favorite dessert? You know, gets sometimes asked and gets a laugh, but I think it's a missed opportunity. So really think about and then really project your question. Even though you might feel a little bit timid, a little bit shy, say it so that everybody can hear it. That's another way of actually taking up the space that is absolutely yours. By saying it so that also the people online can hear it, and we all can hear it, and we don't need to have amplification. So I really encourage you

[24:43]

to think about that, and when you notice that you started out kind of shy, you can repeat your question louder. And the easy way to project is not by volume, really, but if you are on this side, you think you sent the question to the welcome center. You don't have to raise your volume, but it gets projected. And if you're on this side, You send your question to that blue house across the street. So as a direction for where you, how you talk, and people over there send it through the courtyard. So it's really a wonderful ceremony of tapping into the heart-mind of the Shuso. with your question.

[25:45]

And his task is to see what comes up in response to that question. So it's not so much a thinking game. It's like when it says inquiry and response come up together. Inquiry brings up the response. So the more heartfelt your inquiry is and has to do with your life, the more it brings that energy for something to rise up to meet it. And then we have practiced a lot of stillness and silence.

[26:54]

And there is a poem I found by Rachel Naomi Remen, and it's called A Place of Refuge. Perhaps the most important thing we bring to another person is the silence in us. Not the sort of silence that is filled with unspoken criticism or hard withdrawal. The sort of silence that is a place of refuge or rest, of acceptance of someone as they are. We are all hungry for this other silence. it is hard to find. In its presence, we can remember something beyond the moment, a strength on which to build a life.

[28:00]

Silence is a place of great power and healing. Silence is God's lap. Many things grow in the silence in us. among them simply growing older. We may then become more a refuge than a rescuer, a witness to the process of life and the wisdom of acceptance. Taking refuge does not mean hiding from life. It means finding a place of strength the capacity to live the life we have been given with greater courage, and sometimes even with gratitude. So we have a few more periods of Sazeng.

[29:19]

We can sit today in silence. And then we have the Shu-So ceremony, and right after the Shu-So ceremony, I think we have some pictures taken, or are we first in the courtyard? But then I would really, really encourage you to come to the closing ceremony in the Buddha Hall. So we can say goodbye to each other. It won't take long. It's maybe 10 minutes, maybe 15 minutes before the Shusul dinner. So everybody who sat the Sashin is welcome to join. It won't be streamed right Maybe? Okay. But for us to gather in this room and just close the practice period like we have opened it in the center below and actually walk to all the altars.

[30:34]

So it's really important to give a closure to this, even though many things hopefully, hopefully, hopefully will continue. but not in this format, not in this exact configuration. So, if anybody has an urgent question, or an important question actually, There's a difference between urgent and important. Urgent usually shouts louder than importance. That's kind of this pressure. Anybody has an important question or an important comment? Hey, I can see that you can't wait to get back to the Zendo.

[31:40]

That's my interpretation. 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.

[32:10]

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