Good morning. Good morning. So I was thinking it's a good thing dragons have claws because he would have slipped here. So this is the children's day and I've met a lot of the children this morning and the first part of the talk will be directed or maybe talked to you or I'm going to do a story and it's kind of dedicated or for children but of course everybody can listen in now that you're here and just to mention in passing I actually missed the birthday party today that this was Bodhidharma's birthday and so we celebrated that this morning and that's what the cake on the altar is for And this is an image of Bodhidharma himself, who we see as our great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, who came from India out of, I could say, one thing is to help, to share, but also just as an expression of his whole life, that he came from India to China and shared his experience.

[01:23]

his direct experience and his heart with people. So we celebrate once a year in memory of this fellow. And you can see he looks very fierce, kind of like dragons. But it's a kind fierceness. It's a compelling fierceness to be connected, to be a part of life. And I had some trouble because I wasn't sure. The children's part I spent most of my time on. It was interesting. So it was either going to be dragons or pigs. And I went back and forth, and I took a poll, thinking I would ask all of the kids, do you like to be called kids or children? I always went, kids? Kids? Kids. I polled all the kids, and it kind of was half and half. And then while I was waiting, I went into the abbot's office, whose name is Ryushin, dragon mind.

[02:30]

Dragon mind? He's a dragon mind. Uh-oh. And I found a dragon, which he kindly, after the fact, actually, I had already purloined it, so I apologize. He said, gosh, that looks familiar, so I could see stuff. And I said, can I... Borrow this. And he said, you're welcome. It was very nice. And I'll be careful. And maybe you can hold him, too. But you have to be careful. So I think we'll do dragons. I'll do a dragon story. But I have a pig story, too. But it's in a book that you can take with you. Our librarian or our bookstore manager, Diana, donated the book to the children's program from Zen Center. Do you have a question? Which book? Do you have that? What's the name again? Do you remember? Yeah, me either. You do?

[03:31]

What's that book? There are underwater dragons too. We call them Nagas. They're called Nagas. Wow. This one doesn't have wings. This dragon doesn't have wings, but it's a wonderful dragon. So we'll do dragons first. Oh, it's peaceful piggy meditation, if you're capable. Oh, no. You got this one. I read this yesterday. It's pretty wonderful. I actually went home a little early from work, and I read it in a warm room, and I fell asleep reading peaceful piggy. Well, you didn't? Do you like that, though? Do you like that one? Well, last chance. Dragons or pigs? How about one last poll? No?

[04:33]

You like the pigs, I know. Yeah. Why don't we do the dragons, and then you can take the pig book and someone can read it, and you'll have it afterwards. You can have two stories that way. So... So this is a little bit of a made-up story, and it's an old tale. So I think some of you will recognize it. You've heard it before here in a different guise. So once upon a time, a boy and girl lived with their mother and father in a small house in a town that lay in a great valley. And this town was surrounded on all sides by... huge mountains and forests. It was very isolated. It was a very quiet town. As towns go, this was a very nice town. People were friendly, and there were horses, and it was a very comfortable place to live.

[05:34]

But there was also something very, very special about this town and valley. It had once been the home to a great and powerful dragon. And there were many dragons that had lived in the valley with the people. But that was a long time before. And that was a long time before the little boy and girl lived there. So there were no more dragons when they were there. And now only the memory of that time was left when there were dragons, like this dragon in the valley. And they were friendly with people and people liked them. And that's what the tales said. And the people who lived in the valley, they had created many, they always thought fondly of those dragons that had disappeared years before. So they created lots of stories about dragons. And they drew pictures of dragons. There were pictures of dragons in the town. And bowls were shaped like dragons. Even the bowls they used were shaped like dragons.

[06:35]

And they even had statues of large dragons with very fierce eyes. And everyone in that town had a story about someone whose family had been friends with the dragons or had been saved by dragons. You know, dragons can be friendly and they're very strong. So sometimes they would help people who were in trouble. They would come and help them. Maybe if they were in the water, they would pick them up even. So dragons were very strong. Kind of coast guards, yeah. They were kind of big coast guards. Very friendly. I like that. I like that. And so they talked about that time and how much they really loved dragons. They said, we really love those dragons. If they could only come back again, you know, our life would be so much better. And so it was natural that this little boy and girl, as they grew up, having heard so many stories, really wanted to see a dragon for themselves.

[07:37]

They really wanted to see a dragon, their own dragon. Would you like to see a dragon? You? Have you seen a dragon? Not yet? Where? A lot of them. You do? You don't like them? Are they scary? Do dragons scare you at all? I like dragons too. I don't find them too scary. Sometimes I do. And their desire, the little boy and girl had such a strong desire, they said, boy, you know, we really want to see some dragons. And it was so strong, this desire, that it was carried away on the night wind. You know, the night wind is very mysterious. It carries wishes around. So it swirled away. And it went far, far away and reached the land where these dragons, in fact, still live. There were dragons. For you see, dragons live a very long time.

[08:40]

I don't know if you knew that. They live a really long time, much longer than we do. And they were still very much alive. And one day, a young dragon, and he was very young. He was only 300 years old, which is, yeah, that's pretty young for a dragon. It was just a little one. And that dragon heard those wishes and was very curious. Who are these? I should pay attention over here, too. I'm sorry. Who are these? Who was this little boy and girl? What were these creatures, these creatures that really wanted to see dragons? And he really wanted to fly away and go and visit them. And the oldest of all the dragons, who was thousands of years old, heard about this young dragon's wish, that this dragon wanted to fly away and go and visit these people. And he said, You know what he said? What do you think he would say?

[09:41]

Anybody have an idea? You don't know? I'm not so sure either, but let's find out. Be nice to the people? That's good. To be nice to the people would be a good thought. So we don't want to scare these people, huh? So he said, you know... the big dragon and old dragon said, people really respect and say they love and respect dragons, but there's very little truth in their words. Don't waste your time with people. And he flew away in a great cloud of smoke, for you see, dragons breathe fire when their feelings are hurt, and they're very sensitive creatures. They're actually very sensitive when they get hurt easily. So this dragon flew away. But the young dragon's curiosity grew daily, and he still wanted to go and visit this boy and girl. So one morning before all the other dragons were awake, he flew away on his wings, which you have to imagine here.

[10:46]

He flew away. I know. That's the imagine part. I have wings, so you can imagine. He flew away and went to the village. Hearing a strange sound outside their window, the children woke up very early and dressed quickly and went to see where that odd noise was coming from. A dragon, they both cried happily, at the same time when the dragon hopped into view. He was hiding nearby and he hopped into view and the children were pretty excited. And pretty soon, the children and the dragons were sharing stories and they were talking about their best friends and what foods they liked and didn't like. Now the children thought, you know, we have a good idea. Let's take the dragon to town. Everyone's going to be so excited because they talk so much about seeing these dragons.

[11:49]

So the dragons and the children decided they would go to town and visit all of the parents, all of the other people. Pretty soon they entered the town square. Can you guess what's going to happen? Does anybody guess what's going to happen? No? So they entered the town square, and the little boy and girl were quite proud that they were bringing a dragon to show to everybody, and so they could meet a dragon. And almost immediately, the people became excited, and they started to shout, a dragon! A dragon! And they were very scared. And pretty soon, everybody had locked themselves in their houses. and were peering anxiously through these drawing curtains at the dragon and the little boy and girl. Oh, they said, what's going to happen to those poor children? So now the three friends were very sad and they walked away from town, startled at what had happened.

[12:52]

They hadn't expected this. they kind of knew in their hearts as they walked away that this probably wasn't going to work out so well right now for dragons and people to be together because they really didn't know each other so well. So at the edge of the town, they gave each other a hug, and then the young dragon knew it was time to go back to his own land. So he flew back east to the land of dragons, thinking someday maybe I can come back. Maybe people will be ready to meet me. And the little boy and girl returned to the village and their hearts were quite joyful because they had made such a great new friend. And they also knew that one day they would meet this dragon again and they would be friends for life. The end.

[13:53]

So... That's the tale of the dragon, the boy and the girl, and the townspeople. And I think at this time, you might want to take this, and you can go later and study this with them, by the way. It's going to be in the student lounge. Who wants to take the book? Would you take it? Your dad's going to go with you? You take the book. This is Sebastian. And then everybody's going to go to the follow Sebastian. And they're going to go to the student lounge where I think there's some treats. And then you can read this other story. Maybe Ethan can help with the story. Okay. And I think I'll keep the dragon here. You take the pig. Okay. Thank you for coming. Thank you very much for coming. It's a longish story.

[15:14]

So I think you've heard this story, many of you before, and it's an old, I think I was talking with Lucy yesterday, probably I think Chinese story. And the name for the person in the story is also the name for somebody that has a compelling desire to see things, but it's not grounded in anything. You know, it's kind of a whimsical desire. And the story was about a man who loved dragons until the real dragons arrived. And that person became very frightened. And, of course, you know, the story of dragons or these great... great serpents have a sense in Buddhism. In fact, in Sanskrit, the Nagas are serpents. Mahanagas are great serpents that represent the insight of a great being, a Buddha, who they say is matured beyond rebirth, matured beyond being stuck.

[16:35]

And rebirth, of course, is a huge topic. But maybe beyond loops and stories, the loops that we get caught in continually in our lives that we see as a true reality, although they come up from our particular vantage point informed by our attractions and our confusion. So maybe better than free from rebirth would be. Still connected, but quite insightful now about what's wholesome and what's very difficult. So ways to live. So dragons have this quality which is very, I think, compelling to us. We come to places like this together as seekers of this kind of wisdom. Something about, and even the mythos of dragons, you know, the West I know best, of wisdom, wealth, power, mystery, and some danger.

[17:41]

There's some danger involved in this quest, or seeming danger. From sentient side, from our side, or human side, the danger is that we have to give up what we most cling to, our confusions. and our sense of security, and we don't know what we're going to get. We don't know what's going to come to us in return. So it feels kind of frightening to reach out in that way for people. But this is kind of the myth or the quality of dragons. So a little bit I wanted to talk about this compelling movement to wake up. comes from and how we practice it in Zen Center. And there are many traditions, countless traditions have practiced this activity of being awake, of opening up to these loops and contradictions and places that we get so stuck in.

[18:46]

So there are many traditions. Ours is the Soto Church, if you want, or Soto Shu, or Soto Sect, sometimes it's translated. And so I'll talk a little bit about what we do and what we teach about this path or this way to, or this dragon map maybe. What is this map? How do we learn about ourselves and undertake this quest? So I had a note here, and I think this is actually two notes. One is I got this button here. from Michael Wenger, it says, when I thought of loops and being stuck in our loops, he gave me a button that says, does your train of thought come with a caboose? So the train of thought is the karma. We're here. We're here in myriad and confused ways.

[19:48]

We find ourselves in this startlingly real situation. And then things develop. in often very unpredictable forms, although we think we actually know everything. It's quite unpredictable. And the train of thought is this situation, this flurry, if you want, this stuff, you and me. The caboose is something extra. This is where we make our first choice. What are you attaching to this train and why? So this dragon quest is actually an inquiry into, what are you attaching to things? Attachment or obsessiveness. I like obsessiveness almost better when we talk about it. It's a kind of confused state of mismatching things, dwelling in desire, and being informed by fear. So watch what you attach to the train. And the best way to watch is, what's it do?

[20:49]

What does it do? Do you feel safer? Sometimes I feel that way when I'm averting from things. I feel a little safer. Up until the point I'm not listening anymore to people. And then some very painful things happen. Existence says, hey, are you listening? I'm not talking about that. This is what's happening. So this kind of... directness or this kind of connection to things even if we don't understand is at the heart of this quest this seeking that we talk about and the other note I had is and in doing this it's really good to hold the biggest thing that you can imagine actually the biggest thing you can imagine about yourself and everybody else because clearly we're imperfect you know And we all know that. There are lots of problems.

[21:51]

It really helps on this inquiry, on this journey, to hold the biggest possibility. You know, we want the best for everybody. We want the biggest thing they can be, even if we don't quite know what that is. So to have that helps balance the imperfections. Actually, they work together very nicely with this big view or big aspiration. And then the particular thing that's happening, And to hold it with a gentle, big mind, maybe the mind we would imagine Shakyamuni would hold us with if we had met such a being, that he would see our big potential just as he talked to us and saw where maybe there was some work that needed to be done. And that allows this work to smoothly happen or to happen in a way that's very useful to us, that's possible actually, And also it creates a balance out here in our lives together.

[22:51]

So maybe if I left anybody with a thought, it's to hold this big possibility for each other. Even when you're talking with someone and they're pretty angry, behind you can see this big possibility. And then it's clear we can see where the knots are, too. We have some shape to work with, some shape to outline it against. Dogen Zenji, one of the, I don't know, sometimes the founder of Zen or we say the clarifier or co-founder or great practitioner, great heart in Japan, he brought the teachings of the Tsaotong or the Soto School from China to Japan and in his rules for Zazen he says, please honored followers of Zen, Long accustomed to groping for the elephant, do not doubt the true dragon. It's very important, very important. Devote your energies to the way of direct pointing at the real.

[23:58]

So he gives us some encouragement and some instruction about this activity that we're undertaking. You know, and sometimes... People say, well, you know, this desire for insight or enlightenment is just another desire. I have to get rid of that. You have to be very careful. There are desires that are useful, and there are desires that are not going to be very helpful. And to discern the two, I think, is very important. We're creatures that want things. We have appetite. And to have an appetite for insight and joy in our lives, pretty good. It just has to grow. We just can't cling even to that. We have to grow it. We grow it with each other. It's a sprout that needs to grow continually. So in here, I'm not treating this dragon very nicely. I'm using the dragon as a pointer.

[25:00]

So in here, our great master Dogen says, we have to put our energy to work. We need to bring some energy to bear. We call it our energy because we have a direct relationship to it, but I think as we clarify that matter, we'll realize it's energy. It's actually quite free, this energy, and accessible. It's a gift. So we need to bring into practice with this energy, this quality of lift in our lives, and And, you know, partially we use forms here. You know, we say we have to do these things. We have to sit these periods of zazen. That's because we need some boundaries. You know, it's very important that we, you know, these older teachers have left us some very good rules to help activate, to bring this energy into expression, something that we can work with now.

[26:09]

We can see. So we use forms here, but the forms are about energy. They're about life. So it's important to, we say, embrace it rather than be feeling victimized by it. To embrace our true way to step forward with some energy. And the energy, you know, it's suitable energy. It's very important, you know, the Buddha's not talking about energy for the sake of energy. That becomes some sort of fantasy. But it's energy to allow wisdom to arise. It's like a garden you're making with your bodies and minds, or we're making, not you, we. I need lots of work all the time. All the time. So we need to cultivate this garden. And in sangha, there's doing it together, and we're all part of sangha. We're growing together.

[27:10]

We're supporting each other. We're tilling the soil. So this energy then becomes a natural expression, like a gem. It begins to activate on its own, if you want, with our effort, with our connection. So Dogen says, devote your energies. And devote is very interesting. It's not so much an intellectual exercise, you know, a charting of things. But it's actually done with your body. It's in the bones, this devotion. And it's difficult because the devotion is sometimes to things we can't quite imagine. We have our idea of our enlightenment. I had for many years how I would be sort of done with this always. people would really kind of fall back in awe maybe. I don't know. You know, and I could really enjoy that. It's pretty interesting, our fantasies.

[28:12]

You know, it's just amazing. And then Michael told me, I think once, he said, well, you know, you're going to be the only person that's not invited to your own enlightenment. So when I got too attached to my way, he said, well, yeah, it'll be great, but you won't be invited. What? But the experience is big, and you'll be part of it, you could say, or this experience will arise. So we have to be devoted in that way, devoted far beyond our ideas of how good we are, how many times we sat versus someone else. It's far beyond that. Those are just more constraints. But it's okay. We need measurements. You know, when we're kids, they do lines over your head as you grow. You need to have some measuring device for a long time to grow. And so that's okay.

[29:13]

That's okay. We measure. We call it the Tanken Report here. Were you in the Zendo today? The Tanken Report. Those are lines over your head as you get taller, as your bones get stronger. You've got to be there. You have to show up. And he says, and this is a very important part of all of our inquiry in Buddhism, he says, this is direct pointing at the real. And this is very important because this is a type of penetrating awareness. It's not about the thing. It's not a story about reality, which is often, I won't use your name, but often what I do, I find myself making up a story about my life. as I'm living it, because something is too raw maybe, or I hear something that I don't like, and then I make up the story about how this person doesn't like me or is bad. It's called samsara, we call that.

[30:14]

Being stuck in a wheel. Very hard to get off once you get on that wheel. You know, who is on my side? Well, actually, everything is on your side. You just have to let it be on your side. So we talk about direct pointing, which is a type of direct contact or a contact that's more immediate than our thoughts about things. You know, Thich Nhat uses the oranges sometimes, you know, eating an orange, feeling its texture, feeling and being aware and smelling its aroma in a complete way. Letting go of our idea of orange even, that's part of it. Our mentation is part of it, no problem. But it needs to be grounded in this direct and deep informed contact with things. Only when this kind of energy and this deeper penetrating relationship start to develop does a kind of insight arise.

[31:23]

It takes some time and work to do this. And sometimes it's a little, it seems tedious to our more excited minds, our minds that want to have a lot more going on. I was thinking of, Diana has a bookmark she gave me for something, and it says, it has the smiley face, but there's no smile, it's a straight line, and it says, have a plain day. It's very charming. So, and in its plainness, things can step forward and we can meet them a little bit. So we need to be grounded in a direct contact in this very straightforward way. And this is this aspect of direct pointing. And, of course, as we begin to watch a little more closely as our desire or this gate to our true heart opens,

[32:27]

Right away, in almost commensurate amount, difficulties start to spring up. Brambles spring up in our way, and we call them hindrances. And we give a name to this hindrance maker, as though this is a concrete being. We call that person Mara, a being of, you could call it temptation, doubt, fear. And so on the one hand, we have this... Dragon knowledge or this lore of directness, of energy, of connection, we call that being on the path. And some writers say it's actually not so good to say you're on the path. You say, pathing. They like pathing. Or the path is actually on the path. You're actually you at this point. So we have to be open and direct in this way to actually be alive. And so there's a training or some teaching that we have studied from these old sages that help us with this pathing.

[33:31]

And this Mara is the blocker of the road. As our aspiration comes up, I should have a bigger view for people. What have they done for you lately? This roadblock starts to spring up, and it seems to grow in... relationship sometimes to this growing openness. I've noticed in the other way. You should check it out for yourself. It's actually an experiment you have to do yourself. It's actually not an experiment. It's called your life. You need to check it out. What's this feel like? What's the quality of this place when I'm afraid? What happens? So Mara has lots of little tools, or this place inside, or this confusion has lots of tools. Sensual desire is usually one, or sense desire.

[34:34]

I want that. I want to be the best. I want to be loved the most. And then we swirl. We get stuck in that. Anger, aversion, deep aversion from fear is another which cuts us off from the source. from our true heart. I'm very good at, this is always me, a little bit sloth and torpor. For me, energy is important. It's for me to bring my energy up. So just sinking back a little too comfortably. And there you need friends. And Michael is my teacher, and he's known as Big Dragon. This is a room of dragons. He's always been my great friend when I got too comfortable. he would always give me a poke. You know, he's very good at that. Got it all figured out now, huh? And that pushes you to the place that you don't know.

[35:38]

You need a friend. We call that a Buddhist teacher, a rabbi, a spiritual friend, many traditions, shaman, whoever. And they give you a little push. You have to trust that. very scary sometimes. Well, they don't love me anymore. They don't see how great I am. Then you get to watch that. The fantasies come up. So Michael was very gentle. He would listen for long periods of time and then back in the deep water. So we have friends that help us. And all of the information you get is good. Don't treat it like it's a mistake. It's all really good in a way it's been developed just for you, just so you listen to it, so you grow, so the marks keep going up the wall. The one I think that is a big hindrance for Americans, especially, is restlessness and doubt.

[36:45]

We're very critical. We haven't done enough today. We haven't worked hard enough. We should make more money. Our children should be taller. It's incessant. More. You've got to do more. You've got to be better. And then doubt. How could you possibly think you could wake up? Mara whispers. So our model is this large statue of Shakyamuni. who turns the tables, so to speak, and with great compassion brings Mara closer, does the opposite of what you would expect, which is to cut off temptation, to cut off despair. And he looks at it with great gentleness and compassion. And so we emulate that softening and inquiry into our lives.

[37:48]

We emulate this aspect of a Buddha who's no longer trying to fix things, who now accepts his humanity. Fundamentally, we're on a sinking ship. We're just on this ship together. And it's very real and frank, very concrete, this situation, very dynamic because of this tension. And yet here we are. What do we do? We can't buy our way out of this big cessation that's going to happen, this huge reminder of impermanence, our death. So we turn back into it. He decides not to escape, and that's what we, you could say, emulate with our activity of meditation and inquiry. We're emulating this turning back, back to the source, back into the problems, back into the pain.

[38:49]

And again, there are difficulties. It's gritty in there. The caboose, of course, you can't work with. It's too crazy. So we slowly learn to take and put the caboose aside a little bit and stay with the problem. I'm hurt. I was hurt by this. Our own sadness. we treat it with great respect and kindness. And there's no, you know, in the West with dragons, we have slaying to acquire wealth, you know, peaking the dragon's hoard. But in this thing, you're the dragon and the wealth at the same time. This inquiry into your true treasure store is inward, deeply inward always. I don't think I'm running out of time.

[39:52]

Good thing I didn't do the pig story, too. But I did. This is the story. It was about being sad, getting stuck, and ways to work with it. So these are ways to work with this. And maybe just the last thing. To study the Buddha way, Dogen says, is to study the self. So, here the self, and this will be brief, Uchiyama Roshi, a great teacher, a sturdy teacher, said, you know, don't imagine the self are just all of our longings, our stories, part of it. Imagine this self we're talking about is everything. It's fast. And he said, you know, He said, when you meet somebody, you could actually say, when they say, hey, who are you? You could say, hi, I'm everything. It may be better because we get confused with the word I. You just say, everything.

[40:55]

In Bodhidharma's words, he said this very similar thing when he met Emperor Wu in 529 or 530 AD, arriving in China as an Indian traveler. Sometimes he's called... the blue-eyed demon, or the red-bearded barbarian. So there's an image of a fair-skinned person with blue eyes and a red beard. And he meets Emperor Wu, and Emperor Wu asks him that question. Say, who are you? It's a pretty normal question. And Bodhidharma says, I don't know. So he's again saying the same thing. Everything. Everything is right here. You know, Needless to say, it didn't go well, their meeting. Emperor is like a little more substantial answer, just like sometimes the world does. But you have to tell the truth. You have to be true to your real heart, even if it's not so easy.

[42:02]

Because then, if you're not, you're going to lose everything. You'll gain some small thing, but you'll lose everything. And if you're true with your expression and how you live your life, you'll get everything, but it may not be the things you expect. So you have to be very open. I want to just read one thing in conclusion, just a paragraph. It's the last paragraph of Beginner's Mind, which I've never read. It's kind of nice. It's from Beginner's Mind. text or major text that we use here and that so many people hear dragons. Dragons whisper in this book. There's dragon talk here. I feel Americans, especially young Americans, have a great opportunity to find out the true way of life for human beings. You're quite free from material things and you begin Zen practice with a very pure mind.

[43:06]

A beginner's mind. You can understand Buddha's teaching exactly as he meant it. That's a big thing to say. You can understand Buddha's teaching exactly as he meant it. But we must not be attached to America or to Buddhism or even to our practice. We must have beginner's mind, free from possessing anything, a mind that knows everything is in flowing change. Nothing exists but momentarily in its present form and color. One thing flows into another and cannot be grasped. Before the rain stops, we hear a bird. Even under the heavy snow, we see snowdrops and some new growth. In the Far East, I saw rhubarb already. In Japan, in the spring, we eat cucumbers. Okay.

[44:09]

So, do good. Avoid evil. Help all beings. Be kind to yourself and to each other.

[44:20]

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