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. How is the sound? Is it okay? Okay, great. That's a good start. Welcome to Beginner's Mind Temple. I'm interested to see how many of you might be here for the first time today. Would you raise your hands? Okay. A particular welcome to you. I hope you enjoy your morning. And welcome to everyone. Thank you for coming. And I hope you enjoy your morning too. Today is a special occasion because this afternoon, three people will be receiving Buddha's precepts and embarking on a new life as a practicing bodhisattva.

[01:21]

We'll have a ceremony called Jukai. And that's a Japanese word with two characters. Ju means receiving and kai means precepts. How many of you have ever... How many of you have not, and there's no shame in this, how many of you have not ever witnessed any kind of Buddhist ordination ceremony? That's good news for me. So you'll... be more interested in what I have to say maybe. So this ceremony is a celebration of their intention and vow to live for the benefit of all beings. And these three people are lay practitioners. And another name for this ceremony is

[02:25]

zaikei tokudo, which means staying home and accomplishing the way. When priests are ordained, the ceremony is called shukei tokudo, which means leaving home and accomplishing the way. And in either case, whether lay or priest, the initiates take exactly the same set of 16 precepts, and they're called the Bodhisattva precepts. So as the name suggests, the difference is that lay people who are ordained usually continue to live at home and to practice as householders. Whereas priests who are ordained, the expectation is more that they will leave home and practice in some practice center or monastery.

[03:34]

But at San Francisco Zen Center, it's a little different. Very often, lay practitioners will take up residence. at the monastery or here or at Green Gulch Farm or some other practice center. And also very often priests will marry and have a family and live with their family. So Suzuki Roshi said of the people who came to practice with him when he was alive, that they were not exactly priest and not exactly lay, that they needed some special practice. And so that special practice is what is evolving here and taking root. And it's wonderful that it makes room for a lot of opportunity to practice in different ways.

[04:41]

Today I want to talk about... the precepts, and also about the ceremony that we'll have this afternoon. So I'll start with the precepts. Here are the 16 precepts that these people will receive today. The first three are called the three refuges, and sometimes we say that we take refuge in the triple treasure. So the refuges are I take refuge in Buddha, I take refuge in Dharma, I take refuge in Sangha. So Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha are considered treasures to us. Buddha, let's see... Buddha is the teacher, and he was a human being who practiced on his own and attained enlightenment.

[05:58]

And he's an example for us in our practice. And also Buddha is the name we give to our own true nature. So we say that everyone has Buddha nature. Even I have Buddha nature. And Dharma is the Buddha's teaching or reality as it is. It's the reality that he discovered and taught and that we can all discover and realize. So... Narrowly speaking, Sangha is the community of practitioners. And in Buddha's day, it was, at the beginning, just the five monks that he had practiced with before he attained enlightenment. So it was very narrow. And it has come to mean the practicing community, the lay monks and nuns and laymen and laywomen.

[07:08]

But more broadly, I think it's useful to include the people that we actually live our lives with every day, our family and coworkers and friends, our teachers, all the people that we see every day and interact with. And we appreciate those people. and cultivate caring and support for them. So we're completely interdependent with them and also with all beings, with people and animals and plants and the natural world and even inanimate objects. So the whole world is part of our sangha. and we're not separate from any part of it.

[08:11]

This is the understanding we have when we take refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. It's also not really possible to separate Buddha from Dharma and Sangha. As he was getting ready to pass away into final nirvana, Buddha said to his disciples, in the future, when I have passed away, please don't think that your teacher is gone, that you have lost your teacher. At that time, my teachings will be your teacher. And our Sangha also includes all the Buddhist ancestors, all the ancestors from Shakyamuni, in the past and the people we practice with now and the people who will succeed us in this world.

[09:15]

These people are our Sangha. So Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are all interconnected and our refuge taking is really beyond space and time. It's boundless. The word refuge is composed of Latin roots re or re and fugere. Re means back or backwards, and fugere means to flee. So refuge means to flee back. And in the context of our ceremony, it means to flee back. to our original true nature. Flee suggests escaping from danger or distress.

[10:17]

And also the word refuge has meanings of sanctuary, safety, protection. The three refuges are the essence of the Buddhist ordination ceremony. When Buddha asked his disciple Shariputra to ordain his son Rahula, Shariputra gave him the refuges. Just that constitutes ordination because the refuges include all the other precepts. However, in our tradition, we have another 13 precepts. And the next three are called the three pure precepts. And they are, I vow to refrain from all harmful conduct. I vow to embrace and sustain right conduct.

[11:22]

And I vow to live for the benefit of all beings. So does that sound like something you can do? That sounds pretty daunting to me. These precepts are a Mahayana expression of the ancient teaching of all Buddhas, which is from the Dhammapada, a very early Buddhist text. which is a collection of verses that are attributed to the Buddha himself. And the verse from the Dhammapada that this is derived from goes like this. Refrain from all evil. Practice all that is good. Purify your mind. This is the teaching of all Buddhas. So you can see it's very similar. but the Mahayana overlay that has been added is the idea that bodhisattvas put others first and devote themselves not just to attaining personal liberation, but to saving all beings before themselves.

[12:42]

Saving them from suffering. So these three pure precepts speak to our intention and our attitude. And our intention, our real intention, whatever it is, will always leak out into our activity. So we practice the precepts and we practice Zazen and we study Buddha's teaching to clarify our intention, to cultivate ourselves the intention to benefit all beings. First we embrace and sustain beings in our mind and then we embrace and sustain beings in our speech and action. And often when we study the precepts we divide them up and practice those that pertain to

[13:46]

body, speech, and mind separately. But it becomes apparent that it's impossible to separate them because the precepts are completely interconnected. And we often find that if we're breaking one precept, if we look carefully, we're probably breaking others as well. For example, if we misuse sexuality, we may want to lie about it. So there we violate another precept. Or if we are harboring ill will towards someone, we may want to slander them or harm them in some way. And the opposite is true too. If we keep one precept, we keep all the precepts at the same time. And that's because they're all completely interconnected and they're rooted in our shared identity with other beings and are an expression of that attitude that we're all connected.

[14:59]

The remaining 10 precepts are called variously the grave precepts, the prohibitory precepts, the clear mind precepts. And they are, I vow not to kill, not to take what is not given, not to misuse sexuality, not to lie, not to intoxicate mind or body of self or others, not to slander, not to praise self at the expense of others, not to be avaricious or possessive, not to harbor ill will, and not to disparage the three treasures. These precepts are expressed as prohibitions and restraints, but they're understood as a description of the way Buddhas naturally live in the world.

[16:11]

And when we follow them, we emulate the awakened ones. They're based on the truth that we're all interconnected and that we all suffer together and we're all liberated together. They're meant to be practiced with compassion for all beings, including ourselves. guides or signposts to a compassionate way of life. Often they're expressed more positively than the way I just read them. For example, we may say, I vow not to kill but to support and nurture all life. Or I vow not to lie but to speak the truth. And I've... I know that a lot of teachers encourage their students to reword them, to phrase them so that they will have personal meaning and be positive if it's helpful for it to be more positive and more directed towards what you do do instead of what you don't do.

[17:30]

Another version I've heard is, I vow to take up the way of speaking truthfully. And I like that because it has a feeling of ongoing practice, of continuing practice that you'll never complete but always engage in. So we take these vows knowing that it will be impossible for us to literally keep every precept. But in making the effort, we learn about ourselves and our relationship to all beings. We learn how to practice with cause and effect and things we can't control. And so the precepts are tools of transformation and self-study. They're like sitting zazen in that way and experiencing for ourselves the true nature of reality and the nature of our being.

[18:33]

we will see that any inclination we have to break the precepts arises out of our ignorance of the true nature of our own self and of reality and our place in it. If we feel separate from others, we may have a desire to disparage them or we may have... harbor anger towards them, or we may think it's okay to gossip about them. If we feel that there's something lacking in our life that we want to have, we may be inclined to steal or to covet and flatter to get what we want. And if we feel incomplete, we might misuse sexuality, in an effort to complete ourselves.

[19:40]

So when we do not feel separate, we do not experience separation from other beings, including plants, animals, the natural world, even inanimate objects, and certainly people. We will just naturally take good care of everything. and be compassionate to everything. Then following the precepts is just the most natural way for us to live. And it also functions in the other direction. If we make a sincere effort to practice the letter of the precepts, we will come to have the mind of the precepts. Whenever, for example, we gossip about another person, it creates a feeling in us of being separate from that person.

[20:44]

If we stop ourselves from doing that, then I think we feel a warmth or tenderness or protectiveness or compassion towards that person and other beings. wanting to live in peace and be happy just as we do, that they're just like us, really. This is the mind we cultivate in precept practice, the mind of oneness with everyone and everything. So the precepts help us to see when we have that mind or when we're feeling separate. When we feel separate, we can't help but cause harm to ourselves and others. And when we can identify with other beings, we naturally live to benefit all beings.

[21:51]

I think many of us are very concerned about the world today. It seems that greed, hatred, and delusion abound. We see the harmful effects of lies and corruption everywhere. And the world has become so small and our technology is so advanced and sophisticated that it is possible to do great harm to many beings very quickly and easily. We have good reason. to fear for the continued existence, not just of our culture and nation and democracy, but of our planet itself. It may seem like there is not very much that we can do to save ourselves and others.

[23:01]

But also, as I think about these precepts, I'm impressed by how much it can change the world if we follow them. The Jukai ceremony is about committing to live by vow instead of by karma. As our late teacher Blanche Hartman often said, to be the change we want to see in the world. One of Suzuki Roshi's books is called To Shine One Corner. And it's a reference that he often made to a passage in the Lotus Sutra where Buddha says, to light up one corner, not the whole world, just make it clear where you are. It's really important for each of us to do our part, however small, to manifest in good in the world.

[24:14]

Some people can do more than others. Some are very talented at persuading people to support good and to do good. And many people are activists and help in that way. And some people just carefully follow the precepts in their own quiet lives, but they may inspire people by their example. I know someone who has a very strong practice of not gossiping. It is so tempting to gossip at times. It's entertaining. And it's a way to bond with friends. But it harms people and creates distrust and suffering. I see how it inspires my confidence to know that this person will never gossip about me.

[25:23]

It creates a refuge, a sanctuary, a safe place in my life. It creates connection rather than separation. And when I feel connected rather than separate, it's easier for me to keep the precepts too. We influence each other in that way. We are all jewels in Indra's net reflecting each other. Sun Master Dogen, the founder of our school, likened our individual practice to the life of a raindrop. By ourselves, we cannot accomplish very much.

[26:23]

Each raindrop has little power. It can just evaporate. But combined with other raindrops, They can form a river, an ocean, a downpour. And over time, many raindrops together can even erode rock. So our practice is like that. We practice moment by moment, just doing what each moment asks of us. day by day and over time and practicing with others especially, what we do has great power to change the world. It's impossible to fathom all the results of our actions, but it is observably true, I think, that generally

[27:31]

Good actions lead to good results and bad actions lead to bad results. We can do incalculable good in the world by following these excellent precepts. The fact that we're certain to fail in fully keeping them is no excuse. We will lead much better lives and create a much better world for all beings by making our best effort. The 16 precepts of the Soto Zen School were formulated by Zen Master Dogen, the founder of our school. And he saw them as another way of doing zazen, of bringing our zazen practice into our life and everyday activity.

[28:41]

Both zazen and precepts are ways of training our minds and also expressing the mind of Buddha in our activity. There's a lot more that could be said about the precepts, but I want to have time to talk about the ceremony, so I'm going to jump to that. Sometimes I've heard students say, I already practice with the precepts, and I make my best effort, and I don't really feel any need for a formal ceremony. And it's true that it's possible to be a bodhisattva without having a formal ceremony. But I also know and feel how helpful the ceremony can be. And I really encourage sincere practitioners who want to be bodhisattvas to have one.

[29:49]

When I was the eno or meditation hall manager, I really came to appreciate how ritual and ceremony is a way of experiencing Buddha's teachings directly. And this ceremony is expressive of so many of the truths that Buddha taught. One of the most obvious is that it takes a lot of Buddhas to do this ceremony. It requires a sincere student willing to take up the vows and a teacher willing to confer the precepts and peers to practice with and other teachers to study with and hear the Dharma from. the people in the various ceremonial positions who carry flower petals or ring bells, and everyone in this room and many people not in this room who will support the new bodhisattva in their continuing practice.

[31:10]

So we call this room the Buddha Hall. And whenever we do a ceremony here or have a Dharma talk in this room, we're a room full of Buddhas practicing together with other Buddhas. For example, right now, we awaken each other, and that is an expression of the Bodhisattva vow. The ceremony this afternoon begins with an invocation. The preceptor says, invoking the presence and compassion of our ancestors. In faith that we are Buddha, we enter Buddha's way. Then we chant homage to the major Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and name them,

[32:15]

all the way from Shakyamuni to Suzuki Roshi. We invite them into the room and ask them to be present and witness our vows and compassionately help us to live our vows in the future. We experience and acknowledge our connection with all Buddhas beyond space and time. The preceptor says, in faith that we are Buddha, we enter Buddha's way. We may not actually have that faith yet, but through ceremonies such as this one, we hear it so often and get more used to the idea, and it seems more possible. This is a basic Buddhist,

[33:17]

that we are one with Buddha and Buddha nature. In order to give someone the precepts, we are required to receive Dharma transmission from our teacher. And what is transmitted in the Dharma transmission ceremony is the precepts. And as part of the Dharma Transmission Ceremony, the newly transmitted teacher vows to continue transmitting the precepts and to never let the Buddhist teaching ever be cut off. So giving and receiving the precepts moves forward and backward in time, includes past, present and future, and giving and receiving, all mixed together.

[34:21]

It's an enactment of Buddha's teaching about reality itself. Everything happens together. We're always both giving and receiving. It's impossible to separate one from the other. We receive the precepts and give our effort and commitment. We give and receive compassionate help from the Sangha for our mutual efforts to uphold the precepts. Speaking of giving and receiving, the initiates get some stuff as part of this ceremony that I want to talk about. So the first step in the process for the student is to ask permission from a teacher to receive the precepts.

[35:24]

And once the teacher has given permission, the student begins sewing a rakasu and studying the precepts. So the rakasu is this bib-like garment that some people in the Buddha Hall are wearing. Here's one, here's one. And to sew the rakasu, they receive instruction from the sewing teachers. And with every stitch that they make, they chant a mantra, which is Namu Kiebutsu. And it means, I take refuge in Buddha. Or literally, I plunge into Buddha. And the sewers form a little sewing machine. and they all support each other in the process of creating their rakasus. And they each sew their own rakasu as preparation for the ceremony.

[36:32]

And then when it's sewn, they give it to their teacher. And it's... Please look. She's showing the... white silk side, and Peter you can show yours too if you want to, the teacher writes something on it. It might be the student's name or a verse or just the particulars of the ceremony. But anyway, the student doesn't know exactly what it's going to have on the back of it when they get it again during the ceremony. So it's really co-created by the teacher and the student. and given and received. The rakasu is a miniature version of this robe that I'm wearing and that some other people are wearing. They both have the same pattern, more or less, and it's the pattern that of the design, it's a design that Buddha made

[37:45]

of the way the rice fields looked in India. So it follows that pattern of design. And it's called, by the way, Buddha's robe. So that's a reminder that if you're wearing Buddha's robe, you must be Buddha. Each initiate also receives a new Dharma name, during the ceremony. And receiving a new name reminds us that we're embarking on a new life of practice. It helps us loosen our attachments to our previous identities and habits. And the new name is a surprise. The student doesn't know what it is until that point when they receive it in the ceremony. So it's one of the most interesting parts of the ceremony, partly because it says something about how the teacher sees the student and their practice.

[39:00]

The name is often thought of as a gift from the teacher to the student. But lately, I've been asking initiates if there are people in their personal lives that they would like to have involved in choosing their name. And I've consulted with those people. And every time the name... has been richer and closer to the bone as a result of those conversations than if I chose a name all by myself. So it's a wonderful interaction. And all of us, the initiate, me, and their chosen participants in the process, give and receive the name. So we're always... seeing a lot of play with the emptiness of giver, receiver, and gift as we do these things.

[40:05]

I think maybe the most important thing about this ceremony and many of our ceremonies is that through ritual, through very mindful handling of the things in our lives, how I handle my robe, or... the rakasu, or our oryoki bowls, or the bells, or the flower petals that we carry, the words we say. We can directly experience the sacredness of everything. The Jukai ceremony very clearly communicates the sacredness of our lives and of all life. We bow to things. we hold things up high to show respect. And when we treat the objects of our life as sacred, we can more easily appreciate the sacredness of our life itself, which I think is the real point.

[41:14]

John Dido Laurie wrote a wonderful little book about Zen ritual called Bringing the Sacred to Life. And one chapter in the book is called Making the Invisible Visible. And this is another important function that ceremonies have. This ceremony doesn't so much create a bodhisattva as acknowledge a bodhisattva's practice. By the time of the ceremony, These people have usually been practicing as bodhisattvas for some time. They're already making their best effort to live according to the precepts. It's a lot like a wedding. By the day of the wedding, the bride and groom are already married in their own minds.

[42:19]

The ceremony acknowledges and makes public their status, and creates a public expectation that they'll live in a certain way. It allows everyone to support them in their efforts to keep their vows. So near the end of the ceremony, the initiates receive a lineage paper. It's Buddha's family tree. And it includes the names of our ancestors, starting with Shakyamuni Buddha, and including the major ancestors from India and China and Japan, all the way through Suzuki Roshi to the initiate's name. And all the names are written on a red line called the blood vein. And the blood vein starts with Buddha and circles through every name on the family tree down to the new initiate's name and then circles back up to Buddha again.

[43:38]

So all the names are completely joined and interconnected. And we're all truly descendants of Buddha. So I'd like to close by dedicating my talk to our late teacher, Blanche Hartman, Senke Blanche Hartman, who learned rakasu and okesa studying from her Japanese teacher, Joshin. She was so inspired by Joshin's devotion to sewing. that she took it up herself and made it an offering here that people have come from all over the world to practice. She did it to enable us to have Jukai ceremonies in America. And before she died, she took care to train a number of teachers who can continue to teach us to sew our own robes.

[44:50]

So I want to express my gratitude for her sewing practice, which she shared with me and all of us for so many years. And you're all invited to the ceremony. I hope you will come. The densho bell begins at 2.45, so it would be good to arrive then. And right now, One of the other preceptors in the ceremony, Arlene Luke, will host a Q&A in the dining room. So please get your tea and cookies and go join her for a discussion. Thank you very much. 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.

[45:54]

For more information, visit sfcc.org and click giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[46:03]

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