Good morning. Welcome, everybody. I want to particularly welcome the people that are here for the very first time. Would you like to raise your hands so we get a littlest sense? Thank you very much for coming. You're dropping in into a quite, you know, a situation that doesn't happen many times a year. You're dropping in on the seventh day of a silent retreat. So you get a special treat. And you're bringing us, by being here, a special treat of your presence.

[01:04]

You're helping us to... You're bringing the world out there, in here. You've been kind of almost closed in, in seclusion for seven days, and you're bringing the world to us... So that helps us make the transition which we're all gonna have to do starting tonight or latest tomorrow morning. Kind of orient ourselves again. So thank you very much for doing that for us. Unbeknownst to you. We do an enormous amount of things for each other unbeknownst to ourselves. So... I just want to start with telling you a little bit what we've been doing for 10 weeks. We tried, engaged in, explored what it means to fully inhabit the body we have been given and we are having right now.

[02:24]

Because it is the host, the vehicle through which everything that happens in our lives can be experienced by us, can be expressed by us. We can't live this life without this body. We can't think in this life without this body. We can't feel in this life without this body. We can't receive other people's smiles, other people's love, other people's suffering without this body. There's nothing in this life that is separate from this body. And generally, we don't inhabit it so very much. Our culture is not cultivating that. Our culture is cultivating... You can do what you want.

[03:27]

And it's kind of in the thinking realm most of the time. So for 10 weeks, we have explored, experimented, tried to find a way. What does that mean? What does it mean for me? It's been a wide range. For some people, it's very... easy connection, and for other people it's like traveling to faraway lands with faraway languages. And we have tried to do that in a situation which is really quite extraordinary. Usually when we do 10-week retreats, we do them in a location that's kind of... You know, you go to a week retreat, you leave your home, you go. And it's somewhat closed, a closed container.

[04:30]

The city center as an urban temple is a completely permeable place. People come and go, the administration is happening here. And we have a wonderful, wonderful 60 plus people online. participating in this week from all over the world. So I want to say hello to you too this morning. We have about, I don't know, all together with the residents and the commuters and the online, we're somewhere close to 100 people that have engaged in this. And what has been so touching Supportive, inspiring, encouraging is we kept showing up. I think often independent of how difficult it may have been or challenging, we just kept showing up.

[05:46]

And that showing up is what I think created basically the foundation of this practice period, these 10 weeks. Created an energy field that allowed all of us to kind of trust a little more, relax a little more, become a little more creative, a little more interested, a little more playful, and discover new things about the body we're having, the heart we're having, the mind we're having. The other thing that stood out for me is that we engaged in looking for what resonates in us from what has been offered as possibilities, as suggestions for practice.

[06:55]

Like one, for example, was, can you set down, can you pick up the practice of setting down your cup exactly so that it meets the surface you're setting it down to with as little sound as possible. You can try that at home. When you try that, that immediately brings you into your body. You don't have to think about that. You have to be in your body to do that. You have to be in your hands. You have to be in your eyes. You have to be in your senses to actually know how much energy you need to hold the cup, how much energy it takes to lower it. There's no sound on that particular surface you're going to put it. And that's different when you put it on wood or on marble or far down or high up.

[08:02]

It's always a different thing. So if that resonates with you, resonated with some people in the practice period, what they did was they engaged it. They started doing it. the second thing we did that touched everybody in this retreat in this 10 week endeavor was the individual engagement that people with which people picked up something at one point I said it's a smorgasbord what they picked up that engagement. And that engagement is actually allowing, connects us to the life that continuously flows through us.

[09:15]

The resonance, the interest, is a kind of response from our life. When we engage that, we connect to that flow, to that energy stream that keeps moving us forward, whether we are present for it or not. Like, for example, whether we think about it or not, we're going to age. When we look at photos from earlier or when we meet a friend, we think, oh my God, they have aged. And then the second thought is... I must have too. What do they see? So life keeps moving us forward whether we are present for it or not. But when we are present for it, it's much more interesting and fun. So engagement was the second ingredient I wanted to highlight today.

[10:18]

And having so much... and then hearing back here and there what that did in people's life, how that little thing started to spread into other areas, because that's the other thing about our bodies. Our bodies are completely connected to everything that's in this universe, to the plants, the stars, the ocean, the mountains, the animals, the other human bodies, we are deeply, deeply and completely and inseparately connected with each other. So when you pick up a little tiny corner, something that sparks your interest and kind of engage it and keep showing up for that, it starts spreading because it's also interconnected with all the aspects of your being.

[11:20]

And it spreads in surprising ways. You suddenly go, oh, over there, or oh, I didn't even know that was connected, but here it's showing up. And that was happening with the online participants far away that couldn't be in the same room with us, had smaller groups they could participate in with a practice leader once a week. Not everybody did, but a lot of them did. were able to avail themselves, could watch live-streamed or later on the website, the class and the teachings. Everybody kept showing up and then sharing what, for example, what they've picked up and how that affected their life. And sometimes it affected their life in profound ways. And it continues. And we also cultivated throughout, and particularly these last six days, and make our best effort to continue through this morning, we cultivated stillness.

[12:43]

Sitting still. Being quiet. So for six days now, almost six and a half days, we've been sitting still in the Zendo, very full. Full with participants that could do the whole seven days, with participants that could do a few days, with participants that could come in for a few hours on some days. And somehow we were capable to just... have them all there. So they came when they could, dropped in, and then took care of their life in order to be able to come back when it was possible. And all of this

[13:56]

And I want to say also the online participants. Some people who were able to, we sent them the schedule, how we are sitting here today, when we eat and when we sit. And they just did that at home. They had their home session. And others picked maybe one or two periods that they could sit while we were sitting. that fit in their schedule. Some are from Bali, some from Australia, some from Canada, from all over the world. So there's time shifts, but they picked out or created their own schedule. And so the body of this practice period continued and is still continuing till this afternoon. And this is only possible, again, with interconnection.

[15:08]

So the gratitude I feel to everybody that showed up and kept showing up, to the online participants, the commuters, the residents, the occasional guests, also all the family members and friends that supported the person to be here, allowed them, gave them the time. The wife and the son of the head monk who came from Ohio made space for him to leave for 10 weeks. That's a big gift. husbands and wives and friends that supported the people that wanted to do this, to do it.

[16:10]

And then the staff here, the urban teacher, dharma teacher, the tanto, Mary, Paul, Mary, the Eno, who kept the Zendo so welcoming. Tanto, Paul, the Eno, kept people feel welcome. The people who took care of us by telling us when we had to be where, so we didn't have to look at the watch all the time. We could just drop in. There will be a bell or a wooden block sounding, another sound of bell that would tell us it's time to go to the Zendo, it's time for service, it's time for you heard the bell for the Dharma talk, it's time for lunch or dinner, it's time to sit, it's time to walk in the Zendo, it's time for service.

[17:27]

That's called the Doanrio. They supported our exploration and stepping in deeply. The maintenance person, Dylan, fixed our wild radiators when they were getting in the way and other things that we don't know about took care of maintaining the place and what was needed. the boss of the kitchen, Ed, and the kitchen crew, kept feeding us, nourishing our bodies so we could sit, so we could turn inward, so we could kind of drop down from our thinking minds into the wisdom of our bodies and find that territory.

[18:29]

And then everybody else who came in the building supported it. Admin people who came in, came in quietly. You know, we used to, years ago, have to put up signs. Please support the silence. We're in retreat. We didn't put up any signs. And it was so still in the whole building. So they kept the whole place, the whole... Zen Center going while we were sitting and did it in such a quiet, supportive way. They had meetings. We didn't notice. They were just moving. They were participating and collaborating in what we were doing, which made such a wonderful connection in the sense of that there is container surrounding container surrounding container surrounding container. And then there are the people that take care of the altars and the flowers and the big ceremonies.

[19:46]

They too supported it. Did I forget somebody? Yes, thank you. And then there were people who were practice leaders that made themselves available for participants to talk to, to get guidance, support in their sitting or in their mindfulness practices. And they had assistants who helped the practice leaders be practice leaders. And we couldn't have done it without that. I couldn't have done it without the Chisha. I couldn't have done it with any of you. Because if you hadn't shown up, there wouldn't have been a practice period.

[20:49]

And whatever came out, everything got more and more inspired by who is here, as this talk today gets also inspired by you all, even though I wouldn't be able to say exactly how you, for example, inspire my talk. But the energy each of you bring into the room kind of co-shapes what comes out of my mouth. That's how interconnected we are. And we can't put our fingers on it, but it is so. So in the Sashin, I want to share a story about that I have shared before. So if you heard it and you go, oh, I know that, then just drop into your body and relax. See if your posture is good, you don't have to listen a second time.

[21:50]

You can just be in your body. So many, many, many years ago, I had arthroscopic knee surgery. And the... anesthesia they gave me didn't agree with my body very well, so I had a very hard time. I didn't have a hard time. The people around me had a very hard time because I didn't come out of the anesthesia. I was absolutely fine. I was in a place where it was just quiet and completely connected. I could hear everything crystal clear. I heard them kind of shout my name, and I thought, oh. I have to, I have, for my voice to get out there, I have to travel a hundred miles.

[22:53]

And I had absolutely no impulse. And I thought, oh, why don't you stop shouting? I hear you. While this was going on, there was a, you know, when you come out of surgery, you're in a room and other people that come out of surgery are there too in kind of their cubicles with curtains in between. So beside me was a man. And his body was sometimes, from time to time, he was getting panicky because he felt he wasn't getting enough, couldn't breathe enough, he wasn't getting enough air. And my body was like plugged into his body. Before he started calling the nurse, which he did occasionally, the moment his body started to get agitated, his nervous system got agitated, my nervous system got agitated.

[23:59]

It was like direct connection. The nurse came, told him he had enough oxygen, she was checking it, they were checking it, and he should just slowly breathe, and his body calmed down, and my body calmed down. And then his body would get nervous again, my body right away with him. It was like, even though my mind knew he was not, he was not, in any danger of suffocating or not having enough oxygen, those bodies were plugged in like this, like one body. While they were shouting at me, they brought in my partner at that time, trying everything to get me out of that wonderful place. I had absolutely no wish to leave. And there's a book I read when I was young that's called The Secret Life of Plants, where they made experiments where they put electrodes on plants and then in the next room they would throw shrimp in boiling water and plants would have a shock.

[25:14]

That's how interconnected we are. With plants, with animals, with... They would... they would react with a shock if you thought you were going to cut one of their leaves with scissors. The plant would know your intention and react to it. So when we sit still in the Zendo and we kind of just are quiet and quiet some more and another day of quiet, we drop a little bit more into that place. I found myself through an anesthesia that they'll never give me again. I was very, very nauseated when I came out, so I don't want it either, even if it was nice to go to that place.

[26:20]

So... but we start feeling some of that interconnection. We all support each other through that silence and support each other to deal with then what in that silence can be heard or felt, wants to be integrated. So in the book sale for the prison, for outreach program here. They have twice a year. They collect books and then sell them here. But via donations, you can pay whatever you want. I picked up this booklet, In the Heart of the World. It's about Mother Teresa. And she says about silence. To make possible true inner silence,

[27:21]

Silence of the eyes. By seeking always the beauty and goodness, she says, of God, you can leave that out. You can put it in there. You can put it in spirit. You can put it in Buddha nature. Silence of the eyes by seeking always the beauty and goodness everywhere and closing them to the faults of others and to all that is sinful and disturbing to the soul. Silence of the ears by listening always to the cry of the poor and the needy and closing them to to all other voices that come from fallen human nature, such as gossip, tale-bearing, and uncharitable works.

[28:27]

We have the precepts. Do not talk about faults of others. Don't praise self at the expense of others. Only tell the truth. Silence of the tongue. By speaking life-giving words that enlighten and inspire, bring peace, hope, and joy. And by refraining from self-defense and every word that causes darkness, turmoil, pain, and death. silence of the mind, by opening it to the truth in stillness and contemplation and by closing it to all untruth, distractions, destructive thoughts, rash judgment, false suspicions of others, vengeful thoughts and desires.

[29:45]

silence of the heart, loving one another and avoiding all selfishness, hatred, envy, jealousy and greed. And I feel like we have practiced that during the practice period, during these 10 weeks. We have engaged in that. We have looked at when we don't do it and have started to feel how that affects us and how it affects us when we do it, when we only look for beauty, when we only look at the goodness of things and how that feels different than if we look at what's wrong. And I think particularly in this time, in this troubled world, if we all engage that, we support those energies that are kind, that are taking care, that hear what's needed and respond to that rather than getting all upset about what's wrong and talking with each other only about what's wrong.

[31:14]

That feeds that energy and upsets us. So I really think we have it in our hands to contribute in this world and to turn it around by making efforts like that. And we can do that every day. We can start up again. We can look at the homeless person and say good morning rather than look away because we don't know what to do. We don't know how to solve their problem. So then we don't even acknowledge their existence. And that has a profound impact. In the church in New York, I think it's St. John? I can't remember. It's a very inclusive church. Is that St. John? St. John Divine, thank you. There is outside the church... There's a sculpture of a homeless person on a bench.

[32:19]

And wrapped, you know, under a blanket, lying on the bench in metal. And when you go closer, you see the pierced holes in the feet and the pierced holes in the hands. Don't see the face. So it's Christ lying there as a homeless person. So all the Buddhas, the homeless Buddhas out there, can we meet them like Buddhas? Can we meet them like worthy human beings? And you have to get close to the sculpture to see it. And I think that too is, if we look away, if we distance ourselves, To protect ourselves, we deny life. We think, well, I can't solve the problem, so then I look away.

[33:25]

Then we become inhuman. We don't have to solve the problem. We have to just acknowledge that there's another human being there. So sometimes when I look away, I go back and look. And I catch myself. I catch myself to look away because it's so fast sometimes because it's just something overwhelms me about what I'm seeing. I look away. When I catch myself, I turn around, I go back and I say good morning. And it changes something in my heart. If I don't do it, then my heart is in pain for the rest of my day. It's a heaviness. I missed an opportunity to just be simply human and kind. And it has a deep effect on ourselves. So gratitude practice is the other thing that is really, really powerful.

[34:38]

And I think in this time, Really wonderful. Just the simple fact that you were able to come here, there are innumerable things you can be grateful for. That you have a body that allows you to get here, that we woke up this morning, that made it here, that keeps breathing while you're here, that whatever... means you used to get here, they helped you get here, that you had the time. So if we practice gratitude or appreciation every morning when we get up and every evening when we go to bed, we start living in a very abundant world because we see all the resources that support us and that creates generosity and kindness in us. If we only think of the things we didn't get that we wanted or didn't work out the way we wanted, we start living in a world of scarcity.

[35:49]

And we become fearful and defensive. I mean, you can just feel it. And you imagine somebody doing half a year of highlighting everything that didn't work out quite the way it should have or would be better. It's miserable. It's misery. If it's a world that you see the beauty and that you appreciate what you've been given and that you're alive and can do many things, it's a world of abundance and connection with the resources. So Hafez has a poem that I will close today.

[36:55]

It's called There. There, I bow my head at the feet of every creature. This constant submission and homage of kissing God all over, someday every lover will do. Only there I prostrate myself against the beauty of each form. For when I bring my heart close to any object, I always hear the friend say, Of this I am here. There I bow my head at the feet of every creature, This constant submission and homage of kissing God all over, someday every lover will do.

[37:58]

Only there I prostrate myself against the beauty of each form. For when I bring my heart close to any object, I always hear the friend say, Hafiz, I am here. So I would like to bow my head to everybody in this practice period, to everybody online, to everybody that supported this practice period, to the whole staff, everybody, and all of you coming here today. Just with gratitude for your life and your intentions and for being here. Thank you very much.

[38:54]

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