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. It's a beautiful day with the sunshine coming into the room, isn't it? Welcome to Beginner's Mind Temple. How many of you are here for the first time today? Would you raise your hands? Okay. Thank you. I have a particularly tender spot in my heart for those of you who are here for the first time, and I'll explain why. My own first ever visit to Zen Center was was on January 2nd, 1982, for a Saturday Dharma talk.

[01:06]

And it's somehow I've never forgot a date, and every year I think about it and remember it. I think I remember it more than I remember my birthday. It's very special. And... So I wanted to give the talk today so I could celebrate the occasion with you. And I really thank you for coming. I came to Zen Center that day on a date. This is the cute boy Dharma gate. With someone... with someone who I had met on a camping trip a little bit earlier, a month or so earlier. And he was a school teacher in the Central Valley in California who had for some years been spending his Christmas and spring breaks from school at City Center as a guest student.

[02:22]

And so he told me a lot about And it sounded very interesting. And then he invited me for the Dharma talk. And the talk that day was given by Sojin Mel Weitzman. And Sojin later became an abbot here at San Francisco Zen Center. And for many years... before, during, and after his tenure as Abbott here, he has been Abbott of Berkeley Zen Center, and he still is. I think he's 86 years old, and he's still very actively teaching. So I still remember Mel's talk, or part of it at least. He talked about his days as a cab driver in San Francisco and all the stories he heard from the people who rode in his cabs.

[03:33]

It was a prelude to Dokusan, I think. And his life as an artist and musician. And he also told about how earlier he had had this office job. and he was late to work every day. And his boss told him that if he could get to work five minutes late every day, he could get there on time, and he wanted him to do it. And at that time in my life, I also had an office job downtown, and I was late to work every day. So I felt like Mel was talking just to me and saying things that it was beneficial for me to hear. And since then, I've often heard people say that about Dharma talks, that they feel like the speaker is talking just to them.

[04:45]

And I think that's because we're often speaking from our own experience. And many, if not most, of our experiences as human beings are shared. Our lives are somewhat universal as well as unique. So anyway, it was a different kind of talk than I was used to hearing. It was certainly different from the sermons in the church I had grown up in. And I liked it and kept coming back. And I feel very fortunate to have found my way here. Sometimes the city center... leaders and teachers talk about whether we should have a Dharma talk on a holiday weekend like this.

[05:56]

And when we close for the holiday, as we did over Christmas, I enjoy the time off. But I also, because of my own experience, have this leaning that it's wonderful if we can be open. I think that if Zen Center had been closed on the day when I came, it's very much a question whether I would have ever begun practicing Buddhism. And I don't think I'm over-dramatizing it. It was just a particular set of circumstances that came together, and it wouldn't have come together in the same way a week later. So I also realize that sometimes we have to be closed and renew ourselves so that when we're open, we can wholeheartedly

[07:06]

receive everyone so I hope that your experience of coming here this morning will be meaningful and important in your life too and I wonder for those of you who've been here longer who came some time ago if you remember your first visit here or to another Dharma center and the circumstances and how that was for you. How many of you remember something particular and meaningful about your first visit? Would you raise your hands? I think it's a big deal in people's lives, isn't it? Another reason that I think it's good for us to be open today is that I know the holidays can be difficult for many people.

[08:17]

Sometimes people have lost a family member or a close friend, and they find they particularly miss them at this time. They feel their absence more. during this time. Or people who don't have a family or a relationship or are far away, they care about, may feel especially lonely. Because in our culture, we have this idea that Christmas is a time that you spend... together with the people you love. So we may see others enjoying the companionship of families or significant others and want that for ourselves.

[09:22]

And this is often the case when how we think our lives should be is is different than how our life actually is. It can cause us a lot of suffering. So I hope that it's helpful for people that were open today and can offer some teaching and community support and connection. And I'm really happy to be here celebrating with you. The turning of the year is a time to take stock, to consider what happened last year and how we want to live in the coming year. On New Year's morning, we have a ceremony here at City Center, and all the residents,

[10:31]

led by the abbot, process around the building to various altars. And at each altar, we offer flower petals and bow, and at some of them we chant. And the staff person in charge of the area that that altar represents takes part in the little ceremony that happens at that altar. And we end up on the roof, which is quite beautiful. It has quite a beautiful view of the city. And there we offer more flower petals and chant and bow and end with some toasts to the new year. And in the last few years, since 9-11 changed the world forever, Sometimes in addition to expressing our hopes and wishes for the new year, we reflect on the tragedies of the past year.

[11:45]

So in 2011, there was not only the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but but also the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. And each year has brought new tragedies, as well as new accomplishments and comings together and hope and inspiration. So I think that this year was a particularly tough one, beginning right away last January with the murder of four young men at our very street corner on Page and Laguna and continuing through the year with other violence and death.

[12:57]

in other parts of the world, in many parts of the world. And there have also, this year, been important successes and accomplishments and bright spots that we can be encouraged by. Still, it seems that as the world gets smaller and communications happen faster and easily, greater harm can happen faster in the world. Our interdependence is becoming much more obvious and sometimes in a negative way. Things that happen on the other side of the world

[13:58]

can turn our lives upside down in ways that are more obvious than before. So I think it's all the more important for us to devote ourselves to caring for the whole world. Our bodhisattva vow to live for the benefit of all beings. is just common sense. I think that on these annual occasions, when we look at the events of the past year, we all hope the coming year will be better, that there will be less suffering. I noticed this in my personal life too.

[15:00]

Even though by any definition I'm past my physical and mental prime, I still have this deep belief that in the future I will know more and be wiser and be better and even be fitter. I believe it so much that I'm working on it, which may make it happen. I will get my act together, I promise. I think this is probably how all our minds work. The future holds promise and potential for good. Life offers us a fresh start, a clean slate.

[16:05]

On New Year's Eve, we had a bonfire in the courtyard and we put out paper and pencils so that everybody could write down things they wanted to lose and throw them into the fire. So this is one side of things. Buddha and Suzuki Roshi famously taught that our act is already together and that our job is to realize that and appreciate it. And on some deep intuitive level, I think we do. I think maybe that's where this feeling that things are going to be better comes from. It's just an understanding of truth on some level. So now we've passed the turning of the year.

[17:12]

We're beginning anew. And it's appropriate for us to focus on our intention for the new year. So I want to talk today about beginnings, which of course includes talking about endings, but I'm going to focus on beginnings. In Buddhism, we say that our life, our mind, our consciousness... no beginning and no end. It is not born and it does not die. And yet we all know that we are born at a certain time and we die at a certain time.

[18:20]

That life is short and time passes quickly. That's how we experience our life. But Buddha taught that this is only an appearance. That all life is process. Our own personal life and the life of the universe. Nothing ever disappears. And nothing... comes from out of nowhere. This moment exists in relation to a prior moment. We're all completely interconnected and interdependent. We're all cooking in the same soup.

[19:23]

Or swimming in the same ocean, if you prefer. Breathing the same air. And that soup or ocean is an eternal now. There is always just now. The way it used to be is no longer just now. And the way it will be in the future hasn't happened yet. The past exists only as a present memory. And the future as a potential or a present imagining. So we always have that opportunity for a fresh start. a clean slate, the first day of the rest of our lives.

[20:30]

We begin from here. What do we want to do with our lives this year? So even though the future does not really exist except as potential, or in our imagination, we can and must have an intention for how we want to live. And that intention will create the future. It will flavor the universal soup. That's the paradox, and it's how things are All of our lives matter. What we do right now matters.

[21:38]

The intention we form now for our life will change the world forever. Recently, I went to Tassajara for a shuso ceremony. Tassahara is our monastery. And this ceremony is a rite of passage for a priest or layperson on the way to becoming a Dharma teacher. The priest is invited to be chusau or head monk for a 90-day practice period. And during that time, their role is to be a model monk, an exemplary practitioner, and a Dharma friend to everyone in the practice period.

[22:42]

So they have tea with everyone, and they begin to give Dharma talks. And at the end of the 90 days, there is a Dharma inquiry ceremony. And all the practice period participants come. And all the former shusos from City Center, Green Gulch, and Tassahara, all the way back to Suzuki Roshi's day, are invited. So that's a lot of people. And some of them come for the ceremony. And everybody who's there for the ceremony asks the shuso a question. And on top of that, there's a lot of form and ritual for the chuseau to contend with. It's a very formal ceremony. And the chuseau answers every question.

[23:45]

The questions and answers move quickly. There isn't a lot of lengthy deliberation or discussion. It's all very immediate and it happens fast. And yet, the chouseau meets every person or tries to. For this ceremony, the chouseau is given a staff, which is a symbol of teaching authority. And before the questioning begins, the chouseau says, the staff is now in my hands. Though just a mosquito biting an iron bull, I cannot give it away. So that's quite an image, isn't it?

[24:51]

A mosquito biting an iron bull. The Dalai Lama has said that if you think you're too small to make a difference in the world, you should try sleeping with a mosquito. I think this is how we all must see our lives. Even though we may feel infinitesimally small, like we have no power to change things, we're still completely responsible for our lives and the world. We cannot give away our responsibility. So it is time to consider our intention for the new year.

[25:54]

And this is part of the broader culture too, not just our Buddhist culture. There is a tradition of making New Year's resolutions. Some of you may already have made New Year's resolutions. And since you're here, maybe some of those resolutions have to do with practice and how you will sustain your practice in the coming year. Or maybe you just have a continuing intention and commitment for how you want to live that recognizes that there is a fresh opportunity in every moment and no need to wait for some particular time or occasion to begin. That is really the Buddhist idea.

[26:59]

But either way, I think it's important for us all to live intentionally. And in this regard, I want to talk about two things. Beginner's mind and the Buddha's teaching that the Dharma is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end. The name of this center is Beginner's Mind Temple, which comes from the title of our founder, Shinryu Suzuki's book of talks called Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. Suzuki Roshi came from Japan and to be the head priest for a Japanese-American congregation at Sakoji Temple in Japantown.

[28:05]

I think they were older people, but I'm not sure. And he arrived in America in 1959, the end of the beat era and the beginning of the hippie era. Excuse me. At a time when... I better stop for a minute. So it was a time when beat artists were very interested in the idea of Zen spirituality. And people would come to Sukoji and ask Suzuki Roshi, what is Zen? And he would say, I sit in meditation every morning at 5 a.m.

[29:09]

and you are very welcome to join me. And many of them did. And so a community of ardent meditators gathered around Suzuki Roshi. And he was impressed by their sincerity. and energy and commitment to the practice. Eventually, it was necessary for him to choose between the American kids and counterculture types and the Japanese-American congregation that he came to serve. And he chose the American kids. think it was their beginner's mind that so appealed to him and inspired him.

[30:16]

He saw their great potential. He enjoyed teaching these people who didn't already have some idea about what Zen was. who were deeply and passionately exploring their lives and trying to make sense of the world and absorbing his teachings like a sponge. He famously said, in the beginner's mind, there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind, there are few. So that's one of the most famous quotes around in Buddhism, and that's where the title of that book comes from. So I think Buddhism in America was strongly founded on this great potential of living freshly in the present moment, appreciating the wonder of life as it is.

[31:31]

So on this day, we can celebrate beginner's mind. Buddha taught that the Dharma is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end. You may know about the Buddhist penchant for naming lists of things, like the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. So some of the names, and this was a technique, this was a way to make it easier to memorize these teachings after Buddha's life when they were transmitted orally before they were written down. So it made a lot of sense to codify these teachings this way. And

[32:33]

The names given to this list of good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end include the three noble principles, the three excellences, the three goods, three supreme methods, three supreme points. These three then are not just a description of Dharma. They're a teaching about how to practice. They are methods. So sometimes this teaching is interpreted this way. Good in the beginning is setting an intention or awakening bodhicitta. which is the Buddhist term for awakening the desire to live for the benefit of all beings.

[33:39]

Good in the middle is actually doing the practice, continually returning to the intention, enacting our intention. It is living in accord with with our own true nature and the true nature of reality, that we are all part of an ongoing, continuous process, that we all have the capacity to live joyously and harmoniously for the benefit of all beings, that all our lives and everything we do makes a difference. that we are completely connected and interdependent with all beings in a shared life. Good in the end is dedicating the merit of our practice to others so that whatever good there is in our activities, it grows and spreads.

[35:01]

and affects more and more and goes on and on. Every day during our morning service, we do this. We dedicate the merit of our flower petal offerings and bowing and chanting to people who are suffering or all beings. It is so habitual that we may not notice it, but we do it every day here. So how can we practice good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end? I want to suggest two possible ways, one related to our formal meditation practice and the other to our life. as active human beings. At the beginning of each meditation period, set your intention.

[36:12]

Articulate it to yourself. For example, you may have the intention to follow your breath and to return to it whenever you're your thoughts stray. Then during meditation enact that intention to the best of your ability. Keep coming back to your object of meditation, your breath. Let go of everything but your breath and your posture. At the end of the meditation period, dedicate the merit of your effort to others, especially to beings who are suffering, but actually to all beings. We cannot know fully how our activities affect others.

[37:26]

but we can be quite certain that what we do or don't do does affect the whole world. And dedicating the merit affects our psychology, our mind, and our consciousness, our emotions and feelings about ourselves and the world and other people. And this radiates out from us in all directions. Our goodness and our good feelings touch others in ways we cannot fathom. The other way that I suggest practicing with good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, is in daily activity in the world.

[38:33]

First, establish an intention to cultivate a wish for the well-being of the entire world and everyone. Well-being for everyone. Then, as you go through your day, focus on various people you meet, people you know and people you don't know, and just articulate to yourself the wish that they be safe and happy and well and at peace. You can do this whenever it occurs to you or when you're waiting for something to happen. At the bus stop, in the grocery line, waiting for your appointment in the doctor's office, stuck in traffic.

[39:49]

So if you're stuck in traffic, you can pick out another driver. and mentally send them your good wishes, your wishes for their well-being and happiness. It's more amusing than fretting about the traffic, and it will help your mind and make you happier. Sometimes when you're doing this practice, Send wishes for well-being of people that you don't like or have trouble with. And when you do that, you can remind yourself that like you, they just want to be happy and free from suffering. We all have that in common.

[40:54]

as human beings. We share that. And when you can see them in that light, it may soften any barrier between you and help you to appreciate your common plight in this world. The major benefit of this practice is to you, not the other person. It changes your outlook, how you feel about yourself and other people. It engenders sympathy, compassion, and goodwill in you, which changes how you are in the world and how people interact with you. So it makes your world better and your life easier and happier.

[42:03]

And then you can help others. Then each time you do this, dedicate the merit of your practice to others. So goodness spreads. There's more goodness. There's really no telling how much. So these are just two examples of ways to practice with these three methods. Other ways are possible. You can bring the same instruction. to whatever practice you are doing, whether it's lojong or mindfulness or whatever way you are currently practicing.

[43:09]

So this is my suggestion for a possible New Year's intention that you might want to take up. And if you try it, I hope it's a benefit to you and all beings. Please keep this in mind as we chant the four vows in a moment. I wish you a happy, healthy, and peaceful new year. And thank you very much for coming today and celebrating with me and listening to my talk. 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.

[44:12]

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

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