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. This morning I'd like to speak a little bit about my Dharma Transmission. Most of you are aware that I've just returned from a trip to San Francisco, San Francisco Zen Center, for the culmination of three weeks of ceremonies that complete my Dharma transmission, or the third and final

[01:00]

ordination of a Zen priest. So I'd like to talk a little bit about my impressions and perhaps a shade of the meaning of dharma transmission. But before that, I want to give deep bows of gratitude to the Sangha here who also participated in Dharma transmission, also participated in various ceremonies that began on December 21st with the bows to the ancestors and the offerings at the altars here. And so that ceremony, the offerings and vows to the ancestors, it's called bhusarai.

[02:09]

It's a ceremony that's done every day for 21 days prior to Dharma transmission. And in my case, it included all... the ancestors, including the Buddhas before Shakyamuni Buddha, through all of the Suzuki Roshi lineage ancestors, and Hoetsu Suzuki, Sojin Mel Weitzman, and Shosan Egan, Victoria Austin, who is my teacher. and all of what we call the women's lineage, which is not a lineage in the same way as the men, which, by the way, the so-called men's lineage includes Prajnatara, Bodhidharma's teacher, who's understood nowadays.

[03:23]

We know that she was a woman. And in fact, in the Korean Zen tradition, they always knew she was a woman. There was never any doubt about that. But for a long time, Prajnatara was understood in the Japanese tradition to be a man, but now we know differently. So in any event, there was a separate document and a separate set of vows. for the women teachers. And I'll say more about that aspect in a few minutes. But for now, it may be familiar to some of you who participated in ringing the bells for the busurai. that there is a passage, the ceremony opens with a passage from a fascicle by Dogen, E. He Dogen, the founder of this Soto Zen tradition.

[04:38]

And it's called Busho, or Buddha ancestors, Busho. And it's the fascicle from which this ceremony actually derives. Part of the passage is this. It is not limited to the Buddhas of past, present, and future. It being the actualization of Buddha ancestors or the bowing to Buddha ancestors. It is not limited to the Buddhas of past, present, and future. but it is going beyond Buddhas who are going beyond themselves. And in a way, that is what's asked of all of us who take the vow to carry on the tradition, to carry forward the tradition.

[05:52]

We're asked to go beyond ourselves in a number of ways. We're asked to go beyond our physical limits or our ideas of our physical limits. To go beyond ourselves in time. space and to go beyond ourselves in generosity. So in terms of the physical, this process for me involved something north of 3,500 full prostrations over the course of 21 days and And so it requires a tremendous amount of effort, tremendous persistence.

[07:04]

For me, it also brought up a lot of memories about my time practicing at Hoshinji in Japan and at Tassahara, places where I experience a more ascetic practice. aesthetic style of practice. And it's a koan in a way. It's the koan of how to be completely wholeheartedly engaged and yet not fall over to the side of doing damage or of ignoring the reality of this moment. So it's a study. It's a moment-by-moment study. How is it? How is it to be wholehearted and still responsive?

[08:12]

Studying how this body and mind is itself a teaching. For me, it meant finding a strength, finding a resonance that I didn't know before. And then there is going beyond oneself in time. So one aspect of this is manifesting the ancient practices right here and right now, right? Doing ceremonies from hundreds of years ago. You see,

[09:31]

the Tendai roots of this tradition in many of the ceremonies that happen during Dharma transmission. So Dogen was originally ordained as a young boy into the Tendai tradition, or in Chinese, Tiantai. And in Japan, particularly, it has... It's involved also with what's called Mikkyo, or... Vajrayana style of practice, so a style of practice in which rituals and mantras are understood as the embodiment of the Buddha. There's a very heavy emphasis on this kind of mystical practice. And you see that, the echoes of that in the various... secret ceremonies of transmission.

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And you also see the way in which you were asked to be the teaching, to speak the teaching, to enact the teaching. One who takes up these vows, one who takes up this practice, is being the teaching, speaking the teaching, enacting the teaching. But one's also called to go beyond oneself in time, to be the bridge that ensures the continuation of this tradition, for future generations. So really taking responsibility for the tradition, for carrying on this shared understanding.

[11:49]

And that's really important. That's very key. We have this phrase, warm hand to warm hand, that Zen is transmitted, warm hand to warm hand. And it's meant quite literally. This is a very personal event between teacher and student. Dogen's fascicle, called Face-to-Face Transmission, he says, it is disciple seeing teacher and teacher seeing disciple. So what does it mean to really be seen in that way? To be seen so intimately.

[13:02]

to see each other's Buddha nature. And this is the true meaning of intimacy, right? Not just the subjective intimacy, because that's included, but intimacy in the sense of all past, present, and future in this moment, all the ancients. and the future Buddhas manifesting in this moment. That was Dogen's understanding of time. That was Dogen's understanding of what was happening in each moment, held up in specific moments, like these rituals. So he also says in that same fascicle in Menjur, he says, if you do not see in just one generation all the masters, you are not a disciple.

[14:12]

So again, pointing at both the reality, the subjective reality of shared understanding of a school, with a particular set of practices and a particular set of teachings verified from one person to another. And all of infinite past, all of infinite future, all of infinite present, fully manifested, fully resolved in each moment. Like the snap. And in the postscript to Menjoo, he's very clear that he means this both literally and figuratively.

[15:24]

He criticizes, he very sharply criticizes a Chinese master who claimed to have inherited the Dharma from Yunmin about a hundred years after Yunmin's death. And he says, this is a mistaken understanding. And Ejo, Dogen's heir, also affirms by saying, If the Dharma can be inherited through literature, as you imply, do all those who reach understanding by reading the sutras inherit the Dharma of Shakyamuni? It is never so. Right? You can't just read a book and inherit someone's Dharma. It may be a very profound experience. It may change your whole life.

[16:26]

But the Dharma is not abstract in that way. It's a lived experience. And it has to be found in lived experience. So, to return, you're also asked to go beyond yourself in generosity. So one form of generosity is just making practice opportunities possible so that each one of us can realize the way in our own lives. So the people that ring the bells, the people that help carry the offerings. the people that chant along. All of these things, each one of us in the sangha.

[17:35]

Experiencing ourselves as sangha, as realizing the way. And for me, this experience was also an incredible tsunami of generosity from Shosan. Vicky. the generosity of her time, of her effort, of her teachings, of so many Dharma gifts. It was really incredible. She brought together so many people. In particular, she really wanted to bring together the women in the lineage. that was one aspect, unique aspect, of my transmission.

[18:40]

And each transmission is a little bit unique. It's a personal event. So Shosan helped to transmit the Women's Heritage document. And then we had a separate ceremony for that. And about 20 women in brown robes showed up, which is really in some way just the tip of the iceberg, but even so, it was amazing to stand in that room with so much women's wisdom. And they spoke about the history of San Francisco Zen Center, and they spoke about the impacts of having women involved over time. And we chanted to Tara and to Prajnaparamita and to the Buddha and received the documents.

[19:55]

And I also received several ceremonial objects. That's also part of what happens during Dharma transmission. And I was very honored to receive some objects of practitioners who have been very important to our lineage. So I received Blanche Hartman's belt. Zenke, Blanche Hartman, who co-led the practice period When I Wish You So at City Center and has been a teacher to me for a long time and wonderful inspiration. I also received the hosu, the whisk, that had been Steve Stuckey's. Shosan helped to have it made for him, for his Dharma transmission many, many years ago.

[21:11]

And when he was dying, he gave it back to her and asked her to give it to her disciples. So I received Steve Stuckey's whisk. And so I feel a great responsibility with these items, these offerings, these things with which to make koans. As I said to Ed Sadezan, the current abbot at San Francisco Zen Center, these are the things that you hear about in the koan stories. in terms of generosity, it's also an opportunity for me to express my appreciation for the many people who have been important in my practice life. So, there have been many Dharma gifts given as well.

[22:20]

Some calligraphy and just a lot of appreciation of folks, including folks within the Empty Hand Sangha, the San Francisco Zen Center Sangha, the Berkeley Zen Center Sangha. And my gratitude, of course, for the Hoshinji Sangha. So I want to close with a quote by Bodhidharma. So Bodhidharma is... an interesting character within our school. He's the first Chinese ancestor, or you could say the first Zen ancestor, really. And his history is really shrouded in all kinds of legend. But he's understood to have said this, the one whose knowledge and actions

[23:33]

align is an ancestor. The one whose knowledge and actions align is an ancestor. And for me, this teaching points to the presence that's required. the moment-to-moment presence, the way in which we are asked, I am asked, to live into this vow. So that is my commitment. That is my intention. And I do that together with all of you.

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That we might continue to manifest this ancient, ancient way right here, right now, in these bodies and minds. Thank you so 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. For more information, visit sfcc.org and click giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

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