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. So I would like to begin by introducing a student of mine who has completed her training and has just received called in our tradition, Dharma Transmission, which means that I think she's ready to teach independently if she wants to. I'd really like to introduce her to you. Could you please stand up to hear you? I'm sorry, but people can't see you unless you stand up. So she just... We sometimes describe the transmission ceremony as the chick in the egg pecking from the inside and the hen on the outside pecking from the outside because it's time for that egg to open up and be in the world independently as a fresh chick.

[01:32]

Her name is Her dharma name is Karyu, which means joyful dragon. One character, K, the joy, is from my name. And Riyu, the dragon, is from the name of her first teacher here. Ryumon, Gutierrez-Baldokin. I don't know how many of you remember Ryumon. She's teaching back in Massachusetts now. I don't actually care you had a companion in this effort, but Joan Amaral, some of you may know her, she is back in Massachusetts also teaching. She had to get back to her group, so she didn't get a chance to be introduced to everyone in her new brown robe. So today, I want to share with you

[02:41]

something that I hope is quite familiar. It's called the five remembrances or the five contemplations. And the Buddha recommended reciting these every day to develop equanimity towards change, sickness, aging, and death. So the five remembrances are I am of the nature to grow old. I cannot escape growing old. Well, you could die young, but otherwise we will all age. And these come from his observations himself that what led him to look for a spiritual teacher is to see an old person, a sick person, a corpse. I am of the nature to grow old.

[03:45]

I cannot escape growing old. I am of the nature to have ill health. I cannot escape having ill health. I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death. All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them. I inherit the results of my actions in body, speech, and mind. My actions are the ground on which I stand. So this fits in very closely with the early experience that led me to practice.

[04:47]

Of course, if you'd asked me, I would have said, well, of course I'm going to die. Everybody dies, you know, later when you get old. But then my close friend and contemporary suddenly got sick and died, I mean, really fast. And it was shocking. And then... I got sick and was hospitalized in septic shock. The morning after my admission, the doctor came around and said, boy, am I glad to see you, with the clear implication that he hadn't actually expected me to survive. And those two things made my death much more real than it had been before. It's not, oh, later, when I, oh, it could happen at any moment. And then a very fortunate thing happened to me. the thought occurred, well, how do you live if you know you're going to die? And that's exactly what this fifth remembrance is about.

[05:54]

I inherit the results of my actions in body, speech, and mind. My actions are the ground on which I stand. It's very important, once you realize that you're going to die, it's very important, what do I do with this life? how do I make this world a better place with this life while it's happening? After I'm gone, it's too late to do anything. So this became the foremost question in my mind. And, you know, it took me a while to realize that everything the Buddha had to say was precisely advice on how do you live if you know you're going to die? Another thing happened to me, sort of, well, actually it was 20 years later, in 1989, I had a heart attack. And I didn't die.

[07:00]

And as I was stepping out of the hospital, I thought, wow, I'm alive. I could be dead. Well, the rest of my life is just a gift. Oh. It always has been. My life has always been a gift. Every life is just a gift. Maybe I didn't notice it before, but that really changed my whole attitude toward life. My attitude toward life became an attitude of gratitude, as they say in the 12-step program. Brother David Steindlrast is a wonderful Benedictine monk who practiced with Suzuki Roshi and still practices with us at Tassajara. Paul does a workshop with him every summer. Brother David and I are about the same age. And he wrote a book called Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer.

[08:05]

Well, he pronounced it gratefulness, which has its own flavor to it. Gratefulness. He has a website, which is called gratefulness.org. You can check it out. And if you join every day, I'm not talking where the... Excuse me just a second. It's just not close enough to your mouth. Okay. I'm just going to adjust it around here. Okay. Is that better? I can twist it in a little bit. Better if you can turn the mic into it. For those of you who may be listening, we're doing a little adjusting with the microphone.

[09:08]

Thank you. So I went down one summer to do a workshop on gratefulness with Brother David. And I said at some point that I had come to appreciate the 12-step program's slogan, cultivate an attitude of gratitude. And one of the people said, my sponsor said to me, I should elevate the altitude of my attitude of gratitude. So... Somehow I find these humorous things helps things stick in my mind a little bit better. But one of the great instructions on how to live if you know you're going to die that the Buddha gave us is the meditation on loving kindness.

[10:20]

I think that as a general quick answer to the question of how to live if you know you're going to die, is the four Brahma Vaharas. Loving kindness, which is unlimited love for all beings everywhere. Compassion, unlimited compassion for all suffering everywhere. Empathetic joy, that is joy at the happiness of others. and equanimity. So these four are called the Brahma Vaharas, or the heavenly abodes. And loving kindness is the first one. And it's just got such detailed instructions on how to live.

[11:28]

And it's quite short. And I had... copies out there for those of you who don't know it I hope some of you got them but I'd like us all to read it together with understanding that is don't just let it go but just listen to what he's saying here because he's starting out this is what should be accomplished by the one who is wise who seeks the good and has obtained peace so there we are I'm about to tell you how to live if you know you're gonna die, he's saying to me there. Let one be strenuous, upright, and sincere, without pride, easily contented and joyous. Let one not be submerged by the things of the world. Let one not take upon oneself the burden of riches. Those of you who know this, you know, can chant it with me if you like. Let one's senses be controlled.

[12:33]

Let one be wise but not puffed up. And let one not desire great possessions even for one's family. Let one do nothing that is mean or that the wise would approve. May all beings be happy. May they be joyous and live in safety. All living beings, whether weak or strong, in high or middle or low realms of existence, small or great, visible or invisible, near or far, born or to be born, may all beings be happy. Let no one deceive another, nor despise any being in any state. Let none by anger or hatred wish harm to another. Amen. [...]

[13:55]

sitting or lying down. During all one's waking hours, let one practice the way with gratitude. Not holding to fixed shoes, endowed with insight, free from sense appetites, one who achieves the way will be free from the duality of birth and death. Those of you who have a single one like this are welcome to take it home. If they're not enough and you want more, I'll run off some more. But this business of your actions are the ground on which you stand. So Brother David's website puts out a quotation every day, and I print up some of them because they touch me. And it touches me that there's an old Dakota proverb that says, we will be known forever by the tracks we leave. So that seems to me to fit right in with your actions of the ground on which you stand.

[15:01]

And Joan Baez said, you don't get to choose how are you going to die or when. You can decide how you're going to live now. And that, of course, is the actions on which you stand. And the Talmud says, do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly now. Love mercy now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it. I like this one particularly because my heritage happens to be that I was raised a secular Jew.

[16:04]

And so I like to know that we're included in this wisdom that we're sharing here. And Howard Zinn says, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite progression of presence, succession of presence. And to live now as we think human beings should live in defiance of all that is bad around us is itself a marvelous victory. have to say that here I was planning to give this talk last night, and I saw a movie.

[17:05]

How many of you here were at that movie last night? The movie is called Gasland, and it's about the dreadful ecological destruction of that is happening called fracking, hydraulic fracking. You know, we're searching in case to sort of see if there might be life on other planetary objects. We're trying to find water on Mars, we're trying to find if there's water on the moon, because water is the basis of how we came to be alive. And this fracking is poisoning, and it's done because of greed. These three poisons of greed, hate, and delusion really are poisons in the human mind and spirit.

[18:10]

And it was heartbreaking to see how this greed may become so overpowering that it helps to extinguish us as a species. And yet, the people who serve to profit momentarily, you know, briefly, not in the long run, apparently are so overcome by greed they don't recognize the great harm they're doing. It's not going to kill their generation, but I don't think they're thinking about future generations. I don't want to get too political, but if you have any occasion to add your voice to those who are opposing fracking, please do it.

[19:22]

or please try to see the film and make up your own mind. But it seems to me to be a great harm to the world. So how we live our life makes a difference. How we work with the three poisons of greed, hate, and delusion, and not become overwhelmed by them, is where our work is as practitioners. On the other side, the Dalai Lama tells us his practice. Every day, I think as I wake up, today I am fortunate to have woken up. I am alive. I have a precious human life. I am not going to waste it. I am going to use my energies to develop myself. to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.

[20:29]

I am going to have kind thoughts toward others. I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I'm going to benefit others as much as I can. To begin your day with this attitude will start us out on the right track. and will help to bring us back when we stray. I have to somehow find a way to think of the people who are deliberately saying that there's no harm being done by the fracking in order to not be stopped. I have to think that they are suffering from greed so badly that they can't see what they're doing. But each of us is responsible for our own actions.

[21:33]

And Dr. Seuss had this to say about it. You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own and you know what you know. And you are the one who will decide where to go or how to go. So I thought it was nice that Dr. Seuss has some wisdom for us too today. It's up to each one of us how we live this life. Each day it's up to us how we live this life. Do we add to the beauty and to the joy and to the love and the compassion Or do we add to the greed, hate, and delusion? Soon after I came here, I heard from somewhere, and I cannot remember the source of it, but I heard the sentiment of it all the time from Suzuki Roshi.

[22:43]

All beings, without exception, are Buddha. only because of our delusions and self-clinging, we don't realize it. Excuse me, I drop words out of my head sometime now, quite regularly. So all beings, without exception, have the wisdom and compassion of the Buddhas. But because of our delusions and self-clinging. We don't realize it. So our work is to realize that we are of the same nature as Buddha. And this was a very strong teaching from Suzuki Roshi. Seeing Buddha in everyone was a very strong part of his practice.

[23:50]

And looking at him or him looking at me, I could see that he did see Buddha in everyone, even me. He didn't just say you should see Buddha in everyone. He did. Can we do that? What a difference it would make if we could do that. Each time we do that, each time we see the person in front of us as Buddha. each time we return their gaze in a way that they can see we're seeing. Think how that is. Practice it. See if you can do it. Karen Armstrong says, religion isn't believing things. It's ethical alchemy. It's about behaving in a way that changes you. that gives you intimations of holiness and sacredness.

[24:54]

And Blessed Mother Teresa says, we ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. And there is an African saying, Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes that you made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly, your wholeness when you are broken, your innocence when you feel guilty, and your purpose when you are confused. So, wisdom... is not the private property of any tradition.

[25:59]

You see these words of wisdom echoed through culture after culture. So there must be some truth in them if they come up independently from all around. It's not just our little school of Buddhism here who have these opinions, or our little school of African wise people, or our little school of Dakota wise men, or whatever. Or these Catholic nuns and monks that I'm quoting as well. Brother David's One of the quotes from Brother David himself is, the quest of the human heart for meaning is the heartbeat of every religion. And Aesop, a long time ago, I don't know if you were brought up on Aesop's fables, but they were around a lot in my household.

[27:11]

He says, no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. And Mahagosananda, a marvelous monk from Cambodia, a wonderful man, he spent some time here once, he says, the thought manifests as the word. The thought manifests as the word. The word manifests as the deed. The deed develops into habit. Habit hardens into character. Character gives birth to to destiny. So watch your thoughts with care and let it spring from love born out of respect for all beings. And then Rumi, the Sufi poet, says, every tree, every growing thing as it grows says this truth.

[28:21]

You harvest what you sow. With life as short as a half-taken breath, don't plant anything but love. The value of a human being can be measured by what he or she most deeply wants. Be free of possessing things. Sit at an empty table. Be pleased with water. The taste of being home. And Suzuki Roshi said, if you can just appreciate each thing one by one, then you will have pure gratitude. Even though you observe just one flower, that one flower includes everything.

[29:32]

And someone named Dr. Robert Holden said, The miracle of gratitude is that it shifts your perception to such an extent that it changes the world you see. I can attest to that. That experience of gratitude as I left the hospital changed my world ever since then. It really has. If you can allow gratefulness to really enter your heart, it will put a warmth there that you will be very happy for for the rest of your life. Really, really pay attention to how much you receive from others all the time, to how much of your life is totally gift, unearned, but completely given. Please try to see that in your life.

[30:47]

Another word for the day from Brother David. The grateful heart is a manifestation of one's true self. Nothing sidelines the ego more effectively than a grateful heart. Well, that's good to know from a Zen standpoint. We're trying to put ego to sleep here. And Lao Tzu, who is a predecessor of... Zen in China. Be content with what you have. Rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. And another Chinese sage from 300 before the common era, I'm sorry.

[32:13]

All the children who are held and loved will know how to love others. Spread these virtues in the world. Nothing more need be done. All the children who are held and loved will will know how to love others. Spread these virtues in the world and nothing more will need to be done. That is, if we can cultivate loving kindness, that will really take care of the world in a wonderful way. There seems to be a lot of agreement on that. among many sages. And I want to share with you, when I was young, we didn't have television and we didn't have radio until I was, let's see, 1932. I was about six.

[33:15]

We got a radio, a Philco super heterodyne radio, I remember, so that my father could hear FDR's inaugural address. So we had more homegrown entertainment in our family. We did a lot of reading poetry out loud in the evening instead of watching our favorite TV show. And there's one that I remembered and that I looked up in a book called The Home Book of Verse that was printed about 1870 or something like that. And there's this one called Abu Ben Adam, which I remembered from a child and found it. Abu Ben-Adam, may his tribe increase, awoke one night from a deep dream of peace and saw within the moonlight in his room, making it rich and like a lily in bloom, an angel writing in a book of gold.

[34:18]

Exceeding peace had made Ben-Adam bold, and to the presence in the room he said, What writest thou? The vision raised its head and with a look made of all sweet accord, answered, the names of those who love the Lord. And am I one, said Abu? Nay, not so, replied the angel. Abu spoke more low, but cheerily still, and said, I pray thee then, write me as one that loves his fellow men. The angel wrote and vanished. The next night it came again with a great wakening light and showed the names whom love of God had blessed. And lo, Ben Adams' name led all the rest. Cesar Chavez.

[35:20]

See, we have wisdom from all directions. That's what I love. Cesar Chavez says, kindness and compassion toward all living things is the mark of a civilized society. And David Hawkins, the great physicist, said, make a gift of your life and lift all by being kind, considerate, forgiving, and compassionate at all times, in all places, and under all circumstances, with everyone, as well as yourself. This is the greatest gift anyone can give. And Maya Angelou said, I've learned that people will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.

[36:23]

You don't need to say to someone, I love you. You just need to look at them with love in your eyes, which you can only do if you love them. You don't have to say a word. Sometimes, someone named Leo Busiaglia Too often we understand the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which we have the potential to turn a life around. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

[37:34]

And Hafiz, again, has this to say. He does these wonderful pithy one-liners. When all your desires are distilled, you will cast just two votes, to love more and to be happy. is one I love from Albert Schweitzer. If there's anything I have learned about men and women, it is that there is a deeper spirit of altruism than is ever evident. Just as the rivers we see are minor compared to the underground streams, so too the idealism that is visible is minor compared to what people carry in their hearts unreleased or scarcely released.

[38:37]

Thomas Merton said, every breath we draw is a gift of God's love. Every moment of existence is a grace. And Joanna Macy said, gratitude for the gift of life is the primary wellspring of all religions. the hallmark of the mystic, the source of all true art. It is a privilege to be alive in this time when we can choose to take part in the self-healing of the world. And Albert Schweitzer also said, however much concerned I was, at the problem of misery in the world.

[39:41]

I never let myself get lost in broodings over it. I always held firmly to the thought that each one of us can do a little to bring some portion of it to an end. However much concerned I was at the problem of misery in the world, I never let myself get lost in broodings over it. I always held firmly to the thought that each one of us can do a little to bring some portion of it to an end. And Noam Chomsky said, optimism is a strategy for making a better future. I will go on and do this more in a minute, but how many of you here knew my husband, Lou, who died a couple of years ago? There's enough to tell this story. So... I'm kind of an inveterate optimist, and Lou was quite a cranky pessimist, and so I was discussing it with him one time, and he said to me, a pessimist is someone who has to live with an optimist.

[41:06]

It sounds like Lou. I didn't know that you knew him. So optimism is a strategy for making a better future because unless you believe that the future can be better, you're unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so. Albert Einstein said there are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle and the other is as though everything is a miracle. There's a Maori proverb that says, turn your face to the sun and the shadows will fall behind you. And this again.

[42:08]

No, I think I've got this in here twice. This is Mother Teresa saying, Every act of love is a work of peace no matter how small. So going back to all beings without exception have the wisdom and compassion of the Buddhas but because of their delusions and self-clinging they don't recognize it or realize it. I want to end today with a little song that we can all sing along to if you would please join me. Most of you know this, I think. It's this little light of mine I'm gonna let it shine This little light of mine I'm gonna let it shine This little light of mine

[43:16]

I'm going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Everywhere I go, I'm going to let it shine. Everywhere I go, I'm going to let it shine. Everywhere I go. I'm going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Thank you. I didn't ask for this. Anybody have questions, comments, whatever? Yeah, okay. Oh, it's already 11. Yes, I should stop now. I'm sitting in a chair. I don't know. For more information, visit sfcc.org and click Giving.

[44:32]

May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[44:34]

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