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, everyone. And welcome. Thank you for coming out to join us today in this rather inclement weather. It's hard to feel bad about the inclement weather, though, as much as we need water, so... That's a mixed bag, isn't it? Life is like that. There's the upside and the downside. It sounds like it's on. I'll give it a try if I lean down like this. This any better?

[01:11]

Yes. Okay. Thank you. Someone was supposed to remind me that today was World AIDS Day, so right on top of my notes, it reminds me. So since I'm going to be speaking today, On the four unlimiteds, loving kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity, I'm actually going to be speaking mostly on loving kindness. But I would like to now, in the face of this reminder of World AIDS Day, for you to bring up in your hearts both love and compassion for all those suffering from this. plague that has been visited on us worldwide.

[02:21]

We're not so conscious of it here anymore. It was like that happened in the 80s, right? But it's still happening. It's still happening all over the world. So please... Find space to bear in your heart the grief of all those who are themselves suffering from maids or who are their loved ones suffering from maids. Those of you who know my story know that I came to practice because I discovered suddenly in my early 40s that I was going to die. You know, I think it's up until then. Well, of course, I'll die later when I'm old. But then my best friend, who was my age and had children the age of my kids, suddenly had a terrible headache one night when I was at her house. It was so bad she went to see a doctor the next morning, just hospitalized with an inoculable brain tumor, went into a coma and died.

[03:33]

You know, it was within a few weeks, less than a month. And suddenly I realized, well, that could have been me in the most part. Oh, my God, I'm going to die. But then, most fortunately for me, the next thought was, well, how do you live if you know you're going to die? And so that became my question. How do you live if you know you're going to die? It happens to be... The essential message of what a teaching that the Buddha gave called the five reflections, the five recollections. I'm of a nature to grow old. I cannot avoid aging. I am subject to illness and infirmity. I cannot avoid illness and infirmity. I am of a nature to die.

[04:39]

I cannot avoid death. This is all true, right? We know this. But somehow it doesn't affect how we live. We sort of put it off in a corner, at least I did, until things like that. And the fourth is, I will be parted from all that is near and dear and beloved to me. And then the fifth is I am the owner of my actions and heir to my actions. Actions are the womb from which I have sprung. My actions are my relations. My actions are my protection. The fruits of my actions, both wholesome and unwholesome, skillful and unskillful, I will inherit. So to me, that is exactly what happened when I discovered that I'm of the nature to die and I can't escape it.

[05:47]

The next thing that came up, and I'd never heard of Buddhism or the Five Recollections or anything like that, well, then how do I live? And that, I think, is generally the teaching of... All religions and of Buddhism, certainly. How we live is of utmost importance. Everything we do is affected by and affects others. We are affected by what others do. So we really do need to pay attention. to how we live our life. Joan Baez says in a very brief way, you don't get to choose how you live.

[06:51]

You don't get to choose how you're going to die or when. You can decide how you're going to live now. And one important teaching that I try to remember every day is a teaching that the Dalai Lama has given about the Bodhisattva vow. He says, every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to have woken up. I am alive. I have a precious human life. I'm not going to waste it. I'm going to use my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.

[07:55]

I'm 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. So this is a vow he not only recommends to us, but which he says he does each morning as he wakes up. And I have a great fondness for the Dalai Lama among other things because someone asked him once, what is your religion? And he said, my religion is kindness. And I really felt that really warmed my heart. And I think what going into practice really is about is to be with people whose attitudes toward the world touch your heart.

[09:06]

And to be with people who inspire you to be the best you can be. And I will say that I was thrashing around looking for who knows how to live when you know you're going to die. And when I met Suzuki Roshi, there's something about him. I mean, the way he met me was, he knows what I need to know. He knows how to live when you know you're going to die. So that's how I got here. And one of the things that I like most about the liturgy here is that we often chant the loving kindness meditation or the Buddha's teaching on loving kindness. How many of you are familiar with the Buddha's teaching on loving kindness?

[10:10]

Do you mind if I just Read through the chant and share it with everyone. This is what should be accomplished by the one who is wise, who seeks the good and has obtained peace. May one be strenuous, upright and sincere, without pride, easily contented and joyous. May we not be submerged by the things of the world. May we not take upon ourselves the burden of riches. May our senses be controlled. May we be wise but not puffed up. And may we not desire great possessions even for our families. May we do nothing that is mean or that the wise would reprove. 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.

[11:30]

May all beings be happy. May we not deceive another, nor despise any being in any state. May we not by anger or hatred wish harm to another, Even as a mother at the risk of her life watches only and protects her only child, so should we cherish all living beings, suffusing love over the entire world, above, below, and all around without limit. So may we cultivate an infinite goodwill toward the whole world. When I first heard that, it was such an all-inclusive and vast aspiration. It really resonated in me, and it keeps coming back and keeps coming back.

[12:37]

I love that chant, and I love the meaning of it and the aspiration of it. And I want to encourage everyone to look at their hearts and see if that isn't already there, just waiting to be attended to in your own heart. Even as a mother at the risk of her life watches over and protects her only child, So with a boundless mind should one cherish all living things, suffusing love over the entire world, above, below, and all around without limit. So let one cultivate an infinite goodwill toward the whole world. Is there anything more inspiring than that?

[13:39]

I remember... Brother David Steinelrest was a Benedictine monk who came to practice with Suzuki Roshi at Kassahara on occasion. And after Suzuki Roshi was dead, he still kept coming back from time to visit us. He still does workshops on Buddhism and Christianity with Paul at Kassahara. He's done workshops with me on gratefulness and Buddhism and Christianity. He has a website, by the way, called gratefulness.org. You can check it out and see. He sends out a daily quotation or teaching, brief teaching on gratefulness. Or as he says, gratefulness. But he was speaking on... Benedictine monasticism and monasticism, the way we practice in our monastic practice at Tassajara.

[14:46]

And someone asked him about celibacy, and he said, well, if I want to love everyone the same, I have to be celibate. Well, very proviscious. But that aspiration to love everyone the same, I mean... well, if I want to love everyone the same, it sounds like, well, of course, don't we all want to love everyone the same? It had never occurred to me until then. But it's been a great inspiration to me since then. And I have a number of quotations I'd like to share with you about this whole business of kindness and love. Aesop said, no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. And Mahago Sananda, who was a great Cambodian teacher, who, as I've mentioned before, when he was close to death, he had quite some dementia.

[16:03]

And he was at a Mahathanda gathering that we, the Green Gulch and Spirit Rock organized. And he was, you know, he had someone to accompany him all the time so he didn't wander off and get lost. But he was sitting over on one side by a window, and I thought, oh, I'll go over and pay him my respects. I remember my first impression of him, he was visiting here one time, and my first impression was he would not allow anyone to bow more deeply to him than he bowed to them. I mean, his humility was palpable. But at this time, he was, as I say, suffering from dementia. And I started over toward him, and as I began to get closer, I felt this physical sensation of this wave of... loving kindness just flowing out of him.

[17:04]

It was physically palpable. I'll never forget it. It was just amazing. And then you've got, here's a quote from him. The thought manifests as the word. The word manifests as the deed. The deed develops the habit. The habit partings into character. Character gives birth to destiny. So watch your thoughts with care and let it spring from love born out of respect for all beings. Watch your thoughts with care. They become who you are, essentially. Watch your thoughts with care. and let it spring from love born out of respect for all beings. And Rumi says, every tree, every growing thing as it grows says this truth.

[18:13]

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 And 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 one more poem from Naomi Shihabna. Before you know what kindness really is, you must lose things. Feel the future dissolve in a moment, like salt in a weakened broth. What you held in your hand, what you counted and carefully saved, all this must go so you know how desolate the landscape can be between the regions of kindness.

[19:21]

How you ride and ride thinking the bus will never stop. The passengers eating maize and chicken will stare out the window forever. Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness, you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho lies dead by the side of the road. You must see how this could be you. He too was someone who journeyed through the night with plans and the simple breath that kept him alive. Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside, you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing. You must wake up with sorrow, you must speak to it till your voice catches the thread of all sorrows and you see the size of the cloth. Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore. Only kindness that ties your shoes and sends you out into the day to mail letters and purchase bread.

[20:26]

Only kindness that raises its head from the crowd of the world to say, it is I you have been looking for. And then goes with you everywhere like a shadow or a friend. as we work toward cultivating loving kindness we can bring it up in all of the aspects of our work. There's nowhere that loving kindness is not appropriate. And I want to to share with you a poem written by Maile Scott, prayer actually, that's clearly based on both her practice of loving kindness and her practice of supporting peace in the world.

[21:51]

She, you know, another one of the things that got me to, that turned my head toward practice was Once during the Vietnamese War, I heard myself say, I'm fighting for peace. And then I thought, what? That's strange. Where's the peace? Does anybody know how to work for peace peacefully? Well, May Lee was a person who did a lot of silent vigil sitting. And this is her metta prayer. He unfortunately died a few years ago. May I be well, loving, and peaceful. May I be at ease in my body, feeling the ground beneath my seat and feet, letting my back be long and straight, enjoying breath as it rises and falls and rises.

[22:57]

May I know and be intimate with body-mind. Whatever its feeling or mood, calm or agitated, tired or energetic, irritated or friendly, breathing in and out, in and out, aware moment by moment of the risings and passings. May I be attentive and gentle towards my own discomfort and suffering. May I be attentive and grateful for my own joy and well-being. May I move towards others freely and with openness. May I receive others with sympathy and understanding. May I move towards the suffering of others with peaceful and attentive confidence. May I recall the bodhisattva of compassion, her thousand hands, her instant readiness for action, each hand with an eye on it, the instinctive knowing of what to do.

[24:09]

May I continually cultivate the ground of peace for myself and others and persist mindful and dedicated to this work independent of results. So when she says... In this practice, I don't mind it. May I continually cultivate the ground of peace for myself and others and persist mindful and dedicated to this work, independent of others, of results.

[25:14]

This work she's talking about is the peace visuals that she did out at Concord Naval Weapons Base. quite regularly. And that reminded me of another quotation which I really, really like. And this is from the Talmud. I like it because, I like to share it because it's from the Talmud, which is my tradition, my family were secular Jews. But I like it that human wisdom is human wisdom. And it's not, nobody's got a corner on the market. We all have access to it when we pay attention.

[26:15]

But this quotation from 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. So don't be overcome by the enormity of the suffering in the world. But right now, do your best to take care of whatever you see around you. and yourselves. You have to take care of yourself and your own suffering in order to be able to take care of others. You have to completely accept yourself as Buddha before you can see Buddha in everyone. So this loving, you know, when we talk about loving everyone, this is included, this one.

[27:20]

And really it's pretty hard for you to cultivate loving kindness for all beings and leave yourself out. It doesn't work. It's not skillful practice. Suzuki Roshi was very clear about seeing Buddha in everyone. He'd say, you're perfect just as you are. Nothing is like it. That doesn't mean that we don't have to, I mean, perfect means complete. We have all of the qualities we need to cultivate loving kindness for all beings. That is possible for all of us. There's not some, everyone but me. But we get caught in that mind sometimes. Somehow we don't see

[28:25]

the full humanity of our friend or our enemy. And so I have a collection here of wonderful quotations from many people, and I just kind of want to share some of them with you. They come from this website that Brother David has. Mother Teresa says, every act of love is a work of peace, no matter how small. 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. So this is, again, a caution for treating everyone with respect, including yourself, but treating everyone with respect.

[29:29]

How is it to feel respected? How is it to feel disrespected? Look at that for a moment and then decide Treat everyone with respect, please. And here are a couple of other quotes from Suzuki Roshi. What makes your practice go deeper and deeper is the day-by-day effort of sitting. When you practice Sazen in its true sense, you are really Buddha yourself. You're really Buddha. When you empty your mind, when you give up everything and just practice Zazen with an open mind, then whatever you see, you meet yourself. And in the Dhammapada, the Dhammapada says,

[30:48]

wisdom arises from spiritual practice. Without practice, it decays. Knowing this two-way path for gain and loss, conduct yourself so wisdom grows. All experience is preceded by mind, led by mind, made by mind. Speak and act with a corrupted mind and suffering follows as the wagon follows the hook of the ox. All experience is preceded by mind, led by mind, made by mind. Speak or act with a peaceful mind and happiness follows like a never-departing shadow. He abused me, attacked me, defeated me, robbed me. For those who carry on like this, hatred will never end. She abused me, attacked me, defeated me, robbed me.

[31:52]

For those not carrying on like this, hatred ends. Hatred never ends through hatred. By non-hate alone does it end. This is an ancient truth. Many do not realize that we here must die. For those who realize this quarrels in. And this one for the mothers in the crowd. All the children who are held in love will know how to love others Spread these virtues in the world. Nothing more need be done. This is from Mengji from about 300 before the Kavanaugh.

[32:56]

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. we can still love and be loved right here, right now with each other. Another quote from Suzuki Roshi. 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. Obviously, when all your desires are distilled, you will cast just two votes.

[34:11]

To love more. And be happy. And there is a Mongolian proverb which says, a heartfelt smile gives warmth enough for three winters. We need to work on that around here. You know, we get too serious around here. I look around and we're all waiting for the breakfast chant in the morning. Very serious. So I think we need to work on smiling more. Thich Nhat Hanh is very big on smiling. He makes a big point of smiling as a part of practice, not just something extra. He said, if I come into the kitchen and ask you what you're doing, I'd rather have you say breathing and smiling time than cutting carrots time. First comes the breathing and smiling.

[35:14]

Now, we breathe, but we wouldn't be here. But can we tack smiling on to breathing and do it both together all the time? You could try. I work on it, but I welcome anyone to comment when they see me looking down the dollar. I really do, to remind me to practice that. Cesar Chavez says, kindness and compassion toward all being... So all living things is the mark of civilized society. And here is another reminder for practice from Pema Chodron, one of my favorite teachers. Wholeheartedness is a precious gift, but no one can actually give it to you. You have to find the path that has heart, then walk it. impeccably it's like someone laughing in your ear challenging you to figure out what to do when you don't know what to do it humbles you it opens your heart so wholeheartedness I like this reminder because you know the first thing that Dogenzenji wrote when he came back to Japan from China was

[36:45]

Well, after Fukan Zazengi, which was a promotion, an encouragement for everyone to practice Zazen, he wrote Bendo Wah, which means wholehearted practice of the way. And as Pema says, it requires work and effort and cultivation. But we can do it. And what a difference it makes when we're all in one piece, intent on loving everyone we meet. This is a quotation from somebody I've never heard of, David R. Hawkins. and I love the quote, make the gift of your life and lift all by being kind, considerate, forgiving, and compassionate at all times, in all places, and under all conditions, with everyone as well as yourself.

[38:02]

This is the greatest gift anyone can give. A grateful heart is a manifestation of one's true self. Nothing sidelines the ego more effectively than a grateful heart. And then Aung San Suu Kyi, you should never let your fears prevent you from doing what you know is right. So once again... Bring loving kindness into the center of your life. Starting with yourself and moving out to those near and dear to you. The traditional meditation is to start with yourself.

[39:03]

May I be happy. May I be at peace. May I be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. May I have ease and joy. May I be safe. And once you felt some opening of your heart, then you begin to move out to those near and dear to you. And then those who are more neutral until you can move out to include even those who are difficult to wish well. This is a practice that we can do anytime, anyplace, wherever we are. And you will see that it will change your heart. And it will continually keep your heart growing out to improve more and more. So please, I urge you, practice on anyone you know.

[40:10]

Wish love, wish happiness, wish well-being, wish kindness. for everyone you know. Anytime, anywhere. And when you see some action that is unkind, try to cultivate at least some compassion for the person who is being unkind. Kind actions come from a suffering mind. They don't come from a happy mind. When you see someone suffering from greed, rather than dump on them, wish them freedom from greed. These three poisons of greed, hate, and delusion are here in our life.

[41:16]

When they arise, instead of condemning yourself, be glad that you notice so that you can turn toward them and relinquish them and turn back toward your true feelings of loving kindness for all the days. 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.

[42:05]

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