This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at sfzc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Good morning. How's the audio? So nice to hear. chant that introductory chant three times at city center we only we only do it once maybe maybe we should change that we'll see so nice to be here in person i was here a year ago in person but we didn't have any outside visitors then but it's nice and it's nice to have some of you from the wider sangha here this morning my name is ed satazon I'm the central abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center, at least for the next three weeks.

[01:00]

Then who and I, who stepped into the Abassi together nine years ago, will step down together on a Friday evening, three weeks from now? Do we then vanish into thin air? That's what happens. I'm not exactly sure what happens after that, although we did promise we would hang around for a while. I think there's still some work for us to do. I want to thank Kokyu for inviting me to this talk. When he sent me the invitation, it said, it would be a good way for the new people here to get a chance to meet you. Oh, wonderful. We have new people at Green Gulch that I haven't met. So how many of you students are new to practice here at Green Gulch? Can I see a show of hands? Wonderful. Welcome to Green Gulch. I hope you're finding the practice here amenable. There's many wonderful teachers here and senior students to practice with, so you should feel fortunate.

[02:07]

I hope you're feeling fortunate. I'm going to do a kind of walk through some traditional Zen stories this morning, which hopefully will give you a feeling for... I'm going to pick two teachers that... And we'll sort of discuss how their practice evolved into the great Zen masters they ended their lives as. And you can use that as a model for your way forward. So before I get started, I wanted to just say something about this beautiful Jizo Bodhisattva statue behind me. Take a moment to invoke her. Jizo Bodhisattva is the guardian of children and travelers, and Jizo's vow is to remain present for all beings in all realms of existence. And that is our vow. Jizo holds in her hand a wish-fulfilling jewel.

[03:11]

It represents our wish for the ease of all suffering for all beings. In particular this morning, Jizo I wish for it for those suffering from the war in Ukraine, the devastation of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, and those suffering from gun violence and social injustice. May all other beings who are suffering from the consequences of global warming be at ease. We're so fortunate to have Jizo here in this zendo to remind us of this fundamental vow we have. So thank you. Now, to my main topic, David Zimmerman and I led the fall practice period at City Center on the Blue Cliff Record Talks that Suzuki Rishi gave from 1962 to April 1965.

[04:14]

All of Tsukiroshi's first lectures were on the Blue Cliff Record, which I found interesting, given that we think of usually the Book of Serenity as the collection of koans that are more Soto-style. But Tsukiroshi spent the first three years here talking about the Blue Cliff Record. And Jiryu, along with Giramel, who has passed, assembled them into a collection and edited them to... Come out with a book eventually of Suzuki Roshi's talks, which I look forward. I understand now it's going to be two books, a collection of other lectures and then a collection of Koan lectures. So anyway, inspired by Juryo's collection and reading through them, we led the entire practice period on the Blue Cliff Records. And I decided to bring one of them forward today. So I'm going to present the 51st case. So the characters in this koan are Shui Feng and Yen To.

[05:19]

At the time of this koan, they were both accomplished Zen teachers. Shui Feng had retired to a hermitage to deepen further his practice, and Yen To was abbot of a training temple. They were good friends and Dharma brothers who had traveled together since they were young. visiting various famous teachers, such as Dungshan, the founder of Soto Zen, and Linji, the founder of Rinzai Zen. This was during the golden age of Tang, and there were many great teachers around, until they eventually found a teacher that would give them transmission, and that was Desha. And this koan occurs after Desha had died, and Pengshan. Dong had retired to his hermitage and Yang Tong was in his temple. So here we go. So when Shui Feng was living in a hut, there were two monks who came to pay their respects.

[06:25]

Seeing them coming, he pushed open the door of the hut with his hand, popped out and said, What is it? One of the monks responded, What is it? Feng lowered his head and went back inside the hut. That was the end of their interaction. So we kind of, you know, this was quite common back in those days that earnest young monks would be on pilgrimage. And obviously at this time, Shui Feng was a very well-known teacher and they'd come to interact with him and learn something from him. And this is all they got. And, you know, they walk long, dusty roads in China. So what is it? Was he just sort of saying, what's up? Why did you come here? Or what's your practice? Or what is reality?

[07:28]

Or what's the ultimate truth? You're sort of left with, what is it? What is it? What is it that's going on here, I think, is kind of the way most people interpret that statement, a question to them. And as we know, questions are an essential part of our practice. And probably all of you that have come here at some point said, what is it? What is the meaning of my life? What does it mean to be a human being? What does it mean to live in this world of suffering? How do I act appropriately? What do I... How do I... Who am I? What am I doing? It's that kind of a question. So one of the monks, apparently the two of them split up. One of the monks later came to Yento and asked, and he asked, where are you coming from? And the monk said, I've come from Lingnang. And Yento said, did you ever go to Shui Feng?

[08:30]

And the monk said, I went there. Yento said, What did he have to say? And the monk recounted the preceding story. Tho said, what did he say? The monk said, he said nothing. He lowered his head and went back inside the hut. Tho said, alas, it's too bad I didn't tell him the last word before. If I had told him, no one on earth could cope with old Shui. So Ko is kind of remarking, it's too bad he could have done more than that if I told him the last word. So what is this last word he should have told? Yento. Last word, Bu Ho Ju. It can either be the final word or phrase or it could be, it's very ambiguous according to Sullivan. It could be goodbye wishes or last word in an argument or a final speech.

[09:34]

before you're dying, the dying person. But most people think in this context, the last words means the ultimate truth. If I'd only told the last truth, the ultimate truth, the real meaning of what life was about, he wouldn't be stumbling around doing what he's doing. So that was his comment. And so... Continuing the story, at the end of the summer, the monk again brought up the preceding story to ask for instruction. Tung said, why didn't you ask me earlier? And the monk said, I didn't dare to be casual. Tung said, though Shui Feng is born of the same lineage as me, he doesn't die in the same lineage as me. If you want to know the last word, just this is it. First of all, I love that, that the monk came and explained his dilemma.

[10:38]

He still didn't know what Shui Feng was talking about when he said, what is it? And he didn't get an answer except for Yento said, I just didn't have the last word. I wish I'd given it to him. So he practiced with him for three months, which I think is kind of nice. Instead of just diving in and saying, well, tell me the answer. What is the last word? Instead of doing that, he said, well, maybe I'll hang out with this guy for a while. I'll get to know him a little bit better. Maybe I'll rest with this question in my mind. Because you think maybe if he'd gotten the answer right away, it wouldn't have stuck. Sometimes you need to mature with a question. When I was young, I had a burning question that I was fortunate to present to Suzuki Roshi. I got a good answer. But, you know, I didn't really completely get it, maybe, for 20 or 30 years.

[11:43]

It was one of those questions, one of those answers that hung around in my life and shaped my life for a long time. So sometimes it's good not to have, you know, a last word just given to you. It would be lovely if you walked up to one of these distinguished teachers and Greengal just said, well, what's the ultimate truth? I said, this is it. And then you could just go on your way. No bothering to sit Zazen for 50 years. No bothering to ponder your life anymore because you've got the ultimate truth. But unfortunately, I don't think that's the way it works. So... Before sort of exploring this final turning of this koan, this statement, though Shui Feng is born of the same lineage as me, he doesn't die in the same lineage as me.

[12:50]

They were both successors of the same teacher. If you want to know the last word, just this is it. Before kind of going into that some more and talking about Tzatzikari's comment on that, I think I'll talk a little bit about these. two eminent Zen teachers. Shui Feng was born in 822. And at a very early age, he became quite an adept and was ordained when he was 14. And... person who assembled all these pages seems to have admitted page four. I should be a better secretary to myself, but anyway.

[13:52]

So Yento was born in 828, so he was actually six years younger than Bung. And they traveled a lot together, as I mentioned, going to really great teachers, and they eventually ended up at Deshan's temple. I'm going to share with you kind of a well-known story from their time together at Deshan's temple, because it kind of is wonderful how they related to each other and how they helped each other in their practice. But first, just to say a little bit about Deshan. Deshan was from northern China. And as a youth, he studied the classic precepts. He thoroughly soaked himself in the Diamond Sutra. And he'd heard that the Southern school of Buddhism was robust. And this idea of sudden awakening without studying the classics. And he spoke against it. And he finally assembled all of his commentaries on the Diamond Sutra and headed south to straighten those folks out.

[15:00]

Any of you who have been studying Zen are familiar with this story. So he was going to straighten out this so-called sudden enlightenment school. In the course of his travels, he came across an old woman on the roadside selling tea and dumplings. He asked her, who are you? She responded, I am an old woman selling dumplings. When he asked if he could buy some refreshments from her, she... inquired venerable priest what are you carrying in your bag he said i am a scholar of the diamond sutra and i have all my notes and commentaries hearing this the old woman said i have heard that according to the diamond sutra past mind is ungraspable present mind is ungraspable and future mind is ungraspable so where is the mind that you wish to refresh with dumplings, oh scholar.

[16:01]

If you can answer this, you may have a dumpling for me. If not, you will have to go elsewhere for refreshment. Those tough old key women. Well, of course, Deshaun was completely speechless at this point, had no answer. So he asked if there was anybody maybe he could study from nearby, and she sent him off to Chan Master Long Tan. And with Chan Master Long Tan, another story that I don't have time to recount, on blowing out a candle at night, he was awakened, and the next day he took all of his Diamond Sutra commentaries and burned them in front of the Zendo and said, all the mysterious doctrines are but a speck of dust. in the vast void so wonderful story and it's uh i love these ideas that you wander through your life and you come across some nameless woman or some nameless person and all of a sudden you're confronted with the fact that everything you thought about life everything you thought you were doing made no sense anymore and you were finally

[17:26]

jolted to a place where you could actually go meet somebody and open up to a new direction in your life. And I've, in my life, had many people not necessarily associated with Zen teachings that have woken me up. And I recommend you stay alert. You never can tell. Maybe a passing coyote will give you an insight into what's happening. in your life. Wonderful koan. Kind of reminds me of that famous saying by Bodhidharma, a special transmission outside the scriptures, not founded on words and letters. By pointing directly to one's mind, it lets one see into one's own true nature and attain Buddhahood. Not that we don't read. Tons of scriptures. I have an entire library full of them that we read.

[18:29]

And it also reminds me when I first drove my VW bus into Tassajara. I'd taken the summer off from graduate school in search of the truth and had heard California was where the truth was. And I'd heard something about some Zen master having set up a monastery in the Big Sur Mountains. When I got to Monterey, they directed me to Tassajara and said, You know, you could at least go there and have a hot bath. So I drove my VW bus in there. It was a little longer dirt road than I had imagined at the time. But anyway, I got in there. I walked into the office in order to pay my $3 and secure my towel to go to the baths. But that's not what came out of my mouth. What came out of my mouth was, I've read a few books on Zen, and I'm interested in it. And Stan White, who was the man behind the desk, looked at me and said, oh, well, if you stay here a week, you'll learn more about Zen in one week than if you read all the books on Zen in English.

[19:35]

Would you like to do that? And for better or for worse, I said yes and started my career at Zen. I don't know if Reb's here this morning. He isn't, but Reb gave me Zazen instruction then. He was a very young monk, but gave a good, solid Zazen instruction. And Suzuki Roshi was in residence then, giving lectures, and that's when I began my relationship with him. So, even if you haven't read all the books on Zen, if you just follow the schedule, get up in the morning, sit Zazen with some curiosity about your life, If you're a field worker, go to the fields and do what they do in the fields. Now, are we doing no-till farming yet? Are we still tilling the farms? I don't know. Sarah will have to explain. I always love it that we're being so forward-thinking in our growing of vegetables here.

[20:51]

became a great teacher and kind of strict and didn't talk much. He was known, you know, if you say something, if you don't say anything, 30 blows. If you say something, 30 blows. So he was considered quite strict after he had gotten this fundamental teaching. And so at this time, Chui Feng and Yento were in residence. Yento had become quite a good teacher So he was the Tenzo. And he had been the Tenzo at Dengshan's place, too. So that had been kind of his thing. He was kind of like the Ed Brown at that time. And Yento was kind of the head assistant to Deshan. So here's the story. Deshan, one day, descended to the dining room, dining hall, bowls in hand. And Shui Feng asked him, where are you going with your bowls, old teacher?

[21:54]

The bell has not rung and the drum has not sounded. Deshan turned and went back to his room. Shui Feng brought up this matter with Yento. I think there was a kind of way in which he felt kind of that he had bested the teacher. The teacher... We don't know. One commentary says the meal was late and the teacher just was arriving on time, even though the bell hadn't run, which was even worse. But let's say that the teacher was just kind of one of those old ditzy teachers, possibly like I am, you know, that can't quite keep track of all these things. And I thought it was dinner time and had come down for dinner and was kind of reprimanded by the Tenzo. It's not time for dinner. Go back to your room. So he just turned and went back to his room and he was telling this to Yento and Yento said, Deshan, great as he is, does not yet know the last word. Here we have that last word again.

[22:55]

How could Deshan, after all these meetings with these old women and all this training, still not know the last word? Of course, hearing about this little interchange, Deshan sent for Yento and asked, don't you approve of this old monk? And Yento whispered, what was going on in his ear. Deshan said nothing further. Next day, when Deshan took the high seat before his assembly, his presentation was very different than usual. Yento came to the front of the hall, rubbing his hands and laughing loudly, saying, How delightful! Our old boss has got hold of the last word. From now on, no one under heaven can outdo him. So what's going on here? What's this little game that's going on here?

[23:56]

First of all, as you're into these koan things, there's always this question, what did Yento say to Deshan? What did he whisper in his ear? And of course, all along, Yento was not saying that Deshan didn't know, quote, the last word, or what is it that we're talking about here with the last word? He was quite a distinguished teacher at that time. He was probably trying to mess with Shweifun a little bit. Why were you so, you know, not more accepting of the teacher? I mean, in some sense, you know, the abbot of a monastery in our tradition, quote unquote, it's kind of the center of the mandala and whatever he's doing is the right thing to do. There's parts of our morning service that you do here where the bell is rung when the abbot or the doshi bows to the altar, whether that's the right time in that particular section of the service to do it.

[25:04]

Kind of like, oh, when he bows, that's when the right time to do it. So if the abbot is coming to the dining hall, well, maybe that's the right time for dinner. You should at least be a little bit more. Or if nothing else... Every time you run into the abbot, there's a chance to meet the abbot. You should take that opportunity. Oh, here's the abbot. Not reprimand him for coming early to dinner, but just have a chance to meet him. So this little game that got set up by Yento did not awaken Shui Feng, and he still was kind of confused about things. And then Deshan died. And the two of them set off on a pilgrimage. Maybe just, I'm going to talk more about last words here, but maybe just one little comment, you know.

[26:12]

Last word, last truth. First truth, first word. How about the truth of each moment? The truth that arises fresh on each meeting. That's the truth that Shui Feng missed in his meeting with Deshan. Anyway, they were traveling... This is the moment when you take a deep breath and think, ah, it's so wonderful to be sitting here in this beautiful room at Green Gulch on such a bright, sunny day.

[27:20]

I'll just pay attention to my breathing a little bit until Ed finds the right page to talk to me about. Maybe he'll spend more time finding the right page and I can have a little bit more time just paying attention to my breathing. adjust my posture and enjoy this moment. Anyway, the two of them were hiking on pilgrimage and they were stranded by a heavy snowfall in a small village. And they took shelter in to wait out the snow. And while there, Yento takes time to catch up on his sleep. In contrast, Chui Feng spends nearly all of his time doing zazen. So one might say, you know, and this is typical of Yento, was sort of famous for being one of these people that was always trying so hard to be the best student of Zen.

[28:21]

You know, following the schedule exactly like it's supposed to be, reprimanding his teacher for arriving too early for dinner, just trying too hard. So he has the problem of crying too hard. You know, it may be possible that Yento has the problem of being too relaxed. This is the trick you have to find somewhere in between. But in any way, in this case, Yento says, why is he sitting like a stone statue day in and day out? Shui Feng says that he's meditating because his heart is still not at rest. Yento says, well, fine. Tell me what's on your mind. I'll try to help you. And Pui Feng lists, you know, many encounters he's had with great teachers over his 20-year career. And Yento is listening very carefully.

[29:24]

And finally, he responds by shouting, don't you know that what enters from the gate cannot be the treasure of the house? Don't you know what enters from the gate cannot be the treasure of the house? If you want to propagate the great teaching, it must flow point by point from within your own breast to cover heaven and earth. Only then will it be the action of someone with spiritual power. Don't you know that what enters from the gate cannot be the treasure of the house? He's saying you keep looking to the outside. for your awakening. You keep looking to the outside, but that treasure is in you already. The treasure is in the house. And if you want to propagate this great teaching, it must flow point by point from within your own breast. It was at this moment that Chui Feng was finally settled through this patient interaction with his good friend,

[30:33]

that he had traveled with for many, many years, studied with for many years at Deshaun. And I bring this forward partly because I hope, especially you new students, will take advantage of the opportunity of meeting the senior student teachers here at Green Gulch and maybe get some inspiration from them, like Suzuki Rishi was my inspiration. But Sikuroshi, for instance, died soon after I arrived there, and I spent the next 50 years getting my encouragement from my good Zen friends, my Dharma friends that I have known all these years, some of them living here at Green Gulch. So I hope you new students may meet a Dharma friend while you're practicing here and travel with that Dharma friend over many years and find Many ways in which your Dharma friend can wake you up to the truth of your life.

[31:37]

Sangha, Dharma friends, great treasure of our way. Ah, alas. I have assembled many pages here, which I will not get to. So I think I'll return to the very last section of this koan that I started with. At the end of the summer, the monk again brought up the preceding story to ask for instruction. To said, why didn't you ask me earlier? The monk said, I dare not. To be casual, To said, though, I'm very confused because It's ganto and seppo in Japanese, but I decided to translate it into traditional Chinese because that is our style now. But those Chinese words are much harder to pronounce than seppo and ganto.

[32:44]

Seppo and ganto kind of like the Marx Brothers, easy to remember. Anyway, where was I here? Though Shui Feng is born of the same lineage as me, he doesn't die in the same lineage as me. And Suzuki Roshi's comment on that is, wherever Shui Feng and Yento might be, however long they live as best friends of each other, what Shui Feng did is actual Shui Feng. And what Yento did is actual Yento. This is it should always be the last word for oneself and for others. So what does Sukru mean when he says what Shui Feng did is actual Shui Feng? It's even though they learn the teaching together, are both of Deshan's lineage, and they share something very important.

[33:52]

They have to be their own man. They have to be their own teacher. They have to be themselves in their teaching. And that's why they don't, quote unquote. I know. That's always my reminder to get to wrap things up is when the when the kitchen staff leaves, because it's time to eat. Please go take care of the food. This is it. Be yourself. Don't be your teacher. Be the teacher that only you can be. Live the practice life that only you can live. That this is it. Here's a little wonderful poem that goes along with this. Oh, I have to do one other thing. I want to make a comment that Sugerishi made about the what is it.

[35:03]

And this is his beautiful comment. Dogen Zenji said, breathing in or breathing out, after all, what is it? Dogen said, breathing in or breathing out, after all, what is it? Sugerishi says, no one can tell what it is. Now you may not be calm or patient enough to wait for the right answer, but let us ask ourselves if our activity is either subjective or objective. Is our activity subjective or objective? Let me point to this. What do you mean by it? Do you mean breathing itself or the idea of breathing? If you mean the idea of breathing, it will be another matter. if you mean breathing itself on each moment, you have solved the problem already. When you breathe in and out on each moment in calmness with big mind, now you will understand that the right answer to what is it should always be this is it.

[36:19]

Breathing in or breathing out, after all, This is it. You find a great truth in that practice, which we do so diligently here all the time. This is the appreciative word to this koan. Referring to Yento's last word to Shui Feng, I will ask you enlightened mind. Is daytime different from nighttime or the same? Even though they lived acquainted with each other in complete companionship, they were to die in different places. Yes, they should die in different ways. Buddha should have curled hair. Bodhidharma should be blue-eyed. From east to west, south and north, let us come back to our old home in a midnight sky to sea, a plain white.

[37:25]

mountain covered with snow. Beautiful little summary there. I want to end with a poem. I kind of think fits in here. At least I thought it was when I picked it. So I hope you find it. So this is a poem by Wislava Sienboska, who is a Polish poet. Not sure if you're familiar with her. She won the Nobel Prize in 1996 for literature. And the title of the poem is Life While You Wait. Life While You Wait. Performance without rehearsal.

[38:25]

Body without alteration. Head without premeditation. I know nothing of the role I play. I only know it's mine, and I can't exchange it. I have to guess on the spot just what this play is all about. Ill-prepared for the privilege of living, I can barely keep up with the pace that the action demands. I improvise, although I loathe improvisation. I trip at every step over my own ignorance. I cannot conceal my hasty manners. My instincts are for happy histrionics. Stage fright makes excuses for me, which humiliate me more. Extenuating circumstances strike me as cruel. Words and impulses you cannot take back.

[39:30]

Stars you'll never get counted. Your character, like a raincoat, you button on, on the run. The pitiful results of this unexpectedness. I'll read that last sentence again. Your character, like a raincoat, you button on the run. The pitiful results of all this unexpectedness. If only I could just rehearse one Wednesday in advance. Or repeat a single Thursday that has passed. But here comes Friday with a script I haven't seen. Is it fair, I ask. My voice a little hoarse since I couldn't even clear my throat offstage. You'd be wrong to think that it's just a slapdash quiz. taken in makeshift accommodations. Oh no, I'm standing on the set and I see how strong it is.

[40:32]

The props are surprisingly precise. The machine rotating the stage has been around even longer. The farthest galaxies have been turned on. Oh no, there's no question. This must be the premiere. And whatever I do will become forever what I've done. And whatever I do will become forever what I've done. Maybe that is the last word. So, hope you enjoyed that poem. Those in the theater might enjoy it. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. Our programs are made possible by the donations we receive. Please help us to continue to realize and actualize the practice of giving by offering your financial support.

[41:37]

For more information, visit sfzc.org and click Giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[41:48]

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