of the Prajnaparamita in 8,000 lines. Call forth as much as you can of love, of respect, and of faith. Remove the obstructing defilements and clear away all your taints. Listen to the perfect wisdom of the gentle Buddhas taught for the wheel of the world for heroic spirits intended. This is the introduction to perfection of wisdom literature. But the first line, call forth as much as you can of love, of respect, and of faith. It's a good way to begin the day any day, anywhere. I have to confess to feeling right now that I've been really arrogant in thinking that I, not that I should, but that I could give you a worthwhile teaching of the gentle Buddhas.

[01:29]

when I'm leaving at 5 o'clock tomorrow morning to fly east to participate in the wedding of my granddaughter. But I also thought that since I'm leaving the practice period for five days, I should give you a Dharma talk. But it was arrogant of me to think that I could. and I was very much reminded of a story that Mrs. Suzuki told me. She said to Tsukiroshi once, you know, why do you go to all that work doing those talks? Nobody ever comes. And he said, it doesn't matter if it's one person or a hundred people. It's the Dharma, and I have to do my best. And that made a huge impression on me, but apparently not enough of an impression.

[02:31]

So I apologize for not having as well prepared a talk as I would like to. So we are studying the teaching of Suzuki Roshi, and that is one teaching of his. Always... Make your best effort. He said, Zen is making your best effort on each moment forever. And of course, you know, there was somebody had given me a definition of Zen. That's hard to come by. So I kind of latched on to it. What I need to do is make my best effort on each moment forever if I want to practice Zen. And... that made a huge impression on me. And so, you know, I do my best, but sometimes it seems to come up short.

[03:41]

Has that ever happened to you? We just have to continue to make our best effort and not attach to the results, but just Make our best effort. And not make comparisons, not keep score, not either build up your elevated image of yourself or detract from your being Buddha. right now. Yes?

[04:44]

We had a tea this afternoon, the practice period, and we started out with a quotation from Suzuki Roshi in this little book, To Shine One Corner of the World. where David Chadwick has collected anecdotes from many of Suzuki Roshi's students about moments that stood out for them in their relationship with him. And one of them was a student who said, do you watch your students to see how well they're following the precepts? He said, no, I don't... watch them to see how well they're following the precepts. I just pay attention to, I just look to see how you are with each other. And the Buddha said at the end of his life, he said, as long as the Sangha comes together in harmony, meets together in harmony, and departs in harmony,

[05:55]

the Dharma can be expected to prosper and not decline. So it's important to notice how we are together in the Sangha, how we are with each other, and to work on cultivating harmony in the way we are with each other. You know, the precepts is not following a bunch of rules. Precepts is just being awake and aware of what is a beneficial way to be in the world and what is a harmful way to be in the world. And so working on being together in a harmonious way is Dharma work. Is precept work?

[06:57]

Is cultivating your inherent Buddha nature work? Jordan brought up the interesting point of view that the precepts are just meditation instructions. Maybe not just meditation instructions, but the precepts are meditation instructions. I think of them as sort of signs like danger, thin ice. I mean, the ten prohibitory precepts are sometimes called the brave precepts. They're calling our attention to areas in human life where great suffering can occur and asking us to be particularly awake and aware. in those aspects of human life that have been delineated in the ten specific precepts.

[08:02]

But however you think of them, they're not exactly rules to follow. They're particularly useful ways to pay attention to how you are living in the world with each other. In our small group, there was, when we were talking about how are we with each other or how are we together, someone brought up the discomfort that they had in receiving rather a good deal of gratuitous advice and how uncomfortable it made him, particularly when it came from the same person repeatedly. Different advice, but always from the same person.

[09:13]

And we tried to think about skillful ways that he might interact in order to have a more harmonious relationship. It was suggested that he might say to the person the next time they gave him gratuitous advice, excuse me, would it be all right if I gave you some feedback? And then to share with the person that they weren't comfortable receiving advice in that way. And that sounded like useful skill. Excuse me, would you mind if I gave you some feedback? That's kind and gentle and still it allows you to say what you need to say. I believe that Greg and Linda are

[10:28]

doing a class on right speech. Or is it kind speech? How are you? Right speech. It's right speech and right listening. But that realm of activity, there are a number of precepts around speech. Speech is a very important way in which we interact with each other and learning how to do it harmoniously can be extremely helpful in your life and in the Sangha. One of Dogen Senji's instructions for the Bodhisattva methods of guidance for the bodhisattva is kind speech.

[11:29]

There are a number of questions you might ask yourself when you're considering speech that you want to be really careful about because it's a delicate situation. First, is it true? Is it helpful? Is it necessary? Is it kind? Is it timely? These are all things to be considered when you have some communication that you anticipate might be difficult and you want to be quite careful about it. And as you practice in that way, you develop habits of right speech. You may have to be more attentive at first, but as you continue practicing, you can develop good habits of speech.

[12:34]

It's interesting, I wasn't intending to have this talk to me about speech, but there it goes, you know. Talk about what's in front of you, my teacher once said to me. I was particularly... studying today a talk by Suzuki Roshi called Jumping Off the 100-Foot Pole in Not Always So, a book of his later talks. And he talks about Durban Zenji's great question of... He's talking about Buddha nature and if we already have Buddha nature, why do we need to practice? One of my responses to that has been for a long time, because we already have Buddha nature or are Buddha nature, that's why we practice.

[13:50]

It isn't that we practice in order to create Buddha nature or to make Buddha nature where there isn't any it's we practice because that's our fundamental nature is the nature of awakening and if we want to develop that awakening we find ourselves moving into practice Because we're already Buddha. We're already awake and we want to live it, express it, be it. But in talking about jumping off the 100-foot pole, he had something here which I kind of like. And he says...

[14:57]

There's a famous koan about a man who climbs to the top of a hundred-foot pole. If he stays at the top, he is not the enlightened one. When he jumps off from the top of the pole, he may be the enlightened one. How we understand this koan is how we understand our practice. The reason we believe... Well, he had said earlier, you know, everything is Buddha nature, and including evil desires is Buddha nature. He says, the reason we believe that evil desires should be thrown out is because we stay at the top of the pole. Then we have a problem. Actually, there's no top of the pole. The pole continues forever, so you cannot stop there. But when you have some experience of enlightenment, you may think, that you can rest there, observing various sites from the top of the pole.

[15:59]

Things are continuously growing or changing into something else. Nothing exists in its own form or color. When you think that here is the top, then you will have the problem of whether or not to jump off. But you cannot jump off from there. That is already a misunderstanding. It is not possible. Even though you try to stop at the top of the pole, you cannot stay there because it is growing continuously. That is the problem. So forget all about stopping at the top of the pole. To forget about the top of the pole is to be where you are right now. Not to be this way or that way, not to be in the past or the future, but to be right here. Do you understand? This is Shikantaza. Forget this moment and grow into the next. That is the only way.

[17:03]

And then he tells the story, for instance, when breakfast is ready, my wife hits some wooden clappers. If I don't answer, she may continue to hit them until I feel rather angry. This problem is quite simple. is because I do not answer. If I say yes, then there's no problem. Because I don't say yes, she continues to call me, because she doesn't know whether I've heard her. Anyhow, he goes, I'd love to read this whole thing to you, but you can read it for yourself, and not always so. But... He says, so the secret is just to say yes and jump off from here. Then there's no problem. It means to be yourself in the present moment. Always yourself, without sticking to an old self.

[18:07]

Be the self that you are right now. You forget all about yourself and are refreshed. You're a new self, and before that self becomes an old self, you say yes, and you walk into the kitchen and have breakfast. So the point on each moment is to forget the point and extend your practice. As Sturgenzenji says, to study Buddhism is to study yourself. To study yourself is to forget yourself on each moment. then everything will come and help you. Everything will assure your enlightenment. So each moment, just concentrate and really be yourself. At this moment, where is Buddha nature?

[19:07]

Buddha nature is when we say yes. That yes is Buddha nature itself. So that making your best effort on each moment, then, comes down to responding to whatever is coming at you in each moment. Whatever is calling you, whatever is here for you to take care of on each moment, that's where your attention is. without dividing your attention between responding to what's right in front of me and observing and checking up on how am I doing? Am I looking like Buddha now? Never mind that. Just pay attention to what's right in front of you and respond to what's right in front of you.

[20:11]

If in the situation that came up in our group discussion, the person who was giving the unwanted advice noticed that the person he was talking to was looking uncomfortable, he could stop. But if he's just full of himself and sure he's right, He has no concern about the person he's talking to. So our effort is to be attentive and responsive to whatever arises in your life. As Ed said, Suzuki Roshi says, let everything come home to your heart and let your heart respond. Let everything come home to your heart and let your heart respond.

[21:20]

When we can do this, there will be harmony in the Sangha and the Dharma can be expected to prosper. So there is responsiveness, meeting people directly, receiving them in your heart and responding. There are other ways in which we can have harmony in the Sangha. Just looking for ways to be helpful. I find that my Sangha mates are often right there looking for ways to help, even without asking.

[22:27]

I mean, even without me asking, people offer. And I see it often happening. It's not just me. So we can notice... when someone needs a hand, and offer it. I remember being over at Rinso Inn, Suzuki Roshi's home temple, when his son Hoitsu was there present as abbot. Now he's Tanto at Eheji, and his son is taking care of the temple most of the time. But he was leaving the family living quarters of the temple and walking across the parking lot to his car, dressed in his robes and with a little valise, obviously going to some member's home to do a memorial service.

[23:36]

And his chisha and I were sort of sitting on the steps talking. And his chisha saw him step out the door and he was off like a flash. He just went right up to him and just took the valise out of his hand and walked over to the car and opened the door and put the valise in. And I was really impressed. And I said to my teacher, I said, did you see that? And he said, yes, but if I did that, would you let go? Just like that. So we have to do this dance together. But I thought, gee, that is really good training for people to just see that immediate response.

[24:38]

That was really beautiful to see. And I have to say that my Jesus response to me was absolutely on the mark. I mean, I see several people laughing very hard who know me well enough to know why he said that. I could do it myself. Forget it. Forget it. Work together. Help each other. Yeah, you could probably do it yourself, but So it's much more harmonious when we do things together. You know, I've been having this campaign. I'm not just looking at this particular picture of Suzuki Roshi. But if you look at almost...

[25:43]

any picture of Suzuki Roshi, most every picture he's smiling. And as I've mentioned before, Thich Nhat Hanh has got a big thing about smiling. Someone quoted him saying, I'm not going to go back to San Francisco Zen Center until they start smiling there. So I'm working on this. I want to see if we can't develop a new habit of when we stand in a circle waiting for work meeting to begin or waiting for the morning breakfast chant, if we can't stand there and remember to smile rather than looking grim. It actually has an effect on how you feel. I mean, since I've been working on it, It has an effect on my state of mind when I deliberately smile.

[26:45]

Aside from the fact that it softens tense places, you know, like your forehead and your eyes and your jaw. So I have a little campaign going on. I would like to enlist you in this campaign if you would be so kind. and help me introduce smiling practice to San Francisco Zen Center. And check it out. Check it out and see if you don't feel the difference in yourself, in your mood. I guess I'm wondering, there's a little time left, and I'm wondering if anything interesting happened in any of the other teen groups today that you would like to share with the rest of us when you sort of took up this question of, no, I just watch how you are together or how you are with each other.

[28:06]

Did anything come up in any of the other groups that you'd like to share? Yeah? Yeah. Well, I actually don't think that it was you that was there. But, you know, you could say, in that context, you could say, do you mind if I give you some advice? Or do you mind if I show you how we generally do that here? So ask for permission rather than just diving in and doing it. I mean, that's one thing that occurred to me in the conversation that we had, that if this person had said, Could I give you some advice?

[29:08]

Then it would give the person... In the first place, it gives them some control over it. They don't have to... I mean, in your job, it's your job to keep up the forms. That is not what was being spoken of here. But still... we could perceive that with, may I offer you some advice before doing it? Or may I show you how we do it here? Or something like that. This asking for permission to give advice is something that might be helpful. I don't know. Even in your job, it might be helpful. I mean... I do a lot of that, too, and it made me sit up and think some in our conversation about how do I do it?

[30:12]

Do I ask permission first, you know, in some way? And how am I just saying yes? How am I saying hi? We were over visiting Sojiji. We were out in the yard during Soji, and the work leader was obviously meeting with the monks, and every time he gave out an assignment, a group of monks would say, and we'd push off. To be able to do something, you know. It was just, it was very, very vivid, and so we noticed it. And someone in the group that I was with said, oh, that's so noturistic.

[31:14]

Something or another, I don't know. And then later, some of these monks took us out to lunch at a noodle shop nearby, and the same person was saying, gee, they're such nice guys. And I said, you know what? That practice of saying yes with enthusiasm is part of why they're such nice guys. At least that's what it seemed like to me. So that's the training at the monastery is you get your assignment, Rose, do the guest students respond to you like that? Maybe to develop that practice. Would you get a mop and a bucket and do this floor? Hi! Yes! I don't know. We could try. So let's be observant of how we are together, how we are with each other, and see if it's the way we want it to be, or see if we want to make some adjustment in it.

[32:38]

As long as the Sangha meet together in harmony, come together in harmony, meet together in harmony, and depart in harmony, the Dharma may be expected to flourish. and not decline.

[32:58]

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