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. As Koto said, my name is Kyoshin Wendy Lewis. And today I will be addressing the theme of the practice period at City Center, which is karma. in the context of karma and its interdependent workings. So arousing the mind of bodhicitta, which is the, you know, the mind of enlightenment to take on Buddhist practice can be intuitive and it can be sudden and it can be gradual. But what it's generally accompanied by is a sense of our past, how we got to this, or also where we are now and a sense of the future or what we're going towards.

[01:15]

So all of this sort of contains the workings of our karma and that of those around us and of Buddhism itself. This is all... sort of moving together, and we're responsible in our way, and so is everything else. So there are unconscious and semi-conscious and self-conscious choices and actions that our awareness kind of struggles with to evaluate, make sense of, and we're guided as well as pulled here and there by karmic circumstance. So even when we make intentional choices that are either selfless or selfish, we can't exactly tell how they will turn out. We can have some idea, but we can't really know. So of course, also one of the catches to understanding karma is that we approach it with our karmic tendencies.

[02:24]

So Even our interpretations of the teachings are sort of entwined with this sense of who we are and where we come from and all those other things. So the teachings of Buddhism offer tools like karma that allow us to experience both the joy and the embarrassment of self-understanding. So part of the joy is that just as we are, we're part of the unfolding of the human condition and relationships and everything that occurs in our life. And part of the embarrassment is that we can never be fully approved of or be right all the time. So we're entangled in the mix of many things like, you know, sort of. wider things and narrower things, cultural stasis, our preferences, the preferences of others, ideologies, beliefs, hopes, all kinds of things.

[03:37]

And these things automatically include and exclude us. So that piece of it as well. So I think of studying Buddhism as a process of being taken apart and put back together. again and again. And considering the role of karmic tendencies in our life, the contextual undercurrent or overview of karma is survival and fear. So at the very bottom of our karma is the sense of how we will survive, succeed, and all those kinds of things, and all of our fears of that not happening and how that feels and how that manifests. So in some ways, karma can be correlated with the concept of atonement. And here's a description of that.

[04:38]

When it first entered English, atonement meant to reconcile and suggested the restoration of of a peaceful and harmonious state between people or groups. And so some synonyms for atonement are compensation, amends, penitence, penance, punishment, expiation, apology, reparation, recompense. And you can see these are the workings of karma. They sound negative, but they actually have positive connotations. through our sort of regrets or our sense of doing something good that actually doesn't turn out well, things change. Our karma moves. So it has this sense of that reparation both internally as well as externally.

[05:42]

So this karma and atonement are kind of inextricable from the interdependent nature of our intentions and actions and the interpretation of those intentions and actions. So as many of those terms for atonement imply, as I was just saying, there are these entanglements of our ideologies and fairness. And all these other factors that come into how things unfold in our lives and the lives of others. And how our ideologies can cloud our perceptions and also support them. You know, there's this inspiration of teachings and that sort of thing that can turn us in one direction or another. And one thing that I think can be forgotten is that our discomfort. is as important as our comfort in understanding ourselves and our relationships with each other.

[06:48]

And in some ways, our struggle with ideologies, and I'm using that term because we're idealizing Buddhism in a certain way, and we do that in order to teach it and to convey it and to practice it. But... What happens sometimes is that those ideologies, and you can see this in politics and other institutional circumstances, is that they can also lead to a kind of abuse of power in the sense of there's this particular perception or interpretation that is considered right. So... that is also part of our karma and where that can lead to lack of fairness or equity or all kinds of things that we're struggling with, particularly on the surface, it seems, at this moment, but always there. And most ideological institutions, as they mature, develop processes and systems for counteracting that

[07:57]

sort of way that things get idealized into a particular stream or particular interpretation so that it can be more nuanced and shared, complex, all those things that kind of give things vitality as well as difficulty. So I think that this is how the ethical systems of Buddhism work more towards interdependence. than towards some sort of righteousness or right interpretation. And the purpose of understanding karma and practicing ethics is not so much to create a lot of good people, but to provide some sort of guidelines and opportunity for everyone who is interested and curious to thrive and to benefit. And to be nurtured, you know, and to bloom into their full humanity.

[09:01]

So for this reason, I consider the message of a true teacher or leader to be, don't be afraid. Because as long as we're afraid, we can't examine these complex things and how they take us apart and put us back together. So don't be afraid. And then what does that connote, you know, in you? Does don't be afraid mean knocking stuff over? Or does it mean something else? So there's still nuance in understanding that. But don't be afraid. I watched this Netflix series, Madam Secretary. And in one episode, there's a priest. And whenever he answers the phone, he says, don't be afraid. I'm here. don't be afraid, I'm here. And I thought, yes, that is the message. Even if it's not exactly in our experience, really feel true.

[10:05]

But I've known a few people who I consider to be true bodhisattvas. I mean, there's lots of bodhisattva actions being done, but only a few people who I consider that to be who they are. And These people often tend to be a little awkward and relatively poor or actually poor, generally unambitious, and they have a sense of humor. And they do things that most people ignore or think are beneath them, you know, and that sort of thing. And it's not a big deal. I met so many people like that when I was a chaplain and in other places. settings, hospitals are very intense atmospheres for seeing that kind of action. And as I was thinking about this, I remembered there was, they used to, in hospitals, call this person an orderly.

[11:11]

I'm not sure what the modern term meant for it. I couldn't remember it, but there was this man and, you know, he goes around with a cart. He takes people to get their tests and brings them back. And he does. cleaning stuff and all that. And it turned out he was from a Buddhist background. So we started to talk and he said something to me. During the time I was chaplain, it was so intense that I actually didn't have a lot of time to participate directly in practice life at Zen Center, Sui Center. And I said to him, oh, you know, I'm sort of looking forward to going back to Zendo and being there more often. He said, but you've been doing that all the time when you're walking around, when you're eating your lunch, when you're talking to people. And I thought, okay, so these people, you know, nobody sees them usually and they appreciate them, but who are they? And for him to be the voice of wisdom for me, of course.

[12:15]

So in my favorite book on karma, it's called Good, Evil, and Beyond. Kama in the Buddhist teaching, and it's from the teachings of Bhikkhu P.A. Payuto, a Thai teacher. There's this verse. Kama is what we own. Kama do we inherit. From Kama are we born, and to Kama are we related. By Kama are we supported. And from this and the other teachings, I think it can be inferred again. The karma is a tool for developing understanding of interdependence, among other things. And Buddhism essentially addresses the workings of the mind, which includes the emotions and all those other things. And emotions arise through various karmic strands. And in Buddhism, there are sort of three areas that are emphasized.

[13:20]

Greed, desire. wanting things, hate or aversion and fear, and delusion or selfishness and uncertainty. So we could just watch ourselves through these different ways that we act from our karma, create it, impose it on others, and feel it coming towards us from others' karma, from the karma of you know, larger institutions and from just the people who we see every day. And just in case we get complacent or, you know, about who decides what is, you know, like good and bad karma or appropriate and skillful and what is not, in good, evil and beyond, they point out that kusala or skillful and akusala or unskillful acts.

[14:20]

can be catalysts for each other. So they give these examples, you know, someone who does things that are good and who's considered good by other people might become proud and arrogant and judgmental of others. And someone who seems to be acting in a harmful way might be opening the possibility of reflection and forgiveness. And I think we've all experienced this. It's not like, you know, we're... sort of dividing ourselves into who got it right and who didn't. But just, you know, being aware of this impact and how it can change us and sort of help us and help others in some way to be part of this unfolding and generously sharing that. So there's in this It's called The Merchant of Prato by Iris Orgo.

[15:21]

And it's the biography of an Italian merchant in the 14th century. And in it, there's a chapter entitled The Family Friend. So this biography is based on a cache of papers and journals and letters that were stored under the stairs of the house of the merchant. Francesco di Marco Gattini, and they weren't found until 1870. So they'd been under the steps for these stairs for hundreds of years. Well, in the meantime, there's a statue of this merchant in Prato, and he's remembered and revered for requeathing his fortune and his house to the poor of Prato. So in a sense, you know, we could say this was an example of a bodhisattva. And the family friend is Sir Lapo Matse.

[16:25]

And he was from a poor background and by luck. And due to his intelligence and his nature, he received a good education and he became a notary. And that's someone in this case, he oversaw the legal and financial concerns of an institution. which Orgo describes as the greatest charitable institution in Florence, the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova. And in this, hospitals are not exactly what they're like now, but in this institution, they cared for the sick and the elderly and orphans, and they distributed food and alms to the poor. And the people who worked there had obligations to... They were basically religious obligations to poverty and celibacy and to lead a good and holy life. So Sir Lapo, as an administrator, actually did not take religious hours and have a very large family.

[17:27]

I think they had 14 children and five of them lived to adulthood. Actually, three of his children died during the plague, which was very sad in the letters when he talks about it. But he was dedicated to the principles and purposes of this institution, Santa Maria Nuova. And from the evidence of the letters, he was a frugal, generous, kind, lighthearted, and very sincere person of faith. So here's Francesco Di Martini, Di Marco Dattini. And he had offices in several cities and he dealt in luxury items and spices, carpets, slaves, olive oil, linens, and so on. And it's actually really fun reading about how all that worked in the 14th century. But it was partly due to the reduction in population during the plague that the importing, buying and selling of slaves became more normalized.

[18:33]

And his only child, Francesco's only child, was a daughter he had with one of his sons. So Iris Orgo wondered, you know, at this close friendship between Sir Lapo and Francesco, who she describes as rough, restless, and grasping. So she thought perhaps their friendship was the attraction of opposites. And it also occurred to me, I wonder perhaps if they both, were deeply aware of the roughness of the world and both its humor and its horrors. There was great trust between them. They listened to each other. And Francesco listened to Sir Lapo. So these karmic elements of likeness and unlikeness, of shared humor and trust between them. And Sir Lapo, you know... offered his notary skills to help Francesco with some business and legal issues.

[19:37]

And he taught Francesco's wife, Mona Margarita, to read and write so that they could correspond while the merchant was traveling. But he liked getting letters from Mona Margarita, and he let her know that they were not only well-written, but very entertaining. He liked hearing the stories of the household and that sort of thing. And he wrote congratulating Francesco for these fine banquets he was able to offer to his business friends. And he said, but do not forget to let the poor too sometimes see your fine house and be filled and nourished by your food so that God may not reproach you. And he also wrote, A friend has license to say what he likes to his friend, or he is but a fearful fellow. So this interesting way they had of talking to each other and communicating.

[20:41]

Well, towards the end of his life, the merchant purchased a large slab of marble to be carved with his likeness and dates and that sort of thing for his tombstone. And the people of Prato, as I said, they had put up a statue to him. And when this biography was published in 1957, and this may still be the case, a mass was still being said for him on the anniversary of Francesco's death. And what was left of his bequest, I suppose it had been invested in some way, it was still being distributed to the poor every year. Sir Lapo's burial place is unmarked, and his death is only remembered by a note in the ledgers of Santa Maria Nuova. So it's the wealthy merchant who's remembered and has monuments to commemorate him, and Sir Lapo, who did this daily sort of bodhisattva work, who was forgotten.

[21:49]

Of course, except for these incredible, collection of these letters, detailed, friendly, curious, telling stories. And historians are just delighted to have this record of that time. And they're discovered like 460 years after Francesco's death. So all this time, he's been celebrated as this great benefactor and all of that and nobody even knew who Sri Lapa was but the letters show this interdependence of their friendship and the circumstances under which it flourished including the plague and how that impacted people's religious sensibilities and that sort of thing and could have been their friendship could have been the reason that the merchant made his bequest so

[22:51]

One way to understand karma as action is to recognize that it's not necessarily conscious or intentional, but it's more along the lines of this teaching. While the individual is enjoying, which means experiencing as much as pleasure, right? While the individual is enjoying the effects of their past, they're unaware of creating the conditions for a future life. It is clear that life, in the usual interpretation of the term, moves as a vicious circle continuously kept in motion by a drive of anxiety that it should do so. And again, you know, these sound like negative teachings, but they're just saying, you know, this is what we do. It's not like, you know, there's something wrong. But then how do we work with it or... accommodate it, engage with it in ways that go forward in a particular way, acknowledge the past in a particular way, in a more directed way, you could say.

[24:08]

So, you know, how do we think beyond this kind of mechanical thinking of our circular fears and judgments and our justifications? And as we examine concerns with how the world and our place in it arises and passes away and being pulled in so many directions by these circumstances, how do we move towards this engagement? And in the midst of this pull of wanting to retreat, or feeling desire and aversion, and then how do we stay on this path that we have decided to take on? So one way, I think, is just remembering and continuing to apply these Buddhist teachings, watching how things unfold or not, getting sort of in this new habit of understanding reality.

[25:18]

And how it impacts us, how we impact what happens, and how that turns and turns and turns. So things continue to happen. I mean, obviously, even for enlightened person like the Buddha or any enlightened person, things continue to happen that please us and frighten us. They might hurt us and annoy us. affirm, dismiss, and support us or threaten us and those around us. So we continue to respond in various skillful and unskillful ways. And we're not always sure, you know, completely which is which. So, you know, it would be nice if we could do all this without mistakes and embarrassment. But I think those are part. of what brings about transformation from a kind of codependent relation to reality to interdependent freedom.

[26:25]

And this experimenting beyond our karmic habits in order to free ourselves and others from them. And I think this is how atonement as reconciliation, compensation, amends, penitence, expiation, apology, reparation, recompense, all those things can come into the process of examining interdependent karma. So in this interdependent mix, and again, I'm sort of referring to our current circumstances and things that are kind of coming and going in our minds right now, maybe. You know, when we think of oppressors or holders of power and their tendency to blame the victim and then accusing those who complain of their hurts as being malicious towards their betters.

[27:29]

And all this shared kusala or skillful and akusala and unskillful karma can cause rigidity from all these different perspectives. And maintain, you know, that vicious circle continuously kept in motion by the drive of anxiety that it should do so. So my recommendation, and this is my understanding of, part of my understanding of Buddhism, and this recommendation I find both contradictory and filled with anguish and joy. applying the tools of Buddhist teachings, including karma, engaging in contemplation and reflection, and sustaining what I think of as a radical hope in the possibility of transformation towards peace, patience, and generosity for ourselves and others.

[28:32]

And this hope is radical because it is unlikely to be met. you know, when you consider the history of humanity. So, yet it has these moments where it rises to the surface. And this is, you know, kind of in a wide and kind of local personal ways, such as that friendship between the merchant Francesco Di Marco Datini and Sir Lapo Mazze. And I think in people who are unafraid and encourage others to be unafraid. So these instances that hint at peace and friendliness are worth working towards. You know, whatever that requires and whatever ensues, they're worth it. 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.

[29:36]

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

[29:45]

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