close to everybody, so that they're going to kind of swoop around to see you a bit. Come on in. I promise how to buy it or do that. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

[15:52]

I'm sorry. [...] Good evening, bodhisattvas, awakening beings. Good evening. Yeah, hi. Yeah, thanks so much for coming, whether you're coming in person. Thanks for the things that you had to do to get here. And thanks everybody who's listening online. Your presence is very much appreciated. And I'm also very interested in your questions and feedback not only during the lecture, but also when you have time. So this is one of a series of lectures and study groups that I'm giving on the subject of our kind of philosophically neglected ancestor and co-founder of Soto Zen, Keizan Jokin Dayosho.

[17:11]

So my name is Shosan Victoria Austin. In Japan, I'm known as Gigan. I use my less formal name in America and my more formal Dharma name in Japan. And I started practicing 55 years ago, and I had a good reason to want to practice. I really wanted to handle the suffering of my life and the life of people I knew, particularly in my family. you know, through a lot of twists and turns, I came here and started living here. And then I found that there were just as many issues living in an enclosed community dedicated to meditation as there were where I came from. They were just different. But... The thing that was important and valuable about living in a community, or before I actually lived in the community, I lived in the neighborhood and worked downtown, being able to relate to a community, was that I got to know people who are also dedicated to practicing awakeness for the benefit of all beings.

[18:33]

So that is incredibly valuable and helpful. And I think at this time in the world, this is something we need. And, I mean, really need. A lot of people need it, and a lot of people need our help. And so, I also think that the West has very unique things to offer, not only to Soto Zen Buddhism, but to Buddhism as a whole, that's different from the other countries, but to really be able to enter into the dialogue or interlog among the practitioners around the world. It's great to share a language of practice and to understand how it comes to us. Who are the teachers? What was important to them? And it probably take 500 years for us to learn the practice, but not 500 years for us to begin to be of service to

[19:39]

practitioners as a whole into the world. So that's my motivation for doing these studies. Okay, capiche? Okay. So, as I said, I wanted to study and speak about Kezan Zenji. I was kind of awakened to the difference between what he teaches and what I had learned at a conference last fall in which an abbot of a monastery, of a temple in Japan, not a monastery, a community temple in Japan, he was invited to speak and to present some unpublished translations he had made of Kezan Zenji's last will and testament.

[20:39]

Kezan Zenji lived a thousand years ago. And he was a couple generations after Dogen Zenji, who you'll hear a lot about here at San Francisco Zen Center. And Dogen Zenji is known as the... father of Zen, and Kezan Zenji is known as the mother. So Dogen Zenji is often credited with the philosophy of Soto Zen, and Kezan Zenji is often credited with the steps of practice of Soto Zen and inclusion in Soto Zen. The practices we do here are Soto Zen practices. And so part of this emphasis on inclusion came from Kezon Zenji's early training. He was trained in Zen by his mom, Akon.

[21:43]

And so in his own practice, he emphasized the inclusion of women kind of in a feudalistic medieval sort of way, to that extent that was possible then in the social mule at that time. And also of lay people, which was unusual because a lot of the practices depended on lay people as supporters. And a lot of the practices we do here today were mostly taught to monastics in secluded environments. And one of the ways that a Zen center is different from a Zen temple or a Zen monastery is that the door is open a lot more. It's a lot more of a permeable environment. So there's more possibilities for just people in the community to do the practices that were historically monastic.

[22:54]

So both Dogen Zenji and Keizan Zenji had written teachings, and their teachings were quite different. So Dogen Zenji gave a lot of talks, a lot of stand-up talks, wrote a lot of poems, and wrote a lot of teachings. And one of the source texts that we use here is called the Shobo Genzo. The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye. And in the version we use, there's a hundred chapters or fascicles that talk about different aspects of Zen training. And many of the aspects are presented in ways that require a lot of study to understand. So Dogen Zenji might say something that presents the ultimate teaching in the first sentence. a kind of relative or everyday view of the same topic in the second sentence, a view that includes both of them in a form of interconnection in the third sentence, and then another point of view entirely that includes everything that has come before in the fourth sentence.

[24:13]

And it's up to the reader to figure out what he's saying. And it doesn't matter if you read Japanese or if you don't read Japanese, it takes some study, right? people who read Japanese. It takes study. It takes study. But Dogen's Shobogenzo includes some chapters in how to do things like how to cook, how to go to the toilet, how to wash, how to make and wear robes, what's the meaning of the robes, how to practice with the body and mind. how to think about precepts, how to think about vows, and many of the other practices that we have. Those are presented quite philosophically. Kezon Zenji tended to present them like, okay, this is what we do every day, this is what we do every week, this is what we do every month, this is what we do every year, this is what we do from time to time.

[25:16]

So he was trying to make kind of a manual of the practices, that could be duplicated in different places. So if you had the manual, you could kind of begin to practice and then find out from other people what are the details or what is the deportment of the practices that you're trying to do. So I could go into this, but I want to do something else. Let's see. I just want to read an answer. Keizan Zenji wrote something called The Answers to Ten Questions from the Emperor. And one of the answers that he gave to the emperor talks about the emphasis of his teaching. So I think it's important to understand how he worked with his teaching, which was kind of like...

[26:19]

using the teachings like a D&D manual or like a role-playing game, but not a game. It's a serious game, a serious situation that brings, it's lighthearted but serious, serious but not grim. So what he said about words, the emperor's question had been, The Zen School is said not to rely on words and letters, but it's supposed to be a teaching outside the Scriptures. And yet the whole great storehouse of teachings and the Zen School's records are all entirely made up of words. If there were no words and letters, how would we receive teaching? How about now when the ability to teach and learn Buddhist practices is declining? How would we ever learn these teachings without words?

[27:22]

So Kazon's response, and just listen for what this would mean if you said this and you were trying to teach somebody about practice. He said, words and letters are like traps and snares. to catch fish or rabbits. Traps and snares can be used if you don't get confused. Sutra teachers are like a finger pointing to the moon. If you see the moon, you don't have to use your finger. So everybody knows that traps and snares don't get you fish or rabbits. They know that fingers don't see moons. The teaching of the ancients was not established on words and letters. So the Buddha, the World Honored One's 49 years of expounding tradition and inclusion, has been left behind for us.

[28:25]

But one of the main teachings of the Buddha was when there was an assembly like this, he picked up a flower and held it up, and there was one person who smiled. Mahakashapa. Mahakashapa became the heir, the Dharma heir of the Buddha because he got it. When the Buddha held up a flower, he smiled and there was nothing in between. He got what the Buddha was saying by holding up a flower. So this is not established on words and letters. You can use words and letters to talk about it. but that's not the same as it. It's not the same as the teaching. So like that, Keizan Zenji's teaching was somatic. He gave us practices to do, roles to do, but the way he described the roles wasn't as job descriptions.

[29:28]

It was as a series of interconnections, ways we connect with each other that create trust. that create what he called a pure land. So his point in teaching wasn't for us to memorize sutras, but to hold the teachings in our body with each other. And this is a really important part of who he was. So his main point was that any role that we take, whether it's inside a monastery or a temple, or in an office, or driving a car. Any role that we take is an opportunity for service. And the best service we can do for humankind is to wake up in a way that benefits everyone. So his point was that anyone can have a glimpse of enlightenment by doing practices, by sitting and realizing

[30:36]

truth. Anyone can glimpse awakening or enlightenment. But you can glimpse awakening or enlightenment and still be a complete jerk. You know, it doesn't change you unless you practice to change yourself based on what you've seen or realized about the truth. So his point was that he was established a monastery and community temples He established seven different temples, both monasteries and community temples. And why he established them was to create different fields, different fields of practice in which people could practice and grow into what was revealed by those glimpses. So they were places to mature our understanding by taking different roles and interacting with each other. And that's the whole point of this place.

[31:38]

That's why this place is supposed to exist. If it doesn't do that, it's not doing its job. If we don't participate in that way, we're not doing our job in relation. For instance, if the Eno doesn't give us practices or tell us when to stand up and sit down, you know, when we're confused, then he's not doing his job. Right, Kevin? Yeah, but if I don't actually stand up when you say stand, I'm not expressing any kind of gratitude to you, to your effort in doing the job. If you don't tell me those things, you're not doing your job. If I don't do those things and practice with them, even if, oh, I don't want to stand up, I'm enjoying my sitting practice. But standing up with everybody, it's not that it's a question of doing it right or wrong, it's a question of everyone sharing a form in which we can all practice interconnection and understanding that deepens our foundation in truth.

[32:49]

So, I want to say a little bit more about service, and I want to thank Heiko for giving me Frank Ostaseski's talk. In the 1980s, I was on the board that established the Zen Hospice Project. And Zen Hospice Project, here at Zen Center, we had been taking care of people who were sick and dying. But there was only room for one person in the building because it was full of other residents. And we would help the person who was in a particular room. And it was hard to get them up the stairs. It was hard to get medicine and doctors to them. And we thought, this is really part of practice. This has been part of practice since the Buddha taught the Four Foundations of Mindfulness and asked us to be with sick and dying people. Why don't we do this? Why don't we create a Zen hospice where we can apply our values to being of service?

[34:00]

And so we did. We had a six-month pilot project. At the end of the six-month pilot project, we decided that we were going to start the Zen Hospice Project and we were going to hire Frank Ostaseski to do it. So Frank Ostaseski is a long-term practitioner. He's been practicing most of his life. And he was really the founder of the Zen Hospice Project as it is today. And this is what he wrote in an article called Exploring Our Intention in Service. So this, remember I said that the whole point of the temple and all the roles in it is service towards awakening. So Frank said, prior to any action of body, thought, or speech, there's a moment of intention that we need to be aware of because Clarity about our intention gives us choice about how to proceed.

[35:01]

A moment of contact with our intention can break our habitual patterns and keep us from operating on automatic pilot. And then he made a distinction between helping, fixing, and serving. He had seen people try to help people, try to fix people, and try to serve people. who were sick and dying. And he said, fundamentally, helping, serving, and fixing are, or I should say come from, ways of seeing life. So when we are helping, it means that maybe we see life as weak, that we have to help or assist someone to do something. And when you fix, you see life is broken, therefore it needs fixing. When you serve, you see life as whole. This is Frank's point of view. When we serve in this way, wholeness, we understand that this person's suffering is also my suffering.

[36:08]

Their joy is also my joy. Then the impulse to serve arises naturally. Our natural wisdom and compassion presents itself quite simply. A server knows they're being used. and has the willingness to be used in the service of something greater, awakeness for the benefit of all being. We may help or fix many things in our lives, but when we serve, we're always in the service of wholeness. Okay, please rest your legs if they're hurting. Balance yourself on your buttock bones. I'll be quiet soon so that we can actually discuss this. And so I'm trying to maintain good posture to actually be able to be aware of you and respond to you even as I'm speaking. I'm not speaking at you. I'm trying to speak with you. I might, you know, if I don't succeed, please let me know, okay?

[37:14]

So... As I was reflecting and meditating on Kezan Zenji's teaching, particularly his Last Will and Testament, which is really a remarkable document about including lay people and priests in the entire future. It's incredible. So he establishes a relationship with his teachers by creating a memorial for them on the land of the monastery that's kind of above the head of the monastery, which would be the Buddha Hall, like this room, the place where services happen. And then he asks that people serve to protect the ancestors on that land, to think of that place as sacred, as a kind of a heart from which we can always be inspired by their presence and teaching.

[38:16]

as we come to practice in that place. And then he says, if none of my disciples is available, how about any priest? If priests aren't available, how about any layperson, anyone who's been affected by the practice, anyone who's been part of the practice, please come and serve. And then he said, We're going to be serving with one practice, one heart, one mind, and to kind of cement this as an intention. I want two copies made of this Will and Testament. I want a layperson and a priest to come together and read this together. And then I want each of them to sign and seal it and keep it in a place like their home that's important to them. So this is totally unheard of.

[39:20]

That document also starts by acknowledging a donor who gave him the land and saying, because of this donor, Sonin, I've been able to establish a pure land. So the way he... frames this document at the beginning and end by acknowledging and by opening the realm of service to everyone, shows somatically his teaching. I was trained in architecture and urban planning, and in the 60s and 70s there was this game called Apex. And Apex was a computer simulation of a county. And it was like an early Dungeons and Dragons for urban planners. It was taught in the engineering school. So you'd get a little manual of how your role was supposed to be. And then you got to be a reporter or a planner or a mom or a teacher, something.

[40:26]

And you had to act according to those rules of engagement. And you had to record your decisions and interactions. And it was all about the interactions. And then some randomly generated earthquakes or wars or whatever would be inserted. And then there would be a newspaper. And that would be a year, a virtual year in that community. And then you would keep doing that until the community died. Which, because of our lack of skill, was soon. And because we had made all those mistakes, that was part of our education, to learn how to be aware of possible mistakes. So Kezon Zenji's teaching includes the shadow, the difficult parts, and is inclusive of many different types of people. And so his idea is that wholeness

[41:26]

in a temple or a training center gives rise. It's one of the foundational understandings or ideas of how to build a pure land in that place. So in our transmission there are three pure lands that are mentioned. I won't give the exact references or teachings because those are part of Dharma transmission. And, you know, they're presented at a different time in practice, not in a public lecture. But we have jaku or seki ko jodo, silent light, pure land, which is the Buddha's awakening, silent light. So sitting in silent illumination is a famous understanding or interpretation of our seated practice. And then another type of Pure Land, there's Silent Light, there's Yixin Jodo, so just, mind-only Pure Land, which is our sincere heart and mind sees the world as absolute reality, relative truth, or interconnection.

[42:43]

So in the mind-only Pure Land, everything that you see is a perceptual gateway to truth. And maturation in practice means that we grow to understand everything that we see and hear as a big open gateway into truth and appreciation. And then the third Pure Land is Q.N. Shaka, so eternal Shakyamuni. And these pure lands are very... I'm not going to say a lot about them, but I want to bring up a chapter of the Lotus Sutra that talks about these pure lands. And it's called The Lifespan of the Tathagata. And you can read it in the Lotus Sutra. So Buddha is preaching this sutra, and he's affirming that he's taught...

[43:51]

thousands and millions and billions and gazillions of beings for countless eons, how to enter a pure land of practice. So that's, he's taught them how to wake up. So that's illumination, pure land. It looks like the Buddha died and is gone. But that's just our idea. Because he really, the Buddha really abides everywhere. The Buddha's truth and light abide in every moment of perception. So the Buddha says in that sutra, When beings have become sincerely faithful, honest and upright, with gentle intention, wholeheartedly wishing to behold Buddha, not begrudging their own bodily lives, then I and the Sangha appear together. I appear here abiding here and proclaiming Dharma.

[44:52]

So that's a mind-only Pure Land statement. He describes his lifespan as immeasurable. So his teaching will come up to give them whatever they need to fulfill the yearning of their heart towards awakening, which means that he's always arising. He's eternal. He says, I always make this my thought. How can I cause living beings to enter into the unsurpassed way and promptly embody Buddhahood? So it starts with oneself. It's funny. I brought my boarding pass for tomorrow. And I wanted to say that Kezon Zenji's teaching of wholeness is thus It's somatic and people-centered. It's not thinking philosophy. It's body philosophy.

[45:54]

And so that's why it's about the path. It's about the yoga of interconnection. So there's so much more I could say, but I just want to, if I can find... Did I lose people's questions? I hope not. because I asked people, what's important? Oh, here we go. What's important in this conversation about Keisam Zenji? And so I just want to very quickly tell you the issues that some of the residents have already brought up about these teachings. And I'll stop here, but there's more in this lecture that hasn't been said that I'll say it another time. So these are questions from residents, okay?

[46:55]

And what was interested, very interesting, was that I was announcing that I was going to give this talk about the teachings of Kezon Zenji, and did anyone want to think about interconnection? And so the big topics that people brought up were all about trust, unanimously. People asked about trust. It was unanimous. So here are two of them. So the first one, how to maintain one's truth when practicing the forms we hold in common and when we're accountable to each other in our roles. How do we build mutual trust? When we see difference or when we face dissonance in ourselves, there's a tendency to deny it or to ignore it or to grasp or to turn away. So many times this comes when we try something new or meet someone or something new.

[47:57]

How do we do this without agitating the mind? Okay, so that was one of the questions. And I just want to say two words. This is a yogic question, two sentences, yogic question, best addressed to nourishing ourselves in ways that... we can turn away from becoming adrenalineized, fearful, and so on. So it's addressed through the body. And I can say more later. And then the other question, and this is my last little bit before I open it to questions. This was a big one. Okay, so I tried to write down what this person said. One obstacle in trust or in creating a pure land of trust, is when there are unseen but genuine differences to negotiate, for instance, invisible disabilities.

[48:59]

A student can easily feel fear or shame when their difference does not allow them to meet the norm, yet they're expected to meet the norm. It's easy to get caught in a double reality in which one feels the necessity to mask. And there's a consequence to not masking or appearing as if everything was perfect. It could be to lose the Sangha's trust, to be ostracized or rejected for differences that are out of their control. So the examples they gave were cultural, neurodiversity, or physical ability. I thought this was an amazing question. So these are questions that came up as people tried to consider Is this a pure land? What would we need to understand in order to have it be so? So thank you very much. And we have eight minutes for questions. And please ask.

[50:04]

Is that OK? And there'll be a mic, OK? Yes. The question is the biggest problem I face or generally I see that everyone says start new or have been the moment but you have been here because of your past and life you have already lived. So it's important. it feels like it's impossible to get away with it and still live in the moment because of the baggage we have or good moments we have.

[51:08]

Now they both are the part of us. But it's very difficult when you're going forward to leave it completely or when you say someone to have new life. Okay. It is kind of very, very... Did you understand that question? Yes. The question is, and tell me if I'm wrong, okay? So the question that I heard is, everyone always says we need to start fresh, or like the lecture that Shundo gave last week about spring, remember? Start fresh or start anew. But yet, our experience now is the result of our past. So how do we do that if we're completely built out of the past. Okay. I have a response to this, actually. So, and that is that our present experience is not just about our past.

[52:15]

So I'm going back to early Buddhism now. This is not Kezon Zenji. Kezon Zenji was asking us to use the yoga of interconnection as a way to explore trust and a new kind of experience. But I want to point to earlier teachings of the Buddha that said, our present experience — and check this out in your meditation practice or when you're quiet, when you're walking in a park or so — our present experience is the result not only of our past experience, but our present intention or our present vow. And so when we receive the precepts, there's this Pali phrase, which means the family connection is cut. It doesn't mean that you deny your father and mother.

[53:16]

It means you are no longer a product. simply a product. You now have an intention that can be lived. And so the more you remember your intention, even if you remember it uncomfortably, you know, let's say you receive the precepts. Okay, I take refuge in Buddha. Again, just like I said the other day, you're driving along, someone cuts in front of you and you go, You know, OK. And then you take a breath and then you realize, oh, no. You know, it's an hour later and I just realized that I completely blew it. I completely messed up on my vow to take refuge in Buddha. Instead, I took refuge in my upbringing in New York, where if somebody passes you, you say, where'd you learn how to drive?

[54:18]

Okay, but that really, in New York language, New York speak, that really means I love you. But anyway, you're free of it when you receive the vow. But there's this uncomfortable million interactions in which you become uncomfortably aware of the dissonance between your vow and what you just did. I'm sorry, you have to live with that. Sorry. But the present intention... The way to nourish it is by doing it. So if there's some moment when someone cuts in front of me and I start saying, but then I go, oh, pass me in peace. And then I can like, thank you. You know, yes, you did it. Good job. You did it. So I actually sometimes train my body as if I were a two-year-old. If I accidentally do something good, I say, good job!

[55:22]

You know, it's not really, you know, the be-all and end-all of practice. But training myself, you know, there's this very, it's just as you say, there's this very unwieldy, ancient, twisted karma. It's like an elephant, and sometimes my intention feels like a mouse compared to that elephant. But, you know... It works. Just keep noticing and saying yes if you accidentally do the right thing, because you have the intention to do it. And you have to hook up your noticing and valuing systems with your intention to be able to help, to be in service, the service of creating a pure land of yourself and of this place. I think that might be... Oh, we have time for two more minutes. If there's someone who has a comment, that's just as good as a question.

[56:24]

Yes, please. I was thinking about how the idea... Well, the word pure is really weird to me. And the idea of... a pure land is like, it sounds so intimidating and daunting and like, um, perfectionistic. And it's not really, I mean, whose idea of somewhere where everybody wants to be sounds like, you know, a utopia is like, has anything to do with being like pure and perfectionistic? Like that doesn't, those don't jibe to me. And like, um, And then, like, I guess practically speaking, it's, like, I think about how much I love being here and taking part in this community. And also, like, am I physically capable of getting up and coming here at 5 a.m.

[57:27]

to sit for an hour and a half? No way. Like, that is not my idea of a Pure Land. Like, that sounds... really painful to me um and like the full moon ceremony i'm like you know these things that are actually like painful to the body so if it's like a it feels like a punishment okay so these things are like two i feel like these are like kind of far apart from each other the idea of like a utopia but also like a practice in which you're like kind of like hurting your body and trying to get used to hurting your body until you don't feel it anymore or don't do that don't do that Don't do that. It leads nowhere good. But if you want to talk about how to make the practice less painful, let me know. Or let Benjamin know, okay? And we'll have a conversation together. And if you want, we can have it in a coffee shop. If that would be more comfortable. Because I spent my entire adult life trying to understand how to make these practices more physically accessible.

[58:30]

and yet maintain the dignity and deportment that's so beautiful when we come. And let me just use other language besides pure land, okay? If pure land doesn't work for you. Pure is interesting because it has a water radical in it. And it's like, it's a, it just means that it's, it's clean, it's a, a, Like, you know, if your apartment was a really huge mess and you cleaned the kitchen sink, you'd feel satisfied. It's pure in that way. And so one of the things that we, there are two words that I'd like to point out that give the feeling of pure land. Excuse me, I'll stop really soon. One of them is from the Bhagavad Gita. So the first two words of the Bhagavad Gita are Dharmakshetra Kurukshetra. The field of dharma is the field of battle. Okay, so all the stuff that we experience in life is the field of dharma, the field of truth and the law and the light.

[59:41]

And so that's an interesting idea. The other thing that I would like to point out is the rogue chant in the morning. You might be in too much pain after two periods of zazen to realize it, but the chant goes, field far beyond form and emptiness. Field far beyond form and emptiness. A great field of benefaction. So what is a field of benefaction? What is a field in which people's practices and offerings are all so that we can feel our connection with each other and support each other. And that's supposed to be the root of the practice. And if it doesn't feel like that, don't be embarrassed. It just means that you need a way to sit that's more comfortable for you and more stable and easeful so that you can actually do it.

[60:47]

You know, so maybe our sitting might be Four minutes on a chair. And that's actually a good sitting practice. It's better to sit for four minutes as a regular practice than to sit for three hours and then limp away for four weeks. And I'm saying this from experience. But this is what people do. Like, this is uncomfortable for most people. No, this is not... This is not what I think we're supposed to do, and let's talk about it. And now it's time for me to end the lecture, but let's take it up as a subject, and I'll tell you about some of my work, and we can discuss what to do next. How's that? Sure. Okay, great. See him. Thank you. So thank you for your attention, for your presence and practice.

[61:52]

And I want to thank Reho Hash for his unpublished manuscript of Kezon Zenji's last will and testament. And I want to thank the international office members for giving me articles about Kezon Zenji that made it much clearer who he was and what his... life and practice was about. And thank you for listening, and I hope you benefit from this description, and that it brings up something to talk about as time goes on. So, please take care of yourself. Good day, with the truth, who never take it out of them, with only the strength.

[62:53]

Beings are a hundred and rich, but I can't even find out who to save them. The foolishness of our lives lost me all, but in my life, for my life, just to end them. Don't have never ever given any thoughts on my own place. I have never given my own rules to cement your own. With the relevance playing in his own, sir, I swore. I have never given my own rules to cement your own. With the relevance playing in his own, sir, I swore. I have never given any words to your own place. Thank you very much.

[65:32]

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.

[66:28]

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