This podcast is offered by San Francisco Zen Center on the web at sfcc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Good evening, everyone. Welcome. I'm happy you're all here. I'm happy to be here. Welcome to those that are online. And it's a special occasion for me. So tonight... In my talk, I'd like to talk a bit about lay entrustment. And lay entrustment is symbolized by this green raucosu. Just shy of two months ago, I was lay entrusted by my teacher, Renzo Ed Sattison, and assisted by my root teacher, Victoria Austin.

[01:00]

He's over there. And by the way, thank you very much, Tim, for asking me to give this talk. So lay entrustment doesn't come to us through the Japanese tradition. It is something that was created as a part of American Zen. And I can't tell you who specifically started it, but it's rather prevalent in our lineage, the Soto lineage, particularly Suzuki Roshi, as expressed or was expressed by Mel Weitzman and also now continuing by Norman Fisher and my teacher, Renzo Ed Sattison and others. But there's not a lot of lay and trusted people around. Lay entrustment, the format is a recognition of lay practitioners as opposed to priests, for example.

[02:06]

as Zen teachers. And this arose in American Zen as a practical and philosophical response because there was a real influx of lay practitioners to Zen when it first came here. When Suzuki Roshi came, there were all those people going to his temple on Bush Street, these kind of strange people with long hair. Many of them were students, artists, and musicians, but many of them were... Their lives have been well-established, but they were interested in Zen, and that has continued. And that's one of the prime reasons that lay entrustment has been developed, because a lot of American students have come to Zen later in life. As an example, I was 65 years old when I first came to Zen, when I first walked in that front door. So I had lived... I had three grown children.

[03:09]

I had three granddaughters. I had been involved in various business and social things. And, you know, this was new to me, but I wasn't sure. I came and I saw people with rock-a-sues on. I saw the blues and the black ones, you know, and I thought, wow, those look really great. I want one of those, you know. It was like, I don't know if some of you can relate, but there's a, when I was in high school, you really wanted to have a high school letter jacket, you know? So a Rakisu was kind of like a high school letter jacket. I didn't know what it meant, and I didn't know that priests had Ocasas. So, you know, right away, there was, I was on the lay path there. I wanted a Rakisu. I didn't particularly want an Ocasas. I couldn't even see those, almost literally. But... So I had lived a full life. And I practiced here four years as a non-resident.

[04:10]

And then I retired from a business that I had started, turned it over to one of my sons, and I moved in here. And that's when I wanted to continue in my practice. But I didn't have this drive to become a priest. And in fact, I said, I kind of like being a lay practitioner. This makes sense to me. You know, unlike in Japan, it's deeply intertwined with established institutions in strong monastic traditions. And some of our Japanese friends can tell us. I think mostly they come and they go to the monastery for a couple of years when they're very young and they practice there and they become Dharma transmitted and they go back to the university and they go back out to life. And then they come back to what's often the family temple. But we don't have that here. American society lacked the inner structure and support system for monasticism.

[05:16]

Lay practitioners were already engaged in careers, raising families, as I mentioned, and living in the world and creating a need for forms of training that could accommodate this lifestyle. So I thought, well, I like this idea of lay practice, and I want to model lay practice, and I want to experience it, and I want to offer it to others. that we all can understand that the path is not necessarily you come in the door, you become a monastic, and you get Jukai lay ordination, and then you work to become a priest and become priest ordained, and then you may go on to get dharma transmitted, and then you may stay here or go to one of our other temples and pray. teach and work there, or you may go start your own sangha. And while that's an incredibly valid and very, very important practice and way of practice, you can also do it as a lay practitioner.

[06:25]

And in fact, to become lay and trusted, it's a path in and of its own. I mean, one, you have to have done it At least two practice periods at Tassajara, two monastic practice periods. And then you have to have been Shusho or head student for a practice period where you're in training. And then you can then be a practice leader. So after I was Shusho six months later, I was told that, OK, you can function, you can be a practice leader. So I am a lay practice leader. But then I started working towards lay entrustment. And that was five years after I was Shuso until about two months ago that I was literally lay entrusted and that I had sewn this green rakasu symbolizing that.

[07:29]

There's an emerging lay leadership within Zen in America, not just within Zen. this sangha and these temples. And there's many dedicated lay practitioners. So the thought that to be dedicated you have to be a priest is not necessarily so. There's room for both. And I think that's one of the beauties of what has come in American Zen, room for both the lay practitioner and the priest to practice and teach together. So the emerging lay leadership, many dedicated lay practitioners had undergone extensive training and demonstrated deep understanding of the Dharma. And they were already taking on responsibilities, traditionally held by priests. And they were leading some practice and classes and teaching classes. And this led for a need for recognition.

[08:31]

So... Out of this came this Americanization of Zen. Focus on practice in the world. Lay entrustment emphasizes practice in the world. So it's not just here in the temple. It's out there. It's over there. It's everywhere. And it's important that we realize that and do that. In all aspects of our life, we practice. Utilizing everyday life is a path to enlightenment. This resonated with many American practitioners. It resonated with me, particularly after my background of moving in here at 65. So we were interested in integrating, and I am interested in integrating Zen into my daily life, rather than withdrawing into totally a monastic setting.

[09:37]

So the path is different for lay practitioners. After training period, as I mentioned, a seasoned lay student also begins to take on teaching responsibilities, giving lectures and classes, from time to time, and seeing community members for practice discussions. Private meetings akin to pastoral counseling. In Sojin Roshi's, that's Mel Weitzman, who's passed away, sadly, line of Zen, we have developed a unique rite of passage for lay teachers called lay recognition or entrustment. And to quote Sojin Roshi, to be ordained, into the Sangha as a layperson or a priest are both equally valid. We take the same 16 precepts, but a layperson lives and sets an example within society, while the priest of the Sangha makes the practice available and is responsible for carrying the tradition forward, both in its historical and emerging aspects.

[10:49]

Continuing to quote Mel, The overlap of priest and lay can sometimes lead to confusion, but I'm not worried about the confusion. The priest has a path within the practice, and the lay person also has a path within the practice. Rather than interfering with each other, they can and should be mutually supportive. This is a beautiful line he concludes with, We are all in the same Dharma boat. So I think that's the beauty of what's transpired within American Zen and this coming forth of lay entrustment, recognizing lay practitioners that we too have something to offer and can teach and can bring this practice further out into the world. So that's a bit of a background on lay entrustment, which I didn't know much about, but... somehow it came forward to me and it became something that I wanted to pursue.

[11:56]

And I did. And the ceremony last May 23rd was a very beautiful and transforming experience. In fact, that ceremony was a Dharma gate for me. And that brings me to the next part of my talk. Dharma gates are boundless. we vow to enter them. That's the third Bodhisattva precept. That ceremony was acknowledged a transition in my life. And as I mentioned, it was definitely a five-year process from Shuso to the ceremony. And the 11th Lojong slogan, the Lojong slogans come out of Tibetan Buddhism, and Norman... Fisher translated them, and the 11th slogan is, as he translated, turn all mishaps into the path.

[13:02]

And I, back in March, early March, had a major mishap. without going into extensive detail, I ended up in the hospital three different times. And it was through my ignorance, through my being unaware, through my wish to escape pain, literally, that I ended up in the hospital with a big intestinal ulcer, which was bleeding and caused me to have very low red blood content, and I needed two transfusions, and et cetera, et cetera. But that mishap, somehow I needed to be hit on the head. And this is what I want to get to a little bit when we talk about Dharma gates. I've had a lot of Dharma gates that have hit me on the head.

[14:08]

And I want to try to learn, and I want to try to convey That perhaps we don't always need to be hit on the head to get where we need to go. However, as an example, I've been involved in 12-step work for now 33 years. And that was a result of my alcoholism. And as a result of that alcoholism and my 12-step work, that's why I walked in this door 18 years ago. I walked in the door to come on a Monday night for meditation and recovery, a group that is for all 12-step practitioners and occurs every Monday night. Now, actually, I knew about Zen Center 40 years ago in the late 60s because I was living here in the 8 Ashbury, but I didn't come in the door then.

[15:09]

It took me 40 years, and it took me a lot of... trial and trauma and problems through my alcohol and my addiction to get sober and then after I've been clean and sober for 15 years, realize, oh, this meditation thing sounds kind of good. It's not what I thought it was. I thought I was supposed to levitate or hear celestial sounds or see, you know, lights and such. No, it's very simple. It's about being... right here, right now. And I finally caught on to that and a friend said, oh, you should come on a Monday night. But it took all of that to get me in this door. It took me going to the hospital and going through two blood transfusions and other, you know, ordeals in the hospital for me to come to my hospital lay entrustment ceremony, and really mark a transition in my life.

[16:13]

And Dharma gates offer you that opportunity. All those mishaps offer you those opportunities. I do want to point out that many years ago I was talking to David Zimmerman, our central abbot, and I said, I'm sick and tired of Dharma gates. I'm tired. Why do we always have to have dharma gates? Why are they boundless? Why do we have to enter them? And he very gently and kindly pointed out, and this helps some, not totally, but he said, well, dharma gates all don't have to be problems. They don't all have to be difficult. Shortly after my problems with the hospital that led me to the transformation in the lay entrustment, I went to my youngest granddaughter's high school graduation, and that was an incredible Dharma gate. She graduated from a high school over in Oakland.

[17:18]

It was an outdoor graduation on a sunny Saturday. We sat there in the sun and watched her, and it happened, and the whole family was there. And that was unique that, not now, but in the past, the whole family wouldn't have been there together, but we were, and we are. And we watched her graduate, and then later in the day, she had her final choir concert as a part of this award-winning choir she's part of. And then later that evening, there was a very nice dinner catered at... her and her family's home over in Oakland. And that was a Dharma gate for me, that I got to be there and be present and experience it and appreciate it and feel the love and express the love to her and my other two granddaughters. So Dharma gates don't all have to be difficult. Ryokin, a Soto Zen poet in the 1700s, wrote, to find the Dharma, drift east,

[18:22]

drift east, east and drift west. Come and go, entrusting yourself to the waves. So when we go through life, these events occur, and we have the opportunities to flow with them through the waves. The poet Rilke wrote, we are not permitted to linger, even with what is most intimate. So you don't get to just hang out and say, well, okay, I've had enough Dharma gates. From images that are full, the spirit stream plunges down to others that suddenly must be filled. So there's some more Dharma gates there for you. There are no lakes till eternity. Here, falling is best to fall from the mastered emotion into the guest at and onwards. So I have... made a practice of attempting, as Rilke wrote, entrusting myself to the waves.

[19:29]

I'm not permitted to linger, as Rilke wrote. To be entrusted means that I have been invested and charged with a duty and responsibility. So that's what entrustment is, being invested and charged with a duty and responsibility. And for me, that duty and responsibility is to practice the Dharma, to live the Dharma, and to teach the Dharma and offer it to others. Often we have the mistaken idea that the Dharma is something outside of our ordinary lives. It is outside of drifting east and west on those waves. Outside of coming and going. Dharma is ordinary life. Again, this comes back to my choice to be lay entrusted because I want to celebrate. I want to practice the Dharma in ordinary life.

[20:34]

We can entrust ourselves to life itself. We can, as Kategori Roshi used to say, just live or understand the process of coming and going. Way back in the time of Buddha, three times the Buddha patted the Bodhisattva Mahasattva on the head and spoke these words. For a measurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of kalpas, I have practiced this hard-to-attain law of supreme, perfect enlightenment. Now, this is the Buddha speaking, now I entrust it to you. And that's each of you. That's all of us coming forward 2,600 years. Now I entrust it to you. You must accept, uphold, read, recite, and broadly propagate this law, causing all living beings everywhere to hear and understand it.

[21:37]

That's the duty and the responsibility of entrustment. So, As I mentioned, the lay entrustment ceremony was really a Dharma gate that led me. My life kind of blossomed at that point. And at my age, it's a real blessing. And I'm very grateful that my life can still blossom and that I have that opportunity. And that is one of the reasons that I choose to practice here and live here, because that gives me inspiration. And you all give me inspiration to blossom and grow. So the Certificate of Lay Teacher Entrustment says acknowledging and valuing equally the expression of Zen practice in both formal settings and in daily life and affirming both lay and monastic practice as expressions of the Bodhisattva way. Pico Ayer, the author, said anyone can sit in the Zendo.

[22:42]

No problem. Well, maybe some problem, but... Basically, anyone can sit in the Zendo. But then he went on and said, the trick is to sit in the world. So when we come up to these Dharma gates and encounter them, skillfulness is very important. And that's what I meant when I was saying, I wish I don't have to get hit on the head every time. I wish I don't have to become an addict and an alcoholic. I wish I don't have to go to the hospital to get the point. So it's a very complex important component of our bodhisattva aspiration. It refers to the manifestation of, interestingly, primarily three of the paramitas or the perfections. The first one, compassion. The third one, patience. And the sixth one, wisdom. So in encountering, but let's not just encounter, let's embrace the Dharma gates. We need wisdom, compassion and patience.

[23:47]

But if we don't apply them, you know, these things, real life, the job, it becomes more difficult. We can do more harm. So major life challenges that change our sense of ourselves and our lives are significant Dharma gates. As I mentioned, you know, turn all your mishaps into the path, but also enjoy those beautiful things that go on. All Dharma gates are not difficult, but some are. So turn towards any Dharma gate you encounter with curiosity and willingness and determination. There's always a way through them. And the blessing of passing through is greater wisdom and compassion. We don't always know that when we're in the midst of it, of passing through that gate or coming up to the gate and then putting one foot through. and maybe the second foot, and peeking around the corner. But ultimately, there's always a way through, and the blessing of passing through is greater wisdom and compassion.

[24:55]

It's interesting, I mentioned 12-step work, and in the 12-step, there's the seventh step, which talks about letting go of our character defects, or as I more prefer to call them, afflictions. And these character defects, really what they are, they're protective things that come up in our lives. Whether you're in a 12-step program or not, I think you can relate to this. These protective things come up. I procrastinate. because I don't want to have to deal with that. Or I get stuck in my pride because I don't want to realize, oh, this is really difficult for me and it's bringing up a lot of fear. Or I get angry as a way of covering over things. So it's a way of avoiding those Dharma gates. But with attention and patience, and this is really important, that third paramita, patience can be really helpful and very skillful in negotiating Dharma gates, whether they be difficult or they be joyous.

[25:59]

And just because a Dharma gate is joyous does not mean we can still get caught up in that. So be careful as you tread there. We don't try to break through them willfully. I've done that too many times, you know. Okay, I'm going to bust down this gate. I'm going to get through it. That problem, I'm going to fix it right here, right now. And it doesn't usually work. Patience is the capacity to welcome difficulty when it comes. Patience is the capacity to welcome difficulty when it comes. With a spirit of strength, endurance, forbearance, and dignity, practicing patience, is to notice Dharma gates and be fiercely present with them rather than reacting to them. So that's important. Be present with your Dharma gates as they arise, but don't react to them.

[27:03]

This takes training and practice. The way you spontaneously react in times of trouble is not fixed. Your mind and heart can be trained, and that's the practice. Try it once, and you'll get a little momentum. And try it twice and you'll get a little more momentum. Once you have a single experience of reacting differently, you will be encouraged. The next time is more likely that you'll take yourself in hand. You will begin saying, yes, of course, this is how it is. Let me turn toward it. Let me practice with it. Let me go beyond entanglement to gratitude. The other side of the gate may not be the perfect resolution, but we always learn something. Now, struggling with a gate or feeling negative about it instead of being joyous and celebrating it is not a failing. If that comes up for you, accept that.

[28:07]

Boy, this one was really tough, and I'm not liking it, but I... present with it, but it's human nature to not like everything, every event that you go through, every incident, every accident, etc. But they all offer you something. So struggling or feeling negative about it is not a failing, it's human nature. I see the vow of entering all Dharma gates as a life-affirming vow that about being grateful for the opportunity of human life and fulfilling our potential as human beings. The vow to enter all Dharma gates encourages us to keep learning, growing and becoming more skillful and beneficial. And isn't that beautiful? I've been fortunate in my life. I haven't planned it out, so to speak. The thread that runs through it is that situations have presented themselves Dharma gates.

[29:12]

And for some reason, and I can't tell you why, I've been open to them. I have been pushed along like the ocean and the waves, and I've followed them. And I encourage you to do the same. So I'd like to close with this. Entering Dharma Gates. In the quiet of morning, the world unfolds its endless teachings. There are gates to be entered. Each gate asks nothing but your presence. A moment of stillness, a step without knowing, a bow to the mystery. Enter not to escape, but to become. That's the beauty of it. Anger becomes a teacher, loneliness a light, joy a song. Some gates are narrow and others are vast. all gates lead home. So vow, wherever there is a gate, you will walk, not because you must, but because the path is endless.

[30:22]

So vow, wherever there is a gate, you will walk, not because you must, but because the path is endless. Thank you. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center for Our Dharma talks are offered free of charge, and this is made possible by the donations we receive. Your financial support helps us to continue to offer the Dharma. For more information, please visit sfcc.org and click Giving. May we all fully enjoy the Dharma.

[30:59]

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