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. Good morning. Is this guest? How many of you are here for the first time? Hi. Welcome. My name is Haku Sho, and I live here at Greenville Show, and I'm the, you know, the meditation hall here. So, initially I said, well, let's sit here, and the host, you put the assembly program here. There you go. I'm not supposed to sit here, so I want to thank

[01:00]

So yesterday a large number of residents here went over to Lake Merrick for the a kind of march there, and it was quite an exciting set up on a hill, overlooking the lake, and set us up there from about 12 to 5. Some of us joined the march, and others kept sitting, and every hour we'd do a ceremony service. We'll be a ceremony for you. I don't know what we got to march, but it felt like it all of a sudden could pop it to the floor.

[02:07]

One interesting observation was that how many people were taking pictures of us. It was scary. It was attractive about what we're getting there. Some of the scientists brought with us to a various activities leading up to the week of some of the amazing times of that year. So the writings were, like a lotus and muddy water, rise up, cultivate passion and solidarity transports in depth. So it was a beautiful day since today. And we're all there. for our own individual reasons, but with, you know, united around the deep desire for this change in our lives and in this world.

[03:12]

Looking for different ways to relate to this amazing and fragile climate that we would have. So, when I A question that we stood up online recently is to... around this, specifically, what motivates us to both acknowledge the suffering in the world and in our own lives, and also to find the inspiration to move to transport and address itself away. I'll be thinking about this in terms of stories. what are the stories that we have inherited from our culture and that we keep retelling ourselves. And that might inspire us, but also what might step in our enthusiasm and engagement.

[04:17]

This might step in our way for us to actually take action in our lives and in society so long. So our stories, I mean, any sort of narrative that we create around trying to make sense in this ever-changing world, Buddha's teaching out the infirmities is an ever-story. Believe that, there is this world that we're living in is constantly changing, and we're try to make some sense of it and to deal with the insecurity and anxiety that easily rises and uncertainty and change. We stick to these, these narratives to find some sense of security, make sense of what the world is doing.

[05:24]

It's an example where Buddhist example. I have a story that I am separate from you and the world around me. That's one of the fundamental Buddhist stories that we have. And Buddhism, one of the things that the Buddhist teachings offer is the counter-stories. They actually would not separate from each other, let alone and we're actually being able to hear it in all beings. So, Buddhist teaching that, you know, there's a variety of teaching based on this thing to try to, you know, sort of have it as it for us, and then people get a period that really, that kind of story taking root on a deeper level, so we believe that to be true, because the,

[06:27]

through the solution, the system wants to hear all and over again. So some stories, like the police stations can help us to see the world in different ways, like strand ourselves up. So, we, you know, this will influence our actions, how we relate to the world around us. Other stories might tighten our grip around our stories, who we think we are, who we think others are, and there's very little movement in space to change there. Other stories are problematic because they seem to bring a real sense of belonging to the safety community that might do so.

[07:36]

Part of the way, in fact, is by putting creeping out of there who's not like me, not like us. So there's actually a separation that's very hard to come out of the story. So whatever the stories are, we carry around. The challenge with them is that we often don't see them as stories. radio on an unconscious level. It just looks like the way we see the world is the way we get it. No question about it. It's a very rare opportunity to see their own stories. It's challenging because they're so deeply embedded. is that meditation is to actually quiet our mind and our bodies.

[08:41]

If we settle down, stop our visual ways in which we do, go out and lay our legs and act with ourselves in the world. But it might create us intentionally with these stories that we'll be telling ourselves. I'm not talking to people we're going over again. Question, let's see, is this a lecture? Am I really separate? Am I really not good enough for whatever the story is that we're telling? And then the teachings can offer these counter-stories that I think we're all I'll work within the world of stories, even if there's a temporary environment experience where we find ourselves taken out of our narrative that is in the exact moment of how we get back in the story.

[09:53]

So our goal isn't to be free of stories, exactly, it's to rather to see if we can locate the ad wholesome ones and replace them with wholesome ones. As far as the stories, the stories of separation, stories of, you know, looking more deep to ourselves and the relationship to the world and the primary. expansion of the creation of the Friars. Also, there's the stories that we tell ourselves is, of course, what they point in our actions that we take in the world. And then the actions that we take in this term is the reinforcing or not our stories. But in sociology, it's called the Thomas theory. If a person perceives the situation as real, it is real in its consequence.

[11:15]

So in other words, aggregator is based on a subjective interpretation of reality rather than on some objective reality out there. I think it was always a Zep feature, an author, like, oops, one of the biggest stories. Just to say about stories in relation to freedom. Freedom, liberation is something that we all want. One meeting of freedom is the opportunity to act out the story, identify See, this is the story of the entitled, quite predominant in our society. Another freedom is the ability to change stories and my role within them.

[12:21]

I move from scripted character to co-author of my own life. A third type of freedom results from understanding how stories construct and construct possibilities. So I would sort of preface this to explain why I named my stories. I wanted to bring up a few predominant type of stories that are in our culture and equate ourselves in that way and then try to offer some alternative stories to meet them with more extensive stories

[13:27]

My help is to not get stuck together, at least to live in stories. And the first story, it calls me, I get everything is fine. It's all written up there. You might recognize the same measure of some problems in our life in the world, but a little bit paid care of the future, and it's not at all. what version of this might be that science or technology is going to fix it. We say there's some separate, but engineering and the technology is going to find these fears for cancer and all of this. We don't really have anything to worry about.

[14:29]

See, this is a story of progress. This is the week of progress that we're on. Inevitable, so awkward. And since that is so, there's not really anything we need to do to the rest of that room, actually around this. Partly, we've all had such, you know, hearing some version of that story in some way. And my sense is that more and more, the story is kind of falling apart. It's unraveling, especially in the six months, the last six months or so. It's becoming a hard, hard to believe. Things are just going to pair up high. There's something we need to do. There's something rather than as big of that one. I don't know. So it's the story of it's all good, everything's going to be fine, they're falling apart, but it easily becomes replaced by the story where it's really polar opposite.

[15:44]

It's all bad, the perlute, cynical, the output of life, humanity, seeing ourselves and people around us as Aaron is selfish. Yeah, it's the best we can do with this doggy dog rule is to look after ourselves. You've got to look out the number one that comes out of that. So we're in a story where we're acknowledging that somewhat being my suffering from this world that we live in. We're adopting this negative story. Yeah, that's the world we create. We're all selfish and all we're going to do is act out of our personal self-interest and that's the world that we will create and promise they were

[16:57]

person who sees the situation as real, as real as consequences. So both of these stories, which appear like polar opposites, like denial, denying all of the difficulties. On the one hand, we're having to recite the story on the other hand, the story of progress on the one hand, and then the cynicism on the other hand. While they feel like opposites, they have a similar question of a dulling on this. If we can ignore the problems that we see, And if things are really complicated, then they're more disappointed trying to make an effort to address the person.

[18:07]

So, in that sense, these two stories, it's all good. It's all valid. It feels a good function that we have to maintain the status quo, and then correct the expert mode. breaking into action to make a sincere effort to make some real change in our life and in the world. Yeah, it's not much great for the transformation to occur. These are the stories that we were telling ourselves. So, these are not these are the stories of what are the stories that we might consider the current adults they would get adults like first the British teaching is a

[19:25]

If you avoid these extremes, go back to the very first beginning, the four-year-old truth. They said, yes, there is separate. This is actually a little truth. The spiritual path starts by acknowledging it. Separate, but you'll be satisfaction to embrace that. And it also points to a different way of life, that there is a possibility of change. It's a particular third order. So it's a position to a very dynamic at this point. Yes, there is acknowledgement of the actual land and there is a way to There's a different way to live.

[20:35]

We have the aspiration, and we'll chant it for boys at the end of the lecture. There's this aspiration for everyone in this world to wake up completely. And there's this world that we live in that we have and should not try to escape from. So as I mentioned, I'm the head of meditation hall in this room. It's the mic work ground, and part of that involves the responsibility for all the ceremonies that we perform.

[21:36]

Some of the dailies, the weekly, my favorite activity. And whenever we're in here, gracefully, there's some of those ceremonies equal. especially to do the luxury ceremonies. It's my job to work out the little details and the numerous various little details to get all the people involved on board, train them, and do all the preparations for it. So I spent quite a lot of time on it. Remarkable, I'm sure. language put into this. So, more than any other job I've had, I think it's the standard is perfection. There's just like this, we have real weight, we have ceremony, just right.

[22:39]

That was drums, I think they used to try the movements, choreographed just right, chanting is right on there. I feel like I'm aware within myself of this ideal ceremony. And working towards that. And that was the actual ceremony that we performed, which was taken. Oh, it's done. Never quite know what he did yet. He didn't recall everything, but that's actually... So what I'd like to propose when I'm coming to myself is actually the dissonance between these two that Buddhist practice lives.

[23:42]

To have the aspiration that they are very best and then embrace the actual workhouse out of this. This is also the space where the beauty is created. What is sincere and awesome aspiration is transforming to a sincere and awesome effort. It's a real beauty, but our capacity to see this beauty is... to let go of any particular result on why you necessarily go out. Just like the ideal one, I'm probably going to be unhappy. I think that we're going to be able to perceive the efforts in Syria. We're all going into this.

[24:46]

Even in the space, everybody quite beautiful, actually. Maybe the most beautiful part. So I think this is a key point that I'm coming to in that my daughter was a heel of a thread, sort of considering how can we find the energy in the sustenance to work for changing our life and And the world has to be witness the dissonance of the idea of the actual. Can we keep our aspirations? Not drop them because the world will be witness this. It's never be different than one.

[25:49]

what we would like it to be. And I think that our capacity to be with this discipline really is dependent on this amount of action that we solve, but letting go of the outcome. So we can not get discouraged, but it's very, at least to have the support of us to have the energy to keep doing the work looking at ourselves and our own lives, the relationship to the world around us, and keep engaging in the world that we live in. It's a way to bring partner to all beings at this planet. And so I took inspiration from the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita,

[26:52]

was able to sustain this great effort, you know, the greatest empire in the world. He internalized the stories that he really exposed to. But for themselves, other people, their paraphrases, teachings on modern fashion like this, throw the right stone in the right pond, let the ripples take care of themselves. We have a sincere aspiration to make this great effort, and then we let go of the outcome of the trust that gave them that sincerity and engagement. There is good action to speak. Letting good directions lead to good results, and it might not be quite what we have in mind, and we might not See, there might not be a parent, but the whole part of the effort will bring another gift result.

[28:10]

So I had an inspiring story, and I gave a talk here a couple of weeks ago, brought up the six came in, principles of nonviolence and the last one being the universe is on the side of justice Dr. King wrote it at the place it's the moral part of the universe but advanced towards justice so I feel these are powerful stories that we can actually bring with that you know turn around and find some Resonance with one at a deeper level. Telling us, you know, we're good work. It's not the sort of training of nature or even nature to work. Actually, the area is on our site.

[29:12]

This will help us to sustain our efforts and And also a little more likely to get space for patients. And then we'll just put this image together, that would be the actual value. There's the pay of injustice to the vote going down. So how do we evaluate these stories? What makes for a good, powerful, transformative story? This criterion is less about objective reality, scientific criterion.

[30:25]

It's more what is actually up for. particular ways helpful in bringing ourselves and others to foreshadowing and awakening to our not-separate list of the world around us. What are stories of these stories to force that and away from separation? And that are not just the ways to listen to it, but actually inspiring us to take some action and act as if those stories were true. So we have this criteria for what the valuable story is. It opens up for a lot of creative expressions that we're sticking to merely scientific definition

[31:28]

value of truth that it's a little more later than it. I'm not saying so many times to see how it is. Some of these stories being offered in the Buddhist tradition are perhaps more, it's hard to find inspiration, I think, aspiration. It's a cult. cold nights about the way things are. So I brought with me, uh, what I've been studying, uh, recently, it's, uh, one of the most important texts, again, my own, and it's, uh, it's a bunch of stories. There's a bunch of stories that are embedded within a larger story.

[32:29]

And it can be hard to see, like, well, it was actually a good teaching. It was just a great set master, a great set master, a great set master, a great set master. It was such a bunch of stories to put it aside. And then later, years later, it picked it up again. And that's when he started to have at least a life experience with a little bit of a sutra. So it's the central element that takes place at this historic place of Valkchipi, who gave me some of his most important teachings. But it's so fantastical. The assembly of games that are there, that's the gods. fantastical creatures and all kinds of things.

[33:34]

Like, it's not a question that doesn't make any effort that this is trying to portray us to something that actually happened that way. It's a story. But Maybe all these fantastical elements of it, the flowers falling from the sky, and there's... everywhere. All sorts of descriptions of these flowering universes that requires our imagination to be able to read it, so you have to enter the little citrus. And also, I think it inspires the imagination. I think March yesterday, and many marches I walked in, one of the things that we're chanting is, we are unstoppable, another world is possible.

[34:56]

Imagination is actually something that the world really needs. If we'd better do something different than what we're doing right now, to keep from recreating this real... ...something about the world as it is, we're actually able to reimagine something other. And this is the idea of the aspiration. Be able to hold that. as well as recognizing as what we live in, that can be with this and that's the beast here. So, the story I wanted to share is from drawing on the chapter eight of the experiment. Let's get it right into the story. 500 Arhas are distinguished followers of the Buddha.

[35:59]

And it's in response to the Buddha proclaiming that they are on the path of the Buddha. They will themselves become Buddha's. There's a lot of this in the Buddha's situation where you refer to it. Always peace in the assembly where you're going to wake up and wake up completely. And it doesn't go as far as saying that all weeps are good. which put it, but it never says that it's what it wants. Even the Buddhist cousin, the divagata, the Buddhist, the Buddhist evil cousin, Buddhist tradition, and other jealousy, he said to have tried to assassinate Buddha in the post-gism in the saga. He is there, you know, Buddha shows that Devodatta will be a Buddha in the future, too. And actually, I and myself show that Buddha learned a great view from Devodatta in my life or in previous lives.

[37:11]

And so this story, so we fight many of our bands, expressing their joy and having this prophecy of Buddha, I'll talk to them. Let's see this one. World honor one, it is as if some man went to a good friend's house, got drunk on wine, fell asleep. Meanwhile, his friend, having to go away on official business, took a priceless jewel to the liking of the man's robe as a gift, and left. being drunk and asleep, knew nothing for this. After getting up, he went on his way until he reached some other land. There he had to use much energy and effort finding food with clothing, undergoing considerably great hardship, and making food with whatever he could find.

[38:12]

Later, this crime happened to Nathan and said, How's that, old friend? Why do you have to do this for the sake of food and clothing? Wanting you to be pampered and able to satisfy all your desires. A long time ago, in such and such a year, right that day, I saw the price of a jewel into the lightning of the world. It should still be there. In your ignorance, you are slaving and worrying to keep yourself alive. How done? You always chase that jewel for whatever you need. Then you can be free to have whatever you wish, and be free from all poverty you want. go on to say that the Buddha is just like this. They thought that the Aura is one of these deep paths to the Buddhism. Shravaka path, the path of listeners, so they're followers of the Buddha and they're content with listening to Buddha's teaching and their

[39:22]

detaching from the world, to some extent, of the day, getting rid of desire, this kind of negative liberation that they are seeking out. But then they realize that they haven't fully actually been exposed to the sea chains of the way they are. positive liberation embodied by the Buddha serving certain openings. So I feel the part of the story of what he's teaching is just that what he's telling us is that it's not we already we have the capacity the Buddha We already have these capacities to actually embody the teachings of non-separation and the kindest compassion with them in our lives.

[40:36]

But if we think that we don't see ourselves as spiritually impoverished in this way, then that matters. We'll keep living according to this. But prices zero is the only real value We realize that you have it and putting it to use. As long as you carry it around, it's got that function. And if anything, it's just a nicer way to carry it around. There's also this seems to be a disembodiment. to not see the exit we have. He did this format in the story to be aware of the... really touching the body.

[41:38]

He probably would have felt that little extra weight in his sleep, right? But he has to go about chasing out the different goals. the world will create. And of course, this goes for the planet as a whole as well. We're chasing after something up there, but we're proceeding and we're I'm trying to work with this type that we really are. But we're just trying to process that when we see this, what's right here, all on our list. One of my favorite signs that I watched yesterday was when it says, I went there, there's an arrow pointing to here.

[42:55]

I think it ties it nicely with this teaching a little bit of not primarily getting together. The universe is on the side of this. I mean, actually, she's just with me. We are not alone in this work. our aspirations and our capacity for the individuals and workers. I saw a study a couple of years ago that came out that was pointing to how human beings who tend to see ourselves, you know, have recessed and hair into selfishness.

[43:56]

And actually, it's not so laborious. Studies show a great optimism and capacity for equity. But we haven't. It's sort of unique for human beings. So compared to different things, we're not capable of this. But I think that they're interesting. It also shows how things sort of put people on their political beliefs and news. And you had to show people that have the most desire to identify as liberal, which are these companies that have the most desire for this exchange. We're the ones that have the most negative image of humanity. And then we get to set people so there's no point in doing anything. I'm kind of alone and wishing for some hate. Everybody used to spend a lot of different ways. So, we see that prices are due, but they have also been given to all beings.

[45:12]

We may not realize that we carry it around as many to do it. What does that mean for how we go about our life, how we treat others, how we interpret those needs, and how we engage in the world. getting searched and burning out. That's all I wanted to say. Sorry. Thank you very much for your attention. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. Our programs are made possible by the donations we receive.

[46:18]

Please help us to continue to realize and actualize the practice of giving. by offering your financial support. For more information, visit sfzc.org and click giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[46:39]

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