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. We just planted Dharma together. Did you hear us? Can you hear me well in the back? Can you hear me well in the front? We just chanted Dharma together. We chanted Dharma together. And in chanting Dharma together, beings are brought to maturity in Buddha's wisdom. And we chanted an unsurpassed, penetrating and perfect Dharma.

[01:09]

Now as we begin this year together, in the midst of so much change and chaos and suffering, we chant Dharma together. wonderful that we can do this together in this world and bring beings to maturity in Buddha's wisdom and compassion. Now we're also starting a January intensive here in this valley. The people who live here and 40 or so guests have come in. To intensively stay present and still and quiet with the Dharma.

[02:23]

To support each other. To let go of distractions from being present with the Dharma. I don't see everything that's going on with the people who are in this valley, but I don't usually see them walking around holding a device in their hand, reading it. They walk around like with their hands open or carrying a broom or something. They're not looking at these things. No criticism of that, but this is a place... where we're trying to actually not entertain ourselves by looking at things other than what's going on right here and taking care of this Dharma, this truth.

[03:39]

Today is Sunday, yesterday. We had a service here in the morning. And we chanted Dharma together. We do that here. We chant Dharma together. We chant unsurpassed, penetrating and perfect teaching together. And yesterday we did it together. We did it today too. Yesterday we did a chant not too many people had memorized. And we could do it because we had lights in this room. Today we had to do abbreviated service. And chant things that people knew by heart. Because we couldn't read in the dark. So we chanted this morning too. But yesterday morning. We chanted one of our teachings. Which is called. In the original. Sando Kai. And it can be translated as. The harmony.

[04:39]

Difference. And unity. It's a teaching. about how the way we're different, which you can see, like I'm this old man and you're this young man. I'm a male, you're a female. We can see these differences. That's part of our life. Differences. Republicans and Democrats. Differences. Ukrainians and Russians. Differences. This is the world of suffering, where we're different. And we don't skip over this world. We honor it. We acknowledge it. It's the world where the weather is stormy yesterday, today, like this. Very lovely. And tomorrow, we shall see. Difference.

[05:41]

And there's another world where We're all the same. It's a world where we're all the same. And we're all working together intimately in peace. And those two worlds are in harmony. Intimately working together. We chanted that. That verse which has that title. And the beginning of the verse is... The mind of the great sage of India. The mind of the Buddha. The mind of great compassion and wisdom. That's how it starts. The mind of the great sage of India. And the next part is usually the way it's translated is the mind of the great sage of India is intimately transmitted.

[06:44]

I agree. However, being not a native speaker of Chinese, when I look at it, what I see it says is first two characters, mind, or first three, mind of ancient sage of India, four. And then it says intimate transmission. It doesn't say is. It doesn't say the mind is transmitted. To my eyes, it says the mind of Buddha is intimate transmission, not it is intimately transmitted. It is intimate transmission. That's what the Buddha's mind is. It's intimate communication. That's what the Buddha mind is. In the Buddha mind, what's going on there? is intimate communication between all beings and between differences and the way we're all the same, intimately.

[07:53]

Now, at the beginning of this year, I wish to commit, I wish to make this intimate communion the ultimate concern, right now, of this life. The final concern right now is the Buddha mind, is the way we're intimately transmitting to each other. That's what I wish to be devoted to. That's my faith, is that that's what's going on, and I wish to be devoted to that. I wish to not be distracted from that. If I pick up a device, as I pick it up, I wish to remember. What?

[09:01]

Wholehearted communion with all beings. Not to pick this electrical device up and distract myself from it. And now I'm going to put it down. But I wish to not distract myself from the communication that's always really going on in our life. So we have like three kind of, here's some difference, okay? We have the people who are here for the three weeks intensive. They're in the room. We have you people who have come in to chant the Dharma for today. And we'll be leaving later today. And we have another sangha, another assembly who's watching from all over the whatever.

[10:06]

I don't know how many. But some people are watching. Yes. And so I'm talking to you and you and you and you. All these people. I'm saying we have the chance. To create a vessel to hold the faith in Buddha mind. To hold faith, the faith of intimate transmission. It's always here. It's just a matter of being present for it and allowing it and remembering it and remembering it. we can do it. This whole three weeks, we have a chance to be here and sit quietly and be present with this intimate communion with this Buddha mind. And we also have a chance to notice when our mind wishes for something other than being present for this communion.

[11:21]

We might want to prove our point in a conversation rather than listen to the Dharma. Oh, I got distracted. I'm sorry. So this is a training opportunity. We need to create a training vessel where We are trusting in Buddha mind. We are trusting in the Buddha mind. This mind is chanting the Dharma together. In this mind, beings are embraced and brought to maturity. Every person we meet, there's a chance for us to meet in such a way

[12:24]

with such sincerity and respect that we are brought to maturity through that meeting, in that meeting, by that meeting, every meeting has that opportunity. I've been considering the question of whether I really am willing to let go of everything else but taking care of this mind.

[13:29]

I've been thinking about that. For example, we don't have our usual source of electrical power here. And a few minutes ago, just a few minutes ago, I thought I saw a little flicker on an answering machine. was a hallucination. But I thought, oh, the power is back on. And I thought, when that light went on, did I get distracted? Now, when I thought how silly I am to get so excited about a flicker on an answering machine, I started to remember, oh, yeah.

[14:44]

I'm here for this intimate communion, even when lights flicker or there's hallucinations of light flickering. No matter what people bring to me, I'm here. What I'm really here for is that we intimately communicate. In order for that to happen, I have to pay attention to others. If I'm paying attention to others, I'm doing my job. My job is to give my attention to everybody. That's my job. And that giving attention, that generosity, is what matures beings. Matures me. matures others. I mature when I give you my attention.

[15:50]

I'm here to listen to others. I mature when I listen to you. I'm here to speak to you as a gift. I give these words to you who I am paying attention to. In this giving, of my being, of my attention, we mature together. We mature together. In this practice, we are chanting the Dharma together. I observe beings. In my observing, we mature together. In observing each other with eyes of compassion, Buddha is brought to maturity. Wisdom and compassion are nurtured and protected. And there's a slight difference between looking at somebody and thinking of some other time or place, even though you're looking at them, you're a little bit wondering how much longer this is going to go on.

[17:02]

Or is there somebody more interesting to talk to than this person? But if I have that thought, that thought, I can also communicate with and listen to. And then I'm not distracted from the communication. Everything's included. Training is to learn how not to be tricked into thinking that we're doing something other than Buddha mind. There's something else which we temporarily take a little break from Buddha's mind and do something else. That's going to be quite a bit more entertaining than just taking care of this last intimate communion with all beings. Yeah, fine. What's the weather forecast?

[18:10]

When's the power going to be back on? I'm not saying we don't do that. I'm just saying that's about difference. When's the power going to be back on? Okay, there it is. What about simultaneously remembering the Buddha mind? It's right there. Don't forget the Buddha mind when you're playing with monkey mind that wants to know what the weather is going to be and when the power is going to be back on. And also, who's the loveliest of them all? Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is it? How do I look today? That's fine. You look better than you did yesterday. This is the world of difference. We're not trying to get rid of it. It's getting plenty of attention.

[19:23]

How about just don't forget the Dharma? How about not forget the intimate communion at the same time? No matter what's happening in the realm of difference, can you remember the Dharma? Everybody wants you to remember One of the stories which many of you have heard before is about two of our ancestors. One's named in China in the Tang Dynasty more than a thousand years ago. They were together. They were together. And what were they doing? They were chanting Dharma together. And how did it sound when they chanted Dharma together? Well, as the story goes, one of them was,

[20:27]

named Da Wu, and the other one was named Yuan Yan. Dharma brothers, same teacher, Dharma brothers, and one of them was sweeping the ground with a tool, which in English we call a broom. Zen practitioners do sometimes use tools like brooms, And electronic devices. They sometimes use them. They don't always have a broom, but they often do. And people come here from far away to use our brooms. You know, and pick the broom up and sweep the ground and put the broom back. It's an ancient Zen practice. Sweeping the ground with brooms. So our wonderful ancestor, our compassionate ancestor, Yunyan, was sweeping the ground.

[21:36]

And his Dharma brother said to him, you're too busy. In other words, he accused him of being distracted from the Buddha mind when he was sweeping the ground. He was, and he was sweeping here, not there. He was sitting with this broom, not another broom. He was in the realm of difference and he was busy in that realm. That was the accusation. That was the indictment. He didn't deny it, which would have been just more sweeping. Do you understand? Denying what people say about us is sweeping the ground, sweeping away accusations. We are often busy sweeping the ground. cleaning the house. So he didn't say, I'm not busy.

[22:38]

I'm not distracted. He just said, you should remember, you should know that there's one who's not busy. Even though I'm busy, I remember there's somebody right here who's not busy. What is the somebody who's not busy? The mind of Buddha is not busy. The intimate communion of all beings is not busy. It's completely still. All the beings who are busy are in intimate communion. That intimate communion is immovable and not moving. The way all the busy beings are working together is stillness. Right now, all of our hearts are beating. Busy hearts we have. That's good, right? But the way all of our hearts are in communion, that's not busy.

[23:40]

That's silent. The way our hearts are busy, we can hear. The way our hearts are in communion is silent and unmoving. The way our hearts beat, is moving squeeze let go squeeze let go squeeze let go the way our hearts are in communion is in silence and stillness of buddha mind which includes all the lively active living beings So, again, part of Zen practice is to take care of the tools, to take care of the brooms.

[24:43]

Why take care of the brooms? Because we remember the intimate communion. We want to take care of the brooms in a way that expresses that we have not forgotten Buddha's mind. a tool? Yes. Got a way to take care of it? Yes. Does that way express confidence in the mind of great communion? Yes. I put this broom back where I got it as an act of devotion to Buddha's mind. And we tell people sometimes in this temple and other temples, they say to people, please put the brooms back where you got them. And then we don't usually say, to express the Buddha mind. But that's why we're putting them back.

[25:47]

Not just to have an orderly temple, but to have a temple so that other people can use that broom to express Buddha's mind. I put the broom in the closet so that other people can put the broom in the closet so that other people can... put the broom into the closet to express the Buddha mind, to demonstrate that when I use the broom, it's in communion with all of you who in the future will use this broom. I'm doing this for all beings, not just to have a clean temple. And part of the Zen Center history is in the early days of Zen Center, People asked Suzuki Roshi, the founder, for some practices by which they could be a little stricter. In other words, a little less distracted from the Buddha mind. And he said, when you're done with the brooms, hang them with the head up. He noticed that people were storing the brooms with the head down.

[26:52]

As an act of respect, we put the broom head up. And we have little hooks that you can hang the brooms head up so that other people can do the practice that was transmitted to us intimately by the Buddhas. Put the broom back to where it was and in the condition it was in. When we work in the fields, we sometimes weed with a tool. called a hula hoop. It could also be called a stirrup hoop. The end of the stick looks like a stirrup. It's called a hula hoop. Is that right? No. What is it called? Hula hoop. Hula ho. And then we also have hula hoops if you need them. So we get the hula hoops.

[27:56]

We get the hula hoes, which have been set out for us, and then we return them there. But before we return them, we clean them. They're given to us clean, and then we clean them and return them clean. This is a Zen practice to express Buddha mind. Put things back where you found them in the same condition that they were in when you received them. Where did they go and were they clean? Now, what if they're dirty? That's a tough one. What if you find a bunch of dirty cups on a shelf? That's a more advanced question. But usually, around here, the cups on the shelves are clean and we put them back clean. The tools, hopefully, are clean and we put them back clean. This is in the realm of difference, clean and dirty, here and there.

[29:01]

But this is a chance to express intimate communion by putting it back where you got it in that condition. And this is all leading up to my current big problem around here. So someone generously gave the community an electric fiat, cute little fiat, generously given in basically new condition for the staff to use for personal errands. Not for real long trips because it's electric. So in this world of change, I needed to borrow that car a couple of days ago, just a couple of days ago.

[30:11]

And I got in the car, this nice new car, and to my great sadness, the floor was really filthy. And the type of filter was there. I could tell it took months to accumulate. You couldn't get all that stuff in there just in one visit. And I just couldn't understand how the car could be so dirty because this is a car which is given to me to use for my own transportation. And was given to other people to use for theirs. But they didn't clean it after they used it. Did they think that Zen practice only operates in the tool sheds?

[31:15]

Or in the kitchen? But not in the cars? I don't know what they thought. But I'm saying it to you folks who use that car. Excuse me for saying this, but I cleaned it. I cleaned that car. It took me a while. But we have some tools to use to clean the car. So one of the tools we have is a compressed air blower. Couldn't even vacuum it up. I had to blow it out. And I happily blew all the stuff out. And if you want to, there could be a tour of that Fiat. It's up in the parking lot. I believe if you go look at it, you will find it clean because since the power was out, I don't know if anybody's been using it because it's electric. So, unless somebody used it since I used it, it's like clean. So, dear, dear bodhisattvas of dream coach, here's an opportunity for you to take care of that car like you're taking care of your eyes.

[32:26]

It's given to you to use. And when you receive it, if it's dirty, that's kind of a problem, but maybe in that case, I need to clean it myself. And then give it to the next person clean. And maybe they will say, oh, somebody cleaned it, but no, I don't have to. If it's clean when I receive it, I kind of want to return it as clean as when I received it. And if it's not clean, I want to clean it so that it will be given to the next person clean and that they could receive it clean and return it clean. I was thinking of asking the director to have a meeting with the people who use the car and talk to him about this, but I'm using this opportunity instead. I don't want to corner people with it.

[33:28]

an accusation. I just want to beg all the people who use that car, that beautiful electric car, I beg you to, if you receive it clean, return it clean. I know you're busy. Yunnan says, you're too busy. If you're busy and I know you're busy, remember there's somebody who's not busy. And that's what we're here for. is to remember that one and demonstrate that one by cleaning the car and returning it clean. And if you receive it clean, return it clean. If you reserve it dirty, clean it. So I received the car, okay? It's dirty. I don't have time to clean it, but I do have time to drive it and go shopping. That I have time for. I do not have time to clean the car.

[34:29]

Well, I don't know about that. Now, I don't use that car much, so it's not going to be that much difficult for me when I do to clean it if it's dirty. And if it's not, it won't be that difficult for me to say, perhaps quietly, perhaps not, Hallelujah! People are practicing Zen here. They clean the car after they use it. Wow. Go over to the car. It's a community car. You open it up and it's clean. Whoa. Who's practicing? Somebody's practicing here. This is a practice place. These people take care of not just their own car, but the community car that they use. Wow. This is a real bodhisattva hanging out. We could have a tour of it now.

[35:35]

It's right up in the parking lot. You can go look at it. And again, I don't know if somebody can use it since I cleaned it, but it's up there. And anybody who does use it on a ready basis can go look and see how you feel about it. And if anybody does not want to do the practice, if anybody wants to not do the practice of cleaning the car after they use it, If you receive the car dirty, you don't have to clean it before you drive it. You can just wait and clean it up after you leave because you're going to get it dirty, too. So if anybody does not want to clean the car after they use it, I'd love to talk to you about that. I'd love to hear your reason. And maybe I'll say, that's a really good reason. I think when we're leaving, we're more in a hurry than when we get back, maybe. Maybe not. Okay, so I hope that everybody is motivated now to take care of everything in the universe as an act of intimate transmission of the mind of the great sage of India.

[36:54]

I saw at least two people. Maybe five. Maybe everybody wants to do that. I do. I want to take care of the mind of the great sage of India by taking care of brooms, fiats, cups, people, newts, rats, gophers, trees, the ground. I want to take care of everything to express that Buddha mind. And I need to train myself because I can get distracted from that. Like, I'm too busy to clean the car. We should hire somebody to do that. Or maybe the maintenance should clean the car so that the people who drive it don't have to be bothered. This is so funny. So we have a shop up there too, you know. So the residents can use the tools in the shop.

[38:00]

So they can go in and use the shop. And then when they're done with the tools, just drop it on the ground someplace. Don't even bring it back to the shop. Can you believe people do that? They borrow a shovel and don't put it back in the place where the shovel was? Or they bring it back and don't put it in the shovel rack? Can you believe that in a Zen temple somebody might do that? Of course they don't. But actually, yeah, I think we do want people to put the shovels back in the condition in which they receive them or better. Leave this world. that you have been given in as good condition as it was given to us, or better. This is the mind of the great sage of India. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center.

[39:01]

Our programs are made possible by the donations we receive. 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.

[39:26]

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