Hello again. Welcome. Welcome. So last week was our first meeting after quite a while, and I really enjoyed seeing those of you who were here and welcoming those of you who are either new to our group or weren't here last week. So that was my first time back after being gone for about nine weeks. So it was really nice to hear that the group had continued meeting, some of you had, and had a really fruitful time discussing Suzuki Roshi's lectures and listening to some of his talks and talking together. So I was very encouraged by that. And as I said to you last week, I'd like to incorporate in our time together more time for you to talk about the things we're reading together. So that's my plan for this evening. We're looking at... next talk, Zen Mind Beginner's Mind, which is called Constancy. And so I thought I would share some of my own perspectives and a little bit of a review of what Suzuki Roshi says, and then open the floor of the gallery for all of us to talk together about this very nice lecture.

[01:23]

So the lecture begins with Suzuki Roshi saying that people who know the state of emptiness will always be able to dissolve their problems by constancy. Kind of a big sentence. People who know the state of emptiness will always be able to dissolve their problems by constancy. So let's kind of look into that a little bit more. So then he goes on to offer a message to his students. You know, that's us. He says, cultivate your own spirit. Cultivate your own spirit. I think we've talked very often, and you've read very often, about this mistaken idea of seeking for something outside of ourselves, imagining that whatever it is that we're missing or we think we're missing is somewhere other than right here, inside of our own life or inside of our own mind in every given moment, including the idea that there's something missing. It's very intimate, that idea.

[02:28]

So this very definition of suffering is our desiring to have things be different than they are. There is suffering. Suffering is the wish or the desire for things to be different than they are. That's pretty familiar. I don't like it. It's too hot. It's too cold. It's too noisy, whatever that is. It doesn't really meet my wish for how it should be, that suffering. So this desire is coupled with suffering. our fundamental affliction of ignorance, which if you remember from the 12-fold chain of dependent core rising, that circle that often depicted by the Tibetans as a wheel, wheel of birth and death, you know, held in the claws and teeth by Yama, the Lord of Death, the first of the 12 links of suffering that lead to suffering is ignorance. And what it is we're ignoring, all of us, almost without exception, is the non-dual nature of reality, our lack of separation, the absence of separation, which is what emptiness means.

[03:35]

We are empty of any separation from the rest, from the whole of the universe. We're never separated from what's happening right now, and wishing for things to be other than the way they are happening right now is delusion, and that delusion is extremely painful. So this is the basic teaching of the Buddha. And Suzuki Roshi, you know, oftentimes, you know, he just basically weaves these basic teachings into his talks and then gives good examples of how we can help us to understand it. So that there is no outside of ourselves, that there is only a connection, only dependent core rising. You know that term, dependent core rising. All things are dependently core risen. which in Buddhist teaching is what is meant by emptiness. Okay, so emptiness, dependable rising, these are basically complementary terms that together help us to understand better about what's going on here, what we are, what's happening, and why we suffer, most importantly.

[04:43]

The theoretical knowledge is interesting, but really what's interesting, as the Buddha learned himself when he began to teach, is people are suffering. They want to hear about medicine. They want to hear about things that might help them to relieve their suffering. So, you know, he started with the big vision of the universe and this dependent core rising, how everything is a unity, a field of unity. You know, he projected the quarter of the universe in the Guru Sutra so everyone could see that it's just all one big thing with all this stuff going on. And then, you know, the people in the audience at the time, the first... listeners to the Buddhist teaching, were like, well, that's really interesting, but what does it mean? You know, what does it have to do with me? And so then he taught the Four Noble Truths. There is suffering. And they were like, okay, now we're with you. There is suffering. And there's a cause of your suffering. Suffering has a cause. And number three, there's a cessation of suffering. You know, let's hear about that.

[05:45]

And the cessation of suffering is how you live your life. The Eightfold noble path, which we've talked about quite a bit as well. It's always good, I think, to review some of these building blocks of the Buddhist teaching. So emptiness being the absence of each given thing being separate from everything else, you know, the all-at-onceness of time and space and so on, as we hear in our daily recitations of the Heart Sutra, You know, no eyes separate from our head. You know, no ears separate from our knees. And no nose separate from our elbows. And so on. You know, just one whole living being that arises in dependence on the wholeness of the universe itself. Okay? I know that's familiar. It's a good thing. It's kind of like our, you know, our mantra. It's a good thing to go over it again and again. No separate thing. No separate self. No outside. No inside. So after telling us about how our practice can bring about a profound realization of that connection, that connection that is already happening, Suzuki Roshi warns us not to fill up our heads with too much knowledge about Zen.

[06:59]

He said, it's okay to read sutras and to study these ancient texts, and it's okay to sit Zazen with our friends, but if we have the wrong orientation, An abundance of knowledge can spoil our minds. He then talks about the approach that practice, this approach to practice that results in this truly, what he says is an omnipotent self. Omnipotent self, he says. So, wow, that sounds amazing. So there is an approach to an omnipotent self, a self that knows everything, the everything which he has called in this talk emptiness. To know emptiness is to know everything. And then he says that this kind of knowing comes from listening to the teaching with a pure heart and a clear mind. And that what we hear when we listen in that way is something that we already know. We already know everything. When our mind is vast and empty, like the dark night sky, it won't be surprised by the moonrise

[08:10]

or by a flash of lightning. Suddenly the mind sees something that is wonderful and full of colors, which just as suddenly passes away. Every day, all day long, it arises and passes away, or so it seems. The mind itself doesn't blink. So Roshi says that when we have an awareness of emptiness, we are always prepared for watching this flashing. The brightness of our awareness is always ready to see what comes, you know, and what passes. What comes and what goes as if. Roshi says that when we have an awareness of emptiness, we are always prepared for watching, always prepared for what appears before our eyes. And then he brings up this old Zen poem, a poem from China, about how to practice when the lights are bright and when the colors fall. are changing the whole world around us, as they're doing right now, here where I live, up in Northern California.

[09:16]

So we know this. We already know it, right? So the Chinese poem goes like this. Sozan is a place. Sozan is famous for its misty, rainy days, and the great river Senko for its tide coming and going. That is all. That's the poem. Sozan is famous for its misty, rainy days and the great river Senko for its tide coming and going. That is all. And Roshi then says, that is all and it's splendid. This is how we appreciate things. That is all and it's splendid. This, he says, is the way that we learn to accept knowledge as if it's something that we already know. You know, so if we think about it for a little bit, you know, which I was doing while I was thinking about this for a little bit, we can easily realize how much there is that we already know. You know, we already know the warmth of the summer and the coolness of the fall.

[10:21]

You know, we already know the taste of nourishing food. You know, I just had my supper and it was very, very good. You know, the sweetness of a bird's song, you know, out there, out the window. and the odor of freshly baked bread. We know this. We already know it. And we already know the feelings that we have, our familiar feelings of fear and anxiety and desire and confusion. We know this. There's nothing new. But even though we have all known all of these things before, they are accepted as old friends, Roshi says, that we appreciate the parts of our life with a new feeling. An old friend with a new feeling So if we want to truly appreciate this remarkable life, we have to forget about ourselves completely. We have to turn the light of our awareness on to the marvelous flashings of light and sound, of color and odor, of taste, of touch, and the miraculous flashings of thought.

[11:27]

He then talks about how much he feels he can understand us here in America, even though he's Japanese. He may even understand us better, he says, than we understand ourselves. And that's because the possibility of understanding is always available to us when we exist in the utter darkness of the night sky. This possibility of understanding is always available to us when we exist in the utter darkness of the night sky. As long as we live in emptiness, you know, in potential. Recently in our senior seminar that I've been going to for many years with Tenshin Roshi, we've been reading an essay by a Japanese Zen ancestor who talks about this same teaching using somewhat different vocabulary. In the essay that we're studying, there's an instruction to meditate continuously on what this teacher calls the one true mark, the one true mark.

[12:34]

And then he says that the... The main problem with our karmic life is that we believe we are doing this life by ourselves, when in truth we are always together with all beings. I vow to practice with all beings, regardless of religion or gender or political alliances, and together we pray and vow for peace. So forms and ceremonies, of which there are many in Soto Zen, as those of you who participated at Zen Center know, and as people are learning here at Enso Village and questioning, why are you doing that? What's with the bowing and the chanting and the incense offering and so on? The robes, you know, so we're slowly, but, you know, with pretty good heartedness. I mean, we're really happy to be bringing the forms and ceremonies of Soto Zen into our our zendo here. But what they're for, really, they have a purpose. Their purpose is to restrain the actions of our body, speech, and mind, to help us to focus more clearly and to pay attention to the one true mark.

[13:44]

By holding the mind back from distraction through the practices of a wise restraint, we come to realize that this entire life is is the unfolding of I, together with all beings, practice the Buddha way. That's the one true mark. I, together with all beings, practice the Buddha way. So this is the emphasis of our Soto Zen school, this teaching of the one true mark, I and all beings. And Reb said to us that, you know, we can adapt to others who we disagree with by remembering to meditate on the one true mark, to find a way to be in conversation with them. And then we can have peace. So the Buddha is the dependent core rising of all things, the one true mark. And it's our job as those who've taken this vow, and who accept this vow, and the truth of this vow, to share that understanding as best we can with those around us, whether we agree with them or not.

[14:50]

It's hard, it's hard, we all know that. We're in troubling times. So at the end of this lecture, Suzuki Roshi says that he has been looking for a better way to translate the Japanese word nin, N-I-N, than the English word patience. Usually I've seen it translated as patience, the perfection of patience. And so he chooses the word constancy, which kind of surprised me a little bit. He said constancy perhaps is better because you have to force yourself to be patient. But constancy, there's no particular effort involved. You're being consistent. There's only this unchanging ability to accept things the way they are. The one true mark. I and all beings together practice the Buddha way. So I thought I would end my comments by reading the last paragraph of Suzuki Roshi's talk, which is quite nice. He says, Nin, this word Nin, N-I-N, is the way we cultivate our own spirit.

[15:57]

Nin is our own way of continuous practice. We should always live in the dark, empty sky. The sky is always the sky. And even though clouds and lightning come, the sky is not disturbed. Even if the flashing of enlightenment comes, our practice forgets all about it. Then it's ready for another enlightenment. It's necessary for us to have enlightenments one after another, if possible, moment after moment. This is what is called enlightenment before you attain it and after you attain it. So that's my thoughts that I wanted to share. And now I would like to open to the gallery view. There it is. Great. Welcome, everyone. Nice to see you all. And invite you to share comments, thoughts, reflections, curiosities, whatever it is that you'd like to.

[16:59]

This is our time together to talk. And I want to welcome people that I'm not so familiar with. Jerry, I see you. You're back. Nice to see you again. Thank you. I apologize for last week. I misunderstood the link. And I was so frustrated. And my question is, will last week's talk be posted fairly soon? I just saw we're up to July. Oh, I think so. That's a Zen Center thing. So I'll check in on that. I think Kakuan is helping find out about those recordings. Yeah. I think I would estimate in about a week is what I would estimate for. But... But I think I know we didn't have any recordings in the time that food was out. So I would say around that time that it passes through multiple hands, me being one of the first ones. So but we're getting the process back, the wheels back on track after it's been stopped for a little bit.

[18:04]

But they will be on there. Yeah. As long as it was recorded, those they all get posted. I think Karina, did you record last week? She did. Okay. Great. It's in the machine. Exactly. I can delay my enlightenment one more week. That's okay. One more week. Just one more week. Just one more week. Just constancy. You'll be fine. So I do have a question, though, about what you're doing. Let me just finish welcoming the new people. I'll be back to you. It's fine. It's fine. I'll be right back to you. Just wanted to welcome Weston. I'm not sure I've met you before. Welcome. Maybe you've been here. And Musho, I think, maybe returned. Anyway, welcome. Welcome. And Stephen, welcome. And Marie. Hello, Marie. Nice to see you. And the rest of you are, you know, the familiars. So great. Welcome, everyone. So, Jerry, yes, please. Thank you. As I understand,

[19:11]

A key idea here is to live in emptiness, which I understand is shunyata, is that correct? Well, that's the word, that's the translation of that word, yeah. Right. And as I'm sure you know, I know you know, as I'm coming to appreciate, the word has been variously translated to English in ways that are confusing, emptiness being, at least for me, one of those confusions. And one idea that I read, which I found very compelling, is that emptiness is seen as, and you said it, as potential. So it's not like there's nothing there. There is something there and constantly there and it's potential. Am I understanding this the way he's talking about it? Well, I think honing in on getting an exact definition of emptiness is antithetical to the idea of emptiness.

[20:17]

I mean, I think that we can't get a hold of it is part of what makes it so challenging and keeps us awake. You know, it's like, I just almost got it. I almost got it. It was running down the field and I almost got its ankles. But, you know, we're not going to be able to catch any of these things with words. And it really is awareness itself. You know, those are words. But what is it? when you're talking about your awareness, the circle or the sphere of your awareness, you know, when I spend time meditating on awareness itself, there's no boundary there. And so part of what emptiness means is empty of an inherent existent thing that's self-existent, like me. I'm empty of inherent existence. That's just a concept I have of I'm here. I do this. I do that. You know, my name is yada, yada. So those are concepts we have called conventional truths. We use them easily. And problem is we don't have a lot of time.

[21:20]

We weren't trained or spent a lot of time in looking at how that's just those are just made up narratives that really what's happening here is this vast emptiness. No boundaries, no definitions, words flying through, but they're just the same as everything else flying through. So trying to stay loose and open and of good cheer is probably the big assignment that we have for ourselves. As the Dalai Lama said, my religion is kindness. So if we can find some way to understand what's the purpose of my devotion to the Buddha Dharma, I think something like that is great. You know, my devotion to being kind, you know, and understanding some of these philosophical terms and so on is fun. I enjoy studying those things myself. And yet I know, as Suzuki Roshi says, you're just going to fill your head with all this stuff and kind of create a bit of a clump here instead of an openness.

[22:24]

So just notice what's happening when you're thinking about things. Are you nodding up? Or are you unweaving? Are you loosening, knocking the pegs out and untightening, you know, loosening the knots? That's kind of what the Zen thing is about. Does that help, Jerry? Lovely. Thank you. Yes, very much so. You're welcome. Hi, Tim. This, I can't help but relate. I really was Zen. sort of Mahayana concept of emptiness, but I really think it's describing the same thing in the Theravadan tradition, the Pali word anatta. Anatta being there is no self. There's no I. There's no egg inside it. There's no me. You go down through it and there's really, there's nothing inside there.

[23:26]

But just our sensations, our beliefs, our thoughts, our feelings, everything that is the illusion of what we are that we think is me. That's Fu or Tim. It really strikes me. They're really the same thing. No self. There's no self. And that and the Theravada, there are ten fetters that that are binding us, and the first three fetters that occur, this goes this whole rebirth thing, but that if you resolve, I won't even say eliminate them, if you resolve and completely understand the first three fetters, and one of the first three fetters is a belief in self. And so the doubt, you know, that, so that's one of the key things. So like, knocked down. Yeah.

[24:27]

And I think that is emptiness, right? I think the other component of that, which is maybe not as emphasized, perhaps, in the earlier sutras or teachings, is that there's also no other. Yeah, I think it's, well, I think there, yeah. It's called the double barrier. So the belief in the self is one barrier. And then the belief that there's something else other than some other is the other. And if you break both barriers down, then you have non-separation. Yeah, that's the separation that we build up. Or if you agree, it's the concept of having a self builds a separation. Right. And if you think that you can get rid of yourself by behaving well. You know, by purifying, somehow purifying this thing that's not there. You know, if you have this idea that there's some way to actually rid yourself of your hindrances or your fetters or whatever it is, that's a little bit being caught up in the self.

[25:33]

Absolutely. My hand, I got in trouble for saying, well, there's no self there. What is it doing? Why bother? What are you sitting for? Why are you reading those books? Why are you, you know, and then some of the correctives came along, like the yoga chart came back and said, just a minute. There is relative truth and you really are hurting people by how you're behaving. Your self may not be there, but it's really, it's really irritating. So, you know, how to actually, you know, continue to live in this world of conventional reality and at the same time, not forget the one true mark. So it really has to be both of those sides. I have it on my screen. There you go. Well, I hate to use people's time, but I really encountered it a lot this week where I realized I'm trying to control my environment.

[26:34]

And in a sense, that means controlling other people. And that is a fruitless and painful endeavor with no positive outcome for anyone, especially me. And so that's really part of that. That's self trying to control my environment. And that ain't going to happen. Yeah, yeah. I was in a meeting at Zen Center once years ago, and I was doing that, that you're talking about, trying to control the environment and getting those people to, you know, agree with what I had to say. And at some point I realized, you know, I think I need to raise the white flag here. Surrender, Dorothy. Surrender. Just give up this control, this idea of control, either of yourself or of them, and just see if you can enjoy this situation you're in here of trying to figure out what's happening and what to say and all of that.

[27:37]

There's different ways of being in the same situation, and some of them are much more encouraging. I think just as I was logging on Zoom to listen to you, it clicked to me that I'm stopped trying to control the environment. It's not helping. And then hearing you talk, it just sort of amplified that decision. Yeah. Yeah. And get yourself a little flag. Just run it up the pole. Exactly. Thank you. You're welcome, Tim. Musho. Hello. Hi. Hi there. You guys don't know me, but I'm a student teacher from the Village Zendo in New York City. Welcome. And I've been a follower of Fusan for a while, since I started my practice years ago. And I'm happy to be seeing you and being in your group.

[28:38]

I'm very excited about this. Welcome. I liked your talk, and I think constancy is such an interesting concept. for emptiness and I've tried in the past to give Dharma talks where I talked about emptiness it's always impossible you can't really you can't really explain it that's what the nature of it is but constancy is a cool word because it means it's always happening you're happening I'm happening you're happening everything is happening I mean it's a continuum And that's really a kind of a neat way of thinking about it that I hadn't thought of before. Another thing I think is cool about Constancy is it's kind of like the opposite of impermanence, which is the other thing that we're always working with in Zen to realize the impermanence of everything. But then Suzuki Roshi must also be talking about how

[29:40]

Constancy is really important, too. And it's typical Zen. Those things are opposites. Yes. But they're so important to be together, you know? Really wonderful way of describing emptiness, which is indescribable. But I think Suzuki Roshi did a pretty good job. And I'm glad you brought that up. How do you feel about... impermanence and constancy. Well, I think he's translating nin or patience as constancy, right? But still, I mean, impermanence applies to everything, as does emptiness and pentacle rising. So, you know, they're just different facets of the same, at any given object, and it's always about an object. It's not about just something floating around out there. Emptiness isn't just kind of in the ether. It's about emptiness of particular objects that this bell right is empty of being separate from everything else no empty of own being of separate existence right and constancy is the truth of that right that's always true non-separation or non-duality is the constant that is balancing out and i think you're right this notion of impermanence right

[31:08]

So they are, I mean, I think they're complements with an E. All of these terms, these non-dual terms, complement each other, light and dark, right and wrong, is and isn't, me and you. They're just complements to express the wholeness. If there's no you, there's no me. So without you and me, we don't have wholeness. So it's really about finding the missing piece, the missing half of whatever you've got. What are you leaving out? Right. I think, yeah. One thing we often say in our Zendo is everything's included. Yes. All things are included in what's happening right now. It's really hard to get your head around that because if you talk about what's included, if everything is included and emptiness and constancy contain everything, we're also talking about wars and horrible things that people are doing to each other. and corrupt politicians and all kinds of things that we all are a part of.

[32:14]

I think Constancy is a wonderful way to think of what the nature of our lives is. Thank you. All-inclusive reality. And we have a job to do because we're included. Otherwise, we just say, well, it's not my problem. Exactly. Yes, it is. With all our problems. And if we're together, we have a better chance of doing something than if we think we're separate. So true. I can't do anything. I'm so little. But the Sangha, the Buddhist Sangha over centuries has been vast and very impactful on culture. So we have that wish to have that impact, right, on this culture, like within the next couple weeks. So true. So true. Well, thank you, Mushu. Welcome. You're welcome. Thank you so much. Marianne, good to see you. Good to see you. Welcome back again, Fu, and hello to deep bow to all of the Sangha.

[33:19]

I have a question about one of the lines in this excerpt from Constancy, and it has to do with what Suzuki Urushi is talking about, constancy and knowledge. And it's the line that says, so you should accept knowledge as if you were hearing something you already knew. I was wondering if you could say a little bit more about that. Is it pointing to the fact of our existence always existed in different forms? I mean, it's the idea of a constancy of knowledge, not... not the building up of something new, but realizing that we are part of something, a constant knowledge. That's the way I was trying to interpret it, but I was wondering if you could say something more about that line. Yeah, I love that line. I thought that was, I really liked this talk. I thought a lot of good pieces, spicy pieces in it. But for me, that was like, well, yeah, don't you know sound and smell and taste and touch?

[34:21]

Don't you already know it? I mean, you don't have to learn it. It's not something you don't know. I mean, we know life. You know, we entered into life, you know, little sperm and little egg got together, apparently. Here we are. So we've entered into this living being, this entity-ness, as a result of the whole universe creating us, each of us, is a product of vastness beyond measure. We can't even begin to understand how each of us got here. You know, how many of our ancestors had to survive terrible warfare and disease and, you know, You're right, and reach an age where they could reproduce and successfully have that child live. I mean, it's beyond comprehension that we're here, and yet here we are. And so I feel like this idea that there's something we have to learn is, you know, sure, of course, we have to learn how to read and write and yada, yada, drive a car, whatever. But that's not the knowing that I think he's talking about. I think it's the knowing of sound and smell and taste and life itself.

[35:24]

We know life. We know we're alive. I don't know what it is. I can't tell you what it is. I can't define it. Nobody's done a good job of defining it. But I am it. And I know it. I know this living thing. I know this inhalation, exhalation, hunger, thirst, right? So it is a gift. And it's a gift that we are trying to manage in various ways. not get discouraged, you know, really find ways to take good care of our life. And knowing it will end. It will end. And that's another part of we know that. Even though that particular thing is not yet manifest, we know it. And so the preciousness of the time we have, I think, is just illuminated by the fact that it's impermanent. And, you know, So I don't know if there's more that you wanted to bring up about that, Marianne, but that's what my mind went to.

[36:28]

Right. And I guess I was also thinking the fact that if we deeply realize our interdependence of everything, the fact that we're connected, interconnectedness of everything, then that is also knowledge coming to us. Though we may not be fully aware of it, but it's coming to us because we are connected to everything. And so that dark sky is not a blank sky, but it's a sky filled of all that knowledge that's coming to us that we may not, you know, kind of cognitively understand it all, but it's coming to us. And we're in that field of the fullness of that dark sky. So we already know. And just like reading a book, you only get one sentence at a time. You only get one sentence. You flash at a time. You know, we don't get the wholeness of the sky in terms of knowledge. We just get a sentence, you know. Right. So and that's lovely. We're kind of like they said, you know, little worms chewing through wood and somehow making a pattern.

[37:30]

You know, so we have this extraordinary combination of feeling like we have a lot of knowledge. And then it only produces itself in the moment, in the conversation you're having. And what's wonderful about being here with. people who are aging, like me, is that we forget really quickly what we were saying. You know, we're like, what was that? What was that? Was it a movie? Remember that so-and-so? Remember the actor was in that movie? And we're all going like, we don't know what you're talking about. And everyone's doing that. So it's a really kind of a delightful realization that this thing of knowing is also very transient. You know, it's really slippery and it's moving away very quickly. So enjoy it while it lasts. I think that would be my advice. Great. Thank you so much, Fu. Of course. Thank you. Welcome. Hey, Osenko, good to see you. Hi, Fu. Good to see you. Hi, everyone. Yeah. So, yeah, Constancy, I remember I read this chapter before I came in.

[38:35]

No, I was studying. Before I studied Buddhism or before I studied Zen. So after I read that chapter, my impression then, I still have a vague memory. It was like, wow, this sounds so cool, right? It's like a typical Zen master can do this. And that's a really high standard. Like always feel like not surprised by things, like this kind of emotional evenness. So I basically just put it on the shelf. Like this is not something I can really do. But now I've studied a few years with you. I feel I just know a little bit better. Like, I feel this constancy might be referring, just my mind, okay. It's kind of the way I relate to this world. Like an attitude. So why do I say that? It's like, my life has no constancy. Basically, I react to things, you know, I have emotions, and my amygdala is very active. So why is there constancy? I feel like... Knowing the emptiness.

[39:36]

Not knowing. Maybe just understanding there is emptiness. Like a little bit. Making me more willing to relate to it. All my up and down. All my troubles. In a way that I can just somehow accept that. I can just work with that. In a more intimate way. Instead of like a few years ago. Trying to hide or distract myself. Like a little bit more wellness. I feel bad. It's like a constancy. It's not permanent. It's not always here, but it kind of sometimes accessible. It's not gone either. I don't know how to express that. No, I think you're doing well. But there's this happiness, a joy because of that. Yeah. Right? Yeah. Yeah. As it says in the old Vasudhi Maga, these practices are to bring joy to humankind. yeah purpose of these practices and these teachings it's not to make us suffer or you know give up things that we like or whatever it's like you know if you just pursue pleasure and you're just trying to get you know all the juice out of the situation that's not going to bring happiness we know that we've all tried that but to practice to enter into practice as you're talking the way you're talking about it it's joyful you know seeing seeing my failures makes me so happy i know there's a one up

[41:03]

I cannot believe I actually think like this now. I will say something really terrible. Sometimes I'm like, oh, this is one opportunity to practice. Yes. Exactly. Everything is an opportunity to practice. Oh, let me see. How am I going to do that next time? Because that didn't go so well. I think I'm going to, you know, I'm learning. I'm teaching myself all the time. Things that I really wish to bring to the world in a way that brings peace. You know? Yeah. the standard changed maybe the standard before was can I be better or perfect in some way like a really good mom but now it's like maybe not maybe like how can I repair a relationship how can I repent how can I just like not looking for the perfection and still be like okay that's a really big difference to me and I don't know how to express that that's great That's good. Actually, just one more gossip. Like one minute.

[42:05]

Sorry. It's not a gossip. Because we're talking about emptiness. And I read this book by Steven Pinker. He's like this neuroscientist, whatever, philosopher. There's one chapter. There's a book called Blank Slate. What he's trying to say is human has this tendency to put things into category. Then he mentioned the color, right? Okay, we have all those seven colors in the rainbow. But you know, That's just how our brain brings them into thickness. But the wavelength of light has, you know, it's not like that. It's all continuous and there's no such color. Then he basically go on to say, this applies to our category of binary of good or bad, you know, this ugliness and the beautiful. Everything is how Wei created its category because our brain reacts that way. But evolution is more efficient. And then he said something that's really amazing. He said, basically, we're just making movies. And projecting those movies on the back of our scalp was like, wow.

[43:07]

He's talking about emptiness. That's all, man. That's very good. Suzuki Roshi used that same image of a blank theater screen. For those of you who sat in Soto Zen, Zendo, you face the wall. And the wall is... just a white blank screen. And, you know, somebody was saying that, you know, you could face that wall a long time and eventually you've been to realize that what you're seeing on the wall is not on the wall. You know, it's just what you're putting there. And it's a big shock. You know, we forget very quickly that I'm just projecting. I'm a projector. putting my ideas out on the world and my interpretation, and to remember that my projections are probably really different than a banana slug. So am I life? I'm the one who gets to call it what it is. We're not very humble as a species, as we know. So all of these ways of helping us remember the limitations of our place in the ecosystem and how much we owe to everything.

[44:16]

to be more careful and all of the good stuff that you're bringing up, you know, just to keep learning. Yeah. Well, thank you for that. Thank you for sharing that. Thank you. Thanks. Bye to the kids. Yes, I will. Echo. Where'd you go, Echo? You just vanished. I'm here. You are, there you are. Hi. All right. Thank you. Thank you for coming back. You're welcome. We miss you so much. Oh, thank you. I miss you so much. When I constantly see, to me, it's like a reminder of, I'm not sure if this is the right way to put it, but. A continuation of practice, because... What is the word?

[45:21]

Ning. Ning. Samti is a... I think it is a passive strength. It is... You know, when there's something to do, I do it. There's a problem to solve, I solve it. Work to do, I find resources and fix it, whatever. But there are situations where there's either there's nothing I can do, there's nothing we can do, there's nothing to be done, or... Well... My tendency is, you know, hide out and wait for this difficulty to pass. And then I can go back to continue to practice. Ning is probably more like, you know, passive strength.

[46:27]

I practice even when there's nothing... to do, nothing to be, even if I think that I can do, or, you know, to my best judgment of the situation, instead of space out, right? Or, you know, distract myself, like Senko said, or just wait till this is all over. Instead of that, the attitude, I can have is to, I don't know, is to be there and not space out and not try to run away, not to, you know, distract myself. Yeah, I think that's exactly what this is helping tell us, you know, that you're always there, even if you think you're hiding under the bed, you know.

[47:30]

you're under the bed and you know what that's like under the bed, you know? So you don't get to disappear. You know, you're always going to be facing whatever it is, wherever you've gone to hide, now you're facing that. So, you know, you might as well realize you can't, like you said, you can't, you can't get away. There's nowhere to go. So even if sometimes, like when you were talking about, you can't help, you don't know what to do. You don't have the tools. I thought, well, that's kind of like going to meditate. Well, let's just go to the Zendo. Let's just go sit in the Zendo and just spend some quiet time together because we don't know what to do. You know, we don't know how to fix this. So we'll just be together. And somehow that fixes an awful lot. We have people testifying here who just begun their practice like this really changes me. I said, yeah, I'm glad you're seeing that. You know, it's a wonderful gift. Thank you for sharing that.

[48:32]

I like your plan. Just stay there. Just stay where you are. Yeah. Thank you, Echo. Helene, nice to see you. You are muted. to start all over again. Hi, everybody, and great to see everyone. Hello. And in thinking of constancy, I think of a hug. It feels physical to me like that. And I very much like the line, people who know the state of emptiness will always be able to dissolve their problems by constancy.

[49:41]

And the image that I get in that context is by sitting Zazen, that image of the mountain against the sky to just sit. And then in the next line, it says, cultivate your own spirit. And I think that is also a function of Sazen. So when I think of constancy, what comes to me is the constancy of a mountain. And and the sky. And pretty much isn't that who we are sitting Zazen. Yeah.

[50:44]

Yeah. I think the kids program seems like I got this right. It's a Dogen, short Dogen poem, something like a body like a mountain. Heart like the ocean, mind like the sky. So they'd have the children's program recite that before they sit. Yeah. I just really, you know, just feel that the form of the Buddha is basically the form of a mountain. And that there's something very constant about A mountain. And that position. Yeah. It seems to be. That's part of the pleasure of it. I think I'm going to be here all day. Or forever. I am happy to be here.

[51:46]

Forever. Yeah. And then little things happen. People ring the bell. And. serve breakfast and some kinds of interruptions, but then we get to go back. Right. We get to go back. Constancy is return. Right. And you can only return if you go. That's right. So it's a cycle. Yep. Tathagata, the one who comes, neither comes nor goes. No coming, no going. Just constancy. Interesting. Good. Thank you for holding that and sharing that. Sure. Thank you. Thank you for being here, everyone. Any other offerings or thoughts?

[52:49]

We were just about at one time at six o'clock. Dean. Hello, Dean. Hello, Fu and everyone. Hi, Dean. So I have a question for you, Fu. I've heard there's been people have been talking about how they are sort of learning to recognize all the stuff that we're talking about, especially this chapter. And then you mentioned something about people where you are. are starting to sort of get into this practice and realizing, oh, wow, that's kind of interesting that I can do this or this changes or how it changes one's life. And I'm curious with, I don't know, 40 years or so of practice behind you, with you, carrying on. I'm curious about what it's like. What is it for you, aside from being a teacher,

[53:51]

and playing that role with so many or being that person for so many people. What is it about the practice that you learn and you feel when you read things like we've read today? What is it that happens with someone who's been doing this and there's been a habit developed for that many years? You know, self-perception is a little hard. I don't know if you noticed that, but perceiving oneself is maybe impossible. I can respond to reflections. Like people say, you do this or you're like that or you, you know, gee, you're tall or whatever. But for me, there's no reference. There's no contrastive. I can't compare myself to anything else. I do see certain things appear that are familiar.

[54:56]

I think the constancy in this particular chapter for me had to do with, oh, yeah, smelling, hearing, seeing, tasting. Those are very familiar. I've been doing that for more than 45 years. You know, I've been doing that since I was a little kid. And, you know, and so all of those different layers of memory and knowing, you know, knowing things or not knowing or being afraid, all that stuff. is circulating throughout whatever this is and pops in unbidden i don't have to do anything just pops up stuff pops up so i think the main difference for me if this coming to mind right now i could say something different probably another time is that i i rather like my mind and i didn't didn't like it at all for a very long time because they didn't like what it was doing or saying or how it was behaving or what, you know, and now kind of like I was saying with Ying, gosh, that was good. I just caught myself doing something really unpleasant.

[55:58]

And it's like something about the celebration of being with the arisings of, of this person is whoever thought of that, whoever, who, who made that up? That is a great idea to give us. a vow and a path and a set of promises and some teachings. I mean, what a beautiful gift that this Buddha offered to his students and his students to their students and so on for thousands of years now. And here we are, the living recipients of that beautiful gift. So I just feel so grateful and lucky. So whenever I read something now, I feel like I'm being reminded, like maybe you all do, of something you already know. Oh, I know that. I know that. I forget, but I know that. You know, so I think it really, they're like just reminders, like the Post-its, you know, like, oh, yeah, oh, yeah.

[56:59]

You know, our family songs, you know, our festival drinking. tribal songs and festal drinking. We're celebrating something that belongs to all of us. And it's our family. It's our family, the Buddha family. And all you have to do is want to be in it and you're in, you know, so you don't have to fill out any forms or anything. So it's amazing, actually. Something like that. Thank you. You're welcome. Hi, Shozan. Do you like to be called Shozan? Is that okay if I call you that? Love it. Love it. Sorry to pop in late. Hello, Asanga. Hello, Fu. I really appreciate so many, the offerings in this talk, but the one I'm coming zeroing in on is the very last paragraph. It's such a gift when Suzuki Roshi talks about enlightenment and

[58:05]

is necessary, like moment after a moment. And I'm really curious, how do you define enlightenment? Because it almost seems like it's like emptiness. You know, what does that really mean? And, you know, speaking to like accumulating knowledge, I guess I thought like, I think that of enlightenment as being like something you reach and then you're done. And so it's moment to moment. I'm glad for that reminder, but what is enlightenment to you, Fu? Well, that reminds me of a story. This teacher was asked, you know, something like that. What is enlightenment? And the teacher said, well, I wrote that question on a biscuit once and tried to feed it to my pig, but my pig wouldn't eat it. Totally. I get it. I get it. Yeah, I know you do. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome.

[59:05]

Okay, dear ones. Maybe that's good. That seemed good to me. And it's so good to see all of you. I like this gallery thing much better. I'm going to keep doing this, coming on to gallery, you know, in about half an hour into our meeting. And I just think it's the best. So I'm really, thank you all for coming up with new ways of being together. I appreciate it. Okay. unmute and say goodbye, you're welcome to do that. Thank you so much, Fu. Thank you, Saka. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, everybody. Great talk. Good night. Have a great week. Bye-bye. Do we have an assignment?

[59:56]

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