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. May I begin by acknowledging that we are living in a world in crisis. we are at a turning point, and we are challenged, it may be difficult for us to sit still and be upright and present in the middle of this turning point.

[01:00]

sitting at this turning point it may be difficult for us not to think of the past or I should say lean into the past or lean into the future. And the question may arise in times of crisis how do we practice the Buddha way. In one of the poems, one of the ancient poems that we recite in Zen temples, of the Soto lineage.

[02:04]

And this poem is called, in English, it's called Precious Mirror Samadhi. In that poem, It says, if you want to accord with the ancient way, please observe the ancients of former times. If we want to accord with the ancient way of Buddha, please observe. the ancient Buddha's example. When about to attain Buddhahood, when about to complete the path of Buddhahood, one gazed at a tree for ten eons.

[03:27]

About to complete the way of Buddhahood, one gazed at a tree for ten eons. This verse refers to a story told by Shakyamuni Buddha in the Lotus Sutra, chapter 7. The Buddha says that once upon a time, a very long time in the past, there was a Buddha named Great Penetrating Wisdom Excellence, Tathagata. And that Buddha practiced as a bodhisattva for a long time before becoming a Buddha.

[04:42]

Like Shakyamuni Buddha was a bodhisattva for a long time before realizing Buddhahood. And we're given another story about a different Buddha. And this Buddha... It says, after becoming at peace, I would say, or after subduing all the negative, deadly forces of life, this Buddha sat. at the site of awakening. And although this Buddha had made peace with all the oppressive and negative and deadening forces of life, the Buddha Dharma still did not appear.

[06:00]

Although he was on the verge of Buddhahood, the Buddha Dharma did not appear to him. And therefore, he did not attain unsurpassed complete perfect enlightenment. And after he accepted this seat of awakening and sat and sat, various divine beings gave him a, you could say, an upgraded seat, a lion throne to sit on.

[07:01]

And he sat on it, again, at the place of enlightenment. And this Buddha then received non-stop showers of divine flowers. And these flowers fell upon him during these ten years of sitting at the seat, at the place of awakening. And celestial beings... offered him heavenly music for this whole ten kalpas. After ten kalpas, the Buddha Dharma did appear to this Buddha. And this Buddha, in the face of the Buddha Dharma, realized unsurpassed complete perfect enlightenment.

[08:06]

And then the chapter goes on where the Buddha is asked to teach and the Buddha does. And then the Buddha gives the example, the parable of the magical city, which is the name of the chapter. This morning I'd like to focus on the beginning of the chapter where the Buddha sits. could say facing the tree, meditating, facing the tree, or we could say meditating with the tree, or we could say meditating under the tree, at the place of awakening. I ask myself and you, who is this story for?

[09:14]

So, for me, this story is not for somebody other than you and me. And it's not just to tell us about the Buddha, it's telling us about our own practice. I propose that we are sitting at the site of awakening right now, just like the ancient Buddha, great penetrating wisdom, excellence, Tathagata. We are sitting at the same place. Each of us is sitting at the site of awakening. And to the extent, that we cannot accept this position to the extent that we cannot accept the responsibility to sit at the Buddha's seat with the Buddha like the Buddha for the sake of all sentient beings like the Buddha to that extent we have not yet made peace with the deadening distracting

[10:40]

confusing, challenging, painful, frightening injustices that surround us. I hear this story as saying, this Buddha made peace with all these forces of, we say, Mara, all these forces, these negative forces. and therefore this Buddha was ready to accept her seat and sit on her seat. If we now do not feel ready to sit on the seat right where we are, then it may be appropriate for us to review the history of our life, including this moment, and review all the things we have not yet made peace with.

[12:00]

To review any stories of our wasting time. any stories of opportunities lost, any stories of unskillfulness and injustice we have participated in. Reviewing these stories for the sake of accepting our relationship with them and acknowledging and confessing and repenting. This is the work of the reparation with our history. This is part of what is necessary for us to sit at the seat of enlightenment, which is where we are right now.

[13:09]

We can't get away from where we are right now. And where we are right now is our place of awakening. And reviewing, confessing and repenting all our ancient twisted activities, all of our ancient twisted karma. compassionately acknowledging and examining our history, is the pure and simple color of true practice. It is the true body of faith, the true mind of faith by which we can accept our place in the Buddha way, in which we already are sitting.

[14:17]

and standing and walking. But we may have trouble accepting it because we have trouble accepting in detail, thoroughly, our history. To the extent that we don't accept our history, even our positive history, they become deadening forces to the extent that we really accept them, really acknowledge them, they stop being deadening. And at that point they pivot at the seat of awakening and they turn into celestial flowers and heavenly music. And then

[15:18]

We continue to deal with all these events and we continue to sit with them. And now, even though they're called heavenly events, we still have the work of remembering our seat. So whether we are not yet able to take our seat or have taken it, we still have the job of remembering our seat, of remembering the ancient Buddha's way. We are about to complete the way of Buddha. Everything that comes to us, And everything we do is an opportunity to remember our Dharma position, to remember our sitting at our seat.

[16:32]

So I am... standing and walking and sitting in the Green Gulch Valley, and I am trying to devote myself to remember, no matter what I'm doing, no matter what I'm thinking, no matter what I'm saying, no matter what I'm hearing, no matter what I'm doing with my hands, I am trying to remember the example of the ancient Buddha. Great, penetrating wisdom, excellence, Tathagata. And I confess to you that I sometimes forget. I forget where I'm sitting. Even when I'm sitting in the zendo and everything's quiet, still thoughts arise and I may forget as the thoughts arise where I'm sitting and what I'm sitting for.

[18:09]

But again, I can notice that and remember my responsibility right now can you accept your seat and sit on it upright and still if you can When I start talking again, it may be more difficult for you to remember it. Even while you're working to listen carefully, you can still remember your seat. Even while you may agree or disagree with the words you hear, you can remember your seat.

[19:18]

No matter what we're doing, we can remember the ancient example and join it. It's really an example of who we really are. This practice is just to be ourselves. This practice is just sitting. And it is the same practice and the same awakening of each of us and all beings.

[20:27]

practice you are doing is the same practice that I'm doing. Your enlightenment is the same as mine and all Buddhas. And before Buddhas were Buddhas, they were just like us. And our awakening today is exactly as that of Buddha's. This sitting in our place is to be open to the practice of all beings.

[21:32]

to be open and welcoming to the practice of all beings. There's a committee at the Zen Center here. There's a committee at... Green Gulch. There's a committee at the San Francisco Zen Center City Center. And there has been a committee at Tassajara also. And the committee is called, I believe, Diversity, Equity, or Equality, Inclusivity, and Accessibility. diversity, equality, inclusivity, and accessibility.

[22:47]

This is the practice of sitting at the place of awakening, where our practice, your practice, my practice, is open to all the diversity of other practices. Where our practice is equal to the practice of others, all others. Where our practice includes all other practice. and where all other practice includes our practice. And all the diversity of our past practice and our future practice is included. And where we have access, or how we have access to other people's practice, and how they have access to our practice,

[24:05]

This is the practice, this is the ancient example of the Buddha sitting for ten eons on the verge of Buddhahood. So I... joyfully vow to remember a practice of sitting at the place of enlightenment with all diversity of beings equal to them and them equal to me equal to their practice and their practice equal to mine.

[25:06]

And including their practice, remembering to include their practice, and remembering that my practice is included by them. And remembering to make, to allow accessibility in both directions. A while ago, I gave a talk where I brought up this story of the ancient Buddha in the Lotus Sutra.

[26:17]

And after I told the story, the senior Dharma teacher, Agent Roshi asked me a question. She said, I think something like, the Buddha, great penetrating wisdom, excellence, sat for ten eons. How come the Buddha Dharma did not appear? And Buddhahood was not realized. And I happily said, you just brought up an ancient Zen koan. A monk asked a Chinese Zen master, Dran, that same question more than a thousand years ago.

[27:38]

And now you're asking that question, and it's just like we're back in the Tang Dynasty. So I asked her to ask it again, and she did, and then I answered like Master Zhang answered, which is, your question is right to the point. And then she, I think maybe she asked again. Just like in the story. The Buddha sat for ten eons at the place of awakening and did not have the Buddha Dharma appear before him.

[28:40]

How come? Why not? And the master said, because the Buddha Dharma did not appear before him. And the comment, a poetic, a first comment on this case is, The poet says, I allow that the ancient Buddha knew. Actually, he says, I allow that the ancient barbarian knew. The Zen master called the ancient Buddha in India a barbarian because people in India are barbarians. I allow that the ancient barbarian knew, but I do not allow that he understood.

[29:42]

When an ordinary person knows, they become a sage. When a sage understands, they become an ordinary person. When an ordinary person understands, they become a sage and sit at the seat of enlightenment. When they sit at the seat of enlightenment for ten eons, they understand. and then they become an ordinary person. Becoming an ordinary person, the Buddha Dharma appears before us. Becoming an ordinary person, unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening is realized. We have to sit at our seat for 10 eons.

[30:56]

And we have to work for I don't know how many eons before we're willing to sit at our seat. But this is our great opportunity. Thank you very much. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. 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.

[31:43]

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