This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at www.sfcc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. The theme of the practice period we're in the midst of here at City Center is the Bodhisattva way. In the Bodhisattva vow, there is this kind of refrain of, this is impossible and I vow to do it. And so that's what I'd like to talk about.

[01:00]

this morning and then I have a particular way of picking up the impossible which I'll get to in a few minutes but what I'd like to do is start off with a few moments of sitting there is a way in which the very nature of our conditioned existence is that we think and perceive within our habitual way of thinking and perceive. And whatever comes along, we fold it into it. And then the chant we just did, and the request of Zazen is that something in us opens up and we allow things to just arise in a more immediate way. and expressive fashion and not just be the next version of the world according to me.

[02:06]

So we'll start by sitting, just for a few minutes. So if you could notice your seat, how you're sitting, let yourself be settled in your seat. If there's little discomforts, you can adjust. Let your body find an upright and balanced posture. your body of an openness, somewhat a conceptual guide, and then in another way, a physical guide.

[03:15]

What is it to let your chest open across the front, across the back? What is it to let the face relax? to let the abdomen relax and open. And then let the breath be breathed into that openness. as much as possible, bringing careful attention to the details, the physical sensations of the breath.

[04:29]

It is when we inhale and how it is in the exhale. Where is, quite literally, where is it felt and experienced in the body? And what's happening now?

[06:14]

Is the attention drawing mind into awareness of the breath? Are there too many thoughts for that to happen? Or some combination? Often when I'm thinking about what to talk about in a Dharma talk, I ask myself, well, what's alive for me at this period of time?

[08:41]

What's attracting the energy of being? Whether it's positive, some kind of anticipation of something pleasant happening or negative annoyance with something either past or future. And here's what I come up with as an answer to that. The presidential debate that happened recently. And I was thinking, you know, when you take the Dharma seat, the Dharma seat. You talk about the Dharma. You do not express your own personal biases or preferences. You do not create an environment of picking and choosing, you know, this is right because I like it and this is wrong because I don't like it.

[09:56]

So how to talk about the presidential debate and all that's implicit in that, you know, this particular time in the United States and in some ways extending out into the world. It seems like internationally, maybe globally, but at least internationally, we're having a debate around governance, no? Democracy or the autocracy of a strong single leader asserting or expressing their directions for everyone to follow. And then what is... What is... The teaching of the theater of a presidential debate, two individuals coming together, saying what they say, saying it the way they say it.

[11:16]

And then with what mind, with what heart do we listen? Oh yeah, he always says those things and they're not true. and it's terrible or whatever and isn't there some version of that going on inside of each of us yeah maybe it's not about the politics of the country maybe it's about the issues in our own life as we chew them over someone spoke to us, how we're thinking and feeling about them. That kind of interaction. Sometimes with another person, sometimes with ourselves. There is a koan that I find relevant to this.

[12:32]

I was particularly intrigued by the notion of relating to this in the context of a con, because the word con in its derivation in Chinese, it's one of the translations and maybe the most persuasive one is public case. And certainly the presidential debate fits that, but then also the notion of controversy or chewing something over, that process that we all do. And in that way, it's public because we all have an experience of it. Ruminating in our own mind. What about that? What's going on there? So the colon I was thinking of is case 15 in the Blue Cliff Records.

[13:43]

And a monk asked young men, and he said, the monk said, if it's not just what's being thought of right now, and it's not how the world is being perceived right now, what is it? If it's not the ideas and opinions that I have, and it's not how I'm perceiving others to be, then what is reality? What is going on? A young man said, an upside down statement. And then to expand that or expand on that with a bit of linear logic, is he talking about the response to the monk's question?

[15:00]

If it's not that or it's not that, well, then it's an upside down statement. Because that's all there is. That's what reality is. Reality is implicitly and irrevocably subjective. That's what you got. You've got the way your mind works and the way you perceive the world and the way you perceive others. And to ask for something other than that is upside down. And then the other way we could hear the response is... That when you think that way, it's not this and it's not that. It's like you're turning the world upside down.

[16:02]

Because usually that's exactly what we're taking for granted as reality. What I think and how I perceive is reality. And by questioning it, you're turning it upside down And I would suggest to you, it's a little bit like sitting zazen, no? When we sit zazen, we don't simply ruminate or we intend not to ruminate inside our own thoughts and our own issues. We don't simply create a perception of reality. and cling to it. We make it, we turn it upside down. So there's those two notions.

[17:04]

And often in a khan, there is kind of, it raises up different perspectives or invites different perspectives. And so the con I'd like to discuss is to take young man's con and apply it to the presidential debate. You know, really what I'm saying is applying it to how we're all thinking and feeling about this time approaching the elections. Do you approach it with an utter apathy, which, as far as I could tell, on average, about 40% of the population do?

[18:14]

They're all charlatans. They all say things that are never going to happen, so why even bother to vote? Or do you approach it with a fervor This is the virtuous way. This is the right way. And this person represents it. Or this person is as close to that as I'm going to have the option to vote for right now. So that's the person I'll vote for. Or do you think this person is wickedly inappropriate, causing harm, and voting against them is the virtuous thing to do.

[19:24]

And then within the practice of the khan, within the request of the koan, can you acknowledge, ah, this is how I think about it, this is what I, conclusions I have, and this is even the feelings I have about it. I noticed in myself, as I was listening to it, I listened to it on the radio, And as I listened, and one person would speak and they speak very well. And apparently, you know, when they're fact chipped, sticking to the facts is not their strong suit. They're more liberal with their sensibilities.

[20:28]

As I was listening, I was thinking, well, Why not say I'm wonderful and everything I did was wonderful. So of course you should vote for me. Why not? I mean, does it have to be true? I mean, isn't truth perceptive, a subjective perception? And of course the answer is no, it's not subjective perception. There's, there's details. There's a lot at stake. I enjoyed the fluidity of the demeanor and somewhat was struck by the recklessness of the presentation. In Ireland, we have a joke where we say, never let a few details stand in the way of a good story.

[21:34]

Why bother to say, well, you know, I did my best. Maybe it wasn't so great. But that's what I did. When you could say, I did it perfectly. You know, I did it the best ever. There's been no presidents ever done it as well as I did. And can each of us see how we can just be susceptible to that, you know? My way of thinking, my way of perceiving is the way, you know? There's other ways, but really, mine's the best. Or do we fall on the other side, where we deeply mistrust our way?

[22:41]

My way of thinking is flawed. My perceptions are just an expression of my foolishness. I should be finding someone who could tell me the right way. There's an image in Zen, which is called the razor's edge. Don't get stuck in self-grandizement, and don't get stuck in tearing yourself down. So I would say to you, and I think you all know who I'm talking about when I'm saying the person who seemed to be praised. debatably embellishing their own accomplishments.

[23:48]

And then the other person trying to both respond to them and then uphold another, their version of what's virtuous. And as I listened, I find myself thinking, oh, right now, you should be calling him on that terrible thing he said two weeks ago. That would have been a better retort than just to say, that's not so great. It's absolutely terrible. Say this. That's the sort of expression that was arising in my mind. Is being aware of what arises for us, is that enough?

[25:05]

Are we asked through Zen practice to thoroughly negate it? As the monk said to young men, if it's not the present thinking and it's not the present perception, what is it? is young men saying, don't negate your experience. Remember, Master Ma said, this very mind is Buddha. Can those admonitions, can they... Draw us into a combination. In the Prajnaparamita, it says it's neither real nor unreal.

[26:16]

The perception you're having is not the absolute truth, nor is it utter nonsense. It's the perception you're having. It's the experience of your being, being manifest in this moment. The image that came up for me was like putting your hand in the ocean. And if we say, I'm experiencing the whole ocean, we're both incorrect. You are touching the ocean. This is the whole ocean. And at the same time, you're touching what the surface area of your fingers are touching.

[27:18]

It's a particular subjective momentary event. So it's both. It's both the whole ocean and not the whole ocean. It's both the subjective and limited in that way and not the full experience of being. And this teaching of Prajnaparamita offers us the guidance. How do I take up the workings of my own psychology, my own thoughts and feelings, my own habits of relating to others? How do I take them up and practice with them in a way that

[28:27]

cultivates and expresses liberation in a way that facilitates waking up. And then the con of a presidential debate, the con of having some influence on how United States is run. and by extension, the influence of the United States in the global politic. This is the Bodhisattva Bhava. It's quite particular. This is impossible. I vow to engage. Delusions are really exhaustible.

[29:29]

I vow to practice with them. This world is vast. I don't know what number we're at now, whether we've reached 8 billion or not. There's so much happening. The influence of the United States is powerful. And you have a single vote. That's what you have. That's what we have each moment. We have the influence of our subjective view. Maybe it is true. We touch the ocean and really we touch the surface area of our hand. but it's still part of the ocean.

[30:32]

And this proposition of the bodhisattva vow, be it so, this is impossible, or to put it in maybe, maybe a more direct way to put it, The assertion of my intention will not independently change the world, but it will add some influence to it. And this world is filled with human beings also manifesting their thoughts and feelings and actions and relatedness. All the other people who will vote or not vote, asserting their influence.

[31:42]

You know, the ancient Greeks, when they were up with the process of governance of democracy and they had qualifications that you had to have to earn a vote to be earn the right to vote and when the Finding Fathers of United States were coming up with the Constitution similarly they discussed Should everyone get to vote? Should certain people get to vote? Should certain people not get to vote? Where I grew up in Northern Ireland, when I was young, only property owners could vote. It wasn't an independent right you just had by being a citizen. I didn't say that to say one of those is right and one of those is wrong.

[33:02]

But more to say, the consideration of how we govern ourselves, we've been working with literally for thousands of years. This calling. has been in our collective psyche a long time. And the heritage of the Zen way is that this is immense and yet the action of this moment matters. To be in this moment and to act accordingly, whatever that might be, is the Buddha way.

[34:08]

This is young Master Ma saying, this very mind is Buddha. Where will we wake up? We will wake up in the moment that's occurring. It's not an abstraction. So young man is saying to the monk, you know, we can't negate that and negate that and still think there's an existence that we can wake up in. That's an upside down statement. And then the other version, if you think, somehow the world will comply with your actions your preference your opinion that that's the whole story that's an upside down statement too so we have a card what is appropriate response

[35:21]

Another image in Zen is it's the image of maybe a little militaristic cutting with the sword. And the language of the image says it both cuts through It takes life and it gives life. In saying, well, your subjective perspective is one of eight billion. Your vote will be one of maybe 150 million. think that's approximately where the number of people who are inclined to vote historically so not convincing yourself that there's some momentous authority in your decision and then the other side

[36:57]

Each one of those 150 million is just a vote. But collectively, they are the governance of the country. Sentient beings are numberless. I vow to practice with them. that this singularity accompanied by the very experience of collective being. This is the nature of our existence. If there wasn't interbeing, Why would others delight us, frustrate us, you know, enchant us, fill us with disgust, if there wasn't anything to be?

[38:10]

How could we listen to a presidential debate with something other than utter neutrality? But hopefully we do, because there is interbeing. And the interbeing is what supports and enlivens the singular being. It's our sense of the collective that in our participation in it that creates the authority, it creates the efficacy of governance.

[39:18]

And we experience it in sitting together. We sit together, Usually we do that physically, in the same physical locality. And now we're experimenting with, what is it to sit together over the internet? We're experiencing how that influences us. When I sit in the morning, I scan the computer screen. Just kind of have physical experience of others sitting with me. And then I sit. This is our human nature, I think.

[40:25]

That others matter. that connectedness matters, that interbeing matters. And I would say that the interbeing is more relevant to our collective well-being than having hardened opinions as to who is virtuous and who is not. I once heard the Dalai Lama talking about his personal relationship as the Dalai Lama, his relationship with the Chinese government, and how he said,

[41:32]

he always kept an attitude of willingness to negotiate. And he said he's rebuked by people in Tibet, Tibetans, that he's not being assertive enough, that he's not being adamant. when he says, my good friends, my enemies, the Chinese, it's too conciliatory. So another part of the con. When some people are governing in a way, that we profoundly disagree with.

[42:35]

What is our social responsibility? Is it simply voting? Is it going out in the streets and protesting? Is it going out in the streets and smashing windows and doing other acts like that? Interestingly, the heritage of Zen is to appreciate the immensity of the khan. To appreciate the immensity of the responsibility of living your life appropriately. And I would suggest to you, if you think about it, how could there be an easy, right answer?

[43:46]

I would suggest to you that someone sitting in the Dharma seat that I'm doing right now, wouldn't it be utterly foolish if I tried to say to you, you should do this. You should think like this. You should have the same biases. and attitudes that I do. Certainly, it seems to me that would be utterly foolish. And yet, for me, it seems like there is a wisdom, an appropriate response in reminding ourselves that this is our planet. We are part of the planet, part of the human existence, part of the tradition of democracy.

[44:53]

And with that comes the responsibility of the Bodhisattva. And maybe one last thought I would leave you, certainly it's one that has occurred to me in my life, is that not to be intimidated or resentful for the immensities of the challenges in front of you, but in a way to be grateful that they're asking you to go as deep as you can in finding your answer, to be as thoughtful as you can. In a way, it's easy to have a bias and just sort of let that be what you express. I hate all of them.

[46:00]

Someone was talking to me recently and they were saying, oh, and then when I go home, my family are staunch Republicans. And they weren't, they were more liberal minded. And so that's an interesting challenge. I would suggest you, painful or difficult as that might be, doesn't it offer a request to not simply be defined by your bias, defining a deeper, more thoughtful response. This is the nature of calling. In a way, Every card is impossibly deep.

[47:12]

Every card is there challenging us to keep discovering. It's the impossibility that keeps bringing it back to beginner's mind. During the presidential debate, I marveled at the glibness of one person. And at the same time, I find it hard not to also, you know, just dismiss the person because I don't agree with, anyway, I don't agree with their politics. almost hard to listen to anything factual that they said so in a way part of me thinks well well actually I must be honest part of me thinks that you'll go out and vote

[48:39]

I think we have a shared responsibility. And to exercise it creates, it strengthens our interbeing. And that when we face formidable challenges, they deepen us. They make us more thoughtful people. They make us less inclined to just settle for some not very insightful attitude or response. whether we're talking about national politics, or whether we're talking about our own relationships, or even how we engage the different parts of ourselves.

[49:59]

From a Zen perspective, each and all of these is the cause. And each part of these is an opportunity to discover, to realize, to actualize the way of the Bodhisattva. This is impossible. I vow to do it. Thank you. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. Our Dharma talks are offered free of charge. And this is made possible by the donations we receive. Your financial support helps us to continue to offer the Dharma. For more information, please visit sfzc.org and click Giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[50:59]

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