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. I think I'm going to speak first this morning, and then Paul, and then we'll join each other and talk a little bit together. I just wanted to exclaim my delight in being... at the city center. I lived here about five years when I first began to practice Zen. I came and lived here. And so it didn't take long before I felt right at home again. So anyway, it's a beautiful day. I can see the blue sky and a very joyful day, I think, for all of us here at the Zen Center. And as Kodo said, this afternoon, Paul and I, with the support of our city center abiding abbot, David Zimmerman, are going to be offering the Buddha's robes. eating bowls and lineage papers to three of our resident students, Robin Morris, Krista de Castilla, and Tim Kroll.

[01:09]

Just as Paul and David and I were entrusted many years ago, we are going to give them and trust them with the 16 Bodhisattva precepts as well. So today's ceremony is an expression of our deepest gratitude for the Buddha's own spiritual journey, you know, his home leaving. His discovery of an ancient pathway to awakening. And then that pivotal moment early in the morning under the Bodhi tree. When reality itself appeared to him in the presence of the morning star. To which he then said, I and all beings are awakened at the same time. So what the Buddha did next following his awakening is the reason that we are having this ceremony here today. He began to teach. And what he said is, I teach only two things. I teach suffering, and I teach the cessation of suffering. And then he offered this teaching of the two things as the four noble truths.

[02:09]

Truth number one, there is suffering. Truth number three, there is the cessation of suffering. And in between these two truths, he taught a path, or what, for those of us who enter the path, is called the Buddha way. So these truths are at the heart of our ceremony today, and even more so at the heart of our human lives. For those of you who are joining us for the ceremony in the Buddha Hall at the city center, you're going to be seeing a reenactment of a journey that these people have taken for a great many years, from newly shaven initiates to fully robed and entrusted Zen Buddhist priests. During the ceremony, Paul, David, and I, as the preceptors and teachers of these new priests, will hold the space in which a transformation will take place, a transformation that gestures visibly toward that deeper intention within these three people, as is in all of us, to live our lives for the benefit of others.

[03:16]

We're going to be using ritual objects and liturgy to invoke the presence and the compassion of our Buddha ancestors by saying those very things, invoking the presence and compassion of our ancestors in faith that we are Buddha, we enter Buddha's way. Now, once the ancestors arrive and settle in, we then pay homage to our lineage of teachers and mentors, beginning with the three treasures, the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha, and to our founding ancestors and teachers, Shakyamuni Buddha, Evoking the Great Assembly in this way, this ritual enactment transcends the present-day limits of what we can imagine to be time and place, to this expansive vision of the Buddha's own awakening itself, or what Suzuki Roshi called our Big Mind. When these three people, Robin, Krista, and Tim,

[04:21]

Come to the Buddha Hall of the Beginner's Mind Temple today at 3 o'clock. It will be to be ordained as disciples of the Buddha. Their lives up to this day have been the foundation for that to happen. They have each practiced faithfully in this temple and now at Zen Mountain Center, contributing greatly to the well-being of the community as a whole. And for that, we are truly, truly grateful. And now they wish to continue this faithful practice being offered to them, a living generation, for safekeeping. What happens here today is an entrustment. Really not so different than how our lives have always been entrusted to those around us. You know, our parents to start, our teachers, our friends, and those who we wish to be our friends. It's a rare and miraculous gift. that we each have received in finding ourselves awake and aware within the limitations of a human life, a human body, and human consciousness.

[05:29]

Truly miraculous. And yet we don't really know how to best take care of this miraculous gift. I would imagine all of you have asked yourselves that question many times throughout your lives. How do I care for this gift? How do I care for my life, for our life? This precious life. This was the Buddha's question too. The one that drove him as a young man out of the palace and into the forest. He had heard that he was going to grow old, sicken, and die. Something we have all heard by now as well. The so-called facts of life. You know, those very facts that we so wish to avoid or somehow overturn. What the Buddha discovered instead after running away and after trying a great many arduous tasks was how to treasure the life he had for however long or short its duration. How to walk on the earth, how to sit on the earth, how to keep good company with those nearest to him.

[06:37]

What he learned about facing the facts of life and about himself, he then shared with others. As for suffering, he taught there is a cause. And as for the cessation of suffering, he also taught there is a cause. Suffering is caused by us wanting things to be different than they are. Really wanting them to be different. Wanting to be younger, smarter, richer, happier, nicer, maybe, just to name a few. So the Buddha smiled at these wishes, these wants, with those who were gathered nearby. And he said, of course you want that. Unfortunately, you will have to settle for this instead, you know, just this. And before you decide whether this is good enough or not, you first need to look at this very carefully, you know, to notice its color and its shape and to listen to this, you know, to the owl and the bus and the baby that just awakened from its nap.

[07:46]

In other words, the Buddha said, Right intention, we are here to live for the benefit of others. Right speech, livelihood, and conduct, we are here to enact our deepest intention throughout the day, each day, to the end of our lives. Right effort, as Suzuki Roshi said and did, is our wholehearted practice. Right mindfulness, watch your mind. Right meditation, sitting sasen, snuggled, in the lap, of the Great Assembly.

[08:48]

And then we're going to shave their heads, saying to them, please reflect on the causes and conditions that have made this ceremony possible. Consider the innumerable blessings of your family and friends. Strive to return at least a small part of these miraculous gifts. And with your life, express your gratitude to all of those who have cared so much for you. Now, and in the past. So with that meaningful reflection freshly in their minds, the Ordinese will then turn to their family members, if there are some present in the Buddha Hall today, or maybe perhaps online, if they're able to do so, and to bow with respect and gratitude for this gift of their life. So what follows then is, in my view, the most powerful reenactment of the ceremony, the ritual of cutting off the hair, When the young prince long ago realized that his suffering over the facts of life had made him increasingly miserable, he crept out of the palace late at night.

[09:57]

He kissed his sleeping wife and young child, gave his beloved horse to his servant, and using his sword for the last time, cut off his long, dark hair. He then vowed not to return to his home and dear family until he had uncovered the cause and cure. For suffering. Cutting off the hair. Is cutting the root of clinging. As soon as the root of clinging is cut. Your original body appears. Changing into monastic robes now. And leaving worldly passions. You are free. So as I said. This is a reenactment of the Buddha's home leaving. And yet two of our organese. Robin and Krista. Are married to one another. And have a lovely little child of their own. And our other ordinee, Tim, has a partner also practicing at Tastajara. And all three of them live at our Zen Mountain Monastery in the deep canyon of Los Padres National Forest.

[11:00]

They are sincere and active participants in the daily life of the monastery and do so within the limits of parenting, partnering, and connecting to the world with all of its strife. All of us have these two sides being enacted here. in this ceremony today. Half of us is silent and still and utterly free. And half is busy, anxious, industrious, and bound by responsibilities to ourselves and to others. So this is our koan as human beings. When one side is illuminated as we're doing today, the other side is dark. And then they switch quickly. One side seeking to fulfill our vows of making the world a better place, And the other awakening to justice is it. And then back again. When Di Tsang asked Zui Tsang, where do you come from? Zui Tsang said, from the South. Di Tsang said, how is Buddhism in the South these days?

[12:05]

Zui Tsang said, there is extensive discussion. Di Tsang said, well, how can that compare to me here planting the fields and making rice to eat? Zui Tsang said, oh, what can you do about the world? Di San said, what do you call the world? So this is our favorite story, especially for those of us living out at Green Dragon Temple, also known as Green Gulch Farm, where we do grow food for people to eat and where the students often ask, what can you do about the world? The question and answer echoed in this following verse that our Ordinese will be chanting along with the Great Assembly. In this world of birth and death, when we realize our imperturbable way-seeking mind, Bodhi is right at hand. This very beginner's mind, Bodhisattvas know as immeasurably deep and wide. Not even a Buddha can define it. So I hope you can hear in the language of this ceremony how the turning from the one side, the world of birth and death, to the other side,

[13:15]

The mind of the Bodhisattva, as in measurably deep and wide, is reflecting the truth of our life and its challenges. One side human and confused, one side wide enough to hold all of us as we struggle together throughout our lives. First and second noble truths. Struggling with open minds, open hands, and aching hearts along the pathway of awakening. Third and fourth noble truth. So Paul and I will then approach these newly minted bodhisattvas to shave the last bit of hair from their heads. This last hair is called the shura. Only a Buddha can cut it off. Now I will cut it off. Do you allow me to cut it off? So for me as a preceptor, the question asked to the organese is a perfect example of this pivotal moment within each of us, but also between us. Only a Buddha can cut it off.

[14:17]

Now I will cut it off. Do you allow me to cut it off? So by asking this question to the Ordinese and waiting that long moment for their answers is for me a great leap of faith within our tradition. Leaping beyond what is incredible to the human mind to what is credible to the Buddha mind. And Suzuki Roshi throughout his teaching made it clear that these two minds are not in fact two. These two minds are what we call the world, what we call reality itself. After a student who Suzuki Roshi had ordained was questioned by a young Japanese monk about the validity of his ordination, saying that it wasn't real because they hadn't done the proper ceremony, the student said to Suzuki Roshi, So am I a monk or not a monk? Roshi replied, Things go the way the mind goes. If you think you're a monk, you're a monk. If you don't think so, you're not a monk.

[15:19]

So what do we think we are? Are we monks or priests or laypeople, men or women, both or neither, helpful or difficult, Buddhas or sentient beings? I think it might be best for us to let others decide our true names. I was given the name Fu, which means wind. which works really well for me. You know, it's not so easy to grab a hold of, not by me and not by anyone else, just Fu, you know, just this person. So how about all of you? What name would you like for yourself? This afternoon, Robin, Krista, and Tim will be given their Dharma names, again, names they received during their zaikei tokudo ordinations, meaning staying home and attaining the way, what we often call lei ordination or jukai. Really and truly, both lay and priest ordinations are bodhisattva precept ceremonies. Today's ceremony is called shuketokudo, meaning leaving home and attaining the way.

[16:26]

So finding out for ourselves what it means to either stay home or leave home, as the names of these ceremonies imply, is in either case no hindrance for attaining the way. Either way is the way. we sew Buddha's robe and receive the Buddha's precepts, which, as I said earlier, is the very heart of this ceremony and the very heart of our human life. Once having shaved their heads, given them their Dharma names, their robes and their bowls, the ordinees will offer incense as a sincere request to receive the great precepts of the Buddhas. And before granting the request, we say to them that the first step in receiving these precepts is the practice of repentance, confession and repentance, the practice of admitting that you are a human being. And here's that turning once again, turning away from all obstacles caused by our wrong actions in the past, which by virtue of our repentance will melt away, or so we say, like snowflakes on a hot iron skillet.

[17:37]

The way of confession transmitted from Buddha through our ancestors is familiar to many of us from our daily recitation following morning zazen. All my ancient twisted karma. From beginningless greed, hate, and delusion. Born through body, speech, and mind. I now fully avail, fully acknowledge, fully accept. Following this recitation, one of the preceptors will say, pure as the full moon in the night sky, sentient and insentient beings delight. O good disciple of Buddha, you have gone beyond the karma of body, speech, and mind, and have been freed from greed, hate, and delusion. O good disciple of Buddha, now you may live in the way of the three treasures. So for this part of the ceremony, the disciples and teachers are going to engage in the recitation of the 16 Bodhisattva precepts, beginning with the three refuges.

[18:48]

I take refuge in Buddha. I take refuge in Dharma. I take refuge in Sangha. The three pure precepts, embracing and sustaining right conduct, embracing and sustaining all good, embracing and sustaining all beings, And then there are the ten prohibitory or grave precepts. Not to kill, steal, sexualize, lie, take or give toxins to others. Not to slander, brag, hoard, hate, or disparage the three treasures, the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The precepts are the way that we cultivate the wholesome roots. of a meaningful life. They are our intention to live in the realm of our vows by giving our word, the same realm in which we as bodhisattvas live our human life. For Buddhists, the bodhisattva precepts and the bodhisattva vow give us a sense of direction that comes from within us rather than from some kind of external signpost.

[20:00]

And because these precepts are coming from inside, whichever way you turn, You are the vow to live for the benefit of all beings. In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha proclaims that only a Buddha and a Buddha can fathom the reality of all existence. Right intention deeply honors this teaching and realization of only a Buddha and a Buddha by living and being lived by all things. Prior to realization of the non-dual nature of reality, our intention is supported by a simple structure of precepts, which work within the very heart of our human life, within the very human tendencies to damage our relationships to one another. Precepts, meaning to hold in front our as-if promises, until we see what's true, as the Buddha did, and then act accordingly. until we see there is no you separate from me.

[21:02]

And that whenever we deny our basic connection to the world and to each other, the precepts are broken. And therefore we say, I vow not to kill you. I vow not to steal from you. I vow not to lie to you. These precepts, in other words, are what I give to you. After the recitation of the precepts, the ordinees are then asked, from now on and even after realizing Buddhahood, will you continuously observe them? From now on and even after realizing Buddhahood, will you continuously observe them? From now on and even after realizing Buddhahood, will you continuously observe them? To which each of them will reply. Yes, I will. So as the ceremony comes to a close, we celebrate these words and their true meaning, which of course is in the living of them.

[22:11]

And we say, you have received Buddhist precepts, and thus all beings have entered Buddhahood. With your name and clothes, with the lineage of the Buddhist precepts, you are a child, a Buddha, one with all beings. Receiving Buddha's precepts, you are already seated with all Buddhas and ancestors. You really are a child of Buddha. And then the whole Sangha, the great assembly that's gathered within and all around this tiny Buddha hall, dedicates the merit of this ceremony to the welfare of all beings. May they attain complete, perfect enlightenment. On the spot. Thank you very much. Thank you, Phil. Good morning, Paul. Good morning, Paul. That was wonderful. Thank you. So many Dharma gems and treasures in what you said.

[23:16]

Quite wonderful. I was thinking of what to say. this morning, somehow it occurred to me, the date 911. And I was thinking of how, for many, many people in the United States, that 911, just two numbers, but it has come to represent a very powerful tragic, disruptive, destroying event. And I was struck by the memorial that was happening at that site. It was initiated by a moment of silence. That way, when something powerful happens in our life,

[24:29]

And sadly, often, it's a difficult moment, a tragic moment. The deepest response is silence. And how that silence has a sacredness. It's something we can all relate to. that there are moments in this existence where the sacredness of being reverberates. It just goes beyond what we think of it, how we assess it, how we, in our own particular conditioning, name it, aspire to it, try to live by it.

[25:35]

And in the Buddhist world, this, try to live by it, aspire to it, be guided by it, by supported by it. It's called taking refuge. I heard you write a show to Roshi, a Japanese Rinzai teacher. He said, it's like a good joke. Everybody gets it. We've all had those sacred moments. Maybe with the solemnity of someone's death. Maybe with the joyous magic of someone's birth. There's something there. that arises, that touches us deeply, and really taking refuge in the Buddhist tradition is letting that sacredness become what we are, letting that sacredness guide and instruct and support our life, the singularity of our life,

[27:09]

and the multiplicity of our life. And in the middle of the ceremony that Fu just so wonderfully, beautifully and insightfully described the first three of the 16 Bodhisattva precepts are taking refuge. In the Buddhist tradition, taking refuge is at its innermost, at its foundation, a singularity. It's that sacredness that's flowing through our life, singularly and collectively, all the time. It's the acknowledgement of that

[28:09]

and it's the discovery of how to let the alchemy of that turn us turn us from the ways in which we get caught in our separate being and this food was saying you know get caught in what we want and what we don't want that we turn to very same vitality of being and engagement and commitment to being. You know, I was thinking, you know, recently at the Zen Center, we've had two births. And I was thinking about those first six or nine months of coming out of the womb, you know, which is so utterly and constantly wholeheartedly and unswervingly committed to being present, to existing, discovering what it is.

[29:20]

At the heart of taking refuge, that's what's going on for us. In some ways we could say, There's three kinds of layers to take refuge. One is religious. As Fu was illustrating and articulating the way as Zen Buddhists, we articulate the process, the symbolism we give to it. We take refuge in Shakyamuni Buddha. historic figure and then underneath that we take refuge in that nobility of spirit that everyone has maybe we could call that the um the spiritual aspect of our being and then we take refuge in those mysterious moments where we hold still where we're silent

[30:40]

where we just soak up the sacredness. And within this ceremony and within our Buddhist practice, throughout the Buddhist world, or maybe more accurately, throughout how Buddhism is practiced in the world, this aspect of taking refuge is common element, each tradition, no matter its origin, no matter its culture in which it's embedded, no matter how it formulates its aspirations, this expression of taking refuge. And within the commonality of our, our usual way of being, As Fu was so eloquently saying, you know, we take refuge from suffering, and we take refuge in this sacred nobility of being.

[31:51]

And how it shifts how we're framing our experience, how we're relating to our experience. And it's deeply personal. And it's deeply interpersonal. It's what prompted Fu and I, this interpersonal aspect is what prompted Fu and I to give this talk together. It's how we've become within our Zen tradition. We don't have a single preceptor. We have three preceptors. And within the Buddhist tradition, The Sangha is an essential element. In some Buddhist traditions, without a certain number of Sangha, about 20, the ordination can't happen.

[32:54]

That way in which we can be silent and still singularly, but we can also be silent and still collectively. And in that stillness, there is no differentiation of being. But within our version of religion, our version of spirituality, the interbeing, the interplay of who we are and how we are, the discovery how each one of us engages the collective. This is both the precepts and the path of enacting them. This is both the ethical structure and also the gate of liberation. And in the ceremony, we lead up to the

[34:13]

the taking refuge. And then we say, oh, and given this, given that we're taking refuge, this is how you can be guided in the future to live in accordance with the taking refuge. So within the religion of Buddhism, within the religion of Zen, We have teachings. Some of them come the whole way from Shakyamuni Buddha. The process of meditation, the process of awareness. What's happening now? How can now be open to so fully that its sacredness becomes powerful? How can now be open so fully that it goes beyond the mundane preoccupations that we're prone to?

[35:26]

How can now be open so fully that the aliveness of it opens our hearts? with gratitude and appreciation. That it reframes the world according to me and what I want and what I don't want. And this how, how can that be? This is taking refuge in government. And then taking refuge in Sangha is the inclusion of everyone in that process. And then as we enter that world, we enter it with quite a simple intentionality.

[36:37]

Don't harm, do good. Everybody gets it. When we're two or three years old, our parents instruct us. But you should share. You shouldn't do that. You should be helpful. the fundamental goodness that we know that it's part of us and part of our lives. And this is what I think of as the spirituality of being. Like it's notable now how many people in the United States, and I think in Europe and other countries influenced by the cultures of both, will say, I'm spiritual, but I don't align with a particular religion.

[38:02]

And then the wonderful complexity of Zen, where we're both a religion and not a religion. As Suzuki Roshi said, there's something more fundamental than a religion. But for convenience, you can call us a Zen priest. We're all Zen priests. Who hasn't touched a moment that reverberated with sacredness? Who hasn't been stopped with awe and wonder at the turnings of our shared existence? Within the support, who doesn't need inspiration, intention, examples, support from others who are like-minded and like-hearted?

[39:26]

This is what it is to take refuge. And something in us brings us to that point. And we will remind the ordinary of that. Something has brought you to this point. Some of which you know, and lots of which you don't know. Others have helped you to this point. And now you're putting on Buddha rope, great rope of liberation. The intention of our practice is to be happy and make other people happy too.

[40:32]

Our intention is to discover that sacredness is a cause and an agent of joy. There's two aspects to our renunciation. We renounce our clinging because it's our source of suffering. And the other aspect is that we open ourselves, we're available. the abundance of existence. That this ocean of existence that we're part of is infinite in variety. Not a single one of us could tell you exactly what we're going to think and feel and experience today. With this reframing, with this taking refuge, we can enter it.

[41:45]

We can enter it with hopefulness, a trust, a generosity, and a gratitude. And the marvelous and mysterious thing about it is we don't know and we can't know exactly how the efficacy of it comes about. And yet we can live it. We can pause. We can feel deeply the reverberation of the moment. whether it's a tragedy or a triumph. And we can be instructed by it. This is taking refuge.

[42:52]

Maybe in other religions, it's called the divine mystery. Or being reborn. In the symbolism of our ceremony, these ordinities are reborn. They're given a new name. They're given a new set of clothes. They're really bold, symbolizing that their way of relating to the material world in terms of taking care of their needs has a different demeanor to it. These are the just enough So those are my thoughts and compliment the fools.

[43:57]

And we thought, shall we say any more fool or shall we just, would you like to add anything else? Oh, that was lovely, Paul. Thank you so much. Well, I think we have a little time for people to ask questions. We had thought about quizzing each other a little bit about how it's been these many years to live a life of vow. So that might be something that I don't know if you've thought about a bit, probably for a long time. What is it like to live by vow? Mainly, I just want to say how connected I feel to that impulse that arose in me When I walked in this building 40 some odd years ago, this is where it happened. Like, I don't know what it was, but I wanted it. And, you know, and here we are. So I'm so great. I'm mostly gratitude. I think, as you said, joy and gratitude is the, is the real surprise.

[45:02]

And so thank you for mentioning joy. I think that's really the product. So I think what we'd like to do is open it up to questions. And you're welcome, if you wish, to ask us personal questions. What's it like when you've spent almost all your adult life in this kind of role? I'd also love to hear just how it is for you. What helps you turn your life? What helps you open up to what you've considered to be precious in your existence? Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center.

[46:04]

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.

[46:27]

@Transcribed_UNK
@Text_v005
@Score_96.37