This podcast is offered by San Francisco Zen Center on the web at sfcc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Good evening, everyone, and welcome. I'm pleased and happy that you're here, and welcome to those of you online. My name is Roger, and I am a resident and practice leader here at City Temple, Beginner's Mind Temple. And it's my pleasure. I thank Tim for asking me to speak tonight and appreciate that greatly. So about 10 days ago, we completed a practice period. And during that practice period, one of the focuses was the ten ox herding pictures. And initially for me, I thought, what is that about, you know?

[01:03]

Running around trying to chase down some dumb beast of burden, and that's supposed to somehow lead to enlightenment or, I don't know, something or other. And I had a hard time fathoming it. And then through the help of my teacher, and the abbot and the tonto having discussions, what are called docusons and practice discussions with them, I came to a greater understanding and a greater appreciation and particularly of the ninth picture of the series of ten and that has to do with returning to the source or the river, the stream. Okay, I can kind of relate to that. Then I read an article by a Jungian psychologist that described the ox not as some dumb beast of burden, but as one's untamed self.

[02:06]

I thought, oh, I could definitely relate to that. I've got a real untamed source. There's a lot of things that I do, speaking of dumb beasts, dumb things that I do each and every day. And sometimes, you know, they're generally small and they've gotten smaller over a period of time or less severe, if you will. But still, they're there. So when I was able to look at this as, OK, this is about uniting myself with my untamed self and bringing them together. And there is the source, the river that helps us to do that. And the stream or river is, you know, uniting us. And interestingly, there's a song by Roseanne Cash that I'm very fond of. And the title of the song is, A feather is not the bird, the rain is not the ocean, a rock is not the mountain, but a river runs through me.

[03:08]

He doesn't say, I thought, it runs through me. It keeps going through me. It goes through me. It goes through you and you and all of us. And that river, then I had a flash of light, if you will, a bit of insight, again through help of particularly my teacher in this case, that this is the river of transmission. This is about transmission. And that's what the ox herding pictures are about. But that river that runs through us, it doesn't just stop with us because it comes to us and we give it out also. And Dogen, the founder of our Soto school of Zen, wrote a fascicle called kato or twining vines. And it's really interesting.

[04:08]

Twining vines is interesting. generally looked at or often looked at what he's writing about, it's about those comfortable things and uncomfortable things that happen or those dark things that happen or those light things that happen. But it's all intertwined. Although there are a number of sages who try to study by cutting off the root of twining vines, they do not regard the cutting of twining vines with twining vines as cutting vines. Also, they do not know twining vines entangle with other twining vines. In other words, we are all entwined in that river of transmission. In this way, the meaning of twining vines, and he talks about skin, flesh, bones, and marrow, is a standard of you have attained myself, is taught by an ancient Buddha. It does not go by the superiority or inferiority of attaining the flesh or attaining the marrow.

[05:15]

In Twining Vines it says, the 28th ancestor once said to his students, the time has come, can you express your understanding? This is Bodhidharma speaking to his students. So there were four of them. One said, my present view is that we should neither be attached to letters nor to the apart from letters and allow the way to function freely. And Bodhidharma says, you have attained my skin. And I don't want, I have time to go through all these, but another one said, my view is like the joy of seeing an ancient Buddha. And he said, you have my flesh. And another one said, says the four great elements are originally empty. And he said, you've attained my bones. And finally, that one, by the way, was a nun. Very interesting that there are four students and one of them was a nun. And finally, the last one says, or answered by bowing three times, stood up and returned to where he sat.

[06:25]

And the ancestor of Bodhidharma said, you have my marrow. So... The thought is that, oh, maybe that's superior. But that's not the case at all. Each one's attainment and understanding is skin, flesh, bones, and marrow, leaping out of body, mind, skin, flesh, bones, and marrow, dropping away body and mind. You should not see or hear the ancestor with a limited understanding of these statements. By the way, I'm quoting Dwayne. Dogen here. Otherwise, what is spoken and heard will not be fully grasped. Goes on, they think that the second ancestor was acknowledged as attaining the marrow because his view was better than those of others. People who speak in this way have not yet studied with Buddha ancestors. through transmission along that river, and do not have transmission of the ancient way.

[07:28]

You should know that the ancestors' words, skin, flesh, bones, and marrow, do not mean that one understanding is closer than another. So the term kadob, Kato, or twining vines, is often associated, as I mentioned, with complications, difficulties with which we get entangled. Dogen has extended this meaning in this discourse to describe a positive sense of the complex and complicated intertwining of master-disciple relationship. Transmission is not in the words, skin, flesh, bones, marrow, and It's in the actions face to face. Dogon, or Dokshan, the father of Chan Buddhism, wrote in the Jewel Mirror Samadhi, Ye with his archer skill could hit a target at a hundred paces.

[08:36]

But it goes on to say in that, but when arrow points meet head on, what does that have to do with skill? So Dokshan was pointing out that when we speak, as arrow points face to face, it has nothing to do with skill. It has to do with transmission from one to another, from warm hand to warm hand, face to face. You should study further the seeds of twining vines, the power of dropping away body and mind. Thus Buddha's Buddha ancestors appear, and the fundamental point is actualized. Twining vines, by the way, that Dogen was writing about, is often referred to as wisteria, which we have a lovely plant that I think David will probably be doing some trimming on soon, hopefully, in the courtyard.

[09:40]

And it is even... intruded in the room that I will soon occupy here in the building, through the windows, along the wall. It's also kuzu, or kudu, which is a thicker, similar to arrowroot, and both can be invasive, but both are interbeing. Zen practice and everyday activities are the same. The intertwining of things, the intertwining with difficult things can be an opening. Transmission can be many things, large and small, whatever. But we tend to, or I tend to think, you know, I hear of Dharma transmission and that's what transmission is about. But it's not just that.

[10:41]

That's very important. But just like flesh, skin, bones, and marrow, it's really not more important than the flesh. It's not really more important on how I might speak to you in just a casual manner during the day. That's transmission also. It can also be one of the... Interesting ways of it is the passing of incense, or in our case here, the passing of flower petals. And when I was the GICO for Victoria, Soshan Victoria Austin, it took probably at least a year and a half, maybe two years, for me to understand the passing of incense. At that time, we were actually using burning incense. The actual passing of the incense. You know, it's not just, I used to try to offer it to her with my left hand.

[11:42]

No, the right hand. Or I'd offer it up here or down here or over there. And finally, slowly, as I say, at least a year and a half, I finally got it. And it had to do, the symbolism of it was really important, that transmission aspect of it, the form of it. And coming from my horror, and presenting it, just as Choku did so finely tonight when I was at the altar there. They passed me the incense or the flower petals in a very way that we transmitted to one another that. But when I, as work leader, in the morning after service, ask you to dust off some Zafus, or to dust the altar or sweep the sidewalk. That's just as important that I transmit that to you. Now, what I need to be careful about and what we all need to be careful about is, and I'm very guilty of this, but, oh, they're not doing it appropriately or this should not be here, it should be over there.

[13:03]

And when I go around and correct you, I have not transmitted anything. In fact, I may have done the opposite of transmission. I don't know what we might call that or phrase that. But I've taken away something from you. Now, if something needs to be corrected or done, I could say, oh, could you please do it? like so rather than like that or could you please move this from over there to over there but I'm trying to point out the subtleties of this transmission or how we transmit things and how important that it is we're not here we can get caught up in trying to fix people or trying to you know improve them or something And that's not what transmission is truly about. And then along comes the difficult things.

[14:09]

And we say, why this? Why now? Oh, I don't deserve this. But in any river, there are rocks. And there are sometimes logs or beaver dams or river otters. In other words, there's obstructions in rivers. And there are obstructions in that river of transmission. And the intertwining of these difficult things can also be an opening, can be a form of transmission. And sometimes, curiously, that person that seems to have not transmitted anything to you, in other words, maybe only anger and frustration and resentment, has actually given you a gift. It allows you perhaps to look at yourself and see, why does this rise up within me?

[15:10]

Why am I acting in this manner? So, these are all really important. And it's important that we be proactive with our transmission. Not only are we giving it... to others and expressing it through our words, our actions, our thoughts, our gestures. But we can seek, proactively seek transmission. And don't be bashful to find a teacher and go ask that teacher a question. But it doesn't have to be a teacher. Go ask your friend or go ask your enemy. And perhaps they have some words of wisdom for you that will help you along in that river. And remember, it doesn't stop with you. It flows through you. So it's interesting.

[16:12]

There's sort of a trilogy that Dogen wrote. And the first part was the Mountain and River Sutra. Casey... and in that there is the that's a part of it and that was he wrote that in 1240 and then he wrote Twining Vines in 1243 and then he wrote Henzan in 1243 four months after he wrote Twining Vines but transmission As it's noted in Ehekosu Hotsugaman, the Buddhas and ancestors are the same as we. You and you [...] and me, we are all the same as our Buddhas and ancestors. So they're transmitting to us and we are becoming the same and we are transmitting back to them.

[17:13]

The vines go both ways. The light is the twining vines. What we are trying to cut off is what we are looking for. To transcend our suffering, we must plunge into it. So when that suffering comes, so Dharma transmission and transmission goes both ways. In Hazan, curiously, not so curiously, which happens to be my Dharma name, and... Oh, nine, that's 11. 15 years ago, it was given to me in... Jukai, lay ordination, and Victoria Austin was my teacher at the time, and she said, it means universally seeking. I thought, wow, this is great. I've been doing that for a lot of years, you know? I mean, I was into LSD, and I tried yoga, and I tried the tarot, and I tried astrology and the occult and macrobiotics, and I don't know, there was a few other things along the way.

[18:21]

And, yeah, I was universally seeking. And, okay, I got it. But actually, hands-on means... It does mean universally seeking, but it also means searching for one's teacher far and wide. Universally searching, or as cause translates it, all-inclusive study. So it means wherever that river flows to you, whomever that river flows from, that's a part of... You know, seeking far and wide. It doesn't mean you have to run from teacher to teacher or monastery to monastery or temple to temple or from San Francisco to India or Japan or China. You may. That's fine, but you don't have to do that. Transmissions right here, right now, each and every day.

[19:28]

So Henzon points that out. So transmission is the act or process by which something is spread or passed on from one person or one thing to another. And your transmission, that points out, may not just be from people. It may be from objects. It may be from the mountain or the rivers. It may be from the flowers or the weeds. Intimate and non-intimate transmission. Back to Yi with his archer skills could hit that target at 100 paces. But when two points meet, that's when it occurs. So our transmission from our ancestors, both far and near rocks, rivers, mountains, are also our ancestors. And Joshu said, if someone is good, Joshu was one of,

[20:35]

first teachers, and known for his, I think, primary colon about moo, does a dog have Buddha nature. But he said, if someone is good, I will study under him. If I am better, I shall be a teacher wherever I go, whether he is old or young. I remember that. Whether he is old or young, old does not mean wise necessarily. I can attest to that. Whether it is old or young is not the point. So we should always be equal. If you know better than I, you should teach me. If I know something which you don't know, I should teach you. This is how we should practice our way. And when a monk asked Joshu, who is the patriarch of this land? He answered, Bodhidharma, going back to Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma and in the fascicle whining vines and his four students.

[21:41]

Bodhidharma has come, so here we are all patriarchs. Because Bodhidharma came, we are all patriarchs. The monk asked, what generation in the Chan lineage are you? And Joshu said, I do not fall into any position. The monk asked, Where are you now? And Joshua replied, inside your ears. Joshua speaks as if we are all part of the same mind that moves out of our mouths and into our ears and thus do not keep particular positions entirely to ourselves. So whether we're Abbott or a guest student, or a W work project apprentice, we do not keep the particular positions entirely to ourselves.

[22:44]

We all have much to give and much to receive. It's interesting, you know, how it goes from warm hand to warm hand we talk about, or face to face. And I've been in recovery for quite a while, and it's really interesting. Back in 1935, when AA first got started, it was direct transmission. It was one alcoholic talking to another. In this case, Bill Wilson was... left New York and was on a business trip in Akron, Ohio, and he was told about Dr. Bob, who was a practicing alcoholic, and Bill had been sober for a bit of time, and he went to Dr. Bob and spoke to him, and Dr. Bob eventually became sober and one of the founders of AA. And that's the same in Zen, as we say, warm hand to warm hand. It was face to face, one alcoholic talking to another.

[23:46]

And that's the magic. Not just of AA, but that's the magic of Zen as we practice it. But not telling people what to do or trying to fix them, as I mentioned, giving them suggestions and guidance. And if you're always fixing or doing it yourself, this is not transmission. This is unskillful and denying growth to others. So we need to practice skillful transmission. In the Ehe Kosu Hotsugaman, that part of Mountains and Rivers Sutra, and it's known as Dogen's Vow, it's about receiving profound help from Buddhas and ancestors and honoring the lives of our ancestors. And it reads, in part, we vow with all beings from this life on, throughout countless lives,

[24:47]

to hear the true Dharma. That's a big vow. That upon hearing it, no doubt will arise in us, nor will we lack in faith. That upon meeting it, we shall renounce worldly affairs and maintain the Buddha Dharma. And that in doing so, the great earth and all living beings together will attain the Buddha way. So that's a vow, and it doesn't mean we absolutely do it. But we strive for it. To hear the true Dharma, and no doubt will arise in us, and we will not lack in faith, and we shall... renounce those worldly affairs, those negative aspects, not worldly affairs. It doesn't mean we go off to a monastery or that we go off to a cave and maintain that Buddha Dharma.

[25:49]

It goes on to say, may they share with us, meaning the Buddhas and ancestors of old, that source of the river, which fills the boundless universe with the virtue of their enlightenment and teachings. Buddhas and ancestors of old were as we. Amazing, isn't that? You know, we tend to venerate them as well we should, respect them as well we should, but we're the same as them. We're the same as they are. May they share with us their compassion, which fills the boundless universe with the virtue of their enlightenment and teachings. Buddhas and ancestors of old were as we. We in the future shall be Buddhas and ancestors. In fact, we are. When we, that untamed self, we can get back to our true nature, to our Buddha nature.

[26:52]

And then we are. true Buddhas, and we become ancestors. Reverend Buddhas and ancestors, we are one Buddha and one ancestor, awakening Bodhi mind. We are one Bodhi mind. Because they extend their compassion to us freely, without limit, we are able to attain Buddhahood and let go of the attainment. Therefore, the Chan master, Lung Yao, said, those who in past lives were not enlightened, don't worry about your past life if you weren't enlightened, in other words, will now be enlightened in this life. Save the body, which is the fruit of many lives. Before Buddhas were enlightened, they were the same as we. They weren't always enlightened either. enlightened people of today are exactly as those of old.

[27:54]

So there's skillful and unskillful transmission, but all acts are transmission. And as I mentioned, it can be from dusting a zabutan to performing a service, participating in service, studying, meeting with your teacher, talking to your friends and others in your sangha. So being vulnerable is important. And being proactive is important. So please, I ask you, be vulnerable, be vulnerable, and please transmit. 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.

[28:58]

For more information, please visit sfcc.org and click Giving. May we all fully enjoy the Dharma.

[29:06]

@Transcribed_UNK
@Text_v005
@Score_97.87