Good evening, good morning, good afternoon, depending where you are in the world. So I'm very happy to be here. And first, I want to thank my teacher, Abbot Ed Sarison, as well as Abbot David for inviting me tonight to give this talk. And I would also like to thank the head of practice, Tanto, and the head of the meditation hall and their team for making all this possible. So for those who are new to this kind of talk or here for the first time, we are currently in the middle of what we call a practice period. And this practice period started in September, also known as an N'ngo in Japanese. A practice period is an extended period of time where we deepen our practice, where we intensify our practice during this period. we sit more and we have classes and our different lectures and usually there's a theme for the practice period and the theme for this particular practice period is fierce compassion enacting the bodhisattva principles in a troubled world so for those of you are not very familiar with the term bodhisattva in a few words a bodhisattva is a being who is

[01:39]

basically dedicated to universal awakening, right? And it's determined not to be enlightened until all other beings in space and time are enlightened as well. So they return to the world of suffering again and again in order to aid all other beings in their path to awakening. So that's what we are studying in this particular practice period. We're studying the Bodhisattvas and the different bodhisattva archetypes. In the Mahayana tradition, the tradition that we come from, there's certain traditional bodhisattva figures or archetypes that represent different fundamental models or aspects of our beings. These bodhisattvas bring qualities such as wisdom, compassion, or awakened activity, for example. And each week of this practice period, we've been studying or looking at a particular bodhisattva.

[02:46]

And today I will talk about one of these bodhisattvas that is really very close to my heart and actually not so well known. And this particular bodhisattva is Samanta Bhadra. And Samanta Bhadra is a personification of awakening activity in the world. As I said, each one of these Bodhisattvas represent or bring forth a particular quality. Manjushri, Bodhisattva's wisdom. Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva that brings compassion. Samantabhadra brings this awakening activity in the world. If you've seen an image of Samantabhadra, you would see it's usually depicted sitting on a lotus flower. and mounted on a white elephant with six pairs of tusks. And it's a beautiful image.

[03:48]

Elephants in Hindu iconography represent wisdom, divine knowledge and royal power. And in Buddhism they're used a lot and they represent wisdom and steadfastness. It's the presence of the elephant. Author Teigen Dan Layton says in his book that we're reading actually for this practice period and for our classes, the book is called Faces of Compassion. He says, and I quote, Samantha Badra, riding majestically on their slow mount has a feeling of calm, deliberate activity imbued with clear, considered intention and dignity. What a beautiful image. And as I named Manjushri before, the Bodhisattva, the archetype of wisdom, Manjushri and Samantabhadra are often paired as attendants on both sides of Sakyamuni Buddha.

[04:55]

Wisdom on one side, Manjushri, and the application of wisdom actively benefiting the world on the other. So we have wisdom on one side of the Buddha and the application, the other, application of that wisdom actively benefiting the world on the other side. And it's interesting that a couple of weekends ago, Tenku Raff, she gave a beautiful talk about the bodhisattvas and she talked or focused in part of that talk on gender. Are bodhisattvas masculine or feminine or neither? And that's really interesting. And it's interesting how that can be culturally different. I'm, for example, I'm a Spanish speaker and I'm conditioned culturally that way.

[05:56]

Most all the names in Spanish that end with an A are feminine. Marta, Anna, Cecilia, Laura, most of them are feminine. So it's very interesting the ways in which bodhisattvas that have names that ends with an A, Maitreya, Apalokiteshvara, Samantha Bhadra, they usually, I feel them feminine right away because that's a language bias, right? So I was reflecting on that, how interesting it is that maybe in patriarchal China they were masculine or as the history started moving from one place to the other, the story started moving from one place to the other, they were depicted in other genders, but how conditioned we can be culturally by our own language.

[07:00]

So going back to Samantha Badra, I think there are many ways in which we can understand activity, right? And we're talking about awakened activity, but what is activity? And what is activity as part of our lives? So formal practice can be an activity, right? Sitting zazen or right now, hearing the Dharma talk, that's an activity, definitely. Family or social life can be an activity. Leisure is an activity. So all these are activities. And I think any of these activities can be awakening activity as long as it relates to your path of practice. So basically, I would say that everything we do, sleeping, is an activity.

[08:08]

So everything we do is an activity. But how does it become or what does it mean when we say it's an awakened activity? And one aspect of activity, and that I think it's very important as an activity in the world, is work. So work represents, for most people, one of the main activities during the day. Be it preparing breakfast, taking care of a child, teaching, sweeping floor, flipping burgers, or closing an international deal with multinational companies. Work is so much part of our lives that To think work as separate from our practice in many ways would kind of limit what we understand as practice to only a few moments of the day, right?

[09:12]

Practice like being an item in your agenda, right? So I have my class of this, work from here to here, and my practice from 7.45 to 8.30. work as an activity that can be an awakening activity is a really important aspect of our practice. And then how does Samantabhadra, the archetype of the application of wisdom, right, as I said, the application of wisdom to actively benefiting the world, be seen as a guide or model to follow or inspiration in regards to work as one of the activities I'm choosing to talk of tonight. If you've ever been to a Zen temple, maybe in your own country, maybe one of the temples of San Francisco Zen Center, Tassajara and the Vintana Wilderness, the mountains or Green Gulch or city center here in the city of San Francisco, you will know that there's a...

[10:27]

specific time and moment in the day which we call work meeting or work circle and this happens almost every morning or maybe early afternoon usually right before we start working um and this is this is a really i i think it's a really beautiful moment in the day it usually starts with a work drum um that has a beautiful cadence and in the valley in Chasahara or in the building at city center, it really resonates and boom, [...] boom calls people to practice in the work practice. And then after that, where people gather in a circle, there is a bell that's run. And this bell we call a peace bell. The peace bell, when the peace bell is rung, we connect for a moment, for an instant with world peace.

[11:31]

And then there is an offering. There's an offering in an altar. And this is where Samantabhadra comes in, right? Because in most of these altars, traditionally, there is an image of Samantabhadra. So Samantabhadra is the image on the work of Samantabhadra. meeting altar and and we do we do an offering this can be very meaningful i think um i remember i remember my times as uh catholic when i when i used to pray that i i used to do the the crossing right And anything after that signal was or sign was an offering, was prayer.

[12:34]

And then when I finished praying, I did it again. So that marked a moment after which everything had a different meaning. And I feel, I think, that in many ways, this is what's happening before work meetings. When we gather and we make an offering in the altar where Samanta Padra is, we are offering, in a way, our work for the benefit of all beings, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. So this is really, really meaningful, really deep, I think, because that's... when we start talking as awakening activity, right? There's something that's being offered. And this is very, very typical of all Zen temples.

[13:37]

And actually, work for the Zen tradition, it's especially important. There is a big emphasis on the awakening quality of work practice. In India and when Buddhism started, and of course nowadays as well in many places, monks and practitioners usually didn't work. And again, this is true nowadays for other Buddhist traditions. And so the monks every day went with their begging bowls asking for food or sustenance for their temples. And this was true and happened for many, many years.

[14:41]

When Buddhism went from India to China, the Chinese to the Chinese did not make that much sense that one group would not work and be supported by others, right? And also there might be other things like maybe less access to communities, but basically in China, when Buddhism arrives to China and the Chan tradition started, the Chan tradition that became the Zen tradition in Japan, work for everyone, especially for monks became something that was important. And there are a number of beautiful Zen stories that talk about this. And one of the main stories, especially in regards to Buddhism in China is about

[15:49]

a person in history called, a Chan master called Bai Zhang. He lived around 720 CE. So Chan master Bai Zhang really insisted that meditation and worship would be integrated with physical labor. He was like very, very adamant in that aspect. And Whereas the ideal of an Indian holy man was one who relied on begging, Bai Zhang believed that in China, it was kind of holier to work for a living, including for monks. And this story, this very well known Zen story about Bai Zhang and work goes that when Zen master Bai Zhang did chores, did his work, he always was first in the community in taking up this work. He was always there first. And his followers and people were kind of uncomfortable with this.

[16:52]

So they kind of couldn't bear with that. So one day they hid his tools away and asked him to rest. The master looks for his tools all over the place, cannot find them. And then he stops eating. So his disciples were worried because the master wasn't eating, and they asked, you know, Master, why don't you eat or drink? And the Zen master says, a day without work is a day without food. So his disciples returned his master's tools and he started eating again. So this phrase, a day without work is a day without food, is very well known in the Zen tradition. And what does it mean? Right? what kind of nourishment are we talking about here? Of course, there is a more maybe literal aspect of this expression, right?

[17:53]

If you don't work, you might have no food, right? And especially if you don't work for a long period of time. But maybe you have some savings or rice stored in the pantry or something. So, what else is there to this story? And I would suggest that there's also maybe another level of seeing this, another way of seeing this, more from a subtle or not so literal point of view, in which there is more of a direct correlation between work and nourishment. And that if one is missing, the other is immediately not present. And this can be seen as the inner, the spiritual nourishment of work, you know? And I believe this is why our work activities seem with this potential of being an awakening activity in Zen. So as far as I know, you can't store a jar of enlightenment in your pantry, right? In case you don't want to do the work.

[18:54]

So that's a direct correlation between work and awakening. The awakening work gets. So there's the literal... of course, and very practical sense of this phrase, and I guess very important for a monastery, and there might be this subtle aspect of nourishment that's completely immediate. If you cannot work, you don't get the nourishment of practice of an awakening activity that that work might provide. And I think it's a beautiful story. And it works very well both ways, in the literal and in the more subtle side. And if you live in a temple, you see that right away. How important is our work to sustain our practice?

[20:02]

And at the same time, how our work can be and should be a Dharma gate. There's another story that's very well known and that I like very much. And this one is about Dogen Zenji. And Dogen, many of you know, is a founder of the Soto Zen, our lineage of Zen. And Dogen, at one point in his life, traveled to China to study Buddhism. And when he arrived to China, his boat not land because of an inspection something something around that uh so he had to stay in on the boat um and while while he was there um an old priest came came to the boat and and this old priest chinese priest was a tenzo a tenzo is a head cook right a head cook he ran there and he had walked i think it was like 12 miles to buy some japanese mushrooms

[21:04]

brought on that ship that Dogen was on. And Dogen was quite puzzled by this distinguished monk, this head cook, this Tenzo, old person walking so far for the mushrooms. And so Dogen inquired and he said, Venerable Tenzo, in your advanced years, why don't you wholeheartedly engage the way by doing zazen? or studying the sutras, instead of troubling yourself by being head cook and just working. What is that good for? And then the Tenzo laughed loudly, usually in the stories, somebody or laughs loudly or hit someone else. And he said, oh, good friend from a foreign country, it is clear you have no idea what it means to wholeheartedly engage in the way.

[22:07]

So Dogen asked, why are you working so hard? Why instead of troubling yourself, you're not engaging the way by doing Zazen or studying the Sutras? And he says, oh, good friend from a foreign country. It is clear... you have no idea what it means to hold heartedly engage in the way. So there are many, many other Zen stories and Buddhist stories that bring forth this enlightening activity to benefit the world that work can bring, the way in which work is or can be a Dharma gate. And it's indispensable for Zen that we can relate to that, that we can relate to work.

[23:14]

And Samantha Badra inspires us on that aspect, on not just an activity being an activity, but an activity being an enlightening activity. and therefore benefiting the wider world. And what does it mean? Or how could we make or be in a place where work becomes an enlightening activity? And there are several ways. I would like to first mention three aspects of the way in which we can relate to work or engage in this particular activity that would bring the activity towards being an enlightening activity.

[24:20]

And the first thing I want to bring forth is this that I talked about at the beginning when I was talking about work meeting or work circle, you know, and that's seeing our work as an offering. So when we see our work as an offering, like I was saying, you know, with a prayer, something changes, something is transformed. You are doing something and that what you're doing goes beyond everything. you and your your own benefit so when this happens we are accomplishing it let's say that way for the benefit of buddha dharma and sangha in other words for the benefit of everybody else and and this doesn't need to be complicated you don't need to go and buy a big drum or or a bell or you know uh

[25:28]

but it can be just a very small moment, a very small intimate ritual or ceremony that you perform yourself. And maybe it's, you know, just acknowledging the value of work as an awakening activity. Before you start to work, just stop and go inside yourself and retrieve that feeling of, okay, I'm going to do this for the benefit of all beings. So it's offering your work. And you can offer your work before you work. And as Abbot Ed said yesterday in our class about Samantabhadra, there's also the possibility of offering the merit of our work, the spiritual merit of our work, basically, to all beings for their benefit.

[26:29]

So you can, of course, you can do both. You know, where you can offer your work before you start working, like we do with Work Circle, and then at the end you would say, all the spiritual benefit, all this good for the world, I offer to all beings. When you offer your work to the benefit of all beings, All beings are transformed and you are transformed, I think. Or that's the way I feel. Again, there's a transformation. There's something that changes. And the way you do what you do, the way you relate to others, the way you take care of all beings and the planet is transformed. So making your work an awakened activity becomes an intentional thing for benefit. It's offering your work puts you in a place where practice is present.

[27:38]

And from practice, you will relate to your co-worker. From the eye of practice, you will try to relate to the world because this is an offering. And also, maybe when something doesn't happen that way, since you're in that space of offering your work you immediately sense it oh wait this is not this is not right so offering your work is one of the ways we can transform this activity into an awakening activity the second is being always present and and you've heard this over and over again here and now being present with what is taking care of what's right in front of you Always mindful of what you're doing. So in this sense, work as an enlightening activity moves you to a kind of burning up of the self in the activity of work.

[28:43]

And I want to be very clear here. We're not talking about getting burned, right? Like burning out and getting exhausted and working too much. That's not what I'm saying, right? It's just... doing whatever you're doing completely without holding anything back. So this is not about overworking. I would say overworking goes kind of against the concept of work as an awakening activity, right? You're not taking care of yourself. You're not being compassionate with yourself. So taking care of yourself is really important when you offer your work well-beings and being resourceful and nourishing yourself. And also to remember that you are one of those beings that you're offering your work to. And when you do, you just really take care of what's in front of you. Focused, present, and consuming yourself in whatever you're doing.

[29:50]

There's a Japanese expressions, it's shinriki, which means total combustion. Give everything you've got to that activity you're doing. So work as an offering and doing whatever you're doing completely focused without holding anything back. It's two ways of creating this work or this activity as an awakened one. There is another thing or way that I think it's really important. And this is more of a tricky one. And this is not being attached or cling to the results of what you do.

[30:51]

Which doesn't mean that you don't do your best or your best effort to accomplish what needs to be done. But you're not attached to the results of what you do. There's a beautiful quote. It's by Suzuki Roshi and Dharma talk he gave in August 1967. And he says the following. The work you do should be done with your very best effort and to the best of your ability. I'm going to say that again. The work you do should be done with your very best effort. and to the best of your ability. But you should not be too attached or take pride in your ability. Forgetting all about your ability and the result of your effort, you should still do your best in your work. So again, not being attached to the results, not being too, you know,

[31:58]

proud of your abilities, just doing the work, and doing the work the best you can. So in these three ways, in offering your work, in giving all you've got, and not holding too tight to the results of your work, we can start investigating what it means to make work something that's inspired by Samantha Vadra. something that is inspired by this archetype of beneficial activity in the world. And then, of course, you can go further and bring up the parameters or the perfections. We usually study six perfections, and there's also a listing that includes ten perfections. And generosity being the first. can be a very important guide in the way you work, to being generous to yourself and to others.

[33:05]

And ethical conduct, of course. This brings you to the aspect of the Eiffel path of right livelihood, right? And whatever you're doing, being ethical and patience and concentration, important things that can make your work an enlightened activity and then there are other four that we usually don't don't study so much which are skillful means and skillful means the way we do things that that will bring forth this this possibility of being an enlightened activity for you and for others. And then there is power. And not the powers of, you know, like you can do something that's levitate or, you know, type at very quick speed, but more also bringing power as power relationships and how in your work you

[34:28]

work within those power dynamics and being very respectful of that. And then there is knowledge. And knowledge is the application of wisdom into our concrete everyday activities, right? So there's wisdom and our knowledge will bring this wisdom into what can be an awakening activity. So these three ways and the parameters are, I think, a beautiful guideline to what you're doing. And work as an enlightened activity is really important to me. I currently work as vice president in San Francisco Zen Center.

[35:31]

And it's a very intense activity with beautiful and all kinds of responsibilities. And it needs to be practiced. My work needs to be an enlightenment activity, enlightening activity. for me and for all the teams I work with, because that's part of our training. That's what we're doing here in the Zan monastery. We're training as Zan students, and work has that aspect, baizang, right? One day without work is one day with no food or no nourishment, or we... we don't have the possibility of that aspect of practice.

[36:34]

So that is why it's so important. And according to Dogen, there's no separation between practice and enlightenment, right? Practice is enlightenment itself. And if we say that practice is enlightenment and work is practice, then work can be enlightenment or is enlightenment. And from that point of view. And it doesn't have to be any specific kind of work. It doesn't need, okay, yes, I'm a healthcare provider. So, There's this aspect of my work of providing benefit just because of the nature of my work.

[37:38]

Yes, of course. And that's amazing. I would say you're kind of one step ahead already. Your work by its own nature is benefiting others. But any kind of work, any kind of work can be beneficial. an enlightenment activity. And Samantha Bhadra, as an archetype, inspires us that way. Of course, there are other aspects, and Dying Time Layton, in his book, brings forth other figures in history or contemporary figures in history. For example, Thomas Edison and Dr. Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi. There are a number of people throughout history that bring forth this quality of awakening activity and what they do in their action in the world.

[38:50]

And you can think of your own images or images. or people who represent that to you. And then just nurture yourself from that inspiration. So this is what I wanna express tonight and just bring forth this idea, this quality of what we do so many hours per day in order for that, to understand that as practice, because basically it can be and it is. And, you know, in your activity, you might not always be able to do what you love, but maybe with Samantha Vada's help and inspiration, you can always love what you do.

[39:54]

So thank you very much. being here tonight or this morning or this afternoon um thank you thank you kodo and i think there might be like two minutes if there is any any question thank you very much so shall we go for the closing chant and then come back for a question yes whenever you're ready Your attention equally extends to every being and place with the true merit of the faith. Beings are numberless, I vow to save them. Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to end them. Thank you so much.

[41:09]

I think we may have time for one question. And before we, or while you're formulating that question, I'd like to say we're rounding out membership month for San Francisco Zinn Center. I'll leave a link in the chat so you can learn more. And also we're having a one day sitting. a week from Saturday and I'll put a link. So if you have a question, feel free to raise a hand in the chat or in the participants window. Tim Wicks.

[42:12]

Thank you, Sozan. Thank you very much. I waited for someone else to put their hand up, but they didn't. So I have a burning question to ask you. What if while you're working, you feel like you are very exploited and are in a very bad situation? It's difficult to be of service in that situation, to be fully present in the way it is to have work as a spiritual activity, as you spoke about tonight. What do you have to say about that? Well, it's a complex question, but I don't think one needs to be a martyr. And if possible, it's important to walk away from that. Not always possible, of course. But if possible, if any way possible, just walk away from exploitation. I completely understand that sometimes that is not possible. And that's where offering whatever you're doing becomes very, very important.

[43:30]

And of course, there's a number of words where that feeling is present or maybe not... as far as exploitation but maybe you feel undervalued or other other ways in which you feel like you cannot make your your there's not that joy in your work um but i truly think if you can walk away walk away and if not um just just be present with with with what's what's going on and try to change things if you can Thank you, Tim. That's a very important question. Thank you, Tim. Thank you, Sozan. I think that takes us to closing. Sozan, would you like to offer a closing word? This is an amazing moment in my practice where I can share with you the first time that I actually take a teaching seat

[44:36]

So you will be always in my heart forever, I guess. It's the group that made it possible. So thank you very, very much for your practice and for being here. Thank you so much. Thank you, Sozan. And to the assembly, we should be able to unmute now if you wish. Thank you, Sozan. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Sozan. Thank you so much, Sozan. Thank you. Congratulations. Well done. Thank you. Well done and congratulations. Yes. Thank you. Thank you very much. That was lovely. Thank you. [...] Dharma brother. Thank you. Hi to Ohio. Thank you, Sosa.

[45:41]

Thank you very much, Alma. Thank you very much, Sosa. I don't think so. Thank you for a beautiful talk, Suzan. Thank you, Tova. Thank you very much. It means a lot. Thank you. Thanks, Suzan. Good night. Good night, Kyle. Thank you. Good night, Suzanne.

[46:49]

Congratulations. Good night, Suzanne. Thank you very much. Good night, Suzanne. Thank you. Good night, Mary. Hope you're feeling well. Thank you. Thank you. See you soon. See you soon. All right, Sozan, very nicely done. See you at work. See you, Dokusan. Early tomorrow. Early tomorrow. Thank you. Thank you, teacher. Thank you very much.

[47:26]

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