So, good evening, everybody. There is a teaching in Buddhism called the Four Noble Truths. And tonight's talk is about the second of these Four Noble Truths, which is an instruction about the cause for our experience of suffering and distress, should we have that experience. Buddhism is a tradition about life.

[01:35]

And it is a tradition of study. It is a way. It is a path. A path that has as its as its focus awakening to something deep in our heart, which sometimes is called enlightenment. And in the service of this effort... To awaken our hearts, minds. And in a faith that this effort is helpful.

[02:38]

It's a helpful thing to take up. There has developed a tradition in Buddhism that folks practice together. And that like-minded individuals live and practice together. And living and practicing together does not mean necessarily under the same roof, but in a shared effort. In a community, in Sangha. because not just me right now, but it has been said in the past that living together in this way is helpful. So in the practice of Zen, we live in a relationship with a group of peers.

[03:52]

And one thing that is interesting about this group of peers who practice together is that actually they are not entirely all quite equal. By one way of looking. And because this tradition... we follow here at the San Francisco Zen Center, very deeply offers respect and honors and acknowledges people who have seniority, people who have gone before, people who are senior, elder spiritual friends. In Zen, we follow in the footsteps of the ancestors and are grateful that we don't have to entirely reinvent the wheel.

[05:11]

But also, really, I say really, one of the most important things in Sangha, in practicing with others, is that any one of us can be a teacher to another of us. Because we are all in this waking up endeavor together. And on the way, we are open to any feedback that might be helpful. This is important to remember, and it's also sometimes difficult because sometimes feedback is painful or awkward. 2,500 years ago, give or take a few years,

[06:29]

The founder of this particular tradition, Shakyamuni Buddha, through the experience of a deep meditative contemplation, woke up. And at the time of this awakening, we're told, I read, I have heard, at the time of this awakening, for some days, maybe weeks, he wondered whether it would be possible to communicate, to express the subtle dimensions of

[07:32]

of his experience. But then at some point, expressing his engagement with the world, he rose aroused himself from his seat of great awakening, and walked toward Varanasi, where he understood and knew that a group of his friends were gathered at the deer park at Saranath. at Deer Park, he gave a talk to his friends.

[08:43]

He turned the wheel of the Dharma for the first time, and in that talk he said that there are four noble truths. He said that there is our experience of distress and suffering, which he called dukkha. And he said, and he called that the first noble truth. And then he said that this experience that we had of dealing with dukkha, this truth of impermanence, our painful distress about this had a cause, had an origin, which he described as our thirst, our hunger for experience, our craving.

[09:50]

And then he said, as his third truth, that there was the possibility of ending this cycle and for the fourth truth he described the path so this is in very brief the teaching of the four noble truths and these four truths Perhaps as much as we have of a foundation myth, a foundation story in our practice, a starting point, the first turning of the wheel. As I said just a second ago, in Buddhism, in Zen,

[11:03]

We respect our tradition. We acknowledge what came before. And this story I just said, this true story about the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma is actually one among several. of our Zen practice. Another one of the root stories we have is that 2,500 years ago, Shakyamuni Buddha, at a location called Vulture Peak, addressed a group of 1200 monks I say addressed them but actually he sat in front of them and in silence sat with full presence and not speaking and then one amongst the assembly

[12:38]

there was a thing he did Buddha held up a flower and one among the assemblies smiled this person who smiled back when the flower was held up is Mahakashapa and we understand that he is the first person descendants of Buddha in our Zen tradition. This is one story Zen students tell each other. And there's another story. There's another story and there's another story. Here's another story. There was a great Indian monk named Jipoti Dharma who came to teach Zen in China.

[13:44]

And when he arrived in China, he presented four statements about what Zen is. He said that Zen is a special teaching outside of the scriptures. That Zen is a way beyond words and letters. That it is a direct teaching to the human heart. And that it is a way to see into one's original nature and awaken Buddhahood. And there's another story. This story says that our first Japanese ancestor Dogen Zenji traveled from Japan to China when he was in his twenties he traveled and after spending years of inquiry and quest in the private room of Tendon Yojo he received the true Dharma eye just like Mahapashapa received

[15:11]

the true Dharma I from Shakyamuni. Mudism is a practice that offers us a tradition. In a very real way. In Zen training. We follow in the footsteps. Of those gone before. But as. Part of my personal. Effort. To try to understand. What it is. That I'm doing. In this place at this time.

[16:14]

I want to say that. I have a problem with one of these stories I just told you. Because I think it's now generally understood that this story of Mahakashapa smiling at voodoo when he held up the flower. Or it's created maybe 1,500 years after Buddha lived. And some scholars are not even sure that Bodhidharma existed. Some scholars. And I was in the bookstore some time ago, and I saw a title of a book, and it said, Did Dogen Go to China?

[17:28]

It's the name of the book. And I thought, well, yes, he did. How do I know this? Well, because the Bible tells me so. These stories, these foundation stories, which may be a metaphor, may be teaching, may be true, may be not. are useful to know and useful to question in an effort to go beneath the surface of them.

[18:35]

But I want to say that there is one thing, well not one thing, I want to say that there is something that I have some confidence in believing happened which is that 2,500 years ago Shakyamuni Buddha lived and had an experience of awakening that was so convincing today we still respect it and that When he first had this experience, he wondered whether it would be possible to talk about it. And then he thought, yes, I will. And what did he have to say when he decided to talk about it?

[19:45]

What did he teach? He said that our human lives share between all beings a common experience which is called dukkha which is called impermanence which is called transformation and he said that Faced with this transformation of the circumstances of the moment and of our life. That we sometimes have a hard time about it. A practice for...

[20:57]

Each person is a personal endeavor. And practice for each person has innumerable causes and supports and hindrances. I'm thinking about a personal experience in my life.

[22:04]

One that I don't normally actually remember so well. But this week, with my handy Outlook calendar, I saw a day ago that it was the anniversary of my father's death. And I remembered some things about that. You know, excuse me, I doubt that any of you are as interested in the story of my personal family life as I am but I'm going to still share some things I think I can say that I did not understand my father I think I can say that in the hindsight of years that he loved me but it was very difficult to know when I was with him

[23:23]

that that was so and I remember when I was at the hospital and he was in a coma and he was breathing in a fashion which was painful to listen to I sat in a chair beside his bed through the night and at some point I fell asleep. And then in the middle of the night I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was the nurse. And she said that she thought that something was changing. And I listened and I could hear that this breathing which had been so labored And I leaned forward and I held his hand.

[24:30]

And I said, Please let go. Please let go. And then I started to recite, to say aloud, the mantra at the end of the Heart Sutra. And I said it over and over again. And maybe it was my imagination, but his hand squeezed mine. Maybe it was my imagination. And at some point his breathing became so calm that it didn't continue.

[25:35]

I do not know for sure. How can I know? But I do not believe that that our suffering is ended in such a fashion? I don't know for sure. We are all born as lovely children, sweethearts of our parents. And our life is a big adventure for a while. And we turn towards experience with a thirst and with a hunger. With an appetite and enthusiasm. And somewhere in this process, I believe...

[26:58]

And for many of us at some point we become certain that we are incomplete. And so we search even more frantically for completion through the fulfillment of our thirst. We look for... We look for a job. We look for praise. Appreciation. One day, one day, Master Rinzai, Rinqi, who lived a long time ago was invited to a memorial feast at an army camp.

[28:02]

At the gate of the compound, he saw a staff officer and Rinzai pointed to a pillar in the open in front of them. And he said, is this pillar sacred or secular? The officer looked at him with surprise and had no reply. Then she walked over to the post, knocked it with his fist, and said, Even if you could speak, this is still only a wooden post. This story is also part of our foundation myth. Even if you can speak, this pillar is still only a wooden post.

[29:14]

The world that we live in is what it is and also this world that we live in is what we make of it and also this world that we live in is the field of our practice the field where we sow the seeds of our practice and harvest them this room right here that we all share is a miraculous arena. And this room that we share right now is completely sufficient. It is enough. There is a truth that our life is impermanent.

[30:29]

And there is a truth that we find this impermanence distressing. And in our distress we look to the things of the world for our satisfaction. And this thing called Buddhism, way of life, of study, called Zen, offers us a gift. Because if we can understand that everything that we have ever wanted or needed is actually insignificant.

[31:37]

And that the secret to whatever semblance of... Well, and the secret to the fulfillment of our life lies in wishing for others. Especially wishing for others who wish no harm anyone else, wishing their greatest fortune to others. Buddha's first truth is that things change. And sitting zazen, making the effort to stop, to sit on our cushion and stop, one thing we find is how hard it is to let go of this changing. Also, sitting zazen, practicing meditation, we perhaps can have the taste of finally letting go, of even letting go of letting go.

[33:05]

And maybe if we observe very carefully, without moving, we might think, we might see that we have entered the space, or we are gone, gone, gone beyond. Ha ha.

[33:45]

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