This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at www.sfzc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Hi, my name is Greg Fane. I'm very happy to be here talking to you tonight. I want to welcome everyone. I want to welcome... My old friends, Dale and Melissa, they're workshopped. All the guests, all the students, this assembly of bodhisattvas, that's what I see from here. So this is it, you know. Tomorrow is the last day of guest season, 2010.

[01:04]

Gosh. We made it. Thank you, guests. Thank you, thank you, guests. All summer long, I've been doing my thank you practice. I see guests on the path, and I'll go, thanks for being here. And they'll be like, oh, thanks for having us. So cute. So disarming. But now is a good time for me to say thank you, students. Thank you, students. For making Kassahara happen, for making guest season happen. But above all, thank you for your sincere practice.

[02:08]

I'm very lucky in my job, in my practice position to get to talk with you and listen to you practice right listening and to see how many people this summer have turned towards the Dharma in a small way or in a big way or maybe just had the first taste of discipline in their lives Whatever. I think nobody is really ever left unaffected by Tassajara, by taking up residential practice at Tassajara for even a short time. As Leslie said in her class, we can't really say exactly how, but Tassajara is effective.

[03:25]

It's effective. And speaking of Leslie, she always says she enjoys these transitional times between guest season and practice period, between guest season and work period, whatever. These liminal spaces. Me too. Also, it gives me a chance to say liminal. Which is pretty cool. So this is a time of, you know, a lot of goodbyes. A lot of hellos and goodbyes. Every hello is a goodbye. That's impermanence. I actually take refuge in impermanence. I take refuge in the truth of impermanence.

[04:27]

But sometimes it's painful. So we'll be having some departing monk ceremonies. And... Some friends will be partying. Maybe stay in touch. You know, it seems to circle around. It does. It just circles around. Here's Dale and Melissa, you know, and showing up at the end of guest season and getting all these hugs and kisses. And then the students who've been here all guest season long, they're like, who are these schmucks? They're getting all this love. Who are they, you know? What's up with that? that'll be you someday it circles around it does so all things come to an end and that includes we've been, some of us chanting the Lotus Sutra all summer long and we actually finished chanting the Lotus Sutra

[05:35]

We made it. I don't know, it was kind of touch and go when we got to the part about the Rakshasa demon daughters. I've forgotten about them. They're kind of like riot girls. We're going to protect the Lotus Sutra. They're tough. But it's time for the Lotus Sutra. to come off the altar now. So please, Chico, Chico-san. It's also a good time to take the time to thank Matteo for being my patient Chico for most of the summer. He's done such a wonderful job and actually wanted to start giving the talk without the rostrum so I could people could see the mudra I've been talking about the mudra a lot how I've been practicing with the mudra in my Zazen practice and since I gave the last talk here I've been with Reverend Linda Galleon the two of us went to Houston Zen Center in Houston Texas

[07:02]

And we're practicing with teacher Galen Godwin. And I gave a talk there. And Galen said she was admiring my mudra the whole time. So I wanted to show off my mudra. And you can't see it behind the rostrum. She even took a picture of it. Come on, Mateo. Come on. So naturally, I wanted to talk about the Lotus Sutra tonight. And I also wanted to talk about this. What a gift. The Shobo Genzo Complete Translation, a Zen Center project with Kaz Tanahashi Sensei, translating with over 30 co-translators. life's work, Dogen's life's work, and in many ways Kaza's life's work.

[08:09]

I think if we were living in Japan, Tanahashi Sensei would be declared a living national cultural treasure. So, of course, I want to talk about this translation of the Shobo Genso as well. I've just been swimming in it. What an inspiration to my practice. And I want to talk about a fascicle essay from the Shobho Genzo that is all about the Lotus Sutra. And this is Shobho Genzo Kenbutsu, Seeing Buddha or Meeting Buddha. Actually, I'll probably be enjoying this for the rest of my life.

[09:21]

Just reading this fascicle, just reading Kenbutsu on meeting the Buddha, I got completely lost and just sort of swimming in it. So I only want to talk about two very short bits. two little passages out of the whole essay that really touched me a lot. So the first begins with a quotation from chapter 14 of the Lotus Sutra. Chapter 14 is usually translated as something like peaceful practices or safe and easy practices. Although in the Japanese consensus translation, they call it a happy life. Chapter 14 is called a happy life. And that made me think of when Reverend Yuto Yukawa did his class on zazen.

[10:27]

He was talking about if you choose between a happy life or an unhappy life, which one are you going to choose? Anyway, in chapter 14, in this passage, beginning, Shakyamuni Buddha said to all the realized beings, enter deep into samadhi and see Buddhas in the ten directions. So that's the quote from the Lotus Sutra. Enter deep into samadhi and see Buddhas in the ten directions. That's our practice, isn't it? Isn't that our practice? And that's what Yuto-san was teaching, Zazen. The name of his class was Why Zazen. Enter deep into Samadhi and see Buddhas in the Ten Directions. Master Dogen goes on to say, the entire world is deep because it is in the Buddha land of the Ten Directions.

[11:31]

It is neither broad nor narrow, neither large nor small. When you take up one side, the other side comes with it. This is called total inclusion. The entire world is not seven feet, eight feet, or 10 feet. It is total inclusion without outside. It is just enter. Then he goes on to say, to enter deep is for a long, long time not to leave. I couldn't help but think about practice period when I read that. To enter deep is for a long, long time not to leave. That's what some of us are preparing to do real soon. For a long, long time not to leave. It's not actually that long a time, but it might feel like a long, long time at certain points in the practice period.

[12:33]

Samadhi is to enter but not to come out. If you are not suspicious and fearful of a true dragon, you have no doubts to let go of at the very moment of seeing the Buddha. Or as Suzuki Roshi put it, to be just you is enough, you know. To be just you is enough. So this is our practice. It's our fundamental practice. This is Dogen's practice that he got from his teacher, Rujain. Just sit upright in correct bodily posture and thus drop body and mind. Take up this posture of Buddha's mind completely. And as the Lotus Sutra said,

[13:38]

See the Buddhas in the Ten Directions. Learn to see Buddha by not separating. I'm rather loath to try to break down scientifically what happens with zazen, what is actually what I think is happening. But samadhi, you know, means integration, basically. It means integration. And zazen means experiencing your body and mind as one integrated whole. Completely taking up this position, completely sitting with your whole being. Your mind... and body don't separate.

[14:41]

And then you don't separate from everything else. This is a chance to not talk about it like I'm talking about it now, which, whatever. Blah, blah, blah. That's not what I mean. Do it. Find out for yourself. Find out for yourself. Here's another passage. This comes from Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra, the chapter on the lifespan of the Tathagata. Shakyamuni Buddha said, Those who practice virtue with gentleness and openness see me expounding Dharma here. Shakyamuni Buddha said, Those who practice virtue with gentleness and openness see me expounding Dharma here.

[15:44]

Master Dogen says, Virtue means splattering mud and getting wet in water or following waves to chase waves. To practice this is called the gentleness and openness of you are like this, I am like this. to see the Buddha in the mud, to see the Buddha with the heart of the waves. This is to encounter the Buddha who is expounding Dharma here. When Dogen quotes, you are like this, I am like this, he's talking about one of these famous Zen stories. Shobha Genzo is like, just one reference to Buddhist teaching after another, just piled up, one after another. So I miss most of them, but you are like this, I am like this, refers to one of these famous exchanges between two Zen masters, the six ancestor, Huinang, and his disciple, Nguyenang.

[17:05]

Nanyue Huairang. The sis ancestor Huyneng, Dajian Huyneng, asked his student, do you rely on practice realization or practice an enlightenment or not? And Huairang said, it's not that there isn't practice in enlightenment, it's just that they can't be defiled. If Hoi Nung had asked me that, I probably would have said, oh, yeah, yeah, I do. Do I rely on practice in enlightenment? Yeah, yeah, sure. But Hoi Rang was pretty smart because he took it like a step beyond. He said, sure, there's practice in enlightenment and they can't be defiled.

[18:07]

It's not that there isn't practicing enlightenment, it's just that they can't be defiled. And Hwayna was very happy with this answer. And he said, that's what all the Buddhas are upholding. And he said, you are like this, I am like this, all the ancestors of India are like this. And we are like this, actually. Right here in good old Tazahara, we are like this. This is to see the Buddha in the mud, to see the Buddha with the heart of the waves. Virtue means splattering mud and getting wet in water, or following waves to chase waves. I think I have the greatest job in the world. Yesterday was just kind of wild, kind of wild.

[19:13]

I think there's a lot of energy coming up around the end of the guest season, a lot of stuff coming up for me, so many interesting conversations yesterday, some so joyful, so painful. Difficult conversation. Exhorting somebody. It's not over till it's over. Just staying with it. That's our practice, you know. Just staying with it. This is called following waves to chase waves. Staying with it. Splattering mud and getting wet. Getting wet in water. Don't hold back. Practice is a hands-on thing.

[20:20]

It's a hands-on thing. It's not a spectator sport. Zen is not a spectator sport. Practice this is called the gentleness and openness of you are like this, I am like this. Blanche Hartman, Roshi, likes to tell the story of before she came to Tassajara, she asked my teacher, Sojin Roshi, what's the deal? Of course, back then, it's just Mel. Mel, what's the deal? What's the deal with Tassajara?

[21:25]

What's so great about Tassajara? I don't get it. And Mel said, well, I guess it's like this. With Tassajara, everybody else can see your stuff. You might as well see it too. This is called the gentleness and openness of you are like this, I am like this. This is to see the Buddha in the mud. To see the Buddha with the heart of the waves. Wow, it's pure poetry. Sojin Roshi loaned me kotsu to carry as Tanto at Tazahara. I carry this teaching stick. He's got a drawer full of them in his office.

[22:28]

He's like, oh, here, yeah, you can borrow this. This will come in handy. It's got a little knot hole in it. It's got a hole. A tiny little knot hole. When you hold it up, you can see through the knot hole. And the first time I gave it to... Reverend Judith, to carry for morning service. We did the exit and the procession back to the abbot's garden. And she held it up and she said, look, I can see through this hole. I can see the Buddha. And I looked at her and I said, I can see the Buddha too. So that's our practice here, I think. That is our practice. Seeing Buddha. That's what everyone always said about Suzuki Roshi.

[23:36]

You knew I was going there, didn't you? Everyone always said that about Suzuki Roshi. What about Suzuki Roshi? He was able to see Buddha in everyone. He could see Buddha in everyone. everyone he met, and people felt that. That's why people always talked about it. That's my favorite Suzuki Roshi quote of all time. Maybe you think you're green apples hanging on a tree, waiting to ripen so that you can be Buddhas, but I think that you're already ripe, perfect, Buddhas now, ready to be picked. So tomorrow, some of us who've been chanting the Lotus Sutra together are going to sing a song about the Lotus Sutra in skid night.

[24:39]

Tomorrow, not tonight. And that song is about chapter 20 of the Lotus Sutra. about the bodhisattva never disparaging, who sees Buddha in everyone. And the lyrics, I wrote the lyrics, Ben Gustin wrote the music, but the lyrics are just chapter 20 of the Lotus Sutra. So, you know, I can't really take credit for writing the lyrics. They just lifted it from the Lotus Sutra. Except the chorus... where it says, I would never disparage you or keep you at arm's length. Where you only see your weaknesses, I only see your strengths. That comes more from Walt Whitman. A poem by Walt that I'm very fond of that is actually, for me, about seeing Buddha.

[25:48]

So, with your permission, or rather, without your permission, I'm going to read some of it. I'm not going to read the whole thing, just some of it. Seeing the table, I'm accumulating quite a lot of... I get to carry all this back. This poem is called To You. I'm just going to read some of it. You have not known what you are. You have slumbered upon yourself all your life. Your eyelids have been the same as closed most of the time. What you have done returns already in mockeries. The mockeries are not you. Underneath them and within them I see you lurk. I pursue you where none else has pursued you.

[26:49]

the flippant expression, the night, the accustomed routine. If these conceal you from others or from yourself, they do not conceal you from me. The shaved face, the unsteady eye, the impure complexion. If these balk others, they do not balk me. The pert apparel, the deformed attitude, drunkenness, greed, all these I part aside. There is no endowment in man or woman that is not tallied in you. There is no virtue, no beauty in man or woman, but as good is in you. No pluck, no endurance in others, but as good is in you. No pleasure waiting for others, but an equal pleasure waits for you. As for me, I give nothing to anyone except I give the like carefully to you. I sing the songs of the glory of none, not God, sooner than I sing the songs of the glory of you.

[27:52]

Whoever you are, claim your own at any hazard. The hopples fall from your ankles. You find an unfailing sufficiency. Old or young, male or female, rude, low, rejected by the rest. Whatever you are promulges itself through birth, life, death, burial. The means are provided. Nothing is scanted. Through angers, losses, ambition, ignorance, ennui, what you are ticks its way. Splattering mud and getting wet in water. Following waves to chase waves. What you are ticks its way.

[28:54]

Okay. That's all I have to say tonight. So if anyone has anything to ask, bring forth This is the second-to-last day of guest season. Anything? Hello, Kogan. You're welcome. It's been my great pleasure this summer. And, you know, we're just getting started. Yes, Jean?

[30:06]

Oh, the money. Which we really, really need. No, you know, I mean, yes. And as Leslie James is very fond of saying, and which actually I had to hear it quite a few times before I started believing it myself, even if we didn't need the money, we should still have guest season. It's a beautiful thing. It's a wonderful way to practice. It's an amazing way for the students to be here. There are so many different ways to be at Tassajara in the guest season. And for the students, as I've often said, it's like the Gandavyuha Sutra, the Book 39 of the Avatamsaka Sutra, where Sudhana, the boy, goes on this pilgrimage, only you don't have to go on pilgrimage as a student at Tassajara.

[31:15]

You stay here And all the bodhisattvas come, one by one. They come. You just stay in one place. So you save a lot on shoe leather, unlike Sudhana. Yeah, it's an amazing gift. And the guests are amazing teachers. So, yeah, when I'm saying thank you for being there, my thank you practice, I don't just mean thanks for the money, although that's in there. Yes, Ino-san. Kanda-san, when you said that you would sing a song with the people who attended the Lotus Sutra tomorrow, I felt kind of bad for the guests. I was wondering if you would say anything.

[32:15]

Well, the guests can't come tomorrow night. Before we have a skid night, we have the gate closing ceremony. That's it. That's all she wrote. The pencil broke. I would never disparage you or keep you at arm's length. Where you only see your weaknesses, I only see your strength. I would never despise you or put you down in any way. Because it's clear to me, I can plainly see you'll be a Buddha someday.

[33:20]

I love you. Aww. Okay? Yeah, tomorrow. Okay, on that happy note. Good night. For more information, visit sfcc.org and click giving.

[34:08]

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