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. Good morning. This morning I'd like to speak about Zazen, a topic which I hope will be useful in the coming days of Zazen. As today is the second day of Sashin, you may be beginning to experience some of the texture of Zazen, if it hasn't come up already. So it's a good time to discuss it, and not too much discussion, but just enough to give a little bit of a roadmap through the specific and earthy moments that we walk through breath after breath.

[01:17]

So every day for the noon service, we've been reciting something about Zazen, and it's called Jiju Yuzamai. the self-receiving and employing samadhi, the self-fulfilling samadhi. And we say, from the first time you meet a master without engaging in incense offering, bowing, chanting Buddha's name, repentance, or reading scriptures, you should just wholeheartedly sit, and thus drop away body and mind. When even for a moment you express the Buddha's seal in the three actions by sitting upright in samadhi, the whole phenomenal world becomes the Buddha's seal, and the entire sky turns into enlightenment. So this is the self-fulfilling samadhi of Zazen.

[02:24]

And on the second day of Sashin, It may feel like perhaps a dream or an ideal or a goal as we begin to walk deliberately into the fire of everything that isn't sitting zazen in the service of our zazen practice. Or for people who are having a very concentrated time, it might just seem like a fact. Oh, yeah. when even for a moment one sits upright in the midst of samadhi, the whole phenomenal world becomes enlightenment. You know, it might seem like a fact, but whether it seems like a goal or like a fact to any of us at this moment, we can't necessarily control that. But what we can do

[03:27]

understand that self-receiving and employing samadhi is a realizable yogic process. That it's work that we actually are here to do at this moment. And it's work that's good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end. I'd like to pick up on something that Paul mentioned yesterday, briefly, and that is the difference between mindful awareness and realization. Mindful awareness is a very important tool for realization and for our lives. It's the practice of being awake and being aware of knowing that we're standing when we're standing, that we're sitting when we're sitting.

[04:33]

The practice of not checking out, but being fully present, moment after moment, pose after pose, breath after breath. This is a basic tool, and we can cultivate it just by corralling ourselves moment after moment, and bringing ourselves to this moment, to the moment of what's happening now. So I would like to reinforce that message by saying, what's happening now is a very good question. And if you ever have a doubt, as we walk through the rest of this week, take a moment and just stop and ask yourself, what's happening now? What's happening now? And with what attitude do I meet it? It is an excellent question. That's good for any moment, whether you're awake, asleep, eating, bathing, whatever. And this will give you a sense of where we are in space.

[05:42]

It will ground the moment and make of it a gate. And the first night of Sashin, in the entrance to Sashin, we talked about Sashin as a social form and the ground rules for Sashin that all of us are following. If we bring our mindful awareness to these ground rules, which are just a social form that we agree to do, all of us will feel very safe. safe in an external way. As I said on Saturday night, this form is a gift that we give to each other. It's a construction that we carefully build so that everyone who does the sashim will be safe.

[06:51]

And so let's continue to keep it no matter what. If you have any doubt about what the form is, it's posted at the Zendo entrance. Or the crew head or a practice leader may make a reminder. But these are not punishments or criticism. It's a kind of a gentle touch to keep the social form. of seshin, to keep that external safety. And it's important, too, if you're going into and out of aspects of the seshin. Like some people are using the beginning and end of the day in seshin as a framework for a work day. And so they're doing a Rohatsu work seshin.

[07:52]

So this is important, too, perhaps each time We re-enter the zendo after a time when we are following a different form. Let's remind ourselves of what we're doing and what we're doing together. So if we're really following the social form of seshin, there is safety for a kind of internal form of seshin. And that's the form of the precepts, the form of right conduct towards ourselves, respectful conduct. So for instance, the form of a knee is that it bends this way. A knee bends in one direction. The form of a hip is that it bends

[08:54]

circularly. It moves circularly. The hip moves in many directions. The form of a young hip may be different from the form of an old hip. The older people smile. The younger people sit solemnly. Eventually we'll all have this smile. So how do we behave? with respect towards ourselves. In Sesshin, all the precepts are important. How do we build up, how do we stop doing things that hurt ourselves in Sesshin? You know, even a little bit of sports page reading might take our minds off what we're doing. Even a little bit of chocolate eating or sleep not getting might easily sabotage the rest of the day.

[10:05]

So how do we stop doing what doesn't help us and actually do what helps us? How do we drop the comparative mind that praises ourself at the expense of others? So the second part of the roadmap towards self-fulfilling samadhi is to make a safe internal environment. If we're criticizing ourselves, for instance, that's a form of violence. If we're trying to bend a knee in the way it doesn't go, that's violence and taking what it's not given. You know, so how do we very straightforwardly provide a safe and satisfying internal environment for ourselves? How do we do the personal practices of Sashin?

[11:10]

Sleeping, bathing, going to the toilet, choosing the amount of food, the rhythm of walking. How do we do those things in a way that provides good internal conditions? How do we move gently in a way that helps us to sit? And if we are mindfully aware, following the social form and creating safe internal conditions for sitting at every moment, we'll begin to go deeper into the emotional texture and the physiological texture of zazen. It's not self-receiving and employing samadhi in an effortless way at that moment. It's a preliminary practice of taking care of ourselves to be able to enter the realm of the body and mind.

[12:23]

as one. So these preliminary practices are the stuff of the first couple days of seshin, particularly if seshin is a new practice or if you're working with an obstacle. These are very important bulwarks to create a good a good life for our days together. Dogen Zenji talked about this when he talked about the form of the practice period. I'd just like to read a few things because he expresses the mood of these forms so beautifully. So when he was about to begin the practice period, he quoted

[13:24]

Zen master Hongzhi, the teacher of silent illumination, that was the root of our Zazen practice, one of the roots of our Zazen practice. And this is in the Record of Dogen. When Zen master Hongzhi was abbot at Tiantong, In a Dharma Hall discourse for beginning practice period, he said, ordinary people and sages share one house. We see our lives as in the Buddha field of tranquil radiance. Then we empty our minds in the hall for creating Buddhas, where some naturally open their flower of awakening. in this monastic garden in the hills.

[14:25]

Committed to never leaving for 90 days, or we say seven days, we see the place where we were before we ever took a step. For three months or for seven days of protecting life, enact the body and mind that does not attach to objects. Many bodies peacefully abide within one body, and one body engages the way within many bodies. Many bodies peacefully abide within one body, and one body engages the way within many bodies. Therefore it is said that all Buddha's Dharma bodies enter my nature, My nature joins with and becomes the same as the fully awakened ones.

[15:28]

Also it is said, make great perfect awakening into your own sangha building. Make great perfect awakening into your own sangha structure. If we can proceed accordingly, how could there be a problem? So now, how can we thoroughly enact this to join the Tathagatas? Do you fully understand this? Do not manifest the bodily form of the karmic three realms of desire, form, and formlessness. Sit, just sit, and cut off the ten directions. and clarify the emptiness of self-nature. Dogen commented, Although the ancient Buddha Hongzhi joined with the Tathagatas, the fully awakened ones, he has not yet peacefully abided together with the fully awakened ones.

[16:39]

Today, Ehe, this temple, joins in harmony with Hongzhi. and practices together with the fully awakened ones. Do you understand? And I want to add, although the ancient Buddhas Hongzhi and Dogen joined with the fully awakened ones, they have not yet peacefully abided together with the fully awakened ones. Today, beginner's mind joins in harmony with Hongzhi and with Dogen. and practices together with the fully awakened ones. Do you understand? So,

[17:42]

Hongjir and Dogen were great teachers who taught us how to sit. But they haven't realized it without us. So today, this is our job to bring forth the realization of Hongjir, bring forth the realization of Dogen. And I know looking at ourselves, we might think, with this... Yes, actually, with this, right here, today. And so, keeping mindful awareness moment after moment, keeping the form of seshin, keeping the precepts and personal practices, sit upright, realizing the way. How do we do this?

[18:49]

Well, we do this, first of all, with this. This is what we have. This is as close as we'll get to what we are. What else? It's with this. So... I think about this today. I've been thinking about this, or not really thinking about it, but contemplating it with this body. Particularly because I'm practicing right now with a condition that is difficult. So I was in an accident a couple years ago. And then I was almost recovered, and a large SUV smashed into me while I was walking in April.

[20:00]

And so I'm not yet at that point in my recovery where I would think it would be good for someone to do a seven-day sashim. You know, if they asked me, should I do a seven-day sashim, I would say, take care of yourself. So it's a difficult thing. I'm working with many injuries. So these questions of, can I do the social form of sishin? Can I follow the precepts in relation to my own body and mind? Can I... Do the personal practices in a way that takes care of myself? These are important questions for me. And they continue to be important and continue not to be fully resolved moment after moment.

[21:06]

So I really have to pay attention to and resolve those questions every single period of Sazen. And so this is a live question for me. How can... How can I do this practice? How can I inspire this practice in a group of people? I'm glad that there are other examples as well. So there's a range of examples, not just this example. How can I do this? How can I inspire other people, particularly if I have to modify the form for myself? How can I ask somebody to follow it? to the letter. And so I invite you to hold this as an open question for yourself, because I'm not the only person in the room who is working with something that makes a sheen difficult.

[22:07]

As a matter of fact, it's designed to be difficult, but it's designed to be the easiest possible practice of coming face to face with what is. that we can do, that human beings can do. So just this, just to jump in wholeheartedly with this body in mind, is the practice. Not with some other body in mind or some pretend body in mind. This body in mind, this straightforward practice, this mindfulness, this body, So create the uprightness of the Buddha with this body. It may be a body that doesn't easily create that uprightness. It may be a body that has balance problems or bone problems or digestive problems or just... It may be an inattentive body, physiologically...

[23:22]

overexcited or sleepy body. That doesn't matter. Those are the conditions of the body. If you need help understanding how to turn your body into your koan, please ask Paul. No, you were the first on my list. Please ask Paul. Paul, would you be willing to work with people if they don't understand how to use their own body and experience as a koan? Okay. Blanche, would you be willing to work with people if they need help discerning how to use something as a koan? Thank you. And Jordan, would you be willing? Please. He'll try. And I'll try.

[24:22]

Okay? And Jamie, would you be willing? Okay, thank you. David in the office, would you be willing? Thank you. Would everybody be willing? Thank you. Okay. So it's body practice. with this body to find a stable and comfortable position with which to turn the mind back and look at these conditions, examine, study, be with, realize the way with these conditions right now. And still... This is all, everything that I've talked about so far is meditation with form. It's not shikantaza.

[25:27]

Shikantaza, zazen, shikantaza, means stopping, seeing, hitting, or coming to the center of sitting. And it's the peerless, formless meditation of the Buddhism ancestors. it's realized not in space, but in the present, in this body and mind. Dogen Senji talks about realizing it with food, in the monastery, not in this temple, because we use a little bit simplified food, But at Tassajara, Tassajara and Green Gulch, they're doing sishin also. And as part of the lunch service, when we talk about om ha maha kushalayas vaha, during the serving of the food, during the beginning of the meal, each student at Tassajara says,

[26:49]

eating the rice, has taken a few grains of rice and put them onto the end of their setsu tip. And then during that, this water we use to wash our bowls tastes like ambrosia. We offer it to the hungry spirits to satisfy them. Om Mahakushalayas Faha. It's an actual food offering to the hungry spirits, to the hungry ghosts. It's something like the Sejiki ceremony we did where we nourish the unhappy and unfulfilled parts of ourselves. And so this is done actually every day at lunch to remember the unhappy and unfulfilled parts of the world and to nourish them. And so the form that we do is full of pieces like this that can be refuges if we understand what they are. This is what Dogen Zenji has to say about that moment.

[27:50]

Whereas the ancient Buddha Hongjir joined with the fully awakened ones, his descendant Ehe, which is another name for Dogen, also joins with the ancient Buddha Hongjir. Do you want to understand this point in detail? Monks sharing the sashin become capable practitioners. Picking out the ordinary from the sage, how can we settle in this lifetime? Patch-robed monks pierce their nostrils so that in the summer the five-petal flower becomes even more fragrant. Offering a few grains of rice, to the hungry demons, allow them to drop off even the place of a peaceful body and a settled life. Time after time, scoop up the toads and jellyfish in your net and have them put their minds to the work of jumping clear of the net to reach the shore.

[29:10]

All the Buddhas in ten directions gather on top of... our staff, to do practice, period. The staff engages the way on the head tops of all the Buddhas in the Ten Directions. Therefore, it's said that all Buddha's Dharma bodies enter my nature. My nature joins with and becomes the same as the fully awakened ones. Hongjir said, remember, make great perfect awakening into your own Sangha structure. Seshin, with body and mind, is the wisdom of the nature of equality, the great round mirror wisdom. If this can be so, what is it, who is it, that joins with the fully awakened ones? Solitary and silent, for seven days of seshin, go beyond appearances. Immovable sitting is boundless.

[30:18]

in the 20 emptinesses. So we offer the rice to the hungry demon. We offer the soothing to the demon. of our own body and mind, to the beautiful vision of our own body and mind, to go beyond even a peaceful and settled life. Every single one of us, every single one of our issues and problems that comes up in the course of the day goes beyond a peaceful and settled life. We continue to co-create with each other a peaceful and settled life, breath after breath, offering whatever arises with stable, with settled body and mind to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

[31:42]

Who is it who does this? This is how we meet them, moment after moment and breath after breath. One more story from Dogen. old man in ancient times said. Actually, I won't tell this story. Instead, I want to talk a little bit more about making continuity in Sashin experience.

[33:03]

So this is a story of your own body and mind. Now, during the time of listening to lecture, your posture and your breathing may have become a little bit unsettled. Adjust yourself now. so you're sitting in a stable and comfortable position. Please take a moment to find yourself and your stability in relation to the ground. physically, with your two buttock bones, evenly and equally feel the ground.

[34:26]

And with that perception of the ground, find out what in the body creates uprightness. Something has to go down for something else to lift up. Something has to be unstable or rhythmic for something to be stable. Can you feel it? body is full of such contradictions. Notice how the breath comes and goes.

[35:32]

Can you notice on every moment of the arising, every moment of the dropping away. For one whole breath, can you notice the changes of that breath? But I said, can you notice? Is that really true? Who notices it? Just arising and dropping away.

[36:44]

practice is the single practice of one practice samadhi. And if you practice it with the safety of the form of sashin, personal practice, physical stability and comfort, all of the seeds of consciousness will flower and bear fruit. Yet if you attach to any part of it, as the one who notices rising and falling, that idea will be dashed away by what really happens.

[38:12]

Now the story. You should know that becoming a Buddha is not something new or ancient. How could practice realization be within any boundary? Do not say that from the beginning not a single thing exists. The causes are complete. and the results are fulfilled through time. Great assembly, please tell me, how is it that this is like this? After a pause, Dogen said, opening flowers will unfailingly bear the genuine fruit.

[39:24]

Green leaves meeting autumn, immediately turn red. Thank you very much for your attention. Please take care of yourselves. For more information, visit sfcc.org and click Giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[40:22]

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