This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at sfzc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Some of us here and elsewhere recently completed a Lotus Sutra assembly. that green dragon temple. People from all over this world system from many countries gathered together in cyberspace to study and practice the wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.

[01:02]

This sutra is one of the most important, if not the most important, celebrated scripture of the Buddha in all of China and Korea and Japan since ancient times up to the present. So it's worthy of great celebration. Long ago, now and in the future. pretty much went through most of the Lotus Sutra and this three-week assembly that just finished a couple of days ago.

[02:30]

So I thought today we could circle back to the beginning of the Sutra again, particularly chapter two, which may have been original beginning of this Lotus Sutra, considered one of the most important sections of this sutra on skillful means. Skillful means is one of the main themes of the whole sutra, actually. And this chapter has been very influential to the Zen tradition, particularly our Soto Zen tradition of Dogen. And because the theme is skillful means, it's possible to keep talking about this sutra in new ways, expressing

[03:45]

inexpressible in infinite varieties of ways. Skillful means or expedient methods is the use of particular practices and teachings that help people get ready to open to the inconceivable, inexpressible, ultimate reality of our life. since its ultimate reality is ultimately inexpressible and inconceivable, no words actually reach it.

[04:58]

And therefore, all the teachings of the Buddha, all the teachings of the Zen ancestors could be considered to be skillful means. Anything we say in words even anything we say about the ultimate is strictly speaking simply just skillful means because we can't really say it directly all the teachings of the buddha are just really useful fictions like fingers pointing at the moon like painting images in the sky. Since the ultimate meaning is not in the words of the Lotus Sutra, since these words are all just skillful means, the interpretations of the Sutra are

[06:08]

basically endless, and they keep evolving to accord with each particular time and occasion and audience and assembly. Therefore, the Zen ancestors could talk about this sutra in new and fresh ways that aren't really found in the sutra, and yet they're merging from the sutra and leaping forth from the sutra so i thought today we could look at some of these we've already heard some zen stories that leap forth from this sutra maybe and we can hear some more today if you'd like There's a few key sections of this chapter, too, on skillful means expedient methods that are often quoted by the Zen ancestors and commented on by the Zen ancestors.

[07:29]

So the first one, first phrase, first section of this chapter, it became kind of a popular saying in the Zen tradition. is, the Buddha says in this Lotus Sutra, only a Buddha together with the Buddha can realize the reality of all things. Only a Buddha together with the Buddha can realize the reality of all things. So, Dogen Zengi are first ancestor in Japan, wrote a whole essay called Only a Buddha Together with the Buddha, and wrote a whole other essay called The Reality of All Things. Two long celebrations from this one sentence of the Lotus Sutra.

[08:38]

It is the reality of all things. Anything we could say about this would just be skillful means. We can't really express it and therefore the suture doesn't really elaborate very much about this. The true reality of all things. The true character of all things. could say a Zen ancestor in Vasubandhu in India, really before anyone had heard of Zen, but he's in our lineage. He wrote one of the main commentaries, the most celebrated commentary that we still know in India on the Lotus Sutra. And Vasubandhu's commentary on the Lotus Sutra became very

[09:51]

influential in China and Japan up to the present day in various schools of Chinese Buddha Dharma. So Basubandu does elaborate just a little bit. He comments on this sentence of the sutra, particularly he comments on the true character of all things. And remembering here that this is just Vasubandhu's skillful means. It's saying something that the sutra doesn't really say, but we might say, even if we say Vasubandhu is not exactly our usual Zen teacher, he is part of our Zen venue. So we might say that This is the first Zen comment on the Lotus Sutra from Vasubandhu back in the fourth century in India.

[10:57]

He says, this true character of all things, the reality of all things, means unchanging Buddha nature and Buddha's reality body. Dharmakaya, we say. This teaching is not found in the Lotus Sutra. What Vasubandu, with his skillful means, was able to say it. The true reality of all things. In Japanese. Shouhou jisou. Vasubandu says... is unchanging Buddha nature, the reality body of all Buddhas. What is Buddha nature?

[12:03]

Again, anything we say about Buddha nature is just skillful means. In other words, a useful fiction because we can't really say what Buddha nature is. But many useful fictions have been offered. And in the old days in India, people like Vasubhamdu and his brothers and sisters sometimes said that Buddha nature is this unchanging, ever-present awareness here and now that we all share.

[13:07]

This present awareness free from the illusion of subject and object being separate. Doesn't it seem like right now? Doesn't it feel like right now that don't we think right now that I'm over here This mind is over here, and you all are over there, or that computer screen is over there. Seems like these are two different realms called subject, me, and object, the screen, or self and other.

[14:15]

mind and world. They seem to be two separate things. So, Buddha-nature is sometimes defined as this ever-present unchanging awareness, free from this illusion of separate subject and object. And in the tradition, sometimes it's said that when this Buddha nature, this present awareness, it's free from the illusion of subject and object, is obscured by the illusion of subject and object, it's called sentient being. When this present awareness is, which is free from the illusion of subject and object, is mixed together with the illusion of subject and object.

[15:34]

We call that a sentient being, a living being, a person. When this brutal nature that's in itself not, divided into subject and object, is only partially obscured by the illusion of separate subject and object, and partially unobscured, then it can be called bodhisattva. When this Buddha nature, it's free from the illusion of separate subject and object, is completely unobscured by the illusion of subject and object. When it's completely unmixed with the illusion of subject and object, then it can be called Buddha.

[16:37]

It's the same Buddha nature. free from the illusion of subject and object, free from the duality of mind and world, free from this dualistic illusion of self and other. The Buddha nature is always that way, but often it's obscured or mixed together with the feeling and the thought and that even maybe belief that I'm actually over here and you're over there and we really are separate. That's called a sentient being. The Buddha nature gets free from that illusion is exactly the same as the Buddha nature of our Buddha. Just when it's completely unobscured, we call it Buddha. And when it's partially obscured and partially unobscured, we call it a bodhisattva on the path.

[17:43]

So that's one way of talking about Buddha nature. One way within millions and billions of skillful meanings of talking about Buddha nature. So this is all to comment on Vasubandhu's saying that the true reality of all things is Buddha nature. free from the illusion of self and other, but sometimes mixed together with the illusion. At least seemingly mixed together. So Dogen commenting on this saying of the Lotus Sutra, and the original saying is, only a Buddha together with the Buddha

[18:50]

can realize the reality of all things, can realize Buddha nature, according to Bhasubadhyo. Dogen, in his essay called The Reality of All Things, says, only a Buddha together with a Buddha is the reality of all things. of the sutra says only a Buddha together with the Buddha can realize the reality of all things. Dogen in his Zen skillful means commenting on this sutra says only a Buddha together with the Buddha is the reality of all things. The reality of all things is

[19:53]

Only a Buddha together with a Buddha. How wonderful that Dogen could say this. It's not like there is a Buddha and a Buddha that have to realize some reality. A Buddha together with a Buddha is the realization of the reality. The realization of Buddha nature, an hindered guy, free from the illusion of self and other, is only a Buddha together with a Buddha. The reality of no separation between self and other is only a Buddha together with a Buddha. Dogen goes on to say, only a Buddha is all things.

[21:04]

Together with a Buddha is all things. All things is another name for it. objects or world and only a buddha is another name for subject viewing the object dovin says only a buddha is all things together with a buddha is all things a buddha is the world we perceive the world we perceive is a Buddha. And a Buddha together with a Buddha is the reality of all things.

[22:11]

This only a Buddha together with a Buddha also reminds me of when Shakyamuni Buddha first realized the reality of all things, first discovered this reality, we could say it wasn't actually fully realized until he got up from his seat under the Bodhi tree, And walked around the Bodhi tree for a while and gazed at the Bodhi tree for a while and eventually thought, I have these friends that I used to practice with and they might appreciate hearing about this.

[23:20]

So he went looking for them and he eventually found them in the deer park. at Nisipatana near Varanasi. And he tried with his skillful means to express something about what he had come to understand. And after a while of trying various skillful means, one of his friends realized the Buddha was saying, Kondinya, one of the Buddha's old yogi friends, and said to the Buddha, actually, I understand what you're saying now. And our tradition says that at that moment, the wheel of Dharma started turning.

[24:24]

It had been many weeks, at least since the Buddha first understood something under the Bodhi tree. But when the Shakyamuni Buddha met his old friend and through skillful means tried to convey something and his friend understood something about what the Buddha was saying, then the wheel of Dharma was set in motion. Only a Buddha together with a Buddha can start turning this Dharma wheel. I think that's an interesting part of the story. The Dharma wheel didn't start turning under the Bodhi tree at Buddha's awakening. Strictly speaking, it started turning when Shakyamuni Buddha And Kondinya, his old friend and disciple, together conveyed and received the Dharma.

[25:41]

Together realized the reality of all things. So that's one, um, piece of Chapter 2 of the Lotus Sutra that Zen ancestors liked to creatively play with. Another story in the Lotus Sutra after this, the Buddha said that now he was about to really reveal the full extent of the Lotus Sutra, something that had never been expressed before in this world system. And when he said this, 5,000 disciples of the Buddha got up and bowed to the Buddha and left the assembly.

[26:50]

The Buddha did say, If I try to explain this, people will become perplexed and confused and startled. And maybe because he said this, they got up and left. But the sutra says, Why did they leave? Because in their arrogance, they imagined that they had already verified what they had not actually verified. They felt like they had enough. So they got it and left. And the Buddha was okay with that, and he went on with the sutra. So I think it's an interesting and kind of renowned part of this Moda Sutra, that just before the full extent of the sutra was taught,

[27:58]

Bones of very seasoned disciples of the Buddha who had been practicing and realizing a lot of the Buddha's teachings, they didn't want to hear more. So, but the Buddha did go on to teach the rest of the Buddha Sutra. Anyway, so maybe this is a chance if at this time, Any of you would like to leave the Zoom room, you're welcome to. It's not a problem. If you'd like to stay, you're welcome to, and you can hear some more about the Bruton at that point. Feel free to step out any time if it's too perplexing. So the next kind of main section, I think these are just like phrases of chapter two that the Zen ancestors seem to really love and pieces of the Lotus Sutra they seem to really celebrate and comment on.

[29:21]

The next section is Buddhas appearing in the world is the one great matter. We have this phrase in the Lotus Sutra, the one great matter, the great matter. And it seems to refer here to Buddhas appearing in the world. What is the one great matter? It's Buddhas appearing in the world. Buddhas sometimes don't appear in the world but when they do appear in the world it's called the one great matter so the sutra says the causal condition for the one great matter of buddhas appearing in the world is their wish or desire for living beings to open to

[30:29]

express, realize, and enter Buddha's awareness and vision. This can be translated in different ways because of skillful means. It can be put in different ways. It is my wish that this particular translation is a skillful way to put it. The causal condition for the one great matter of Buddhas appearing in the world is their wish, their desire, for living beings to open to, express, realize, and enter. buddha's awareness and vision or buddha's knowing and seeing in uh in sanskrit this term is buddha nana darsana sometimes just put as buddha's wisdom but uh

[32:02]

I feel today joyful about translating this Buddha Jnana Darsana as Buddha's awareness and vision or Buddha's knowing and seeing. Buddha Jnana Darsana. Jnana is sometimes in the Indian tradition equated with Buddha nature. Jnana is sometimes said to be non-dual awareness, awareness free from the illusion of subject and object. In our Zen tradition, sometimes in the old days, Zazen was described as knowing without touching things, illumining without facing objects.

[33:32]

knowing without touching things. In other words, knowing without meeting an object separate from the knowing. Knowing without touching things, illuminating without facing objects. And I think in this description of Zazen, That doesn't mean that we close our eyes so we don't see a wall or a screen. It means with our eyes open looking at the wall, it's not an object separate from the knowing of it. Knowing with our touching things in this whole Zen poem, is is the same chinese character in in the lotus sutra here for um buddhist knowing and seeing buddhist awareness and vision jnana

[35:00]

This is a kind of central teaching of this chapter. The cause or condition for the one great matter of Buddhas appearing in the world is the Buddha's wish for living beings, for sentient beings. Remember, a sentient being is a Buddha nature. free from subject and object, obscured by the illusion of subject and object. So the Buddha's wish that these living beings, these sentient beings, will open to realize, open to express, realize, and enter Buddha's awareness and vision, Buddha's knowing and seeing, free from the illusion,

[36:14]

of separation of mind and objects. So, this part of the Lotus Sutra, one time, the sixth ancestor of Zen in China, Hui Nong, was listening to somebody recite the Lotus Sutra. And, uh, This is in the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Ancestor. And Dogen quotes this section. It's not in all the versions of the Sixth Ancestor's teaching here, but it's in some, and Dogen quotes it. And the story is that when the Sixth Ancestor heard somebody reciting the Lotus Sutra, and they got to this section, to this section,

[37:15]

sentence of the Lotus Sutra, the sixth ancestor said, stop! Stop reading. This is the essential meaning of the sutra. And then his comment on this was that you are think he's talking to the one who's reading the sutra, but anyone else who was in the room at that time. You all are originally Buddha's awareness and vision. Buddha, jnana, darsana. The sutra doesn't say that, but the Sikh's ancestor in his skillful means felt compelled to say that. The sutra says Buddha wants All of us sentient beings to open to Buddha's awareness and vision.

[38:20]

But the six ancestors said, wait a second, you all are already. Buddha, jnana, darsana, Buddha's awareness and vision, Buddha's knowing and seeing. He went on to say, you who have this awareness and vision are Buddha. You must trust that right now your mind is Buddha's awareness and vision. Trust right now that the Buddha's awareness and vision is your own mind.

[39:21]

Which we've heard earlier is naturally in reality free from the illusion of subject and object being separate. entities. Later, in the six ancestors teaching, he said, again, referring to the sentence of the Lotus Sutra, the cause or condition for the one great matter of Buddha's appearing in the world, is the mind which doesn't think, the original source, empty and still, free from false views.

[40:30]

It's another way the six ancestors described the one great matter. Or actually he described the cause or condition for the one great matter. cause or condition for the one great matter is the mind, which doesn't think, the original source, empty and still, free from false views. You could say the primary false view is believing the illusion that mind and object are separate entities, that the computer screen and images that we're looking at are outside, separate from the mind that's viewing them. We assume that must be the case, but the Zen ancestors seem to be really into looking at this issue and examining this illusion.

[41:47]

very deeply. And kind of surprisingly, I think, saying that this is kind of the essence of the Lotus Sutra. You don't hear that kind of teaching exactly in the Lotus Sutra, this non-duality of mind and objects. But the Zen ancestors, because they're into that, they're kind of, with their skillful meanings, they're interpreting the Lotus Sutra this way. That's how it seems to me. So here's another Zen creative play with this section of the Lotus Sutta. Our ancestor, Shuto Sekito Kisen, he's the Dharma grandson of the six ancestors. so-called Soto lineage.

[42:51]

In Shoto Sekito's record, he says, our lineage, which so happens to be our lineage, is one of our ancestors. So this is a long time ago in China, but Sekito Kisen said, Our lineage is a transmission received from past Buddhas. And I don't know if he's referring to the Lotus Sutra here, but my intuition is that I think he may be referring to it kind of obliquely because he uses this term Buddha Jnana Darsana, which is so central to this chapter of the Lotus Sutra. Buddha's awareness and vision, Buddha's knowing and seeing.

[43:57]

Sekito says, our lineage is a transmission received from the past Buddhas. It arrives directly at Buddha's awareness and vision. Without need for meditative concentration, or great effort. This is what the Buddha is saying in the Loda Zutra. The reason that one great, or the causal condition for this one great matter is the Buddha's wish, the beings open to this Buddha's knowing and wisdom So our ancestor Shuto says that our lineage is a transmission received from past Buddhas.

[45:00]

It arrives directly at Buddha's awareness and vision without the need for meditative concentration or striving effort. Mind itself is Buddha. It goes on to say, mind, Buddha, sentient being, awakening, affliction are all different names for the same thing. Just know your own mind. Its essence is free from impermanence and permanence. Its nature is free from impurity and purity. Silent, unmoving and complete.

[46:01]

It's the same for sages and ordinary people. It responds freely. without dualistic thought and dualistic consciousness, which is the illusion of mind and object being separate. The whole world and all living beings manifest only from mind. How can the moon in water or the face in a mirror actually arise or cease. If you can understand this, there's nothing you lack. It says, How can the moon that's reflected in the water actually arise or cease?

[47:11]

Nothing other than the water, which is unchanging. That's all that moon is. How can the face in the mirror come and go? Because the mirror is not coming and going. The moon, of course, appears to arise and cease as a moon. And the face in the mirror looks like an actual face arising and ceasing. But from the point of view of the water, from the point of view of the mirror, no thing is actually arising in Sisi. Even though it appears that way. These are teachings of Buddha nature, I would propose. without using the word Buddha nature.

[48:15]

Just using the words Buddha Jnana Darsana. So Dogen, some centuries later in the same lineage of Sekito Kitsen, says the causal condition for the one great matter of Buddha's appearing in the world is, before the donkey leaves, the horse arrives. Sometimes donkey may be compared to... a kind of clumsy creature that's not so strong, but still has to do a lot of work.

[49:29]

And a horse is kind of like a majestic, large, strong animal. We don't want to like, you know, judge or rack these kinds of animals. But maybe people do sometimes, especially in the old days when there were lots of donkeys and horses around. This sutra sometimes talks about these kind of skillful vehicles, practice vehicles. that are not quite complete. It's kind of smaller and then a vast, vast vehicle, warning vehicle, Buddha vehicle. So maybe something like this is ways of looking at dakis and horses.

[50:31]

But the nice thing about this saying of Dogan is that we don't get rid of dakis. have horses arrive. Dovin says, the causal condition of the one great matter of Buddha's appearing in the world is before the donkey leaves, the horse arrives. We don't have to stop any practices that we're doing, get over any small minded practices that we're doing for the horse to arrive before the dock leaves. The horse has already arrived. We could even hear this as before the obscuration, the illusion of mind and optic being separate.

[51:44]

Before that leaves, the non-duality of subject and object has already arrived a long time ago. No time ago. So. Another Zen comment on this phrase of the Lotus Sutra is on the blood lineage, the blood vein document that if you've received the Bodhisattva precepts in our lineage, you receive that document. that has the lineage of the Buddhas and ancestors on it.

[52:48]

And many of you have this called Ketinyaku, blood lineage or blood vein document. And it's written on that document. The causal condition for the one great matter in the Zen tradition is Bodhisattva precepts. Remembering here, the one great matter is the Buddha's appearance in the world. So the causal condition of this one great matter in parentheses of Buddha's appearing in the world in our Zen vineage, in our Zen tradition is the Bodhisattva precepts. you could say. What is the condition for Buddhas not just to be the reality body of Buddha, inconceivable, unappearing reality body of Buddha, but how does the Buddha appear in the world?

[54:07]

What's the condition for the cause? for Buddhas to actually appear in the world, in their form body. Well, in ours, any tradition we say, it's the Bodhisattva precepts. That's the condition for the appearance of Buddha in the world. And we could even go further. I would say, with skillful means, hopefully skillful. that the Buddha's appearance in the world is the Bodhisattva precepts. That's how the Buddha appears to us in the world. The Bodhisattva precepts are all about harmlessness and benefit and love and compassion for all living beings.

[55:17]

And the Buddha's reality body doesn't look that way because the Buddha's reality body doesn't look any way. But when the Buddha's reality body appears in its form bodies, I would understand that it appears as the conduct of the Bodhisattva precepts, the non-violence, the harmlessness, the love and compassion and care for all beings, which we call the Bodhisattva precepts. The Buddha appears as conduct, virtuous, beneficial conduct. And another section of the Lotus Sutra, important essential section of the Lotus Sutra, is the Buddhas teach the Dharma for the sake of living beings by means of the one Buddha vehicle.

[56:49]

They have no other vehicles, no second or third vehicles. with their powers of skillful means, the Buddhas show various vehicles within the one Buddha vehicle. And Dogen, just briefly commenting on this issue of the one Buddha vehicle, does say that the one Buddha vehicle is the one great matter. These two ones are the same for building. The one great matter of Buddha is appearing in the world is the one Buddha vehicle. And I'll come back to this one Buddha vehicle in a minute, but just...

[57:52]

One final section of the of the Lotus Sutra chapter two here is actually it's a long section at the end of the chapter where the Shakyamuni Buddha says when a Buddha has passed away from this world those who make offerings to their remains building stupas and shrines for Buddha have all become the Buddha way. They have become the Buddha way. By making offerings to what seem to be like representations of the Buddha, these beings have become the Buddha way. But remember that if Buddha nature is the Buddha, this present unchanging awareness free from the illusion of mind and object being separate, then the so-called objects like stupas and Buddha images are not actually something other than the mind itself.

[59:15]

And this mind itself is Buddha. That's why I say it's not exactly that these are representations of Buddha. Actually, if we see a stupa or a painting in a statue of a Buddha, it's not really an object made to look like a Buddha. From the point of view of Buddha nature, it is actually Buddha. There's no separation. So it's making an offering. an image of Buddha is really directly making an offering to Buddha. So the sutra goes on, even little children playing in the sand who gather the sand into a stupa, like a memorial for the Buddha, even they will have all become Buddha's way. At the end of our four vows, we say Buddha's way, the Buddha way.

[60:18]

is unsurpassable. I vow to become it. Seidan Jho, that Jho to become Buddha way is the same phrase as the sutra here. So this is fulfilling that Bodhisattva vow, as I understand it. Buddha's way is unsurpassable. I vow to become Buddha's way, as the sutras here is saying. By making these offerings, we become Buddha's way. Those who make Buddha images, like statues and paintings of Buddha, and make devoted offerings of flowers, incense, and flags, et cetera, to these Buddha images, these people have become the Buddha way. Even those who offer a single flower to an image of Buddha, even while distracted, thinking of other things.

[61:23]

Like you're about to offer a flower to the Buddha and friend says, hey, what's for lunch today? Oh, I think it's, I think we're having rice. You offer the flower, but you're actually like thinking of talking to somebody at the same time. Even then, the sutra says, you're on. become the blue ray so uh it's getting late so let me just finish with a um a parable the zoda sutra is full of parables all and they're amazing i think they're just wonderful parables that express um the inexpressible These parables are all skillful means to express, inexpressible. And there's lots of them. So because we can talk about the sutra in so many ways, we don't have to repeat the parables right from the sutra.

[62:34]

So here's one that maybe combines a bunch of parables from the sutra into one. Once upon a time. there was a mother with many sons and daughters. Many, many sons and daughters lived in a huge, huge house with also lots of other friends, animals, and pets. They all lived in this huge house. And one day, mom came home and found the huge house was on fire, engulfed in flames. And of course, she ran in to rescue her kids and found them playing video games and just totally lost in social media.

[63:43]

They were all on their devices and, like, tweeting all kinds of stuff with each other. And some were playing video games. And mom said, okay, the house is on fire. Come on, let's go. And they're like, of course I didn't want to leave the device. They're in the middle of a tweet. So, like, they didn't even hear mom calling for them. So... She thought, I have to devise a skillful means. They're so into their playthings and their toys. I need a better toy. So she offered him these amazing go-karts, those gas-powered go-karts. They're kind of loud, and they're a little bit obnoxious, but they're fun, and they're fast.

[64:45]

So she had a whole variety of go-karts she brought in and said, check out these go-karts kids. They're much better than Twitter and video games. I mean, you should see for yourself, but they're a lot of fun. Believe me. And you can drive them if you want, even right out of the house and outside. It's really beautiful and cool, unlike this burning house. And you have a really vast view, unlike these small rooms of this house. So you're welcome to try them out if you want. And in this case, it worked. The kids thought that was even more cool than social media and video games. So they got them these gas-powered go-karts, revved them up,

[65:46]

With all the noise and smoke coming out of them, they actually quickly rode out of this burning house. And when they got outside, it was, like their mom said, very cool compared to this house. A really vast view. It was really beautiful out there in a way that they had no idea it would be. They really just wanted to ride in the go-karts, but once they got outside, they're like, actually, this is beautiful. And my mom said, well, not only is this beautiful out here, but check this out. And she gestured down the road. Sitting there was this huge vehicle. like it you know these go-karts are like these tiny little things compared to this vast vehicle it was like covered with this giant fireproof glass bubble top like the size of a mountain i mean these go-karts you know they just have four wheels

[67:11]

This vast, huge vehicle had like 84,000 wheels. And it looked huge, and it was shining. And mom said to them, I know this looks like it's brand new, but actually this vehicle was built billions of eons ago. And it still looks like new, and it's built to last. It's fireproof. It's solar-powered electric. which means it doesn't need any fuel or it'll never run out of fuel. And it's emission-free, unlike those gas-guzzling, smoky go-karts. And it's big. I know it was big.

[68:18]

Let me look at it. But let me show you inside. And the kids were already impressed by the size and shining view of this vast vehicle. But they did follow mom and son. And it got a little too big from outside. But when they got inside, it was, like, vaster than anything. It had no limits. Rooms and rooms inside this vehicle. Near the door when they first came in, there was a first aid station for anyone who needed it. There were vegetarian restaurants. There were health spas with hot springs. There was this huge library full of manuals. about how this vehicle works, because it's a huge, complex vehicle.

[69:21]

There were meditation halls where people could go and contemplate the nature of this vehicle, especially after they absorbed a lot of these manuals about how it works. And even inside the vehicle was a garage filled with these gas-powered go-karts. And because it's, of course, fireproof, this vehicle could be driven back into the burning house. Oh, and I forgot to mention that this vehicle is also self-driving. It's completely set up. So it would be hard to drive that thing oneself because it's so huge. But luckily, it's all programmed. It's self-driving. And so if these kids were to take it back into the burning house safely because it's fireproof, they wouldn't have to drive it.

[70:27]

But their role would be to just stand by the doors of this vast vehicle as it moves through the burning house. And open the doors for their friends to come in and their pets and their animals. And if any of their friends were a little bit scorched by the flames, that's why the first aid station was right next to the door. And the people could have something to eat. And if some of them didn't want to come in because they didn't think it was a cool vehicle, that's why there's a garage full of gas-powered go-karts. that just a skillful means that might convince some of their friends and animals and so on to take the go-cart out of the house and then they could get on board this huge vehicle for the next time it goes into the burning house to rescue their more friends.

[71:30]

So that's the end of the parable. and the end of the lotus assembly and any merit and joyful experience arising from our assembly we offer it to all beings throughout space and time may they all become buddha's way Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. Our programs are made possible by the donations we receive. Please help us to continue to realize and actualize the practice of giving by offering your financial support.

[72:33]

May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[72:36]

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