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. Welcome to Green Dragon Zen Temple. Welcome. maybe I should ask, is there a green dragon in this temple? Is there a cave in which the green dragon lives or through which we may descend to meet the green dragon?

[01:03]

there is a green dragon cave that we can descend down into to meet the green dragon. And I think the green dragon cave is our conscious mind. For hundreds and hundreds of years, Zen folks have been talking about going down into the green dragon's cave to meet the dragon. I imagine this dragon is wrapped around and playing with an unsurpassable

[02:22]

The treasure of perfect wisdom. Now, in this temple of the green dragon, we are in the midst of a period of intense meditation practice, more meditation practice in this hall than usual for three weeks. And our topic... of meditation is wisdom which goes beyond wisdom. So there can be wisdom which understands the conscious mind for what it is and brings some freedom And then there can be another wisdom which goes beyond that wisdom, which doesn't even abide in wisdom, which doesn't even abide in freedom from delusion and suffering, which transcends unenlightenment and even transcends enlightenment.

[03:42]

In the tradition of this temple, There is a teaching of wisdom gone beyond wisdom called the mother of the Buddhas. All Buddhas are born of this wisdom which doesn't abide in anything. It doesn't abide in non-enlightenment. it doesn't abide in enlightenment. And last Sunday I talked here and mentioned that in some of the scriptures which teach this perfect wisdom, the enlightening beings, those who wish to realize unsurpassed awakening,

[04:49]

in order to benefit all beings, those enlightening beings, those bodhisattvas, are encouraged, for the sake of this enlightenment, to give life to a mind which doesn't abide in anything. A mind of no abode. Mona. Do you understand, Mona? Mind of no abode. Now, there is the proposal made by the Buddha in India long, 2,500 or more years ago, there is the proposal that the context in which we can descend into this cave of our mind and meet the dragon

[06:03]

who offers us, who playfully offers us perfect wisdom, that the context of this descent and meeting is actually meeting with good friends. The Buddha doesn't seem to recommend going down into this mind and exploring it. for the sake of discovering transcendent wisdom, he doesn't recommend going down there alone. Rather, go down with a good friend, a beneficial friend. In Sanskrit and Pali, in Sanskrit it's called kalyanamitra, beneficial friend, spiritual friend, spiritual benefactor. good, admirable friend.

[07:08]

So many times people have come to this temple and other temples where I've practiced and they ask, in Zen, do you need a teacher? And I often don't just say right away, yes. I sometimes say, well, eventually... And I would say now, eventually means if you're not going down into the cave of the green dragon to explore your dark and confused mind, maybe you don't need a teacher if you stay away from such a place. If you can stay away from your mind, you don't need a teacher. Maripak? teacher won't do much good if you're staying away from your mind. But if you're studying your body and mind deeply, then a good friend will support you actually practicing enlightenment in that context. So there's a story that once upon a time, the Buddha's attendant, who was also his cousin, whose name was Ananda, he came to the Buddha in India, the Buddha Shakyamuni, and he bowed to the Buddha, paid his respects, went to one side and sat down.

[09:06]

And then Ananda said, this is half of the holy life. And I stopped there halfway through what he said. This, there's a seat right there. Coming, in other words, I have come to meet you my good friend I'm sitting with you in your presence and this is half the holy life this being together here me being with you respectfully this is half the holy life Lord admirable friendship, good friendship, good comradeship, good camaraderie.

[10:17]

And the Buddha says to his dear disciple, don't say that, Ananda, don't say that. good friendship, admirable friendship, admirable comradeship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life. When a practitioner has admirable people as friends and companions and comrades, she can be expected to develop the eightfold noble path of enlightenment. This is the way the Buddha supposedly talked 2,500 years ago.

[11:26]

When the practitioner has good friends, she can be expected to develop and pursue the path of enlightenment, she can be expected to develop and pursue a relationship with perfect wisdom. It's not like there's the practice of enlightenment and the good friends. The relationship The friendship between good friends is the whole practice. And in that whole practice, there is the practice of perfect wisdom.

[12:31]

But if I think that I'm practicing by myself, not in relationship with good friends, I will not be able to practice perfect wisdom. Because it lives in that relationship. I'm actually happy now that I can quote our current Pope with appreciation when he says, the truth is relationship. He probably said it in Italian, I don't know. Do you know? No, no, no se. In the school of Soto Zen, as transmitted from China to Japan through Dogen Zenji,

[13:46]

We are encouraged to worship the meeting between good friends. The meeting between good friends is called in Chinese, menju, which means face receiving or face-to-face transmission of perfect wisdom. We worship the meeting of good friends. We honor the meeting. Of course we honor the good friends too, but it's really the meeting that we enter. And speaking of this, I brought up a very well-known phrase of the Buddha,

[14:49]

excuse me, I should say, a phrase which people say the Buddha said, and maybe the Buddha did, but anyway, whether or not the Buddha actually said it, many people quote it, and it's the phrase, be a light unto yourself. And some people interpret that as, don't have a teacher. Don't depend on spiritual friendship. Practice on your own. And I can leave that understanding and have some difference of opinion with it, but also I could interpret that statement to mean be a light unto yourself can be understood as study yourself. Bring a light to yourself. And another interpretation of this, which I actually agree with,

[15:51]

is be a light unto yourself means don't go for refuge in some external thing. I agree with that. So in other words, if you go for refuge in a good friend, if you go for refuge in good friendship, if you go for refuge in the enlightened one, go for refuge without dwelling in that enlightenment as an external thing or an internal thing. Go for refuge without making the refuge external. That, I think, is compatible with spiritual friendship in which we can realize perfect wisdom. In Pali, that expression is apodipa bhava.

[17:03]

Bring light to yourself. Understand yourself. Learn about the self that appears in the green dragon cave of karmic consciousness. that study, which we can do right now, studying ourself, it is possible when we do it together with good friends. If we do it alone, we may not be successful.

[18:14]

If we try to do it alone, it will be hard. if we do it together with good friends, it will be hard and successful. Oftentimes, you know that expression, on my way to the lecture hall, such and such happened. Or on my way to the concert, such and such happened. Stand-up comedians sometimes would say that, right? So on my way to this talk, someone said to me, may your talk go well. May you have clarity. Something like that.

[19:21]

I said, thank you. And then I thought of something that happened just before that on the way, where I ran into a definition of sanity, or a sane person. The sane believe that confusion, acknowledged, is a virtue. So wishing me clarity is fine, and also being confused and acknowledging it is a virtue, which the sane believe in. The sane believe in acknowledging their own confusion and others as a virtue.

[20:30]

And they also believe that humiliation of another person is the worst thing we ever do. Sanity should not be our word for an alternative to madness. It should refer to whatever resources we have to prevent, no, to present present humiliation. Prevent. Maybe prevent humiliation.

[21:40]

It makes more sense. And I have two books. One a big one, and one a thin one. And they're both books about going to meet good friends. One's a book about a boy a young man, we don't know exactly how old he is, who goes on pilgrimage in India long ago, in the time when the great vehicle was thriving.

[22:43]

And the other book is about a young man, a boy, who goes on pilgrimage in China during the time of Zen, being very... fluorescent. And there's some things about these pilgrimages which I thought might be helpful to bring up. These pilgrimages to help the pilgrim Study herself. Learn about herself. Learn about her mind and realize perfect wisdom. This big book is... This is the last chapter.

[23:45]

This is a very big chapter. It's actually a scripture all into itself. It's not just a chapter. It has many... It doesn't have many chapters, actually. It doesn't have chapters. So it's a scripture. which is the last chapter of a scripture which is bigger than this. Three times as big as this. So it's one of the largest scriptures in all of the tradition. It's called in Sanskrit Gandavyuha, or entering into reality. It's a... description of entering into reality by going on pilgrimage to visit teachers. And it's from a larger book which is called The Flower Adornment Scripture or the Avatamsaka Sutra. So in this scripture a lot goes on.

[24:54]

And I don't think we'll be able to stay in the room long enough to go through it all. But I maybe can abstract something, make some general comments and a little bit of specifics from this big, Pilgrim's Tale. At the beginning of the book, the great teacher, Manjur Sri Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva of Perfect Wisdom, who is depicted... In the large statue in the center of this meditation hall, that handsome young man up on the gold cushion in the middle of the room is what we call Manjushri Bodhisattva, the perfect wisdom bodhisattva.

[26:12]

So that bodhisattva was someplace giving a talk and many beings were there enjoying the talk and there was a large group of girls that came and a large group of boys that came and one of the boys was named Sudhana and he appreciated the talk of the great teacher very much and he praised it very much and He said to Manjushri that he, partly from meeting Manjushri and hearing Manjushri's talk, his mind, his heart became set. Deeply set, deeply resolved to realize supreme perfect enlightenment because he met this good friend.

[27:16]

The sincere wish to realize enlightenment for the welfare of all beings does not arise from the person in whom it arises. It doesn't arise from great teachers. It arises from the meeting between living beings, unenlightened, non-Buddhas and Buddhas and their representatives. And so here in this massive description of pilgrimage, the young man meets the great teacher and this commitment and desire to realize enlightenment arises in him. And he tells Manjishri about it. And then he says, since I have this wish,

[28:24]

I think it would be good for me to find out what is the practice which realizes enlightenment. And Manjushi says, it is good that you think that. It is good that you think you need to know the practice in order to realize the enlightenment. And Manjushi says, And you will find the practice by meeting spiritual benefactors. And then Manjofi talks to him about how hard it is to meet spiritual benefactors, to find good friends who will support this work of going down, into the mind and studying the self. Bringing the light of consciousness into the confusion of consciousness, into the confusion that surrounds an immature understanding of the self.

[29:38]

Manjushri says, it's good that you think having set your heart on supreme enlightenment, that you should find out about the practice of bodhisattvas. It is hard to find beings who set out with the heart of perfect enlightenment. It is even harder to find beings who, once they have set their minds on enlightenment, seek the practice of bodhisattvas. of bodhisattvas. An enlightening being is to attain certainty through true spiritual friends, spiritual benefactors for the realization of all knowledge. An enlightening being is to attain certainty through spiritual friendship, spiritual benefactors.

[30:46]

One should indefatigably seek spiritual benefactors and be tireless in seeking spiritual benefactors. One should respectfully follow the appropriate instruction of spiritual benefactors and should carry out the techniques skillfully devised by spiritual benefactors without interruption. And then Manjushri says to the boy, go. And he tells him where to go. And the place to go is to the next teacher. There is a monk named Megashri.

[31:49]

And mega, I think, means cloud. And Sri, I think, in this case, means maybe light. Radiant cloud, mega Sri. Go see him and ask him about the Bodhisattva practice. Go and ask him how enlightening beings should learn. the conduct of enlightening beings. Go and ask him how enlightening beings should learn about the conduct of enlightening beings. The next set of pilgrimages in China, the monk goes and asks the teachers, the good friends, How is a monk supposed to do the practice of being a monk?

[32:53]

How is a Zen student supposed to do the practice of being a Zen student? So Manjushri is telling the boy, go and ask Megashri how an enlightening being should learn the conduct of an enlightening being, how to apply it, how one should fulfill it, and so on. And so on and so on. I'm not going to bother you with all the so-ons. And then Sudhana, the boy, pleased, enraptured, transported with joy, delighted, happy, cheerful, laid his head at Manjushri's feet in respect, circled Manjushri hundreds of thousands of times. Manjushri says, go see Megashri and ask him.

[33:56]

And the boy is so happy that this great being has now sent him to see another teacher and ask him about the practice which he wants to learn. But before he leaves, he bows to Manjushri and circles him hundreds of thousands of times. Not hastily departing. After circling him hundreds of thousands of times, he looked at him hundreds of thousands of times. I have not yet, I don't think, looked at this beautiful boy on the altar hundreds of thousands of times. But every time I look at him, I really love him. probably get into trouble for telling you this, but he looks like my wife. He's so beautiful.

[35:04]

I love him so much. And I get to look at him right in the face. Thank you. I don't know if I've done it hundreds of thousands of times like this boy did, though. I don't know if I walked around him. I don't think I've walked around him a hundred thousand times, but I've walked around him more than a thousand times. And I've never regretted it. This is an Indian text. They exaggerate things. He looked at Manjushri hundreds of thousands of times with a mind full of love for his spiritual friend. unable to bear, not seeing his spiritual friend. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he wept and left Manjishri.

[36:06]

Transported with joy and love, he wept as he left his teacher to go see his next teacher. And now we go on to visiting 52 teachers. And I have not verified each of the 52, but all the ones I've checked so far follow a certain pattern. Which is he leaves, now he leaves Manjushri and he's full of joy about the meeting he had with Manjur Sri where he was encouraged to study himself and learn the practice of bodhisattvas, to learn about the mind of no abode, to learn how to love a bodhisattva, to love the Buddha, to worship the Buddha without

[37:34]

abiding in the difference between ourselves and Buddha. To love someone, to love a really good friend without abiding in the difference. He learned that and felt great joy in that in his meeting with Manjir Shri. But for some reason, Manjir Shri sends him on. Instead of staying with him, he sends him to the next teacher and the next teachers. He actually just sends them to the next. He doesn't say, go visit 52. He says, just visit Megashree. And then Megashree will send him to the next person. And when each person he meets, after paying his respects and after going through a lot of joy as he approaches... approaches the other person. He's coming from the last teacher, full of joy and also some sadness of separation from his teacher because he hasn't really learned that his teacher is coming with him.

[38:42]

He knows he's following his teacher's instructions and he's very joyful about that and he's very joyful contemplating his teacher's teaching. He's full of joy and he's approaching the next teacher and he meets the next teacher finally. And each time he says to the teacher, noble one, I have set my heart on complete perfect enlightenment for the welfare of all beings, but I don't know how to do the practice of bodhisattvas, of carry out the bodhisattva practices. I don't know how to learn and carry them out. I've heard that you teach. Bodhisattvas, please teach me how to learn and carry out the practices of bodhisattvas. And then sometimes he goes on for quite a while about what bodhisattvas are like.

[39:48]

And then after that, the teacher usually says, I have realized an enlightening liberation called X. And each teacher has a different enlightening liberation, which they know. So again, the boy says, I don't know what the way of the bodhisattva is. These bodhisattvas who are such amazing, wonderful beings, I want to be one of them, but I don't know how to do their practice. I've heard that you teach it. Please teach me. teacher says well a lot of times a teacher says it's good that you ask it's good that you've set your mind on enlightenment and it's good that you ask how bodhisattvas practice and I have realized such and such an enlightenment such and such a liberating awakening and then they talk about their amazing enlightenment which Sudhana gets to listen to

[41:06]

So the first Tea Tree Visits is called Megashree. And Megashree says, you know, I've realized this enlightenment. And he tells them about it. And then after he tells them all about it, he says, but how can I know about or describe or explain the practices of bodhisattvas? Who? And then he talks about how wonderful bodhisattvas are. So, go see. Sagara Mega. Sagara Mega is the ocean of clouds. So then he goes to see Sagara Mega and says the same thing, and Sagara Mega tells him about his great enlightenment, and then he sends him to the next teacher, and the next teacher sends him to the next teacher. So I'm going to come up to the fifth teacher, whose name is Mega, just cloud.

[42:27]

And now he's meeting Mega. And they have the same interaction. And he says, you know, noble one, and so on and so forth. And Mega says, I know. [...] All these things he knows. And then he says, but how can I know? of the practice, or describe the course of the wonderful actions of bodhisattvas, ghostly so-and-so. So Megashree sends him to Mukhtaka. just saw the kitchen go to make lunch, so it's probably getting late.

[43:44]

And here's his big story about Muktaka coming up. And then there's another set of stories about a young boy in China. But probably I won't have time to get to the story about the young boy in China. But I'll just tell you his name. His name is Dungshan. And there's a The story of his pilgrimages, too, about how he went to visit many teachers and how the teachers sent him to other teachers. So in China, the Zen tradition reenacted this Indian drama of going to see teachers, telling them that you wish to realize the way of the bodhisattva. The teacher saying, yes, I have this understanding, but how can I tell you? Go see somebody else. And you go see the other person, and you tell them. And they say, oh, that's great that you want to know.

[44:48]

And I've realized all this, and I know all this, and I know all that. And they show. And then they say, but how can I teach you to go see so-and-so? So perhaps I could acknowledge my confusion as a virtue, that I'm not sure how much longer I should go on with this this morning or this afternoon. But actually, I do intend to go on with it, but maybe I'll let you leave before I do. 52 teachers he met.

[45:51]

And in many Zen stories, the student comes and says just this, you know, I have set out on the bodhisattva path and I don't understand the practice yet. Would you please teach me? And then the teacher teaches and then says, but how can I teach you? this thing. Yes, I'm teaching, but basically I'm teaching how can I teach this teaching? How can I teach the mind that doesn't abide in anything? If I don't say anything, if I do say anything, either way is fine as long as I don't abide. Once upon a time there was a person who we say was called Matsu.

[47:37]

He was called a Zen master. And he had many, many enlightened students. And one day a monk came to see him. ask him about perfect wisdom, to ask him about the mind which doesn't abide anywhere. And he said, the monk said, beyond the four alternatives or the four propositions and the 100 negations, what is the truth of the Buddha's teaching? Four alternatives are kind of instructions about the mind of no abode. The four propositions are existence, the proposition of existence, the proposition of non-existence, the proposition of both existence and non-existence, and the proposition of neither existence nor non-existence.

[48:55]

These four propositions None of them apply to the mind of wisdom. They're instructions to gesture towards the mind which doesn't abide. Existence is called slander. If you say something exists, it's slander by exaggeration. If you say it doesn't exist, it's slander by underestimation. If you say it both exists and doesn't exist, it's slander by contradiction. And if you say it neither exists nor does not exist, it's slander by mere mental fabrication. None of them work. Those are the four propositions. They don't apply to the mind of wisdom. The monk's saying, beyond these four propositions, what is the meaning of the Buddha Dharma? Beyond these propositions which guide you to perfect wisdom, what is perfect wisdom? And Master Ma says, I'm too tired today.

[50:02]

Go ask Jiritsang, one of his great disciples. So the monk goes and asks the next great disciple for instructions on perfect wisdom, the same question. And Jiritsang says, why didn't you ask the teacher? And the monk says, well, he told me to ask you. And Chiritsang said, oh, I have a headache. Go ask Brother Hai, which is Baijang Waihai, another great bodhisattva. So he goes to the great disciple Hai and he says, asked the same question. And Hai says, when I come this far, I don't know anything at all. So he goes back to Master Ma and says, what happened?

[51:08]

And Master Ma says, Tsang's head is black, Hai's head is white. In other words, I'm the greatest Zen master in the history of Chinese Zen. But how can I teach you about the practice of the bodhisattvas? Go see somebody else over the hill. And then we go to the next person and we say that. And if you think in terms of, you know, here we are today, are there any... Ooh, that worked out nicely. You think in terms of modern day, where are the spiritual friends? Where are the good friends? Who are the good friends?

[52:09]

Are you a good friend? If you are, someone might come and say to you, I have set my heart on perfect enlightenment. I've heard that you teach bodhisattvas how to... practice the way of enlightenment. Would you please teach me? And then you get to say what you know, and then say, how could I teach you? But somehow, it seems like somebody has to come and say that they set out on this path and ask for instruction, and somebody has to give it, and then say... but how can I give it? It looks like that kind of relationship is necessary for the realization of perfect wisdom.

[53:16]

As I've been saying here during this retreat, we have to say what we really want. And if we really want perfect wisdom, we have to say so. If we really want to help all beings through perfect wisdom, we have to say so. If we really want instruction, we have to ask for it. And we have to ask somebody who's not just ourself, but who's not external to ourself. And we need to learn that. That's what it looks like. We need to worship this meeting where we say what we want and ask for what we want. And then if someone asks us, we need to tell them what we know and also tell them what we don't know. We know a lot.

[54:21]

And yet, how could we know the mind which doesn't abide anywhere? which subtly accords with all things and realizes the way. Yet that kind of relationship, it's not all on one side or the other to do the work. It's a meeting. The so-called teacher can be aware of confusion inwardly and outwardly.

[55:58]

And acknowledge it as a virtue. And the so-called student can be aware and acknowledge confusion inwardly and outwardly as a virtue. And then both sides have a chance to not humiliate each other. And in this sane environment, open the doors to wisdom. I brought this little whisk as a prop for some more stories, which I really feel perhaps I can't get to in this particular session, but I'll tell the stories in question and answer. use the whisk so here are some paradigms from ancient times

[57:26]

we actually, if we wish, can enact in this world, I actually look at that face with love and appreciation. I walk around it. I can listen to people express what they really want, and I can try to find the resources. prevent humiliation when someone says what they really want. There's a resource which listens to what people really want without humiliating them for saying so. And also, without humiliating ourselves when we say, how can I explain or teach the way of enlightenment.

[58:32]

I want to stop for a second to see if I feel great joy at the prospect of these meetings where people would express what they really want, what their heart is set on. and ask for the instruction they feel they need in order to realize what they want. I guess there's some things which maybe we think we want, but we don't think we have to learn anything. But when it comes to enlightenment, if we want it, it looks like there needs to be some learning. We wish for enlightenment, we need learn about ourself. We need to learn wisdom and compassion, and we need to do it in a relationship. We cannot do it alone.

[59:44]

Of course, if you pick up a book and read it, you may think you're doing it alone, but if you're not, the Buddha's here for you. And you can It can be that way. You can read the book and feel like, this is, I'm alone. And suddenly you feel, oh, the spiritual friend has appeared. When the ancestor Dogen was close to death, this is the teacher who said that in his tradition, he worshipped, he worshipped, the meeting, the face-to-face meeting, where Dharma, where the truth of wisdom is realized. He worshipped that meeting. When he was about to die, he said, concerning the Buddha's teaching, there are ten million things I have not yet clarified.

[60:50]

The great teacher said that. but I have the joy of not having mistaken views and having correct faith. Correct faith, trusting enlightenment for the welfare of all beings and trusting that this enlightenment is realized in relationship where we express ourselves to another and learn about ourselves with another and vice versa. Thank you very much for opening your minds to this possibility of spiritual friendship, good friendship, wherein the life of enlightenment is practiced and realized.

[62:18]

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. For more information, visit sfzc.org and click Giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[62:52]

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