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. Just trying to look around a little bit and see who's here. I'm sorry, it feels like some of you are kind of behind me. I can't quite see you all. It's been a long time since I practiced here, was here in this Buddha hall. And actually, I think it's the first time I've given a talk here. So to thank Jordan for asking me in a way that seemed to make sense. I'd like to say, since you haven't been here, This is Maya Wender. She teaches at Ringgalsh Farm, and among other things, she teaches the practice of tea.

[01:06]

Thank you, Blanche. We've been practicing together for a really long time. Actually, if you don't mind, I actually would like to push this back so that you're not behind me. If that would be... Not too much of a breaking at city center form. Okay, thank you. Yeah, that's much better. So anyway, I did practice at city center for many years and I'm grateful to this particular practice place, which was where I first came in, I think 1972, when my life got a little weird and I needed to figure out what was going on.

[02:16]

This place was a real refuge for me, as it probably has been for many of you. So it sounds like maybe the word has gotten out a little bit anyway that I wanted to talk about T today, and that is indeed true. And there's a Japanese phrase that I like a lot. It's called Ichigo Ichie. A little hard to translate. Maybe sometime... one time, one meeting, or one chance. If you just say one chance, it sort of sounds like one chance to, this is your chance in a lifetime to win the lottery. So it's not exactly like that. But it's like each moment is a chance.

[03:24]

Each moment, an opportunity. Each meeting is where enlightenment happens. This also reminds me of the phrase in the Lotus Sutra, only a Buddha and a Buddha. Enlightenment happens between a Buddha and a Buddha, not something that you accomplish on your own. So in tea, it's like each tea gathering. is only a Buddha and a Buddha, a unique meeting, a reminder to appreciate that opportunity to honor it and respect it. And even though it may, of course, it will have been planned for, what actually is going to happen is completely unforeseeable. You don't know what will happen

[04:27]

and it'll never happen again. So even if the same people meet another time in the same place, the circumstances will be different, the weather will be different, the planets will be aligned differently, they will be bringing something else to the gathering. And it's like that today also. Every time we meet is a unique opportunity. to actually inquire together into the truth. In fact, the only time that we can do that is right now. Each time is only right now. So today I would like to talk about the practice of tea, or in Japanese there are two phrases. One is cha-do, literally the way of tea, and another way that tea is sometimes referred to is cha-no-yu, which literally means hot water for tea.

[05:38]

So in English, we have this kind of unfortunate phrase, tea ceremony, or I say unfortunate because I think it's a little misleading. And in Japanese, there actually isn't any such phrase. most commonly one says chado or sado, the way of tea. And I first, just to give a little history, tea was first taught here at Zed Center in this very building. Suzuki Roshi encouraged his wife Mitsu Suzuki Sensei, to study tea. I don't know that she had studied it in Japan. We don't think so. Yeah. She began to study here in San Francisco with a tea teacher and then started teaching students here.

[06:41]

And there was a time when I think most, if not all, of the most senior and serious students of Suzuki Roshi also studied tea. with Suzuki Sensei. And tea was then supported by subsequent abbots, by Richard Baker, who brought a teacher by the name of Nakamura Sensei, who taught tea at Green Gulch, who also had never taught in Japan. She began to teach mostly Zen students at Green Gulch. and then successive abbots after that. So we have this history of tea being taught here, and I'm hoping that that will continue for a long, long, long time. So just to put out a kind of my own hidden agenda so that it's not hidden,

[07:53]

I'm hoping to inspire some of you to study tea. So I can't retire until I... At least that's my feeling. I can't retire until somebody else takes over. So that means maybe one of you will be the next person or maybe a group of you, maybe many of you... will be the next ones to carry tea forward at Zen Center. So the groundwork has been laid. And, you know, like when you're ordained as, not when you're ordained as a priest, but when you see Dharma transmission, you make a commitment. Part of that is making a commitment to pass the... your teacher's teaching on to successive generations. And my feeling about tea is the same, that it needs to be passed on to successive generations.

[08:56]

So that's my hope. I'm looking at my watch because I understand that you have a very tight schedule today. The tanto has warned me, and already I'm behind. But be that as it may, there's nothing I could skip. It's all too important. So it seems to me that San Francisco Zen Center comes out of a unique historical set of circumstances. kind of a historical confluence of Japanese history, sending Suzuki Roshi here, and then American history and culture, people being ready to receive the teaching when he was ready to give it. And that it actually has been a little difficult, or maybe more than a little difficult, for Zen to leap into this very different culture than Japanese culture.

[10:08]

We all see, we understand behavior and actions according to our own traditions and our own background. So that, for example, coming into this room, maybe those of you who are here for the first time today or those of you who remember the first time, how you felt when you came in and saw the figure of the Buddha on the altar, probably very different than someone who was brought up in Japan or in any Eastern culture where this would have been part of their life. How you see someone with a shaved head or wearing black robes, we assume meaning. Even if we're not aware of what we're doing, we ascribe meaning to these things. And then we may or may not be happy with the meaning that we ascribe.

[11:09]

So I think it's really helpful to have some understanding of the culture that these things come out of, so that we're not simply pasting our own ideas and background onto it. When I first came here to Zen Center, I don't remember there being any women teachers. I think there was one woman who had been ordained. And actually at the beginning, I didn't realize, I don't know if I've ever told her this, I didn't realize that she was a woman because it was basically a male culture. And I just, I didn't know anyone basically. Like I'd come here, didn't know who anybody was. I would just come in, listen to Dharma talks, go away. And occasionally I'd see this very gentle looking monk a very kind of feminine looking monk who I later discovered, in fact, was a woman.

[12:12]

But anyway, basically it was a pretty male culture, but it was women in the background, I think, who helped, who really made it possible. Wouldn't you agree, Blanche? I think women really helped make the cultural translation who explained what was happening behind the scenes. And, you know, there's a koan, which actually Tintin Roshi has been talking about a lot lately, where a teacher asks the monk, what is it under the patched robe? What is the great matter underneath the patched robe? And actually it was the women who literally taught what it was. under the patched rope. And so Suzuki Sensei, for example, taught a class here in the Buddha Hall on sewing juban.

[13:18]

Does everyone know what that is? It's just under, the very under, it's an undershirt, traditional undershirt, which nowadays we generally buy, but she made them by hand. And when you make them by hand, it is complicated. I mean, it seems like it's a very, it's an undershirt, you know, it's just a simple thing. But it's very, the seams, it's a work of art. It's really a work of art. And it's a practice to do it. So she taught us that, and in the process of learning how to make it, We learned a lot about that koan, what is it under the patched robe. We learned about the intimacy of working with her and each other and with the cotton, creasing everything by hand and doing it the old traditional way.

[14:31]

And very similar teaching was happening in the tea room. So I think that it is this kind of behind-the-scenes teaching that is necessary in order for a teaching like Zen to survive and prosper. And something similar was happening in the tea room. So Japan being a male... dominated society. The grand tea masters are all men, and the stories are almost entirely about men. But every so often you hear some kind of behind-the-scenes story of actually it's the wife who starts training the next generation. It's the wife who is starting the children at a very young age so that they can grow up to be tea masters. Unfortunately, they don't usually get their names in the history books. Today, I think, of course, we're in a somewhat different situation.

[15:37]

I think we're not, we're, you know, we don't, our psyches aren't split quite that much. Our practice is more integrated. And perhaps that's part of the American contribution to both Zen and tea. So when I first came to Zen Center, I was not... Actually, I didn't know anything about Zen. I had tried to read a few books and really hadn't been able to. And so I had no idea what was going on. And as I remember the... Well, maybe I'll talk about that a little bit more later and jumping ahead... I've just gotten a little bit lost. Yeah, so one of the first things I remember in coming here was seeing someone out on the front steps sweeping.

[16:46]

And something you probably still do during SOGI, sweeping the front steps, sweeping the sidewalk. And right away, I really wanted to do that. That was like, you know, I wanted to be part of taking care of this place. And I think that that's a pretty, you know, what was coming up in me was a very, you know, maybe universal and simple and basic human need. Wanting to be part of a community, wanting to do something that seemed of benefit to others, something that seemed honest. and straightforward, something that could be done as an offering. And, of course, there are many ways that this kind of thing can be done. Many groups do good works of various kinds. And in Zen practice, maybe the main difference from other places where people do good things is the teaching that all these actions are empty, that ultimately there is no...

[17:59]

no giver, nothing to be given, nothing to be accomplished, no one to receive the benefits. We engage in action without expectation of reward. Another early teaching I remember was Kateguri Roshi, placing incense in the incense bowl and emphasizing to just put it in straight. And also a time when I was tenzo at Green Gulch during Sashin and feeling completely overwhelmed, barely able to keep the crew together and keep the meals happening on time. And Katagiri Roshi coming in one morning to offer incense before going to the zendo and seeing that there were no flowers on the altar. And... What shall I say?

[19:01]

This was not okay. In short, this was not okay. No matter what else happened during the day, take care of the altar first before anything else. So this was his teaching for me at that time of how to study the self. So I think that tea could be said to be Zen practice insofar as it takes up this attitude and these precepts, insofar as it's understood as an opportunity to study the impermanence of all things, the lack of a giver, a gift, a recipient. So it may look like, or sometimes is described as basically a Japanese cultural event.

[20:05]

And I think many people come to tea because they feel some affinity with Japanese aesthetics. But we don't, you know, just like we don't practice tea because we think that we might become Japanese, I think we practice Zen, I mean, we... can practice tea in order to express our true nature, our nature as bodhisattvas. So tea, as we do it today, comes basically from 16th century Japan and was heavily influenced by Japanese culture of the time, which in turn was heavily influenced by Chinese Buddhism going back to the 13th century and before, influenced in turn by Chinese court procedures and etiquette and Confucianism and Taoism. And all of these teachings were dealing with basic questions about how do we live together in peace and harmony?

[21:14]

What is the proper way to live one's life? How do you follow the precepts of not doing evil? of doing good, living for the benefit of others. So this is many centuries of rather complex teachings. And then in the 16th century, Sen no Rikyu said, just build a fire, boil water, and make a bowl of tea. This is what it is to practice tea. So very simple. The tea room is sufficient if there's a roof to protect you from the rain. Food is sufficient if it satisfies your hunger. The fire is sufficient if it can boil the water. Just make a delicious bowl of tea for your guests. This is like Dogen Zenji saying, just sit.

[22:18]

Very simple. Just sit. Just bow to your cushion, bow away, and sit without moving. Nothing extra. No gaining idea. No goal. No trying to get something. No idea of self and others. At the beginning of a tea gathering, the host usually says something like, Ippuku sashiagemasu. I would like to offer you a bowl of tea. So most fundamentally in a tea gathering, tea is being made as an offering. And perhaps this is why usually the host herself does not drink tea. It's like making an offering at the altar. We offer light, incense, flowers. We offer food at the altar, but we don't. at that time, eat it ourselves.

[23:21]

Or in the zendo, serving meals, the servers are there to serve, not to eat. So the teachings of tea are about how to cultivate this attitude of doing something for others. How can I put aside my own desires and inclination and just think about taking care of my guests? So for example, Riku said, Always prepare for rain. Have rain hats and clogs available for your guests to use if necessary. In the summer, sprinkle water to suggest coolness. In the winter, emphasize the fire and give the impression of heat. Choose utensils that you think your guests will enjoy and appreciate. If they are very knowledgeable and sophisticated, you might use plain black lacquerware If not, then perhaps they would prefer a tea container that's very highly decorated and brightly colored.

[24:25]

And the guests also are thinking about how they can be of help to each other and to the host. They understand that it is a group event, not an individual event. And so they make every effort to promote group solidarity and bonding. For example, by not taking too long My experience in the tea room is that you're constantly presented with things that you really want to look at. And you have to learn to look thoroughly and intently in a very short space of time. The point being that other people are waiting. So rather than thinking, oh, I just want to hang out here for a long time, you're thinking about others. What works best? for the whole group. Most importantly, the guests are attentive and observant, noting everything that they encounter, appreciating the work and effort that the host has put into preparing, but not judgmental, not quick to think, I like this or I don't like this.

[25:43]

As soon as we have that idea, we're cut off. Things are put into a box. Our relationship with it is really kind of broken. So even to say that something is beautiful is to defile it, to treat it as an object, to separate off from it. Better to just keep asking, how can I appreciate this? Keep the relationship open as a continuing, ongoing event. that doesn't require a definition. When you study tea, it looks like you're learning how to move in a certain way, how to sit, how to walk, how to make a fire, how to place flowers, how to prepare and serve a meal.

[26:45]

how to make tea using various different procedures and types of tea bowls, all the things necessary to host a tea gathering. And yet there are many different schools and traditions of tea, and they all do things a little bit differently. So it's clear that any of the ways that things are done have actually no ultimate importance or significance or meaning. such as entering the room with the right or the left foot. You have to use one foot or the other, and so there are rules about it. But the rule has no meaning or significance. It's just, this is the way it's done. This is a way to be aware, to pay attention to what you're doing. So there has to be some way in order to study ourselves. There has to be a form. think it's probably most of us don't really like to be told what to do most of the time have you ever had that feeling of ever someone telling you what to do when there's this immediate kind of no you know even if it's not something you necessarily wouldn't want to do it's just like it

[28:20]

It can be difficult to be told what to do because somehow we tend to think that freedom and happiness is actually doing what I want to do when I want to do it. Somehow that I think is very deeply ingrained in us. And it takes really a lot of studying of this matter to begin to see that that's actually what causes our suffering. That holding on to doing things, to trying to get what we want, is what actually is painful. I was once talking with a friend about the meal that sometime is served, that's served in a full tea gathering, describing how it happens and how all the guests are served together and then... begin eating at the same time.

[29:26]

So similarly to an oryoki meal, for those who are familiar with zendo meals, but much more complicated. But similarly to the zendo, when you eat, you need to be aware of what everyone else is doing so that everyone basically finishes around the same time so that events can proceed. And she looked at me in horror like she would never want to do that because for her to just be able to sit with a plate of food and take her time was the most important thing. So the idea that there would be some pressure on eating in concert with others was kind of a feeling to her of like being put into prison. And yet this was a person who at other times had expressed to me her loneliness, her feeling of being cut off from the support of others, someone who really wanted to be in community with others.

[30:37]

So I think we make choices. And one choice might be to enter this kind of discipline, basically a training program. So tea and zen are training programs. And if everything is going just fine in our life, then maybe we're not so interested. But if we encounter some suffering, then we look for some way of dealing with it. And part of that is we may be willing to let go a little bit of doing things our own way. and to accept instruction from someone else. So instruction in the tea room isn't about trying to get the student under control, or to get in line, or about following the rules, but it's very intimate. And because it's intimate, there tend to be kind of safeguards, which I think tend to show up as a formality.

[31:41]

So Student and teacher bow together. The student asks for instruction, clarifying the roles. So in a sense, this kind of neutralizes the interaction. So no judgment, no ego involvement, just this is the way it's done over and over again. This is the way it's done. Sometimes I see the team room as a kind of elaborate setup or playground where we can enact our life. We're all given the same toys to play with and told the same rules. But somehow, whatever tendencies and background we have, we all play it out differently. So five people trying to do exactly the same thing will all look very different. So this is a kind of nakedness, kind of opportunity to reveal our state of mind to ourselves and others.

[32:50]

Recently, in a tea class, my teacher commented on my picking up a whisk, the implement that you use to make the tea with, that I had picked it up quite rapidly, perhaps even carelessly. One of Riku's instructions is to pick up light things as if they're heavy, and heavy things as if they're light. So this is an instruction that I've heard for years and appreciated and studied. So when she said that, I really felt it deeply. And I had this, I knew... I knew at that time that that was a very important instruction and that later I was going to be able to take it in more than I could at that time.

[33:53]

Does that make sense? So it was like, it was kind of like, no, you can't say that to me. You know, it's like... That isn't... I did that? No. Impossible. And at the same time, like, absolutely the teaching that I needed and really appreciated. So I took it as... I guess I understand that teaching as every act, you know, each motion is worthy of attention. That there isn't anything that we do that is not worthy of doing completely and thoroughly.

[34:59]

And often I think, you know, and I certainly noticed this in... myself, and maybe you have also, we're doing something in order to do something else. Does that make... Have you ever had that feeling? It's like the important moment is about to happen. You know, it might just be a second away. Or it might be hours away. But it could even just be the next second. But it's not this second. This second is just on the way. to the important second. And so I think the teaching here is that there is no other second or moment or part of our life that's more important. If anything is important, it's this very moment.

[36:00]

This is the moment to express our fundamental intention. And It's okay to... It's okay. Yeah, it's really okay to express it. There's no hierarchy of actions that kind of will tell you that some are more important than others. There aren't any kind of throwaway moments in our life. Each moment... has the opportunity of being beautiful, of the meeting. So again, this is Ichigo Ichie, or only a Buddha and Buddha, each moment over and over. And I hear by the clock that this is the time. I was supposed to stop, but I just need another moment. Just take two.

[37:01]

Thank you. So, yeah, well, basically I think I have said all I wanted to say, the point being that there isn't any other moment. And so... almost always find some little thing from Suzuki Roshi that really helps me clarify what I'm thinking or trying to talk about and so Suzuki Roshi says in order to not leave any traces when you do something you should do it with your whole body and mind you should be concentrated on what you do you should do it completely like a good bonfire you should not be a smoky fire

[38:06]

So maybe the way I was picking up the whisk was like a smoky fire. There were some, it wasn't, I wasn't devoted to it at that moment. My whole heart wasn't in it. You should burn yourself completely. If you do not burn yourself completely, a trace of yourself will be left in what you do. you will have something remaining which is not completely burned out. Zen activity is activity which is completely burned out with nothing remaining but ashes. That is the goal of our practice. That is what Dogen Zenji meant when he said, ashes do not come back to firewood. Ash is ash. Ash should be completely ash. The firewood should be firewood. When that kind of activity takes place, one activity covers everything.

[39:09]

So in order to not leave any traces, this is what I think we can learn in studying tea. It's kind of a way of exposing ourself of letting ourself be exposed to seeing how we don't do that. So to start, we need to hear the teaching. But, you know, the teaching may sound great, and you may even think, oh, okay, my vow is to burn completely, to not leave any traces. But then the practice is to see how we... do leave traces, to keep studying our life over and over again and put ourself into a position where someone can say to us, pick it up more slowly, or how did you pick that up?

[40:22]

Or what are you doing here? Or would you like to put your heart into it? So That's the opportunity that I look for and that I would wish for all of you to be able to have in your lives. Thank you. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. Our Dharma talks are offered at no cost and this is made possible by the donations we receive. Your financial support helps us to continue to offer the Dharma. For more information, visit sfcc.org and click Giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[41:10]

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