Trick or treat! Awwww! Awwww! She's almost asleep. Awwww! Yay! [...] It's not too much. We were just driving back from the party and we saw you all starting. Oh, yeah. It's beautiful, but we don't have any friends. Oh, I do. Good night. Good night. Look at the shoes. Awwww! Yay! I do. I do.

[01:02]

Good night. Good night. That's amazing. No, not at all. No, not at all. I've never seen such little high heels. I've never seen such little high heels. Well, we actually did have candy, but she probably had plenty. Well, we actually did have candy, but she probably had plenty. So I brought some... These are no dairy. It's chocolate-covered ginger, but not milk chocolate. So everybody can have some if you'd like. So happy Halloween. Thank you. I also have a Mountain Gate Study Center. I also have a Mountain Gate Study Center. Last week we should have put our names down and then we'd check off as we go along. So let me pass this around. There's two of them. I'm not sure we'll need two, but I'm going to do it this way.

[02:05]

And there's more copies. Does anyone need a copy? Okay, I'm going to go this way and pass these this way. Okay, I'm going to go this way and pass these this way. If anyone needs a copy. Hey Robin, do you need... Okay. So I would like to start with us saying our names again. Danny. Gwen. Ewan. Jesse. Michael. Jeff. Barbara. Aaron. Carol. Marilyn. Dave. Marty. Paula. Is that everyone? I know in the city tonight they're having their Segaki ceremony

[03:11]

because they always have it on Halloween. So Judith wasn't here. Leslie and Lucas were at this party. Lucas was a frog. Did you see Lucas? I haven't seen him. I heard he was a frog. And Jacob was a dinosaur. And Olivia was a flamenco dancer. I actually don't know what you would ask. Davey this year, being a freshman in high school, did not want to trick-or-treat. I stopped that year. My 8th grade was the last time I trick-or-treated. So, right? This part for the course. When did we start? When did we start trick-or-treating? Right. So, the Tenzo Kyokun. Did anyone read it over or study it this week

[04:13]

or look at it or turn it over? Yes? I looked up the passage that you referred to when you were done the talk about Dongsheng. And Shui Feng? No, it was Dongsheng and was it Shui Feng? Who overturned the rice? Yes. I wanted to study that some more. I'd like to start with the first... what sometimes could be called the preface. This is what I was hoping to do today. Start off with the first 2 or 3 paragraphs and go into...we'll just see how far we get. But I also found some supporting material in another place that I was surprised about so I wanted to bring that up. Some very detailed instructions from Dogen about how to wash pots.

[05:13]

I know a lot of you are doing a lot of dishes these days. So I thought that was interesting. These can go around again. Don't be shy. This is Halloween. Let's just keep asking. There you go. We're only missing one from the dish group. There's only one who's not here. That's a problem for the dish group. We're all ears. You're all there. Good. We start out... Actually, as I was reading this there were certain words that I wanted to... I wanted everybody to be familiar with certain words and I realized as I began thinking about it then a story would come up. So we may never get through this. From the beginning in Buddha's family

[06:15]

there have been 6 temple administrators. Now, 6 temple administrators is the Roku, that's 6, the Roku Chichi. The Roku Chichi and the Chichi are people who know how to manage the monastery. Chichi means know, manage or take care of the affairs. So there were... Green Gulch is like the senior staff, you might say although we have more people on the senior staff than 6. At Tassajara, when I first went to Tassajara we used that term, the Roku Chichi. Who's on the Roku Chichi? Osonso was asked to be on the Roku Chichi which were these practice positions that older students were given. You didn't walk into Tassajara and get a Roku Chichi position. So the Roku Chichi is the Ino, the head of the meditation hall or supervisor of the monk's affairs the head cook what we call the director and the assistant director

[07:18]

there's the work leader and then the treasurer. Now in Dogen's time the director, the assistant director and the treasurer were all one, there was really four main officers four senior staff people so those three, treasurer, assistant treasurer and director, excuse me, assistant director and director was all one, which you can imagine if it's a small community the director could do the finances as well, you can imagine that but the work leader, the Tenzo and the Ino were all these are very old practice positions and this book is on reserve but it has sections talking about how each of those positions is practiced so this word Roku Chichi, you might hear it sometimes, so and so is on the Roku Chichi that's those six officers

[08:20]

and we still, you know, it's not vestigial it actually is who is asked to be on senior staff and take those practice positions in the administrative realm they're always, from the beginning in Buddha's family there have been six temple administrators these are all Buddha's children and together they carry out Buddha's work so they're not thought of, these jobs are not thought of as sort of administrative or clerical this is another way of expressing Buddha's work and if it's not seen that way yes Mary? I was hoping you'd finish your sentence first ok, if it's not seen that way by the practitioner themselves or by others you know there's like burnout factor and all the things that we're prayed to in certain situations, job work situations

[09:21]

but if it's understood as Buddha's work or the work of seasoned practitioners with way-seeking mind then the whole thing shifts and that's in this time you know in 1200 as in 2000 this is the same dynamic yes Mary? Is there a hierarchical structure in those six positions or were they considered to be of equal weight? I think you mean at that time? At that time well the amount of writing about the Tenzo job seems that that was maybe one of the most highly respected and I would think just knowing human nature sometimes the entry level on the senior staff is for us or Tassajar would be like work leader might be the first job you'd ask to be due to be for senior staff or has it been around this way?

[10:23]

ok then here, don't be shy yeah or guest student manager sometimes is the first senior staff position at Green Gulch so in that way I think the director often is someone who's been on senior staff before and Tenzo not necessarily been on senior staff but maybe had one of these, the next kind of rung of like Fukutan assistant Tenzo everybody sign this? so in our system the director oversees the other staff members they kind of report you'd say to the director but in some way practitioner wise I think there's a lot of parity in practice experience not always right now I would say that's the case here Tassajar has a lot of several new people on staff for the first time this practice period so

[11:26]

so these jobs are done by Buddhist children so practitioners, they're not just hired treasurers I saw these translations for treasurer as comptroller I know someone wants us to begin calling Zen Center's president the CEO, Zen Center's CEO and I realized I have a a negative connotation with CEO I like president it seems like even though we don't elect anyway at one time I remember someone saying when we needed a president at Zen Center well let's just advertise in the newspaper for someone who's got a lot of managerial skill for a non-profit and why not? but all the administrative positions for the corporation as well, president, treasurer secretary of Zen Center, corporate secretary all of these are my understanding of it and hopefully the corporate officers understanding is that they're doing Buddhist work it's not just being an accountant or

[12:31]

head of a non-profit it's conveying your understanding of Buddhism through this particular work of taking care of the community managing things so among these is the Tenzo who takes care of the preparation of the food for the community now the Zen and Shingi is this that's this work that was from 1102 or 1103 the pure standards for the Zen garden or pure standards for Zen monasteries and this was this early text which is ten volumes and it's supposedly the earliest, the note said the earliest description of how to run a monastery is from 1100 and Dogen for sure read this so they quote this, the Zen and Shingi for serving the community

[13:32]

there is the Tenzo now I looked at a number of translations which are also on reserve but I don't know if you've seen them since ancient times masters with way-seeking mind another is this is offered to senior monks of the community who have way-seeking mind, eminent persons who have aroused the thought of awakening senior monks with an aspiration for enlightenment these are all ways of saying way-seeking mind way-seeking mind is dou xin dou xin, dou is the way xin is mind or heart mind so different ways of translating dou xin way-seeking mind lofty people who had awakened their hearts were appointed to this job ah

[14:34]

other translations of that are teachers who have settled in the way bodhisattvas with spirit within themselves so you get the feeling, this is who's chosen someone who has way-seeking mind has settled themselves in the way who has aroused this aspiration this is who you would trust the food preparation now I just wanted to stop there for a moment because as you notice in this description nowhere does it say that they should be a good cook that they should even know how to cook it's not mentioned the main important thing is this bodhisattva aspiration way-seeking mind which I find a very interesting point because you would think usually well who should we have as cook well so and so is a great cook, let's ask them but this doesn't really come up for guest cooking in the summer at Tassajara

[15:38]

it does come up we actually decide who's a good cook and choose chefs and good cooks but the tenzo often just learns on the job or they've been on the crew or if they've been a fukuten they may or may not know how to cook so I just wanted to point that out which may seem sort of topsy-turvy but actually the trust is in the person themselves expressing the Buddha way rather than skill as a chef so then this next line after all isn't this the single color of diligently engaging in the way so this diligently engaging in the way is translated also as exerting all your energies requires wholehearted practice

[16:40]

exerting all your energies and wholehearted practice this is bendo to fully throw yourself into this work diligently and without this it goes on to say this if you do not have the mind of the way this doshin then all of this hard work and it is hard work the tenzo's job it never ends all this hard work is meaningless and not beneficial unless you have this way-seeking mind and then all this what one might say is like being Cinderella or something Cinderella wash those pants just on and on and on when a meal ends you got to start thinking about the next one people have to eat and it's this relentless quality of the work

[17:42]

I know this from being tenzo you'd finish with the dinner and that's how it describes the day after the meal you begin thinking about the next day and the breakfast if you don't have this mind of the way all this hard work is meaningless and not beneficial if you don't have a way-seeking mind you will not have good results if the person doing this job lacks such a spirit then he or she will only endure unnecessary hardships and suffering that will have no value in their pursuit of the way burnout so this aspect is extremely important does anybody have any thoughts about that or questions or anything come up for you something just clicked for me there

[18:59]

but I don't know what so I'm going to go back so often historically women have done this because they have a commitment to their families and is that I guess what came to my mind is a way-seeking mind actually necessary to be able to practice practice well as a caretaker and do it without harming that's been part of life well I don't think we have to have a narrow definition of way-seeking mind if the aspiration is to care for others with love and attention and kindness and non-harming and create sacred space within and without

[20:00]

and treat all beings who walk through your door as your special guests or whatever we know people like that you love going to visit them because they are so happy you're there it's like in tea ceremony when the host you come and they just cannot do enough to welcome you and take care of you there's that story of Fu going to a tea ceremony I've told this story before but she didn't know these people they were strangers but they were tea people her teacher brought her to this tea ceremony and they were served meals it was a whole long day including thin tea and thick tea and a lovely kaiseki meal and the flowers and walking in the garden and at the end they said goodbye and Fu said to this couple you own me they had won her over so that's a kind of practice in and of itself

[21:05]

now we also know people who and women traditionally who are resentful who feel, what was that? live lives of quiet desperation do you remember that from the 50s that was in their book had that in the title who do it because they have to and there's no alternative but it's not necessarily this kind of feeling you do it because you gotta so I think it's maybe to ask what is way-seeking mind or what is full exertion maybe to look there because I don't think Zen has a corner on that the kind of underpinning of this

[22:05]

I wanted to get into a little bit the last one so this endeavor, this full exertion or diligently this gentleman over here this effort, exerting one's energies fully the word is bendo and there's a fascicle in Shogogenza which is on the endeavor of wholehearted practice or endeavor of the way and I just wanted to read from that I wrote down although the inconceivable Dharma is abundant in each person

[23:06]

it is not actualized without practice and it is not experienced without realization I'm going to say that again although the inconceivable Dharma is abundant in each person it is not it is not actualized without practice and it is not experienced without realization so you know the main point that Dogen brings up over and over and over is the connection of practice and realization it's like one word, little hyphen practice realization so the Dharma, the inconceivable Dharma is abundant in each one of us but unless we actualize it through our practice we don't realize it, we can't realize it I'm going to go on from Bendowa

[24:10]

to suppose that practice and realization are not one is nothing but a heretical view in Buddhadharma in Buddhadharma they are inseparable practice realization because practice of the present moment is practice realization the practice of beginner's mind is itself the entire original realization so so to suppose that practice and practice realization are two separate things he basically says this is heretical practice realization are inseparable so therefore I'm trying to kind of point to our tendency to think this is kitchen work and then there's the separation of the everyday and the mundane

[25:11]

and then our Dharma practice somehow which is our tendency of mind to have sort of a hierarchy of activity and the practice period itself and the emphasis in Soto Zen especially in Dogen and Suzuki Roshi is this everyday activity is realization practice realization is inseparable so because practice of the present moment practice of the present moment which is whatever it doesn't mean cross-legged sitting necessarily or chanting or bowing or offering incense or it means chopping and toting and howling firewood and washing dishes and whatever the present moment is talking to your friends brushing fleas out of the dog whatever it is the practice of the present moment the practice of the present moment

[26:12]

whatever it is is practice realization and then so then the practice of beginner's mind when you first walk in the door beginner's mind is itself the entire original realization now isn't that like good news because of course we think you know I'm a beginner I'm just learning how you know I'm not really a good Zen student and they all understand I don't but it's like wipes that away it's just the practice of the present moment so the beginner's mind which is what we named the city center temple is beginner's mind temple Zen mind beginner's mind Zen mind beginner's mind the practice of the present moment is practice realization so the beginner's mind the practice of beginner's mind is the entire realization right there but you don't necessarily know it

[27:13]

or are conscious of it but that's okay this is a kind of you know like when you laughed when I said isn't this good news and you laughed I thought they understand but they don't know how they understand I don't know either but you all got it you know that you don't have to worry because we're coursing in the way but you should know this is more this is bend over you should know that in order not to defile realization which is inseparable from practice Buddha ancestors always caution you not to be slack in your practice so you know that laugh of hey we don't have to beginner's mind we're all it's the entire realization so I can just kind of you know I don't have to do anything

[28:15]

it's all but you know lest you think that you can just sit around on your laurels you should know that in order not to defile this realization which is abundant in an inconceivable way not to defile this realization which is inseparable from your practice Buddha ancestors have always cautioned you not to be slack in your practice so that brings us right back to the Tenzo who is exerting full effort wholeheartedly engaging in the way not being slack and this not being slack is not defiling this realization which is abundant in us but which we can only realize through actualizing it how by fully exerting ourselves in whatever we do in the practice of the present moment whatever it is so our emphasis you know is on

[29:16]

well we don't emphasize anything that's the thing each thing is completely exerted we don't emphasize you might think aren't we emphasizing Zazen? but no, each thing gets full attention but the attention each thing needs or is asking for you know that's different but it's your full attention for the appropriate attention that's necessary so you know as my favorite example you treat the bus driver and your mother you know differently but they each get your full attention but in different ways so this is kind of I just wanted to go over this Ben Doa this practice realization because to me it's the under it's what's the kind of source of all this that Dogon is saying is this teaching of practice realization

[30:19]

is inseparable and to not defile this to not be slack to completely exert yourself ok is that how's that are you making a face of physicalness yes I mean all of this makes sense as we sit here now but last night I was just completely in the dark and I can't even imagine ever having a clue as to what those koans are about so my question is what do the koans fit into what we're talking about today well the koans are dialogues between

[31:19]

teachers and students who talk in a way that does not separate practice realization you know but it's inconceivable so when we try to grasp it with that mind that says ok this is English I know it's English but what is this talking about you know we try to grasp it with a certain kind of intellectual mind it eludes us and we try how about this way what about that how about a poetic mind that sounds good and it's just so so to be completely mindful practice of the moment last night in the class may have been and maybe this is how you were practicing in the moment is I am completely in the dark I am feeling very confused I'm getting more and more annoyed at my fellow practitioners I want to go home

[32:19]

and being aware of all that the discomfort in your body tightness in your throat wanting to cry feeling like you've come to the wrong place maybe all that emotional stuff you know how the seat is very uncomfortable and just all of it is practicing in the present moment that was what I don't know if that was what was going on for you I'm guessing but so you know being completely exerting that whatever that was whatever was going on for you so it's not that's the wonderful thing about the present moment we never lack for something to completely exert as long as we're alive and kicking

[33:21]

there's something to completely pay attention to with full wholeheartedness but it doesn't mean it's not painful doesn't mean it's joyful none of that it can be pain and irritation and all those things but staying with it so how the koan fits in living that way you know living that way well I don't want to make any predictions living that way is non-defilement but non-defilement doesn't look a particular way yes

[34:23]

I have a question that's very different last week we had just come from tea at Rev's and we have again this week and he had told us a story about being at Tassajara when the roads were jammed up and told us about the croutons and the greed I know the croutons did he tell you about the wheat berries? no but I wondered when he then told us that you had been at Tassajara you were tenzo during that time no I came after that it's his story so I should probably let him tell it but that same practice period how many of you weren't at the tea? A. Robin you probably heard the story but anyway the roads went out and we couldn't get food in and out I wasn't at Tassajara this was one of those legendary tales that I had heard about

[35:23]

and the tenzo at that time they didn't have big 50 pound sacks of all sorts of things and noodles and canned goods it was like a weekly town trip or every other week so they couldn't get over the road and they used up everything they were down to salt and wheat berries and some wild greens I think that they were gathering and Reb was the plumber at the time he worked in the shop and people were getting very anxious about getting enough food there also wasn't all that much there was wheat berries but there was like rationing you could only have a certain amount well there's a lot of stories about that practice period but anyway people began to they were a lot of anxiety about getting enough food so they would take enormous bowlfuls have any of you eaten wheat berries?

[36:25]

well it's a pretty heavy duty food it's hard to chew it's a whole grain wheat unhusked so people would get full bowls and they would eat well what happened is anyway you've all finished the story? anyway Reb people were not he was the plumber there was problems with the toilets what he found is that people they weren't even chewing they were just like ingesting them whole because he knew so it was people were having a lot of trouble now this happens every practice period to a lesser degree you're probably feeling it now like gee I wish I had a peanut butter

[37:27]

peanut butter and jelly sandwich right about now lunch just finished but gee I could really go for one this feeling like feeling difficulties and maybe turning towards food and wanting to get enough food maybe this isn't happening yet but often there's very little distractions or much fewer distractions than you're used to but food seems to become looms quite large on the horizon as a main thing it does break the monotony and day off taking many treats and I remember making three sandwiches for day off lunch just in case I remember thinking as I made the third one you know just in case you might need a snack in the late afternoon but anyway it was like I had my sack this is at Tassajar carry my sack back to my room with three sandwiches two cookies, fruit, everything

[38:27]

granola you know so this kind of happens this happens around food where it's like comfort food you know you want some kind of comfort why do you want comfort? because you're facing difficult things you're the snake in the bamboo tube you know that image for the practice period are you familiar with that image? traditional image I was telling somebody the other day is for practice periods you take a snake you know a snake does this it can also go so you have a bamboo tube which is the practice period and you take this snake and you put it in the tube well what happens? it still wants to do its regular movements you know based on habitual patterns and routinized thinking and tendencies and propensities and greed, hate and delusion and it keeps bumping up into the bamboo sides and it hurts as it bumps

[39:29]

but it knowingly and willingly went into the bamboo tube I mean no one forced it actually when I say we put you put yourself into the bamboo tube voluntarily but it hurts you know and then when you bump in you think gee I sure could go for a peanut butter sandwich my question is is the Tenzo aware of that feeling that you may experience with the food and what is the requirement of the Tenzo? well thank you for bringing that up the Tenzo should be aware of that because they've probably been in the monastery themselves and would know but in this Enlightenment Unfolds which is the Ehe Korok Ube I found this section which talks about according to the guidelines for Zen monasteries as the Changwan Jingui

[40:31]

the duty of the head cook is to supervise the cooking of meals for the community activating a heart for the way and responding to each situation make sure that the community enjoys the meals they receive be careful this is great be careful not to waste the communal food see that the supplies are not in disarray and keep lay assistants who are capable do not be too strict with the assistants in your application of the guidelines if you are too strict the assistants will become tense on the other hand if you are too loose the work will not be accomplished anyway this thing about you want the community to enjoy the meals they receive make sure they enjoy the meals they receive so and also in the Tenzo Kyokun it talks about being aware of the constitution

[41:33]

you know well I'll tell you another story but I wanted to tell you a story about myself which is when I was Tenzo we had a budget speaking of wanting to take care of the students and I think I overspent my budget we didn't have enough and so I used my stipend money to buy butter this became a kind of not so famous story years later somebody said you used your own money to buy butter but now butter is in disrepute but at that time I think I made shortbread cookies or some real buttery nice thing because I knew I wanted to do that I don't know what I knew I just wanted to offer that but you can go too far I remember for Rev's shuso ceremony when he was the head monk of Tassajara

[42:35]

the Tenzo the last day of Sesshin there's a treat that's served we don't do it here we end the Sesshin and then have tea together but at Tassajara the treat was served in the Zendo and the Tenzo made and cut pieces of cake that were huge they were like this big they were like loaves of bread but it was cake with chocolate frosting and they were brought into the Zendo and people's eyes just popped first of all it's the 7th day of Sesshin nobody could finish it and the abbot Richard Baker at the time said you couldn't even eat a piece of bread that big let alone a piece of cake so the Tenzo I felt I won't say who it was you don't know this person anyway this person is long gone but in this attempt to oh the people they've been sitting for 7 days they'll really want a good treat kind of went overboard it was like her idea of what would be a good treat but it didn't actually meet

[43:37]

the sensibilities of the people in the room so it can't be based on ideas it has to be accurate but you're supposed to think about the weather if it's a chilly cold day you're not going to have fruit soup you're going to have some nice split pea soup or something you consider if people are sick and if it's hot out and what kind of work they've been doing in menu planning you try to take care of the community that way so that's what I would hope the Tenzo would be doing and the crew who's working with the Tenzo might say it would be really nice to have the first greens are up in the spring let's throw them into the salad these wild greens after the winter when they come up things like that you want to keep that in mind just like you would if you were cooking for your friends

[44:42]

what would be appreciated the story that I wanted to tell this is a story that at the end Dogen says you must know you have to understand the heart of this Tenzo there was a teacher who was very strict named Shi Xiang and he was so strict that when people came to sit you sit Tangario you do the waiting period before you enter the monastery like you did for practice period you sit one day here and five days at Tasar but this is traditional he was so stern and aloof but he was respected by his monks but these monks came they traveled, they went on pilgrimage and they came to sit with him and it was a cold and snowy day they were sitting in the Tangario room

[45:42]

and on their first meeting Shi Xiang shouted and drove them out picture it, you know, sitting there and somebody coming in while you're sitting in Tangario shouting at you and trying to drive you out of the Zen room not only that, this is a cold and snowy day not only that, he threw water around in the Tangario room so everyone's clothes got wet can you picture that? all the visiting monks fled except for Fa Yuan and Yi Huai they arranged their robes and continued sitting in the visitors room, that's the Tangario Shi Xiang came and in a scolding voice said if you two monks don't leave I'll hit you Fa Yuan approached Shi Xiang and said the two of us came hundreds of Li Li is a, you know, can't remember what it is per mile but anyway, hundreds of Li to study your Zen how could a dipper full of water drive us away even if we get beaten to death we will not leave

[46:46]

Shi Xiang laughed and said you both need to practice Zen go to the monk's hall and hang up your stuff hang up your bags so that line where he says we came hundreds of miles to study here and a dipper full of water is not going to stop us you know, it kind of shook me out of this thing what kind of an abusive teacher is that going in on a snowy cold day and they're sitting in Tangario throwing water on them, I mean really which is, he was culling, you know, he was saying okay, who's ready because he's a stern teacher, this is how I do it folks so you've got to be ready so later Fa Yuan was asked to serve as head cook by Shi Xiang and at that time the assembly was suffering from Shi Xiang's aloof style and unappetizing food so this is a Tenzo who

[47:48]

was not, he wasn't good he wasn't going to do things to please people or it just was not his way so one day Shi Xiang went out to a village went to a nearby village to do some errand and while he was away, Fa Yuan took the key to the storehouse without permission got some noodles, he actually got some flour to make noodles and oil and made a delicious morning meal for the community Shi Xiang returned earlier than expected and without saying anything joined in the communal meal, so he just took his place ate the meal in the monks hall after the meal was over he sat outside the monks hall and sent for Fa Yuan and said did you get the noodles and oil from the storehouse Fa Yuan said yes I did, please punish me so this is stealing stores from the Sangha

[48:49]

which is one of the highest in terms of stealing, taking what is not given taking something from the Sangha is considered the most extreme offense because what is given to the Sangha is given to the Buddha the Dharma and the practitioners to carry out Buddha's way, so to steal from the Sangha to steal food that's been given to the community is much worse, has a stronger karmic effect than stealing other things that haven't been dedicated to the triple treasure supposedly, I mean, he stole these things without asking so he said yes I did, please punish me so Shi Xiang told him to estimate the price of the noodles and the oil and to compensate the community by selling his robes and bowl he's a monk, right, and this is what he has then Shi Xiang gave him 30 blows and expelled him from the monastery

[49:50]

Fa Yuan stayed in a nearby city and then he asked some of his Dharma friends to intercede for him plead for him to pardon for Shi Xiang to pardon him, but Shi Xiang would not Fa Yuan also pleaded even if I am not readmitted, I would like to request permission to visit and practice in the community so even if he wasn't accepted to the practice period again could I just come on a Sunday and just sit with the community and Shi Xiang said no he did not approve it, so one day Shi Xiang went into the city and saw Fa Yuan standing in front of a traveler's shelter that was in the city, Shi Xiang said to him this shelter belongs to the monastery how long have you been living here? have you paid your fees? so they operated maybe these little way stations for traveling monks that the monastery provided so he was staying there, he didn't have anything Shi Xiang found out, he said how long have you been here? how much have you paid your fees?

[50:53]

he told Fa Yuan to calculate his fees and make the payment Fa Yuan was not disturbed he carried his bowl in the city, collected food he sold the food and made his payment to the monastery later Shi Xiang went to the city and saw Fa Yuan begging he returned to the monastery and told the assembly that Fa Yuan had a true intention to study Zen and finally called him back that's one of those stories that kind of really sticks for me a certain a certain way-seeking mind I guess and later Dogen says Fa Yuan needs to be studied someone like him is encountered once in a thousand years so this kind of spirit it can be encouraging maybe it isn't to you but in this effort to take care of his Dharma friend

[51:57]

who had been getting unappetizing food wheat berries, right? there was stuff to eat and he kind of did it without permission now if we go back to our instructions for the head cook we go on a little further it tells about how to go about the day you consult with the other officers you decide what the menu is you're not unilaterally doing this but Fa Yuan did this for the benefit of his friends and he received the whatever that fruit of that action was which was this encounter with his teacher that he was he knowingly and willingly did this stealing of the food and making the special meal and then took the consequences whatever it was felt to me like unfazed he pleaded to come back but he just received it

[52:59]

so this is this kind of spirit of practice shall we go on? so in this next sentence you must put to work the mind of the way offering appropriate variety in the food served so that the community can feel satisfied and at ease oh sorry am I looking at the wrong translation? that's right still the first page right after it says the zen en shing gi so so variety in food so the community feels satisfied and at ease because if you don't feel satisfied and at ease it's very hard to sit so in ancient times such people as Guishan and Dengshan this is a different Dengshan than I talked about on Sunday this is another person named Dengshan and Shishou I think is his last name

[54:01]

and Guishan was Yangshan's student Yangshan and Guishan are there's lots of koans about them they fill this position formally various formally various great ancestors have worked at this job therefore isn't the Tenzo different from both usual worldly cooks and even the imperial cooks having visited the emperor's palace in China imagining what the cooks for the imperial palace might have, what the ingredients they would have had and so forth I have a different take on this right now so when this mountain monk, when Dogen was in Song China during my spare time I made inquiries of former Tenzos with long experience and they brought up examples they had seen and heard and related them to me now in another translation it says

[55:03]

I asked Tenzos about how they did their work they spoke to me I questioned senior monks who had held various positions and they spoke to me from their experience and one thing that we're sometimes asked to do if you take on one of these jobs talk to the Tenzo see what they get the transmission of how this job goes from this Tenzo and of course each person does it in their own way their own unique way but you hear from the Tenzo about their experiences and what worked and what didn't that's part of your training hearing from the Tenzo their experiences and examples this guidance is the marrow bequeathed since ancient times by Buddhas and ancestors who had the mind of the way

[56:04]

first of all you must deeply study the Zen and Shingy and I found a note that said someone did their PhD dissertation on the Zen and Shingy with annotated version and I'd love to get a copy of it it's this big work 10 volumes or 10 chapters after that it is necessary to hear discussions about details details of the job from former Tenzos now let's see so here we go shall we start with how to fulfill the job for a whole day and night so first after lunch you consult with the director and assistant director in their offices to get the provisions for the next day's breakfast and lunch so Fa Huan went against yes

[57:06]

this note that I read said maybe when he wrote this it wasn't but at one time they were condensed into one he said the six jobs in this as well but I think earlier on those were condensed so one of the practices is you talk with others and we do this here we have menu review we don't do this daily but in the staff meeting one of the things we do is go over the menus of the week Tassaro used to do it every week and here we don't do it quite as often as Tenzo it used to be very hard for me because you'd read and then you'd get critique that squash soup really did not make it it was way too watery

[58:07]

people would say things like there was no color in lunch it was white rice, lime and bean soup and daikon salad or something gee I didn't notice the color so you get these comments from people or I just don't like da da da meanwhile your practice is to receive the comments of your fellow rokuchichi, your staff members so in this way he goes over it daily and what are the provisions for the next day's breakfast and lunch because donors bring or the harvest is brought in Tenzo wouldn't necessarily know what all the provisions are yet provisions for the next day's breakfast this includes rice, greens and other items after you receive them you would carefully protect these ingredients

[59:08]

as if taking care of your own eyes another translation is guard the temple property as if it were your own eyes so that's one of these almost for me like a mantra kind of this phrase take care of the ingredients as if they were your own eyes in another translation it was as if they were your own eyesight if you really spend some time with that sentence take care of these things as if the rice and the beans and the lettuce as if this were your own eyes your own eyesight how would you handle them with great care so for those of you handling food what would it be like to bear that in mind

[60:08]

as you're chopping and placing and putting in the bowl and tipping into steam table pans to handle it as if it were your own eyes now in truth in the five skandhas the eye organ and the visible the eye organ and the visible and the eye consciousness those three when they supposedly touch although there's some question about whether they actually do touch but anyway the eye organ and the visible these are you know when we say in the Heart Sutra no forms, no feelings, no perceptions no formations, no consciousness no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind

[61:11]

the form the skandha one of the five heaps those are the five heaps, the five skandhas form, feelings, perceptions formations and consciousness those are the five skandhas and in the form skandha are included eleven things in the form skandha are included the eye organ and the visible that's all in the form skandha so you might say if you go down deeper whatever you're visibly handling is your own eyes the eye organ and the visible and when there is an eye organ and a visible then there's a third thing that arises which is the eye consciousness which is not in the form skandha that's in the consciousness skandha but anyway

[62:13]

the eye and the visible are not separate so when you handle anything it doesn't have to be food this is this Soto Zen way of carefully handling objects and placing them down and using two hands it says handling as if it were your own eyes well, it is your own eyes you might say this visible and the eye organ there would be no visible without the eye organ for me so you handle it as if it were your own eyes because it is your own eyes and the same is true of sounds, smells, tastes and touchables they all come in under the form so the eye and the seen

[63:15]

the ear organ and the heard the touch and the touchable whatever it is now this is a touchable now it's a visible and the organ and those seeables and hearables and smellables those are not separate so those all make up you said there were 11 the 11th is Avishnapti Rupa these are all Rupa, this is the Rupa Skanda so there is the 10 which are the organs and the corresponding sense objects and then the 11th is the Avishnapti Rupa and the Avishnapti Rupa is consciousness? No, it's a very subtle material it's a subtle form one way of describing it is for example after 50 years we have wrinkles here

[64:19]

you know wrinkles but those wrinkles were being created cell by cell for the last 50 years by smiling and whatever else we do and those have now been created and it's a very subtle way we can't see them being created but they are so that's the Avishnapti Rupa it has a subtle quality to it but it's in the material realm that's the 11th and other things are built up in that way but I like the wrinkles we can relate to it so anyway when we say handle things as if it's not just a metaphor it's a beautiful metaphor if you bear it in mind and handle a carrot as if it were your own eye organ that's one way to practice with it but another is

[65:19]

no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind no color, no sound, no smell and no extinction of those and the non-separation of or I should say the entire world I don't want to veer into this but anyway Avalokiteshvara when he or she realized that the skandhas were empty of own being was saved from all suffering so the own being means that there is a distinct and separate entity out there that exists apart from my seeing of it that exists by itself you know from its side without the inclusion of the eye organ anyway realizing the emptiness of all those

[66:23]

five skandhas were saved so this points to this this is a kind of way to practice that truth treat everything as if it were your own eyes with that much care any questions about that? I mean that's a whole other realm but yes? I think I read about something like that before it was called dependent co-arising is that what that is? or is it similar? yes I think it is similar the dependent co-arising meaning all things rise up together they are not distinct in and of themselves they depend for their appearance on everything else so I think

[67:24]

like this for example there are all these little pieces of chocolate little bits of chocolate stuck on the bottom that have been left which I thought was color but it wasn't it's chocolate this bowl is empty of own being meaning this is made of clay and clay is, what's clay? it's earth and old matter plants and all sorts of minerals it's just a whole bunch of stuff and the clay, the earth was that clay was that plant matter let's say couldn't have grown without the sun and the rain and the wind and those minerals depend

[68:27]

their I don't know what minerals are there's metals and all sorts of different things so this clay also to make this pot was dug out of some earth and the person who found the clay had to get it and bring it to the clay place to be brought to, this is my child's I can't remember which one of my kids made this but the person who brought the clay their parents and their grandparents and foremothers and fathers back to the first beings and the air that they breathed and the food that they ate and this glaze whatever these glazes are and the paint brushes that were made of animal hairs and pretty soon this bowl, we call this a bowl we realize that there's not one thing in this that's bowl, there's no such thing as bowl it's everything I've mentioned plus chocolate

[69:30]

and your fingerprints and all the bacteria and it's just it's the entire universe it's the entire cosmos is right here this is not a bowl this is the entire cosmos ladies and gentlemen, right here but because I wanted to fill it with chocolate and bring it I had to call it something you can't say pass me the entire cosmos because what are you going to pick up which one do you mean because each thing contains everything if you look at it that way if you study it which is the way of looking at things deeply as Thich Nhat Hanh says looking at things deeply but for short we call it bowl so that we can wash it and you can hand it to me and so forth

[70:30]

but you now all know now you have it so keep it well that this is really the entire cosmos as is each carrot as are each one of you and each and every single thing there's no what is it that we could pick up and say it's kind of outside of that we could do the same thing with paper, right we could do the same thing with each one of us that's this dependent co-arising everything depends on everything else which is another way of saying it's empty it's empty of what it's empty of own being it's empty of being a bowl it's not a bowl because it's not a bowl this is the Diamond Sutra because this bowl is not really a bowl we call it a bowl it's a party hat it's a bowl yeah but we conventionally all decide let's call this a bowl but let's nominally name it

[71:33]

let's nominally call it bowl now in some other language they call it what do they call it in Spanish do we know? what do they call it in Spanish? Italian? French? what is it? but you now know what this really is so you have to take very good care of it this teaching of emptiness is what's under all these admonitions about stepping over the threshold with the right foot placing your chopsticks walk quietly in the zando all of that because this is the entire ultimate reality is right there in each moment because you are you you can take good care of it

[72:36]

be very respectful and loving that's what it's all about because this is Buddhadharma and this is the truth of emptiness so dependent co-arising is this dependent co-arising of things that exist in this way so it doesn't exist as a bowl from its side there's no bowlness there kind of living by itself as a bowl but we think it is, we think it's separate from me we think this is separate just like we believe each other are somehow separate but we're not and we support each other so to be given this job of Tenzo to make food for these people who are practicing to realize this is this great honor and you don't do it for fame and glory you consult with the director

[73:38]

and the other people what are our provisions for the day and you choose the proper ones what kind of a day is it what are the ingredients you take care of the ingredients as if they were your own eyes guard the temple properties as if they were your own eyes respect the temple food as if it were for the emperor this attitude applies to both raw and cooked food so you might say I feel that way about the complete finished thing so a couple grains of rice fall on the floor who cares raw or cooked doesn't matter it's all equal in that way you treat raw food differently than cooked food in preparation time but the feeling is exactly the same should we go on am I losing you

[74:40]

are you ok I know it gets so late here by 9 ok this clock says quarter to is it really ten to so the next thing that Tenzo does is all the temple administrators gather in their offices and discuss what combinations of flavors which vegetables and what breakfast gruel to prepare for the next day when we were in China they had these buffet meals that had both Chinese breakfast and Western breakfast and the Chinese breakfast was always this rice gruel, white rice cereal we don't serve it all that often we usually have a whole grain or oatmeal but white rice gruel white rice porridge, really really delicious they call it juk

[75:42]

in Chinese? I'm not sure, do they have it in Vietnam? no, but in Chinatown it's very popular I studied with a Chinese teacher and in Chinatown they had all these different varieties of juk well they would have this bowl of the white rice porridge and then different things to put in it spicy things like pickles and this tofu that was so spicy that it was one of the spiciest things I've ever had you could only take a little nibble and stir it into your porridge so it was kind of this bland delicious soupy rice and then you put little tidbits in it was really good so at Tushar we used to have for breakfast some kind of cereal and some middle bowl of pickles we always had pickles for the third bowl before we had setsus you'd use the pickle

[76:44]

to clean your bowl you'd take it out with your chopstick do you know what setsus are? the cleanest, everybody knows what they are so you'd take your pickles and clean around then you got to eat the pickles, it was good I like that, it's a good idea did they have savory stuff for breakfast? savory stuff, yeah, and lots of vegetables sometimes like Chinese cabbage there'd be broccoli, there'd be noodle dishes there'd be those buns were you getting hungry? there'd be little fried dough pieces one of my favorites was these sesame they had these in Chinatown it's I think mochi, sweet rice and they're made into balls and rolled in sesame and they're kind of hollow in the middle they have bean in the middle those were good, we had those ones this was on the trip?

[77:46]

no, not at Tushar, that would be good at Tushar so decide on the ingredients of the different courses for breakfast and lunch after discussion with all of the temple administrators we do this in the staff meeting not daily, but we try to do it on a regular basis going through the menus I love to have things still going on that were done in the 1200s, 1100s, 900s it's so, I don't know, connecting then it talks about the temple administrators the Rokuchichi after agreeing on the different courses write a menu and post it on the sign boards at both the abbot's room and the monk's study hall now this is, have we been posting the menu? the menu's been posted well, except for oreoki meals we posted so oreoki meals it's posted in cloud hall and then otherwise it's posted in the dining room

[78:48]

and at Tassajara it's posted whether it's oreoki meal or not it's always posted right outside the zendo so you can look at the menu now this is a very old practice to write the menu and post it I just find that so wonderful I hear it's kind of posted to spread before you eat but not 24 hours a day I know, I would like it to be posted actually daily it's posted in the temple's office in the kitchen where am I supposed to go? it's posted for the cut sheets and things maybe I'll talk with Utenzo about posting it on the sign boards I actually like it and it's also posted at the abbot's room and the monk's study hall I don't know where the sign boards were but it would be posted in different places so you'd see what the meals were going to be for the day

[79:49]

next, get ready the following morning's breakfast select the rice and prepare the vegetables by yourself with your own hands watching closely with sincere diligence you should not attend to some things and neglect or be slack with others for even one moment so that points to this these are more important then I won't look at these this kind of even mindedness about each thing you give your full attention to and of course in a big kitchen you have to delegate Utenzo physically cannot do the ordering and make the soup but this is the feeling and for all of us working in the kitchen and doing these jobs to attend, not to be slack some people really love to sweep

[80:57]

can I sweep? I remember Utenzo here comes the story we'd get the meal out we'd serve it in the zendo then we'd have our meal then we'd clean up and then the last thing we would do before it was our break was sweep that would be the last thing in the kitchen and you'd sweep and do the counters and sweep and I remember certain things wouldn't be done yet and people would say, can I sweep? because sweeping meant we were just about done you could start sweeping it was almost break time we like certain jobs other ones we don't some people don't like to touch the sponges so they don't like to wipe down the counters you know how it is some like lettuce other people don't like to take the compost out some people love to take the compost out it just depends so this thing of watching sincerely each thing not to be picking and choosing what you kind of neglect

[81:59]

I wanted to get to this other I guess it's down further anyway, I'm just going to finish this no, I'm not we'll pick up where I left off because I don't want to go past nine so think about for the week handling things as if it were your own eyesight or your own eyes and not attending to some things and neglecting to the other having this even-minded and full not slacking off feeling see what happens see what happens okay, thank you what is that? that's for Gwen when we were in China this last hotel we stayed at it was a five-star hotel it was the one we stayed at in Beijing and when we went to bed at night

[83:01]

they did have chocolate on our pillows so this is kind of a five-star hotel don't you think you could put that on your pillow? they also, the chocolate by the way was in this little envelope and on the envelope there were it was a forecast for the next day's weather so there was sunny, cloudy, rainy and then they would check one of them whatever the forecast was for the next day I thought that was fun I thought we should actually do that at the guest house actually the tide charts for the night the what? to know when the tide is high and low for swimming? for walking at the beach the tide charts thank you very much

[83:56]