Audience, for coming today. I was talking with Jack Shaw, who just left this morning, a couple of days ago, and he was telling me about this survey that was done. Apparently giving talks in front of people is the number one fear that people have, and death comes a close third. But given the choice between dying and giving a talk, I'd rather give a talk. And also being in such an illustrious assembly, I feel a bit like Lawrence Welk playing in between the Chili Peppers and Jimi Hendrix. But onto more serious matters, a lot of people have been expressing their thanks, and I feel

[01:04]

I should, too. I'm really appreciative to Shumi Cho for organizing this session, getting us all together. When I think of the cost, I was told that it's $40,000, $50,000 just to do this, and that doesn't take account of the labor that goes into it. And then this wonderful opportunity that's been provided, especially for me and getting together with my Dharma brothers, this has never happened before. This is 20 or 30 years culmination right at this point, really being able to spend that time with them in a less pressured way.

[02:04]

We usually meet for a couple of days a year, and that's it. And then extending that, too, and meeting all of the other people from different sanghas, and then participating and seeing how they do, how they do service, how they work, how they interact, and how we all get on together. It's just a wonderful thing, and we can really bring something close together, a real nice feeling, maybe even an organization that'll serve as well. And also, thanks to Green Gulch that has really treated us like family, all of the staff and the abbot, the retired abbots, for feeding us and for letting us play with the large

[03:06]

toys like the truck and the chainsaws. That's always risky business, but thank you. Now, this temple is called the Green Dragon Temple, and that means that there's a dragon that lives here in this hall. It's not like the dragon that you see on some of these hose containers or water containers that you see around the temple. It doesn't have these big fangs, big wings, breathe fire, that kind of thing. But this dragon has this all-pervasiveness. You can't get away from it. It has that power, not only to kill, but to give life, to really embrace each one of us

[04:20]

and take care of us. There's a story about the ancient Britons a while back. There was no king. The old king had rammed a sword in a stone and was waiting for a new heir to come up. One day, Arthur comes along, pulls the sword out of the stone, and becomes the new king. Merlin thinks this is a little bit fishy, so he goes along to see how Arthur is. Arthur's there playing with his new sword, pretending to be king. He decides to take him into the deep woods. He takes him in deeper and deeper until he can't swing his sword around anymore.

[05:26]

He begins to get nervous. Pretty soon, he's almost locked in with these branches. At that point, Merlin brings in this big fog, and it starts to really fill this whole forest area. Arthur says, what's that? Merlin said, this is the breath of the dragon. Arthur gets even more nervous. Well, how do I see it? He goes, it's in the plants. It's in the trees. It's in the mountains and the rivers. And it's in you and me. But what can I do?

[06:29]

And Merlin said, just sit, rest in the arms of this dragon. And so that's what Arthur did for the rest of his life, and he became a great king. And that's what we have as our life. That dragon is these three treasures, this life that we have, this Buddha treasure, this Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi is our birthright. And the manifestation of that in every single thing is this Dharma treasure. And those that really harmonize these two treasures and practice together are the Sangha

[07:39]

treasure, and that's this wonderful life that we have. That we can really appreciate through this practice. And it's really interesting. This is what Hyakujo, Dogen Zenji, and Keizan Zenji really wanted to preserve and maintain when they wrote out this Shingi. All of these Shingi arise from that desire to really protect and maintain this Dharma. If you read Master Dogen's Shingi, which I actually did, about a third to half of these Shingi are regulations, but the majority of it are job descriptions and encouraging students stories for us in our practice.

[08:41]

And it's interesting for me being an administrator seeing how Dogen Zenji really saw that position and also the other positions that were described. And the main thing that came out from reading that was not a heavy kind of enforcement of regulations, but a real kindness and appreciation for all practitioners. That these Shingi arise out of that kindness. But definitely we need rules and regulations. We've had regulations ever since we became social animals. Chimpanzees, if somebody breaks the rules, they punish them or banish them or kill them. In civilization, it's the same thing. The rules and regulations reflect the environment.

[09:42]

For instance, if we had no highway code, you can imagine the anarchy that would result. There'd be lots of accidents, people getting killed, all kinds of confusion. And talking about the highway code, about two months ago, I got a speeding ticket and it was a mandatory court appearance. So I had to go down, I was doing about 82 miles an hour, and I got a $225 fine. But the thing that really impressed me about this court was how they make you see the value of these regulations, how they really impress upon you the value of respect for the society and the civilization that we have, which is a wonderful thousand-of-years-old institution, not even an institution, but a gathering of people.

[10:50]

And then when you reflect on how, say, Hyakujo got his Shingi together and the first Shingi that we have, you look at what he's written down, and part of this, one of the main things, is hygiene. When people live together, they've got to be careful. And then the second part is basic respect for one another, because without that, then we can't live together and practice together in a meaningful way. Things just don't flow. It's difficult to maintain a mind of practice. We had a member about three or four days before I left that smashed a hole in the door, threw a whole bunch of dishes on the ground, and then knocked about three holes in the wall.

[11:53]

And under certain circumstances, that would have been okay. But this attitude of really not appreciating the practice had been pervading for a long time, so he had to leave. Now, somebody asked a question a few days ago, I think it was of Genpo, about if we are to change how we do things in this country, isn't it difficult to know whether you're going to be throwing the baby out with the bath water? And I thought this was a very appropriate question. It's one that's always been on my mind. And the first thing that comes up is, the only way you really get to know these Shingi is to actually obey them and do them for a while, and see what is learned from them. Then something happens in obeying these Shingi, or just following them.

[12:58]

A lot of one's own ideas begin to drop away. My way of doing things. And then definitely the other side of that too, through experiences that you see things that really are not applicable to this country, like in reading the Kesan Shingi, there's quite a bit about having services for the emperor, for the prolongation of life. Even the wording of the dedications just really wouldn't appeal to Westerners, even English people like myself, I have a queen. But that kind of thing can be easily dropped. But at the same time, we have to see the spirit behind these Shingi. In other words, we don't have an emperor, but we have a country. We have a president, and we have a government.

[14:05]

And it's through their efforts in representing us that we have a free society in which we can practice our religion. And quite often we take that for granted. If you look in the Tang Dynasty, like Daido was saying yesterday, with Tokuju, is that right? He was living as a boat monk simply because the political situation at that time didn't enable people to practice in monasteries. Not only that, people were getting killed. And the monasteries were closed down. And bringing it closer to home, you could imagine, say, if the Christian right got into power in this country. And suddenly we were all devil worshippers, not allowed to practice. So some way we have to show that gratitude.

[15:11]

We have to express it. We can't just take this practice for granted. It's a wonderful thing. And there are other Shingi too that culturally aren't appropriate. You know, we just laugh at them. I remember Saikawa-san was teaching us the proper way to do food services, memorial services. And we were doing the food offerings. And he was showing us this particular way where you put a piece of paper in your mouth so you don't breathe on the food offering. But we were laughing so hard when he was telling us this. He decided to drop it right there. But again, kind of going back to Saikawa-san, I hope we don't embarrass you. But 13, 14, 15 years ago, he helped ZCLA really get our own ceremonial Shingi down.

[16:14]

And we've basically kept that since he designed it. And not only that, through his efforts, whenever we go to another temple, it makes it very easy to understand how their ceremonies work. And it makes it easy to blend in. So, we have great gratitude for that kind of teaching. But the spirit of practice is the most important. Really being present right now and experiencing these three treasures. Not just following rules and regulations and expecting something to come out of that. You know, if I step in here and bow there and sit for 15 years, then at that time, then I'll get Dharma transmission. That's not how it goes. You really have to have this spirit of really clarifying this life.

[17:18]

That is the most important thing. That is the most important Shingi, the most important rule. And it should never be forgotten. And then at the same time with the Shingi, if we decide that we should break the rules and regulations, we should take full responsibility for it. There's a story of Master Isai. And this was during a famine. And a lady came in one day and she was starving. She brought her kids with her. And he felt really bad because he couldn't give her any food. And he couldn't give her any money. The temple was flat broken. They could barely feed the monks that were there. So he was really racking his brain for a while, thinking what he could do to feed this family. Then suddenly it came to him in a strong box in the treasurer's room.

[18:27]

There was some gold leaf. So that they could refinish this statue. So he went into the room and he brought out the gold leaf. And he gave it to the lady. And that gold leaf gave her enough money to feed her family for two or three weeks. But in the background there was a treasurer monk. And he said, he came out after she'd left and said, Sir, don't you realize that you've committed one of the five heinous crimes, stealing from the Sangha? And he says, yes, I realize that. He says, don't you realize that you'll go to hell? And Master Isai just looked at him straight in the face. And said, and I'll enjoy every single minute.

[19:30]

Full responsibility for actions. Anyway, each center has its own rules and regulations. And on that positive side, when we really follow those rules and regulations, it becomes very easy to practice. Hardly anything has to be said. We just go from one thing to the next. When you look at these shingy written in books, the books get kind of fatter and fatter. And they really don't describe things that are that difficult. Like for instance, I remember writing out the instructions for arioki. And it took about seven pages. But we all know you do arioki about five or six times. And it's very simple. It makes sense and it flows.

[20:35]

So this flow is important, but also simplicity. When you look at Hyakujo's regulations, again, you know, they really make sense. I mentioned that health and well-being. Also, he mentions respect for one another. I remember when I first went to the Zen center, there were certain people that I really respected. And then there were others, seniors, that I really didn't. But the more I practiced, the more I realized that even those people that didn't seem to practice that diligently were important, very important, equally as important as anybody else. Simply by just being there and supporting the teacher and the temple made a big difference.

[21:43]

And then Hyakujo goes on to consideration of others' responsibilities of others and their responsibilities in practice. Quite often when you go to a center, you'll see some people who are in the zendo all the time and can practice very traditionally in a very traditional way, and it can be easily respected. But as we know, there's many people practicing in many different ways, working out, earning money for their family, working out and earning money for the temple. But every single person is out practicing. And we should definitely have respect for that. And also people have different capacities. I remember we have this schizophrenic that is at the Zen center. And definitely we don't treat him in the same way

[22:49]

as we treat other practitioners. I remember one day he stood up in the middle of kin here and his penis was hanging out. Then he did it again during the arihoki. But you don't treat him in the same way as you would a normal person. An ordinary person, you take him on side, what's the deal, what are you doing? But again, just really having this basic respect for all practitioners. And then anybody that really can't support this practice should leave. Now, one of the major ways in which this shingy is transmitted to all of us is through our seniors.

[23:50]

And I remember, again, when I first came to the center, I was very impressed by most of the senior people. And there was a couple of people that I was especially impressed with. And then through their practice, my practice really was strengthened. I remember Genpo Sensei, when I first came, was very encouraging. He would always be in the zendo. He would come early. He would always be encouraging to continue to practice. And he was also relaxed enough to really deal with people. And then on the other hand, I remember Chosen Sensei who was very busy at that time. She had three teenage kids. One of them was a punk rocker.

[24:52]

And she was also managing and working in the clinic, finishing koan study with Roshi, and also part-time being his attendant. And looking after this family. So we didn't see her much in the zendo, but I remember just seeing the intensity of her practice, taking any opportunity that was available. I remember being in the zendo once. This is one of the highlights of my practice. And Chosen had been working so hard that we were sat there at dawn zazen. And suddenly I felt this thud on my leg, like this. And I looked down and there was Chosen's head. And she just collapsed from exhaustion. I just kind of put my hand over her face just to see if she's still breathing. But definitely how the shing you carried out

[26:00]

at each temple by the seniors makes a big difference to the practice. And it's something for all of us to be aware of. Now, another major aspect of this Eihei Shingi that's not directly mentioned is this all-inclusive study. Now this Dharma treasure. Right where we stand, now everything is here. We don't need to look anywhere else. Every single thing is included. But somehow we still try and look for something else. And that's the very problem in itself. We really don't pay attention.

[27:03]

I remember I went off to Universal Studios a couple of years back. I had some relatives coming over from England. And they really wanted to go on a national holiday. And you may or may not know, but on a national holiday, Universal Studios is like a giant zoo. And this was like the culmination of a really hard month that I'd had. And I woke up that morning and I got out of bed and did my usual things. And then 10 minutes before I had to go to the Zendo to meet a camera crew, one of our members' cars, he kind of drove it over the edge of this garden and we had to lift it back on in kimonos. And I came back and I missed the film crew. But anyway, it went okay.

[28:04]

But each one of these things was like an incremental kind of winding up. And just before I was leaving, then two people started arguing about computers and the time that they wanted to spend on it. So again, I was getting more and more wound up. The freeway was clear, that was great. I got to Universal Studios and went through about five or six parking lots and around a huge parking device until I finally found a place. And I'm getting more and more wound up. And then I went up to the door. And of course, you don't have to line up to go in. You just get in very easily. But as soon as I got through the door, just like wall to wall people all over the place. You had to line up for drinks, to line up for the bathroom. You had to line up for rides. You had to line up just about for everything. So I wanted to go on this one particular ride called the Back to the Future ride

[29:05]

in which you kind of go through the past and get swallowed by dinosaurs and things. And so we lined up there and we thought, well, this isn't too bad. And we kind of started zigzagging and zigzagging and zigzagging. And after about 40 minutes of this zigzagging, finally got to the entrance of the place. And we thought, now we'll get in. But as soon as we walked through the door, then it was zigzagging, zigzagging, zigzagging. And it went all over the place. So I was with my cousin, Mavis. And she said, the others are going to be waiting for us. I don't think we should do this. We won't be in for another two hours. So then I kind of gritted my teeth, another turn on the wind and went zigzagging, zigzagging all the way back. And so I followed her. And then we went down to another ride. I went down all of these things, all these things, and more and more wound up. And then we asked this person

[30:05]

about getting on the tour itself. And they said, you can't go on for another hour and then it'll take 40 minutes to line up. And at that point, I just put my hands to my face. And then this keystone cop came up to me and he goes, wake up! And I was just about to tell him where to go when I realized that he was right. I was creating this whole hell. Just creating a hell rather than just seeing the situation as it is. Just a sea of people. It's difficult, yes, but it's just an ocean of people. But that's what we do. Rather than seeing this wonderful treasure that our life is, we go looking for something else

[31:08]

or create some kind of hell or heaven and follow that. And if we can really trust in this, this true dragon, these three treasures, this life that we have right now, practice all-inclusively, then this is the transmission in itself. Moment by moment. I've not mentioned much about Roshi in this because I felt that Daido really expressed it very well. That aspect, for me, goes without saying, that gratitude to one's teacher. But really seeing that transmission

[32:13]

in each moment is most important. And as Todoroshi said, that is the wheel. That's how we can function. And the most important point of that wheel is the center. That empty space. Nothing fixed. If there's something fixed there, then the wheel won't work. Somehow, the kai don't function correctly. Anyway, I'd like to finish at that point and then just invite questions, corrections, comments. Yeah. Oh, I took him outside and told him to put it back in.

[33:18]

Really, actually. Yeah. And in the practice department, how do you work with the team, the job description, the staff positions? Well, I really haven't started on that. I only got a copy about a few days before I came up here. So I've been looking at that and I've been seeing how maybe I can change things. Um, I've not really fully, you know,

[34:25]

seen all the implications of it yet. But one of the things is getting, like Dogon Senji says, he gets very specific with what each position does. And what I'd like to do with that is just see what we're not covering and then try and cover those things. But then through experience, just see how we can kind of get it more in line with that kind of appreciation. Not the direct form, but more in that appreciation. Especially that kindness aspect. You know, I really want to try and develop teamwork along those lines. Yeah. Is that okay? Okay. Yeah.

[35:36]

Oh, great. Yeah. You got in trouble later. Oh, yeah. Right. Right. Right. Well, when you're suffering, the main thing is just to really,

[36:46]

really just suffer. Not look for a way out of that. You know, obviously you've got to see where your responsibility lies. How you're creating that for yourself. But if the situation is such that, if the situation is difficult, then that's what your life is. It is that difficult situation. And just really enter into that wholeheartedly. Does that answer your question? Yeah. Yeah. The suffering.

[37:53]

Yeah. I think that humanity was the important thing for him. You know, just seeing that he had faults. And that humanizing factor was the most important thing for him. Wasn't some great ideal, but this is his life. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Whenever I'm experiencing some kind of pain or loss, the more something, the more I have, the more I miss. Like somehow I'm not having anything. Yeah.

[39:03]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's that aspect of letting go. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah.

[40:07]

Uh-huh. Well, basically, I see those three treasures of every aspect of my life. Yeah. Yeah. Obviously, this realization doesn't rest outside of this moment. And then this Dharma treasure is that realization. Every single thing, every single thing is that. It's not apart from it. And treating it with that kind of respect. I'm not saying I do that all the time, but that's the practice. Then the Sangha treasure, you know, from a slightly different aspect, is our support. You know, it's a wonderful,

[41:12]

vibrant, vibrant support that really keeps us alive. And I really appreciate having people around to support me in times when, you know, things are difficult. And obviously, when times are good. And also to support other people. We all mutually really help each other. You know, that's really all I have to say. But I mean, it's just a wonderful thing. I mean, you can see it just in the way we're all getting together here. And that Sangha becomes a larger kind of organism, one thing. All interacting together. Although we've had lots of different backgrounds, it makes no difference. We have this one thing in common.

[42:16]

We're really clarifying what this life is. Does that answer your question? Thank you. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I think the first thing is to really love yourself. And then the second aspect of that is just appreciate what you really have. And in that way, we tend not to try and look for something else to really fulfill us.

[43:22]

But really trying to appreciate each moment of life that happens, whether it's difficult or it's easy. You know, there's no real tricks to Zen. Obviously, the basic practice is just this awareness practice. But it should come from a standpoint of love and appreciation. Okay?

[44:02]

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