Good morning, everyone. Good morning, everyone. I am very happy to be here this morning to be able to talk with you, have our Dharma discussion, and continue our study of the Lotus Sutra. Some of you may not know, but a number of people, a couple hundred people or more, are participating in a January intensive that includes participants from the United States of America and Europe and I'm not sure what other countries, and were studying the Lotus Sutra.

[01:23]

So... My talk today will be devoted to taking a look at chapter 25, which is considered, it's kind of one of the more beloved chapters of the Lotus Sutra, and it stands alone and is chanted by itself, oftentimes perhaps the only that someone might have chanted would have been chapter 25. So we're going to take a look at that chapter and how to practice with that and what the teachings are of that. However, before we, or as part of looking at chapter 25, I just wanted to say that on January 15th, we had a memorial service commemorating, maybe I could say more clearly, commemorating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King.

[02:35]

And in the Zendo, I actually didn't know what this was going to happen. We played through the audio part of the I Have a Dream speech. I don't think it was the entire And I want to dedicate this talk about the 25th chapter to Dr. Martin Luther King and his work and his vision and his not forgetting his sufferings. and those who walked with him and still walk with him. Because I feel this 25th chapter is about being in the world and facing our suffering, facing the suffering of others, feeling it, listening, and responding.

[03:48]

And I also want to include the fact that not only the United States of America is affected by the rampaging mob that stormed the Capitol. People died. People were threatened. People were traumatized and hurt. And how do we How do we practice with this? How do we work with this? How do we take care of ourself when these threats of violence and delusionary upheaval are right there in our everyday life, not in some mythical time? So I want us to not forget these times that we're living in, and especially the clarity with which I've been reading people's understanding of the underpinnings of what happened.

[05:09]

The beliefs, the delusional beliefs in white supremacy and hatred and fear. But let's not stop there. Let's nor write off millions of people from our heart. What is the practice of meeting these kinds of circumstances? So please help me to ground this talk in our real everyday life. And the difficulties that we face. And how can chapter 25 help us? So I wanted to just briefly say something about the history of the Lotus Sutra.

[06:13]

It was written over about 700 years. So it probably... And scholars can see the layers of the language used in various ways to ferret out these layers of time. And the first 11 chapters were probably written between the first century BCE, before the Common Era. Probably those first sections were finished about 250 Kamene era. The whole Lotus Sutra was finished except for one chapter. The 12th chapter was added probably in the 500s. The chapter called Devadatta about the Buddha's rascal of a cousin.

[07:17]

So chapter 1 through 11, probably 100 BCE to about 50 BCE. Chapters 12 to 15 in about 100 common era. Chapters 16 to 27 around 150 common era. So this chapter 25, probably written, you know, Thousands of years ago, yes? The chapter 25 is called various translations. One is the universal gateway of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva. Another is the all-sidedness, the all-sidedness of the regardor. of the cries of the world.

[08:19]

Regarder of the cries of the world is a translation of the name of the Bodhisattva of infinite compassion. So, Avalokiteshvara guanyin in Chinese, kanon in Japanese, and also there's other ways that this Bodhisattva of infinite compassion is referred to. In the Heart Sutra, it's kanji zai. and sometimes it's kanzeyon. This is all referring to the same Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion and turning the name in different ways. Kanon is seeing, observing, regarding, and on is sound, the sound seer or the sound regarders. kanon or guanyin, but kanzeon is regardor of the cries of the world or one who hears the cries of the world.

[09:26]

That's the name of this bodhisattva of infinite compassion, this practice of listening, listening to suffering, listening to the cries of the world, listening to these calls. Suzuki Roshi mentions Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra in the transcriptions of his talks on the Lotus Sutra. And it's very interesting what he says. He learned Chapter 25 because his mother chanted it a lot, chanted it daily. And she just would be going about her. Life in the home, she was a temple, wife of a temple priest, and would chant this sutra, which calls on the Bodhisattva of infinite compassion for help.

[10:31]

And Suzuki Roshi says he didn't really, he learned it by heart just by listening, but when he got older, maybe around 11 or 12, he says he understood more what she was saying, and he didn't like it. It sounded like she was being very superstitious. And those of you who've read it already know what I mean, and I'll bring it up in this talk for those of you who haven't read it. But he felt she was being superstitious, and he didn't like it. And so he goes on to say, actually, one of the students in this lecture asks him, did your mother have faith in the Lotus Sutra? Is that why she was chanting? Because she had faith. And he basically said he didn't know if it was faith, but it was more like a prayer.

[11:38]

And a prayer is... I pray for something. May it be so. Calling out for something, for help, a kind of prayer. And then he talks about their life during this time. This was in the Meiji period, which went from 1868 to 1912. And this was a very difficult time for Buddhism in Japan. There was... a withdrawal of support for Buddhist priests. The priest before Suzuki Roshi's father had to sell off land in order to have some kind of income. People were not donating. And also it was a time when priests were allowed to, pressured to marry after, you know, a thousand years of

[12:41]

a celibate priesthood, this change in the culture happened. And I think it was very hard on those early families. And they were very poor. Suzuki Roshi said when it rained, they didn't have money to fix the roof. They had to hold umbrellas inside the house. And the tatami mat was all ruined and broken. And he didn't have the same kind of clothing to wear to school for festival days and these kinds of things. So he said it was hard for him. But in thinking about his mother, he realized it must have been very, very hard for her during this time. And she chanted the 25th chapter, the universal gateway. universal gateway of the bodhisattva of infinite compassion.

[13:45]

And perhaps as often chanting something, repeating something, knowing something by heart and chanting it over and over, this can meet us, can soothe us, can comfort us. can work with our trauma of our life in a very skillful way. So that's just a little background about Suzuki Roshi's connection with this chapter 25. So... What is the chapter about? It starts out... This is chapter 25, so a lot of the Lotus Sutra has gone on before this.

[14:51]

And there's a personage, a very important Buddha, who shows up right at the end of the chapter that was introduced before that I'll say something about. But... It starts out with a bodhisattva whose name is Akshayamati, which translates as infinite mind or infinite thought or endless intent. You know, there's so many translations of the sutra into English, and also there were many translations made, you know... up until the 400s when Kumara Jiva translated it in a very eloquent, beautiful way. There were many translations, but after that, Kumara Jiva's translation was used. Anyway, this Bodhisattva asks the Buddha, why is Regarder of the Cries of the World called by that name?

[15:58]

So it starts out with, This question, why that name? Why is that name, the name of this Bodhisattva? And the Buddha then begins the chapter 25 with saying how it is that this Bodhisattva has this name. Now, I wanted to go back. This was very helpful for me. the one who hears the cries of the world, this bodhisattva is in other sutras, in the Heart Sutra, in the first line of the Heart Sutra, in the Flower Garland Avatamsaka Sutra, when Sudhana is going around to different bodhisattvas to ask how to lead a bodhisattva life. Sudhana calls on Avalokiteshvara and asks, And in this part, this is now Avatamsaka Sutra, but I think it's background.

[17:02]

This Mahayana Sutra is background for Chapter 25. Chapter 25 flows from these teachings and vows of the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion. So I'm going to read from the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Flower Ornament Sutra. Sudhana, who's this pilgrim, comes upon Avalokiteshvar, sitting by these streams and springs on a boulder, and asks how... First he was welcomed by the Bodhisattva, and then he says... How do you practice the Bodhisattva way, basically? I've set my mind to practice the Bodhisattva way.

[18:04]

Please tell me how to carry this practice forward to enlightened beings, to save beings. And Avalokiteshvara says, Noble one, I have set my mind on supreme perfect enlightenment. but I do not know how to learn and carry out the practice of enlightening beings. This is what Sudhana said, and Avalokiteshvara said, it is good that you are aspiring to this. I know a way, Avalokiteshvara knows a way, Guan Yin knows a way, of enlightening practice called Undertaking great compassion without delay. That's Avalokiteshvara's practice. Undertaking great compassion without delay. And what this does is guides beings.

[19:10]

And I'm dedicated to protecting and guiding beings and communicating to them. And I appear, says Kuan Yin, says Avalokiteshvara, I appear in the midst of the activities of all sentient beings without leaving the presence of the Buddha. So this Bodhisattva does not leave Buddha nature in some way or the presence of Buddhas, but enters into the midst of daily activities. And I do this by four means. And this Dogen, there's a fascicle of Dogen about these four methods, kind speech, generosity, kind speech, beneficial action, and identity action. So this is where that originates in Avatamsaka Sutra. And I appear in various forms.

[20:13]

And I take care of, I have inconceivable forms. I take care of them and develop them. by speaking to them according to their mentalities, showing conduct according to their inclinations. And I magically produce forms and teach them doctrines commensurate with their interests and inspire them to accumulate good qualities according to their mentalities. And I appear to them in any form. That's part of their conditions. Their families. I come in that form. And by living together with them. This is perfecting the practice of unhesitating compassion.

[21:17]

I vowed to be a refuge for all beings. to free them from fears, calamity, threat, confusion, bondage, attacks on their lives, insufficiency of means to support life, inability to make a living, ill repute, the perils of life, intimidation by the crowd, death, miserable conditions, unknown hardships, servitude, separation from loved ones, living with the uncongenial, physical violence, mental violence, sorrow, depression. I have undertaken a vow to be a refuge for all beings from these fears and perils.

[22:24]

So this is Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of infinite compassion, naming, listing these things that these are present. They were present thousands of years ago. They are present this very day. You know, insufficient. means to support life, servitude, physical, mental violence, depression, and with unhindered, unhesitating compassion without delay, I vow to guide beings and help beings and take any form that's going to help them, any form. Now, This is also Avatamsaka Sutra, and it has to do with the 25th chapter. Avalokiteshvara then says, I also have caused a way of remembrance to appear in all worlds to extinguish the fears of all beings.

[23:35]

I've caused my name to be known in all worlds to drive away fears of all beings. And I've caused the tranquility of all beings in endless forms to appear in my body, in the body of compassion, to communicate to all beings individually according to this time. And this releases them from fears. So this, not only did Avalokiteshvara make this deep vow, for compassion without delay, unhesitating compassion, and to take any form that's necessary, but also this added thing of my name, I will cause my name to be known. And if you call my name, this is one way to remember.

[24:44]

To remember what? To remember compassion, infinite compassion, unhindered compassion without delay. To remember that because we do forget. Yes? So this is background to the 25th chapter of the Lotus Sutra. This is these... vows, which the Buddha then, when the Bodhisattva of Infinite Thoughts says, how come the Bodhisattva is called Regarder of the Christ of the World? How come? And the Buddha then answers that this Bodhisattva made deep vows. And I think I just read about these vows that this Buddha, this

[25:50]

Bodhisattva made to be with beings in any way, shape, or form that they need. So in the Lotus Sutra, they traditionally say there's 23 forms, but it's really myriad forms. And I think you've seen figures of the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion. One form has a thousand... hands and arms, and on each hand is an eye, the eye of wisdom. So you have these thousand arms, each hand with an eye, and then the hands are holding implements that can be used to meet beings where they're at. That's the only way to meet beings is where they're at. If we're way out ahead of them and talking about things they don't know what's going on, we may lose people.

[26:59]

We have to be there with beings where they're at and speak in ways. This is skillful means. This is one of the main teachings of the 25th chapter. is skillful means and combining wisdom and skillful means and wisdom whose heart is compassion and skillful means is responding appropriately in all universally. That's why it's called the universal gateway or the all-sidedness of There's not stuck in one way, one formula. This was very helpful that one time. I'll try that one again, or I'll bring this up or treat this person like I treated that other person or talk with them in the same way.

[28:00]

No, that was for that time, that place, that time. those inclinations, those tendencies, that family. So the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion takes any form. Now, one thing about this particular sutra, chapter of the sutra, and Suzuki Hiroshi said, you know, He was concerned his mother was superstitious. And I wanted to say something about and read to you, I think, some of the verses, which this chanting of the verse section of chapter 25 is something that's done in Soto temples.

[29:03]

And I remember Akiba Roshi was asked, Japanese priest who lives in the East Bay, what he missed about Japanese temple life. And he said, chanting the 25th chapter of the Lotus Sutra. So this is a beloved teaching. And also, you know, there's this repetition and... So I just wanted to read to you a few of the verse sections and also come back to another teaching that's here. So the Buddha says, Listen to the deeds of Avalokiteshvara, aptly responding in every quarter, who with immense vow...

[30:04]

Deep as oceans, which we just read about from the Avatamsaka Sutra, through kalpas beyond reckoning, eons and eons, has served many thousands of millions of Buddhists, bringing forth this great pure vow. Hearing the name or seeing the form of Avalokiteshvara with mindful remembrance, is not in vain, for the woes of existence can thus be relieved. And then there's this list, which are traditional, the kind of traditional horrible things that can happen to you. And so the sutra brings those up. Even if someone with harmful intent should push you into a fiery pit, By mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara's power, the pit of fire will turn into a pool.

[31:11]

Now I can imagine some of you and Suzuki Roshi as a young person thinking, wait a minute, if I fall into a fiery pit, I'm going to get burned. It doesn't matter if I call on Avalokiteshvara or recite the Bodhisattva's name. what are you talking about? You know, that's superstitious or that's like some magical thinking. If you fall in a fiery pit, you know, so the fiery pit, uh, it can be, you know, it's talked about as an actual fiery pit. And when the, this chapter 25 is, is rendered iconographically, uh, You can see all these things that are mentioned, fiery pits and being attacked by demons and pushed off of mountains. And it's all in a big, you know, can be found in scrolls.

[32:14]

But what's another kind of fiery pit that we can be pushed into? Has anyone felt like they've been pushed into a fiery pit of rage and anger and anger? unbelievable, you know, feelings, strong feelings of hatred maybe you might, revenge. Has this been coming up for anybody? Have we noticed that upon seeing something or reading something or hearing someone speak, that we are filled with the fire of anger and hatred and fear. And not only us personally, but our groups of people, you know, falling into the fiery pit.

[33:23]

So I... I do feel this sutra is not just talking about some magical saving in a fiery pit, but the fiery pit of our own heart turning, turning in a way that is not in alignment with our vows. Catching ourselves. And this next one, if cast adrift on a vast sea, menaced by dragons, fish, and demons, by mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara's power, the billowing waves cannot drown you. So what are the billowing waves that drowned us? The billowing waves of ill will and aversion, disgust. The billowing waves of...

[34:26]

Resentment, resentment that comes up and fills us over and over. We can't let go of. How about in the midst of that, this sutra, this chapter is saying, call forth the power of infinite compassion. Sincerely. If it's not sincere, if it's like, well, maybe I'll try that. If it's, I need help. This is one of the cries of the world. I need help to face and meet my life and what's happening and the trauma of these times and the traumas of my family and my community and my culture. You know, can we... Invoke infinite compassion.

[35:36]

Call it up. Call for it. That's what this 25th chapter is saying. So these traditional things, fire, drowning, being attacked by bandits, being, you know, evildoers wanting to poison you. These are all mentioned. These are all chanted. And, you know, Tenchan Aroshi didn't want us to start chanting this without a little commentary because I think it may be difficult to just jump into this without some kind of grounding in the vows and practices of infinite compassion and unhesitating compassion as our inspiration.

[36:39]

Otherwise, we may turn from this, like this isn't for me, this is weird, in such a way that we reject a practice that can meet us in our distress. In our suffering, that's what it's about. Calling upon infinite compassion to be with us. And when we do that with sincerity, and sometimes it's our last, we have nothing left but to just call for help and ask compassion to help. Ask for compassion. for this mind that's so filled with ill will, let's say, or greed or strong desires or so deluded. So this calling out and asking will be responded to.

[37:42]

This is one of our teachings of inquiry and response come up together. And the form it takes of this response, because infinite compassion comes immediately, You don't know what form it will come in. It could come in the form of your own heart opening. It could come in the form of a thought that is coming from your own inside you rather than looking outside. Where is it going to come from? Where is Avalokiteshvara? I don't see him or her. Infinite compassion comes in all forms. And sometimes we don't recognize. It's imperceptible. But we were met. Sometimes we know when someone was there for us and guiding us and listening to us.

[38:49]

But the response can come in in the way that you need it. And that's part of the 25th chapter. After talking about, you know, surrounded by raging beasts with fangs and claws, by mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara's power, they will quickly scatter in all direction. What... What for us is fangs and claws that have a grip on us? You know, habitual ways of thinking and acting and treating people. Addictions of all kinds. Do we feel like we've got fangs and claws in us? Venomous steaks and scorpions, et cetera, et cetera. clouds of thunder and lightning strike, hailstones fall, the hate of hailstones, you know, falling, hailstones.

[40:04]

So when living beings suffer hardships, burdened by immeasurable woes, the power of Avalokiteshvara's wondrous wisdom, this is where we connect compassion and wisdom, It's not a compassion that's sentimental or nice or sweet. This is fierce compassion that takes any form. And the form may not be even anything you like, like somebody shaking you or taking something from you, your car keys maybe. That's fierce compassion that takes any form. Sometimes we conflate niceness or sweetness with compassion, which it often looks like iconographically, but there's figures of the bodhisattva of infinite compassion with 11 heads, and some of them are very fierce and scary, and that's what we sometimes need, and that's what beings need.

[41:17]

Beings who are hurting others and cruel to others may need a face of complete and utter fierceness, which protects beings. Like Dharma protectors often have these fierceness, fierce countenances. Whatever we need, it's not nice. It may be nice if we need that. So it goes on to say, in the 25th chapter, it says, if you need Avalokiteshvara to come in a particular form, in the form of a Buddha, infinite compassion will come in that form. If you need it as a general, it'll come as a general. If you need it as a young child, it'll come as...

[42:21]

Infinite compassion will come how you need it. If you need it as a man, as a woman, young, old. And I would venture to say, you know, I just read that all these humane societies and SPCAs have hardly any doggies and cats left because people during the pandemic are adopting animals. And I would say, you know, they're emptying out these facilities. If you need it in the form of a kitty cat, it will come in the form of a kitty cat. What do we need to meet our suffering? So anything goes. There's nothing, you know... So this is kind of a hard teaching, but this is in the 25th chapter. Now, there's another part in the 25th chapter that I want to mention, which is that infinite compassion, Avalokiteshvara, after this chapter is recited, and the end of it,

[43:47]

I'll end with how it ends, but the Bodhisattva of Infinite Thought says, he gets it, and he says, I want to make offerings to the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion for these deep vows and for being there to guide and protect and come to people's aid when they call on you. I want to make offerings to you. And so this bodhisattva was wearing this necklace of pearls or jewels. He takes off the necklace. Bodhisattvas often have great, wonderful adornments. They're not monks and nuns. They can take that form, but they're often depicted with jewels and headdresses. Anyway, this bodhisattva takes off his necklace and offers it as a gift to Guan Yin, who is the female form, Kanon.

[44:56]

And Avalokiteshvar, Kanon, Guan Yin, says basically she refuses, she won't receive it. And he offers again that please take this offering for the sake of the many beings. Please take this gift. And she refuses again to receive this offering. And then the Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, intercedes and says to Guan Yin, please take this gift for the sake of beings. Just receive this offering. So she takes it and she divides this necklace in two, two parts. And she gives one necklace. heart of the necklace to Shakyamuni Buddha. And she gives the other half to this Buddha that has appeared earlier in the sutra, we're already near the end, whose name is Abundant Treasures or Many Treasures.

[46:03]

And this Buddha, in one of the more fantastically wonderful chapters of the Lotus, appears in this stupa way high in the sky and everybody sees rises up and wants to see him. And then the Buddha and many treasures sit next to each other in the stupa, the two of them, and teach together. And this Buddha, many treasures, is kind of the symbolic in the Lotus Sutra, the symbol of the Buddha nature itself. So infinite compassion, just to go over this, takes her offering and offers it again to Shakyamuni Buddha, who taught her and teaches us and is the Buddha in our time and is the source of the Dharma of our time. And also to many treasures, this Buddha nature or the teaching of how it is that we exist together in this world.

[47:13]

life in emptiness, the groundlessness of our ground together, and acknowledges this Buddha, many treasures. So this Buddha nature as our fundamental way that we are. And in the commentary, Well, how come she didn't just receive the necklace? He wanted to give her a necklace. And the commentary in one place says, Avalokiteshvara did not want to be an intermediary between our practice and the Buddha Dharma and Buddha nature, like shifted over to, well, I can relate to Avalokiteshvara, but I can't relate to the teachings of Avalokiteshvara. the truth of my existence as awakened nature.

[48:17]

So this is one commentary that taking that gift and giving it back to the ground of her practice, the wisdom whose heart is compassion, the wisdom of God, no abiding self. And sitting in that wisdom seat, which Guan Yin does, and from that seat of wisdom that doesn't see beings as separate beings, still the vow is to serve and beings, guide beings, speak to beings in the language they can understand, with the examples that they can relate to in any form that they need.

[49:20]

This is bodhisattva life. The wisdom that sees that there's no abiding self by itself is just cruelty. It's like, well, you don't really exist, so deal with it. That's a kind of sickness, actually, of caught in emptiness, or it's not real wisdom. Wisdom's heart is compassion. And Avalokiteshvara, you know, helps us by saying, these are my vows, unhindered. without delay. Can we access that? This is for us. This isn't floating somewhere in Bodhisattva land apart from us. This is who we can practice like over and over and over again with sincerity.

[50:28]

Being there for one another. Listening. And this main practice of regarding the cries of the world, listening, listening itself is healing when someone really listens to you. And, you know, we often get distracted or fall into the fiery pit of, I got to have an answer. I can fix it. I know what's best. Listen to me. I did it this way, try it this way, et cetera, et cetera, without really listening, without truly listening. If we really listen to ourselves, I think we have to start with ourselves and listen to our own suffering. We start there. Without that, we're not ready to be there for others if we've skipped over our own suffering.

[51:32]

where we need to stay close. Yeah. So we start with ourselves, with self-compassion, and we bring up the power, the power of compassion. I think Thich Nhat Hanh has a translation of it where he says, instead of... by mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara's power, he says, invoking the strength of Avalokiteshvara. So, power, strength, what word works for you, but when we call upon our own compassion, get in touch with it, and... make our effort come from there. We are met.

[52:38]

We are met, and others are helped as well, just by taking care of our own suffering. Otherwise, it just gets spread around on everybody else. blamed and projected. So we start with ourselves listening. So I just wanted to end with Dogen. Dogen wrote several poems on the Lotus Sutra. And this one says, Day and night, night and day, the way of dharma as everyday life. In each act, our hearts resonate with the call of the sutra.

[53:44]

I'm going to read it again. Day and night, night and day, the way of dharma of everyday life. In each act, our hearts resonate with the call of the sutra. Thank you very much. by offering your financial support. For more information, visit sfcc.org and click giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[54:35]

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