This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at www.sfcc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations by people like you. Turn out today, you must know already what I'm going to talk about is that this is a very auspicious day at Beginner's Mind Temple. Because this afternoon at 3 o'clock we're having... Ordination of three new novice monks. In the ceremony of renunciation and vow called Shukai Tokudo in Japanese. Shukai Tokudo means leaving home and entering the way or leaving home and attaining the way. So what is this leaving home? That's the renunciation part.

[01:15]

Giving up the struggle to remake the world to fulfill our desires and expectations and entering wholeheartedly into the world as it is. Helping people in any way we can. It means renouncing self-centeredness and living a life of service. You know, in various lists of skillful actions recommended to beings in the bodhisattva path, such as the six paramitas or perfections of a bodhisattva or Dogen Senji's four methods of guidance of of the Bodhisattva. Dana, or giving generosity, is the first quality on the list. And great teacher Hui Hai says, what is Dana?

[02:24]

Dana is relinquishment. Relinquishment of what? Relinquishment of self. In the ceremony, this renunciation is symbolized by shaving the head. It's done twice in the ceremony. And the second time we say shaving the head and again shaving the head. The bonds of attachment are hard to cut. This renunciation, even though it's a vital door to freedom, isn't easy. It's a lifetime effort. The opening line of the ceremony this afternoon, the invocation is, in faith that we are Buddha, we enter Buddha's way.

[03:28]

In faith that we are Buddha, we enter Buddha's way. The main elements of the ceremony, in addition to the head shaving, are receiving a Dharma name. Perhaps a change in Dharma name or perhaps the one you already got when you did the lay initiation. Receiving robes, confession and repentance. Purifying the body with wisdom water followed by the 16 Bodhisattva precepts and vowing. Follow this compassionate path that is now being handed down to you even after becoming Buddha. And hopefully these initiates this afternoon will respond with a vigorous, yes, I will. You'll see. So here we have both faith and vow.

[04:36]

which together with practice I have found to be the main supports of my life for the last 40 years. This has come as something of a surprise to me. As one who majored in chemistry and probability in college, I had thought of myself as a very practical person, more inspired by reason and logic than by faith and devotion. Devotion, by the way, means avowal. That's the derivation of the word. But I've come to realize that the people in my life who have really inspired me and encouraged me were people of deep faith and devotion. And those qualities have been contagious. I recommend them for a happy life. As stated in the invocation I mentioned, the faith I'm speaking of is not faith in something external.

[05:45]

It is faith in the teaching that all beings, without exception, have the wisdom and compassion of the awakened ones. But because of their attachments and delusions, they don't realize it. According to the Flower Ornament Sutra, This is what Shakyamuni Buddha said on the morning of his great awakening. It is a radical faith in the basic goodness, the wholeness of all beings without exception. As Suzuki Roshi said the first time I heard him lecture, you're perfect just as you are. Percy also said there's always room for improvement. And Zen is about making your best effort on each moment forever. So even though we're already complete, because of our attachments and delusions, we need to make continuous effort to actualize the wisdom and compassion that is our basic nature.

[06:59]

And this is where devotion comes in. By entering the Buddha way, we enter a life of vow. At the end of every lecture today and class, we chant the four vows of a bodhisattva. Beings are numberless. I vow to save them or to awaken with them. Delusions are inexhaustible. I vow to end them. Cut them off is another translation. Dharma gates are boundless. I vow to enter them. Buddha's way is unsurpassable. I vow to become it. This is a big vow. It seems impossible. How can we possibly do it? It means it's an endless vow.

[08:07]

We never complete it. But we always continue to make our best effort on each moment forever. When I first came to practice, I thought, well, I'm kind of a mess now, but I'm going to do this Zen thing and get my life straightened out. And then I'm going to get on with my life. And after some years of dedicated, maybe desperate practice. I realized I'm never going to get finished with this. And momentarily I was disappointed. And then I thought, Pollyanna, that I am. Oh, well, that means I'll never exhaust this practice. I can never wear it out. It'll last me all of my life. The same is true of our vow. Our vow will sustain us and inspire us to practice for the rest of our life and maybe for lives to come.

[09:12]

These bodhisattva vows can be our guide and our support and our inspiration for a whole life. In Japan, since the 13th century, Both home leavers, which is what monks and nuns are called, monastics, this leaving home, this renunciate life, both home leavers and householders, laymen and laywomen, have been entering the Buddha's way in the tokoto ceremony, taking the same 16 bodhisattva precepts we use today. It begins by purifying the space with wisdom water, followed by the invocation mentioned above.

[10:15]

Then the initiates are purified with wisdom water. And with the body and mind thus purified, the next step is to purify the mind with confession and repentance. And now the initiates are ready to receive the precepts. They begin with taking refuge in the three treasures. Buddha, the awakened teacher. Dharma, the truth of things as it is. And Sangha, the community of practitioners. This taking refuge in the triple treasure is, I believe, common to all Buddhists everywhere. In Zen we sometimes say returning to Buddha. instead of taking refuge or becoming one with Buddha and Dharma and Sangha. To emphasize that each of us is originally not separate from Buddha and not separate from each other.

[11:29]

The next three vows in the ceremony are sometimes called the three pure precepts. Avoiding evil. Doing good. And benefiting beings. The remaining vows are the ten grave or prohibitory precepts calling our attention to actions which cause suffering. To remind us to be awake in our actions of body, speech and mind. So as to minimize suffering. We vow to refrain from killing, from taking what is not given, from misusing sexuality, from false speech, from intoxicating mind or body of self or others, from speaking of the faults of others, from praising self at the expense of others, from being possessive or stingy.

[12:36]

from harboring ill will and from disparaging the three treasures of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Following each set of vows, beginning with repentance, the initiates are asked three times, even after realizing Buddhahood, will you continue this compassionate practice? And as I said, they respond, yes, I will. So we wholeheartedly make these vows. And we spend the rest of our life cultivating a life that is governed by, inspired by, supported by these vows. Living the way we deeply, deeply want to live Noticing those moments when our attachments get in our way and coming back to our intention again and again.

[13:58]

This isn't something that we can kind of do and be finished with. This is something that guides our life. And we take these vows because we are already Buddha and we deeply want to live a life of no harm, a life of service. In the ceremony, the initiates also receive, as I mentioned, a Dharma name if they. if their teacher decides to change their name, which happens sometimes. And a Dharma robe and a Dharma lineage, blood vein. Each one of these, the name, the robe and the lineage, is a constant reminder of these vows.

[15:08]

Every morning when we put on our Dharma robe, we put on our Dharma robe on our head and we recite the robe chant. Great robe of liberation. Feel far beyond form and emptiness. Wearing the Tathagata's teaching, saving all beings. Each month on the day of the full moon, We renew our vows in the bodhisattva ceremony. Every day our liturgy, I'm actually at Tassajara. This is true in Greenwich. I'm not sure here. But generally speaking, our liturgy begins with the three refuges. And then there are various verses for sort of everything, everything we do.

[16:14]

There's one for waking up in the morning. This morning as I wake, I vow with all beings to see each thing as it is and not to forsake the world. There's a verse for bathing. As I bathe this body, I vow with all beings to wash body and mind free from dust. Being healthy and clean within and without. Homelievers, there's a verse for shaving the head. Now I'm being shaved. May I with all beings be free from selfish desires forever? Is this practice of all of these vows is not so alive. Here's it was when I was in Minnesota, Minneapolis, Katagiri Roshi had translated. All of these vows is one for washing the faces, one for brushing the teeth. I don't remember it exactly, but it's about vowing to bite off delusions.

[17:16]

But there there are these traditional verses for every activity of your life. And Thich Nhat Hanh visited us years ago when he first was in this country. He encouraged us to make these short verses. for all of the activities of our life that may not be covered by the traditional ones. And I remember one that Lou Richman made for offering incense, which I still use every day. There is one for offering incense. But I add Richman's made the fragrance of the Dharma reach all beings everywhere. But you can make up you can make up a little gotha, a little verse. for the things that you do daily, vowing with all beings to wake up in one way or another. There's a verse at the end of the day.

[18:22]

This evening as I sleep, I vow with all beings to still all things and put an end to confusion. In 1988. Two years before he died, dining category Roshi in Minnesota, who taught here for many years, but ended his life teaching in Minnesota. Founding the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center wrote this point. The title is called Peaceful Life. Being told that it is impossible. One believes in despair. If that's so, being told that it is possible one believes in excitement, that's right. But whichever is chosen, it does not fit one's heart neatly. Being asked what is unfitting, I don't know what it is.

[19:28]

But my heart knows somehow. I feel an irresistible desire to know what a mystery human is. As to this mystery, terrifying, knowing how to live, knowing how to walk with people, demonstrating and teaching. This is the Buddha. From my human eyes, I feel it's really impossible to become a Buddha. But this I, regarding what the Buddha does, vows to practice, to aspire, to be resolute, and tells myself, yes, I will. Just practice right here, now, and achieve continuity.

[20:34]

forever. This is living in vow. Herein is one's peaceful life found. So this is the road undertaken by those who choose a life devoted to practice. As I mentioned, this path may be taken by householders as well as home leavers. There is Zaikei Tokudo, remaining at home and attaining the way. And Shukei Tokudo, leaving home and attaining the way. When Suzuki Roshi suggested to my teacher, Sojinomel Weitzman, that actually what he said to him was, I would like you to join our order. And he says, what do you mean? There were very few priests at that time. He said, well, I'd like to ordain you as a priest.

[21:38]

And Sojin said, what's a priest? And Suzuki Roshi said, I don't know. And so and so Sojin went to Katagiri Roshi and he said to him, Katagiri Roshi, Suzuki Roshi wants to ordain me as a priest. What's a priest? And he says, hmm, I don't know. And so this is a good koan for those who may decide that they want to be ordained as a priest. You know, this koan of what is it? Actually we should face everything we meet in our life with this question. What is it? Once we think we know, as you know what Suzuki Roshi said about beginner's mind.

[22:43]

In the expert's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are a few. If you think you know, then you don't investigate any further. And you miss fully knowing. Always be open to new possibilities and new information. Don't ever think that you've got it all figured out. Life is full of surprises. But this being a priest, what is it? We have both and householders practicing together here at Zen Center every day. We have householders doing full monastic training periods at the monastery.

[23:48]

We have householders taking the 16 Bodhisattva precepts. So what is particular to a priest? One of the things, taking this ordination as a priest, The lineage and the teaching have been continued over the centuries, primarily through those who have chosen ordination to devote their lives to serving the Sangha, to devote their lives to having been given this priceless gift of practice, to devote their lives to offering it to others. I mean, for me, that's the big thing. This practice has been such a gift to me in my life that quite naturally I want to share it with others. Just like if you have something delicious to eat, you want to offer it to all your friends.

[24:55]

Anything that has really enriched your life, you want to share with everyone. And what more than this practice? could I say has enriched my life nothing I can think of so I think that that taking on the role of priest one of the big things about it is devoting your life to making this practice available to others devoting your life to Shaving the head and again shaving the head, cutting off attachments and again cutting off attachments, seeing when self-cleaning arises and dropping it once more again and again and again. When I first thought of being ordained, you know, I thought it was something to get.

[25:59]

I don't know what exactly. Status, the approval of my teacher. A new robe. Something. I thought it was something to get. And my teacher said, not yet. It's not something to get. It's something to give. One way, you know, Sojin says, well, how you know when to ordain someone as a priest is when they're already practicing like a priest. When you see them already practicing as a servant of the Sangha. Which is how he describes a priest. I think it's a servant of more than the sangha. It's just living a life of service everywhere all the time. So this leaving home.

[27:08]

Sometimes called the homeless life. A person leaving home in this ceremony in Japan would be called an unsui. Un is cloud and sui is water. So a novice monk is called cloud water. One who moves from place to place as necessary without obstruction, without attachment. Like a cloud and one who fits into whatever situation arises without resistance like water. One thing it means is to find your home wherever you are. To realize that wherever you are is home. Not to be seeking for some special place. to be making some cozy nest, but to find yourself at home wherever you are and in whatever circumstances you may be.

[28:18]

To put aside the worldly concerns of looking for material comfort and instead to cultivate mental comfort, comfort of the spirit and mind and heart. This being at home wherever you are means being comfortable wherever you are. Right here in this body, in this very place as it is, to be at home. That's one way that we can think about what the homeless life is. Those of us who have chose chosen Zen practice have discovered that Zazen is a good thing. This is how you can find your home right where you are. This just sitting, just being this one as it is, is finding yourself at home and at peace with this one.

[29:34]

It is finding out how to express This Buddha in the world. Commitment and renunciation are significant elements in what a home lever is. Shaving the head is symbolic of renunciation. But as I said, what really is to be renounced is self-clinging. So shaving the head is just to remind us to renounce whatever it is that we're clinging to right now. Whatever it is that we're attached to. Let it go. Let our life flow through our hands like a clear stream of water. And don't try to grab some piece of it and hold on to it. How are you going to grab a piece of Tassajara Creek?

[30:42]

Just to be present with it and find out how to express our vow on this moment. In this circumstance, right where I am now. Instead of trying to figure out how to make it the way I want it to be. So it'll just be what I just always dreamed of. It won't be. There will be many surprises. Our work is to be ready for whatever comes up. And if we're open to embracing the surprises as they arise, then there will be inconceivable joy. And if we fuss and fume and say this isn't what I expected, this isn't what I wanted, then there'll be inconceivable misery. Just to welcome your life as it arrives, moment after moment.

[31:58]

To meet it as fully as you can. Being as open to it as you can. Being as ready for whatever arises as you can. And meeting it wholeheartedly. This is renunciation. This is leaving behind all of your preferences. All of your ideas and notions and schemes. Just meeting life as it is. On each moment. I've heard it said renunciation is just this is enough. I really like that as a description of renunciation. Just this is enough. Can you meet your life as it is and say. Just this is enough.

[33:06]

always looking for something more. Then it always feels lacking. That's where suffering begins. This isn't enough. I need something more. How can we meet our life as it is, wholeheartedly? Just like this. This is what our practice is all about. This finding our home in the midst of homelessness. Right here. Join us for the celebration and the ceremony this afternoon.

[34:37]

And I hope that you will find out how to completely embrace your life as it is. How you can join with all those around you. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco San Francisco. Our programs are made possible by the donations we receive. Please help us to continue the practice of giving by offering your financial help. For more information, visit sfcc.org and click giving. May all beings be happy.

[35:19]

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