This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at www.sfcc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Thank you for coming to Zen Center to spend the morning with me and with everyone else this morning. I'm just very delighted to be back after moving out a number of months ago. I think this is the first time I'm back in the Buddha Hall and with a group of people. So thank you. And I'd like to thank Tanto,

[01:02]

Anna, the head of practice here, and the abbots, David and Ed, to invite me to give this talk today. And I'd like to thank Senior Dharma Teacher Paul to support me all these years. And to thank all my Dharma friends for sharing this practice with me. I was very touched when I was bowing to the Buddha just now. So last month, I went to New York for a vacation, and I saw a lot of Buddha statues at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

[02:37]

the Buddha statues there reminded me of this one and the many others in this building. So I have quite a few friends in New York and they took me to museums and gardens and it was quite wonderful after not been there for over 20 years. And because my attention span is just about two hours for museums, I like to really appreciate each object that I see. So I... spend time, and then take it very slow. So I thought, oh, I only had two hours when I went to the Met with my friend, and maybe I'll just focus on the Asian collection.

[03:56]

And even the Asian collection is huge. So he told me, oh, there are lots of Buddhist statues now. I don't remember last time I was there. There were so many. So I said, let's just go there. So I spent two hours wandering from room to room where the statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are. And that was wonderful. It was wonderful to see so many of these works of art. and religion and spiritual practice from many different countries in Asia, from China to Japan to Mongolia, India, Thailand.

[05:08]

Pakistan or Asian region of Gandhara. And so most of them were Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, or Maitreya Buddha, and a lot of Avodokiteshvara Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. or Guan Yin in Chinese. And the amazing thing is each one of them, depending on which region they are from, they look just like the people in their country. So... So a Chinese Buddha or Guan Yin looked like Chinese.

[06:12]

Thai Buddha looks like Thai. And Sri Lankan Buddha looks like Sri Lankan. And they also dress like, you know, where they came from. And I was... struck by this image of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva from Thailand. Because usually we think of her, we think of Avalokiteshvara in terms of this kind of feminine image, like Guan Yin, like the one outside, and wearing these very ornate robes. But this one from Thailand has a masculine look, has mustache.

[07:17]

And the only thing he was wearing was a pair of shorts. So it's a very kind of a simple statue. And I was standing in front of that statue. I was telling my friend, oh my God, it must be hot there. So I was quite struck by the simplicity of it. And also the variety of all the other, all the other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. the many different faces of the Buddha. Many different faces.

[08:25]

And yet, they share the same name or same character, Buddha. the Awakened One, or Bodhisattva, the Awakened One who is compassionate for all beings. So what is the true face of Buddha? What is the original face? So today, I'd like to bring up the koan of original faith.

[09:35]

And it's a very famous koan. in Zen tradition, and there are a few cases in the history of Zen that referred to this particular phrase, the original phase. And perhaps the most famous one, or one of the most famous one, is from Wumenguan, the Gayless Gate. He's 23. About a conversation between the six ancestors, Hui Neng, and a monk named Hui Ming, Venerable Ming, who was tracing after Hui Neng.

[10:44]

after Huyneng was given the ropes and bolts from the fifth ancestor. So many of you have heard of that story. So for those of you who are not very familiar with Zen koan tradition, koan is a gong an, a collection of Zen stories. from which a particular inquiry or inquiries are derived and practiced with. And so the inquiry or the leading question or huato is like the It's like the most important question or inquiry that one can ask about their practice.

[12:04]

And so I understand we're having a practice period now studying the collection from the Blue Cliff Records. And And then this particular koan I'm going to explore is from another collection called Wumenguan, the Gateless Barrier or Gateless Gate. And many of these koans were actually compiled from earlier records. Zen history in China called Deng Lu, Transmission of the Lamb, Records of Transmission of the Lamb. Or other records such as the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Ancestor.

[13:11]

So case 23 from the woman Gwen Gateless Gate, refer to a story from the Platform Sutra when the monk Huimin, Venerable Ming, caught up with Master Huinen and wanted to the fifth ancestor's bow and rope back. And they had a conversation. And Master Huinen said, here are the bow and rope. Go ahead and take it. And Venerable Ming tried to take it, and then he couldn't move it.

[14:13]

And then he said, oh, I'm not... I'm not here for the bow and the rope. And he said, please give me your teaching. And Master Hui Nung said, without thinking good, without thinking bad, just write in this moment, what is your original face? just right at this moment, what is your original face? According to the story, Venerable Ming had an awakening right then. So what does it mean to not think of good and bad?

[15:18]

What does it mean What does a regional faith mean? One of the most important teachings of the six ancestors is about non-abiding, wuzhu, not or not dwelling in things. Not being stuck in things. And he was actually, he had an experience of realization when he heard the phrase,

[16:31]

from Diamond Sutra, not dwelling anywhere, one gives rise to the mind, to the pure mind. So that's the phrase he heard when he was a layman selling firewood. And he had a deep experience when he heard that. And then he went to look for the fifth ancestor. And later on when he became a teacher, the main message of his teaching is about non-abiding, non-abiding. What does it mean? When he said, not thinking of good, not thinking of bad, does it mean there's no good or bad?

[17:42]

Does it mean that we don't care? And when I look at his teaching, I think of it as not being stuck, not being confined to our ideas and labels and patterns. And I'm right. You're wrong. Or I'm better. Or in some cases, I'm not good. I'm not as good. All of those ideas and thought patterns and behavioral patterns confine us to a fixed place.

[19:05]

Another related Zen story to this koan is about Master Xiangyan, who was from several generations after Huyneng. He was a very learned scholar and practitioner when he studied with Master Bai Zhang. who you already probably heard of, but he did not see his true nature after many years of practice. And when Bai Zhang passed away, he went to practice with his elder Dharma brother, Master Weishan. And Master Weishan said to him, Well, I heard that you are very learned when you were at our old teacher's place.

[20:34]

You always had many, many ideas, and for every question, you always had ten answers. And so, I'm not asking you about what you've learned, what you've studied from scriptures, from what other people said. I'm asking you, when you were first born, when your parents first gave birth to you, before you could distinguish anything, who were you? what was your original state? And he couldn't answer that question. He thought of all the scriptures he studied, and he didn't have an answer.

[21:37]

So he said to himself later on, a painted pancake. cannot satisfy my hunger. And he begged Master Wei Shan to give him the answer. And Wei Shan said, my answer is my answer. It's not your answer. Go figure it out. So he got rid of all his books and became a working monk. He traveled and wandered and became a work monk somewhere at supposedly Master Nanyang Huizhong's temple.

[22:46]

He tended the garden and worked in the field. And one day, after many years passed also, one day, he was clearing up the field and he threw the pebbles away. And then one pebble hit a bamboo. At the sound of that pebble striking the bamboo, he was awakened. What was he awakened to? After all the things he learned, he didn't see it. But as he heard the sound of the stone, the pebble, hitting the bamboo, he saw it.

[23:52]

So that became another famous koan that's associated with the earlier koan that I talked about. What is your original face before your parents gave you birth? before you were able to distinguish good and bad, right and wrong. What is that? So as we learn things, as we form and ideas, it's very easy for us to get into dualistic patterns.

[25:11]

And if we only see that, if our whole mind and body are covered up with these fixed notions, then we cannot see what's behind it. We cannot get in touch with that which is more expansive. That which gives rise to all the possibilities. So does it mean that we don't need any of the precepts or ethics or any of the guidelines for wholesome and unwholesome thinking and behavior?

[26:42]

Does it mean that all we need to do is to just sit and empty our mind and not think about anything? I don't think the teaching is pointing to nothingness or voidness. It's pointing to non-dwelling or non-abiding. And let the life stream flow and keep flowing. The stream of life comes from the same source.

[28:07]

Streams, rivers, oceans of life come from the same source, but they manifest as different forms and looks. You come to this world with your form and what you look like, how you think, how you act, and you are unique from everybody else. And yet, Each one of you, each one of us are all connected to the same source. To act and respond from that source.

[29:26]

To respond from that source is to manifest wisdom and compassion. And that's another important teaching of Zen. we may not be able to put our fingers around this source, this secret, or what we call the original face.

[30:46]

But we can see it through the act, through manifestation of a compassionate mind, of a mind of wisdom. It's interesting that there is a parallel teaching in Taoist practice. If you heard of Tao Te Ching, the chapter one, the opening lines of Tao Te Ching talks.

[32:04]

about a similar thing. The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. Yet, the Tao, even though it's, this is my commentary, not the original text, cannot be told. Even though the Tao cannot be told.

[33:08]

It manifests through what can be named. Ever desireless, one sees the secret of the Tao. Ever desiring, one sees the manifestation. So the word desire here is not about wanting. It's kind of like it means engaging with mind, engaging with thoughts and feelings. So... the source, the secret, the original face, whatever we call it.

[34:19]

We try to call it, we try to describe it, but cannot be described. And yet, what can be described is what we manifest in the world. how we are with each other. How we take care of each other is manifestation of interconnectedness. giving your friend a hug, a cup of tea, is manifestation of compassion and caring.

[35:47]

So what is your original phase? What is your face as you, as who you are? The many faces of the Buddha is right here. All right here. I saw some statues at the mat that looked like this one from the Gandhara period, which is quite rare, I believe. And a few years ago, my calligraphy teacher, Master Chen, who some of you met,

[37:08]

He retired and closed his studio or gallery, and he had a huge painting that he wanted to donate to us. And so he brought that painting here with a friend who helped him. I don't know if it's still, it was put into the library downstairs. It's a Chinese painting. I don't know if it's still there. But anyway, so... Master Chan and his friend came, and they're both Buddhists, and I never met his friend, but when they came, I gave them a tour of the building. And I was struck by how they entered the Buddha Hall, how they approached each place. Buddha's and Bodhisattva statue.

[38:11]

And they bowed. They did their three full prostrations in front of this Buddha. And they paused when their forehead touched the ground for a few seconds each time. As if that was how they were able to express their reverence. I told them about this, where this Buddha came from, and then where the Buddha downstairs, that one came from China, from Yuan Dynasty, the very peaceful-looking, round-faced Buddha, by the coffee room. And then I took them to the Zendo, at that time, there was a Suzuki Roshi's picture hanging.

[39:16]

I don't know if you remember. It was hanging right opposite the door, the Laguna Street door, with a bench under. And there used to be Suzuki Roshi's picture there, very big. And he was smiling. quinkle in his eyes, looking at people who entered through that door. So I brought my friends there, and I said, oh, this is Suzuki Roshi who founded this temple. And they went to bow, and this friend, this new friend, he He went over to the wall where the picture was hung and he put his forehead on the wall and stayed there for a minute as if that was the only way to express how he felt.

[40:29]

Those of you who are not aware, there was during the Second World War, there was Japanese invasion in China and there was anti-Japanese war. And people fought for eight years until the Second World War ended. So in older generation of Chinese people, many of them still held that trauma and anger. And for my friends who are from older generation, who are able to enter this temple that's founded by a Japanese teacher, who are able to embrace him as a teacher,

[41:41]

deeply touched. So, many faces of the Buddha, and what is their original face? What is your original face? Thank you very much for being here.

[42:52]

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