This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at www.sfzc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Good morning. Good morning. This is my great happiness to be here today with so many young people in this Meditation Hall, thank you for coming. Thank you for being here on this day of generosity and celebration. And just so I don't seem too serious, one of my friends gave me this little spiral fern, which I'm going to put in my hair. So just to remember the spiral dance. It is coming out of my head. That's just the way it grows. I'm sorry. Hopefully, yes, it's an antenna.

[01:01]

Now, hopefully, you'll tolerate me and listen for a little bit because this is a special day. Today is August 5th, the beginning of the month of ripening, when all things ripen. That's what happens in August. And we've just celebrated a holy day, a cross holy day when we... taste the first ripening. So this is a very good time to be in this hall. And I also want to say that yesterday in this very room, two kind of kooky, wonderful, strong, deep practitioners were married. And this is their their announcement of their marriage. And look what they put on it. Their two old kitties are on their wedding announcement. So that's a very good sign when kitty cats come to celebrate love.

[02:05]

So this is a hall where we celebrate a huge amount of love. And then today, also some sadness because... One of our dear friends who lived here for many, many, many years and his children were raised here and played here, he died of cancer a little bit ago. So this is the day when we're also celebrating Jordan's life and his practice. So it's both a very happy day and then a day where we remember each other and how important it is to be alive and to be alive in these times. And also, So today, just like we celebrate the kitty cats and we celebrate the life of a wonderful person who was here for many years, today I have a story that's a little bit both happy and sad. Are you up for that? Good. Because, you know, when you come into this hall, look at the figures that are behind me. We don't worship these figures, but they're meant to encourage us in the direction of God.

[03:13]

Deep awakeness, awakening, awakeness, which is what Buddhism means. So we have Tara Buddha who's sitting strong and deep, fearless Tara Buddha. Can you see her? Do I have to move out of the way for those of you in the front? Can you see her sitting there? You can't really see her. That's not okay. Let me step off to the side so you can see her. Ta-da! No, this is good. Can you all see? These people know about Tara Buddha. So Tara Buddha sitting there, strong and deep, making the vow for countless eons, I won't move until all beings are safe and awake. So she's a beautiful figure. Does anyone have a friend? Does anyone here have the name of Tara? Ah! Wonderful. Well, you should come close and see her.

[04:15]

Tara, come and meet Tara. This is good. Beautiful. Have you ever looked at her up close? She has your same name. Yeah. So Tara Buddha is there remembering and reminding all of us to sit and be still, but also see what's happening with her foot. It's kind of stretched out, right? So that's because she's ready in a heartbeat to to get up from sitting and take care of the world. So this is, she has the same, or you have the same name as she does, but more importantly, she has the same name as you, because you're alive now, and I'm embarrassing you, and you can go back to your family now. Thank you for coming up here. Do you, okay? Good. Thank you for coming up. Behind her is Jizo Bodhisattva, the protector of children and travelers. Did you know that? So, Jesus is standing up and his right toe is lifted up because he works with Tara Buddha, sits still, and then get up and protect the children of the world, all beings.

[05:28]

And he's carrying in his left hand, he's right hand of staff to scare away any beings that he might step on, left hand burning jewel to answer your wish before you make it. So Tara Buddha and Jizo Bodhisattva, protector of children and travelers. And we don't worship them at all, but we welcome them to remind us of our most important work. Okay, now let me tell you a story about today. And maybe some of you know this story, and if you do, you can help me. This is the story... of a little girl, a 12-year-old girl named Sadako, who grew up in Hiroshima, Japan. This is a true story. When Sadako was two years old, 73 years ago, when she was two years old, a huge bomb was detonated or exploded above her city, and radiation fell on her city, and much of her city was destroyed, and it happened.

[06:39]

Tomorrow is the anniversary of that day in Japan when the world changed. She remembers a flash of light. She's a kid and she was a pretty happy kid and very healthy. Very healthy. So she grew up in Hiroshima and every year on this day there was a ceremony of peace in her city to remember all the beings that passed away on August 6th, when Thunderbolt, as the Japanese children call that bomb, when Thunderbolt exploded above their city. Sadako loved the peace day. It was her favorite day. And that's why I very much wanted to tell you the story of her life, because this was one of her favorite days. And in her life, she was a very happy, bright, and incredibly athletic She could run like the wind.

[07:41]

And her biggest dream was to run a race with her classmates, a relay race. She'd be the leg, the last leg of the relay race, to run a race, a kind of race for peace or a race, just a race to celebrate what it means to be alive. So she practiced and practiced, and she was about 10 years old when she ran the race in her village, and lo and behold, her school won the race. But afterwards, after the race, she felt a little dizzy and sick. And she fell down, got up, fell down again, got up, and didn't want to tell anyone because she wanted to keep running. She'd already run the race, but she wanted to keep running with her team. But she was actually, she became sick. She became sick with... atom bomb sickness, which is a sickness of the blood called leukemia. It was a really sad story. This beautiful little girl ended up going to the hospital and being very brave and very strong, but also very sad.

[08:52]

Her best friend came to the hospital. Her very best friend came to the hospital with a golden piece of paper, She sat down and folded that piece of paper into a crane and said, Sadako, do you know that if you fold cranes, cranes stand for long life. A crane can live a thousand years. Let's fold one thousand cranes so you'll be strong and healthy for a thousand years. So be careful. There's this little secret here that I don't want to fall. You're going to soon see it. So she, being an energetic and happy kid, she got to work right away. She was given a big pile of paper, and she began to fold cranes. And she was by herself in the hospital, but also with other children who were experiencing atom bomb sickness.

[09:54]

So she folded and folded cranes, and actually, she got a lot better. She got to go home for her birthday. And she got to celebrate Peace Day again in her city. She was 12 years old. So she thought, oh, maybe I'm getting really better. But unfortunately, she fell sick again. And very sadly, in late October, when she'd folded 644 cranes, she was not strong enough to keep living. And very sadly, she died when she was only 12 years old. Now, her friends at school were heartbroken. And what they decided to do was to keep folding cranes. So they folded how many more? It must have been... I have it written down here.

[10:57]

I want to make sure I do the math right because there may be some math whizzes. Maybe somebody already knows. If she folded 644, how many more cranes would make a thousand? Let's see if we've got any math whizzes here. Be careful. She folded 644 cranes. How many more needed to be folded? Sing it out. You guys rock. That is so great. 356 additional cranes. So her friends in school took paper and they folded cranes. They were not going to be sad because Sadako was such a happy, alive kid. So they folded those cranes for her and they took all of her writings because she was a wonderful writer at age 12. I know other children who are wonderful writers. at that age. And they published a book of her writings called Koukeshi, which was named after her favorite doll.

[12:01]

And a folded crane club was organized. But their biggest wish was that there would be a monument in the Peace Park in the center of Hiroshima to Sadako. And you know what? Two years after she passed away, The Peace Park statue of Sadako was raised up in the city of Hiroshima. She was a statue of her standing on top of a mountain, making this gesture, the mountain of paradise and holding a golden crane. And at the base of the statue, in Japanese, which means wings of peace. Fly around the world. This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world. Because Sadako wrote, I'll write peace on the wings of every crane and fly around the world.

[13:03]

So now close your eyes. Close your little beady eyes. Everyone. Everyone. Not just the young at heart. Close your eyes, Lauren. Now's our time. Oops. Remember, this got closed. Keep your eyes closed. Don't peek. Okay, Lauren. Are you... Okay. Yeah, in a minute. But first, I'm going to stand up. Okay. Okay, you can open your eyes. Look! A cloud of cranes flew into here with peace on their wings. Beautiful. Here's a young mama who's going to hold it up. She happily has a very disobedient daughter. So we love that. Hi, hi, hi. Hop up. Luckily. So there are 73 cranes here flying, one for every year.

[14:04]

And gratitude to Harriet Hope, who's been folding cranes at Santa Sabina Center for many years. And she entrusted me with these cranes. And they're going to go down with you to the field and fly. around with the program that you've got planned for today. Here comes Tara Buddha sliding here on her tummy to wake all beings in the 10 directions. Go ahead, slide along. So let's just see, let's just see. Are there any questions? Did anything, did I make you really sad on this beautiful morning or was that okay to tell, you know, my dear, one of my closest friends says, Sometimes when we feel our heart is going to break with a sad story, it actually breaks open and has more room. So any questions? Please. Whoa.

[15:06]

That's not weird. That's magic. Could you please come up here? Here's a crane that Harriet folded that's going to fly right to you. Thank you. Red is your heart. Thank you. Did you know this story? Did you know the story of Sadako? No? Wow. That's special. But now you do. I just told it to you, right? Through my spiral antenna, you heard it. And you know what? It's a true story. It's all the more interesting right now because it's continuing to grow and be truer and truer. Any other question or anything else somebody wants to say here in this hall? Anything? That's an amazing... Thank you. What's your name? Sun. Beautiful. Thank you. Thank you for that crane story. Yes. Yes. I don't take myself seriously. That's a... Terminal disease, taking yourself seriously.

[16:10]

Now, this is one of my very strong friends who's been through a lot of tough stuff, gave me this so I wouldn't take myself too seriously. So I'm wearing this for Melissa Nelson and with her this morning. All right. Well, you have a beautiful day planned in the field, a day of generosity, flower watering, and you'll be able to ask more questions if you want. about Sadako and this story. Thank you very much for your attention and your care and your practice. And thank you for coming here today to make our life brighter and bigger and sillier. Fly, fly, fly on the wings of peace. You know, if you do and you read about this child, you can send them to Hiroshima and they'll be put on her model.

[17:12]

So you should think about that. Yeah, I have a lot of kids at home. Do you? Well, can you think about that? Think about whether you want to do that? You don't have to, but it's a nice thing. Do you know how to fold these cranes? You need to learn. Come here. Are we going to fold cranes? I wish so. I wish we were, but I think you're going to do other things. Thank you for coming. I'm so happy to see you. You're welcome. See my silly antenna? It's going to... Everybody, there are warm cushions here in the front.

[18:14]

You're awfully far away now. Some of you come close. Pick up the energy from these little beings, young beings. You're welcome. Thank you. Thank you very much for coming. Thank you. Bye now. Come again. Yes? Bye. Yeah. You're welcome. Happy birthday to you. Thank you. Congratulations, beautiful children, coming here today. I love it.

[19:14]

Yeah, you're welcome, of course. You're very welcome. Off you go. You've got a job. Yeah, go. Every time I have this mission, I just got the Nobel nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Oh, my God. And I'm working with developing countries. Oh, wonderful. Wonderful. But every time I have Hiroshima in my heart, I've worked with Japan a lot, and I have a memory of getting blown by Hiroshima. Yeah. That's important. We had to tell a story today. Yeah. Yeah, it's just an important day. It's a holy day. Yeah, exactly. And congratulations. Thanks. Yeah, good luck. Yeah, it's just being humble. Yeah. And working. Exactly. Thank you. You're welcome. You're welcome. You're welcome. Oddly enough, I'm a professional anti-nuclear weapons activist. Good for you. Thank you for your work. Yeah, but I just, you know, I want you to know that the U.S. is completely rebuilding its nuclear forces. I know that.

[20:14]

We're going to talk about that now. Yeah, very good. Thank you. I promise. I'm going to talk about ICANN and talk about just what you're saying. Thank you. Are you going to talk about it now? Yeah, yeah, yeah. For how long? Yeah, let's do that. Thank you, everyone. Thank you for your attention. Thank you. I think I'm okay. I'll deal with it. Just enjoy your breathing. I was so moved when Jiryu, the head of practice, asked me to come and be with you today, August 5th, because for me this day is truly a holy day.

[21:40]

It's a day of real remembering and both grief and sadness and tremendous inspiration on this day, August 6th, August 9th. I find it deeply moving that Yuki and Julian were married here yesterday, encouraging us all in the direction of peace, intimacy, and also deep respect, looking again. And that Jordan and his family worked and served and offered and practiced with us so deeply and closely for decades. And to live in an embodied community, that continues practice under all circumstances. Our teacher, Katagiri Roshi, Japanese teacher, Dainan Katagiri Roshi, great patience. He said, great name for me because I have no patience for the world. Dainan Katagiri Roshi had a triple admonition for living in these times. Just continue under all circumstances.

[22:43]

Make a positive effort for the good and don't be tossed away. Just continue under all circumstances. Make a positive effort for the good. And don't be tossed away. So that, you know, and I was trepidatious about telling this story. One of my very close friends, who's a frontline activist, and our daughters grew up together. They're lifelong friends. They grew up together practicing here with Thich Nhat Hanh and also at Spirit Rock. She said, I wouldn't tell that story. It's too traumatizing for children. And I thought, she's probably right. But it's also a true story. And it's a story of our times. About 15 minutes after our phone conversation, I received a call from a very important teacher to me, Joanna Macy. She has a doll. an incredible doll that's a goose and wearing a black dress.

[23:47]

I'm going to keep this spiral on just so we can stay close. And the doll is Angerboda, she who is willing to hold anger and rage for what's happening in the world. And for a good long time, right around nuclear, Joanna is an extraordinary nuclear activist, a person who's demonstrated and spoken deeply on behalf of... the world and protecting the world from nuclear catastrophe. So I told her, I said a good friend said this, and she said, don't put too much on the kids. Remember Anger Boda. She'd given me Anger Boda for almost a year, and it was wonderful to have her nestled up with us at night, Anger Boda, reminding me that it's all right to hug and nestle in with your anger and rage and commitment. and ferocity. So she said, I was making my bed this morning, and I saw Anger Boda, and I thought, oh, she's probably missing Wendy.

[24:48]

So she called me out of the blue. It's been a long time since we spoke, because she's been away teaching and working. Anyway, so I told her, and she said, do not put too much on children. Let's not revere them too much. They're children. And they're carrying... already a huge debt. So let's let them be children. But she said, if it works to remind them that when your heart breaks, it also opens and gets bigger and find some way to do that. So it just seems so auspicious to have those two calls. And I'm grateful to both of them, to each of them, because it is difficult to tell the story of our times right now and to respond to that story. But that is why we're here. It is why we're surrounded by these extraordinary awakening figures like Tara Buddha and her beautiful young namesake. Tara Buddha, you're woken up today.

[25:51]

There's lots of beings coming forth with your name, Tara Buddha, sitting still and then Jizo Bodhisattva getting up, willing to go down into hell because that is Jizo's work, to go down into hell to protect children and travelers, and then to come back revivified by that experience. And so I'm very happy to be with you this morning, and I'd like to begin by reading. 71 years ago when this was written, on a bright cloudless morning, death fell from the sky and the world was forever changed. A flash of light, a wall of fire destroyed a city and demonstrated that humankind possesses the means to destroy itself.

[27:00]

Why do we come to this place, to the heart of Hiroshima? We come to ponder. a terrible force unleashed in a not-so-distant past. We come to mourn the dead, including over 100,000 Japanese men, women, and children, thousands of Koreans, a dozen Americans held prisoner. Their souls speak to us today. They ask us to look inward, to take stock of who we are and what we might become. So these are the words of President Barack Obama, who was the first American president to visit Hiroshima, not to apologize, but to witness, to be present. There's a wonderful story of him holding the hands, I have that article, holding the hands of an elderly gentleman

[28:05]

sure I use proper Japanese. Pardon me for a moment. Those who survived, those 6,000 beings who survived in human, and of course more than human, who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima to tell about it are called hibakushu, kusa, hibakusa, survivors. So President Obama embraced the Shigaki Mori, a survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing, now in his 90s. He kept holding my hand, said Shibaka-san. He said, I was embarrassed, but then I gave up because he wasn't going to let go of my hand. So I think today, Children's Day, The Peace Day is celebrated, or commemorated, I shouldn't say celebrated, commemorated in Japan today at Sadako Shrine.

[29:18]

And there are shrines all over the world now to this courageous child. Hei wa no Tsubasa, wings of peace around the world. I write, peace on your wings and fly all over the world. This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world. So today is that day. And, you know, I want to acknowledge the teachers who've been so powerful for many of us at San Francisco Zen Center, our Japanese teachers who are very alive and present. Today, of course, Suzuki Roshi, Dainin, Katagiri Roshi. Today I want to tell the story of, or at least acknowledge Mayumi Oda and Kaz Tanahashi, two dear friends, dear friends of this practice, neighbors, powerful leaders, political activists, and frontline artists.

[30:28]

So Mayumi Oda lived in this valley from early 1977. She lived in the house. where my husband and I now live with our children. We moved there in 2000 to live with Mayumi. This book, I Open the Gate Laughing, is the story of her life as an activist, an artist, a teacher, a mother, and a fierce peacemaker. So every year when she went home to Japan, She remembered being a young child. She was born in 1940, so she remembers the bombing of Tokyo. Her family had dug a shelter underneath a lily pond, and they had to all crowd in. She said she remembers as the eldest daughter in the family, the eldest child in the family, she remembers her mother nursing her little brother, and also an artist, sculptor of the First Order now. Uh-huh.

[31:30]

He's part of the great majority. He's gone home. Mayumi's still very alive and strong and remembering that life as a child, hiding under the ground while Tokyo was firebombed. And then something in her life turned so that she became a dedicated peace activist from the time she was a child. Her awareness woke up when she was a child, as a child. And her expression came forth in painting. So she always loved to paint and to draw. And in the years when she was traveling, living in this country, raising her children here in Muir Beach, she traveled back to Japan and she would often visit Hiroshima. Once she came back after a visit a number of years ago with a handful of seeds. And she said to me, I've just received an extraordinary gift from a survivor of the atomic bombing. of Hiroshima.

[32:30]

Her name is Suzuko Numata. She was a librarian. She was present in the bombing of her city. Remarkably, she survived. Her left leg was blown off and obliterated. But still, she continued her life as a librarian. And when it was time for her to retire, she retired to what is now the Peace Park. Because in that park, shortly after the bombing of Hiroshima, To the amazement of many, a Chinese parasol tree that was growing in the park came back to life. It was at the epicenter of the bombing. And I carried this willow wreath and, of course, hung the cranes from another willow wreath, a circle of willows, because not maybe 370 feet. from the epicenter of the atomic bomb where the atomic bomb manifested because it was dropped from the air.

[33:31]

It's very important to remember this 9,000-pound ball of destruction was detonated above the city from the air so that radiation spread over the entire city. But at the epicenter, 9,000 pounds, that bomb weighed. So at the epicenter, There was growing a willow, and not far from it, the Chinese parasol tree. Suzuko Namata was thinking, it's not worth it to be alive now with my leg blown off, my city destroyed, my life has changed, my world is ruined. And then she saw this tree coming back from its roots. Now, the manifestation, the above-ground manifestation of the tree showed clear signs of radioactivity. How could it not? How could it not? I mean, there were surgeons, tree surgeons in Japan who came and ministered to the tree for years and were able to surgically remove the radioactive parts so that the tree actually began to thrive.

[34:37]

The willow right near it, willow, the soft willow medicine, Celtic medicine, it's one of the... primary trees in the Celtic system and the Druidic system. The willow leaf, source of aspirin, source of real medicine. Salix, acetylsalicylic acid from the willow. A wishing tree, a tree with such deep roots that this one, this willow right near the parasol tree also came back. And these trees, like the human ancestors, are also commemorated. They are called hibaku jumoko. So hibakusa are human survivors, and hibaku jumoko are survivor trees. And there are 170 survivor trees. Most people don't know this. And they're all chronicled, and they're all named, and there's practice...

[35:38]

opportunities around each of these trees. So 170 trees in the heart of Hiroshima, in the irradiated heart and the radiant heart of Hiroshima. 170 survivor trees, 32 species. And at the core, a willow, Kuan Yin's tree, Tara's tree, the wishing tree. Answer the wish before it's made. So the willow tree was the first to come back. Huge. revival from the roots. And Susuko Numata, who was considering the noble ending of her life, noticed the parasol tree, which had always been one of her favorite trees in the park, coming back. And she thought, if this tree can come back, so can I. And when she retired from service as a librarian, she took her place under that tree, collecting seeds every year, and offering them to peace pilgrims who came to visit her, and telling the story of what happened under that tree.

[36:45]

And Mayumi sat with her, and Skot Nomata told her the story, and then clearly and openly gave the artist a handful of seeds, and the artist brings them back to her accomplice, the one with the spiral coming out of her head. and said, let's see if we can get these trees started. I said, we? She said, we'll sow them together. So on New Year's Day, we sowed the seeds of the, on the 50th, I think it was the 50th year. I can't remember, 50th or 60th year. Long time ago. I think it was the 50th year of the, of that, you know, it was, yes, I think it was 1995. We sowed those seeds. And they... I thought it'll be a miracle if they come up, but let me just believe in miracles and let's have it. And I was very solicitous of the trees, took care, watered the flats, probably overwatered the flats and made sure the greenhouse was closed every single night so that nothing would happen in the way of rats or micees or whatever might come in and nibble.

[37:49]

And then I remember we had a long meeting in March. an all-day meeting that went on and on and on, as sometimes end-center meetings do. And on and on and on. And I thought, oh, my God, I've got to get down to the greenhouse. It was a hot day. It was March. And Mayumi was part of a delegation to the United Nations, women begging, imploring the United Nations to begin to wage peace more actively, women's delegation. So... I went down the greenhouse. I could see it was steaming. The windows were all fogged up. I threw open the doors and lo and behold, every seed had germinated. It took the fire of intentionality for the parasol tree to germinate. Needed the fire. Made it through Hiroshima for God's sake. Of course it had enough muscle power to germinate in the heat. It took live fire of neglect to germinate those seeds. And the flat was rocking with them. And so we dug them out and planted them and gave them to people all over the country, to veterans groups, to the permaculture.

[38:59]

The tree, they planted it too close to the house. It nearly knocked the house over. Also, a friend from Good Humus Farm in the Cape Valley also planted it too close to her house. She said she wanted to remember peace, but she said, not pressed up against my window. I can hardly move because peace is so present there. So The trees really thrived. And we planted one here. And I remember Kaz and Mayumi orchestrating, bringing back a spark from the eternal flame in Hiroshima. A spark. They brought it back in a little belly warmer. Japanese friend brought it back and ignited candle. And we had a tree planted out here. I think that tree blew down in the wind or got eaten by a gopher. I'm very sorry that it's no longer here to to be celebrated as gorgeous, glorious, heart-shaped leaves. But the beat goes on, and the trees continue to teach and to speak. So these are the times we're living in, where we rely somehow on young people and the more-than-human world to encourage us in the direction of peace, whatever it's going to take.

[40:13]

Whatever you have to say, says poet Charles Olson, whatever you have to say, leave the roots on. Make clear, let them dangle. Make clear, just to make clear where you come from. One more time. Whatever you have to say, leave the roots on and the dirt. Make clear where you come from. So we're called to this right now. And I am... This is a day when we really think about, not think about, but dedicate ourselves afresh and aflame to working for peace in the world as our practice, not separate from our practice, as an expression and manifestation of our practice. I've been very, very grateful for this new book called Standing at the Edge by Roshi Joan Halifax from Upaya Zen Center.

[41:17]

This is a brand new book, Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet. And you can see, I've been studying it. I'm about to go and work with Upaya Zen Center on the 15th of August to meet 45 chaplains who are doing deep work in the world. And Roshi Joan said, can't you come, along with Alan Sanaki, I'm so happy to be there with Dharma Brother, engaged Buddhist teacher from the Berkeley Zen Center. Together we'll... encourage chaplains in the direction, not of turning away from suffering, but from meeting it head on. And the amount of suffering that so many of us are carrying now for grief at the destruction of the natural world and our separation from the holistic experience of the natural world is immense. And people serving in chaplaincy in prisons and in senior centers in homeless shelters, wherever they may be serving, are also carrying a broken heart for what's happening in the natural world.

[42:21]

So we will stand at the edge together. That's why I thought it was lovely that we were invited to sit on the edge, because we are at the edge. Not only do we live on the edge of the rubbing together of two continents, the Atlantic and Pacific plates rubbing together, causing huge uplift and In our world and in our times, we're very much on the edge right now. So Roshi Joan is a member of the Zen Peacemakers Order. She's one of the co-founders. The two founders, Jisho Holmes and her husband, Tetsugen Bernie Glassman, Roshi, are... Extraordinary teachers, Zen teachers and peacemakers. So in 1994, you know, right before we sowed those seeds of the parasol tree, in 1994 on Bernie's 55th birthday, he and his wife, Jisho, practitioners both, sat on the steps of the United States Capitol in freezing January weather because Bernie is born on, I think, January 16th.

[43:32]

And they made a vow to sit still on the steps of the Capitol until they knew how to dedicate their practice, how to rededicate their years of Zen training. What will it look like? What will it look like to rededicate? And during that time together, they had a vision of founding a Zen Peacemaker's Order. I love it that it sounds like Zippo, Zen Peacemaker's Order. So they did create, on that freezing day in 1994, they established the Zen Peacemakers Order with three important tenets, which I think I offer to you this morning, useful, really useful teachings for our times. Our times of being fierce, peaceful warriors or fierce peacemakers. wounded healers, blind seers, carrying the contradiction of our times, wounded healers, blind seers, peaceful warriors.

[44:45]

So they, simple, simple guidelines. Number one, don't think, let's not think we know what to do. And then saying not knowing is most intimate. but deep, deep not knowing, coming from a place of not really knowing what to do, but vowing to be present, to sit still, to not move like the Buddha vowed, to sit still, not move until we have some understanding of how to meet suffering in the end of suffering. Suffering, said Thich Nhat Hanh, suffering is not enough. It's not enough to just suffer. We have to also get up and serve. But we don't know how to do that. can we actually, without making too big of a whoop about it, because Zen practice, the Zen tradition, I think, errs on the side of revering not knowing.

[45:47]

Not knowing, too much reverence for not knowing can make you a very torpid practitioner. You sit still thinking, I can't move, I'm not sure. No one is sure of what to do, but we are sure that we don't know what to do, and out of that, We will bear witness, which is the second tenet. We'll look. We'll not turn away. Not turning away. So we'll bear witness to what's happening in our times and we'll find some form of compassionate service and compassionate response. How am I doing time-wise? Lovely Elle. Oh, those children just ruined me. So let's just... I mean, in a way, Sadako is a wounded healer who didn't know what to do.

[46:50]

She bore witness to the fact she had an atom bomb disease. And her compassionate action was to fold cranes and write. She was an artist, a young artist. and an athlete, full of spirit, a wounded healer, very much like the Fisher King and the pure fool. Throughout time and story and space, there are wounded healers who stand up again and again to serve and to teach. So we can hold in our heart the story of Sadako as a wounded healer and also When thinking about the blind seer, I think of Tiresias. Often a prophet does not see. And witness, the word wit, comes from to see. I lost my wits. Keep your wits about you. It means look at what's happening. To bear witness is to plunge into what's happening in the present moment and not turn away from it.

[47:54]

So a blind seer, even though we don't see where to go. And you know what comes up for me immediately? are those 11 wild boar Thai children that followed their leader kind of impetuously into an underground cave covered with water, buried in the back of a cave, completely blind, in full darkness. 11 young people from the ages of 11 to 17 for weeks in that cave, in the dark, and their coach was a practitioner. He'd been a monk for 10 years. And he guided them in meditation in the darkness. And you know the story. It just subsumes so many of us just studying about the courage of these children. One diver, a former Navy SEAL, a man named Saman Gunan, 38 years old, made an effort to rescue them and died in the effort.

[48:56]

So the children, when they were rescued, and they were all rescued successfully, it's a miraculous story, including the coach, came out, they were hospitalized, kept in solitary confinement for a good bit, and their one concern was that they expressed gratitude for the life that was given in order to protect them. So this Saman Gunan, and you know, about 10 days ago, The children, they were returned to their communities, but all mass, all of them, including the coach, went to a monastery, a Thai monastery, and they were met by Valipram Gunan, the widow of Saman Gunan. She handed each boy a monk's robe. They thanked her, they bowed to her, They expressed their gratitude to her. There was a huge picture of her husband there on the monastic altar, and each child had his head shaven for nine days of prayer and service to express gratitude to the many beings that held them in their hearts, and particularly to this man who gave his life to protect them.

[50:18]

So these blind seers, and they are seers, practicing like that, So she carried the robes for the boys, handed them out for nine days. They practiced, whereas the coach made the full decision during that same time to receive full ordination and is now practicing as a monk fully. He said he held back. The call of the world was very strong. But after this experience, he took full monastic vows. And so this is so important in this hall to tell stories like this. that are the stories of our times. And when you think of the historical story of the Buddha, as a little child, his father took him out to bless the fields and he noticed all the suffering that comes from tilling the fields and took refuge under a rose apple tree, leaned his back against the tree and said, please help me see what to do in this world and fell asleep resting under that tree.

[51:26]

and had a full life as a peaceful warrior for awakening. But it began in a child's body, not knowing what to do, bearing witness, not turning away, not knowing what to do and not turning away, and then finding some way. Again, that thou made under a tree, under the Bodhi tree. May I sit here at the roots of this tree and not move. May my blood and bones dry up and be pulverized into nothingness. This is, of course, I'm extemporaneously riffing on the Buddha. May I not move until I understand what to do. And then getting up to serve, even though he wanted to live in seclusion. But many people saying, won't you for the sake of the world that is here, get up and teach and walk the world and be a guide. So it's Sunday. It's peace day in troubled times, in broken times.

[52:31]

On this day, from the book of Isaiah, I'm going to make it current. On this day, may Wolfe And lamb learn to live together. And leopard lie down with a baby newborn goat. May the calf and the yearling, may the calf and the yearling sheep be safe with the lion. And the suckling child play at the hole of an asp. And the weaned child put her hand on the cockatrice's den, the mythic cockatrice's den, and may a little child lead us. So that from the same book, we can finally beat our swords into plowshares.

[53:42]

our spears into pruning hooks. May nation not lift up sword against nation and may we not learn war anymore. Prayers. Prayers from the prophet reaching across the ages. And then in final closing from Gary Snyder for the children. One of my favorite poems. Admonitions for the children. Stay together. Learn the flowers and go light. Become one with the knot itself until it dissolves away. Sweep the garden any size. For the children. Stay together. Learn the flowers, go light.

[54:49]

Become one with the knot itself until it dissolves away. Sweep the garden any size. Thank you for your practice and for today, for being present with the young, learning and loving the young, the spiral dance, Can we just leave everything here because we're coming back? Please come back. I want to hear the stories from you. We'll have a chance to come back and tell stories that encourage us in the direction of awareness in these times. So thank you so much for your practice and for the opportunity to be with you today. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. Our programs are made possible by the donations we receive.

[55:51]

Please help us to continue to realize and actualize the practice of giving by offering your financial support. For more information, visit sfcc.org and click Giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[56:08]

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