Good morning. and welcome to children of all ages. We celebrate Buddha's birthday today. It's good to see you all here. Zendo is pretty full. And also to see you online. It's good to see Ron Nestor in recovery there, smiling. Right, that's great. So today, In the Chinese Buddhist tradition, this is the Buddha's birthday And usually in that tradition we observe it in the spring And in some of the other Buddhist traditions they observe it at a slightly later time At the full moon of the fifth month, I believe

[01:28]

And, you know, in that other tradition, they glom it all together, and they celebrate Buddha's birthday, Buddha's enlightenment, and Buddha's Paranirvana at the same time. It's very economical. We break it out into three separate ceremonies. It's, in the Japanese tradition, it usually happens to be April 8th, today, which is called Hama Matsuri, which is the flower festival. And that's because it was a big rain of flowers that flowed down, dropped down from the sky when the Buddha was born. So happy birthday to the Buddha.

[02:29]

He is today two thousand five hundred and sixty six years old. So. On his cake. We're going to have cake, actually, I don't think we I don't think we have that many candles on it, do we? But on his cake, you would have 2,567 candles, one for good luck. Which of course we don't do because that would affect global warming. So you have to imagine, they're imaginary candles. So I'm going to say a little about the details, the legends of Buddha's birthday. According to the legend, the Buddha was born... Born in Lambini, which is in present-day Nepal, in the very... across the border in the very far north of India.

[03:44]

And his mother, Mahamaya, was a princess. She was a princess of the Kolian... And the Buddha's father was a royal figure of the Shakyat clan. That's why we call the Buddha sometimes Shakyamuni, the sage of the Shakyat clan. And so the Buddha was born to an aristocratic family. right in that area on the border of India and Nepal. So, there was a spring festival, or some actually midsummer festival, I think about how long, when Queen Maya became pregnant with the baby Buddha.

[04:56]

was a midsummer festival in the town of Kaplavastu where she was the queen. And the people were enjoying the feast. Queen Maya didn't take any strong drinks, no beer, no wine, no single malt scotch. And she, was adorned with garlands and perfumed, and she took part in this summer festival. And on the full moon day, which is a very important day in the Buddhist calendar, but also just in almost every tradition, we had the full moon. Did you guys see the full moon the other night? It was glorious.

[05:58]

It was big and round, sort of golden. So at the following festival, she rose early and she bathed, and she put on fancy clothes, and she ate delicious foods. And after all that effort, which couldn't have taken all that long, She got tired and went back to her room. And she lay down and she had a dream. She had a really unusual dream. She dreamed that four guardian angels carried her up to the high Himalayan mountains. And they laid her under a large tree. and they stood by the side respectfully.

[07:01]

And then the wives of these angels took her to a lake and they bathed her. And they decked her with divine flowers. And then they spread a couch with its head towards the east. So this is, just realize this is a dream. Within a dream. Did you ever have that? A dream within a dream? Did you ever dream that you were dreaming? Interesting. So think about that. And you'll notice it. Now you're gonna notice it the next time that happens. And in the dream, within the dream, she saw a beautiful white elephant. And that elephant approached her. And he plucked a white lotus from his trunk. And he trumpeted loudly, which I was tempted to do just now, but I'm not going to.

[08:09]

You've all heard what an elephant's trumpet sounds like, right? It's loud. And if I did it here with the sound system, it would be very loud. And I'm not even an elephant, although I've been mistaken for one related to one because of my nose. And this elephant walked around her three times, and he touched her right side. And then she knew that she was going to have a baby. So when the future Buddha was conceived in this dream, the 10,000 worlds quaked and shook, and a beautiful light spread through all of these worlds. And all of a sudden, blind people could see, deaf people could hear, people who were not able to speak could talk.

[09:23]

Those who were in prison were freed from their chains. All diseases were ended throughout humankind. All people became very mild spoken, which we wish would be the case. Musical instruments gave forth their notes without being played upon. In all quarters of the world, the weather became fair, the sun was out, a mild breeze began to blow, and the whole of the 10,000 worlds, the whole universe, became one mass of flowers, saturated with the delicious scent of those flowers. Yeah.

[10:28]

So on the next day when she woke up, Queen Maya told her dream to her husband, Suddana. And the king summoned 64 very wise Brahmin priests. That's what they had instead of psychotherapists. And he fed them lavishly. He told them his dream. And they asked what they think about it. And those Brahmins said, be not anxious, great king. You will have a son. And if he continues to live the life of a householder, in other words, if he stays in the palace, he will become a universal monarch. And if he decides to leave the household life, and retires from the world, he will become a Buddha, which means an awakened one.

[11:35]

And he will roll back the clouds of delusion and foolishness in this world. And Queen Maya felt comfortable and happy. because she could distinguish the future Buddha within her. So when she was carrying the baby Buddha, usually we're pregnant for nine months in this human realm, right? But Buddhas take more time to cook. So she carried the Buddha for 10 months and he was well, you can see by what happens next. He was well cooked at that point. But she told her husband, sire, I would like to visit the kinfolks in my city and give birth there.

[12:39]

And so he seated the queen in a golden chariot, and it was carried by his courtiers. And he sent her away with a lot of ceremony. It's a big deal, sending her back to her parents. And along the road, there was a beautiful garden called Lumbini Grove. And when the queen saw it, she said, let's stop here a little while. I'd like to walk through this garden. So she got down and when she came to the foot of a sal tree, a tree branch of its own bent down so she could reach it with her hand. And she reached up to this tree and took hold of it.

[13:44]

And just then she felt the birth pangs come on her. She knew she was going to give births. And standing up, her attendants, respectful attendants, created a shelter, a tent around her. And she was standing there, and the baby Buddha emerged from her side. And at that moment, four angels arrived bearing a golden net and received the future Buddha on this golden net. They placed him before his mother and said, rejoice, oh queen, a mighty son has been born to you. So this is why I said he was well cooked.

[14:47]

The future Buddha right after he was born looked around at the north the south the east the west he looked at the sky he looked at the earth and then he strode forward seven bold steps now that's a very unusual thing for a newborn baby to do very unusual for maybe to, for an infant to walk seven steps. And you can see him striding forward seven steps. And then at the seventh step, he halted and with a noble voice, he shouted a shout of victory. So not only could he walk, but he could talk. This is unusual.

[15:50]

He's like destined for special and gifted programs. And he said, below the heavens and above the earth, I alone am the world honored one. Below the heavens and above the earth, I alone am the world honored one. When you see, when we go and bathe the baby Buddha outside, you'll see there's a statue and it has its hands like this, below the heavens and above the earth. But what does this mean? I alone am the world honored one. Sultan Roshi used to say, it's... Not so much alone, but I, all one. I in oneness with the whole universe.

[16:55]

The whole universe is the world honored one. So what I would say is, each of you is the Buddha. Each of us, each kid, each adult, whatever stage of life we're in, we are the world honored one. So we can think about that and take that in, take that understanding as best we can. And Maya noticed, his mother noticed, he had something in his hand. And he said, what is it that you bring with you in your hand? He said, medicine, mother. So he was born with medicine in his hand. And the attendants took the medicine and they placed it in a jar.

[18:00]

And it was the best medicine to heal those who were suffering in any state, in any afflicted person who had need of it. And this is what he carried with him into this world. So what does the Buddha's birthday mean to me? What does it mean to us? I think that the Buddha's birthday marks the beginning of life in what we know of as the Buddha realm. The Buddha realm is the world that we are living in. Hard as it may seem sometimes, difficult, painful. The thing about being human in the Buddha realm and being born human in the Buddha realm is that we have an opportunity to wake up.

[19:08]

We have an opportunity to be free from suffering and also We have the opportunity to free others from suffering. This is what the Buddha came to do. He came with a task to help others awaken. Because this incredible event, this legendary event happened, so many years ago, 2,566 years ago. Thank you. Because this happened, we're sitting here today, which is amazing. We're doing something that has been done year by year. It's been celebrated year by year. And we have this wonderful practice by which we hope to allow, hope to help people wake up and ourselves.

[20:10]

So this practice was passed by Shakyamuni Buddha to his disciples, and it's been passed down through nearly a hundred generations to us. And we have it. We hold that in our hands. Whether we know it or not, the medicine that the Buddha was born with, It's in our back pocket. Just take a look. See if you can find it. So now we have it. And may we keep it well. So we'll celebrate, but I just want to just see if there are a couple of questions before I end this talk. It's a short talk today. Do you have any thoughts? Any questions? Anyone in this room or anyone online?

[21:17]

This is, let me just say, at the Buddha's Paranirvana, before he passed from this world, he asked his students to have any questions. And nobody asked a question. So they missed an opportunity. So I'm giving you one more opportunity here. I'm not planning to die right now. And also, if I do, there's other wise people in this room. But if you have a question or a thought here in this time, please say something. Yeah, Phil. What is the significance of the Buddha being born from the side? I think that was probably the

[22:40]

That was the moment when Velcro was invented. And I think he created Velcro. I think, you know, human childbirth is kind of messy. And they wanted to formulate a story that was perhaps Less messy. That's my thought. You know, something special. Okay. Does that make sense? Well, I can understand that, yes. Yes. There's a question in the community room. Oh, look at all those people in there. Can't hear you, Judy.

[23:43]

It may be that the community room computer isn't set up with a microphone. If you guys can't get it to work, feel free to type the question in the chat. Yeah. In the chat, if you can do it succinctly. Meanwhile, look around. Yes, Kelsey? I actually just, I'm curious because actually 10 months gestation is actually normal. And I'm curious if it was, were you saying it was just, it was 10 months? Yeah. Okay. That's what the, you know, story is, yeah. I think that's actually normal. Oh, okay. I've never done it myself, so I don't know. That's fine. I don't know. Yeah, we actually have this idea of nine months, but when you're given an estimated due date, it's 10 months away. Okay. Thank you. So, have you guys solved your problem?

[24:58]

Have you put anything in the chat? Anything here? Ross? we're celebrating a birthday in Buddha, but we talk about also no birth. Could you say a little bit about how those two interpenetrated? You work with them as a practice. Yeah. So, yes, thank you. So Ross was saying, we're celebrating a birthday now, and yet in our Buddhist tradition, particularly in this intuition, we talk about no birth, about no birth, no death. And, you know, I think that the story of Buddha's birth, the story of his enlightenment, the story of his nirvana, from another angle are what are known as skillful means, upaya.

[26:05]

We have these stories because they're useful. They can be useful to us. We can contextualize. We can see our own lives in their reflection. And at the same time, there's a view of the Buddha as always existing and never passing away. So the no birth is the Buddha. If you look at even the early narratives about his birth, he was already a Buddha in another realm. So he just was making a journey so that he could help us here. Thank you. Let me look, chat. We have Buddha's, the communal room says, we have Buddha's birthday cake today.

[27:07]

Is that all the Buddha eats? Well, you know, there's a famous expression of the Buddha that we've heard. When Ananda came to the Buddha and said, the people are hungry, the Buddha said, let them eat cake. Sorry. Anyway, cake is what we're being given. And one of the things about being a Buddhist monk is whatever is placed in your bowl when you go on alms round, that's what you eat. So today, we're being given cake. And it's a highly nutritious cake, which has wonderful amounts of protein in it.

[28:18]

It has poppy seeds. And I have to say, it's a reminder to me because Lori and I, we had the same recipe cake made by the same baker, Peter Overton. on our wedding day, which was... Right. We are really old. Actually, we are getting old. It was like 33, 34 years ago. Same cake, same baker. So, enjoy. Okay. I think we're going to have to end because I want everyone to enjoy the... bathing the baby Buddha outside. So thank you. Beings are nervous.

[29:20]

I am about to awaken with them. Illusions are exhaustible. and that will be the model for how we bathe the Buddha.

[32:27]

We bow, we pick up the scoop, put some tea in it and pour it over the Buddha. Scoop back down and bow again and then it's the next person's turn. And then after he does that, the Kokyo will announce the Heart Sutra and we're going to form two lines. approaching the altar. And I'm going to head one line and Dean who's the teacher today is going to head the other one. So we also are models. We are going to go together and you all from your lines will go in pairs. Or if people want to gather in a group with children and do it, that's fine too. We will work that out. So bowing, scooping, bowing. And then the children and the young at heart after bathing the baby Buddha can go to the Sheikahs and receive a container of bubbles.

[33:36]

And what we want you to do is fill the air with bubbles by waving the wand rather than blowing through the wand. So I think we're going to need some human hearts to join the children to get in a lot of bubbles. And Sue and Carol, the shikas, will be the last ones to bathe baby Buddha. And then we'll close the ceremony by our chant, all Buddhas, ten directions, three times, and final vows. And then we will enjoy birthday cake. Oh, the idea is that when you receive a piece of birthday cake, just wait, and when everybody has a piece, then we'll sing happy birthday. Thank you. I'm gonna bring you all outside, so if there's anything interesting to hear, you'll be able to hear it.

[35:17]

Hey, Yoni. Yeah. If we could get the courtyard camera turned back on, I've requested the video get restarted multiple times, but it's shut off. Okay, I'll go. It turned off. Okay, I'm gonna go do it. Thanks. Yeah, Dean's on it. Is it nice to have this camera too? What do you think? All right, great. I think it looks fine now. It may be that the participant blocks the view, but it's a nice view for now. Thank you.

[38:29]

Thank you. Wow, that was starting.

[39:55]

Thank you. Great Wisdom, Beyond Wisdom, Ha-Sutra. Avalokitesvara, Bodhisattva, when practicing deeply the Prajna, Hanigna, I believe that all five scandals in their own being are empty and was saved from all suffering.

[42:47]

O Shai who drowned, form does not differ from emptiness. Emptiness does not differ from form. That which is warm is emptiness. That which is emptiness form. The same is true of feelings, projections, formations, consciousness. Both are a kutra. All dharmas are marked with emptiness. They do not appear nor disappear. Are not cated nor pure. Do not increase nor decrease. Therefore, in emptiness, no form, no feelings, no perceptions, no formations, no consciousness, no heights, no fears, no knows, no come, no body, no mind, no color, no sound. No smell, no taste, no touch, no object of mind, no realm of mind, until no realm of mind, consciousness, no romance, and also no extinction of it, until no old age and death, and also no extinction of it, no suffering, no remuneration of it.

[44:13]

No cognition, also no attainment, with nothing to attain a bodhisattva depends on prasya, karamita. And the mind is no hindrance, without any hindrance, no fears exist. Far apart from every perverted view, one dwells in nirvana. In the three worlds all the dust depend on Prajnaparamita and attain on surface complete perfect enlightenment. Therefore know the Prajnaparamita is the great transcendent mantra, is the great bright mantra. is the utmost mantra, is the supreme mantra, which is able to relieve all suffering and is true, not all.

[45:20]

Though proclaim the prajna paramita mantra, proclaim the mantra that says, gate, gate. Paragate, Parasamkate, Bodhisattva. Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva. When practicing deeply, the prodigy of Parabita. Perceive that all five Sanghas in their own being are empty. and was saved from all suffering, Vohsariputra. Form does not differ from emptiness, emptiness does not differ from form. That which is form is emptiness, that which is emptiness, form.

[46:21]

The same is true of feelings, perception, formation, consciousness, Vohsariputra. All dharmas are marked with emptiness. They do not appear nor disappear, are not tainted nor pure, do not increase nor decrease. Therefore, in emptiness, no form, no feelings, no perceptions, no formations, no consciousness, no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind, no color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no object of mind, no realm of eyes, until no realm of mind, consciousness, no ignorance, and also no extinction of it, until no hope, age, and death, and also no extinction of it, no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no prayer, no cognition, also no attainment, with nothing to attain, a Bodhisattva Dickensam, Prajna, Paramita,

[47:43]

In the mind is no hindrance, without any hindrance, no fears exist. Far apart from every perverted view, one dwells in nirvana. In the three worlds all Buddhas depend on Prajna, Parabhita, and attain, unsurpass, complete, perfect enlightenment. Therefore know that Raja Paramita is the great transcendent mantra, is the great great mantra, is the utmost mantra, is the supreme mantra. which is able to relieve all suffering and is true, not false. So proclaim the Raja Harvita mantra.

[48:44]

Proclaim the mantra that says, Gathe, [...] Bodhisattva. Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva, when practicing deeply the Rajna, Mahabharita, perceive that all Vaiskandhas in their own being are empty and was saved. from all suffering. O Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness. Emptiness does not differ from form. That which is form is emptiness. That which is emptiness form. The same is true of feelings, perceptions, formations, consciousness. O Shariputra, all dharmas are not

[49:49]

They do not appear nor disappear, are not tainted nor pure, do not increase nor decrease. Therefore in emptiness, no form, no feelings, no perceptions, no formations, no consciousness, no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind. no color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no object of mind, no realm of eyes, until no realm of mind, consciousness, no ignorance, and also no extinction of it, until no old age and death, and also no extinction of it, no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path, no cognition, also no attainment, with nothing to attain.

[50:54]

Bodhisattva depends on Rajna, Paramita, and the mind is no hindrance, without any hindrance, no fears exist. Far apart from every perverted view, one dwells in Nirvana, in the three worlds all buddhas depend on and attain unsurpassed complete perfect enlightenment therefore is a great transcendent mantra is the great bright mantra It is the utmost mantra, it is the supreme mantra, which is able to relieve all suffering and is true, not false.

[51:56]

So proclaim the rajna-aramita mantra. Proclaim the mantra that says, gate, gate. From great compassion comes forth the pure Dharma body, unborn, uncreated. We pray that the darkness of our delusions may be illuminated by true compassion. On the eighth day of April, we are gathered here to offer sweet tea, flowers, candles, water, and cakes to celebrate the birthday of our great teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha. In gratitude, we wish to offer the merit of the recitation of the great wisdom beyond wisdom, Heart Sutra.

[52:57]

The wonderful Udambara flower bloomed upon this day, and the meaning of this festival is found within its blossom. Even as its sweet fragrance fills the whole universe, so does Buddha Dharma cover the world. The birth of Chakyamuni brought the sun of hope to a world of darkness, illuminating the whole universe. Shakyamuni was born with the marks of a Buddha and for immeasurable time pursued works of great compassion. The Buddha found and transcended the cause of suffering. All beings, whether saints or laypersons, praise his magnificent understanding. The Buddha's 300 sermons are for us as rain is for trees and grass. Just as rain causes flowers to flourish, so these words touch our hearts. At this very moment the rain of Dharma pours into the lake of kindness.

[53:58]

The merit of the Buddha's life may be likened to the wind, which as it bends the grass and fans the leaves, moves the good seed of the Dharma to take root in the hearts of people all. Even after twenty-five hundred years, we will continue to do so, not only in this world, but throughout every world. We, the followers of our great teacher, Shakyamuni, bow in gratitude for this kindness and compassion as we celebrate his birthday. We pray that Shakyamuni's halo, which is the light of the Dharma, will illuminate the darkness of delusion for those beings of this world who have not yet heard these teachings. We pray that all beings may be saved and prosper for all eternity. We pray that the seed of Buddhahood will bud and blossom into the flower of enlightenment.

[55:00]

so that its beauty may fill the universe. when we get everybody who has their cake.

[57:38]

Okay, we're just gonna say happy birthday. Yeah, you know, give some food. Hannah, do you want to direct them? Well, I've already told them. Go stand around the cake table. Yeah, that will be safe now. I mean, as I said earlier, take a piece of cake and wait. Hi. Wish you were here. Peter and Mary made the cake. But we'll just find you another piece some other time, Jake. Huh? Okay. Hannah, would you do me a favor and mute that laptop real quick so I can do the announcements for people online? Oh, yeah.

[58:39]

Let me see. There should be like a little microphone in the lower left. Perfect. Thank you. OK, so I don't normally do this part, but I guess I'll do announcements. um let's see where are they okay uh so i believe the information i have for the way seeking mind talks is a little bit out of date um this monday there was a switcheroo and i forget who's going but as usual there's a way seeking mind talk monday morning the uh next half day sitting is sunday april 23rd Any Sangha members who identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color are welcome to meetings held on Monday from 6.30 to 7.30 via Zoom.

[59:40]

For more information, see the website, which has a link for recurring activities. And let's see, online announcements are, there's Susan Marvin's Eight Great Awakenings class right now. And I'll post the links in the chat. I guess we can all unmute and say good morning and happy birthday, Buddha. Happy birthday, Buddha. Hello. Happy birthday, Buddha. Good to see you all. Yeah, it's so wonderful to see everybody. Good to see you. Yeah. Bye. Good to see you, Jake. Good to see you, Jake. Hello to you. Good to see you. And Philip and Stan. Oh, there's Mac. Oh, it's sweetie. All right, take care. Bye. Take care, everyone.

[60:41]

Bye.

[60:44]

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