I could give the 30 second recap, but I'm not going to do that. So anyway, just, I had this thought while I was sitting here, you know, just this moment and then thinking, every Zen student Every Buddhist who's ever meditated over 2,500 years has many moments like this. It's just this is one moment that is a moment for me. It's a moment right here. But the beauty of timelessness of that moment exists for everyone throughout our time. And also, it's not just in our tradition.

[01:02]

It's also available to anyone who is awake. And that completely cuts across any kind of tradition. But we have this playful method of taking things in. So I just wanted to underscore that and appreciate it. Right now it's really quiet. I can't even hear the crows, which is unusual. They're pretty constant background. But there'll be sounds. There'll be the sound of the wind. There'll be the sound of the crows and other birds. There'll be the sound of traffic. all of that and be appreciative and respectful of it.

[02:07]

That is, that's the game. That's what we're playing at here. So I wanted to extend from that to share something from a chapter in Not Always So. And it's a chapter I've, I'm not sure I've ever spoken about it here, but it has and I've done it elsewhere. The chapter is called Respect for Things. So I was looking at, this is my funky copy, which is all underlined and everything.

[03:09]

And I went and I looked at Sojan Roshi's copy yesterday and perused all of the penciled notations in the margins. And boy, his copy, if not always so, is really marked up. And at the bottom of the first page... There's, he writes, he writes, menmitsu no kafu. People know, does anyone know that expression? Menmitsu no kafu. And I think that he spoke about that variously. And what it means, universally translated, is... our careful and considerate way or our intimate way.

[04:11]

That is something Suzuki Roshi talks about in the expression in his Sandokai lectures, Apprenting Streams, and he quotes Tatsugami Roshi who was quoting Dogen. And Tatsugami Roshi was the teacher that Suzuki Roshi invited to set up the monastic forms at Tassahara. And he was Sojin's shuso teacher. When Sojin was shuso at Tassahara in 71? 70 or 71. Tatsukami Roshi was there and he was his instructor. He writes about him just sort of glowingly in his book.

[05:17]

Even though Tatsukami had no English and Sojin had no Japanese, he felt they communicated very well. But Tatsukami Roshi, in one of his lectures, speaks about menmitsu no kafu. And Suzuki Roshi describes this as really the spirit of our Soto way, this careful, considerate way. And that is what Sojun Roshi wrote in the margins in this chapter, respect for things, which would also, of course, include respect for people. The epigraph at the beginning is a quotation from within the chapter.

[06:23]

Instead of respecting things, we want to use them for ourselves. And if it is difficult to use them, we want to conquer them. So, he begins, in our Zen practice, we stop our thinking and we are free from our emotional activity. Now Sochin in his notes he underlines stop our thinking and he's written let go of our thinking which is probably more expressive because we can be confused by Suzuki Roshi's expression stop our thinking because we can't stop our thinking It's absolutely unstoppable until we're dead. You know, our mind is always secreting thoughts.

[07:25]

But letting go of our thinking means just to let them flow and not be attached to them. So we let them flow and we are free from our emotional activity. We don't say there is no emotional activity, but we are free from it. Maybe more accurately, we are free in it. Again, just as we can't stop our thoughts, we're not likely to stop our emotional activity, but we can be free within it, just recognize emotional activity as emotional activity and allow it to move. It will. He says, we don't say we have no thinking, but our life activity is not limited by our thinking mind.

[08:31]

In short, we can say that we trust ourselves completely without thinking, without feeling, without discriminating, bad, right and wrong. So this is, you know, all this, this whole first paragraph is, to me, is typically really challenging Suzuki Roshi, kind of, his discourse is really challenging. And we have to figure out how we understand, and not necessarily to take it literally, but to get to the spirit of what he means. And I think that the last sentence in this paragraph helps us unpack this. Because we respect ourselves, because we put faith in our life, we sin. So our faith in our life, that was what Sojin wrote over the heading for this chapter is,

[09:39]

And this is challenging. Because we respect ourselves, because we put faith in our life, we sin. And so the question, of course, is how do we respect ourselves? How do we respect our life? And I think that what Satsuki Roshi is saying is that we can. that that's always available to us. That respect for our life, that faith is always there. And when we sit, we bring it forth. We express it. He says, our relationship with nature should also be like this. We should respect everything and we can practice in the way we relate with them.

[10:42]

So then, he gets to this section which we've heard in various talks over the years. This morning, when we were bowing, we heard a big noise overhead. This is in San Francisco where the Zendo was underneath the dining room. Uh-huh. We heard a big noise overhead because upstairs in the dining room, people were pushing chairs across the tile floor without picking them up. This is not the way to treat chairs. Not only because it may disturb the people who are bowing in the zendo underneath, but also because fundamentally, this is not a respectful way to treat things. To push the chairs across the floor is very convenient, but it will... Of course, this laziness is part of our culture, and it eventually causes us to fight with each other.

[11:50]

Instead of respecting things, we want to use them for ourselves, and if it is difficult to use them, we want to conquer them. This kind of idea does not accord with the spirit of practice. things respectfully. I've often said this, you know, we hold a cup in the zendo with two hands. I try, when I'm moving this chair, I try to pick it up. And when I'm placing my cushions on the floor to support my feet, I pick them up and I place them on the floor and position them. I don't drop them and I don't, we don't position our zapatons during sishkin, moving it with our foot, which is, that's convenient.

[13:05]

But it's different from treating the zapatan or the cushion or the cup as part of ourselves. I think that it's easier to do this practice like that with inanimate objects. Because if we push them around with our foot, they don't say ouch. and they don't tell us that we're being rude. Whereas, when we're in relationship to each other, from one person to another, we have to be really careful, we have to take consideration, a whole realm of action. You know, what is, how does Menmitsu no Kafu,

[14:13]

apply in relation to each other. And none of us are perfect in this. We have our way. We try to be aware of it and mindful of it. And we mess up. And if we notice that, we can apologize and correct ourselves. If somebody else feels the impact of that, if they're kind enough to say that, we can own that and apologize and learn. And so we're really careful in how we relate to ourselves and each other here in the Zen Do. And the thing is that that has to, that does not confine just to the Zen Do. The idea is that we take this out into the world.

[15:21]

Later on in this chapter, Suzuki Roshi says, this is what we call the bodhisattva way, this careful considerate way, is to help people. And to help people, we find out how to practice our way on each moment. So that's important to realize that the function of our practice is to help people. Basically help them be free, but that freedom can occur in any moment, in any activity, in any interaction. And we always have to be open for that moment. Last week, somebody contacted me that I haven't really spoken to in quite a few years.

[16:42]

There was a conflict and we sort of went our separate ways and then had a mutual concern about somebody. And that person reached out to me with a question. And that was, it was like, oh, okay. this is an opportunity to express the connection that I feel that supersedes whatever conflict might have been there. And so I just responded. and we have a plan to do something together.

[17:46]

And that was each of us creating an opportunity to set aside something that was... Now, maybe we will resolve this. You know, maybe there'll be some going back and examining what happened, but maybe not. Maybe this is just a rebuilding, a reweaving of the fabric, but it's based on the fact that the community is an abiding connection, is the mutually understood wish to respect each other. mutually understood wish to help sentient beings. And if we can find a way to do that together, that's really, that's great.

[18:52]

And I encourage you to look in your own life and see if you have examples of that. And I would own that sometimes that means taking the long view. you know, could be a really long view, could be a decade, you know, but if there was a connection, then there might be that spark of possibility. And if there's that spark of possibility, our responsibility is to into a flame that generates light. So find the light that exists even in these difficult moments. If we think, this is going back to the chapter, if we think it is difficult to practice because we have a beautiful building, which we do, that is a mistake.

[20:27]

Actually, it might be quite difficult to practice with a strong spirit in this kind of setting where we have a handsome Buddha and offer to decorate our Buddha hall. We Zen Buddhists have a saying that with a blade of grass we create a golden Buddha which is 16 feet high. That's our spirit, so we need to practice respect for things. However humble the environment may be, we have the opportunity to see that sixteen foot golden Buddha there. I don't mean that we should accumulate many leaves or grasses to make a big statue. But until we can see a big Buddha in a small leaf, we need to make much more effort.

[21:35]

How much effort? I don't know. Some people may find it quite easy. But for someone like me, I'm quoting Suzuki Roshi, but it applies to me, for someone like me, great effort is needed. So we may see, particularly in sashim, at any moment we might see a fallen leaf as a 16-foot golden Buddha. It can pierce us right through to the heart. We need to... We just open ourselves to allow that to happen. We can't make it happen. But we can allow ourselves to be fully receptive. And... You know, when... We can sort of...

[22:42]

mentally clap our hands and say, yay, you know, wow, I just, I just saw the Buddha. And then go back to your sitting. You know, take that leaf and plow it back into the soil. Don't hold on to it. Don't create an altar for it. It's altered the leaf. has its own altar wherever it is. It is fully at home. We don't have to put it in an exalted place because it's already in its own place. Although seeing a large golden Buddha in a large golden Buddha is easier.

[23:50]

When you see a large golden Buddha in a blade of grass, your joy will be something special. I forgot this was here. We need to practice respect with great effort. So it's this respect for all things that creates the environment within which that perception and that joy can arise. In this sendo everyone can come and practice our way. Experienced students and those also those who don't know anything about Zen both will have difficulties that's for sure. New students that they could never have imagined Old students have a double duty to do their practice and encourage those who have just come, I would say.

[24:50]

Old students will also have difficulties that they never imagined. The difficulties don't stop, but the potentials for play don't stop. Old students have a double duty to do their own practice and to encourage those who have just come. Not telling them you should do this or you shouldn't do that. The old students should lead the new students so that they can practice their way more easily. That's why we have a Shusō. That's what the Shusō does. Shusō doesn't tell you do this, do that. Shusō just practices so that we can all observe her and find a way to practice like her.

[25:53]

And she's so for a time, but we can always find a way to practice like, we should always be looking to Sue, but her term of office only lasts six weeks. and then next year there'll be another one. So we're constantly putting people in the position of being this model, but really each of us is the model. Each of us has to think of ourselves as a shiso and be modeling for those who come and modeling. That is also men mitsu no kafu. Even though newer students don't know what Buddhism is, they will naturally have a good feeling when they come to this beautiful Buddha.

[27:04]

That is the ornament of a Buddha land. But for Zen Buddhists especially, the true ornament of the Buddha land, of the Buddha Hall, The true ornament of the Buddha Hall is the people who are practicing there. Each one of us should be a beautiful flower and each one of us should be Buddha, leading people in our practice. Whatever we do, we are considering how to do this. Since there are no special rules for how to be friendly with others, We keep studying what will help people practice together. If you don't forget that point, you will find out how to treat people and how to treat things and how to treat yourself. It's not just respect for things, it's also respect for all beings and respect for ourself.

[28:10]

And we're playing at that. I think there's a good spirit here in this tzendo. I think he's looking at us. I am rather amazed at the spirit. But the next question is how to extend this spirit to your everyday life? Respecting things and respecting each other. Because when we respect things we will find their true life. Though love is important, it is separated from respect and sincerity, it will not work. With big mind and pure sincerity and respect, love can really be love.

[29:14]

So he's talking here about unconditional love. Not love that is self-centered. There's all kinds of love. But the love that transcends self and that includes self and other as one and is capable of shifting its focus. bringing our spirit of practice to bear each person that we're encountering. With big mind and with pure sincerity and respect, love can really be love. So let's try hard and find out how to make a blade of grass into a big Buddha.

[30:18]

So I'm going to stop there. and leave time for your questions or comments. And we can play together. Jerry has her hand up. You're going to pass the microphone. Well, thank you very much. That was a wonderful talk. Thank you. And I've been thinking about playing since Sue brought it up yesterday. And to me, a description of playing is not knowing mind with great curiosity, with great effort, and with great creativity and imagination. And that seems to And that triggered our memory of Norman Fisher's book, The World Could Be Otherwise.

[31:29]

That the paramitas are a way that we do this with other people, generosity, et cetera, ethical behavior. I think that there are several dharma systems that give us really good instruction. The paramitas are one. Sojan was partial to the factors of enlightenment, which would depart me this in many ways. I'm partial to the bodhisattvas for embracing dharmas, which are generosity, kind speech, beneficial action, and cooperation. Each of these is a Each of these is a system that helps us in finding how to relate to each other.

[32:31]

Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Hozon. I hear in what you're speaking to reciprocity and at the same time I've been reading Braiding Sweetgrass and she speaks in there about indigenous ways as they relate to plants and One of the things she talks about in her People's Language is that there's no... there's no word or understanding of things.

[33:32]

So everything is animate. And she said in order to learn that language, she had to learn the grammar of animacy. And the grammar of animacy. And she said that a friend of hers, to bring this into English, any time in English one would call a thing a thing, an it, a this, a that, she would say, someone. So for instance, if there's a stick that lands in her cup of tea, she'd say, oh, in this cup. And I'm thinking about how this is really an imperative from the real challenges of our time, not the least of which is climate change and so on.

[34:41]

You can move your microphone a little further from your mouth. So I'm wondering whether it's Japanese or... Mandarin or English or these indigenous languages, how do we not get caught in human-centric or just centric things that come from language that we might not be seeing and just really go to the heart of reciprocity? I don't want to get caught on the meaning of reciprocity. There's something inerrant in that word that's problematic for me, but in terms of how do we recognize every thing as alive, you know, I think a good thing is not as good as nothing.

[35:51]

as no thing. So, no thing. There's no thingness. That everything that we think of as a thing is a manifestation of infinite causes and conditions coming together. And just as there's no thing, we also realize experience. We take something that is boundless in its alignment of causes and conditions, and we call it an experience. But it's beyond that. So, for example, you know, we talk about an enlightenment experience. But it's not that there's no experience.

[36:56]

It's not that there's no thing. It's just that it's completely beyond that and completely alive. And to recognize that life, I think, you know, we can assign a word to it. It's like, oh, someone fell on my cup of coffee. You know, I like that. And... But as soon as we put things into words, at the very best, we're making a mistake on purpose. That there's something about language that concretizes whatever it is that comes through our perceptions. And yet the language itself, and Dogen is really clear and great about this, the language itself is beyond its dualistic that, you know, a poet, a writer, anyone who puts words down or who speaks as I'm speaking right now is doing some miraculous activity

[38:19]

precise words that might might be used so just to appreciate that to rejoice in that to say something about play um i have a book at home i think it's buried under a stack of other books about comedy It's kind of a how-to book. Were you an aspiring stand-up? No, no, I wasn't. I'd like to see that. It's an interesting book. And there's a chapter in it about sketch comedy, and I love sketch comedy, because, you know, you've seen, like, whose line is it anyway? These are the shows where they say, okay, you are this person, and you are in this place, and here's the situation. Create this thing.

[39:21]

And so what the book says is that the principle of sketch comedy is encapsulated in the phrase, yes, and. It's not no, but, it's yes, and. And the other person says, oh, yeah, yeah, and plays on that, and extends it. And one of my favorite bits in the book was that there were these two comics, a man and a woman, that got together and got married, and they had a child. And as the child was growing in the mother's t-shirt, it said, yes, and across their belly. And as I was sitting here thinking about that, it occurred to me that maybe that ought to be my epitaph, yes, and on my tombstone. That's pretty good. But the other thing about... about the way that yes and is that it's the mechanism of it is is seeing the other person and engaging and there's an element of respect in that respect and extension and affirmation that I think is a really important part of play and it's interesting about respect for objects respect for people that in play there is inherently

[40:47]

respect. Right, and that's what I think children are learning when they play. And yes, and that's improvisation, certainly improvisational theater, comedy, music, dance, all those things. You know, when you're playing guitar, if you're playing with people, somebody plays something and you respond. You don't cut them off or negate them. And that's really, that's actually the principle that I was getting to when I was speaking about the kind of healing potential that I encountered last week. A bid? And I said yes. And the other person said yes. And out of that, something where there was a big gap, something potential and healing emerged.

[41:58]

Yeah, that's great. It's important to remember. That's part of the play of our lives, I think. Is there anyone in Zoom Lance? I often feel in my life that I'm compelled or I have an urge or desire to things than circumstances allow. I'm thinking of Like, just at the work day, how nice it would have been to work on the gate and take real care of the wood and build it in a way that is very kind and honoring the woodness of the wood.

[43:07]

But instead, because we have to get the gate done, we're just screwing two by fours together. And I don't want to say that would mean judgment. but it seems like there are lots of times in our lives when we can't care for things as fully as maybe they deserve. And I wonder how to work with that. When Dharma fills your body and mind, you realize that something is missing. That's from Dogen. You realize And what's missing is a fixed self. What's missing is whatever your idea of completeness might be. And we live with that. We live in awareness of that gap. And, you know, you can complete that if you're capable of it.

[44:13]

I complete everything. When dharma fills your body and mind, you realize that something is missing. Even though I may not feel entirely fine about it, but to come to accept that that's actually the nature of our lives. And in the end, I think what Rob was saying, yes and means we're not we're not finished you know but we may have run out of time here and that's painful to consider and that's also are so within the constraints that are available to you to treat things as respectfully and as fully as you can.

[45:14]

Okay, I'm just going to take Yoni and then we're going to have to end. Zachary's comment made me think of a story I heard once in here about two people painting a house. Maybe Ron Mastro was there. Does anyone remember that? Say it again. Ron's shaking his head no, but... Do you remember the story? It was something like two people were painting a house, and the other one said, you know, we're not just painting a house here. He said the first person was trying to say how we should paint the house, and the second person said, you think we're painting a house. What we're doing is building a relationship, or something like that. Where do you remember that from? Ron. Ron, it's on you. Ron is going. Mary.

[46:16]

Mary Durier is nodding. I think it's her. It's your story? Sorry, Mary. Now, were you painting? Well, it's modified to protect the individuals involved. Okay. Okay. Ron, you're off the hook. It wasn't your story. It was Mary's story. Okay. That'll be it. Thank you, Hosanna. This is also a story. I love stories. When I was pretty new to practice and I was studying with Joko Beck, and she talked about objects and so on. I came to what we called and I said, you know, I just totally did this. You know, I just like... I'm respecting objects and I'm putting everything away. And she just looked at me really dryly and she said, Ellen, don't get carried away.

[47:18]

That's really sick, because it is really easy to get carried away. Well, in the footnotes to this chapter, not the footnotes, in Sojin's liner notes is his marginal writings. And on the bottom one page he says, don't be too fussy. And the other story that came to me as I was reading about, reading around last night about Menmitsu no Kafu, somebody told a story of studying with Upandita in Burma. And you would have interviews with the teacher every day and walked in with a Dharma question and Uppandita said, wait a minute, tell me what you were thinking.

[48:20]

Put your shoes down outside the door. And, uh-oh. Weird. You've been signed out because your account It's been signed in from another device. Okay, this is a sign from God. But anyway, the interview was over. Do you remember which side of the... Then the next day, at least in this story, in this version, say, do you remember what you were thinking when you woke up this morning? And the person said, no. The interview was over. So, teachers can be tough about this stuff. And it's a question of, we do have to know where we are applying our mindfulness.

[49:24]

And that was that practice. That's not necessarily our practice. It's not not our practice. We're talking about a wider, softer awareness. Like what I like to say, which is a conundrum, is concentrate on everything. But mostly, pay attention to how, do our best to pay attention to how we relate to each other. Thank you all.

[49:58]

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