I vow to taste the truth of love until I have done some work. Good morning. Good morning. The first thing I want to do this morning is go through the guidelines for sasheen. The guidelines set a tone for Sishin and often we used to read the, the Sishin director would read the guidelines and it's kind of like, well, you know, pretty soon they'll be through. I think they stopped reading the guidelines.

[01:07]

But I'm going to read the guidelines and talk about why we have each one and what it means. Because guidelines are not some way to restrict us, but some way to help us practice. So when we follow the guidelines, It's called practicing. So here they are, the Shing Guidelines. Follow the schedule completely. So when we come to Sishin, our intention is to follow the schedule completely.

[02:12]

The schedule actually is the underlying mechanism for Sishin. And often we have difficulty with the schedule. Schedule actually gives everybody a little bit of a problem. In the beginning, we managed to practice, to follow the schedule, but after a while the schedule starts to rub us. And, you know, like we're tired and maybe we a little apprehensive about going back into the zendo after a couple of days and maybe we would rather rest than show up.

[03:17]

Or maybe we're thinking about how to escape. I think my dog needs some companionship. So, following the schedule means having something that really gives us a problem. And this problem is the best way to make us mindful and careful and attentive and challenges our ego. So the schedule is the boss. And when we're out of sync with the schedule, then we really feel it.

[04:21]

And when we're in sync with the schedule, our ego is settled. And it's not, we don't feel like we're running behind all the time or trying to catch up or being forced into something. But when you and the schedule are one, then the rhythm carries you and you carry the rhythm. We should try to maintain that kind of attitude to run with the rhythm and then your effort becomes effortless because the schedule is turning you and you're turning the schedule.

[05:24]

If you need to miss any parts of the schedule, notify the director. When we sign up, if we have any problem, we talk it over with the director first. So if you need to miss anything, it's because something's come up suddenly, right? And when something comes up, if you just say something to the director, something, this has come up for me, then the director feels included. Because this is a very big job for the director, to know where everyone is, and is there a problem with anybody? Do you need something? If you just kind of walk away, you're not living up to your commitment

[06:32]

So Sushim means living up to your commitment. I'm going to sit for five days or whatever it is. And that's your commitment to yourself and to everyone else. Sushim, we think often, well, they're having Sushim and I'm participating in their Sushim. That's not Sushim. You are turning Sushim. you are creating the Sesshin. It's not like we're creating the Sesshin for you. As soon as you become a participant in Sesshin, Sesshin is your responsibility. And everyone is moving as one person, even though we're all individuals. When it's time for Zazen, we all come to the Zendo at the same time, sit down, as one person.

[07:34]

That's the spirit of Sachine. You subvert your individuality to the energy of the whole. You offer yourself to letting go of your likes and dislikes and specific needs which are not stated, and just become part of Sachine, which is not group practice. It's not a group practice. It's a practice of one person. So the director makes an effort to keep it all together.

[08:51]

And sometimes the director gets kind of antsy, or different directors have different personalities in the way they relate to everybody. Some of them, sometimes the director is really very fussy. Sometimes the director is kind of loose. But it doesn't matter. You should look at how you are and not how the director is. If you're doing your part, no problem. So then it says, after rest periods, please be in your seat several minutes before Zazen begins. So there are the clappers. which indicate that you have some time, 10 minutes, to get to the Zen Doctrine. Five minutes? Five minutes. That's not very long. Be in your seat several minutes. That's not so easy. If it's not long enough,

[09:58]

And then, the next item is maintain silence. Do not engage others verbally or with eye contact. Krisishin is a non-verbal activity. But sometimes we need to say something, especially during work period. During work period, there needs to be some instruction. And you kind of feel released from zazen So there's this tendency to want to talk, and once you start to talk a little bit, then it induces a response from the other person, and then you go back and forth, and before you know it, you're just talking and you're having a conversation. So you have to be very careful that that doesn't happen. If you need to communicate, sometimes it's good to just write a note.

[11:12]

But if you have to talk, it's good to take whoever you're talking to someplace where people don't hear you, off to the side somewhere. And it's only if you need to talk. So, this is one of the biggest problems we have in Cixin. It's pretty soon everybody's just jabbering. So, I think we, I want to keep reminding people, this Cixin, to not talk so much. Not talk. Unless you absolutely have to. Talking, well, you know, the power of se-shing, the pressure keeps building up day by day and talking lets out the pressure, it's like leaking, leaking your energy.

[12:17]

And then the person you're talking to has to listen to you. And the other part is eye contact. We like to look at each other, you know, but when you have eye contact with a person, then there's some distraction. Eye contact is good, it's not a bad thing, but in Sachine it can be kind of seductive. And looking in someone's eyes gives some kind of message. So each person is intent on concentrating on their own practice with everyone else. But the eye contact, although it's a good thing, is not recommended during Sashim.

[13:23]

Then there is one phone for emergency calls If you need to use the phone, ask the director. Well, you know, when you're in Sishin, you've left the world. And if you have to make a phone call for some reason, it should be a real necessity. But ordinarily, you don't contact people outside the zendo of the Sishin. And then it says, ask the director. Well, okay. Sounds a little excessive, but I think it's because then the director knows that that's what's happening. Instead of saying, make your phone call, think, what's happening over there? So it's not that you're getting permission. It's just that the person knows, the director knows why you're making the phone call.

[14:32]

rather than just speculating on what kind of call it is. And then it says, when entering and leaving the zendo, move slowly and quietly. When you open the door and close the door, to try and do it as quietly as possible and take your time. And then when you walk in the zendo, to walk on the front of your foot, not on your heels. If you walk on your heels, the floor is a drum. Boom, boom, boom. So foot first, front of your foot first. Also, sometimes we come in late for one reason or another. And when you come in, we think, oh, I'm late. So you rush to your seat. Don't do that. Just take your time. As soon as you enter the zendo, you fall in with the atmosphere of the zendo.

[15:40]

So you don't walk in here, but you walk slowly to your seat. This is a very creaky floor. So you can't help but making a few creaks. But walk slowly and feel the atmosphere of the zendo when you're walking. And sometimes people, when they leave, will just walk out, mindless. In the Zen Dojo, you walk very slowly so that you don't disturb the atmosphere, the air, the ether. So that people don't really notice you walking out. You don't have that wind. You're not creating any wind. And then, well, I just want to say another thing.

[16:43]

When you come to your seat, if you're carrying something, say you have your zangu or your eating bowls or something, walk to your seat and put them down first. If you want to bow, go ahead, but put that down first and then bow, and then you turn around. and bow, and you don't have anything in your hands, so you don't have to put anything down after you've done all that. Just put the object down first, and then bow, and then turn around and bow and sit down. When you're carrying something and you meet somebody, if you want to put it down, it's You have it in your arms, and then you bow this way, rather than doing this. You just bow.

[17:46]

Because bowing is with your body anyway. The hands are an extension. You bow from here. The hands are an extension of the bow. Just like a musical instrument is an extension of your voice. But the voice is the main thing. And then when you bow to your seat, the people on either side of you bow when you bow. And then when you turn around and bow, the person in front of you may or may not bow. If they're facing you, they should bow when you bow. So then it says, chant briskly with intensity.

[18:51]

Please try to do that. Everyone should be chanting from here. I don't want to go into how to chant, but the Kokyo should try to maintain the same pitch. That helps us to chant briskly. This morning, this is not a complaint, unknowingly or knowingly. And so it became heavier and heavier and harder to chant at the end than it was at the beginning. So you want to maintain the pitch. Kokuryo should maintain the same pitch. Then it says, use orioke bowls mindfully and try not to make noise with your utensils. So everything should be done very quietly. Pradigiri Roshi used to say, you should Try to eat a pickle without making any sound, which is very hard. But that kind of carefulness, when you take your utensils out of your bowls, you go clang, bang, bong, you know, clunk.

[20:07]

So listen to the sounds you're making. This is practice. Always listen to the sounds you're making. When you're walking, listen to the sound of your feet. Unless there's no unnecessary reading or writing. What that really means is no reading and no writing. Unless you're writing a note or reading a note. So we don't read the bulletin board and stuff like that. Of course, everybody's already read the bulletin board, so it doesn't really matter. We have this thing of turning all the bulletins around, but I don't think anybody's standing there reading them. I think we really have to do that. participate in kin-hen unless you need to use the bathroom. Use your rest periods for stretching and making tea. So kin-hen is not a coffee break. Kin-hen is walking zazen.

[21:10]

But if you have to go to the bathroom, that's a good time to do it. And so please don't use kin-hin to go out and make yourself a cup of coffee. If you're really sick or something, you know, and you really need some, OK, but ordinarily, you don't need kin-hin to do something personal. If you're having some difficulty with Sachine or someone else, in Sishin, speak to the director. Now, if you're having some difficulty with Sishin, it's good to talk to somebody. Talk to the director. Like, you know, I can't stand another period, you know, I can't, you know, this is bothering me and that's bothering me. Talk to the director and talk it out and see what's going on and what needs to be done.

[22:17]

Don't just walk off. So it just leaves the sheen. This worries the director. What happened? And we all feel that something's missing. So if you're having a problem, have some faith that it can be resolved within this machine. And if you're having a problem with somebody else, don't go and say, you admit it. Just say, I'm really having this problem with so-and-so.

[23:18]

What can I do? What should we do about this? maybe it's your problem, maybe it's their problem, maybe, whatever. So, don't start an argument with somebody, or don't accuse somebody, or say, go to the cook and say, geez, you know, I wish you'd put less salt in the barley, you know. Don't do that. If you have a problem with the food, talk to the director. And let the director talk to Denzo, or whatever. Or if you're having a problem with the work leader, Talk to the director. If you're having a problem with me, sorry. Talk to the director. There are keys to the residents' homes hanging by the door. These areas are available for bathroom use and for resting.

[24:20]

Keeping the residents' homes secure is very important. Make sure to lock all doors behind you. If you have valuables, give them to the director for safekeeping. OK. Keeping the residents' homes secure is very important. That's right. So you're entering somebody's home. They're generously offering up their living space. You can rest there during breaks, and you can go to the bathroom. So please observe that. Take care of that. clean up behind you, and make sure the doors are locked and the keys in the right place. And if you have anything valuable, don't leave it laying around, because sometimes somebody enters the community room and takes everybody's money and leaves. This has happened more than once. And every time we say, don't leave your valuables there, and yet there are some valuables there. So think about this.

[25:26]

And give up your valuables to the director today. And note, street, no parking signs. There will be street sweeping during sashing. Please pay in advance. Well, I wanted to say that the residents, it would be good if the residents used their own bathrooms. If there's a line at the public bathroom and you're a resident, go to your own bathroom because it's hard to wait in line and there are a lot of people. Otherwise, you can use the public bathroom. And last, I During Sashin, we occasionally use the Kyusaku, the stick.

[26:32]

And we use the stick to wake you up or to give you some... help your state of mind. And we only use the stick when you ask for it. And it's not punishment. And it's not your father beating you as a child. It's just a help for everybody. And the sound of the stick is probably the most important thing, because it helps everybody to wake up. When one person asks for the stick and the sound is nice, bang, bang, everybody wakes up. So that will happen occasionally, sometimes, maybe for a few periods during the day.

[27:39]

And if you want the stick, you put your hands in gassho and then lean over. and resume your zazen. It's not meant to hurt you, it's only meant to help you. So do you have any questions about any of this or anything? Yes, David? Sometimes we have to cough or sneeze or something like this, you know, during zazen. Well, there are recommended ways of dealing with coughs, but this is the recommended way. And if you have to sneeze.

[28:46]

Nose blow. Unless somebody's got a problem with that. When you have to sneeze, you have to sneeze. And when you have to blow your nose, you have to blow your nose. I know some people that make a lot of noise. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr There are some jobs, I think, where if you take your full rest, then that runs into a period of zazen. Take your full rest from? The rest period, like I think with the servers. There aren't any jobs. Oh, the servers. That run into a period of zazen. Yes. Where the rest would run into a period of zazen if you took the full rest.

[30:03]

Yeah, that's OK. Is it following the schedule then to take your rest? Yes. Or is it OK to come to Zazen? OK to what? Come to Zazen? To come to Zazen instead of taking a rest. That's up to you. If you want to come back to Zazen, I think that's no problem. Just to follow up on that, if your rest goes like, and you would be coming to Zazen in the middle, if there are a group of people, in that same situation, I think it's helpful if they get together and come at one time. Yes, but we try to do that so that everybody enters and exits at the same time instead of the door opening and closing for each individual. To not come and go as much as possible. Yeah.

[31:04]

When we go into the other apartments, the door's not locked when we get up there. But I wasn't certain that there was anyone left in the apartment. It was open and there were people in there when I went in there. When I left, it was still open. I didn't unlock it. Should I lock it even if it's not locked when I go in? Well, if you have the key. I had a key, but there were people in there and it was unlocked. When I left, I didn't go check all the rooms to see if there was anyone left, and I didn't lock it. Should I lock it even though it wasn't locked when I got there? Yeah. Okay. I think so. And then if somebody's in the closet or something, they'll come out and they'll unlock it. That'd be a little problem, but... I guess you have to kind of play it by ear, you know? And maybe find out if you're the last one. If you're the last one, lock it. If you want to stick and... If you want to stick and... You lean over so that... Lean over to the left first.

[32:16]

Not like this, but forward. Forward. Yeah, like that. I'll push you over. I'll make you a nice target. One last thing, please, on the subject of valuables. Most people know that for those who need reminding, nothing should be visible in the car that attracts someone to break the car window and steal it. That's true of every street in our perimeter, so please be very clear about reading that. So during this time, we've left, actually, attending Sashin like this is leaving home.

[34:10]

So we've left home, we've left everything behind, and all of our affairs are in order. although some people will have to leave for certain reasons, but that's already been okayed. And here we are. This is our life right now. So we should be, it takes a while to settle into it. This first day is just settling into being here. Everything we do here is Azen. So, to be mindful, mindful of walking, mindful of sitting, standing,

[35:21]

lying down, realizing that when we work in the kitchen that it's a zazen, and to take care of your tools, to take care of the food very carefully. mindfully, to realize that feeding the assembly is a great practice. And it's not like they're sitting Zazen and I'm working. It's all the same activity. So working in the kitchen is actually a great privilege

[36:25]

and its wonderful forms as in to do it without any self-centeredness to be able to work harmoniously in the kitchen making food for the assembly without any self-centeredness or any need to promote yourself just working together in harmony and realizing that you have this responsibility and you have a responsibility for the whole sushi that your actions, whatever you're doing is affecting everyone else and supporting everyone else and serving food

[37:32]

It's a wonderful activity of Zazen. Whatever we do, to do it with no mind. No mind doesn't mean without thinking, but it means thinking and activity, thinking and action as one. just doing, just doing, just totally engaged. When we sit zazen, to be totally engaged in just sitting, which is called shikantanza, just doing, without any thought of before or after. kitchen working.

[38:35]

It's just totally doing, totally chopping, totally washing, totally mixing. If someone asks us to do something, we just say, Well, maybe. Jesus. No, just, okay. If you have a problem, bring it up later. If the work leader says, please wash the toilets, okay. Or please pull up the grass, okay. Whatever. OK. So during this time, we step out of our self-centered activity.

[40:00]

And just sit in the Buddha seat. Sit in our Buddha seat. Center ourself on our Buddha seat. And just live our life as Buddha. How do you live your life as Buddha? How do you see the person next to you as Buddha? How do you accept the equality of all activities? Letting go of all of my preferences

[41:04]

and views and ideas about ourselves. So, please, when we meet each other, to meet each other as Buddha, when we serve each other in the Zen-do, just realize that we're serving, Buddha is serving Buddha. And when we bow to meet, please don't bow because you have to, or because I said so, or because it's our custom. When we bow, bow to meet. Also, when we bow, we put our hands together.

[42:13]

And the bow is actually the pause at the bottom. A little pause at the bottom, and then you come up again. This is just playing and bowing. Sometimes it's okay. But you stop. You meet each other. And then you resume your life again. So you bow and you meet in emptiness. And then you resume your life. It doesn't have to be a long time. So sometimes when we're serving, we want to get on with it.

[43:34]

If you walk too fast, everybody gets a little edgy. If you walk too slow, everybody gets a little tired. So when you walk with the food, with the pot, it should be done with some energy, but not too much energy. And if you think that by doing everything very slowly, it's being mindful, it actually becomes very tedious. So to be mindful and brisk at the same time, but not in a hurry. You should not be in a hurry. Sometimes the servers will think that they have to get through in a certain, in a, very quickly in something like this and slopping the food all over everything.

[44:38]

Take your time. You should, there should be lots of time within that briskness to take care of what you need to do without being real slow and tedious. So think about that. to be attentive and energetic and yet careful. Not hurried, don't hurry. And yet, don't lag. And also, when the servers serve the food, the first scoop can be big. The second scoop should be small. Sometimes the service will serve a small scoop first and then you say, well, I would like some more.

[45:46]

So then you take this big scoop and you have no control over it. First one is normal. Then the second one is a little smaller so that you give a person a chance to, the recipient, a chance to control it. Also, when you're serving soup or some... Well, let's take soup. Stir the soup up before you serve it, because the heavy stuff always goes down at the bottom very quickly, and then you serve all the water, and then you get finished, and there's all the goodies that haven't been served. So, stir. You don't have to stir it. And always go to the bottom first. This is Zen practice. Always go to the bottom.

[46:47]

Bring it up from the bottom. Don't just scoop it off the top. And when you're serving with a ladle, serve toward yourself. Don't serve toward the other person. Serve toward yourself. Sometimes people don't quite know how to, but if you have a problem that way, ask the server what the best way, the head server, what's the best way to hold the utensil. Do you have any questions about any of this? Also, during Sushumna, our eye of someone will go around periodically to adjust posture.

[48:13]

And when we adjust posture, please allow yourself to be manipulated. You may feel, oh, this is all wrong, but it's not. The right you were feeling was probably like this. And so when you get straightened up, it feels wrong. But please allow yourself the opportunity to feel wrong in that way and see what that's like. What about eye contact during the lectures?

[49:16]

Is it okay to look at you or should we be looking down? You can look at me, it's okay. Well, because I'm talking to you. When you talk to somebody, of course you have eye contact. But the eye contact is like when you're not talking, or when there's no need to communicate that way. But when you meet, You shouldn't just ignore somebody. So bow to each other. So you don't have to say something. You don't have to communicate with the eyes. When you meet, just bow. And that takes care of it. Not like you're ignoring. So this is a small place, you know, and we're meeting each other, you know, like in a room or something. So we don't ordinarily bow because it's such a small place. It was a bigger place, you know, and we meet each other. But because it's so small, we're mingling with each other a lot, but still bowing when you meet is good.

[50:28]

It's time for this.

[50:48]

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