Can you hear? Okay. Me? Okay. Today, the first few minutes, ten or so, is the kids' program for all of us. Hi, kids. Hi, Alexander. I don't remember everybody else's name. I only remember Alexander's name. Good. Okay. Well, today, first of all, see that picture over there of that funny looking man? Have you seen that before? Do you remember seeing that picture before? His name is Bodhidharma. So, I'd like to ask you, can you see okay?

[01:11]

Can you see him okay? Too low? You can walk over there and take a look if you want. You want to go over and take a look? So, Bodhidharma is saying something with his expression. You know what I mean? He's not talking, but even though he's not talking, he's saying something. You know, when you see somebody, you kind of can tell what they're thinking sometimes or feel their presence by the way they look. What do you think he's thinking? Just guess. What you might think that he's thinking. Does he look happy? No. Does he look sad?

[02:15]

No. Does he look angry? A little bit? Yes. Does he look stern? You know what that means? I think he looks stern. Kind of. A little bit mean, maybe. But what do you think he might be saying with that look? I can guess. He might be saying, don't do that. Don't do that? He might be saying, don't do that. Yeah, he might be saying, don't do that. Yeah, or the opposite. He might be saying, eat your carrots and peas. Eat your oatmeal. I think he's saying, eat your oatmeal. He's saying, because he's encouraging our practice.

[03:16]

So he's saying, do your practice and don't forget. So a very stern kind of, you know, look on his face. So we put his picture up there in order to remind us to not forget to do our practice. And who is that on the top of the Buddha? So, who is Buddha? Is Buddha a statue? Yeah, maybe Buddha's, I'll tell you a little story. In China one time, there was a teacher and he had a student. And the student's name was Eichu. That's the Japanese pronunciation. Eichu. Sounds like sneezing.

[04:17]

Eichu. And Eichu asked his teacher, teacher, who is Buddha? And the teacher said, you are Eichu. You are Eichu. So, who is Buddha? Buddha is inside of you. Uh-oh. That piece of wood inside of me? No. You are Buddha, said his teacher. You are Echu. Can you spell Echu with four letters? You are Echu. You are Echu. In four letters? No? Well, let me show you how to do it. U R H U. U R H U. And that's nothing to sneeze at.

[05:35]

So now, I'll alleviate your suffering and read you a story about dogs. This is an old story, an old story about dogs. One day, a king drove through the city in his magnificent chariot. You know what a chariot is, don't you? Yeah. Drawn by six white horses. And at the fall of night, when he returned, the horses were taken to the stable. You know what that is. But the chariot was left in the courtyard with the harnesses. The harnesses are those leather straps, you know, that they guide the horses with. And when everyone was asleep in the palace, it started to rain. This is our time to have some fun, said the palace dogs. When they saw the leather harnesses wet and softened by the shower, down they went on tiptoe into the courtyard and bit and gnarled at the beautiful straps.

[06:50]

After this, thus, and after playing the whole night, they slipped away before dawn. The straps of the royal chariot eaten, destroyed, exclaimed with horror the stablemen as they entered the courtyard next morning. And with trembling hearts they went to tell the king. Gracious lord, they said, the trappings of the royal chariot have been destroyed during the night. It is certainly the work of dogs who have been gnawing the beautiful straps. The king rose up in fury. You know what fury is? Mad. Kill them all, he commanded. Slay every dog you see in the city. The king's order soon became known to the 700 dogs of the city. And they all cried bitterly. But there was one dog who was their chief, for he loved them and protected them. And in a long procession they set out to find him.

[07:54]

Why are you gathered together today, asked the chief as he saw them come. And what makes you all so sad? Danger is upon us, replied the dogs. The leather of the royal chariot, which stood during the night in the palace courtyard, has been destroyed, and we are blamed for the damage. The king is furious and has ordered us all to be killed. It is impossible for any dog of the city to enter the palace gates, thought the chief, who therefore could have destroyed the harness, if not the dogs of the palace. Aha! Thus the guilty ones are spared and the innocent ones are destroyed. Nay, I shall show the guilty ones to the king, and the city dogs shall be saved. Such were the thoughts of the brave chief. And after consoling his seven hundred followers, he went alone through the city. At every step men were standing ready to kill him.

[08:58]

But his eyes were so full of love that they did not dare to touch him. And he walked into the palace, and the royal guards spellbound at his appearance let him pass through the gates. He must have been quite an impressive dog. Thus he entered into the Hall of Justice, where the king sat on his throne. And the courtiers stood around, and at the sight of his fiery eyes all remained silent. After some time, the chief spoke. Great king, he said, is it your command that all the dogs of the city be killed? Yes, replied the king, it is my command. It is a talking dog. What harm have they done, O king? he asked. They have destroyed the leather harnesses of the royal chariot, the king replied. Which dogs have done the harm? asked the chief. I know not, replied the king, therefore have I ordered them all to be killed. Is every dog of your city to be killed, asked the chief, or are some dogs to be allowed to live?

[10:02]

The royal dogs only are to be allowed to live, the king replied. O king, said the chief in a gentle voice, is your command just? Why should the dogs of the palace be innocent and the dogs of the city be judged guilty? The ones you favor are saved and the ones you know not are to be killed. Oh, just King, where is your justice? You know what justice is? Just is. It means... Justice is... It's your actions based on the truth. The king thought for a while and then said, Wise chief, tell me then, who are the guilty ones?

[11:04]

The royal dogs, replied the chief. Show me that your words are true, said the king. I will show you, answered the chief. Order that the palace dogs be brought here to the hall of justice and be given coussagrass and buttermilk to eat. Coussagrass is something like real sour or bitter, very bitter. And buttermilk is also bitter. When I was a little kid, I could not stand buttermilk. But as you grow up, you kind of like it. Anyway, the king did as the chief asked, and the royal dogs were brought before him and given coussagrass and buttermilk to eat. Soon after they had eaten, shreds of leather came out of their mouths and fell to the ground. The guilty ones were found. So they threw up. The king rose gently from his throne. Your words are true, he said to the wise chief. True and pure. So the raindrops pure, true and pure as the raindrops which fall from the sky.

[12:09]

I shall never forget you as long as I live." He then ordered that all the dogs of the city be given rich food and royal care every day of their lives, and they all lived happily ever after. And that's why people are so nice to dogs now. And here's a picture of the dog and the king. There's the dog and he's standing up there with his front paws on the dais and talking to the, and all the other dogs are in the background looking over the wall saying, you know, curious. Do you guys, any one of you guys, people, boys and girls, have a question? Okay. It says, I'm watching you, so you better, something like, you better watch out.

[13:24]

Bodhidharma's coming to town. It's already here. It's already here. So yeah, that's what he's saying. He's like the guy with the Uncle Sam hat pointing at you. I want you to practice every day. That's what he's saying, something like that. This is a Soenshaku drawing. brush painting. Soen Shaku was, well, it's a long history, but he was a Rinzai teacher. And his lineage is through Soen Roshi.

[14:26]

Actually, Soen Shaku came to America in 1902 or something. And they started a vegetable garden in San Mateo. Total failure. Tried to raise strawberries. You know, and they, it was an absolute failure. None of them knew how to do anything like that. So they all went back to Japan. But they were good priests, but not just good farmers. Okay, kids. Nice to see all of you. Now we have this big space here.

[16:28]

So this is the last talk of the year. After today, we have two weeks of vacation? Holiday cheer, whatever you want to call it. So I want to talk a little bit about our transition from 2005 to 2006. So today we just had our bodhisattva ceremony, which I think was very appropriate for the end of our year, our practice year. And this is like, bodhisattva ceremony is acknowledging all of our ancient tangled karma,

[17:30]

and renewing our intention to practice. So the first part is acknowledging our ancient tangled karma. This is called ryaku fusats. Ryaku means abbreviated. We don't say, I did this and I did that. We simply acknowledge all of our karma in a lump, in a generic way. And then all the rest is renewing our vows and paying homage to our Bodhisattva nature. Pay homage to Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. We pay homage to all the ancestors, Manjushri, Maitreya, seven Buddhas before Buddha, Avalokiteshvara, and to the Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya Buddhas.

[18:48]

And also, the four vows. We take the four vows. So I want to talk a bit about various parts of the ceremony. Not the whole thing, but some parts. First I want to talk about the four vows. I vow I vow to save all beings. Well, let me read it all. We talk about, there are different ways.

[19:53]

You know, we say beings are numberless, I vow to save them. But we also say, I vow to awaken with them, right? So when we're saved, we're awakened. So anyway, and delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to end them. But delusions originally is desires. But desires is that comes under the heading of delusion. But we say delusion instead of desire, because it seems more inclusive. Dharma gates are boundless. I vow to enter them. Buddha's way is unsurpassable. I vow to become it. So the four vows are the Bodhisattva's response to the Four Noble Truths. Life is subject to suffering, or I'll explain that. Suffering is caused by delusion or desire.

[21:03]

there is a way to find some release from suffering, and the way is to follow the Eightfold Path. So, saving sentient beings, or awakening with sentient beings, sometimes people feel that, they take that literally, that I am going to save all beings. If we take anything literally in Buddhism, we make a big mistake. As I say over and over, you have to understand this vow is beyond our ability to even understand. It's simply the wish that arises out of our altruistic feeling and is expressed If we don't say, I vow to save a few beings, which is not a bad idea, or I vow to save some beings, it has to be more like all beings.

[22:12]

It's like an all-inclusive vow. So it's simply the expression of wanting to, of the desire, not the fulfillment. But the fulfillment is not absent. So just working for the benefit of all beings is the fulfillment itself. It doesn't mean that I will save all sentient beings. We don't even know what that means. We kind of know what it means. We save beings from suffering and delusion. So this is a response to the first noble truth, to save beings from suffering and delusion. which is caused by delusion. And then the second one is delusions are inexhaustible. I vow to end them. But end them means always be dealing with them or facing them, revealing delusion over and over.

[23:23]

Enlightenment is to understand or realize delusion. when we realize delusion and face delusion and deal with it over and over consciously, this is enlightened practice. To keep waking up is actually the practice, to continuously wake up. So this is, The response to delusions are the cause of suffering, or desire is the cause of suffering, too much desire, that which we can't deal with. Wanting something that we can't have and not having something that we want, basically, is suffering. So this is the problem. these two first truths are the problem. And these bodhisattvas, these vows, are the response to the problem.

[24:27]

The second part, two truths, are the cure. So sometimes people say, well, Buddhism is just talking about suffering all the time. Actually, Buddhism is talking more about the cure. So The third vow is dharmagates are boundless. I vow to enter them. So dharmagates means there is a way to, a path out of suffering, or a path, a way to deal with suffering. Whether it's, you know, we say, no more suffering. That's not possible. So it's also an impossible vow. Because even if you have no personal suffering, just the fact that there's so much suffering in the world is unavoidable.

[25:28]

If you ignore all the suffering in the world and just have a happy time yourself, that's delusion. But to not identify with all the suffering in the world is delusion. When you identify with all the suffering in the world, that's enlightenment. We can't ever really get out of suffering, but we can be free from suffering. Not the same thing. We have freedom within suffering. So, or within, you know, dis-ease. Life is only comfortable We try to get comfortable, but no matter how comfortable we try to get, we always get uncomfortable again. So true comfort is within, not in our circumstances.

[26:30]

True comfort is how we always are free from circumstances within the circumstances. So there was a time when Buddhists felt that in order to get free from suffering, you didn't do anything wrong. And you kind of left the world alone. You didn't mess with it. But the Bodhisattva messes with the world and finds freedom within the mess. Finds freedom from suffering within the suffering world. And this is how one awakens with all beings or saves all beings. So the Buddha way is unsurpassable. I vow to become it means that you are one with the practice, which is in the Four Noble Truths means to follow the Eightfold Path.

[27:35]

But the Eightfold Path stands for all the Buddhist practices. The Six Paramitas, whatever. You can substitute any of the Buddhist practices for the Eightfold Path. So the vows are a response to the Four Truths. And this is very fundamental for our understanding of our practice. Then we pay homage to the seven Buddhas before Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, Maitreya Buddha, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, and the succession of ancestors. You know, I want to talk a little bit about Manjushri Bodhi, about, excuse me, Maitreya Bodhisattva, Maitreya Buddha, actually.

[28:40]

Buddhism, Buddhism is actually a messianic religion. Judaism is a messianic religion. Christianity is a messianic religion, and so is Buddhism. because Maitreya is the Buddhist messiah, so to speak, who sits in Tushita heaven, the 33rd heaven in the Buddhist heavenly compendium, and waits for the right time to descend to bring in and usher in a new era. Maitri means love. So this is the Buddha that will introduce, bind everyone together in Maitri. But messianic religions are a little problematic.

[29:48]

Because this focus on some being that's going to save us is a problem. So Buddhism, since the beginning of Buddhism, Buddhism is a practice of self-reliance or self-investigation, standing up, understanding who the Buddha is, Who Maitreya is? Who is Maitreya? Maitreya is just an idea, actually. All the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are just ideas. But it's an idea that is meaningful because it expresses our desire for completeness. So,

[30:55]

If we think of some outside being called Maitreya as going to save us, it's just not going to happen. We don't get saved by something outside of us. Our salvation is from inside. Shakyamuni Buddha said, I think, we think. He said, find your own salvation. Be a lamp unto yourself and find your own salvation. That's called practice. So we have to find the Maitreya within ourself. Each one of us embodies or conceals Maitreya Buddha. Each one of us is Shakyamuni Buddha. Each one of us is Manjushri Bodhisattva. Each one of us is Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. So when we pay homage to these Bodhisattvas, yes, in a sense, they're universal. and beyond, you know, they're cosmic, but they're also very personal, cosmic and personal.

[32:07]

And so there's this coalition between the cosmic and the personal. The cosmic is the personal, and the personal is also the cosmic. So yes, there is the cosmic Buddha, which is Dharmakaya. And there's the personal Buddha, which is Nirmanakaya. And then there's the wisdom, which is sambhogakaya. So, dharmakaya is our basic nature.

[33:10]

Sambhogakaya is our wisdom body. Nirmanakaya is our practical body, our practice body. So Samantabhadra, Sambhogakaya Buddha, in Zazen, Sambhogakaya Buddha faces Dharmakaya. It's like two mirrors facing each other. There's no reflection. or the reflection is nullified. And then Sambhogakaya faces Nirmanakaya, and this is called wisdom of activity. So Sambhogakaya is our wisdom mind.

[34:14]

And it is clear as a mirror, and at the same time, it addresses all of the responses in the world. So it's both worldly and empty. So each one of us is the three bodies, dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, nirmanakaya, both cosmic and personal. Same thing. So we have to find the Maitreya within ourselves in order to bring that light into the world. There was a book some years ago. It was called, What Do We Do Till the Messiah Comes? Interesting title. I didn't have to read the book. Sometimes you just look at the title. You can't wait for that.

[35:21]

You know, the Jews were always waiting for the Messiah to come. And every once in a while, one would appear. And then it would turn out that, and everybody would follow and get all excited, you know, because of this great messianic need. but it always panned out that somebody wasn't there, that whoever it was that appeared didn't save them. Christianity has a Messiah. I don't know whether that's good or bad, but it works for some. But I think Messiah You know, if you're a Christian, you should find the Christ within yourself, not outside of yourself. If you're a Buddhist, you should find Maitreya within yourself, not outside of yourself.

[36:23]

Don't wait. This is actually what... If we take it literally, you just twiddle our thumbs. So practice is to bring forth Manjushri, to bring forth Samantabhadra, to bring forth all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas within ourself. And we have outward manifestations called Buddha statues to remind us of this. So it's something that sparks our ancient memory. It sparks our deepest longings and feelings. So when we bow to a statue of Buddha, we're actually bowing to ourself. And when we bow to ourself, we're bowing to the cosmos.

[37:27]

So bodhisattva ceremony is quite wonderful if we understand it, if we understand what we're doing. Do you have any questions? Peter? Thank you for talking about the ceremony. I want to go back to U-R-H-O. No, H-O. U-R-H-O, yeah. U-R-H-U? No, H-O. U-R-H-O. That's right, U-R-H-O. This is really a wonderful case. The way I heard you speak it was U-R-H-O. Right.

[38:33]

I read it U-R-H-O. Right. That's right. And I just love that because in some way he's just saying U-R-H-O. Right. And yet it's in response to a question about something else. Right. Right. But he doesn't say U-R-Buddha. He says U-R-H-O. That's right. It's ambiguous. It has an ambiguous quality of, you are HO. You are HO. It depends where you put the emphasis. That's right. Well, the first time I read it, I thought, you are HO. You are HO. And I thought, you are you, right? And, but then, you are you means when you are you, you are Buddha. So either way is right. I was just looking at Bodhidharma here with big eyes and he was saying to me, oh, did you call on me?

[39:41]

Yeah. Oh, sorry. I called on you with my big eyes. You know, he just said to me, Buddhism is not a messianic religion. So I wanted to tell you that he said that. I'm really just fooling you. I thought that. That was my thought. But I think it's sort of a significant distinction because, you know, Judaism and Christianity a different idea of time and like there's one beginning and one end and one messiah and all that. Right, that's right. And not everybody believes in all that mythology about the 36 heavens anyway, so it just made me kind of get the creeps when you say that. Well, if you don't think it is, then it's not. You don't have to worry.

[40:43]

You don't have to worry. But there is some reason why we honor Maitreya. Yeah. And Buddhism is a religion of salvation. And you are saved from yourself. The idea is that you are saved from yourself. And that's the message. Save yourself. That's exactly the message of Buddhism. That's what practice is. Save yourself.

[41:46]

And in the process of saving yourself, you save others. From what? Themselves. Save yourself from yourself, yeah. Paul? background, self in Buddhism, and the whole idea of being the Christ. You say I am Buddha is you, and the Buddha is me, but you say if I am Christ, that is a real taboo. All right. Yes. Well, it's very interesting, you know. There are certain religions where you blaspheme the name of the deity.

[42:49]

Fortunately, in Buddhism, we don't have one. So you can call Buddha anything you want, but why would you do that? Master Satsangi had a koan called, he said, if you walk into a place and there's a statue of Buddha and somebody's, you know, smoking a cigarette and they drop the ashes on the Buddha, what would you do? That's a koan. And the name of his book was called Dropping Ashes on the Buddha. That came out in the 70s. So it's a very interesting koan. I'm not going to answer it for you. It's up to you to decide. Well, it's interesting because they have all these clubs like bars and dance clubs where people are having fun and dancing and doing all types of drugs and people are doing all types of objectifying things to each other with the big Buddha around.

[43:58]

Yeah, well, that's true that Buddhism has been sometimes kind of taken over, the colorful side of Buddhism, kind of taken over by a certain drug culture, you know, and kind of worshipped by a certain kind of drug culture, which, that's okay though, you know, that might help people, you know. It's like Buddha descending into the, the lower depths, you know? Interesting. Yeah. And so a lot of people have come to Buddhism from the drug culture. So it kind of works from inside, you know? And subconsciously people reform. What would you do? Well, maybe I'd get an ashtray.

[45:06]

You know? Oh, here. That's one way. And the koan, he has a big stick and hits you no matter what you do. That's right. No matter what you say, you get a big stick. If you give him an ashtray, he just hits. That's the ashtray. 30 blows if you're right, 30 blows if you're wrong. You talked during the session also about, you were talking about light and about light inside. So you talk a lot about this inside, but the interesting, for me anyway, the paradox is that introspection doesn't get you there, I don't think. Well, it's neither introspection nor extrospection.

[46:06]

But there's the old saying, you know, take the backward step that illuminates. So, I don't know what you mean by get to getting there. It's to simply open the door, you know, pull the curtain aside. So let the light into your dark room. Be triumvirate.

[47:20]

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