or... Good evening, everyone.

[04:39]

Welcome to the class on practicing the precepts. I know that there are a number of people, there's a handful of people who are going to be a little late because they didn't get the email that we would be on Zoom tonight. So I'm sorry about that. And I'm sorry that this isn't hybrid tonight. As I said, we were having some technical problems. While we're waiting for people, let's sit zazen for a few minutes. Good evening and welcome.

[08:51]

I'm very happy to see you all here tonight. And, of course, this is a class, but more a workshop on practicing the precepts. So there's going to be less emphasis on explaining precepts because I think most of you know what they are. And more emphasis will be on how do we work with them in our lives. Some of us here have been through a formal Jukai ceremony or lay ordination. take these vows. We accept these precepts. And some of us have not done this publicly. And I'm sure there's some newer people who have less experience, and that is fine too.

[09:57]

So what we're going to do in the beginning of each class, I'm going to give a very short talk. I mean like five, ten minutes at the most. And then we will do some exercises as a big group and also in breakout rooms where we can talk more intimately about our practice and how we understand and work with particular precepts. Tonight will be a little more general, but then next week we will work with them in... For example, body, speech, and mind. There are precepts that relate more to the body, precepts that relate more to speech, and precepts that relate more to mind. And so we will speak together in breakout rooms and then come back.

[11:06]

And we will also tonight... chant the precepts as we do at Berkeley Zen Center once a month. But then next week, we're going to chant a different translation and so on for the next week so that we'll be able to hear different interpretations because some of them may speak to you differently. So let me... I'm just going to say a few things, and after that we're going to introduce ourselves. In the beginning, when the Buddha started teaching, we didn't have precepts. As you all know, the Buddha meditated and wandered for a number of years. And that culminated in his seven-day sit without moving under the Bodhi tree where he finally awakened.

[12:19]

And after that, he was walking along with no intention of teaching, and he ran into some monks he had known earlier. And they begged him to explain... what he had learned, what he had realized. And so with some reluctance, he expounded his first teaching, which was the Four Noble Truths. And then he went on to teach, and groups of monks began to follow him. And so after a while, there were hundreds of monks and nuns And he realized that there was some poor behavior happening with the monks, and they actually needed some guidance in how to conduct themselves.

[13:23]

So the Vinaya was created, and the Vinaya is the rules for monks and nuns. And most of them were prohibitory. They were, don't do this, don't do that. And there were 227 rules for monks and 311 rules for nuns. So that was the early Buddhism. Later, the Mahayana tradition developed around the first century CE. And of course, Zen is part of the Mahayana tradition. which emphasizes universal liberation, universal Buddhahood, and skillful means. So skillful means is applying the precepts according to context, situation. So they're not all cut and dry. So as humans, we've been engaged with greed,

[14:32]

hate and delusion for millenniums. And once a month on the full moon at Berkeley Zen Center, we chant the Bodhisattva ceremony, which is restating our vows, retaking the precepts. But in order to do that, we have to acknowledge our karma. We have to acknowledge the fact that We've been compelled through body, speech, and mind, greed, hate, and delusion. And so we begin, before we actually take our vows, we say all my ancient tangled karma from beginningless greed, hate, and delusion. have this karma, and it's beginningless.

[15:35]

Very often, we want to make it completely personal, but it isn't all personal. We can observe battles in the world that have been going on for centuries, and I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, cycles. of violence and blame and revenge. And it never seems to end because someone keeps blaming somebody else for it. And then in our personal lives, it can be the same thing. Perhaps we have some problems and we want to blame our parents for it. But in fact, it goes way back many generations before us. Our parents were influenced by their parents. So this is repeating cycle, karmic cycles. And the karma is habitual reactive behavior. And that's why as practitioners of Zen Buddhism, we live by our vows, not by our karma.

[16:52]

Thich Nhat Hanh used to talk about how our mind is like a wild horse, completely out of control. And that our job is to actually tame that horse through meditation practice and study and repeating, accepting the precepts and repeating our vows. So really the precepts, it's about how we live by vow, and let go of our karma. I'm going to move on because I would like to hear from you and... Oops. Okay.

[17:54]

I would love to hear from you, and I know that not everyone here knows each other. So what I would like to do is call on you in the order that I see you in my Zoom screen. And if you could just say your name and say something brief about what brought you to this class. You might have a question about the precepts. You might be drawn to one in particular or a couple. Maybe there are obstacles in your life, hindrances that you found you struggle with. So we'll keep this short. One to... three or four sentences at the most so we can hear from everyone.

[18:57]

And I do request that people turn their videos on because this is kind of an intimate conversation. And I'd like to see who it is is speaking and who I am speaking to. So I will begin calling on people and you can unmute. and just make a short statement, starting with Ed Herzog. Thanks, Karen. I'm Ed Herzog. I've been a Berkeley Zen Center member and activist for a number of years. And I'm taking this class because the precepts have always been very valuable to me. And it's one of the things that attracted me to Buddhist practice.

[20:03]

Because I feel it helps me, but also it's a prescription for the rest of the world. And understanding our greed, hate, and delusion and our habitual reactive behavior, which... So the precepts help me deal with that. Thank you. Thank you. Margaret Watkins. Good evening. Hi. Yeah, well, greed and delusion are my main two things I always need to work on. I'm not very hateful. I kind of allow other people to be as delusioned and greedy as I am. So I expect, you know, we all kind of are. So that's it. Any way I can improve, I'm up for it.

[21:06]

So it sounds like a good plan. And my friend, I don't know, should I let my friend who's visiting here? Well, if he's joining the class. Yes, we think so. Okay, go ahead. What's your name? My name's Eric Ferry, and I was involved with Berkley Zen Center for many years, but I've been elsewhere the last few. I remember you. And I remember you. I know where you live. And tonight I'm here because of my friendship with Margaret. But one thing I'm particularly bringing is... getting involved in political and social activism in a time of great instability, how to enter into that without feelings of dualistic hatred and self-righteousness and fear and all of those precept-killing impulses.

[22:10]

I'm done. Thank you. Sit well. Thank you. I really appreciate your offering this class. I don't have many words for why I'm here. I mean, I've been a member of Berkeley Zen Center for a long time, and I've always appreciated your teaching. But something drew me to sign up right away. Something about being able to talk about precepts, and thank you very much. We will see what unfolds. George. Hi. My name is George. I'm in Los Angeles. I have been practicing the Dharma for a number of years, but the last maybe five or six Zen, not in any specific...

[23:17]

community, but I feel a strong affinity to Suzuki Roshi's lineage. I'm studying with Vicki Austin and taking her precepts class, and then she said that she highly recommended this class, so I'm here. Thank you. Thank you. Kathy? I live in San Jose. I'm new to the Berkeley Zone Center. I've been studying with the remote center, and I was trying to find one that is along this lineage that is closer, drivable for me. So I thought this might be a really lovely way to explore the center and dig deeper into the precepts. Wonderful. Welcome. Thank you. Nancy. Good evening, everyone. I'm Nancy. also Karen's wife. And I took this not because of that reason, but also because I really have always been drawn very deeply to the precepts and certainly taking those vows for Jukai, just something very, very powerful and palpable in my body in response to taking these precepts and taking the vows.

[24:32]

So I want to continue to explore this and how I can really work with these more on a day-to-day basis. Thank you. William. Hi, I'm William Gordon. I've been a member of Berkeley Zen Center for a while, but I have never taken lay ordination. I've never been part of that, but it's something I'm interested in doing in the next couple of years. And so I just thought this class would be a great way to, you know, in some way prepare for that. And also I have a little bit more free time now, so But it'd be great to experience a class as well, and particularly one that's not maybe so, I don't know, intellectually, not intellectually, but so text-driven, but more experiential. Sounds interesting. Thank you. Thank you. Libby.

[25:33]

Aloha. I'm Libby Potter. I'm in this class because for five years I studied with Karen Nagarjuna's middle way, and I just became a member of Berkeley Zen Center a couple months ago, and I didn't even know what the precepts are. I couldn't recite them. I didn't know what they are, and so I thought I would join the class and find out. So I've been spending the last couple of days trying to learn what the precepts are and what people think they are. And I'm honored to be among you longtime practitioners and learn something about the precepts. Thanks, Libby. Let's see. Where are we? Hacks. Shoray. Hi, everyone. Um, I am a resident here at Berkeley Sun Center. Um, I took Jukai, um, in 2024.

[26:42]

And, um, I really loved, so part of that process, as well as sewing the Rakasu, is you meet, you do these T's, um, and the T's, we kind of, in your little Jukai cohort, go pretty deep into the precepts. And I just, um, really loved those meetings. I really got a lot out of, yeah, really intimately talking about the precepts in the context of our lives. And so I was excited to see this class as like maybe another way of kind of deepening that connection with Sangha and with my practice. So I'm looking forward to being with you all. Joshua. Hi. My name is Joshua, and I'm a Buddhist chaplaincy student at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley. And also, I'm not a member yet, but I have been going to the Berkeley Zen Center for a while, and my teacher recommended that I take this class, and I'm really looking forward to...

[27:55]

approaching Buddhism from a more experiential as opposed to academic way. I've been reading lots of texts about the sixth patriarch and really looking forward to kind of enacting the practice a little bit more. So that's why I'm here. Thanks. Thank you and welcome. Kwong. kind of nervous making to kind of like, is she going to call me next? Hi, I'm Kwong. I've been logging in online, sitting with Berkeley Sound Center for a few months, and I'm interested in the precepts just to learn more about them, not as prohibitions, but more sort of like how we can positively live with them. And more recently, I've been taking a class on... entering samadhi while sitting, and part of the discussion has been sort of getting your ego system in order, which means also having in mind the precepts.

[29:06]

So I'm interested in just delving more deeply into them. Thank you. Thank you. Karen. Hi. I'm here with my lovely wife, Isabel. She's going to talk after. So, yeah, I took precepts in 2011 at the city center and did the Jukai and have been on and off going to the Berkeley Design Center for many years and finally having more time to go more regularly. It's been lovely. And kind of... You know, I just think it never hurts. Like, I just always, for the rest of my life, want to talk about the precepts and my relationship to them because I'm constantly changing and the world is constantly changing. And, yeah, so it just never hurts. And it's also kind of similar to what Ray was saying.

[30:09]

Like, it's kind of nice to connect more with the sangha as well. Hi, everybody. I'm Isabel. Let's see. I have studied Buddhism mostly through the Vipassana tradition, but have not really done anything for a few years. And as Karen's been having more time to get more in-depth, she said, hey, why don't you take this class with me? And I certainly think the precepts are, as she said, always a good way to jump back into anything. I mean, they're really... You know, they are one of my favorite parts of Buddhism, and so I'm here to jump back in. Thank you, and welcome. Philip. Hi, my name is Philip.

[31:12]

I am taking the class to deepen my relationship with the precepts. off the cushion outside of the regular practice and how they apply to my daily life. I've been a member of the Berkeley Zen Center for quite some time, and I'm involved with different aspects of it. I belong to the HEAR Committee and the Senior Dharma Group, as well as the Koan Group. And I find it... just being more involved with the Sanda and a deeper understanding of Zen Buddhism. Thank you. Thanks, Philip. Jim. Jim, you're muted. That should work.

[32:21]

All right. Hi, everyone. I'm Jim. I've been at BCC for five years. I came during the pandemic and I did Jukai three years ago. Every month we take the bows during the Bodhisattva ceremony. And I always find that an interesting moment to reflect on. Have I been thinking about these precepts during the past month? You know, some of them are very close. And I work with them, and some I don't think that I carry with me. So I look forward to just investigating them more deeply and integrating them more deeply into my practice. Thank you. Heather. Good evening, everyone. I'm Heather Serantis. Really happy to be here. And I guess my interest is... To me, Buddhism helps me understand how to live my life, and the precepts are where the rubber hits the road.

[33:28]

So they're the tools. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, Heather. Erica. Hi, I'm Erica Wander, and I have just... started coming back to the Berkeley Zen Center in the last few months. I came to the Berkeley Zen Center for the first time 20 years ago when my sons were babies. And it really felt like a wonderful place. But, you know, life got pulled me away. But I... I ran into Norman Fisher at a psychotherapy training about 10 years ago, and he told me about the program at Green Gulch for young people, which sadly, I think, isn't happening anymore after the pandemic.

[34:33]

But I feel like I sort of learned the precepts more deeply through my... one of my sons learning about the precepts. And so, yeah, it just feels, feels like it's time to, to go more deeply myself. So I'm happy to be here. Good to have you here, Erica. Kabir. Hi Karen. Hi everybody. Thank you so much for this class. I took Duke High in 2021. In the back of my rocket suit, my teacher wrote, turn your light inward to eliminate yourself and your true self will be manifest. And I'm hoping that the precepts will help me map that. And my goal in this class is to find ways to start with the precept with myself.

[35:33]

And then sort of work my way out. So thank you. Sage. Hi, everybody. I'm Sage. I use she, her pronouns, and I'm taking the class because I'm preparing to take Jukai this year. Great. Thank you. Jeff. Hello. My name is Jeff. I can say with, I think, pretty high degree of confidence that I am the most recent person to have taken the precepts, having taken Jukai. two weeks and change ago. And even though I did my Jukai at Berkeley Zen Center, I didn't actually do my studying or sewing at Berkeley Zen Center. I did that just kind of between City Center and just kind of with my somewhat nomadic teacher. And so I'm looking to learn a little bit more about the BCC way of viewing the precepts, which I imagine is...

[36:39]

one in one and the same and slightly different as how i studied and in community paulo um thank you for uh for offering this class um you know i haven't haven't taken the um the presets before in the tibetan tradition um i don't I don't think it's taken any less seriously. It's just not quite taken this consciously. I knew folks who took it very seriously, and then those who kind of received it as a blessing. And intuitively knew it's really special to have done it in Soto Zen tradition and to do it so mindfully. And I learned a lot about myself. in the sewing. I've been coming to BCC since 2022, just recently took Jukai.

[37:44]

And it's been difficult to make it down there as often as I once did. And I really miss it. And it's nice to see familiar faces. And just the value of the Vinaya is remarkable. It can't be. And I've learned that I can... It's that I can make not enough of it. And then on the other hand, somehow too much of it. And again, in my own way, how to hold them in a true way. The value of it is remarkable. Thank you. Sandeep. Are you there, Sandeep? Hi, yes. Hi. Hi. Oh, I loved hearing from everyone. That's one of the reasons I joined is community. And I wanted to learn from you, Karen.

[38:45]

So thank you. Thank you for joining us. Well, it's very, I'm really glad to hear where you all are coming from. Oh, excuse me, Mary. Karen, I think Kabir also. Mary, you're echoing, but Kabir has spoken. Full disclosure, my wife is on the other side of the room, and that's probably why there's an echo, because it's coming. My wife is Olivia. I think you need to mute. I think that'll fix it. Okay, does that help? Yeah, okay. Well, I noticed when I... was setting the precepts in order to take Jukai, that it kind of remarkably almost immediately changed the way I approached things in my life. I saw myself tending things differently.

[39:50]

And lately I've been feeling the need to hang out with people who really want to talk about a wholesome way of going through the world in the context of everything that's going on. And so it's actually great to see everyone, and I'm really glad to be with you. Karen, have we heard from Kathy yet? Kathy? Yeah. Okay, I'm sorry. I missed that. I'm sorry. Okay. I'll just say one thing about myself. You know, I wanted to get more deeply into the precepts because after many years of practice, I have found that the precepts are living. You know, they're not just words.

[40:51]

And they fill my heart. And it's a daily practice. It's one of those things where you practice and take vows forever. So, anyway, the next thing, I want us to read the precepts, because not everyone is starting at the same place, and it's also important, I think, to repeat them as often as possible. So the first version that we're going to read today is the Berkeley Zen Center version. Mary's going to do a screen share. And what I'm going to call on people. Okay. We're not going to read this whole thing. Okay. Thank you, Mary.

[41:53]

I'm going to call on Jeff. Jeff, can you read the three refuges? I take refuge in Buddha. I take refuge in Dharma. I take refuge in Sangha. William, can you read your words? The whole... All the lines. I'm sorry. Sure. Of the three pure precepts or the refuges? Sure. And if you, Mary, if you could just pan up so that I can see the, yeah, there.

[42:57]

Thank you. I vow to refrain from all evil. It is the abode, the source, and the law of all Buddhas. I vow to do all that is good, is the teaching of Anuttara Samyak Sam Bodhi, is the path and the practice. I vow to live and be lived for the benefit of all beings. It is transcending profane and holy, taking self and others across. Thank you. Joshua, could you read the first five of the ten grave precepts, both the bold and the italic? Sure. I vow not to kill. Not killing life, the Buddha's seed grows. Transmit the life of Buddha and do not kill. I vow not to take what is not given.

[44:01]

Self and objects are such two, yet one. The gate of liberation stands open. I vow not to misuse sexuality. Let the three wheels of self, objects, and actions be pure. With nothing to desire, one goes along together with the Buddhas. I vow to refrain from false speech. The Dharma wheel turns from the beginning. There is neither surplus nor lack. The sweet dude saturates all the harvests and harvests the truth. I vow not to sell the wine of delusion. Originally pure, don't defile. This is the great awareness. Thank you. Erica, will you read the last five? Beginning with, I vow not to slander. I vow not to slander. In the Buddha, Dharma, go together.

[45:07]

Appreciate, realize, and actualize together. No fault finding. No haphazard talk. Do not corrupt the way. I vow not to praise self at the expense of others. Buddhas and ancestors realized the vast sky and the great earth. When they manifest the noble body, there is neither inside nor outside an emptiness, nor a bit of earth on the ground. I vow not to be avaricious. One phrase, one verse, is the ten thousand things and one hundred grasses. One realization is all Buddhas and ancestors. From the beginning, there has been no stinginess at all. I vow not to harbor ill will, neither negative nor positive, neither real nor unreal.

[46:13]

There is an ocean of illuminated clouds and an ocean of ornamented clouds. I vow not to abuse the three treasures. To expound the Dharma with this body is foremost. Virtue returns to the unfathomable ocean of reality. Let us accept it with respect and gratitude. So those words, the actual precept was spoken by the Buddha. The words in bold were spoken by the Buddha and put in the Dhammapada, which was written around the 5th century CE.

[47:21]

And then the words in italic are Dogen's words. For those of you who don't know, Zen master Dogen was the founder of the Soto Zen lineage in Japan, and that's the lineage of which we are part. And he taught in the first half of the 13th century in Japan. So I would like us to get into our breakout rooms. Mary is going to organize that. So we're going to have 20 minutes total and four people per breakout room, if that works, Mary. And let me give you the question. What's on your mind or in your heart about the precepts?

[48:33]

Is there one which you would like to focus on during this class series? And what is your relationship now to that precept? Is it particularly challenging for you? Are you curious? Do you feel conflicted? So Mary will put the text of that in your breakout room so you can refer to it. It will be in the chat. In the chat. Great. So go ahead and join the breakout rooms and I will see you in 20 minutes. I think we have a few more coming back.

[68:56]

Welcome back, everyone. We have a few minutes. If anyone would like to talk about anything that came up, share anything you talked about in your group. Jim. Jim. I just want to say that I'm very inspired by hearing other people talk about why they're interested in the precepts and talking about the precepts. We ended up talking about the value of Sangha as part of our discussion, and that was Sangha right there, sharing our understanding of teaching and deepening it together. So I'm very thankful to be in this class and enjoy it. Thank you. Ed, and then Philip.

[70:50]

I think, at least for me and I think for other folks in our group, one of the things that has been affecting me is what's happening in the world today. And I think it's really challenging my precepts. It's really difficult to maintain. those vows in the face of what's going on in the world and the greed, hate, and delusion on such a massive scale. And so I think that this is a big challenge, especially today, that I feel. It's really hard for me not to harbor ill will That's a very mild version of saying hate. And so I just want to add that.

[71:57]

Thanks, Ed. Ed, where would you direct your hate? I mean, there's so many places to go with it that it seems useless to go there. What I raised my hand was that in my group, we were talking about the connection between the Eightfold Path and the precepts, and we barely got started with it. There was a lot to say about it, but I found that an interesting connection. Well, there's certainly a strong relationship. Eric? We got into something that Mary had mentioned about how do we live in this world without killing and what are the different levels of killing or avoiding, violating that precept when there's emotional killing, there's

[73:13]

There's killing relationships, and then there's, you know, our physical life as human beings where we're going to be taking from nature and taking from life to live ourselves. So that was, I mean, it's an utter koan how to live without taking life or how to really perceive what living in accordance with that precept is. Next week, we're going to focus on non-harming and non-killing, relating that, asking those questions. And it is a koan. I'm glad these topics have come up. you know, about current life, we're really in a very difficult period right now.

[74:20]

And how to live and how to speak and how to react are really, it's very challenging. And I'm hoping that we can talk more about that in this class. There's one final thing I'd like to do since it's almost time to end. We talk about our vows, and Dogen wrote a piece called Arousing the Vow. And I'd like us just to read it aloud. I'll call on people. But before I do, I wanted to thank a few people. First of all, some of these people aren't here to receive it, but I wanted to thank Linda Roshi for inviting me to teach the class and the class coordinators, Ryushan, Andrea, and Ellen Webb, who did a lot of the kind of grunt work in getting a class organized.

[75:36]

Thank you. And I would love to thank Mary Duryea, our tech host, who came in at the last minute. And I want to apologize that we're not doing this hybrid tonight. And that's because we ran into some technical problems. And it just wasn't so easy to do. And finally, I want to thank Vicki Austin, who's a teacher at San Francisco Zen Center. hanging out with her and her precept study group and learned a lot from her. So, Mary, if you want to put this Dogen piece in the screen share, and I will call on people to read one paragraph. You had it up there. It's not there now. I see the... No, not that one.

[76:46]

You had it up first. It was perfect. Great. Perfect. Philip, would you like to read the first paragraph? I shall try.

[77:58]

and maintain the holy dharma, and that in doing so, the great earth and all living beings together will attain the Buddha way. Kabir, would you read the next paragraph? Although our past evil karma has greatly accumulated, indeed, being the cause and condition of obstacles... and practicing the way, may all Buddhas and ancestors who have attained the Buddha way be compassionate to us and free us from karmic effects, allowing us to practice the way without hindrance. Chuang, could you read the next one? May they share with us their compassion. which fills the boundless universe with the virtue of their enlightenment and teachings.

[79:02]

Buddhas and ancestors of old were as we. We in the future shall be Buddhas and ancestors. Revering Buddhas and ancestors, we are one Buddha and one ancestor. Awakening Bodhi mind, we are one Bodhi mind. Because they extend their compassion to us freely and without limit, We are able to attain Buddhahood and let go of attainment. Therefore, the Chan Master Lung Ya said, Kathy, would you read that verse? Those who in past lives were not enlightened will now be enlightened. In this life, save the body, which is the fruit of many lives. Before Buddhas were enlightened, they were the same as we. Enlightened people of today are exactly as those old. And Heather, would you read the last paragraph? Yes.

[80:03]

Could you scroll up a little bit, Mary? Is that possible? Sorry, my Zoom layout is blocking that paragraph. Apologies. It's the bottom of the page. I don't know if that... Oh, there we go. I'll Zoom out. Forgive me. quietly explore the farthest reaches of these causes and conditions, as this practice is the exact transmission of a verified Buddha. Confessing and repenting in this way, one never fails to receive profound help from all the Buddhas and ancestors. By revealing and disclosing our lack of faith and practice before the Buddhas, we melt away the root of transgressions by the power of our confession and repentance. This is the pure and simple color of true practice, of the true mind of faith, of the true body of faith.

[81:04]

And with that, thank you, everyone. I look forward to seeing you next week. I'll send you an update about the technical situation. Okay. Good night. Good night, everybody. Good night. [...]

[81:43]

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