We celebrate what we call Sagaki ceremony. And Sagaki is an ancient ceremony originating in India and practiced in China and Japan. In India, it's called Ulambana. And which means something like hanging in the air or suspended in space or at loose ends. No landing place. And in Japan, It's called Obong and it's a means of feeding and liberating, liberating and nourishing all the spirits, all the at-loose-ends spirits who are suspended in space.

[01:31]

The Segaki, in Japanese, Gaki means ghosts, hungry ghosts. So all these meanings are applied to this ceremony. We call it the And ghosts, maybe we don't believe in ghosts, but whether you believe in ghosts or not, ghosts may or may not be something that looks like a spirit in a white sheet, but a ghost is like a disembodied spirit, so a spirit that doesn't have any embodiment. no place to land, no place to go. And if you think about it, you see there are many ghosts around us.

[02:46]

Not just ghosts in outer space, but ghosts that look like human beings. where they come from or where they're going or where they're at. So in Buddhism, we have a lot of compassion for hungry ghosts because in some sense everyone is a hungry ghost. purpose of Buddhadharma is to liberate all beings. So all beings will find liberation and nourishment and have perfect freedom

[03:52]

find their true nature. So maybe ghost is someone who has not yet uncovered their true nature and is just wandering around in space, this space or some other space. So you could say all seeking, all beings are seeking their true nature. true nature, seeks true nature. So it's also called the ceremony to placate the deceased spirits or the departed from this world. So when we have the ceremony, we offer food. And we offer food to our deceased parents and relatives many, many generations back.

[05:24]

And we also offer food and teaching to all the spirits around, wherever they may be. So in this ceremony, We don't make such a distinction between this world and some other world, the world of the living and the world of the deceased. This ceremony brings all worlds together. So it's kind of like a big family gathering of all the realms, the realms of this world and other worlds. gathers at this ceremony. So we have the altar at the other end of the zendo because many spirits are a little bit hesitant to come where the Buddha might be.

[06:32]

So it's kind of a neutral spot. No Buddhas or Bodhisattvas pictures are around anywhere. And so, timid spirits can feel free to just appear. During the ceremony, at one point in the ceremony, at the beginning of the ceremony, everybody brings some kind of instrument and makes And there's a big din, and this is called calling all the spirits. You make a big noise to get all the spirits to get their attention and let them know that this is happening. And so we make a food offering, which of course is symbolic. chant for the spirits.

[07:41]

And so, at this point, there's no real separation between the living and the dead and all the spirits, wherever they may be. And it's a kind of communion. It's said that in Buddha's time, Moggallana was one of his chief students. And the way, there's various stories about how this sagaki ceremony started, but they say that Moggallana's mother, he had a dream one time about his mother, and his mother seemed to have appeared in hell. And he went to the Buddha and told him that he had this terrible dream that his mother was in hell. And the Buddha said, and her existence in hell was that she tried to eat, but whatever she tried to eat turned into blood and pus, and whatever she tried to drink turned into fire.

[08:52]

So she was never really satisfied, although she had plenty to eat and drink. And so Gaki comes from this story, Hungry Ghost. Gaki means hungry ghost. And the Gaki apparently have big capacity, big stomachs, huge stomachs, and enormous appetites. But they have very thin throats. And the throat is so thin that even though they have plenty to eat, nothing will get down into their stomach. So this is a kind of hell realm, which many of us experience. We have enormous appetites, but no satisfaction. No matter how much we eat of our desire, we can't get enough satisfaction.

[09:56]

And another story is that Moggallana went to Buddha with his dream, and Buddha said, well, what you should do is make a great food offering to all the monks. So Moggallana made a great food offering to all the monks, and his mother was relieved. There are many stories about this. So in Buddhist cosmology, there are the six worlds, the six realms of existence. Ancient Buddhist cosmology points out six realms of existence. Of course, there are many realms, but these six are universal, and we can all identify with them.

[11:11]

The six realms are usually put into a circle as a diagram, and the twelve links of causation frame the circle. Within the six realms, at the top is the heavenly beings. And gods and heavenly beings exist, but unlike Mount Olympus, they're karma ends. And when the causes for their being, gods and heavenly beings, comes to an end, then they transmigrate into another realm. And the other realms are the realm of the fighting demons. who are always up for war, always contentious.

[12:18]

And another realm is the realm of human beings, just the plain old human realm. And these three realms are on top. These are kind of realms that people like to be in. realms that people enjoy, actually. The other three realms are the realms people don't enjoy so much, the lower realms. And there's the realm of, the animal realm, which is devoid of humanity. And then there's, on the bottom is the hell realm, where Moggallana's mother went for a while. And then there's the realm of the gaki, the hungry ghosts. Those beings that can never be satisfied, no matter how much they have.

[13:25]

Kind of like our country. Country has so much to eat, but we're never satisfied. So we devour, try to devour the whole world and consume it. So these six realms are realms of migration. And each one of these realms is, of course, part of our psyche. We divide our psyche into six realms. These are six of them. And we find ourselves in one or another at one time or another. We don't have to look at them as realms after we die. They're right here with us as we cease one and appear in another.

[14:32]

When we get angry, we just get completely taken over by our anger. And then we want to fight, and we appear in the realm of the fighting demons. Revenge, and so forth. It's so sweet. Vengeance is so sweet. And then we appear as an animal sometimes, without human feeling. Just, of course, animals I don't particularly like. the connotation that this has for animals, because actually animals can be very kind. But it means without human nature, with the human nature not developed. Each one of us has human nature, but our human nature is not always developed.

[15:43]

Every time you pick up a newspaper, you can see examples of problems where human nature is not developed and people just act like so-called by instinct, which is animal nature. Each one of us has animal nature, but our animal nature is under the control of our human nature, works in harmony with our human nature. When our animal nature is not working in harmony with our human nature, then we have big problems. And then there's hungry ghosts. Sometimes we are a hungry ghost. Sometimes we are just human beings. A human being is the highest of all these realms, much higher than the realms of the gods and the heavenly beings, because a human being has the possibility of going beyond karma.

[17:00]

Whereas beings in the other realms, which of course is us, have difficulty going beyond karma, getting out of being stuck in habit energy. Being stuck in karma means being confined or captured by our ignorance. So the human realm is being awake to the cause of ignorance and being able to go beyond it to find liberation. So in the human realm we have the possibility of being liberated.

[18:08]

So a human being has compassion for people in all the other realms. And so, Segaki ceremony is human beings are awake enough to have compassion and the wish to liberate being stuck in the five realms, in the other five realms. So a human being invites all the beings in the other five realms, which are exemplified by the Gakki, to come and cool off, have something to eat. Very little teaching. And there's no coercion, just invitation. So when we have this ceremony, we recite the names of all the people that we've done memorial services for over the year, and then people add someone who they would like to have mentioned.

[19:43]

So this ceremony, is very serious and at the same time it's somewhat light-hearted. It's serious in that it's meaningful. And it's light-hearted in that we don't take it too seriously. We have this ceremony in America to coincide with Halloween, because Halloween has somewhat similar characteristics. Halloween is when all of the spirits come something. And the kids go out saying, trick or treat.

[20:45]

So the kids represent hungry ghosts. Trick or treat. Please give me something. They're looking for something. If you don't give me something, I'll give you something. That's their meanness. So we should recognize their meanness. Oh, don't hurt me. I'll give you some candy. We don't do it. We give them the candy anyway. But it has that quality, that quality of generosity to these threatening little spirits. How do you... How do you handle threatening spirits? We feel all around us some threatening spirit.

[21:50]

The world is full of threatening spirits. How do we appease them? Do you squash them? You squash them over here and they appear over there. We can't squash them, but people keep trying to squash these spirits and keep making more spirits. It's like a rose bush, you know. You cut it down to the ground and it grows even stronger. It's like a canthus. You cut it down and its roots So this is a problem for every one of us. How do we appease the threatening spirits? Give them candy, let them go away. Well, what does candy mean? Candy is kind of like maybe teaching.

[22:57]

It could be food, something that's satisfying for the moment. Candy is just satisfying for the moment. It's not nourishing. But with the candy goes something, goes some kind of generosity, some kind of spirit. So how do we turn aggression? How can we turn threats? What kind of power do we have? What kind of persuasion do we have? What kind of teaching do we have that influences people, influences these spirits? Basically, we have to be what we want them to be. So that's why mostly we just practice.

[24:03]

That's why practice is so important. By practice, you question, how can I be what I want them to be? Then you have some influence in the world. So how do we treat these little monsters? They're all around. And they grow up into being big monsters. One of the stories about Mogollana is that when he had his dream about his mother, he went down into hell himself. And he broke the lock at the gates of hell. And then all these demons escaped out of hell.

[25:06]

And so he had this ceremony in order to appease them, to feed them. I think that, if we look carefully, we can see that most of the demons in the world are unsatisfied, looking for something. What are they looking for? People use dope, collect money, to control, what are they looking for? People must think that what they're looking for, getting what they think they want, is what they're looking for.

[26:12]

But actually, when you get something, it's not what you're looking for. No matter what you get, it's not really what you're looking for. And so you put it aside and look for something else. Over and over. Always looking for something and never really being satisfied. Always getting something, but never quite, it's not quite it. So, anyway, we have this ceremony in which we invite all the spirits and offer them some little food and a little teaching. Mostly communion.

[27:13]

Not so much teaching. They don't have to pay for their dinner by saying something. Let's just all get together and be on the same level without anything, without any agenda, without wanting anything. Do you have any questions? Yeah, well, hell realm is what you usually think of as hell. All of those various practices that they have down there.

[28:17]

And Hungry Ghosts is a kind of hell realm, but it's a category by itself because it exemplifies the insatiability of greed, which is very important. You know, when you have the wheel, the wheel has a hub, and the hub that it turns on is greed, ill will, and delusion. Greed, hate, and delusion. Those are the three bearings of the hub. And they're exemplified by the pig, the snake, and the chicken, and greed, anger, and delusion. So these, they're differentiated.

[29:27]

They may belong to the hell realm, you know, but they belong to all realms. Nirvana is obscured by greed, anger, and delusion. These are the three clouds, or the three elements that cloud our true nature, that keep us bound, actually, that don't allow us to have freedom. So when we're caught by greed, or caught by anger, or caught by delusion, then this is our bondage. So to release beings, or for beings to find true liberation, the liberation is from liberation from greed, liberation from anger or ill will, and liberation from delusion. And when one is completely free from those three, that's called nirvana.

[30:33]

There are various kinds of nirvana, but this is called nirvana while living in this world. Sounds simple. But it doesn't necessarily mean that there's no greed, there's no anger or no delusion. in a person. But it means that within greed, one becomes free from greed. Within anger, one becomes free from anger. And within delusion, one becomes free from delusion. Because as long as one lives in this world, there's desire, which is the basis of greed. There's ill will, which is the basis of anger. And there's delusion, which is not seeing straight, not seeing correctly.

[31:46]

And everyone is subject to those three. Without exception, we're all subject to those three. Not so easy, but to recognize what it is that we have to deal with and when each one comes up to free ourself at that moment from it. That's practice and that's release within whatever is there. We have to be able to find our release within whatever state we're in at any moment. So it's not that something doesn't come up. Something will always come up. Desire will always come up. Anger will always appear in some form.

[32:50]

And delusion is what we walk around in constantly. So our state of mind is usually delusion. But to know that that's where we are, to know where we are, to know this is greed, this is anger, this is delusion coming up, and to step back from it, to not use it as a base. When anger comes up, we can use it as a base and then we act out of it. That's delusion. actually. Then we're caught by anger. And anger is pulling us around. That's called not having any freedom. Even though it feels great, when anger comes up we feel energized, righteous and so forth.

[33:54]

But we're actually being caught by it. Because it motivates us. Instead of being motivated by loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. So when we're not being motivated or turned or pulled by greed, anger or delusion, then we have the opportunity to be motivated by unselfishness. Unselfishness is called loving-kindness without self-interest, and compassion, which means recognizing the suffering of others as our own suffering, and sympathetic joy, which is the lack of envy or jealousy, which are binders, real binders.

[35:06]

and equanimity, which is a balanced mind. Non-partiality, not being partial, is seeing straight. Partiality always gives us an askewed view. Our view is weighted, one side or the other, so we can't really see things as they are. So the greatest form of love is just to be able to see everything as it is and not be partial, to have equanimity, not be tipped over by something. I have a, this is kind of a technical question about the ceremony when we circumambulate the Zen Do outside.

[36:12]

I read somewhere that you portray Jizo. Jizo, you carry the staff. There's something else, maybe I'll find it again sometime, about Jizo. This Jizo is traveling through the realms of hell, the hell realm, encouraging something like the demons to, or the hungry ghosts to open up or liberate the demons. Yeah. Jizo Bodhisattva is Bodhisattva who appears in each of the six worlds, in each of the six realms, and is willing to appear in the hell realm or the fighting demon realm, or wherever, or the gaki realm, in order to save human beings. So this bodhisattva, jizo, is always going into the dangerous situation in order to help beings.

[37:26]

this bodhisattva appears wherever there's an opportunity. So what Andrea was saying, that when we walk around, we circumambulate the zindo before we enter it, a little procession, and the doshi, or the leader, is Jizo Bodhisattva, the staff. and the one that leads the ceremony. Jizo Bodhisattva also is known as a Bodhisattva, a protector of children after they die. Do you have any other questions?

[38:48]

I have a question about dealing with greed. There are times when the greed comes up and I can step back. I see the way, but there are times when it comes up and I see the way and I don't care. That sounds believable. And I don't know what to do with myself. I wish myself would take the way that I don't. But I'm lost and I'm consumed and I'm lost and I don't know how to help myself. It's difficult because you want to and you don't want to. This is greed. If you can do something about it, you do. And if you can't, then you can't.

[39:55]

But the important thing is just to know what you're doing. This is greed. And when the right time comes, you'll be able to step away from it. But to try to do something prematurely may not be correct. It depends on what it is, you know. But sometimes it takes a long time for us to program our mind to act. And if we try to do something too soon, it won't work. So, for instance, my own case, When I stopped smoking in 1974, I had stopped smoking many times before that.

[40:57]

I started smoking when I was about 12. And I had managed to do it several times, but I always went back to it. And it was always kind of a struggle to stop. But the last time I stopped, which was the final time, because I didn't want to do it more than I wanted to do it. And everything just came together to reinforce that. I remember, you know, this is the Tassajara in 1974. I go to the Zindo and I eat breakfast in Zindo the whole world would be at half-mast.

[42:04]

So that, you know, over and over. And finally, I didn't want to do it more than I wanted to do it. And I just, one day I didn't do it anymore. And I haven't done it since. So it's been quite a while. But everything came together. Even when my teacher told me, I don't think you should smoke anymore, I couldn't stop. So just let it keep coming up and saying, oh, this is this. This is eating too much. This is eating too much. Pretty soon it'll get to you.

[42:55]

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