And tomorrow night we have a Sagaki ceremony. And I want to talk a bit about Sagaki because Sagaki is a ceremony which very much parallels Halloween. So we put Sagaki together with Halloween. So I'll talk a little bit about Sagaki first. Gaki means something like hungry ghost or dissatisfied spirit. Segaki, sei means offering. So it's an offering, ceremony of offering to hungry ghosts. or offering to dissatisfied spirits, both dead and alive, or both here and somewhere, or both here and nowhere.

[01:18]

I understand that in Japan they changed the name recently from Sagaki to Sejiki-e. Gaki meaning hungry ghost and Jiki meaning just giving, just offering. So they've taken the hungry ghost out of it and just made it an offering to, a universal offering to maybe a non-specific universal offering, which is kind of nice. I mean, Hybrid Ghost has a lot of flavor to it. But either way is okay, I think, because in offering to hungry ghosts actually means just universal offering.

[02:30]

Because all beings are hungry. All beings are dissatisfied in some way. And this is a kind of acknowledgement of unsatisfactoriness, kind of an acknowledgement of the first noble truth, kind of a response to the first noble truth and the second noble truth. All beings are painful, painfully experiencing dissatisfaction due to desire. So the Agaki is a little embodiment of unsatisfied longing or unsatisfied desire or unconnectedness.

[03:36]

Ghost means disembodied, no place to land and homeless. It's interesting because right now there's so much focus on homeless. So Gaki, of course, is pictured as a little creature about a foot high and whose hair stands on end because they're so angry. But I'll get into this a little later. And they have very narrow throats, like the size of a needle in big stomachs that need filling. But no matter how much they try to put down, it takes too long for it to go down here and get to here.

[04:37]

So I think we can all identify somehow with the Gaki. The origin of Segaki seems to have two stories. One story is that one of Buddha's disciples, some say Moggallana, some say one of the other disciples, but this one was Very good at, his specialty was clairvoyance and he could see into other realms. So he wanted to see how his mother, how his deceased mother was doing. So he tuned in on that area and he saw her in a dream. And she was hanging upside down by a rope attached to her feet.

[05:45]

And he's very startled at this. And so he went to the Buddha and asked him about it. And Buddha said, well, your mother is experiencing, you know, from her karma, she's experiencing her result. And if you want to free her from this, what you should do is get all of the monks that you know and all the lay people and get everybody together and have a ceremony of which is sort of like a ceremony of feeding or a ceremony of offering to the hungry, this hungry ghost and So he did that, and they had this big ceremony, actually a repentance ceremony, and an offering ceremony.

[06:50]

And all the people in the assembly were cleansed, and his mother also was included, and so she went to a different realm, and they all became liberated. So this is one origin of the story. And another origin is that Ananda one day was doing zazen in front of the altar. And he saw a little sprite about a foot high with hair sticking straight up, kind of peeking out from behind the altar. And he was very angry. And he came up to Ananda and he said, I demand that you feed the hungry ghosts. And the reason that this Gaki was so angry was because they had been, he said that all the Gaki, a lot of the Gaki had been forgotten and neglected.

[08:20]

In other words, their memory had been blocked off. People no longer remembered who they were. And they needed this kind of continuity. feel connected. So Ananda went to the Buddha and they did something. They created a ceremony of remembering the spirits. And this kind of parallels Halloween. Matter of fact, the origin of Halloween is somewhat similar. The Celtics Halloween originates apparently with the Celtics who celebrated the active part of the year and the passive part of the year.

[09:34]

The active part which is the growing season and the passive part which is the fallow season. And in the fallow season They would have a celebration, both times of the year they have a celebration, which we all know about. And then they would honor their heroes and their ancestors. And those took place on, well, it's Halloween, but the thing about Halloween was that came, the Gaki were in the form of demons and witches and they were angry spirits who felt that they were being neglected. That the people were no longer remembering them and giving them some kind of offering.

[10:39]

And so they really raised hell on October 31st. because of that, because they weren't being disembodied, disconnected. And so witches, through history, have been really witches, and demons have been really demons, and it was dangerous to go out on Halloween night because there was a lot of venom out there, a lot of angst. course, Halloween has transformed a lot since then, but now it's very, you know, trick-or-treat. Trick-or-treat apparently originated, the mothers And they'd make these soul cakes and then the children would come around to the houses and they'd give them the soul cakes.

[11:58]

So we've kind of given over Halloween to the children. But it's actually not just for children. And it's been Island. It actually had more teeth. Are you sure? Yeah, well, I mean, it did, generally. You'd always expect every window in town and all the cars and the houses to be soaked and the garbage cans to all be turned over. it. But they were always angry when they went out in the morning to wash off the soap.

[13:12]

So, Seigaki is a ceremony which we have inherited from our Buddhist traditions. And Halloween, But we don't do obon ceremonies. have this kind of solemn and at the same time noisy kind of party-like atmosphere. So this ceremony that we have is uniquely

[14:21]

combination of two east and west. And when we do a segaki ceremony, the altar for the ceremony is at the back of the zendo or outside or someplace. It's not up in front. Because when you're offering by putting their food on the altar and them having to kind of climb up in front of Buddha, you know, and be conspicuous that way. So you put it in the back so that the hungry ghosts can just come and go without feeling conspicuous or having to do anything, having to feel that they're Buddhists.

[15:35]

And then one of the chants we do is the Con Ramon, which is called the Gate of Sweet Dew, in which there are seven, I guess you could call them seven prayers for the deceased, but also ourselves. So this offering is really for everyone. And I think that's why it's kind of nice to, instead of Seigaki, to say Seijiki-e, the offering for all the, not making a distinction between the living and the deceased,

[16:50]

And the giving is not just food, but remembrance. I think it's a well-known fact that the future depends on the present, which depends on the past. Even though, in some sense, past, future and present are not linked up, in another sense they are very much dependent on each other. And to dismiss the past and just create a presence out of what's around us is very shallow. And we had this kind of civil society of creating out of the moment.

[18:13]

So this ceremony is very important for us. At one time, I kind of just did the ceremony, but without kind of an understanding the ceremony, but not understanding it so deeply. And I think that the more I practice this, the more deeply I begin to understand it and what its implications are for us. So a trick-or-treat and Halloween party is fun, but there's also some very deep meaning to both Sagaki and Halloween. And this gives us an opportunity to redeem Halloween, which I think is somewhat rare. And it gives some real meaning back into it.

[19:35]

Halloween party, which is tomorrow night at 7.30. And you can put on your Halloween costume and bring something to play, something to make a lot of noise, a lot of good noise to bring forth, wake up the Gaki and let them know we're here to make this offering. I'll read you the... The Carnal Moon.

[21:17]

to homage to the Buddhas and the Dharma and the Sangha, and to Shakyamuni, to Avalokiteshvara, who is the great reliever of suffering, and homage to Ananda. And the reason that Ananda is mentioned here is because of his visit by the Gakhi. is doing something about it, being the advocate for the gaki. And then the second one is, giving rise to the bodhi mind, we respectfully hold one bowl of pure food, and we offer it to all the hungry ghosts in all the ten directions, extending to the end of vast emptiness, And we invite all the deceased ancestors, the spirits of mountains, rivers, and earth, and all the demons of untamed lands to come and assemble here.

[22:46]

And now, with compassion and empathy, we offer each of you food. And we sincerely hope that each and every one of you will receive our offerings, turn it over, and pass it on to all Buddhas, arhats, and sentient beings throughout the realm of vast emptiness. And may you and all sentient beings together be fully satisfied. Again, we hope your bodies will be conveyed by these offerings and mantras so that you may let go of all suffering and attain liberation, be born in heaven, receive joy, and play freely in the pure lands of the ten directions. And we support you in without regressing. And may those who have previously attained the way vow to realize the other shore together with all other beings. Again, we hope you and everyone, day and night, without end, will sustain and protect us so that our vows will be fulfilled.

[23:57]

beings, equally holding this benefit, we turn it over and dedicate it to the unsurpassed Bodhi and all the liberating insights. We hope for your swift attainment of Buddhahood, free from unfortunate retribution, and may all conscious life in the Dharma realm be conveyed in this way to quickly accomplish the Buddha's way." So that's basically the Con Ramon. There is some And then... There is no best kind of food, but usually we offer fruit, whatever's in season, anything, whatever happens to be in season.

[25:34]

And usually rice and water and sometimes sweet tea. or I can cram a lot of my desires in this big belly that could receive it, through this little neck that it can't get past. So if I'm offered that which would quench my desire, I'm still in this horrible situation of having desire and needing it. an angry spirit, but I'm still left with this really skinny ex.

[26:47]

I don't know why. Well, the thing is, you know, you can't fix people. If I could fix you, I would. If I could fix myself, I would. But, you know, when we create a positive influence around us, then that influence comes back to help us. So, the problem you have is not so bad, because you know what your problem is, and you may never solve it, but you have something to work on. And this working with that problem is what helps you to Refine your life. So we all have this problem.

[27:48]

And this is the human problem. even though it's very painful, if we keep working with ourselves, using this as a way to see our life. So, even though we want to get rid of our problems, Let's figure out. Right, and it's good advertising.

[29:26]

No, I'm serious. When I say that, I mean that we're all influenced by each other. We're all influenced by each other. And this, the idea of, I've been thinking about gun control. And people who say, well, you know, and violence on TV, right? Does violence on TV influence people? Are you kidding? It's all advertising. And our corporations pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for three minutes of advertising. People absorb it.

[30:31]

And it's not three minutes. It's hours and hours and hours of free advertising. And whatever is advertised, people will buy. Crazy. How can you argue about it? How can you even argue about it? Anyway... So... And we take it seriously. Everyone's helped in some way. And it's a kind of way of turning things around, slowly turning things around to actually acknowledge the positive side of life. And to influence people, not by trying to influence, but just by doing something. Just by doing it, it's just like pure motive.

[31:36]

Pure motive doesn't accumulate karma. So in a sense, you know, this ceremony is also called the ceremony of easing karma. Because everything is done with a pure motive. It's like zazen does not create karma. means volitional action. That's all it means. But then every action has a result. And when we talk about karma, what we usually talk about is the result. That's called the fruit or the falla of karma. We're always talking about the fruit of karma as karma. But karma, strictly speaking, means volitional action. So in Zazen, even though we have thoughts which create karma usually, and bodily actions which create karma, karma is not acted out.

[32:44]

And so thoughts just come and go. And there's no karma created. Because there's just pure motive. Which means no something with pure motive, we're not creating karma. And by not creating karma, we're freeing beings. All the beings of our body and mind are being freed through not creating more karma. So this is how beings are liberated. And beings are bound by being bound by actions which create results, which And then we get caught in a cycle of continually, of the habit energy of continually creating karmic results which bind us, which are unliberating.

[33:45]

So we're all kind of bound by our actions. And to free us, free ourselves, we have to be able to cut through the karma, or cut through cut through the karma of action so that our action is motivated in a pure way. In other words, not egotistically. So even though we want something, the more we want something, the more we're bound by karma. And to be liberated is to just do our activity through pure motive, not selfish motive. So this is a ceremony of doing something through pure motive.

[34:48]

We're offering, but we're not getting any merit. We don't keep it for ourselves. We can't say, we just did something wonderful. Can't say that. Just do it. And then go about your business. And you also include yourself. If you stand outside and say, we're doing this for you. pure activity for its own sake. What's that?

[36:04]

Well, you know, in Buddhism, Buddhism comes out of Indian culture. Within Indian culture and within Buddhism, there's a whole array of heavens and hells. In the West, we have heaven and we have hell. In the East, there's a whole range of heavens and hells. And we think of heaven as a kind of final place, and hell as a kind of final place. But in the East, heaven and hell are not final places. There are various heavens, various hells, and people are continually transmigrating between them. And you don't have to be deceased in order to do that.

[37:08]

This is the place of heaven and hell, but mostly it's not heaven. It's a little bit of heaven and a lot of hell. Bodhisattva chooses to practice in the hell, in the hell realms. Another part of the Sadākī ceremony is that I wasn't aware of that the first time and I don't remember it all. I kind of forget how it goes every year. Don't you read the names of the people? Well, you can think about it any way you want to.

[38:25]

You can think we're helping them to go where they want to go, or you can think we're just remembering. I think everyone has their own way of thinking about what their relationship to that is. And, yeah. Also, it's like releasing them. I think that's a very important part, you know, is releasing them and allowing yourself to be freed from them and them to be freed from you. And also to acknowledge, you know, that you remember. So, yeah, all the people that we've done ceremonies, not funeral ceremony, but memorial ceremony for during the year, those names are all written and people can add their own names, you know, spontaneously after that.

[39:47]

I don't know. I really don't know. I think it sounds like a... It's something I never quite understood exactly. I mean, I can think about it in various ways, but something I don't... I need to investigate more. Because in some translations it says, it's even more, you know, I'm not at all satisfied with any of our translations. Because this one says, I beseech you to protect me day and night and to encourage me to fulfill my vows. And I think of that and I think, well, who are we talking to? But depending on how you see them, there's a really wonderful purpose that they serve, which is as the manifestation of our desire.

[41:24]

So if we can see them as our desire, as unsated and unsatiable, then they're protecting us. by being visible, whereas if they were invisible and we never invoked them, then we would be caught by our own desires. Really? I mean, that's... Anyway, I plan to investigate more, and I'll let you know when I find out. I don't pretend to understand all of this. The ceremony that we do is a Japanese form, and I know you were talking about the orange.

[42:28]

Have you seen this as a ceremony that goes back to other I can't think of China without thinking of connection to the ancestors. But I think this is Mahayana tradition.

[43:38]

I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it's Mahayana tradition. But the hungry ghost exists in... I mean, it's one of the realms that predates the Mahayana. Yeah, go ask them and see what they have to say. It seems also in terms of the mode of speaking to sobriety and to, in a way, maybe stop being happy. Those ones you assume responsibility for.

[44:41]

Giving us a responsibility. Yeah, that's a good point. And also leveling. with the hungry ghost's peers. But also it kind of parallels the Christian tradition of saying to somebody, please pray for me. It kind of has that feeling also. Somebody else? Well, I was thinking about the Tonkas, the Tibetan Tonkas that were here a couple of weeks ago, I think. And the demons, the very scary forms almost, the tapestries. It reminds me of, it seems that the hungry ghosts are expressing a quality of anger and angst. What did the demons do?

[45:45]

Not all of them. There's a whole demonology in Buddhism. But if you look at the wheel of life, the Tibetan wheel of the six worlds, one of the worlds is the world of the Gakis, the hungry ghosts. Heaven and hell, and the fighting demons, and the animal realm, and the human realm, and the hungry ghosts. transmigrates through every day. We just find ourselves in the heavenly realm sometimes, and then we find ourselves in the hell realm, and sometimes we're hungry ghosts, and sometimes our animal nature is dominant. Sometimes we're a fighting demon. Sometimes we're just a human being. That's the most difficult one. But the human realm is characterized as when all things are in balance.

[47:37]

And when the human potential is realized in its best sense. But that's difficult. That's always just an ideal, a great ideal, which is necessary. And sometimes we hit that, you know. But it's like the heavens and hells, you know. You abide in the highest heaven for a while, but there's no guarantee about staying there. And when your karma runs out, when the result of your karma runs out, then you go to some other realm. So they're not permanent places. And we always have to keep, we can never be satisfied by saying, I'm here, you know, like you get up to the top of the mountain and then the rock you're standing on crumbles, you know.

[48:40]

Well, this is the realm of endurance. I mean, I'm convinced. And when we practice Se Xing, you know, people sometimes say, well, is this just an endurance contest? Yes, it is. It's definitely an endurance contest, but it teaches how to endure. you know, how to endure as a human being in the very best way.

[49:53]

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