An unsurpassed, penetrating and perfect Dharma is met with, even in a hundred thousand million Kalpas, having it to see and listen to, to remember and accept. I vow to taste the truth of the Tathagata's words, Morning, everyone. Morning. Before I start, I was thinking when I was sitting in there that Joe, my chief chef came in and when we cook in the kitchen, at the end of the preparation, we hand off a little tray. It's not on here now, but a little tray with the three bowls that we're serving. And we hand it off to the head server.

[01:03]

And at that point, you let go of the food. The food comes in and the head server. And I did that with my talk. I handed it off to Joe. And you know, I script these talks a lot because I'm nervous about just winging it. And I like to say the right things. What was I gonna say about that? I practiced them with my wife, and my wife always says, I don't understand that, can you explain that? And so she said, well I'm an awful person to go over the talk with. And I said, no, you're the best. That's the kind of person you need, somebody who can really say, well, I don't know what you're talking about. So anyway, here goes the script.

[02:08]

My wife is Emily, by the way. I appreciate being asked to talk by Peter. I also want to welcome both new and returning folks to the Saturday program here. Thank you. your first time here, you're welcome, very welcome. I have a life in general, and having to plumb myself and my books and my life to say something is good practice. It's something like padding for gold, not knowing what will come up, though I have a mind. I'm not saying what my subject is yet, but my subject is the Genjo Koan, which is translated as the fundamental point by some people. Another comment that I'd like to share last Saturday during Zazen instruction to say to stop shopping for the next best place to practice.

[03:21]

Right here under your feet is all you need. It took me a decade to understand that. You don't need some special place or guru. You just need to sit and practice. I want to talk about the fundamental point that Dogen addresses in the Genjo Koan. In presenting this, I'll touch on the relative and absolute. permanence, letting go, effort, and zazen. There's a little bit of, there's a sprinkle of each of those throughout the talk. I'm using a translation of the text in Moon and a Duke Drop, and just a specific part of the Genja Koan, the part 11. which really resonated with me. I still carry around with me. I think I have it in here.

[04:22]

Well, anyway, it's a little piece of paper with the five lines that I'm gonna talk about. And I've had it for years in my pocket. When I first read these few lines, I knew intuitively that it captured it, whatever it is. It goes like this. Can you hear me okay? Okay. When you find your way at this moment, practice actualizing the fundamental point. For the place, the way is neither large nor small, neither yours nor others. The place has not been carried over from the past and is not merely arising now. Accordingly, in the practice enlightenment of Buddha's way, Meaning one thing is mastering it. Doing one practice is practicing completely.

[05:23]

Sounds easy to really stay with the present and not get worried about what's next or what just happened isn't easy. We're story-oriented creatures quick to get ahead of ourselves. Here's another translation, this one's by Shohaku Okamura. When we replace our own, our practice becomes the actualization of reality. When we make this path our own, our activity naturally becomes actualized reality. This path, this place, is neither big nor small, nor others. It has not existed before this moment, nor has come into existence now, which is interesting. Therefore, the reality of all things is thus. Well, I say here, well, that's a lot to wrap your head around or your mind around in one reading.

[06:38]

I do think the first translation is enough to get to the point. No pun intended. I'll read it again. When you find your way in this moment, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point. For the place, the way, is neither large nor small, neither yours nor others. The place has not been carried over from the and is not merely arising now. Accordingly, in practice enlightenment of the Buddha way, meeting one thing is mastering it. Doing one practice is practicing completely. I'm going to define an attempt to give meaning to them, but first I'll give you some examples that I feel actualize the fundamental point.

[07:39]

Fundamental to me is opening to reality of the present in all its warts and beauty, everything, ignoring nothing. That is fundamental. Well, when Sojin Roshi was alive, we were functioning without Zoom. Sorry, people on Zoom. And without fear of COVID. And we did these 16 our seshin, with some exception on Sundays. Here's an example of the schedule. This is the schedule. Nine periods of zazen each day, and quite a few of kinhin. Anyway. Pretty intense. I view those Sashin days as asking us to give effort above and beyond our normal effort, effort being a fundamental point of Zen practice.

[08:46]

Our schedules now are lighter and more flexible to people's needs. Is that better? A good question that I'm not here to answer. Some of the most joyful moments were often filled with my most effort. When I shared the Tenzo, our head cook practice with Naomi, there were points that were challenging. She was a great extravagant cook, and I was a simple basic cook. I don't think one is better than the other, just different. Her kitchen space was usually filled with every spice imaginable. One was pared down to the minimum. So I saw or met my place or point at the juncture of cooking style and patience when she liked cooking. The relative and the absolute meaning.

[09:49]

And I have another visual. Here's the relative on the... Vertical and the absolute on the horizontal Say we Are born and and die but within that is life life continues. That's the absolute The relative is birth and death and in the Tease out is You know, Naomi's different, and I am different, so we're on the relative. And we meet through patience with each other or cooperation. So I saw my place or point at the juncture of cooking style and patience when she lit the cooking.

[11:00]

Relative and absolute meeting the fundamental point, show the chart. Okay, I did that. I was being turned... I really stripped you. I was being turned by her practice. But when I was leading the cooking, I was turning the act of cooking reality. Is one better than the other? No. The relative meets the absolute. ready to serve. The relative is the combination of Naom's way of cooking and my way of cooking. The absolute and the absolute is the open emptiness acceptance. There's a Dogen text of Kyoku. It's Zen instructions to the cook. It says nicely that All cooking pots settle best at a particular shelf, big pots on lower shelves, and light pots on lower shelves.

[12:13]

Not unlike ourselves, we keep finding where we settle best, even for a brief moment, and settle to find the fundamental point. Last year, on the seventh day, of a seven-day sesheen or retreat at 7.45 in the morning, I went outside the gate for the first time and headed to Berkeley Bowl to get some cranberry nut bread. I had been sharing this same bread with Zach, a resident at the time. We both enjoyed toasting and eating it as part of our evening meal. I got to the crosswalk at Russell and Shattuck, usually a busy intersection, and started to cross. When I got to the middle of the train, I paused and looked in the direction where the traffic would be coming.

[13:15]

Nothing. It was very still, and the road, the trees, the sidewalk were beautiful. I was floored by the peace and stillness and felt I was experiencing something big or small. I continued to walk the rest of the way to the market and found that at that time it was closed until 9 a.m. It didn't matter that the store was closed. I walked back and continued with the sashimi. Now, is that a point to be reckoned with? I took it as a non-discriminating view of reality for only a brief moment. Seeing the raw reality of emptiness with no story. But do I remember it? Yes. Do I want more of it? I won't say.

[14:16]

Okay, okay, I will, yeah. But it's okay if I just see it. The dropping of... of any protectiveness helps to have this raw seeing and not something you can will to happen. I think of it as special, yet I think that is not a fundamental point. I'll give some clarity to this as I continue, but I can say that something fundamental was present and something was dropped, the dropping of striving and gaining. When I was Sashin director, the person who went to retreats, seating charts, assigned positions, coordinating with the doshi, et cetera, et cetera, I would meet often with Sojin.

[15:22]

He would leave Sashins frequently. It was a great opportunity to see him often. One time I knocked on the door with the usual, hi. He used to say hi. I popped in and there he was, shameless, in his underwear, hanging up his robes. He never seemed nervous about how he was seen. I think he was in a place where the relative and absolute meet. In whatever moment you met him, he was there, present, no pretentiousness. I remember him saying, you can always do more than you think you can do. He could sure keep us going. I find that in each encounter has never been easy. He was teaching something fundamental, settling on who you are at any given moment, a fundamental point.

[16:24]

In the Genjo Koan, there's a koan. And it goes, Zen Master Bauchi of Mount Mayu was fanning himself. A monk approached and asked, Master, the nature of wind is permanent in a place it does not reach. Why then do you fan yourself? Bauchi replied, although you understand the nature of wind is permanent, You do not understand the meaning of reaching everywhere. The monk responded, What is the meaning of reaching everywhere? asked the monk, and the master just kept fanning himself. The monk bowed deeply. My comment on this is permanent is the nature of wind or Buddha nature, and yet

[17:34]

you still must continue to practice fanning yourself. I take that as good, I'm saying, I'm repeating that again. It's just, you just need to put forth the effort, practice or fanning. Practice helps to clear the fog of attachment, of attachments. How am I doing on time? It's 10.40. You have plenty of time. Suzuki Roshi gave a lecture and it was printed in Not Always So. It goes like this. This is kind of helpful. You may think you have attained enlightenment, but if you are busy or in some difficulty and think you need to have that experience again, that is not real enlightenment because it is something you are sticking to and is always with you.

[18:52]

So there is no need for you to stick to it or to even think about it because it's always with you. Difficulty itself is enlightenment Don't we know that Your busy life is That is true enlightenment So a comment here he's asking us not to put a label on something some special point Help us to help us see enlightenment activity. It's every point in time every moment nowadays nowadays young people are dating but enlightenment is not something that you can make on a date or you can make a date with if you organize your life get up a certain time pick up your bag lunch at a certain time and leave for work then if girlfriend or boyfriend you will meet them there is no need to make a date at a certain time he or she will come

[20:01]

to the corner where you usually see him or her. That's our way. It is rather foolish and troublesome to make . Of course, this is all metaphorical. Even if you make a date by telephone, hey, I'm leaving now. If she doesn't come to the corner, you will be disappointed. If you do not make a date and she comes to the corner, really happy that is how you attain enlightenment it is not a laughing matter I am talking about something real it's interesting that he he says that right there and anyway and you guys laughed it means not to expect or stick to enlightenment don't get caught by anything when you you are encouraged by enlightenment then seeing her, even just a glimpse of her, is enough.

[21:04]

All day long you will be happy. If you are demanding too much of her, then it means that you are sticking to the idea of enlightenment. He goes on one more paragraph, or short paragraph. That is what the sixth ancestor meant when he said, just to dwell on emptiness is not true practice. Don't get caught by anything and completely let go of expectations, all fundamental. Roshi is encouraging arranging or discouraging arranging a date with enlightenment. Seeing dating as a metaphor for your gaining mind. Sojourn Roshi on the Genjo Koan had these two paragraphs which I found really helpful.

[22:17]

I quote Roshi here saying, the Dharma teaches us both delusion and enlightenment are aspects of Buddha nature. Rather than in order to have enlightenment, we establish our practice within delusion. If we wait until there is no delusion before we begin practice, no one will be practicing. Delusion is an environment in which enlightenment flourishes. As it is said, we live in muddy water with purity like a lotus. The lotus grows in muddy water, but the mud does not stick. Suzuki Roshi said that Our delusions are like compost. We put them around the basement for nourishment. I was working on the talk one morning, sitting on the couch, when a weed whacker started roaring next to the door in my neighbor's patio.

[23:25]

I have some sensitivity to sound, so I felt I was being angry. Anger came up, and I said, I'll be okay. I will stop, it will stop sometime. I can handle this." Well, it went on and on. What is he doing, chopping down a tree with a weed whacker, I thought? I crept to go swimming at the pool and kept working on the talk. Emily, my wife, was outside meeting with a gopher trapper for our condo association. and I saw her talking to someone up by the gate. I asked, who is that guy? She's a weed whacker guy. He said, he'll come in and clear the weeds on our side of the fence. Yikes, I said, I'm off to the pool and exited quickly. So yes, I was doing it, doing a lot, a lot to not meet the fun.

[24:30]

othering this man who was kind enough to offer weed whacking in our patio. Sometimes you just have to leave and go to the pool. Maybe swimming was the point I needed. Emily was in Mexico. When we went to Mexico with the beach chairs, we were staying at a fancy hotel. with lounge chairs on the beach. In order to get a chair, you needed to get up early and put a towel or a book on the chair. First come, Emily was dreading having to get up early on the first night there. She got down to the beach at 6 a.m. and mostly, not all, the chairs were taken. She got two chairs and then noticed a beautiful sun rising. And lucky for me, in each day as Em watched the sun rise while walking on the beach.

[25:36]

She stayed open to whatever and whatever returned more than expected. A beautiful sunrise, witnessing opening to the present moment brought more than what was expected. So what was expected to be drudgery turned out to be a nice way to start the day. Is it a fundamental point? depends on your attitude of mind. Remaining open to what's in front of you. Time? Okay, no? Questions, we have about 12 minutes to questions. Okay. This reminds me of the story of Zen Farmer, a story most of you have heard. His horse runs off, Say, how awful, and he says, good luck, bad luck, who knows. The next day the horse returns with a herd of horses.

[26:43]

Good luck, bad luck, who knows. Then his son breaks his leg riding one of the horses. Then the cavalry comes and can't enlist his son with his broken leg. Just remaining open and not coloring things as good or bad, or just remaining in the present are fundamental points. Where else is there? Another story that fits with this talk is one that happened during zazen instruction. on saturday zazen instruction on saturday i was doing instruction and it was winding down i had moved from the cushion to the chair and was saying something about how in life generally we grasp at things we want and push things away is a way we don't want i continued and said zazen gives us a way to stay in the middle and not get caught

[27:59]

I finished and everyone left the Zendo but me. Folks began coming in for the next sitting period. One of the students that were in the instruction were coming in and I said, and I was sad and felt I didn't do a good job. Then I saw two or three people from the instruction in the line and I was happy. Good luck, bad luck, who knows. I didn't stay open or in the middle." Sojourn can say, it's not how you react so much as how quickly you recover from your reaction. When I first started practicing at BCC in 94, I would sit the 5.40 morning sitting.

[29:10]

Soji or work practice ended at 7 a.m. I would dread that moment. Everyone would be gabbing away, and I was just there raw, no one to talk to. I was feeling othered, but I didn't have that label back then. I did have... the Sangha. Through work practice and other activities, I developed relationships. This took time in stepping forward to do different work positions. So if you're having feelings like this, just stepping up and taking on a work task or position, just step up and take on a work position. There are both ego and achievement issues within myself. and the practice. How do we let go of wanting to be recognized, whether it's being head-head student, lay entrusted, Dharma transmitted?

[30:15]

They're all carrots out there looking for someone to bite into them. My latest one is lay entrustment. My ego doesn't go away peacefully. It sniffs around looking for the next Boy Scout badge. I don't mean to trivialize these positions. I don't know for sure where this comes from. Maybe a combination of not being good enough and my competitive spirit from playing sports, basketball, karma. So I need to talk about it, shine a light, be confessional. It's just ego. So is this a fundamental point or just a distraction from our core teachings? I think both. I work to see and let it unfold and not chase what it is that has me hooked. This is a kind of effortful settling.

[31:16]

The other day I was host of the half-day sitting. We had a short break around 10 a.m. I took the clock. to watch time. I hit the clappers at 10.15 a.m. and went inside and sat down. Clappers are these wooden pieces. We use those for signals for people who don't know. After I rang the bell to start the next sitting period, a woman in the group asked me if I wanted the clock from outside. Oh, I forgot it? She handed it to me so gently that I dropped my othering of myself that was plaguing me all morning and all as connected, an example of meeting the fundamental point and letting go of time, both mentally and physically. Time is a fabrication, really empty, no time, yet we live with time as being real.

[32:28]

example of the relative, 1055, and the absolute, no time, emptiness. So like I promised, I'm going to go through each line and give you my abbreviated feelings on it, or thoughts on it. The Koan says, or the Genjo Koan says, when you find your way at this moment, practice occurs. It's an every moment practice, no stopping. I think this shows up more and more as you accept impermanence, one of three Buddhist seals, along with non-clinging and samsara nirvana. The person who thought you were an hour ago, have changed, maybe ever so slightly.

[33:34]

The koan says, actualize the fundamental point. My comment, the point or the now is always there, and then the next, it's what comes into your life. I'm not saying you have to accept everything blindly, only be open to see what it is and respond appropriately. Drop your defenses and open acceptance. The koan says, For the place, the way, is neither large nor small, nor others. And my comment is, It has no limit and no owner. It is empty in the fullest sense of the word. It can only be pointed to. The koan says, The place has not been carried over from the past and is not merely arising now.

[34:39]

My comment is, it is not subject to time and space and is always present. It has never not been present and will not be there. Here Dogen is getting into his being time fascicle. where each moment has its own past and present, independent of the prior moments, past and present. Discreet time, not continuous time. And then finally, the koan says, Accordingly, in the practice enlightenment of Buddha way, meeting one thing is mastering it. Doing one practice is practicing completely. My comment, you put yourself into each activity and meet each moment with openness. So I can't go on without saying something about zazen. So when your breath is in your activity of sitting zazen, and you notice whether it's a long or short breath, a deep or shallow breath,

[35:50]

That is penetrating the practice of actualizing the fundamental point. That is zazen. It's easy and natural and always there, but difficult to remain present to it. Finally, the fundamental point is not some special occurrence. It could be washing dishes, or selecting a tomato from a mountain of tomatoes at Berkeley Bowl. It's a presence of mind you give each moment or action, the fundamental point. It can be a quiet street, the fullness of an open market, the beauty of a sunrise, the busy act of cooking, the settledness of Sojin Roshi in his office. the Mr. Weed Whacker in your patio. I touched on something you can relate to, but now you can let go of it all and open to the fundamental point and enjoy your day.

[37:01]

Any question? Yeah, I just kind of wanted to make a comment. I really enjoyed your description of Sojan. It's almost like I could see him again. So that was really great. I really liked the way you put it and how he was so nonchalant and so just, but so wise. Thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you, Sam.

[38:05]

Thank you for your talk, Gary. Thank you. I just found it so uplifting and inspiring how you kind of illuminated our practice stories of your own little experiences, and especially how you spoke to coming to BCC for the first time and how that itself seemed like you were able to practice with it. I'm curious if you had some experience which practice before you came to BZC helped you hold that because it kind of reminded me of my experience. I sat for several years by myself before coming to any formal place and had stories of myself as a socially anxious person and fears around connecting with people and all those things. And so as I do it with this spirit of Zen practice, okay, that's another thing I can... pay attention to and work with.

[39:19]

So I'm just curious how you held it. Well, I was always really attracted to the philosophy of Eastern philosophy. In high school, I would read the Tao and other books. And then I found this, I moved out to California when I was 35 and I was living in Monterey. And I would go to this bookstore and I found the book Pieces Every Step by Tekna Han. And that's where I started kind of sitting because he explained that you could just light a candle in the room and sit facing the wall. And that's kind of how I started out sitting. And then I did a trip to Tassajara. difficult because I bottomed out a lot when I was doing it. I don't know that I'm really answering your question, but I did do a little bit of practice and I did it for a long time by myself.

[40:30]

I started looking for a place and I tipped my toes in the water here and there. And it's interesting because I don't know if I said it at the beginning, but I was shopping, you know, I was looking for a place. And when I learned that you really have to stop shopping, is what really, that turned it around, that made it a lot. You know, you don't need something special to do it, I think, you can just, I don't know if that helps. Thank you so much. Thank you for the question. Okay, Debra is back there. There are a few questions online. There is one, okay. Two. Two.

[41:33]

Okay. Do I have to do anything? No. Janan, is that how you say that? Yes, that's me. Hi, sorry, I'm trying to get camera on. I'm a little nervous. That's okay. I am too. I'm better though. I was a lot more nervous. Thank you. The talk was incredible and just I resonated with a lot of it. And I'm new to practicing with BCC and just doing it still, you know, in the sidelines on Zoom. So I'm privileged to get this opportunity and participate in the collective while I'm still learning. And I'm finding it incredibly rewarding and just excited to keep up my practice and join. Sure. I struggle a lot with the dualities of teachings and

[42:37]

So in today's lecture, I was hearing that, you know, there needs to be a willingness in practice and yet staying in the present moment. And do those conflict for you or how do you reconcile that? What if I don't want to sit today? Excuse the train. I'll mute myself. Well, you know, if if you lean into the idea, I don't want to I don't want to sit today. you probably won't sit. So your question is like, what do you do with conflicting feelings about your practice? And so I just can turn to Sojin, he used to say that, you know, take your month, like we're coming up on April, say April, and say to yourself, I'm gonna practice on Wednesday. which is kind of what I do. I come to the Zendo at six, six o'clock.

[43:38]

And a lot of times I, you know, lately I never want to come, but you know, it's not a practice unless you, you, you come up against some sort of edge. That's what I would do is I would, I still come even though I, I kind of have resistance to coming. And then afterwards I feel okay. But it's, so that's what I would say about that. Does that help? I lost you. I guess. There you are. Okay. Thank you so much. Yes, it does. And I think also being okay with that edge and sitting even with that maybe when it's resistance. But thank you so much. Yeah. I can just, I say, I can say something else too, is that, um, um, no, I lost it.

[44:43]

What I was going to say, I was going to say that, you know, there's, you know, good time, bad time. Right. But, you know, kind of the treating your attitude as kind of, you know, I feel like doing it. I don't feel like doing it instead of looking at it as good or bad, just, Stay in the middle and just practice it or just practice. Don't lean one way or the other and commit to it like you would a relationship because in relationships, you're going to have good times and bad times. So put it in the container of one month and then just try and do it every Wednesday, Wednesdays or five Wednesdays in a row. and see how that feels and then go to the next month and kind of contain it in that structure. That's beautiful.

[45:44]

Thank you so much. And I look forward to more teachings. Thank you. Have a wonderful day, everyone. So thank you so much for your talk. I was remembering when I first encountered you, and it was when you were Shuso maybe three years ago. I'm not sure. Right after COVID ended. And I was coming initially. And you were ill. And I'm not trying to force this, but I'm just curious how you... I would think... is running into the fundamental point of fragility, fear, and I was just curious how you might, it's not too much to talk about, like, did that affect your understanding and how you practice? Oh, that's a great question.

[46:47]

That's unlike a whole talk question. But, you know, it did affect me really big. Like, I think I, was traumatized by it because I was like flying along. I was like really feeling centered in practice. Sojun was around. I was going to be Shuso and then bam, COVID and then cancer. And then it floored me. And I'm still, I still feel... weak from that. And you'll find that sometimes I don't come forward when I used to come forward all the time. And I'm just coming out of, you know, kind of pushing myself here and there to not hold back. That goes on for me.

[47:52]

So I don't know if that answers it, but, you know. I feel like I have some trauma I'm working with. Yeah. And how do I practice with that? Well, kind of what I had said for the prior person, I create containers and work within those and try and keep going. Just keep, Mel used to say all the time, just keep going or don't. Yeah, that's what I try and do. Thank you so much. Appreciate your part. Sure. And Heather, you're on. Hi, Gary. Hi, Heather. Hi. So. I've seen you give two Dharma talks. I'm not sure if I've seen you. One thing I've noticed.

[48:54]

is that you are one of the funniest people I've seen at Berkeley Zen Center. Like your sense of humor is so dry and crisp. I really, I connect with that quite a bit. And I appreciate it. And I'm wondering... What is the role of humor for you in your practice, and how has that evolved over time? First of all, do you think you're funny? Because I do, I do. Well, you know, I find a lot of things funny. I do. You know, sometimes I think we're really a strange creature. You know, humans do some funny things. It has evolved. You know, I was really, Paul Ridgway once told me, you know, you're really funny, like you said.

[50:03]

And I really didn't think of it that way. I just always could find some sort of humor in a lot of things we're doing. I like it. You know, some people want it to be really serious. How has it evolved? That was one part of your question. And what was the other thing? And just where does humor fit into your practice? Oh, I see. Yeah, yeah. That's a good question. It's always been kind of the way it is as far as humor. How does it fit into my practice? Well, it should give me levity when I'm really getting crazy about my... Oh, I shouldn't think that way, or I shouldn't act this way, or I need to, that helps me with that. And I feel that it loosens everybody else up to have something funny, so that you can .

[51:12]

I think that's a good thing about it, and that helps me. And my wife is good at doing it too. I can get really mad. You know, what do you mean? You don't understand. It's right there. I just said that what I told you and she can, she can get me to, but yeah, I think it can keep you, it can make you soft and that's good. That's where I see it's good in practice. Does that help? Yeah, that's wonderful. Thank you. Okay. We're out of questions and out of time, unless somebody has a number. Oh, Peter, go ahead. The man that made me do this. You know, actually, I love doing it. I love the process of writing this.

[52:15]

You know, sometimes I do feel really like I'm reading too much and this and that. I love the practice of, and it is a practice, to put a talk together. It's just a wonderful experience. I love doing it. That's a great segue. Thank you, first of all. So, if you were going to start your talk again, right now, without a script, what would you tell us? Well, I would tell you what I told you in the beginning. It wasn't scripted at all. That all came to me when I was sitting in the community room waiting for Jill to come. I think I would start it the same way. I put these talks together and talk with my and see if she understands it. Because I always, every talk, I think if you listen to any of the other talks, I almost always start with what I struggled with to get going, to launch a talk, you know.

[53:30]

And what would I say now? I'm glad it's over. just beginning right I would just be starting oh I would be starting over even though I said that I would start to talk I don't know if that is what you're looking for Dillusions are inexhaustible, I vow to end them. Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to end them. Whittles are surpassable,

[54:32]

I vow to become it. Things are numberless. I vow to awaken with them. Delusions are inexhaustible. I vow to end them. Dharma gates are bound. I vow to enter them. Because way is unsurpassable, I vow to become it. This is Ben Clausen, I'm Saturday director today.

[56:37]

Just because I noticed it, one point of form at the end of our talks, and Ross and Susan, please correct me if I'm wrong, during the last bells, we all bow to the altar speaker, and then we stay in gashow and we all bow with the two bells for the final exit bow. Okay. If you're new, a very special welcome to you online or in person. For those here in the Zendo, if you're new and you have any questions about practice or about the temple, you can speak with Joe, who was Jisha today. He was sitting in this front seat. You can find him in the courtyard. If you're interested in maybe becoming a member of our temple, you can speak with Sue Osher, who's raising her hand right now.

[57:40]

A few announcements. This coming Monday, March 31st, Nathan Grover will give away Seeking Mind Talk at 8 a.m. Next Saturday, April 5th, we will be holding our annual Buddha's Birthday Ceremony and celebration following the Dharma Talk by Ryusha and Andrea Fatsh. For those of you who would like to participate in this Buddha's birthday ceremony, you can join us either Friday, April 4th, in the community room, on the community room porch to help prepare flowers, and or help decorate the bower Saturday, April 5th, starting at 7.30. So we hope to see you there. If you have questions or want to volunteer, please contact Nancy Sweeb, our head chief. who just raised her hand there, yeah. Thank you, Nancy. And it's fun. Yes. And there will be no early program next Saturday.

[58:46]

We'll start with a work period. What time? That's a good question. What time is? 7.30. 7.30 would be for those who are especially helping set up the bower. I think 8.30 is when we finish breakfast. Thank you, 8.50. So it'll probably come a few minutes early so you can be ready for work circle. So VCC's full Saturday program starts at 6 a.m., except for next Saturday, and is open to everyone. The morning includes an orioke breakfast, quietly eating our meals together. If you'd like to learn more about participating in Orioki or volunteering for any Saturday practice roles to support our programming, please come talk to me during our informal tea. And a group has been meeting to consider ways for BCC to address racism.

[59:51]

If you wish to participate, contact Karen Sondheim. Her email is in the links for recurring activities on the website. Okay, we're now going to have our informal tea outside. I need two volunteers to help wash tea cups after our tea. Thank you two. And let's please maintain our silence until we're off of the Zendo porch. Thank you. Bye bye.

[61:02]

Have a good day.

[61:03]

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