Would you like to mute yourselves please? Thank you. with sharing.

[10:08]

It is. And while I was watching the gathering before we came into the Zendo, I just had the thought, oh, the pandemic is over.

[15:06]

Which may be not an appropriate thought. But anyway, I want to welcome you all. There are quite a number of new faces here. And we also have... a number of new Buddhas sitting up front who are going to tell you about what their last week is. For the last week, we have been doing dharma transmission ceremony with these three priests. So I want to introduce them very briefly and say just a couple brief comments about Dharma Transmission, and then I want my brother, Zenji and Greg Fane, to say something briefly, but mostly we want to hear from the three of them. So, the three of them, from my left, you have Hannah Mera, whose dharma name is Itin Singesho, clear intention, serene womb.

[16:13]

Oh, that's me. Oh, oops. Which one is you? Clear attention. Clear attention. Oh, okay. Segetsu. Shiken Segetsu. Yeah. Sorry. That's okay. Okay. So Hannah, over there, is Keichun Seisho, Resolute Love, Clear Illumination. And then next to her is Carol Paul, who is Shiken Segetsu, Resolute Love. clearing the illumination. And then next to them is Kurnis Favins, whose name is Dainishi Zenkai, Great Resolve, Complete Openness. So we've been doing these fairly complicated and intense, intensive ceremonies for a week. And just, I'm not gonna talk a lot about this, but just to say that for each of these new Buddhas, this represents

[17:20]

The ceremonies acknowledge and represent the maturity of their practice. It's acknowledgement of their enlightened activity within our sanghas, within our communities. And it's also the recognition of their position as now fully ordained priests in the Soto Zen tradition, which is tradition we've been given. For Hannah and Carol, who I'll speak of, Transmission is also the fulfillment of practice begun many years ago. So we were training with other teachers in other places. And there are several practice and generosity here at Berkuzin Center in confidence that that several practice and generosity will continue. is it possible to adjust the camera yes thank you good morning

[18:52]

Good morning. For the past week I've been basking in the warmth and family feeling of my hometown. My heart is so full of gratitude and joy and love. It's so great to see so many familiar faces and then so many new faces. This is brilliant. It's really great to see how vibrant the practice is here, how thriving his temple is, which in my estimation exactly matches Susuki Roshi's vision for Zen in America. I am very proud of my student, Curtis, and we've been practicing together for a long time at City Center and Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, where I live.

[20:10]

10 years and a couple weeks, 10 years and change, I ordained Curtis in the ceremony of Shuke Togudo at Tazahara with Lee Abbott, Steve Stuckey on one side of me, and Soto Roshi on the other side of me. And it's been an amazing journey for me and Curtis. I want to thank especially Alan and Lori and Vicky for making all this happen. It's been such a joy working with them and just participating in the life of the temple through this pretty intense and arduous week-long ceremony. I thank you all so much.

[21:11]

Let's make sure they're all in the frames. that's perfect maybe a little uh yeah that's good thank you got all five of you we of course are full of gratitude for how the whole community has supported us this week i'm thinking that We'll write a newsletter article in detail. Thanks about that. There's so much to say. I'm going to speak about what hit me hardest in our week of ceremonies. You just don't know what's going to really get to you, and here's what was for me. We did a lot of brush painting on

[22:24]

silk or for me on polyester because I have issues with silk. And it was very difficult to make the ink and dip the brush and then make sensible good-looking marks on the silk substitute. They are not good-looking marks. And I was calling for my younger granddaughter in this process because She's really good at stuff like this, but she was busy and couldn't come to my aid. So you don't need to see what the marks I made, but there were a lot of marks that you had to make in a lot of little tiny letters. And in the process of doing that, I found that we had far more Chinese ancestors than I was aware of. When we chant, we chant the ancestors here in the Zendo on certain mornings, including Saturday morning, and we don't chant all these names.

[23:29]

So it's, of course, my job now, you know how I do these things, going to learn about those ones we don't chant and what their heritage is for us. So that was surprise number one. Surprise number two was in one of our, I think, very late night ceremonies, inside a red room, we received the Buddhist precepts. These are moral principles that we all accept. Many people in the room have accepted them. And I've been living with them for almost 30 years as principles of my daily life. But this was a new experience. It hit me so hard. Like, whoa, this is a much deeper commitment than I had felt to these precepts.

[24:37]

So that warning could happen to you. And we'll see how that goes. So that's kind of my experience. Good morning everyone. So, I am impelled to also express my gratitude. Because the week has just been a week of gratitude. and a lot of it is to all of you the sangha just to watch the sangha coming and going in a quiet respectful way to do whatever position they had or to come in and cook for us we got free meals served every day it was just such a beautiful thing and i just want to tell you how fortunate we are to have this place

[25:53]

At this time, in this world, there are no places like this. You know, this light just shines forth. And just being in the community, I could sense that and feel that and watching the residents. So I just express deep gratitude for everyone. Whether you came or not, you are a part of it. You know, we still get that energy. So it just, that was a big part of my practice this week. And another thing that kind of similar to Hannah, I kind of define it as acceptance, a week of acceptance, of letting go. And acceptance and letting go and letting things be as they are. So the first thing was, you know, I hadn't shaved my hair. I didn't really want to, but as you can see, I didn't go all the way, so I still have more to let go.

[26:59]

And this process that we went through, as Hannah described, you know, I used a lot of whiteout myself. In fact, I owe you a bottle. And it's not something I'm necessarily good at. And, you know, just like, We just had to just let go. Just had to keep going as we do in practice. We just have to keep going regardless of what. And patience, you know, developing the patience. Well, and I have this thing just, it is what it is, and it's good enough. It's good enough. So that was another big piece. And another piece was the ancestors. We chanted them every day. We had our own ceremony here, the three of us.

[28:01]

And I've always felt close to the ancestors. They feel like my people. And I'm just always so touched when you think, ancestor to ancestor to ancestor, doing this same practice. for hundreds of years. I mean, that just really moves me. And here we are now. We're the ancestors and we are now passing it along. And it really, you're here, you're an ancestor too, whether you take this path or another path. So I just have so much respect for them and honor and love for them. And I think I had one other point I wanted to make. Oh, the ceremonies. I think it's going to take a while. We had a number of ceremonies, but the last two nights were particularly the big ceremonies where we're really, you know, the Dharma is transmitted to us.

[29:10]

And it will never happen again. That was an ordinary yet extraordinary event. And I know it's going to just take a while to integrate within me. What happened? What was that? Other than to know, as one of my teachers said, when I said any words of wisdom, she said, keep practicing. Just that simple. And so I'm very grateful for this past week. When I was living and practicing at Tassahara Zen Man Center, when a new monk comes to enter the monastery, right at the start of their first practice period, they sit for five days, Siddhasan for five days.

[30:20]

One year, I was helping to orient new students for what their next five days might consist of, and somebody who was doing the orientation with me made the point that It's one of the few times in your life where an entire community comes together and supports you to sit for five days. That's your only job. You sit. The work, the practice goes on around you. The food is brought in. Shiny Mu monks are held for those five days of sitting.

[31:34]

And it's, in my experience, one of the most beautiful aspects of mountain practice. And I got the same feeling this week. This entire community existed to support us and our teachers for a week of Dharma. The food appeared, people came, people got things, did things, and just as with those five days of sitting, this was an opportunity. where our only job was to be immersed in the Dharma. So I have boundless gratitude for all of the amazing effort that came in in various ways for this week.

[32:50]

It is a rare opportunity. And as has been mentioned, a substantial aspect of the week is immersion in ancestor practice. And it gave many opportunities to reflect. Who are your ancestors? Where do you fit in? What is an ancestor? And there are many ways of talking about that, but the experience of ancestor practice

[33:59]

sustained for a week is humbling and fills me with a sense of obligation and the necessity of this business. So we hear our ancestors who carry on the practice. And the ancestors are all of us. They manifest in us in this moment, just as they manifested centuries ago. And it's...

[35:00]

as I say, humbling and also telling about the nature of our lives, of our engagement with what it is to take up a part in the tapestry of our life as each day puts it up in front of our face. And I'll just say it is quite a gift to be suffused with the degree of appreciation that this experience has aroused. I think that And it's a rare thing. And it's a rare thing that we do.

[36:04]

I think that all of us has the opportunity to be the fullest version of us and us that we can. And it is a beautiful thing to have that pointed out to me for seven days. So many thanks all around and now we carry on. Thank you all three of you. I wanted to just make a couple of other brief comments and then see if you have things that you want to add and then we'll open up. Just to say, as I spoke last week, the essence of this process that we've been is the kind of forging of a spiritual family.

[37:12]

But it's not some ineffable family. It's actually the family that inhabits our bodies, that each of us inhabit and each of us is part of. And the whole process in a very compressed way is a kind of rebirth into a family. And I would say a family that embraces the family that you were actually physically born into, but that adds on to that. The families of these ancestors, the family, all of you in this Sangha. So constantly we're in the process of creating family, which is incredibly meaningful in a culture where family is often broken, where we don't see it clearly, where there are wounds, and what we're trying to do is to create something sustaining and wholesome based on, as I was speaking of, based on the

[38:26]

precepts, the Bodhisattva precepts. So I just wanted to underscore that. I wonder if there's anything, any of the three of you would like to add? So perhaps you have some questions for our new transmittees. Not quite sure how we're going to do this. We can pass the microphone between them and them. I think so. Okay, here. So please feel free to ask. Thank you. This is my first time at this center. I practice back east. I was interested to know are you now sensei's and you're going to take on students or? I can answer that.

[39:30]

Yeah, not only the ceremony or what they're transmitted into. We don't use those terms so much, but now they are, as full priests, sensei would be the appropriate term. And yes, they are now, they can take on students. In fact, they're supposed to But also just to say, there are many ways of teaching and having students directly is one way, but also just embodying the practice, helping people is at the heart of it. So all of those relationships are possible. Thank you very much for giving us this report.

[40:32]

I wanted to ask you about the brush painting. Is that normally part of the ceremony and why do you do it? Well, some of the work that occurs during the ceremony for several hours each day is the creation of these documents of the brush painting and... The documents of what? What are the documents? Now, Asana, you've taken your bodhisattva vows, yes? Yes. Do you remember that document you got, Ketchiniyaku? With the ancestors, the Buddha, the lineage.

[41:37]

The lineage. That is what we did in several different ways. So not only did we chant their names, we wrote their names, so it's like it just kept getting more and more integrated in us. These ancestors live in us. And it's always good to ask them for guidance. I mean, that's my feeling. So this is just how this kind of process goes of ceremonies related to Dharma transmission. You sit for hours. creating these documents on silk that have been all folded up and put in a little pouch that you keep. So somebody made those beautiful ones that are copied that you each have when you do kind. But we make ones not so beautiful that are really for ours. Can they be seen?

[42:38]

I'm happy to show you mine. Can I show her mine? Not now. These are intimate and private documents. And yeah, they can be shown to you one to one, but we don't hang them on the wall. That's why we put them in this envelope and put them on our altar or in a high place. So that's part of the process. And one of the functions of this document is that then when a teacher is bringing a student along through the ceremony, they see the teacher's document. And so as the student creates their document, this intimate and private document which had been created

[43:47]

by the teacher, normally years ago, is brought out again. And then the student sees it and can create one that might look like it. And then it gets folded up again and put in a high place until that teacher has a student who goes through the ceremony. So that's one of the functions. Thank you. I'm just going to add one other thing. As I said, we copied the names of the ancestors in a different format. One format straight down, one format around. And without the ancestors, the practice wouldn't be here because it really was from hand to hand that those teachings from the very beginning, no writing, it was mouth,

[44:48]

transmitting those teachings from person to person. So we like to say warm hand to warm hand, so we realize how important they are and how important we are as ancestors to carry on our practice. Yes, and just to add, I think that part of the embodiment of this ancestor practice both through the prostrations, the vows and the ceremony we do, and also in the creation of this document, these documents, is seeing and feeling where, for example, our teachers are the 92nd generation from Buddha and so we then are the 93rd generation of lineage holders and so somehow throughout the process of all of this it drives home our responsibility and

[46:14]

and drives home the vow not to let it get cut off. I wonder if there's anyone out in Zoom land. I see a couple of hands. There are a few people. Can you call on them, can I? Yes. EJI, would you like to unmute and speak? Yes, I would. Hello, thank you so much. I'm an African-American, black man who has had the opportunity to be introduced to the Dharma by Thich Nhat Hanh. And I show his picture here. And there's a connection that Thich Nhat Hanh has with Martin Luther King that's so profound. And I really appreciate that's what drew me into Buddhism, seeing that connection between Thich Nhat Hanh and Martin Luther King, both people fighting for freedom was such an important part of our culture.

[47:31]

You know, as an African-American person in 1619, my ancestors were brought here on slave ships and we suffered through the Middle Passage. We've suffered through dealing with Jim Crow laws. Plessy versus Ferguson and Brett Scott cases as a black man has no rights that a white man has to respect. So being a second class citizen in the society is a major challenge, is a challenge to education, housing, health care and participating in politics. You know, we fought so hard to even have the right to vote. Many people died, you know, and so I'm just recognizing my own gifts. of the Dharma through both Martin Luther King and Thich Nhat Hanh, and I was also involved in the Fen Monastery there in Lake County.

[48:36]

And so I got a chance to practice with that group also. So I'm just acknowledging how important it is, particularly today when people are saying, well, slavery wasn't that bad and that people learned benefits from slavery. How do we embrace and incorporate the reality of the society that we're in that has so long marginalized, alienated, and subjugated Black people? This practice is priceless and profound. And some of the people who need it most may be so far away from people, places, and things that can enlighten them about how powerful and profound it is. I'm just wondering if part of that commitment to carry the Dharma is a recognition of the sociocultural, economic, and political situation we find ourselves in and not simply accept the status quo, right, where black people, you know, only do this and white people do that.

[49:40]

But like, no, there's a greater spirit here that speaks to everyone. And just because the culture and the society has marginalized, alienated, and subjugated and put black people on this lower level, we in the Dharma don't have to participate with that. We can transcend those boundaries and embrace all people, particularly those who have who do need affirmative, then support. So that's my, I just want to throw that out there. And thank you all for being here so much. I am so grateful. Thank you. Well, thank you. You know, I don't know if you knew. Good to see you again. We have just completed a program called Many Communities One Sangha. East Bay Meditation did it. And we are learning about all that you said. about being you know one song embracing all people of color all of our differences we're going to offer it again and we're going to find ways to carry on that work so we're in that process of educating ourselves and finding out the suffering that has gone on for so many people

[51:02]

Thank you. Helen, do you want to ask a question? I just want to say, Karen, as we feel so sternly, everyone is welcome here. We hope you come. Thank you. I'd like to say something. I just want to say the Dharma is complete. The Dharma is all conclusive. all-inclusive. As humans, as members of the society, many of us, our understanding and our implementation of the Dharma is not always complete. And our commitment is to understand, open, and do that. Even with our our faults, we have the wish to open and really truly respect all life.

[52:12]

Thank you. I think the photograph you put up, thank you for that. Seeing Thich Nhat Hanh and Reverend Dr. King collaborating, which it looked as if they were doing in that photo, brought up to me the non-exclusivity of lineage. You know, I may be in the, on the list, 93rd, you know, but it, Zenshin didn't practice alone until the moment he did the ceremony with me and I don't practice alone before or after. And ancestors are not, none of us would be here, but for the action and practice of each other, both in the past and today.

[53:27]

So thank you for raising that. as we carry on. Good morning. My question doesn't feel in the flow of things. I wonder if I could just or we can just take three breaths together before I transition and start and ask my question. Does that sound OK? So I've been around for the past week and seen what seems like a

[54:31]

different phases of the process. And there's a particular energy in the first few days felt really like cloistered, you all in there. In the scriptorium, I understand it's called. And I wonder if you'd be willing to share the arc of the week, just say a few words about the arc in as much as it's appropriate to share the details of the process of the week. I would say for me, there was intensity, and then slowing down, and then intensity, and then kind of moving into a flow. Part of the issue is sleep. We didn't have a lot of sleep. So you weren't kind of running on some

[55:37]

empty tanks sometimes, but keeping them going. So, because of the sangha and the nurturing. So it was not one thing. It just seemed like, for me, it spikes, but down, and then it's smoothed out. yes I felt different on different days I had a different energy of my experience on the different days I think some of that is the newness of getting here and the newness of all of these things and then alright what do we do and I think

[56:38]

There's a certain amount, great amount of renunciation. I've never, not only have I never gone through this ceremony, I've never been part of this ceremony or seen this ceremony because by nature it is intimate. I've been on the periphery of it, you know, but I kind of had to all right, somebody's going to tell me what's next. And that was a great unclenching. And then as the documents began to... I found on day six or so when there were other aspects of the ceremony and the documents were folded up and ready to go. And we were concentrating on the other parts folding and whatnot.

[57:43]

And there were two stretches where we had a kind of a break. Like, here, take a couple hours. And I was kind of at a loss. And that was neat. What is your name? Karina. I was wondering if you could describe the meaning behind cutting your hair. Could you clarify that question please, the last word? I have a meeting behind cutting their hair. Giving up attention to superficial things.

[58:58]

I'll just say it a different way, just letting go of our worldly attachments. For many of us, our hair is an attachment. And so it's letting it go. This is a practice of letting go completely. Yes, in the priest's ordination ceremony, to my recollection from 10 years and eight days ago. It's referred to as cutting off the root of attachment. And I think that that's, on the one hand, giving up worrying about my hair or what it looks like or how to take care of it. And on the other hand, then what I found after I shaved my head 10 years ago was that things are a lot easier.

[60:07]

The first day I noticed how feeling the hair hitting my scalp or hitting, feeling the wind or somebody's breath hitting my scalp was way different from having super short hair and having the wind blowing on my head. But then, yes, I know no stylus, no shampoo. It was, ah, okay, so what do I, you know, it kind of, it got to redirect that energy into other pursuits, I suppose. And then I had a scalp surgery, and so I had to let my hair grow for three months after that. And it was so weird. And I remember after about two months, it started being matted up from sleeping on it.

[61:13]

And I thought, whoa, yeah. It's just like old times. But yeah, it's a renunciation practice. And that then... allows different things. But yes, renunciation practice. We have another question online. Ross? Good morning, everyone, and good morning to you three beautiful people. I've heard it said that the hair on the inside of the head is much more difficult to cut off. Can you talk a little bit about that?

[62:14]

About the shaving of the hair's inside versus the outside thing? Yes, indeed. We have to work on that all the time. Very difficult work. All those thoughts that come to us that You need to be taken care of and revised and banished. Yes, thank you. Hair on the inside of the head, such a problem. Two hands, but here. Hi, I'm Greg, for those who don't know me.

[63:15]

When I think of transmission, I think of something being given and something being received. What was received? yeah i think one thing we received is the confidence that our teachers have in us and the opportunity to share what we know with others that's the biggest of what we received i think We want to thank you all very much.

[64:29]

I was wondering if there's something that you've come to see about Buddha's way or Buddha nature in a fresh way this week. Let me say, nothing is preparation for something else. Just referring to what I said earlier about the precepts.

[65:53]

It's not a light undertaking. It means really for real in every moment. Acting in a core. with precepts and if anybody doesn't know what they all are we're happy to share that at another time i think the you know all the teachings of the buddha they just i think become more integrated in us and more alive and um at one point you know there we say you know you are a buddha and we don't hear that a lot right but i i i said ah okay i am a buddha and uh as we all are and just just to just to let that

[67:07]

And maybe it's who I am and who I am not. In other words, it's not a special way I'm going to look now. In fact, I'm going to be just the same person I was yesterday. This all sounds very serious. And I just want to say it was, there was intensity and seriousness, but I want to also underscore that for a week we were playing in the fields of Zen and there was a lot of play. There was a lot of joy. There's elements of joy and celebration in the ceremonies. And so it's, it's not,

[68:10]

Um, even though we wear these, well, I'm wearing a bright robe, and we wear these dark robes, it's not so somber. And that's one of the things to wake up to, is to feel that lightness, to feel that joy, to feel the sense of light. I just wanted to agree. It was a very lighthearted ceremony. And on one hand, it was perhaps one of the most formal ceremonies that I've been involved in, perhaps. But also, it was extremely lighthearted. And I think a lot of that is necessary. It's time for one more.

[69:10]

This is going to be quick. What was your favorite lunch during the week? I can't remember the details, but there were so many yummy things, so I have collected some recipes to share. I'm not going to identify any favorite lunch. There's some of the cooks that are in here. They were all really good. Really good. You could tell Nate was so much love and joy. The cooks were just having so much fun in there. It's really great to see. So much gratitude for it. Not to cook for a whole week. Yes. I can't remember. It was... It was wonderful, and it was a joy to receive the gift of nourishment from so many bright people.

[70:24]

Maybe there's a bestseller there, the Dharma Transmission Cookbook. Amen. Amen. Amen. Welcome to those who are online with us, and welcome in particular to anyone who might be new here.

[74:15]

My name is Pauline, and I'm one of the co-directors of the Saturday Morning Program. Announcements for Saturday, July 8th. This Monday morning, we'll have an open discussion, I believe, in lieu of a way seeking my talk. At 5.40 p.m., this coming Friday, BCC's Chronic Health Issues Group will deliver a talk in the online Zendo. Next Saturday, Zengyu Paul Disco will deliver the lecture. Registration is open for a Monday evening class in August on the Pali Suttas, led by Lori Sanaki. Please register via the website. Our August Sashim will be held on Saturday, August 12th. More information is available online. Young East Bay Zen, a group for young people, meets in the BCC community room after evening zazen on Thursdays. For details, contact Yoni Ackerman, his emails, and the links for occurring activities. For more information about any of our programs or membership, you can check the bulletin board outside in the courtyard, look at the Zoom chat, or visit our website, which is brickleyzencenter.org.

[75:19]

To make a donation to support BCC, please use the donations box sitting out on a table in the courtyard, or visit our website and go to the generosity tab. Those here in the Zendo, please maintain silence until you're off the porch, then feel free to socialize in the courtyard. If you picked up one of our folded chant cards from its alcove on the Sendoh porch, please return it on your way out. If a couple of people are available to stay behind and help set the Sendoh in order, that helps always appreciate it. And those online may now unmute and share greetings. We're all proud of you. Good morning, Zinda. Good to see you all. Thank you for coming.

[76:27]

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