Now we have invoked the presence of the Great Assembly, the Sangha. Let us now also invoke the presence of the Buddha. So the triple treasure of Buddha Dharmasangha has been invoked, and now we can celebrate the teaching of the Buddha. And in particular, this online assembly is the second one of this year. And in the first assembly, which was last month, the online assembly, there was a review of 10 months of studying the great Avatamsaka Sutra. which is so much at the heart of Zen practice.

[01:00]

This sutra was originally in Sanskrit and the word avatamsaka in classical Sanskrit means a garland, a garland of flowers, or an adornment, and in particular a circular adornment. So the full name of this sutra is great in English, great extensive Buddha flower adornment scripture. Now there's classical Sanskrit, which as I said, Avatamsaka Sutra would mean flower garland or a circular adornment of flowers.

[02:23]

of the Buddha. And that adornment could be the adornment of the Buddha. And so today, I'd like to talk about what that adornment might be. And so I just start out by suggesting that the adornment of the Buddha is all the Buddha's qualities. but also it, we, we in the Great Assembly, we in the Sangha, form a garland, a garland of flowers around the Buddha. We adorn the Buddha. Our practice adorns Great Awakening. The Great Awakening inspires us to form a great circle, to glorify the greatness of awakening, and to renew that adornment of awakening, moment by moment, as or through our practice.

[03:42]

So the sutra actually says that when we bodhisattvas carry out our daily practice, we fulfill many adornments. And in the 18th book of the flower adornment scripture, which is called clarifying methods. Just a second, I think that's what it's called. Yeah, it's called clarifying method. And in that chapter, among other places, it says that when bodhisattvas are practicing, for example, when bodhisattvas practice Zen meditation, they fulfill ten kinds of adornments.

[04:52]

It says ten, but there's of course possibility of infinite kinds of adornments, because in a sense, in the great variety of the assembly, we have a great variety of practices. And through our practices, we adorn we fulfill the adornment of awakening. Awakening, in order to be alive, it needs to have us practicing. And when we practice, we adorn, we adore, we illuminate the Buddha. So the ten adornments that are spoken of are, for example, the first one I mentioned is a bodily, bodily adornment.

[06:00]

When we practice, our bodies can be adornments of awakening. We can also adorn and fulfill adornment by speaking. We can also fill adornment by thinking. And we can fill adornment by by Buddha lands, by creating a place to practice, and so on. So today, I wanted to start with the kind, in some sense, the first one, and maybe the most accessible one to us. is how our body can be an adornment of awakening. And the sutra gives a brief comment after introducing the adornment of or by the body.

[07:02]

And it says basically, the bodhisattvas who are practicing this adornment are physically present. So we are today, and every moment really, we are physically present. So the Sutra is reminding me that my body, being physically present for all beings, adorns awakening. And it doesn't, it says, The first adornment is to be physically present for the bodhisattva who wishes to realize awakening to truth for the welfare of this world. The bodhisattva is present in a way that's appropriate to the beings that they're with. So this morning, I wish, I vow, to be present with all of you in a way that's appropriate to your freedom and peace and to your enthusiasm for joining the practice of being physically present in a way that brings benefit and freedom to all beings.

[08:27]

As I thought about sharing the name of the scripture with you, and also to discuss these ornaments, which are the name of the sutra, I looked around the meditation hall at Green Dragon Temple, and I saw quite a few people sitting quietly, in stillness, awake and it really was quite wonderful and encouraging to me to see that that group of people and each one of the people sitting was an adornment of awakening. Individually we can be adornments of awakening when we are mindful and remember that we are physically present and we aspire to be present in a way that inconceivably liberates all beings.

[09:48]

I don't know, in a graspable way, how I can be present with you to promote the liberation of us all. But that's what I aspire to, and I want to remember that. And that's an ongoing process of fulfilling the adornment of the body. In a meditation hall, Usually, it's appropriate to offer our body in that way. It's appropriate to the Buddha way to offer our body as an adornment of the Buddha way, as a gift of the Buddha way. And adornment is related to the word adore.

[10:55]

So we adore, we respect, we feel how adorable the Buddha way is. We think how adorable the Buddha way is. And another perhaps appropriate way for our body to be is to be present in stillness. And I usually don't emphasize making this body still. I pray that this body will receive the stillness of liberation. And remember, this body will remember the stillness of freedom and peace.

[12:14]

And the next one is the adornment of our speech, again, to free beings, that our speech could free beings. And next adornment is the adornment of mind. that we are mindful and think of all of our actions, of mental, physical and vocal actions. All of our actions are devoted to realizing the truth which brings peace in this world. Realizing it moment by moment, by our practice, as our practice, as our practice.

[13:28]

I think as is more to the point than by. It isn't that the practice is one thing, and the awakening of the Buddhas is another. Every time we wish to practice this way of fulfilling these adornments, is a great bodhisattva opportunity. Right now, we all have this opportunity to offer our body in this way. And again, usually in our group meditations, we're most of the time not speaking, but our silence, again, is not holding back our speech.

[14:34]

It is our speech in the form of silence. It is our speech in the form of stillness and silence for the sake of the welfare of those beings, those endless beings who we are sitting with. We wish for our physical presence and our silence to benefit all beings. We wish to sit and adorn the Buddhas. We wish to be compassionate to all that arises through our body and mind, as our body and mind. And this caring for our own body and mind, we practice this careful attention to our body and mind as an adornment of awakening.

[15:36]

The sutra encourages us to do so, sensitive to others as to how to be present. Also, a newcomer has come, a welcome Oscar. Studying this sutra has brought me many new ways of looking at our practice. In some cases, there are ways which I've been reminded of our practice. And one of the ways I've been reminded of our practice is to be reminded that our practice is an adornment of awakening in the way.

[16:45]

which the Zen ancestor Dogen says that our sitting practice is, renews the adornments of awakening in the way. And I imagine that many of us have not heard this kind of talking about Zen practice, that it is a renewal. Our moment-by-moment practice is a renewal of the adornments of the awakening and the way, but the Zen Answer Dogen does say that in his instructions for our Samadhi practice. But again, I imagine that many of you have not heard of this way of talking about Zazen before, and if so, I'm glad I brought it up, so you hear this new aspect, or this new perspective on our sitting silent and still.

[17:51]

When we arise from sitting and stand, then our bodily posture in a standing way also can be an adornment that we stand and we want to stand in a way that's appropriate to the welfare of all beings. And then we walk, and we wish to walk. in a way that's appropriate to the welfare, benefit, freedom, and peace of every living being. We can train at this so that we're more and more mindful of this, which, again, I find just wonderful, to be mindful of our practice glorifying Complete perfect awakening of the Buddhas. Flower adornment scripture.

[19:01]

Flower adornment Zen practice. Flower adornment just sitting. I imagine that if we are right now just sitting and wishing this sitting, offering this sitting as an adornment of awakening in the way, the Buddhas are experiencing great joy at this offering, that this offering brings joy to Buddhas.

[20:04]

brings delight to Buddhists, that we offer our physical posture in this way. Now, we can continue this practice of the Sutra, of fulfilling the adornment with the body, with the voice, and with our thinking. So I want to ask a question. Do you wish, do you aspire to offer your physical presence as an adornment of the whole universe and all the Buddhas and all living beings? In one of the video boxes... What do you call those little sections on the video screen?

[21:18]

Window? In one of the windows on the screen, I see a blue sky, and I see the branch of a tree. And when I asked, if you wish to offer your physical presence to adorn the Buddha body in this world, the tree nodded yes, the branch nodded yes. I'm glad to receive this message from the branch of the tree. And now, again, I ask you to consider whether you wish in your daily life to fulfill the adornments of the Buddha way with your body, speech, and thoughts. Please consider this question.

[22:21]

And if you'd like to tell me anything about that, I'd be happy to hear. By the way, for those of you who want to look this up, these 10 adornments are on page 434 of Tom Cleary's translation. No, yeah, 434. 10 kinds of adornments of the Buddhas. Welcome, Irene. Thank you.

[23:23]

I would like to propose I would like to renew. I think a feeling for me that came up was I would like to renew. To offer my body to that. Because of the many, many years of practice. And I feel like I've already done that, so. You have, but you want to renew it. Yes. So Dogen says, when you sit, you renew the adornments. You may have done it before or not, but even if you haven't, you still renew the adornments of the Buddhas. Yes. Thank you. Yeah. And you join all the bodhisattvas who do that. Thank you. I witness your wish. Thank you. You're welcome. Welcome, Sarah.

[24:36]

Thank you. When you asked the question, Do I want to offer my body? And I immediately felt yes. And the next thing I felt was because it feels so good to me and it's satisfying. And then I thought, oh, this seems a selfish thing because it's, Yeah, because it feels wonderful to me. So I had those two reactions to your question. Thank you. And do you wish to be physically present with that thought of selfishness? Yes, an adornment? Yes. The Buddha wishes to be present with all self at those selfish thoughts as an adornment.

[25:39]

as a celebration of Buddhahood. It's not exactly that selfishness, the thought of selfishness is an adornment. But the wish to be with and be aware of and care for that thought to wish to do that as an adornment is an adornment. I was, I was thinking about the other way, if it didn't, if it was miserable, to if I had great pain in my body and difficulties, I might not say yes. I might not. It's possible. And not offering my body as an adornment is another sentient being to offer my body to. So I can offer my body to a being who has a body and doesn't want to make an offering. And I want to offer my body to that being who could be called me.

[26:48]

Thank you. Thank you, Sarah. Also, I want to show everybody something, which is, if I bow, you see the Buddha, right? So I'm sitting in Nobod in front of the main altar, and my head is in front of Buddha's head. I'm in front of Buddha. And it is Bodhisattvas sit in front of Buddha. So I'm following that Bodhisattva practice. And then when I bow, you get to see another Buddha. and welcome me to Radiant Ocean. Greetings to the great teacher and the great sangha.

[27:53]

I just would like to be in front of you and the great assembly to answer your question. Yes, I'm willing and also going When you mention about the tree nodding, it just reminds me of the phrase, sheng gong shuo fa wan shi yan tou. There's a story about the sheng gong. I think it's before the Mahayana transmitting to China. When he... Well, people didn't understand his view, but he believed the Bodhisattva's teaching, and so when he gave the Dharma, the stone nodding the head.

[28:58]

Thank you. Do you know this story? No, thank you. I didn't know that. Please keep bringing the stories. Thank you so much. Good morning. Thank you for speaking with us today. You're welcome. I wanted to ask In listening to you speak, I think the thing that I was noticing was your words about practicing in a way that's appropriate. Appropriate according with beings is another way I think I've heard you describe it.

[30:02]

And when I wonder about what that is, my zazen practice comes to mind and also the perfections, the paramitas come to mind. But I'm wondering why the precepts don't really come to mind for me. I feel like, at least for me, they don't seem indicated in the same way. I'm wondering if you could say something more about according with beings. In terms of the precepts? Sure. You mean like the precept of... The first one is like... Well, let's say the first of the ten major precepts, the first one is called not killing. So, not killing is...

[31:09]

is a verbal expression, but I think it refers to the reality of not killing. And not killing is one of the ways to contemplate according with beings. So when I'm talking to you right now, not killing might help me contemplate what's an appropriate way to be with you? No, you know, and yeah, what is the appropriate way to be with you? What is the way to be with you that accords with you? And that could be called not killing. So it's not so much that I'm trying not to kill you, but not killing is kind of encouraging me to wonder, what is the way to be with you? To be in accord with you? And this wondering, I would say, plants the seed of Buddha's wisdom to understand how not killing is the way to be with living beings, what that kind of life is.

[32:32]

And your asking that question about it could be also an offering of according with beings, by contemplating how that precept applies to your relationship with everybody. Can I ask you another aspect of that? So, I feel like the reason, or at least right now, the reason the precepts seem so different than practicing patience, practicing generosity, because it seems like the precepts seem defined in this way that doesn't seem necessarily appropriate to every situation. Like, I don't know, I guess what I'm saying is the precepts seems like these things are named, but according with beings isn't always looking like that. According with beings, I feel like, at least for me, I feel like it's more reliable to kind of

[33:42]

reflect on the paramitas to understand and to question what's appropriate? No, but the second paramita is the precepts. The first paramita is giving. The second paramita is the Bodhisattva precepts. And if you say reflecting on the other The other perfections is good. Yes, the other perfections help you understand what the precepts are. The precept is the second one. So the precepts follow from being generous to beings. But after being generous with them, then now that you're with them and welcoming them, now the precepts give you ways to be careful and curious. with the being who you've been generous with. And if you're in pain with some pain, or you're having a difficult conversation with someone, practicing patience will help you practice the precepts.

[34:54]

And practicing the precepts, like for example, not killing, will help you be patient with the living being. So the Paramitas work with the precepts. The precept is the second Paramita, the second perfection. And yes, the other nine and the other five perfections do help us practice the precepts and the precepts help us practice the others. So they're working together. They form a garland. Okay, thank you. You're welcome. Welcome Diane.

[35:57]

Thank you. And thank you for these lectures on the Tom Sutra. Um. I, um. was drawn to the Avatar Saka Sutra several years ago, and I found it just full of light and magic and inspiration. And then when you gave your class on the Lotus Sutra four years ago, I think, I got really engaged with that. Also reflecting on the last person's question, the Lotus Sutra doesn't seem to talk very much about precepts. It just seems like practicing the Lotus Sutra... I'm sorry to get away from the Avatamsaka Sutra, I'm just wondering about how practice evolves from the Avatamsaka Sutra's teachings into the Lotus Sutra.

[37:08]

It's just like when practicing the Lotus Sutra, there doesn't seem to be a lot of talk about rules or even precepts. It's just having faith in it, repeating it, reciting it, sharing it. Is there like a development of the Buddhist teachings that goes from the Avatamsaka Sutra into the Lotus Sutra? I wonder if you could say something about that. I can. One of the things I would say is that I agree with you that the Avatamsaka Sutra is really filled with light. Light is perhaps the main theme of the Sutra, because the main Buddha in the Avatamsaka Sutra is called Vairocana, which means universal illumination.

[38:13]

So there's lots of light being illuminated, being emitted by the Buddhas, and also being received by the Bodhisattvas, but also the Bodhisattvas emit light. So there's a lot of discussion of light. It's almost blindingly bright. But the Lotus Sutra also starts at the beginning of the sutra, the Buddha emits a light. from between the eyebrows, which fills the eastern direction for great distances, and then all the other directions. So, they share that theme, but the Avatamsaka Sutra brings out the theme of light more. But also, I think that the discussion of precepts in the Avatamsaka Sutra, again, it's not a major thing that stands out. However, the Abhidharma, both the Lotus Sutra, although it doesn't bring up receiving the precepts that often, it brings it up some, and what it brings out even more is what to do when people don't follow the precepts.

[39:25]

And there's a three-part, in the three-part Lotus Sutra, the third part is about how to address shortcomings in the precepts which we have vowed to practice. So it's kind of understood that this Lotus Sutra is for everybody, and everybody's a bodhisattva. So everybody aspires to be Buddha, and everybody aspires to be the practice of bodhisattva precepts. It's kind of understood. Also understood that people in the future when the Buddha is not around, they'll have a hard time practicing the precepts. But if they acknowledge that they're not doing well practicing the Bodhisattva precepts, if they acknowledge that, and if they apologize, and if they feel sorry that they're not practicing the precepts, that's the practice which we're doing.

[40:30]

So Bodhisattvas do make the vow to practice the precepts. But then after we've made the vow, then we notice quite a bit that we forgot, we got distracted. Well, I'm sorry if I did. I think I did. I think I got distracted and I'm sorry. So the Lotus Sutra more emphasizes recovery. It's more like, it emphasizes more recovery for these beings who do have these vows to practice these precepts, the precepts of compassion. like the precept of not killing, not taking what's not given. These are the precepts which the Bodhisattvas vow to practice. But they forget, and the Lotus Sutra is more about what to do when you forget, or what to do when you live in a world with lots of people forgetting. But it doesn't get into what they forgot so much. It's more like, when we live in a time when most people are forgetting the precepts of compassion, how should we practice?

[41:31]

So how to deal with the forgetfulness of the Bodhisattva's precepts of compassion. That's the Lotus Sutra, really good at. So the third part that you're referring to, like the after chapters, or which part is that? It's called the Three-Part Lotus, and the first part is the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings, And that's the first part. Then there's the main body of the Lotus Sutra, which refers to the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings. And then after the main part of the Lotus Sutra, then the next part is called Meditation on Samantabhadra. And Samantabhadra, of course, is the main bodhisattva of the Avatamsaka Sutra. Oh, wow. Meditation on Samantabhadra is the body of it, the main part of it, is deep teachings about repentance, how to repent when we forget the precepts.

[42:36]

And what that sutra says is the way to repent is to sit upright and contemplate the truth, the true way that things are. That's the ultimate way to repent from our slipping in our precept practice. Okay, thank you. Thank you for bringing up that question because I can see how people don't see a lot of talk about Bodhisattva precepts in the Lotus Sutra, but they're kind of implied. Just like if you listen to some ancient Zen talks, it might be that the teacher doesn't say compassion during the talk. It's assumed that they're trying to clarify what compassion really is. They're trying to show the true marks of compassion, and so they don't even mention it. And also, they're talking to people who've committed to the precepts, so they don't mention the precepts.

[43:42]

But it's still good to ask. Thank you. Good morning Ram and everyone. When you started talking about how we are, how our practice is an adornment, an adornment of the Buddha. My reaction to that was that that was very sweet and also, in a way, it's humbling and reassuring. If I think of my practice as one little flower among these many flowers, and that if my flower has some flaw, there are plenty of other flowers there. You know, that was kind of a great relief. And also the notion, I guess, that, you know, the Buddha's there.

[44:44]

I mean, this is an enhancement and an adornment, but the Buddha's there. The ornamentation is not necessary exactly. It's nice, but the Buddha goes on, you know? Well, the Buddha's there, you're right. The Buddha is with the adornment. There's no Buddha without adornment. There is a door where we practice the adornment to wake up. The Buddha is adorned. The suit, the avatarmsaka sutra shows the adornment. And but the Buddha is not there. Anyway, the Buddha is with the there's no Buddha without this vast adornment of all these bodhisattvas. There's no Buddha floating out by herself. Okay. So, there's no not-adornment, just like there's no not-Buddha. This sutra is saying, there is Buddha sitting in the middle of the universe, and the Buddha is adorned by all these innumerable beings, and they are the adornment of this Buddha.

[45:52]

And you and your practice is the adornment of the Buddha. But if you think, what if I don't practice? Well, you have to wake up to how whatever you're doing is, you wish it to be an adornment. And if you forget, it's true there are many other bodhisattvas who are carrying on the adornment work while you forget or get distracted. I guess I feel in a way like the Buddha doesn't exactly depend on me in the same way I depend on the Buddha. Maybe not the same way, but maybe the same way. Yeah, I don't know. Buddha does depend on you because there's no Buddhas without you. There's no Buddha without you. So Buddha does depend on you, and you depend on Buddha. Is there a difference? Well, kind of, yeah. Like I mentioned before, something like If you're a sentient being, then you're a Buddha in the form of a sentient being.

[46:59]

And Buddha is a Buddha, no, Buddha is a sentient being in the form of a Buddha. So there's no Buddhas without sentient beings, because Buddha is a sentient being in the form of a Buddha. And there's no sentient beings without Buddha, because sentient beings are Buddhas in the form of sentient beings. So you can't separate them. There's no Buddha floating separate from you. And you can't get away from Buddha, because Buddha has no particular form. You can't get away from Buddha. No matter how much forgetful you are, you can't get away. But there seems to be a somewhat different, some aspect of difference. Yeah. What you said was so beautiful, and it's, you know, I kind of understand the words, but it's so hard to take in. Yeah. Yeah. Those who have a hard time taking it in are Buddhas in the form of those who have a hard time taking it in.

[48:04]

That's the Buddha level. what while i'm here and i'm talking may i invite people to join in the reading of the sutra yes yeah So this is to everyone in the Great Assembly. Some of us get together once a month on the first Tuesday of every month, and we read the sutra to each other for an hour and a half. And it's quite a beautiful practice, and people are welcome to come and drop in, try it out, see if you want to stay with it. It's the first Tuesday of the month, so it will be the first Tuesday in June from 7 to 8.30 Pacific Time, which is maybe awkward for some people in other time zones, but people do come from other time zones. And if anyone would like to try it out, please send me an email. The email address is readingthesutraatgmail.com. That's one word, readingthesutraatgmail.com, and I'll send you all the information.

[49:11]

it doesn't matter. It doesn't seem to matter. Yeah, that's a nice email address. Reading the sutra at gmail.com. Wonderful. Yes. So please feel welcome to come if you're curious, or you know, if you just want to see what's going on. Can you come? Can you come even if you're not curious? Yes. And some people prefer to listen rather than to read. But basically, we take turns reading a page to each other. And some people listen. And that's how it is. Yeah. Wonderful. Thank you very much. You're welcome. Welcome, Basia. Hello. Welcome, Rev, and this Grand Assembly. So yes, I wanted to second what Karen said. What you said was so inspiring and really uplifting, this question that you posed.

[50:22]

And immediately as I heard it, I thought, well, what other way is there that is worth being or walking? I think this is the best inspiration and invitation one can pose to another human being. And isn't it the best meaning of life? I am the flower adornment of the Buddha. Fantastic. So yeah, you really, you know, I also think, I think it was, who was it who brought up the question about the definition of the Buddha? I, Karen, as well. So that is still a challenge, right? To come up with your own understanding what is Buddha or what is God. None of them are really definable, either for Christians or for us.

[51:26]

So... Yeah, I think that's really good to consider. Do you have a definite definition of Buddha? And if you do, then maybe it would be good to talk to people about it so you don't get attached to it. Because it might be limiting. If you attach to it, then even though it's a nice definition, you might be contradicting what Buddha is to attach to your idea of Buddha. Yeah. So my idea of Buddha is that Buddha is not attached to any idea of Buddha. But Buddha might have an idea of Buddha. And in Dogen's Genjokan, he says, when Buddhas are truly Buddhas, they don't necessarily think, I'm Buddha. But they might. But if they think they're Buddha, they certainly don't attach to that. And they don't attach to any descriptions coming with that.

[52:28]

They don't. But they they practice compassion with all ideas and all descriptions. Right. Or intimacy. Intimacy. Yes. Thank you very much. It's really lovely to see you and see all you people. It's a beautiful and uplifting energy in this Zoom space that we're occupying right now. You see the light. I find that most assemblies I'm in, there's about a one to seven male to female ratio. So I thought I should present myself. Thank you for coming. I don't know if I'm quite ready to present myself, my body.

[53:41]

I feel more comfortable offering my idea or knowledge. I was the flower cheat at City Center, and it was easy for me to offer flowers. And I just want to share. I see some nice flowers right behind you that are big. Yes. I want to just share some knowledge that I think is very interesting around our study. There's a profound architect by the name of Christopher Alexander. And you're nodding your head. Maybe you have heard of him. a very wise man, and in addition to architecture, he studied Persian carpets. And he said the most beautiful Persian carpets were woven in like the 17th to the 14th centuries by people who practiced.

[54:52]

And the question was asked, what makes a carpet the most beautiful? And he said it's a gathering of articulated, individuated centers held together with color, shape, and form. And even in his writings, he said the Avatamsaka Sutra was one of the most profound understandings of what he was offering about puritan carpets. Really? Wow. Thank you, that's wonderful. I didn't know that about him. Yeah. So, you know, with Karen sharing and the lecture you gave a long time ago about everyone is at the center, you know, the gathering, the gathering of the centers is really inconceivable and wonderful.

[56:00]

Thank you. Welcome, Linda. I read. So, uh, I came a little late to this meeting and you didn't notice or you didn't say, oh, a late person has come. Welcome, Linda. Because it's switched. Yeah. Anyway, welcome, Linda. Thank you. That's all I wanted. So when you said, are you ready to offer your body the appropriate way and everything, I didn't. I didn't think, yes, or anything. I just thought, well, I want Red to see me.

[57:06]

I'm just saying, hi, I'm here. Yeah. So that could be seen as you offering your body to me. Yeah. Thank you. And I wanted to thank you for the picture you sent me of you and the Kabir singers. I was surprised, I was surprised it was all men. Yeah, they needed me to help them out to be a woman. Did they let you sing? Yeah. So I'm glad they let you sing because I thought it would be more mixed group, but it was large, large men. Yeah. Wonderful. All right. But you also saw the picture of me hugging the Buddha statue. I did. That was my favorite picture. Okay. Thank you. Anyway, good morning, Rob and everybody. I'm here. Good morning, Linda and everybody. Thanks for coming. Welcome, Sandra.

[58:45]

Thank you so much for gathering all of the centers and bringing us together. Yeah, deeply appreciate it. And I deeply appreciate you in the sangha. And I want to offer body, speech and mind Thank you for the offering. Thank you for the teaching and for being here. And thanks for everyone else too. Welcome, Carol. Hello, everybody. I think what's rising for me is I want to confess that the Flower Ornament Sutra is hard for me to enter.

[60:05]

And I think it's as much aesthetic as anything. I kind of am attached to think non-thinking, and I'm attached to the Sermon of the Flower that's had no words. And this is just so bro cocoa and image after image. And I find myself spinning out rather than centering. I can easily resonate with that. So if you start getting dizzy, maybe stop reading for a while. So as I mentioned before, I remember a long time ago, Susakuro, she said that our sitting practice is the key that unlocks the great Mahayana sutras. But also the Mahayana sutras show us how vast and inconceivable our simple sitting is.

[61:12]

They show us the radiance of no speech. they show us the radiance of a simple practice of sitting still and quiet, which we might not notice without being told that. Did you hear the story about Katagiri Roshi and his teacher? His teacher sent him to the big monastery, Heiji, and he got a chance to be close to one of the great teachers there. I don't know this story. And then he went back to see his teacher, went home to visit his teacher one time. And he said to his teacher, why didn't you tell me how vast and great Zazen was? And his teacher said, you didn't ask me. So I think actually sometimes Suzuki Roshi hesitated to tell us how vast Zazen was, that maybe he just

[62:15]

didn't know if we were ready for that perspective. Because I think most of us had kind of a simple down-to-earth take on it. And he did, towards the end of his life with us, he was going to give a series of talks on the Lotus Sutra. And during one practice period at Tassajara, he did. And he was intending to continue, but it didn't work out because of illness and so on. But he was intending to sort of open up to the vastness of the Mahayana teachings to help us see that just sitting silent and still with a group of friends, without talking, without moving, is infinite and glorious. I think he wanted to tell us, but there was no time. So I want us to understand that our simple practice is the way we understand the vast practice, and our simple practice is vast, and we understand that through what the Mahayana Sutras tell us about our actual life.

[63:30]

It's not limited to our ideas of our practice. But I appreciate you and any other people to relate the actual physical experience and mental experience of being overwhelmed by the grand picture. I myself, when I ran into the grand picture of the Lotus Sutra, I closed it. Tsukiyoshi was not lecturing on it, I was just reading on my own, and I just couldn't tolerate the light. It was just too... intricate and baroque and rococo. All that stuff. It was just too much for me. But I remembered that it was important, so I went back and looked. And then again, it was too much for me, so I closed the book. And I went back again, and tried it out, and it was too much, and then I closed the book.

[64:32]

I went back again, And the time was right. And I was ready for the light. And just it came, it's like, I was like in this, I was like in the drama of the sutra. But I had, it took me several salis forth to be ready for this. And then I was into it. And then I was into it. And then the sutra said to me, close the sutra and go help people. So I did. It really inspired me, but it took me a long time to get in the position where I was ready for the inspiration. But don't force yourself to read when you start getting seasick, because it's an ocean, and the ocean, you know, it can be quite dynamic sometimes. I would like to echo Yuki's recommendation on how to read it.

[65:35]

I've been reading it out loud with Ancient Dragon. They're the first Fridays of the month for an hour and a half. And towards the end of the hour and a half, I just look a little swirly. And then a month to digest and then come back again has been a good pacing. Wonderful. Thank you for that encouragement. And thank you for hearing the challenges. Yes. Thank you. Here we are. Welcome June and Jack. Thank you. And good morning Rev and wonderful assembly. I want to go back to Yuki's I'm wondering, I was thinking, what does, I mean, we're all flower adornments and we're Buddha and Buddha is us.

[66:46]

So where does awareness and consciousness of that reality fit into Yuki's question? In other words, we're Buddha or God or the light, whether we realize it or not. But there's value. Where is the value in being aware of that? Well, again, the Sutra says, the part that I'm giving you the name of the Sutra, and then I'm giving you one section of the Sutra, and it says that when Bodhisattvas are taking care of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, when they do that, they fulfill various kinds of adornments. And one of the adornments they fulfill is the adornment of mind. So that their mind, the way they practice that adornment, is that they're mindful

[67:54]

They use their mind to be mindful of adorning and mindful of this work of of being caring for the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, they and they understand that that they practice that, whether they think it's an adornment or not, when they practice it, they fulfill the adornment. It is an adornment. When you come to this meeting and ask that question. It is adornment when you wonder about consciousness. When you offer your consciousness to the welfare of beings, your offering of your consciousness, your direction of your consciousness to caring for all beings, that is an adornment. It's an adornment of mind. So, you have a mind, and directing it towards the welfare of the world, directing it towards awakening to the truth,

[68:58]

is an adornment of Buddha. And Buddha is something that is adorned, and it's adorned by bodhisattvas. And the way you adorn the Buddha, which you're always with, is by, for example, offering your body to beings wishing that it would be appropriate to their happiness. That's an adornment. You're still with the Buddha, but you're not doing the adornment works. But it says when bodhisattvas care for beings, they do these adornment activities. They offer their body to beings. And they're aware, they're conscious that they are offering, like I'm offering my body to this assembly today. And you and the assembly are offering your body to the assembly today. I'm offering my body to the Buddha way today.

[70:03]

I'm conscious of that. I wish for that. I'm enthusiastic about that. So this is the adornment which Bodhisattvas practice through the body and through the mind. And I'm also talking, so I'm also offering it to my speech. But I'm with the Buddha anyway, but I may be not doing my adornment work if I don't make these offerings. But if I make them, I'm fulfilling the adornments, and Bodhisattvas do, it says, Bodhisattvas do that work. coming to this meeting adorns the body of the Buddha. All right. And so that's the point I'm making. But I thank you. And I can understand what you're saying to a degree. But unfortunately, what came to mind is, so isn't Trump an adornment of the Buddha?

[71:09]

And, you know, it's like being with whatever comes up, whether it's a Trump in my mind, or an actual person, separate, I mean, different form, a person called Donald Trump. So... The Lotus Sutra says that everybody's a bodhisattva. In other words, everybody's aspiring to realize awakening for the welfare of the world. But I want to point out that in the section I'm quoting from the sutra, this is what bodhisattvas do. Now, this sutra doesn't seem to be making the point that people who do not wish to realize the truth for the welfare of the world, people who do not want to do that, they don't consider them bodhisattvas in the sutra. So if this sutra, if Donald Trump does not aspire to realize Buddhahood, or, you know, or authentic awakening, if he doesn't have that aspiration to do that, for the welfare of the world, if that's not his deepest wish, then he's not going to do his then his practice is not going to be adornments of Buddha.

[72:32]

So those who wish to adorn Buddha, by becoming Buddha, they do make adornments. But it's not saying that everything that everybody does. This sutra is not saying that. However, this sutra also says that the people who are not yet bodhisattvas, who do not yet aspire to Buddhahood for the welfare of this world, those sentient beings, they're not the slightest bit different from Buddha. But it doesn't say that they're practicing making adornments. They might not be practicing patience, and generosity, and ethics, and diligence, and constant. They might not be doing those practices. But bodhisattvas do aspire to those practices. And when they do those practices, they do them as offerings and adornments of Buddha. And they do that to delight the Buddhas, and it does delight the Buddhas. And they want to delight the Buddhists. They want to please their teacher, but not to get anything, but just to, you know, give their teacher joy that just show the teacher they're practicing, because their, their teacher does love to see them practicing the teaching.

[73:49]

And people who do not want to do that, they're still sentient beings. And they still are not the slightest bit different from Buddha. Okay. But they're not making offerings. I do not want to make an offering to Buddha. I do not. I think it's crazy to try to aspire to realize the truth. I just want to get rich. Yeah. And be powerful. Some people are like that. And that's a sentient being, who's a Buddha in the form of this deluded sentient being. And they don't want to make offerings. But this sutra is about making adornments and aspiring to, you know, delight and encourage the Buddhas and encourage all sentient beings to awakening. So it's not putting anybody down, just says they're not doing that work yet. This sutra is saying they're not yet doing that work, but they're not, they're not different from us. The Bodhisattva Sutra says they are Bodhisattvas in this crazy way, this unhealthy way.

[74:59]

That's the kind of Bodhisattva they are. They're kind of anti-Bodhisattva Bodhisattvas. We're not practicing Bodhisattva. They're not practicing and they don't want to. No, they are practicing. They're practicing the Bodhisattva way in the form of saying, I do not want to practice the Bodhisattva way. I do not want to be compassionate. That's the kind of Bodhisattva they are. I do not want to be honest. I do not want to be generous. I do not want to be careful. The Lotus Sutra says that's the kind of bodhisattva they are. This sutra is not saying that they're bodhisattvas. It's saying bodhisattvas are those who actually do want to be careful and do want to realize awakening for the welfare of the world and do want to make adornments to the Buddhas. But the sutra also says that the people who do not want to do this, who have not signed up for this bodhisattva path, the buddhahood, they're not different from the buddhas.

[76:00]

Buddhas are completely with them, but they haven't signed up yet for the bodhisattva path. They do not want to do this really vast practice. So the different Mahayana sutras have different perspectives. So in the Lotus Sutra, it's a different perspective, which is a great perspective. This one's saying, OK, those sentient beings who have not yet wished to be Buddha, they're still with us. And we're practicing with them, but they're not committing to the Bodhisattva path, so they don't yet want to be making a lot of adornments of Buddha. Could I ask one more thing? More than one. Okay. What came is I realized right now, you know, I have an agenda and it's not necessarily hidden.

[77:02]

I mean, I've made a commitment, made public a vow and so forth, but my hidden or my agenda is that I want more I want more light and peace in this world. So... That's an agenda you have. Yeah. And it's also kind of a wish. Yes. And Buddha has that wish. Okay, then. Buddha wishes for more light. Buddha wishes to awaken all beings to the light of Buddha's wisdom. And that's in the Lotus Sutra. That's what makes Buddhas come into the world, is they wish, they wish that beings will awaken to the light of wisdom. They want that. And you don't have to say more.

[78:04]

There really can't be any more. I see. It's infinite. So we're not going to make more light. We're going to have more beings. We want more beings to awaken to it. Yes. We're not going to have more wisdom. There can't be more wisdom light. Because it's already reaching the entire universe. It's everywhere. What we want to do is wake people up to it. When does it slip into attachment? I mean, I'm getting more and more attached to that wish. Then you have more and more to confess that you're attached. And maybe feel embarrassed that you're attached to that wish. Buddhas are not attached to the wish. They are completely just the wish. They're not attached to it. So maybe if you more completely wish, you won't be able to put yourself outside and attach to it. That's probably true.

[79:07]

Wish more and more wholeheartedly, and the attachment will drop away. And again, this sutra says, you already possess the wisdom and virtues of the Buddha, June and Jack, you already fully possess them, but if you have any attachment, you're not going to realize it. So you want to make your wish so strong that you can't, that no attachment can survive the intensity of your wish for Buddha's wisdom. Okay, I just need to be with my wish, my attachment to my wish, and that's all. Be more with your wish, and the attachment will drop away. Love the wish more, and the attachment will drop away. Don't push the attachment away. Love the wish more. It's scary. It's scary. Love the wish more, and the attachment will drop away, and it won't be scary. I'm sorry, there's maybe it's a message that my time.

[80:17]

It also a message that your computer is falling apart. That's terrible. Those windows. Thank you, Jack. Thank you. Thank you. So we said this goes to 1130, but I'll take a couple more bodhisattvas on board. Hi, Rev. Hey, Brick. I will be very quick. I just wanted to offer you something I wasn't sure I could at the beginning of this, and that is that I have been not busy for the last hour and a half. What a great offering. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you very much. Thank you for that. That's a great adornment. Anybody who hasn't asked a question?

[81:20]

Justin? I just want to say I'm here and I'm really, really appreciative and grateful. And thank you very much for your talk this morning. You're welcome. I'm here with you. Thank you so much.

[81:38]

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