Tenshin-roshi: I’d like to talk with you tonight about work. And just offer kind of a real strong statement at the beginning; not to take for you as true, but just sort of like listen to it. And then we can discuss it, among other statements. Ahm.
Jane: Do you want to chant?
Tenshin-roshi: Pardon?
Jane: Do you want to chant ?
Tenshin-roshi: No, I don’t want to.
Ahmm.. FREE WORKERS ARE ARTISTS, AND WORKERS THEY ARE NOT ARTISTS, ARE SLAVES.
And what I mean by an artists, also I don’t..., again I don’t want to confine your idea what an artist is- your understanding of artist; but I am using the term artist  as somebody  ahm.. who is devoted to, who loves, whose live is dedicated to creation, creation, ja, creation, creativity. Or in the language of the Buddha, depending-co-arising.  And, all things, according to the Buddha are dependent-co-arising. Everything that exists is a dependent co arising. All things have the character of being dependently co-arising and so on. So Yeah, I am saying an artist is someone who is devoted to all things, but not just all things, but that way that all things are: dependent co-arising.
 So when our activity, sometimes called work , is not devoted to the dependent co-arising of that activity, then I think we are kind of enslaved by ignoring that, basically, in some sense. ahmm.
We’ve been talking about a teaching of a Mahayana Sutra for a while here, and it talks about all phenomena having three characteristics. And one characteristic of all phenomena is, that they are dependent, that they are other- dependent.  It’s another way to say, that one characteristics of all things is that they are dependent co arising, - they live in creation. The other characteristic of all phenomena is, that they have an imaginary character, an imaginary character, which is clung to, and that imaginary character covers the creative character. But they also have a character, that really the imaginary character is just imaginary, so it isn’t really there, it isn’t actually there, and..., so their actual character is that, their creation, in a particular way , their particular aspect of their total process of creation. They actually live in absence of the imaginary character.
When we are active, and...Some people work quiet a bit, some people work not so much. What I mean by that, some people think they work quiet a bit, some people think they don’t work quiet a bit. I kind of think everybody is active all day and all night. And if you are active and while you are active you are devoted to creation, you are an artist. And while you are active and you are ignoring creation, you are a slave. So, you can be a slave all day and all night. You can’t get away of being active and you can call the activity work or not. But I kind of feel like, if you are paying,- if you are being devoted to creation, then you will be happy to work all the time,: because your work is art. Your work is freedom.
 And, I said this before, but I offer you a little paradigm of the process. Now I would say the process of work as art. Or anyway, activity as art. And, so I say:
The first step is trust,
the second step is relax
the third step is play,
the fourth step is create,
the fifth is understand,
the sixth is liberate.
And, so in some sense, the place I am pointing  to, the key place, the pivot of the whole thing is the creative stage. Once you get into the realm, understanding follows. Once you understand, then your activity is liberated. Then you do whatever you want. You do whatever is happening. You don’t even think you are doing it you just let the creation unfold. But its dependent on understanding, which arises on entering into the creative process. And in order to enter the creative process you have to be playful.  In order to be playful, you have to relax. And in order to relax, you have to trust that you can relax. And in order that you can trust that you can relax you have to make commitment. Which I didn’t write here, maybe I should. You have to commit to the precepts of compassion. If you don’t commit to the precepts of compassion, most people – lot of people at Zen Center anyway, Lot of people talk to ...(I do not understand ??transcriber) ..if they don’t commit to the precepts of compassion, they don’t trust that it will be all right to relax. And actually, I think you can’t actually relax, if you don’t entrust yourself to the precepts. You may think you are relaxing, but actually I don’t think you are. And I don’t think you can really play either. Because without committing to compassion, when you are playing, you  can overlook what you are playing with; you can underestimate what you are playing with, not be committed to mutuality and so on. But some people might think: ’Oh, I can relax, I trust that I can relax, without making the commitment.’ But I don’t think they really relax and I don’t think they really play. And therefore I think they isolate themselves from creativity. And then because we are nor emerged in creativity, our understanding is not sufficient for liberation of our activity.
 Hamm.. about a month ago, Paul Discoe gave a talk about work. And he talked about, I think he said something about Zen-slow, that some people propose in Buddhist practice-just generally –‘do things slowly’, or maybe somehow equating mindfulness with doing things slowly. And I think there is some merit to that. But he was pointing out that, that his experience is that, ahmm  Zen has more to do.. in Japan.. Zen has more to do with speed. He used the example of..: One time he was working with a man, ..-when he was in his late twenties or, ja middle to late twenties, he was in Japan, working with a fifty five old Japanese carpenter and, they both had kind of like – they each had their pile of wood to make joins and so on. And Paul was working as fast as he could, and the man who was working with him was..- didn’t seem working as fast, was at is was turning out, he finished products more quickly, and he also heard the man sometimes singing, I guess in Japanese, something like: “The clouds in the sky, are drifting by - I wonder where they go..” And he thought :’How can that guy singing, while I like.. And then after a while he realized, he was thinking, while he was working. He was thinking like “I must catch up with this guy. How can this guy be working so fast. How can he be so effective. And that guy was thinking at all, except for: ‘The clouds in the sky, are drifting by.” So part of what he understands is, if you do some of  these activities over and over and get fast enough, there is no room for distractive thoughts. And I think that he got at that  place a few times, when he was in Japan, that he got going so fast, so full, so wholehearted really, that there is no thoughts. And if there are no thoughts, there is non of these fantasies covering creation. And I think he had a few moments there, when he was working on the wood, when he actually entered creation. Which also means entering beauty. And when you enter the beauty of creation, you understand. When you understand, your activity is liberated. And, I don’t know how often when he came back to America. he was able to reenter that relaxed, playful way of doing his work, so he could enter into creativity and understand again, I don’t know. I didn’t ask him. I will ask him the next time I see him.
But I got some letters from him, where he told me about some piles of wood shavings and tears of those moments, when he was just in creation. -
Ja, Meiya. !
Meiya: Can I......I wonder how....
TR. Let’s be playful......stop.....wait a minute I got a program here..(laughter). I try to accomplish my talk. What are you doing interrupting me?..(laughter)
       I know, I know, I was just kidding. Help me some more...let me help you, too...
Meiya: I have been wondering of the relationship of what we just talked about and practicing the precepts. I could imagine, you know, doing this little poem and working very fast and no thoughts and you know, and then someone comes up to you and you can’t deal with it. So there may be people who can do this, but they can’t  go long with any of their co-workers, for example.
TR. Ja, that’s possible. I don’t think so really. I think, if you are being playful, and people don’t like the way you are playing, ok. before you get in...you know. Before you  relax and being playful, and people don’t like the way you are being relaxed and playful - and you practice the precepts, I think you would listen to the people if they had a problem with you. But they might have a problem with you, if you are relaxed and playful, even if you are truly relaxed and playful, if you really had a commitment to the precepts they still might have a problem with you. But you could still be playful with that. But you would listen to them. And you wouldn’t lie to them. And you wouldn’t be possessive of being playful.
Meiya: My question is, trying to understand that description of work as an enlightened activity. For me that doesn’t seem.... like that description of working with no thoughts in your mind... I can imagine someone doing that and ...
TR: It’s not that there is no thoughts, it’s just that you are not holding to them. You have thoughts, but  you are in a playful,...First of all, you are relaxed with your thoughts. And before you can relax with your thoughts you trust that you can  relax with your thoughts. So there are thoughts. Like there are thoughts, like a piece of wood or a plane, that is a thought. But you are not attached to the plane-thought or the wood -thought or the accomplishing or not -accomplishing, or your boss or your co-workers, you are not attached to any of those thoughts. And you trust that it is all right for you to relax with the  wood, the  plane, the productivity level, the break times,  your co-workers,...you can relax with them, you trust that you can relax with them, because you have a deep commitment to their welfare. So no thought doesn’t mean there is no thought, it means you are not attached to any thoughts, that are going trough your mind in form of , you know, everything.
Meiya: Ja I think that is an important part, that Paul didn’t talk about.
TR: Ja, that’s why I am giving this talk. (laughter). This talk is my response and compliment, I hope, to my dharma brothers ..I think he made a lot of good points, because he is a wonderful worker and has great insight. He has – I believe – entered this realm a number of times, I think Paul, if he - I think Paul is an artist. He is a wood artist particulary. But he is also a stone artist and a metal artist and a mud artist. You know he is artist with lot’s of stuff. He is a craftsman. But I think a lot of times he is not a slave by his work. I think he gets to a place sometimes, and has gotten to that place, where he is going to a process I am describing here.
 Any problems with any of this ? Yes, Andrea...who likes to work and do art.
Andrea: I think they are all the same jobs. And I also think in regard to words, that...In creation words follow rather than me.
TR In creation words follow rather than me ? Ja, I agree. The creative realm ..words don’t reach the creative realm, but the creative realm talks.
Andrea: Ja, I think that’s right.
TR. Ja, And you know, one time couple of years ago, Andrea came and she worked with –what’s your name- ..Julian..-I think you where working with Andrea at the fence up there, weren’t you. You weren’t working with her..? Who was working with her...She didn’t do it herself...(laughter)
Well, the fact that nobody wants to work with you, means you are not working by yourself. You had to work with a lot of people before they  found out,..(laughter)
Ja, that’s right, there didn’t want to be there for the not-kind ceremony. But anyway, I thought that this was artwork, that fence up there. It’s very beautiful the way the knots where tight, the way the material interacted, I thought it was art. And I now imagine you were playing when you where up there.
Andrea: Ja, I had a very good time.
TR: And I imagine you were occasionally sometimes relaxed. Ja, and it did not look like you were enslaved by the Green Gulch staff. (laughter) The wearing the Green Gulch banner...
Somebody: I had a follow-up question to Meiya.
I may not have the process you were explaining down, but my question is, how can you know, that you can trust someone in a working situation
TR: You can not trust anybody (Laughter)
Somebody: Commitment
TR:  You can’t trust anybody, and when you are in creation you can’t trust anybody either. You don’t trust people, you are devoted to people. And, people can’t trust you, and they are devoted to you. In the actual realm of art we are constantly supporting each other and assisting each other, but you can’t trust each other. So don’t trust anybody, but be devoted to everybody. And they are already devoted to you.
Somebody: If I am in a work situation with someone and they are being antagonistic towards me, how do I know, they are doing this for my welfare.
TR: One way you could know it, is by being sure, being totally sure and wholehearted about working for their welfare. If you are really sure you are working for the welfare, for example, Charlie , then when Charlie is being antagonistic to you , you will be able to see, that this is pure love from him. That he is supporting you in your work-what is your work ? Supporting him. What’s the other part of your work  ? Be supported by him. That is your creative process. And when you enter that, and at that place, no works reach that place. The words that I am saying to you, won’t be there, when you get there. You won’t have the words: “Oh I am supporting him, he  is supporting me.” Those words won’t reach that place, where this is going on. But you can get yourself into that place, by .. in the realm of words seeing if you can say: ’I happily give my live for this guy, who is now torturing me and would sign (word with ‘a’ not known by transcriber) for that fact. When I traveled around, and I talked to people outside Zen center, and I tell them, that people at Zen Center are mean to me or gruel to me. I say: ’You people are nice to me, because I am a guest, but if I stay around for a while, you would just be mean to me, too.’ But if I tell the people at Green Gulch that they are mean to me, some of them will say: ‘Yes, right, but this is how you grow’ And I say: ‘Yeah, right.’  I could leave here and go to some place where people are not mean to me, but.. you know, I wouldn’t be on that chard anymore, I would like living in a place where you live, when you don’t believe people are supporting you, no matter what. Where you think people are supporting you when they are acting THIS way, not anyway, but this way and that way. In that realm of creativity you will understand, you will know, that everybody is acting for your welfare all the time and you are acting for their welfare. And when people are gruel to you its because you asked them to be gruel to  you . You requested them to be gruel to you, so you can grow. Now sometimes, when you request them to be gruel to you, they won’t . That is another they grow, and that that they won’t be mean to you if you want them to. Then, when you forget that you asked them, then they do it. But then you have a chance to wake up again. You are responsible for the people who are being gruel to you. And they are, too. And they want you to ask them to test you. But a lot of people are polite and they.. until they understand that you are asking them, they might not test you. But some people, they don’t know that you requested them, but they act like they know that you requested them and they are mean to you and they are antagonistic towards you, and belligerent to you. But I don’t recommend you be belligerent towards anybody. Even when they ask for it.  If they ask for it, give them what they don’t want, give them kindness. And if they ask for kindness, give them a different kind then they ask for, if you feel like that is what they are really requesting. And it is ok to ask them, what they think, its a good idea actually, because then they start to enter this process with you. Does that make perfect sense ? yes...
Astrid: I don’t want to be mean, but I have some thoughts that don’t fit into this wonderful line of process, which seems very logical to me, and I have experiences kind of faith, of faithfulness and liberation. But at the same time,  I find it more easy when you work with your hands, but I found it very difficult to work with my head, to plan and guide and manage. It’s very difficult to for me then to relax, because as soon as I relax, I forget everything. then I can not manage everybody anymore. And
TR: Manage anybody ?
Astrid: Excuse me, not manage people, but take care of the work as I am work leader. That’s very hard for me. So that’s part one.
TR. Ok that’s problem One
Astrid: Yeah, problem two is, that you are basically saying is that playfulness means, that I don’t hold what I work, I don’t focus on my outcome of my work. ‘I want to go to this point in one hour, I want to grub ten buckets of flowers, and no one should interfere with me’ That is not being playful and not being relaxed.
TR: Correct....Unless You doing it as a joke. You want to be playful, if you are saying,: ‘I want to ten boxes and no one should interfere with me.’ For me that sounds like a joke - But in you also meant that as a joke that would be fine. You are really doing it as a playfulness. Usually if people do that, they do it as a playfulness, they don’t get the joke. Right ? That’s what you mean.
Astrid: I think I have to digest that a little bit. Because I find that very tricky. Because in my work, there are projects, there are goals, that are set by the community for example.
TR: Set by the community, not set by YOU.
Astrid: I am going with them.  -   I am accepting them actually –
Reb. Ohh. Set by you then..? Set by  “me and the other people” – You set some goals, ...
Astrid: They are depending co-arisen, For example the goal that at five thirty all flower arrangements are new, that is depending co-arisen....
TR: Yeahh, and I am responsible for it, too: For the setting of the goal of some amount of things being grubbed.   Ok.
Astrid: But then I want to be playful at the same time, so I have the kind of goal, but at the same time I want to be relaxed and playful, that means for example, while I am grubbing, that I am open for example, people coming up to me, asking me questions and their problems, and ‘come over here and help me’ – and I want to do that, and I try to do that as much as I can, but at some point, I might have to say ‘no I can’t’, but...
Reb: You might have to. Wait a second, you might have to. You might have to do that, means you might want to do that, too. You might want to say ‘no’ Know, ..
Astrid: You mean that can be still playful ?
TR Ja,  it can be playful, like ‘I don’t want to talk to you now (says it in a playful way – laughter) I don’t want you to interfere with MY project, I made this commitment to do this work and you are interfering with me, so go away (Laughter)
Astrid: OK  - or “you help me....”
TR: That’s fine too:” Instead of talking to me, can you help me do this...” But not to get them to do it, but to play with them
Astrid: That is a tricky one
TR  Play being tricky. The community – Did the community set the goal of everybody becoming enlighten ? Did the community set that goal ? Hahh ? you are not in there Onkie ? No ? Ok. –well- Yes you are !!! (laughter) You can reject it....
Onkie: I reject it.
TR; You reject it, ok yeah, so you are not relaxed with that idea,  hahh ? so you are not relaxing with the idea.. you are not relaxing ?
Onkie: sometimes;;
TR: So relax and play with that idea, please,...  if you play with that idea, that everybody is becoming liberated, then you become being creative with that idea. When you start becoming creative, you are sharing the creation of the idea. That idea exists in the world, you-everybody is being responsible for it. Even Onkie.
Now you are also responsible for the idea: ‘Let’s put some people in prison. That is another idea in the world. That is a goal: “let’s get all soundso into prison” Did you hear of that? Some people want to get some certain group of people into prison and you and I are responsible for that. That is part of creativity, that is part of liberation. If you think somebody else is doing the bad stuff and you are not in the park, you are not being playful. I mean, if you think that, but don’t take it so seriously and play with it say “ok” Like if I am saying I am against such and such and somebody else is saying: “ No you are not” and you say, “No. I am not” you are playful.
So anyway there is this idea of liberating all beings, it circulates through all Buddhist communities and through Zen Centers. I ‘d say, if you commit to the precepts, which unfortunately are connected to that particular goal, so are already implicated if you commit to  the precepts, and you trust that you can become relaxed, and you relax that you become playful and enter into creativity, you will understand that you are responsible for the setting of the goal of the liberation of all beings. However, the playfulness would also apply to that goal.
So at Zen Center, there are certain beings, who are not liberated, and the managers of the liberation process have to be careful in not to get unplayful with this people who are not going with this program of liberation. Of course, its kind silly for a buddhist teacher, to come in the room and say “ok guys, line up and get liberated” (laughter)
You don’t understand that as a joke, right ? But if the Buddhist teacher comes in and says: “ok you guys, pack all that lettuce into those boxes and get it done by noon.” Anything fun (? not a clear word – the transcriber), but they are not  kidding now, but you really have to get this stuff packed.(laughter)They don’t really have to get liberated. The garden is real and practice is really an illusion. We are not really committed to practice around here.
When you say tricky, I am not disagreeing with you, but I think it just, its hard to be playful if you not really relax. Its hard to be relaxed, unless you trust, that it is really ok to relax. In other words, that it really will be ok, if you relax. And if things happen, because of your conjunction of being relaxed, that somebody didn’t like, that this would be ok. In other words, it will be ok with you, that people don’t like you, and they don’t like what you do, if you are relaxed.
Astrid: I think that is what it comes down to.
TR: Ja, in other words it will be ok if people don’t like you. Ok doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. It just means, that you realize, that the price of being playful is that people might hate you. But people will hate you even if you are not playful (laughter). I am not the only person here that people hate. I know some other people, that people hate. You might hate them....
Somebody: Rosie...
TR: Some people hate Rosie.
Somebody: Sometimes she is not playful.
TR: Right, sometimes she is not playful. Some people hate the unplayful people here and some people hate the playful people here, and some people hate both.
(laughter) And some people are playful some times and not playful other. Sometime people love them when they are being playful, some people hate them if they are playful. And some people love them if they are being very serious, and some people hate them if they are serious. And also serious doesn’t mean not playful. I don’t mean to contradict them. Being too serious maybe,...It is hard to do and be playful, but it is a great art if you can be too serious and playful at the same time. This is like Marlow Brando or something. (laughs)
How are you doing ?
Somebody: I am fine, thank you.
TR: Are you not running anymore ?
Somebody: No, I am done, done for the day.
TR : Are you relaxed ?
somebody: I think so.
TR: Are you playful ?
Somebody: Maybe
TR: Maybe ? Ok
Anything else you want to bring up ?
Somebody: Before you put the precepts on the board I was about to ask you, how does one convert from slavery to artistry. And I am really be cautious, and want you to know,  what I am thinking. I am a cocktail waitress right now, and I need it. And it is against the precepts, but it makes me a lot of money. And I am a slave. I am a total slave, I hate the job. And I am wondering how do I convert. How do I pay rent, and make my money ? Working is just huge, it’s a huge thing for me right now, that I am really going through.
TR: I don’t know. But maybe, it would be good if you, after you pay your rent, go back to work as cocktail waitress, and don’t serve any alcohol.
Somebody:  There is no other way.
Somebody else: They kick her out.
TR: Maybe they will. Maybe the precepts of taking care of your rent, which is important, taking care of this person and so on,
Or another possibility is to quit the present job and get a different job, after you get that job, then go work as cocktail wait dressing just as art, so you are not worried about getting paid, or getting fired. And see if you want to get back and try it there ... Some people go into that realm, just to be creative in that sphere. Its possible.
But if you already feel like you are enslaved by the need of making more money than that, you would not work in Green Gulch. Then maybe you should get a different job where you are not serving any alcohol, where you getting less money maybe. And then when you feel enough trust that you can relax with the issue of making a living, you still might go back there, but then you might not serve any alcohol. But you sill can go into that realm and be playful. And they might fire her, that is true, they might. But that might be really creative, and you might have a great understanding. But maybe hard for you now, go in there and really relax, if you think you loose the job and you need the money.
Somebody: Its harder for me to relax, in thinking about what I am doing, what I am contributing to...
TR: Well, practicing the precepts, includes the practice of confession and repentance. So if you going to keep the job, you have to do some confession to make, while you do the job. The confession is that maybe you  go against the precepts,...One of our Bodhisattva precepts is not selling intoxicants to others. So literally by having that job, literally most people say: ‘It looks like you are violating this precept.’ –So, then going with that observing you are violating this precept, there is a practice of confession, that goes with that. Where you confess: ‘I am going to work, or I went to work and violated the precept’ And you confess it and you look at how you feel. If you don’t feel to good about it, you feel some sorrow, then you feel that sorrow until you find a way not to violate that precept anymore. You may or may not have to quit the job. Or you may or may not need to be fired from the job.  But there might be a way for you to do that, ...for example, it’s possible, that you would  serve in such a way as to reduce the overall alcohol consumption in the room somehow. And they might not notice, who is responsible. They say: “Why do people order less alcohol ?” Or you might find another way for them to, you know, maybe they can leave bigger tips, you know..I don’t know...Liberation, creativity, understanding, beautiful things can happen like: you know, people put more money into the business and buy less alcohol. How could that happen ?
And if not, then you have something to confess. But confessing is practicing the precepts, and the more you practice confession and repentance around the precept practice, the more you feel you can relax. Relax while still listening to the voice of conscience. You know, still hearing the precepts, all day long, everything you do , listening to the precepts. The more that you can trust, the more you can relax and be playful. .. Yes ?
Someone: I am sitting here wondering about all the actual slaving rules, like in the past and today, there are quiet a few slaves, who really had to fight to get their freedom. And .. where they not doing the precepts,  I mean where they wrong ?
TR: It seems like if they are fighting to do the precepts, fighting against slavery, then they weren’t slaves.
Someone: But they were slaves for a good hundreds of years...
TR: No no, I am saying, when they are fighting against the slavery, when they are fighting to liberate themselves, at that point, they are not a slave. A slave is someone who goes along with slavery. You can be in a slave camp, but not go along with slavery.
Someone: You can also be a slave and feel really intimidated.
TR: That what most people are.  I don’t know what the percentage is, but most people in America are slaves in money, they are slaves of fear, they are afraid to be playful and relaxed. They are slaves, because of their fear.
Someone: I think there  is more to it maybe ?
TR Tell me about it.
Someone: It just seems more complicated than  that.
TR: So, tell me about it.
Someone: I really can’t tell you that on my own. It’s just..
TR: Are you a slave ?
Someone: I am, and have been.
TR: So, tell me about being a slave.
Someone: Well, what she was saying earlier is true, some of us were not born into...well, we have to make a living. And..
TR: Wealthy people are slaves too, quiet often. According to what I am talking about. There are slaves, because they are not artists. They are acting on their fear. They are afraid of loosing their wealth. They are afraid – if they are artists – they are afraid if they are not playful, everybody will come and take their stuff away.
Someone: It just seems to me, that some people have a better time to be more relaxed and more playful, because their situation is better,....momentarily.
TR: Some people are rich and relaxed, that is true. But more people, much more people are relaxed and playful, that are not rich. Partly, because many people are not rich. In the Buddhist tradition, it’s a tradition of people who are relaxed and playful, who are not rich. And their level of relaxation and playfulness is rarely met by a rich person. Rich people are usually quiet tense about their money. They are usually quite tense about it, they feel,... if they feel irresponsible, they are frightened if they feel responsible it is difficult to relax with this responsibility. ‘Take the burden of riches’, we say, it is a big burden to have riches, what are you going to do with it, are you being a fool, are people going to chide you ? It is a burden to have riches. But some people who do have riches, carry the burden in a relaxed, creative and wise way. Many do not. But some do. And those are the ones, who are artists with their money. Some people are artists with their money, those are generally speaking are the generous ones. They are not as afraid, because they give their money away. They are not afraid somebody is taking their money away, because they give it before it is taken. If you don’t have anything, you are not so afraid of it being taken away. If you have very little and so on... I myself am struggling with slavery to gasoline. I don’t know how to be playful with this gasoline thing and the car thing. I am trying to find a way to be relax with this car travel thing .
Someone: Airplanes.
TR: And airplanes. I am trying to figure out how to be playful with that, partly by telling you, that I  have this problem, you know. So, if you want to tell me something, you know, want to contribute to my dilemma about this.
Someone: Roller-skating.
TR: Roller-skating
Roberta: I...airline reservation.... playful.(laughter)
Fu: Stay at home.
TR: Jah, my assistant is outrageously playful. They are very relaxed and creative and I try to be creative with that: get them under control (laughs) try to get them under control. Immanuel
Immanuel: I just like to address Elisabeth and you. I, in the mid ninetieth, I had a job were I was not making a lot of money, as a unit Clark at a hospital. And I had a apartment in the basement with no windows. And... I meditated before I go to work and the kind of energy that was arising during my meditation, I was able to take into work with me, I was able to work in a relaxed open way throughout the day. After few month, at least two nurses and two doctors came up to me and said: ‘We noticed when you are the unit clerk, things seem to be much calmer around here.’ So I think, like Reb was saying, no matter what your job is, if you can bring into it the energy that you bring about in your meditation, that kind of relaxation and creativity, you can have an influence even without knowing that you have an influence. I wouldn’t have known that, if they hadn’t spoken to me, but...I was pretty much calm and relaxed anyway, and it pretty much had an effect.
TR: Yah, that I was thinking Elisabeth might be able to do. When everybody comes in, before they start drinking, they get pretty relaxed. (laughter) Or maybe you can rise the price of the ginger ale. They have like really expensive.. like at GREENS they have really delicious grape juice, you know with non alcoholic grape juice, have really expensive...And everyone just wants to go to this restaurant, because you are there: ‘This place, you just talk to this women and you just feel totally relaxed. The grape juice is really expensive there, it is really great to be there, with there. (laughter) And her friends, there are a bunch of bald people come in...”
(laughter) Yes sir..?
Someone: Could you talk a bit, what adults can, or if adults can help children, especially adolescence in this process, weather..
TR: Can we not talk about adolescence ?(laughter) Just kidding. So what are we going to do, talk about adolescence ?
Someone: If this process ...
TR: It works, it works very well. (jumps up)RELAX –adolescence right..? Adolescence, they got tremendous energy, they are basically hormone machines, and you are suppose to relax with them ? Yes. If you tense up with them, what do they do  ? They just freak out. They freak out anyway. But if you are their parent or guardian, or friend, and you tense up. They know what to do about that. They use all their power, the hormonal power they got...If you relax and play with them, you will get through with them in those years. This is where it really comes down, to like do not try to control. Its stupid, you can not control these kids. You can not control them. And if you try, they basically feel that you are stupid and disrespectful. Or disrespectful and stupid. Its like: ‘Don’t you understand man, that you can not control us ? Try to control us, just go ahead, just touch me,...ok. touch me...say one word,...isn’t that cute?’ And you are responsible, and you are, and they are
too. They overlook that, because they are so hormonal intoxicated, they are like totally confused, they are not dependable. But they are adorable, and they deserve your total devotion and your devotion should come with respect, when you realize, that you can not control these people or anybody else. Trusting people is somehow in the neighborhood of thinking mistrusting them (do not understand clearly- the transcriber) Or I do not trust them unless I control them. Some combination there is really ridiculous with teenagers, but they like you to love them and respect them and do not try to control them and be devoted to them. They like you to do that in a relaxed way. In a playful way. They still may do extremely stupid things, if you can play with them and relax and walk with them through this process and not try to interfere with them, they still make mistakes, but they know :’He walked with me and did not try to control me’ That is very important for them to know. If you are not around and they get in this trouble, they might think if you are there, you might have tried to control them. If you are not around for them to see, they might think, ‘If he was here he might be pretty up tide and disrespectful, try to control me. He wouldn’t be playful.’ But you can be there and be playful, while they are falling on their face. Get down on the ground next to them:’ How is it, how is it going ?’ That will lead to entering into creativity with them and draw them into it. Little kids, I don’t know, they don’t understand  how powerful they are, yet. So they don’t understand how ridiculous it is, if you try to control them. So they do not quiet as freaked out, if you try to control them. But it is the same with little ones. They are not to be controlled, they are... you can’t control them, but you can be devoted to them and you can relax with them and play with them and be creative with them and understand with them, and they can join that. And they can be liberated with you. That can happen. This is work. This is work. It takes a lot of work to do this. It is not that you relax in general, you relax with a specific case, you relax with the precepts. What do you think, any questions ?
Someone: I concur
TR: You concur, thank you.
It is getting really late. Also you don’t seem to be sleepy.
Someone: Can you repeat the initial statement?
TR: Yeah, I think I said something like: Workers who are not artists are slaves, Like Elisabeth, she is kind of many: she is a worker, she is a slave, she is not being an artist at her job, right ? And she is going there because she thinks she needs the money. She is enslaved to, you know.. a paradigm. She is admitting it, but admitting it, is part of practicing the precepts. That is the confession part, that is the beginning of the liberation from that slavery, that is your not being a slave, that you are notice that you are a slave, that’s being awake. The other way is: workers who are artist are free. Or free workers are artists.
 So we have a workweek, and I beg you, to practice the precepts here and relax while you are working and be playful while you are working, and while you are working, plunch into the creative process of the universe and wake up to reality, with everybody else here. And help everybody else, who is doing that. You will, I mean, give yourselves to helping anybody here in these few days, this is special time to help each other, being relaxed and playful and creative in all these different areas like: squashing around in the wet garden and working in the kitchen and thinking, you know the thinking jobs, while you are doing the thinking jobs while you are in the office and stuff like that, All the different areas of mental and physical activity and emotional interaction, all this stuff, please do that this week. After that we can reconsider if that was an good idea, and maybe we are going back to being tense and unplayful and uncreative slaves at Green Gulch. The special Buddhist center for slaves.(laughter) WE do not have to go on with the usually Buddhist thing of freedom, forget the old-time stuff, we have the modern Zen Center, where there is all slaves. We do not understand, and we are not get relaxed at all or be playful and also do not practice the precepts. Either way, people are going to be mean to me. (laughter)
And either way, you all are always supporting me, completely. and I am supporting you, completely. Either way. So, I encourage you to enjoy it. You also encourage each other of course, and being mean to each other, from what I understand from you (laughter) Its so wonderful here.
Now I want to chant...