at the beginning of this retreat, it may be helpful to integrate contexts of the participants some of you are coming into the session and you haven't been in this temple all fall, so have not been listening to and studying certain teachings which have been offered. I wish to continue to investigate and discuss these teachings, so I feel a need to give some initiation into them to those of you who are coming to Sashin and have not been here during this fall or during this year.

[01:07]

of Buddhadharma, it may be appropriate to state that the central concern is living beings, sentient beings, sensitive beings. And More precisely, the central concern is with their suffering. In the great vehicle The concern is for one's own suffering but perhaps mainly for the suffering of others.

[02:40]

And in the Zen school we receive and care for this great vehicle teaching and practice which is concerned with the suffering and final liberation of all beings. In this temple, at the end of our Dharma talks, we usually recite the vows of enlightening beings.

[03:45]

And the first vow is, living beings, sentient beings are numberless. I vow, I commit to save them. I vow to work for their liberation from suffering. Almost every day I'm struck in new and surprising ways by the vastness and particularity of suffering of living beings, both the ones I meet face to face,

[05:11]

and hearing about the immense suffering around the world. Many beings are so sensitive to their own discomfort and many beings are sensitive, very sensitive to the discomfort of others. human mothers, when they have little babies, they often have hormones that are released upon delivery. And it seems that these hormones stimulate food production.

[06:14]

Is that right? Somewhat? Well, mothers have these hormones which stimulate the production of milk, don't they? Yes. So they have these babies come out of their bodies and then hormones are increased or released and as a result their breasts swell up and they have this food to offer to their babies. At least that's what it seems like. Is that right? Yes. It also increases compassion. Huh? And it also increases compassion. And it can increase, these hormones increase compassion, the nurse says. And then, but sometimes after the baby is born, it takes a while for the milk to come. So if the mother wishes the baby to have mother's milk rather than cow's milk,

[07:21]

And she wants her to have her milk. There's a period where the baby wants the milk but isn't getting it. And the baby is hungry. And the baby is crying. And the mother might find this extremely painful to listen to. And then finally the milk comes and the baby is getting food now, and then the mother thinks of the many years to come, hopefully. And she thinks, I want to protect this baby and this being as she grows up. I want to protect her from suffering. And it seems so deeply... difficult to do that day after day every day to protect her from suffering to support her to deal with suffering and this is a normal healthy situation this is healthy and there's so many other kinds of suffering that aren't so natural and necessary and healthy

[08:44]

It's so amazing how much suffering there is. And there is a story that the suffering is experienced within the realm of consciousness, that there's a conscious experience of this suffering, that this suffering is experienced by the workings of the mind. Now we have a retreat and in this tradition we call this retreat a Sashin. And Sashin means, the sheen of Sashin means, it's a Chinese word which means mind or heart. And the satsu part of it, to make sesshin, means to embrace and sustain. It means to nurture and care for. It means to give and receive compassion. It means to gather and concentrate. It means to develop all these meanings.

[09:51]

In all these ways, during the sesshin, we wish to care for and nourish and develop and educate the mind, the place where there's suffering. We are so fortunate. As I said recently, I feel embarrassed how fortunate we are that we have the opportunity, we have the space to actually look at our mind and take care of it. and look at other people's minds and take care of them and receive and give teachings about how to care for the mind in which suffering occurs. We're so fortunate To have this opportunity, I really feel it would be good to accept and use this opportunity, not to waste it, because the world is supporting us to care for our minds and care for each other's and support other people to care for their minds, to embrace and sustain their mind, to concentrate it and liberate it.

[11:13]

I propose to you that with this mind which experiences suffering, first is compassion, next is wisdom. first is benefiting this mind, next is liberating this mind. First we have to love this mind in order to liberate it with wisdom. Today and for the rest of these seven days We have this opportunity to practice compassion every moment.

[12:39]

We have been discussing this fall six basic bodhisattva practices, six basic bodhisattva precepts, which are called giving, ethical discipline, patience, enthusiasm, concentration and wisdom. The first three, generosity, ethical discipline and patience, they are ways to benefit. They are acts of benefit and nurturing of afflicted states of consciousness. The fourth practice is the practice of caring for the aspiration and energy to practice the first three, but also to develop the enthusiasm to practice concentration and wisdom.

[14:42]

So the last three, especially the last two, are not just about benefiting beings but they are the two practices which liberate living beings. Concentration gives temporary liberation from suffering. Wisdom brings endless liberation from suffering. And also wisdom purifies and brings understanding to the earlier practices which support it. So when we first start practicing giving ethics and patience and enthusiasm and concentration, when we practice them before wisdom, we do our best but we don't really understand the practices we're doing.

[15:58]

But they support us to realize wisdom and then we continue the practices which supported wisdom and we do them with the aid of wisdom so that they become purified of any misunderstanding of their nature and unhindered in their unfoldment. In this presentation of the practice, we do not start with concentration. We start with generosity. Some people, some humans, hear about concentration practice

[17:08]

And it seems that they would like to do it and they start practicing it and they're successful. It seems that they can immediately start practicing concentration. But I suggest that beings like that are beings who are already practicing giving, ethics, patience, and heroic effort. So when they hear about concentration practices, they're ready for them. But many people actually hear about concentration practices and go to a place that teaches them, and they try to practice them right away without, if you use the expression, prerequisites. And they try and they struggle and they are frustrated.

[18:13]

And when we look at the practice, the way they're doing it, we notice that they're not practicing generosity. For example, they try to concentrate and they're awake enough to notice that they're not concentrated. They try to practice tranquility and They try to practice calm and relaxation and they notice that they're tense, agitated and distracted. And then they notice that they're not generous towards their distraction. They don't have a generous, gracious, welcoming, compassionate attitude towards their distraction. They even sometimes hate their distraction Or they sometimes, instead of hating their distraction directly, they hate what they think is causing their distraction, like their neighbors. Rather than being compassionate to the distraction and compassionate to their neighbors, compassionate to everything through giving, they just keep trying to practice concentration and being compassionate

[19:31]

and find frustration. When we have distraction, when we have agitation, when we have tension, and we're generous with it, we benefit the agitated mind, we benefit the distracted mind, we benefit the tense mind and body when we're generous towards it. And this generosity towards this tension sets up the conditions for relaxation and calm and concentration. Also, when we practice ethical discipline, those practices also, when applied to distraction, start to promote concentration. when we have thoughts of injustice in our mind, when we have thoughts of immorality and unethical behavior in our mind, either looking at ourselves or others, if we're just and ethical with these observations of unethical, that's more ethical and that calms the mind.

[21:02]

When we see injustice and we practice justice towards injustice, the mind starts to calm. And when we're patient with discomfort and we're patient with beings who seem to want to insult us and attack us, this patience doesn't waste energy on trying to get away from what's happening. it brings the mind to the present and gets also ready for concentration and wisdom. So these practices benefit the mind and get the mind ready for concentration. all these practices include each other.

[22:20]

When you practice giving, it includes concentration and wisdom. When you practice wisdom, of course, it includes all the other practices. But each one includes the others. But when we first are practicing them, we do not yet understand that. They include each other, but they also are are done in dependence on each other. They mutually benefit and support each other, but there is a sequence. So we cannot be wise unless we're generous. And we cannot be concentrated unless we're generous. Someone objected to what I said by the example of suggesting that you could practice ethics before you practice giving.

[23:29]

And the example was you could notice that you're stingy and then you would be not generous but practicing ethics in the sense of noticing your stinginess. But I said, when you notice that you're stingy, you're practicing giving. People who aren't practicing giving don't notice they're stingy. They think it's just not particularly a good idea to share this stuff. But when you're practicing giving, you notice you're stingy. And when you're generous and kind towards your stinginess, you're also practicing giving. And some other people who see that you're being kind to your stinginess may be stingy with your kindness towards your stinginess and say, you shouldn't be so kind to your stinginess. You should get over your stinginess, which is true.

[24:32]

But they don't have a generous attitude towards my stinginess. But I can have a generous attitude towards their stinginess, towards my stinginess. Wisdom and concentration are open to stinginess. Generosity is open to stinginess. The stingy mind is calling for compassion. The stingy mind is calling for generosity. And part of generosity is to notice what's going on, to notice the stinginess and to say, I adore you and I'll be with you until you're liberated from stinginess. This is the message from the Buddha. This retreat is a great opportunity to develop concentration and I'm suggesting that

[25:41]

that the word meditation is often used for concentration, but meditation has a wider meaning than concentration. Meditation actually means a text which is offered for contemplation. Often a text which has some spiritual or salutary content, which when contemplated is realized. The teachings and practices, the teachings of generosity are meditations, which when we contemplate the teachings of giving and compassion, bring wisdom. The teachings of justice and ethics are meditations to contemplate. The teachings of patience are meditations to contemplate. The teachings of heroic effort are meditations to contemplate. And the teachings of concentration are meditations to realize concentration.

[26:51]

And the teaching I'm giving on concentration now, you have heard. Practicing these four practices you're getting ready for concentration and actually when you practice them you are really quite concentrated your body your mind all day long when you generously are devoted and care for it you start to relax and calm down your body and mind are functioning all day long they are calling for help they are calling for compassion Our sentient being, our being sentient, is a call for compassion. And that call is being responded to. You may not know, you may not hear, I may not know, I may not hear that my being is calling for compassion.

[27:54]

But I say now, even if I don't hear it now, I still say it. that I am calling for compassion. I, my livingness, my life is calling for compassion. Whether I know it or not, and whether I know it or not, it is being responded to and met. Sometimes I hear my call for compassion and I see the response, I see the meeting. Sometimes I see the meeting, I see compassion coming to me I didn't know I called. Sometimes I call and I don't think I got it. But I'm always calling and I'm always responded to. These practices are ways to join this ongoing relationship with supreme perfect enlightenment. which is only here in this world and it is taught in the Mahayana that Supreme Perfect Enlightenment is in this world.

[28:56]

It's manifesting in this world in response to our call. It's coming to teach us wisdom. And the way we will enter the process which is going on already is by these practices of compassion and wisdom. As we go through the day, our body and mind are calling for attention, for mindfulness, for generosity, for carefulness and conscientiousness, for gentleness, for nonviolence, and for profound calm and relaxation. and openness of concentration. Then wisdom can be realized.

[30:03]

It also can be stated, perhaps appropriately, that the basic cause of suffering of these sentient beings is grasping, is attachment. And again, the attachment in turn is based on misconception, ignorance. Ignorance. Wisdom deals with the ignorance, understands it, and is free of it. And therefore, the attachment, the grasping of life drops away and there's freedom from suffering. The wisdom teachings are a lot of what we've been studying this year here.

[31:19]

We've been studying wisdom teachings and wisdom teachings are about ignorance. Wisdom teachings are explaining how ignorance works and leads to attachment and suffering. Wisdom teachings are about how to notice and bring compassionate attention, which has been developed, and concentrated attention, which has been developed, to the phenomena of misconception, and how to study it and interact in a dialogue with each other to promote study and investigation of this thing called delusion, and thereby become free of it. The basic wisdom teaching that's been focused on this fall is the basic teaching that all phenomena for sentient beings, all phenomena are conscious construction only.

[32:40]

All phenomena are just our mental idea of them. So this teaching I will be bringing forth later in this retreat. Now I just mention it. In early Buddhism, it was taught that all phenomena are impermanent, lack self, and are suffering. Understanding these characteristics of phenomena gives liberation. In the Mahayana, a further teaching is given which includes these three in that all phenomena, including the presentation of these three of impermanence, not-self, and suffering, those three also are phenomena.

[33:57]

and they are also just ideas. So the fundamental thing is that the mind is working with itself. We are working with the mind's version of what's happening. And to learn how to receive this teaching and enter this teaching The bodhisattvas practice these six basic precepts. In order to enter into this teaching which is coming forth, we need to be generous, ethical, patient, enthusiastic, and concentrated in order to enter it. We're hearing it now. but in order to enter it we have to do these practices, we have to take loving care of our body and mind and loving care of the bodies and minds of others.

[35:00]

Primarily, this whole project is primarily for the welfare of others. Given the way sentient beings are misconceiving what's going on, it is very helpful to focus on the welfare of others because the mind is built in such a way that it thinks itself as other. But in order to take care of others, which is the main point, we have to take care of ourself in order to be able to. So now you have a body and mind to take care of, and if you want to take care of others, then please take care of your body and mind moment by moment. Then you will be able to help others successfully. Caring for your body and mind compassionately is auspicious for the care of others.

[36:13]

The historical Buddha was, well, he was apparently really good at making up helpful little stories. So one of his stories was the story of the apprentices. Flattered over this game program, but he says, once there was an apprentice. an apprentice juggler. Once there was a juggler and the juggler's apprentice. And apparently the juggler's apprentice was his daughter. So he was probably a full-grown man and she was probably a somewhat small female. And they were jugglers. Excuse me, they weren't jugglers, they were acrobats. So this is a story of the acrobats, and they're called bamboo acrobats.

[37:19]

So I don't know exactly, but I imagine either he was holding the bamboo on his chin, or on his nose, or on his head, and that she would climb up on his shoulders and walk to the top of the bamboo. And then him balancing the bamboo, maybe on the top of his head or on his chin, with her on the top, people would make donations and they would be able to buy lunch. That's one way to imagine the bamboo. But anyway, he says to her, the father says to the daughter, and her name was colorfully, frying pan. So in some translations it says, he says, frying pan, now you climb up on my shoulders. Other ones, they just leave it in poly. But anyway, that was their name. He says, frying pan, you get up on my shoulders and you take care of me and I'll take care of you and then we'll be able to perform this feat safely and collect our donations and have lunch.

[38:40]

And she says, excuse me, venerable master and father, but you have it backward. You take care of yourself and I'll take care of me. And then we will be able to perform this acrobatic feat. In other words, you pay attention to your body and where your feet are and whether you're balanced. And then I can climb on you and concentrate on my part. And the Buddha then ends the story and comments. And he said, the apprenticed is correct. First take care of yourself in order, and this is like Mahayana Buddhism in the early teachings. First take care of yourself in order to take care of others. And then he says, how do you take care of yourself? By practicing the four foundations of mindfulness. mindfulness of body which makes sense if you're acrobat that you're mindful of body but you're also mindful of feelings mindful of your state of consciousness and mindful of your objects of your mind if you take care of yourself that way you will be able to take care of others how do you take care of others

[40:01]

by being kind, non-violent, patient, and so on. That's how you take care of others. But if you don't take care of your body and your feelings, then it will be difficult for you to take care of others. Now when you take care of others that way, of course that takes care of you. When we're kind and non-violent and patient and generous with others, that is the best way to take care of ourselves. But in order to do that, we have to take care of our body first, and our mind first, so that we can take care of others. Because sometimes when we're taking care of others, they spit in our face or kick us in the head when they're climbing on our shoulder, accidentally or on purpose. And if we're not taking care of our body, we may not be able to take care of them.

[41:05]

So we have this opportunity to practice compassion to our body and mind, moment by moment, in these ways to set the stage for deep relaxation and openness Concentration is focused but the focus also is open. We're open. We're not narrowly focused and closed to the environment. Concentration develops in the space of kindness towards sentient beings. This morning, once again this morning, we recited the Fukan Zazengi and English translation of it says, the Zazen I teach is not learning meditation.

[42:24]

It is totally culminated enlightenment. But although it's not learning meditation, I think what Dogen Zenji means is the sitting meditation I teach, which is totally culminated enlightenment, is not just concentration. It includes concentration. It includes a deeply calm, alert, relaxed body and mind. But it's not just that. That would be temporary relief from suffering. I support anybody who wants temporary relief from suffering in this retreat. Go right ahead and practice concentration and get some temporary relief.

[43:29]

and when you have temporary relief then we can look at the wisdom teachings which give endless relief. So please be kind to your body and mind and develop concentration which will give temporary relief and then hopefully in that temporary relief you'll be able to accept and welcome these wisdom teachings which will be offered during these talks. Please be generous and careful and gentle and non-violent and deeply calm with your body and mind and the bodies and minds of others, please. And then we can look at these teachings which have the potential to understand delusion and liberate all beings, liberate the world.

[44:42]

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