What page has that on? What would you like to read in the preacher's on page 29? I feel that I should begin by sharing with you my feelings as we enter into this to sit together and practice together and walk together and eat together

[01:47]

and talk together and live together and help each other I want to help you help me I feel that you are helping me so I feel blessed I feel blessed I feel blessed. I feel fortunate to live in this valley, to practice in this valley where it's quiet, where the air is clear and clean, unpolluted relatively. where we live a way of life where we don't poison the earth much here and we can eat good food and the people we live with to peace and harmony as best as they can.

[03:05]

I feel so fortunate and At the same time, I feel great pain that the, for example, the military forces of this great country, of this fortunate land, are now overseas killing and disrupting and being disrupted that we here in this peaceful valley are connected to and responsible for connected to and responsible for great suffering intense horrible suffering

[04:15]

throughout the world. And I feel blessed. I wonder, is there a way to live that could make some contribution, that could influence this world in a positive direction. Can Zen practice, can the practice of the Buddha Dharma

[05:18]

Make some positive contribution to this world of suffering to encourage more people to feel blessed and grateful and want peace and harmony with all beings. Is there some way we can feel that everyone all living beings are our close friends. Can we find that feeling in our heart that everyone is our close friend? And can this understanding and this vision influence the world where many people do not feel this way and wish to harm or kill those that they do not feel are their close friends.

[06:36]

I want to find the way to be that is in harmony with harmony. That's what attracted me to Zen practice, the possibility, that example. That's what I am still looking for. So in the vast teachings of the Buddha and the Buddha's disciples there are some theories.

[07:54]

One of the theories is that if we can deeply calm down we'll be able to look at how things are coming to be and if we can see how things come to be This vision will relieve suffering. As we said this morning, when the great bodhisattva, mahasattva, Avalokiteshvara, saw clearly that all five skandhas are empty, all suffering was relieved. there's a theory that if we wish to work for peace and harmony, if we can this vision will transform the world.

[09:03]

This vision will transform the world. So we may aspire to the vision of wisdom in which the world is transformed and suffering is relieved. This vision includes all those beings whose vision is not yet wise, and therefore unwise wisdom contributes to the world of suffering. So the world is being influenced by all minds and I hope for more minds to become wise.

[10:09]

I request, I vow for more minds, I intend for more minds to become wise to see the way the world comes to be, to see the birth of the world, to see the birth of the mind, and to see how the mind and the world are born together. So I wish to devote my energies to studying mind and studying world studying all beings as they come to be, as we come to be. That's what I want. I don't speak for you, but I'm telling you what I really want.

[11:15]

And in this blessed week, here in this quiet valley, there's many practices which I think of, I can think of, I can tell you about, which I think the development of wisdom. And I start with what is called the bodhisattva's first practice. the practice of giving the compact activity of giving to start now and each moment every moment always practice giving moment in which that practice is not available And I've heard that some beings, the ones we call bodhisattvas, are practicing giving in every moment.

[12:39]

They have learned this practice so well that every moment is a moment of giving, that every thought, is a thought which is giving, and is a thought of giving. And it is a thought of giving to others, and it is a thought of how others are giving to us. So today is session with the practice of giving. And in every moment throughout this week, may we, I wish we could realize that every moment of our life is a gift, joyfully offer to all beings.

[13:44]

That this body and this voice and this mind are intended as a gift. even if I'm unhappy I wish my happiness even if I am in pain I wish my pain that I'm experiencing to be a gift to all beings for the welfare of all that my pain that comes to me is a gift if I feel pain because I care for beings who are suffering. This is a great gift to me, which comes from care for them. Terrible.

[15:01]

If hearing of the suffering of people in Iraq and Lebanon and Israel, if I did not feel pain for them, if I was happy that they were suffering, I would feel really terrible. But I'm not happy that they're suffering, and I feel good that I'm not happy that they're suffering. This pain is a gift to me. and I want to be a gift to them. I now speak of starting this session with the practice of giving. Every period of meditation walking or sitting, standing or lying down, in all of our activities, may these activities be giving.

[16:19]

And may we practice this way until we feel great joy in the practice. And may this joy sustain us in continuing it. I want this. And anybody who doesn't want to practice giving, I also want to see as a gift. During this session, I also want to practice the second bodhisattva practice of ethical discipline.

[17:28]

I want to practice the bodhisattva precepts of ethics. In this temple, these precepts are First of all, to return to Buddha. Second, return to Dharma. Third, return to Sangha. Taking refuge, going for refuge, going for refuge in Buddha, Dharma, going for refuge in Sangha. These are the first three Bodhisattva precepts And if we go for refuge in Buddha, I want that going for refuge to Buddha to be a gift.

[18:57]

I want that going for refuge to Buddha to be giving and receiving, giving and receiving simultaneously. That's what I want. The next three bodhisattva precepts in this temple are to embrace and sustain the forms and ceremonies of practice, to embrace and sustain all good and all beings. I vow through this week to embrace and sustain the forms and ceremonies of this tradition in this temple. Embrace and sustain the forms and ceremonies of this seshin, to attend the periods, to try to come on time, to sit upright

[20:12]

in appropriate and skillful posture. To joyfully offer incense and bow to Buddha, to chant the scriptures, to practice the meal ritual, to bow to you all, to receive your bows. These I vow to embrace and sustain. And I vow to embrace and sustain any other good like practicing giving and practicing concentration. And I vow to embrace and sustain all beings. These practices I vow to do during this session. I want you to practice them too. I don't know if you want to or not.

[21:19]

And also I want to practice not killing and not stealing and not misusing sexuality. And I want to practice not lying precept of not lying and the precept of not intoxicating body and mind. And I want to practice the precept, I want the precept of self at the expense of others to be practiced and the precept of not slandering others and the precept of not being possessive to be practiced. And I want to practice the precept of not harboring ill will and not disparaging the . During this session, I want to practice these 16 bodhisattva precepts. And each of them practiced.

[22:35]

as a gift. If I practice them, or if they're practiced not well, I want that to be a gift too. And if I had trouble practicing, and if I'm in pain in my own body or in my heart about this world, I want to practice patience with this in this world. This world which is called Saha world, which means the world where one can practice patience because it's a world of suffering. And I want to be diligent and enthusiastic during this week. And I want to practice concentration. I want to practice concentration, I want to practice tranquility.

[23:40]

And here is a practice which people often concentrate on and devote their attention to during sesshin because being in a place of quietness and sitting meditation and walking meditation is such a conducive condition for practicing tranquility. So at this point, I would emphasize the practice of what we call settling the self on the self, settling the body on the body. Settling the mind on the mind. Settling. And also I want to practice that settling the body on the body.

[25:00]

previous four practices of giving, ethical discipline with the precepts, patience, and diligence, these are also part of settling the self on the self. And then the practice of tranquility finishes off settling the self on the self, finishes off settling the body on the body in a sense. Maybe I shouldn't say finishes but rounds it out. Once we have realized settling the self on the self, and that may not really occur during the seven days, but if it did, if it does occur, the self settled on the self, then the next step in the practice is the practice of wisdom.

[26:05]

And then we start to examine, to study, to learn the self which has settled upon itself. And if we can learn the self, there is a possibility that we will forget it. It will be forgotten. And when it is forgotten, then all things, everything that happens, enlightens us. And then of the path, Then we are tuned into the dimension where the world is transformed, where the world may be transformed moment by moment in a positive direction towards peace and harmony.

[27:18]

Because then we start to see, then we can see clearly how all beings are close friends. and open this vision and help others open into this vision and wisdom of Buddha. That's a picture of what I want during this session. And I'd like to say something more about the settling of the self in the form of tranquility practice. Someone said to me that when he approaches a sitting meditation period, he says, I no longer expect that I will become calm if I sit in meditation.

[28:47]

He used to expect that he would become calm if he sat in meditation. And I said, of course, to a prayer to period of sitting meditation expecting to become calm is pathetical to becoming calm. To sit not expecting anything is appropriate to developing tranquility. If you want to develop tranquility and concentration and you want to settle on the self, then it is appropriate to sit without expecting that you will be settling the self on the self.

[29:57]

So to sit this week here in this valley or to walk or stand in this valley in the moment without expecting anything, without seeking anything, that way of being is appropriate to attaining tranquility. Somehow, if we're asleep, we still may be asleep. So to be awake and alert and not expect anything from the moment is...

[31:09]

is the mode in which the not expecting and not seeking fully to realize tranquility. So tranquility is not the same as being asleep. And is not the same as being asleep. So just to go to sleep and say, well, I'm going to sleep now, so then I won't expect anything or be trying to get anything. Usually when we're sleeping, we're still trying to get something. In very deep sleep, maybe we don't. But still, even in deep sleep where you're not trying to get anything, that's not training in tranquility. If you're coming to this session exhausted, you have to sleep for a few days during most of the day before you are rested enough, rested enough to rest.

[32:32]

The term for tranquility is often said to be rest. Tranquility is restful. It's restful. Training in tranquility is restful. But it's not sleep. It is a restful and resting, alert, buoyant, body and mind. Flexible, pliant body and mind. And this body and mind of sitting and walking and standing and lying down with no expectation. with no seeking. So moment after moment, in the body, there's just a body.

[33:54]

There's just a sitting. There's not the body trying to get anything. There's not the sitting trying to get anything. In the sitting, there's just the sitting. In the hearing, there's just the hearing. In the hearing, there's just the heard. In the seeing, there's just the seen. In the touched, there's just the touched. In the tasted, there's just . In the imagined, there's just the imagined. In the reflected, there's just the reflected. In the self, there's just the self. This kind of training. with no expectation, with no seeking, comes to fruit as a state of body and mind which is ready for wisdom, which is ready to look clearly how our mind and body arise with the mind and body of all beings.

[35:25]

But first we must settle the self on the self in order to most successfully and effectively develop wisdom. And this, if you're already settled, you can go right to work on wisdom. If you're not settled, I hope that you will settle. And if you work this whole week learning how the self settles on the self, that I feel I would be very happy for this world if you could do that. I would be happy for you and I would be happy for the world if you could work on that this week and realize that. as with you, yourself being settled on yourself. That would be wonderful. If you would learn with us how your sitting can be just your sitting, moment by moment, with no seeking or grasping.

[36:45]

We have all we need for such a practice. All we need is our moment-by-moment experience. And just let our moment-by-moment experience be our moment-by-moment experience. Training in this way will come to as a concentrated, calm, ready, alert, alert, awake, and flexible body and mind. ready to receive the of how to look at our life together and open the gates of wisdom. I hope that the people who are working outside this room, in the garden, in the beautiful garden and field of this valley, and in the kitchen, I hope that you also will be able, moment by moment, to realize settling the self on the self.

[38:38]

I hope that inside this room and outside this room we will all see our moment-by-moment effort as a gift for the welfare of all beings and effort as a great gift that all beings have given to us to allow us to practice here that we have been supported and allowed to do this session together in this valley and be grateful for this I'm grateful for the opportunity to do something that is rather difficult. And I don't mean to excite you or agitate you by what I've said.

[39:57]

But I do want you to be full of energy and also deeply calm. I want you to be brimming with life. and very balanced at the same time. During meditation sometimes I walk around the room and I invite the abbess also to walk around the room and Check people's posture by touching their back to see how your body is, you know. Is this a buoyant body here? Check your pliancy. And if I see some place to suggest something, I may make a suggestion to your posture.

[41:11]

I'm not correcting your posture. Your posture is perfect already. But I still may have a suggestion to your perfect posture you might receive. If you do not wish me to touch you, please tell Meg or my attendant or me directly, and I won't. Otherwise, I may be checking your posture during some of the periods. My intention is not to correct you. My intention is to help settle yourself on yourself. you do need our help. I do need your help to settle the self on the self. So in that spirit I will offer that to you during some periods. We'll accept. Also, I offer you a story about a young man who calls me granddaddy.

[42:16]

Someone suggested that I make a book of stories about him, about him and how he relates to the world. So I recently said to someone, I feel like these stories are drying up because he's moved to L.A. I don't hear so many stories about him anymore. And this person said, oh, no, they're not drying up. Here's another one. She said, she said, one night when you were away teaching a class, he was up here in the house and I was on the computer, internet. And the young boy came in and said, Abu, that's a Chinese word for grandmother, Abu, let's Google granddaddy. And she said, okay, just a minute.

[43:23]

And then he waited a while and said, come on, let's Google granddaddy. And she said, just a minute. I got to get some more of these emails. And then she finished and she said, okay, now we can do it. Do you want to Google granddaddy or do you want to read a story? And he paused for a minute and said, let's read a story. Okay. Our intention.

[43:56]

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