that's myself
huh
huh
ha i often mention
bad

it seems sometimes that can save the same thing over and over

and today actually would like to gonna say the same thing over and over in different ways
so one thing which i've said many times
is that zen practice is sometimes
spoken of as first clean the temple
and then sit
another version of practice is
first give up everything
and then said
so clear the template to some extent is like
give up everything in the temple but isn't like
just in theory of everything up but in particular each thing give up in that way you clean the temple and if you're ready to sit in the place
that you've emptied
well you've given everything up
another way has said about what our practices is
to give everything up and listened to the cries of the world
or clean the temple and listened to the cries of the world

but we may have to clean the temple or give everything up because we might think or i can't listen to the cries of the world yet because i gotta take care of this stuff
first give everything up
and then listened to everything
but if you're holding on to things
it may be hard for you to listen to other things
if you're holding onto this person it may be hard to you to open up to all persons

another way to say it is give a heavy give up everything
study the self
another way to say it is give up everything and study stories

another wait it
say it is give up everything and study good friendship

so i'm now it say
it's by good friendship that we enter into
the realization of the path of the buddha's
also it's by entering into realization
of the self
that we enter into
buddhahood
but the self and friendship
before we enter into
perfect wisdom they appear to us at images are stories
the temple
appears as a story of a temple
we clean the temple
and sit in the temple
we let go of the temple and sit in the temple and we enter the reality of the temple
we
give up our stories
and enter the reality of the stories
we give up our stories of friendship and enter the reality of friendship
it's going to share though
some words from a psychologist

the same believe that confusion acknowledged is a virtue

and that humiliating another person is the worst thing we ever do
saturday should not be are alternative
what should meet saturday should not be our word for the alternative to madness
it should refer to whatever resources we have to prevent humiliation

humiliation
this is as the psychologist name is adam phillips
and
i can say
i i why did i bring that up
i believe and when i believe this
some my sam saying i believe that the practice of acknowledging confusion
it's a practice islam is a virtue that practices of virtue
for me to acknowledge confusion is a virtue
my acknowledging of confusion is a virtue
and again give up everything and listened to the confusion in the world
that's our practice
the confusion of the world appears to us as stories of confusion of the world
of confusion
to acknowledge these stories of confusion is virtue practice is compassion
and the great body surface
listen to and acknowledge
the confusion of the whole world and listening to an acknowledging the confusion of the whole world
assembles an ocean of happiness
and blessing beyond measure
just seeing the same thing
two
i acknowledge and listened to not confusion is good friendship
it's the kind of friendship that's realizes the true nature of confusion and when we realize the true nature of confusion were not confused anymore
or rather were free of the confusion and growing out of the confusion is a great
marvelous
life of awakening
is the assembly an ocean of happiness how that happens you will realize once the ocean has been assembled
in the print in the meantime
listening to the cries of the world is assembling the ocean
when the ocean is fully realized one would actually understand the inconceivably complex and rich life
of good friendship

someone's n
dennis well known for cleaning the temple st temples are often known for places for the practice part of the practices to clean the temple
and not have not hire other people to come in and clean the temple for the practitioners
no but doesn't hire people who to the you give the people who subtract the people who sit here are the people who clean this place
so clean the temple
means let go of everything it's empty the temple when the temples emptied than sit here and listen to the stories of the world
so as zen with empty the temple we have a temple and the purpose of temple is the it and then sit in empty temple and listened to the stories of the world
listen to the stories of the world
listen to the stories of everybody practice at here
and listened to the stories all the people we know throughout the world and listen to the stories of the ancestors
because their stories
are offered as examples of stories about people who've listened to stories
an acknowledged stories and assemble
blessing oceans
if we understand those stories weekly interest and everybody's doing that
everybody's really listening to the cries of the world and assembling this ocean nobody's outside that but we have prototypic stories to look at
to help us
kit with the program
and then we have our individual stories each one of our stories where we go and say
i'm confused and then
we are reminded that did this acknowledgement of confusion is virtue
the confusion itself is neither good or bad and away but the acknowledgement of it the listening to it this is compassion practice
and this practice somehow if done moment by moment and expanding it to excluding nothing creates this
ocean a blessing beyond any measure the process by which it present by which it's assembled is beyond measure and and the ocean is beyond measure and the listening is beyond measure
in the story is beyond measure

i went to carmel california coming by the sea is there another cardinal besides capital by the sea are they wanted
so i went to cardinal by the see i and i can thank you u three were there anybody else there besides you three this of these people were all there and the topic was
then
practice in friendship
so

zen practice in friendship
and one
one the stories i brought up about friendship
i'll tell you
and you got to hear it again i think maybe i'll ask you to tell the story to see if you remember it
check he could try if they would be friendly
okay so
i've heard this story before but i heard it again
ah from our our old teacher suzuki roshi
and what he told the story in the context of
on
zen students practicing i think probably in the monastery and
sitting for long periods of time and having some
problems with discomfort in their legs and some problem with their the cries in their mind that the very active process of confusion in their minds which he often called monkey mind
a lot of people lot as instance have problems with the monkey running around inside your head
pin
and he said was so you know maybe maybe it would be good if for
if i talked a little bit about our practice
i guess and i'm hi guest at the reason why he thought maybe she toggling that about the practice was because people didn't seem to know how to deal with the discomfort the physical discomfort that was coming up and the confusion in their minds so i thought maybe i should say something about the practice that we do
two under such circumstances
and then i'm kind of
parenthetically mentioned that one of our ancestors
said
when it's cold
he be called buddha
when it's hot he behalf buddha

so he didn't say this but i'm saying now when his confusion it's confusion buddha
when it's fear it's fear buddha
when the tax it's exporter
that's giving up everything
and being friendly with whatever it is
that's good that's giving up everything and listening to the cries of the world then it's cried ups of the world cries of the world buddha
so i think lot of people are feel that there's no shortage of cries of the world
now we're saying
that as as you say cries of the world buddha but that tries of the world would amaze listen to him first don't say okay crisis or listen to them
give up everything but listening to them and then we have cries of the buddha crazy the world buddha
so that then he goes on to the story a story about
this famous teacher named
in in in japanese way of saying his name is guti
and chinese way of saying his name his duty
one of the easy chinese name to remember
and he lived in a meditation hut
and
and i guess it was maybe raining and one night maybe
i don't remember if it said it was night but i fiction and it was nighttime and hey female monk or nun came to visit him i don't know
i don't know what led her to come and visit him but when she came to visit him and he was happy to see her come to visit his meditation hut to visit his old temple
and she came in but she didn't take her rain hat off
and he said he said wanted to take a rain head off and she said
i'll take my rain head off
if you can say something
and by the way this man's name was
sure she
which means reality
the nuns name was reality reality came to visit him with her rain hat on and he said why did you take your own head office said i'll take it off
if you
can say something
but he couldn't say anything
can you tell the rest of the story
she left him she left cause he could she didn't take a rain hat off and she left and then what
he lived up to me easily create
the member johnny
same story or something about the
he remembers another story
the off clothes and laid down
rami you remember more forgetfulness forgetfulness who would i hear very good you run into store
you've got forgetfulness would a great
solved another rendition of the story besides the one where people take their clothes off and lie down
is after after she was as she's walking away he says
it's getting late and dark and it's baby is raining outside wanted to stay the night
if she said i'll stay the night if you can say something
and he couldn't
and she left
after she left he lamented
that he couldn't say anything

and he said i am the body of a man but i don't have the spirit of a moon
i should probably leave my hut and go on pilgrimage to find a teacher
brackets so i can respond to people
in a more vital way
and then some kind of vision apparent his mind which said
i guess it wasn't a vision a voice appeared in his mind which said he don't have to leave
great teacher will come to you
and help you
so i stayed in his head and within two weeks
i did you did come
the teachers in buddhist name was
ten loan which means celestial dragon
for ten new it's a ten of like intention new has a ten of attention celestial
dragon came to visit him
celestial dragon came into his heart he was very happy and he bowed
to the teacher
walked around the teacher and bowed to the teacher and then the teacher
said what do you need
and he said
this reality came to visit me and i couldn't speak
and ten lung
raised one things
and judy woke up
this is a story of
giving up everything and meeting a good friend a friend who shows us
the meaning of
our life

he forget to give up everything we can realize
this one finger which is
monkey mind buddha
discomfort in the knees buddha
confusion buddha
and we
realize that
by giving up everything and studying the story of confusion of monkey mind of
not being able to speak
a being able to speak
listening to the cries of the world is one of the resources that helps us not humiliate any cries
i'm i'm not sure but i ah
oh the name of the book that the supporters from is called going saying
and another article which i read in relationship to this was called mature shame
so if if i ah
i'm not kind to someone
i feel that i can be ashamed of that i can be embarrassed about that
and that kind of embarrassment
can be admission mature embarrassment and embarrassment which encourages me to practice compassion it's not somebody else humiliating me and it's not me humiliate myself
and it's not me humiliating someone else it's me acknowledging that i'm not following through on
for listening to the cries of the world
and i'm sorry if i don't
if i notice if i acknowledge that i get confused
when i hear a cry
inwardly and outwardly
if i get distracted from listening openly
to the cries i'm sorry
i i want to confess i did not listen
and i also want to say i'm sorry for not listening
because i want to listen because listening and listening more and more widely assembles the ocean of virtue and happiness and blessing beyond measure
so we study the stories of the ancestors to see how they listened to each other
how their friendship
where's the context in which they
realized the nature of reality
so can learn one finger helped judy
realize who reality was
he understood what a good friend she was to him
thank you for not taking off your reinhardt thank you for leaving when i couldn't say anything
so that i could invite ten long to come in and raise one finger
and then for the rest of his life has an enlightened teacher
whenever people asked him about the dharma he just raised one finger
greedy buddha call buddha confuse buddha frightened buddha
but he didn't say that he just raised one finger suzuki roshi says
pain for buddha monkey mind buddha
have i have approximately
eight million more stories about friendship
but maybe that's enough for now you have any
think that you'd like to bring up
yes homer

q

image

you don't want to listen to baby cries
well i'll listen to them for you
that's why did you see i did you say no
here i'm listening to know i'm listening to know are you listening to know
and i don't know the level of maturity of that know
but i listened to it
with
i hear is high hear it
i hear i hear the cry cry as i don't want it to come anymore i hear the cry i don't want to come anymore
that's similar to the when i told you recently as a i don't want granddaddy
i don't want granddaddy know granddaddy go away granddaddy
i listened to i don't want granddaddy
and also i listened to sit down here granddaddy

but
granddad his granddaddy is trying to practice being quiet that's granddad his practice to be quiet so granddaddy can listen to all the cries of people who
are endless
on thursday night
ah
on thursday night i was taking care of
a little the little person
the tiny person who is called my leader
and quite late at night she finally was i was finally able to put her in her bed
maybe
i would say the number but it was rather a large number of times before after we finished watching a tv program after watching tv program i said gonna be the last one know
said i try to be quiet and listen to know
after one more can that be the last one know
can this week and now can we go to bed now
and i said had an and finally i said we've we've we've listened to so many tv shows i think we should go to bed now she said five
you more than five i'll take that much
and so i i put my arms around her this is quite late at night already
the matter epic robson no no no i said you're such a good girl is such a good girl we're going to come on with me and no no no you're such a good girl is no no no you're such a good girl
and i'm carrying her and my leader is know a very small package in my room
and and she's edgy stopped and she starts the the good girl said she she becomes calm and i put her in bed instead you want to hear a story nonce i read her story about the big bus they read the story about the big boss but she she wanted another book in their story so i reached i said you want a story about olive
she all of the pig and she's and i said his right here she said only mommy read that book there was another book next year i picked it up shit only daddy recent book
i listened to the cries
i said why i go find some other books
so i left is she was a you have to use stay here i'll be i'll come back
i went away
and as i went away i thought probably pretty soon while i'm looking for this book she'll be asleep
and sure enough
she was asleep
but i was listening jessica i was happy to listen to the christ
through the through the evening lots of for many many knows but
it was very
it was very happy blessing it was a blessing evening and
in any anyway i can tell you more but they would take several hours someone stop there
i hear i don't want to hear anymore i hear that cry
i hear it i hear i'm here for you to say you don't want to hear anymore kitchen if you wanna keep saying that my job is to listen to you say okay
you're welcome
yes charlie
the temples cleaner said
or just a second before before i answer that
then i asked if you're going to bring your sister yeah
casey is your last name wilson
charlie wilson casey wilson
yeah okay so how do we know it is clean enough
ah knowing that clean enough is or something to like off
clean the temple of the piece of dust called knowing it clean enough
sometimes when you're clean the temple that piece of dust does not come up
but sometimes that piece of dust may come up so like go of the thought is clean enough like all the thought also that it's not clear enough letting go of that thought the temples not clean enough is part of cleaning the temple
it sounds like sitting is clean
i think that for me to hold onto the idea that sitting is or is not cleaning the temple that would be something i should like go off
what needs to be accomplished the boy said
letting go of everything
and letting go of everything includes letting go of the idea that you have let go of everything
sometimes we clean this temple
and some and somebody might think we haven't cleaned it enough and so we can say well as clean more in response to that
are we can say we haven't cleaned it enough and now we're going to stop cleaning
and we're going to let go of the idea which eight which the lives and this temple this moment somebody has the idea we haven't cleaned it enough the person who says it might be me person says it might be you i am i say i agree with you we haven't read enough
and now let's clean was clean that thought that's like or that thought
we had to let go the thought we have or have not cleaned this temple in order to sit we had to let go the idea i'm a good enough person or i'm not a good person
you do not have to have the idea i should say if you had the idea that you're a good and of zen student if you haven't had that idea fine
but in our to sit here to let go of it if you had the idea you're a below average said student fine
our to sit
in the true sense you have to let go the idea that you're a below average than student
but doesn't mean you switch to have the idea that you're a bum marriages that a student but you might like some people may say okay i gave up the idea non bloggers and student but i think now i'm in get the idea of above average system i would say fine
handed over
and a person says here i say thank you i'll put that on the altar
put all your ideas about yourself and others on the altar and sit
that's required for it
sitting and then when you sit
after giving opening up now
what will come up more ideas more stories but now he set the stage of i'm not point to be distracted from listening to these stories i've given them all up
i'm prepare myself to really study these stories with great compassion
including the story that i just missed an opportunity with this story
i wasn't very compassionate towards something i didn't really listen
i have

okay yes
gwen
yeah tell us your story

yeah
yeah was the same thing
i just want a decent time looked at the ceiling
the architects
some people think i'm looking at the pointing to the ceiling
he didn't say what direction you put the finger by the way he could go on like this are like this like this are like this anyway he raised one finger
and so
this is not pointing this isn't it said don't look at the finger look at what i'm pointing out with the pointing out his pointing at
dead man buddha he's pointing at a man who doesn't have any spirit is pointing out that and say that's man without spirit buddha
that's it this means that the same thing and judy understood that this point finger meant you are one with buddha
boot is not confuse distracted
hesitant monk
but has it in monk is
buddha
my teaching for you
so it's actually say it's the same thing except in his case the reference to the one finger was the apparent duality between somebody who can't respond to reality
and somebody who can
actually the way you can't respond reality is where you do respond to reality
and then okay and then if i i mentioned that before i calling you and then suzuki
and then says occur as she says
you are sincere zen students
some the context is bring of the story is it doesn't students the series instance we're talking to him about stuff that they were having trouble listening to like homer
monkey mind border then one here any more painful legs since so maybe i should give you some instruction you are sincere as and students but only a few of you are actually sitting in the true sense normally a few of you in other words have given up everything
so actually most you should get out of a monastery i should say get out
you you don't have this conviction
he said but get out means get out and come back come back with a conviction
that you're gonna listen to your life and what you hear
is buddha
is that is that sound buddha
you must have this conviction and most of you don't say you should get out and come back and i was going as this morning come into zendo and say everybody go outside
and don't come back in here until you're ready to listen to the cries of the world until you're ready to sit with the conviction
what's happening to you is what's happening to your buddha but i didn't do
and ah i hadn't i hadn't really registered to disagree said that
i should tell you all to get out
i never got to get her as she helped one time said when zen teachers in those stories tell the people who get out that means comeback but first you have to go out
forget to be told to go out that's the friendship which tells you
have conviction in this teaching
don't start you know say well i'm not gonna
not everything am i going to actually
meet with friendship there's some things i'm not going to be friendly with and how to do that
in a skillful way
what did you have averaged you'd like to bring up a question or comment
dominate the us please
cleaning
temple happening
and thank you there were cries
world
that came
inadequacy and then he heard inadequacy inadequacy inadequacy and i wasn't so compassionate
there wasn't listening to that
there was listening by such an old story and oh that was listening with comments
the again so that's that's part of the part of the school has listen
and when the comment council listen to the comment
listen listen
comment to listen
cleaning who then cleaning
well the listening is really cleaning
hey you clean enough see feel like okay now i'm i really listen to everything i cleaned enough so i feel like now
everything i can relate to has listening
so like somebody says we haven't cleaned the temple enough and then somebody else says a for our friend says i hear that you say we haven't cleaned the temple enough
and so we're going to sit now anyway okay yes okay
i got often told their story over and over about my one of my first work assignments in my first practice period it as a horror
it was like my third work assignment actually there was lot of rain during a initiatory period that i just went through
and then we're working and part of the rain or may blew out the pipes to bring up drinking water into the temple so i was a sign with another person to go and repair them the the waterline
and we repair it we repaired the waterline and then i certain juncture where came apart and we went to fix the next one and i said to my
coworker i said let's go back and fixed line which we just fixed and he knew what i meant
somehow we didn't listen to the cries of were rushing we're not doing this thoroughly is so as we went back and did it again properly not good enough so we can go onto the next one but good enough or by itself
so then we can go to do the next one
but the point of that was not just that but to set the stage for our whole practice
so we listened to the to the cry that wasn't we didn't give enough tent attention to that
we really
we really were distracted by the next break or were doing this we didn't give it enough attention
we have to clean the temple enough so that were qualified
to really sit and study now where we're clear that were nothing more to accomplish in this world nothing needs to be accomplished but listening
but we have to accomplish enough to listen in a way that assembles the the ocean of happiness beyond measure
if we just try to listen without doing some preliminary cleanup then we try and we don't we can distract you were not convinced we don't have conviction that we can just listen to the story that we can get the friendship
he's really what's necessary not fixing stuff up but we have to fix stuff up enough so we feel like okay now we don't fix anything more
we can just listen we can just be together we can just be friends and as friendship will inconceivably miraculously friendship in a way we do not understand will accomplish what we really want to do we don't pry it were not
primarily here to clean the temple
where should to become free of clean and not clean
did you can clean the temples don't be scared of getting dirty again you can you can make the temple earthquake
what earthquakes something up to a certain level of earthquake and still be afraid we'll what if someone bigger when them
so we fix the temple enough so that we can sit and be friendly
but if we don't clean it somewhat we we you know
if you don't
remember to turn the gas off in the kitchen before you come to the temple you won't be able to listen to everything have to go back home and turn the gas off on the stove so you can come and seventy now
i can be friends to everything i can listen to the cries of the world
it isn't just sit it's clean enough so you can just sit there as clean enough so that you can give up everything
and give up your thinks it means give up resistance to trying to listen to everybody and everything
but before doing some cleaning say i can't really like that person i can't listen to
what work on that until you feel like okay ever done that and there's gonna be indefinite examples of resistance but now i'm clear that the resistance to what i really want to do so when they come up i'm going to let him go
okay

so are the lucky test bar doesn't try to fix all the cries in the world she listened to them
shall we say
not this one
she listens to this one
but he has to let go of everything before she can do that
but when she's let go of enough said okay now i think i can go sit there
my children said it's okay
the fires off
my wife and husband say i'm it's okay
the world's supporting me to just sit
such a rare thing nobody needs may not to listen
nobody needs me to resist friendship
and then this stuff comes up with tests that

judy was tested by reality and he failed and then ten long came and showed him and he stopped resisting for the rest of his life
we need this conviction
this is the convictions of the buddha's
but we have to clean the temple somewhat before we can give it a try
so this morning also said
that shakyamuni buddha said there's one thing which
when practiced brings great fruit and great benefit and that one thing is mindfulness of breathing
and the great fruit
can the great
benefit
great food is
a mine which doesn't abide in anything and the great benefit is the liberation of lobbyists
so following the breath
it's like cleaning the temple
and by
and by doing that
you can listen to the cries of the world eventually with no distraction and stop give up abiding in anything
thank you very much
for your
presence and
i just wanted to acknowledge that
the inside of nettie is a little baby girl
who may be coming out to visit us soon
so will be able to see her without her mother's body intervening
and net he asked me if when she comes to receive the bodhisattva precepts gift if the baby girl could come to to witness the ceremony and i said yes so
when when jeff and nettie received the bodhisattva precepts we might be able to see their baby at the same time
thank you very much
may our intention may extend to every being a place where the true
the as way beings are nonetheless
no to say them delusions
to
man
the sideline lists hi to enter them
way is unsurpassable ah