when we had a New Year's greeting I didn't specifically indicate my death poem so there is a tradition of writing a death poem at New Year's and then of course writing another one if you're able to if you happen to be ready to die So I did not specify my New Year's death poem. But now I'd like to give it to you. Which is momentous. Momentous. Momentous.

[01:01]

dot, dot, dot. I could go on like this, but perhaps I've said enough. And today, by coincidence, a momentous thing occurred in this little temple. We opened up Chapter 16. We've never opened up Chapter 16 in this temple before. And as far as I know, Chapter 16 has never been opened up in a discussion at Zen Center. But today we were able to perform this superlative deed of opening up and discussing this brief, and I talked to you a little bit about the title but between you and me and between you and each other a title we might now come up with for this chapter is What is Practice?

[02:29]

That's the name of the chapter and that's sort of what the chapter is about. questioning what it is. And that's a great teaching which we can constantly, we have a chance to constantly engage in what is practice. I know what I want practice to be. What is it? I want practice to be the Buddha way. I want practice to be great and great compassion. But what's the practice? So I pray that I keep asking that question forever in my own little mind introspectively and out loud with you.

[03:34]

And I pray that you pick up the torch of this question. All day long, everybody you meet, of course you know you want to protect them from harm. Of course you know you want to have a good relationship. Of course you know you want to be compassionate and kind. But what is it? And watch out for this is it. I'm not prohibiting that. Just be careful. Because saying this is it misses the point. But pointing out that is the ancestral way. So may your good health continue so that you can

[04:37]

take care of, not let this tradition of what is the practice of the bodhisattva, not let this tradition be cut off. If you're remembering to ask this question, at that moment, the lineage of the Buddhas is not cut off. And in the previous chapter, that was one of the main points. of what that chapter is about is to practice in a way so that the lineage of the Buddhas the seed of the Buddhas will not be cut off and also in that last chapter they were talking about the equality of Buddhas so that Buddhas and sentient beings are equal, so we sentient beings are equally responsible for this tradition of wisdom and compassion.

[05:48]

We're equally responsible with the Buddhas. Of course they're responsible, everybody knows that. But they're the same as us, so we are sharing that responsibility. So I pray that we accept it and take care of this wonderful job assignment, not assignment, job bestowal. Pardon? Yeah, just job opportunity, right? Job opportunities. Job experience. A few years ago, someone said they didn't like me saying that all situations are equal opportunities for bodhisattva employment. They didn't like it because so many people were unemployed. So I stopped. But now that the employment rate has dropped, maybe I can say all opportunities are job opportunities for bodhisattvas.

[07:01]

You accept the job opportunity and have a question about... When do I become a Bodhisattva? When does one become a Bodhisattva? Well, you know, there's a variety of opinions about that. There's a book out, and the title of the book is, excuse the expression, A Few Good Men. But it could also say, A Few Good People. And it's pointing out that in certain neighborhoods of the Mahayana, some people feel like being a bodhisattva is super great but maybe not for everybody it's really wonderful but maybe not everybody wants to try it another view is it's really wonderful and you should try it another view is

[08:02]

It's really wonderful, and that's what you're doing. So the Lotus Sutras, you're all bodhisattvas, even if you don't want to be. But other people who really appreciate the bodhisattvas say, yes, they are wonderful, but some people are not up for it. Lotus Sutra is saying, the people who aren't up for it, that's the way they're up for it. Like teenagers. The way teenagers are carrying on the family tradition is by saying, I'm not going to. That's how they do it. And then later they say, when the parents aren't around anymore, yes, okay. And then there's a middle group which is, yes, I do want to practice it. But I'm not doing it yet.

[09:05]

But I do want to do it. Pardon? It's a book, yeah. It's a book about Mahayana Buddhism. It's not so new, no. It's probably in the library up there. I think it's called A Few Good Men. I can't resist saying this. movie called The Few Good Men. Yeah. I'm not saying which came first. It came out about the same time. Maybe she was doing that as a little joke. In a discussion actually about your writing the other day, we recalled that in the famous movie, The Few Good Men, the most famous line is, you want the truth, you can't handle the truth. Maybe that is also a message to potential phoni safhas.

[10:12]

Or how about, you want the truth? You can't have it. You can want it with your whole heart, but you don't get to have it. Which reminds me of somebody who is a Zen student, is a Zen student, and is also a student of Vipassana, and his Vipassana students asked him about Zen center, or Zen people, said, do they have concentration practice? And he said, yeah, they have it, but they just don't, I mean, they have concentration practice, they just don't, they can't possess it. So we have it, but we're not allowed to possess it. It's one of the caveats. is not to be possessive of the best things. Not to mention that stuff that's not so good. Okay.

[11:16]

I'm ready. I'm wondering if English, because I don't know. I speak English, but I don't really know. We don't either. and song, which is human, like it takes good or few humans. And I think sometimes in English we use human instead of human. I wonder is there any other words that's human in English or human is Satan? People's kind of that way. But you know, we don't just save all people we save all beings because some beings are not humans we don't just aspire to liberate all humans we aspire to liberate all frogs and all trees we all beings we aspire to liberate all the thoughts of humans and the thoughts of animals

[12:31]

We aspire to free dogs and cats from fear. As sentient beings, we say living being. So we're aspiring to help all them become free, which means helping them realize Buddhahood, which is also... And realizing Buddhahood, you realize there's no duality between Buddhahood and sentient beings, but sentient beings... are in the process of understanding that, which is a wonderful, challenging study project, with occasionally somebody reminding us, like this chapter, the non-duality of all things, brackets, all humans, non-humans, and Buddhas, all living beings. I think the book does say a few I think the book is a few men a few good men a few good men and it's written by a woman a wonderful woman scholar and part of one of the main texts she uses is a text of bodhisattva precepts for lay people that's one of her main texts that she refers to

[14:00]

Yes? Yeah? Who had their hand raised? I did, but I don't know if someone behind me does. Well, the person behind you is very similar to you. Actually. There's a, in the Kuan Yin room, I think it is a sculpture of Bodhisattva. She was folding the boat, and I don't... Can you remind me of her name? I think her name, I think her name is, it's a Demeter. I think, is Demeter the one who has a daughter who goes down to hell? Or does Demeter go down to hell? Huh? Persephone. Persephone. Persephone is your daughter. Yeah, so I think the statue is of Demeter. Demeter is concerned with saving her daughter, right?

[15:05]

And that boat's, I think, a boat in hell. And some of you know Miriam, Miriam from Sacramento, Miriam. The artist. Yeah. Miriam, which is a wonderful artist. She's done quite a few statues of, like, Avalokiteshvara sitting in an easy chair. Or, I don't know if she didn't do it, but in, like, Samantaphadra Bodhisattva in a Cadillac. Anyway, these great, beautiful bodhisattvas, and also as women. Manjushri and Avalokiteshvara and Samantaphadra as female in unusual settings. Miriam, not Bobcroft Miriam, not say again, Miriam. Anyway, I asked her if she could make a statue in which we could put my mother's ashes.

[16:13]

And she said, yes. So I gave her some of my mother's ashes and she made that statue. She made that statue of Demeter It's Demeter Bodhisattva. So it's Demeter who's holding this boat, a boat that's in hell, in Hades, and in the boat is my mother, some of my mother's ashes. Hmm? Pardon? No. I don't think Demeter's in hell. She's holding the boat for my mom. And also, I have my mom's ashes here, too. I think they're next to the statue. And so we had that opportunity before us of putting those ashes someplace around this temple. I'm thinking about a good place for those ashes to be.

[17:18]

And we could have a ceremony. You're invited to attend when we do it. Yeah. dot dot dot maybe that's enough thank you for your superlative conduct today and I'm not saying this is it I'm just saying thank you for whatever it was I don't know but I'm grateful for it and I'm particularly grateful that nobody knows what it is Even the 10,000 sages don't know what you're up to. But thanks for being up to it.

[18:07]

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