So we've been studying how to chant the Japanese echo. Actually, although we chant, so we've been practicing chanting in Japanese. Eko, of course, means dedication. E-K-O, not E-C-H-O. E-K-O. Dedication. So all of the sutras, or whatever we chant, is always dedicated to somebody or something. It's not just something that we... Everything that we chant is dedicated to the well-being or appreciation to somebody.

[01:15]

So, it's all about appreciation. The first sutra is dedicated to the ancestors who brought us directly from the three countries. Zen. Buddha from India, Bodhidharma from India, and Dogon from Japan. But Bodhidharma was the link between India and China. So, we say Bodhidharma is a patriarch from China, even though he was from India. Because he was the first Chinese patriarch. Huineng was the sixth Chinese patriarch. So the first Chinese patriarch was an Indian. So we have these three ancestors.

[02:19]

And the first dedication, the first echo, is for the first ancestor in India, Shakyamuni, the first ancestor in China, Bodhidharma, the first ancestor in Japan, Heidogya. And so our dedication goes out. And then we say Mahapajapati, the first woman ancestor. We have added that one. So we try to include. Sometimes, like I remember my Zumi Roshi would include Suzuki Roshi in the Los Angeles Zen Center's echo. Somehow we didn't do that, but we do that here. And Suzuki Roshi is added at the end of the second Neko. I think the whole thing needs to be looked at again, because although it looks fixed, everything that we do

[03:30]

is in transition. Everything that we do, all of the services that we do, including especially the wedding service. Wedding service is always a work in progress. And the funeral service is always a work in progress. And so our Chancellor, although they look fixed, they're really in progress, but more slowly than the others, because we do them every day, and we think that that's correct. The second echo, the echo for the second chant, so we chant first in English, the Heart Sutra, and then we have the echo, and then the second sutra is the Heart Sutra in Japanese. And then we have that echo, and the echo for the Japanese Heart Sutra, which is the second sutra, is the names of the ancestors that we have been working on.

[04:41]

That's the echo. So we dedicate it to all the ancestors who, and this is very important because Zen practice is, I wouldn't say ancestor worship, but ancestor appreciation. Because without that, there's no way to transmit the Dharma except through the ancestors. So the Dharma is transmitted from one generation to another generation, generation to generation. Suzuki Roshi was the 89th generation. And Hoitsu and Richard Baker were the 90th generation.

[05:45]

I'm the 91st generation. You're the 92nd generation. So, from Shakyamuni. Supposedly. for sure. The further back you go into history, the more vague it becomes, and the more projections you have on it. So this is why we have this importance on appreciation. And so the ancestors So when we chant the sutra, we offer this up to the ancestors for their appreciation and to keep our relationship established. There's no special sutra that is a Zen sutra.

[06:52]

Although, I had a Korean teacher one time, Dr. So, who made me a wonderful calligraphy on a big piece of paper, and he says, Zen Sutra is the open sky and the deep ocean. And as we live our life, we are all writing the Zen Sutra as a manifestation of our life. So Zen Sutra is something that we are constantly creating. But it doesn't mean that we don't appreciate the sutras, or the various teachings. But the sutras and the teachings are there to stimulate the sutra that we are each writing.

[07:58]

Yes, Zen Sutra. So the third echo, the third chant that we do, and the echo, the third chant is the Sandokai, the Daihishin Dharani, excuse me, the Daihishin Dharani, Great Compassionate Dharani, which expresses our compassionate nature. Even though the words have been translated, Dharani, you know, in the chant, usually from antiquity and the chants from ancient Buddhist chants are full of extended mantras or incantations which have significant words whose understanding we don't

[09:01]

And we don't know literally, but when we chant that kind of Dharani, the meaning of the chant is in the sincerity of our expression. If you want to understand the Heart Sutra, chant it with your whole heart. Chant the Heart Sutra with your whole body and mind. And then that's how you understand the Heart Sutra. Although there is a literal understanding, the true understanding is how you do it. When you do it wholeheartedly, it opens you, rather than putting information in your head. So that's why the usual understanding of Chanting in the morning service is that through the power of your zazen, the power of your zazen is extended into the chanting.

[10:17]

So if you sit in a lazy way, your chanting will be lazy. If you sit in a powerful way, your chanting will be powerful. It's the extension of Zazen into that first thing, the first thing except for the rope chant that you utter in the morning. Your lips should be sealed in the morning until you do the rope chant. Usually the rope chant is done at the end of Zazen, but we do it at the beginning of Zazen because Otherwise, you wouldn't wear your raksu. You'd put it on for the chant and then take it off, right? So, I've changed it around so that we do the rope chant first, then put on the raksu, or your kesa, so that you're wearing it during zazen and during service. But traditionally, well, our tradition,

[11:24]

other traditions they do a lot of chanting first and then they do Zazen. That's another way, but not our way. We just sit first and then extend the power of Zazen into our chanting. So the third echo is for our deceased deceased members, family, and friends, and relatives, and whoever it is that we have had familiar relations with. So the Dai He Shindirani is a chant of compassionate extension to the deceased. And then in the afternoon, we service.

[12:31]

On Friday, we chant the names of those people who are ill, having trouble with illness, to extend our compassion to those people, whether we know them or not, actually. Suzuki Roshi, in 1970 or 71, may have been 71, gave lectures on, a series of lectures on the service, the chanting and the chants that we do during service, and on the echo. When we first began, when I first came to Zen Center, we only chanted the Heart Sutra in Japanese because there were no translations.

[13:36]

So we chant after every chant, we just did the Heart Sutra three times and then there was an echo, the three echoes for the three chants, for the three sections. Tatsugami Roshi came to Tathahara in 1970. Suzuki Roshi was sick and he was sick but he didn't know what he had and the doctor apparently I wasn't sure that he had cancer, but he did. But anyway, he felt too sick to go to Tassajara.

[14:39]

So, Tatsugami Roshi, who was the Ino at Eheji for 10 years or something, was asked to come to Tassajara to set up the monastic, a more monastic program. Because in the beginning, 1967, we began the monastic program at Tassajara. It was, you know, kind of, it was formal, but it was not developed, you know. So it took some years to develop the monastic program. It was like starting from scratch. So Tathagati came and he set up the monastic program. And I was his first shuso in 1970. So I had the experience of seeing how that all developed and participating in the development of all that.

[15:47]

And he set up the Doan Ryo, which is the people who do the service, and the Kitchen Ryo, the people who practice in the kitchen, and all of the various departments of the monastery. It was a very interesting time. And he also gave us the other chance. the Daiki Shindirani, and the Sando Kai, and the other Dharanis and so forth. So it was from him that we learned chanting. And he was a wonderful, I've told you this before, a wonderful chanting teacher. He would walk around Tassajara, and for those people who are in the Doanryo, He said, I'll just walk around and then when we meet, we'll chant.

[16:52]

And I will chant and you will chant with me. In order to transmit the chanting teaching, he had you chant with him and imitate him so that you were chanting exactly the same at the same time. And that was how he proceeded to teach people. And he just had this great voice, beautiful baritone voice. But, you know, if something is not kept up over and over again, it easily disappears, you know? Like, in a generation, everything can disappear unless it's reiterated over and over again. And that's why in our chanting, we all know, or at one time everybody knew, the procedures for chanting.

[17:57]

But if it's not reiterated over and over, we lose it. Now we have people who have been practicing for 20 years and say, gee, I never knew that. And you say, how come? But actually it's because it's not reiterated over and over. It's hard to do that. be that as it may, this is a good opportunity for us to relearn what we already knew one time. So, and for new people. So, Suzuki Roshi gave a series of lectures on 1970-71 on the echoes and And it's all very interesting. I edited that one time, and I even printed it in the newsletter in various sections, but somehow I can't find it all.

[19:02]

I want to do it again. So I want to read you a little, some excerpts of what he says about the echoes at random. You can do so much here, you know, just to be at random. He says that in Japan, My take on it is because they've been practicing Buddhism for so long, 750, 800 years. It's part of the culture. It became part of the culture. At some point when the religion becomes part of the culture, it loses its vitality.

[20:15]

And in Japan, what has happened is the Buddhists have been doing memorial services for so long for people. In the Meiji era, around 1850, the monks were allowed to leave the monasteries, have families, and set up temples, the temple system. And all of the the population had to be assigned to a temple. The families were assigned to a temple. So they have all these family temples. And so, although all of the temples have zendos, little zendos of one kind or another, the emphasis is not on zazen. It's on family, taking care of families, taking care of their funerals. And so many people have died in that length of time that the temples are surrounded by cemeteries.

[21:29]

And the cemetery practice is overtaken, the memorial service is overtaken, any other kind of practice. The Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, The Shinto does most of the weddings, and the Buddhists do the funerals. And so people think of the temples as kind of old and musty and, you know, undertakers. It's kind of too bad. So Suzuki Roshi was so happy to come to America and hear all these little chicks, you know, with their mouths open, you know, we don't know anything. Please feed us. And so it was so wonderful for him to, he said, he really appreciated our naivety and the fact that we didn't know anything, we didn't have any history, and he could just give us the pure Dharma and we would just eat it up.

[22:33]

Whereas it just doesn't happen, it's too old, it's too much part of the culture to have that kind of vitality, to maintain that kind of vitality. So the cycle of Buddhism, you know, every entity has a beginning, an adolescent stage, a middle stage, an old stage, and then it dies. It's possible that there can be resurrection, but not too likely. Maybe. It would be nice if there was that resurrection. But Japan is on the decline side. The Buddhism in Japan is on the declining side. And so the memorial services is what the priests mostly do. And it supports the temple, supports their livelihood, the family, and so forth.

[23:37]

And Suzuki Roshi said he didn't like that so much. He didn't want us to turn into a part of society in which we just do a lot of funerals. He wanted us to really maintain Zazen as the main practice. This is why I always want to keep our practice really simple. Zazen is all we do. We also have side dishes as well as the main dish. The side dishes shouldn't take over from the main dish. But now we do weddings. We've been doing weddings for a long time. And we also do funerals. And it's on a very low key. It doesn't happen so often.

[24:41]

But the longer we are established, the more it happens. In a hundred years, if we're still going in a hundred years, there'll be more and more funerals and so forth. Which is okay, but we don't make a big deal out of it, you know? And Suzuki Roshi didn't like to make a big deal out of it either. He said Dogen didn't like to make a big deal out of it either. He quotes Dogen as saying, The red flower petals from the tree will be enough of a service for the dead. No need to go into elaborate eulogies and so forth. number four.

[25:48]

We talked about the meaning of the echo and how it started. So we're talking about the morning echo when we do the tai chi cinderani. dedicated to the monks and students who are related to us and who passed away, and to the parents or ancestors of every student, and to the ancestors and parents of our donors, and to the people who worked hard for the country. So we have that in our echo. And what we wish is that by the merit of reciting this sutra, we want to help their practice, and we want them to encourage our practice. So it's interesting saying that the dead went to the other side and we're on this side. But there's another way of understanding which the living and the dead are not really two things. So we encourage their practice and they in turn encourage our practice.

[27:09]

That's just the way of speaking. But there's some some kind of mutual encouragement that's kind of mysterious. A lot of mysterious things. You don't have to believe it, but it's mysterious. So this kind of custom or dedication started in Buddha's time. If you read the scriptures, you will read about many events. And on those to recite a sutra, or to make an offering for their parents. Maybe the first such event, as far as we know, was when a king asked Buddha to make an offering and to give a sermon on that occasion. And that was the first event maybe, and after that in India it was a kind of custom to make offerings. So there are two kinds of offerings, almsgiving and dharma giving. To recite a sutra or to practice is a kind of offering to the people and to the deceased also.

[28:22]

So to make an alms offering to a priest was supposed to be the best offering. That's very Indian. And on such an occasion, Buddha would give them some sermon. And later we have, in almsgiving, we have the offering of incense, offering of flowers, offering of light, and offering of food. These are the most important to Buddha. To ask Buddha to come is the meaning of offering incense. When Buddha knew someone was burning incense, Buddha would visit the family who made the incense offering and he would respond to their wish and he would give a sermon. So incense is sometimes called a messenger. Not a messenger from Buddha, but a messenger from someone asking Buddha to come, inviting Buddha to... The way I always interpreted that was, we light incense to invite our Buddha nature to come forth in our service.

[29:34]

So that is the original meaning of offering incense. Later, incense offering, in which the fragrance of incense pervades everywhere, meant Buddha's teaching and Buddha's wisdom or Buddha nature is everywhere. So the incense offering symbolized Buddha's inspiring activity. But originally, incense was to invite or to ask Buddha to come. So we offer flowers in a vase on the altar nowadays. But before, in India, they scattered flowers when Buddha came. Maybe that's more Indian way. I don't know. But I haven't been to India yet. But I understand they're still observing that kind of ritual. In the Vedanta society, they offer flowers to the altar. And in Berkeley Zen Center, we do not. We used to offer incense. But I understand they're still observing that kind of ritual. In China and Japan they offered flowers in a flower vase as we do here.

[30:40]

But water, when we drink water, all the thirst will go. All the flames of many desires will calm down. So water symbolizes the wisdom which will clear up our mind. Wisdom which makes our thirsty desires calm down. So water means wisdom. I remember in Los Angeles Zen Center, Maezumi always had a cup of water on the altar. And light, or candle, also symbolizes the wisdom which will break the darkness of the ignorance. As you know, when we offer light and flowers, light is supposed to be a more important offering. So we offer light on the left side and flowers on the right. Although, I'm not sure that he got that right. I think flowers are on the right. Anyway, who knows. And we offer water and incense in the center, but we never offer the water.

[31:46]

As you read in the Lotus Sutra, there are four kinds of offerings, or more. Food, he's talking about Tumac, four kinds of offerings, Tumac. Food, medicine, clothing, and a bed. So those are important alms offerings. In Japan we say, okuyo itashimashiro. One of my members may come and say, tomorrow or next week is my mother's memorial day, so we want to have okuyo itashimashiro. Ku means offering, and to offer is ku. Ryu means to encourage their mother's spirit to practice more. That's interesting. Please continue your practice. And when we say, like, when Katagiri Roshi died, and I made a Mihai, you know, one of those memorial plaques, and a hoitsu said,

[32:57]

I said, what should I write on the back? And he said, you should write, in whichever world, please continue, we support you to continue your teaching in whichever world you appear. So there's some feeling of the continuation of teaching. So they encourage their spirit to practice, the mother's spirit to practice more. And you is to ask her encouragement for our practice. So you means to give some nourishment or encouragement. In Japan, I didn't like these services so much. But anyway, When they observed mokuyo, memorial services, they would have a kind of party.

[34:02]

Not exactly a party, but they would provide various dishes for the priests. This is like lay members providing a special meal for the monks. They invited the priest to give them some talk or to give them some service, sermon, and they would offer food for the sermon. may our virtue and practice deserve this meal. That's the meaning of that statement in the meal chat. May our virtue and practice deserve this offering. So still, in China and Japan, whenever we observe memorial services for parents or ancestors or members they would give us lots of food. They gave us so much that we couldn't finish it. So they would ask us to carry it back to our temple.

[35:04]

When I was a little temple disciple, I had a very difficult time taking all the offerings back to my temple. My teacher would leave as soon as he said goodbye, he would leave. And my duty was to borrow some box to put the various foods in and to carry his food and my food And if I was the youngest, I would carry my elder disciples food too. Sometimes the members would say, as it is so hot, how about this watermelon? Please carry it back. Sometimes it was a pumpkin. Watermelon is not so bad. But pumpkin is awful to carry. It is always rolling right and left on my back, this way and that way, because it is round. Watermelon was very smooth, and it didn't hurt my back so badly.

[36:07]

But pumpkin is awful, because it is rough. We say deko boko. Boko is V-shaped, and deko is A-shaped. Deko boko. So, anyway. In Japan, in the countryside, we observe memorial services in that way. And they're very good people. And they observe the way very sincerely without asking too many questions. Yesterday, someone said, that old-time religion was good enough for me. It is exactly so. They didn't mind what it was. Old-time religion is good enough for me. But I was not so happy when I had to do too much about it. And in Japan, we also have Ohigan ceremonies. You know Ohigan? On spring and autumn equinox days, almost all the families observe a big memorial service.

[37:12]

And each family makes an offering to my temple's Buddha. So if there were 80 families in my village, from 80 families, Buddha would receive 80 offerings. Sometimes they were mochi. and it originated in India. The Japanese people still observe the Indian custom of offering dango. To make dango, you grind the rice, steam it, and make a rice ball. The Indian people, as you know, make a ball and eat it. So we still offer dango to the Buddha. It is one of the important offerings to the Buddha and the family shrine. And mochi is pounded rice. So on New Year's Eve, in Japan. They get these big hammers and a hollow, not a hollow log, but a log that's standing on edge, on end, and it's got a dish in it. So you put one of those dice and pound it.

[38:15]

And we used to do that in Katsuhara when we had Japanese priests, Shino-sensei and Karagiri and Oshimora. We had a lot of Japanese priests. The first couple of years at Tazahara, on New Year's Eve, we would pound mochi all night. And we'd take pots and pans and bang on the pots and pans for rhythm and take turns pounding the mochi. And then in the morning, we're all bleary-eyed and we'd eat it for breakfast with ginger or something. So in Japan, actually, we were too busy taking care of memorial services and funeral services and we didn't have much time to practice zazen even. Around the temples mostly we have a big cemetery and it was difficult to clean the cemetery of the families who had moved away from the village. Recently in Japan the people gave up their homes in the country to go to the city to work in better, to have better jobs.

[39:22]

So in the country there are many tombstones No one actually is taking care of them. So, in autumn, or in equinox days, we are very busy. This is, I think, kuru. Kuyu. Originally, it was a deep meaning. But, if we demand an almsgiving, or preaching too much, forgetting the fundamental practice of zazen, Buddhism will be lost. I think in America, Zen Buddhism will not be involved in such an activity so much. I hope not. But I think we should not forget our friends with whom we practiced and who encouraged us and who had a very good time with us. We shouldn't forget them. But I don't think it's necessary to have a big celebration or to have a big memorial service for them. As Dogen Zenzi says, if you want to give alms, the cherry blossoms in the mountain will be a good offering. Even a cherry blossom in the deep mountain may be the best of offerings.

[40:23]

But we should not be involved in that kind of activity too much, I think. Anyway, the last dedication is for our ancestors and for the priests and students who practiced with us and for the people who worked hard for our country and society. So, I think he's right. And, you know, in Japan now, there are some practice places, some practice temples, small monasteries, that just, you know, stay with the fundamental practice. And I think that our practice, you know, Suzuki Roshi came here with no idea at all. When people started to practice with him, he gave them what he felt was the correct practice.

[41:30]

And Zazen was the center of the practice. And all of the practices that go with that. But our daily practice, he emphasized Zazen and daily practice. taking care of your family, taking care of your work, taking care of the people around you, and being one with your activity. But he was very careful to maintain the quasi-monastic model. And that's why we have what we have, a daily practice which is a kind of quasi-monastic practice. that it doesn't get dispersed and disseminated into other kinds of practices.

[42:33]

And it's hard to maintain. It's not easy to maintain. Although, once you are attracted to this kind of practice, it's not that hard. narrowing down your activities so that you can actually practice. That's what's ours.

[43:02]

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