Welcome everyone. So, this is an important day. For our ancient dragons and the song that. Some of you remember our old chapter on earth and growth. We had to give that up for. Not for lunch, but anyway. We have not had a 3rd day of a 3 day session. We've not had an outside a session. Gathering of mind towards. Since December. 2019 and here we are back. So, this is also kind of the culmination of our. 2 months practice commitment period, which actually doesn't and formal next Friday, but we're doing this 3 day.

[01:07]

So, she this weekend, we've been. Practicing together, working together, supporting each other and also studying the mantra. So, the 1st, 2 days of the session, I talked about themes from that. Basically, how to practice in the world. So, the suit is about. A great way to get a play person through this time. It was totally involved in all kinds of activities in the world. But use those as opportunities to help the waking others. To help each other and practice here in Chicago. Joined by folks from all kinds of other places. I see California and Indiana, for example, anyway.

[02:15]

Practice just to be in the world. We all have our lives in the world. Not a residential community, so how do we practice in the world? And how do we do the Buddha work which I talked about yesterday? So. Talks about inconceivable liberative. Practices skillful means how to be helpful in the world. I would be effective in the world. This is a great challenge. Our role is in great need. Of course. How do we find a balanced way to. Open a lot of people in our software are doing all kinds of wonderful, helpful work. As well, teachers and therapists as chaplains.

[03:20]

Attorneys anyway, we're here. In the world. And 1 of the things that the suit to focuses on. And keep mentioning is in Sanskrit. Patience or tolerance with the ungraspability of things. Of events that is the. No ability or the birthlessness is sometimes translated. Everything in the world, and this implies that the world is alive. Modern physics is verifying that everything is alive. We don't see the world as dead objects and our support stuff. We see how we are a product of. And the function of and expression of everything.

[04:22]

In our lives, all the people was ever known. All the people have known us, even if we didn't know that. So to be patient with this. Inconceivability of reality itself of things of the world. Is also to understand that we don't have total control over anything. I mean, there are many. Skillful people here who have control over various things, but. Yeah, it's we can't control the world. Everything is changing. Everything is alive. This is the world we live in. So, how do we do the body stuff for work? The work of helping to awaken each other and ourselves and all beings all beings? Nobody excluded. How do we speak out against harmful and cruel?

[05:30]

Policies or systems without hating or despising personally, any people who are involved with that. So, this is a big challenge yesterday in our discussion. I think it was Douglas who brought up the. She showed this running by. Again, who was the founder of our tradition in Japan? 14th century. What I thought that she show, which is 1 of the essays and. So, I want to talk about that that essay today. Because it's practical counsel on how to be helpful. So, I'm going to use the Tom Cleary translation. He calls it the 4 integrative methods of body shockers.

[06:31]

Cause how she translates, I think it's the 4 guiding methods for both suffers. But the title of this, she showed well, what is up with she shows. For literally 4 dollars for guidance. So, the word. As it's in. At least in in East Asia, I'm not sure about Sanskrit, but Paul is. Also a way of doing something. So, back in San Francisco, we used to talk about. So, so has the dog that so, for example, Jerry has the. Donna for how to look the lights in the center. Way is as the drama for. How to do the techno position to include people. Online and I hear that my test the dog from the corner.

[07:41]

So, anyway, so the translation method is a little. It's the way of doing something. How it's knowing how to do something. So, even though the world is a lot, and we don't have total control over it. All of you have areas where, you know, what to do. That's something. So, anyway, that's what that's the title of this essay. And so I want to read from it again, this is the translation. But the 4, these 4 ways. More ways of expressing violence and integration. And help for when we saw this before, and 1st of all, getting. 2nd is high speech. There it is beneficial action.

[08:46]

None of the 4th, we talked about yesterday. Very translating translates it as cooperation. Cause for how she translates it as identity action. And it says cooperation means non opposition. Or in process, virginity action is non difference. So, I'm going to talk about that how we. Practice cooperation, as opposed to our cultures. Value of competition and. Doing that to others before they do and all that. How do we practice cooperation? How do we see ourselves as others? But 1st, I'll say a little bit about the 1st. The 1st 1 is generosity of giving. Which is also the 1st of our.

[09:52]

6 or 10 transcendent practices. So, a little bit about what of what says about generosity and we in our channel talk about the mutuality of giver receiver and gift. So giving is not 1 side of what. Some people have all the gifts and they give it to others. Giving is a mutual expression. That could not be giving without somebody to receive. So, says. Giving means not covenant, not covenant is not being greedy. In worldly terms, he said that not being greedy means not flattery. Even if 1 should rule for to provide education and civilization in the correct way, it's just a matter of not being. Just to offer flowers from a distant mountain.

[10:54]

To a Buddha to give away treasures from 1's past lives. To where that means in terms of teaching as well as in terms of material things. And each are inherently involved to give it. So, I'd like this even with flowers in the distant mountain. To do that to all the favor. So, here in Chicago, we don't have any notes. We have 12 buildings. We can look across this great. See the way we can. Offer the ways and we can offer the birds and we can offer the fish. That's the kind of giving. That's the spirit of giving. It's not about it's not it's not about being greedy or holding on to. So, we've been talking to some about the wonderful birdsong around this building last 2 days.

[11:57]

We give that to each other, the birds give that to us, we give that to the birds. So, Doug insists the effort must be genuine when 1 leads the way to the way. When attaining the way, the way is necessarily being left to the way. When goods are left to goods, the goods unfailingly become giving. Self gives to self, others gives to others. So, just deeper expression of generosity is very good. It's not just giving, it's giving gifts, but it's also giving of oneself. Well, deep through this book, I found an old line that I'd saved.

[12:59]

It's from Joining on the Lotus Sutra. But it's also about giving once. Oh, yeah. So, this is giving up, holding back your life to hold on fully to your life. So, not holding back is a type of giving. He says, Doug also says, what is it from? When we begin to transform the mind of living beings, to transform it even as far as attaining awakening in the beginning, it must be done by giving the generosity. For this reason, the beginning of the transcendent practices is the transcendent way of giving.

[14:04]

One should not calculate the greatness or smallness of the mind, nor the greatness or smallness of the thing, nor the greatness or smallness of gifts. Just to give, just to give has an impact. He also says, nevertheless, there is a time when the mind transforms things, and there is giving in which things transform the mind. So, how do we see this neutrality of giver and receiver? So, we'll come back to that in discussion, this practice of giving. The next one, this four, is kind speech. He says, that means that in looking upon living beings, one should first arouse the mind of kindness and love, and should utter caring, kind words. There's the absence of harsh speech.

[15:08]

Conquering of enemies and harmonizing of rulers is based on kind speech. Or, one says, to hear kind speech to one's face, gladness, the face, the countenance, it pleases the heart. Hearing kind speech indirectly, it's a deep, deep impression on the mind. Kind speech comes from a kind heart, and a kind heart has good will, as it's seen. So, you know, kind speech, just to, as he says, just to hear someone say something kind about you, it's been good. Or, if we hear that somebody else has said some good things about you to someone else, that also, you know, you feel good. They've done studies, though, having to do with prayer, and, you know, we have a well-being list,

[16:20]

it's very, very long, and we say we chant it once a month, but people who need support, and there have been studies of the kind speech of prayer on behalf of people who are suffering that show that even when people don't know that people are dedicating kindness to them, it's helpful to the person you've spoken to. I don't understand how the experiment was done, but yes, it's been demonstrated that this happens. So, to say something kind about someone, that's an impact, whether or not they know it's being said. This maybe has to do with talking, speaking earlier in the session about quantum entanglement, how modern science is showing that things happen together at great distances, even

[17:26]

the same time, but with all causes. Anyway, so that's an example of quantum entanglement. Kind speech about someone benefits them, even if they don't know it's being said. So, you know, and I've talked about this earlier in the session, that even when we are confronted, as we are in our world today, with very harmful systems or policies demonizing certain groups of people, for example, we can oppose those policies without personally hating or despising the people who are so misguided as to promote harm and cruelty. So, we can oppose cruelty without

[18:28]

saying unkind things about the people who are actually creating the cruelty. This is an example of how this kind of speech might work. And, of course, this is all complicated and difficult, and we could spend a more practice period on it, but I want to get to cooperation, identity action. So, Dilbin starts, cooperation means non-opposition, that is not opposing oneself and not opposing others. Well, not because it wasn't non-difference, seeing identity action, seeing that we are not different from ourselves, and we are not different from others. It is like a human Buddha being the same as a human, because an assimilation to the human world,

[19:34]

we know a Buddha must assimilate to other worlds. When one knows cooperation, self and others are one suchness. The music, song, and wine accompanies people, accompanies spirits. People keep company with music, song, and wine, and music, song, and wine keep company with music, song, and wine. People keep company with people. Celestial spirits keep company with spirits. There is such a logic. It is the learning of cooperation. Now, and this goes back to Neymar Akirti, going into all the different realms in in Vaishala, the city he lived in, hanging out in casinos, hanging out in this bags and notions, and wherever he goes, he's helping beings awaken.

[20:37]

This is a real question. Doing this bodhisattva practice, doing this zazen, this upright sitting, we settle deeper into what is, who we are, how we are connected to everything. And naturally, we want to be helpful to ourselves and others. We want to support each other. That's also what sangha is about, community, that each of us here is supporting anybody else, just by being here, whether you're in the sangha or online. We're all deeply, intimately connected. We can't avoid that. And how do we take care of all the voices? It's the practice of identity action, of cooperation. So,

[21:50]

what Dogen says about this more, task of cooperation is a matter, is a standard, is a dignity, is an attitude. After regarding others as self, there must be a principle of assimilating oneself to others. Self and others are endless with time. So, there are many selves and many others. He was just talking about, if we see that there is a Buddha for our world, we see him on the altar, we see him when we're upright in the practice of Buddhas and each other. If there's a Buddha in this world, there's a Buddha in many worlds. So, I talked also earlier in the session about Buddha fields. When a Buddha awakens, they consolidate a Buddha field. The space around them awakens. Other beings around them awaken.

[23:01]

Beings gather together to practice awakening. So, there are many Buddha fields, there are many areas. We could talk about different solar systems, but in our world too, there are many beings, many fortunes, many secrets. So, Dogen goes on, an ancient philosopher, and I looked it up, this is from the 7th century BC. Anyway, he said, the ocean does not refuse water. Therefore, it has been able to become immense, so immense. Mountains do not refuse earth and rocks. That is why they can be so high. An awakened ruler or leader does not refuse people. Therefore, the community can become populous. Know that the ocean's not refusing water is cooperation.

[24:10]

The virtue of the water not refusing the ocean, too, is complete. Water gathers and becomes an ocean. Earth accumulates and becomes a mountain, or prairie. We implicitly know that because the ocean doesn't refuse the ocean, it forms an ocean. Sorry, that's got to be a sentence. We implicitly know that because the ocean doesn't refuse the ocean, it forms an ocean. The ocean doesn't refuse the ocean, so it forms an ocean. And it creates immensity. Mountains do not refuse the mountain. It forms an ocean and makes it start. So the principle of bodhisattvas is also not to abandon anyone, to include everyone.

[25:17]

We got practice just for ourselves. This is not a self-help practice. It's a self-help practice because this self includes the whole world and all the other worlds. The leader does not reject people. That does mean that there are no rewards and punishments. But though there are rewards and punishments, there is not rejected people. Sometimes some people need to be accountable for what they do, but we basically don't refuse anything, everyone's included. So there must be people who seek the right way, even without reward. So we talk about non-gaining mind in a superlitious way a lot. It's not that there are

[26:25]

no benefits of our practice, obviously, but it's not that we practice to get some reward, some gold star or something. Who knows? So this is beyond the conception of the ignorant person. Because an awakened leader is wise, they don't reject people. People always form a connection where they have a mind to seek an awakened leader, because there are a few who thoroughly know the reason an awakened leader is an awakened leader. They only rejoice in not being rejected by an awakened leader. So I think people are actually actively being harmed and persecuted, and the people who do that also feel like they're being harmed and persecuted. So we have this logic of non-cooperation that's available. So how do we express and enact

[27:33]

identity action? Because there is the logic of cooperation. Cooperation is the practical undertaking of the bodhisattva. Once you face everyone with a mild countenance or a gentle expression, this is challenging. We have positive, negative, and neutral responses to everything, including to ourselves, including to so-called other people. But how do we find this basic generosity that includes everyone? It doesn't include all the actions that everyone's doing, but we don't have to fall into hate speech. We can use time speech. So all of this is about what we were talking about the last couple days,

[28:39]

liberative techniques, but what is the skillful means to help suffering beings? And this is a big question, and in our shabba we have lots of people who are working hard in various contexts to help people, as teachers or psychologists or therapists. And wherever you are, whatever you're doing, whatever work you're doing, the bodhisattva practice, the practice of expressing zazen, is about how can we be helpful? How can we be kind? And sometimes there's, you know, it's not obvious. So we have to practice patience and pay attention to everything and everyone. And sometimes we can find some skillful response. Or we can, you know, make mistakes through trial and error,

[29:43]

try and find a way to be helpful. Anyway, these four ways of bodhisattva cooperation, generosity, kind speech, beneficial actions have to actually help and benefit people, beings. And this identity action, this cooperation, this is easy to talk about. How do we do this in our own lives? How do we do this together? How do we express this posture, this signature with each other and in the world? So that's the challenge we have that this upright sitting gives us, our ancestors, teachers have given us. So there's a lot to talk about.

[30:47]

We, for the people in the practice, the people in the session, we will have a discussion period this afternoon over tea. But we have many other people joining us through this Sunday morning talk. So anybody who has some comments, some questions can start us off. Yes. So the difference between cooperating and non-cooperating, a lot of it has to do with languaging, how we use language. And for example, something that is a bee in my butt is, you know, if you go into a store and somebody helps you with something and you say, thank you, they kind of say, no problem, meaning that you haven't disturbed them, whatever. So I have a personal campaign, which I used to trigger Joe's yesterday. It's more, or when it's reversed, I say it's to create a different vibe. And it's a relationship

[32:06]

that, you know, I helped somebody and they helped me. And it was a positive thing, it's a connection. The other way around, it's all inside, you know. So that's my personal struggle. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, you know, it's also just the conventional new welcome, you know. Right. But I have to make a confession. I think there have been times in the last five or ten years when I've said no problem. And I'll try to avoid that henceforth. This is a really good example of identity action. So thank you very much. Other comments, responses, questions?

[33:08]

So, you can tell us if people are like it's not right. How do we actually be helpful in this troubled, crazy world? I know you all care about that. So, anyway, please feel free to ask any comments, response. Yeah, going back to Bodhisattva and Shishobo,

[34:15]

in the section on giving, there is something that has always captured my attention, and that is that acts of giving have infinite, inconceivable, unforeseeable good results that continue. So it's not an an act of giving doesn't just have some sort of momentum. It gradually tapers off. The act of giving has a force that continues forever. That's not something that can be shown, of course. I did a few psychological experiments about how people respond to simple politeness and acts of generosity, but it's not very helpful. That vision,

[35:16]

just the power of goodness to extend throughout the universe is something that's otherwise hard to describe. Giving, receiving, passing along the gift. I guess there's an idea that if you receive something from someone that you should hold on to it. I have trouble remembering what somebody did, but there's also passing something along. There's a group of islands in the South Pacific, I forget where exactly, it's a bit large group of islands where there's this formal ritual practice, if it's once a year or certain times in the year, where the people from one island will give a gift to the people on the next island, and then after some period they will pass that along to the next island, or maybe they'll pass

[36:22]

on something else. I forget exactly how it works, but there's a circle of giving, literally. Yes, Zach? I was just thinking with the gifts and receiving. Receiving a gift is a gift, and there's the idea that a lot of times it's a modest couple of perks that I refuse. Compliment me on something. No, no, no, no. Yes, there's an art to receiving, yes. Yeah, receiving is necessary. So we do this in our meal practice. You can actually learn how to receive, what to receive, you know, bow to each other after the server and the receiver

[37:31]

do this transaction, offering and receiving food. Yeah, so there's no giving without receiving. When I was in a monastery in Japan, the training in Japanese monasteries for generosity is to receive. So there's this practice called Takodakusen, and it's holding up the bowl. So the monastery I was in, this is the food that we ate at the time of the practice period that we received by going out, and there are different ways of doing this. There's going door-to-door chanting, and people in Asian cultures, Buddhist cultures, want to give to the monks, the people who are practicing. So they actually, you know, enjoy, they feel they

[38:39]

get some benefits. There's other ways of doing it. People who stand like that on a bridge or railway station. You wear this chronicle hat, sort of straw hat, so there's a whole different set of robes to do it in. But at any rate, it's not about, it's not personal. So they can't see your face when they give. They're giving to someone who's practicing seriously. Although, when the little kids go and look up, and if they see a gaijin, question marks. Anyway, that's the way it was when I was there. But yeah, thank you for receiving. Yes, Ishin? I think sometimes we have to really study someone for a while to understand what we can give to them, what they will receive. I can think of someone I know who,

[39:43]

the best way to give to them is to let them give something to me, because that makes them feel, you know, good about themselves and powerful and magnanimous. And so that particular person, when you try to give them something, it makes them feel like you thought they needed it, which is not a good feeling for them. Right. It's subtle, and it's an art. Yes, thank you. How to give, how to receive. Is there anybody here who's received a gift that you never did want? Yeah. So how do you receive graciously, even when it's not the thing? And then just before we, you know, there's the idea also that to try and give effectively, how do you make donations? You know, how do you give in a way that is going to produce the most good? But there's also the idea just to give whatever, to whomever is helpful, because it gets back to

[40:53]

us. Yes, Wade? This is something that Mike and I have struggled with, with essentially both of our mothers, giving us things that are given very, you know, thoughtfully, very generously, but just things that we have felt overwhelmed by the materiality of all of this stuff that we don't need, that we can't get rid of, that, you know, if you give it away, you throw it out and it's plastic in a landfill, you know, so we felt very overwhelmed by this. And something that we found helpful is having a conversation with them and say, what I would love most for Christmas is to be given the gift of like freedom from material items, like freedom from, you know, having to take care of X, Y, or Z, if here's the way it makes me feel. So maybe that's something that you can give me for Christmas on my birthday is not having to worry about additional

[41:57]

physical items in my life. So some of that. I don't know if that's gracious receiving on my part, but it's challenging. This is a practice, it's not easy. There's also giving as a kind of business transaction, you know, you give so that somebody else will, you know, think you're going to give back to in Japan and around New Year's, there's lots of gift giving, but they actually want, you know, quantify the amount, how much was spent on this gift, and then they have to give back something in the same amount to the other person. Yes, Aisha. I just have to add to this. Last year, for my mom's birthday, I gave her a gift certificate to her favorite restaurant, and unfortunately, she passed away before she got a chance to use it. And then I was out visiting my dad for my birthday, and he said,

[43:00]

let's go out to this restaurant. So he's like, we've got this gift certificate. So my mom actually got to give, you know, gave me a restaurant, center of her favorite restaurant. Yeah, it's a gift. Other comments? I had a comment following up to that, you know, I was thinking about there have been times when I was younger, when my mother gave me gifts for my birthday, typically some that I was not interested in, that I was felt fairly neutral about. And subsequently, they were things that I did need, you know, like, as she saw me develop over time, she realized my need for various things. So at the time, I was not excited later, I appreciated it. Again, in graduate school,

[44:04]

somebody gave me a reference once a reference book that was totally boring, and I did not value it at the time. But later, subsequently, I ended up using it quite a bit and appreciated it. So sometimes, we don't realize in the moment something that might be of value. Then the other thing I was going to say is, I have enjoyed participating the amount I have in the Sashin. And I appreciate other people's willingness to participate in the Sashin, because I couldn't have done it without everyone's participation. So I feel like that's a giving and receiving as well. And also a model of cooperation and identity action. They're all part of this together. Yeah. She had that one.

[45:19]

So this is the challenge that our practice gives us when we settle into ourselves and it's a machine. Awareness is around us and we see the situation around us and let's see what happens. And the next state, let's tell anyone. So we need to take care of ourselves and to take care of each other and that's not separate. How do we take care of this difficult world? Any last comments or responses or reflections?

[46:39]

Okay, well, thank you all very much for giving this talk and I've received it well and we'll close with the four bodhisattvas.

[47:02]

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