Thank you for your patience in being kind of crowded. I hope you enjoy it. We started by reciting a vowel written by, I think, written by a Zen master named Tore. He's a disciple of Hakuin. This summer, there was a class in Berkeley on Zen meditation. I think, maybe, I don't know, the course might have been called Zen Meditation as Bodhisattva Vow, or Zen Meditation colon Bodhisattva Vow, or something like that. For a long time,

[01:10]

I've been wanting to meditate on vow, and so this summer there was the opportunity not just to meditate on vow and to consider vow, the Bodhisattva Vow, vows, but in relationship, how does it relate to Zen meditation was also brought up there, which I was a little surprised to see how wonderful it was to bring them up together. Part of the reason is that I think a lot of Zen students have asked me over the years, and I think I've heard them ask other people too, do we pray in Zen? Are there prayers in Zen practice? Also, I mentioned

[02:15]

the last sitting at Novo, somebody said that when he first came to Zen Center, people asked him what his practice was and he said, worshipping deities, and the person said, you're in the wrong school. But for some Bodhisattvas, worshipping deities, worshipping Buddhas and Bodhisattvas is part of their life, part of the heart of their practice. So I think that it's a great opportunity for us now for a while to turn on the vow, to discover and turn on and nourish the vow of the Bodhisattva, and also discuss how it relates to all the different practices

[03:25]

that we're doing. How does it relate to formal Zen meditation? How does it relate to tranquility practice? How does it relate to work? And to look at that and be devoted to make it more and more constant, a more and more constant and continuous awareness of how our activity right now relates to the vows of the Bodhisattvas. In a way, the practice of Bodhisattva is

[04:38]

actually a vow, and in another way, the practice of Bodhisattva, the vows of Bodhisattvas are the way that they carry out their practice. Slightly different emphasis, and it's very subtle to distinguish between the practice of Bodhisattvas and the vows of Bodhisattvas. They can be, in one sense they can be identical, in another sense they can be apparently different. So, I have been talking to you about enlightenment as being the silent bond among all beings. So, that enlightenment is, there's only one of those. It's constantly changing as the

[05:53]

relationship between all beings is changing, and it's always this one universal relationship among all beings. I would say, you know, you could even say that this is what Dogen refers to as unconstructedness and stillness, immediate realization. Nobody is building our relationship with everybody else. It's not constructed, and yet that's how we are together. And the practice in certain traditions, in certain lineages of disciples of Buddha, the practice

[06:53]

which I wish to encourage is the practice which is the enlightenment. I wish to encourage the practice which is this enlightenment. The practice of our relationship with each other is the practice. So, in that sense, I wish to encourage the practice which is equally wholeness of practice and equally wholeness of enlightenment. Or, you can say, I wish to encourage the practice and the enlightenment which is the same practice and the same enlightenment for you and all beings. That's the practice which I want to encourage among us. That's

[08:06]

the practice. And I think Bodhisattvas, generally speaking, as far as I know, this is the practice that they are devoted to. They're devoted to the practice of all beings. And then, in the Sambhidharmachana Sutra, although I don't remember the Buddha saying it in the Sutra, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva asked Shaktimani Buddha, as though he had said it some other time, Bhagavan, you say that Bodhisattvas progress, proceed in the practice by means of great vows, extensive, vast, all-inclusive, auspicious, wondrous, inconceivable vows.

[09:18]

That's the way you say the Bodhisattvas carry on and carry out the practice of enlightenment. So, Bodhisattvas do many, many kinds of practices, many kinds of activities together with all beings. Their practice is the practice of all beings. The Bodhisattvas are those who are in the practice of all beings. And while they're in the practice of all beings and the enlightenment of all beings, they practice vows. And their vows are not the same vows as most beings are into. So, the Bodhisattvas who practice with all beings, some of whom do not wish to practice with all beings, the Bodhisattva have these vows. And the beings which they practice with, not all the beings they practice with have these vows. Some do,

[10:25]

the ones who do are the other Bodhisattvas. Some don't, those are the people who haven't quite opened up to being Bodhisattvas yet. So, that's why I like to bring up the vows, so that we can have a chance to be supported in the actual practice that we're doing together with everybody, supported with the Bodhisattva vows, to help us do this actual practice which is enlightenment. We, just like Bodhisattvas, may need these vows because the Bodhisattvas need the vows. If they need them, we need them. If the great beings need them, we need them. And we need them to be great beings, to be Bodhisattvas. We need these vows according to some teachers, some Zen teachers, some non-Zen teachers. They say we need these vows.

[11:33]

It's by means of these vows that we will actually enter into and realize this enlightenment. And part of the reason why we need this, did you want to say something? Yeah, I'm sorry, but I should go turn that off, the noise. You know about that noise? Okay, well go right ahead Norbert. We're practicing with you here. Be careful. And if he falls, catch him. So, part of the reason we need these vows is because vows have something to do with thinking. Vows, as we will see as we proceed, vows have something to do with thinking. Bodhisattvas think. Other people think too, as you know.

[12:35]

Huh? What? You're not sure other people think? Anyway, it seems to me that most people I know think. And not just human people, but dog people also. And pig people, definitely. Pigs are real thinkers. That's why when you know what they're thinking about, you do not want to eat them. Because they do not want you to eat them. They want to grow up to be old, happy pigs. Not just human beings think. Many, many kinds of sentient beings think. Innumerable forms of sentient beings think. And the thinking they have is called karma. The thinking that they're involved in is a definition of their karma. And their karma, if their karma isn't attended

[13:42]

to properly, as we've been talking about a lot, their karma has the consequence of forming obstructions to, of all things, the same practice and the same enlightenment of all beings. The karma will obstruct it. It will have the consequence of obstructing it. So we actually need to start doing a new kind of thinking. We need to start doing bodhisattva thinking. To let the bodhisattva thinking come into our being and eventually, I don't know what the word is, sink in, flourish. I don't want to say crowd out the other kinds of thinking that aren't bodhisattva vows, but kind of surround them so that they won't cause any more problems for anybody. To bring this bodhisattva vow in to surround and support all of our other thinking so that all of our thinking is supported

[14:49]

and lifted up by the bodhisattva vow to participate and contribute to the realization of the same practice and the same enlightenment. So in a way what I'm talking about is that Zen practice, when you bring it together with bodhisattva vow, means Zen practice is brought together with a certain kind of thinking. And that's a little bit, I'll just say right away, that's a little bit of a problem for some Zen students because Zen practice often involves giving up thinking. Giving up thinking is a very good thing to do, sometimes. And if you do it consistently, if one gives up thinking, in other words, give up your karmic activity, just let go of it moment by moment, moment after moment after moment, one becomes quite tranquil and serene and concentrated and

[15:57]

flexible and open and soft. So practicing tranquility actually is a really good warm-up to get ready to open up to the thinking of a bodhisattva. And then once you're open to the thinking of a bodhisattva, it's good to continue spending part of your life practicing giving up thinking. Actually to encourage you again to open to the vows. But part of your time as a bodhisattva is not spent just giving up thinking and being tranquil. It's being tranquil and thinking. And thinking in what way? Well, there's many ways. Torrey Zenji just gave you one example of a way to think, way to go Catherine, way to go Gene,

[16:59]

way to go Bernard, a way to think, which will realize the same practice and the same enlightenment of all beings. But actually that way of thinking goes very nicely with giving up thinking. So we do have a practice of concentration, of tranquility, where we sit quietly, sitting is nice, you can also walk quietly, and recline quietly, and stand quietly, and don't move. Not when you're walking, actually also don't move when you're walking. And in that motionlessness, give up thinking and be tranquil. And then now we're saying is go right ahead and continue that practice, but now listen to the instruction that bodhisattvas who practice those kinds of tranquility practices, they also do those tranquility practices together with their

[18:07]

vows. So some people would see a conflict between thinking and giving up thinking, I can see that, but also there's a cooperation between giving up thinking and bodhisattva thinking. When you give up thinking and you're tranquil, that helps you be open to the thinking, to the open thinking. The bodhisattva is open thinking. Your tranquil mind, your tranquil body, your soft body, your soft mind, naturally opens to the thinking of all beings, to opening and thinking of all beings, and thinking about them and thinking about your relationship with them. And learning somehow to think about your relationship with them together with

[19:16]

whatever other kind of thinking you're doing, and also together with giving up thinking. If you happen to be giving up thinking, then learn how to think of your relationship with all beings while you're giving up thinking. But the thinking you're giving up in that case is the thinking of your relationship with all beings. So you can practice tranquility together with your thoughts of how you practice with all beings. And if you're doing other things, other kinds of thinking, where you're not concentrating on giving up your thinking, but you're concentrating on thinking of planting a flower, or thinking of cropping some flowers, or thinking of putting a flower in a vase, that's a kind of thinking. There's a thinking

[20:19]

which leads to a physical action, or perhaps an instruction to one of your cohorts to plant some flowers. But anyway, some kind of thinking which is in mind, or body, or speech. Three kinds of thinking, three kinds of karma. Whichever kind of karma you're doing, whatever the karma is, bring that together with, it's possible to bring that together with, the thought that you're doing this together with all beings. Unenlightened beings seem to be easier for people, actually. Some people are somewhat resistant to planting flowers together with, or in relationship, or for the benefit of all living beings. That's great. Especially

[21:21]

a lot of people have an easy time doing that together with, thinking of doing that together with all dogs. They say, I'm happy to do it together with all dogs, but not all humans. Some humans they do not want to plant flowers with, in relationship to, and for the benefit of. But even harder for people, it seems to be, is to brush your teeth, or put butter onto a baguette, in relationship with all Buddhas, all Bodhisattvas. It seems to be harder for a lot of people. I'm happy to get into the reasons why, the conditions for people having a hard time with that. But the Bodhisattva vow is to open to doing everything together with everybody. With all the Buddhas, all the Bodhisattvas, and all the non-Buddhas

[22:27]

and non-Bodhisattvas, some of whom aspire to be Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, some of whom do not yet think about their life that way. This is what I'm bringing up now. This is what's being brought up now, as a person like this. This is what the universe is up-chucking. I mentioned the thing about putting butter on a baguette, because there's this movie called Diva, a French movie I think, has a scene in it where this guy is explaining to this other guy, I think he's a gangster, I'm not sure, is he? He's explaining to this guy the Zen of spreading butter on a baguette. This is a French guy explaining the Zen of

[23:32]

baguette buttering. And you can imagine what it's like. It's like the samurai version of spreading butter. I remember kind of a big knife, a big sharp knife spreading the butter. Very concentrated, giving up thought, right? Just like Zen, it's like, just put the butter on the baguette, man. That's it. Right. That's the Zen. And what's not emphasized so much is that the Zen is also that this baguette buttering is being done together with all French people, and all German people, and all American people, with all opera stars, with all bakers, with all beings. Some people are interested in Zen and are not yet fully

[24:42]

ready to open to their Zen being done together with all beings. But the people who actually are taking care of Zen, not just the people who may get rich on it, in the movies, or in the hairdressing parlors, or whatever, all the other places where Zen is being practiced. The people who are taking care of the tradition, and for whom the tradition is alive, I say are those who practice concentration, who practice just do it. Just do it. Just do it, just [...] do it. Do the karma you're doing. Just think it, just think it, or just don't think it, just don't think it, just give it up, give it up, give it up. The people who are concentrated that way, who bring that together with all beings in all ways, they're the people who are really bringing the practice of concentration

[25:51]

to its realization of being something that's being done together with all beings. Because again, unless you already have been practicing that way for eons, you've got some other way of practicing that you've been doing for eons. And that way of practicing needs to be integrated with the Bodhisattva vows in order that there's no obstruction to the practice enlightenment of all beings. So there's all kinds of problems and resistances to these wonderful Bodhisattva vows. And we say that, but we don't actually say that. You know, oftentimes in Zen centers we say them, like, sentient beings are numberless,

[26:54]

I vow to save them. We say that, but a lot of Zen students don't necessarily think, or they don't think, or they don't understand that that vow goes with everything they do all day long. They say, sentient beings are numberless, I vow to save them. They say that, but they don't think, do I mean that, am I actually into that all day long, every moment? Now I'm saying, let's look at that. Is that vow alive, the vow to save all beings, is it living with every moment of your life? And if not, Bodhisattvas practice with the moments when it's not, doesn't seem to be there. We can work with that. We have vows for what to do when your vows are not on the job. And people have resistance to the vows

[28:02]

about what to do when they're not vowing, too. And all this is basically all resistance is resistance to the same practice and the same enlightenment of all beings. That's basically our main thing we're resisting, is what thing we most want. That's at the center of our resistance. We have other things we're resisting to, but we do that occasionally, like we're occasionally resisting having a cold, or we're occasionally resisting a mosquito. But these are all just, you know, what do you call it, satellites floating around this central issue. Okay, and so on the horizon, which has already been, I brought this up at the yoga room in Berkeley this summer, and I brought it up at

[29:05]

the top of the Green Gulch Sashin, and I also brought it up in England. These wonderful individual particular expressions of Bodhisattva vows are also very nice to look at. So we have Tore Zenji's vow, you're welcome to study it. On the other side of the page there's A. A. Dogen's Bodhisattva vow, you're welcome to study that. We have Samantabhadra's Ten Vows, and there's a whole bunch of other sets of beautiful vows of beautiful Bodhisattvas that we can look at and resist. And wonder, you know, and look at what our resistance is about. There's educational value in all these resistances, and all of our resistances, to any aspect of this, are more beings to save. So if you hear about saving all beings and you resist it, then that resistance is another being to save. If you hear about the vow to worship and honor and respect all Buddhas and you have resistance to that, that

[30:12]

resistance is a sentient being to save, is a sentient being to care for. We need to learn how to do that so there's always a sentient being to care for. So while you're spreading butter on the baguette, there's one, there's innumerable sentient beings to care for at that time, while you're just doing what you're doing. And there's also the opportunity to forget the vow to save all sentient beings while you're toasting your toast. There's opportunity to forget it, and there's opportunity to notice, actually, oops, I toasted the toast but I forgot to do it together with all sentient beings for the welfare of all beings. I forgot! Wow! It happens, right? It just happened. I heard it happens and now I noticed it happened.

[31:12]

So there's a rhythm in your vowing practice, for most of us, and part of the rhythm is like when it goes below the threshold of happening. It doesn't seem to be happening, and then it does seem to be happening, and then it doesn't seem to be. There's a rhythm in your vowing, it's really always there, but sometimes you don't notice it, you can't find it. Where's the vow? What was that vow again? Oh yeah, there it is! Save all sentient beings! Okay, great, let's do it! Even while we're doing this, let's, yes, and now it's gone again. Or not even noticing it's gone, just so. So I'd like to look at how you can, no matter what practice you're doing, or what non-practice you're doing, whatever practice you're doing or whatever daily life activity that you're doing that you do not yet see as practice, bring the vow together with whatever you're doing, and then what you're doing is done

[32:17]

for the sake of the vow, or together with the vow. So that's probably what I'm going to be working on for the foreseeable future, and I welcome you to dive into this ocean of bodhisattva vow together with me and all the bodhisattvas and all the people who don't want to be bodhisattvas are in the same ocean. And let's try to encourage ourselves to receive the great gift of this vow, of these vows, the great nourishment the great uplift of these vows. And any feedback? For me at this time? Or for yourself?

[33:35]

I wanted to begin to mention the word feedback, I looked it up in the dictionary, it has a nice definition. First definition is that part of the output of a process which becomes an input to the process. And the other meaning of feedback is some critical or evaluative response or comment. So in both those senses, your feedback is warmly encouraged and welcomed. I thought I had a translation question, but maybe it's really a resistance. Okay, let's hear it. I think in what we read, Toze uses the word sinful, or some derivation of sin. Sinful, yeah. And that confuses me, because I didn't understand sin to be part of this body.

[34:39]

You didn't understand sin as being part of what? What we're doing, how we think. Oh, sin is a being, is a being which we vow to save. We vow to save all sins. But doesn't sin say something isn't the way it's supposed to be? Isn't that what sin means? I like the etymology of sin, which is that it's related to the word sunder, to split. So there is splitting going on, you know, for example of baguettes. Splitting is going on, it seems to be going on, sundering seems to be happening in this world. It's an illusion, you know, but there does seem to be splitting. That's the basic sin, is to split this world, is to split your practice from somebody else's practice. Or your practice, or your enlightenment from somebody else's.

[35:40]

That's a kind of sundering, it's a kind of sin, that the mind creates this thing of, Oh, my practice is separate from her practice, my enlightenment is separate from Buddha's practice. This kind of sundering, this is what I think I would mean by sin. And I think etymologically the English word means the same thing, that you split yourself from, in some traditions it would be split yourself from God. That you're separate from God, or you're separate from your neighbor, you know. That would be, or you're separate from the apple, you know, or you're separate from whatever. There seems to be that phenomenon in the world and it could be called sin, or affliction. The basic, you know, it says, we say that the first bodhisattva vow of the four main ones we say is Zen Center. Sentient beings are numberless, I vow to say.

[36:44]

The next one is, it's actually afflictions, but also can be called delusions. Afflictions are delusions, delusions are afflictions. Sin is an affliction, affliction is a sin, you know, that kind of thing. So, not all of our karma is necessarily sinful, but a lot of it has a kind of split in it. Like, I'm doing this with, you know, and it's natural, like little kids they say, you don't have to teach kids, they don't have to hear from their brothers and sisters. Let me do it myself. The parents don't say, you should be doing this yourself. They pick it, they somehow, it's natural for them to say, no, I'm going to do it. At some point they're going to do it themselves. You're not going to help me, granddaddy, you know. You're not going to help me at all, I'm going to do it all by myself. And if this gets done, I did it, you didn't help me at all, you know. This kind of thing, I didn't teach them that.

[37:45]

Am I sure, am I sure? No, I'm not. So anyway, it seems to be natural that we split, that our mind splits ourselves from those who are supporting us, and without whom we would not be here. We sometimes say, you know, I'm separate from you. And the action based on that is, you could say, sinful or unenlightened action. Okay?

[38:16]

@Text_v004
@Score_JJ