let's go
so i think it's appropriate today
i will get a problem with me
come in
as he hits a promising to talk about the disaster in paradise
how ironic
ah my first i under an express our compassion and power
deep feeling for although the people who had been suffering and the people who died and visit am
ah no matter what we say about it this is what happened and ah
we can see what if what should have been on what how it could have been or whatever but to pack the matter is it happened and so our our compassion and sympathy really go out type of of people and and the situation
and then i want to talk about what good math but ah well
you know it comes to my mind if what is our practice in this kind of situation how do we practice in this current situation does it add thing
japanese
japan
ah
the world i think it goes like give the world is hell and hell is where we dwell
it just brings back to us you know the am
in fact in the reality of what our life is like
the in this world
we make a big effort to arms
i find happiness
and to make our ourselves comfortable
and about we can think about what we think of as progress
of the things that fact of the matter is we have a certain length of time
and are we die
and in between
wow we tried to an ah
this be as happy as we can one way or another i never all there are many path to happiness
but they're not all happy
they don't really they're not really are necessarily
i'm
they don't really find go all the way through
like life is a kind of nave
with many dead ends
and then there's one passage go through
i'll check find
so this is our and unstable world the fact that matter is that this is an unstable world is always shifting and changing
of i don't know if they still have these are not bad when i was little kid donnie venice beach
we have the funhouse the head east to have around here in san francisco as well as there were all is unstable
things that you are you know see if you get across this floor and it's always moving and shifting and a the mirrors he lives with her and she always distortions of yourself
and it's just a model of of the world basically
and the model of how do we get through this shifting swirling
unpredictable world
yeah
in a way that and
ah
in the best way possible let's put it that way
so
an and life changes very fast events change very fast
very fast and for
our understanding of paradise
paradise lost
paradise
ah you know i think people move out into the country because it's a wonderful beautiful trees birds why i'm like
quiet
and then suddenly everything's worked out

so am
what is stability our practice is to find stability
among other things
our practices basically to have find the stable way
and a stable way is not some special way
how do we find her balance how do we maintain a balance how do we walk
ah and balance is shifting
ah environment ever-shifting environment
how do we find our soft mind are flexible mind and body
so that
we don't know there are two kinds of stability in buildings
one kind of stability is to make everything as rigid as possible that's
the other side is to make everything as flexible as possible
in japan they had the
they have lot of earthquakes
and it has a big earthquake with a the am a tokyo
national utility was gone
i was destroyed that was the twenties as encourage and thirties
the imperial hotel and
the whole thing just fell down so they built it again which is a boat
everything falls down and their ability and and a vase and rebuilt that's a that's the way we operate
phyllis m
hotel they asked frank lloyd wright if you will design it
and he didn't and he decided on are shifting basis
ah rollers so to speak
so that when the earthquake would come and building would move on only it
at foundation instead of building and on a rigid foundation
which easily collapses
but you know how we are
the building still standing for as i know

and for instant i think get some practice our practice is to
to learn how to move with things how to remove with the world with the shifting
always changing environment
instead of just screwing ourselves down
ah
and the in a rigid way rigidity
always fails
i think about
the indians in america has a native americans in america
there are times when they built
i'm a rigid building rigid out housing like in the southwest but mostly i just lived an end working with nature
appreciating nature and and
i'm going with to changes
going with the changes
natural disasters have been happening forever
of course there was happening
ah
disastrous have a water disasters of fire disasters of earth disasters of air in the sky
disasters of earth earthquakes which are we need to talk about a bit because that's our our disaster
come in
we know we have a disaster coming and has been coming for long longer than we want because it makes us kind of edgy and we forget about it
take what happens is that time
when it comes up in our consciousness
how to do too little
warnings
oh we put our effort into what to do when the earthquake comes
and scurry around and and deal with it and i make plans and perfectly and incidentally we have let a water underneath the stairs just in case we have an earthquake
and then ten years goes by is no earthquake and we forget all about it
and then we remember again so i think is concerned but every ten years we remember that there's gonna be an earthquake and then we think well maybe they walk in earthquake because hasn't happened to we really have to think about this
and yet we do have to think about this because if we don't think about this here's quake will come and will be unprepared will be unprepared anyway
but that doesn't mean we shouldn't prepare
i wouldn't the let you know that
bruce caitlyn catherine who is sitting right there is a quick analyst
prefer
and
officer in preparation
and he's been working on this is a lone voice north and the earthquake wilderness
have to tell you that
he is just got have to keep doing this and it's very quiet voice and i believe him
but i forget i don't think about it
because it hasn't happened so i let my problem
but i think we really should and ah
and so listen this is our preparedness thing i don't think fire and something
while the other thing is
air right now we have air pollution

we do so
i don't know how long to last
ah and the east have water pollution is an unbalance imbalance in
tom
though all the water has on one side laurel all the fires on the other side
instead of mixing it up from this imbalance
so that's one of the province
i'm global warming

for a category mushy from time to time we'll talk about one to favorite anecdotes
when he was a je monastery in japan as young nervous
and
everybody ran out of a run out of the monastery
except for one mug
add a monk dom
what walked over to the main altar in the butter all and am took the influence that has been burning and turn it upside down to put it out delhi everything was moving
and here
quietly and unobtrusively lock up
felt that his career was he loved it because it illustrated
like the balanced temperament of a monk
he didn't panic or get excited or whatever he just and
everything was moving and it just went into this clothing and then came out three he was say trying to save the building from fire
when
wreck by earthquake anyway
and buyers to start because of earthquakes
so
you know when i was young i lived in southern california we're adequate all time
an earthquake was not a big deal actually when i was a good to all this the earthquake you know
but ah
i things had changed and earthquake so devastating
so we should be prepared and think about it
ah

so i am although i could go on i would like to know i would like to people open this up so that
to are some of your concerns and maybe discuss with they are
so we have relishing the question or something and likely will open up
a given that opportunity
right
speech
rollers
ah yeah and in other words how are we built a we rigid or we are a the bull yes so our rollers or or arms
ah
what always writing our scooter
gates
to be able to
i'm not be that have a fixed idea
you know you have to have some some ideas of question how we will respond but to lose
practice of zen student
daily practice can't continuous practice resisted is to be always open
and not ah
i have a lot of assumptions
or opinions
but to be an open fill it open insensitive to our surroundings your animals and like this can open and sensitive to their surroundings that too much fun
so i'm not saying we we should be like an animal but and every animal has some wonderful quality that
we also can adopt or have
and american in a native americans you know had a lot of these qualities because
that because they didn't think a lot but because they're thinking was
not as complex
and are opened to their surroundings to head up to their surroundings the particular surroundings
so
the imperial hotel
and it's rollers was sensitive to
the movement of the earth
and therefore out i wasn't surprised but just moved in concert with the movement of the earth
so that kind of quality is really important
yeah

yes
how's that
with
last year's as name
well you know we express
ah
it is not like because we a n
to acknowledge
those disasters that we're going to that because we do is gonna change anything
but you know we were often in our echoes we express
ah
something that feels like
you know like a prayer to stop disasters
but it means that
we were just expressing our desire is not like we think that's gonna change things
oh actually don't have to defend her
the question about a having water and heavy selling to buy
first question of nature nice to believe down and we do what
yes what is the better preparation to be prepared with water and
the way
the ability to just live without water
well i think it's better to be repaired it's good to be prepared even know
it thinks will not happen in the way that you think they will nevertheless if you're not prepared
i would rather that you had some water than that you didn't
i'd rather i had some water rather than i did if we don't have it that's a different story
then we were we hit a
m
how do you ration our
food or water is almost nothing
if there's nothing then you what what you will do if your whole body mind will go looking for it
i remember when we were just a her and nineteen sixty nine to winter of ninety and sixty nine was a really extreme weather where we were snowed in and unprepared
for that
and so we went out and into the flashing and collected a miner's lettuce and and stuff and we had some wheat berries that's about it for a while
so when you don't have food
that's all you think about when you don't have water that's odd you think about that's all you talk about that's all we talked about all day long
when we when we had the opportunity to talk
flowed to referred
boy would i wouldn't give for a
yes

yes

ah yes

situation

right

the a lack of shelter like see that most criminal to me but there are you
dry skillet and have to geographical
i
but she's animals are suffering to is i think groups are trying to rescue them a user
a
to shelter yes that the animals at three the
what a domestic yes yeah people always as lot of dogs and cats and their about the wild animals because this has been happening forever
so to speak that they've always been a wildfires and animals living in the forest or in suffer from the other than just the way it is
but you're right and three
i am
ah tragic for everything their business happened so fast you know that it's hard for many people and suddenly there it is and he just had to leave you know so when i think about
it is gonna be the great migration than us last for us
that's another subject but i want to touch on but an
when you lose your wallet you feel kind of help us in a way right well here people losing everything no clothes no no credit cards no no medications know nothing and of which every everybody depends
the on
so one of the biggest problems is
losing our dependencies getting
a separate from our dependencies
don't a kind of blessing also we get so comfortable and dependent on so many things that to live a simple life doesn't mean not to have anything but to be able to leave everything
and without regret
which is hard but to have as few dependencies as possible
it's a good way to live
and we're inundated with more and more dependencies and logo i get add you know how we can use this and pretty soon we can't live without it
so what can we live without and be okay
so i think about that
think about that
i thought i think that even though cancer corroded on the outside the not necessarily corroded on the insight
the
they can last for a long time
okay
penelope
right
yes

yes

at

he said

you know
s
he has a fast
just
mercury is that
we're just too busy
if not enough you know we have a certain rhythm
in our life that's based on things that we do everyday and that's not part of that and loader to make space for that we have to stop and included and keep it in our in our rhythm and so it was sick but unless unless we included in the
rhythm of our activities into it outside we don't even though we say we like the way we we should do it this dennis

we natural disasters

disaster
get that happens framework

here

why

well basically were attached to life
what we call life were attached to the side
and we don't want to look at that time
oh and at vlc is like i said the penelope
unless we included in our britain we don't think about it or we think about business
hard to do anything about it so it's you know
taking care of our body
is not always
in everyone's
consciousness
there's

yes
last longer
was this is the same thing as we don't know where the moment comes when a ever disease right so we just go we just got so we have to be prepared to let go
whoa
basically this is really the same thing we had to be prepared when when the fire comes we have prepared be prepared mentally that okay i lost everything external
it's even though i don't like it it took in this is life that that has to be there and it's the same thing with her a body in mind
we have to be ready to let go
even though we want to stay here
helps prevent of ago it's all the same really

yeah
yes
yes
i like that
we have to lego and i will be prepared to let go and yes absolutely
so that's what that's actually what are zen practice swap
you know
reminds me of what is a religious practice
religious practice
as many things but
it's
ah
i'm
ah
facing the fact that you will not be here forever
and how and and
ah how you can
what is your focal point without a focal point it's really hard to
so one focal point and people use is god
in buddhism buddha dharma or focal point is a stillness
and it was inactivity and activity within stillness so present student in our lineage is doesn't
so we actually find our focal point within herself
and a story and every orient herself
through the focal point of emptiness

leash

the time
i don't know i never thought about it
so your problem is about there's something wrong with flexibility

share
we do that
where's your counting
who's counting

you know you bring up your argument in the wrong place

right

yeah
you know
i'm like and talk about flexibility because that's not really your subject your subject is equality
if she is subject to see equality

it doesn't matter
i not manage to you
i know it matters to you
you know you should talk to her
yeah big yes they do we have what what do we what what what do you feel as the person who who

when who will feel about what
we do share it
no fifty percent is it if we don't go by percentages you can't do that life is not percentages
we do our best
we do our best i wish you would do your best

do you know what
thank you
i heard how you feel

yeah
what i would say if you should bring you your problem up to the practice committee
it's not appropriate here
you know you're changing the subject you keep changing the subject
but not every one of your concerns
i said i didn't say she are concerned i said part of if you have any concerns about this
subject not some other subject you're changing the subject and i hold myself back
well let me tell you how to be here stop complaining and just practice
yes because you always looking for something to complain about is not yes you are
yes your truth
thank you
okay

okay yeah

therefore it is now

yeah
yes you know hum
yeah
i feel like similar between you and your partner
i feel like i'm somewhere between you and your partner
well i mean i am
i'm not the kind of person who would prepare
no nevertheless i go along with preparing
yes
because
i i think people who are unprepared is really good
doesn't mean the anchored
because my natural as doing something is is too
just meetings as they happen
as an and
my dear wife takes care of the earthquake stuff is our neighborhood
so
i appreciate what she does in
support on that
belgian up my way of doing things but that doesn't mean i like shouldn't go in go along with that

yes
yeah

that
that was that's how you do it
just do it you know just do it you are
and he had to adjust to you
a charles

oh yes
okay because
earthquakes
yeah

yeah yeahs different
quite different
so you know this is the era of migration and has been predicted that it this century is going to experienced many big migrations which as we can see it's already happening
it's it's causing what is the biggest problems in the world is the migration that in a totally irritated a european an heirloom had this attitude of not allowing migrants and now we have our own migrants
thousands of migrants in our backyard
that have no place to go no jobs no nothing absolutely nothing and than the switch is from heavy everything they want derby nothing
and we haven't really dealt with that yeah because it's in the process of happening
thousand ten thousand people are have her homeless with nothing
no jobs
well and there's no place to put them
no place for them to go is the big big problem that's the aftermath of the fire and it's it's a present
a problem as well
so like this it's going to change a lot of things all this migration them or a whole world is in migration

yes

yes
yes

yes

i
staff

ah

ah
right
well
you know
that's normal
that's normal when we when we identify so much with our ego
when we let go when we identify with life itself
bigger than just my ego which i know you do
linda
he realized that everything is a part of everything else that's meaningful totally meaningful
so losing myself is actually gaining myself
with this is the basis of religion
to lose muscle is to gain your big self
i don't want to spout religion but
that's that's that's the plan
ah
talking about
taking refuge in
eleanor basis
ability
well i
ideal with the precedent
but i find this what gets me or that's exactly what she's talking about it is to is to have a focus on something and it's usually involve
fanciful
yes well that temple to be involved in some tangible activity
and that occupies you so you will have to
concentrated a
yes giving your total self that's
giving your total self means giving yourself away
hundred and on the surface of same as mundane and seems me
the penetration is were but monday in his spiritual and spiritual mundane
so give yourself yes totally to what you're doing is emptiness
this the great generosity
donna is how you
flip is where you find your own liberation

i was
i'm wondering these moments where is where calamity
discussions that
i know people
the center they included distress in whom
a two weeks ago with like
yes one thing after another
you know what
can we offer smaller but more or less the gothic we don't have having offer
we are
where were not able to
and
can way as part of the saga
yes
a worthwhile
is there
offering that can be a we have one thing
it's called them
would that's what we offer
this the most important thing in our life
it's the one thing that allows you to to experienced reality as it is
that's not offering everyday we live that
know get people that offer food the people are a clothing to people are for housing we have reason
and that's why they come here
ever said that
a great thing
yes yes yes and if we have close to give we can do that if we have food a year we can do that
but i made offering is thousand
yeah thank you
and it was time it's time to go
so
goodbye