So, I think it's appropriate today. I think it's appropriate today. Come in. I think it's appropriate today to talk about the disaster in paradise. How ironic. But first, I wanted to express our compassion and deep feeling for all of the people who have been suffering and the people who died. No matter what we say about it, this is what happened. We can say what if, or what should have been, or how it could have been, or whatever.

[01:09]

But the fact of the matter is, it happened. And so our compassion and sympathy really go out toward all those people and the situation. And then I want to talk about what could... Well, you know, what comes to my mind, is what is our practice in this kind of situation? How do we practice in this kind of situation? There's a saying in Japanese, Japan, the world, I think it goes like this, the world is hell and hell is where we dwell. It just brings back to us, you know, the fact and the reality of what our life is like in this world.

[02:11]

We make a big effort to find happiness and to make ourselves comfortable and think about what we think of as progress, all these things. But the fact of the matter is, we live a certain length of time, and then we die. And in between, we try to be as happy as we can, one way or another. And there are many paths to happiness. But they're not all happy. They don't really, they're not really necessarily, they don't really find, go all the way through.

[03:17]

Like life is a kind of maze with many dead ends. And then there's one path that goes through, but it's hard to find. So this is an unstable world. The fact of the matter is that this is an unstable world. It's always shifting and changing and reminds me of I don't know if they still have these or not, but when I was a little kid down in Venice Beach, we used to have the fun house. They used to have it out here in San Francisco as well, and there were all these unstable things that you are, you know, see if you can get across this floor that's always moving and shifting and the mirrors, you look in there and you see all these distortions of yourself.

[04:25]

And it's just a model of the world, basically. And it's a model of how do we get through this shifting, swirling, unpredictable world. in a way that, in the best way possible, let's put it that way. So, and life changes very fast. Events change very fast. Very fast. And for our understanding of paradise, Paradise lost. Paradise, you know, I think people move out into the country because it's wonderful, beautiful, trees, birds, wildlife, quiet.

[05:36]

And then suddenly, everything's wiped out. So, what is stability? Our practice is to find stability, among other things. Our practice is basically to find the stable way. And the stable way is not some special way. How do we find our balance? How do we maintain our balance? How do we walk in balance in a shifting environment, ever shifting environment? How do we find our soft mind, our flexible mind and body so that

[06:41]

We don't, you 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 a lot of earthquakes. And they had the big earthquake with the, Tokyo National Hotel, I think it was called, was destroyed. That was in the 20s, I think, or in the 30s. Imperial Hotel. And the whole thing just fell down. So they built it again, which is our won't. Everything falls down, and then we build it again, and it falls down. That's the way we operate. So this hotel, they asked Frank Lloyd Wright if he would design it.

[07:49]

And he did, and he designed it on a shifting basis. Rollers, so to speak. So that when the earthquake would come, the building would move on its foundation, instead of building it on a rigid foundation. which easily collapses. But you know how we are. The building's still standing, as far as I know. For a Zen student, I think that's our practice. Our practice is to learn how to move with things, how to move with the world, with the shifting, always changing environment, instead of just screwing ourselves down in a rigid way.

[08:57]

Rigidity always fails. I think about the Indians in America, the Native Americans in America. There are times when they built rigid building, rigid housing, like in the Southwest. But mostly, they just lived in working with nature, appreciating nature and going with the changes, going with the changes. Natural disasters have been happening. forever. Of course, they're always happening. Disasters of water, disasters of fire, disasters of earth, disasters of air in the sky.

[10:01]

Disasters of earth are earthquakes, which we need to talk about a little bit because that's our disaster. coming. We know we have this disaster coming and it's been coming for longer than we want because it makes us kind of edgy and we forget about it. What happens is that when it comes up in our consciousness, due to little warnings we put a lot of effort into what to do when the earthquake comes. And we scurry around and deal with it, and make plans. Incidentally, we have a lot of water underneath the stairs, just in case we have an earthquake. And then 10 years goes by, there's no earthquake, and we forget all about it.

[11:11]

And then we remember again. So I think this goes on about every 10 years, we remember that there's going to be an earthquake. And then we think, well, maybe there won't be an earthquake, because it hasn't happened. Do we really have to think about this? And yet we do have to think about this, because if we don't think about this, the earthquake will come and we'll be unprepared. We'll be unprepared anyway. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't prepare. I want to let you know that Bruce Coughlin, who is sitting right there, is our earthquake analyst and officer of preparation. And he's been working on this. He's the lone voice in the earthquake wilderness. I have to tell you that. He says, we just have to keep doing this, and in a very quiet voice.

[12:12]

And I believe him, but I don't think about it, because it hasn't happened. So that's my problem. But I think we really should. And so this is our preparedness thing. I don't think fire is our thing. Well, the other thing is air. Right now, we have air pollution. We do. So, I don't know how long that will last. And in the east, they have water pollution. There's an imbalance in all the waters on one side of the world and all the fires on the other side. Instead of mixing it up, so there's some balance.

[13:17]

So that's one of the problems with global warming. So, Karigiri Roshi, from time to time, would talk about one of his favorite anecdotes, that when he was at Eheiji Monastery in Japan, as a young novice, there was a big earthquake, and everybody ran out of the monastery, except for one monk. And the monk walked over to the main altar in the Buddha Hall and took the incense that had been burning and turned it upside down to put it out.

[14:24]

And then he, everything was moving, and he quietly and unhurriedly walked out. So that's his category. He loved that because it illustrated the balanced temperament of the monk. He didn't panic or get excited or whatever. He just, and everything was moving. And he just went and did this little thing, and then came out. He was trying to save the building from fire, but it was being wrecked by an earthquake. Anyway, fires do start because of earthquakes. Yeah. So, you know, when I was young, I lived in Southern California, and we had earthquakes all the time.

[15:30]

Earthquake was not a big deal, actually, when I was a kid. Oh, there's the earthquake, you know. But things have changed, and earthquakes are devastating. So we should be prepared and think about it. So I, although I could go on, I would like to know, I would like to be able to open this up so that, to hear some of your concerns and maybe discuss what they are. So if you have anything, any question or something that you'd like to open up, I'll give you that opportunity. Ross.

[16:34]

What are our rollers in our architecture? Yeah, in other words, how are we built? Are we rigid or are we flexible? Yes. So our rollers are, we're always riding our scooter or our skates. to be able to not have a fixed idea. We have to have some ideas, of course, of how we will respond, but the practice of a Zen student, daily practice, continuous practice of a Zen student is to be always open and not have a lot of assumptions or opinions, but to be open and sensitive to our surroundings.

[17:45]

You know, animals are like this. They're open and sensitive to their surroundings without too much thought. So I'm not saying that we should be like an animal, but every animal has some wonderful quality that we also can adopt or have. And Native Americans, you know, had a lot of these qualities because, not because they didn't think a lot, but because their thinking was not as complex. And they were open to their surroundings. They had to be open to their surroundings, to part of their surroundings. So, the Imperial Hotel, on its rollers, was sensitive to the movement of the Earth.

[18:46]

And therefore, wasn't surprised, but just moved in concert with the movement of the Earth. So, that kind of quality is really important. of the four elements. Yes. And I'm wondering how that plays in with kind of being with the disasters as they happen. Well, you know, we express. It's not like because we acknowledge those disasters that because we do, it's going to change anything.

[19:56]

But, you know, often in our echoes, we express something that feels like, you know, like a prayer to stop disasters. But it means that we're just expressing our desire. It's not like we think that's going to change things. Oh, let's see. John had his hand up. Well, the question about having water and having buildings that survive versus the question of nature knots the building down and we do what comes next. Yes. What is the better preparation? to be prepared with water and food, or to be prepared with the ability to just live without water and food for a while, or whatever? Well, I think it's better to be prepared. It's good to be prepared, even though things will not happen in the way that you think they will.

[21:05]

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 didn't. If we don't have it, that's a different story, right? How do we ration our food or our water if there's almost nothing? If there's nothing, then what you will do is your whole body mind will go looking for it. I remember when we were at Tassajara in 1969. The winter of 1969 was a really extreme winter where we were snowed in and unprepared for that. And so we went out into the flats and collected miner's lettuce and stuff, and we had some wheat berries.

[22:12]

That was 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 all you think about. That's all you talk about. That's all we talked about all day long when we had the opportunity to talk. Food, food, food. Boy, whatever you can get for her. Yes? So in our neighborhood, in North Oakland, we have an opportunity to sort of rehearse for disaster. Yes. And so we had no water. So we had to really very actively examine our preparations.

[23:13]

And sure enough, the food that we put away in cans, the cans were corroded. And we didn't really have potable water. And so it was an opportunity. to the situation and we have no idea how long it's going to last. Fortunately it just lasted I found out, much to my surprise, someone even had a giraffe up there.

[24:21]

Who knows why? But these animals are suffering too, and I think groups are trying to rescue them and move them to shelter. Yes, the animals, that's right. Wild and domestic, yes. People always, there's a lot of dogs and cats there. But the wild animals, because this has been happening forever, so to speak, that there have always been wildfires, and animals living in the forest always suffer from that. That's just the way it is. But you're right, it's really, Tragic for everything there. But this happens so fast, you know, that it's hard for many people and suddenly there it is and you just have to leave, you know.

[25:29]

So when I think about, this is going to be a great migration in the U.S., in us, for us. That's another subject which I want to touch on. You know, when you lose your wallet, you feel kind of helpless in a way, right? Well, here people are losing everything. No clothes, no credit cards, no medications, no nothing. And of which everybody's depending on. So one of the biggest problems is losing our dependencies. getting separated from our dependencies. So that's a kind of lesson also. We get so comfortable and dependent on so many things. 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.

[26:45]

It's a good way to live. And we're inundated with more and more dependencies, you know, oh, you can get that, you know, oh, 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 also think that even though cans are corroded on the outside, they're not necessarily corroded on the inside. They can last a pretty long time. Penelope? Right. Yes. meetings every two weeks, and I bring it up every two weeks.

[28:14]

Yes. My feeling is that we're just too busy. It's not, you know, we have a certain rhythm in our life that's based on things that we do every day. And that's not part of that. And in order to make space for that, we have to stop and include it and keep it in our rhythm. But unless we include it in the rhythm of our activities, it's outside. Even though we say we like it and so forth, we should do it. Denise? So I'm thinking a lot about when natural disasters come, it's sudden, and they're not as often as people die naturally from an illness daily.

[30:07]

And I'm holding the fact that Yet that happens way more frequently in our life than these fires and earthquakes. And yet we still don't think it's going to happen or pay attention to it or prepare. And it's kind of like what Penelope was saying. Why is that so hard? Well, basically we're attached to life, what we call life. We're attached to this side, and we don't want to look at that side. The other thing is, like I said to Penelope, unless we include it in our rhythm, we don't think about it.

[31:17]

Or we think about it, but it's hard to do anything about it. So it's, you know, taking care of our body is not always in everyone's consciousness. Would you agree that there's liberation in including it? That there can be? Yes. We don't need to fight to stay fit and healthy and young to last longer, because there's also joy in embracing it. Well, this is the same thing. We don't know when that moment comes, when of our decease, right? So we just go, we just go. So we have to be prepared to let go. Basically, it's really the same thing.

[32:20]

When the fire comes, we have to be prepared mentally that, okay, I lost everything external. And even though I don't like it, it's okay. This is life. That has to be there. And it's the same thing with our body and mind. We have to be ready to let go. Even though we want to stay here, we have to be ready to let go. It's all the same, really. Don't you have to let go in order to be prepared? Yes. Yes. I like that. We have to let go in order to be prepared to let go. Yes, absolutely. So that's what, that's actually what our Zen practice is about. You know, it reminds me of, what is religious practice?

[33:28]

Religious practice is many things, but it's, facing the fact that you will not be here forever and how you can, what is your focal point? Without a focal point, it's really hard to find your stability. So one focal point that people use is God. In Buddhism, Buddhadharma, our focal point is stillness. And within activity, and activity within stillness.

[34:31]

So for a Zen student in our lineage, it's Zazen. So we actually find our focal point within ourself. And we orient ourself through that focal point of emptiness. Denise? they've made the complete progress. And if people of color and gays hadn't stood up in certain ways, there wouldn't have been this kind of progress.

[35:39]

So I'm wondering if it's in the half the time, how do you feel about something like that, that half the time women would be actually speaking? I don't know. I never thought about it. Well, think about it now. Be flexible and think about it. So your problem is about, there's something wrong with flexibility? I'm asking you if the male leadership here is willing to share 50% of the Saturday morning time, and how do you feel about doing that? We do that. Where's your county? Who's county? You know, you're bringing up your argument in the wrong place. Yeah, yeah.

[37:02]

You know, I'm not going to talk about flexibility because that's not really your subject. Your subject is equality. Your subject is equality. It doesn't matter. I know it matters to you. I know it matters to you. You know, you should talk to our, yeah, yes. Do we have, what do you feel as the person who, what, well, feel about what? We do share it. No, 50% is, we don't go by percentages.

[38:10]

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. What I would say is you should bring your problem up to the practice committee.

[39:25]

It's not appropriate here. You know, you're changing the subject. You keep changing the subject. Not every one of your concerns. I said, I didn't say you should bring your concern. I said part of, if you have any concerns about this subject, not some other subject, you're changing this subject. And I hold myself back. Well, let me tell you how to be here. Stop complaining and just practice. Yes, because you're always looking for something to complain about. Yes, you are. Yes, your truth. Thank you.

[40:28]

Okay. Okay. Yeah. When you talked about your concerns, I was thinking about the earthquake. I was thinking about the fact that I live with someone who believes that no preparation will matter. Therefore, it does not want to prepare. Therefore, it is the most harmful to people. And I was thinking about how I have not pushed against it, and how to go ahead and prepare for an earthquake with this person and remain flexible. Yeah. Yes, you know, I feel like somewhere between you and your partner,

[41:40]

I feel like I'm somewhere between you and your partner. Well, I mean, I'm not the kind of person who would prepare. No. Nevertheless, I go along with preparing. Yes. Because I think the people who want to prepare is really good. It doesn't mean that I'm good. Because my natural way of doing something is to just meet things as they happen. And, you know, my dear wife takes care of the earthquake stuff in our neighborhood. So I appreciate what she does and support all that.

[42:44]

But it's not my way of doing things. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't go along with that. Yeah, well that's how you do it. Just do it, you know, just do what you want. And he has to adjust to you. Charles. Oh yes. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's different.

[43:49]

Quite different. So, you know, this is the era of migration, and it's been predicted that this century is going to experience many big migrations, which, as we can see, is already happening. I mean, it's causing one of the biggest problems in the world, is the migration. It, you know, totally irritated Europe and we've got 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, nothing, absolutely nothing.

[44:53]

And then the switch is from having everything they want to having nothing. And we haven't really dealt with that yet because it's in the process of happening. 10,000 people are homeless with nothing. No jobs. And there's no place to put them. No place for them to go. This is a big, big problem. That's the aftermath of the fire. And it's the present. problem as well. So, it's going to change a lot of things, all this migration. The whole world is in migration. Yes. Yes.

[46:03]

Yes. Yes. uh... uh... Well, you know, that's normal.

[47:18]

That's normal 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, you realize that everything is a part of everything else, and that's meaningful, totally meaningful. So losing myself is actually gaining myself. This is the basis of religion. To lose your small self is to gain your big self. I don't want to spout religion, but that's the plan.

[48:22]

I think you started talking about taking refuge in emptiness or having our basis of stability on this interconnectedness and whatnot. Well, I deal with the person on a fairly common, regular basis, but I find that What gets me out of exactly what he's talking about is to have a focus on something and get deeply involved in some tangible activity. Yes, well that's helpful to be involved in some tangible activity that occupies you so you don't have to Well, it's like this being concentrated, like giving your total self. Yes, giving your total self. Giving your total self means giving yourself away.

[49:26]

Something very mundane on the surface, that seems mundane and seems meaningless, but penetration is where... But mundane is spiritual, and spiritual is mundane. So, giving yourself, yes, totally to what you're doing is emptiness. It's the great generosity. Dana is where you find your liberation. I'm wondering, you know, in these moments where the Wednesday discussions that we have, new people come to the temple, or the center, and they're clearly distressed in this moment. And two weeks ago, it was like the elections.

[50:30]

Yes, one thing after another. You know, I'm just wondering what can We don't, I mean, we're not able to assist. What way can we, as part of the Sangha, do together to help? Is there some offering that can be made? We have one thing. It's called Sazen. That's what we offer. It's the most important thing in our life. It's the one thing that allows you to experience reality as it is. That's our offering.

[51:33]

Every day we do this. There are people that offer food. There are people that offer clothing. There are people that offer housing. We offer zazen. And that's why they come here. And I must say that it is a great thing to offer. Yes, yes, yes. And if we have clothes to give, we can do that. If we have food to give, we can do that. But our main offering is that's it. So, thank you. And it was time. It's time to go. So, goodbye.

[52:18]

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