Good morning everyone. I want to talk about this zazen practice we're doing all day today in terms of the self-fulfillment samadhi that we'll be chanting in our midday service, the samadhi or practice or concentration that realizes and fulfills and enjoys the self. And I want to talk about this practice in terms of the samadhi of all beings. When we sit upright and relaxed and settling on the self, facing the wall, facing ourself, enjoying our inhale and exhale.

[01:02]

Upright, settled, facing the wall. We are facing all beings, and actually everybody we've ever known, Everybody we haven't known, every being in all space and time, is part of what's happening on your seat. This is not... merely a self-help practice, although, of course, it does, we are transformed ourselves, whatever the self is, by sustaining this practice. How do we support and how are we supported by the whole world?

[02:10]

and by all the particular beings around us. So we feel this sitting for a day in this room, feeling the support of those around us to help us to each be upright and settled and aware. How are we connected? How do we receive this benefit from all beings? How does our practice inform all beings? So one way to talk about this is in terms of when I focus on the fourth of the four bodhisattva methods of guidance that Dogen talks about.

[03:12]

The first three are generosity or giving, kind speech, and beneficial action. But the fourth is cooperation or identity action. And I'll read some parts of what Dogen, the 13th century founder of our branch of Zen, Soto Zen, says about this in this essay from his true Dharma, I, Treasury, Shobogenzo. Cooperation means non-opposition. It is not opposing oneself and not opposing others. This is really challenging these days. How do we see our relationship with others? He says, it is like a human Buddha being the same as a human. Because of assimilation to the human world, we know a Buddha must assimilate to other worlds.

[04:16]

When one knows cooperation, self and others are one suchness. Their music, song, and wine accompanies people, accompanies celestial beings, 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 celestial spirits. There is such a logic. This is learning cooperation. So how do we enjoy each other? How do we enjoy the activities that give us enjoyment with each other? He says, a task of cooperation is a manner, a standard, a dignity, an attitude. After regarding others as self, There must be a principle of assimilating oneself to others.

[05:20]

Self and others are endless with time. So of course, in our normal way of thinking, there's self and others. This is fundamental to our discursive thinking. The very structure of our language is in terms of subject and object. As soon as we start making sentences, we can't escape this. It's so ingrained in our thinking. So we see ourself and we see the world out there as others. The wall is separate from us, right? This is how we think. in terms of our discriminating consciousness. Actually, the wall is not separate from you. The wall is looking at you as you sit. The wall is not a barrier to keep the world out.

[06:24]

The wall is a mirror to show you yourself. The wall is a window for all beings to see you. So this practice, this bodhisattva method of, or this bodhisattva integrative principle of how to act to foster universal liberation is to see this connection. And it's not just about other people. It's about how we interact with the world. So he gives an example from an ancient Chinese text. The ocean doesn't refuse water. Therefore, it is able to become immense. Mountains don't refuse earth. That is why they can be so high. Enlightened leaders don't refuse people.

[07:27]

Therefore, their communities can become populous. How do we accept? How do we accept? How do the mountains allow more earth to pile up? That's how they became mountains. All the different waters flow into the ocean. That's why they are oceans. Know that oceans not refusing water is cooperation. The virtue of water not refusing the ocean is complete. Water gathers and becomes an ocean. Earth accumulates and becomes a mountain. Of course, we know there are tectonic plates that push up the earth. And we have older mountains that have been worn down, like the Alleghenies in the east. And we have new mountains, like the Himalayas, that have been pushed up. But they have all accepted

[08:30]

various accumulations of earth. He goes on to talk about how, you know, so back in times in the history of Asian Buddhism, they didn't have the pretense of elections or the pretense of democratic rule. There were rulers and sovereigns and warlords. So he talks about that. In ancient times of pristine honesty, nations had no rewards or punishments. That is because rewards and punishments of those times were not on a par with now. even now there must be people who seek the right way even without reward. So this is beyond the conception of ignorant people. Because an enlightened ruler is wise, he doesn't reject people.

[09:33]

People always form a nation, though they may have a mind to seek an enlightened ruler, because there are few who thoroughly know the reason of an enlightened ruler. The reason an enlightened ruler is an enlightened ruler, they only rejoice in not being rejected by an enlightened ruler. but don't know how to not reject an enlightened ruler themselves. So, kind of different way of thinking, but this is the, because there is the logic of cooperation in both enlightened rulers and in ignorant people, cooperation is the practical undertaking of the Bodhisattva. And then he says, one should face everyone with a gentle expression. So this goes back to kind speech and beneficial action. So this is the practice of cooperation. How do we accept everyone? How do we cooperate with everyone?

[10:43]

How do we see that we're actually connected in reality. We are connected with all beings, not just some beings. The wall isn't to keep out certain kinds of people, people from other religions or people from other tribes or from other countries, from other parties. So this is a challenging practice for us. And yet, this is how our tradition recommends we express, well, we have to find our way of talking about this.

[11:47]

in this culture. So I'm citing these ancient texts from Asia, but the point is how we practice this here in our time. So the Self-Fulfillment Samadhi text from Dogen that we will chant at our midday service says a number of things too, so I'll just read little bits of it. And this is one of Dogen's very first writings. This is kind of the starting point of what we now call Soto Zen. When one displays the Buddha mudra with one's whole body and mind sitting upright in this samadhi, in this concentration, even for a short time, So the Buddha mudra is like our hand position, like this hand position that we sit in when we're doing zazen, or this hand position that we use when we're walking, or this hand position that we use when we're bowing.

[12:59]

But also, it just means this physical posture of wholeness of awakening, of gratitude. So we sit like Buddha. Whether we're sitting cross-legged or kneeling or in a chair, we sit upright like Buddha to enact Buddha's awareness. With this body, we express, we embody Buddha, awakening in this body. And we do this regularly, day after day, and this body becomes Buddha's body somehow in ways that we don't actually recognize or even maybe believe. But anyway, he says, when one displays the Buddha mudra with one's whole body and mind sitting upright in the samadhi, even for a short time, just one period, let alone a whole day, Everything, then he says, everything in the entire dharma world, the whole phenomenal world, becomes buddha mudra and all space in the universe completely becomes enlightenment.

[14:06]

So I've talked about this sentence often. It's this, the fundamental koan of our tradition that Dogen says that just to sit like this, everything in the whole universe completely awakens. What does it mean for space to awaken? Therefore, it enables Buddhas to increase the dharma joy of their own original grounds and renew the adornment of the way of awakening." And he says more things. He makes it very clear that this is not just about human-type beings. He says, there is a path through which the unsurpassed complete enlightenment of all things returns to the person in zazen and that person and the enlightenment of all things intimately and imperceptibly assist each other. So we don't perceive it. But somehow, by taking this form, by taking on Buddha mudra, by, and some of you don't believe this,

[15:15]

Maybe none of you believe this, but some of us have experienced that somehow the universe supports us. And we can feel it, you know, when we're sitting in this room, that there's a support for us to keep sitting upright. There's this intimate, intimate, intimate and imperceptible assistance. So the Zazen person without fail drops off body and mind. It doesn't mean that we don't still exist here physically. It doesn't mean that we stop thinking, but we let go of something. Cuts away previous tainted views and thoughts, awakens genuine Buddhadharma, universally helps the Buddha work in each place where Buddhists teach and practice, and widely influences practitioners going beyond Buddha, vigorously exalting the teaching that goes beyond Buddha. So the point isn't to just get stuck on Buddha. You know, I don't care about Buddhism.

[16:18]

It's not about becoming a Buddhist. I don't care if you're a Buddhist. There are Buddhists in the world doing terrible things. Look at Burma. Just go beyond Buddha. Go beyond your idea of Buddha, just like we go beyond our ideas of ourself and actually experience what it's like to be connected in this samadhi of all beings. He says, at this time, because earth, grasses, trees, Fences and walls even, tiles and pebbles, all things in every direction in the universe carry out this awakening work. So everyone receives the benefit of this movement caused by this functioning. All are imperceptibly helped by the wondrous and incomprehensible influence of awakening to actualize the enlightenment at hand. So this is what this Samadhi of All Beings is about. So we'll be chanting this as a longer text and I'm not going to read the whole thing.

[17:31]

He says also, those who receive and use this support extend the buddha influence of original awakening so all who live and talk with these people also share and universally unfold this boundless buddha virtue and they circulate the exhaustible ceaseless incomprehensible and immeasurable buddhadharma within and without the whole phenomenal world so you know one of the things we emphasize is not just becoming some virtuoso meditator you know that's nice if you can sit still for 40 minutes or whatever, but how do we then express this and share this? So we will have a lunch in the meditation hall where we express receiving and offering food, taking our food quietly and simply. But also when we go out, how do we express this awareness in our life? This is mysterious. Sometimes we get some positive feedback that, oh yeah, something's happening.

[18:47]

Somebody notices, oh, what have you been up to here? People have reported this to me, that they get positive feedback about how they are in the world. But even if nobody notices, something happens. We can share, graciously share ourselves with the world. And the world supports us too. So, again, he says this is imperceptible, this is mysterious, this is inconceivable. We can't figure this out based on subject-object thinking. There's this mysterious guidance, this mutual inconceivable guidance that happens. This is this This is the effect of this samadhi of all beings.

[19:49]

There's this profound, subtle Buddha influence that is carried out, he says. Grass, trees, and earth, affected by this functioning together, radiate great brilliance and endlessly expound the deep wondrous dharma. Grasses and trees, fences and walls, demonstrate and exalt it for the sake of living beings. both ordinary and stage. So this doesn't seem like it's talking, sometimes we can feel like this does not seem like it's talking about our world. We can feel the difficulties in our world and all the conflict now in our world. How can we respect the non-separation, the cooperation, the ways in which we are actually connected, and even, he says, identical.

[21:03]

Well, let's just say non-separate from all beings. How do we express this in a world that's full of conflict? How can we express identity with all beings, kindness for all beings, and still oppose harmful actions? without hateful speech, without demonizing individual people? How do we speak truth to power when, for example, there's denial of the obvious massive climate breakdown going on all around us, causing so much suffering?

[22:09]

This is a challenge. And yet it seems, it feels right to talk about this samadhi of all beings, that we are connected. That hate speech, hateful speech is not helpful. That we're connected with everyone. So I, you know, personally want to talk about climate breakdown when there's so much institutional denial of that reality and when we're seeing, you know, massive fires and smoke throughout the Pacific Northwest and

[23:30]

And climate breakdown enhanced hurricanes throughout the Gulf and Southeast. Right in places like Florida where you're not allowed to say the word climate change. It's just so strange. And this massive military budget that our country is subjected to that doesn't seem to help anything. except the profits of the weapons makers. And I can name the people who are making profits off that, but, you know, it's part of the system. To talk about the individual people as evil doesn't, I don't know, that doesn't seem helpful to me. And we can talk about institutional and systemic racism and the karma of slavery and racism, but there's also the suffering of white working people.

[24:41]

We're connected with everyone. And then, you know, on a more intimate personal level, how do we see our own suffering and the suffering of the people around us, loss and illness and our own inner struggles. How do we be kind to ourselves and our family and friends who are struggling? So somehow there is, you know, in terms of what the Self-Fulfillment Samadhi says, there is support for us to express awareness and kindness in the world from

[25:55]

all beings around us, from the planet that... Well, I don't know if the planet is suffering from climate breakdown. The climate is, and many beings are suffering from it, and there are changes in the way animals and plants are able to survive, and all of that's going to be moving around. Okay. How do we recognize that? How will we as humans adapt to that? So, we are in the middle of change, the sixth mass extinction on the planet. How do we face that? How do we face that wall? How do we allow it to face us? How do we respond? Sitting all day, stuff comes up, our own personal fears and anger and cravings.

[27:04]

How do we be kind to ourselves? And when judgment comes up about people in power or aspects of ourselves that are difficult, how do we be kind to that? Now turn away, face the difficulties, but with kindness, being willing to breathe into it. This is the challenge of the samadhi of all beings, and this self-fulfillment samadhi which I've talked about a lot, it means the self accepting, the etymology of it is the self accepting its function. How do we accept the situation we're in and work with it, use it, enjoy this day, this world, this life we're in?

[28:17]

find our way of bringing awakening and joy to our life, the people around us, this world, in the middle of difficulties. So this isn't something we're going to fix today or even necessarily this lifetime. But how do we breathe into it. How do we sit upright in the middle of it? How do we sit like Buddha in the middle of the world facing us? So, we will have a tea and time for discussion for the people sitting all day today, this afternoon. But I guess I've said what I wanted to say, so we have a little bit of time if anyone wants to respond or comment. Feel free. Okay.

[29:45]

Okay. They should I wouldn't like that either. And in pointing out problems, I don't mean to bring everybody down or anything, you know.

[31:12]

Please enjoy the problems. Please enjoy being able to be upright and present. Please enjoy your lives. Please enjoy today. We can do that, actually. There's no reason not to. And sometimes we do, you know, sometimes problems do go away. Sometimes we even figure out how to fix some problem. That can happen. It does happen sometimes. Or sometimes some addictive habit we have, you know, drops off. I've told the story of how I quit smoking cigarettes. You know, it happens sometimes that we lose something. But then, you know, if you lose all your problems, somebody else will bring you their problems.

[32:18]

It's okay. This is the world we live in. But we may as well enjoy it too. Yes, Brian. Yeah, I agree with that. It's not that everything's all one.

[33:20]

It's that we cooperate. It's that we're not separate. I don't want to say that it's all one. We are separate, but in this way in which this identity action or this cooperation, we each have our own self, in a sense. So Buddhism talks about non-self, but we each have our own way of taking that on. We each have our own responsibility, to put it that way. We each have our own way of taking on how we find cooperation with so-called others. In a sense, others and self is an illusion. We are all part of all beings.

[34:25]

But we each have our own particular way of representing that, of seeing that, of acting on that. And we can do that together. So song is about how we're sitting together today, or how we can take on projects together. But we each have to find our way of expressing that togetherness. Does that help? I wonder about the piece of it that is setting up a separation, even by saying, I have a relationship with everything. Well, there's the reality that we do imagine a separation. So maybe we have to face that we have this sense of separation, but then how to see through it, that it's not

[35:31]

ultimately real, and that we can work with that. We can help each other, be helped by others. So part of that is not just going out and helping others, but also receiving help from others. It's a dynamic relationship, and it's not that we're all just one, you know, I don't know what. glammy thing. We're all in interaction. So that's the challenge of it. But we're not separate from anyone, anything. There's not some group over there that's the bad guys that we have to fight. There's a group over there that we may say, oh, these people are acting in a way that is harmful, that I think is harmful.

[36:36]

How do we engage them in a way to change that? Yes, Ishan. Yeah. Yeah. Right. And people and groups who are acting in ways that point out, that seem to activate harm, are showing us ways that can happen and helping us to see ways we can respond. So, you know, this is all the ancient twisted karma of Homo sapiens, or whatever we are, working, or all beings working itself out, hopefully, hopefully we will survive, something will survive.

[37:46]

How do we work together, how do we find our way to work together with, I don't know, it's a challenging world. How do we, and to take it into a more personal level, when we see someone, a family member or a coworker or somebody in our day-to-day life who is acting in a way that is unhelpful or even harmful or disturbing, how do, instead of name-calling, how do we, patiently wait for an opportunity to allow them to see that they can act in a different way. It's possible sometimes.

[38:46]

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