So this weekend is one of my favorite American Buddhist holidays, Interdependence Day. July 4th is tomorrow. I guess the other one is Thanksgiving, which is named after two great Buddhist practices, gratitude and generosity. Maybe more important, we have this ideal of freedom that is the reason we celebrate the 4th of July, the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. And I think this is very much related and a kind of entryway for Buddhism in America to the Buddhist idea of Buddhist liberation. and the Bodhisattva principles. So in the Mahayana or universal vehicle, the Bodhisattva ideal of relieving all suffering for all beings, we talk about universal liberation.

[01:14]

And we will chant at the end the vow to free all beings. And so I want to talk today about how that's related to the American ideal of freedom. in our practice of zazen, which we've just done, and I'm very happy to have several people who've done this for the first time this morning. It's very wonderful for all of us. The first direction for zazen is to turn the light within, to study the self. So we are partly involved with personal freedom, with freeing ourselves from suffering, In this practice of zazen, we sit upright and present in this body and mind, seeing how it is to be this body and mind, not trying to change anything about it or get rid of anything or acquire some special state of being, but just to actually be present as we are.

[02:19]

And we also talk about this in terms of Realizing Buddha nature, this capacity for awakening and wisdom that is present, that all of you already have, just showing up here, even if it's for the first time, is evidence that you have some sense of what this is about, this Buddha nature. Of course, our practice is about the unfolding and expression of that through our life. But anyway, this idea of studying the self and freeing ourselves of our greed, hate, and delusion, of our grasping, of our attachments, and of our attachments and non-attachment, to be willing to be the person on your cushion or chair right now. This is one aspect of our practice. We also, our Zazen practice applies to what we do on our own cushion, and yet it also, we emphasize how that awareness extends into our

[03:19]

various communities into friends and family and relations, relationships and co-workers and so forth, the people we see during the week. And then this other level is how does this awareness relate to what is going on in our society. And all three of these levels are related. So tomorrow is the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which is why we celebrate the 4th of July and have picnics and fireworks and so forth. So the Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson with some help or a little bits of editing from John Adams and Ben Franklin. It says, we hold these truths to be self-evident. And they said that all men, but that's been extended now beyond just men, of course, and that all men are created equal, that we are endowed with certain unalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

[04:36]

So this is a kind of foundational statement for our society, and I think very related to some Buddhist principles. Of course, at the time, It was men, not women. Women didn't have the vote until about a century ago or less. And it wasn't even all men then. There were men who were slaves and there were men who didn't have enough property to qualify. And yet the principles, even though they maybe have never been actually enacted in this country, these principles are, I think, very relevant to what our Buddhist practice is about. So it's one of the ways in which Buddhism can be appreciated in this country. And many of these other principles, liberty and justice for all, for example. So I want to talk a little bit about Thomas Jefferson, whose words and principles are still inspiring.

[05:40]

And we know that in his actual life, was a slaveholder, and it seems now likely that he fathered slaves even, and he also helped destroy many Native American cultures. So there's problems about Thomas Chamberlain, and yet his principles and words, I think, are still very relevant. At one point I was thinking about writing a book about Thomas Jefferson and his words and his writings in the Dharma and how they relate to Dharma. And I had a dream once, a kind of vivid dream, that I was receiving a massage, a wonderful massage, from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. And at some point he was working on my feet and he kind of reached between my toes and pulled out a Jefferson nickel. Like a magic trick, and then he laughed. He thought, oh, gee, well, maybe I really should do that book.

[06:44]

I don't think I will now, although there's a section on Jefferson in my book coming out this fall. Anyway, among the things that Jefferson said, he vowed eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the human mind. That's pretty impressive. is worth considering in terms of how we think about the bodhisattva vows to cut through all delusion, to enter all dharmakates, to be all beings. So we talk about Buddhism is about relieving suffering. And we start with ourselves in a way, but it's actually these different levels are all related. Jefferson also in some of his later letters in 1791 He said, if there be one principle more deeply rooted than any other in the mind of every American, it is that we should have nothing to do with conquest. So that's interesting.

[07:50]

It doesn't quite fit with some of what we have been doing recently. He also said in 1816, I hope we crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations. which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country. So it seems like it's Jefferson's, in this current situation, it's Jefferson's hopes about money corporations that have been crushed. I would say that, and then we have principles like from Abraham Lincoln that who said we shall keep government of the people, by the people, for the people, and shall not perish. In the Gettysburg Address, and of course now, we might say that we have government of the corporations, by the corporations, and for the large corporations. And yet, in spite of what's going on in this world, these principles of freedom, we still celebrate the Declaration of Independence, even if many people think it's about hot dogs and fireworks.

[08:58]

Still, there are these principles of freedom, whatever else is happening. And this is a lot of what the rest of the world appreciates about America. And I think they have a deep connection The articulation by Jefferson and others of these principles have a deep relationship with the Bodhisattva precepts and the sense of how society should be organized. They go back to the Buddha. And again, despite all of his great writings, Jefferson was a slaveholder. And he actually appreciated, he was interested in Native American culture. He studied what he could gather of Native American cultures and wrote dictionaries about a couple of the languages.

[10:00]

And yet, He bought the Louisiana Purchase and his idea that, well, we have to turn the nomadic Native Americans into agriculturalists, you know, destroyed, led to the destruction of many Native American cultures. Maybe that would have been inevitable anyway. we probably should be very critical of Thomas Jefferson. I visited his plantation in Monticello a couple of times, and he was in a very impressive mind. He had all these inventions, and he was a very good musician, and many things about him were, he was an architect, And yet, he was a slave owner, and he didn't give up his slaves until his deathbed. And early on in his career, he tried to do things to abolish slavery in the colonies, in the states. But eventually, he kind of succumbed to his own debts and his own need to maintain his plantation, which meant maintaining slavery.

[11:12]

So, you know, we could be very critical of him. We also might be very critical of Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha, who lived 2,500 years ago. He founded an order of nuns, and yet took a while, took some, quite a bit of prodding from his stepmother, Mahaprajapati, the founder of the order of nuns, whose name we recite when we do services. he had the most senior of the nuns was junior to the most junior of the monks, a situation that still applies in most of Asian Buddhism. So we should, you know, we might be critical of that, and rightly so. And still, we have to recognize time and place. Buddha founded an order of monks and nuns And he included outcasts, which was extremely radical in India at this time. He said that men and women and outcasts even, people from the lowest classes, are all capable of awakening.

[12:21]

So in his own context, he was radical, and yet we might criticize women having a lower position. So again, I want to apply our, at the same time that we appreciate Buddhist, American ideals and principles of freedom and how they relate to our own sense of relieving suffering and finding our own freedom and our freedom together in community and our freedom in our world. We might be critical, although again, Chakyamuni's Order of Monks and Nuns was a kind of historical counterculture to try and bring Buddhist awareness into society and acted in many ways in Asian history to help bring some sense of equality and justice and relieve suffering. But I think we should be a little humble about criticizing Thomas Jefferson and Shakyamuni even.

[13:30]

because I wonder what, in 230 or 2500 years from now, what they will say about us and the United States and the society we live in. So I want to talk about this a little bit from the context of bodhisattva precepts. I don't want to talk about this in terms of politics, and in fact, religious a non-profit corporation. This means we're not supposed to advocate for particular candidates or parties or legislation. And I don't really want to, but we still can talk about issues. So Thomas Jefferson established, amongst other things, the idea of religious freedom and put that into the Constitution in terms of the separation of church and state. He didn't mean that we should not consider what's happening in our society from the perspective of spiritual values.

[14:32]

He just was very clear that nobody, not even the president, should impose their idea of God or whatever higher power on everyone else, that there should be equality about that. And on his own epitaph, on his tombstone, he didn't mention being president of the United States. He mentioned establishing the University of Virginia because he believed very much in education, and also this Virginia Statutes of Religious Freedom. And I think the Declaration of Independence is maybe the third thing. So from the point of view of both American democratic ideals, but also from the point of view of our practice and our bodhisattva precepts and the awareness that we start to, that we realize somehow, just by showing up here, that we start to glimpse in this upright sitting, this possibility of awakeness and kindness that is always here, how

[15:46]

How do we see what's going on in our country now? So I want to just talk a little bit about this and have time for discussion. Some of you may have other opinions than what I say, and that's fine, and we should be able to talk about it. That's part of what Sangha and Bodhisattva Precepts is about, that we can talk together. without judgments, without holding on to one particular view, to listen to each other. So again, I would say that now we have government of the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations. People are under attack from the corporate control over our society and the massive corruption that's going on. This has to do with energy corporations. And maybe I'll talk more about that tomorrow evening.

[16:48]

But also the banks that are too big to fail, that are not regulated, where they're making billions of dollars in profits and spend hundreds of millions lobbying Congress. There's not appropriate reform and regulation. The economic injustice in our society is affecting many people in our sangha now and many people in the country. And the state of Minnesota is closed down. Wisconsin is under threat, and so you probably know something about that. A couple of statistics. The top 1% of American people have 25% of the income. the top 400 people in the United States, the most wealthy 400 people in the United States, have more than the lower 50% or 150 million people. This kind of disproportion of resources is a violation of many of the Bodhisattva precepts.

[17:51]

When we think about how to live and practice together, it's not that all wealthy people are involved in this, or that all corporations are bad either, because there are many corporations who do a lot of good things. There are many wealthy people who use their resources to benefit many positive things in our society. And yet there is this reality Another aspect, well, you know, looking at it, looking back at where we're at now from 2,500 years from now, or even 200 years from now, you know, I feel like we're living in these primitive dark ages. We have all this wonderful technological toys and entertainments and tools, and yet there's amazing cruelty and violence in our culture. We don't have to look far to see that.

[18:52]

At the same time, and I want to end today by talking about realistic hope because there are many people, I would say probably the vast majority of people in the world and in our country who are not caught by and caught up in total greed and anger and trying to get more and more when they already have plenty. But I think we, I wanted to mention the militarism in our society. How do we see nonviolent practice? How do we see the roles of the military? So quoting from another president besides Jefferson, Dwight Eisenhower, Republican president, in his farewell address in 1961, so 50 years ago this past January,

[19:59]

talked about the conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry, the total influence, economic, political, even spiritual, is felt in every city, every state, every office of the federal government. Our toil, resources, and livelihood are all involved, so is the very structure of our society. In the Council of Government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. And Eisenhower also talked about all of the schools that might be built if we weren't wasting money on unnecessary weapon systems and so forth. So 50 years after that, we're now, we have a foreign policy that seems to be at the service of the military. that our economy is based on missiles, and I feel like we're trapped in a missile economy every bit as much as Jefferson was trapped in his slave plantation economy.

[21:07]

We have bases all around the world, more money in our military budget than all other countries combined, even while we have unemployment and falling apart education, infrastructure, and we're creating harm all around the world through this. I don't actually blame the soldiers. I'm glad that we have some veterans in our sangha. I do think it's possible to be in the military and practice right livelihood, another important Buddhist teaching. When the politicians and the weapons corporations make the decisions, there's a problem. And we don't treat the veterans very well. I heard that there are now 17 suicides a day in this country by veterans.

[22:08]

So I feel like on the 4th of July, it's important to point out these things. And of course, the implications of what the corporations are doing in terms of the environment is also horrendous. The current rate of species extinction is unsurpassed in the fossil record. So all of that's pretty bleak. And yet, part of our practice is facing reality. The other side of reality, though, is that there is hope, that there are many, many people who are aware to some extent, of all of this that are concerned. There are many people who are working on awareness and consciousness themselves or in their communities. Everything we do makes a difference. This is a basic Buddhist principle, too, the idea of karma, that there's a particular, not just personal karma, but cultural karma, the karma of slavery, the karma of what we did to the Native Americans and so forth,

[23:18]

produces the level of violence and so forth in our society now. And it's easy to feel overwhelmed or despair even. I don't think that's realistic. If I did, I wouldn't talk about this stuff. And some of you may come here because you want some relief from what's going on in the world. And that's fine. Please come. Please sit. Please just be upright. in this body and mind and face the wall and face yourself. There is a continuum between what happens in our society and how we each help to stop causing harm ourselves and to realize our own potential and expression. So this practice is about working on the self but also without ignoring the suffering in the world. So how becoming aware of our world changes it.

[24:26]

This is actually a basic principle of modern physics. Observing something changes it. So to be aware of what's going on in the world does change it. And one of my Buddhist slogans is that awareness is transformative. We don't know how change will happen, and yet change also happens all the time. So as Zen students, we make ourselves better prepared to be responsive, to be flexible, to be open and respond if or when Chicago becomes the next New Orleans or the next Fukushima or all of the dreadful possibilities that are realities. Our awareness changes things, though. So how we pay attention to the harm and suffering in the world allows change in ourselves, our friends and relations, our society.

[25:28]

We also need to pace ourselves and not get caught up in dwelling on all the horrible things happening in the world. There's also wonderful things happening in the world. So to appreciate the positive things in our culture is important. To appreciate and be grateful for the positive things in your life is important. How do we find our balance? Sit upright in the middle of all of it. So again, paying attention to what's going on in the world allows change and everything changes. So in some sense, maybe I'm preaching to the choir here today, but that's okay. We need to encourage ourselves to pay attention to what's happening in the world. It's important to do that, to be able to have some, so I talk about this stuff occasionally here, because I think it's important that we be able to talk about it together.

[26:32]

And there's no one right response Each of us has our own way of paying attention to what's going on in the world and responding. There's no one particular tactic or strategy. It's not about necessarily going to demonstrations or writing a congressperson or whatever. How do we pay attention and how do we respond in our own way, from our own life? Each of you has your own way to help bring sanity and awareness. And there is change, obviously. Things do change. And sometimes, seemingly suddenly, there's the people coming together in Egypt. We don't know what the outcome of that's going to be. But there's a possibility of some real democracy. Things change. So just in closing, I'll mention one of my other favorite American dharma teachers. Bob Dylan has this line where he says, strengthen the things that remain. So this includes what we're doing here to keep alive this practice of awareness and bodhisattva values.

[27:45]

But it also includes just reminding ourselves and each other that this government, this country, has the promise of liberty and justice for all, and government of and by and for the people. How do we celebrate the 4th of July as an American Buddhist holiday? How do we realize that our awareness and our practice is part of what offers possibility of change and the possibility of kindness and shifting the priorities away from greed and war in our society? And also, how do we bring nonviolence and caring into our own lives? So this is a big job. And we've been at it for 2,500 years as Buddhist practitioners.

[28:49]

So this isn't about fixing something right away. This is about the quality of attention and awareness that has to do with our own bodies and mind, as well as the world we live in. So thank you all for listening. Happy Interdependence Day. Comments, questions, responses, please feel free. Eric. It seems like the example of somebody like Jefferson shows that it's an example of the way situation. And because they are supposed to stand outside of it, they wind up, in some sense, compromised by the more expensive evils of the society or whatever.

[29:56]

But we fault Jefferson precisely for this idea that his thoughts were right, and he had this idea of systematic on a grand scale, he could make a move to doing something in his own personal life. That's precisely the point at which we say, well, that's a little shaky, Thomas. And I think it's important for us to be thinking in our own lives in terms of that. Certainly, we have many examples of truly rapacious What can we do in our own lives? I mean, it's okay to talk about, you know, corporations producing more toys that we're persuaded to buy, etc, etc.

[30:58]

But as long as we're buying toys, we've got a role to do. And so I think, particularly in areas like consumption and energy use, I think it's incumbent sort of personally held accountable by future generations to where they'd be a little counterculture and ask ourselves, you know, how can I make changes in my own personal life to give me a little bit of distance from, you know, a little bit more latitude in this system that I admit I'm enmeshed in. And I think it's important to understand that have changed the slave system that was in operation in the United States. But people, not only slaves, an individual, not only slaves, is not a sufficient condition to change that system.

[31:59]

But it's a necessary condition. my sort of questioning, do I need to drive here now? All those kinds of things, on an individual basis, those aren't going to be sufficient to enforcing any kind of systematic change. Nonetheless, if there is going to be any kind of systematic change, it is going to entail are made by people. In other words, it's not sufficient, but in some sense, it's necessary. And the sooner we can adopt those things as individuals, the sooner that change will come. And also, the less we get at least some distance from the moral culpability, Good.

[33:05]

Thank you. I agree with everything you just said. But I would add, you know, part of ending slavery in the 19th century was that there were people, the abolitionists in not only in New England, but focus there, who worked very long and hard to talk about what was going on and change the minds of enough people eventually that Well, there was a war fought over it, but I think both have to be. We have to look at our own activities, but I think if all of the Buddhists and all the people that all the Buddhists in America know were to change their quality of energy consumption, it wouldn't be enough to change what's going on. So both levels are important, I agree with that. I agree with that, too. in terms of those kinds of announcements precisely because they said, OK, I'm not going to own slaves.

[34:18]

And I think we can see these parallels. Agreed. Other comments? Yes, Deborah. I was recently reading a review of a new biography of Harriet Beecher Stowe. the reviewer was commenting on the power of the book in its ability to simulate compassion for the suffering of slaves, of concrete evidence of that kind of suffering, particularly for the Norse to understand and how powerful that could be in her ability to arouse compassion and understanding for the suffering Yeah, and part of what maybe we need is, there have been some very good articles or even movies, but to talk about the harm

[35:20]

and terror suffered by the Afghan and Iraqi people through our military's agency. And to be aware of that, apart from the Americans who died, apart from the $4 trillion it's cost us for those wars, when we can't even afford to pay teachers here anymore. So yeah, to bring it into real human context is important. So other comments or questions, or anyone who has other viewpoints, please feel free. Yes, Joan. I appreciate your giving the example of Jefferson and of Shakyamuni Buddha. There are wonderful things I did, and there are imperfections. Because I think when I was young, I thought I wanted to look up to someone and have them be perfect. you know and then I could follow them or something and at some point that shifted and I realized their imperfections are really important because I'm never going to be perfect but I can still do something good you know and so if you turn it around and say well if they could do wonderful things even though they were imperfect

[36:46]

There's some hope for me too, so I appreciate that. That is so important in terms of our whole practice. This practice is not about becoming some perfect being. That's just not... That's not what it's about. It's about... This is a practice for human beings. And the precepts aren't about following the precepts perfectly, you know, but about using those as reminders to try and, you know, act more helpfully. And another of my favorite American yogis once said, if the world were perfect, it wouldn't be. We should have more Dharma talks. I should just do a Dharma talk about him. Yeah. OK, I'll put it in the file. Other comments? Yes, Laurel. I agree with everything that everyone has said. I'm just reminding that recently I've been fortunate enough to do some international travel. I've been in three different countries in the last four months, very different ones.

[37:51]

Last week in Canada. You were in the dreaded Middle East, too, weren't you? Yeah. What country were you there? I was in Jordan, Canada, and Spain, so very different from one another. But the similar thing in being in each of those places was noticing what Americans are like because you see something different and then you see yourself reflected in it. And particularly in Canadians who are very like us and very different. And, you know, their language is the same but I become a better person when I'm in Canada because I have that committee. It's so interesting to notice how, and it's not an indictment of everyone, but we're meaner or tougher or, I don't know, just, we're shrill, not as gentle and sweet.

[38:58]

There's a sweetness there. So, I don't know, I guess on the Fourth of July I would say, I would like to do my part to make American culture a little sweeter, a little more like the precepts, a little more following the precepts. And I think we sort of encourage each other to do this other, you know, sort of driving like a jerk, pushing your head into mine. I don't know. Anyway, that's going to be my Fourth of July practice tomorrow to try to be A Canadian-American person. I'm not quite sure how to say that. Do we have any Canadians here? Anybody else who's not a Native American? Where are you from? I'm Italian. Italian. Oh, good. Wonderful culture. So, you know, we are enriched by having Canadians and Italians and all kinds of other people.

[40:03]

Anybody else? Anybody for whom English is not your native language? Anybody who speaks other languages besides English? Oh, a few. So anyway, we can still, on the 4th of July, celebrate the things we're celebrating about America. And there are many. At the same time, we can try and be a little sweeter. Good. Any other comments? Yes, Charlie. I almost feel like America needs Americans more than any other. anybody else, I feel like. We shouldn't be all the other places? Right, yeah. I feel like yes, Americans are like, there's some pretty dirty things going on with the way we treat each other and our culture, but I just feel like the perfect remedy for that is the American who can say yes.

[41:09]

you know, this is how we are, but just express that fully in a different way. Like, you know, like the Titan is talking about with what's in the Declaration of Independence or Bill of Rights or whatever, and expressing what America should be or is written down on paper, you know. And one point is just that we still have those ideals, in spite of whatever is actually happening politically or whatever, Those ideals are still there. People know about them. That makes a difference. Yes, Paula. The only thing that I always think when we have these kind of conversations is I think the economic luxuries that we enjoy and the freedoms that we enjoy and the safety in this country that we enjoy comes at a much higher cost than the average American realizes. Yes. That's all it is. Yes, a higher cost to the rest of the world and a higher cost to us than we realize.

[42:11]

And the leadership that we have and the responsibility at this point in the world's history that America has on its shoulders, not only for our citizens, but for the West. The responsibility we're carrying for the West, whether that's real or imagined. But it's easy for us to sit back here With our full bellies, we were hydrated with air conditioning. Most of us have cars. And to condemn the things that we have to do in order to maintain these things. And the fact that we have the freedom to speak and criticize. Yes. That's a right that we have to fight to maintain. Exactly. Unfortunately. The way I see these things, though, people debate these things since the beginning of man. We're not unique. and how you brought up with Thomas Jefferson, dealing with the morality of him having slaves, but thinking it's a good idea that we don't have slaves, and Shakyamuni Buddha with the role women had in his culture in his time.

[43:18]

Why are these things present all the time in human civilization? And what do we need to learn by these internal moral struggles that we as human beings are obviously destined to have because we get this life, because it's present all the time in one form or another. So what is the purpose of these struggles? Yeah, and one Buddhist response to that excellent question, very well stated, is that our paying attention to our own lives does change things, and that Buddhist sanghas or communities have changed things, and we still got a long way to go. But it's not that... We don't have slavery. Well, there's still slavery in the world, but it's less than it was. There are things that do change. Women do have the right to vote in this country. Whether or not we have people we're voting for is another question.

[44:24]

Yeah, so there is change. And that's part of our responsibility of paying attention to this, too, is that we can be, by our awareness, by being willing to talk about this sometimes, can be part of that, help with that change. So that's, from the perspective of Sangha, I would say that's what the Buddha wished for.

[44:51]

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