Good morning again, everyone, and welcome. Just to note, there are people joining us from various places. Okay, so again, good morning. This week is the day that we celebrate as Buddha's birthday in our tradition. So if we were in Arzendo, Irving Park Road in Chicago, we would be bathing the baby Buddha now. But I don't know how to do that virtually. And are we on record? There's a message.

[01:02]

Yes, we are recording. Okay, I just wanted to make sure. Thank you. Sorry for all the technical difficulties. Again, it's Buddha's birthday this week. So instead of bathing baby Buddha, what I want to do is chant Om Namo Shakyamuni Buddha three times. And I'll say a little bit about that. And you can join me. OM NAMO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA OM NAMO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA OM NAMO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA So on this day, or actually Wednesday is the day we, this past Wednesday is the day that is traditional. The baby Buddha was born. Of course, that was a lunar calendar. So anyway, 2,500 years ago, more or less. But part of the point of Buddha's birthday is this is the day that all Buddhas are born.

[02:11]

Even in, 2020, is that the year number we're acknowledging here now? I guess so. So on this day, I will add, may Buddhas be born on this day in all places in this world and in all other worlds. So Buddha's birthday means that we celebrate that Buddhas are born and being born everywhere. and there are Buddhas everywhere. So I want to talk about the omnipresence of Buddhas and just acknowledge that there are Buddhas everywhere. And we are in this strange new situation of this pandemic that is global, that is all over the world.

[03:18]

And we have people joining us from different places in the world. Juan Pablo, it's good to see you. Are you in Argentina? Yes. Okay. So this is, there are people here from, is anybody else here from outside Illinois? Well, maybe. Oh yes. Kathleen Dow. Welcome. Where are you visiting us from? Can you unmute her or unmute yourself, Kathleen? We can't hear you anyway. Okay. Where are you located now? The Catskill Mountains, Saugerties, New York. Saugerties, I used to spend time in Saugerties. So anyway, we are together from many places. And that's part of the reality now. We're in the middle of this global pandemic.

[04:19]

And this, and Alex is also in, joining us from Massachusetts, hi. So anyway, we are in this situation where we are all deeply interconnected biologically because of this virus. And it is affecting people all over the world and it doesn't know borders between different states or different nations. So in a way that is more deeper than, well maybe it's parallels to the Flower Ornament Sutra. So the Flower Ornament Sutra has this image of Indra's net. Maybe you all know about Indra's net. Is there anyone who doesn't know Indra's net? I'm not sure. I'll just repeat it for some of you I can't see. So the idea of Indra's net or the image of Indra's net or the reality of Indra's net is that the universe is a huge multidimensional network.

[05:27]

And at each place where the meshes of the net meet, there's a jewel. And each jewel reflects the light in all the other jewels. And each of those jewels reflects the light and all the other jewels around them. So this image is of deep interconnectedness where everything is interconnected, this holographic image. And now through the experience of this pandemic, coronavirus, we're all interconnected by by our careful practice of settling in place or of being careful when we go out about social distance and hand-washing and so forth. Biologically we're connected. There are many other images in the Flower-Urban Sutra of this deep holographic interconnectedness.

[06:28]

Can you all still hear me okay? Okay. So, you know in the flower ornament sutra it also talks about innumerable buddhas and bodhisattvas on each tip of each blade of grass and innumerable bodhisattvas and buddhas on the tip of each hair some of us have more buddhas and bodhisattvas on our head than others And also there are innumerable Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, according to the Flower Ornament Sutra, in each atom. So what does it mean that Buddha was born this week? Well, Buddhas are being born all the time. So I want to talk today about Buddhas being born in the midst of our new situation.

[07:29]

One of the things about this practice that we're doing of most of us staying in place. And of course, there are people who are going out in various ways. Some members of our Sangha are working in hospitals. Some members of our Sangha are in hospitals now. But we're all in this together. in an unusual, radical way. We are all in this together. So this difficulty we're facing from this virus is also a blessing and an opportunity in some ways. So I want to talk about both sides of that today. One of the words for sashin, traditionally in Japanese, for when we get together for sitting for a day or three days or five days or seven days, another word for that is kese, traditionally in Japanese, and that means being in restraint.

[08:41]

And that's our situation now. We're all in restraint in some ways. Some of us are not going out. at all or very seldom. We're all in this pandemic restraint. This is a kind of Sashin the last few weeks. And it has the same great opportunity as Sashin and great difficulty as Sashin. So in this situation, you having trouble hearing me yet? Okay. So in this situation, we're kind of restrained by the difficulties of the virus, the practices that we all need to do together to help each other to not spread the virus. And this is an opportunity, a great opportunity. And part of what happens in Sashin is we have the opportunity to rethink

[09:48]

our intention. And this situation of this pandemic is giving us a similar opportunity. As we turn within, shelter within, settle in place, we can... I'm breaking. Can you hear me now? Okay, we'll keep trying. Settling in place, we have the opportunity, like in Sashin, to rethink our deep intention to, in the midst of everything else, the discomfort, the inconvenience in physical Sashin, the pain in our legs or wherever, the going beyond our comfort zones in various ways, and certainly that's happening now.

[10:52]

Naturally, we can rethink what is important. What do we really care about? So this is one of the gifts of Sashin, and it's one of the gifts of this current situation. What is important? So we do this personally in terms of I know people who are taking on new practices because they're sheltered at home, who are trying new things. We all need to see our own lives in fresh ways, but also communally, societally, globally, internationally. We need to rethink our intentions, rethink our values. So this is a great opportunity amongst other things. And part of what we need to practice now is to not be overwhelmed.

[12:03]

So I think that's very available. Many people may feel overwhelmed by fear by grief, by anxiety. We do not know how long this will go on. They're telling stories in the press. There are various kinds of predictions and projections of what this is and how long it will go and so forth. We don't know. And not knowing is also a traditional Zen practice. reality is beyond our personal control or even beyond our societal control. If we listen to medical advice, we can maybe help to have some better sense of how to proceed and how to plan for what's going on.

[13:10]

But The virus is not listening to anybody in particular. The virus is doing its thing on its own. Okay, Taigan is on his way back. He's going to try to connect by phone. Hello, can you hear me? Yes. Hello? Yes, we can hear you. Okay. Um, so I have lost visual. I, um, I was, um, somehow I may be able to get back onto, um, uh, zoom, uh, visual too, but, um, as of now, um, I will continue to, to, to talk and, and you can at least hear me. Um, uh,

[14:11]

And someone let me know if you have trouble hearing me. Is the sound clear? Hello? Yes, it is clear. Okay, I will proceed. And so I was talking about things being beyond our control in this pandemic and in this reality and including my Zoom connection being beyond my control. It may resume, but we'll see. At any rate, what I want to talk about is that it's most important, our biggest practice is not to be overwhelmed when our visual connections fail or when other things don't work out. It's very easy to feel overwhelmed from fear, anxiety, from grief at what's happening. But our practice is to acknowledge all of this and be present and upright right in the middle of it.

[15:16]

So again, not knowing is most intimate. This is, in all sense saying, our lives are fresh and refreshed and most vital when we realize that we don't know the future, when we don't know everything that's happening that we can't know. That doesn't mean that there aren't things we do know. Like I know I can't see you all now. And that my visual connection is lost for now. At any rate, I'm trusting that you can hear me. Let me know if not. But I want to talk about fear and practicing with fear. And in Buddhism, we have five fears. There is, and all of these fears, I want to say again, are about the future. They're not fears of what's happening right now. Right now, I know I can't see you and you can't see me, but I'm trusting that you can hear me.

[16:24]

But each of these five fears is about a fear of what will happen. So the five fears, I'll just mention them and then talk about each of them a little bit. Fear of death, fear of loss of livelihood, fear of loss of reputation, fear of weird mental states or going crazy, and fear of public speaking, which may seem humorous compared to the others, but I'll come back to it. So fear of death, that is definitely available now. And the death rate The doctors don't know. They are saying that perhaps the death rate is going to be less than their previous projections. We don't know, but we all fear what is not us.

[17:28]

We all fear the loss of ourselves, and this is what death is. and people have died in this pandemic and it is extremely likely that all of us at some point in the future will die. So how do we How do we face this fear? So each of these fears we need to be present with. We need to not run away from. We need to be present in all of these fears because they're not something that's in the present.

[18:34]

They're fears of something that may happen or will happen in the future. So fear of death maybe the basis for all of them, fear of not being. And this is available now with this virus that's affecting all of us in various major ways. So I'm actually able to see you now, some of you, but that's uncertain how long that will last. We can see you. Okay. Hi, everybody. So, fear of loss of internet connection is not one of the five fears, but maybe it speaks to this. Second fear, fear of loss of livelihood. This is very much a part of our current situation. Many people, people in our sangha too, have lost their livelihood.

[19:38]

Many more people will lose their livelihood. This most, this, this predominantly affects, uh, uh, people who are already disadvantaged minorities and people who are, who, uh, uh, have less resources. So, uh, share of loss of livelihood and what that will mean for our economy and for all of us as, uh, the things we are used to being able to get. at our local grocery store may no longer be available. This is something that this is a future fear of something in the future, which may be any day now or next month or so our economy is going to be changing. So one of the things I want to talk about is how all of this is relevant for not just the current situation, but after pandemic.

[20:40]

whatever that means. The fear of loss of livelihood is a real fear that we all have, more or less, that our economy is falling apart because of this. And so this is a big fear, fear of loss of reputation. So what How will you all think of this talk? I could be concerned about people thinking, oh, that was a dumb talk. Any of us can fear for what other people think of us or how people see us or don't see us if our computer link goes out. Anyway, fear of loss of reputation is a big one. And then fear of weird mental states. And that's available now too. What, how will it be as we chase all the other collateral impacts of the virus?

[21:52]

So, and how will that, how will that proceed as things go back to quote unquote normal, whatever that was? And in some ways, I hope they don't go back to normal, because normal is what allowed this to happen. So I want to talk about the future. But first, we have to talk about fear of the future. And the fifth fear, Buddhist tradition is fear of public speaking. So this is something that on an overt level, it's not so much of a problem for me, because I give talks like this publicly often, regularly, and have done so for a long time. But still, I get nervous about, oh, what am I going to say, or what will people think? It's available here, public speaking. But I've seen it in this sphere in a different way now, which is fear of speaking out, fear of speaking truth to power.

[23:04]

care of speaking to the public about what underlies our situation or what difficulties we face in this situation and we'll face in this situation. So, um, uh, fear of public speaking is, uh, more complicated than I thought it was. There are things I'd like to say that I'm not going to say today, but I will at some point, um, because we're at this pivotal point. Again, this is an opportunity and a possibility for each of us to see perhaps how we want to change our lives. Some of us are working from home for the first time, something that I have done regularly. So it's not so strange for me, but some of you are not working from home or studying from home or whatever it is and haven't done that before. How will that be? How will this change after the pandemic when government decides to open up restaurants and movie theaters and concerts and all of the things that we took for granted not so long ago?

[24:27]

This situation we're in now is a danger and an opportunity. There are many new possibilities for us personally and for our society. And I want to say that part of what part of how this will be an opportunity rather than some terrible say is that we reassert body, self and values to think about what is important. in our own lives, and also in our world and in our society. Bodhisattva values have to do with caring. And there are many examples, wonderful examples now, of people caring for each other in fresh ways in this situation. People checking in with each other, people talking with each other, not in the same room, but by Zoom or by telephone or email.

[25:32]

I've been doing a practice of trying to contact old friends, the East Coast and the West Coast, and checking in and seeing how they are. Some of them are not doing so well. A lot of them are just fine. And then also within the Sangha, how do we contact each other, check with each other, check on people who may be having difficulties? And then what do we do? How do we help people? when we can't actually go physically and see them. Or maybe we can go shopping for them and leave groceries on their doorstep. So somebody in the sangha has done that for me. So how do we help each other? Bodhisattva values of compassion, of caring, of helping out, are also very much present in this situation. How do we help to, bring those to our society as a whole, you know, so-called after this situation.

[26:38]

So I don't know, I don't think that there will be, that things will go back to the way they were. Whatever happens when the immediate dangers of the virus are gone, everything has changed. We're living in a new world. And there are people now who are trying to profiteer and profit from this situation. I won't go into that in detail today, but there's what's sometimes called disaster capitalism, as Amy Klein called it. And that's happening now, too. So what will happen in our society and in our world after this? I'm concerned about that, too, as well as being concerned about all of you and everybody I know in this current situation. there is anxiety for the future. And our fears are not about things that are happening now exactly.

[27:42]

They're afraid, they're fears for what will happen as things proceed. So again, our practice is not to be overwhelmed by that, but not being overwhelmed by it means facing it, not trying to pretend that our fears and our grief at the sadness when people do pass away because of this and so many have. How do we face our fears and our grief without becoming overwhelmed? So our practice of Zazen we've been doing is a great help to that. Remember to breathe when you feel these fears and sadnesses. Enjoy your inhale, enjoy your exhale. As we settle, how do we find our uprightness? We have to look at that. How do we find our deep resilience, which is possible in a quick duration?

[28:43]

Excuse me while I turn the page of my notes, which may make all kinds of distracting sounds. So, We're all in this together in a radical way that we haven't had before. We're all in this together. And it's all up to us how this proceeds. We may think it's beyond our control, and it's not that we can control it, but how do we, How do we remain caring and upright and resilient through this? The earth is challenging us. The earth is challenging all of us. The earth is challenging humanity now and the human species to how to proceed into the future, into the new future.

[29:50]

We're not in control, but that's okay. stay attentive and present and promote values of caring and promote compassion and awareness and take care of each other individually and personally and as a whole. This is going to be important even after this immediate situation, even after we can go back to gathering in large numbers, assuming that will happen. at some point. Everything passes, this will pass too. But its impact, I think, what I'm saying is its impact will necessarily pass. Can you all still hear me? Raise your hand if you can hear me. Am I muted? Okay, I'm assuming that you can hear me, even though nobody's raising their hands.

[30:55]

Aishan or Douglas warned me if you can't hear me. Anyway, there's an old Zen saying, and there are a number of old Zen sayings I want to refer to today, but there's an old Zen saying, it's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine. So how do we take care of the situation where the world is Whereas it is the end of the world as we've known it. It's different. This is a different situation. This is an immediate situation and we have to help right now. Uh, this week today with people who need help, but as many people are doing that, but, um, how can we be steady, be resilient, be upright. How can we feel fine right in the middle of this, the end of the world as we know it? So of course there's real suffering and need for caregiving.

[32:05]

So in some ways, maybe we don't, we can't feel fine, but how can we feel the upright in the middle of the end of the world as we know it? There's another old saying, It's very important, especially in our Soto Zen tradition. This is flowers bloom in a withered tree. It's in a number of the koans from our tradition, and Dogen mentions it and other people. Flowers bloom or blossom in a withered tree. There are many different examples of this, but this is a, and this is, I think, a key to how to face this situation currently and as this situation unfolds in the future after the immediacy of the situation is over.

[33:10]

Flowers bloom on a withered tree. There are variations on that. One of them is dragons howl on a withered tree. Maybe our ancient dragon, Zengate, will resound even in our withered Zendo. I hear it's cold there now. We turned off the heat. So our Zendo is withering too. But dragons will howl there again. Trust. And this wonderful opportunity of the Zoom Zendo, which allows people to be joining us from different states and different countries. Maybe we'll have to think how we include our Zoom Sangha in our little storefront Zendo. So things will be different. It's the end of the world as we know it. But I do feel fine.

[34:11]

I feel like something will happen. I feel like we can face the difficulties that we fear now. How do we remain upright within this? So some comments on this statement. Within silent illumination, or Zazen, this practice we do, objects of the phenomenal world are no longer seen as permanent or independent. This idea of this image of Indra's net, this reality of this coronavirus pandemic, allows us to see that we are not independent. and we're not permanent, that we're all connected. That how we take care of ourselves in the middle of this will help keep the virus from spreading. So we're all deeply interconnected. But especially within Sazen, within Silent Illumination, we get to see, we get to glimpse that the so-called objects of the phenomenal world

[35:17]

are not permanent, they're not independent, they don't exist apart from all of us. Instead, they arise out of stillness, as manifestations of suchness, unconstrained by dualistic notions. So this image of flowers blossoming on a withered tree, there are various versions of it. So again, somewhere in this extensive record says that in in the end of winter, plum blossoms, plum's flowers blossom on withered branches. So this is a seasonal thing too. Seasons change. We live in the world of impermanence, but the blossom flowers of ultimate reality blossom on withered trees. So in this situation, something new will blossom. There's a commentary by a Rinzai teacher who lived in the 1000s, who summed up the different beliefs of all the different Buddhist schools.

[36:30]

And what he said about the Soto school is pretty good. This is a poem. The crooked and straight are mutually interwoven, completely avoiding one-sidedness. Dragon gates must be penetrated, but the paths of birds cannot be tracked. The stone maiden weaves in the frost, and the clay ox plows in the midst of flames. When all oppositions are cast aside, a single branch will flourish on the withered tree. So this blossoming on a withered tree is, I think, relevant for us now. I'll read that poem again. The crooked and straight are mutually interwoven. upright and the inclined, or the ultimate and the phenomenal. This is about the universal in particular. This is about the five degrees or the teachings of how we integrate our glimpse of

[37:41]

the ultimate or the universal that we do see there in Zaza, where we see that things, so-called objects, are no longer permanent. And I see that somebody's asking for this text, and I'll try and send it out later. I can't right now, but I'll read it again. But I'm reading it again and commenting, crooked and straight, the particular and the universal, the phenomena and the ultimate, are mutually interwoven. the first half of the first line, completely avoiding one-sidedness. We don't get stuck on either side. We don't try to hang out in enlightenment or delusion. We don't try and hang out in the ultimate. We get glimpses of that. But the point of our practice is to integrate that into the particulars of our phenomenal world. People and places in our everyday activity.

[38:44]

So the crooked and straight are mutually interwoven, completely avoiding one-sidedness. The second line of this poem, dragon gates must be penetrated. You must enter the dragon gates. And we have an ancient dragon zen gate, stored from the temple, on Irving Park Road, but now we have a Zoom temple. How do we, how do we enter into this, into these dragon gates? But, and the second, then he also says, but the paths of birds cannot be tracked. So Dong Shan, our founder in China in the 800s, talked about the birds, the birds' path, and how we don't see the birds, path of birds in the sky. We can see the trail of, you know, jets flying by when we have airplanes flying again.

[39:48]

Maybe there's a few of them. But we don't see the birds' tracks. And yet the birds know. The birds can, maybe they see something. Maybe not. Maybe they just know in their bodies. And that's ultimately how we know in our bodies in the Zen. But somehow birds continue on the paths of their and migrations to the seasons for centuries. Bird species will go to the same nesting grounds for the winter and for the summer. So anyway, the second line, dragon gates must be penetrated. We must enter the dragon gates, but the paths of birds cannot be tracked. And yet there they are. The birds are there for now anyway. We hope that climate damage and other diseases that it brings forth will not harm the birds. The stone maiden weaves in the frost and the clay ox plows in the midst of flames, the third line.

[40:53]

And we have a saying that is related to blossom, flowers blooming and wither trees. It's in the archaeomeric Samadhi chant. When the wooden man begins to sing, the stone woman gets up to dance. This is another way of expressing this liveliness. It comes out of the situation of stillness, the situation of quiet. So how do we do this? How do we allow, in our woodenness, how do we allow ourselves to sing? How do we get up to dance? How do the flowers bloom on the same withered branches last year?

[41:57]

The last line, when all oppositions are cast aside, a single branch will flourish on the withered tree. So this is the saying that's used in various ways in lots of early sets of texts, not just token. Flowers bloom in a withered tree. So life comes from stillness, from settling within. This happens in Sashin, where we remain still, sitting upright, breathing on our seats. But also, this is a situation of stillness, where we're settled in place. And what is the life that can come forth from this? Well, it's happening already when we see all the hospital workers and the delivery, uh, people, uh, uh, risking harm to help others. Um, and, uh, we need to support them and our government needs to support them.

[43:05]

Uh, but, um, In this stillness, something else will come forth afterwards for each of us individually. There may be new possibilities. Maybe not. Maybe we'll go back to our lives exactly as it was. That's possible too, but it won't be exactly as it was because we've had this experience. Maybe some new possibilities. Something for you to do if you need something to do while you're settled in place is to consider what you have been doing and what you'd like to do and how to do that in this strange new world. And the strange new world is coming after this. So there are new possibilities, new flowers blooming in this weatheredness. So in early Japanese, Soto Zen teachers stressed the ongoing possibilities for rejuvenation within devastation. ongoing possibilities.

[44:10]

Was there a signal that you couldn't hear? Anyway, I hope you can all hear me. As I continue to babble in here. So again, early Japanese Sento teachers stress the ongoing possibilities for rejuvenation, right in the middle of devastation. So our world is being is devastated right now. Everybody, all 50 states now, are settling in place. Our usual world is, where is it? It's gone. Or, well, it's here, but it's also not the same. There's something new. So our job now, again, is not to get overwhelmed. Even as we feel what we feel. So people, I've recommended at times the mantra, how does it feel? Feel what you feel. Feel these fears. And you can use these five years as a template for seeing what it is that you're afraid of.

[45:13]

But feel what you feel, but please, hang in there. If you feel overwhelmed sometimes, that's a possible feeling, come back to breathing, come back to uprightness. It's awesome for a while. Remember that we're all in this together, we really are. And reach out to other people, friends, other Sangha members, call, email, whatever, text, whatever means you have to connect, to see that there is still this connection, even amidst this devastation. Again, our job now is to feel what we feel, to not get overwhelmed, to support each other. The future is not set. So it's easy to think of how all the terrible things that can happen even after this immediate situation of settling in place is over.

[46:15]

All the terrible things that our government might do, for example. All the ways in which our economy and our livelihood will be harmed. All of the people who we will lose. But the future's not set. There are also possibilities for change, positive change. And again, this goes back to, um, how do we speak for and enact and express what he sought for values, values of caring, values of life and vitality, values of creativity, values of compassion, values of appreciating each other. and the wonderful things in our lives, even when we're restrained in our, sheltered in our home spaces and then beyond that.

[47:20]

So out of this situation, many positive possibilities can happen. The world is not fixed and Change happens in very strange ways. I've talked about this, you know, there's so many examples of radical change happening suddenly. This is a sudden event, fairly sudden. Within a few months, suddenly, here we are. And yet, out of this can come many possible positive changes. Just like the Berlin Wall came down, Soviet Union dissolved, and Other empires have dissolved, and apartheid ended in South Africa, and we now have gay marriage, for a more recent example. Things change, and this is possible, and flowers bloom on withered trees. So please take care, settle in, allow the new flowering to arise amid the ashes in ourselves.

[48:28]

And my cat is at the door, wanting to come in and join us. But that might be too distracting. So please just enjoy her singing from behind the door. So that's as much as I wanted to say. And we're actually over our usual time. But I also want to give time. I mean, most of us aren't going anywhere. So would you please share with us The rest of us, comments, questions, expressions, responses, please raise your hand or indicate to a patient through a chat box or whatever. I'll put on the participant screen so I can see all the participants. I think there's a way to raise your hand through that. Oh yeah, it says raise hand at the bottom. If you click on participants at the bottom, you'll see all the people over here.

[49:34]

And if you raise your hand, I'll be able to see that. So who would like to share some perspective? Please feel free. Eve, were you raising your hand? Whoops. Yes, nobody. Yeah. Yeah, if nobody else has anything right now, sure. Who is this speaking? My name's Eve Pinsker. I, I, uh, yeah. Okay. Yeah. I, I, where, where are you? Where are you joining us from again? Um, just, I mean, remember I came by your Zendo because even though I've belonged to the Zen life and meditation center, I'm closer to park. I'm in Ravenswood manor. So I'm great. Yeah. Welcome. Thank you. Please. So a couple of things, well, many things went through my head as you were talking. First of all, I hope you'll share the poem so that I can share it with other people.

[50:36]

And I think others would appreciate that, too. Email me, please, at info at ancientdragon.org, and I will send it to you. And that goes for anyone. One thing I was thinking about was when you're talking about bird, the poem talked about bird paths is, I'm in another group that's led by a woman who's an expert in complex systems. And people show, starlings do what they call murmurations. If you Google it online, you'll see the way the starlings have what looks like a ballet that they flock in very complicated patterns. And so when I think of birds paths, that image comes to mind, that the individual birds can follow very simple rules of following the people or the birds next to them.

[51:40]

But it makes this beautiful pattern that you can't see unless you're somewhat distant from it. And I think in times like these, that's important to remember that even though when we have a narrow focus, things seem conflicted, but then if you step back, maybe there is going to be this larger pattern that can be beautiful as well as terrible. And the other thing I've been thinking about is the the 1918 epidemic, because this is the biggest epidemic since 1918. But I've been having the feeling that this is going to more fundamentally change society than 1918 did. I mean, after 1918, people didn't talk about it that much. And I think for most people alive then, it was just entangled with World War I, with emigration, with everything going on then.

[52:45]

people were interconnected, but not as aware of it. And somehow I think this epidemic, even though hopefully not as many more people will die, the estimates from 9-18 are that from 50 to 100 million people died around the world. And I don't believe this is going to come up to those numbers, but I think in some ways it might more fundamentally change us. I agree, I think so, and I hope so. And it's up to us to make the changes positive and based on positive values. But as you were speaking and you were talking and you mentioned the bird's path, it also occurred to me that another image is the virus's path. We can't see the path of the virus. We, and we don't have in this country, we don't have testing enough to know where it's been and where it's going, which is part of the problem about knowing how to resume.

[53:50]

Um, so-called life is normal, but I think there's no more normal or normal. Maybe normal was never normal either, but, um, uh, yes, I agree with you. This things will change and, uh, maybe. There's some way in which the path of the virus is also, from a distance, beautiful. It can be both terrible and beautiful. Yes, that's right. That's right. It's both, and it is terrible. It's terrible. There's a lot of suffering happening now. And yet, how do we try to be helpful, stay in touch with each other, help others as we can, And also look to how the new normal will be helpful. And I've just lost, can you? Yeah, I work with students in public health.

[54:54]

So I've been in a position to hear stories about the many. you know, administrative and bureaucratic challenges and how people are responding to them. Yes. I believe Sinyu has a question or comment, but I'm unable to unmute her. Sinyu? Yeah. I'm not sure. I just very briefly glitched out. So, you know, everything is tenuous now. But I trust you can all hear me or most of you. And yeah, no, just one brief comment following up on what Eve said is that how things seem at a distance is different from trying to see the bird's path right in front of us.

[55:54]

And one of the examples of interconnectedness from a while back, from 50 years ago, is when people first went into space and took pictures of the Earth from a distance, and we saw that this is one planet, and we all connected that way, and now we see it this way. So anyway, yeah, the different perspectives are important. Xinyu, did you have something to say? Can you hear me? Yes, I can hear you. Thank you for your talk. And I have noticed that people bring up this notion of interconnectedness much more these days. And in my personal case, I don't have people who are close to me or acquaintances who have been diagnosed with the coronavirus. And I just find that because of this fact, I somehow feel a few things in a very, very much less intense way.

[57:06]

But I just wonder, like, how can I feel the connection, like in my connection in the world, like in my particular situation? And maybe what are some something to be of help that you will suggest? Well, if you pay attention to, and I would advise rationing your news intake, but you might check in with hopefully more reliable than unreliable news sources to hear what's happening. But it's happening around us, and there are people in our sangha. So in my practice of calling old friends, I know of several people in New York who have the virus. They're feeling better now. But I know of a couple of people who are in hospitals for other reasons than the virus, and their family and friends cannot visit them because of the virus.

[58:18]

including somebody you know, Xinyu, in Hyde Park, one of our Sangha members in Hyde Park. So eventually it will connect with all of us, I think in some way. But even if you don't have it, you know, some places are more inundated, to put it that way, than others. But just in terms of what it feels like to be sheltered in place to not go out or to go out only, uh, as you really need to. The various reasons, uh, this is affecting us, affecting all of us. So, um, uh, just to be aware of, uh, how this is, uh, around us and we, and again, we don't know, we don't know If it will get much worse in Chicago, we don't know how many people, partly because of the lack of testing in this country.

[59:26]

But, um, also, um, reality is we don't know what will happen if we are fearful and anxious about, uh, our lives and our livelihoods and our reputation and so forth in terms of what will happen in the future. And thank you, I see that you've shared the video of the starlings. Thank you. Anyway, we need to pay attention to how we feel now and what's happening around us. And if you feel like it's not impacting you very much, that's great. I'm happy for you. Anyway, other comments? You can raise your hand on video or you can go to the participant link. I think David Weiner had his hand up first.

[60:27]

I can't unmute you either. I see Ed Donley also had his hand up. And Ed also, yes. Whoever can unmute themselves first. All right. I'm just reminded in response to Xinyu's question, I'm reminded that I had a hospice patient that I was seeing. And she would say, sometimes I wake up in the morning and I wonder why I'm still here. And she was an ardent Catholic and had a big rosary on her wall. And I said, well, one of the things you can do in the Catholic tradition of finding a vocation, of finding a fulfillment of the religion. I said, what you can do is you can pray for other people. You're in bed and you can't get it go anywhere, but you can still pray for those who don't have food, pray for those who are ill, pray for those who are caught up in warfare.

[61:34]

And so one thing that you can do is even though you feel isolated, you don't know anybody who is you know, involved with the virus itself, you could also, in your meditation, think of those people. Chant the Yamijuku Kan'an Gyo and hold those people in your heart while you chant. And that would be one thing that you can do, even though you don't have direct contact with anybody else. Make sense? Yes, thank you for that. Yeah. So, but also I would say yes to all of that and realize the ways in which you are impacted. You're not going, maybe you are, but I don't think you're going to classes. I think they cancel classes. I mean, there are many, we're all impacted in some way or other. So yeah, but to think of the thing to remember that there are people who are having a very hard time now.

[62:40]

Ann, you had some comment. Thank you. Thank you. Am I audible? Yes. Yes. Oh, well, it's great to be back and I appreciate the effort everyone is making to being here. It does. It feels like I'm on the International Space Station or something, no longer on Earth. And I just wanted to mention that certain things continue to happen as they have in the past. I'm involved in a job set up on North Clark Street where we're digging a fairly large hole in the ground. And there's just Robins everywhere thinking they're going to get worms. And the thing is, is this whole, and there's gotta be a couple hundred and they just stand on the perimeter of the hole waiting to swoop in. But it just, a peculiarity of this job is that the soil is mostly clay. So there are no worms. And so I try to shoot, I try to shoo the Robins off, but when I leave, they sort of come back and they line up. It's like an Alfred Hitchcock movie or something. And they, think there are worms to be had and I know from being in the pit that there aren't because of the soil is too dense for the worms to be there.

[63:47]

And so in a way it's a metaphor for this virus to me. And that there's a hopefulness and a presence and a continuity of rhythm with the Robins that isn't being met at this particular hole. And so I look forward to our finishing this job and they're, they're, they're, uh, they're no longer being distracted by it and they'll get it off their regular lives. May it be so. And, um, Yes, people are looking for nourishment in all the wrong places sometimes, in Robins as well. How do we allow, how do we support, how do we foster the blossoms to bloom on wither trees? How do we find our resilience and encourage each other to stay with it and not be overwhelmed? And yes, I appreciate what you said, Ed.

[64:48]

And there are people, people in our song that we're still going out to work in various ways for various reasons. So anyway, yes. Kathleen Dowd. Kathleen, can you unmute yourself? Yeah. Can't hear you. Can you hear me now? Yes. OK, well, thank you so much for having this Zoom meeting because I've been listening to your podcast at night when I go to sleep. So I've heard your voice and I've seen you on Dragon Gate website and I've been a fan for a couple of years. So I've been wanting to come to Chicago. to do a retreat with you, so I'm very glad you all came to my house. That's all I want to say. That's great. It's interesting that you're listening to me at night before you go to sleep, because I have been told that my voice is horrific at times, so I'm happy to put you to sleep.

[65:55]

put me to sleep with the Dharma. But anyhow, here's a New York story for those of you who want to see the interconnectedness and the bodhisattvas, which is really what you speak about so often. My niece is a police officer in Florence and has a relationship with the drug dealers, and she has a deal with them. Don't sell to children, don't have weapons, and don't do anything in front of me. So now with the coronavirus, there are many mentally ill people on the blocks that are just passing out, dropping down, acting irrationally, and they call the police. And because of her relationship with the drug dealers, they're all telling her, oh, I know who he is. He's not acting right. He hasn't been home for two days. He hasn't had anything to eat. This is his name and where he lives. So we were talking yesterday, I said, oh, the drug dealers are becoming bodhisattvas. They're protecting the people on the street.

[66:56]

And I just, when you were talking about how they just come out, they do come out. And I said to her, Noelle, when they do that for you, I said, I know you have a great relationship with them. Let them know they're doing so much good. so that they know they're doing so much good. But thank you so much. It's really a pleasure to meet your sangha and to be with you. And I'm deeply grateful. Thank you. Thank you for joining us. Very glad to see you. And yeah, thank you for that story. So we don't always know who and how can be helpful. It's a good story. And we should not write off anybody. Everybody has a piece of this. We're interconnected with everyone. Whatever our line of work, whether it's drug dealing or being president or whatever, we're all connected.

[67:58]

And people help each other in ways they don't necessarily realize. But thank you. That's a great story. other comments or stories or expressions of anything. I'm looking for raised hands amongst the participants. I'd like to give a shout out to Ayshan who I called her the other day and tell her I am self-quarantining myself and not going out of the house at all for the next, now it's another 10 days because I felt I was possibly, not necessarily, but possibly exposed to the virus and I don't want to go out and spread it. And Aishan gratefully responded and went shopping and left some groceries for me. So a shout out to Aishan for being a Bodhisattva and bringing food to my house. It's greatly appreciated.

[68:59]

Thank you. Yes, this is something that we can all do for each other. So let somebody know if you have trouble getting out. So Ben Tengway is in our sangha, and many of you know, did the same for me, went shopping for us. So check in with people, check in with All Trends, check in with other sangha members, see if they need help. This is something we can actually do right now. Other comments? Somebody who hasn't spoken yet, anybody? Others of our new people. Well, hey, Bo. Thank you. Thanks, Teigen, for the talk. I really enjoy these. I just wanted to. Oh, this is Bo. Oh, hey, Beau. Hi. Hey. Hi. I live in Edgewater in Chicago. And the alderman put together an effort to contact especially senior citizens in the neighborhood who might need medical or food assistance.

[70:09]

And he got 600 volunteers. for this effort here in Edgewater. So 600 people signed up to do that, which I thought was such a hopeful sign for people's openness to help other people at this moment. And I've done a little of that too, calling people, and they're all on my block, people who I've never met before, but who I've been like talking to on the phone and sort of having longer and longer conversations with them about their lives and how they're doing. And so far, everybody's doing OK. But it's been like such a beautiful outgrowth of the situation that would have, I don't think, ever happened without it. So I just kind of wanted to tell that story. Yeah, Rebecca Solnit, who is a great writer and person and has spoken at our temple, one of her books, Paradise Built in Hell, I think it's called. She talks about this, that in catastrophes, there's also disaster capitalists who try and take advantage, but there is also this outpouring of people helping each other.

[71:20]

And this is something we can do and encourage others to do and support others to do. Can I call on someone, Juan Pablo, we've corresponded by email and it's great to see you and thank you for joining us from Argentina. How are things down there? Are there people sheltered in place? Can you hear me? Yes, I can. Okay. Well, first of all, thank you very much for having this teaching and conversation. And I think for me, it's very Yeah, I feel very grateful to be here now. And as you were saying, this is an opportunity also here in Argentina. I think the government, it's taking good measures. We have a new president. I don't know if you have heard of him. He's called Alberto Fernandez. And I think he's doing the right thing to do now.

[72:23]

And I feel he's very responsible now with the things he's doing. So I feel now people are are very aware of it, aware of the danger, and measures have been taken. So I feel kind of safe in Argentina. And I am in Patagonia, so I'm very, very, very down south in a place, in a very, very little place called Itpuyen. So we are very, very isolated here. I usually live in Buenos Aires, but now we are here. things haven't changed so much because here we're preparing for winter so we're doing the leña, how do you call it, the wood and we're doing like many things like there's many activities here so things have not changed so much but of course we can feel it and we can And we can sense, we can feel that there's going to be a very, very difficult economic situation in Argentina because before the coronavirus, we were in the middle of an economical crisis and there was this danger of default and the international debt.

[73:41]

So I think it's going to be really rough in one month, two months, economically talking. And so that's how I'm living this. And we're in the countryside, so it doesn't feel so much the presence of the virus. But of course, you can feel it with the people in the city, in Buenos Aires. And of course, there is anxiety and there is mostly in the economical situation, there is anxiety because of that, I think. Thank you very much. It's good to see you and hear your voice after we've corresponded a number of times. So thank you for that report from very far away.

[74:42]

But now this is a wonderful example of how we are connected. And there was one question I was thinking about. And I'm thinking a lot about how to understand this time and how to understand this age. And I have come to this concept of the Anthropocene. And so I have been investigating a little bit of that, but also with the lecture of Duggan and other authors. the understanding of an age of decline, and now we have this, no? So I wanted to ask you, how do you feel this, like, you talk about this time and the opportunity of this time, but do you feel it's a decline age? Do you feel we're like, how can we relate this with, for example, with Kamakura period or something like that? Yes, thank you, yeah.

[75:43]

Juan Pablo and I corresponded about this a little bit. And the Anthropocene is one way of talking about the current age, which is the age in which humans are dominant, as opposed to, say, dinosaurs. And, you know, it's not just this virus. The dangers of climate damage remain, and there are You know, this word existential, it means it threatens our very existence as human beings and the Antipocene age and so forth. And, you know, we can see this in terms of the rise and fall of empires, for example, and the American empire, which is what we have now, seems in decline. Maybe China will be the new dominant country in the remainder of this century. We don't know. Again, we don't know. But, you know, there's something about flowers blossoming on a withered tree.

[76:55]

There is, in Japan, great appreciation for cherry blossoms, just as there is for the moon and the full moon. So people actually go out still. This goes back to before the Kamakura period. long tradition in East Asia to go and see the flowers blooming, but particularly in Japan, the cherry blossoms, some of you know, and there are, you know, volumes and volumes of poetry by great Japanese poets about cherry blossoms, but the cherry blossoms are considered to be most beautiful when they're starting to fade. It's not when they're at their peak, but just if they start to fade, there's the poignancy of seeing impermanence and that's kind of the, you know, from the point of view of Japanese aesthetics, the height of most beautiful. So maybe humans are most beautiful as they start to fade out. I don't know. And I'm not saying we are going to go extinct.

[77:56]

I don't think that's actually going to happen, but certainly things are very dangerous now and we can be aware of that. But also, as I was saying, I think our response is to, um, We don't know the future. The future's not set. Wonderful, positive things happen unexpectedly, frequently in human history. And of course, Dr. King said, the arc of the moral universe bends towards justice. May it be so, we need that. But we can appreciate the poignancy of the Anthropocene right now when things are difficult. So I don't know if that's really what you were asking me about. Oh, you mentioned Kamakura period, Japan, when Dogen lived. And back then, they also thought it was the age of decline of Buddhism. And there was this kind of pessimistic context in the culture. Dogen did not agree with that or believe in that.

[78:57]

He said, yes, we have to practice right now. But a lot of the new Buddhist movements that came out of this feeling of we can't really practice fully now. so forth. And there were civil wars in those times too. So I know from some news reports I've seen that there are places, I'm not sure where, maybe Singapore, the Philippines, or other places where, places in Africa, where right now, today, this week, there are bodies in the streets because they can't bury the bodies quickly enough. And they're supposedly digging a mass grave in New York City for the prisoners who were imprisoned and amongst whom the virus is spreading like crazy. So this is, you know, this is sad and something maybe worth noting. But also in Dogen's time, there were civil wars and there were times when there were bodies in the street.

[79:59]

So I think in every time it's possible to feel, oh, this is the terrible time and things are changing and this is a great calamity. And that feeling has been around for a long time in history. But if we look at it scientifically, we can still believe in that stuff, science. The dangers now from these pandemics, and there may be worse ones coming than this one, and the dangers from climate devastation, and dangers of warfare and nuclear arms race, and so forth, you know, from a quote-unquote objective, quote-unquote scientific viewpoint are, you know, unique in history. And so maybe to talk about the Anthropocene Age as something that one might look back on, I don't know, it's possible. And on the other hand, though, flowers blossom and wither trees, and

[81:02]

in various wisdom traditions and indigenous people's traditions and various aspects of Buddhism and other spiritual traditions. There is the, I don't know if hope is the right word, but there is the real possibility that people can express these positive values that are being expressed all over right now, as in Bo's example in his neighborhood. So the future is not set we can make a difference in whatever the new normal will be after this particular pandemic is over. It's up to us, collectively, all of us and each of us, to express positive values of interconnectedness and caring. So I hope that was somewhat of a response. Other comments? Again, if you need to leave, please just, you know, I see that Eve has her hand raised. Eve, yes, Eve, go ahead.

[82:03]

Yeah, in terms of Juan's question about the eras, I mean, I've been struck that there's a parallelism between the Buddhist idea of kalpas and the hauling cycle. Now, the hauling cycle, the ecological cycle of growth, exploitation, conservation, release, and reorganization. But with the Buddhist idea of kalpas, it seems like there's a little more emphasis on the part of the cycle that's about emptiness, the release part, and that it's something that it appears at multiple levels And I've seen writings about it. Meditation, when you watch a thought and watch it dissipate, that's the same kind of cycle.

[83:11]

And that's... you know, part of the beauty of decay, that it gives you that, that possibility for release that can lead to reorganization and growth. Yes. So we can, can you hear me? We can, we can, you know, there's also compost. So how do we fruitfully compost the fears and the anxieties and the difficulties of this situation? to, again, just another image to allow something new to grow. And I think in all of the examples of people helping each other, we see this possibility. But yeah, it's interesting, the issue of seasons and cycles. And we pay attention to the seasons. And spring is happening out there in Chicago and outside my window.

[84:14]

But yeah, there's also the cycle of the kalpas. There's the arising, and these kalpas last a very long time. This is Buddhist cosmology, and it goes back to maybe pre-Buddhist Indian cosmology, but there's the arising kalpa where things are happening. There's this steady kalpa. There's the declining kalpa. Then there's the empty kalpa, which is maybe like the withered tree, is just where nothing exists. Then something new comes up. There's new big, big, big bangs or whatever. Anyway, to recognize the cycle of things is part of paying attention to the reality we inhabit. So, yeah. And for those of you who don't know, one image of how long in Calcutta is, is about a bird who flies over the top of Mount Everest every maybe once a year with some cloth in her talons and brushes the top of Mount Everest.

[85:24]

And the time it takes for Mount Everest to be totally worn down from that bird brushing the top of Mount Everest is one kalpa. Anyway, that's just it. Right. But I was saying that the pattern, even though the root notion of kalpas is those very long eons The pattern exists at more micro levels too. And, you know, like I said, I've got things written about how, you know, even when you observe a thought dissipate, it follows the same cycle of growth and reorganization and decay and emptiness. But you have to go through the emptiness if you want something new. Yes. So in Zazen, thoughts arise, feelings arise. And in our tradition, we say, don't try and get rid of them, but just let them go like clouds vanishing in the sky, moving in the sky. Don't try and hold on to them. Don't try and get rid of them. You may notice them, but you don't have to try and figure out something based on the thought clouds floating by.

[86:33]

So yes, that pattern of thoughts arising and letting go and new ones coming. And then there's the space in between the thoughts where you can just enjoy settling in. It also has to do with breathing. So talking about the different levels from Kalpas to the cycle of inhale and exhale. So I regularly say to please enjoy your inhale and exhale as we sit. Without trying to breathe in any special way, we inhale and then we exhale. And that space at the end of the exhale is a wonderful place to just be present in. Maybe that's like the empty chapel, but then there's a new inhale. So Juan Pablo had to leave, but... Kathy had her hand up before. Who was that? Kathy had her hand up before. Oh, Kathy, hi. What's my sound quality?

[87:34]

Is it okay? Yeah, good. I can hear you. Okay. I was thinking about a comment earlier. You know, it's like when has this is all begun. Initially, I mean, I've been adapting to it, getting used to it, but not feeling all that connected to the danger involved, you know, but still finding myself going inward, much more. as I'm working from home and spending more time alone. And then I learned about a friend who is, she seems to be recovering, but she's a healthy 45-year-old who I learned has corona and is much closer to home now. And so that is upsetting. Yes, it is.

[88:35]

But my point was, now it has a whole different kind of meaning. My being, focusing on my breath, staying here, staying present, has a whole different meaning than it did before. And so it seems to me, a Buddhist principle is getting acted out here. When we're able to stay with our thought and kind of stay present with what is, we have a better impact on the world. We don't cause as much damage. And so it just seems like there's an analogy, a parallel there that just kind of came home to me after I made this connection, it got much closer to home. Yeah.

[89:39]

Yeah. Yeah. Somebody else was speaking? Just to say, I feel that too. I have a good friend on the East Coast who's in the hospital, not with Corona, but is in critical condition. His family can't see him because of the virus. And so our usual medical system is very much imperiled by all of this. And so that's another occasion where we can hopefully create something new afterwards, a new flower of universal health care, Medicare for all or whatever. Yeah. But as well as attending to our own lives and not doing as much damage, you know, we're not damaging the environment now. I think we've had such a greedy existence in a way, in terms of a lot of things, that it's like we've become more, as we go inward, we also don't do as much damage in the world, it seems, on a broader scale.

[90:55]

Well, yes, yes. That may not be so, but that's true for us individually. And just as an example, though, the current president's administration has taken the opportunity of this while people are distracted by the virus to end a lot of environmental regulation. more than, even more than before, and to allow coronations and so forth. So, you know, it's something that, so yes, I think what you're saying, Kathy, is important in terms of our personal, individual awareness and practice and resolve of flowers blooming on withered trees and to be in touch with this, but also in terms of our communal, societal context,

[91:57]

we will need to pay more attention and try and, or yeah. And I agree that there's definitely a need for action and reaching out. And I think it's coming up, you know, after this is over, I agree with you, but to take some action in terms of trying to shape our society in a healthy way and the election and all of that and taking action and pointing, you know, whatever is needed that, yeah, in a thoughtful manner. Okay. Yeah, so we have these Bodhisattva precepts and Bodhisattva values as something to come back to, non-killing and speaking truth and not encouraging addiction and so forth. Other comments? Anyone? We've been going for a while, but I, you know, I'm not going outside, so I can just hang out here.

[93:01]

Yes, Ashen. As your host, I'm about to lose power to my laptop. So I'm going to have to go soon. So maybe that's an occasion where we can end. But if there's anybody who has one last comment or response or question, let's see if we can do that. Just one quick comment and response. David, if we can find someone who hasn't spoken yet, just to allow more people in. And thank you for your past comments. But anybody else who hasn't said anything who would like to just offer anything, question, comment, before we close? I guess not. So, David, Just very quickly, because you mentioned Japan and the cherry trees, what many people don't know is that, and also another time, is in winter, in February, the plum blossoms come out.

[94:06]

And it's seen as a sign of hope that even in winter, flowers will appear. And it's very important. And the plums are also very fragrant. You can smell them. It's a double hit, which leads me to the question is that same Japan as hope, hope for the future, that winter is ending and soon things will be easier. It won't be as hard. From a Daira perspective, What about hope? Should we cling to hope? Or is hope something that is ephemeral, that may be there, but it doesn't really exist? Or do we get trapped by clinging to it? I think hope, to respond, and I know we have to close, but hope can be destructive, too, if we're just hoping that automatically everything will be OK.

[95:13]

That's not constructive. So this hope that involves passivity, I think we need to actively pay attention. And it's up to us. The possibilities, put it that way, of positive, compassionate, caring, responsive societies and world are up to us to share those perspectives. and allow them to spread like the coronavirus. Can the virus of Buddhist compassion spread throughout all beings, throughout all people? And that's the counter virus that we need. So Aishan, thank you for hosting this. Thank you all for joining. Sorry for all the technical glitches, but this is a wonderful new Sangha. Thank you for the people joining us.

[96:14]

from a distance and please everyone take care of yourself. Thank you all very much.

[96:19]

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