At the beginning today, I mentioned that this fall, not uncommonly, for the practice period, the focus will be on the Bodhisattva Way, or practice for the welfare of the world. And I wanted to mention that when I was in Sweden this summer, a very sincere young man, came and told me that when I talk about the bodhisattva path, the path of living by acts of compassion to all beings, when he hears about that he kind of feels like... he just feels like overwhelmed. and like trapped in this kind of, the idea that he's supposed to do that kind of life.

[01:06]

It just feels like, he just gets really tense and upset because he doesn't feel ready to make that kind of commitment to make his life that way. Even though he actually does devote his life to helping many people, and he's happy to do it. But when I bring up to do this with everybody, he just says, it's just too much, I can't stand that yet. And I say, fine. So I just wanted to say that to you. That I'm talking about this bodhisattva vow of living by acts of kindness to all beings. But I don't want to give you the feeling like you have to do this. I think of how Han says stuff like, in the morning, do one good thing for somebody.

[02:12]

In the afternoon, do one good thing. I agree. But then there's also the point, Bodhisattva is doing it for everybody. Do you want to be somebody who just helps some people sometimes? That's great. But then I'm talking about this other path. But I don't want to frighten people with the prospect of this kind of grandiose idea of the kind of vows that make Buddhas. And yet I keep bringing this up. I'm sorry. I'm sorry if it seems too much and makes you feel frightened or overwhelmed.

[03:36]

I also mentioned in the past that when I first came to Zen Center, I came because I wanted to learn how to practice meditation on a daily basis. And I felt that if I practiced with a community of people, or in a community where there was daily meditation, and people were doing that, that that community activity would support me to become a regular practitioner. And I did come, and there was a community, and it did support me to do that, and I did become a person who does it on a regular basis for 50 years. When I first went to Zen Center, I did not think, I think I'll go to San Francisco to help the people at Zen Center practice meditation.

[05:03]

That thought did not arise in my mind. I was going to the Zen Center because I thought the people there who were practicing would help me practice regularly. And they did help me. Also, I went to San Francisco Zen Center because I heard there was a teacher of Zen practice. And I thought, well, that'd be good, too. And I have a community that supports the practice, and a teacher who could guide me in the practice and give me feedback on the practice, who's there to help me with the practice, which he has been doing for 50 years. And I did go, and he was there, and he was happy to help me, and he did help me. You know, it's all very nice, but I did not think, I'm gonna go to San Francisco and help that Zen teacher be a Zen teacher. I didn't think that way. I did not think that way.

[06:06]

But little by little, I started to think that way. And even before Suzuki Roshi died, I felt like I was going to the Zen-do for him. I felt like I was at Zen Center to help him. And I became a person who was there so he could help me, but I also became a person who was there to help him. And more and more, I felt like he was really kind of saying, Tenjin-san, thank you for helping me. Of course, he's still the teacher, but I was helping him. The student can help the teacher. That's the program. The teacher helps the student, the student helps the teacher. The teacher serves the student, the student serves the teacher. It often says in Zen stories, so-and-so went and served so-and-so for 30 years.

[07:07]

Of course so-and-so served the student. Of course the Buddha serves all living beings, but all living beings serve the Buddha. But when they first start practicing, they maybe don't have the idea, well, I'm gonna go help out Buddha. That is the practice. We help Buddha, Buddha helps us. When you first came to know a Buddha, you maybe thought, let's go know a Buddha, maybe that would be helpful to me. And maybe it was. And the more you go to Nobod, the more you think, I'm going to go to Nobod and help those poor suckers that go there. Those people need help. I'm going to go help them. And by the way, I'm also going to help them because they help me. And so every time we come here, everybody helps us and supports us. And we do a day like this. And we support the other people. And the more we practice, the more we realize it is mutual.

[08:13]

And I love it. I love that everybody's helping me help them. And that people letting me help them helps me. I love that. That's the practice of the Bodhisattva. If you're not ready for that, understandable. When I first came to Zen Center, I was not ready for that. It didn't make any sense to me that I would be helping the people at Zen Center. But it didn't take that long, because they started to come to me and say, My friend said, you know, it really helps me that you get up every morning and come here. You know, it really helps me that you're sitting there next to me. It really helps me that even when you're sick, you still make an effort. Oh, really? Okay. several things came up today, and I really want to talk to you about them.

[09:54]

Another thing that came up was, somebody came to me and told me that they were wondering if there's some training program for laypeople. So, I think this person... Oh, this person actually was somebody who, years ago, was considering entering priest training with me. So this person had the idea. Oh yeah, you have a training program for priests. And I do. He said, do you have a training program for lay people? And I said, yeah, I do. That's why I'm doing it. That's why I'm doing it. The only priest in the room is me. I'm here to train lay people. And again, I'm here to train any kind of lay people, but particularly I'm here to train lay bodhisattvas.

[11:05]

I'm here to train people who want to be bodhisattvas. But I'm not rushing you to want to be a bodhisattva, but if you'd want to be, I'm happy to do my best to train you to be a below-average bodhisattva, average bodhisattva, or above-average bodhisattva, or supreme celestial bodhisattva. I'm here to help you, to support you, to train you to have a bodhisattva mind, And the way I do it in the future will be like how I do it in the future. And the way I do it next month will be a little bit different from this month, even though it might look just the same. There's two kinds of bodhisattvas in a way.

[12:11]

You could say there's the priests, the monastics, and the lay. lay bodhisattvas and priest bodhisattvas are both teachers. Bodhisattvas are teachers. Bodhisattva priests can teach bodhisattva priests. They can teach them, they can train them. Priests can train lay bodhisattvas. I think that. I'm a priest, I can train priests bodhisattvas, and I can train lay bodhisattvas. We can do that. Also, lay bodhisattvas can train lay bodhisattvas, and lay bodhisattvas can train priests bodhisattvas. There's a lot of bodhisattvas who are lay teachers, lay bodhisattva teachers, and they can teach priests and lay people.

[13:20]

So both directions we can teach. And we're actually teaching people to be teachers. To teach the Dharma by showing how to practice it. Are you leaving? Well, thanks for coming, and thanks for the crackers and the... What do you call them? Olives. So I want you to be Bodhisattva teachers, but also I don't want to back you into a corner where you feel like you have to be. I want to help you find out what kind of person you want to be. And if you want to be a bodhisattva, I'd be happy to support you and help you learn how to do that kind of life.

[14:24]

And as I said, from a certain point of view, from a certain point of view, through certain eyes, I say, you all are bodhisattvas. You can't get away from it. But I don't want to say You know, from a certain point of view, you all will become Buddhas whether you like it or not. That's a certain point of view. Another point of view is, you are already practicing the Bodhisattva way whether you think so or not. If you think you're not, that's the way you are. If you think you are, that's the way you are. That's a certain point of view. But again, I don't want to frighten you by talking like that. So forget I said it if it's frightening.

[15:33]

I want you to be teachers of And I'm not forcing you, and nobody else is forcing you. It's a matter of your own nature. Another thing that came up today is somebody said, well, what happened if everybody realized the bodhisattva mind? What would happen to all the pain in the world? Would it, like, disappear?

[16:35]

And the answer is, no. Buddha understands pain, but does not destroy it. Buddha understands evil, but does not destroy it. Buddhas are not into destroying, they're into liberation of all beings. When you understand suffering, as Buddhists do, you understand that suffering does not come or go. Therefore, it will not go, and also it will not come.

[17:38]

That's the understanding of suffering. Buddhists don't tamper with it. They liberate beings in relationship to it. arose from wishing things were different? Suffering arises from wishing things are different? Right. Not just wishing things are different, but being kind of stuck on that. Like, you could say, this person's sick, I wish they were healthy. You could wish that, and understand that wish, and not abide in it. And not abiding in it, There's liberation with that situation which you're wishing would be alleviated.

[18:42]

Right. So it's the clinging to the wish. It's the clinging to the wish, yeah. Yeah? When you're talking about our essential nature, you're not talking about just us and this room. You're talking about everybody. Could you say that louder, please? When you're talking about our essential nature, which you just did a few moments ago, you're not talking about us, just in this room, you're talking about everybody. That's right. Thank you. We're not special. We're not special. Well, we're special in the sense that you're Kriya, and she's Maitreya. One of you. So in that sense, you're special. But everybody in the universe is like you, in that way. You are the center of the universe, and so is everybody else.

[19:43]

Everywhere, there's nothing but centers. Every place includes all places. Every time includes all time. All the places are like that, all the times are like that. All the people are like that, all the grizzlies are like that. But we have this big job of being in the place and the time where we are. So, if you want to... then the job is to be compassionate to the situation so you can actually be here, and be the special person you are, so completely that you realize the person you're not. Or, I should say, so you realize not that special person.

[20:46]

And that dynamic is what the work of Buddhism is, the dynamic of you being you so completely that you become free of you. And everybody who is completely themselves becomes not-themselves. And that dynamic is liberation. And that's Buddha's activity. Buddhas are so completely Buddhas that they're all sentient beings. Buddhas are nothing in addition to all living beings. who we are. And to realize who we are, we need everybody's support.

[21:47]

And we do have everybody's support. We need to accept it. I was saying that I was grateful for this teaching, that the activity of the bodhisattvas is to perform acts of generosity, and that that was part of saving all beings. And you said, no, I got that wrong. I don't think I said you got it wrong. So that's good. This comes at the perfect time. The bodhisattva's life is to do these acts of compassion to all beings, and that's what saves them. Well, not quite. What saves them is realizing that their life, all these beings that you're being devoted to, that their life, that their existence is your existence.

[22:55]

That's what saves them. Doing the acts of compassion lead you to realize that the beings to whom you are devoted, that their life is your life. That's what liberates beings. The acts of compassion themselves, what they do is, for beings who have had this realization, they take the realization and make a Buddha out of it. So you can do acts of compassion for beings without having this realization that these beings are who you are. Explain the part about making the Buddha again. When you have this realization, here's this realization, the realization is, you are my existence. You are my life. I start with that realization, then from there, but I can have that realization perhaps today,

[24:00]

Right now. Let's just say I did, okay? Or maybe say you did. That's not quite yet Buddha. You have to put that realization to work by doing acts of compassion to all these beings who you realize are yourself. That makes the Buddha. You can also do those practices before you have the realization. But then the practices are leading you to the realization. Once you have the realization, then you unfold that realization by these actions, and then they make the body of the Buddha. For yourself? For the one who's performing the acts? No, not for yourself. Well, I mean, the one that becomes the Buddha is the one who has the realization of the lack of separation of self and other... The one who becomes the Buddha is the one who has the realization that the one who has become realized is everybody other than yourself.

[25:04]

I see smiles and frowns, and what's this? I'm worried about your hips. Thank you. I see some worry about me, which might actually not really be worry, but just compassion. And I thank you for your great compassion towards me and towards each other. And I'm hoping that we continue to practice compassion towards each other and ourselves, and that we're going to make Buddha in this world in this way. And thank you for listening to this strange talk.

[26:07]

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