Cypress Tree in the Garden

00:00
00:00
Audio loading...

Welcome! You can log in or create an account to save favorites, edit keywords, transcripts, and more.

Auto-Generated Transcript

morning
hooker
hotspot

i'm mark
yeah
a for
years
that
multiple times

was
you have fun

good morning everyone

i like to dedicate this i talked today to my friend henry in new york city henry a that across the hall from a freshman year at the syracuse university and am
he introduced me to as and buddhism but not in a real direct direct way
i had become a vegetarian
around that time and i got a book for the rochester zen center called to cherish all life there was no note attached to it the just as book came and it was a buddhist view of vegetarianism
and i read it and i agree with most everything that was written there and i wondered about it in that took it to a bookstore to sell it and get a few few bucks my pocket and i found out later that henry had given it to me as so we had a we had a chuckle about that
and he attended my first i thought that instruction at grace of a seminarian and nineteen eighty four
and my life changed
ah for the better from that day on

a senior students are given the opportunity to give a talk about once a year or so here in this a formal setting on a saturday
and i take notes during the course the year of things that kind of hit me or move me that i would feel that would be helpful
for people to encourage their practice because if they've been helpful to me but when reviewing the notes and of the they don't make it to the talk and they get scratched out and new things get added
so i'm
karen fun time schedules are speakers and she's scheduled to give a talk today some months ago and thought was thinking okay let's see what's going on
and coincidentally two things happened to me around that time that gave me i am focus to share with you
the first one was seeing the movie at italy's gate which the story of van gogh
and as the later years and bingo his life and i wasn't planning on going to feared i love his art but i didn't nothing want to see a movie about it but it will be i felt was quite good
and one of the painting whether a lot of paintings that were depicted in the yeah in the film better one penny that can have struck me was a try painting called cyprus trees and if you i'm sure for me with that and it's that paintings of cyprus trees in france and
and the energy and the tree was very alive to three is moving on the canvas
and one of the lines and the movie that may or may not be accurate to r
his diaries letters to to his brother maybe the director doesn't certainly did i don't know but it was very evocative so van gogh is in an asylum and he's been interviewed by the the resident priest as to whether he is safe to himself and to society to be released
and the priest doesn't particularly care for van gogh's paintings and he asked them a vincent when you have you ever sold any of your paintings he said no i've never sold any if hi penny
my paintings if it's so there is so disturbing what why do you paint these paintings and there's a pause and go says
i'm painting for another time
i'm painting for another time

the other thing that struck me around that time was am a cypress tree and i walked past for thirty two years now just next door in front of a
to mark a cup of thornton sam tenants in common property
so what perfect tree thirty two for thirty two years man i am not really noticed it so much other than this big green arrow thing that goes up it looks a bit ly van gogh's painting
and when i came back from the berkeley bowl
i was sought for the first time
and i i stood still
and it was it was so alive it was i was sort of dumb founded by it
the light was hit and was the the brightness to it
i was aware of my surroundings in the the tree behind it in front of bc fee as can like a little bit of frame but the cypress tree with just right there
in fact
totally alive
i was thinking about married during a comment about the the nepalese feel that she encountered
some years ago it in high definition it was like a very sharp
visual that has struck her and as tree had that kind of quality to it
so
i wrote down play history in front of them
next door property and
thought about well let's see this talk here
so am
i found one
a dog and then she has a festival called cypress tree
and i'd like to read a little bit of it
shell shell who would later become great masters and g the thirty seventh ancestor from shakyamuni to get to target out first around the aspiration for enlightenment at age sixty one i left home to study the way
at this time he vowed i will teach even one hundred year old person who has less understanding than i i would enquire about the way even from a seven year old child who surpasses my understanding
have you made this vow he journeyed south why asked me about the way he got to mount dong xuan and bowed to nonchalant priest pew yon non trod was lying down in the abbot's room when he saw shell shell he asked where you from
ciao shell said the rouge yang monastery which translates as auspicious image nonchalant asked is there an auspicious image over there
shao shall replied there is no auspicious image but there is a reclining to togheter
hearing this not trying to set up and said are you a notice with a teacher shouts shall said yes i am a novice with a teacher not trying to ask who is your teacher
shell shell said
it is still cold and early spring i respectfully bow to you and wish you an auspicious life
so
when i read that are thinking about
how
the talk was about what's going right in front of me
the interview is taking place is not about the monastery or the place where not where our chaussure came from it's like western front of me right here this week there's a reclining to togheter
and all these stories and the coin collections duggan's writings are about
this person here are three easy get caught and thinking about it from other place some other time but all is comes back right here and
when i heard those lines in that movie or and saw that tree down the street here they both to stop me the track in my tracks and just made me ponder maybe think about this person
and everything else is kind of received into the
clam
background
any anxieties or problems or aspirations plans on that stuff just goes to the background is just just being present
as really kind of very liberating feeling to or to have a moment of that on that one was even expecting
you know going to retreats are going to met period in meditation one is expecting or hoping for a little release their pain and suffering but actually go to a movie and get a little release less pretty great

the memon connor case thirty seven a the the cover is called the oak tree in front of the garden so depending on over the japanese translation or a chinese translation that either ochre cyprus

the case a monk asked joe shoe in all earnestness what is the meaning of the patriarchs coming from the west joshi said the oak tree in front of the garden
so when i first read this i thought about bodhidharma and if coming is bringing the teaching from that very important steps i guess that's why why he came to our from india to china to bring to bring buddha's teachings to or
do the chinese
i thought about suzuki ratio what is the lucky us she come to america well the plum tree and the garden and brought brought the teachings of from chicago g here to to the bay area
so that's that's one way of looking at it
the definition of meaning what is the meaning of the patriarch
is the thing one intends to convey especially by language pleasant dictionary meaning what it what is the meaning of this or that we have dictionary meaning but in our practice is not about that kind of meaning
it's about what's happening for me right now what's up for me right now that's that's the meaning of this life
and coming to or to buddhism to study the teachings and to work with my
challenges and wanting wanting for more insight integration and
connections to people in things ah it's about this person

i think about what is the meaning of this position i have at berkeley's at the center
used to be the coordinator and point person for a and maintenance what is the meaning of this a job that i had at peet's coffee and tea whilst earn a living and pay rent and pay my bills and such
what is the meaning of this romantic relationship that have come and gone in my life and there's a tendency to want to explain the whys and wherefores of these experiences one has the
what it really gets down to it it's who am i in that woman who am i in those relationships at work at play
here at zen center
the my relationships with people are always coming back to me
in the time that it's most clear that it's about me is when things stop
when my mind stops thinking and just being present the breath and posture and being upright

your the contrast to the vividness of a story a poem an image landscape a cypress tree
in contrast to that is really we it involved and we have our eyes cast downward not focusing on anything in particular so everything's kind of like in a soft focus
and for me that the returning to am
to the base
with my eyes open and looking around and absorbing the things that are in a in my fear of of visibility and auditorium on father other way to taking in the universe that that the a world of the relative will different differentiate
ocean the world with which we relate in
but how did we come back to the water to the base
the different kind of image the different visual

that's a lovely sound

so the the cypress tree in the garden is pointing to the world of oneness most likely that this conversation was taking place in the garden and of you have a garden and
i just she looked up in the cypress tree doesn't mean that's the meaning of of bodhidharma coming from the west
but it's not the cypress tree as an object
about where am i right now
what's the meaning of bodhidharma coming from the west
the sound of a harp and the zendo on march second

my comments on this come on he says if you see through joshua response clearly there is no shakyamuni buddha
in the past and there's no my trail in the future
so historically we have the founder of our tradition shakyamuni buddha who lived about twenty five hundred years ago and then we have this
this ideal this effort buddha in the future my trail
but actually although they're just projections of ourself
never
so if we
really see clearly there's not thinking about the path and found her there's not wanting to be ah my tray in the future there's just there's just froth right now so there's no there's no past and future
so how does that relate to
the buddhists fundamental teaching which is i teach the cause of suffering and the cessation of suffering
well you think about what we suffer about most but where most uncomfortable about it's about what happened or what we want to happen
what happened that was good make can spin out all the lovely or dreams about that
our bad too awful dreams about that or what i want to do but what's being present
and actually being present
suffering is extinguished
we can't stay there very long we typically
start thinking about one direction or another past or future but in that moment in suffering is extinguished

when i saw that cypress tree i was thinking about the burning bush in the bible and before seeing that cypress tree i thought wow okay there's god and nurses tree that's burning and moses's get the yellow down on what can happen to his people
henry i've lived as a metaphor that that was that was the burning bush the cypress tree was the burning bush and they were sitting there was a message there for me just be present the universe is offering itself to you in this moment
the beauty of the cypress tree
so my greedy mind what's more those images so now walked by the tree and he had just a plain old tree what happened
what happened where's where's that fire where's that
energy
well
i recognized my migraine and desire to what beautiful things in my life and continually but it can't be that way because it was continuous that it wouldn't be beautiful so we have this country has just plain and ordinary and then the rising of of of a moment of of beauty and connection in a and a teaching

the cypress tree in the garden reminded me of a story of toes on that he found her if are so to school in china and a dialogue that he was having with his student
though that were fighting over a frog that they wanted to eat presumably and the students is just telethon why is it thus why is that why are that going on
enter the to student he says it is for your benefit
it is for your benefit of all what can it benefit would that be this to be watching to to at two birds you know fighting over a frog
but if the if the student
really takes a look at what's going on in front of him or her
just like we will we see something in front of us where there's a squabble or a difference of opinion different views people wanting it this way or that way
well it's about them they're arguing over that the birds are wanting wanting to be a fed by there are by with this morsel of food that's in front of them
but they said earlier on all these stories are about
what's in it for me was what am i learning from this
well this is a teaching of of greedy oh well and delusion right there in front of us i want this
for the benefit is potentially that i can sit here in neutral and observe to people in our argument
two birds are fighting over a frog and to see this is this is the unfolding of the universe without judging it
might not wanna be around arguing people
i might feel some some sadness around a frog that's being stretched and pulled into different directions by these birds
and those are all of
true heartfelt expressions of empathy
that's looking clearly at it
but with the soft focused
view
icecast outward
it's not looking away it's accepting this is this is the way of the universe

i was thinking about earthquakes
yesterday
and the contrast between stillness and activity which is the nature of the universe anyway
is stillness sitting as other than the activity of going out on
tend to think so either in the moment of an earthquake the big earthquake
there's both
activity and movement of the earth
and there's a stillness of whatever you are thinking whatever you're doing for a moment into stops
it just that
how can that be
how can it be that there's there's stopping and all this activity
we typically forget about that moment of stopping and we want to like make sure where i can get heard the love with close by stop the card or whatever that things are that come up thinking about taking care of ourselves from take care of others but separate from that
stillness in activity
and that stillness is a really great wake up
the justice just western front of us
it's not as pretty as a cypress tree
or a line in a movie that evokes emotion and and tears
but it's activity is an activity that is should be respected
and when can learn from

in tokens fast cool like cypress tree he says shout he writes shall show was asked by a monk does the cypress tree have buddha nature shell shell answered it does the monk said when does it become buddha shall shall say
ed with the sky falls to the ground
the monk said when does that happen shell shell said when the ficus tree becomes buddha
now listen to these words of shell shell while not abandoning the question of the monk the times of shower shelves words when the sky falls to the ground and when the cypress tree becomes buddha are not separate

we read read this passage i was thinking about
that book or pemba trojans a title when things fall apart and i think about and thought about and continue to think about
oh what causes me pain and suffering from stress and discomfort is typically when i'm trying to keep things together and not letting things fall apart i have a tendency to want things to be neat and orderly at right angles and all the rest
does tendencies and if i think about
the energy that goes into that i'm typically not so stressed in doing it because it it's a habit energy that i've had ever since i was a kid so as this kind of what i do as kept my my expression
and when i am
leave my apartment and go out into the a
other parts of the universe i started same thing fetter askew
and i thought you know fixing enchanting so one of the my practices that of of a they weren't me on for year many years now
fifty two years is i letting things fall apart
and at first i didn't like that because i like things not falling apart i like the for a particular order and way but gradually over time letting things fall apart
has has a helped me
take care of myself in a in a different way it's gone from sort of habit energy of wanting things a certain way to accepting things as they are as they're falling apart without me having to make them fall apart so the tension between what we
do to fix and repair and i'm create things and then things that are falling apart on their own death death but what if as as a career she says things are currently falling out of balance and going back into balance
so when does of windows the sky fall to the ground
well we typically think of the sky up there in the grounds here and the winter this guy fall to the ground
well with between the the sky and the ground me
i'm in between the i'm between the sky in the ground so if i can be still if i can let things fall apart
then the sky and me and the ground are are one thing
and that much easier way to live
ah at least it's a good reminder of how how one can live if when that things fall apart

the words when the sky falls to the ground do not refer to something impossible everything every time the cypress tree becomes buddha the sky falls found the following are not hidden but are louder than hundreds and thousands of thunder strikes the time when the cypress tree becomes buddha is
provisionally within twelve hours and yet is beyond the twelve hours this guy that falls is not the same sky seen by ordinary people and sages but an entirety of sky beyond that others do not see it shell shell alone sees it
mv we feel we can see it
matter shall shell he that the story is just a pointer to a from for our practice among and what we can see

i thank you for your attention and we have a little time for questions or comments if anybody has anything to say id
i'm hearing what been the animals often are so worried about the places to fathom
their things so what's it been like for you to have two cats living
well fortunately they don't fight if they thought that would be a problem for me
i am i i was
my father was a veterinarian so i was a
as raised by is supported by the income of take care of animals so as lovely as that is i want to have animals in my life when i left out because i don't wanna be a bound by the comings and goings of pets or people for that matter and will look more for
forgiving with people so i had my freedom for years and now i want a adopting two cats and i get to see myself with those two cats with regard to my greed aol and delusion my greed of wanting time wanting wanting to be bothered and then the the i my cat
during my time and attention
ah my ill will have when i'm having to pay exorbitant veterinary bills now my dad never charge that much recourse that was another another lifetime ago
and i've been pissed off that i have to do that and then the confusion of the loveliness of these path and and my
wanting to be just it i'll be warm and harmonious and it's not that way all the time so i get to see the three marks of existence more clearly with iraqi and us weepy in my life for that's the benefit that i was not planning on having
ah so that's how this for me
seriousness of cats
that's a a a the fastidious of their their human that try to take care of them were all the hair and the methods of
i with been a challenge for me too
except but i accept it now because i think now about the cat and dog for they had the kid i don't have to clean up after them someone else to death
so this is as i see it kind of be coming back
italy and paying these exorbitant veterinary bills is just passing on the money that i am
i inherited with my parents passed away and passing on the generation of ignorance so it's all it's all it's all practice
it is truly is truly all practice and i've figured out now why they call it a litter box because after they do their business they litter all over the apartment the little bits of of litter
welcome
i peter ross
said
ah it was also something
going on there was a conversation
i go about what's actually going on
protein
some actually
ah what has been seen a nasty ones
hmm and as me think about now
i'm just history
hi
i think you are my own needs
yeah
he said certainly didn't feel
city
well as a really good question like that

well i'm i think we all have varying degrees and abilities to see
thanks and that question what do we truly seeing
now it took be thirty two years to see the cypress tree
and
being able to
what was interesting around the world of art is the expression of the artists what they see so the preset is these are ugly depictions when you see if ugly and other people aren't getting it so it does a thorny pains and then this other time
time has arrived and people are seeing the beauty of that so what did so what is being seen

the paintings on the wall here are lovely newly painted walls
ah the painting that i see
our as rich and best as the ones on the street that would that we see
there am
they're not for sale though they're not framed but they're very familiar images and am

and the painting the paintings change
despite in her body when we we sit that then is different each time
and we got to a museum and see a painting or we go to a a play of and watch the theater and we may get something more out of it on a revisit but mostly it's kind of its kind of set set there
but the thing about our practices that we get to the scenery changes and we we change
ha
yeah
also think about the situation story about the the wall being a movie or or or life being a movie in the walls of screen that was his projections that are put onto their to the wealth
i think we forget that when we're off the cushion and out of the universe thinking that got a movie screen and factually the tree that the person at the car as a pile of dog shit but they're also
that's a living thank you for that question the reminder that are moving
there's a hand linda

what's a better moment

now is if is not a better moment it can be it would be a better it's a better moment if i think of sky myself in the earth as three separate things there's a better and are less and less than but
i get to recognize my greediness and wanting things to be a certain way and wanting that kind of and liveliness an activity
can like a m
our relationships especially a romantic relationships is there's this honeymoon phase where everything is on fire
and then it kind of levels out well as the honeymoon phase better than the the up rather than the the couple that been at it ended for a wildly knows each other intimately
it is when when expression of of relationship different or better than another they're different
are you think

yeah of the tree hugger
thank you andrea

you thought about
aha

oh
oh
have to out there
still don't like chaos and work islam time
there's a lot of time
the lack of clarity
no
find myself
at a place where i'm sorry a lot and that we get out at night the my
shit
the it as a private place like no shit five you should on file
and so when i settle things were flu
an epic
but when i try to fight
one path
well
a grey or think for a every recalling that that all three am
the things work themselves out without are deemed intervene but we have a a tendency to want to intervene and then that creates a problem feathers as dance between when do i stepped forward and offer a help intervene in some way and when do i take a step back and let things play out
that's a that's
that's the come on when do i straightened up and to let things fall apart
well thank you again for your attention and questions that i am will have fun tea and cookies baby in a given the ram yeah take