Thank you for your patience. I'm making some funny noises. I'd like to talk today about altars, creating altars, how we use them. And how they use us, maybe. And I'd like to start first by saying that I think one of our tasks in these times is to put all we can into remembering how connected the whole world is.

[01:27]

In fact, the whole universe. So first, I'd like to talk about our altar here at BCC and just sort of do a little wandering around there. and a little introduction to what's on the altar. So many times we take it for granted that we know what's on it if we've had the pleasure of being jikido and help cleaning the floor and the zendo and keeping it together, or we've had the pleasure of being chided and cleaning this altar and working with the flowers, being So that's, you know, something that we sort of take, some of us take for granted if we've been around here for a long time. So at the very, I'm going to go jump ahead to the end.

[02:31]

I'd like to give people who haven't really had a chance, after this endo is empty and we've gone, while people are out for tea, to come forward and look at the things that are on this altar and sort of acquaint yourself with them. Now, so one of the ways we're thinking of this is sort of creating sacred spaces. So we want to talk about this altar, but also then we want to leave enough time, a lot of time for talking about creating an altar for the home. And some of you, I know a lot of you here have ongoing practices and have altars at home. And I'm hoping some of you will share your wisdom and your experiences with those.

[03:38]

So over there, I hope people can see, is Suzuki Roshi's altar. And over it is a picture of Suzuki Roshi, our teacher, our founder of this temple. And underneath is a rock that was taken from the Tassajara stream. And I don't remember what it says on the rock. Ellen, do you? Does anyone know? one of you scholars of Japanese. Anyway. Yes? Peter. Okay.

[04:44]

But that's not the name of our temple. And then our next, we have up there, our Buddha and My understanding of it is this mudra which is different than any one that I have ever seen in that reading different books and asking many people. It's a variation and it is not typical but it's a variation of the teaching mudra and the turning the wheel of the Dharma. And one way that's presented is this way. But anyway.

[05:47]

And one of the things that a lot of people think is that this is very heavy. This is made out of cloth and rags, basically, put together, except for the halo. So it's always amazing to look at this. to lift it up, and it's going up there. Where did we get it? Where did we get it? It was brought in Japan, and it was brought to us by Baker Roshi, who did the shopping for it, and he brought it here. I see Alan I'm going to try to go on and not take questions right now or comments, okay?

[07:04]

So, the next Bodhisattva we have there is Manjusri, and Manjusri carries a sword, and he's on the far—well, my far right, your far left. And he carries the sword, the sword of cutting through delusion. And this one, he's actually sitting on a lotus flower. Sometimes he's on a cloud or sometimes on... Oh, he is on the lion there. And... He has the sword in his right hand and a scroll, usually with the scroll of the Prajnaparamita on his left. Sometimes there are some big blossoms near his head too.

[08:06]

So then we come to Avalokiteshvara, who's also known here as Kuan Yin, and I think actually our Avalokiteshvara is over here in the style of Kuan Yin, the Chinese version of Avalokiteshvara, which can either be feminine or masculine, depending. Strong female, feminine aspects. So, in Avalokiteshvara is the listener, the hearer of the suffering of the earth. And... I guess we need to listen very carefully these days to that suffering and to remember how wide it is, that it is just not our suffering.

[09:16]

And the folk story about Avalokiteshvara is the story of the eleven heads and He's so busy looking around and trying to see how he can save all beings. And they come faster than he can get rid of them, faster than he can cure, until his head splits open. And in some stories they say it goes rolling away. And Amida Buddha takes pity on him and picks up the heads and puts it together in a tower. And on the top, we have the head of Amida Buddha. And almost frequently, when you see any form of Avalokiteshvara, you will see a little Amida Buddha up here in the crown looking out at you.

[10:30]

So Prajnaparamita is the next one I'd like to talk about, the next Bodhisattva. And Prajnaparamita, we have a Prajnaparamita right here under the Buddha, looking out at us, looking out at you at least. And prajna maharamita is transcendental wisdom. And it's usually represented as a female. And as our And it represents all the Prajnaparamita Sutras, all of the ones from the small one that says Aum, and the large one, the one that's 8,000 verses, And the one in the whole, I think there's supposedly, I've read recently that there are 40 different versions of Avadhya Prajnaparamita Sutras.

[11:51]

It's very nice to have an image there. For me, it feels very nice to have an image there that's clearly a female image and is represented as such. The last one I would like to talk about is the Jizo, and we have a Jizo altering back but we don't usually have a Jizo here. So I brought this little Jizo, and I hope you can see it. He'll go home with me to my granddaughter when this is over. Anyway, Jizo is his Japanese name. He's known as Kishita Garba. or was known that way in India. And in English, he's called Earth Store Bodhisattva.

[13:07]

And he goes down, his vow is to go down to the hell realms, to the center of the earth, to go everywhere that beings need saving. And our altar in back seems always to have little rocks and stones, little pieces of things offered there on that altar, sometimes flowers, sometimes a little pile of dirt. And often you get three rocks piled up together, and sometimes with a little red rakasu on. I want to say a little red bib, but I guess rakasu is more. And today, in many parts of the world, a main

[14:12]

Because... I'm going to have to stop and get a drink of water, sorry. So in many parts of the world, GISO is very important because of the loss of children, for the loss of children that aren't born. In places where there is not a lot of birth control,

[15:26]

of the opportunity for using it. Abortion is the main way that we lose children. And Jizo goes down, the stories are, into the hell realm to save those children and also to save their parents, to give them better reincarnations. We don't talk here very much about reincarnations, but... When you're in Japan, there are just Jizos everywhere. Just those of you who have been there know, you walk down an alley from where we stayed and probably you'd see 30 different forms of Jizo by the time you got down to the bus stop, which was a very short walk.

[16:29]

We have our altar out there for Jesus. It's very accessible. One of the other things we have on our altar are the names of people who have died in this last month. We've had the names We have the names of individual people who have died, and then now we have the offering for all those people who have died in the recent, I want to say carnage, the events that have happened that we all know about since the 11th. And my altar at home, I have two pictures of Mei Li, our teacher Mei Li who died not too long ago.

[17:36]

One, she's sitting up very straight. and it's a colored picture, and over her there's this photograph of a huge pile of rocks, all framed, and she's sitting there, as straight as can be. And the other one is a picture that Alan took that is... I don't know. Alan, could you tell us what the event was when you took that picture? Thank you for the picture and for telling us about it.

[18:54]

So, I'd like to now move more into how we work with home altars. And in a way, I'd really like people to, now they have things to say, to leave it more open. For me, the lighted candle is a big, big thing. And it's what I think of, you know, it brings to life what's on my altar, all the little things. a little Buddha and left it out on the porch, a different kind of little Buddha, a handmade one that some was made for me. I guess, and I want to say it if I've already said it again, the thing that, to me, that makes an altar are those offerings.

[20:24]

Once you put an offering on, it becomes an altar. I mean, to me, the candles on a birthday cake, I mean, in a way, they're an altar. But every offering, the stones, when I walk down the street in front of my house, there are few kids that still live in that neighborhood. You always see little kids picking up stones. And it's almost like they're holding them, ready to make an altar. Sometimes they keep them for a while. I know that when I go to the ocean, The fact that things came from the water, I pick them up and carry them home, and then I take them back the next time, if I remember.

[21:29]

So in a way, sometimes the ocean, that water, those things are so important, things to be on an altar, the candle, the flame. the putting away the match that's been burnt to light the candle. That's all part of that creating of a space, that putting our hands together. In a way, when we step through that door and put our two hands together in Gashow, and we face the altar, We're making that altar a real altar. We're creating it with our feelings. And when we put out the candle, when we bow in as many directions as we're going to do, we're creating that altar again.

[22:35]

When the Jikido comes and cleans this room, we're being one together with the floor, with the altar, with everything that's happening in this room. We're learning from it. When the Chidin cleans the altar, this altar, and puts on flowers. They're creating the altar. It's all happening, and when you do it at home, you can create that altar. We try every year to have a time when we can make, everybody can come and make clay Buddhas or clay Jesus or whatever is in their heart to make.

[24:04]

Melody, would you say something about your altar? Briefly? Not too long. My own altar. Your own altar, or... I brought this with, not to read from, but just sort of... I brought a lot of things to read from. You may not know what you're holding up. Okay, thank you. This is... Melody Irma Chavez, who is sitting back there with a smile on her face at this point, and her book, Altars in the Street. And I think it's the day after tomorrow is the 11th anniversary of The story that hit me strongest in this was the boy being killed.

[25:13]

So could you say a little bit about that? And about your own alter. Since I wrote the book, I've been really interested in altars and how they are in every culture and religion. And very, very ancient. Some of the earliest archaeological sites are just simple tables where people no doubt made offerings. And I read about the word subliminal that, well that the table is like the edge or the horizon or the lentil over a door in a way, and is it the opening to the other world in a way.

[26:23]

Now people are making them everywhere. I've been corresponding with my friend in New York who's looking through all this and She told me how at one point she visited the fire station near her house where every single fireman has been killed. Some replacement firemen came to there and they have a big altar there. She just broke down crying and this big fireman just put his arm around her and he said, bear up, just bear up, you know, and was patting her, comforting her. And I said to her, well, that could mean try to be strong, but I also think we have to really breathe and acknowledge everything that's happened. So it could also mean get a teddy bear and put it on your altar to watch over your family.

[27:28]

I think everything's important. This may be a diversion, but I noticed a little jizo that is on the altar I borrowed from my granddaughter, who's rather sophisticated, almost 21 years old. And I borrowed it from her because—so we'd have a small jizo to put on the altar. And, you know, she talks on national radio and she does all of this stuff, you know, she knows what to do. And yesterday, this morning, when I opened the door to bring the Jizo down and looked into the room, there were tiny teddy bears in a huge circle all the way around the room.

[28:39]

starting at the altar. So, I hope everybody has some form of their teddy bear in some way. So, I'm going to open it up for people. There's some to say something about their altars or what they would like or questions about altars. I found that a lot of my energy has just been going into trying to keep my lips wet enough so that I can talk. I'd like to hear from people and questions or tell us about your altars and your experience with altars.

[29:41]

Yes. Each summer, Leslie and I went in our backpack and often we do cross-country and miles away from the nearest trailhead miles away from civilization, we'll come across an altar. Rocks piled up, sometimes a little flower offering. A couple of years ago, we came across a mini Stonehenge. And there were actually rocks lined up, I checked it, I think it was for the solstice. And it's really beautiful when you see that sort of thing. I think the first altars I remember were when traveling in Mexico and seeing so many altars there and how rich they are and color and things.

[30:59]

On our altar at home, there's a candle and there's a small Buddha that my husband carved for us. There's a lot of gifts that people gave me. There's a mala of beads that Su Moon gave to me. Do you have any suggestions for readjusting this? Is it okay out there? Charlie. he gave us yesterday.

[32:14]

I thought that was a marvelous gesture. And we put it on our altar at home. And I was just thinking that there is no altar without ritual. And ritual has the ability of transforming what's in our hearts and minds and reconnecting us to something bigger than we are. And I felt that with the olive branch that you gave us and the tremendous power that traditionally olive branches have. I'm just very grateful.

[33:15]

Yes. Thank you for your talk, Rebecca. And I have a question that maybe you and if anyone else wants to help out. I thought I knew what an altar was, but as I'm sitting here, I'm not sure about certain things. And I just moved here, and I moved twice since I moved to Berkeley from New York. I moved again just two days ago. And I would like to have an altar. And it's kind of been missing, actually. My partner and I both could use it for our home practice, but we're not, it's like it's really been missing. Like we have some, we have a Kuan Yin and a Buddha that have been sitting in various places, but it's like we haven't given them a home. It's almost like we haven't given ourselves a home. And we did move in. We stayed several times, too. My understanding is that it's fairly static.

[34:25]

There's a few pieces that you don't touch after they're placed and you can clean them, but they don't move around. And that's what I like about it. And then also... to be like flowers and stuff to get into that cycle. And I just wanted to know, is that the basics? Because that's what I'm going to go for. We move our altar. I mean, the place is there. you know, in its great old piece of redwood, solid car redwood, which, you know, don't exist in the world anymore in that way. And there's a small—we have a small—I hope this is answering your—there's a small shakimuni that's

[35:36]

that's very abstract. My husband made it, and it's two pieces of wood joined together, and then a hole drilled and a dowel rod cut off in there, so that's the mudra. Very simple. I think maybe the reason I love it so much is that every time I look at it, I see it differently. Somehow it's always The other side is, I think, if you ever watch Sojin come in in the morning to open the Zendo, he'll line everything up. It's evolved with clear intentionality.

[36:48]

And when something changes, I mean, you might try out something for a while, but it changes to really, I mean, that Prajnaparamita, we said, well, let's try it out for a while. Let's see if it's, is it at home there? And Particularly one actually a number of altars, and then there's some things I do when I travel, like what I take with me when I travel.

[38:10]

But right now, on the altar, Charlie mentioned the olive branches, and usually there's vegetation, there's some dried hydrangeas, and the altar is on a mazelpiece. And then there's some wood, And we have a Kwan Yin on one side and incense, a bowl for incense and a candle. And behind the altar currently is a little container with my mom's ashes. She passed away this spring. And to the right, I made a little sign for the victims of terrorism. And under the Kwan Yin right now is the echo for the for the victims of terrorism. And this is a very, to me it's a working altar. And that means in my practice I'm repeating that memorial and chanting that every day.

[39:11]

And I guess I'll do that till I feel it's enough. So this is sort of how I practice with it. And then there's a food in the kitchen and there's a couple in the bedroom. There's a couple of tiny little, I think it's a Buddha, perhaps from Indonesia, I'm not sure, and another one that my cousin gave me. And again, they're sort of on a raised platform. And then there's another, a very abstract stupa in another room in the house. And so we sort of, we go by, we go by these, I don't know, these images all the time. And when I travel, I take a little mala with me usually, and a bracelet. that came from our wedding ceremony, and I sort of use it like a rosary.

[40:15]

This is probably not kosher, but I find this very soothing. So I have taken some of what I've seen here and I've incorporated it into my life. used and that somehow it speaks to us and our homes. I don't think I said anything about this altar, the bottom of the altar, and these steps going up represent the bottom of the stupa. Is this terribly loud? Anyway, this beautiful altar that's made out of walnut, very dense, and this represents the steps going up to the top of a stupa.

[41:35]

Oh, okay. A stupa is usually dome, we think of it as dome-shaped, and it would have a, they usually have the old ones, like a spire that's coming up, and in it is some work. Thank you. That wasn't the word I was looking for, but it's a good one. Usually sometimes of the ashes of Buddha, you know, and often that's what—there were four stupas built about the same time and they had ashes in there. Often you don't know, you know. if all of the ones that were out there in the world were as ashes of Buddha were ashes of Buddha, it'd be a little crowded.

[42:57]

But I think, you know, the heart goes with those things. The Chinese pagodas are actually also stupas, and they have reliquaries of—you know, they are reliquaries. And the sort of pointed thing that you see in photographs of stupas that are on top is really what the main part of the pagoda, you know, that goes—in fact, dagopa is one of the words for pagoda, So they're interchangeable. And did that answer your question? We have a library. A wonderful browsing library. And there's a very nice short book about stupas in it. And if you're interested, I'll help you find it later today.

[44:00]

Thank you. I have another question, if you don't mind. Yeah. I'm curious about the relationship of alter because in my limited understanding of Zen practice, I understand it as practice without images, in which one attempts to clear one's mind. And altars, to me, are very aesthetically beautiful places which are made up of Well, I think almost all Buddhist places that I know of have altars of some kind. And I don't see it as a contradiction. When I feel, when I bow, I'm not bowing

[45:04]

to an altar. I mean, I am, and I'm not. I'm bowing to the universe and to our connectedness in the universe. And I guess one—I think I'm over time. But you had your hand up and it's been up for quite a while. Just one thing, the altars are in the north as well, so perhaps you're also bound to the north, but it probably varies from practice to practice. Sometimes the altar, main altar, is right in the middle of the room. Thank you all. is our numbers.

[46:11]

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