First of all, I would like to extend my gratitude to the practice period students for sharing their space and their practice. This is very unusual to have this kind of meeting, first two weeks of practice period. The Tangario students didn't have a day off after Tangario because they were helping us get everything ready. So I offer my apologies to the Tangario students and really respect your doing that for us.

[01:07]

And I really appreciate the way the practice leaders have kept the sasheen together, I mean, kept the practice period together, and helped the sasheen to work. So I feel a wonderful sense of harmony between both groups, sasheen and practice period. And I think we've really made it work well together. And it seems like the momentum is just beginning to start for us to all continue doing this for the next two months. So we've canceled all of the flight. We're really sorry to see everyone go, actually. This morning was a wonderful example of how we can work together and learn from each other. It seems like I'm beginning to gain momentum, but that's good.

[02:19]

It makes us want more. A little taste, and it's good. I want to personally thank Yamamoto-san and Yoshinami-san from the Soto-shu, who organized this Sashin. Last, well, when Tenshin, Jakusho, Kato-san and I went to Japan for Zuisei, we stopped in at the Soto-shu and met Yoshinami and Yamamoto-san. And we had a talk with them about our future and our present, what we were doing and so forth, and how we could work together. And at that time, both of us had, both groups kind of had our barriers up and were approaching each other cautiously and carefully and not knowing each other.

[03:34]

When we got back this year, we received a letter from Soto Shu that said, we'll have a tokubetsu sushin at Tassahara in the fall. So it seems that Maizumi Roshi had talked to the tokubetsu people, I mean to the Soto Shu people, suggested this. And it had been suggested other times, too, by us. But suddenly, here it was. And two-week special sushi. And so we said, OK, let's do it. But since Tassajara runs continuously without any gaps, we were not quite sure where to put it.

[04:39]

So we decided that the only place we could put it would be the first two weeks of practice period. And somehow we'd put it all together. We didn't know how, and we knew there would be problems, but we figured them out as we came to them. So that's what we did. And this was a kind of hastily called Together Sashim. And I was rather surprised that so many people could do it, given such short notice. I must say that I was really pleased to see how Yamamoto-san relaxed into Tassajara, and that we could communicate so well. And by the time he left, I felt that he was really pleased to have been here and to have experienced what was going on here and very encouraged, actually.

[05:46]

And I'm really happy at the way Yoshinami-san is also flowing into Tassajara and being with us and the way we're treating him. You know, Yoshinami-san is right at the center of the turning of this whole thing, of our relationship between East and West. He's like the pivotal point where East and West meet. And I think of Rudyard Kipling, I think it was Kipling who said, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet. And I think this is Yoshinami-san's koan.

[06:57]

So both Yamamoto-san and Yoshinami-san have been really encouraging to us and doing their best. I feel that they're between... Both of them are between two worlds. And they get the pressure from the 700-year-old tradition of Japan and the young upstart tradition of the West, trying to make some kind of cohesive relationship and make it work. That's their job, make this work. So I encourage all of us to really help them as much as we can. And I really appreciate the work that they already have done. And I also wanted to extend my respect to Sai Kalasan, who I wasn't quite sure what he was getting into,

[08:09]

when he came here, and we've had our kind of jockeying around, but he proved to be very flexible and open to us. And one of the highest moments for me of this whole thing was yesterday when we went to the back porch over here of the Zendo early in the morning, to do a little chanting practice. But we never did do the chanting practice. There were a few other people here from the practice period. And instead of doing chanting practice, we just started talking to each other in a very casual way. And there was no barrier, no agenda. It's just like everything fell away, and we were just standing there talking to each other,

[09:10]

like old friends, interested in each other, and interested in what each one of us had to say, to give to the other. And to me, that's the accomplishment of this practice period, of this whole thing, the fact that we can just do that. To me, that's the pure practice that I'm interested in. And I also want to extend my gratitude to Maezumi Roshi for giving his time and his support to this, not just this Sishin, but to Zen Center. I remember times in the past when Jaksho and I were for years alienated from Zen Center.

[10:15]

And Maezumi Roshi was always very encouraging and confirming and helpful. And he remains that way today. I think we don't always know what he has done for us, but we really appreciate that very much. Thank you very much, Maezumi Roshi. And also I want to thank Shosan, Ambit's assistant, for organizing this session and coordinating it between the practice period and with the practice period and communicating with the Shibu-cho in Japan and

[11:25]

taking care of all the confusion that goes into communicating with Europe and South America, and not knowing if everybody's coming, when they're coming, what their names are, what their addresses are. There was an enormous amount of confusion going on. And she just sailed right through it. Only one or two complaints. Well, and I also want to thank all the people who gave talks. The quality of your talks was wonderful and very inspiring for all of us. I feel that there is a koan that epitomizes

[12:39]

our situation with Japan, Shumetro at the moment. And so I'll read you this koan. This is number, case number 61 in the Blue Cliff Record, and it's called Fuketsu's One Particle of Dust. There are various ways of approaching this koan, and so please give me this space to interpret it in this way. Ngo introduces the koan and he says, setting up the Dharma banner and establishing the Dharma teaching, such is the task of the teacher of profound attainment. Distinguishing a dragon from a snake, black from white, that is what the mature master must do. Now let us put aside for a moment how to wield a life-giving sword and the death-dealing blade, and how to administer blows with a stick.

[13:47]

Tell me, what does the one who lords it over the universe say? See the following. Main case. Fuketsu said to the assembled monks, if one particle of dust is raised, the state will come into being. If no particle of dust is raised, the state will perish. Later on, Setso, holding up his staff, said to his disciples, is there anyone among you who will live with him and die with him? And then Setso has a verse, and he says, let the elders knit their brows as they will. For the moment, let the state be established. Where are the wise statesmen, the veteran generals? cool breeze blows, I nod to myself. Raising a particle of dust is a way of saying starting a practice place.

[14:56]

Starting a place like Tassajara is raising a speck of dust. Zen Center is a speck of dust. Los Angeles Zen Center is a speck of dust. Heiheiji is a speck of dust. If one raises a speck of dust, if one particle of dust is raised, the state will come into being. If we don't do something, it won't happen. So the question is, what should we do? This was Suzuki Roshi's koan. And I remember, I heard one time that when we were buying the building in San Francisco on Page Street, before we moved there, we were still at Sokoji.

[16:05]

And Suzuki Roshi had been invited to Sokoji Temple to take care of the Japanese congregation. And while he was there, many Western Americans started to sit with him. He invited people to sit with him. And Zen Center sprang into existence. That was the first speck of dust. It just happened. But to decide to do something is, you have to make some way in the factors. And you don't know what's going to come up with the speck of dust. Maybe you lift up a speck of dust and you get a whole cloud of dust. I remember someone saying that he said, I'm so nervous, anxious about this, that I don't know whether I'm going to the bathroom in the sink or washing my face in the toilet.

[17:06]

And Sitcho later says, he holds up his staff and he says to his disciples, is there anyone among you who will live with him and die with him? The first one, first part is to decide to do something. The second part is how do you maintain it? If you decide to do something like this, you better know what you're doing. How do we know what we're doing? We thought, this is pretty easy, why don't we just do it? But Suzuki Roshi knew that if you raise up a particle of dust, you're liable to raise up a whole cloud of dust. This is like parents and children.

[18:20]

Suzuki Roshi was like the parent, and we were like the children. The parent who has so much understanding and maturity, and the children who just want to go ahead and do something. And we still have this kind of problem. I remember Zen Center began, came in the 60s, early in 1960 or 59. And by 1969 we bought the building. 1967 we bought Tassajara. And in 1970, Tatsugami Roshi came to Tassajara and developed the monastic system that we have.

[19:25]

There were a lot of people at Zen Center at that time, some people who just wanted to develop a community. So when we brought Tatsugami Roshi from Eheji, he was the Ino at Eheji for 10 years, and he set up the monastic system. When he did that, it separated the people who wanted to just live in a commune from the people who wanted to actually practice at a monastery. So that whole practice period we spent forming the Doanryo, the Tenzoryo, the Rokkiji, all of the system that we now have. He taught us how to chant, how to hit the drum, how to serve, Everything. Before that time, we just kind of did things. I remember, I was shuso with him.

[20:29]

So, it was really wonderful. He didn't speak any English, and I didn't speak any Japanese. But he would speak to me in Japanese, and I'd speak to him in English. And we understood each other. Just like Shunpo was saying. I don't know how that happens, but it does. And then Suzuki Roshi died in 1971. So before Suzuki Roshi died, we had lots of Japanese teachers. I can recall five, at least, Japanese teachers who I directly practiced with. And it was really a wonderful feeling. It was very nice, you know, because all those teachers were so gracious and generous. And we just really enjoyed their presence and learning from them. But after Suzuki Roshi died, we decided, by that time, Katagiri Roshi had gone and Chino Sensei was off, and we didn't really have any Japanese teachers around.

[21:40]

And we decided that we would go without Japanese teachers and see what happened. So for 20 years, we've been practicing without Japanese teachers. And after Suzuki Roshi died, Zen Center really took off. It went like a rocket. And then... And then it crashed. And the next five years, the feeling at Zen Center was grief. Since then, it made a spectacular rise. Really spectacular. You wonder, God, where is it going? But it couldn't maintain itself because it didn't have the structure. The structure wasn't to do what it did. It wasn't built to do what it did. It just crashed. And for four or five years,

[22:44]

the members scattered, and the people who remained just dealt with their grief. That was the dominant feeling at Zen Center, was grief. And picking up the pieces, and trying to stabilize. So in the last five years, it's been a process of stabilization, and Zen Center's been doing pretty good. picking up the pieces, and trying to maintain just a simple, pure practice. And now, here we are back again, after 20 years, making some connection with our Japanese brothers and sisters. We've grown up a bit. Tatsugami Roshi used to say, you are all baby bodhisattvas in a baby monastery.

[23:53]

And we used to enjoy that. Yeah, we're baby bodhisattvas in a baby monastery. Now, we've been out on the street. The kids have been out on the street and had some hard knocks and learned a thing or two. Now we want to go back home, knock on the door, and hi. What can we do now? Is there any way we can continue together? So that's what's happening right now. From my point of view, that's what's happening at the moment. And one of the questions that comes up is, what do we have to offer each other? What can we give to each other? And when I think about that, I think about, well, what can we give to our Japanese brothers and sisters?

[25:00]

I can't think of anything. If I try to think of something, then I feel kind of presumptuous or arrogant It's like if you have children and you realize that children are your teachers. I don't know anybody that hasn't told me, with a kid, that hasn't said, this is my teacher. But the kid does not say, I am my parent's teacher. That's presumptuous. So the kid can be the teacher, but the kid should not know that he's the teacher. This is something for the parent. So if I say, I have something to teach you or give you, that's assuming some kind of role.

[26:18]

So really, all I can give you, all I can give is my sincerity and my dedication to practice. The kid always wants to, at a certain point, be left alone to do what they want. My son is almost 10. And whenever I tell him anything, he says, that's obvious. Don't tell me something that's obvious. And he says that with everything I say. Now I just keep my mouth shut. I don't tell him anything.

[27:24]

But I understand his position. He wants to stretch his own arms. He wants to find his own way. And I have to let him make his own mistakes with watchful guidance. And then when he hurts himself, he comes back to me because he knows what's going on. He also used to say, let's go out and get some candy. He loves candy. I don't know why. Let's go buy some candy. And I say, no, you can't buy candy. Candy is only for special occasions and only a little bit. And he said, but then why do they sell it? It's perfectly logical. He's got his logic down.

[28:25]

Why do they sell it if you can't just go out and buy it? But he doesn't have the experience that goes with his logic. His logic is not tempered with experience. And I feel sometimes our logic, we're perfectly logical in our assumptions. But our experience isn't deep enough always to temper our logic. So I think we have to be very careful. In a way, we're kind of like that. We want our candy, we want what we want, and there it is. Why can't we have it? Something is right within reach, but it's maybe a quarter of an inch away, but we can't touch it. So, my feeling is that our practice is the practice of great patience.

[29:33]

You know, if we want something too much, well, this is what spoils our practice, wanting something too much. And it comes up in all of us. When I started to practice really, when I made up my mind that this was going to be my life's practice, I decided that Zazen was what I was doing. Every day I would sit Zazen. If somebody wants to sit Zazen with me, that's wonderful. If nobody comes, okay. If we have a building, that's fine. We don't have a building, it doesn't make any difference. Buildings, people can come and go, but just doing this every day, that's the bottom line.

[30:39]

No matter feeling good, feeling bad, liking it, not liking it, it doesn't matter. We don't get fooled by expectations and by impossible dreams. If we have a flourishing Zen center, great. If it falls apart, okay. The main thing is every day it just sits us in. It doesn't matter where we are or how we feel. Very simple practice. And we like to keep our practice simple. We don't like our practice to be so complicated. But it gets complicated. The more people we have, the more complicated it gets. So this is a koan for us. How do we keep our practice simple in the midst of all these complications?

[31:48]

And when we start relating to our Japanese brothers and sisters more closely, our life will get more complicated. So I think for both of us, both sides, how do we keep our practice simple and pure without it getting too complicated? This is part of this koan. So my feeling is, how do we meet? Where do we meet? Should we become more Japanese? Or should the Japanese become more Western? My feeling is that in order for this to really work, we have to

[33:02]

There has to be a new synthesis where we're not Americans or Japanese. We're not Europeans or Japanese. Where we can recognize each other and stand in a space that is a new synthesis. Then, when we have that pure ground, anything can grow out of that. And if we really develop that with pure intention, I think this will revitalize everyone's practice. And we don't know what that will produce. So, I'm not so sure that Our practice is how to do something, but more how do we let go of what we have so that we can really stand in that space.

[34:12]

And at the same time, we can respect our differences. we can honor our Japanese brothers and sisters for being Japanese, and they can honor us for being who we are. So this is what I feel is universal practice. It doesn't belong to anybody, but it belongs to all of us. When I was young, I was looking for my Jewish roots, and I found Suzuki Roshan. I was looking for a Hasidic Jewish teacher, and I found Suzuki Roshan.

[35:31]

And that's what he was. It's true. He didn't know it exactly, but I'm sure that deep down he knew it, because where we met was the place where sectarianism doesn't matter, or tribalism. You know, Jewish people are a tribe. Japanese people are a tribe. So Jewish people have a tribal feeling with their religion, which in the end creates a barrier which only can go so far. And I feel that in a certain way with Japanese Buddhism. But I feel this real desire to extend that, to not have that be a barrier.

[36:39]

And I felt that Suzuki Roshi had crossed that barrier. It was no longer a problem for him. And so we could enter into the same space I could be me and he could be him. And we could both include the whole world within ourselves. So, I feel we need to trust each other and offer each other the best that we possibly can.

[37:52]

And really try to come to some pure synthesis, which will take a long time, maybe. Maybe not. Nobody knows. Sencho in his verse says, let the elders knit their brows as they will. This means, you know, the old people who know a lot. I say, what are those youngsters doing? They knit their brows. Are they doing the right thing? He says, let them knit their brows as they will. For the moment, let the state be established. That's the positive note. Anyway, we've already transgressed, so we might as well continue. Where are the wise statesmen and the veteran generals?

[39:01]

That means, where are the Zen masters and mistresses? Where are the leaders? Who's going to do this? And then he says, the cool breeze blows, and I nod to myself. This is a very important point. The cool breeze blows means whether it happens or doesn't happen. Every day I said, Zazen, let it come or let it go. If it works, If it doesn't work, okay, I just do my best. And the bottom line is, every day I said, Zazen. The cool breeze, this is the cool breeze, means nothing can disturb us. Not attached to anything.

[40:05]

We really have our freedom. Now, what will we do with our freedom? When we come to the Gendo, we let go of everything. When we go outside, there's the whole world. What will we do with it? It's all new. What are we going to do? We can do anything. It's up to us. What do we want? You know, in a way, it's like being an illegitimate child. And the illegitimate child wants to be part of the family, and the family wants to accept the child as a legitimate child.

[41:11]

And supposing that happens, then how do we act? Is that really what we want to do? Does that mean that we have to take on all the family customs? After you've been out in the world, you may not want to take on all the family customs. You have your own customs. And does the family really want these ruffians running around the house? These are interesting questions. So all of this comes up with a speck of dust. All these questions arise with a speck of dust. But I feel very encouraged. And the various facets of this gem, Japan, Europe, South America, all over the world, how do we

[42:22]

make this gem that we have shine. How do we appreciate it? So, we've set up the Dharma banner. We've raised the speck of dust. So I encourage us all to really make a big effort. But our effort should be, I think, to maintain pure practice.

[43:26]

That's all. I'm really not asking us to do anything else, but all of us together to maintain pure practice. And if we can do that, whatever is supposed to happen will happen. If we take care of Buddha, Buddha will take care of everything. As Mayuzumi Roshi was saying last night, quoting Dogen, just turn the Dharma and then let the Dharma take care of it. This is If we have to have this trust, we have to have this faith, that just taking care of the Dharma, the Dharma will make everything happen. This has been my experience, my direct experience.

[44:30]

If we have this kind of faith in the Dharma, and just take care of the Dharma, that's all we have to do. Everything else will follow. So let's not get fooled by anything or overly ambitious for something. Just to learn how to let go and be together is enough.

[45:11]

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