an example of a calm, clear mind, would be to enjoy your food when you're eating. But at the same time, be aware of... Be grateful for the orioke bowl, the chopsticks, the farmers and so forth. The whole world. And our society and traditions have gone together to bring this food to you. That's also what you're eating. Now for the practitioner, the practitioner has a calm, clear mind in that they're aware of what they're really eating.

[01:11]

So we say some kind of primitive thing in the meal chant, so your virtue and practice deserve that you deserve this food through your virtue and practice. Then virtue means the calm, clear mind of gratefulness. Yeah, you feel it when you're surprised that water comes out of the faucet. Yeah, if you know much about plumbing in an old building like this, it's really amazing that the water somehow gets to the faucet. If it comes out cold, how refreshing it is.

[02:14]

We still ask somebody to call Schäuble if it can get heated up. It comes out warm. That's really nice, too. Yeah. Monasteries in Japan and Tassajara, we always had only cold water. As long as I was there, we had no electric lights and no hot water. You get used to it. It's really refreshing. But it would be kind of weird to turn off the hot water here. Since we have it. I met a monk in St. Francis of Assisi's cave. In Italy when I was there once. The monastery built where his cave was.

[03:31]

And he said, he was just about to leave in a conversation, he said, I have to go take my afternoon shower. And he said his practice is to take an ice-cold shower every morning and every afternoon. I said, well, mine is to do zazen. Every now and then I've considered ice-cold showers, but I've only done them a few times. But you can see practice has some quality like that. Yeah. Let on just this, just this.

[04:56]

Let on the practice of just this, just this. Through the practice of just this, just this. Let your world view transform itself. Yeah, and let your memories transform themselves. And let your mental and physical habits transform themselves. So one of the reasons we do the... Oryoki is to change your physical habits. And when I was first ordained, first I was received a cue of lay ordination. Which the tradition is to wear whenever there's a lecture or you're doing zazen or a service.

[06:13]

And some people even wear it always underneath their clothes. But Sukhriyashi wanted us particularly in of the lay practice center. In San Francisco, he actually, I didn't follow his rules completely, sorry. Before he died, he said there should only be one period of zazen in the morning in San Francisco Zen Center. We should accept people's ordinary lives and not demand to expect too much of them. But after a while I had us do two periods in a month. But when I was there, the first period was always voluntary except for the residents.

[07:32]

But once I was ordained, Then he said he wanted me to, you know this, wear my robes all the time for at least one year in all circumstances except going to bed. And I'll tell you, in 1966, in cowboy California, In Watsonville, the artichoke capital of the world. Yeah. Having a shaved head. And a black silk dress. Yeah. I did it though.

[08:42]

After a while I got quite used to it. For a while I thought people were looking at me because I was cute. And then I would see myself in the window of a store and I'd say, no, I can see why they're looking. And I'm looking forward to seeing you reflected in the window of Sashin. Thank you very much.

[09:10]

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