Message of Peace

0:00 This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at www.sfzc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:15 Good morning and welcome everyone. My name is Lucy and I would like to thank Christina and Tim for inviting me. to give a talk this morning. And I want to give my deep thanks to Paul, my teacher, for your teaching and support over the years and for entrusting me with the Dharma. Thank you. And today is an auspicious day. Happy Valentine. Report an error in the passage at 0:15 Highlight the passage at 0:15

1:07 And happy Lunar New Year. It's coming in a couple days, but we are already getting ready for it. Report an error in the passage at 1:07 Highlight the passage at 1:07

1:22 It's Year of the Horse, and so this year is going to be full of momentum and energy and vitality. So I wish you a happy Lunar New Year. Very happy year of the horse. And more things to celebrate today. I don't know how many of you have been following the news of Walk for Peace monks. Raise your hand if you... Oh, many of you. Thank you. Wonderful. So I believe today is their homecoming day. Report an error in the passage at 1:22 Highlight the passage at 1:22

2:03 They finished their long peace. March from Texas to Washington, D.C., and today they returned home and did their homecoming walk. And so I wanted to celebrate that with you and with them also. Report an error in the passage at 2:03 Highlight the passage at 2:03

2:32 So Report an error in the passage at 2:32 Highlight the passage at 2:32

2:37 I don't have much to say about the Valentine's Day, but... But I can say a few things about Lunar New Year. Is the sound system okay? Can everybody hear it? And then everybody online is okay also? And welcome to those of you who are online as well. Report an error in the passage at 2:37 Highlight the passage at 2:37

3:07 So as you know, Lunar New Year is celebrated in China and many Asian countries. And it goes by the... lunar calendar but it's exactly it's not just lunar calendar because in China they go by a lunar solar calendar do you know what it is so the months are according to the moon the moon and and the seasons are according to the Sun so Report an error in the passage at 3:07 Highlight the passage at 3:07

3:50 So the season of spring, summer, autumn and winter are marked by the position of the sun. And so in China, spring has already started because in the 24 solar terms, the seasonal solar terms, The day that marks the beginning of spring was February 4th this year. And the Lunar New Year is actually called 春节, the spring festival in China. Report an error in the passage at 3:50 Highlight the passage at 3:50

4:35 And so it's a celebration of the beginning of spring. I know in North America, spring is marked with, I think, the spring equinox. So by then, in China, it has already going on for a while, the spring season, because it's not marked by the time that everything is already blooming. It's marked by the time that the earth is waking up, the daylight is getting longer, and the seeds. Report an error in the passage at 4:35 Highlight the passage at 4:35

5:20 seeds are sprouting. And so we are in spring already, even though it may still feel cold. GENO LUCY Xiao 玄道 Maybe you are not wearing your wool hats and wool scarf as much now. Maybe you want to stretch and get outdoor, get in the sun and enjoy the early blooming of the trees, the flowering plums, the magnolias. Report an error in the passage at 5:20 Highlight the passage at 5:20

6:16 So around this time, in northern China, it's still very cold. but China, having a long history of agriculture, a long, historically agricultural country, so the farmers are already beginning to prepare the field and to prepare the seeds. And in southern China, where I grew up, in it's warmer and the farmers already planting their spring crops so so it's a season of renewal a season of hope and Report an error in the passage at 6:16 Highlight the passage at 6:16

7:23 around this time I of course I miss my hometown a lot because there is a lot A lot of fun things going on. There are a lot of rituals and traditions to celebrate the Lunar New Year, to invite blessings of peace, blessings of prosperity. Report an error in the passage at 7:23 Highlight the passage at 7:23

7:55 So some of those rituals you may be aware of, like the lucky red lucky envelopes. Report an error in the passage at 7:55 Highlight the passage at 7:55

8:08 Where people would put a little money inside, or a lot, and give them to young people, to children, to wish them good fortune in the new year. It's really fun. In fact, in my hometown, anybody who is not married are entitled to receive the lucky money envelope. Report an error in the passage at 8:08 Highlight the passage at 8:08

8:36 And my most favorite ritual in my hometown is strolling the flower street in Cantonese or in Mandarin. Because my hometown Guangzhou or Canton is in a subtropical climate and it's at the Pearl River Delta. So everything grows very well there all year round. And around this time, there are still lots of flowers blooming. Report an error in the passage at 8:36 Highlight the passage at 8:36

9:20 And so for hundreds of years, there's a tradition in Guangzhou where the city will block off, I think, more than 10 districts, neighborhoods. Report an error in the passage at 9:20 Highlight the passage at 9:20

9:35 Kind of like farmer's market here, except that it's much bigger, like it may go on for like eight to ten blocks, like both directions, and pedestrian only. And so there would be stalls of flowers and New Year decorations. Report an error in the passage at 9:35 Highlight the passage at 9:35

10:06 and other kind of fun things like food. So everybody in Guangzhou will go to these flower markets or flower streets and it's their ritual like before the new year. You have to do that. If you haven't done that, you haven't... You haven't begun your new year, so you better go the week before and get lots of flowers for your home. We decorate our home with plum flowers, peach flowers, orchids, narcissus, kumquat, you know, kumquat trees. Report an error in the passage at 10:06 Highlight the passage at 10:06

10:56 And because the kumquat or tangerine trees, the tangerine is ji, It's pronounced the same as good luck in China. So we would decorate our homes with tangerine trees, kumquat trees. Report an error in the passage at 10:56 Highlight the passage at 10:56

11:20 Kind of like we decorate homes with Christmas trees here during the holidays. But I think the Chinese people are very much into good luck. Report an error in the passage at 11:20 Highlight the passage at 11:20

11:33 They do everything that can bring them good luck. Another Report an error in the passage at 11:33 Highlight the passage at 11:33

11:43 thing that people do is called waving the spring, hui chun, waving the spring, which really what it is is to write calligraphy on red paper, auspicious phrases or couplets. So people would write calligraphy. Usually you would see like artists and just anybody who want to do that, they would get out pieces of red paper and write, you know, with brush and ink, write phrases on the paper. Report an error in the passage at 11:43 Highlight the passage at 11:43

12:30 And then they would put them up at their door or inside their home. Report an error in the passage at 12:30 Highlight the passage at 12:30

12:41 And one of the phrases often see, you will see, is called bamboo bringing news of peace, or the bamboo announcing the news of peace or message of peace. I believe there's a emoji in the computer. Have you ever seen it? There's like a little bamboo with a little red strip of something. I think that's the emoji for it. Report an error in the passage at 12:41 Highlight the passage at 12:41

13:22 Bamboo bringing message of peace. Why bamboo? In Chinese culture, bamboo is revered or praised for its quality. Being upright, at the same time being flexible. Therefore, it's very resilient. Because of the hollow between the notes of bamboo, they are able to bend in wind and in storm. And they bounce back when the wind is gone. And they can grow very tall, very big. Report an error in the passage at 13:22 Highlight the passage at 13:22

14:13 and their use is very versatile as you know already you know you can use it to make tools floors now you can eat bamboo shoots around this time they are delicious they grow like overnight like you know the night before you still see the ground and next day you'll see a big bamboo shoot coming up and then you just you just cook it and it's delicious of course in mostly in countryside now and bamboo well i i just found out it's not a tree it's a plant from reading a book about plants they like to grow together their root system is connected so they have very supportive community and Report an error in the passage at 14:13 Highlight the passage at 14:13

15:15 why why is bamboo bringing peace bringing the message of peace. Because in ancient China, bamboo was one of the medium that people wrote on, writing material. Before paper was invented in Han Dynasty, like 2th century BC through 2nd century AD. Report an error in the passage at 15:15 Highlight the passage at 15:15

15:49 Around that time, paper was invented. But before then, people, well, in the very, very beginning, people would carve on rocks and wood and copper, metal. Report an error in the passage at 15:49 Highlight the passage at 15:49

16:10 But then, over time, people started to write on wood and bamboo strips. So around the time of Confucius, which you're talking about several hundred years BC, like around Buddha's time, during the spring and autumn period and warring states, the books were written on bamboo strips. And you would write like on the strip of bamboo top down. Report an error in the passage at 16:10 Highlight the passage at 16:10

16:50 And then you move to the next one. So the tradition of Chinese classical writing is top down and right to left. And then they would string the strips together. And so a book can be very heavy. Report an error in the passage at 16:50 Highlight the passage at 16:50

17:12 So in those days, when people travel, you know, they went to places to visit. someone or to to work to find a job well I think people do that since ancient days all over the world the way they they send home letters is by sending home a letter made of bamboo and so when the loved ones receive the letter they know they know They are safe. They know they are in good condition. They are well. So the phrase bamboo bringing message of peace and safety comes from that. Report an error in the passage at 17:12 Highlight the passage at 17:12

18:15 And it has been used over the centuries. And I think people just love that phrase. Even though they switch to paper, they still think bamboo brings the peace. So Report an error in the passage at 18:15 Highlight the passage at 18:15

18:52 what is peace? Report an error in the passage at 18:52 Highlight the passage at 18:52

19:05 Do you have a word, another word for peace? I invite you to just shout it out. Report an error in the passage at 19:05 Highlight the passage at 19:05

19:16 Serenity. Harmony. Justice. Report an error in the passage at 19:16 Highlight the passage at 19:16

19:24 Hold on. Contentment. I heard something else. Equanimity. stability stability safety love freedom how many hands do I have comfort tranquility peace Report an error in the passage at 19:24 Highlight the passage at 19:24

20:00 ease ease ease stillness Report an error in the passage at 20:00 Highlight the passage at 20:00

20:09 yes all of the above thank you thank you very much well I like to share the The Chinese characters for the word piece. Well, in the phrase of... And then I can bring in all your contributions to unpack this word. So the Chinese word piece, oftentimes we have a couple of different ways to say it. And in the... Report an error in the passage at 20:09 Highlight the passage at 20:09

20:57 In the phrase Ben Bu announcing the message of peace, it's Ping An, it's peace and safety. And then when we say, it depends on the context where you say it. So when we say world peace or peace in the society, peace in the community, we say He Ping. Report an error in the passage at 20:57 Highlight the passage at 20:57

21:28 He Ping, two characters, harmony and balance, and ease. He means harmony, Ping means balance, equanimity also. So Report an error in the passage at 21:28 Highlight the passage at 21:28

21:50 peace is not merely the absence of conflict and hostility. Of course, that's a sign of it. But if Report an error in the passage at 21:50 Highlight the passage at 21:50

22:12 you look at it deeper, where does it come from? So it comes from harmony, comes from balance, comes from serenity or stillness, comes Report an error in the passage at 22:12 Highlight the passage at 22:12

22:40 from an inner stability. Report an error in the passage at 22:40 Highlight the passage at 22:40

22:52 When we have inner stability, We can move, we can remain grounded, we remain center when conditions change. Report an error in the passage at 22:52 Highlight the passage at 22:52

23:06 Whether the conditions are favorable or unfavorable, you can remain balanced. But Report an error in the passage at 23:06 Highlight the passage at 23:06

23:21 it's not, you're not separating, separated from the conditions, from the environment around. Report an error in the passage at 23:21 Highlight the passage at 23:21

23:33 We're not separate from our conditions. But we can harmonize. We can harmonize with the conditions that show up in our life. Report an error in the passage at 23:33 Highlight the passage at 23:33

24:04 You know, as the monks who are in the peace walk, as they walk through towns and cities and countryside, if you have watched their videos, you see they... They are met with so many different kinds of conditions, different Report an error in the passage at 24:04 Highlight the passage at 24:04

24:35 weather, you know, blue skies, rain, snowstorms, and Report an error in the passage at 24:35 Highlight the passage at 24:35

24:55 they just keep walking. And they find ways to allow that be part of their walk and Report an error in the passage at 24:55 Highlight the passage at 24:55

25:18 just keep moving. So Report an error in the passage at 25:18 Highlight the passage at 25:18

25:23 harmonizing with the conditions around us. It's not separation. It's not getting lost either. Report an error in the passage at 25:23 Highlight the passage at 25:23

25:38 It's finding ways to engage while keeping inner stability. Report an error in the passage at 25:38 Highlight the passage at 25:38

26:01 I think of a story, an ancient Chinese story. Some of you might have heard of it. It's called called Saiwanshima. the man who lost his horse. I think I mentioned it in some of my other talks. You've heard of it? I'll relate it to you for those of you who haven't heard of it. Well, because part of it, because it's Year of the Horse, I have to tell a horse story. Report an error in the passage at 26:01 Highlight the passage at 26:01

26:47 So this story came from a collection of writing called Nanhu. It was a collection of writing of Taoist and other kind of stories and philosophical thoughts about in the second century BC, that collection came. And so the story became very... well-known and popular, and it became part of, it became an idiom in Chinese language. The old man lost his horse. Report an error in the passage at 26:47 Highlight the passage at 26:47

27:37 means an old man who lived near the border, northern border. And he raised horses as his, I guess, way of living. he One day, he lost one of his horses. This horse wandered off into other land. He couldn't find it. And so the villagers said to him, they tried to comfort him, well, oh, that's... That's so unfortunate. I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you are okay with that. Report an error in the passage at 27:37 Highlight the passage at 27:37

28:32 And he was like, well, how do you know this is not a blessing? Report an error in the passage at 28:32 Highlight the passage at 28:32

28:46 How do you know this is not a bad thing? I mean, how do you know this is not a good thing? And then days later, his horse, his lost horse, came back with a beautiful wild horse. And everybody in the village came to congratulate him. Oh, great, now you've got a beautiful horse, you know, and how wonderful. And he was like, oh, it's okay. Report an error in the passage at 28:46 Highlight the passage at 28:46

29:17 How do you know it's not a bad thing or it's still a good thing? Report an error in the passage at 29:17 Highlight the passage at 29:17

29:25 Days later, his son, trying to ride on this new wild horse, and then fell and broke his leg. And everybody came to counsel him. Oh, well, that's so terrible. Your son broke his leg. We're so sorry. And he was very calm. He was like, well, how do you know it's not a blessing? Report an error in the passage at 29:25 Highlight the passage at 29:25

29:56 And then the war broke. And all the young men got drafted and sent to the battlefield. Many of them died. And his son got to stay, stay home because he had a broken leg. Report an error in the passage at 29:56 Highlight the passage at 29:56

30:21 And his broken leg spared his life. How do you know it's not a blessing? Report an error in the passage at 30:21 Highlight the passage at 30:21

30:35 So that was my whole story. Report an error in the passage at 30:35 Highlight the passage at 30:35

30:44 How do you know it's not a blessing when something happened in your life that's not quite you wanted, not quite you have expected? Or maybe it's very difficult, very challenging for you. How Report an error in the passage at 30:44 Highlight the passage at 30:44

31:11 do you harmonize with that condition and see the blessing in it and Report an error in the passage at 31:11 Highlight the passage at 31:11

31:28 keep flowing with the conditions? because everything change as they say if Report an error in the passage at 31:28 Highlight the passage at 31:28

31:40 you allow your heart to relax witness Report an error in the passage at 31:40 Highlight the passage at 31:40

31:51 what's happening yet not get stuck in it so Report an error in the passage at 31:51 Highlight the passage at 31:51

32:08 harmony happens when you're not stuck you're not stuck in one place you know that yin yang symbol where it's a circle of Yin and yang, two fish, yin, the dark one and the bright one, and they kind of blend into each other. And it's a suggestion of the movement and transformation between the two. And each of them contain a small round circle, their eye, the fish eye, of the opposite energy. Report an error in the passage at 32:08 Highlight the passage at 32:08

33:04 And this is a symbol of harmony, yin yang harmony. So Report an error in the passage at 33:04 Highlight the passage at 33:04

33:13 when we allow things to keep moving and blending yet retaining its own quality and Report an error in the passage at 33:13 Highlight the passage at 33:13

33:27 somehow in the shifting and transforming in that process, you can find a place of ease. But Report an error in the passage at 33:27 Highlight the passage at 33:27

33:44 if you are rigid, you know imagine the two fish are square with rigid line between them that they don't play with each other how Report an error in the passage at 33:44 Highlight the passage at 33:44

34:17 how do we how do we keep move keep moving how do we keep harmonizing we cannot get fixated in one place we cannot get stuck If we Report an error in the passage at 34:17 Highlight the passage at 34:17

34:41 keep holding onto our old resentment, for example, we Report an error in the passage at 34:41 Highlight the passage at 34:41

34:54 won't be able to move freely. We won't be able to Report an error in the passage at 34:54 Highlight the passage at 34:54

35:07 keep moving forward. So Report an error in the passage at 35:07 Highlight the passage at 35:07

35:15 peace and harmony ask us to Report an error in the passage at 35:15 Highlight the passage at 35:15

35:24 let go, to let go of things that are not helpful. Report an error in the passage at 35:24 Highlight the passage at 35:24

35:38 to let go of our fear and our resentment, to make space, to make room for movement. Report an error in the passage at 35:38 Highlight the passage at 35:38

35:54 If your closet is full of old stuff, you can't go inside and you can't even turn. Report an error in the passage at 35:54 Highlight the passage at 35:54

36:11 As you clear the stagnation, as you free up space, you'll Report an error in the passage at 36:11 Highlight the passage at 36:11

36:26 be able to give rise, give room. Report an error in the passage at 36:26 Highlight the passage at 36:26

36:31 to other qualities of life that are wholesome, that are helpful, beneficial. And Report an error in the passage at 36:31 Highlight the passage at 36:31

36:48 you'll be able to act from the place of compassion, from the place of stability. So Report an error in the passage at 36:48 Highlight the passage at 36:48

37:07 as the monks walk through towns and cities, they encounter many different kinds of people. Report an error in the passage at 37:07 Highlight the passage at 37:07

37:21 There are people who bring them flowers, bring them food, people who tell them painful stories, who cry. They're Report an error in the passage at 37:21 Highlight the passage at 37:21

37:52 able to walk through all of the situation with compassion, even when they encounter protesters, even when they encounter more Report an error in the passage at 37:52 Highlight the passage at 37:52

38:16 terrible things. Like the auto accident that led to injury of a monk who eventually lost his leg. Even that happens, they were able to keep moving. So Report an error in the passage at 38:16 Highlight the passage at 38:16

38:42 their peace message was written on the earth using their footsteps. This Report an error in the passage at 38:42 Highlight the passage at 38:42

39:00 is how they bring the message of peace. Report an error in the passage at 39:00 Highlight the passage at 39:00

39:08 step-by-step with Report an error in the passage at 39:08 Highlight the passage at 39:08

39:14 active compassion not Report an error in the passage at 39:14 Highlight the passage at 39:14

39:20 removed from life not removed from pain with Report an error in the passage at 39:20 Highlight the passage at 39:20

39:32 each step they embrace tears of sorrow and joy and they embrace children and the sick and Report an error in the passage at 39:32 Highlight the passage at 39:32

40:02 today I believe they are home already in their temple, home temple in Fort Worth, Texas. No Report an error in the passage at 40:02 Highlight the passage at 40:02

40:22 matter how far we go, we return home. And Report an error in the passage at 40:22 Highlight the passage at 40:22

40:32 peace is our true home. No matter what happens in your actual home, there is a home you can return to. And that is peace. That Report an error in the passage at 40:32 Highlight the passage at 40:32

41:01 is where you find comfort and clarity. Report an error in the passage at 41:01 Highlight the passage at 41:01

41:15 When we sit zazen, we keep returning to our breath, to our body. When our mind wanders, we keep returning to our awareness. Our Report an error in the passage at 41:15 Highlight the passage at 41:15

41:39 awareness is our home. Report an error in the passage at 41:39 Highlight the passage at 41:39

41:50 So I got a new phone recently, and I installed a bunch of widgets. And one of them is Google Maps, of course. And this is something new to me because I didn't see it in my old phone. So the other day I was home and I pulled out my phone and I looked at the map and the widget says, home, you are here already. Report an error in the passage at 41:50 Highlight the passage at 41:50

42:30 Did you see that on your phone? It's the first time I saw it. Home, you are here already. Report an error in the passage at 42:30 Highlight the passage at 42:30

42:42 I hope they will put that message on each and every, like wherever you go. Like I'm at Zen Center now, it will say, Zen Center, home, you're here already. Report an error in the passage at 42:42 Highlight the passage at 42:42

43:01 Or you're going to the park or going shopping. Always, I hope it will remind us to know that we're here already. We're always home. Report an error in the passage at 43:01 Highlight the passage at 43:01

43:37 Peace begins with our own heart. Report an error in the passage at 43:37 Highlight the passage at 43:37

43:43 When we find peace in our heart, we Report an error in the passage at 43:43 Highlight the passage at 43:43

43:50 can radiate that out. It will radiate out like spring blossoms. We Report an error in the passage at 43:50 Highlight the passage at 43:50

44:20 have till 1115, correct? In Report an error in the passage at 44:20 Highlight the passage at 44:20

44:31 that case, I'm not done. So Report an error in the passage at 44:31 Highlight the passage at 44:31

44:39 what's the message of peace? What's the news of peace? Report an error in the passage at 44:39 Highlight the passage at 44:39

44:54 I'd like to close. Report an error in the passage at 44:54 Highlight the passage at 44:54

44:59 This talk with a peace and loving kindness meditation with you all. So Report an error in the passage at 44:59 Highlight the passage at 44:59

45:13 if we can all find a comfortable position, you can adjust your posture, sit Report an error in the passage at 45:13 Highlight the passage at 45:13

45:30 upright while Report an error in the passage at 45:30 Highlight the passage at 45:30

45:37 allowing the muscles in your face, your neck and shoulder, the rest of your body, allow them to relax. Report an error in the passage at 45:37 Highlight the passage at 45:37

· · · silence, 1 minute

46:21 Return. To your breath, come Report an error in the passage at 46:21 Highlight the passage at 46:21

46:36 back to your body for Report an error in the passage at 46:36 Highlight the passage at 46:36

· · · silence, 1 minute

48:06 peace. Register. Report an error in the passage at 48:06 Highlight the passage at 48:06

48:11 Be Report an error in the passage at 48:11 Highlight the passage at 48:11

48:23 free from harm. May Report an error in the passage at 48:23 Highlight the passage at 48:23

48:32 I be free from physical and mental suffering. May Report an error in the passage at 48:32 Highlight the passage at 48:32

48:44 I be free from fear and resentment. In Report an error in the passage at 48:44 Highlight the passage at 48:44

48:55 my heart, be steady and at ease and have the capacity to forgive and to love. May Report an error in the passage at 48:55 Highlight the passage at 48:55

49:09 I be well, happy. May Report an error in the passage at 49:09 Highlight the passage at 49:09

49:29 our Report an error in the passage at 49:29 Highlight the passage at 49:29

49:59 community Report an error in the passage at 49:59 Highlight the passage at 49:59

50:18 be free from fear and division. May Report an error in the passage at 50:18 Highlight the passage at 50:18

50:26 we learn. my family be free from harm. Report an error in the passage at 50:26 Highlight the passage at 50:26

49:45 May they live in safety and trust Report an error in the passage at 49:45 Highlight the passage at 49:45

· · · silence, 1 minute

50:27 May Report an error in the passage at 50:27 Highlight the passage at 50:27

50:34 all Report an error in the passage at 50:34 Highlight the passage at 50:34

51:03 beings be well, Report an error in the passage at 51:03 Highlight the passage at 51:03

51:26 happy, and at peace. Thank Report an error in the passage at 51:26 Highlight the passage at 51:26

51:44 you. and care for one another. Report an error in the passage at 51:44 Highlight the passage at 51:44

50:59 be free from harm. Report an error in the passage at 50:59 Highlight the passage at 50:59

51:13 all beings live in dignity and safety. Report an error in the passage at 51:13 Highlight the passage at 51:13

51:23 May all beings be well. Report an error in the passage at 51:23 Highlight the passage at 51:23

51:46 Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. Our Dharma talks are offered at no cost and this is made possible by the donations we receive. Your financial support helps us to continue to offer the Dharma. For more information, visit sfzc.org and click giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 51:46 Highlight the passage at 51:46