Nothing Lacking, Continuous Practice

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 evening, everyone. Report an error in the passage at 0:15 Highlight the passage at 0:15

0:23 Hi, everyone. I'm so happy to be here. Report an error in the passage at 0:23 Highlight the passage at 0:23

0:30 This is the first week of practice period here at City Center called Nothing lacking, continuous practice. And I want to thank Tanto Tim and David, Abbot David and Zen Center for inviting me to co-lead this practice period with Tim San. And it's a great honor and pleasure to be with you. Report an error in the passage at 0:30 Highlight the passage at 0:30

1:16 I recently just came back from China. It seems like every time I give a talk here, I had recently come back from China, which is true. I go quite often. So just a few weeks ago, I was in China and visiting family and also sitting with a group of people there, a small group. Report an error in the passage at 1:16 Highlight the passage at 1:16

1:46 We had the joy of doing a little session together in a beautiful mountain village, probably like an hour and 45 minutes from Guangzhou, my home city. And basically, we just turned a house into a retreat place. Report an error in the passage at 1:46 Highlight the passage at 1:46

2:16 One of the bigger guest rooms turned into a zendo, and people brought their cushions, and we set up an altar, and so we sat together. Report an error in the passage at 2:16 Highlight the passage at 2:16

2:35 And the retreat house was surrounded by bamboo groves and banana trees and a little creek passing through. Report an error in the passage at 2:35 Highlight the passage at 2:35

2:49 As I was watching, I was just so amazed that despite the difference in culture and language and location, this expression of upright Report an error in the passage at 2:49 Highlight the passage at 2:49

3:19 sitting is not so different from what I see here. Perhaps here, Right here in this place, we are surrounded by busy city life. And in Zazen, we hear not the flowing stream like in Tassajara, but the flowing traffic. Report an error in the passage at 3:19 Highlight the passage at 3:19

3:52 Still, the upright sitting and what it expresses is not that different. Report an error in the passage at 3:52 Highlight the passage at 3:52

4:13 The theme of this practice period is called Nothing Lacking and Continuous Practice. Report an error in the passage at 4:13 Highlight the passage at 4:13

4:26 It's about an exploration of the relationship between that Report an error in the passage at 4:26 Highlight the passage at 4:26

4:37 we are already complete, there is nothing lacking, and that we still do our practice. We still make continuous effort. And this is actually a central, one of the central inquiries in Zen, that Report an error in the passage at 4:37 Highlight the passage at 4:37

5:10 if awakening is already present, if we are already complete, then why do we still practice? Report an error in the passage at 5:10 Highlight the passage at 5:10

5:25 Does anybody have this question? Report an error in the passage at 5:25 Highlight the passage at 5:25

5:32 Well, Master Dogen had this question. That's a good question. And that's what brought him from Japan to China. Yeah, if we are already inherently, we already have the Buddha nature, why do we still practice? Report an error in the passage at 5:32 Highlight the passage at 5:32

5:58 And so there's a little tension between these two aspects. And on the surface, they seem to point to different directions. Report an error in the passage at 5:58 Highlight the passage at 5:58

6:18 And this is what we're exploring during this practice period. And we are exploring this through two poems, two verses by famous Zen masters, the sixth ancestor, Hui Neng, and Shen Xiu in Tang Dynasty. Report an error in the passage at 6:18 Highlight the passage at 6:18

6:52 In the practice classes, we talk in more details about these poems. But in a nutshell, these two poems represent two different approaches or two different perspectives about practice. Report an error in the passage at 6:52 Highlight the passage at 6:52

7:23 Master Shen Xiu thought, that awakening is not a single dramatic event. It's a process of refinement. It's a process of continuous practice. So he represented the gradual path, the graduate school or the northern school, whereas Master Hui Neng thought that Awakening is inherent and immediate, and it's not through achievement, but it's recognized in the absence of grasping. Report an error in the passage at 7:23 Highlight the passage at 7:23

8:13 When Report an error in the passage at 8:13 Highlight the passage at 8:13

8:20 we can let go of our grasping, then our original nature shines through. Report an error in the passage at 8:20 Highlight the passage at 8:20

8:40 And in... In our practice, in reality, these two are actually not opposite. They are complementary, and they are actually not separate. Report an error in the passage at 8:40 Highlight the passage at 8:40

8:56 So Report an error in the passage at 8:56 Highlight the passage at 8:56

9:03 Dogen Zenji later on emphasized practice realization or Xiu Zheng Yi Ti. Practice and realization, practice and awakening are not two. They are one. Report an error in the passage at 9:03 Highlight the passage at 9:03

9:26 And in Report an error in the passage at 9:26 Highlight the passage at 9:26

9:33 Tang Dynasty, around the time of Master Hui Nan and his succession, his disciples, there was a lot of debate between these two points. And on the one hand, there is the gradual path. Report an error in the passage at 9:33 Highlight the passage at 9:33

9:58 The graduate school thinks, you know, the mind is like a clear mirror and you have to keep polishing it, keep cleaning it so that the dust don't accumulate. Report an error in the passage at 9:58 Highlight the passage at 9:58

10:13 The dust, you know, our attachments and habits and delusions, you know, can obscure this clear and brightness of the mind. Report an error in the passage at 10:13 Highlight the passage at 10:13

10:33 And in the Southern Awakening, Southern Enlightenment school, it is said that this is it. We don't go from here to there. We are awakened right here and right now. We don't have to sit for, I don't know, 40 years. Report an error in the passage at 10:33 Highlight the passage at 10:33

11:04 study all the Buddhist scriptures in order to awaken. We can awaken right at this moment. Report an error in the passage at 11:04 Highlight the passage at 11:04

11:19 There's not a solid thing called a mirror or a Bodhi tree. When Report an error in the passage at 11:19 Highlight the passage at 11:19

11:34 you let go of the grasping of this solid self, then awakening is right here. Report an error in the passage at 11:34 Highlight the passage at 11:34

· · · silence, 1 minute

12:19 I requested warm water, being Chinese, and this is perfect. Thank you, Inosan. Report an error in the passage at 12:19 Highlight the passage at 12:19

12:34 So I don't think I can give a dharma talk without telling a Zen story. Report an error in the passage at 12:34 Highlight the passage at 12:34

12:46 So I can't eat noodles without chopsticks. Report an error in the passage at 12:46 Highlight the passage at 12:46

12:53 So how many of you have heard of the story of Master Xiang Yan? fix. Report an error in the passage at 12:53 Highlight the passage at 12:53

13:01 His awakening experience when he heard the sound of a tile, a piece of tile hitting the bamboo. Report an error in the passage at 13:01 Highlight the passage at 13:01

13:12 Great! Any of you want to tell the story? Report an error in the passage at 13:12 Highlight the passage at 13:12

13:26 I've told this story before, but I love this story, so I'm going to tell it again. So Master Xiang Yan, whose name meant Report an error in the passage at 13:26 Highlight the passage at 13:26

13:39 Fragrance adornment. Master Xiang Yan was a disciple, initially a disciple of Master Bai Zhang. You heard of Bai Zhang? Bai Zhang was the teacher who established the pure code of monastic conduct, Xingyi, back in the Tang Dynasty. Report an error in the passage at 13:39 Highlight the passage at 13:39

14:09 When Bai Zhang passed away, Xiang Yan went to study with his elder Dharma brother, Guishan, because Guishan was a very well-respected teacher already. And so Report an error in the passage at 14:09 Highlight the passage at 14:09

14:38 even when Xiang Yan was with Bai Zhang, he was very learned. and brilliant monk. He read lots of scriptures and he, you know, the text said that, you know, there was no question he couldn't answer. Report an error in the passage at 14:38 Highlight the passage at 14:38

15:00 And so, oh, by the way, this story came from the Jingde Collection of Transmission of Lam. It's not from one of those. Kowan collections that's common around here. So he went to study with Guishan. Guishan, you've heard of five schools of Zen under Hui Neng. In a couple generations, they developed five schools, different styles of Zen practice. Report an error in the passage at 15:00 Highlight the passage at 15:00

15:43 And Guishan, And his disciple Yangshan established the Guiyang school, the first of the five. And so Xiangyan went to study with Guishan. And so Guishan just asked him, now I don't need to ask you anything else, but can you say something to this question? Report an error in the passage at 15:43 Highlight the passage at 15:43

16:20 What was your original face before your parents gave birth to you, before you were born? And, you know, this famous koan, what is your original face, came from Hui Neng's story in Platform Sūtra. And so Xiang Yan looked through his scriptures and couldn't find the answer. Report an error in the passage at 16:20 Highlight the passage at 16:20

16:54 And he was like, well, I don't have an answer for you, but can you please tell me? And Guishan said to him, what I can say is mine, not yours. Report an error in the passage at 16:54 Highlight the passage at 16:54

17:13 Don't ask me what it is, because it's my own experience. You have to find it out, find out yourself. And so Xiang Yan got very, felt very defeated because he couldn't figure it out. And so then he said to himself, what's the use of studying? What is the use of a painted pancake? A painted pancake. The painting does not satisfy my hunger. So he burned all his books and notes and writings. Report an error in the passage at 17:13 Highlight the passage at 17:13

18:10 So very dramatic. You hear these kind of dramatic stories in many koans, like a student burned or a master, a teacher ended up. burning all his books after being questioned by like a roadside tea woman, tea lady, or in this case by his own Dharma brother. Report an error in the passage at 18:10 Highlight the passage at 18:10

18:42 So he ran, he moved away to live in the mountains and just live very simple life, chop woods, carry water. just not worry about like what he used to what he used to do what he used to strive for and so he was just doing his day-to-day temple work and one day well this is also years later one day he was clearing the yard And he threw this piece of tile away, and that piece of tile hit the bamboo tree. Click. Report an error in the passage at 18:42 Highlight the passage at 18:42

19:40 And then it clicked. And according to the story that he had an awakening. And after that, he bowed toward the direction of his... Dharma brother and teacher Guishan. Thank you, my teacher, for not telling me what it is. Report an error in the passage at 19:40 Highlight the passage at 19:40

20:20 And Report an error in the passage at 20:20 Highlight the passage at 20:20

20:26 he wrote a poem, a verse, an enlightenment verse, which starts with, With one strike, all knowing was forgotten. With one strike, all knowing was forgotten. Report an error in the passage at 20:26 Highlight the passage at 20:26

20:48 So Report an error in the passage at 20:48 Highlight the passage at 20:48

21:01 in later Zen development, you know, people don't negate this aspect of continuous practice. And they also agree that we are inherently awakened. So later on, there is a phrase called 顿悟见修. Sudden awakening with continuous practice. So they put them kind of back together. And so in the case of Xiang Yan, you Report an error in the passage at 21:01 Highlight the passage at 21:01

21:57 can't say his years of practice and studying had no effect on him. You can't just qualify his experience by just that moment of hearing the sound of pebble or tile hitting bamboo however Report an error in the passage at 21:57 Highlight the passage at 21:57

22:18 practice practice is not about building a library it's not about accumulating knowledge it's about cutting through and Report an error in the passage at 22:18 Highlight the passage at 22:18

22:51 so when we come to the practice period there Report an error in the passage at 22:51 Highlight the passage at 22:51

23:03 is This question of what is your practice? What is my practice? And how does it express awakening? What Report an error in the passage at 23:03 Highlight the passage at 23:03

23:31 brought me or what brought you to this practice? If Report an error in the passage at 23:31 Highlight the passage at 23:31

23:46 I'm already complete, why do I get up at five o 'clock in the morning and go down to the Zendo? Report an error in the passage at 23:46 Highlight the passage at 23:46

24:10 This practice A expression of your life energy, a Report an error in the passage at 24:10 Highlight the passage at 24:10

24:22 expression of awakening in each and every moment. Or is practice something you thought might be good for you because Report an error in the passage at 24:22 Highlight the passage at 24:22

24:41 there is something missing? Do Report an error in the passage at 24:41 Highlight the passage at 24:41

25:03 I come to practice with this sense of lacking? It's Report an error in the passage at 25:03 Highlight the passage at 25:03

25:31 an interesting question, right? I mean, most of us come to practice because we have suffering or there is something not quite right. Report an error in the passage at 25:31 Highlight the passage at 25:31

25:51 But then as we practice more and we keep holding on to that idea that practice can fix me, then it's not going to lead you to a more open and spacious place. Because that comes from the sense of self. The more you hold on tight, the more it becomes small and narrow. So Report an error in the passage at 25:51 Highlight the passage at 25:51

26:34 there's always this kind of tug that, you know, I practice. I'm motivated to practice because I want to feel better. I get too much stress at work. Report an error in the passage at 26:34 Highlight the passage at 26:34

26:57 Or in my family, sitting zazen helps me to feel better, which is true. Report an error in the passage at 26:57 Highlight the passage at 26:57

27:09 And is Report an error in the passage at 27:09 Highlight the passage at 27:09

27:13 that it? Is that all? How Report an error in the passage at 27:13 Highlight the passage at 27:13

27:23 about you're already complete? There's nothing lacking inherently in you. When Report an error in the passage at 27:23 Highlight the passage at 27:23

27:53 the sense of lacking or thought of I need to fix myself. When it arises, how about just shift the way you think or see and Report an error in the passage at 27:53 Highlight the passage at 27:53

28:17 to include that in a more spacious space, more spacious container, more spacious mind. Report an error in the passage at 28:17 Highlight the passage at 28:17

28:34 What's happening exactly in this very moment, it's not just Your thoughts, it's not just your feelings. There's also your body, your posture, your breath, and everyone around you and the whole world. This very moment, it's not just this tiny dot called myself. It's, yes, it's myself, it's me, but it's also part of the whole universe. Report an error in the passage at 28:34 Highlight the passage at 28:34

29:16 So in this very moment, when I feel dissatisfied, when I feel restless, how about turning toward my body, my breath, Report an error in the passage at 29:16 Highlight the passage at 29:16

29:43 and how is it in this very moment? So Report an error in the passage at 29:43 Highlight the passage at 29:43

30:01 I thought Suzuki Roshi had... There's a quote of Suzuki Roshi that's a perfect subtitle for our practice period. Nothing lacking continuous practice. Report an error in the passage at 30:01 Highlight the passage at 30:01

30:23 You all have heard it. He said, you are perfect just as you are. And you could use a little improvement. Report an error in the passage at 30:23 Highlight the passage at 30:23

30:38 So, well, I Report an error in the passage at 30:38 Highlight the passage at 30:38

30:47 don't have much more to say. say and I think we can go to the next thing, which is Q &A, right? But before that, can we have a commercial break? So I believe the practice period registration is still open for commuter and online until... Report an error in the passage at 30:47 Highlight the passage at 30:47

31:23 I think on the website it's until... See? Report an error in the passage at 31:23 Highlight the passage at 31:23

31:37 The Report an error in the passage at 31:37 Highlight the passage at 31:37

31:42 second commercial, there will be a one-day sit this Saturday, and I believe you can still sign up for it. Correct? There's four spots left. Oh, there's only four precious spots left. All right. Okay. sure the registration is still open. Report an error in the passage at 31:42 Highlight the passage at 31:42

· · · silence, 1 minute

32:02 So here is Q &A. But instead of you asking question, I answer. How about we turn that around? Report an error in the passage at 32:02 Highlight the passage at 32:02

32:13 Just for a change. Just one question. Very simple. Very simple question. Report an error in the passage at 32:13 Highlight the passage at 32:13

32:25 If you wish to share your answer, please do. And you can raise your hand. The question is, what motivates your practice? Report an error in the passage at 32:25 Highlight the passage at 32:25

32:44 What motivates your practice? Can you Report an error in the passage at 32:44 Highlight the passage at 32:44

32:53 also say your name, please? Thank you, Lucy. This is Monica. I will answer the question by saying the postal clerk at the village I used to live in, I asked him one day, why do I do this? And he said, you do it for the same reason you do everything, connection. He could see what motivated me. It's all about connection, wanting to connect. Report an error in the passage at 32:53 Highlight the passage at 32:53

33:18 Connection. Thank you, Monica. Report an error in the passage at 33:18 Highlight the passage at 33:18

33:24 Anybody else? Thank Report an error in the passage at 33:24 Highlight the passage at 33:24

33:41 you for your talk. My name is Miguel, and my practice, what motivates me to practice is restlessness. If I don't practice, I don't feel quite right. Report an error in the passage at 33:41 Highlight the passage at 33:41

33:59 You said restlessness, right? Yes, restlessness. And practice helped you to release that? No. No, it's not a release per se, but more like a completion. Report an error in the passage at 33:59 Highlight the passage at 33:59

34:19 You boil a pot of water and you're staring at it. It's like, when is this going to boil? When is this going to boil? When is this going to boil? And then it's boiling. It's like, well, you took your time. Now instead it's okay. Thank you. There's... Report an error in the passage at 34:19 Highlight the passage at 34:19

34:51 I... I'm pretty sure of this answer. I practice in faith that the reduction of suffering, the gain of freedom that I've achieved or experienced in practice will continue. Report an error in the passage at 34:51 Highlight the passage at 34:51

35:11 And I apply to this practice, this practice period and all of them, in kind of knowing that I need to Keep my eyes open or do this something along these lines of this practice to keep that freedom and to keep that reduced suffering. But I'm not nothing else planned. Well, that's a pretty big goal. Report an error in the passage at 35:11 Highlight the passage at 35:11

35:48 Based on gradual reduction of suffering. Gradual reduction of suffering. Thank you, Heiko. Report an error in the passage at 35:48 Highlight the passage at 35:48

36:03 Heiko, yes. Thank you, Heiko. Report an error in the passage at 36:03 Highlight the passage at 36:03

36:12 Hi, Tara. I was thinking about when you were saying there's nothing lacking or do you, like you were asking, like, do you come here because you feel like there's something missing? And I was like, no, I don't. And it's interesting because I think I've always, even from like a really little kid, I felt like there was nothing wrong with me. And even though there were a lot of people saying that there were things wrong with me, I was like, no, you're wrong. Report an error in the passage at 36:12 Highlight the passage at 36:12

36:47 Actually, I'm fine. I'm fine. And I think what happens as we grow in this world and have experiences, that idea or that lightness, that light that was like... you know original you know to me was like um kind of like mucked on top of and and blocked by all of these like experience like whatever you can call it like karma or trauma or whatever all of these experience we all not me but like everyone right like this is what happens and and in doing that like um Report an error in the passage at 36:47 Highlight the passage at 36:47

37:28 I noticed the way that I am towards people and what I'm putting out into the world is blocked by all this gunk. And so I practice to slough off the gunk. I know that's really beautiful. So that the original, there's nothing wrong with me, all that stuff that there's nothing wrong with can actually come through and meet the world. Report an error in the passage at 37:28 Highlight the passage at 37:28

37:55 So in Shen Xiu's words, to polish, to clean up the mirror. Maybe not a mirror. Well, the original clearness. Yeah. Because I think it's better for everybody else. Report an error in the passage at 37:55 Highlight the passage at 37:55

38:15 So you practice for everybody else. Sure. Thank you, Tara. Report an error in the passage at 38:15 Highlight the passage at 38:15

38:28 There are a couple of hands. hands on the side Report an error in the passage at 38:28 Highlight the passage at 38:28

38:34 Thank you. I'm curious about how being nurtured by and being motivated by are hand in hand. I feel very nurtured and motivated by the practice of others. Report an error in the passage at 38:34 Highlight the passage at 38:34

38:59 Hi, Report an error in the passage at 38:59 Highlight the passage at 38:59

39:05 I'm Carter. I think when I first came to Buddhism, I sensed some sort of truth in it. In the practice, but now what motivates me to practice is bodhicitta, the mind's inclination for awakening. Report an error in the passage at 39:05 Highlight the passage at 39:05

39:24 So arousing the mind of bodhicitta is your motivational practice. And how do you practice that? Report an error in the passage at 39:24 Highlight the passage at 39:24

39:38 I don't know, but living here, studying with others who have the same inclination, it makes it happen. Report an error in the passage at 39:38 Highlight the passage at 39:38

39:51 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 39:51 Highlight the passage at 39:51

39:58 Oh, did you see another hand? My name is Kathleen. Thank you for your talk. For me, practice has been true medicine for my suffering and for trying to understand and work with the suffering that's outside of me. And it's really true, like it resonates in my heart. And that's what keeps me coming back. It's never been false. Report an error in the passage at 39:58 Highlight the passage at 39:58

40:31 resonates with you. Is there any hand on the online people? No? Okay. So you Report an error in the passage at 40:31 Highlight the passage at 40:31

40:50 have one minute for this answer. Perfect. Avi. And joy and enjoyment has been a big, big motivator these days. Yeah. You practice too so you can experience joy. Report an error in the passage at 40:50 Highlight the passage at 40:50

41:12 I experience joy in practicing. You experience joy in practice. Yeah. It's a result of practice, not something you seek after. Report an error in the passage at 41:12 Highlight the passage at 41:12

41:24 It seems to be both. Okay. Like it's enjoyable in engaging. And I enjoy engaging with suffering or with others or whatever. Report an error in the passage at 41:24 Highlight the passage at 41:24

41:38 Yeah, there's something perpetual about that for me that's alive at this time anyway. I'm sure that may change or who knows. Thank you. Thank you, Avi. All right. Okay, one more, one more. You have 20 seconds. Report an error in the passage at 41:38 Highlight the passage at 41:38

42:02 18 seconds. I think I'm Roja. I practice as a reminder. I feel like I forget a lot. But I definitely have a secret agenda. Report an error in the passage at 42:02 Highlight the passage at 42:02

42:19 Tell us the secret. I'm looking for wisdom. That's my secret agenda, but, you know, it's between us. No longer a secret. May wisdom come to you. Thank you all very much. Report an error in the passage at 42:19 Highlight the passage at 42:19

42:42 It's a pleasure. 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. Report an error in the passage at 42:42 Highlight the passage at 42:42

43:05 May we fully enjoy the Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 43:05 Highlight the passage at 43:05