The Gulch, the Valley, as the Embodiment of Silent Illumination

0:00 This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at sfzc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Thank you. I bet you do. And to Saṅgha here for your invitation. And to all of you who are here, thank you. How Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:39 many of you are new here? First time, just a few. We're in the same boat. Report an error in the passage at 0:39 Highlight the passage at 0:39

0:54 It's an honor for me to be here. So this talk will be an informal talk. It will be my offering to the founder, great master, Shinya Suzuki. Also an offering to my teacher, Master Shen Yan. An offering to the Saṅgha and all of you here for the opportunity. Report an error in the passage at 0:54 Highlight the passage at 0:54

1:28 When I came here, I was very delighted. First time being in the Green Gulch Farm Zen community. Report an error in the passage at 1:28 Highlight the passage at 1:28

1:40 Especially the Gulch part. Report an error in the passage at 1:40 Highlight the passage at 1:40

1:45 Because my Dharma name, Guo Gu, the Gu part means valley, ravine. And Report an error in the passage at 1:45 Highlight the passage at 1:45

2:02 birth name is always at the peak in translation, Yongfeng. So when I first received this name, I asked my teacher, Why did he put me all the way on the bottom? Report an error in the passage at 2:02 Highlight the passage at 2:02

2:26 Because he said something very important. That was my first teaching in my teens. Report an error in the passage at 2:26 Highlight the passage at 2:26

2:34 He said, your parents put you at the top, but the top will always be lonely. All the nourishment, the rain will always flow away from you. At Report an error in the passage at 2:34 Highlight the passage at 2:34

2:50 the top, unprotected by the elements and the wind with nothing to support. Report an error in the passage at 2:50 Highlight the passage at 2:50

3:07 For that reason, I... Put it on the bottom. The gorge, ravine, dam, valley will receive all the nourishment. Report an error in the passage at 3:07 Highlight the passage at 3:07

3:24 All the rain, the flourishing, the green in the green gorge will be able to flourish. Report an error in the passage at 3:24 Highlight the passage at 3:24

3:36 So I became very happy. Report an error in the passage at 3:36 Highlight the passage at 3:36

3:49 Guo means the result. So my name means result of the valley. So the name, I have another name that my teacher gave me. It's Zheng Xue. Guo Gu Zhen Xue. Zhen Xue means correct learning. So it's been my aspiration, principle you can say, of my practice to fulfill my teacher's expectation of me. Correct learning of being the fruit, the effect or efficacy of the valley. Report an error in the passage at 3:49 Highlight the passage at 3:49

4:39 Or you can say, since I'm here, How Report an error in the passage at 4:39 Highlight the passage at 4:39

4:47 many of you have never heard of my teacher's name, Master Shen Yan? Report an error in the passage at 4:47 Highlight the passage at 4:47

5:02 I met him in 1980. He came to the United States, New York, 1976. Report an error in the passage at 5:02 Highlight the passage at 5:02

5:15 And I met him in 1980 as a boy. He passed away 2009. The Report an error in the passage at 5:15 Highlight the passage at 5:15

5:37 temple or the meditation center that I built. In Tallahassee, Florida. It's dedicated to him. I started after he passed away in 2009. My Report an error in the passage at 5:37 Highlight the passage at 5:37

5:56 life direction kind of shifted to repay my gratitude to him. So saved up enough money to purchase a place. 2017, we purchased this large space with three buildings on it. The large one turned into a Chang Hall. the two. Smaller one, kitchen, multi-purpose room. The following year, the five acre of land in the middle of the sea became available. Report an error in the passage at 5:56 Highlight the passage at 5:56

6:40 Very beautiful prairie, big old trees. So he purchased that, along with two small houses transformed into a retreat dorm. Report an error in the passage at 6:40 Highlight the passage at 6:40

6:55 And I named the place Shen Yan Chang Yuan. Chang. Zen, Shen Ye was my teacher's name. Yuan means cloister. Sometimes translates garden. So the Chan, garden, or Zen, garden of Shen Ye. And Shen Ye means holy adornment. So that's my way to dedicate. And ever since, every teaching that I give, every intense retreat that I lead, is my way to repay my gratitude to my teacher. Report an error in the passage at 6:55 Highlight the passage at 6:55

7:45 How's this? So Report an error in the passage at 7:45 Highlight the passage at 7:45

7:51 thank you for the opportunity for me to repay my gratitude to my teacher and also to the three jewels with the Dharma Saṅgha. We Report an error in the passage at 7:51 Highlight the passage at 7:51

8:06 just finished the one-day retreat here, and my teacher was the lineage recipient of two existing Chan or Zen schools. One is Cao Dong. Japanese pronounce it Soto. Another one is Linji, which is pronounced in Japanese Rinzai. So he established the Dharma drone lineage to combine the two. So the way that we practice include Sikandaza, which I trust all of you are familiar with, just sitting. Report an error in the passage at 8:06 Highlight the passage at 8:06

8:50 In Chinese, we call it silent illumination. And on the other hand, Huato or koan practice. Report an error in the passage at 8:50 Highlight the passage at 8:50

9:01 Being here at the Soto Temple, yesterday we practiced silent illumination in the tradition that my teacher taught it and modified a little bit. Report an error in the passage at 9:01 Highlight the passage at 9:01

9:18 Because when he first came to the United States, the way he taught silent illumination practice was actually not practicable. He said, when you sit, don't use your eyes. Ears, nose, tongue, body, mind. So all of his Western students was like, oh dear. Report an error in the passage at 9:18 Highlight the passage at 9:18

9:54 And then slowly he accommodated to his teacher, you're allowed one sense faculty, the body. So he said, the body is sitting, the mind is sitting. Report an error in the passage at 9:54 Highlight the passage at 9:54

10:14 The mind is not minding anything else, but the reality of sitting. Report an error in the passage at 10:14 Highlight the passage at 10:14

10:23 And over the decades, I've witnessed him accommodating more and more and more and more. So the way I introduce how to do silent illumination or Shikantaza practice is to, basically, I just made it more detailed, more relatable, more concrete. Like sitting, how do you know you're sitting? Report an error in the passage at 10:23 Highlight the passage at 10:23

11:03 There's a posturing, relaxed. There's a sense of weight. There's a kind of contact, groundedness. So more cookie crumbs for people to kind of follow and consume. So when you're sitting, it's just embodied experiencing of sitting. And that means embodied experiencing of posturing, the sense of weight, groundedness. Report an error in the passage at 11:03 Highlight the passage at 11:03

11:48 The body may disappear. The weight may become very light. What remains is embodied experiencing of motionlessness. And Report an error in the passage at 11:48 Highlight the passage at 11:48

12:07 even if you look into that stillness, the motionlessness, something is vibrant. Something is alive there. There's a potency, wakefulness. So Report an error in the passage at 12:07 Highlight the passage at 12:07

12:31 the cookie crumbs are the body. The posturing, the sense of weight, when Report an error in the passage at 12:31 Highlight the passage at 12:31

12:45 you get to the heart of it, it's just that moment to moment to moment, wakeful, experiencing. Something potent is there in the experiencing. What is that? Report an error in the passage at 12:45 Highlight the passage at 12:45

13:10 Wonderment. Report an error in the passage at 13:10 Highlight the passage at 13:10

13:15 Not knowing, not giving it a label, no words and language, no container, at the same time, awake. Report an error in the passage at 13:15 Highlight the passage at 13:15

13:37 There is simultaneous stillness and clarity. So Report an error in the passage at 13:37 Highlight the passage at 13:37

13:53 usually, when people are still, relaxed, they fall asleep. And when people say they are clear, that means their thinking is clear. Report an error in the passage at 13:53 Highlight the passage at 13:53

14:05 So the silent illumination practice is reverting to the most raw, intrinsic state of being. Relaxed, yet clear. Clear, yet no wandering thoughts. Experiencing in that. Without containers, without words and label. Report an error in the passage at 14:05 Highlight the passage at 14:05

14:40 So, Chan Master Hongzhi Zhenjue, he has many ways to frame this, describe this thing. Sometimes he calls it marvelous, marvelous luminosity. When Report an error in the passage at 14:40 Highlight the passage at 14:40

15:07 I use the word marvelous, it's a kind of Report an error in the passage at 15:07 Highlight the passage at 15:07

15:17 Openness feeling tone. It's a way to cultivate ourselves. Marvelous. Sometimes he also phrase it in terms of shen, Report an error in the passage at 15:17 Highlight the passage at 15:17

15:36 valley. Shen means spirit. But that's just a very poetic way of talking about the echoes in the valley. It's hollow, yet able to respond. Does that make sense? When you call out, it's able to respond. It's not dead. So still, yet wakeful. Report an error in the passage at 15:36 Highlight the passage at 15:36

16:09 Open valley, hollow, empty, yet responsive. Marvelous. Report an error in the passage at 16:09 Highlight the passage at 16:09

16:23 I have a more colloquial way of saying this. I-A-G. Report an error in the passage at 16:23 Highlight the passage at 16:23

16:32 It's all good. Report an error in the passage at 16:32 Highlight the passage at 16:32

16:40 But it's important. Like the green gorge, the valley, the ravine, embody the spirit of silent illumination. Report an error in the passage at 16:40 Highlight the passage at 16:40

16:54 Shikantaza practice. Responsive, yet hollow, empty. Empty of what? Preconceived ideas, stories, containers that we project onto others. So it's a practice. Practice of being the valley. In the Chinese, the name Guo Gu, the Gu especially, the valley part, is connected to this idiom. Report an error in the passage at 16:54 Highlight the passage at 16:54

17:33 It refers to being humble as a valley. Being humble as a valley. Xu Huai Ruo Gu. Report an error in the passage at 17:33 Highlight the passage at 17:33

17:44 So for me, it's been a practice. When I first began, started working with the breath, studying with him. And then by mid-80s, towards the end, 87, I was practicing Shikantaza, or silent illumination. And the principle, It's to be humble, receptive, yet not empty like a blank piece of paper or oblivion. Report an error in the passage at 17:44 Highlight the passage at 17:44

18:23 So very clear, freed from notions and ideas, yet respond to what needs to be done, what can be done. Report an error in the passage at 18:23 Highlight the passage at 18:23

18:35 So my teacher used to teach me, normally in the secular world, people, when they meet up, Report an error in the passage at 18:35 Highlight the passage at 18:35

18:52 Either they want to show how much they know with other people, Sometimes others, they want to put down others too. So he told me, as a novice, to Report an error in the passage at 18:52 Highlight the passage at 18:52

19:16 always think of what you can offer to others. First response, what can I offer? So that offering is also contained in the Report an error in the passage at 19:16 Highlight the passage at 19:16

19:37 review. So so far we've... Talked about a lot of things. Report an error in the passage at 19:37 Highlight the passage at 19:37

19:47 Humility. Report an error in the passage at 19:47 Highlight the passage at 19:47

19:50 Offering. Being receptive. Open. Yet responsive. The value of the gauja as the spirit of silent illumination practice. Beyond the cushion. In the interaction with people. With circumstances that we find ourselves. That Report an error in the passage at 19:50 Highlight the passage at 19:50

20:25 openness. That potency. Receptivity. Responsiveness. Responsiveness. Report an error in the passage at 20:25 Highlight the passage at 20:25

20:38 Marvelous. Report an error in the passage at 20:38 Highlight the passage at 20:38

20:42 Wonderment. Report an error in the passage at 20:42 Highlight the passage at 20:42

20:49 The single word, gauge, takes Report an error in the passage at 20:49 Highlight the passage at 20:49

20:57 a lifetime of practice. Not only on the cushion, but interacting with people. If we're full of stuff, notions, ideas, there will be no connection. Whatever connection that we have with people will be very superficial. Report an error in the passage at 20:57 Highlight the passage at 20:57

21:29 So in order to be present, Report an error in the passage at 21:29 Highlight the passage at 21:29

21:33 To people, we have to be absent. Absent of our own judgment. So in the absence, in the openness, in being the valley, the gorge, the richness of those you interact with, and how they feel, they will actually feel, see. Report an error in the passage at 21:33 Highlight the passage at 21:33

22:17 So the responsiveness comes out of that. Report an error in the passage at 22:17 Highlight the passage at 22:17

22:24 So that's a little bit about... The name that my teacher gave me and its resonance with this place, when I saw this place. I Report an error in the passage at 22:24 Highlight the passage at 22:24

22:42 don't have anything particular that I prepared, which is also in accordance with the valley, the coach. But I understand that some Report an error in the passage at 22:42 Highlight the passage at 22:42

23:03 of you will be first-timer, others will be seasoned practitioners. Report an error in the passage at 23:03 Highlight the passage at 23:03

23:14 So I thought I'd speak about the gulch, the green gulch, and its wider association with being a valley, the practice of humility, openness, and Report an error in the passage at 23:14 Highlight the passage at 23:14

23:37 responsiveness that come from this openness. How do we do that? Report an error in the passage at 23:37 Highlight the passage at 23:37

23:50 Should we all quit our jobs, avoid competition, give up everything? No. We can do all that. Report an error in the passage at 23:50 Highlight the passage at 23:50

24:07 We have our principle. All of you, since all of you are here, you Report an error in the passage at 24:07 Highlight the passage at 24:07

24:18 can learn more about the culture. See this as a principle with all the associated meaning that I identified and put it in practice. Report an error in the passage at 24:18 Highlight the passage at 24:18

24:34 When you are receptive and open at your job, in your life, without any fixations, You will be able to see what needs to be done, what can be done, working with causes and conditions. Report an error in the passage at 24:34 Highlight the passage at 24:34

25:02 Other people may be pushing their agenda, maybe selfing. You can contribute. Report an error in the passage at 25:02 Highlight the passage at 25:02

25:15 But only when you are free of any fixed ideas, then creativity comes. Creativity comes. And that comes from being open, that state of wonderment. Report an error in the passage at 25:15 Highlight the passage at 25:15

25:32 All the things that you have learned in your life, you won't forget. Your intelligence will be more flexible. Report an error in the passage at 25:32 Highlight the passage at 25:32

25:44 Your responsiveness will be more accurate. Your perception will be clear. Report an error in the passage at 25:44 Highlight the passage at 25:44

25:57 That is the power of being in the valley. You will recognize all the resources, what needs to be done, what can be done, because there's no fixed agenda. Report an error in the passage at 25:57 Highlight the passage at 25:57

26:18 Ideas, the fixations are your selfie that's going to block you. You have general direction in your company, corporation, your work, family, what needs to be done for the betterment of everyone. General direction. But the specificity of the goals, you're open to see opportunities. That is the power. What kind of opportunities? Causes and conditions. Causes and conditions. Report an error in the passage at 26:18 Highlight the passage at 26:18

26:53 In this world, all things come together because of causes and conditions. All things change and disperse because of causes and conditions. Report an error in the passage at 26:53 Highlight the passage at 26:53

27:12 If our fixations are too strong, we won't be able to recognize what is actually present, the causes and conditions. So in order to be fully present to what needs to be done, what can be done, Report an error in the passage at 27:12 Highlight the passage at 27:12

27:34 We have to put down self. We have to be absent, respect, receptive. Report an error in the passage at 27:34 Highlight the passage at 27:34

27:45 Do you believe so? Report an error in the passage at 27:45 Highlight the passage at 27:45

27:52 Causes and conditions. In working with causes and conditions, we have to recognize causes and conditions. Sometimes this is the hardest part because we have things we want to do, we need to do. Our opinion, our views. Sometimes that... Blind us to see what's actually present. So learning to diminish, to be able to at least bracket what we want to do, bracket, and see what the available causes and conditions are. Report an error in the passage at 27:52 Highlight the passage at 27:52

28:38 So recognizing causes and conditions. Once you recognize, then you will know whether it's time to adapt to causes and conditions. Report an error in the passage at 28:38 Highlight the passage at 28:38

28:56 Sometimes it requires us to wait Report an error in the passage at 28:56 Highlight the passage at 28:56

29:03 for causes and conditions. Other times, create causes and conditions. Create to be the change. And this is not linear. Report an error in the passage at 29:03 Highlight the passage at 29:03

29:26 Sometimes the more we adapt to causes and conditions, when we wait for causes and conditions, we actually recognize more causes and conditions. And we can go directly to creating the causes and conditions. Report an error in the passage at 29:26 Highlight the passage at 29:26

29:48 To give you one example, during the pandemic, when the United States was experiencing the shortage of masks. Do you remember that? Do you remember when automobile companies were starting to make masks? I don't know if you know that. I don't know how they were able to do that. But because of the political tension between China and the United States, China, prior to the pandemic, was providing more than half of the global usage for PPE, masks, all the different things. Report an error in the passage at 29:48 Highlight the passage at 29:48

30:45 More than half. But because of the tension between the United States and China, we didn't want to import any of them from China. Yet hospitals were in desperate need. Report an error in the passage at 30:45 Highlight the passage at 30:45

30:59 That was the condition. Report an error in the passage at 30:59 Highlight the passage at 30:59

31:03 All the Dharma centers wanted to help, but the Dharma centers were in isolation from its members. We couldn't respond to the need. Sometimes members were dying. So facing the causes and conditions in conversation with my fellow Dharma brothers, who are teachers in different parts of the United States. Report an error in the passage at 31:03 Highlight the passage at 31:03

31:43 Recognizing the causes and conditions from Report an error in the passage at 31:43 Highlight the passage at 31:43

31:49 early part of 2019 all the way to April, I was waiting, watching, observing the causes and conditions because Report an error in the passage at 31:49 Highlight the passage at 31:49

32:09 they are Dharma drum centers in China. Report an error in the passage at 32:09 Highlight the passage at 32:09

32:17 So I quickly, within a month, I quickly gathered my students, those who are excellent with web design. My assistants contacted all my connections and their connections, raised funds to purchase PPE mask, approved mask, directly sent to hospitals. So I contacted East Coast, West Coast, and those teachers contacted their resources and told me. Report an error in the passage at 32:17 Highlight the passage at 32:17

33:01 The addresses and contact names for the hospitals, the local hospitals, so we can send directly to them. So within, I had set a very humble bar of $100,000 to raise. At least we can, all the Dharma centers, and this was Zen, Vipassanā, Tibetan. $100,000 raised at least sent to a box to all the hospitals. Within Report an error in the passage at 33:01 Highlight the passage at 33:01

33:47 one month, I had to change the bar because in two weeks, $100,000. I was like, 200. Within four weeks, we raised over $600,000 and we were able to purchase. So all the... Many of the Dharma centers became our satellites for letting us know the hospital. We all worked together beautifully. Report an error in the passage at 33:47 Highlight the passage at 33:47

34:27 Sectarian boundaries became zero. And we purchased 1.2 million masks. We sent very quickly. We created a website. We have all the teachers and Dharma centers that contributed listed because people want to be listed. Report an error in the passage at 34:27 Highlight the passage at 34:27

34:54 On the website. And that served as contact points. And we got the direct addresses of hospitals and the names. And we contacted all the other Dharma centers that needed masks. So we sent it out. So working with causes and conditions. And because of our effort, other non-profit organizations that were Involved, voluntarily wanted to support us. This is secular, like shipping companies, large, literally ships for crate. Report an error in the passage at 34:54 Highlight the passage at 34:54

35:44 What we did is we bypass the normal route for large crates. Instead, we use UPS, which is directly from China, directly to the hospitals. Report an error in the passage at 35:44 Highlight the passage at 35:44

36:04 As opposed to go through the custom, check this, check that. You know, tax of this and that. So it was a grassroots movement. Report an error in the passage at 36:04 Highlight the passage at 36:04

36:16 And we called it Dharma Relief. Dharma Relief. And continuing that, George Floyd's murder, the pandemic, we sent masks. We kind of closed the gap between shortage of... Masks. And U.S. factories trying to catch up on producing the masks. In our small way, close the gap a little bit. Report an error in the passage at 36:16 Highlight the passage at 36:16

36:57 And then once the factories created masks and so on, our project was over. And then George Floyd happened. And then the ad hoc advisory board came together, welcomed Black Donner teachers to come together. Report an error in the passage at 36:57 Highlight the passage at 36:57

37:19 And then join. And then we rolled out DR2. Dharma Relief 2. Dharma Relief 1 was mask. DR2. Supporting raise funds to support black Dharma teachers. They're the minority. So monthly stipend, $1 Report an error in the passage at 37:19 Highlight the passage at 37:19

37:49 ,000. So they can use it to travel to whatever they want. So they can... Spread the dharma in their respective communities. So that's what I mean. Working with causes and conditions. Report an error in the passage at 37:49 Highlight the passage at 37:49

38:10 Recognize. Adapt. Wait. Report an error in the passage at 38:10 Highlight the passage at 38:10

38:21 Basically, these four cover what needs to be done, what can be done. Report an error in the passage at 38:21 Highlight the passage at 38:21

38:29 If we have something fixed that we want to do, an idea, then that becomes a block. Report an error in the passage at 38:29 Highlight the passage at 38:29

38:41 It's not to say we don't have any compass. We have a general direction. Benefit all beings. Offering support. Same thing in your work, in your family, in your friendship. Report an error in the passage at 38:41 Highlight the passage at 38:41

38:57 We have to listen. We have to observe. We have to diminish self-referential notions and ideas so we can actually see what needs to be done. Be humble. Bring everyone in. Report an error in the passage at 38:57 Highlight the passage at 38:57

39:24 So that's the practice of the gorge, the valley. Report an error in the passage at 39:24 Highlight the passage at 39:24

39:33 Empty. Yet responsive. Report an error in the passage at 39:33 Highlight the passage at 39:33

39:41 Silent, yet illuminating. Report an error in the passage at 39:41 Highlight the passage at 39:41

39:56 So this morning I offer this to all of you. It's a practice of a lifetime. The more you practice this, and it does take practice, practice to put down the self, to see what needs to be done, how can be. So this goes for when we do sitting meditation too. Report an error in the passage at 39:56 Highlight the passage at 39:56

40:33 When we engage with other people, the same. When we sit, we offer our body to the cushion, to earth. We're completely grounded. And our heart, our mind, to the practice. Then you have nothing to do. Just relax. Give everything. So, when we're with others, absent. Report an error in the passage at 40:33 Highlight the passage at 40:33

41:14 So we can be completely present. Report an error in the passage at 41:14 Highlight the passage at 41:14

41:20 So we will be able to see more. We'll be able to see more. We'll be able to hear. And when we talk with people, talking, we don't just hear the superficial words. We start to hear their heart. So heart and heart start to connect. Report an error in the passage at 41:20 Highlight the passage at 41:20

41:46 Being receptive. That's a practice. That is the dynamic, live practice of silent. Selfish wisdom. Wisdom, compassion. Report an error in the passage at 41:46 Highlight the passage at 41:46

42:11 All of you have the fortune to be here, to practice here, to support the center. Report an error in the passage at 42:11 Highlight the passage at 42:11

42:22 It's a blessing. And the center offers nourishment in your life. Report an error in the passage at 42:22 Highlight the passage at 42:22

42:33 This morning I offer this to all of you. Report an error in the passage at 42:33 Highlight the passage at 42:33

42:39 If you have, we still have a little bit of time. So if you have questions, feel free to ask. The time is to 11.20. If you have questions, feel free to ask. Will they have microphone? Report an error in the passage at 42:39 Highlight the passage at 42:39

43:09 How many of you, for example, practice Shikantaza just sitting? okay good this is the japanese version of silent illumination Report an error in the passage at 43:09 Highlight the passage at 43:09

43:24 Thank you for Report an error in the passage at 43:24 Highlight the passage at 43:24

43:35 being here. When you think about your teacher, What's the one sentence that often comes to your mind? How do you normally remember him? I'm very curious. It's been a long time you're with him, so I'm genuinely curious. Report an error in the passage at 43:35 Highlight the passage at 43:35

43:53 I think about his teachings. The most important teaching that helped me was body like a rag, mind like a mirror. On the occasion when I was a novice, he asked me, what is bodhi mind, bodhi chitta? And I gave him some stupid textbook answer. answer, altruistic mind, he says, no. He says, body like a rag, mind like a mirror. Report an error in the passage at 43:53 Highlight the passage at 43:53

44:25 Something like that. And that. Report an error in the passage at 44:25 Highlight the passage at 44:25

44:32 was the teaching that helped me enter the door of Chan. When I was at my low point 1995 Report an error in the passage at 44:32 Highlight the passage at 44:32

44:48 You are all welcome to practice that. What is body like a rag? Report an error in the passage at 44:48 Highlight the passage at 44:48

44:59 Bali like a rag. Report an error in the passage at 44:59 Highlight the passage at 44:59

45:03 The preciousness of this life to benefit others, to clean. What does a rag do? Rag? Clean. We just clean. Report an error in the passage at 45:03 Highlight the passage at 45:03

45:21 You know, other people, things that other people don't want to do, things that other people don't want to clean, you clean. Report an error in the passage at 45:21 Highlight the passage at 45:21

45:34 Especially in the monastery, when I was his attendant, so we traveled three months in the United States, three months in Taiwan, continually. Report an error in the passage at 45:34 Highlight the passage at 45:34

45:50 So in the United States, I had a lot of job. Publishing director, attendant, rotating chef, translator, a lot. When I go to Taiwan, there's a lot of monastics, so very free. But our Taiwan at that time, Nong Chai Monastery, was basically just shacks. All these illegal buildings, not proper. Proper. Report an error in the passage at 45:50 Highlight the passage at 45:50

46:30 Next to this farmland, fields, rice fields. The only legal part was where the Buddha Hall is, a portion of it. But we just kind of kept on building. And the bathroom that we had built was made out of cement. Report an error in the passage at 46:30 Highlight the passage at 46:30

46:56 I don't know if you know about cement. Cement in a subtropical country, cement soak up all the humidity. And the toilet is built in this cement building. So what do you think is soak up? Report an error in the passage at 46:56 Highlight the passage at 46:56

47:19 So that was the place. It's always wet. It's always wet. So he always needs attending. So in Taiwan, my job was basically pretty free because he has attended to clean his laundry, doesn't need translator, doesn't need someone to speak English. So this told me to... Water some orchids. That was my job. And I saw the toilet. No one's cleaning the toilet. Report an error in the passage at 47:19 Highlight the passage at 47:19

47:53 So besides my, every day I just sat for six hours because I got nothing to do. I just sat in the chan hall. Outside of that, where can you find Guo Gu? Toilet. They started calling me the toilet monk. So I'm constantly wet, rolling up my pants, my shirt. I'm constantly wet. Sprinkling it, cleaning it. Report an error in the passage at 47:53 Highlight the passage at 47:53

48:19 Drying it. I just hung out in the men's toilet for the public, especially Sundays. A lot of people are like, Sundays, a lot of people show up. I'm at the toilet. Things that people don't want to do. Body like a rag. Toilet doesn't mean people look down on you. This must be the lowest rung in the monastery. Report an error in the passage at 48:19 Highlight the passage at 48:19

48:49 Look down on you because I'm all wet. It's fine. Mind like a mirror. One time we had this officials, high officials brought dignitaries from foreign countries. And you needed a translator. Where the heck is Guo Gu? Toilet. And these dignitaries go through the toilet. It's all wet, sweating, because it's hot. And then, They needed a translator. Quickly, clean up a little bit. Go there. People in suits. And they saw me speak fluently in English. Report an error in the passage at 48:49 Highlight the passage at 48:49

49:41 Oh my goodness, Master Shengyin's disciples. Even the toilet monk speaks fluent English. After it's done, go back. So they greatly respected Master Shengyin. English. Report an error in the passage at 49:41 Highlight the passage at 49:41

50:02 Things that people don't want to do. Things that needs to be done and you can't do. Body like a rag. Mind like a mirror. People laugh at you, look down at you. You're not oblivious. You don't. Just smile. Sometimes you have to fake smile because vexations come up. Inner critic, self-disparagement. Report an error in the passage at 50:02 Highlight the passage at 50:02

50:37 You want to be correct. I am attending. Just put it down. Report an error in the passage at 50:37 Highlight the passage at 50:37

50:47 So fake it until you make it. So my teacher was very good at that. Just poke at me sometimes. Public humiliation, that was his number one weapon for my selfing. Report an error in the passage at 50:47 Highlight the passage at 50:47

51:08 Sometimes I'd come out. I was young, my 20s. I remember one time, big auditorium, 1,000 people. My teacher was giving a teaching on that. Vimala Kirti Sūtra. Anyway, this sūtra about non-duality and wisdom. And I was his attendant. Report an error in the passage at 51:08 Highlight the passage at 51:08

51:36 Teacher goes on stage. I'm the one who followed next to him. You know, prepared. I was getting all psyched, making sure I look good. Stupid stuff. And then on stage, my teacher says, did you bring the notes? And I was like, I'm Report an error in the passage at 51:36 Highlight the passage at 51:36

52:02 sorry. Report an error in the passage at 52:02 Highlight the passage at 52:02

52:06 And I left. Bolted. My teacher also, he practiced that. The kind of smile that you really want to get angry, but you have to smile because there are a thousand people like this. Report an error in the passage at 52:06 Highlight the passage at 52:06

52:20 Other people, they don't know what we're talking about. And my teacher, great wisdom. He's able to respond like lightning all the time. So his opening talk to break the ice was... Report an error in the passage at 52:20 Highlight the passage at 52:20

52:40 Thank you for the invitation. He was a teacher for three presidents that learned meditation in Taiwan. All these dignitaries. My idiot attendant forgot the notes for today. So today's talk will be the overall message of the Vimalakirti Sūtra. Report an error in the passage at 52:40 Highlight the passage at 52:40

53:12 And then I was like, and everyone recognized, oh, you're the... Next time, don't forget. I'm like, yes. So, whenever there's selfing, humility. Blow. Whenever too many things are in the mind, cluttering, then you don't know what needs to be done, what can't be done. Because you're just self-absorbed in whatever wandering thought is happening. Report an error in the passage at 53:12 Highlight the passage at 53:12

53:49 You see? So that... Meaning of being the valley, being the coach, very important. I hope it will be useful for you. So you can embody the spirit of Shinjo Suzuki, the great teacher who set up this place. Report an error in the passage at 53:49 Highlight the passage at 53:49

54:20 Is there a relationship between the teachings of Zen and the martial arts such as wrestling, archery and even swordsmanship? Report an error in the passage at 54:20 Highlight the passage at 54:20

54:33 I think people can relate it if they want to. People can make teachings relatable to anything, basically. Historically, there is the legend. There is a legend of the first ancestral master in China, Bodhidharma, who came to China, met the emperor. Report an error in the passage at 54:33 Highlight the passage at 54:33

55:03 Emperor didn't understand his teachings, kind of left, went to the Shaolin Monastery. Monks are falling asleep, lack energy, health is very bad. So eventually, he taught martial arts. Report an error in the passage at 55:03 Highlight the passage at 55:03

55:23 That's a legend. True, not true. The important part is, not only martial arts, archery, the arts, literature, the important part is, we have to make that connection between Zen, practice, Report an error in the passage at 55:23 Highlight the passage at 55:23

55:51 All aspects of our life. Not only like this one sphere of skill set. Yeah, you can do it. But other spheres, you know, cooking, being, communicating with others. Report an error in the passage at 55:51 Highlight the passage at 55:51

56:16 Yeah, like the gulch. Open, receptive. What needs to be done, what can be done. How? Work with causes and conditions. Recognize. Adapt. Report an error in the passage at 56:16 Highlight the passage at 56:16

56:31 Wait. Create. Report an error in the passage at 56:31 Highlight the passage at 56:31

56:39 Two more minutes. Report an error in the passage at 56:39 Highlight the passage at 56:39

56:45 Thank you. Well, you spoke of the marvelous and silence that's vibrant, you know, emptiness that's vibrant. And I said, oh, I'm sold, you know. That sounds good. And then you also spoke of the cluttering, wandering thoughts and stories. That seems to be a problem. What many of us may not have heard me, like for example, in your talk was, what about all those? What do we do about those? Report an error in the passage at 56:45 Highlight the passage at 56:45

57:22 We pick them up and throw them out. We try to kill them. What do we do with those? The marvelous doesn't just come all by itself. Yeah. All those things are marvelous. All those things are marvelous. You know, the notion of good and bad, success, failure, having, lacking, gaining, losing. That's all come from a particular, very specific vantage point. Selfing. Report an error in the passage at 57:22 Highlight the passage at 57:22

57:54 And we can turn everything that we need from that self-referentiality, we can turn in on ourselves and make ourselves into a thing and attack it. Not good. You're not good enough. You don't have the skill set. So wandering thoughts, you know, scatteredness, the Report an error in the passage at 57:54 Highlight the passage at 57:54

58:19 Chan Zen position. It's all good. I-A-G. On the foundation of that, with that kind of feeling tone of it's all right. Embrace and transform. Report an error in the passage at 58:19 Highlight the passage at 58:19

58:42 Practice necessary, totally necessary. Vexations need to be transformed. But not transformed out of that's bad or that's good. Transform out of you're already good. Let me just work on it a little bit. Then possibilities will come. If you already have a thing, this is bad. That's like the self. The mind is not open. If your mind is open, already good. I can put you here and allow you to flourish. Report an error in the passage at 58:42 Highlight the passage at 58:42

59:23 Otherwise, the only place, if it's not good, the only place is garbage. If you put weeds, Things that are kind of out of place, thoughts, you're not supposed to have this thought, allow it, you put it somewhere else. Report an error in the passage at 59:23 Highlight the passage at 59:23

59:41 Everything has its place. Everything has its place. When things are out of place, then it becomes obstacle. So if your heart is one of the green gulch, one of the valley, you see marvelous, you see it's all good. Are there social injustice? Are people dying, lacking masks? People are dying in hospital. Report an error in the passage at 59:41 Highlight the passage at 59:41

1:00:16 Yeah, it's all good in your heart. What needs to be done? What can be done? We do it. Everything will come together. So wandering thoughts, we don't, when we sit, for example, we don't see as bad. We don't try to get rid of it. We don't try to fix it. But what needs to be done in this moment is does the name mean you have to mind this, mind that, deal with this, deal with that? Report an error in the passage at 1:00:16 Highlight the passage at 1:00:16

1:00:53 No. Like wandering thoughts come? Yeah. Daddy is sitting. Today is Father's Day. Sit. Difficulties come? Come this way. Sit. That's what needs to be done. So more and more, the negative emotions, negative emotions. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:53 Highlight the passage at 1:00:53

1:01:17 Difficulty. The inner critic. More and more, we expose them. We don't suppress them. We don't follow them either. We're not oblivious to them. We embrace them. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:17 Highlight the passage at 1:01:17

1:01:37 At the same time, put them in their place. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:37 Highlight the passage at 1:01:37

1:01:45 Right now, we sit. So this identification with them slowly diminishes. You can see everything. Thank you Report an error in the passage at 1:01:45 Highlight the passage at 1:01:45

1:02:06 for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. Our programs are made possible by the donations we receive. Please help us to continue to realize and actualize the practice of giving by offering your financial support. For more information, visit sfzc.org and click giving. May we fully enjoy the dharma. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:06 Highlight the passage at 1:02:06