Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: For more information on Ancient Dragon Zen Gate, please visit our website at www.ancientdragon.org. our teachings are offered to the community through the generosity of our supporters. To make a donation online, please visit our website.
There's background sound of construction and birdsong in the zendo so I hope that for people online at least there's some noise cancellation function.
I think everyone else in this room has sat together here before so I think Asoff was the only new person. And it's also really good to see Jake online who is recovering from medical thing.
Yeah, and Asians here from afar Glacier maybe Glacier National Park.
Jake's visage is on the screen.
So good to see it.
So we're in our final day, day three of a spring sacheen.
And I think during this sessine there's been about 30 of us sitting in various locations, mostly on the ground, but all around how our vihara, our dwelling place of practice extends outward.
Day in and day out we've been sitting and I want to appreciate the work of everyone to make this sachine happen and how it's just been very harmonious and settled. People are sitting like rocks but also practicing with life so wonderfully and you know, but we've had Artenzo Wade cooking away in the kitchen nourishing the Sangha with helpers like Kelly and Josh from another sangha. But Josh is still showing up and working like a good sense student.
You hang out here for more than five minutes and you get a job. So people have been taking care of us.
Work leader, meal servers, dishwashers, go ons, cooking, cleaning, keeping time and then in the background running like kind of a silent program.
Lurking in the background sometimes is our wonderful Ancient Dragon board of directors who have been sponsoring this event you might say through their hard work. And also everyone who has been so generous to Ancient Dragon Zengate over many years to support this temple.
So as I've said, we've coming together as this unified practice body during this time of sashin and these wonderful eight weeks of intensive practice that we call a practice commitment period or practice period where another about 30 of us have been studying the Buddhist practices for caring for all beings.
And this study and practice for this eight weeks has highlighted teachings and rituals that emphasize embodied caring awareness which is really just realizing our Buddha nature in every activity 24, 7 somehow it's hard work, can't believe it, but it is.
And you know, sitting day and night we realize like oh what? We just have to sit? But still it takes a certain kind of effort to soften up the sediment of habits and patterns and distractions so that they can flow freely through the pipes and not hinder us in our great wish to care for all beings and live from this Bodhisattva vow.
So we've considered these caring rituals embodied caring rituals such as zazen.
Somebody said to me, really, when I sit saucen, it benefits other people, really.
I said, I think so. I think so. It seems that way.
As much as I know anything, I don't want to go too far in a limb.
And chanting and offering positive energy, offering any fruit of our labor, giving it away, giving it all away.
Or remembering words and images of boundless caring, like this great bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, above my head, replete with everything needed to respond to a situation with care.
I would say it would be unconditionally, love each situation unconditionally, care for each situation, whether there's apparent suffering or not.
Because also kind of a ambient suffering, kind of like that construction noise, is kind of running through our lives as well. We can't help as humans to have some suffering, but we don't need to make it worse.
And our practices are, how can we make it better?
How can we alleviate suffering in ourselves and others?
And other ways we've been studying, that is, through practices, Buddhist practices that evoke and invoke beneficial emotions such as goodwill, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity.
And in the last two weeks, we sort of focused on everyday rituals for care and healing described by Dr. Paula Arai in the Little Book of Zen Healing.
And all things are impermanent.
Everything comes to an end, everything that arises ceases. And this practice committed, will conclude this afternoon. And this sashin will conclude this afternoon. They come together with a very special event known as a Dharma Inquiry ceremony, with the shiso.
I'll say a little or a lot about shiso soon, but just to get us all on the same page, everybody after that Dharma Inquiry ceremony will then do a couple more ceremonies to end the day. And then we'll have another ceremony, which after we close this 12th practice period, spring practice period, and after we close this May Sashin, then we have one more ceremony, which is one of the favorite dragon rituals, which is having a little party out in the garden, a garden party, if it doesn't rain too much, to honor the shiso and the practice period and life, with some refreshment provided by this sangha. And it's amazing. Like, we have this giant Buddha bowl and people deposit Food and vegetables, all sorts of things in that bowl. And then Artenzo works with it and produces a garden party or oroki meals.
So if we think we do anything alone, I think we have many things that remind us that no way we need everyone.
Those we like and those we don't like the bird song or the construction noise.
So because today, in honor of our shuso ceremony, I'm going to talk about shisso, what it means to be a shisso, which I forgot to tell you before the shoe sew started the job.
But I had so. So maybe no preview. No preview, exactly. No instructions.
I did share a few things, but just to keep us on the same page, you know, we're all shoe sews in some ways taking our seat in our lives in this moment.
But there's this tradition dating back who knows how long, maybe to Chinese monasteries in the before times, a long time ago, 11th century, Song dynasty China. At least there's documentation. And Buddhist monasteries were like big organizations. Some of them had hundreds of people working, farming, doing all sorts of things.
And you know, there was like the cadre of recruits in the Zen barracks.
The chief of that group was sz.
So we have a different scene here. We're not a residential place. We're not, you know, Song dynasty China.
And we have to worry about managing hundreds of rank and file monks within some giant hierarchy.
But I thought it was interesting when I remembered that reading that the first Soto Zen Chusou in Japan, Dogen Chuso that's documented was Kohen Eijo Daisho.
And Eijo was a close disciple, a trusted disciple of Dogens. And I think was put in charge of things. Castogen probably needed help.
Like I need help with this practice spirit and my shu so is doing that.
And also because Edgo's practice was seen and respected by Dogen, that's at least my fantasy.
And that was in like 12:36. So we're continuing some kind of tradition or we're resonating.
Were resonating with this tradition that's pretty old.
And in the lineage of ancient dragon shiseaus, I think Jerry is the sixth CHISO.
So we've been a practice center for 20 years. This year we'll complete our 20th year in November and we've given birth to six CHISO's. Not bad.
This term chuseau, you know, kind of means head seat is one way somebody when, when I. She says somebody's like, oh yeah, you're like middle management or like chief junior. I'm like, I'm a junior still. But it's true.
How many years have you been practicing? Decades. And then you get to be a junior again. It's really great. It's like the best job in the house.
[00:11:46] Speaker B: You.
[00:11:52] Speaker A: And I actually wrote a document for the shuso, which I did share with you, but not all of it. There's some things I keep to myself.
No, nothing's. There are no secrets. But you just didn't have access to my. You didn't have the password to my computer.
In our sangha, there's this document that called being shuso.
And it's a description for our form of chiso. But it begins with an invitation.
Myself. And the sangha invites the shu TSO to take this head seat and to share the teaching seat and work really closely with me and everyone in the sangha.
And the shisso has been sitting next to me now for every dharma event, pretty much as much as possible, following me around, checking in with me, and we kind of become unified.
I thought about, you know, doing something to my hair so that we resonated a little more, maybe.
But you can imagine that we're one and touch each other in a particular way.
In addition to being an invitation, a shiso is an initiation.
You know, it's a rite of passage that you enter in. You cross the threshold in the initiation invitation ceremony, you could say, and then you exit out the door at the
[00:13:35] Speaker C: end
[00:13:37] Speaker A: after the dharma inquiry ceremony.
And this is an initiation into a role of leadership and of teaching.
This is our Zen way, beginning again and again and again.
But it is an entry into residing in a teaching seat. And as part of this rite of passage, the shu so gave three talks.
They're all available online, thanks to Patrick, I believe.
And today we'll spend the afternoon answering questions from the Great assembly of the practice period and the sachin and former chouseaus and seniors. Since the chu sew is also a model for the sangha, those eyebrows are going up and down on that chuseau.
And the shuso really puts themselves out there.
You're completely body, the golden wind, really present, hopefully without artifice and ego grasping. Because if there's a sliver of will be exposed when you're shuso, the shuso's deportment and relational presence embodies humility, diligence, friendliness, care.
Check, check, check, check, check, check.
I would say a fanatical devotion to zazen is an unspoken prerequisite, but exemplified by this shuso.
And one of the basic shu seou's practice is saying yes to everything.
And trusting that in saying yes, you know, you don't know what that yes means could look like no sometimes.
So the shuso trains in and enters this form of leadership that is caring service.
I can't believe I wrote this in the document, but I did, so I'll read it. So being a chuseau is a deep opportunity to serve our community as a central hub and of the sanga wheel during our spring practice commitment period. So I thought, yeah, that sounds right. Of course it does, because I wrote it. But nonetheless, the shuso wholeheartedly engages in all the opportunities to show up and be present with the sangha. L' Shuso also works with an assistant, our Benji, Nina.
Nina's hanging out over here. Hi, Nina.
And who helps the shusoe with many tasks.
And the shuso met needs with everyone for the practice period, for tea, everyone who shows up and cleans the toilets and empties our trash and recycling during the practice period, so really gets to know us very intimately.
So the shuso also is kind of a vessel holding our vow, embodying our collective vow to benefit all beings.
So we have had a wonderful and difficult, challenging, and deep practice period.
And I can't think that it didn't. It must have something to do with having such a wonderful shissot, whose name is. Great question.
Dharma name. Great question. Wondrous faith.
So this shuso has experienced the reality of no secrets, of visibility.
Nothing is hidden.
The shuso's courageously occupied the hot seat, taking responsibility and showing up to every dharma event, ready to serve, ready to meet the moment.
Sometimes I'll be like, shiseau, could you be work leader? Okay.
Really okay.
Under the guidance of this shisso, also, weirdly, almost, or surprisingly, maybe not weird, but surprisingly to me, this practice period and sashin has appeared to me that everybody has been the chouseau. And I think it's because the chiso is such a wonderful model.
Everybody's occupied their seat with courage, caring, diligence, and a willingness to repeat the mantra of the chusso. Really okay.
And most importantly, and maybe even almost uniquely to the chusseau, who the shuso has taught true dharma friendship, the kind of caring, natural caring exemplified by the hands and eyes of the great bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, ready to respond to the calls of the world.
So there'll be a little call and response session this afternoon with those participating in the dharma inquiry ceremony will ask these questions from the heart. And the questioning begins by the questioner. The person in the room or online, who's invited to speak to address the chiso from their seat and call out, chuseau. Let's try it.
Shuiseau.
And then the shiseau will answer. Hi.
This. The. That goes at the end here. Try it out.
[00:19:37] Speaker C: There's no hand gesture in this.
[00:19:38] Speaker A: It's problem first. Yes.
Hi.
Okay,
[00:19:46] Speaker C: First.
[00:19:47] Speaker A: And then you stamp. You don't stamp at all. You just say the word. No stamp. How about again?
Yep. But this is going to be in your right hand, and you'll have a fan in your left hand on your knee. Okay.
And then I'm gonna. I'm gonna restrain both hands and some string here.
Hi. Okay.
Pretty good.
I think I'm gonna give you this to work with.
Yes.
So we have this true friend in a shoe. So you just call out her name and she'll be there.
And in honor of this, I thought to warm us up, we can hand out a little. A little chant. And you can share.
Share with people. Like maybe Yana. Some more will come along. Some of you might know this, but it was this chant. It's a modern chant written in 1971, before most of you were born.
I handed it to someone and I'm like, oh, you know how to sing this, right? And they're like, I never saw this before. I'm like, oh, my God, I'm old.
And those of you online can just Google it and sing along in your own places.
But we'll sing it. But the chant will be announced.
Yeah.
[00:21:18] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:21:19] Speaker A: And so the title will be announced by our Kokuyo. And then we can start singing. Hopefully those of you who actually have good voices can help us out.
Be our friend.
[00:21:36] Speaker D: We'll call out your names, reminding everybody
[00:21:39] Speaker E: to chant with your ears as well as you know your voice.
[00:21:43] Speaker A: Thank you, Jesus.
[00:21:43] Speaker E: It's traditional to be in Seiza. You might find that that's easier since we're actually singing a tune. And on. Could I get a stop? And then I'll announce the chant. And then a big bell. If you want to. If you want to do a kokyo. If you want to do a kokyo release at the second line or so. That's great.
[00:22:02] Speaker D: You've got a friend.
[00:22:07] Speaker A: Ding, ding, bong, bong or something. Bong.
[00:22:12] Speaker B: Great.
[00:22:13] Speaker D: When you're down and trouble and you
[00:22:19] Speaker A: need a helping hand and nothing
[00:22:25] Speaker D: is going on, Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be heir.
To brighten up even your darkest night.
You just call out my name.
Wherever I am, I'll Come running,
[00:23:01] Speaker A: see
[00:23:02] Speaker D: you again for spring, summer or fall.
All you got to do is call I'll be there, yeah, I am
[00:23:22] Speaker A: techno.
[00:23:24] Speaker D: If the sky above you should turn dark and full of clouds and that old nor the wind should begin to blow Keep your head together and call my name out.
Hear me knocking at your.
Call out my name and you know wherever I am I'll talk my ears I'll never wait to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer of fall, yeah.
All you have to do is haul and I'll be yeah, yeah.
Because I know that you've got a fan.
People can be so cold they'll hurt you and desert you they'll take your soul if you let them do you let them.
You just call out high and you know wherever I am I'll come my hand to see you again.
All babies, you don't know winter, spring, summer or fall.
Hey now.
All you have to do is call And I'll be.
Yes, I'll be.
You got a friend, you got a friend.
Ain't it good to know that you got a friend?
Ain't it good to know you got a friend?
Oh, yeah, you got a friend.
[00:26:03] Speaker A: Do we need to say anything else about the dawn one more time?
We have our groupie here, so, you know, we'll work on our cover a little bit.
Ancient Dragon Choir and I want to thank everyone for being such good friends.
The host was sorry not to get a title.
Do we need anything? Someone has to put it in. Oh yeah. Because most people probably are too young to know this song, but our shoe so is not and embodied this completely.
And it is in the spirit that we live in this world today, in this world on fire.
And still like the Dharma tells us, joy and friendship are at the heart of practice.
At the heart of our zazen. As I've said during this practice period, it's okay to feel joy, to feel lightness, to feel a sense of pliancy, openness and resilience.
And we learn this. We teach our nervous systems how to relax so we can actually sing our song together with all beings.
And people are welcome maybe to give a little comments. Now I just wanted to thank everyone very much. Our kitchen will have to leave in five minutes. So here's your chance to make any comments including people online. You know how to use that technology.
I want to thank David Ray for leading us so nicely in this.
Heard a few other skill.
Yeah, there are. There are to channel your inner Carole King or something like that. But it's okay.
She's so ah, she's getting ready.
[00:28:16] Speaker C: People don't know this song,
[00:28:19] Speaker A: but I went. I went to see Carole King recently,
[00:28:23] Speaker C: and I was telling it to my physical therapist, and she said, who is she? I was like. So she Googles her. Turns out she's 80 years old, still singing.
[00:28:34] Speaker A: How is. How was her voice? Pretty good. Good.
[00:28:37] Speaker C: She did more jokes than singing, but
[00:28:39] Speaker A: her voice was, you know, intact. Yeah. Great enough, to be honest.
Did you cry when she sang? Yes, of course.
[00:28:46] Speaker C: I cry all the time.
[00:28:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
Ah, Libby's in the house here.
[00:28:54] Speaker C: I used to sing this song to my daughter when. To help her. We used to sing to her at night as part of the bedtime routine. So this was one of the ones that I thought of when I was trying to think of what.
What I wanted to convey to her.
[00:29:12] Speaker A: So. Yeah. Did you do that on a regular, Like a ritual with her?
[00:29:16] Speaker C: I don't. Not anymore. I did. It was when she was little, and then she got tired of it.
[00:29:22] Speaker A: I got tired of it.
[00:29:23] Speaker C: She was like, I don't need you guys singing with me anymore.
[00:29:27] Speaker A: But.
[00:29:29] Speaker C: Yeah, but when she was like, you know, 2, 3, 4, and. And including during the pandemic.
[00:29:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:35] Speaker C: When it was a stressful time for everybody and trying to find some.
What you were, you know, try. Exactly. It's like when the world is on fire.
[00:29:48] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:48] Speaker C: You know how to find some great compassion, you know, that's not tied to causes and conditions, but, you know, unconditional. Yeah.
[00:29:59] Speaker A: Unconditional, unconditioned friendship.
Yeah.
[00:30:02] Speaker C: Easier said than done. But we need these rituals.
[00:30:05] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:30:06] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:30:07] Speaker A: These practices have been difficult, partially because when we try to really care in the way we want to, we bump up against something.
We bump up against the complexity of reality and our own causes and conditions, and that's hard. This is why this practice, it can seem so sweet, and then all of a sudden, you're like, oh, I'm seeing parts of myself. I don't really, like, wish were different.
And then we have to befriend that part as well.
Howard Bodhisattva, do you have a mic there?
[00:30:44] Speaker E: Short comment. I know Carole King. I did not know this song. So when you handed me the sheet earlier, I was like, oh, the Randy Newman song from Toy Story, which is also about two friends who have to get past their egos and, like, figure their stuff out and then actually show up for each other and then have a community of friends.
[00:31:04] Speaker A: That's awesome.
[00:31:05] Speaker E: So I think, you know, that's like
[00:31:06] Speaker A: the broken toys, right?
[00:31:07] Speaker E: That's from Toy Story.
[00:31:08] Speaker A: Yeah, but I never saw Toy Story. Okay.
[00:31:11] Speaker E: It's incredible. I know.
[00:31:12] Speaker A: I've just heard about it. I heard it sounds a totally Zen.
[00:31:15] Speaker E: Yeah, the quadrology is very good.
[00:31:17] Speaker A: A quadrology.
[00:31:19] Speaker E: It's a quadrology.
[00:31:20] Speaker A: Now maybe we'll have a viewing party.
Thank you, Howard.
[00:31:24] Speaker E: So it's an unforgettable session moment. As I went down the stairs, I passed Mike as I was going out. As he was coming in, I said, so we're singing this song. I'm going to go out into the garden and listen to the YouTube video. And he's like, yeah, I just did that.
[00:31:43] Speaker A: No technology during sacheen.
Thank you for Bodhisattvas willingly transgress. Thank you for that. I think that's Teigen's translation too.
Just if I may.
Jerry is a personal friend. We see each other a lot outside the Sangha, and I'm just so happy for her. And she's done such. She's been so wonderful and so open to everyone, and that's the way she is with me. So thank you very much. Jerry, welcome.
The kitchen is leaving to make lunch for us.
The wondrous kitchen.
Anyone else?
Ah, Mike. Bodhisattva.
[00:32:24] Speaker B: Yes. This feels like an appropriate time to share this. My favorite memory of Sashin and our shuso yesterday. It was very, very nice out. And so we. The shuso led us in a very long kinhen around the block.
And I. I. Because I had been tenso the last few years, I'd not done this before. So I was really excited to do it. And I didn't realize that the pace was different. So we. We started filing out outside.
And perhaps unsurprisingly, Jerry, in. In a very Jerry way, takes off at a pace that's quicker than. Than many gay men walk. Um, and I was like, oh, okay, this is what we're doing. And not everyone was at that pace. And so there were a few people at the back who were keeping their own pace, which was very lovely. And at some point, we had gotten to a point where we crossed the street and made a ui, and I think Yana and maybe someone else was kind of way in the back and going slow, and we were all kind of looking at each other across the street.
You know, it's like, you know, we're going at different paces, and Jerry looks over and looks at Yana and just like, pick up the pace.
[00:33:32] Speaker A: And it just felt like that movement for people online. Could you please describe that?
[00:33:36] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. It was just kind of raising their arm to Be like, what are you doing?
Which felt like a very.
[00:33:42] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:33:43] Speaker B: It just felt like a very quintessential Jerry moment. And I bring it up just because I. Something I really appreciate about you, Jerry, is just your wholeheartedness in being yourself, and I think that makes you a wonderful quality for Shu, so. And as a Zen practitioner. So thank you for being a.
[00:34:01] Speaker A: Yeah.
And this is. This is. Yeah. Oh, Emil. Yeah. Good to see you.
[00:34:08] Speaker F: Because I am not going to be able to attend the ceremony, but I want to.
[00:34:13] Speaker A: There we go. Good. Thank you. Yeah.
[00:34:15] Speaker F: I just wanted to thank everyone through this practice period. This was my first practice period with the Ancient Dragon center, and it had been, as I think Jogetso said, difficult and at the same time, challenging and at the same time, accepting.
I wanted to thank the Shu SEO for the tea ceremony that we had and her presence every single time. I am in the center with all of you.
So, again, thank you.
[00:34:55] Speaker A: Thank you. Emil, we miss you. And I especially miss you.
My geisha's on the loose. Gone.
Emil had to go home, but she's still with us. I hope you come back to ask a question.
Anyone else?
Aishin will ask a question later. I think you're gonna be at our ceremony, and so will Tigan and many other people. Paula's there.
Benji.
Oh, I would also like to say.
Yeah.
[00:35:28] Speaker C: I would also like to say thank
[00:35:29] Speaker A: you so much for being so supportive to the one who is supposed to be supporting you and holding my hand through this whole thing, basically. It's been wonderful, and you have truly been such a great friend to my heart. Thank you.
