The talk you're about to hear is by Zen teacher, Sensei Amala Wrightson.
Today is the 21st of March 2023. And we're going to talk a little bit about work this evening. I was talking to somebody recently, and was asked for any suggestions for teisho topics. And she immediately said work/life balance was immediate response. So it was clearly something that was on her mind.
And afterwards, at first, I thought, well, this is not something really that gets addressed in Zen, not directly anyway. And Zen has a lot to say about work and about life, but not not specifically about work, work/life balance. And I think there's a reason for that. And we'll get to that a little bit later.
But we do get from the, from the classical teachings of Buddhism, the Eightfold Path, the most fundamental of all the teachings, that the fifth aspect of this eightfold path is right livelihood. And it points to the critical, crucial role, that, that how we make a living plays in our lives. If you think about how much of our time and an energy and, and attention goes into our work. And so, it's a significant part of our lives, both in terms of time and energy and but also karmically, because what we work at works on us and affects our mental continuum, you could say.
Consciousness - and not only for ourselves, but also for those around us, around us. When we think of the the, the major role of work in our life and many of our lives most of us if you look at if you look back to the teaching around Right Livelihood it's it's basically a livelihood that doesn't break the other precepts, especially the first five, which are not to kill, not to steal, not to lie, not to sell or buy alcohol, and there is not to spread it around, and not to misuse six. So these are the these are the first five of our 10 precepts, the ones that are share we share with most of the rest of Buddhism
and these, these presets
always have a way they have prohibitions inside out with them. And really, that means that the rest of the territory is wide open. But this is probably the simplest way to understand how this this aspect of the path works to think of it in terms of three G's and general resolutions we make before we take a actual Jukai the precepts and ceremony. And so if we think of how our Right Livelihood should be, should the least it doesn't cause any harm. And if possible, it does some good it's of benefit. And then, ultimately, that helps to liberate people from their suffering in one way or another. This is really these these three some of the spirit of our ethical choices, not to cause harm, to do good to be of benefit and to help liberate beings, not just human beings from suffering. But when you come to this right livelihood, then it's there a specific prohibitions that come along with it. Not to deal in arms, not to deal with people, in other words, slavery, not to trade in meat, or in alcohol or drugs or poisons. And not to engage in Fortune Telling might surprise people
So, turning it around to the positive, then look for an actual occupation that is of benefit to humans and animals or nature in general.
We might if we're if we're, I have an island, idealistic bent, we might get too fussy and find it very hard to find an occupation that is without fault. And it's not a matter of this, you know, all things are deeply connected. And there's, there's a lot you could say about human interaction with the world that problematic. Most workplaces that we work in, there'll be there'll be compromises, there'll be some things which are harmful and others, which are questionable. But I guess with this to look for, at least for one, whether there's not gross harm given given that human species is in a very profound ways, engaging in an unhealthy relationship with the environment. But if we can find ways to, to ameliorate that, then those are those the kinds of occupations to look for. Because there is such a desperate need, we can we can ask these questions, what what occur? How can I be of use? What can I do with these hands and eyes and skills that I have? Where is there a need? And where am I called? There's a sense of a sense of really, really finding one's once one's path can transform our work. And it's no longer no longer see it against life, but is life. No, no need to think in terms of work life balance when, when this identification happens. Wanted to read a little bit of a little passage from Ted Nhat Hanh, this is from his Compendium the heart of the Buddha's teaching. And he's talking about right livelihood, and how it functions in an interconnected world. He says, right livelihood is not just a personal matter, it is our collective karma. Suppose I am a school teacher and I believe that nurturing love and understanding and children is a beautiful occupation. I would object of someone to ask what it asked me to stop teaching and become, for example, a butcher. But when I meditate on the interrelatedness of things, I see that the butcher is not the only person responsible for killing animals. We may think the butcher his livelihood is wrong and ours is right. But if we didn't eat meat he would not have to kill. Right Livelihood is a collective matter. the livelihood of each person affects everyone else. The butchers children might benefit from my teaching, while my children because they eat meat share some responsibility for the butchers livelihood. Suppose a farmer who sells his cattle as meat wants to receive the five mindfulness trainings. This is his label for the five precepts, the first five precepts. He wants to know if he can in the light of the first training of to protect life not to kill, he feels that he he feels that he gives his cattle the best conditions for their well being. He even operates his own slaughterhouse, so that there is no unnecessary cruelty inflicted on the animals when he puts an end to He lives. He inherited his farm from his father and has a family to support. This is a dilemma. What should he do? His intentions are good, but he has inherited his farm and his habit energies from his ancestors. Every time a cow is slaughtered, it leaves an impression on his consciousness, which will come back to him and dreams during meditation or at the moment of death. It is right livelihood to look after his co cows so well, while they're alive. He has the wish to be kind to his cows. And he wants the security of regular income for himself and his family. I was struck reading this word how topical it is for us at the moment with the discussion that's going on around the need to curb greenhouse gases and methane being one of the most urgently in need of curving because of its strength of warming the fact greater than co2 Even though it's doesn't stick around for as long as co2 does. But the the enormous inertia that they can be in these these systems what technolon Here calls the habit energies of his ancestors, with with thought about cows and farming in a certain way for a long time. And we all have as citizens of New Zealand even if we don't eat meat, we share in some of the benefit of the wealth that is created by the farming industry across the country. And people do need to have a livelihood look after themselves and their families. Guess I guess with this, this common for farmers. There are many examples and more and more all the time of people who who farm and change the way they farm far more sustainably changing the methods that they use for for fertilizing and so forth, away from polluting practices, and mess. Factory type farms but we can't, we can't look down with with a superior mind on these things we we are all implicated in them. Farming is is the good karma of this all the slaughter is shared by all of us in this farming country. Taking our time continues. Talking about the farmer, he should continue to look deeply and practice mindfulness with his local Sangha. As his insight deepens the way out of the situation, where he finds himself killing to make a living, will present itself. Everything we do contributes to our effort to practice right livelihood. It is more than just the way we earn our paycheck. We cannot succeed at living a right livelihood 100% But we can resolve to go in the direction of compassion and reducing suffering. We can resolve to help create a society in which there is more right livelihood and less wrong livelihood. More More livelihoods that don't depend on killing that that cultivate compassion, kindness, and life. Billions of people for example, make their living in the arms industry, helping directly or indirectly to manufacture conventional and nuclear weapons. And this again is something that's become more topical again with the decision by Australia to employ nuclear powered submarines. These these nuclear vessels have the potential to cause so much damage in such a very short space of time and just one an accident could could kill off life and huge parts of the ocean.
The US China and Russia to France, Britain, China and Germany are the primary suppliers of those weapons. Weapons are then sold to third world countries where people do not need guns, they need food, to manufacture or sell weapons as not right livelihood, but the responsibility for this situation lies with all of us, politicians, economists and consumers. We have not yet organized compelling national debate on this problem, we have to discuss this further, we have to keep creating new jobs. So that one no one has to live on the profits from weapons manufacturer. If you are able to work in a profession that helps realize your ideal of compassion, be grateful and please try to help create proper jobs for others by living mindfully simply insanely use all of your energy to try to improve the situation. You can see in the United States and major arms manufacturing country, the terribly heavy karma that that the country suffers with with gun crime and how the use of guns in there it has an influence on the way that people see things.
So, what we choose to do, how we what kind of work we do choose to undertake is momentous really, our burning the most, one of the most important decisions or series of decisions that we make in our lives. Now turning from general Buddhism to Zen teaching, so, so much teaching on on work in in the teaching stories and the history of Zen. Cujo, who appears in in some koans was, was the initiator of a big change among in the monastic Buddhism in China, which was getting the monks and nuns in the monasteries to work to farm the land to produce their food, or some of their food at least. And this a term a day of no work as a day of no eating originates with Jaqua limbus In contrast, a southern border zone which were arms food was the the received by the monks and nuns to nourish them. But in China, this didn't feel appropriate to to the harsher conditions of Northern climb climbs it seems important not to rely on the sweat of people they people entirely but to institute this work working in the fields. And not only was it done as a matter of feeding each other, but also it became a key element in the training. And there are many, many teaching stories about about this this work. And I'm just going to share two or three with with everybody. It didn't intend to have this teisho be a little shorter than usual, to give us a little bit of time to do some work which is appropriate. But just pulling out some of the teachings that appear in the show your Roku around work.
This one is is from show you rocky number 12 deed song lands the rice field now just just read the case de sang as Shu Xiang Xu, where have you come from Shan Shu replied from the south design said how is Buddhism in the southeast days Shu Shan said It is widely discussed the Tang said how can that compare to my planting the fields and growing rice to eat? SHAN said how can you save the beings of the three worlds that Wei de sang said what is it that you call the three worlds so, this these these kinds of often start with a an opening kind of question. So, you say this is the openings serve of the of the tennis match where have you come from? Where are you coming from spiritually Where are you coming from? What's on your mind what is your mind at this point? And Xu Shan says seem quite precisely from the south. So, designing gives them gives them another chance to to show wouldn't show his mind he says How is Buddhism in the self these days and Xu Shan says it is widely discussed then the exam as it answers a further question how can that compare to my planting the fields and growing rice to the heat How can that compare to my serving my brothers and sisters and the Dharma by growing rice such a thing such a work was and would not be looked down on at all but but seen as is really at the core of of the practice
how can you save the beings of the three worlds that way? So, he he is Shan asks a challenging question shouldn't you shouldn't you be doing your work spiritual work saving beings? Deed songs is what is it that you call the three worlds? This is one of the points of the car and what is he saying here?
actualizing how understanding in the world working in the world is the pinnacle you could say in Zen
and whereas it's probably not so many Zen students these days who work in the fields there are some places where they do but we can apply it to other things we do. doesn't just have to be agriculture, dishwashing, mopping the floor vacuuming dusting I've done a lot of dusting over the last few days. When you when you dust you just trust when you vacuum you're just back here
turning to another another show you Roku Khan says number 15 Yun Shang plants his whole case question asked Yun Shang Where have you been? Young Shansi in the rice field. question asked how many people are there in the rice field? Yun Shang thrust his hoe into the ground and stood with his hands clasped in his chest? Question said there are many people cutting statues on South Mountain. Yun Shang took up his hoe and lift. So again, we starts out with the first play that is initiation of the play between these two. Where have you been? Again Where are you coming from? What is your what's your spirit right now? Where have you come from? In the rice field again this is when mediately be understood as referring to to dharma work you think of our rock says that we were which are in the form of rice fields raised parts with with the paddy fields in between flooded how many people are there in the rice field? Tell me tell me what, what's the nature of this field and Jung Shan thrusts his home to the ground and stands with his hands close to his chest. One of the points is this cases what is he saying? What is what is his head to his gestures imply here? Integration comes back well, okay, you do that. But tell me what he has. You're going to respond to the many people cutting facts on South mountains a lot of work going on over there with with lots of folks. And young Shawn took up his home and lift. It's another point of this is is what is he? What is he doing here? Where's he going? What's What's his What's he responding to?
He's out of there. Not when there's work to be done not separating ourselves from from it. But throwing ourselves into it. Helping when needed responding.
In the last last one of the show your Roku 20. Number 21. Union sweeps the grounds. This is the case. When union was sweeping the grounds Tao was said you're hard at it, aren't you? Union said you should know that there is one who isn't hard headed. Darwin said Oh, is that so? You mean there's a second moon union held up his broom and asked which Moon is this? Darwin was silent. Later, Schwann Shah remarked indeed there is the second moon on mom commented, the servant greets the maid politely. So this time the challenge is a little bit more aggressive, maybe strong. You're hard at it, aren't you? You're nuts. He says to union. Oh, you're you're working really hard.
And you're young says you should know there is One who isn't hard at it. One of the one of the questions in this colin has shown show me that one who's not hard at it? What does that look like?
Tao who? challenges him? You mean there's a second Moon Moon? So there's two of you are the one who's sweeping hope to have working hard and then one who isn't working and who isn't hard at it? Short surely, there's only one moon. And union holds up it holds up his brain and says, which Moon is this? Yes. Which which moon which mind, the hydrated mind or the heart? Or the one that isn't? And Darwin, this is silent. What's the nature of his silence here? And what is one search saying when he says indeed that is the second moon? Is he approving or disapproving of exchange? And again, what's when you're in mono also many, many years later like 80 years later something says the servant greets the maid politely. So one of those points is understanding what your man is saying here. But this this is an important teaching for us when we working hard. They were getting tired to all So be aware of the one who isn't child who isn't hard at it
and this will bring us back to, to this question of work life balance. And we see that in this in this phrase work life balance, there's already an assumption that there's work and then there's life. And maybe it comes out of the fact that many people work, work simply to make a living and not run not so much to make a life. And therefore, they struggle with this, with the conflict between these two aspects of themselves, work and life. But if we can be aware of the one who is not hard at it, in the midst of our hard work, then the whole issue of work life balance recedes, I wouldn't say that it probably disappears, but at least it recedes. It's not so pressing.
More examples from from from the Mumonkan. But we're running out of times. So just mentioned briefly a couple of them that related to this whole issue of, of getting beyond us sense of a subject and an object in terms of our work. The one who the one who, who works and the work has is separate things. This one is called a person of great strength. And Shogun ask, why is it that a person of great strength cannot lift her legs? And again, it is not with her tongue that she speaks?
What is how can we show how can we understand this person of great strength strength? Shouldn't who isn't able to lift her legs or speak with a tongue? What kind of activity is that? In moments first, we get some clues to what he's talking about here. He says, lifting her leg she kicks up the centered ocean. lowering her head she looks down on the four Dianna heavens, there is no place to put this gigantic body please add the final line here, beautiful bit of modernistic poetry, this please put the final line but when the mind becomes expanded, when our sense of who and what we are becomes
comes on a on a cosmic scale you could say then, then there there there is no no actor acting upon something. It's just this process that we're a part of. lifting her leg she kicks up the center centered ocean, lowering her head she looks down on the floor Deanna heavens, there is no place to put her gigantic body will stop here and recite the four vows.
All the things without number two liberate
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