Today is the first day of this February 2024 two-day sesshin. For this sesshin, I am going to be doing some readings from the book, Faith in Mind by Chan Master Sheng Yen. Chan, we'll be hearing that word a lot today. So for those that might not know, Chan is Zen, Chinese Zen. And a little bit about Sheng Yen. So he died in 2009. And I'm reading from the book cover. Chan Master Sheng Yen was a widely respected Taiwanese Chan, Chinese Zen master, who taught extensively in the West, with 21 centers throughout North America, as well as dozens of others throughout the world. He has co lead retreats with the Dalai Lama. And he is the author of numerous books. And this particular book of his is his commentary on the poem that we chanted this morning, Affirming Faith and Mind - that really long one - and he delivered his his commentaries over the course of four, seven-day sesshin. So that's what this book is comprised of, or his his TV shows. This, his words are not academic, or scholarly, but practical, to the sheen. And when I learned that I would be leading this machine, I knew exactly what I wanted to cover. There were specific passages I wanted to explore. But specific passages of affirming faith in mind or chant that I wanted to explore. But as I was reading this book, and this is the third time I've read it, I was picking up something else. You know how that is, when you read a book again, and again, you pick up different things. Each time that I'd read it before, it was in conjunction with a Dharma study of affirming faith in mind. This one wasn't. It was to prepare for this machine. And that's what I picked up on. The words were always there, as to about secede sheen. But because it wasn't intended as a, in conjunction with a study of this chant that we do, what I came away with was something different entirely. So what we'll be talking about over the next day or so, will be some of shamans advice about the helps. Just A cian practice, and some of the hindrances to sesshin practice. I'll make a few references at all, to our chant affirming faith in mind. I'm surprised that that too. If if you ever needed a cheat sheet to Zen affirming faith in mind is it along with the chant we just did, or the recitation we just did? Master Hakuin Owens chant and praises Zan and the chant we'll be doing this afternoon, which will be The Heart Sutra. Prajnaparamita your diet cheat sheets to Zen say in a world of Zen.
But today, helps in hindrances to Zen practice, to sesshin practice specifically. And we'll start with the story
Here's another story goes. Matsu sat in meditation for long periods every day outside his little hut. His Zen master why Jiang watched him one day and thought he will become a very worthy person. Still, right now he's a little stuck and need some help. Noble one, he asked, What are you trying to get? By sitting in meditation? I am trying to become a Buddha Matsu replied with conviction. Hearing this why John picked up a rough clay tile that had fallen from the temple roof and began rubbing it against a rock What are you doing master? Asked Matsu. I am polishing this rough tile to make it a precious jewel. The master replied. How can a roof towel ever become a jewel? Asked Matsu. How can you become a Buddha through Zen meditation? Why Jiang replied, If you weren't already a Buddha to begin with walking, standing, lying down sitting. Who are you in each of these activities, reels and is not confined to sit in live Buddhas are not just found in the lotus posture. Hearing this, Matsu felt as refreshed as if he had drunk just drunk the most delicious drink. And that's the end of the story. So our first help to sesshin practice is remembering what's the sheen is for?
Truman, I need a clock.
And I'm going to be reading from trimester Schengen. And I will be skipping around this is a whole book. So I'll be all over the place.
And this is what he says. This is how he begins the sole purpose of a Chan retreat. So again, we're talking Zen here. The sole purpose of a Chan retreat is to meditate.
I could just end the talk here, but I won't. So I'll repeat that the sole purpose of a Chan retreat is to meditate. The same is true for So Shane. So Shane means something like to unify the mind or to gather the mind. It's a practice that goes back to the time of the Buddha. When during the rainy season, they would do retreats, the monks and eventually the monks and the nuns. In such sheen, we are collecting our mind unifying what is normally scattered and focusing it on the practice. I've heard it compared to like a magnifying glass, focusing the rays of the sun
causing an inferno.
Training says you should keep your intention entirely on practice without trying to attain end results. Since many of you have traveled far or have worked hard to set aside the time, you have a great deal invested in this retreat. It is natural that you want to gain something. But once you enter the retreat, you must put aside Have any specific hopes. Practicing with a goal in mind is like trying to catch a feather with a fan. The more you go after it, the more it eludes you. There's this one gag that I find to be very much like seeking our goals and practice. He uses a feather with a fan, trying to catch a feather with a fan. And it's the old clown gag, where the clown, his hat falls off of his head goes blowing away. And then he goes chasing after and reaches out for it. And as he's about to grab, it kicks it, and it goes tumbling away. And then he goes, running after it. As soon as it is about to grab it. He kicks it and the head goes tumbling away. That's how the goal seeking mind works with practice. We can't attend to our practice with our eye on the prize to
be says any attachment or seeking will prevent your mind from settling down. And then he says today, someone told me that the more he worked on the Wado so again, we can we can use our word koan. So the more he worked on the Wado, or koan, the more tense he felt it was as though his mind had become knotted up. His problem is that he wants to see quick results. Pursuing the Wydo intensely with a desire to get enlightened is like tying yourself up, and then poking yourself with a knife. The more you drive yourself, the more tense you will feel. The same principle applies to the body. If you react to pain by tensing the body, the pain will only get worse. If any part of your body feels painful, you should try to relax. Any involuntary movement of the body while sitting in meditation is also due to tension. That is, thus, it is important to constantly maintain a state of relaxation. And we'll talk more about relaxation a little later. He says related to this are the problems that may develop from fixing your attention on a particular part of the body. For instance, some people try to make their breath flow more smoothly. But in trying to control the breath, it becomes abnormal. This is important whether we are working on a breath practice or koan practice or shikantaza. We're not controlling the breath at all. I know that different Zen traditions, do different things with the breath, that some traditions may seek for the breath to be the inhales and exhales be even over the exhales to be longer, or there's something that's happening with the breath. In our tradition, it's quite simple. Long breath is a long breath. A short breath is a short breath. We're not changing anything, which not trying to make it into something else. And in those, it's important because if the only way that we can be absorbed in our practice, is by manipulating our breath then our concentrative ability will be limited. It'll be handicapped. And it's the same way with with the eyes. That if the only way that we can really concentrate the mind is by closing our eyes. Then we our abilities will be handicapped by that. So we keep the eyes open. Sheng says don't pay any attention. Nope. Don't pay attention. In addition to any phenomenon that occurs to the body, if you're concerned with it, problems will arise. It is the same with the mind. You will be unable to practice unless you disregard everything that happens to you mentally. If you feel distressed or pained in any way, just ignore it. Let it go and return wholeheartedly to the method to the practice. Place your mind directly on the method itself, concern yourself with nothing else. Now he does say if you feel distressed or pained in any way, ignore it. Now I would like to say a few things about about pain
as we're sitting we might notice that we feel numbness or pain. We were given instructions as to what to do with numb numbness yesterday. Numbness is generally isn't harmful unless you you're trying to walk on normal legs.
It can be caused by sitting too far back on a cushion or a cushion that's too firm or too soft. So if you find that you're having chronic problems with numbness, then try something different. And when it comes to pain, knees back shoulders. Even if it's a dog dull ache that can get intense. It's just one of those things we live with until the end of the round. And the secret to that of living with the pain or the numbness is to relax into it and stay with your practice. Relaxing opens up space around the pain making it okay
numbness and pain should go away as you walk. However, if it persists while you're doing cleaning, then you definitely need to find something different, a different way of sitting. And if in Zen, whether you're getting into position or at some point during Zen, if you experience a sharp pain do move I would much rather you be admonished by the monitors for moving then for you to sustain an injury
and if you do find yourself in a lot of pain, there is a an exercise period we call it an exercise period it's not exercise, it's about stretching exercises mostly can do a lot to to help ease your pain and help your body be more flexible and loose.
So that was the help of remembering what sesshin is for. Next help, to sesshin practice is relaxing. Relaxing the body relaxing the mind. Physically relaxing the body can help us let go of tensions in the mind. It's like It's like physical tension and holding on to thoughts go hand in hand. I don't know which goes first the chicken or the egg on that one. Is it the thoughts that come first and then causes the tension? The tension causes the thoughts I don't know. But it's a loop that we want to break free of Sheng yen says these words. He says I constantly tell people on retreat to relax mentally and physically. But some people do not know how to do this As others are too relaxed, as soon as they sit down, they slumped over, you cannot practice this way. The zozen posture, a proper zozen prostor helps us relax while remaining alert. The Essentials of stability and alignment are what help us remain relaxed yet alert. So just a quick review, we are creating a tripod with if you're sitting on the cushion, three points of contact the buttocks and the two knees. Or if you're in a chair, the two feet in the buttocks, and the weight of the buttock of the upper body is evenly balanced on that tripod. evenly balanced. If the bow if it's off, and there's too much weight on the knees, then the knees will get sore. Too much weight on the buttocks than the legs may fall asleep. Sitting on the sitting bones will create that pelvic tilt, which supports the upper body the body upper body is aligned. Were not twisted, or leaning. Ears aligned with the shoulders aligned with the hips, nose and navel aligned check yourself have you lined up this alignment it's almost like a garden hose. When the garden hoses kinked up, there's all this noise and the water just goes spurting everywhere. But when the hose is straight, and the water is able to flow smoothly, quietly, freely. It's the same with the body, the energy flowing through the body
and in that stable aligned posture, we're able to let go relax. Faces relaxed. shoulders and arms dropped. Hands in our laps thumbs lightly touching. Belly has rounded body and mind completely relaxed yet alert. Sharing and says continues. says even though your mind is relaxed, you should hold tightly onto the method. Stick to the method and do not let it go. No, I don't particularly like the word he uses tightly. I like the word taut ta UT, or firm
we hold on to our practice firmly. I imagine it's like traveling with a child say a six year old. You're in a airport. And it's during the holidays. So it's crowded. You don't want to lose the child. So we hold on to the child's hand. But if we hold on too tightly will hurt the child. But if we hold on too loosely, then the child could be swept away with a crowd and we're separated. So we hold on to the child's hand firmly it's the same with practice firmly.
Shenyang continues since but sometimes people take this advice and become nervous and tense for instance and counting the breath. Some may become so intent on holding to the method that they end up holding on to the breath itself, thus breathing unnaturally where they try to get rid of straight thoughts by counting and breathing faster and faster. This tense is the body, you should hold tight to the method. But at the same time, you should not let yourself get tense
so that's about relaxing
or next help to sushi in practice. We said a few words about yesterday during the opening words, not talking to oneself. Here's a story. There once were four young men who practice Zen together. One day they decided to spend seven days of Zen meditation in complete silence. Everything started off well. But when evening came at the end of the first day, the oil lamps became dimmer and dimmer. One of them couldn't help saying we should fix those lamps. Another surprise to hear the first one speak said. We're not supposed to say a word. You do really good. Why did you talk asked a third? Well, it looks like I'm the only one who hasn't broken down and said anything, announced the fourth. They looked at one another and began to laugh. All had been equally foolish. They decided they'd have to try again. But this time, they would remain really alert
an SEM of that story.
Now back to trimester Schengen. He says, people like to talk, especially if they feel lonely. Those who tend to talk nonstop generally have difficulty with practice, and also make it difficult for others to practice. In our Chan retreat, talking is forbidden. But there are still some people who cannot resist covertly saying a few words. Others honor the rule and refrain from speaking. But that does not mean that they're not talking to themselves. All day long. While they are sitting, they come up with a theme and then carry on a conversation with themselves. They ponder over all sorts of issues. And then he recounts which I won't read an author coming up with a book idea during a session and planning the whole book I've heard of, of people, people admitting to coming up with Sangha entertainment night skits during machine.
He says, if you talk too much, either with your mouth or in your head, it will be difficult to make progress. When you find it hard to concentrate, it is very easy to start talking to yourself, you may not even be able to control it. And then skipping paragraph here, he says, after a few days of practice, many people completely stop thinking about themselves and their outside affairs. However, they keep dwelling on my words. Whatever I say is meant to guide your practice. But when you're actually practicing, you should just use the method and not think about what I may have said the less you talk to yourself, the closer you will be to the highest way. And stru whatever is said during the Zendo talks or in private instruction should be let go. When it's over. When that talk is over. Whatever you need will be retained. You don't have to try to retrieve it or think about it.
Don't waste any energy, mulling over anything that happens in sushi
How do you do that? By picking up the practice, and putting down everything else
remember what we're here for.
Next, is a hindrance to sesshin practice making comparisons. Story. One day, a rabbi in a frenzy of religious passion, rushed in before the ark, fell to his knees and started beating his breast crying. I'm nobody. I'm nobody. The cantor of the synagogue impressed by this example of spiritual humility, join the rabbi on his knees. I'm nobody. I'm nobody. The custodian, watching from the corner, couldn't restrain himself either. He joined the other two on his knees calling out. I'm nobody, I'm nobody. At which point, the rabbi, nudging the cantor with his elbow, pointed at the custodian and said, look who thinks he's nobody.
Now to try and master Schengen.
He says, I have often cautioned you against comparing your practice with that of others, or your own self at different times. Such comparisons are only subjective. Today, someone burst out crying in the meditation hall. One person may have thought, Oh, she's not doing so well. Another, I think she's becoming enlightened. Or else, maybe she's going crazy. None of these thoughts may represent the true situation. Whether she felt pain or sorrow became enlightened or went crazy. It's her business. It has nothing to do with anyone else. making comparisons inevitably means judging others. When you are sitting, refrained from looking around and sizing people up. A common type of comparison people make on retreat is to see someone sitting through three periods and think, How can you do that? Don't his legs hurt? Boy, my legs hurt all the time, I can barely get through one period. Now, we don't have that so much. Although we do have people that some people sit still through the Dharma talk through the entire Dharma talk and some people don't. Don't worry about that. We do sit facing out for chanting and the Dharma talks. And it can be tempting to see what other people are doing to check other people out. And the same way during the other times, can he meals, break periods and work? The temptation is there. That's why we keep the eyes lowered at all times. To resist that temptation, for it not even to arise.
He gives some example about comparing yourself and then he says these are examples of comparing yourself to others. But you can also compare yourself to yourself. Perhaps you're having a miserable time from day one, your legs hurt, you're generally uncomfortable and cannot get into the spirit of practice. You feel plagued with problems. But there comes a day when you feel great. Or it could be a block or round or a moment when you feel great your body is comfortable and your mind is calm. If you're pleased by this change of affairs and say to yourself, I finally got it, you become so excited you can no longer meditate. Later when your meditation is not as pleasurable, you may try to analyze how you sat so well that one time and why you're so uncomfortable now
Sheng Yen has been talking about comparing ourselves to others in the Zendo and to comparing ourselves to ourselves at different times. There there are also people who will compare themselves to the Zen masters like Sheng yen Hakuin Joe shoe. And this is an unfair comparison. Most of these guys were monks and doing some sort of practice since childhood.
If we are hearing about them in the stories, then they are the best of the best. And they are at their best we don't hear about them limping around the Zendo like us or falling asleep on their cushion. So don't compare yourselves to them. And we don't know really what got embellished in the stories about them. But regardless, we are seeing them as when they're older, almost finished products when we do find ourselves making comparisons, we can console ourselves that we are learning about ourselves in this process. This so called other is a mirror of our own mind. what our priorities are, what's important to us, what's what we value our history
now, you know when the writer said we don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. The there's a story of a man whose Axe was missing. And he was convinced that the neighbor kid stole it. The kid looked like a thief acted like a thief walked like at the top like a thief he was a thief until the man found his axe, he simply misplaced it. And now when he looked at the kid, he looked like any other child
and affirming faith in mind, we say four things are things because of mind. As mind is mind because of things. These two are merely relative and both at source are emptiness.
Some final words from Chan master Sheng yen. Comparing good and bad is just deluded thinking as long as you are immersed in these wandering thoughts, you will not enter the proper conditions for practice. Do not concern yourself with anything going on around you. Nor should you be concerned with anything going on inside yourself. focus fully on the method and do not make external or internal comparisons. If you can do that your practice will be effective Okay, so we have this is a good place to end. Let's stop now and recite the Four Vows
