Our Guiding Teacher, Kaizan Doug Jacobson, offers a Dharma Talk on Refining Practice. 

This talk is in two sections (wifi challenges).  This is Part 1.

Kaizan Doug Jacobson began practicing Zen in 1974 with Dainin Katagiri Roshi in Minneapolis; he had Jukai in 1977. A householder, father, contractor, and civil/tunnel engineer, following his retirement, he became a full-time resident at Jikoji Zen Center near Los Gatos. He received priest ordination in 2010 and Dharma transmission from Shoho Michael Newhall in 2015. He has led many sesshins, monthly zazenkais, periodic seasonal nature sesshins, and weekly dharma discussion groups. He also helps to maintain and develop infrastructure at Jikoji, getting his hands dirty as a form of Zen practice. In addition, he assists prisoners with Buddhist practice.

Full Transcript (both parts)

Could it be back here in balmy Santa Barbara? Last evening, I had an incredible campsite up above what used to be Sunburst Farms, way up there on Camino Cielo. Cielo is clear, clear, starry night, beautiful.

Today, I'm going to talk about benevolence. It's actually one of the Brahma Viharas. It's also known as loving kindness. But first, I'm going to speak to it from one of Dongshan's teachings that Bill Powell translated. It's number 75. The master went to the hall and asked the assembly. Dongshan said, "Is there anyone who does not reciprocate for the four forms of benevolence or respond to the three classes of beings?" The assembly made no response. The master spoke again, "If one does not personally experience the meaning of this, how can one transcend the tribulations of birth and death? If constantly and without a break, you don't let any thought come into contact with things or any step come to rest, then you will accord with reality. You should strive earnestly and not pass the day at ease."

So the master said, "Is there anyone who does not reciprocate for the four forms of benevolence or respond to the three classes of beings?" Now, according to the notes that Bill had in his text, the four forms of benevolence are appropriate for parents, for kings, for all beings and for the three treasures. The four forms of benevolence can also be looked at as loving kindness, friendliness or amity (which is goodwill between groups of people and between nations), and an active interest in others. The three classes of being or the three realms of being are the realm of desire, the realm of form and the formless realm.

Benevolence can be expressed to parents, to rulers, to all beings and to the three treasures: the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. And responding to the three realms of beings: the realm of desire, the realm of form and the formless realm.

So Dongshan asked, is there anyone who does not reciprocate for the four forms of benevolence, friendliness, loving kindness, goodwill between groups, between nations and an active interest in another? Is there anyone who does not reciprocate to that or respond to beings of the realm of desire, form realm and the formless realm?

And then he goes on to say that we need to personally experience this, the meaning of this, the meaning of loving kindness, of friendliness, of goodwill between groups and an active interest in others. We need to personally experience this. The experience of it, the meaning of it. Because it's intimately connected to birth and death, our birth and death and others' birth and death.

Then he goes on to say that if constantly and without a break, you don't let any thought come into contact with things. If constantly and without a break. So the continuity of practice is what we also practice is this continuity of paying attention, continuity of being present. Continuity from this moment to this moment. Without a break. And that no step comes to rest. Until we accord, because we accord with reality, there's this constancy, the continuity. That our practice gives us an opportunity for.

Now this continuity of practice can be looked at in multiple ways. One way Confucius talked about it, he said in Analytics book 4:15, "Zeng, my friend, my way is bound together with one continuous strand." Now, one continuous strand. Imagine your practice being continuous and one continuous strand. There's another organism that weaves one strand continuously, a silkworm. That can be a kilometer long in a cocoon. And a spider makes a web that connects strands in various directions.

And Kobun spoke of this kind of web in this way, he says, "Human activity is like building a nest or a web. The spider makes his web in space. And when he flies from this tree to that tree, always that sticky string comes, it becomes hard and supports him. Humans have done that kind of job for a long time, creating webs and nests. It's like putting a bridge in space, walking on space. What you get to do with a bridge. A few times a big war shows up. That if we go on and on this way, everyone will fall off the bridge." Speaks to the fragility of these strands. We each are and the webs we make.

And one of the things that I really appreciate from reading one of the readings we did during his memorial was he talked about miracles, how the Golden Gate Bridge is a miracle. And if anybody has walked on it, gone to visit it, it's a miracle that it exists. But it's a miracle that as a product of many, many people's efforts of bringing together resources and all these efforts to make it happen.

So Confucius talks about one continuous strand. His way is one continuous strand. But maybe it's also interwoven with other strands into a brocade. A fabric of dimension that results in sometimes miracles forming. Like the pulling together of a book sometimes is miraculous or the building of a structure is miraculous or the coming together of a group to work on is a miracle. Working on a project.

I never thought of these things as miracles, but he said, you know, you could tell somebody, "You do miracles, you know, go build a Golden Gate Bridge." Like that, you can't. It takes people, it takes effort to do that. And so I see that through the practice of these many ways of benevolence of not just loving kindness, but friendliness and kindness between groups and the care and interest to others is a way of making webs.

So, again, is there anyone who does not reciprocate to these four forms of benevolence? Or respond to the three realms of beings? And he goes on to express the importance of the personal experience of it. To deeply experience it and understand the meaning of it. Without break.

The condition of our mind is something we get to experience when we notice it. It's hard to experience it when we're swept away by it. Or it's hard to experience the clarity when we're swept away by it. I have met a Lakota chaplain at a prison I'm visiting now. He says some amazing things, but one of the things he says is, "Why do people believe what's on their mind? It's always going to trick you." And I thought, dude, you're right on. He has crazy wisdom. And practices it with vigor with these prisoners. So they've been fortunate to have him and I'm fortunate to know him now.

To work in that realm where prisoners are. At this particular location is the health care facility for prisoners and they have a chance to actually, it feels loose, it feels kind of almost normal. Their doors are open. The dorm buildings are open into the overall complex. And the freedom of movement is pretty open. So many of these men will be not just prisoners, but one day neighbors. And how to bring this boundless sense of benevolence of being useful, helpful, careful, friendly. Listening to people that need to reintegrate. Need to belong to a community than where they've been for the last decade or more.

And it's the sense of belonging is such a crucial element that each of us have a need, each of us has of where do I fit in? Where do I belong? How am I useful? What do I need and what do others need?

So Dongshan talks about is there anyone who does not reciprocate to benevolence? Or respond to the realms of being. And no one in the hall answered. But I appreciate Bill translating this because I wasn't aware of these, you know, usually you think of loving kindness as just one. That's what it is. But the character for benevolence is the same character that Confucius used for an authoritative person. Meaning someone who isn't just knowledgeable, but actually is developed in ways that allow others to emulate in non-coercive ways. That is a good example. Authoritative maybe in knowing the way or knowing their way. So it's something to emulate.

And this practice allows us to deal with our core quest of what is our spiritual practice? I think everyone that comes to Zen wonders what is my core practice? And eventually we find our way with it and operate with it in conjunction with other beings in many different kinds of realms. To form new webs and nests and bridges that perhaps are useful to others.

Kobun once said your existence, the essence of our existence shows what truth is. It is not knowledge. It is the thing which gave you life to live on this earth. And it is hard to say what it is. This thing that gave us life.

So thank you. What I'd like to do is hear from you.