Vesak 2011

[Raise Zen stick overhead and hit table]

Buddha’s mother, whose name was Maya had a strange dream of a Bodhisattva descending from heaven and riding on a white elephant that touched her side with its trunk, and she became pregnant with the Buddha.

[Raise Zen stick overhead and hit table]

When Buddha was born, he sprang from his mother's side, walked seven paces in the four cardinal directions, then he said, “Heaven above, earth below, only I am holy.”

[Raise Zen stick overhead and hit table]

Soon after his birth, a sage named Asita predicted that the child would grow up to be a holy man,
rather than following his father as ruler.

Are a mothers dream, a baby who walks and talks from birth and a sage who prophesizes a saint, the same or different?

KATZ!

They are all no good! We are all awake together; I am giving a Dharma Speech, and the room is full of smiling faces.

Happy Buddha's Birthday, everyone.

Following a life of pleasure and luxury, in the spring of his twenty-ninth year, Prince Gautama Siddhartha became troubled and didn’t know why, so he decided to leave the sheltered palace enclosure to view the flowers in full bloom; but instead, for the first time in his life he came face to face with the world's pain and misery. Departing through the eastern gate on the first day, Śakyamuni was troubled by the sight of an old, decrepit man who was barely able to walk. On the second day, passing out through the southern gate, he came upon a man suffering from a debilitating illness. On the third day, leaving by the western gate, he came in contact with a corpse surrounded by weeping mourners. Finally, travelling towards the north on the fourth day, he met a mendicant monk, and resolved to follow this holy man's example.
He was now fully aware of the sorrow that pervaded the world outside the sheltered life of the palace, Śakyamuni resolved to abandon his opulent life as a prince, vowing instead to seek through fasting and meditation a way to relieve the sufferings of humankind. Fearing that his father would try to prevent his departure, he decided to leave secretly at night. The king's guards fell into a deep sleep, and four nature spirits (yakshas) lifted the Prince's horse Kanthaka into the air, so that his hooves would make no noise on the cobblestoned pavement.
As an ascetic in the Himalayan Mountains, the former prince lived an austere life of self-denial – fasting, subjecting his body to strict discipline, meditating in the lotus position in all weather. Yet after six years, enlightenment still eluded him. He came down from the mountains, bathed, and sat beneath a fichus tree at Gaya, vowing not to move from that spot until he attained full enlightenment. Finally, at age 35, on the night of a full moon, Sakyamuni attained enlightenment. (From this time forward, the fichus tree under which he sat would be known as the Bodhi tree, or tree of enlightenment.) As he was alone with no one to witness this momentous event, he called the Earth itself to be his witness by touching the ground with his right hand in a gesture known as the Earth Witness mudra.
Sometime in the early 1990’s, a famous Italian Movie Director released a movie titled, ‘Little Buddha’, which was about a young boy in Seattle, Washington how was supposed to be a reincarnated Tibetan Lama. The story is about the adventure the young boy goes through traveling through India and Nepal. During the movie there is a counter story where the Director depicts the life of Buddha as the boy learns his story. I remember asking Zen Master Seung Sahn what he thought about the movie after he had seen it and he replied that it was a big mistake. He told me that this was the typical view of Buddha as the story ends when Buddha attains enlightenment. He said that in the West we are goal oriented and that the real meaning of Buddha’s life was the 45 years of teaching that followed his englightenment.
So, from humble beginnings, this selfless man eventually gave us the Tripitaka, which is the collection of his teachings. A full set of these teachings are housed in two very large buildings at Haein Sa in Korea, and it is said to be the last full collection of Sutras and Shastras carved into large wooden blocks. There are 84,000 volumes at Haein Sa. It would take many years to read all of these teachings and many more years trying to understand them. However, luckily for us Śakyamuni said something very important just before he entered into Nirvana. At the age of 80, he was surrounded by his discliples and Mahakasyapa asked him, “How will we continue once you have left us, who will guide the Sangha?” To this Buddha gently smiled and said, “Of the myriad tens of thousands of words attributed to me, of the myriad tens of thousands of words attributed to me, do not believe even one of them. Find your own true self and become a light unto yourself.”
This is why we celebrate such a great man’s birth for more than 2,600 years, for he taught us the meaning of the true path to enlightenment.

I'd like to end with a poem written by a very great Zen Master. The poem, called “Original Face,” is by Zen Master Seung Sahn:

So much suffering in Nirvana castles,
So joyous to sink into this world.

When in old clothes you call yourself
Buddha, what do you call yourself in silk?

Wooden man went out with shoes at night,
Stone woman came back with hat in morning.

You, for the first time, can perceive when you
Pick up the moon three times as it floats on the pond.

[Raise Zen stick overhead and hit table]
Very big Golden Buddha on the main altar.

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Tiny baby Buddha on the side altar.

[Raise Zen stick overhead and hit table]
A room full of smiling Buddhas.

Are these the same or different?

Today is Sunday, May 1st and we are all at the Zen Center of Las Vegas. Thank you for your generous support today and for the rest of your lives.