Lost Coin Class Notes
Salt Lake City
Tuesday, June 21, 2011



DS:
I wanted to talk about today...I'm going to do this workshop on Saturday. I really decided to do it to talk about elements of practice. There are various aspects which you could probably understand better.

What is "Shoken"? "Teisho"? "Daisan"? "Sangha"? What is the "lineage"? What happened in history? What is the teacher? Why do we do koan study? These are most basic elements of the practice. It's better if everyone has a better grasp of that.

So, what are you supposed to talk about in Daisan? Daisan means deep conversation? What does that mean?

We'll talk about this at this weekend's retreat. I'm going to record it two ways.

I thought that I'd start the same way with you guys.

How many here have taken Shoken with me? (Students raise hands)

This proves a point. What does Shoken mean? Shoken means a different degree of openness, trust, with control on my part, and that you are willing to give up control.

The analogy is that the Dharma is like a cup. If you put a cup underneath that cup, then what flows out of that (Dharma) cup flows into the lower cup.

Before that (as a student without taking Shoken), it's like you're putting your cup beside mine.

Shoken says that you understand that Doen's cup was under Daido and Maezumi, and theirs were underneath their teachers and so forth. The lineage chart shows that you are the last cup.

You may ask yourself: "What would I do that?" Instead ask, "Why *wouldn't* I do that?"

That's what I want you to start thinking about.

What I do is look at you all and see what's going good, what's going bad. If I look at your guys here in this room, the greatest thing holding back a student is effort. I was CEO of Zen Mountain Monastery so that I could be under Daido's cup, same thing for working out with Genpo. That required effort.

A good person to ask about this is Gertje, because she's having a different experience. It's much more mystical. A lot more happens that cannot be talked out in words. It's an emotional and consciousness-altering thing.

When I do it (teach), I feel like my teachers. Teaching in Zen is more like channeling. I just pass along what is in my cup.

Daisan should be deep stuff. Don't come in with trivial stuff.

Let me start with Shoken.

Student:
I think that it's really valuable. I used to think that ceremonies were not valuable. Taking Shoken with you was important, powerful. It's a big thing.

DS:
I think so too. The ceremony doesn't do it.

Student:
It makes you ask out loud.

DS: Shoken is not the ceremony. It's the relationship. It's especially true for those of you who are monks. Genpo Roshi said Shoken is about "submission", which I don't like. "Surrender" is better.

Student:
You said once that Shoken is like marriage.

DS:
Yes. I should talk about these things more. Shoken is a lifelong thing. It is done with the same emotion (as marriage). It's an ultimate kind of commitment. It's very hard, because we don't often do this kind of thing.

For some of you, you don't know what it means to have that level of openness with your family, your friends, etc. I provide that vehicle for you.

Daido Roshi said to me, "This will require a complete commitment on your part."

DS: I said to Daido Roshi, "Are you kidding?" He kept bringing it home to me and now I understand.

For the group, discuss this: What is Shoken? What is commitment? What does it mean to trust?

The Dharma teaching is an emotional relationship. It's not a hobby. It's not intellectual. Some of you think that you can engage it intellectually. It's a spiritual thing.

In psychology, you're trying to change things. In practice, you're trying to see what *is*.

I have had a realization myself. Sometimes things look hopeless, but if I insist that you raise your level of practice, it works. It's OK to demand certain things of you.