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We have these attributes as human beings. Inaddition, we can also be foolish and lacking inwisdom by not being aware. The delusion ofnot noticing our mistakes is also an attribute ofhuman beings. Shakyamuni Buddha realizedthis. He taught that the way out of such problems is the Way of spiritual practice, the Way ofZen, and the Way which has become theencouragement of our everyday lives. Forexample, he said, “The hair on your head is onfire. It’s burning furiously. Why don’t younotice this?” We do not notice that our hair ison fire. This refers to my earlier remarks abouthuman character. We must put out that fire offoolishness. In Zen, we say “Train as if youwere trying to put out the fire on your head.”Monks shave their heads and it has been saidthat we do this so that our hair won’t catch fire.this way, nature keeps trying, people hangtough, and there is this hope that they will beable to continue to live together.In Zenji’s message, the second thing is thatthis disaster is not only concerned with naturaldisasters. He goes on to mention that peoplethemselves can bring about disasters. There arehuman-made disasters in which people end upcausing other people to suffer. Isn’t it a concernfor us that we cause each other such suffering?Fukuyama Zenji urges us to study Zen and theBuddha Dharma in order to be aware of thispossibility.There has been much progress in terms ofmaterial comfort, convenience, and social welfare, as well as in science. People have pursuedthese things, but are such developments reallybest for us and for the natural environment ofthe whole world? Isn’t it necessary to rethinkwhat is really best? From there, isn’t it necessaryto aspire for the Way that brings happiness toall people, the Way that benefits all beings? Inorder to do this, we must face each other; youand I must meet one another. Then, it is necessary to transmit the important teachings andalso to support each other. Fukuyama Zenjiconcludes his message with these suggestions.There is Sojiji in Yokohama, the city whereI live. (Sojiji is one of the Two Head Temples ofSotoshu) Sojiji was founded by Keizan Zenji,who said “Dedicate the boundless merit ofzazen to all beings.” What does this mean?Why do we sit in zazen? Now, someone issitting quietly in zazen facing the wall. What ishe or she doing? I ask you, for whose purposeor benefit do we do zazen? If you think you’redoing it for yourself, please raise your hand(majority of the people raise hands). KeizanZenji says that of course we practice zazen forourselves, but at the same time we are sittingtogether with all other people. By means ofzazen, the other people around us are alsosaved. His teaching is that we should have thisfeeling when we sit zazen; we should include allother people when we sit. The Miracle PineTree survived when all other trees were sweptThinking about this message, we realizethat, 2,500 years ago, Shakyamuni Buddhaalready had an insight and issued an alert aboutthis matter of problems caused by humanbeings. It has been handed down to us asBuddha Dharma. People cause suffering toother people. It is easy to fall into this - we allhave this potential. It is very easy for us toalways want to fulfill our desires. We are oftenirritated. We easily become peeved and fretful.4

think it will be your loss if you are kind tosomeone else. Here we see gain and loss, twothings. But in fact my gain also saves otherpeople. Here we see one gain for both self andothers. Zen is a teaching that benefits both selfand others. Two people become one throughthis activity.away, and continued standing because its rootswere deep in the ground. Some people survivedby holding onto that tree. In the same way,with zazen it is possible to save others by doingwhat is correct, by practicing ourselves, bystanding firmly, and by joining hands withothers. It is possible to support each other thisway. When an earthquake strikes, everythingshakes and falls over, but if we stand firmly andsteadfastly, it is possible to save all others. Thisis the boundless merit of zazen.Here is an example of this. In Yokohama,the city where I live, we do not have priorityseats, called “silver seats,” on our subway. Theseare seats that should be given up to elderly ordisabled people. Our mayor suggested that thecity do away with these seats. His reasoningwas that it was not good for people to expresstheir kindness to others only at these specificplaces. So, he made an appeal to make all seatsin Yokohama into priority seats. At the beginning, there was a good deal of confusionbecause no one would budge from their seat.Consequently, people who needed seats werenot given a place to sit. This situation continued for some time. However, gradually, peoplecame to realize that, while it was fine for themto sit down if they could, others would suffer ifthey could not sit down. In the end, this is thesame thing. The people of Yokohama came tounderstand that being kindly treated andkindly treating others are interconnected - onething. Benefitting others and being benefittedare one thing. If you are kind to others, youwill receive something in return.There is a person who comes to practicezazen at my temple. This man is boisterous athome and always says his principles straight.When he starts behaving that way, he leaves,saying, “I am going to the temple to sit zazen.”At home, everyone is happy because it is quietwhile he is away. When he returns, he is settled.Ah, thank goodness for zazen. “Father, we likeyou going to the temple to sit zazen.” You cansee that zazen is not only for yourself, but thatit is also for family and people around you.Zazen is for me and also for others. Thesetwo are actually two aspects of one zazen. Weshould practice zazen so that these two becomeone. Keizan Zenji taught us that way. You mayI would like to mention another example. Iheard this story from an elderly man when Iwas traveling in Akita Prefecture. It is a story offeeling joy even when something was given up.The man’s family served cakes and each person5

book for me.” “Good,” I would say, “Youfound the answer by yourself, didn’t you?” Thesame thing can be said about zazen. Zazen iseverywhere and we can practice zazen whereverwe are. But without practicing it, we will neverfind the answer. Also, without appropriate conditions we never encounter zazen. You arefortunate that you have already encounteredZen. I believe you already have found theanswer. That is why you have been practicingZen wholeheartedly. The important thing is tolet go of thoughts which assume the dichotomyof gain and loss and sincerely study Zen, seeinggain and loss as one – face-to-face with thetruth. I am so happy to see you practicing Zenthe way you do.took one. The last cake was for this old man.Then a small grandchild looked at the remaining cake as if he wanted to eat it, so the grandfather offered his cake to his grandson. Thegrandson said, “If I eat the cake, then grandpawill lose out.” The old man said, “It will not bemy loss. I will be much happier if you enjoyeating it than if I eat it.” This is a simpleexample, but I think it is a case of gainingsomething by losing or giving up something.This is an important issue, I think. For thisreason, gain and loss are not two separatethings, and are connected. Both gain and lossconstitute one joy.Another story is one of Zen beyond gainand loss. It is connected to my travels here inthe United States. Several people have askedme about Zen - Does Zen bring them something good? What kind of goodness does Zenbring? When will it happen? How can theymake it happen?. I was a school teacher untilabout fifteen years ago. Students would ask me,“Teacher, which questions should I solve andwhich workbook is best? Which workbook ismost suitable for me?” I would say, “Whichworkbooks do you have? Bring them to me.”They would bring many of them. I would lookat the first page, then the second, but in eachcase, the third page was blank. That was theend. There was nothing more. Looking at theother workbooks, they were all the same. Thismeant that they had lots of workbooks, butthey weren’t using them. Then, I said “Closeyour eyes and pick one. After you use it for amonth, I will answer your question.” They didjust as I told them to. Then they would comeand say, “Teacher, I think this is the very bestDogen Zenji, who brought Soto Zen toJapan, said;“Establish practice in the mist of delusion,attain realization before awakening.” [GakudoYojinshu]Practice is an action. When you are wavering: “Should I do this or should I do that? Is itgood or is it bad?” It is time to act. So long asyou waver, asking, “Is Zen good or is it bad?”and do not act, you will not find the answer.Being unsure is precisely a chance to challengeyourself. If you act in the midst of delusion,that action will provide the answer. “Attainrealization before awakening,” means that theanswer is already there in the action. These arethe words of Dogen Zenji. By all means, I hopethat you will continue with Zen practice.When you have some understanding, pleaseshare it with others. It is a great thing to do.6

things on a planet where I could see nonational boundaries. Looking from above, I feltthe interconnectedness of life. We must cherishthis life. The thing that impressed me the mostwas the small space in which we all livetogether. I saw how deeply this precious life isinterconnected. So, we must get along witheach other, coping with our difficulties, if weare going to survive.”Finally, I have one more story, one moremessage that I would like to give you. It has todo with Mamoru Mouri, the Japanese astronaut who went into space on the Endeavorspace shuttle. When he returned from his trip,he remarked, “When looking at the Earth fromspace, it is not possible to see any national borders.” These words deeply affected the Japanesepeople. His following words appear in an ethicstextbook used in Japanese elementary schools,“When looking at the Earth from space, I wasstruck by how all living things live only on thethin surface of the planet. Furthermore, thatsurface is primarily oceans, mountains, anddeserts. Human beings can live only in verylimited areas.” And then, “Each human beingis connected to each other human being by airand water. Everyone is connected by theseMoreover, in our encounter here now, we areconnected not only through the interconnectedness of life but also through the invaluablespirit of precious Zen. We are in this momentsharing this same space together. I’m happythat we could meet today. I think this is animportant thing. Thank you very much for ourencounter today.7

Soto Zen Buddhism 2022:Aspiration, Opportunities,and ChallengesZen Buddhism in the United States. The focuswas on mapping out possible futures for Japanin the twenty-first century. I suggested threepossible pathways the nation of Japan couldtake. One is a return to a closed nation. InJapanese history there was the period, calledthe Sakoku Period, in which Japan cut itself offfrom other nations and became inwardlooking. There are many suggestions todaythat Japan, especially its young people, is looking inward. People are not traveling abroad somuch, Japanese corporations making productsthat only work in Japan. These are things thatare rather inward-looking. I mentioned thisbecause there is a way in which we might thinkabout Zen Buddhism, if it takes a certain path,also becoming potentially inward-looking.Another path I see for Japan is one that looksoutward not in a productive way but in anantagonistic way. In the politics of East Asianow, Japan is in territorial disputes with Russia,China and Korea over some islands. There is aresurgence of militarism. The first option is aneo-sakoku, a new closed nation. A secondoption is a return to the 1930s, to neonationalism and neo-militarism. I have alwaysthought that Japan has better options and Ipropose the hybrid-Japan option. It is anoption in which Japan in substance looks backward to look forward. It looks back to its older,longer array of history and understands thatthe Japanese nation and culture is a hybrid one,that its peoples are a mixture of continentalpeoples, Polynesian peoples, the Ainu from thenorthern islands, mixing its language, itsculture, religion – everything is mixed. In fact,that mixture, that hybridity, is what has produced things like Zen Buddhism and ToyotaProf. Duncan Ryuken WilliamsDirector of the University of Southern CaliforniaCenter for Japanese Religious and CultureThis article is the record of the keynote speech in the90th Anniversary of Soto Zen Teaching Activities inNorth America and the Founding of Zenshuji SotoMission, held on September 8, 2012.Thank you for that kind introduction andfor asking me to participate in this very important occasion. It is really an honor for me to doso. As you said, Zenshuji is a special place forme. I first came when the bishop wasYamashita Roshi and continued my connection with this temple during the time of thenext bishop, Akiba Gengo, who was the officiant for one of my weddings. I had three wedding ceremonies and he conducted myceremony here in the U.S. Of course, now thistemple has you (Bishop Rummé) in this verycritical, important time for both this templeand for Soto Zen history.Let me try to say something about thistemple as well as the ninetieth anniversary ofZen Buddhism in this country. When I wasgiven this idea of thinking about the future ofZen Buddhism in America, I had recalled arecent opportunity to do some scenario thinking for a Japanese think tank. They asked me tothink about the future of Japan. In that exercise, I came up with three possible scenarios forJapan. I just want to lay out my thinking aboutthat before I lay out three possible scenarios for8

Zen centers, also was founded at a time whenSoto Zen and Buddhism in general was less aconservative tradition and more of a countercultural tradition. Because it was a countercultural tradition, it attracted people who wantedto challenge mainstream society. It almost hada prophetic voice, a voice that could suggestalternatives to the way mainstream societythought and worked. For those in the UnitedStates, being Buddhist in America is itselfcountercultural. We hear a lot today from politicians who claim that America is a Christiannation. We are not in the majority, in the mainstream of American life and we are thereforeable to raise some questions about things thatare more normative – questions of ethics, theenvironment, a non-violent society, a morepluralistic and tolerant religious culture. Buddhists have played a role, whether it’sJapanese-American Buddhists at this templeduring World War II or other Americans. Ihave been surveying members here whose parents served honorably in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team or in military intelligenceservice in World War II, at a time whereJapanese-Americans and their loyalty to thiscountry were being questioned. They sacrificedso their children could live in America andproudly claim that they are American and Buddhist at the same time. Many other people, notjust at this temple - other Buddhists - havebeen involved in creating alternate visions,countercultural visions of how we mightengage the world. The comment is sometimesmade that by being prophetic and countercultural we take ourselves out of the mainstreamand marginalize ourselves even before anyoneelse marginalizes us. So, I think one of the chal-Priuses – hybrid cars – as something Japan canoffer to the world.This got me thinking that maybe when wetalk about the future of Zen in America or thefuture of Buddhism in America we should talkabout hybridity. I will talk about that in amoment. It is one of the three possible futuresI imagine for Buddhism in America.There is an option that is more in line withthe inward-looking option I mentioned previously. I call it the self-contained future, anoption that is primarily preservationist. It isnot just this temple but Nishi Hongwanji andall the temples here in Little Tokyo. There aresome temples that, for very good reasons, wantto preserve the past, preserve the traditions thathave been handed down from the issei pioneersand the nisei. Now we’re down to the gosei the fifth and rokusei - the sixth generations.Maintaining those values and those culturaltransmissions as well as religious transmissions- the way things are done in Japan - and tryingto follow ritual and other kinds of forms, asmuch as possible, to preserve a certain way ofpracticing Buddhism, living Buddhism in asomewhat preservationist way. I think this isone possible option that this temple and otherZen temples could take - to focus slightlyinward on the transmission of Soto Zen traditions and the traditions that have developedover nearly a century at this temple andtemples like San Francisco’s Sokoji. So, this isone possible option.The reality is that Soto Zen Buddhism, notjust at this temple but especially at some of the9

ish or Japanese, a Christian or a Buddhist?”This was when I met Rev. Kojima, the residentminister at Zenshuji. I have known him since Iwas seventeen years old. He has taught me a lotover the years and he also introduced me toReverend Ogasawara Ryugen, who is here inthe audience today from Kotakuji Temple inNagano. One of the first pieces of guidance hegave me was “Duncan, you should stop clinging to being Japanese or being British or beingChristian or being Buddhist. Find thatin-between place of freedom.” Paradoxically, itturns out that emptiness is a good place to befree. When you’re there, you can become British when you need to, Japanese when you needto, and you move around freely. There’s something about hybridity, something about beingin-between, that seems very dynamic and productive.lenges if we consider this as a future for Zen inAmerica is to also consider all the ways inwhich we might also embrace the mainstreamand make Buddhism also a mainstream pointof view in America.The third approach, the one I started outwith, the hybrid approach, is the one where Ithink there is the most possibility for innovation and for keeping our traditions dynamicand appropriate to place and time. The historyof Zen is also very hybrid. We sometimes speakas if Zen is the pure tradition of Japan, but ifyou look at Daigaku Sensei, you see the whitekimono, then over that, the koromo, which hasthe long sleeves of the Confucian scholar. Overthat is the okesa, which is Indian. It’s the layering of different traditions that makes up whowe are and how we have formed this traditioncalled the Zen tradition. In my own life, thisbeing in-between, being hybrid was the gateway to understanding myself. I was born inJapan to a Japanese Buddhist mother and aChristian British father. I was very much confused as a teenager. “Who am I?” This is a goodquestion, a Buddhist question, too. “Am I Brit-That’s where I want to take this discussionnow and think about a couple of differentplaces where we might consider how, as fellowZen Buddhists, we might want to pull togethersome things that on the surface may seemdisparate or working in different registers. Lastweekend I was at Manhattan Beach. NishiHonganji, Higashi Honganji and all the otherSouthern District sanghas asked me to talk totheir youth, to the Junior YBA. Junior YBAmembers are in high school. I spent the daywith them talking about what their situationwas in high school. Being Buddhist in most ofour schools, though it’s becoming more acceptable, is a bit difficult. The number one thingthese young people told me as I spent the daytalking with them about their experiences ofbeing young Buddhists today in America was10

to find techniques for really educating ourselves on how to present ourselves in a worldthat is increasingly pluralistic, especially in aplace like Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, we havegot Cambodians, Tibetans, many others. Itturns out that in the 2,500 year history of Buddhism that no other city has been as diversewith respect to Buddhism as Los Angeles. Wehave got everybody here. We have every otherreligious tradition here in Los Angeles as well,and this is a good moment to be thinkingabout this. In talking about the future of Zenshuji, we also need to understand where welive. We are living in an increasingly globalizedand increasingly plural neighborhood calledLos Angeles.that they still get asked “Do you have a God?”“Do you believe in God?” “Do you rub thebelly of those fat Buddhas? Is that your practice?” The evangelical Christian kids at schoolwill talk about how the Buddhist students willbe going to Hell and really try to pin themdown about what Buddhism is. We spent theafternoon trying to come up with somelanguage to deal with being a young Buddhistin America today, with finding a way of talkingto people without using language that’s toooff-putting and yet Buddhist enough to conveywho you are. We talked about things likewisdom and compassion and about Buddhismas about alleviating suffering and finding freedom. Very few

way. This is my first visit to the Missouri Zen Center. You are connected with the Sotoshu, so I feel that we are colleagues as Sotoshu temples sharing Zen practice. There are many Zen cen-ters throughout the U.S. The present Head Priest of the Sotoshu is the abbot