Latest / Zen Community of Oregon Dharma Talks / Turning Problems into Wisdom - Hogen Roshi

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Turning Problems into Wisdom - Hogen Roshi · Zen Community of Oregon Dharma Talks

• 0:00
  Jomon: Hello and welcome. This is the Zen Community of Oregon, making the teachings of the Buddhadharma accessible to support your practice. New episodes air every week.
• 0:23
  Hogen: In every word, beginning to take refuge in the Buddha, take refuge in the Dharma, take refuge in the Sangha. I'm going to begin a series of talks on turning problems into wisdom, fundamental aspect of the Dharma. Basically, it's a version of the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths everybody gets encounters in Buddhism 101 in high school, if we ever get that far. It is the Four Noble Truths where basically everybody's got problems.
• 0:59
  And the third noble truth is, well, there's a solution to problems. So this is basically a version of that. As we all have problems, we all got challenges, and how do we turn those problems and challenges into assets, into wisdom, into loving kindness. So, I like to say challenges rather than dukkha. Dukkha is the technical term.
• 1:28
  Dukkha means suffering. It means the friction of a wheel that goes around. And so we often talk about in living this life, there's friction. You know, you've got the friction. You get up in the morning and your body hurts.
• 1:40
  You've the got friction you've got to eat. You've got the friction of things that don't agree well with you. You've got the friction of relationships, earning money, and traffic, and slog. It's all friction. It's all friction.
• 1:55
  But I like the term challenges better because it doesn't mean it's not just a passive thing. It means that our life is always asking us to meet it, to meet it, to meet it. Everything is workable. Everything we can meet, everything. And so, the first noble truth is we all have lots of places that we can grow, lots of challenges, lots of things that we can meet.
• 2:15
  And of course, those challenges are true for every culture, every gender, every age, you know, every socioeconomic position. Everybody has got challenges. The challenges may look different and we may think from the outside, oh, I would prefer their challenges than my challenges. I think they have a much easier time than I do. Sometimes that's true, some level, and sometimes it's not true.
• 2:44
  We all have lots of cases where people who are rich and wealthy have committed suicide. And then we have experiences where Hogan was talking to me one time about being in Delhi, in India, and he said that he met people who were living on the street who were just joyful and happy. So all the great practitioners, the Buddha and all the great sages, practitioners say that it is possible, the world is completely a mess, and it is possible to find liberation, peace, satisfaction, whatever term you want to use. We all want happiness. Nobody wants to suffer.
• 3:31
  Basic basic truth. And, you know, even people whose minds are so confused that they inflict pain upon themselves, somehow, even that, their hope is that it will give them some benefit, they'll have some experience, feel something deeply. Nobody wants to really suffer, we all want happiness. Now in the religious traditions, we use for that third noble truth, liberation is possible, nirvana, awakening, salvation, the consummation of faith, redemption, atonement, predestination. Not quite right.
• 4:22
  And when we go shopping, we have a problem or a desire and we go shopping, and when we're shopping, we want the best, the most effective thing. Right? We want something that's cost effective, something that works. And if we have a plumbing problem, we want to pay somebody who actually knows what they're doing, who has the technology, who who has done this before. You're going to have surgery when a surgeon who's had a lot of experience Of course, they start from zero, of course, which is you can't tell.
• 4:57
  We want a solution that works. So when we're talking about dharma we all want the solution that works. We've got problems and challenges. How do we What's the solution to turn those into something that's meaningful and juicy? So first, we need to have hope that that's possible.
• 5:22
  Regardless of what all the great sages have said, if we don't have any hope that's possible, we don't have any conviction ourselves, it doesn't go very far. So we have talks like this or we have readings and things that inspire us. We have to have a feeling of hope. Yes, it is possible for me to find liberation, to find freedom, to find peace, to find satisfaction. It is possible for me.
• 5:52
  Some people doubt that. But again, all the great sages say that's Secondly, once we think it's possible, have to then find the means. We have to have the conviction, I can find the means to do this. I can find a workable solution. I can do that.
• 6:11
  Without the confidence that it is possible, is workable, without the confidence that somehow or other, somewhere there is a means for me to do this work. It's hard to go very far. And then if we do find a solution, we do find a solution that resonates with us, then we have to have the determination to actually apply this apply the apply the remedy. Often times people will feel despair because they have no hope of ever improving. That's one level of problem.
• 6:46
  And secondly, they actually have a religious practice, they have some kind of 12 step program, they have something, and they don't have the conviction that they can succeed. Third, they sometimes don't have the conviction that even though they have the hope, they have tools, that they personally are able to implement this or they have the determination to implement this. So, in essence, everything is workable. We think it is. Everything is workable.
• 7:21
  All of our challenges are workable. And what does that mean workable? First off, it means that we have the skills and ability in who we are right now to meet the exigencies, to meet the challenges of our life and to turn those challenges from liabilities into wisdom. To turn our suffering into loving kindness. We have the capacity to do that.
• 7:52
  It's very very important. We have the capacity to make that transformation. It is not an abstract philosophical idea. It is one that works with our ordinary life. Part of what we're going to be doing in these next six to eight talks is trying to explore how, if we have the faith, if we have the practice, how can we do that?
• 8:17
  How can we take the challenges that we have? Now, It's helpful to think about what kind of problems can the dharma help us solve. If you've got a plumbing problem, you don't come to the zindo. You don't. Or if you have a plumbing problem and you ask me to help, it will take you four times longer and cost twice as much, four times as much as it would a real plumber.
• 8:53
  So you the dharma is good for certain kinds of things. If you're having trouble with your car payments, the dharma will not magically, you know, generate a pocket full of money. But if you have trouble with self esteem, if you have trouble with interpersonal relationships, if you have trouble with with intrapersonal relationships, if you have trouble with relationship with reality, if you have trouble with motivation, if you have trouble with aspiration, that's where the dharma can really be of benefit. So it's important to to know what are we looking for. Know?
• 9:39
  If people are having trouble with their rent, there are other solutions than coming here. If you're having trouble with your car, there are other solutions. We all know that. It's pretty obvious. But just to be very clear that if we are having trouble with relationships, if we are having trouble with our relationship with reality, the dharma can meet that.
• 9:58
  The dharma can help us meet that. Now all of us tend to want a solution that will cover as many many bases as possible. I mean that's why money is so attractive. Know, we think if I get money I can solve this problem, this problem, this problem, this problem, this problem. And the more money I have, the more problems I can solve.
• 10:23
  We've all thought like that. Right? If you haven't, you haven't been around this world very long. But as we know, there are some things that money can solve and some things it can't solve. And it can't solve the heart's dissatisfaction.
• 10:38
  It can't solve the hungrieness of the of our essence. It can't solve the the broken feeling or the inadequate feeling. It can't solve that. No matter how much we earn or how much we get. And of course, when we're looking at traveling to to to to transform our challenges into into wisdom, into heart, we all have lots of easy solutions that come to mind.
• 11:08
  And that's what our whole whole whole culture is based on, you know. Feeling lonely and you can Google remedies for loneliness. And I guarantee you'll have 500,000 hits of remedies for loneliness, which will include buying a new peeler for your kitchen. Know. People will try to monetize and sell anything.
• 11:31
  So so we have the impulse that we have been trained because of our culture. We have been trained to say, if you've got a problem, you know, look on the internet and you'll find the answer to the problem. I guarantee there is no existential question that deep seek or chat GPT or, you know, any of the other AI will not be happily giving you an answer for. Happily. They're almost free.
• 12:01
  So there are solutions that are temporarily helpful. It's good to a meal if you're hungry. It's good to get a car repairment. But for the important and compelling problems of our lives. The problem of the heartache.
• 12:18
  The problem of the dissatisfaction that's split in us. The problem of our own sense of inadequacy. The problem of our fear of our own mortality. That does not come about by magic. It can't be bought.
• 12:33
  It has to be a living a living transformation, a living experience. So in Buddhism, the first skill that we get to cultivate is having a clear mind. Because without a clear mind, it just goes from foggy and murky to foggy and murky. We have a foggy and murky solution in our mind and we try a foggy and murky solution with foggy and murky applications. So the first thing that we talk about in this is how do we have a clear mind.
• 13:16
  A clear mind is a a clear mind can address everything. Without a clear mind, we have the ability to mess everything up as we all know from our lives. Right? So, how do we have a clear mind? First off, that's why we come to learn to practice, to learn the foundation of practice.
• 13:44
  We learn the foundation of practice of being present, being with our own body. And the foundation of practice of right here, right now, there's a place of ease. Right here, right now, when I begin to truly inhabit my body, and I let go temporarily of all that stuff in the background. I let go temporarily of all those worries about the future. And I come into this moment.
• 14:13
  I can actually find a place of clarity. It doesn't matter if we are rich or poor or we got a zillion problems or only half a zillion problems. Here, right now, there is a place of clarity. Now, you can come to meditation and you can find a place of clarity and your life is still a total mess. Because the clarity that you can have in meditation is not adequate in itself.
• 14:43
  It's a good It's a foundation. It's really important. Because without that clarity, none of the other remedies work. So the clarity of mind is what we first cultivate. The ability to be present so that we can see things clearly and directly.
• 15:05
  If we have clear mind and some information and some skill, that works out pretty well. So as I was saying, I think I said this morning, I don't know. If you want to make a meal, you can have a clear minded inspiration for I want to make a banquet. I'd love to bring a invite to all of you for dinner. And have a clear intention about that.
• 15:33
  But if I don't have any ingredients, it's not going to happen. Or if I don't have the containers, I don't have any pots or pans or tables. So a clear mind is like like having the inspiration to have a banquet, but we still need some other things for that to actually come about. We still need some tools. Then in part of a clear mind we have to really look and say, okay, is what I'm experiencing right now truly clear or am I blotting things out or am I really actually full of fear?
• 16:12
  Am I actually running away? We have to come into the present moment and then we can begin to look at the nature of mind and see what is the blurring that is keeping me from seeing my life and my relationships. If we are run by fear, we can be in the zengo, our mind can be calm and clear, but if that fear is still running us, it's really hard because all the solutions come out of fear. So we have to actually see the clear mind, settle ourselves enough to find a place of no fear. If you want a courageous solution, it can't come out of a fearful mind.
• 16:57
  So that's part of what practice is. Coming in here, breathing deeply, settling, really beginning to know ourselves to see what's the motivation, what's experience. Part of that has to do with thought. So a mixture of thought and habit. We come in here, we sit down, our thoughts are continuing to rage, they just keep whatever habits of mind we have, they just keep going.
• 17:22
  We could finally some time calm down a little bit. But our beliefs about ourselves are still fully intact. So part of a clear mind is sitting down, looking directly, and beginning to sort out the beliefs that we have about life. Is it true? Are these beliefs true?
• 17:44
  So, clear mind. Second thing is in terms of solving problems, in terms of transferring problems into wisdom, is to decide, is this really my problem? You know? So many times we think, I'm responsible for this, I'm responsible for that, I'm responsible for my wife's, you know, projects, I'm responsible for my children, I'm responsible for the starving children in Uganda, I'm responsible for To actually look directly and say, what am I responsible for? Is this my responsibility?
• 18:21
  I can appreciate it, I can feel sympathy, I can know it, but if it's not mine, I can let it go. You know, we get ourselves into all kinds of messes. All of us do. That's how we learn, of course. And so you're with somebody who's gotten themselves into a big mess.
• 18:43
  And you can't solve it. You can't solve somebody else's mess. We can try to inspire them to look themselves, we can try to inspire them and hope to encourage them, we can be cheerier for them, but we can't solve their messes. You know, somebody may have gotten themselves deeply in debt, and we can give them a loan or give them some money, but that doesn't solve the line that got them into debt. So so is it my problem?
• 19:10
  If it's not my problem, I'll let go, let it go. The weather is not our problem. So we don't have to we just let it go. So deciding Byron Katie has that thing she says, is it my problem, your problem, or God's problem? She says, If it's God's problem, earthquakes, volcanoes, you know, let it go.
• 19:36
  If it's somebody else's problem, let it go. If it's your problem, something you are responsible for, okay. That's where you have to apply the clear mind. Now, one of the things about my problem is, is it my opinion that the world should be different than it is? Is it my opinion that it should snow more?
• 20:02
  According to me, we should have a better winter. You know? According to me, we should have a better winter and I'm going start worrying about, okay, why do we have a better winter? We're having a better winter because of global warming, have a better winter because of the ozone layer, we have a better winter because of so much industrial pollution, don't have a better winter because And before we know it, we don't have a better winter because the whole world has gone crazy. That's not our problem.
• 20:27
  A better winner is out of our hands. Know? If you want to donate something to a particular cause, great. If you want to go out and put your feet on the ground, great. But it's not our problem.
• 20:43
  A clear mind is not going to solve the global warming. Now, if we have a clear mind, and other people have a clear mind, and there's lots of clear minds around and open hearts, well, that will transform the world, of course. But it starts with, we have to have, my problem is, first off, my own narrow, hard heart, narrow mind, and confusion. Let's solve that problem. That is our problem.
• 21:18
  When we have a clear a clear mind, then we actually can listen to other people. When we have a clear mind, we can articulate things much more effectively. When we have a clear mind, we can have respect for the mystery that's all around us. When we have a clear mind, then then we watch a lot of things just solve themselves. We don't have to be in charge of it.
• 21:44
  So, clear mind. Slow down. That's why we come to meditate. Slow down. Doing, doing, doing, doing.
• 21:59
  I've gotta get this. I've gotta get this. I've get this. I've gotta get this. My list my to do list is longer and longer, and the more things I put on it, the more things there are to put on it.
• 22:07
  Slow down. So we come to the zendo, we slow down. Don't live your life half heartedly and, you know, like you're in slow gear, but temporarily you slow down. Okay. I'm gonna slow my thoughts down.
• 22:26
  I'm gonna slow my body down. I'm gonna sit so that I can really reflect. Secondly, it's helpful to describe a particular problem without emotion, without judgment and fear. I have a problem with paying my mortgage. Okay.
• 22:46
  That's that's a fact. Krishnamurti, the great Indian sage, he says it's really important that we not confuse facts and problems. The fact is I'm having trouble paying my bills. Just a fact. It has no no emotional it's just just a fact.
• 23:04
  We don't make we don't need to make facts problems. The problem comes in and says, it shouldn't be this way. I've gotta do this. I gotta do that. It's just a fact.
• 23:11
  We'll respond to it. How we can respond to it. So that's a very interesting thing to work with is don't make facts into problems. Don't make facts into problems. Fact is just a fact.
• 23:29
  Lights are on in this room. It's a fact. Floor is made out of old growth fur. It's just a fact. My hands move like this.
• 23:41
  The elbow doesn't move backwards. It's just a fact. So the mind starts making facts into problems. Oh, that means the fact this is an old growth floor means it's tender and dry and it might burn, it might burn very readily, and it might get caught in here, It might be a flame from the candle that gets on this floor, and the floor just goes up, and before we know it we have a flash fire, we're all consumed. Mind will just do that.
• 24:10
  We all know that. We've all done that many times. The fact is there's a floor. The fact is it's burnable. The fact is it's not a problem.
• 24:19
  Problem is all when we are adding the future worried mind to it. So to describe something without anything extra is actually helpful. Decide is this my problem or not. And the last piece right here is the element of time causes us so much distress. I've got to solve this problem right now.
• 24:45
  I've got to solve this problem right now, and we have incredible pressure. I've got to do it right now, right now, right now. But actually, problems often are solved over a longer period of time than we would like. Our fearful mind says, I gotta get it right now. But over a longer period of time, we have the ability that our vow comes into place, then problems will arise and disappear and solutions will become evident.
• 25:14
  So the first part, transforming problem into wisdom, clear mind, be present, slow down, describe the problem without emotion just as a fact, and hold it in time. Okay? Clear and concrete enough? It's the first phase. Anybody have any comments or insights or objections?
• 25:56
  Jomon: Thank you for listening to the Zen Community of Oregon podcast, and thank you for your practice. New episodes air every week. Please consider making a donation at zendust.org. Your support supports us.