This talk was given in preparation for this year’s Lay Initiation Ceremony (Jukai). It explores the ethical dimension of Zen practice as expressed in the Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts. On the one hand, the precepts don’t appear to be different from other religious moral codes. They formulate common sense behavioral guidelines. On the other hand, they can be interpreted from the point of view of emptiness. Then they become the description of how a Buddha functions in the world. They are inseparable from zazen practice. As we begin to use zazen to be intimate with the field of undivided activity and realize it to be our own mind, we find (maybe to our own surprise) that the precepts are a natural expression of this wide, open, and inclusive mind. The intentions to kill, steal, objectify others for sexual pleasure, etc. simply do not occur in this mind. So instead of trying hard to be a good person, when we find ourselves contracting into our small self with its self-centered intentions, our practice is to widen out and shift to Buddha mind. With this shift, refraining from unwholesome action and doing wholesome action are effortlessly present.

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Zenki Christian Dillo Roshi is the the guiding teacher at the Boulder Zen Center in Colorado, USA. This podcast shares the regular dharma talks given at the center. Zenki Roshi approaches Zen practice as a craft of transformation, liberation, wisdom and compassionate action. His interest is to bring Buddhism alive within the Western cultural context, while staying committed to the traditional emphasis on embodiment.