I vow to face the truth about darkness's words. Evening. Evening. So, we're this time starting on Book 10, and Enlightening Being asks for clarification. And just to set the scene for you a little bit, Last time, remember, we talked about Book Eight, which was the initial teaching given by the Buddha after 275 pages of setting the scene, describing who was at the assembly and where they were from, and each one getting up and giving a poem, and somebody asking, how did the universe get formed? an explanation of that, and so on and so forth.

[01:00]

Actually, as usual in the Mahayana Sutras, it's not the Buddha who teaches. One of the Bodhisattva teaches due to the spiritual power of the Buddha. In this case, it's Manjushri, taught about the Four Holy Truths. Then, Book 9, that we are not reading, is called Awakening by Light. And this sort of, I'll just read you one paragraph from this to tell you how we get from book eight to book ten. In book nine, then the Buddha, from beneath the wheel marks on his feet, and as you know, the Buddha has wheel marks, like Dharma wheels engraved on his feet, did you know that? There's a 37, minor, 37 major marks and over 80 minor marks by which one can tell that a being is a Buddha. And one of them is an engraved wheel on his feet.

[02:04]

So from beneath the wheel marks on his feet emitted 100 billion light beams illuminating this billion world universe with its 400 billion continents, 100 billion oceans, 100 billion surrounding mountain ranges, 100 billion enlightening beings born, 100 billion enlightening beings leaving home, 100 billion Buddhas realizing true enlightenment, 100 billion Buddhas teaching, 100 billion Buddhas passing away, 100 billion polar mountain kings, 100 billion heavens and hosts of celestial kings, a hundred billion heavens, of thirty-three celestial realms, and so on and so forth. And as in this place the Buddha was seen sitting on a lotus-bank lion throne surrounded by enlightened beings, so in each of these billion worlds was a Buddha seen. And in each one of those worlds there was a Buddha with enlightened beings, as I say, and in each one of the worlds there was a Manjushri. And then the Manjushris in all places, in the presence of each of the Buddhists, spoke up simultaneously in verse.

[03:13]

Who is Manjushri? Manjushri is a Bodhisattva of wisdom associated with cognizing emptiness. And Manjushri has a sword that cuts through dualistic delusions. And also, Manjushri is traditionally enshrined in all Zen, in Zendos, Zen, because Zazen, you know, is supposed to be helping us to have that kind of wisdom of emptiness. So Manjushri is dear to the hearts of all Zen people. So Manjushri speaks a bunch of verses in that chapter, and continuing along, With Book 10, Manjushri, having spoken a bunch of verses, in the beginning of Book 10, turns to another Bodhisattva named Chief of the Awakened and begins to ask questions.

[04:21]

So, here the scene is that there's simultaneous universes being lit up by this light coming from the Buddha's feet. And all these universes are exactly the same in that Manjushri is in all the universes and surrounding Manjushri are all these different Bodhisattvas. And kind of, not that Manjushri doesn't know the answer to these questions, but just so that all the Enlightened Beings in the area will get the benefit of finding out what's going on, Manjushri asks different Enlightened Beings questions. so that we can have clarification on certain points of the doctrine. And that's what Book 10 is, all these different questions. And they're very good questions, really. And the answers are always given by the various enlightening beings in the form of a poem. So the first question is, in this book, mostly, it seems to me,

[05:24]

the answers to the questions are given pretty much entirely from the standpoint of mind-only philosophy, which is one of the important ways of thinking in Mahayana Buddhism. So usually this sutra, the Huayen Sutra, is, usually when people talk about it, they always mention the teaching of totality and inner penetration. Everything is in one atom, and one atom pervades all universes without bumping into each other. But in addition to that, the sutra also talks quite a bit about the mind-only philosophy, and the teachings of emptiness as well. It's just that it emphasizes the inner penetration more than any other sutra. And that's generally true, I think, of Mayana sutras. These three great philosophies, inner penetration, mind-only, and shunyata, or emptiness, are very much interrelated philosophies.

[06:38]

They're not opposing or different philosophies. In fact, my view is that they only make sense when you understand the other ones. If you only understand emptiness and don't understand mind-only philosophy, then emptiness doesn't quite work. If you only understand mind-only philosophy and don't filter it through understanding emptiness, mind-only philosophy doesn't work. Because if you only understand emptiness, you have no way of realizing emptiness. The teachings of emptiness become very analytical. And those schools that emphasize the understanding of emptiness exclusively often become schools, literally analytical schools, of study and debate and logic, actually. To understand emptiness is a logical exercise in some ways, analytical and logical exercise.

[07:42]

So you need to have a way of practicing meditation, you know, so that you can realize emptiness. And then when you begin meditating and concerning yourself with consciousness and mind, applying the teachings of emptiness to this, you end up understanding or focusing in on the issue of what is the relationship between mind, consciousness, and object of consciousness. Because naturally, you know, this is the place one comes to when you are meditating, and there's always an object, right, that you're meditating on. The breath, the body, and so on. And you always come to the end of your relationship to that object, and you have to jump off. So Mind-Only School looks at emptiness, in a sense, from that standpoint. And essentially what mine-only philosophy says is that the distinction between the object and the consciousness is spurious.

[08:48]

The only distinction between the object and the consciousness is distinction made by language. It's not a real distinction. Therefore when it says in the mine-only philosophy Everything is mind. It doesn't mean everything is in here and not outside of us. Mind includes that whole picture. Mind and object equals mind. So when Mind Only School says it's all mind, it means that relationship is reality. So it's not to be confused with a kind of... Because if it weren't like that, then we would be saying, well, nothing matters then, because it's all in my head anyway, so I could beat everybody up and kill everybody, and what's the difference? So it's not like that, because causality and the effectiveness of causality is always

[09:53]

in emptiness teaching, and in mind-only teaching, and in inner penetration teaching, never is causality overturned. The teaching that this causes that is absolutely firm teaching of the Buddha, and you can never escape from this, but you can realize the true meaning of that. And to see what the real meaning of causality is, we understand emptiness, we understand mind-only, and we understand inner penetration. But that causality is operative, is always the case in Buddhism. So there's no uncaused cause in Buddhism. Everything goes in a circle. Anyway, so mostly the answers to these questions in Book Ten are given from that perspective. So the first question, Manjushri asks, since the nature of mind is one, what is the reason for seeing the existence of various differences, such as going to good or bad tendencies, having complete or imperfect faculties, differences in birth, beauty and ugliness, pain and pleasure, suffering and happiness?

[11:10]

So, you know, since the nature of mind is one, since everything is one substance, in emptiness everything is one substance, how come there are differences? And the chief of awakened answers in a wonderful poem, let's see, phenomena have no function and have no individual nature, therefore all of them do not know one another. And then there's all these metaphors. Like the waters in a river, their rushing flow races past, each unaware of the others, so it is with all things. It is also like a massive fire, blazing flames shoot up at once, each not knowing the others. Phenomena are also like this. Also like a continuous wind, and so on. Real or unreal, false or not false, mundane or transmundane, there's nothing but descriptions.

[12:14]

So the differences in things are only descriptions. They don't have any fundamental nature. They're just descriptions. Then Manjushri puts another question. Since sentient beings are just descriptions, like you just said, and they're not really real, why does the Buddha appear in their midst? for their sake, and teach them according to the time, according to their lives, and so on. Why is that necessary? And the answer given is, analyze the body within. Who herein is the self? Who can understand this way, will comprehend the existence or not of the self. This body is a temporary set-up."

[13:18]

That's a wonderful phrase, I think. That's a very modern phrase. Yeah. This body is a temporary... Yeah, Cleary often has these really nice phrases. This body is a temporary set-up and has no place of abode. Who understands this body will have no attachment to it. Considering the body carefully, everything will be clearly seen. This is a very profound saying, I think, in that you think of spiritual practice as being not about the body, but in a way one of the most discussed meditations in all of Buddhism is the meditation of the body. and understanding the nature of the body, actually meditating and penetrating the real nature of the body, the actual physical body, is one of the deepest meditations. And it says here, when you consider the body carefully, you will see everything clearly. You will realize your true nature by studying the body, which is a really incredible thing.

[14:24]

I've been thinking about this all week, about this seeing the body and there's this amazing meditation called the 32 Parts of the Body, you know that? Where I was studying about it in the Vasudhi Manga where they say there's 32 parts of the body, I can't remember the list, it's like head hair, body hair, liver, spleen, Gorge means like half-digested food, and then there's feces, and then there's urine, blood, pus, kidneys. Anyway, they list 32. And the way they would practice with this is they would memorize the 32 parts of the body and recite them. Then they would recite them backwards. Then they would divide them into groups and recite the different groups forward and backward until they knew this list of 32. parts of the body, inside and out. And then, having done that, which would take a certain amount of time, every day practicing this, then they would sit down and meditate on each one of the 32 parts of the body, on how they would go in and see those kidneys, and see the liver, and see the repulsive, imperfect nature of these organs, and how yucky they were, and pus and phlegm and so on.

[15:39]

And then, in this way, imagine doing that. Imagine spending six months and doing nothing else but meditating on these organs and parts of the body. It would really be a profound experience, really. Then they would go to the cemetery after that. You know, those cemetery meditations where they would look at different corpses in different states of decay, and they had delineated, I forget how many stages, I think a dozen or so, stages of decay of corpses, and they would study them, staring at them in meditation, until they united with this object of meditation, always reminding themselves, this body is the nature of that body. And in that way, they would have, that's explanation of this line, consider the body carefully. Who did that, at what time, the development of Buddhism, that sort of meditation? Well, the old, the Theravada monks did that. I think, I don't know, they may still do it for all I know. But it's hard to find a good charnel ground, you know, here in the West. Laws and things.

[16:41]

Yeah. Yeah, they may, but very well still do it. Do they get to a point where they accept your body? I mean, it just sounds so much like some of the worst stuff I grew up with. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just teaching them, no, don't worry about it, it's going to rot, you know. Right, right, right. Well, yes, somebody pointed out to me, they said, isn't this a rather one-sided view of the body? And it is a one-sided view. And the other side is the body. This body is the Dharmakaya body of the Buddha. So that the other meditation is in zazen. Like the posture that we take in zazen, for instance, is iconographically the posture of Bhairavacana Buddha, the cosmic Buddha who presides over this sutra. So if we do zazen, meditate on the extent of our body, you can see that the body has limitless extent.

[17:50]

The idea that the body ends with the skin is rather kind of a simple-minded idea, because the skin is perfectly in contact with the air and breathes and works with the air and therefore limitlessly proceeds. And the same thing inside the body. If you go inside the body and try to fathom the depth of your breath or the depth of your heartbeat, you can't find the end of it. And so in that way you can meditate on the limitlessness of the human body and the eternity, actually, the eternity of your body. So that's the other side. But the middle way doesn't mean finding the midpoint or the balance between those two. It means thoroughly accepting those two extremes. So even though we don't like this part about the repulsiveness of the body and all that, I think we do have to accept that actually that's one view of the body that we should... I think it's reasonable anyway to understand this and incorporate that into our practice, but also the other side as well.

[19:03]

So, you know, the deeper understanding of the Middle Way is... The Middle Way is actually very extreme. It means accepting all extremes from any direction. That's the Middle Way, rather than rejecting the extremes and finding a compromise in the middle. So yeah, that's a kind of one-sided view of the body, but we've got to look at it all. So we're talking about the body here. I guess maybe the idea is that to get to the place where you see that the body itself is a mere description, one has to do some work. Considering the body carefully, everything will be clearly seen. Knowing all the elements are unreal, one will not create mental fabrications. Based on whom does life arise, and based on whom does it disappear?

[20:05]

Like a turning wheel of fire, its beginning and end can't be known." You know, it's often said, there's no birth and no death, right? This is another way of saying that. The body appears and disappears, but this is like a wave breaking on the ocean. Of course there's a difference of the body appearing and not appearing, but it's not fundamentally the appearance of something out of nothing. It's just a transformation. So when the body disappears, nothing disappears, it's just something being transformed. So there's no birth and there's no death. There's no end and there's no beginning. It's like a turning wheel of fire. Imagine a wheel of fire rotating. You can't find the beginning or the end of that. The wise can observe with insight the impermanence of all existence.

[21:07]

All things are empty and selfless, forever apart from all signs. all descriptions. So when we say the body, when we talk about our body, what we mean, what we're actually talking about is a notion, a description, that these meditations are going to disabuse us of. If we do them thoroughly, we'll see that the body is empty and selfless forever apart from all signs, all descriptions. of all things seen in the world, only mind is the host. By grasping forms according to interpretation, it becomes diluted, not true to reality. But when we go beyond interpretations, understanding that everything that is an object of our mind is just a description, then the mind itself, united with its object, without interpretation,

[22:09]

is true to reality. And that's beyond any kind of philosophy. All philosophies in the world are mental fabrications. There has never been a single doctrine by which one could enter the true essence of things, including the doctrine of the Buddha. There is no doctrine that is not just a description or a fabrication. by the power of the perceiver and the perceived, the object and the mind, by that power, by that union, which is not the union of two different things, but is one thing, all kinds of things are born. Is that not a delusive or a deluded union? I mean, there is no... What do you mean? That which is perceived is the perceiver. So, you called it a union, and I just wonder if that's a... It's a diluted union, you're right, yeah.

[23:20]

And it says, you know, by the power of the perceiver and the perceived, all kinds of things are born. They soon pass away not staying, dying out instant to instant. That's the world of appearances. Yeah, it is a diluted unity. So, I like this part. That's why I picked it up. The part here where it says, only mind is a host, is that reading into it to think that, to look at the word host as the five ranks, and host, and guest, and Tozan, that whole? No, I don't think so. I think that's probably, Clary is not unaware of that. I don't know, of course, what the Chinese word is, but I think it's likely that that is a relationship. I don't see how this answers the question. I don't see how that relates to the question.

[24:21]

Yeah, in a way, I know what you mean. I thought of that too. Because the question was, why does the Buddha appear? Right? And in a certain way, that doesn't answer the question. And I think that's true. In a certain way it doesn't. except only indirectly, insofar as it's pointing out that individual entities exist because of descriptions and delusions, and that it takes this kind of effort to see through that. So maybe you can infer that the Buddhas appear to help beings go through that journey and see that. But I mean, I think you're right. It doesn't really exactly answer the question. Who perceives the Buddha? And teach in these different ways.

[25:31]

Why does the Buddha teach in all these different ways? And, you know, then this answers more to the point, because he talks about, you know, in the last stanza, you know, that the power of perceiver and perceived, all kinds of things are born. So that's what's happening. And you have to deal with that. The question of specifically how come there are so many different ways of teaching is addressed later on, more specifically. You'll see, I think, where is that one? Well, it's not far down. Later on. Well, that's sort of the skillful means. Yeah, right. But that does seem to be The crux of this matter is, since everything is a description, all beings are descriptions, all entities, all of us are descriptions, well, why do we need to be saved?

[26:33]

Yeah, I think that's the question. Why? What place has compassion in this, or redemption, or salvation, or why does the Buddha teach? Yeah, I think that is the question. and it gets off on the philosophy's tack. I think we have to admit that this sutra is not always that logical. You could look at it and say, how come they said that? That doesn't make any sense. That happens in this sutra, I think. you know, answers are given to questions that don't seem to have anything to do with the question. Although I think you can see relation here, but in a way, I agree, it doesn't really, to me, as I read it, it doesn't directly answer the question either. Although it relates to it. So for all these titles, are they like, you know, chief in riches of truth,

[27:44]

Chief of the Precious, etc. Are they... I mean, is it a chicken and the egg thing? Are they designed to go with the answer, or... where do they come from? Yeah, I don't think so. I mean, I've thought of that, too, and I've tried to... I suppose, you know, you can concoct... Yeah, you can, but... Like I say, I just don't think the Sutra is all that organized, you know what I mean? I don't think that they... I mean, I think that, to me, it comes out of a kind of fullness and enthusiasm rather than somebody, like, sitting and calculating these things, you know. But I'm sure that there exist commentaries explaining, I have no doubt, that there are commentaries explaining why this particular bodhisattva is giving that particular message. Well, maybe it's a euphonious thing in the original language. It's easier to memorize and speak. Who knows? Who knows? And what the connotations of these words are in Sanskrit or Chinese.

[28:46]

Who even knows whether the Chinese names are the same as they were in Sanskrit and so on. It's hard to say. That's the thing about reading religious texts in translation. It's always a problem. When you start zeroing in on individual words, you're immediately lost in the translation and you can only start talking about what you think. you can't really say whether the text says that or not. So talking about what you think is actually pretty valuable, but as long as you know, you're not necessarily talking about the text. So then the next question is another good question, I think. All sentient beings have four gross physical elements. You know, in the Sandokai, it talks about the four gross elements return to their own natures. So that's the death process, right? The four gross elements are fire and water and air and earth, right?

[29:53]

So this is the Buddhist physics. These constitute a physical, all physical matter is made up of these four elements, and so when something dissipates, a physical body breaks up, or an object is burned in a fire or something, the four gross elements separate at that moment. And the water, air goes to air, and water goes to water, and fire goes to fire, like a baby taking to its mother, going back to their mother. They're sort of like exiled from their mother in this form, and then they return to their original place. So all bodies All beings are made of these four elements, and there is no self in them, as we all know. So how come there is the experience of pain and pleasure, beauty and ugliness, internal and external goodness, little sensation and much sensation?

[30:53]

Why do some experience consequences in the present and some in the future? all this while there is no good or bad in the realm of reality. So why is that? That's a really good question. So... Well, it relates to the first question. Because the problem is pain and pleasure, or sensation, or experience of suffering, experience of dissolution, or old age. Yeah. Which is what it seems to be the Buddha was addressing. Yeah. And both questions are also the same in that they're the same kind of question about unity. There's no self. Everything is already quiescent. Why is there differentiation?

[31:58]

Why are there problems? If there's no self in the body, why do we experience these problems like pleasure and pain and difficulty? You see what I mean? It's the same kind of mechanism that moves both those questions. So, again, the answers, I mean, in a way, I suppose the answers aren't so, don't fit the question so much because they're versifications, you know, sort of on the theme of the question, but not necessarily logical answers to the questions. Like a skilled magician standing at a crossroads, causing many forms to appear, so is the nature of actions. Like a mechanical robot able to utter various sounds, neither self nor not-self, so is the nature of actions." So I don't know if that answers the question too much. Basically, pain and pleasure, beauty and ugliness are not real.

[33:04]

They're like forms that a magician creates. Well, I think it's cause and effect. I think all these stances are talking about cause and effect. Yeah. It's kind of tricky. I was thinking about this in the sense that, you know, if you take that too literally, if you don't take it as medicine, you know, if you take it as the truth, you can get pretty mixed up, you know. What, this is all like a dream? What is this about here? I think it's only part of the story. And the next question, you know, how come there's so many different teachings? That's the one that you raised before, Bob.

[34:05]

How come there's so many different teachings? Just as the nature of fire, let's see, Is this the one though? Yes. It is here. It's just the third verse. Yeah, just as the nature of fire is one while able to burn all things and the flames make no distinction, so is the truth of all Buddhas. Just as the ocean is one with millions of different waves, yet the water is no different, so is the truth of all Buddhas. Anyway, I want to go a little, skip over some parts of this. There's just one in 3 and 7. Which is the one you have there? 307? Yeah. Which one? The one on 305. That's the one where people have heard it, but how come they don't act on it?

[35:10]

The chief in effort is a good person to respond to, a good bodhisattva to respond to. That one does fit the case, doesn't it? If the Buddhist teaching is so great, how come everybody doesn't immediately become enlightened? And then it goes on and on about people who are lazy. So that's the real call to action. If we're not enlightened yet, it must be because we're lazy. We haven't tried hard enough yet. So I thought that was very amusing. And the next one is like that too. According to what the Buddha says, if any sentient beings accept and hold the true teaching, they can cut off all afflictions. Why then, how about people who do accept and hold, like we say in the, that's the chant, you know, in the opening of the Dharma. How's it go?

[36:13]

Having it to see and listen to remember and accept, that's what Some translations say, to see and listen, to accept and hold. So that's what it's referring to there, the phrase, to accept and hold the Dharma. When you study the Dharma, you say that verse, I now vow to accept and hold this teaching. How come people who accept and hold the teaching are still so messed up? You know, what's the matter? And then the verse is about how people who are learned but do not apply the teaching, do not apply it, are like deaf musicians, blind embroiderers, ship's captains who die at sea, a man floating in the lake who dies of thirst. So you've got to make effort and you've got to apply the teaching, and this puts a lot of pressure on us. So then this next one talks about how come there are so many different practices and approaches.

[37:20]

And the answer to this one does rather give a very reasonable answer. Chief in Knowledge, that one sort of fits too. Chief in Knowledge says, well, to stingy people the Buddhists teach giving, to angry people they teach tolerance, to lazy people they praise effort, to the malicious compassion, to the troubled joy, to the devious equanimity. So whatever your problem is, the opposite is taught by way of getting around it. And then it's interesting here, they list the six paramitas as a foundation for all of these different anecdotal teachings that are given. The basis of all of them is the Six Paramitas, but then they give the Six Paramitas in a really unusual way, in that first they give generosity and morality, as usual.

[38:23]

Generosity and morality, or self-control, are bases of enlightening beings' practices. Tolerance and effort, or patience and energy, as they're more often translated, protect the enlightening beings. But then, instead of mindfulness and wisdom, they give the four unlimited abodes, kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. They substitute those for meditation and wisdom, which I thought was a kind of interesting substitution. The sutra is really emphasizing action and compassion more than meditation practice. Then at the end,

[39:42]

They ask Manjushri to use your wonderful powers of elucidation to expound the realm of the enlightened. What is the sphere of the Buddhas? What are the causal bases of the sphere of the Buddhas? And so on. And then he says that the Buddhas are equal in extent to space. And that's in that book. Could you have any other questions or something you wanted to bring up more in this book? Book 11 is one of the sections of the sutra that has been translated many, many times. And I think, if I'm not mistaken, it circulated as a separate little book in some times and places, because it's so valuable for practitioners.

[40:46]

And this is probably the source, if any of you have read Thich Nhat Hanh's writings, he always refers to the little book that he was given as a young monk of verses to be recited in various places in the monastery. This is the source of that kind of practice, in those verses. And I don't know, actually I've never I've seen a translation of the book that they used in his monastery. I don't know if it's literally these same verses or if it's just based on them. But I think this is the prototype of all such books. And this is, you know, it's just like prayer, right? Where you say a prayer before eating or a prayer before going to bed. We have these traditions in the West as well. And the meaning of that is that you take an activity that you're doing and you focus your intention to be aware and turn your life around on that activity.

[41:53]

So that activity becomes consecrated, if you want to use that kind of word, or takes on the cast of practice. So it points out again, the importance in this sutra and in all Mahayana sutras of intention. The attitude or intention with which you do something is really, really the most fundamental thing. And there's a chapter somewhere in here, I forget if we... I think it's later on, called Merit of the Initial Determination to Attain Enlightenment. In the Bodhisattva career, There is an event that happens called Arousing the Determination for Enlightenment, or it's called in Sanskrit, bodhicitta. Maybe you know this word, bodhicitta. This occurs sometime in your career as a bodhisattva where you are suddenly inspired by this urge to achieve enlightenment, particularly for the benefit of others.

[43:01]

You have this tremendous altruistic feeling for other people who don't exist, of course. And because of that, because of your feeling for them, you decide to practice and achieve enlightenment. And that intention that comes on you and that you dedicate everything in your life to that intention is the most important thing. More important than meditation skills and different kinds of things. And in the chapter on the merit of such a thought being produced, It goes on and on and on at extravagant lengths about how much of it says, you know, imagine if you went to a billion worlds and in all those worlds you fed beings and you clothed them and you straightened them out totally for an entire eon. Wouldn't you have a lot of merit for doing that? Yeah, you'd have really a lot of merit. Well, the merit of that compared to the merit of one moment of this intention is nothing.

[44:03]

It goes on page after page of all these different comparisons, saying that the merit of the intention to enlighten all beings and yourself is so great. Anyway, so here is a chapter which is about dedicating everything that you do by the use of these verses, literally repeating and reciting these verses when you do these things. I do a little bit of this kind of practice, and it's very effective, a very wonderful thing. There's actually a verse that you chant silently when you bow. and a verse that you chant when you recite incense. These are ones that I do. There's a verse that you recite when you take a bath, and a verse that you recite when you go to the bathroom, and so on. So you do enough of those, and pretty soon you really cultivate this intention even more.

[45:07]

So here, it's interesting because the question that Chief in Knowledge asks Manjushri to open this chapter is a question, you know, how do enlightening beings attain faultless physical, verbal, and mental actions? How do they perfect their character and activities so that they can achieve a good birth? And, you know, and then it lists the entire range of Buddhist practice. How do they do all that stuff? How do they do the whole thing? So you would think that the answer to that would be some kind of a long answer about meditation practice and morality practice and this and that. But instead of that, you just get all these verses. And that's because I think the sutra is telling you

[46:09]

that to have this kind of intention in everything that you do is the most fundamental way to achieve enlightenment. Maybe it has something to do with what you were saying before, or what Sutra was saying about teaching the opposite to people. I forgot, you know, the opposite. So here this thing is being taught to a bunch of people who are already doing can't go over that, this is another way of sort of maybe opening up to something they hadn't thought of before. They thought maybe it was too trivial. Even though the other stuff is important. Yeah. When you said to have this intention, that is the intention to be in line for the sake of other beings. Yeah. So, If you ever use any of these verses, a better way of translating them would be, instead of, should wish that all beings, you'd say, I vow with all beings.

[47:25]

So they should be I? Yeah. While you're at home, you would say, I vow with all beings to realize the nature of home is empty and escape its pressures. So imagine, like every time you went home, as you walked in the door, before you went in, you took a deep breath, you know, and you said, I vow with all beings to realize the nature of home is empty and escape its pressures." Then you walked in the door. And when you're serving your parents, I vow with all beings to serve the Buddha, protecting and nourishing everyone. While with their spouses and children, I vow with all beings to be impartial toward everyone and forever give up attachment. Pretty good, you know.

[48:34]

So it's kind of like acknowledging our tendencies and sort of giving us something to think about. It's interesting to see that so clearly. This is very clearly directed towards lay people. Well, later on, it starts with lay people, but as you go on, there's a whole bunch of ones that are directed specifically at monks. It's interesting, because it's as if, here's what you can do if you're in one of these situations. This next one, you know, on the top of the next page, when attaining desires, they should eye vow with all beings to put out the arrow of lust and realize ultimate peace.

[49:38]

It might be actually with making love. I think it probably, yeah. Imagine that. How about that? If you're making love, recite this verse. It doesn't sound very erotic. Well, but that's the point. That's the point. Don't get carried away. It sounds like something a man would recite. Dedicate this activity to putting out the arrows of lust and realizing ultimate peace. When you're at a party, I vow with all beings to enjoy myself with truth and realize amusement's not real. And so on. So it's interesting in that it assumes that we are going to do these things and that we can do these things with that dedication.

[50:41]

It doesn't say don't do these things. Some of them I find very clever, the way that it takes off from the situation to a kind of wish. When gathering in crowds, I vow with all beings to let go of compounded things and attain to total knowledge. Then at the bottom of that page it begins the monk's part, giving up the home life, entering a monastery, seeking initiation, getting ordained and shaving your head and putting on religious clothes, full ordination, taking refuge, someone meditating. to a mother's illusion.

[51:58]

You mean to vow this way, yeah. Enter a sanctified state. Where? Give up phony decoration and reach the abode of truth, or what's that? Where? So, it's kind of interesting, it's kind of thrown in a circle. Well, I know, but I think that the Sutra is really saying that when you realize, like you say, where? Nowhere. When you realize that, still, this is your intention. That's a challenge. Why is that? But I do think that there's no real substance to the body. The body is unreliable, and so is the mind. There's nothing to rely on. Right there is where bodhicitta arises.

[53:01]

And bodhicitta is, in substance, no different from the body or the mind. And yet, this is our feeling. Why is that? Well, I don't know. But the sutra says, I think, teaching that... Now, if we cling to that, right? I mean, this is partly in what you're saying. If you cling to that, If you sort of parade around with your bodhichitta badge on, then it's nothing more or less than delusion. Then you have to let it go. But that is letting go. In other words, what it's saying is real letting go is a warm-hearted wish to be one with and live one's life for the benefit of all beings, whatever that means for you. And I think, to me, that does seem like a true mark of a sage, or somebody who's really established in a way, is that they're open and concerned.

[54:04]

They may not be running around like crazy, doing this or that, but their attitude, you know what I mean? The feeling that one gets is not like, don't bother me, I'm practicing, or something like that, but rather a feeling of kindness and concern and warmth. and so on. Maybe not always in the way that we would like to receive it, but, you know, you get that feeling. So this is a kind of a mystery, you know. Why is that? Why is it that realizing emptiness, realizing that all things are mere designations, we have a feeling of compassion? Maybe it's because realizing that, you know, we realize our connection with everything. So we're concerned. I like that later on, there's all these interesting ones. Went on a road.

[55:07]

Went on a road uphill, went on a road downhill. A winding road, a straight road, a dusty road. These are all roads that they would walk on to go begging, right? This is on 3.19. A big part of the traditional monk's life is to go begging every day, so they had a different verse depending on what road they were walking down to go begging. Seeing a dangerous road, seeing a tree, a grove of trees, a mountain, so on. Seeing a reservoir, a pond, a well, a spring, a bridge. This is really a serious bridge. It would take a long time to learn all these verses and to actually recite them every time. This will leave much room for rock and roll. Well, they probably have one in here somewhere. When listening to rock and roll music, I vow with all sentient beings to thump the drum of enlightenment forever.

[56:12]

They're all C, [...] C. And then it says, if they use thorny trees. And then it goes back to C. If they use thorny trees. See, on the road, they're C. Yeah, I don't know. Everything is C except for one. Oh, there's some more on the other page. There are more. 320. I like the ones where they have the opposite, like they'll say, when you're begging, you know. If you see someone, this is on 325, if you see someone who gives, I vow with all beings to forever abandon the three evil paths and their miseries. But then if you see somebody who doesn't give, I vow with all beings never ever to give up supremely virtuous ways."

[57:17]

This is kind of a great twist, right? If you see somebody who's stingy and doesn't give up anything, I vow never to give up virtue, just like they're not giving up any alms. So it's this great thing of turning on something negative that you see, vowing to produce that negative quality for a wholesome end. Anyway, are you up for doing this practice of reading the Sutra in unison? Would you like to try that? The way that I've done this before is to start off with an incense offering and three bows. And then maybe we could just begin

[58:22]

oh, I don't know, on 321, just at the top, if they see a big river. And I have this little bell, and it's nice to read for a while, and then hit the bell and just breathe for a couple breaths, and then start in again. And then at the end, I'll hit the bell twice to indicate the end. And then three more bows. And then we can do the ending, the class chant. If they see a big river, they should wish that all beings gain entry into the stream of truth and enter the ocean of Buddha knowledge.

[60:42]

If they see a reservoir, they should wish that all beings quickly awaken to the truth of the oneness of the Buddhas. If they see a pond, they should wish that all beings be fully accomplished in speech and be skillful in preaching. If they see a well, they should wish that all beings have full powers of elucidation to explain all things. If they see a spring, they should wish that all beings' skill and means increases and their good roots be inexhaustible. And if they see a bridge, they should wish that all beings carry all across to freedom like a bridge. If they see flowing water, they should wish that all beings develop a wholesome will and wash away the stains of delusion. Seeing a garden cultivated, they should wish that all beings in the garden of sense desires clear away the weeds of craving. Seeing a forest of sorrowless trees, they should wish that all beings forever divorce greed and lust and not produce anxiety and fear.

[61:43]

If they see a park, they should wish that all beings diligently cultivate the practices leading to Buddha's enlightenment. Seeing people wearing ornaments, they should wish that all beings be adorned with a Buddha's 32 marks of distinction. Seeing the unadorned, they should wish that all beings give up decorations and practice austerity. Seeing people attached to pleasure, they should wish that all beings delight themselves with truth, not abandoning love for it. Seeing the unattached, they should wish that all beings have no care in their minds for fabricated things. Seeing happy people, they should wish that all beings always be peaceful and happy, gladly supporting the Buddhas. Seeing people suffer, they should wish that all beings attain fundamental knowledge and eliminate all misery. Seeing people with no maladies, they should wish that all beings enter true wisdom and never have sickness or afflictions. Seeing people sick, they should wish that all beings know the body is empty and null and divorce opposition and conflict.

[62:47]

Seeing handsome people, they should wish that all beings always have pure faith in the enlightened and enlightening ones. Seeing ugly people, they should wish that all beings not become attached to anything not good. Seeing grateful people, they should wish that all beings be able to know the blessings of the Buddhas and enlightened beings. Seeing ungrateful people, they should wish that all beings not increase the punishment of those who are bad. If they see mendicants, they should wish that all beings be harmonious and tranquil, ultimately conquering themselves. Seeing Brahmins, they should wish that all beings always maintain pure conduct, getting rid of all evil. Seeing ascetics, they should wish that all beings by austere practices reach the ultimate state. Seeing self-disciplined people, they should wish that all beings strongly maintain their will and practice and not give up the Buddhist path. Seeing people wearing armor, they should wish that all beings always wear the armor of virtue, heading for the teacherless state.

[63:49]

Saying the unarmed, they should wish that all beings be forever rid of all doings that are not good. Saying people debased, they should wish that all beings be able to refute all erroneous doctrines. Seeing people of proper livelihood, they should wish that all beings succeed in pure livelihood without improper behavior. If they see a king, they should wish that all beings become kings of truth, always expounding the right teachings. If they see a prince, they should wish that all beings be reborn from the truth and be children of Buddha. If they see an elder, they should wish that all beings be able to clearly cut off and not practice evil ways. If they see a great minister, they should wish that all beings always maintain right mindfulness and practice all virtues. If they see a castle, they should wish that all beings gain strong and firm bodies and indefatigable minds. If they see a capital, they should wish that all beings collect all virtuous qualities and always be joyful and blissful. Seeing someone in a forest, they should wish that all beings be worthy of praise and honor of celestials and humans.

[64:55]

Entering a village to bedding, they should wish that all beings enter the profound realm of truth, their minds without impediment. Coming to someone's door, they should wish that all beings enter into all doors of Buddhist teaching. Having entered a house, they should wish that all beings might enter the vehicle of Buddhahood, which is equal in all times. Seeing someone who doesn't give, they should wish that all beings never ever give up supremely virtuous ways. Seeing those who give, they should wish that all beings were ever abandoned the three evil paths in their miseries. If they see an empty bowl, they should wish that all beings be pure at heart and empty of afflictions. If they see a football, they should wish that all beings completely fulfill all virtuous ways. If they receive respect, they should wish that all beings respectfully practice all the Buddhist teachings. If they get no respect, they should wish that all beings not act in any ways that are not good. Seeing people with conscience, they should wish that all beings act with discretion and cover their organs.

[65:58]

Seeing as shameless, they should wish that all beings give up shamelessness and abide in the way of kindness. If they get fine food, they should wish that all beings should fulfill their aspirations and be free from envy and longing. If they get poor food, they should wish that all beings should not fail to obtain the taste of all meditations. Getting soft food, they should wish that all beings be imbued with compassion in their minds, becoming gentle. Get a course, drive through with it, you wish that all beings have no attachments and cut off one day a great reaping. When they eat, they should wish that all beings feed on the joy of meditation and be sated by delight and truth. When tasting flavor, they should wish that all beings attain the supreme savor of Buddhahood and be filled with the elixir of immortality. When the meal is finished, they should wish that all beings accomplish all their tasks and fulfill the Buddhist teachings. When they explain the teachings, they should wish that all beings attain inexhaustible eloquence and widely expound the essentials of the teachings.

[67:02]

When they leave a place, they should wish that all beings deeply enter enlightened knowledge, forever leaving the trickle world. When they enter a bath, they should wish that all beings enter omniscient knowledge, knowing past, present and future are equal. While washing their bodies, they should wish that all beings be undefiled in body and mind, radiantly pure inside and out. In the blistering heat of the day, they should wish that all beings cast off myriad afflictions, putting an end to them all. When the heat subsides and begins to cool, they should wish that all beings experience the highest truth and be ultimately cool. When reciting scripture, they should wish that all beings accord with the Buddha's teachings, remembering without forgetting. If they get to see a Buddha, they should wish that all beings be all like universally good, handsome and well-adorned. When seeing a Buddha's tomb, they should wish that all beings be honored as the shrine and receive the offerings of celestials and humans. Reverently gazing at the shrine, they should wish that all beings be looked up to by all celestials and humans.

[68:04]

Bowing their heads to the shrine, they should wish that all beings be exalted beyond the view of gods and men. Circumambulating the shrine, they should wish that all beings act without offense and develop omniscience. Certainly, in the shrine of Christ, they should wish that all beings diligently see the Buddha's path without the indolence of mind. Praising the Buddha's virtues, they should wish that all beings fulfill all virtues, extolling endlessly. Praising the Buddha's distinguishing marks, they should wish that all beings develop the Buddha body and realize formless truth. When washing their feet, they should wish that all beings fulfill the bases of spiritual powers, unhindered wherever they go. When going to sleep at night, they should wish that all beings attain physical ease and undisturbed mind. Awakening from sleep, they should wish that all beings awaken on missions proceeding in all directions. Child of Buddha, if enlightening beings use their minds in this way, they will attain all supremely wonderful qualities, which cannot be dislodged by any gods, demons, monks, brahmins, Gandharvas, titans, etc., or by any Buddhist followers self-defying.

[69:12]

It's beginning again at the beginning of the book. Beginning of book 10? Yeah, 312. 312? Yeah, page 312, book 11. Then the Enlightened Being, Chief in Knowledge, asked the Enlightened Being, Manjushri, how can Enlightened Beings attain faultless physical, verbal and mental actions? How can they attain harmless physical, verbal and mental actions? How can they attain blameless physical, verbal and mental actions? How can they attain invulnerable physical, verbal, and mental actions? How can they attain unaggressive physical, verbal, and mental actions? How can they attain unshakable physical, verbal, and mental actions?

[70:47]

How can they attain excellent physical, verbal, and mental actions? How can they attain pure physical, verbal, and mental actions? How can they attain unpolluted physical, verbal, and mental action? How can they attain physical, verbal, and mental action that is guided by wisdom? How can they attain birth in appropriate places among good people, physically complete, with full mindfulness, understanding, completeness, and contact with consciousness and awareness? How can they attain excellence discernment, foremost discernment, supreme discernment, immeasurable discernment, incalculable discernment, inconceivable discernment, incomparable discernment, unfathomable discernment, inexpressible discernment? How can they attain causal power, will power, skill power, the power of proper conditions and objects of attention? faculty power, powers of observation, and power to stop the mind, powers of analytic insight, and power of perspective thought. How can they attain skill in analyzing the psychophysical elements and organs, skill in analyzing interdependent origination, skill analyzing the realms of desire, form, and formlessness, and skill in understanding the past, present, and future?

[71:55]

How can they cultivate well the branches of enlightenment, mindfulness, discernment, effort, joy, well-being, concentration, relinquishment? How can they attain emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness? How can they fulfill the means of transcendence, generosity, self-control, tolerance, effort, meditation, and wisdom? How can they fulfill kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity? How can they attain the power of knowledge of what is so and what is not, the power of knowledge of consequences of past, future, and present acts, the power of knowledge of superiority and inferiority of faculties, the power of knowledge of various realms, the power of knowledge of various understandings, the power of knowledge of where all paths lead, the power of knowledge of defilement or impurity, of meditations, liberations and trances, the power of knowledge of past lives, the power of knowledge of unhindered clairvoyance, the power of knowledge of having cut off all taste. How can they always gain the protection, respect, and support of celestial kings, dragon kings, yaksa kings, Gandharva kings, titan kings, Garuda kings, Kinnara kings, Maharaja kings, human kings, and Brahma kings?

[73:01]

How can they be a reliance and saviour, a refuge and resource, a lamp and a light, an illuminator and a guide, a supreme and universal leader for all sensual beings? How can they be foremost and greatest, excellent and supreme, sublime and most wonderful, highest in every cell, incomparable and peerless, among all sentient beings? On this he says to chiefly knowledge, Excellent, O child of Buddha, you have asked this out of a desire to benefit many, to bring peace to many. If enlightened beings use their minds properly, they can attain all supreme qualities, can have a mind unhindered in regard to all enlightening teachings, can remain on the path of the Buddhas of past, present and future, even while living in the midst of sentient beings, can comprehend the characteristics of all things, cut off all evil and fulfill all good. They will be physically most excellent, like universally good. All of their practical vows they will be able to fulfill and will be free in all ways and will be great for all sentient beings.

[74:06]

How can they use their minds so as to attain all supreme sublime qualities? Enlightened beings at home should wish that all beings realize the nature of home is empty and escape its pressures. While serving their parents, they should wish that all beings serve the Buddha, protecting and nourishing everyone. While with their spouses and children, they should wish that all beings be impartial toward everyone and forever give up attachment. While attaining desires, they should wish that all beings pull out the arrow of lust and realize ultimate peace. On festive occasions, they should wish that all beings enjoy themselves in truth and realize amusement's not real. If in palace rooms, they should wish that all beings enter the sanctified state forever rid of defiled craving. When putting on adornments, they should wish that all beings give up phony decoration and reach the abode of truth. When climbing up in balconies that she wished it all be, to stand the tower up to her and see through everything. When they give something that she wished it all be, to be able to relinquish all the parts free of pain.

[75:09]

When in the gatherings of her eyes that she wished it all be, to let go of compounded things and attain to total knowledge. If in danger and difficulty they should wish that all beings be free, unhindered, wherever they go. When they give up home life, they should wish that all beings have no hindrance in leaving home and that their minds be liberated. Entering a monastery, they should wish that all beings expound various principles of non-contention. Going to tutors and teachers, they should wish that all beings skillfully serve their teachers in righteous, virtuous ways. Seeking initiation, they should wish that all beings reach Shedding like clothing, they should wish that all beings cultivate roots of goodness and abandon the yoke of transgressions.

[76:24]

When shaving off their hair, they should wish that all beings forever divorce all afflictions and pass on to ultimate tranquility. Putting on religious garb, they should wish that all beings be undefiled in mind and fulfill the way of the great sage. When they formally leave home, they should wish that all beings leave home with the Buddha and rescue one and all. Taking refuge in the Buddha, they should wish that all beings continue the lineage of Buddha's conceiving the unexcelled aspiration. Taking refuge in the teaching, they should wish that all beings enter deeply into the scriptures and their wisdom be deep as the sea. Taking refuge in the community, they should wish that all beings order the masses, all becoming free from obstruction. When receiving the learner's precepts, they should wish that all beings learn self-control well and not do any wrong. Receiving a mentor's instruction, they should wish that all beings bear themselves with dignity and that their actions be truthful. Receiving a teacher's guidance, they should wish that all beings enter the knowledge of worthlessness and reach the state of Receiving the full set of precepts, they should wish that all beings fulfill all means of liberation and answer the supreme teaching.

[77:32]

When entering a hall, they should wish that all beings ascend to the unexcelled sanctuary that rests there secure and unshakable. When setting out a seat, they should wish that all beings cause their principles to bloom and see their true character. Sitting up straight, they should wish that all beings sit on the seat of enlightenment, their minds without attachment. Sitting cross-legged, they should wish that all beings have firm and strong roots of goodness and attain the state of immovability. Cultivating concentration, they should wish that all beings conquer their minds by concentration, ultimately with no remainder. When practicing contemplation, they should wish that all beings see truth as it is and be forever free of opposition and contention. When crossing the legs, they should wish that all beings observe that all acts and all things return to dispersal and extinction. When lowering the feet and resting, they should wish that all beings attain liberation of mind, resting in peace, unstirred. When raising the legs, they should wish that all beings leave the sea of birth and death and fulfill all good qualities. When putting on lower garments, they should wish that all beings wear the foundations of goodness and have a sense of shame and consciousness.

[78:38]

When putting on a belt, they should wish that all beings bundle roots of goodness and not let them be lost. When putting on an outer garment, they should wish that all beings attain the supreme basis of goodness and reach the other shore of the teaching. Putting on a mastic robe, they should wish that all beings exhibit a form of strength and continued durability. Taking a toothpick in hand, they should wish that all beings attained the wonderful teaching of the ultimately pure. When choosing not toothpicks, they should wish that all beings be harmonious and pure in mind, fighting through all afflictions. When going to the toilet, they should wish that all beings reject greed, hatred, and folly, and clean away sinful things. When going to the wash, thereafter, they should wish that all beings be legally are memorable.

[80:16]

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