Actually, it's quite challenging, because the Dharma is rather simple anyway. So I thought I would talk about greed, hate and delusion, which everyone can relate to pretty easily. And greed, hate and delusion are called the three unwholesome roots. And the three wholesome roots are non-greed, non-hate, and non-delusion. The positive is expressed through the negative as non-greed, non-hate, and non-delusion. In Buddhism, we don't try to fill the void with stuff. If there's absence of greed, that's fine.

[01:01]

If there's absence of hate, that's fine. If there's absence of delusion, that's fine. No need to name it. But nevertheless, we do have names for the three. So, I had some little stories children's stories, but actually I think the adults enjoy the children's stories as much as the children, or more, maybe. So I'll tell you a few little stories about greed, hate, and delusion. There was a little dog, well first I'll say, in a town in the ancient world, there was marketplace and marketplace has many vendors.

[02:10]

There's the vegetable seller and the fruit seller and the salt seller and the spices and then there's the meat market. And so on Saturday or one day, everybody goes to the marketplace. And so the marketplace is very busy and teeming with people. And so one day there was this little dog called Fido who was looking around for something like everybody else. And he was sniffing here and sniffing there. And so there was this lady who had just bought a nice, big, juicy steak in the meat market. And she put it in her basket and put a cloth over it.

[03:14]

And little Fido came up and put his nose. You know, dogs' noses are very good. put his nose in between, just lifted up the cloth with his nose and put his snout in there and grabbed a steak, pulled it up and ran. He just ran and ran and ran, fast as he could. And he ran out of the marketplace and he ran down the street and out into the countryside. And he was pretty tired. And he got into a came to a bridge, and he stopped on the bridge, just a little bridge over a creek. It was a very nice day, no wind blowing, sunny, pleasant, and he looked over the side of the bridge. And he saw, when he looked over the side of the bridge, he saw a dog with a steak in its mouth, looking up at him.

[04:20]

And he said, to himself, I see a dog with a stake in its mouth looking up at me. I want that stake. So he opened his mouth to grab the stake, and the stake that he had fell into the creek, disappeared at the bottom. The Visuddhimagga, which is a compendium of ancient Buddhist practice, there are three types. There are six types of person classified. One is green type, hate type, and delusion type. And then there's a faith type, an intelligence type, and a discursive type.

[05:31]

Discursive means a sharp mind flitting around from one thing to another, going to this, then going to that. You know the type. And the six have parallels. Greed type is parallel to a faith type. Greed seizes on objects. through desire. Through desire, greed seizes on objects and is rather tenacious and actually kind of goodwill.

[06:33]

A greed type usually doesn't carry animosity, usually actually has a pleasant personality. and usually just wants something for itself. And the parallel factor is faith, which is always looking for the right way of practice, or the right way to do something. And when it finds... when a faith type find something, the right way to do something, will really hold on with confidence. So these two have a lot in common, actually. And when a greed type enters practice, they're usually very strong in faith.

[07:41]

Greed type will usually be very strong in faith when they find what they're looking for. A hate type is akin to intelligence. Parallel factor is intelligence. Hate is always looking for a fault. The hate type is... You know the hate types, don't you? We're always looking for faults and then condemning. The hate type needs to find fault and then say, you did it, blah, blah, blah. And intelligent type, intelligence type looks for faults but not in the person. and is looking for faults in order to eradicate them.

[08:48]

In other words, is looking for how to take care of the fault rather than condemning the person. This is how these two factors are parallel but different. So when a hate type enters practice, It Intelligence Becomes dominant and they know how to Study or how to really Look for Good Beneficial ways to practice and Look into or observe what is not beneficial, and they can tell the difference, and they're very intelligent.

[09:50]

There's an interesting little story. The sun and the moon were having a talk one day, and they got into a little bit of an argument, and they both realized that they were very strong, But they wanted to see who was really the strongest. So they said, OK, let's have a contest. And they looked around over the landscape, and they saw a shepherd. And they said, let's see who can make the shepherd take off his coat. So they agreed, OK. I don't remember which one suggested it, but they both agreed. OK, let's see who can make the shepherd take off his coat. So the sun said, you go first. And the wind said, OK.

[10:57]

And he started to blow, blow, blow real hard. He's going to blow the coat off of the shepherd. And the more he blew, the more the shepherd held on to his coat and he blew and he blew and the world turned ice cold and everything became frozen. There was snow and ice everywhere. And the more there was snow and ice, the more the shepherd held on to his coat for dear life. And finally the wind got really tired and the more the shepherd hung on to his coat, the angrier the wind became. He got angrier and angrier and angrier. Finally, he just gave up. He said, I can't do it. You do it. You go ahead and see if you can try. So the son said, OK. And he just started shining his warm rays down on the shepherd.

[12:00]

Pretty soon, the snow started melting. The ice started melting. Water began to flow. And the shepherd said, it's getting hot around here. And he took off his coat. Then the delusion type is Always unsettled. Delusion type is always unsettled. Always looking for something, but can never really find it. And the mind is always bzzz, bzzz, bzzz. And ideas and views, bzzz, bzzz, bzzz. And going from one view to another and never able to... The delusion type sees something and says, that's it!

[13:10]

And then runs over to it But it's not it. And then, oh, that's it, and runs over to it over here. That's not it. And then see something wonderful over here. I think that's it. So over and over, running after castles in the sky, so to speak. And discursive type is very much akin to that. discursive type can be very smart and have a lot of ideas but unable to settle. And when discursive type or delusive type finally just settles on something, then that becomes the basis for wisdom.

[14:19]

When the delusive type can finally just settle, that becomes the basis for producing wisdom. So a delusive type is actually a kind of Wisdom type All of us are all of these types It's and we can have All three Characteristics very strong at the same time or we can have two characteristics strong while one is weak in any combination or one characteristic while the other two are different and any combination. And so it's pretty hard to say, you know, when we hear the various types, we can identify with each one of them. Oh, yeah, that's right. Oh, yeah, that's right. Oh, yeah, that's right.

[15:24]

But nevertheless, we each seem to be, have one type predominating. But I'm not suggesting that we type each other or ourselves. I don't think that's a good idea. But it's an interesting way to think about who we are and how we behave and think and act. The example of delusive type is one day there were two people walking on the beach and out on the horizon They saw a little bump in the water. On the horizon of the water, they saw a little bump. And one looked at it and he said, that's a pirate ship. We'd better hide. So they hid behind a rock. And the bump kept getting closer.

[16:27]

The pirate ship kept getting closer. And then when it got about halfway, the other one said, That's not a pirate ship. That's a fishing boat filled with succulent fish. Oh boy, I can hardly wait till it gets to shore. And so they came out from behind the rock and waited for the fishing boat to come to the shore. And then finally, the fishing boat came to shore and the other one said, that's not a fishing boat. That's a chest, a pirate chest. It's an old chest full of gems and gold coins. Oh boy! And they started jumping up and down, clapping. And they ran over to it. And it was just a log. So delusion is kind of like

[17:34]

discursiveness. And maybe if they'd said, I don't know what that is, that would have been wisdom. If in all three stages they said, I don't know what that is, that would have been wisdom. Even when they saw that it was a log, to say, I don't know what that is, would have been real wisdom. To say it's a log, to identify it as a log, is Intelligence. That is a log. For now, it's a log. But what is it? I don't know. That's wisdom. Wisdom, you know, Buddhism talks about wisdom and enlightenment.

[18:59]

Greed, hate, and delusion are called the three poisons. And it's called the hub. Within the wheel of Existence. Greed, hate and delusion are... Greed is the chicken. Hate is the snake. And delusion is the pig. Even though you'd think that the pig was greed. Pretty sure that's the way it is. And these these are our characteristics which cause pain and grief to ourselves and to others So I Think it's important for us, you know, we say we want to get rid of greed hate and delusion which

[20:08]

It's very good, but pretty hard to get rid of. Greed, hate and delusion. But we should be able to recognize this is greed. Oh, this is hate or anger. Oh, this is delusion. We should be able to... It's easy for us to say this is greed and this is anger. It's very difficult for us to point out delusion. Delusion, I think, is very elusive, because unless we have some sense of enlightenment, it's pretty hard to recognize delusion. And enlightenment is the ability to recognize delusion. So, greed, we can say, yes, I'm greedy, or yes, I'm angry, but to say, yes, I'm deluded. How do you know?

[21:12]

So, if you don't know, it's important to say, I don't know. I don't know is very important three words. They always give us a way to enter into enlightenment. I don't know is the entrance to enlightenment. It's the little door of three words. I don't know. When a teacher, when a student comes to a teacher, student should have the attitude of, I don't know. Please teach me. Then the teacher can open up the student's head, put something in, close it again. That doesn't happen. You don't put anything in anybody's head.

[22:27]

Actually, teachers should say, don't learn anything then. I don't know. Don't learn anything then. But you should offer your head as if... Please put something in it. I don't know anything. But often, you know, I know. I know what Zen is. I know what Buddhism is. I know how to practice. I know what the rules are. I know my own rules. Most of... a lot of time is wasted.

[23:33]

Not wasted, but spent in with a teacher-student relationship in just breaking down the student to, I don't know. The prerequisite for studying Zen is giving up all views. That's the prerequisite. to study Zen is to give up all views. And we can spend many, many years just getting to the point in our practice where we actually can give up our views. We hold on very tenaciously to our views, but you should. In many ways, before you can give up old habits, and old ways of thinking and doing, to just give that up is very risky.

[24:41]

Eventually, it all has to go, but it's very risky. And little by little, we can do that. But just to say, I give up, is not giving up. It takes time to deprogram ourself. Zen is a little bit like brainwashing. You know, they used to accuse the Orientals of brainwashing, and it's true. Zen is brainwashing. But not in order to put something else in. Just the washing. You have to dress yourself. So, this is really all we do.

[25:44]

You know, when we sit zazen, it's just brainwashing. And when we step outside the door, even though we've had all these thoughts and emotions and feelings, you feel refreshed. almost always feel refreshed after zazen or after sasheen. Even though we may have had a big struggle or hard time, we're very refreshed because of our brainwashing, our mindwashing. So this is really a very simple practice. to actually be... give yourself over to I don't know. Give yourself over to not knowing. Do you have any questions?

[27:04]

Or would you like anything to discuss? Yes. Well, I think anxiety goes with all three of the unwholesome greed. anger and delusion. Anxiety is present. You know, it's possible for anxiety to be present in all three. In greed, anxiety for what you don't have and what you think you need. Actually, we have everything we need. But still, you know, anxiety comes from feeling you don't have what you need. And in anger, anxiety can be present.

[28:08]

Anger is aversion. Greed is grasping. And anger is aversion. So these two polarities, In greed, there's the anxiety which comes from not having enough. And in anger, there's the anxiety which comes from too much coming or aversion. You know, I don't want that. I don't want that kind of anxiety pushing away. And in delusion, Anxiety can be present all the time because you just don't know what's what. And we have a basic anxiety which comes from not understanding birth and death. This is basic anxiety. Often people say, I have anxiety but I don't know why.

[29:21]

And we can have anxiety over some incident. You know, something obvious can cause anxiety, but when we have anxiety from something, a kind of basic anxiety, which is underneath, then that can easily be anxiety over birth and death. What is it? What's going to happen? And I think we have that anxiety, When we come, you know, a lot of people, when they come to Zazen, find it difficult just to sit still. Because in moving around, we, you know, we're grasping onto one thing or another as a kind of security. And when we sit down, there's no security, nothing to grasp onto. He's supposed to be rubbing his foot.

[30:32]

So, I think that anxiety is good. It's bad and it's good. It's bad because we don't like it. But it's good because it leads us, can lead us to our realization. You want to get rid of it. You have to get rid of it somehow. So you can smoke dope or drink or, you know, you can get rid of it in some expedient way. But if you don't do that, then you have to go the hard way and really get rid of it. Which is hard. But, of course, when you really get rid of it, then you can be thankful for it because it helped you. So everything has two sides. But anxiety definitely is a big help, even though we don't like it. Anxiety is like your terrible teacher, you know, who's always after you. So if we know how to use anxiety, it can be very helpful.

[31:48]

But if we don't know how to use it, then it becomes a tyrant. And it's this thing that's gnawing and gnawing and gnawing, and you don't know what to do with it, and you can't get rid of it, and you know, you can't be with it, and you can't get rid of it. What do you do? It's a great koan. Anxiety is a great koan. You can't keep it and you can't get rid of it. But, you know, we try to get rid of it one way or another just so we can feel good. But in the end that deep anxiety doesn't go away. It may be deeper and more subtle, you know, but it's underlying. And we can go about our business and forget about it, but, you know, it's still there. So, that's the kind of anxiety that often leads us to practice or to finding out what's what, you know, settling on our life.

[32:50]

Is it the same with fear? Well, fear and anxiety are two different things, but they're very closely associated. Fear, is associated with anxiety and maybe it's fear can be the expression of anxiety. One way of expressing anxiety is through fear. Since this is a realm, I think of that a lot. I think fear is related to aversion, hatred. Yeah, fear is related to aversion. And then anxiety really flows through that, but then when you think of it, it's really anxiety and delusion of fear.

[33:50]

Fear is more of a basis for anxiety than anxiety is for fear. It really seems to make sense that when you're delusion in you, like all these things floating around, that also creates anxiety. Right. Oh yeah. No base creates anxiety. Unless you realize that no base is a real base, then you don't have anxiety. If you can accept no base as the true base, then you don't have anxiety. But if you are always looking for a base, thinking that there is such a thing, then you always have anxiety. So, realization, you know, it's like if you say there's no self, that creates anxiety. But if you realize that no self is real, true self, I don't mean just say it, but I mean realize it, then there's no anxiety.

[34:58]

We were talking about not saying I don't know and not really meaning it. I remember when, you know, sometimes I used to, you know, say that and I think what was behind that, there was a part that I didn't say, which is, I don't know, but I really, really want to know. So, I was wondering, you know, what are the decisions you want to make? Well, desire, you know, is very good for us. Desire says, I really want to know. This word desire, when desire is associated with greed, then it wants to have. But when desire is turned toward understanding, then it wants to know. So, desire is very good.

[36:04]

Without desire, it's pretty hard to know or to practice or do anything. So, desire is very important, but we now have to know which way to turn it, what direction it should go in. There's a whole field of objects for desire. So, what object will desire settle on? for satisfaction? That's the big question. Because it's this whole array of objects, infinite array of objects, which are objects of desire. And which object will your desire settle on as the true object for satisfaction? So when desire turns to know yourself, know the Self, then that's turned toward the object of satisfaction.

[37:11]

But you may not get any satisfaction for a long, long time turned in that direction. So, you know, we do want some satisfaction, so we turn to other objects of satisfaction, which satisfy us for the moment. So, it's hard. That's why we have to have some strong faith. Not, you know, faith in something, but faith that it's actually possible to understand. And the more you have understanding, then the stronger your confidence is. That's called faith. Confidence is just another word for faith. in a deeper way. Thank you.

[38:33]

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