I vow to chase the truth that does not lie. coming up Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And what I'm thinking of is to have a lecture Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evening, the last period, which would be the last period of Zazen ordinarily.

[01:07]

8 to 9 or something like that, or 8, 15 to 9, something like that. And we'll talk about some part of the sutra which is related to meditation. But it won't be like a class. There won't be a lot of discussion, because that wouldn't be fitting with the Sachine. But I will have a lecture. And Saturday, I'll just resume at the Saturday lecture. So you come to the Saturday lecture. And then I will lecture on Sunday morning at the usual lecture time.

[02:14]

And you can also come then. So we won't have the Saturday and Sunday evening. We'll just have Saturday and Sunday regular lecture time. And you're welcome to come. So even if you miss it, it's OK. You can't catch everything. There's plenty of sutra left. But you're saying Wednesday and Thursday and Friday are also open, right? Wednesday and Thursday and Friday are open in the evening. The reason I'm doing it in the evening is so that people that are not in Sachine can come. But it won't be a class, like it will be a lecture on some aspect of the Platform Sutra. Speak to them. The time will be posted on the Sasheen schedule, which will be on the bulletin board, so if you show up around 8 o'clock or so, just be quiet, see what time it starts, and then the doors will open, and people can file in, and there'll be someone to guide you to a seat.

[03:25]

Okay, is that clear? Now, I'm trying to, it's always hard for me to remember where I left off, because I left off talking. So, I think, what is paramita? People under illusion or delusion recite the Mahaprajna Paramita with their tongues, and while they're reciting it, erroneous and evil thoughts arise. Did we discuss that?

[04:29]

No, that's where it is. That's the background. It's before that. Left off before that? Yeah, it's starting up. What is Paramita? OK. It's page 81 in this one. OK. What is paramita? It is a Sanskrit word meaning to the opposite shore. Figuratively, it means above existence and non-existence. So above existence and non-existence is a middle way called the middle way. We hear a lot in Buddhism about the middle way. that Buddhism is the middle way. And one way of thinking about middle way is it's always the middle between extremes. So not too much of this, not too much of that, but just the right amount.

[05:36]

That's very good. Middle way means to be in the middle. To always be centered, actually. To always find your place in the center of existence. And if you find yourself in the center of existence, then you will realize that life is beyond existence and non-existence. It's beyond birth and death. So being in middle way means the way of non-duality. And so by clinging to sense objects, existence or non-existence arise like the up and down of the billowy sea. And such a state is called metaphorically this shore.

[06:43]

So this shore is the shore of up and down. Sometimes called the undulation of life. It's the life of the waves. And he says, like the billowy sea, such a state is called metaphorically, this shore. Well, by non-attachment, the state above existence and non-existence, like smoothly running water, is attained, and this is called the opposite shore. This is why it is called paramita. So prajna, paramita, prajna is wisdom emanating from non-dual or the other shore. Other shore is not really some other place, as we talked about that before. Other shore is the middle.

[07:48]

We talk about the goal of something, or we talk about the path, the way. Usually when we talk about a path, A path is something that extends from ourself out. But a path, the Tao, the way, or the path, doesn't go anywhere. It's the path that leads to where you are. But it's very hard to get to where we are. The hardest place to get to is where we are. We're always looking out, you know. And sometimes we have to go way, make a roundabout way in order to get to where we are. So, well, by non-attachment, a state above existence,

[09:00]

and non-existence like smoothly running water is attained and this is called the opposite shore, the other shore. So actually everything that we're looking for out there is right here. But we still keep looking for it out there. So he says a state above existence and non-existence is like smoothly running water, or still water, actually. Still water, before. But I won't talk too much about that right now. Learned audience, people under illusion or delusion, usually we say delusion, recite the Maha Prajna Paramita with their tongues and while they are reciting it, erroneous and evil thoughts arise.

[10:17]

But if they put it into practice unremittingly, they realize its true nature. To know this dharma is to know the dharma of prajna. And to practice this is to practice prajna. One who does not practice it is an ordinary person. And one who directs the mind to practice it, even for one moment, is the equal of Buddha. That's why we say one moment of practice is one moment of realization or enlightenment. For ordinary An ordinary person is Buddha, and klesha, which is defilement, is bodhi, enlightenment. So, an ordinary person is a Buddha, and defilement is actually enlightenment. A foolish person, no, a foolish passing thought makes one an ordinary person.

[11:25]

Well, an enlightened thought makes one a Buddha. It's a defilement, or you could say delusion. A deluded person is also an enlightened person. Because a deluded person is thinking deluded thoughts, that's called ordinary person. And when a deluded person is thinking enlightened thoughts, then that's an enlightened person. But it can't just be thinking enlightened thoughts. It must be thinking which is enlightened thinking. enlightened thought, but it has to be enlightened thinking.

[12:30]

A passing thought that clings to sense objects is klesha, which is defilement. While a second thought that frees one from attachment is bodhi, or enlightenment. So it's a matter of whether we're attached or not. or caught by in the dualistic world. Makes it sound very simple. Learned audience, the Maha-Prajna-Paramita is the most exalted, the supreme, and the foremost. It neither stays nor goes nor comes. By means of it, Buddhas of the present, the past, and the future generations attain Buddhahood. We should use this great wisdom to break up the five skandhas."

[13:36]

What he means by break up the five skandhas is break up, to let go of the idea of the self. Not to think of the five skandhas as a self. So for to follow such a practice ensures the attainment of Buddhahood, the three poisonous elements, greed, hatred, and delusion, he says illusion, but we usually say delusion, will then be turned into shila, which is conduct, good conduct, samadhi, and prajna. And he has The three poisonous elements, they're called roots actually, roots of, poisonous roots, greed, hate, and delusion, will then be turned into good conduct, samadhi, and prajna, or you could say discipline, calmness, and wisdom.

[14:44]

Shila, actually, conduct. means some discipline. If we don't have some discipline, we can't practice. One of the most difficult things for Americans to cultivate is discipline. We're brought up in such a loose manner, mostly, that it's very hard for us to be disciplined. And we have so many choices in our life. that we're quite spoiled. Even the poorest of us are quite spoiled. And we don't value discipline. And one can't make progress in practice without discipline. And samadhi is calmness of mind, concentration, concentrated calmness.

[15:49]

And one of its qualities is calmness. And prajna, of course, is wisdom. So do you have any questions? Yes. Actually, I have two questions. The first one goes back to and non-existence arising, does he mean the concept of these concepts arising? What he means by that, yeah. The distinguishing, the concept distinguishing.

[16:54]

This is existence or non-existence, right? We tend to think of, that's a dualistic concept, right? Things that either exist or they don't exist, or they're either real or they're not real. What's your second question? Do you think of an example for thought? Well, clinging to existence is like clinging to a sense object. Clinging to a fantasy.

[18:08]

Mostly we cling to fantasies. We think we cling to objects, but we cling to the idea of an object, actually. So it's a little bit, but we say clinging to sense objects, you know. Say if we cling to whiskey, right? We have an attachment to cigarettes. But actually we have an attachment to the idea of it. Although it does, there is a bodily attachment, you know, a physical attachment, but mainly it's an idea. that we're attached to. The physical attachment is not as strong as the idea. As soon as we lose the idea, we no longer have the attachment.

[19:19]

And even if we see the object later, we don't have an attachment to it, because the idea of it is not there. Very interesting. But we do say, you know, like we're obsessed with a certain person, you know, that we feel that we're in love with, you know, and that can be a clinging to. But actually what we're clinging to is our own idea and our own feelings, really. We're not really clean, but we project as clean to that person. So then he says, learn an audience.

[20:27]

In this system of mine, one prajna produces 84,000 ways of wisdom. One prajna, that's a little funny way to say something. I mean, how many prajnas are there? 84,000 ways, 84,000 is just, which stands for innumerable, uncountable. We have 84,000 ways and 184 defilements. So this 84, 184 184,000 is just a number. It's not a countable number. It just means innumerable, uncountable.

[21:32]

So from prajna, from one prajna, from this singular prajna comes forth innumerable ways of wisdom. In other words, from the source of prajna, And since there are that number of defilements, as well as ways of wisdom for us to cope with, but when one is free from defilements, wisdom reveals itself and will not be separated from self-nature or essence of mind. Those who understand this dharma will be free from idle thoughts. So the gist of what he's saying here is that defilement covers up reality. Actually, this is just straight Buddhism.

[22:45]

Defilement is a covering. And when we take off the covering, It's like the clouds passing by, covering the sun or the moon. The moon and the sun are there, but we don't see them because of the clouds. So greed covers, ill will, anger covers, and delusion covers. These are called mind covers, mind coverings. And when these three roots are then wisdom and discipline and samadhi and prajna reveal themselves. So Buddhists are always trying to talk about purity.

[23:46]

But we have to be careful about purity, and also about defilements. The point here that he's bringing out is that, which is a little different than ordinary Buddhism, is that within greed, hate, and delusion, enlightenment is there. And through practice, greed, hate and delusion become transformed into their opposites. So, enlightenment is a process of transformation. And that which is the root of greed, hate and delusion is also the root of practice samadhi and wisdom.

[24:52]

So he says, those who understand this dharma will be free from idle thoughts, to be free from being infatuated by one particular thought, from clinging to desire and from falsehood. to put one's own essence of tatata into operation, to use prajna for contemplation, and to take an attitude of neither indifference nor attachment to all things. This is what is meant by realizing one's own essence of mind for the attainment of Buddhahood. So being free from being infatuated by any particular thing. to let go of all infatuations, which means to actually have freedom from everything. Yes? What's the translation of ta-ta-ta? Ta-ta-ta is like the Tathagata.

[26:00]

Thus come one who is thus. So thusness? Yeah, thusness. You can say suchness, or as it is-ness, or reality. To put one's own essence of tatata into operation, to use prajna for contemplation, and to take an attitude of neither indifference nor attachment, So, attachment is like clinging. And indifference would be like... Someone was talking about indifference a couple of times ago, about how... Oh, someone... It was Hillary.

[27:13]

Hillary was talking about indifference. and about someone who could sit Zazen but would be indifferent to the pain because they're indifferent to feeling. This is not proper Zazen. One should be aware of pain but not infatuated with it or not clinging to it. We become attached to our difficulty. Pain is something we don't like. And so when it arises, we become attached to it by rejecting it. And that causes our suffering because it's something we don't want. And the more we don't want it, the more it becomes inflicted on us.

[28:14]

But if one is just indifferent, that's to be dead, to be deadened, which is not the same. Not the same as to accept. So one has to accept their pain, totally accept pain, in order to be able to deal with it. Because as long as there's something out there encroaching on us, we can't deal with it except defensively. And as soon as we become defensive, we're caught by it. We're pushed around by it. So this is one of the biggest problems that we have. And we always experience this in Zazen and especially in Se Xing.

[29:21]

And we have to be able to learn how to not be defensive, but how to let something in so that it's not dominating us. But usually we go the other way around and we fight, but we can't win. There's no way to win by fighting. The only way you can win is by merging. So do you recommend being the ice cream cone? Being the ice cream cone? Yes. When it's hot, let the heat kill you. And when it's cold, let the cold kill you. And eat your ice cream cone. Of course, we like to eat ice cream cones when it's hot, right?

[30:26]

And cold, too. Cools us off. What? And cold when it's cold, too. That's why we like hot chocolate. Learned audience. If you wish to penetrate the deepest mystery of the dharmadhatu, dharmadhatu in Mahayana means the whole existence, the whole realm of existence, the dharma realm. If you wish to penetrate the deepest mystery of the dharmadhatu and the samadhi of prajna, you should practice prajna by reciting and studying the Vajracirika. That's the Diamond Sutra, which will enable you to realize the essence of mind. So somewhere, whoever wrote this autobiography is pushing the Diamond Sutra. Bodhidharma, when he came to China, apparently was pushing the Lankavatara Sutra.

[31:39]

Lankavatara Sutra is a very difficult sutra. It's more psychological. It talks about the mind, the essence. It talks a lot about consciousness. consciousness. And the Diamond Sutra is Prajnaparamita Sutra. The Prajnaparamita literature is very expansive. When we think of Prajnaparamita in Zen, we usually think of the Heart Sutra. But the Heart Sutra is just one small sutra in the Prajnaparamita Sutras. And the Diamond Sutra is a small sutra in the Prajnaparamita Sutra.

[32:45]

The Diamond Sutra and the Heart Sutra are somewhat complementary in length. The Diamond Sutra is longer than the Heart Sutra. One reason why people chant the Heart Sutra is because the Heart Sutra is very short and contains all of the essence of the Prajnaparamita Sutras. And it's something that's chantable in a short time. And the reason you can't understand it is because it has so much in it. And it's all condensed in this, you know, 100,000 lines is condensed into this short sutra. So every word of the sutra is potent with meaning. But still, you can understand it. The best way to understand the Heart Sutra is to chant it with all your heart, with your total body and mind, to chant the Sutra.

[33:53]

Then you'll begin to understand the Sutra. But, the Diamond Sutra is not easy to understand at all. But, someday we'll study that. of the Diamond Sutra. But anyway, so the emphasis changed from the Lakhavatara Sutra to the Diamond Sutra with the Sixth Patriarch, or at least with the people that compiled it, that wrote his autobiography. you should know that the merit for studying this sutra as distinctly set forth in the text is immeasurable and illimitable and cannot be enumerated in details. That's right, the Diamond Sutra really brags about itself and says that it is immeasurable, illimitable, and cannot be enumerated in details.

[35:03]

And it says, Reciting one line of this sutra has more merit in it than anything else that you could ever do in the world. This sutra belongs to the highest school of Buddhism, and the Lord Buddha delivered it especially for the very wise and quick-witted. If the less wise and slow-witted should hear about it, they would doubt its credibility. Why? For example, if it rained in Jambudvipa, the southern continent. I don't know about this through the miracle of the Celestial Naga. That's not in any other, you don't need that. Cities, towns, and villages would be drifted about in the flood as if they were only leaves of a date tree. But should it rain in the great ocean, the level of the sea as a whole would not be affected by it. Yes? Nagas are serpent deities associated with water and rain.

[36:05]

And they're in Thai architecture and so forth. You see Nagas all over the place. Oh, yes, yes. They're also big in Hindu. Right. Well, yes, the Nagas. And they also supposedly guarded the Prasanthi Parvati Sutras. Yes, that's true. But through the miracle of the Celestial Nagas, cities, towns and villages would be drifted about. I mean, just if it rained in Jambudvipa, or if it flooded the town, they would all be drifting. In other words, if there was a great flood, they would all be drifting around. Whereas if it rained in the ocean, It wouldn't particularly disturb the ocean, right? And so the analogy is that when slow-witted people or dull-witted people read the Diamond Sutra, their mind is floating around like flooded.

[37:07]

It's too much for them. And it's true. But someone who can receive it and understand it, their mind has to be big enough to accept it. It doesn't raise the level of their mental water. When Mahayanists hear about the Vajrachetika, their minds become enlightened. They know that prajna is imminent in their self-nature or essence of mind and that they need not rely on scriptural authority since they can make use of their own wisdom by constant practice of contemplation. Well, this is so, but it's a general rule in Mahayana Buddhism and also in Zen that whatever realization you have,

[38:10]

should always be verified by what's written in the sutras. Although one doesn't need to have the sutras to inform you, your understanding should conform to the understanding that's in the sutras. That's how we check our understanding. So it's not like, you know, there's this idea that in Zen, you know, you don't need sutras and you kind of poo-poo all that. And it's true that there's a... We try not to rely on the written word, but the written word is very important. And if we're not relying on it, then we can use it. It becomes very useful.

[39:11]

When we first begin to study, it's not necessary to read a lot. If you really put yourself into practicing zazen, it's not necessary to read a lot. But later, after you've become, had some maturity in practice, then you start reading, and your reading verifies your practice. You find verification through study of the citrus. And the prajna, prajna imminent in the essence of mind of everyone, may be likened to the rain, the moisture of which refreshes every living thing, trees and plants, as well as sentient beings. When rivers and streams reach the sea, the water carried by them merges into one body.

[40:16]

This is another analogy. Learn it, audience. When rain comes in a deluge, plants which are not deep-rooted are washed away, and eventually they succumb. This is the case with the slow-witted when they hear about the teaching of the sudden school. The prajna imminent in them is exactly the same as that in the very wise men, people. But they fail to enlighten themselves when the dharma is made known to them. Why? Because they are thickly veiled by erroneous views and deep-rooted defilements, in the same way as the sun may be thickly veiled by clouds and unable to show his light until the wind blows the cloud away. I have a note here. Oh, yeah, I see.

[41:37]

The case of the slow-witted. Slow-witted, I think, is probably not a very good way to translate this, although I don't know what the proper way is. But we don't usually criticize slow-witted people. We usually criticize people who are resistant, people who We don't criticize actually, but... Well, it's like in the standard cut, you know, some are clever and some are not. It's not really making a value judgment on them. It just says some are clever and some are not. Yes. Some are clever and some are not, but we don't care. Right. We're not indifferent. We're not indifferent, but we're not judging them. Right. So, but it sounds here like judgment. This is the case with the slow-witted when they hear about the teaching of the seventh school.

[42:40]

It's hard for people to grasp. But the reason that they're slow-witted is because they are thickly veiled by erroneous views. But I don't think slow-witted is right. I would say people with views, people who are stuck in views, stuck in it just People who are stuck in their views, I would say, when they hear about the teaching of the sudden school, that sounds more correct to me. This is the case with the people who are stuck in their views. When they hear about the teaching of the sudden school, the prajna imminent in them is exactly the same as that of the wise people, but they fail to enlighten themselves when the dharmas made known to them.

[43:51]

Why? Because they are thickly veiled by erroneous views. and deep-rooted defilements in the same way as the sun may be thickly veiled by clouds and unable to show their light until the wind blows the clouds away. I just want to go a little further. Prajna does not vary with different persons. It's the same in everyone. Prajna is just prajna. What makes the difference is whether one's mind is enlightened or deluded. One who does not know their own essence of mind and is under the delusion that Buddhahood can be attained by outward religious rites are called the slow-witted. Those who know the teaching of the Sudden School and attach no importance to rituals and whose mind functions freely under right views so that one is absolutely free from defilements or contaminations is said to have known the essence of mind. Okay, so we're going to have our little stand-up break.

[45:01]

Nick? Yeah, as a slow-witted person, I feel like this puts me in a double bind. As a what kind of person? As a slow-witted person. You're a slow-witted person? Yeah. So am I. look at external teachings. But it seems to me you would hope that in delusion you could find some external teachings that would be helpful. Because in deep delusion it's not so easy to immediately access one's inner prajna. I didn't know.

[46:06]

So he recommends the Diamond Sutra. Yeah, that one. There were different teachers who recommended different sutras at that time. There were sutra specialists who would go around and sort of... Yes. So Bodhidharma recommends the Laghavatara. Sixth Ancestor recommends the Diamond Sutra. Dogen recommends the Lotus Sutra. But these are secondary, actually, because what he emphasizes is realizing your self-nature through practice and meditation. But these are adjunctive aids to sutra study, and study is a way to keep your attention, your mind, focused on practice, and focused in right thought.

[47:26]

So that's why it's good to study, read sutras and study, so that your mind is always focused on right thought. David? No, I said Dogen recommends the Lotus Sutra. That's much later. But previously I thought you said there was some indication of a transition between one sutra... Lankavatara Sutra. I couldn't understand that. Oh yeah, Lankavatara Sutra. Now, what were the devotional practices that were being kind of polemicized against here?

[48:45]

Devotional practices? Rituals. Yeah, rituals. Well, before Bodhidharma, although there's always been some practice of meditation in China, but mostly Buddhism came into China around the second century, and by Bodhidharma's time, There were many schools of Buddhism which formed around various sutras because the main thrust of Buddhism was the study of sutras. And there was very little meditation.

[49:47]

And the purpose of Bodhidharma coming to China was to de-emphasize the study of sutras as the practice of Buddhism. and put into practice the actual practice of meditation. So reciting sutras was what the practice was. A large part of the practice was reciting sutras. And so when he says there are people that recite it with their mouth but they don't practice, that's what he's talking about. There were plenty of people reciting these things, but nobody was doing any practice. So that was the transition from reciting to practice, from scholarship to practice.

[50:53]

There was one other question there. If the recitation of the Sutra, the Heart Sutra, doesn't penetrate as the words are, it might have a kind of musical feeling to it, or poetic, but it doesn't penetrate as an expression to the person who is reciting it, to give it some meaning.

[52:12]

Right. So if you just recite the sutra with your whole body and mind, you'll understand what the sutra is saying. The sutra is saying, do something with your whole body and mind. It's not a matter of being concerned or not being concerned. I could tap with my whole body and mind, and so in that same spirit. Yes. The tap, the tapping. Yes, if you do that, really do that with your whole body and mind. And if you do everything with your whole body and mind, you will be reciting the Prajnaparamita Sutra all day long with your actions. And then you realize the essence of the Prajnaparamita Sutra.

[53:20]

You're still thinking about it? Not anymore. Well, there seems to be a kind of polemic against holding up any particular expression of the teaching as particularly expedient or efficacious. Like what you just said, that actually if you do anything with whole body, whole mind, if you read anything with whole body, whole mind, then the full content of the teaching is right there. Yes. Which is a wonderful thing, but it's manly. Then you're writing the sutra. The full content is there because there is no one that's separate

[54:39]

That's right. That's the next thing. It's maddening though because there is this whole body of texts and teachings which Zen teachers like we know were steeped in, even though the mythology of it is it was this illiterate who was supposed to learn by scriptures. There's a whole Well, I'm not saying you shouldn't try to understand the sutra. Of course you should try to understand the sutra. I teach the sutra quite often. And there are many commentaries on the sutra which you should all read. I'm not saying you shouldn't do that. But I'm talking about this other side.

[55:52]

Not the side of studying the sutra, but the side of realizing the sutra. You don't have to understand intellectually. You can cut through it. But it's very nice to understand it intellectually. But understanding it intellectually is not the same as cutting through it. We used to always only chant the Heart Sutra in Japanese for a long, long, long time. And then people wanted to translate it into English. So we translated it into English. And that helps a little bit for us to understand it intellectually. But it doesn't help to understand it, to realize it. to confusion.

[57:08]

Have you ever tried to study it? Any commentaries? Study the commentaries? Commentaries? Have you ever tried to study any of the commentaries on the Heart Sutra? I've read them, but that's very different from studying them, I suppose. Well, I can't help you then. If you say you've read them but you didn't study them, it isn't reading, it's studying. I don't know what you mean. Did you read Kanze's commentary on the Heart Sutra? I must have at some point. But I made no effort to extract. Let me say one thing and then I'll drop it. There was a man in Buddha's time who could not understand anything the Buddha was talking about.

[58:13]

And the Buddha gave him a broom and said, please sweep the grounds, wholeheartedly sweep the grounds. And so he was a slow-witted person. And he just swept the ground. Day after day, he swept the ground, swept the ground. And he got so into sweeping the ground, just sweeping, sweeping, that his mind completely opened up and he got enlightened. There is a way. And if you just chant the Heart Sutra with your whole body and mind, day after day, not like a wimp, But with your whole heart, whole body and mind, you'll get enlightened. That's all I'm going to say about it. Could I just ask about the Zen idiots, the famous... Don't they have brooms in their hands?

[59:17]

They do. Shite and Chitoku. That's right. They had big smiles on their faces and big brooms. Big brooms in their hands. The Zen idiots. That's a great painting. Yes. Who did it? Well, there are a lot of them. There are several. There are many. It was a great subject for painters and done through the years. So, learned audience, except for enlightenment, there would be no difference between a Buddha and other living beings. He says, except for enlightenment, there would be no difference between a Buddha and other living beings.

[60:20]

of enlightenment is enough to make any living being the equal of a Buddha. So the difference between an ordinary person and a Buddha is enlightenment. And since all dharmas are imminent in our mind, there is no reason why we should not realize intuitively the real nature of ta ta ta, which is suchness. The Bodhisattva Shila Sutra says, our essence of mind is intrinsically pure, and if we knew our mind and realized what our nature is, all of us would attain Buddhahood. As the Vimalakirti Nidesa Sutra says, at once they become enlightened and regain their own mind. A learned audience, when the fifth ancestor preached to me, I became enlightened immediately after he had spoken and spontaneously realized the real nature of ta ta ta. For this reason, it is my particular object to propagate the teaching of this sudden school so that learners may find bodhi, enlightenment, at once and realize their true nature by introspection of mind.

[61:30]

Should they fail to enlighten themselves, they should ask the pious and learned Buddhists who understand the teaching of the highest school to show them the right way. It is an exalted position of the office of a pious or sincere and learned Buddhist who guides others to realize the essence of mind. I kind of like the word sincere better than pious. Through his assistance, one may be initiated into all meritorious dharmas. The wisdom of the past, the present, and the future Buddhas, as well as all the teachings of the Twelve Sections of the Canon, are immediate in our mind, imminent in our mind. But in case we fail to enlighten ourselves, we have to seek the guidance of the sincere and learned ones, or the pious and learned ones. On the other hand, those who enlighten themselves need no extraneous help. It is wrong to insist upon the idea that without the advice of the pious and learned we cannot obtain liberation.

[62:34]

Why? Because it is by our innate wisdom that we enlighten ourselves, and even the extraneous help and instructions of a pious and learned friend would be of no use. If we were deluded by the false doctrines and erroneous views, should we introspect our mind with real prajna, all erroneous views would be vanquished in a moment. And as soon as we know the essence of mind, we arrive immediately at the Buddha stage." Well, this sounds very easy, but we only become enlightened through our own effort. that no teacher can enlighten us, although a teacher can help us and guide us. And even though he says this, most people need a teacher. And if there's some people who feel that they're self-enlightened, then they go around proclaiming their self-enlightenment, and it should be verified by someone who has understanding.

[63:40]

This is always a problem. But I think in this case, you know, there's an emphasis to... There is a kind of feeling throughout the sutra of egalitarianism. And... a kind of patronizing of lay practice and assurance that people do not have to be monks and they don't have to live in monasteries in order to have realization or practice the way. That's kind of the emphasis here. And that each person should take responsibility for their own practice and not just rely on someone else.

[64:42]

And a good teacher should always insist that everyone take responsibility for their own practice and not rely on someone else. So it's true that if one really takes responsibility and practices that they can have some realization, some enlightenment. But it's more rare, actually, because people don't know where to start or how to practice. Learn in audience. When we use prajna for introspection, we are illumined within and without and in a position to know our own mind. So when he says to use prajna for introspection, What does he mean?

[65:50]

What does that mean, to use Prajna for introspection? Yes? Like a flashlight? A flashlight? What? A flashlight. Oh, flashlight. Oh, yeah. Well, yes, but how do you do that? Where do you get the light? How do you turn it on? You already have it. But how do you turn it on? It doesn't. Yeah, that's a good answer. To know our mind is to obtain liberation. To obtain liberation is to attain the samadhi of prajna, which is thoughtlessness. What is thoughtlessness? Thoughtlessness is to see and to know all dharmas or things with a mind free from attachment.

[66:55]

So thoughtlessness is to see things the way they really are, which is not always so easy, because we always see things through a veil of mind coverings, through opinions and partiality. So thoughtlessness is like letting go of partiality, letting go of mind coverings, letting go of opinions. When in use, it pervades everywhere, and yet it sticks nowhere. What we have to do is to purify our mind so that the six vijnanas, which are aspects of consciousness, in passing through the six gates, the sense organs, will neither be defiled by nor attached to the six sense objects. So I explained this before, and I think you know it anyway, that there are six sense organs, and for each organ there is consciousness.

[68:08]

And then for each consciousness and each organ whatever that organ and consciousness come in contact with is called the object. The eye sees the lamp, and consciousness is what makes that possible. If there's consciousness in an eye, there's no sight. If there is an I and an object, there's no sight. But if there's consciousness and an I and an object, then the I sees the object. But actually, the I doesn't see the object. It's consciousness which sees. The I is just a lens through which consciousness sees itself as a lamp. But because we discriminate lamp from consciousness, we say that this is the object for the subject.

[69:25]

So he says, what we have to do is to purify our mind so that the six vijnanas which the six consciousnesses in passing through the six sense organs will neither be defiled nor attached to the six sense objects. Neither defiled by nor attached. When our mind works freely without any hindrance and is at liberty to come or go, we attain samadhi or prajna or liberation. In other words, One is not indifferent to what one sees, but one is not attached, and one is free. Consciousness is always free to come and go, or one is free to come and go without attachment, but at the same time with engagement. So in our life, to be fully engaged with life, but not to be attached to anything, is the trick.

[70:30]

not to be caught by anything, not to get hooked by anything. Yes? How is consciousness defiled by objects? How is consciousness defiled by objects? How is that different than becoming attached to them? Well, consciousness could be defiled by creating impartiality. But consciousness, I don't think consciousness itself can be defiled. Separation is defilement.

[71:41]

Discriminating consciousness. Pure consciousness is perception, awareness. So awareness can be tainted, but it can't be defiled. We can have tainted awareness, where our consciousness is mistaken. That's an interesting question.

[72:51]

So he says, when our mind works freely without any hindrance and is at liberty to come or to go, we attain samadhi or prajna or liberation. Such a state is called the function of thoughtlessness. But to refrain from thinking of anything so that all thoughts are suppressed is to be Dharma-ridden. And this is an erroneous view. So this is termed thoughtlessness, but it doesn't mean not to have thoughts. And it's very much like not thinking. The koan of Zazen, which is think not thinking, doesn't mean that one shouldn't have thoughts when one is meditating. Does that mean Dharma reading? I don't know.

[74:04]

It's funny. Barbara? opinions that are riding on our sense of perception of objects that are very, very burdensome, that we don't even know the root of. So the baby sees the lamp, and just seeing sees. Baby doesn't have any self-consciousness of lamp. Until mommy says, eww, lamp. Right. So then we start learning. We start learning shared knowledge. in order to communicate with each other.

[75:09]

We have words, concepts, which we share and which we agree on, mostly, but a lot of people don't. And we wonder why our children are so rebellious, you know, because they often don't buy it. And we wonder, well, why aren't you buying this? Everybody else bought it. Well, that's right. And every generation changes it to their own suitability. And then there's a generation gap until people grow up and realize that it's just opinions. Well, suppressing thoughts was a kind of Buddhist method.

[76:57]

There's a kind of Buddhist meditation which was to suppress your thinking. And it could be that to do that would be to be, you know, dharma ridden or dharma... Negatively speaking. Yeah, negatively speaking. Learned audience, those who understand the way of thoughtlessness will know everything. the omniscient, will have the experience all Buddhas have had and attain Buddhahood. In the future, if any initiate of my school should make a vow in company with their fellow disciples to devote their whole life without retrogression to the practice of the teachings of this sudden school in the same spirit as that for serving Buddha, she would reach without failure the path of holiness to the right people

[78:13]

That person should transmit from heart to heart the instructions handed down from one patriarch to another, and no attempt should be made to conceal the orthodox teaching. To those who belong to other schools and whose views and objects are different from ours, the dharma should not be transmitted since it will be anything but good for them. This step is taken lest Ignorant persons who cannot understand our system, or our something, should make slanderous remarks about it, and thereby annihilate their seat of Buddhahood for hundreds of kalpas and thousands of incarnations." OK. So it's just time. I just got up to the poem. Now, the poem is very interesting. Can you comment on that last paragraph? I don't know if I can. Oh, this step has taken less interesting ignorant persons who cannot understand our system.

[79:15]

There's a saying in Buddhism that if you slander the Dharma, you create bad karma for yourself. So, kind of referring to You shouldn't put people in a position where they're going to create bad karma for themselves by slandering the Dharma. So you should transmit this to people who will understand it and not transmit it to people who will hurt themselves with it. That's what he's saying, basically. since we all have the same?

[80:16]

Well, we just put it out there. And those who respond, we teach. And those who don't respond, we'll go away. And those who want to argue, we'll argue. I wouldn't take it too seriously. Team Star Effortless!

[81:08]

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