without exception, you know, listening to all the cries of the world because she has a depth of listening and serenity that enables her to have a powerful and complete acceptance of all the suffering that there is. It's not destabilizing. Prabhupada Kirteshwara And she accepts the suffering of the world, and by virtue of her perfect listening, transforms it. So I suppose we are also Avalokiteshvara, but at the same time, we're not. We're ordinary human beings.

[01:01]

And so I think with these kind of events that we're all thinking about in the last couple of days, it would be, I would think, kind of crazy for ordinary human beings to feel that kind of perfect serenity and acceptance of Avalokiteshvara. One feels a certain kind of restlessness and lack of acceptance and regret and maybe remorse or confusion to bear witness to the kind of shocking suffering that we're seeing these last few days. So I suppose our practice is to accept such things with serenity and also not accept them at the same time. That it would be inhuman somehow to have a transcendent acceptance of such things.

[02:04]

This Shurangama Sutra is really a sutra about cultivation of meditation practice. And it's arguing for a very specific kind of meditation practice and that kind of cultivation. And sometimes I think one feels that life sort of seems bothersome, trivial, annoying, too mundane. And so you seek a more profound and wider sense of living through practice, meditation practice and sort of cultivating and deepening the mind. Then other times, life is so stark and real that it seems to render meditation practice quite irrelevant somehow.

[03:40]

And that's how I feel today. Not to say that one doesn't still want to sit. I think there's even more impetus to sit, to be able to absorb and understand and keep the heart open in these kind of times. But, you know, to dwell on the theory of meditation practice, to talk about it, seems a little bit like, who cares, you know, these days. Still, when you sit on your cushion and you observe your own mind, it becomes, I think, very clear how the mind works. You really, I think, understand karma very well and you become quite convinced that when you cultivate

[04:45]

thoughts of compassion, openness, letting go. The result of that is goodness, happiness, a more beautiful way of conduct in your life. And conversely, when you encourage thoughts of anger, hatred, selfishness, your life becomes confused and unhappy. I think that's sort of one of the hidden factors of meditation practice, that it actually begins to really change your life when you notice how the mind works and you notice how unthinking you've been for so long and how you've conducted yourself in the way you've thought and the way you've done things. So you sit for a while and you really understand about karma, you understand that Good actions lead to good results and bad actions lead to bad results. Good thoughts lead to good results, bad thoughts lead to bad results.

[05:51]

And that this happens in small ways and also in large ways that you can't measure and can't really understand. But you know it's true. You really know it's true from your own experience on the cushion. And even though the teaching that we follow is radically a non-dual teaching in which good and bad are not reified and good raised up and bad demonized. Nevertheless, a non-dualistic view includes a dualistic view and honors it. So, one knows that One wants to devote oneself to goodness and let go of confusion, unwholesomeness, and that the results of doing that are

[07:00]

strong, you know, into the future. So I say that because, again, at times like this with these kind of disasters, you know, I think one feels even more determined to continue the practice of cultivating wholesome thoughts and speech and actions. One is even more convinced that this is important and that even though we don't know how, it's going to play itself out. Every wholesome thought and action and word that we utter and think and do sort of adds to the store of positive karma in this world. Anyway, I feel that that's really so, and so I feel, you know, you see the kind of confusion and anger and violence of these acts, and you feel, you know, one could feel powerless, like, what could I do?

[08:10]

What could I do? But I think not. I think one feels, yeah, well then, even more so, do I have to continue my practice and, you know, try to be add to the story of goodness, that my every thought and speech and word and deed, even though in its limited sphere, though it may be, it has repercussions outward. So I think our practice shows us that and gives us something to do and a way to proceed in these kind of times. People do desperate acts. I was trying to imagine today the state of mind, you know, project myself into the state of mind of the people on the airplane who were, I'm sure, terrified and panicked, what must have been like, you know, to be there.

[09:14]

on those planes and also into the state of mind of the hijackers. What were they thinking? What kind of state of desperation or exaltation or anyway certainly deeply unappreciated confusion and brokenness of their hearts and minds must have been at play to cause them to do what they did, we'll never know. We'll never hear from the inside, you know, these stories. We'll never know. But, you know, there isn't any independent agency of evil in this world. There aren't any evil creatures, it's only they're playing out of karma.

[10:18]

And people who commit acts of evil karma, their hearts are heavy for a long time. So one is sorry for all of it. It's very easy to understand how someone could think that there would be release from suffering and grief if only we could put an end to this and get rid of the bad people who did this. So it's understandable, you know, that somebody would think that way and have a lot of energy behind that. And certainly when there are crimes committed, people should be prevented from continuing to commit those crimes, continue to accrue more suffering for themselves and others. But it's not that simple, I don't think.

[11:22]

I really don't think it's that simple. So we can be sure to have more suffering ahead of this, there's no doubt, coming from these actions. And the suffering that preceded them, that caused them, also was going to inevitably produce, if not something as spectacular as what we've seen, then in smaller ways, everyday ways, just as much suffering. So this is our world, this is our human realm that we've all together, over many generations, created. So we all have to bear its woes and responsibilities and do the best we can to, as I say, increase the store of goodness regardless of conditions.

[12:26]

I'm sure you know all this and have thought these same things yourself these last couple of days, but I just wanted to add my voice to that. played out for the people who are dead and damaged from this and other acts of this nature of not this magnitude? What do you mean, how has it played out? Well, people who died or are damaged from either having been in a plane or in the building or in the city Karma as in trying to understand the people who acted on this, and then there's the people who've been kind of bad. The victims of it, yeah.

[13:29]

Well, of course, there's obviously, there's no blame on their side. You know, in the sutras it says that the Buddhas, when they become Buddhas, they can see the trajectory of the karma of human beings and other creatures, which is to say, we can't. We don't know. We don't really understand why. That's why one of the emotions is bewilderment, especially if you're close to anybody who's been killed like that. You think to yourself, why? How did that happen? What was the reason for that? That's one of the bewildering emotions, and we don't know why. We can't really say we understand why. Is there, maybe I'm being too simplistic or too naive, I don't know, but, I mean, is it that there's supposed, that there is, according to

[14:34]

karmic effect of people who have died in this, that that was their karma to have died in this? Yeah, I see what you mean. Yes, we know that there are reasons. We just don't know what they are. We don't know what they are. And I think it's really a misunderstanding of this sort of depth and sophistication of the notion of karma to think, well, it was their karma to have died. Because then you're saying that they are something in their life or in their past lives that they did. that was unwholesome, caused this to happen to them. And that doesn't really make any sense in terms of Buddhist teaching, because there is no them, you know, that, that, you know, I mean, there's no, like, person that transmigrates through different bodies.

[15:46]

We talked about this in the part of the Sutra, when the king has this revelation and says, there is rebirth. But he doesn't say, oh, I will be reborn. He says, there is rebirth. So there is a continuity over many lifetimes, but there's no person that's continuous. So it makes no sense to say, I must have had bad karma, this is why this bad thing happened to me. Because as soon as I say I, I'm talking about a limited... Now, it may be that in this lifetime I've done some action that causes a reaction, that could be. But when it comes to talking about lifetimes in the past, we really don't understand. And we really can't say. Because in India, the notion of karma was really pernicious in that way, right? Where people would say, oh, these people are untouchables. That's their karma. They should be untouchables. They're born that way because of past life karma. And so why should we do anything for them? That's really, I think, a real misunderstanding of the Buddhist notion of karma anyway.

[16:54]

So, we don't know. But there is causes that we know. Karma is real and it works. We just don't know how in any given case like that. Anyway, I was thinking about all this and thinking that even though it might seem in a way kind of ridiculous and not something we should do. I was thinking I actually would go ahead if you don't mind and continue to talk about the Shurangama Sutra mostly because by this time I think most of us have thought and grieved over this and talked about this quite a bit. Last night I had my Dharma seminar and at that time we didn't study at all, we just chanted a sutra and talked about all this.

[18:02]

But I think it's another day later and we've all been thinking and talking about it, we might as well keeping it in mind and keeping a good feeling of concern, you know, for all the people who are involved, go on to talk about the Shurangama Sutra, but I'm happy not to, if there's anything else you think we should be doing, if you would think that that would be not a good idea. Think that's alright to do that? Yeah? Alright, well, we'll go a little slower, maybe, and not worry about how far we get but just, you know, maybe distract ourselves a little bit from all this with some contemplation of the sutra. Maybe as we go along with it, we'll see if there's anything in the sutra that resonates with all these events and what we're feeling now. Well, where we left off last time was with that fabulous tantric ritual, if you recall.

[19:10]

which ended with the Buddha revealing the Shurangama mantra that was many pages long and then after that there was a lot of expression about how powerful the mantra is and then many different deities and protector creatures stood up one after the other and pledged that they would protect anybody who recited this mantra And we were talking about how odd it was that the sutra combined this sort of mystical, magical stuff with its very complicated and sublime sort of philosophical speculation. But I was thinking afterward that actually it's not that unusual. I mean, you find the same thing in Kabbalah, where there's all this very complicated philosophical speculation mixed with magic, so it seems to be a pretty common kind of thing in religion.

[20:16]

Anyway, after all that, the pattern of the Sutra, as we've seen before, is kind of like an endless spiral. It goes from ignorance and confusion through the Buddha's wonderful explanations of reality that everybody sees in his giving them. to a kind of apex of serenity and perfection, and as soon as you get there, then it's back around again, descending again into the realm of confusion and ignorance, and then back up again, over and over again. So the sutra takes that form. It's as if there are many sutras, one after the other, all starting from the same point and ending at the same point. Anyway, after this moment of the sutra that's so you know, sort of the ultimate sublime moment. The first of those being, you know, the story of Avalokiteshvara, followed by the tantric ritual.

[21:21]

Both of those are high points. Then the sutra again says, yes, but out of this perfection, false thinking enters in, and then we have the twelve kinds of living beings which are born. from the various kinds of upside-down thoughts. And then the rest of the Volume 6 of the Sutra, that is, details a whole bunch of different kinds of very weird creatures, you know, egg-born, moisture-born, and so forth and so on, that are created from the mixed-up thoughts of sentient beings who haven't really understood the teaching that the Buddha is giving in the sutra. Then, in the next part, after describing all these different kinds of mixed up, sort of noxious beings that are caused to exist as a result of confused thinking, the Buddha says, well, now I'm going to tell you how to overcome all this, how to turn your thinking around, and yet another kind of iteration of another method.

[22:36]

The whole volume pretty much, or about half of it anyway, the first half is a litany of all the different stages of the Bodhisattva practice that a person should go through in order to do that, in order to eliminate all the upside down thinking. First it starts off with the three gradual stages. I'm just going to quickly give you a feeling for this by telling you all the stages. There are three gradual stages in the beginning. The first one is very odd. The first one has to do with not eating garlic and onions and stuff like that. That's the first practice you have to do because it unsettles your spirit according to the sutra. So that's the first and the simplest of the practices. And then next is keeping all the moral precepts purely. And the third one is not pursuing the six sense objects, but being peaceful in relation to objects of the senses.

[23:47]

So then, once you undertake those practices, you're ready to enter into the 55 Bodhisattva stages, which are then taught. After the first stage, there are 10 stages called the 10 Fates, Then there's 10 more stages called the 10 dwellings, 10 more called the 10 conducts, 10 more called the 10 transferences, then there's the four levels of augmenting practice and the 10 grounds, and then finally there's equal enlightenment. So the 10 faiths are, first of all, faith, second, mindfulness, Third is vigor, or energy. Fourth is wisdom. Fifth is Samadhi. Sixth is irreversibility, meaning coming to a stage of practice where you've done so much practice that there's no way you can go back.

[24:55]

You have to go forward. Next one is protecting the Dharma. Next one is making transferences, which means dedication of merit of your spiritual power for the benefit of others. The next one is a yet a deeper commitment and establishment in the precepts. And the next one is vows, making powerful vows to be reborn in many lifetimes for the benefit of beings. So those are the ten faiths. Following the ten faiths are the ten dwellings. The dwelling of bringing forth the resolve, dwelling of the ground of regulation, the dwelling of cultivation, the dwelling of noble birth. At this point, the idea is that you actually have so thoroughly transformed your inner self that you actually are reborn, in a sense, into the lineage of Buddhists.

[26:02]

So you're no longer born from the biological family that you are part of, but you actually are more truly born in a lineage of Buddhas. Dwelling of the endowment with skill and means, dwelling of rectification of the mind, Dwelling of irreversibility, which presumably is not unusual in Buddhism for lists to follow one after the other and have many repeating items. And the sense of that is that at a lower level you deepen, you know, whatever the quality is. It becomes even more strong in you than it was before. Dwelling of a pure youth, dwelling of a Dharma Prince, dwelling of anointing the crown of the head, and this is a kind of recapitulation of Buddha's life. So you, in a sense, repeat, you know, Buddha's life as a pure youth, as a Dharma Prince, and then you become anointed. It's a deep kind of archetypal drama of, you know, you're practicing to the extent that you actually repeat the deep structure of the Buddha's own life

[27:12]

So those are the ten dwellings. Then you now are, in effect, kind of like a junior Buddha. And so you conduct yourself that way. There's ten conducts that you practice. Conduct of happiness, conduct of benefiting, non-opposition, endlessness, freedom from confusion, wholesome manifestation, non-attachment, veneration, wholesome dharma, and true actuality. So, I mean, you know, all these are discussed, a little bit about each one, but I'm just kind of reading them off so that you just get at least some flavor, so that at least you heard them. Then, based on these 10 kinds of conduct, there are 10 kinds of transference, 10 ways in which you turn over the merit of your effort to benefit others.

[28:27]

And then after the 10 kinds of transference, there are four They call them four kinds of wonderfully perfect additional practices, which have the interesting names of heat, summit, patience, and first in the world. Heat because it's just, each one is given with an analogy, metaphor. Heat because it's just like a piece of wood which heats up And just on the point of igniting and bursting into flames, but not yet burst into flames. The moment before the wood bursts into flames. Summit, because it's as if you were climbing a lofty mountain to the point where the body is in space, but there remains a slight obstruction beneath him. So you haven't yet, you know, lifted up off the ground.

[29:34]

You're kind of up, you know, in the ozone, but you're still touching the ground. So it's called the summit. And then this one, next one is called the level of patience. When the mind and the Buddha are two and yet the same. So you see these are all expressing in a way the same thing. When the mind and the Buddha are two and yet the same, She has well obtained the middle way. She's like someone who endures something when it seems impossible to either hold it in or let it out. Therefore, it's called a level of patience. And this is almost the same image that Master Mumon famously uses in his well-known commentary to case one of the Mumenkan where he says, talking about koan practice, he says you should hold the koan like a red hot iron ball. You can't swallow it and you can't vomit it up.

[30:35]

Well, that image comes from here. The idea of, you know, being intensely involved right at the cusp of between human delusion and Buddhahood. So after those four practices, which express, you know, the sort of being right at the point of awakening, after all that, you know, you thought, yeah, we'd be there by now, but no, you're still at the point of it. Then there's ten, yeah? You said heat, summit, and level of patience, that's only three. What's the fourth one? Oh, yes, excuse me. The fourth one says, when numbers are destroyed, there are no such designations as the middle way or as confusion and enlightenment. This is called the level of being first in the world. That's the fourth one. The level of being first in the world. We're like the world honored one. So when you go beyond being at the cusp. Then you now practice the 10 grounds.

[31:39]

The grounds of leaving delusion, the ground of emitting light, the ground of blazing wisdom, the ground of invincibility, the ground of manifestation, the ground of traveling far, the ground of immovability, the ground of wisdom, the level of cultivation, the ground of the Dharma cloud equal enlightenment. That's the last, is equal enlightenment. So, those are all 55 of the levels and then you realize as a result of going through all those levels 10 analogies, 10 ways, 10 aspects of reality that you... At all these levels they use Vajra contemplation of the 10 profound analogies for the ways in which things are like an illusion.

[32:56]

In shamatha they use the thus come ones vipassana to cultivate them purely, to be certified to them and to gradually enter them more and more deeply. So now, you know, calming and insight meditation are used to understand the world according to these ten analogies. First, all karma is like an illusion. karmic obstacles are not real, they're illusory. 2. All dharmas are like a mirage. 3. All physical bodies are like the moon reflected in water. 4. All wonderful forms are like flowers in space. 5. All wonderful sounds are like echoes in a valley.

[33:58]

6. All Buddha lands are like Gandharva cities. Basically the Buddha lands are real, but you should look upon them as if they were but the cities of Gandharvas. 7. All deeds of the Buddha are like dreams. 8. The Buddha's body is like a reflection. 9. The reward body, the Sambhogakaya, is like an image. Ten, the Dharma body is like a transformation. So you, through your meditation practice, realize all that. So after saying all this, Manjushri gets up and says to Buddha, this is also a convention in most sutras, Mahayana sutras, where somebody gets up and says, what's the name of this sutra? How should we call it? And the Buddha then gives numerous names. It is also called, here among them, it is also called the cause for saving a relative, because it rescued Ananda from his difficulty.

[35:22]

It is also called The Great Pervasive Method, The Wonderful Lotus Flower King, The Dharani Mantra, which is the mother of all Buddhas of the Ten Directions. And the one that it's usually referred to as, this is the full title of the sutra as it's usually given, The Foremost Shurangama, Sections and Phrases for Anointing the Crown of the Head and All Bodhisattva's Myriad Practices. That's the full title of the sutra. and they were all suddenly enlightened, and Dhyana, all those listening, advanced in their cultivation to the sagely position, and increased their understanding of the wonderful principle. So now, another high point, and now you know where we go from there. Back down, as Ananda gets up and says, well, that was great, and I really am impressed, and feel really good,

[36:28]

And so Ananda says, I understand therefore that this wonderful brightness, this truly pure and wonderful mind is basically all pervading. Which means that everything on the great earth, including the grasses and trees, the wriggly worms and tiny forms of life are originally the true suchness and are themselves the very body of Buddha. I realize that now, but I have a problem. If this is so, if the Buddha's body is true and real, how is it that there also are hells, hungry ghosts, animals, asuras, humans, gods, and other paths of rebirth? Well, now everyone, do these paths exist naturally of themselves or are they created by living beings' falseness and habits? And then he says it a little bit more. And this causes the Buddha to then answer the question, what a good question he says.

[37:47]

And he then launches into a huge part of the sutra where he talks about all the different kinds of creatures in the hell realms. and in the heavenly realms. It's very, very complicated stuff. And here's where, you know, you really know the Sutra must be Chinese because there's all this stuff in there about immortals. All the different kinds of immortals, you know, the Taoist immortals living off in the mountains, those are in the heavenly realms. The immortals are sort of special Chinese forms of heavenly realms that I don't think you find in India, but anyway, there's some pretty lurid and horrific hell realms and some pretty subtle and magnificent heavenly realms that are, as in Indian Buddhism, associated with meditation practice. Did you know that the heavenly realms are all, you're born into the heavenly realms as a result of coursing in various subtle samadhis, mostly the eight jhanic states, each one has its own heavenly realm associated with it.

[38:57]

But, the heavenly realms are not, they're kind of beside the point, because in all the realms, certainly in the hell realms, but even in the heavenly realms, there is always some degree of attachment and because of that attachment there's further suffering on the wheel of birth and death so there's an interesting twist at the end where after the final heavenly realm there's a kind of a whole section there about Asuras fighting demons And the implication seems to be that after you go through all the heavenly realms, Because of your attachment to those realms, you then end up becoming a fighting demon because you get angry and you have hatred and aggression because you are frustrated to have fallen out of the heavenly realm.

[40:10]

So you fall out of the heavenly realm and immediately become a fighting demon. I think that's the idea. So that leads us to the last part of the sutra, which is actually kind of interesting. It's called the 50 Skanda Demons, or the 50 Demon, what is it called? Yeah, the 50 Skanda Demon States. And this part begins with the Buddha. After all that, you know, pretty much, he figured he had said everything he needed to say about the Shurangama mantra and the meditation practices associated with it and the philosophy associated with it and he was ready to leave and call it a day. And he thought to himself, well there's only one more thing and I think I shouldn't leave yet because I better tell them about the demons that are

[41:14]

that will attack you in the process of cultivating all this if you're not careful. So in other words, I told them everything that they need to know. They've gotten all the ideas. All the teachings necessary have now been given. So that's all you need. But one thing I should probably mention is that when you practice these teachings you're going to have problems. And so I don't, you know, I told you the teachings but maybe I should warn you about the various problems that will come up along the path of this cultivation. And those are the 50 Skanda demons. And so he's going to tell you about that. So this part is, as you can imagine, divided into five parts for each of the five skandhas. The idea is that in your meditation practice you're going to, starting with the first skandha, going all the way up to the fifth skandha, you're going to sort of turn around that skandha and quiet it and see through it.

[42:21]

And in the process of doing that, various faults will arise that if you're not careful, you know, will sweep you away. So now I'm going to give you the warning about all these faults he's saying. And usually the faults are closely associated with success in the practices. In other words, you'll have, basically what it amounts to is, something will happen that is very positive, but you'll have a mistaken view of it somehow. and therefore get swept away. You'll either get attached to it or mistake it for something that it isn't. this sort of thing. So it's kind of an interesting section actually, because it talks about various kinds of experiences, some of which I think will seem familiar, that arise in meditation practice and sort of saying, these things will happen and be careful in the following ways. As I said, mostly they have to do with any shadow whatsoever of pride, attachment, or even

[43:29]

the naming of the state as being, oh, look, I achieved this wonderful positive state. And as you know, you know, the Zen literature is full of these kinds of, all usually given indirectly as aspects of Zen dialogues, full of this kind of caution that, you know, really the practice has nothing to do with any sort of achievement or attainment of anything. but just simply going forward in the process. Because as soon as you think that there's an achievement or attainment or a stage is reached or something like that, then immediately, with the very act of your naming it, there's already some attachment. And there are deeply subtle degrees of attachment, any one of which will cause big problems. I think in the time that we have left I will talk about this section and I'll sort of meander through it and point out whatever I noted.

[44:48]

As I read it, that was interesting to me. So the first one is the First Skanda, the Skanda of Form. This one is associated with all kinds of visionary experiences of the five senses. A lot of them have to do with seeing light in different ways. It says here, if his eyes become clear, He will then experience the ten directions as an open expanse and the darkness will be gone. This is the end of the form Skanda. He will then be able to transcend the turbidity of time. Each of the five Skandas is associated with some, what translator uses the word turbidity, I'm not sure what that means, but you know, dark heaviness.

[45:54]

Each Skanda has its own heaviness that pulls us into the world of suffering. In the first skanda, skanda form, it's the turbidity of time. So now, seeing through the first skanda, you become free of that. Contemplating the cause of the form skanda, one sees that false thoughts of solidity are its source. So that's when you enter this state of having transcended the first skanda. Then there are ten states now that happen within this realization, each one of which has a danger. So I'll just read some of them. The first one is called the pure brightness merging into the environment. In this state, the person intently investigates the wonderful brightness that he sees in front of him, and the four elements no longer function together.

[47:06]

And so, in other words, the cohesiveness of the body dissipates, and the person is free of physical obstructions. They could walk through walls and stuff like that. This is a temporary state, and in the course of cultivation, it's a temporary state, it does not indicate anything, you know, that you're a Buddha or something like that. Don't be fooled. If the person does not think that he has now become a Buddha just because he can walk through walls, things like that, then it'll be a good thing that he can do that. But if he considers himself a sage, then he will be vulnerable to the demon's influence. And this formula is given throughout all these 10 stages. If the person realizes that it's a good thing to achieve this, he'll be fine. But if he thinks that now, because he's been able to have this miraculous vision or power, he's now a sage, then the demon will get him.

[48:11]

So the second one is called the pure light surging through one's physical body. And this one is rather odd. As you can imagine, there's a light pervading the body, but suddenly, because of this light, she will be able to extract intestinal worms from her body. I guess they must have had a lot of trouble, you know, with intestinal worms. She will be able to do this, but her body will remain intact and unharmed. So that's that miraculous power. And the demon, again, if she thinks this is a big deal, the demon comes. If she just says, oh, this is nice, but it doesn't mean I've gotten anywhere at all, then she's free from the demon. He will hear, in the third stage, esoteric truths being pronounced simultaneously throughout the ten directions.

[49:16]

which in this state is called the essence and souls alternately separating and uniting in the planting of good deeds. So anyway, it goes on like that through 10 different stages like being able to see distant places in the middle of the night, seeing palaces that are resplendent and beautiful, seeing hells below and the celestial palaces above all without obstruction so forth and so on seeing the burning of fire will not make his limbs hot and even when his flesh is cut it will be like wood being whittled So anyway, all kinds of miraculous physical capacities.

[50:21]

The second one is this feeling skanda. And the feeling skanda is associated, once you kind of purify the feeling skanda, then you transcend the turbidity of views, in this case. This one is associated with Not with visions or physical capacities, but with inner states, emotional or psychological states. There are ten of them. And again, in this case, if there's any kind of arrogance in relation to these states, then a demon gets in. So these are kind of interesting. In the first one, you experience a brilliant light and then a feeling arises in your mind as a result of excessive internal pressure.

[51:29]

At this point, you suddenly feel a boundless sadness that is so strong that you look upon even mosquitoes and gadflies as newborn children, overwhelmed with pity and burst into tears at any moment, you know, at the drop of a hat. So that's the first stage that you experience after you have put to rest the skanda of feelings and transcends the turbidity of views. And the name of this state is called trying too hard to suppress the mind in the course of cultivation. That's the name of that state. And then it says, and this is the formula for this one, if the practitioner understands this state, there's no problem. This experience does not indicate sagehood. If the practitioner realizes that and remains unconfused, then after a time it will disappear.

[52:32]

So that's the first stage. The second one is that the person has a sublime vision and is overwhelmed with gratitude. And suddenly, because of the gratitude, is able to evince tremendous courage. His mind is bold and keen. And this one is called, being too anxious to excel in cultivation. And again, if he understands, there's no problem. If he realizes that, it's not a sign of sagehood, then the mind is unconfused and after a time the state disappears. Then, the next one is, his wisdom dissipates and he enters an impasse in which he sees nothing to anticipate and suddenly a feeling of tremendous monotony and thirst arises in his mind.

[53:42]

At all times he is fixated in memories that do not disperse, because there's nothing in the future, so he keeps dwelling on the past. He mistakes this for a sign of diligence and vigor. In the next stage, he becomes paranoid. He has not yet obtained any results, and his prior state of mind has already disappeared. Surveying the two extremes, he feels that he's in great danger. Suddenly, he becomes greatly distraught, as if he were seated on an iron bed, or as if he has taken poison. He has no wish to go on living, and he's always asking people to take his life so that he can be released sooner.

[54:45]

So, you know, this is an advanced meditator who's passed through all these other states like, you know, enormous gratitude and all these visions and powers. So it just goes to show you that, you know, even in these advanced states, don't be surprised by erratic and difficult states of mind, because they do come. One can never you know, I think we're always working on integration, which I think is a little bit different from the practice of the Shurangama Sutra, which I think implies, you know, a meditator living far from ordinary concerns, cultivating these meditation practices in a cave somewhere for many, many years, and subject to these kinds of states of mind. I think in our case, actually, there's less danger of it because we're constantly going back and forth from our cushion to our negotiating the everyday, so I think we're less likely to have these kind of problems, but they do happen sometimes, or versions of them in long sushins.

[56:04]

The next one is boundless joy. which is very good, except if you're not careful, a demon that likes happiness will enter your mind. Yes? When you mentioned the thing about the suicidal aspect, I mean, some of these we could miss, right? We could just skip it. Yeah, right, right, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, this is a kind of like catalog of all these things, it's certainly not literally the case that one would go through each and every one of these things in this order or anything like that. No, no, it's just a compendium of... I'm sure that these are things that different meditators experienced, you know, and that happened to people, and so they were included. Probably the author of this text was a, you know, a very experienced yogi who, you know, had seen a lot of this stuff, had experienced it himself or herself and had seen it in others and so was just sort of thinking of all the different things.

[57:13]

And I think a lot of these sutras, you know, at some point in Chinese Buddhist thought there was a whole philosophy around the number ten, the perfect whole number. So, they had five skandhas, they had to apply the number 10 to the five skandhas, they had to come up with 10 things for each skandha, so that, you know, they kind of made some up if they didn't, you know, they made sure they were 10. Not 11, not 12, not 8, but 10. So I don't think we can be that literal about it. But it is interesting because, you know, like I say, a lot of these things do relate. So, another one is suddenly a feeling of unreasonable, intense self-satisfaction may arise in her, which may include pride, outrageous pride, haughty pride, overweening pride, and pride based on inferiority, all of which occur at once.

[58:22]

So, simultaneously, she is enormously proud of her accomplishments and enormously embarrassed at her utter inferiority. So that happens, sometimes. So, that's the form, some of the demons of the form skanda. The third skanda is the skanda of, here it's translated as thinking, it's usually translated as perception, but It's the same thing, you know, the idea of the mind thinking, oh, that's this or that's that. The thinking of that sort is involved in acts of perception. So this one is to overcome the turbidity of afflictions, meaning, you know, the kleshas or the bad karmas

[59:37]

And this one has to do with a craving for and a misperception of different meditative states. So in the first state, the person is untroubled by any deviant mental state and experiences perfect bright concentration. Within samadhi, the mind craves its perfect brightness, so he sharpens his concentrated thought as he greedily seeks for cleverness and skill. And that's the crux of it there. He greedily seeks for cleverness and skill. So there's a kind of attachment and greed in the middle of the meditation. The skillful meditation, but, oh, that's so much fun. I want to get more of that. I want to get better at it. And it's that grasping that causes a demon to possess the person. Next one is, he's greedy for adventure.

[60:46]

perfect bright concentration and the mind craves to roam about. So he lets his thoughts fly out as he greedily seeks for adventure. So did you ever have that? You're sitting there meditating and it's so interesting to think about all these things and you're just thinking about everything and you can figure out everything. Careful about the demon that comes when that happens. Next one is greed for union. In this state of samadhi, the mind craves spiritual oneness. So he makes strong effort, greedily clutching for oneness. And that invites another kind of demon. And nothing good comes of it, but he makes the minds of the listeners think that they're becoming enlightened before they listen to the Dharma.

[62:06]

So they're experiencing all kinds of wonderful changes, but they're all due to the demons. And then the next thing is he becomes entangled in attraction and love and breaks the precepts and indulges his greedy desires. So that's really bad. Then he also is given to agree to analyze things and understand the changes in the physical world from beginning to end. He has greed for spiritual insights, seeking revelations from afar. So he pours his energy into this intense investigation as he greedily seeks for imperceptible spiritual responses. In the next one, he's greedy for peace and quiet.

[63:13]

His mind craves deep absorption, so he restrains himself with energetic diligence and likes to dwell in secluded places as he greedily seeks for peace and quiet." So there's a famous story of Suzuki Roshi, you know, in the monastery, getting up early every day for Zazen. You know this story? That he would get up before the wake-up bell and go to the Zen, that he'd be the first one there before anybody ever got there, and he was scolded for this. for this kind of reason. And he was greedily seeking more meditation and peace and quiet. So the idea is that you go when it's time to go, and the rest of the time you don't forget about it. You know, more meditation is not necessarily better. Especially if you're like this, because then the demon is going to get you and you'll be terribly attached to your meditation cushion. So, you know, when it's time to meditate you do, and when it's not time you just It's totally unconcerned about it.

[64:20]

He also has greed to know past lives, greed for spiritual powers, greed for profound emptiness, greed for immortality. and so forth. And these greeds, in many cases, lead him to break the Buddhist precepts. So that, in other words, this is a person who is a powerful meditator. That's the idea. At this stage, you have great powers of concentration and meditation, but, you know, not being, having seen through attachment, they end up causing you harm. And often the way they cause you harm is by you get off base, attached to these mental states, you lose your ethical conduct.

[65:29]

Which happens, you know, actually. with some frequency to great adepts, spiritual adepts, who seemingly very much describes many stories that we've all heard about great spiritual teachers who have obvious powers of meditation and spiritual insight and so forth, who somehow spin off in some way. So it happens. And it makes one feel, throughout the sutra, at various points, as we heard at the beginning of Volume 7, the three gradual stages, one of which involved precept-keeping. Here again, in many places with these 50 Skanda Demons, we hear about precept-keeping. that it seems as if it was perennial in Buddhism, particularly in the mind-only schools, in the schools that emphasized cultivation and meditation, that it was a very common fault that people would, emphasizing that side so strongly, feel that they somehow, in some sort of non-dualistic fantasy about reality,

[66:47]

felt that the breaking of precepts was not any longer a real violation. And so it must have happened that there were precept breakers and all this kind of thing. This whole immoral antinomian tendency is also in all religions seems to be associated with a powerful sense of union with the absolute. at least, and here we're hearing that it looks that way, but actually it's a demon that's got a hold of you, and because there's some attachment that you're not aware of, the very power of this whole experience gets turned upside down and causes, you know, much harm. So the next one is the fourth skanda, associated with, this one is associated with false speculation. This is the skanda of, the fourth skanda of impulses or formations or activity.

[67:53]

And the person now understands this skanda having been put to rest, the person has powerful metaphysical insight into the nature of reality, except that in the case of the ten faults here, they're wrong. The insights are wrong insights, incorrect insights. And this one is kind of interesting, I don't want to, it's kind of detailed and philosophical and I won't go into it terribly much, but the point of it seems to be that, I think we discussed this in one of the other classes, that the doctrine of the Shurangama Sutra and of the mind-only schools is a dangerous one because it comes very close to positing some sort of essence, consciousness as universal essence. And such ideas are really foreign to the whole thrust of Buddhism, which really doesn't fundamentally have a metaphysical position.

[69:03]

It's sort of anti-metaphysical, Buddhism is. So, and it really keeps bringing you back to It's very phenomenological, right? Like, what's going on? What's happening? Not how do you view it? How do you want to define it? But what actually is it? And then, of course, it just changed. So what is it now? So there isn't anything that you can point to and hold on to as a truth. And that's being free of truth, is the truth of Buddhism. So these are many, many truths that the meditator becomes convinced of as a result of the practices given in the Shurangama Sutra. So this is kind of a corrective, I think, to the many faults in view that would be quite natural if you followed the whole rest of the Sutra. So maybe with that,

[70:06]

I've said enough and I don't have to tell you what any of these views are. No? You want to hear them? Okay. I'll just... a couple of them. Two theories on the absence of cause. First, the person sees no cause for the origin of life. Why? Since he has completely destroyed the mechanism of production, he can, by means of the 800 merits of the eye organ, see all living beings in the swirling flow of karma during 80,000 eons, dying in one place and being reborn in another as they undergo transmigration. So he has the power to see into the past 80,000 eons, but he can't see any further than that. So he figures, well, then must be that there isn't any cause for the origin of life, because, you know, I saw all the way back there and I didn't see any, so there isn't any.

[71:13]

But he's wrong, because you can only see so far. And then he sees no cause for the end of life. So those are the two wrong views. Then he has four theories regarding pervasive permanence. So remember the sutra earlier taught permanence, right? Remember? Seemed to be saying that there was permanence. Here it's saying that he has some ideas about permanence that are wrong. So he misunderstood the earlier part of the sutra and is holding views about it and so therefore these are other kinds of demons. Anyway, there's a whole bunch of these things like that, that he misunderstands. And many of them, as I say, have to do with clear implications of the earlier part of the Sutra, that a person has heard and studied and gotten along.

[72:21]

And finally, the fifth skanda, the skanda of consciousness, which overcomes the turbidity of lifespans. And there are ten attachments within this. And these are also have to do with views and basically the thrust of it is mistaking something that's occurring as an ultimate position or an ultimate view when it really isn't. So it's kind of similar to the last one. So then At the end of all this, the Buddha says, when the consciousness ganda ends, and you've successfully negotiated your way through all these demons, your present sense faculties will function interchangeably.

[73:42]

You'll be able to hear sights and see sounds and things like that. Within that interchangeable functioning, you will be able to enter the Bodhisattva's Vajra wisdom. In your perfect, bright, pure mind there will be transformation. It will be like pure vajra that contains a precious moon, and in that way you will transcend the ten face, the ten dwellings, and so forth, all these things that were practiced earlier, you'll go beyond them. And you will enter the Buddhist sea of wonderful adornments, perfect the cultivation of bodhi, and return to the state of non-attainment. And the demons of the skandhas will melt away. And the demons of the heavens will be obliterated. Mighty ghosts and spirits will lose their wits and flee. And the ghosts will not dare to approach you. Because you've got the mantra. And you'll scare them all away with the mantra.

[74:47]

Then the Buddha teaches one more time how the mind is perfect and bright, but that somehow or other an iota of falseness and naming comes into it, therefore splitting off an object and a subject and then the whole world comes to be as a result of that. And I'll read you the last lines of the Shurangama Sutra, now that we went through the whole thing, kind of more or less. I know that if living beings are able to recite this sutra and uphold this mantra, I could not describe in endless kalpas how great the advantages will be. Rely on this teaching that I have spoken.

[75:59]

Cultivate in accord with it and you will directly realize Bodhi without encountering demonic karma. When the Buddhists finished speaking the sutra, the bhikshus, bhikshunis, upasakas, upasikas, and all the gods, humans, and asuras in this world, as well as all the bodhisattvas, those are the two vehicles, sages, immortals, and pure youths in other directions, and the mighty ghosts and spirits of initial resolve, all felt elated, made obeisance, and withdrew. That's the end. Well, thank you very much for being willing to go through all this with me. I hope it wasn't too trying for you, but I really did want to study the Shurangama Sutra and I needed partners. So, thank you for helping me there. I think many people that I've been studying the sutra with have been doing the practice that I suggested of deeply listening, you know, on your cushion and making the effort to listen not only on your cushion but in the rest of your life.

[77:19]

I think that this practice of listening is very profound, particularly when it comes to the practice of Avalokiteshvara, of hearing the cries of the world. In your friendships and relationships, if you cultivate the capacity to actually listen and become more close and more still with your listening, and if you could cultivate that capacity in relation to your own mind and heart, you know, without thinking of it as your own, you know, bearing witness to what's within you, instead of thinking of it as me, and therefore having to sort of whip it into shape somehow. But if you could have more of a listening spirit and really bear witness to what's inside of you and your friends and people in your life, I think it's really a wonderful way to appreciate our human relationships, including one's relationship to one's own self.

[78:23]

So I I commend the practice to you as the most profound practice of the Shurangama Sutra, with all the associated magic and protection that the practice brings. So, again, thanks very much for listening and take care of yourself as we go ahead here in the next days and weeks and hear more news about this tragedy and especially, you know, as our government begins acting on the information that it has in all the Difficulty that that will probably bring we'll all need to maintain you know Composure and compassion throughout all that

[79:18]

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