understanding back to the realm of where phenomena are appearing and where there's potential to complain. But now you can work without draining yourself because you're liberated from the world of complaint and drainage. Okay? You're welcome. And thank you for bringing that point up. So most of the work, in a sense, is settling with the realm of complaint and the realm where there's alternatives. But again, the yoga practice is to settle with it as much as possible with no alternative to that realm. Because right while you're still involved in dualistic consciousness, you have no alternative way of practicing with that. So you're moving forward towards liberation, but not preferring liberation, even though, in fact, you're moving towards it.

[01:08]

Because if you prefer liberation when you're in the world of bondage, you're moving deeper into the world of bondage. Now, to prefer bondage also you move deeper into the world of bondage. Okay? To prefer bondage you move deeper into bondage and to prefer liberation while you're in bondage you move deeper into bondage. Okay? Both preferring pain and preferring pleasure move you deeper into the realm of pain and pleasure. But to have no preference for the world of bondage while you're in the world of bondage. And to have no preference for the world of liberation while you're in the world of bondage is moving towards liberation. But not by jumping out of the world of bondage, but by practicing in it in this Buddha-like way. Namely, no preference. Namely, ultimate perspective. which will help you settle more and more deeply into the world of suffering, into the world of justice and injustice, into the world of self and other.

[02:23]

So that's the yoga practice that I recommend, which relates to this, to truth. So, this is a yoga practice that you do in the dualistic world, And in the non-dual world, it's the way things are. And you don't do it there anymore. That's just the way things are. In the dualistic world, there's you and the practice, probably, still. In the non-dual world, there's really nothing to do. And in fact, that's the deep quality of everything. is sort of the non-doing quality of everything. The thing doesn't have to do anything. Everything's helping the thing happen. Everything else is working but the thing.

[03:28]

What? Well, in the realm of non-duality, you know, there's not Liz separate from everything else. There's not Liz and the rest of the world. In fact, there's the rest of the world is what Liz is. So Liz doesn't have to do any work anymore. The rest of the world is what's doing all the work. So you can just like, you know, I don't know what. You can just enjoy your life as everything that happens and say thank you for everything. And then everything that happens, you realize, is showing you that, you know, there's no Liz. So you don't have any problems anymore.

[04:53]

Everything that happens, you understand, is pointing to your deep selfless nature. You understand that. I say you understand that, but it is understood. And everything realizes and teaches that deep selflessness of Liz. And in the superficial experience of Liz, which is that Liz is a self cut off from other beings, separate from Reb, for example, in that realm, Liz can do a yoga practice, which is that everything that happens is teaching you to remember your deep selfless nature. Everything that happens is Buddha teaching you. And what is Buddha teaching you? That's what you, the separate person, is trying to understand. So you don't say, no thank you, I don't want this lesson, give me a different one.

[05:59]

Now the lesson may be injustice, but that injustice is, well what does this mean? What is this telling me about my selfless nature? Or it may be justice. But you don't just go to sleep when you see justice. When you see justice, you say, what is that telling me? Oh yeah, it's reminding me of my selfless nature. Everything that happens is reminding you of your selfless nature. In other words, everything that happens, there's no alternative. Everything that happens is no alternative. Everything that happens is the Buddha Dharma. There's no... There's no... gap in that. That's the way Buddhadharma is, is it's not something that comes once in a while. Something that comes once in a while is not Buddhadharma. Buddhadharma is that you're being taught by everything. Or Buddhadharma is what everything's teaching you, I should say.

[07:04]

And the question is, do you understand that? And if you don't, then you doubt what I'm saying, and it's good to sort of like tell me about your doubt so that I can discuss with you until you understand and then you're always in school that everything that happens is a learning opportunity and if you learn really well then you can really help all situations okay yes Every conventional phenomena is unfolding something? Yes. It's unfolding the conventional truth of the phenomena. Well, in a sense, it's more than that, because every conventional phenomenon not only shows you the conventional aspect or the conventional way that the phenomenon may appear, but it's also simultaneously doing this neat thing called actively obscuring the ultimate.

[08:33]

It's kind of revealing in the same time, because by its obscuring quality, it's kind of showing you the ultimate, too. So that's another reason why we pay close attention to the conventional because the conventional is hiding the ultimate. The ultimate's right there. It's right there. It's like they're very close. And that's why the yoga practice is to look at the conventional really respectfully because the ultimate's right there. The deep is right there, inseparable, totally locked into the superficial. And again, if you a little bit don't like the superficial, you turn away from the superficial, you turn away from the ultimate. Or if you like the superficial, then you also turn away from the superficial, if you like it.

[09:41]

Loving it means you study it rather than like it. When you like it, you create a little more distance. Like and dislike distract you from intimacy with the superficial. When you become intimate with the superficial, you become intimate with the ultimate. Yes? On Sunday, you mentioned... Yeah. And don't be angry either. And don't be confused. That's a good one because greed greed's the big one. Greed's more powerful than anger and confusion. In our meal chant we say the new translation of our meal chant is among the various delusions greed is the big one. Yeah. So for Buddhist practitioners, anger towards the Buddha Dharma is a problem, but it's not that easy, not that difficult to get over anger towards the Dharma.

[10:53]

But greed towards the Dharma, it's harder. So anyway, yeah, please, go ahead. Don't be greedy. And don't be greedy about this question either, okay? See if you can keep going without greed. Yeah, usually you're greedy towards things you prefer, usually. I guess you could be greedy about what you don't prefer. Anything's possible. But usually we're greedy about the things we prefer. Right? Yeah. Yeah. You can like without, I think you can like things. Yeah, liking, I think, is kind of like greed. I think when you like, you're kind of like a little bit of preference there, and you're pretty much getting into greed there.

[11:54]

It might be possible, if you're really on the ball, to like without greed, to like without preference. It's tough, though, to like without preference, but you might be able to do it. I like it, but don't prefer it. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's very subtle, though, the difference between liking and... Huh? Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Oh, it's so much. Love is released when you don't have preference. Love is in a little box when you're caught in preferences. When you don't have preference, it just goes all over the place. It's, you know... Preference holds it back. It makes it go... It isn't even like it puts it in these preference channels. Because although it goes in preference channels, it then builds up all this pressure, you know? So it's not really love anymore. It's like love when you squish it through a tight little place and go... You know?

[12:58]

Knocks everything... Those you prefer get knocked over by it, you know? It's like, here it comes. It's all for you. That's not love. It's like that's distorted love. That's love run through the preference machinery. So it's still kind of there, but it's all twisted and perverted and squished and out of proportion and too strong. And then you know what happens when it's too strong. You have the after effects of that. Oh, yeah. No, love without preference, that's where it's at. Oh, sure. Yes. So, is it something like greed for understanding? Like, I like understanding. Yeah. That could be greed for understanding. Is that a relationship that is known as that greed and liking?

[14:04]

Liking something and being greedy for more of it? Yeah. That sounds like greed. Being greedy for more of it. Uh-huh. Any more questions about that? Yeah, greed's about wanting more of it. And wanting more of it's related to thinking that there isn't going to be more of it. So greed and attachment have to do with it. Greed and attachment implies annihilation. Yes. Yes, it does. Yes, you thought you were? That's a perfectly good application of the warning about greed is watch out for greed

[15:12]

vis-a-vis understanding this teaching. Greed for understanding this teaching will undermine your understanding of this teaching. No, no, no. Greed implies, when you're greedy for something, it implies that you think there's going to be annihilation. you're not greedy for things that you don't think are going to go away. Unless you thought they were going to be annihilated, then you might be greedy about them. So, there's two extreme views. One is annihilation, and the other is eternity, you know. The middle way is that things aren't destroyed and they don't go on forever.

[16:24]

They're impermanent. They change. They rise and fall, but they don't get destroyed and they don't go on. But because our attitude has a shift from destruction or annihilation to things lasting and being permanent, we tend to get into attachment and seeking. Seeking has to do with birth. Something is born, you know. Something lasts. Attachment goes with things are destroyed and they die. The training is between things being born and things dying. between things being destroyed and things going on. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[17:27]

So greed towards things being born is called seeking something. And greed about things that have already arisen is called attachment. So it's another yogic practice is to work with these things of trying to develop non-attachment and non-seeking. Which again, is a training to be a Buddha, because Buddhas don't take either one of those views. And therefore they don't have attachments, and they don't seek anything. That's a different yogic practice, a different way of approaching the yoga, of settling with what's happening in whatever realm you're in. And that practice can be practiced in the world of duality, where you do not prefer this world or prefer another world. Where you don't prefer this truth or prefer the other truth.

[18:30]

Where you're not into alternatives in this realm, even though this is the realm of alternatives. But greed is based on dualistic thinking. That's why the dualistic thinking is the key. And if you can understand dualistic thinking, you'd be free of it. And free of it, then greed and anger and confusion, they can't function anymore. So it doesn't seem to be as hot today as it was yesterday. But, you know, we have no preference, right? No complaining? And if anybody does have any preferences or any complaints, you have no alternative to that, okay?

[19:37]

So you can always come up on top of whatever is happening and be balanced. Even if you're unbalanced, you can be balanced in that unbalanced state. In other words, you can practice love no matter what. Even if you don't like it, you can just love that you don't like it. Not liking it is not love. Liking it is not love. But you can love, like and dislike whenever they happen. by having no alternative. Having no alternative is love. And so the deep quality of all phenomena is really love. Selflessness and love are the same thing.

[20:40]

For Buddha, this is for Buddha, right? Love is at the core of selflessness. And love is the way to realize selflessness. And selflessness purifies love of like and dislike. Selflessness releases love to be, you know, applied to all situations. Okay? It's now 1202. That's kind of a nice number. Shall we stop or should we have Becky's question? Becky doesn't have a question. I have a request. A request? Yes. day when we voted to start at 10. It appears to me that for some people getting here by 10 is harder than for others.

[21:58]

Yes. And I was wondering if we could re-vote or make it 10-15 or make it a little, make it possible for all of us to be here at the same time. Okay. What do you say to Becky's, her name is also Reb, Eka. What... What do you say to her suggestion? You want to vote again? Huh? Huh? Okay. So this will just be a vote for those who have preferences, I guess. No. Those who have no preference can also vote. But still, just once. So see what your non-preferential arm does. So how many people... How many people vote? How many arms vote for 10 o'clock? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. How many hands vote for 10, 15? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. I voted 10.

[23:15]

Yeah. So 9 voted for 10, 15, and 16 voted for 10. And then there's some other people whose arms didn't move, I guess. No difference. How about 10, 10? I'm lying. How about whatever? Okay, ready? So how many people vote for... We're going to have four choices this time. 10... 10-10, 10-15, and whatever. Ready? How about we try 10-15 tomorrow and discuss it again? Fifth choice. A fifth choice. Okay. So it's five choices. Ready? Can you... Wait a second. Can't you people stand this world of preference? Yes. Is your stomach turning for all these preferences, huh? You see how nauseating it is?

[24:17]

This is like the superficial quality, right? Can you handle this? Yes, you can. Come on. We don't have to have the vote, but you have to face what this looks like, right? You see how it's like? Suzuki Roshi, oh yes, we like him. I have a schedule. Can we find out what time the people we can't meet attend? I mean, I'm serious. Like, how many people can't make it? And about, like, 10, 10. And they all can make it. I'm willing to give up my first book. I'll just accept it when they come. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I can't remember. So what do you think, Becky? I'm satisfied. Okay. Thank you very much.

[25:18]

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