I'd like to bring up two kind of big issues. One is the issue of the Bodhisattva and the other is the issue of the Mahayana. Those are Sanskrit words. Bodhisattva could be translated as enlightening being. Can you hear me okay in the other room? A little difficult. Enlightening beings is one translation of bodhisattva or a being who has the, a bodhi being. Sattva means being and bodhi means awakening or enlightenment. So it's a bodhi being. It's a enlightening being. It's a being, a being of awakening. And as I mentioned in the yoga room the other night, the word bodhisattva actually was a new word that appeared in India sort of after the Buddha started teaching.

[01:18]

Most of the words the Buddha used were words that he inherited, that were words of the people he met. But he introduced, I think, maybe the word bodhisattva. We don't know what actual language he used when he spoke, but when his speeches got translated into Sanskrit, for example, this word bodhisattva appeared. And you do not find this in Indian literature prior to the Buddha. And he used that term to refer to his career his career. And all the different beings that he was, that contributed to his awakening, all those beings are called the bodhisattva or bodhisattvas. The beings who are evolving towards complete perfect enlightenment for the welfare of all beings.

[02:19]

All those beings that are in this evolutionary pattern he called bodhisattvas and also referring to all the beings which particularly led to his path of evolution in the current moment. The Mahayana, which means big or great, great vehicle, it includes not just bodhisattvas. It includes everything, all beings, even those in whom we do not see how the way they're living is really tuned in to the evolutionary process of awakening. Even if we can't see that, or even if we can't see it, all beings are included in the great vehicle, the universal vehicle.

[03:30]

Bodhisattvas, of course, that's where they live. They live in the universal vehicle. They live in the process by which all beings are being moved along towards the realization of peace and harmony among all beings and enlightenment as to that process. So in one sense not everybody is a bodhisattva. In another sense you could say everybody is because everybody, all beings are actually being I would say pressured by their relationship with all other beings and all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are under pressure to realize Buddhahood. But Bodhisattvas usually refers also to a being that, a form of being that's more or less, you know, pretty much open to

[04:46]

living for the welfare of all beings. Not to say bodhisattvas don't have a lot to learn, but they're already sort of on board with, like, what's your life about again, ma'am? Oh, it's about, oh, I'm here for, this life is for the welfare of all beings. That's what this life is for. Now they may have some kind of like resistance to that occasionally, but they see that as a lack of faith and practice, which they confess before all Buddhas, to melt away the root of veering away from this complete commitment to the welfare of all beings. They're on board with that. That's their practice, which they sometimes might slip on, but that's their practice. It wouldn't be a surprise to them to say, you're here to help me, right? Like an enemy would come up to, I'm your enemy, right?

[05:53]

Yes. You know I'm your enemy, right? Yes, I know you're my enemy. You know I want to hurt you, right? Yes. And you're here to help me, right? Yep. This is what we usually call bodhisattva. And they're into the Mahayana, which includes all the people all the animals, all the plants, all the mountains, it includes everything. It's the universal vehicle. When bodhisattvas first kind of like are struck by the actual wish, you know, wholehearted wish to give their life moment by moment, every moment, to the welfare of all beings, to the supreme welfare of all beings. When they're first struck by that, that's called the birth of the mind of enlightenment.

[07:02]

The mind of enlightenment wishes to live for the welfare of all beings. And at some point, there's like a time when that seems to arise in a person and they kind of are there for it. And that's the birth of the bodhi citta or the mind of enlightenment. And then this mind can be lost though. Once it arises and the person is struck by it and maybe totally happy by being struck by it, they still can get detoured, diverted, confused, and forget about it. It can be, it's an impermanent thing, actually. But it can be the condition for another bodhicitta. And that can be a condition for another bodhicitta, and another bodhicitta, and another bodhicitta. Another bodhi mind, another bodhi mind, another bodhi mind, another bodhi mind. It can go on like that.

[08:05]

And the first one And the last one, the last one would be the one where there actually was the realization of complete Buddhahood. The first and the last ones have the same name. The mind of a Buddha is called a bodhicitta, and the mind of the newly initiated or newly awakened being who for the first time feels this, both of those minds have the same name, bodhicitta. In one case it's the arising of it, the other is the culmination of it. But they have the same name. Very generous of the Buddhas to let us, when we're first struck by this, to have the same name as their mind. It's generous and it's also Vira. Can you hear that, Vira? However, the first mind can be lost.

[09:10]

And lost many times can be lost and found. Lost and found. Lost and found. And once it's found, there's ways of taking care of it to protect it from being lost and actually help it grow up into its full potential. somebody used the analogy of the first one related to the last one is like the comparison between the light of a firefly and a galactic firestorm. And also another comparison is the first one is like a candle. You know, a candle maybe like a candle the size of maybe like... six inches tall or something like that, that kind of candle, which if you blow on it, it goes out pretty easily.

[10:15]

It can blow out in a fairly mild breeze. And the later, as the bodhicitta develops, it gets to be more like a forest fire. And then if you blow on it, it just gets stronger. So at a certain point, adversity and... all kinds of challenges and distractions just inflame this spirit. At the beginning distractions can snuff it out, but it can be found again. And I just want to mention that this mind of the bodhisattva in his bodhicitta core comes with practices which protect it. And the first practice which protects it, which I've been stressing lately, is what?

[11:16]

Is generosity, is giving, is being gracious. That's the first practice of the bodhisattvas. So quite a few people have come to me over the years and I might even come to myself occasionally and said and said that I have this feeling that I had this feeling of not being loved, of not being appreciated.

[12:22]

And then usually they also say that they feel bad about that. They don't say, and I'm so happy that I feel not loved and unappreciated. They usually, usually they're kind of like feeling really bad about it. They find that difficult to feel unloved. Painful. Which I usually completely, that's easy for me to empathize with, that that would be painful and difficult. And so what I recommend is, even though they may not have told me already that they're a bodhisattva, I give them bodhisattva practice. And I ask them, what's the first practice of a bodhisattva? And they don't know. And I say, oh good, it's giving. If you practice, if you're generous with yourself and with these people who you think don't love you, if you are generous with them,

[13:33]

if you're gracious with them and you're gracious with them and you're gracious with them, you will come to see, you will come to understand that they are gracious with you, that they are loving you and supporting you. And if we hold back in our graciousness towards others, that tends to go with us feeling like they're holding back in their graciousness towards us. However, sometimes you might feel like, I'm holding back but that person isn't.

[14:35]

It's possible, like, boy, they're just like totally loving me and supporting me and I'm kind of resisting it. That can happen. which is great. But when you feel like they're holding back, then you are wrong. They're not holding back. And when you're actually feeling like they're not holding back but you're holding back, you're wrong about yourself and you're right about them. So, the key anyway for the bodhisattva is number one, practice giving. And people have trouble understanding the instruction that letting yourself be yourself is giving. And giving to yourself makes it possible for you to give yourself to others and to give them to themselves. And everybody you meet, you can give them to themselves without their permission.

[15:39]

at least, you know, written or verbal. And you can give them to themselves and feel joy in giving them to themselves. And you're practicing giving which protects the bodhicitta, which protects the bodhi mind. And no matter what you feel, you can be generous with it. not try to fix it up, not like it or dislike it, but be generous with it. And that way of caring for it takes care of the Bodhi mind. And you will eventually see that no matter what you feel, it's loving you. If you're in pain, the pain's loving you. It isn't liking or disliking you. It's loving you. It's supporting you. It's being generous with you. Your pain is not holding back. It's offering to you. It's completely giving itself to you.

[16:43]

And you're completely generous towards your pain. You are all generous beings. We are all generous beings. But if we don't practice it, we do not realize it. Even if you think that's true, that everybody's generous and you're generous, unless you practice it, you really don't fully get it. But if you do practice it, you will understand this. And this is the first practice of the bodhisattvas who live in the Mahayana. And by the way, in the Mahayana are all the other yanas. In the great vehicle are all the other smaller vehicles. So bodhisattvas are totally into all the small vehicles too. Any limitation of the universal vehicle, they're completely into, they're completely love and support and feel loved and supported by everybody's private narrow trip. They're all included, all supported, all loved.

[17:49]

All the childish projects that are in the universe, bodhisattvas love them all. And Buddhas love them all too. But being into all of them is that you're into each of them, but also all of them. And being into all of them is called the great vehicle. And some people in the great vehicle are just into some small vehicle, but they still get to be in the great vehicle and get to be loved by all the bodhisattvas and all the Buddhas and all the ancestors. It's a good deal, this Mahayana. That's why it's been popular at various points and places throughout the universe from beginningless time. That's why it's unstoppable, irresistible. Now, you can resist it, but you eventually will cave in and join.

[18:54]

You will eventually appreciate everybody's narrow, childish trips. Not like, not dislike, appreciate with no gaining idea. you'll be drawn into the vortex of the Mahayana. And when you feel that, then you're a bodhisattva. Okay. I'm a servant of the big program. Can you give me some instruction there? She asked for a definition of vortex. Vortex. It's like where things come together, where things are drawn together. Like you, you're a vortex of the universe. Catherine is a vortex of the universe. Each of you is a vortex of all your support that's being given to you. All of you are being drawn into this process of liberation. Okay, that's the first practice of bodhisattva.

[20:01]

Now, another thing I wanted to bring up about the Mahayana, and this part is This can be a scary part. Well, even giving can be scary, but giving is the basic medicine for being scared. So if you get into giving, you'll be mostly over being afraid. But there's still a little bit of fear left until you understand emptiness. So one of the ways of talking about what the universal vehicle is, is that the universal vehicle is a deep understanding of emptiness. This way that all beings are working together, and the working together of all beings is actually a profound understanding of emptiness.

[21:07]

But I would add now, it's actually a profound understanding and a profound practice. It's the understanding and practice, the Mahayana is the understanding and practice of emptiness. Practicing giving helps us open to the emptiness and open to how we're all working together and open to how the way we're working together is empty. Empty of what? Empty of anybody's idea of how we're working together. all things are empty of anybody's idea of all things or each thing.

[22:24]

That we're empty of all conceptions of our self and other beings are empty of all our conceptions of them and all their conceptions of them. Understanding this is the vehicle of all beings being liberated. And practicing according to this emptiness is the vehicle of the liberation of all beings. In the Heart Sutra, The Heart of Wisdom Beyond Wisdom Sutra starts out by saying that Avalokiteshvara, a bodhisattva, a highly developed bodhisattva, who's practicing giving, of course, he's practicing giving, but he's also practicing, or she's also practicing prajnaparamita.

[23:41]

She's also practicing the perfection of wisdom. She's practicing the perfection of patience, the perfection of ethics, the perfection of patience, the perfection of energy and enthusiasm, the perfection of concentration, and the perfection of wisdom. In practicing the perfection of wisdom, she clearly sees that all the different elements of existence all the different elements that make a person are empty. All the different elements are innocent of any conception of what they are. Seeing this, all suffering is relieved. All suffering is relieved. Not just her suffering, but all suffering is relieved in his vision.

[24:45]

beings who are not open to this vision or not opening to this understanding and practicing this understanding, they don't understand, they don't experience it. Beings open to this vision is liberation. This is what's going on all the time, but by practicing practicing emptiness, understanding emptiness, the suffering is relieved in that vision. So now I'd like to talk a little bit more about emptiness.

[25:59]

But again, it is often taught, perhaps not enough, but it is taught sometimes anyway, that unless you're grounded in the conventional, familiar with the conventional, it's not so appropriate for you to be taught about the ultimate emptiness. The Mahayana, the actual working of the Mahayana is a deep understanding of emptiness. In order to understand emptiness, we need to be taught and we need to study and meditate on emptiness. that's part of the work of the great vehicle, because the great vehicle is the practice and understanding of emptiness, ultimate truth. But still, we're being warned that we should be grounded in the conventional before we take on and open up to the teachings of the ultimate.

[27:10]

We must be grounded But being grounded in the conventional isn't enough because only with the ultimate is the Mahayana, is liberation realized. So it's something we need as bodhisattvas, we need to get ready for and eventually enter into the meditation on emptiness in order to fully perform our function in the Mahayana. but in order to do that we need to be grounded. The first grounding practice in the conventional world is giving and then ethics and so on. That's how you get grounded. And with that grounding then you can open to the teachings of emptiness because giving by itself without yet realizing emptiness, is not liberation and does not realize the saving of all beings.

[28:19]

We need the wisdom to go with the giving. And it isn't that we practice giving and then stop and then start practicing the study, the wisdom study of emptiness. The giving goes on. We stay grounded in the giving, in the conventional. So I remember there was this magazine in the Haight-Ashbury days. There's still a Haight-Ashbury, but in the days of, you know, around 66, 67, 68, they had this magazine called The Oracle published in the Haight-Ashbury area. And there was an article on Suzuki Roshi in there one time. And they said in the article that his favorite teaching was, guess what it was? What did you say?

[29:25]

Forms emptiness. You got half of it. Emptiness is form. Yeah. That's what he said. That's what the article said was his favorite teaching. And I thought... I didn't disagree, but I thought, what an interesting way to characterize a Zen teacher's favorite teaching. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form in the Oracle. So radical. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Form, in order to realize the emptiness of form, you have to be grounded in form. And form's where you start practicing giving. you're generous towards form and then feeling and then perception and then all mental formations and consciousness. You practice generosity in these conventional things like forms and feelings. You practice with that and you're grounded really on the ground practicing, practicing, practicing generosity with the conventional.

[30:32]

Then you get ready for seeing that all these conventionalities are emptiness. Empty, they're all empty and they're all emptiness in the sense that the way they really are is emptiness. They're empty and also the way they really are is emptiness. They're both empty and emptiness. They're non-dual with it. all the forms through which we're bound are inseparable from the principle that sets us free. All our blocks and limitations are inseparable from what sets us free from our blocks and limitations. So we don't get a little bit away from our blocks and limitations and then get free from them. You can get a little bit away from them you don't get free from them. Now, being not a little bit away from them, that's kind of a problem.

[31:36]

And then, if you can not shy away from being with them, then you have another problem called being free of them, which isn't away from them, it's free of them. That's a problem too. First of all, it's pretty hard to be right there, right? Right here, right? Pretty hard to be right here, not a little bit away from right here, which is generosity. It's generous of you. You are generous, and you are generously being right here. But if you don't practice that, you won't realize that you're generously right here. You'll think you're trying to get away from here, maybe. or at least be a little bit away from here. Maybe stay in the same room, but just be slightly over to the side of your situation. But again, being slightly someplace else from your conventional experience is not being grounded.

[32:46]

You're close, you can take this tiny step and you could be grounded, but you're a little bit not grounded And in that way, if you're not being grounded, you don't feel like you're practicing generosity. You don't realize you're generously being right where you are. You're generously being right where you are. That's a gift. You're a giver of that. You're giving yourself to the place that everybody else gave you. You're grounded there. And in that grounding, you're ready to realize freedom from your place you're grounded. to realize the emptiness of the place you're grounded, the emptiness of your grounding, the emptiness of your bondage, the emptiness of your suffering. But like I said, even that's a difficulty because that's a new way of life where, you know, you don't get to hold anything or grasp anything.

[33:48]

You don't get to grasp your release. As a matter of fact, I generally recommend it if you're going to grasp, better to grasp your bondage than your release. So how many of you heard the story of the animal releasing ceremony? One, two, three, four, five, six. Only six. You haven't heard, have you, Kim? No. You've heard it? Wow. What? No, but you haven't heard my story about the animal release. Yeah, okay. So one of the practices in the Buddhist tradition is to release animals. Kim knows about that, right? Did you say release crabs? Yeah. So this, the one, I went to one which released chickens. And it was actually a

[34:51]

It was a brand new temple that I was at in Japan in Chiba-ken, which is where the... Don't tell me it's where... It's where the airport is. I can't remember the... What's the name of the Tokyo airport? Narita. Narita is in Chiba-ken. It's a peninsula out next to Tokyo. It's a foreign country anyway. There's a new temple there. And next to the temple was a golf course. A golf course conveniently located next to a temple or a temple conveniently located next to a golf course. And so we set up this altar sort of on the golf course, and they brought these chickens in in these cages. And then we did this ceremony, you know, mumbo jumbo bum bum bum.

[36:00]

And then at the climax of the ceremony, we opened the cages and the chickens flew out into freedom. This is the Mahayana. And we concluded the ceremony and then there was a lovely vegetarian feast for the humans who attended the ceremony. And then I, being one of the officials of the ceremony, cleaned up the altar afterwards. And while I was cleaning up the altar, the chickens came back and crawled back into their cages. Freedom can be even more scary than being in prison. Now, I don't know if they use the chickens over and over in various ceremonies to make humans feel good. We're releasing animals. And then we get this contact release, right?

[37:05]

Oh, yeah, freedom. And now we can have a vegetarian feast. Being grounded in the conventional is difficult. It's a challenge. And if it's not a challenge, that's not so good actually, because then your practice isn't growing. We each have situations to... be grounded in, to be 100%, to learn to be 100% giving ourselves to where we are moment by moment. This is grounding in the conventional. We have the practice of giving to help us, the practice of ethics to help us. Ethics help us kind of look to see, are we really here? Patience, enthusiasm, and concentration, of course, is about being here 100%. So those practices of compassion help us be grounded in the conventional.

[38:07]

And then we're all set to open to emptiness. And so I don't know if you guys are grounded enough for me to tell you about emptiness. I don't know either. You don't know either? Thank you for saying that. Oscar, how are you doing with being generous with Oscar and being 100% Oscar? How are you doing? So-so? A little resistance there? A little. Okay, well, get more grounded, please, because I'm not going to talk about emptiness until you get grounded. So you're holding up all these other people who are more advanced. Oh, and Catherine has a comment here. I said maybe it's just your story.

[39:08]

I thought you were saying maybe just my story. No, no, I meant Austin. Oh, she wouldn't say that about me. I could say that, too. I was just thinking maybe Austin was 100% grounded. That's your story. Okay. Now, whose story is more generous? That's the question. which I don't want you to answer right now. Okay, so I invite you to get really familiar with the conventional existence which is presenting itself to you and to me every moment. Get settled. And when you're all settled, we can take a peek at emptiness. Any feedback for me before lunch? Any feedback? How do I get grounded up in here?

[40:13]

How are you feeling? Huh? Strange. Strange? Yeah. Okay. And I kind of want to come down, but I also want to know, well, how do you... Yeah, and I was suggesting you're welcome to come down, but it would be good before you come down to get grounded in being up there. Now, you can come down before you're grounded up there, but from meeting you, I think it would be great if you got grounded up there and see when you're grounded up there, do you still want to come down here? You might. But first get grounded in feeling strange. Do you still feel that way? Okay, now, like, see if you can really be generous and let Elizabeth feel strange. Like, get familiar with feeling strange if that's what's going on with you. And how's Jerry doing up there? Huh?

[41:20]

You're okay? Are you getting grounded with being okay? Okay. Thank you, Elizabeth. Vera? Is there a vortex to emptiness? Do you see? In a way, the vortex of emptiness is the conventional. his form or feeling or whatever. So if you're feeling strange, that feeling of strange isn't emptiness, but that feeling strange itself is emptiness.

[42:26]

The way it really is, is emptiness. And the way emptiness is, it's in some sense the only way you can say emptiness, because you can't actually get at emptiness any more than you can actually get at form. And the fact that you can't actually get at forms or feelings, the fact that you can't get at anything or find anything, that's the emptiness of things. It doesn't mean there's no Steven, it's just that you can't get at him You can't find him. Doesn't mean you're on an idea of Stephen. It's just your ideas of Stephen never reach Stephen. Never reach Stephen any more than your ideas of Stephen reach Stephen. But this ungraspable emptiness, it also can't be grasped.

[43:37]

When you try to grasp it, what you get is a form. When you try to get a grasp of form, if you're thorough about it, what you get is that you can't grasp it. And you can't grasp it not grasping either. So the vortex of emptiness isn't even something ungraspable. It's something that you think you can grasp, like a form. But then again, if you study that, you get emptiness. So there, emptiness is form, and form is emptiness, and then what's emptiness? It's form. So the vortex in some sense, the ultimate point of form is emptiness, but the ultimate point of emptiness is also emptiness, but the easiest way to get the emptiness of emptiness is form. Any other feedback? Elena? Did you say green?

[44:49]

Huh? Green as in raw or fresh? Like fresh produce? Non-mature, yeah. New, fresh experience? You would say so? Would you say so? Yes. That's good, see? Now, she's not really a young chickadee anymore, but she still has fresh eggs, fresh produce. She thinks maybe it's fresh. She's not sure. It might be slightly old. But really, I think you do have fresh experience. I'm glad to hear that you're on board with having fresh experiences. What? Do you want to tell us about the experience? Go ahead. I'll listen to you. And then the thought came, what is observing, which I don't know, it could be called the ego.

[46:15]

I don't know what the ego is. It's really not me at all. It's nothing. It's like, it's something for input since childhood. that is there observing input of many, many millions of experiences and opinions of other people. Okay, so you have that sense that there's something that's observing? Okay, so that is a delusion, that there's something that's observing. There is observing, but there's not something that's doing the observing. Now it's true, I think, that there's various past conditions which have led us to the delusion that there's somebody who's observing. Lots of people say that, lots of people think that way, and those past thoughts or past moments of thinking that there's somebody who's observing contribute to right now having a fresh version of somebody's observing.

[47:22]

But there isn't actually somebody observing, there's just observing. Correct. There's nothing observing, there's just observing. But there is observing. Conventionally speaking, there is observing. But conventionally speaking, there's not somebody observing. That's just a mistake. But still, even if you don't have that, you still have the experience, which an experience is The same as observing. All experiences are observations. And we have the idea that somebody is having the experience rather than there's somebody and there's experience. Or they say there's an experiencing somebody, there's an experiencing person, but the person isn't having the experience.

[48:31]

the sight way of changing the language may be to get in touch with the bifurcation and setting something up in addition to the universe to make the universe plus. So the normal world of human beings is universe plus. First practice, first practice is what? Yeah, be generous with this. Okay? Be generous with the situation. This is a situation of, what do you call, child care or preschool or whatever. Take care of these beings or this being which thinks that she's in addition to the universe.

[49:34]

or dash in addition to experience. Be generous with this child, this sweet living creature who is a child in the sense of not understanding yet, but still being caught in this old story which all children usually inherit of me and the universe. Little kids think that way, me and the universe. be generous with that. That's the basis for now meditating on this child who thinks that she's in addition to her experience or that somebody's in addition. That there's some observer and observing ego. Rather than in the field of observation, in the field of awareness, there is the idea of an observing ego. There's that idea.

[50:38]

But it's just a fiction which most of us are good at and know about. And so we need to take care of and be generous towards this fiction. And then this fiction will turn into the revelation of emptiness and the realization of the Mahayana. So I have to be grounded in the conventional, which is practicing giving, getting grounded in the thinking that somebody has something, or somebody is doing something, or somebody is observing something, rather than there's observing and there's thinking. And people are subject to that kind of functioning. Yes. Would it be safe to say that there's no one being generous, there's just generosity?

[51:42]

Because I started, while you were talking, I was thinking, okay, I have to be generous, but then I thought, well, who's being generous? Mm-hmm. Did you say, would it be safe to say that? That'd be accurate. Would it be accurate that there's generosity but not somebody who's being generous? Yeah, that would be accurate. However... When there's generosity, there's somebody there in the generosity. But it's not like the person's here, the generosity's over there, and the person's doing the generosity. I think I'm struggling with that. I need to be generous. And that seems like another idea. Yeah, well, it is no idea. It is. So, and we need to practice generosity. There needs to be the practice of generosity to realize the relationship between persons and giving.

[52:48]

And the relationship between persons and giving, we can have ideas about now. One idea about the relationship between a person and giving is that giving is the person being given to the person, or the person giving. being grounded in the person is generous. Those are ideas to help us somehow open to the practice of being a generous person who is also a person who is generously made. You are made into the person you are and you're generously made and you're made into a generous being. You're a generous being, but there's not somebody separate from the generosity who does the generosity. You're just, it's your nature to be generous. The I am generosity?

[53:51]

If there's an I, all I's are generously created. and all eyes are generous. But they're not something in addition to their generosity. It's integrated, yes. How are you feeling? Huh? You pointing to someone? Yes. I've heard a lot of times that the inherent self, the inherent existing self, is kind of an innate point of view, but generosity is also an innate point of view. Generosity is an innate point of view? I haven't heard that, but it's interesting to hear it now. What? Are you saying that generosity... No, I'm not saying that generosity is an innate point of view. I have not seen that generosity is an innate point of view.

[54:54]

Maybe it is, but I haven't seen that. But I have seen that the view of an inherently existing self is innate, or it's innate to think of me separate from others. That seems to be innate in living beings. The view of generosity, however, I don't think, it doesn't seem to be innate. I haven't seen children have innately had the view of generosity. I've seen them occasionally have the view of generosity, or occasionally think about it, and occasionally practice it. And practicing it is really wonderful, but it doesn't seem to be innate. Being generous, however, I'm saying, is innate. But the view of being generous and the practice of being generous, that doesn't seem to be innate.

[55:55]

You have to teach children, share your toys. But that's after they learn at a young age, that's mine. It's mine, not yours. And they learn that really young if they're healthy. If they don't learn it they need to be taught in order to, you know, function with the other kids. But they seem to be able to learn mine, not hers. In other words, and me, not her. And over here is not over there. And so bring it back over here. They seem to learn that pretty young, mostly between one, or even earlier, and one and a half. Most kids have got that. And they can also speak their native tongue, or in several languages, they can speak that possessive type of way of talking. But you have to teach them the practice of giving. So they develop the view that giving is a good idea,

[56:59]

will be beneficial to them and others. That is to be taught, usually, the practice. However, the nature of beings is, I'm saying, is generous. But most people do not realize that. They don't realize their generous nature. And also our nature, our actual nature is empty. We are actually empty. But we innately have the view that we're not empty. So we're born as...empty beings are born dreaming that they're separate from other beings. Beings who are empty of inherent existence are born to dream that they have inherent existence. So we're born to be ignorant, in other words. Our ignorance is innate. Our ignorance that we exist separate from each other is innate. That's innate. our generosity is also innate, but our understanding of generosity has to be learned in most cases, except for a few bodhisattvas who actually are able to stay conscious through the whole embryological process and the birth, the delivery, and, you know, the nursing frenzy and all that.

[58:24]

They're able to sort of stay in touch with an understanding of generosity and lack of inherent existence. But most people are not born that way. They're born ignorant with karmic consciousness, which contributes to an ongoing process of imagining that we're separate from each other, that we're not generous with everybody, we're just generous with some people. And some people are generous with us, not everybody. So we have to practice generosity to open to the unhindered generosity among all beings. So generosity is innate. The view of it and the understanding of how to practice it is not. Ignorance is innate. But it's not innate to understand that

[59:26]

and meditate on it and get over it. Usually kids are busy doing other things like learning how to keep track of their own toys and stuff rather than getting instruction about how to meditate on dependent core rising and ignorance and things like that. Very few kids are up for that. And by kids I mean I mean, people who are not yet ready to learn about this are kids. And most people take a long time before they're ready to learn about this and really generously devote their attention to this practice of giving and of meditating on the Mahayana, which is the study and practice of emptiness. based on the study and practice of generosity and so on.

[60:29]

So in some sense, of course the Mahayana is based on giving, ethics, patience, enthusiasm, and concentration. Everybody knows that. The surprising thing is that it's also based on a deep understanding, or it is really, what makes it possible. is the understanding of emptiness. Otherwise you can have people practicing generosity and so on but have separate vehicles. Like, you know, these people are practicing generosity and those people are practicing generosity but we're not doing it together because we're separate beings. So we need the understanding of emptiness to homogenize and harmonize all the different practices. and threaded through this Mahayana is lots of innate ignorance of this understanding. That's part of what's in the soup. That's why we have to be generous with all these ignorant beings so that they can settle into their ignorance generously and become free of it.

[61:43]

Any feedback from me? Can I say that it's a generous relationship with all phenomena? Can I what? Do you have a generous relationship with phenomena? A generous relationship with phenomena, yes, what about it? Is that saying the same thing? Is that saying the same thing as what? What I said in my previous life? Huh? I think I'm trying to get at the relationship, my relationship to phenomena and being generous with that relationship versus being generous to a specific thing. You can be generous to a specific thing and you can be generous with your relationship with the specific thing, both. And if you're being generous with something, then you can be generous towards your generous relationship.

[62:57]

When you're generous with something, you have a generous relationship with it, and you can be generous with your generosity, too. Can you imagine how you can be generous and not be generous with your generosity? I think people can be generous and people are generous and they can practice being generous and feel like they're practicing generosity and graciousness and be joyful about that and hold on to it. Grasp it. Or they can think they can. And so they are being generous, they're right, they're enjoying it, which is great, and then they tighten up around it. So they're not being generous with their generosity. It's possible. So a thoroughgoing generousness will keep us from holding onto generosity, will help us not attach to what we're being generous towards,

[64:13]

And the person who's being generous, not hold on to any of those positions in the process, and this opens up onto the realization of emptiness. And that breakdown and breaking down of those separations is what realizes the great vehicle. Is there anything else you'd like to express at this time? Anybody? In a way, I think actually you're right that I think giving is pretty simple. It's the beginning practice.

[65:17]

It is simple. I think ethics is more complicated. That's the next one. So I think you're right. In some ways it's the simplest of the Bodhisattva practices. And making it difficult, you say, we make it difficult. You can say, we make it difficult. You can also say that because of our past karma, we have obstructions to this practice of giving. Because of past moments of thinking ungenerously, it sometimes makes it hard for us to think generously. So we see, oh, there's some kind of ungenerous thought there. Uh-huh. Yeah, there it is. Okay. I see it. But then if you see it, and if we see it and confess it before the Buddha, it melts away that resistance.

[66:18]

But there's plenty of resistance to giving. Okay. And that's one of the nice things about giving is that it's kind of easy to see the resistance to it. It's more difficult to see the resistance to ethics because they're so more complicated. But giving is pretty simple to see when you don't want to give. It's easier. Did you have your hand raised, Gordon? Without being disrespectful. Giving seems pretty simple until you start talking about it. Is there anything more you'd like to say about that? Yes?

[67:28]

Definitely. Giving is about receiving, yes. Receiving is hard? Yeah. Receiving is also simple. And if I talk about it, it gets hard. And also our receiving is part of our generosity. We generously allow ourselves to be created. We're made into a being who allows ourselves to be created and uncreated. We allow ourselves to be given and taken away. We're very generous in the way we receive. So again, opening to receiving helps realize giving, but And actually, first of all, we receive and then we give. Our being is a reception. And then our reception is a generous being. And then by joining that, we also get to see how we get to receive another moment, another fresh moment, another fresh moment, and give it away, and receive another one.

[68:43]

And give it away. And receive another one. Yes, so giving and receiving. Well, it seems as though no more hands are raised, so maybe that's enough for you at this time. Pardon? Yes? I was going to say that I think generosity is easy at all. For me, it's very difficult, for example, to allow people to be fully... Yeah, nobody's... I don't know if somebody said the generosity was easy. Did you say it was easy? I think they said simple. Simple. Jumping off a cliff is simple, but not necessarily easy. Giving blood is not that... it's simple but not necessarily easy, especially a lot of it.

[69:48]

So yeah, generosity is not necessarily easy but that's part of it is that we're hard-working creatures, you know, we're cooking here, you know, we're not, we're not, we're wholehearted kind of burning beings, you know. So we're not, we're not big on easy here, I've noticed. But we are big on giving. We're very giving. It's very simple, but it can be quite hard, especially under certain circumstances. And if it's sometimes easy, fine. Then that's fine with me. May our intention equally extend to every being and place.

[70:49]

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