I wanted to start, I want to start by, I guess, saying something that seems really simple to me. And maybe it'll seem simple to you. Which is that the practice of of the Zen ancestors could be the practice of listening to the cries Did you hear that, Hannah?

[01:06]

Could you say it back to me? Not the whole thing, just the practice of the Zen ancestors could be what? Listening to the Christ. Whole is fine, yeah. WW, whole world. The practice of the Zen ancestors could be listening to the cries of the whole world. Say, the practice of the Zen ancestors is listening to the cries of the world. Was that simple? Hold on.

[02:08]

Would you feel comfortable bringing me that statue that's on the left-hand side of the Buddha? Would you please bring me that statue? Mm-hmm. That's right. Is that right or left? Buddha's left. Buddha's left. You're right. Remember that. Buddha's left. You're right. Come this way, Homa. Homa, come this way. Come around this way. Yeah. Buddha's left. You're right. Or Buddha's still here. You're right. So this is a statue of of the Bodhisattva. And this Bodhisattva's name is Listening to the Cries of the World. This Bodhisattva's name is Listening to the Cries of the World.

[03:14]

Or Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva. Guanyin, which means Listening to the Cries. Guanyin means observing or the cries. But when it comes to cries, we say listen. And another name for this is, in Chinese, is guan jie zai, which means listen to the cries of the world, listen to the world cries. It's another name for this statue. I bought this statue. in Mill Valley. Next to the theater? Next to the theater. And I didn't tell the story that I was going to tell people that, in case there's a run on these statues. Anyway, this is a statue of a great being.

[04:23]

Or you could say, this is a statue of a great way to be, to listen to the cries of the world. Character also means to observe, the first character. So when you observe sounds, we sometimes say listen. When you observe sights, we say look. It's another way to understand this is that this is the practice of observing all living beings with eyes of compassion. That's a great way to be. That's an enlightening way to be. So this is an enlightening way to be. The enlightening way to be is to observe all living beings with eyes of compassion.

[05:29]

That's an enlightening way to be. Is that simple? Yeah. And this statue is a sonification of that way of being. Is she looking at you with eyes of compassion? Can you see her eyes of compassion? Can you see her ears of compassion? Anyway, there it is. And I'm saying the practice of the Zen ancestors is this practice. Would you put this back to Buddha's left?

[06:30]

Thank you. This statue, feet on the bottom and the feet are golden. It's got gold toes. Not just gold toenails, the whole toe is gold. What does that mean? Hmm? What does the gold cow mean? I don't know. It has a gold face, too. It has gold hands and gold chest, actually. Okay, so anyway, there she is. And now, Elenia, would you bring me the statue to Buddha's right? Bodhidharma he's coming from the west northwest in this case I guess here he is Bodhidharma this statue is heavier heavier

[07:54]

This is heavier. Bodhidharma, what big eyes you have. All the better to see you. Again, I could say softly that his practice is This is the statue of supposedly the founder of Zen in China who came from India to transmit the Buddha mind. This is a statue of a supposedly great being, an enlightening being who came from India to transmit the Buddha mind seal. Face to face.

[08:57]

And his practice was to listen to the cries of the world. That was his practice. who listens to the cries of the world. And his eyes are eyes of compassion that observe all living beings. Wherever he is, he is observed with eyes of compassion. This is the Zen ancestor. He has simple practice. Basically, simple. Observe with eyes of compassion all sentient beings.

[10:06]

It's a simple practice, but sometimes it's hard to remember it. Sentient beings slap you in the face. you may get distracted by the slap and forget the practice of observing this slap or this slapping being. Observe this slapping being, this insulting being, to observe with eyes of compassion. But that's the practice of the ancestors. The ancestors might have gotten distracted too, but being distracted wasn't their practice. They got distracted from their practice in years. They forgot that their practice was to observe all insulting beings with eyes of compassion. They're insulting us, but really they're saying, please observe me with compassion.

[11:18]

They're calling in an insulting, disrespectful way. It's all that they don't know any other way at that moment. What they really want is eyes of compassion to watch them and watch them and watch them and watch them. A symbol, an ocean, a blessing beyond measure. That's what they want. this assertion by me that the practice of ancestors is observing all sentient beings with eyes of compassion.

[12:25]

I'm asserting this because it's so fundamental that people don't say it every minute. It's so fundamental that people don't say it in a Zen temple. Well, since everybody knows it, we don't mention it, right? But since we don't mention it, some people don't know it. So here I am saying it because we don't say it during every single Dharma talk. Matter of fact, some of you have never heard anybody say what I said before, right? That the practice of the Zen ancestors is to observe all living beings with eyes of compassion. Some of you have, right? Is that right? That some of you haven't, not that you haven't.

[13:30]

Have some of you never heard that said before? Has some of you not heard that said before? Say yes? Okay, thank you. Now, that was funny, right? Now, when I was a kid, there was on TV I never saw in person, but I saw on TV there was a man, a human man, and his name was Edgar Bergen, I believe. And he had a little friend who looked like Bodhidharma. And about the same, about this size. And his name was Charlie McCarthy. And yeah, and Charlie was a

[14:31]

He was a puppet, actually. And Edgar could move his mouth behind Charlie, and then Edgar would talk for Charlie. But he would talk like this. Hi, you guys. I'm Charlie McCarthy. Hi, Edgar. How are you today? You look a little sad. You actually used to watch that. And I thought it was pretty funny, actually, that the conversations between the puppet and the puppeteer ventriloquist, I thought they had funny conversations. Did you think it was real? Were you older than that? Did I think it was real? Yeah. I know it was real. I knew it then and I know it now.

[15:35]

It was real. The puppet was real? The puppet was real, yeah. And I knew that the man was real. Have you awakened to that reality yet? So, but I... And now I got Bodhidharma on my lap and Bodhidharma went to China, they said, and he had a conversation with the emperor. And the emperor said to Charlie, this before me. And Bodhidharma said, not knowing, not knowing. And then he went, I don't understand.

[16:42]

The character for the emperor did not understand. The character for understanding means like, one of the meanings of it is like a tally, you know? Like you have a seal that's broken and then you put them back together, they're tallies. They merge, they agree. They're in harmony. The emperor couldn't harmonize with Bodhidharma's not knowing. Who is this? This is not knowing. This is not knowing. This not knowing, but actually consciousness. The character is for consciousness. What's here is not consciousness. This is not consciousness. This is observing the cries of the world. And this observing the cries of the world left the emperor who didn't understand the meeting and went at the little forest monastery and faced the wall.

[17:46]

And while he was facing the wall for nine years he listened to the cries of the world according to me. He was Avalokiteshvara looking like Charlie McCarthy, facing the wall, observing, doing Avalokiteshvara's work of being Avalokiteshvara, which is observing all sentient beings with eyes facing the wall for nine years. And based on that practice, we have this thing called Zen coming from that practice. Listening to the cries, for me it's like there has to be some consciousness to listen to the cries. There is a consciousness.

[18:48]

There is a consciousness. And these words, listen to the cries, are words which are being delivered to the consciousness. The consciousness can open to the practice. And then the not knowing is not consciousness. Right. The bodhisattva is not consciousness. Listening to the cries of the world is not your consciousness. It's an instruction to your consciousness about the practice. The practice isn't your consciousness. The practice is for your consciousness. So like right now, you might think, listening to the cries of the world, I might think, I am observing with eyes of compassion all living beings. That's okay to think that. Sorry to think that.

[19:51]

That's a nice thought. And that thought promotes the actual practice of listening to the cries of the world, which goes even if I don't think I'm doing it. Bodhidharma doesn't have to think I'm listening to the cries of the world. He is. That's what he is. That's what you are. That's what you are as a bodhisattva. You are that. And you can also think that you're that. You're being told about this practice. You are being told about the practice of how you are a bodhisattva. But the way you're a bodhisattva isn't just your consciousness. For example, I'm a bodhisattva. Or I'm not a bodhisattva. That's your consciousness or my consciousness. I'm a man. I'm a bodhisattva. I'm not a bodhisattva. I'm a Zen priest. I'm not a Zen priest. That's my consciousness talking. But there's a teaching which is being circulated, which is being aired here, is that the great way of being, the enlightening way of being, is listening to the cries of the world.

[21:10]

And that isn't just you thinking that you are, although you might think that. And this, because if you think about it, and if you remember this teaching, by remembering this teaching, you will realize that you're a bodhisattva. You will realize how you're a bodhisattva by remembering the teaching of what a bodhisattva is. But this listening isn't just a consciousness. So here's the bodhisattva. The emperor says, who is this here? And he says, it's not consciousness. That's what the bodhisattva said to the emperor. The bodhisattva's looking at the emperor with eyes of compassion. The emperor says, what is this in front of me? And what's in front of him says, it's not consciousness.

[22:13]

This bodhisattva is not consciousness. This observing you with eyes of compassion isn't a consciousness. It's an enlightening way to be. And it's not separate from the person. It's what the person really is. But what the person really is isn't what the person thinks the person is, although that's part of what the person is, of course. Okay, now, I really appreciate having you in my arms. I really appreciate you not striking me with a bolt of lightning and letting me be your successor. I'm supposedly your successor. Isn't that amazing? That you've been succeeded for about 62 or 63 generations? And that's me. And then there's, oh, look at that guy. He's one of your successors too.

[23:13]

Good boy. See, he's happy to meet you. Are you happy to meet him? Sometimes bodhisattvas don't talk. Is he from China? Well, apparently he's from China. Because, I mean, he definitely was in China. I was in China. Aul was in China with me. I was in China with Aul. And we were there also with another guy named Andy Ferguson. We were there. Andy Ferguson saw this Bodhidharma. walking around Beijing, and he bought them and brought them to America and gave them to me. And I brought them to Noah Boat.

[24:16]

Is he from China? I don't know. From India. I'm from India, and I went to China, and then I went to San Francisco. And I landed in the San Francisco airport, and then I went to Green Gulch. And then from Green Gulch, I went to Noah Boat. but I'm originally from India. I'm an Indian bodhisattva. I'm an Indian practicing listening to the cries of the world. And it hasn't blinked since. And it hasn't blinked since. Okay, now who is going to take him back to the altar and put him in his sitting position on the altar? Okay? Got him? Yeah. Okay, there he goes. Bye-bye. Okay, that's... So that's the simple part of the lecture. That's the simple Zen... That's Zen simple.

[25:17]

Zen... Our practice is bodhisattva practice of listening to the cries of the world. Okay? That's what I say. And I don't say that during every talk. But don't forget it. This is the whole thing. That's the basic Bodhisattva thing. Okay? Now, some people have their hands raised, but I just want to mention, before I deal with these people who have their hands raised, I just want to mention that most of what is characteristically defined in the records of the Zen ancestors, most of what you read or hear from the records of the teaching of the Zen ancestors who are practicing observing all beings with eyes of compassion.

[26:20]

These people, of their teaching, they don't very often mention what their basic practice is. If you look in the records of many Zen ancestors, you might find no mention of them saying, my practice is to observe all sentient beings with eyes of compassion. In most of their records, you will not find that. In the record of me, you will find that. It has just been recorded auditorially and visually. It is now in my record. So if you look in my record, you'll find that I said this is basic Zen practice. The people who didn't mention it, I'm saying it was their practice. Bodhidharma, I don't see anything in his record where he said that was his practice. So how can I say that he said it? How can I say it? I'm his successor.

[27:22]

I'm telling you who my ancestor is. My ancestor is Avalokiteshvara. That's who my ancestor is. I'm telling you about my ancestors, that he was a bodhisattva, that he was filled with compassion. And it was just oozing out of him. and out of him, and into him, and into him, and out of him. That's what my ancestor is. I'm telling you that. But he didn't say it as far as I know. He maybe never said it. But maybe he said it over and over so they didn't write it down. And they just wrote down the stuff that nobody ever said. like to the emperor, not consciousness. Nobody ever said that to the emperor before. But the emperor already knew about Avalokiteshvara. Who is this guy? He said, well, I'm Avalokiteshvara. He could have said that, I'm Avalokiteshvara.

[28:22]

Well, after he left, after Bodhidharma had left, the emperor's teacher, who was there, said, the emperor says, who was that? So The emperor says to Bodhidharma, who is this? Bodhidharma says, not consciousness. Then Bodhidharma leaves, and the emperor says, who was that? His teacher says, that was Avalokiteshvara. So Bodhidharma doesn't say, I'm Avalokiteshvara, you moron. But the court, the imperial teachers told the emperor that he had just met Avalokiteshvara, and the emperor was really sorry. and he wanted Avalokiteshvara to come back. And his teacher said, well, he's not going to come back. And his teacher didn't say, but you could go and study with him. Now, again, what I was about to say, that in the records of the Zen ancestors, you will not find

[29:25]

in all of them, you might find in some of them this saying that our practice is the practice of Avalokiteshvara. You may find that in some of them. But you might not. That's why I'm telling you today. That's why I'm being recorded to say this, I guess, so that it can go on YouTube now and people can hear that Bodhidharma was Avalokiteshvara. And if you practice like that, you're Avalokiteshvara. And then you're a Zen ancestor. So what is in... So I propose to you another simple statement. What the records are is they're teachings from the bodhisattvas. What bodhisattvas? Avalokiteshvara bodhisattva. They're teachings to other bodhisattvas on how to observe all sentient beings with no outflows. Now, Avalokiteshvara observes with eyes of compassion and there's no outflows.

[30:36]

So the observes, listens to the cries of the world with no outflows. Outflows are like impurities. Outflows are like looking at people who are suffering with eyes of compassion and thinking that if they weren't suffering, they'd be better than if they were suffering. That's an outflow. The bodhisattvas see us doing unskillful things to ourselves and others, and they observe us with super compassionate eyes. They don't think, and they're sorry for us hurting ourselves, but they don't think that we would be better if we weren't hurting ourselves. They don't think we would like us to give up hurting ourselves. They think we're just like them. They don't think that they're great bodhisattvas and we're stupid people. They do think that. But understand that the great bodhisattva is the stupid person.

[31:44]

If you don't understand that the great bodhisattva is the stupid person, that's an outflow. So they look at all the stupid people who are hurting themselves and others, and it hurts them to see it, and they're happy to feel the pain. They're not happy that we're hurting themselves. They're happy that it hurts them. And they're happy to feel that hurt. And that's part of their observation. And they have no outflows of thinking that they're separate from us. And they have no sense of gain or loss. That they're going to get more famous if their students get more enlightened. Or maybe they do think that they'll get more famous because maybe they will get more famous if all their students become enlightened. But they don't care about that. And they don't care about that they'll become less famous if their students get enlightened or get more enlightened than them. They're not lost. They're not caught by it. They have no outflows. Most of the Zen teachings are so that when we're practicing the observing, we're not trying to become famous or worried about becoming unfamous.

[32:52]

The teachings are about how to purify our listening. That's what most... They're teachings to people who are listening to help them listen more purely, more free of any duality. That's what the teachings are mostly about. But they're teachings to these bodhisattvas, and they don't mention who they're talking to. This is a Mahayana teaching. It's a teaching for bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas are into listening to the cries of the world. This is a teaching to help bodhisattvas do their job. This is a teaching for the people who are on that job. But often people don't understand that it's a teaching for people who are doing this thing. They don't mention the thing, they just, they're talking to the people who are doing it. Just like the sixth ancestor, six generations after Bodhidharma we have, he's the first, number six, said to the monks, Zen has nothing to do with meditation.

[34:08]

That's an instruction to people who are doing meditation. They're all meditating. And then he says to them, this practice is about meditation. That's an instruction to purify their meditation. What's their meditation? Listening to the cries of the world. And then here's the teaching. This practice has nothing to do with what you're doing. So they don't get stuck. Doing is the practice of what they've practiced. It's to purify the practice. But when you hear that, you think, oh, the sixth ancestor said, it's got nothing to do with meditation, so let's not meditate. That teaching was for meditators. Meditating, he was saying, you're meditating, and please understand that what I'm teaching you has nothing to do with what you're doing. But I wouldn't be saying that to you if you weren't doing that. So that's basically two very simple things.

[35:14]

One, what Zen practice is, and it is listening to the cries of the world, listening to the cries of the world with training, training at listening, remembering to listen, and then listening to the teachings. The listening can become wholehearted. And when it becomes wholehearted, it's Buddhist wisdom. So it's both the practice of listening and observing and the practice of not abiding in the practice of listening. So that's this temple. This temple is for bodhisattvas who are listening to the cries, a mind which doesn't abide in listening to the cries. So that's super clear, isn't it? It doesn't mean you don't have a lot of questions. But isn't that clear? I thought so. So I see Eric and Bruce and Sonia.

[36:22]

Do you want to say something? I'm listening. I'm listening. I'm looking. Go ahead. Well, that was the first time I heard that Lord God was saying, not God. Here's other translations. Here's one translation. I don't know. And great translators have translated it that way. I don't know. But literally the character is character for not. Not. And the next character is a character for consciousness. Now, that word consciousness has colloquial meaning, and it also has, it's a Buddhist term for consciousness. So sometimes it's translated, the emperor says to Bodhidharma, who is this? And Bodhisattva says, don't know. That character, however, it's this character here. How does it go?

[37:25]

It goes. This character means not, basically not, or it's a negation. It isn't really basic, but it's often translated as don't know or not know or I don't know. But I just discovered that, I mean, I saw it before, but it just hit me recently that it's not. conscious. This thing that's in front of you, this bodhisattva. Bodhisattva is not consciousness. Bodhisattva is wisdom. So I talked to you before. There's consciousness where there's a self. And we're just giddy and disoriented. Karmic consciousness. And then there's unconscious cognitive process.

[38:27]

which is most of what's going on in our mind, is wisdom. Wisdom is not consciousness. Wisdom is the way that consciousness is not consciousness. So Bodhidharma said, not consciousness. Wisdom is consciousness, not consciousness. And it's another, it's all three of these are awareness. Bodhidharma is consciousness, not consciousness. That's what he presented to the emperor. The emperor couldn't get with him, and then he thought, Bodhidharma just gave him his gift and he wanted to hang out with him. The imperial meeting is over. So, Not-consciousness is a neural translation that you're one of the first people to hear.

[39:35]

The character is literally the character that fusion is to put it. Well, I found it helpful, and I was wondering if you could describe how the element of knowing, not knowing, don't know. How would you describe that aspect within not-consciousness? Because to me, they seem great. I don't know. Yeah, how would you... Well, how I would do that is just watching for the rest of my life to get a chance to see, this is how I'm going to do that. So, here's a few, for example. Consciousness, we are familiar with. That's usually what we know is consciousness. We also know unconscious cognitive process, but the way we know unconscious cognitive process is not where there's an I. I know unconscious cognitive process is

[40:47]

The way I know them is I can speak English, because I can move my hands. So, I know unconscious cognitive process in a different way than I know conscious cognitive process. Now, the way consciousness is not consciousness, that is the way this is, not this. The way that is, is another mind. It's a mind. The way this is empty of this is a consciousness. It is an awareness. It's a cognition. It's more knowing. So the Buddha wants to teach people wants to open people and teach people Buddha's wisdom, which is Buddha's awareness. Buddha's awareness is not consciousness, it's not self-consciousness.

[41:56]

It's not a mind where there's a self separate from others. Buddha's wisdom doesn't eliminate that consciousness. In fact, Buddha's wisdom is the way that self-consciousness is not self-consciousness. That is Buddha's mind, which Bodhidharma translates as the way self-consciousness is not self-consciousness. It's the way the unconscious cognitive process is not the unconscious cognitive process. It's the way anything is not anything. of karmic consciousness, not karmic consciousness. That's wisdom. That's Buddha's wisdom. And that's not consciousness. That's the way consciousness is pivoting, not consciousness. So Bodhidharma is talking to the emperor, the emperor is talking to Bodhidharma, and Bodhidharma says, your consciousness is not consciousness.

[43:06]

That's the Buddha's activities. But he didn't say the first part, except the second part. And the emperor couldn't turn with him. But he was turning with the emperor, trying to show the emperor that he was turning with him. He raised his eyebrow. Well, I was also kind of wondering the same thing about these non-consciousness, you know, the listening to cries of the world. It could also be translated, that territory, could also be translated as non-consciousness. Con or not. So you have not-consciousness, not-dualism. It's not dualistic.

[44:12]

It's not dualistic. What's before you, dear, is not dualistic. What he saw is you in the form of somebody else. And you in the form of somebody else. And somebody else is you in the form of them. That's what he saw. Vaisakha is the enlightening being, the great being, is non-dwelling. I guess the reason the question arose is because you know that there's dualistic consciousness and non-dualistic consciousness. Yeah. You prefer to say that... I'd rather not use the word consciousness for that. I would say there's dualistic consciousness and there's... There's an understanding, there's a mind of dualistic self-consciousness.

[45:18]

And there's a mind which understands dualistic self-consciousness. And the mind that understands that is not a consciousness. There's no self in the mind that understands that the mind with the self is actually not the mind with the self. understanding. It is an awareness. It's a wisdom. But Buddha's wisdom is not consciousness. But it transmits to consciousness a way to practice so that consciousness realizes that consciousness is not consciousness. so that there is a realization that consciousness is not consciousness. That's what Buddha's wisdom is trying to transmit to us. The way you understand that is by, with your consciousness, for example, hearing and teaching and listening to the cries of the world.

[46:21]

If you listen to the cries of the world, it will be the dawning of the wisdom that the cries of the world are new, and you are the cries of the world. There's no need to be afraid of all this suffering, which is actually happening. Bodhisattvas are this understanding, and they practice this understanding by listening to themselves in the form of all living beings. Can they receive this instruction from the Buddha? So long. Yes. I was remembering something that I was reading about listening. If I apply, practice a pentagram, that silent thing,

[47:23]

letters around, I was thinking about your teaching about silent and still, to think Bodhidharma is silent and still, and that was the practice of listening, and that... Listening is an anagram for silence? Silent. So listening, Sonia has discovered that listening, or listen, that listen is an anagraph for silent. So deep listening, you know, for us to deeply listen, you kind of become quiet. Sonia says in order to deeply listen, you have to be kind of. She said kind of silent. Kind of quiet. Yeah. And the other way around. That's why we create remembering silence.

[48:27]

It gives me silence. There is this listening. By listening, the bodhisattvas is living in silence. Thanks for the answer. Thank you. And I thought that maybe the Gansas should give this simple practice or speak this simple practice because I think everybody came here to practice, or has come here because they couldn't hear not only the cries of the world themselves, but themselves. I'm looking, maybe others are looking for practices, to articulate practices, to work with, to be able to be with the cries of the world, so that if you didn't hear it in the first place,

[49:36]

be a stock market. Maybe. I've never come to Zen temples because they heard the word Zen and I thought it was so cool. Not really. They heard the Christ. They heard. Well, they didn't know they were in Christ. They weren't, of course. They didn't know. They came not knowing they were Bodhisattvas, because they heard the really cool Zen teachers from the Bodhisattvas, but they didn't know these teachers were Bodhisattvas, and there was no mention of compassion. But they were attracted to the Zen teachers, because they really liked the way the Zen teachers talked to the Bodhisattvas. They didn't understand who the Zen teachers were talking to. for bodhisattvas, and they didn't understand that they were bodhisattvas. So people come into the Zen Center, and they hear about bodhisattvas, and then they go to the teacher, and they say, excuse me, but I just want to talk about bodhisattvas.

[50:41]

I don't care about the other two bodhisattvas. I'm not here to help them. I'm only here to get them to help me. And they say, can I speak to them? even though I don't care about them helping me be happy and at ease. And I don't care about whether they're happy. It's going to stay the same. And we usually say yes. Many Zen stories, they kick the person out who is not honest. And then the person begs to come back, and they say no, and they beg to come back. And they come back, and they become a great teacher. Because they were honest about what? They don't want to be a buddy's son. being honest about not only being a bodhisattva and telling a bodhisattva that you will realize that you also support a bodhisattva. Part of the problem that happened in Zen Center, nobody mentions compassion.

[51:46]

So then people do cruel things because they didn't realize that this teaching, which doesn't mention anything about being kind, was a teaching for how to purify your kindness. So they said, what do you mean? I said, how come people of the Zen Center are so uncompassionate to me? You will be told to be kind, but you didn't realize that that's what they came for. But of course, we're all here to become great body scientists. We're on that path. I really like this kind of review of fundamentals today. And I was wondering if you could define consciousness. You've mentioned that word so much and talked about it so much. Sometimes I'm not sure if I actually have a clear understanding of what you mean by consciousness.

[52:49]

It's a basic definition for me because it's an awareness. where there seems to be a self, where there seems to be somebody there with other people. There's a specific awareness of that, of the notion of self. Yes, but it's also an awareness of other. There's a self there that's aware of other. So like, you know, I'm here where consciousness is. These are my feelings. Those are your feelings. This is what I think. That's what you think. That's consciousness. So your consciousness always involves self. If you take away the self, it's not consciousness. That's not what I would call consciousness. We're talking to a process. It isn't a sense of self, but there's nobody there. However, things which are considered to be other things,

[53:50]

In consciousness, they're appearing in an unconscious process. It's just that there's not a self saying there's other. Like, in consciousness, there's my consciousness, Justin. And in my consciousness, I don't think Justin is me. I think Justin is other. But in my unconscious cognitive process, there's also a Justin. But he's not seen as other for me. Like Justin, and Betsy, and Kurt, and Kurt, Kurt. Are you Kurt? Kurt and Kurt. So in my unconscious, there's Kurt and Kurt. And Betsy and Justin. But it's not me and Kurt in my unconscious. It's just... And there's also, it could be me too, but the me in the unconscious is just like, it's like... It's not the center of what's going on there.

[55:02]

It is one of the people. In my unconscious, I'm one of the people. My body is one of the bodies. I'm there and that's most of what's going on in our mind. We're talking about various sex-conscious consciousnesses. The eye consciousness is a good consciousness. There's eye. But there's also sensory processes going on cognitively where there's not eye in that cognitive process. And those aren't consciousnesses. And the objects are not out there. It is. So consciousness is subjectivity. I'm here thinking about why many teachers love to talk about living with eyes and with action,

[56:07]

And thinking it's because of non-consciousness that actually there is nobody doing it. It's not like... It can be a practice, but actually it's also just what is. It is the practice. So it's the indescribable. It's like the indescribable. It's... Everything is private, but the description will never reach you. It is the practice of reality. Observing all living beings with eyes of compassion is what reality is doing. But you can't do it. It's the whole universe. Looking at the whole universe. Giving rise to the whole universe. That's our life. The practice is to join that process.

[57:11]

But it's not that this universe, looking at the universe as looking at the whole universe which has the self, giving rise to a universe where there's a self, actually the infinite self, because it's an individual consciousness. It's a cognitive process that has an individual in it, and also this individual appears to be not interdependent. So it's a type of awareness that is deluded. So the universe has infinite deluded consciousnesses It looks at the universe, which has an intimately related consciousness, and that which drives to the universe has an intimately related consciousness, which needs consciousness, which does the self, which thinks independently.

[58:22]

And that self can't really look with the eyes, completely with the eyes of compassion on the world. It cannot, and it is totally included in that. Because the eyes of compassion see the self, which can't look with the eyes of compassion. It's exactly the same as the eyes of compassion. The eyes of compassion sees the self, which thinks it can or cannot look with the eyes of compassion. It sees. deluded self as exactly the same as the eyes of compassion. But it doesn't think that the eyes of compassion are doing it, because even the eyes of compassion aren't doing it, the eyes of compassion of the whole universe, as the eyes of compassion. There's nothing, there's no place to apply in the whole process. More to think about.

[59:29]

More to think about. More to remember. All the better to... Why do you talk like this? All the better to remember. Why are you so strange? All the better to be in mindfulness. Katie? I'm wondering if you are... Just pick it up, please. I'm hearing it now. One second. Hearing it for the people in the suburbs. Did you know you were in the... Charlie's in the wilderness. Yeah. So if you're still practicing with an immature practice and maybe you hear someone But in response, you feel things. You feel despair or you feel fear.

[60:29]

You could feel many things. And maybe there are some outflows. So I guess I was curious if you could talk a little bit about the relationship between listening to the cries of the world and acting, taking action in a world that's crying when there is immature, is this imperfect outflow and response to the cries of the world in the self or the non-self. Well, I will, I'd be happy to, and I am. Did you happen to hear something? What did you ask me to do? Did you happen to say something? And I said, yes, I will, and I am.

[61:29]

I'm going with your answer. Do you see? Do you see? Do you see what I'm doing? And do you see that before I spoke, I was already responding to you? Do you see that? I was, you were talking and I was like, I was like responding. Did you see it? This is reality. Your question together. In which your practice doesn't understand. Immature practice thinks, I asked you to respond to me and you didn't. But I responded to you before the time when you looked. You looked after my... Immature response sees that when you ask a question, you're already being responded to. Immature sees you ask a question and then later you're going to get a response.

[62:30]

This is part of the later response that is being offered. Immature... Did you say immature listening? I didn't, but... Well, you said immature practice? Yeah, the immature practice of listening is that we haven't really arrived That mature practice of living and listening, right? You never really got that. Immature listening is that we haven't yet become mature in our listening. Still don't... Do you understand this? Isn't it? I'm asking, is that clear to you? You have this look on your face, but I don't know what you're talking about. Rather than, huh? But you're going to say, do you need some help there? Probably. You brought up immature listening, right?

[63:36]

You've got immature practice. Immature practice is not yet mature practice. Okay, now you're nodding. Immature practice has not yet arrived at mature practice. Okay? Immature practice is still in the realm For example, some of the responses that are going to come in immature practice are going to seem perhaps dualistic and maybe unhelpful. It may be afflicted and afflicting. That's part of what comes with the immaturity. The mature practice, what comes from there is the performance of non-duality, is the performance of reality.

[64:40]

It transmits peacefulness, it's not harmful. However, part of the non-duality of the mature practice is to understand that the immature practice that didn't yet understand non-duality, was caught up in duality, is the same as the mature practice. But in fact, the immature practice does think. The immature practice thinks, this is mature or not mature. This can be better if I was more mature. That's immature practice. That's not a new term. That's just thinking. Immature practice, basically, is still falling for thinking. It's still falling for discrimination. It's still falling for gain and loss. So as I said earlier, You hear the teaching, listening, it tries the world. When you start to practice it, you do it with some purity. Like, you know, it would be better if things were like this, or it would be worse if things were like that.

[65:54]

It falls for that thought. Immature listening. hears those thoughts, it gets caught by them. But hearing those thoughts, mature listening to thoughts like, it would be better if it was like this, and worse if it was like that, mature listening, hears those, and is not caught by them, and hears the Dharma through those spaces. And hearing the Dharma of things... I'm not good. Things are good. It would be better if things were like this. It would be worse if you... This kind of consciousness, right? If you're sure to listen to me, there's a wholehearted... And there's a not being caught by it. And that listening... to the cries without being caught by them, creates the blessing.

[67:00]

And the mature listening is not trying to get rid of the thinking that comes from immature listening. It's not trying to get rid of the thinking that comes with immature listening. It's not trying to get rid of judgments. But even in materialism, it doesn't want to and it doesn't get rid of this thinking. In materialism, all the kinds of thinking are still coming up, it's just that in materialism there's no being caught by any kind of thinking. Including the thinking that mature listening is different from immature listening. Immature listening can hear the thought that immature listening is different from mature listening.

[68:10]

Immature listening can hear that thought. Mature listening hears that thought too and does not get caught by it. The responses that come up with at all beings. Being caught by the thought that mature listening is better or different from immature listening. Being caught by that is immature. And from that immaturity there is a transmission of suffering and misery. The mature listening understands that and isn't caught by that. and transmits blessing. Caught by maybe we should try to get rid of some of this thinking. Maybe we should upgrade. We should upgrade the thinking. That's... It's not that... It's caught by... Mature... Listen, it isn't like we don't have this.

[69:19]

Let's upgrade the thinking of these people. Let's get this thinking... Let's get the maturity of their listening to... All of... You name it. Mature listening is listening to it. It's listening to all infinite, deluded thinking. Not being caught by any of it. And that kind of listening is what saves the world. Immature is listening to and being caught by some or a lot of all other things. And therefore, we have suffering. Immature listening is not trying to stop that. is listening to it. And it's listening to it without being caught by it. And it's transmitting this non-binding mind of compassion to all the immature listeners. So they're not being caught by it.

[70:21]

They're being caught. Okay? Now, let's... It might be clear to everybody. One more thing which came up at the beginning of what you were saying is that listening to the cries of the world really sounds like the cries of your own consciousness. So start by listening to what you're thinking, your own cries. If you skip over them, that will hobble your listening to others. Listening to the cries of the world is not listening to me thinking that I'm not I think I have to go to this one. That's one of the cries. Or if I think I am above average at this one, that's one of the cries. Or if I think I don't know how to listen, that's one of the cries. Or if I think it's stupid to listen, they should listen to me. That's one of the cries. These are my cries for me to listen to. I'm better than her. She's better than me.

[71:24]

I can't be like him. I can be like him. These are cries. Whatever. I'm a Zen student. I'm not a Zen student. These are cries of my own hearing. So I listen to cries in my own consciousness, immediately, and I listen to the cries of others. Some people are actually, they do think and they seem to be right, but they listen to the cries of others more than they listen to the cries of themselves. Even though when they tell me that, they have just because I just told him. I missed it. It's getting up towards the, what do you call it? The bridge, you know? The watch is going along with the scene that's going to take the bridge. I mean, which is it? I don't mean which is it. I mean, which is it? Which is it? Which is it? So maybe it's time to have a lunch break.

[72:36]

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