It has been transmitted that Shakyamuni Buddha said, purify your mind. It has been transmitted that Shakyamuni Buddha said, refrain from all evil. Do all that is good. Purify your mind. This is the teaching of all Buddhas. To whom is Shakyamuni Buddha speaking in this way? To whom is Shakyamuni Buddha speaking when he says, purify your mind? At first one might

[01:26]

suppose that he is addressing one who thinks that there is an independent self who can act on his own in such a way as to refrain from all evil and practice all good. Finally, one might suppose that this self would be able to purify his own mind. If one thinks that she exists independently and can act on her own, then certainly the best way for

[02:29]

her to proceed would be to do refraining from all evil and practicing all good. This would be the best karmic approach. This would be the height of the world, the jewel of worldly activity, if one were to dedicate oneself in that way. Then one would somehow apply one's karmic consciousness to itself with the goal of purifying it by using some dualistic karmic strategy to purify the mind, which could be considered pure or impure from the outset.

[03:37]

I will try to wish well anyone who attempts that course. It's hard for me, actually, because I see the disaster ahead. The disaster of trying yourself to purify your mind by your selfish dualistic intentions. For bodhisattvas, to purify the mind ultimately means to clear away all impulses to achieve and dwell in purity.

[05:27]

To clear away all impulses to improve oneself and purify oneself. In clearing away these self-improvement, self-purification agendas, one must be gentle and gracious. These impulses to purify our own mind are to be set aside, and the setting aside needs to be careful and respectful. Setting aside our ancient karmic tendencies to purify and benefit ourselves is like retiring

[06:46]

an old trusty tool that is no longer appropriate to our present goals, like training wheels on a bicycle. They may be useful at a certain point, but giving them up may promote the development of greater skill and freedom in riding. Using crutches for getting about on land or sea may be helpful and even helpful in recovering from some injuries or diseases. Still, the time may come when it's best for us to set aside these crutches and walk on our own two feet.

[07:47]

Even so, we get used to our crutches and find it quite difficult to give them up. We're grateful to them for their services and feel perhaps sorry to see them put in some old closet and get all dusty. They were such good friends for a while. Even though now we can walk on our own and even run and dance, still, we may not have completely given up the habit of using crutches. If we feel sad about our obsolete tools, that sadness is good because it helps us let them go.

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There is in some of us a deeply established habit of self-improvement. To let it go would be difficult even if you saw, even if you understood that it was no longer useful or appropriate. Even then, you still, because of habitual use, would feel sad. But the sadness is good. It shows you're starting to recognize and let go of their use. Which also means to let go of the habit of thinking of ourselves as able to act independently.

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It may be difficult for us to let go. Let go of any habits of purifying ourselves. Of purifying our karmic consciousness. Our consciousness which creates worldly existence. There seems to be some idea that this karmic consciousness should be cleaned up. Gotten rid of or perhaps peeled back, revealing some silver lining that we could depend on.

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Giving up such self-improving intentions may be difficult. Even if you see the logic in such renunciation. In being upright, from this start, one is not concerned with mind. In being upright, one is not concerned with purity.

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This lack of concern for our own purity is the short course on purifying your mind. This lack of concern for our own purity is the short course on purifying your mind. One day, the great teacher Guishan asked his luminous disciple Yangshan,

[15:00]

if someone suddenly appears and asks about the teaching that all sentient beings just have karmic consciousness, boundless and unclear, with no fundamental to rely on, how would you test and prove this in experience? Yangshan said, if someone comes, I would say, Hey, you! When he turns his head, I would say, What is it?

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If he hesitates, I would say, Not only do they only have karmic consciousness, boundless and unclear, but there is no fundamental to rely on. Guishan said, Good boy! This is how Yangshan and Guishan test to see if the monk is being upright. In the midst of being a sentient being, of only having karmic consciousness,

[17:29]

with no fundamental to rely on, when called to, when asked, What is it? How would you respond? Would you hesitate? Would you look for some fundamental to get the answer from? When called to, Hey, you! The head turns. This is just karmic consciousness. That's all it is. It's boundless. It's unclear. However, when you turn your head like that, you're not reaching for a fundamental to rely on. You're not looking for something deeper than your deluded mind to answer the call. You just turn your head. At that moment, you are upright.

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You have not done anything more than responding karmically. If you don't speak English, you will not know what they're talking about, and your head won't turn. And your head not turning is also karmic consciousness. You're just a robot. You're totally unclear, and there's no end to it, and there's not something deep down that you can reach to, to promote yourself above being a karmic robot. When you're called to and you turn your head, that's all there is. You're perfectly upright. And your mind is pure. When asked, what is it? Then you look, oh, now I'm supposed to give a good answer.

[19:34]

Now I'm supposed to say something profound. Where will I get it? You're completely lost. You're completely lost, looking for some fundamental to rely on. It's not that you're defiled at that moment. It's just that you're looking for the pure answer. There's nothing wrong with you. It's just you think there is, and you're looking for some way to fix it, to give a good answer and prove you're all right. A monk asked the Zen teacher,

[20:46]

Nanyang, there is in the Avatamsaka Sutra the saying that the fundamental affliction of ignorance is itself the immutable knowledge of all Buddhas. This seems very profound and difficult to understand. Nanyang said, oh yeah, seems easy to me. The monk said, please explain. Nanyang said, see that boy over there sleeping? The monk said, yeah. He said, watch this. He said to the boy, hey you.

[21:52]

The boy turned his head. Then Nanyang said, what is Buddha? The boy hesitated and stumbled off in bewilderment. Nanyang said, when he turned his head, was that not the immutable knowledge of all Buddhas? When he hesitated, was that not the fundamental affliction of ignorance? What's the difference between the two? And one is just being uprightly a sentient being who is just

[23:00]

karmic consciousness and has no truth, no reality, no fundamental to reach for and bring in to deal with life. That has all been renounced. That has been swept away. In the other case, we're trying to stand outside of ourselves and bring something in to purify ourselves. We're reaching for something outside ourselves, something outside of our karmic consciousness, some pure mind to get the answer to the Zen teacher's question, what is Buddha? Listening to

[24:10]

this teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha, purify your mind. I don't really hear him addressing an isolated, independently operating self and saying, you refrain from. I teach you to refrain from. I teach you to refrain from all evil. I don't hear that. I hear him saying, I hear him suggesting that you are refrained from. Not, you are the one who refrains from. You are refrained from all evil.

[25:12]

You are the refraining from all evil. You are the not doing any evil. Thus, we practice Buddha's teaching of purify your mind through the self that is just the self with no fundamental to rely on. We purify the mind through the self which is just karmic consciousness. And the self that is just karmic consciousness is refrained from all evil. This is to purify your mind through refrain from

[26:27]

which is just you. I do not understand the Buddha saying, you do. You do good. You are the one who does good or should do good. Rather, you are doing. You are the doing. You are just karmic consciousness with no fundamental to rely on. Thus, we purify our mind through this self which is just karmic consciousness. We purify the mind through the self that is the doing.

[27:39]

We purify the mind through the self, through the you that is the doing of all that is good. This is to help us realize the you that is you. The you that is mine. The you that is refrained from. The you that is mine. The you that is do. The you that has nothing but doing. The you that trusts that and does not reach for anything to purify itself.

[28:45]

To improve itself. This you cannot do good. This you cannot refrain from evil. This you has no truth to rely on to practice good. This you has no truth to reach for to refrain from evil. It has nothing but itself and it is just boundlessly unclear karmic consciousness. This you is satisfied with nothing but that. Completely satisfied with having nothing to work with

[29:51]

but karmic consciousness. Unclear, unending, unreal and making no more of it than that. Although this poor you, this poor self cannot do good and cannot refrain from evil it is doing good and it is the refraining from evil. It is the immutable knowledge of all Buddhas and it is nothing but the fundamental affliction of ignorance. The Bodhisattvas clear away all the impulses to make more out of it than that.

[30:51]

They graciously, graciously, kindly, carefully encourage all beings to just turn the head when called and when you're asked what is it, just answer. You have something to say. It's not much good, it's just karmic consciousness responding but that's all you'll ever have. And knowing that is the immutable knowledge of all Buddhas. Acting like that is realizing the immutable knowledge of all Buddhas. Yes. This is how I understand Shakyamuni Buddha's teaching of purify your mind.

[32:25]

This is exactly the same as being upright. This is exactly the same of letting your mind completely, thoroughly completely settle into being just your mind. One call and she turns her head. Do you know the self or not? Vaguely like the moon through ivy, a crescent at that.

[33:57]

The child of riches as soon as she falls on the road to boundless destruction has such sorrow. Yes. If I call to you now, you can't turn your head because it's already turning towards me. I could tell you to look at the one behind you and then call you and you could turn it back.

[35:09]

And then I could say, what is it? What he got? What he got for me? Got something? What is it? Is it good enough? Should it be shined up a little bit? Should it be purified a little bit before public exposure? Or is it all you got actually? Sad little gift of the moment brought to you by you-know-who. So sad. So sad that this is the immutable knowledge of all Buddhas.

[36:16]

So sad. So sad that karmic consciousness is bringing what it's bringing. Anyway, I'm having trouble getting used to reality of karmic consciousness. I'm having trouble getting used to something that's not even reality. I wouldn't have such a hard time getting used to reality. Give me reality. I'll work hard at adapting to that. But I'm supposed to adapt and get used to something that you're telling me is not even reality? This is a sad thing. But they say that's all we've got. So we have to be, I don't know what, I could say courageous. That's a little too much.

[37:30]

Resigned to the situation. Resigned with a tinge of hope that if we could totally resign, there might be a great release right nearby. If we could resign so totally that we even forgot about the hope or who was going to be helped. To be so dirty and deluded that we forget all about that. All the way. It's hard to be upright.

[38:43]

Karma consciousness uses karmic consciousness to weave a world around us. How funny it is to be using karmic consciousness to weave the story of liberation from karmic consciousness. Today's talk seems to be much shorter than yesterday's.

[40:41]

Still it is. But that could change. I'm indulging, I'm not indulging, I'm perhaps indulging, I'm savoring the flavor of the contemplation of being a sentient being. I'm flavoring, I'm savoring the contemplation on karmic consciousness, being untampered with, being just left at that.

[41:51]

Not saying anything more than that, just letting it be, just like that. In other words, embracing life as it deludedly appears. And now I vow to continue to savor this fundamental ignorance. I vow to savor fundamental ignorance, moment by moment. Not even quite remembering that it is ignorance. And also understanding that this is the immutable knowledge of all Buddhas.

[43:01]

In that way, this talk will be longer than yesterday's. It will go on as long as I practice this vow. As long as I practice this vow, that's what I'm doing when I meet you. I'm savoring my karmic consciousness. I'm savoring that I have no fundamental to rely on in relating to what I deludedly imagine is not me, which I can't stop. But although I can't stop, I can occasionally shut up. We are in tension equally.

[44:19]

We are in tension equally.

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