abandons all obstructions to freedom, abandons all obstruction to peace, but does not abandon birth and death. I have committed to continue the teachings of Perfect Wisdom in Berkeley this summer, in July and the beginning of August. Please come if you can and listen to the perfecting the gentle Buddhas.

[01:02]

Can you hear me okay? The gentle Buddhas. I guess some, the non-Jewish Buddhas, I guess, would be considered Gentiles. Is that right? There probably are some Jewish Buddhas. Are we doing OK here? I wanted to thank Charlie for taking care of the recording of these classes and making them available to you. And also, if I may, congratulate Donald and Linda Cagoza on today being their 26th wedding anniversary. Also the 26th anniversary of me eating Peruvian what?

[02:05]

I ate some Peruvian lilies at his wedding. I think they were maybe on the wedding cake or? Yeah, and I was eating some of the lilies and someone thought, someone called the police. I was okay. I was okay, according to the Poison Center. Did you have a question, Simon? What was it? Right. There is only abandoning abiding in anything. So perfect wisdom does not abide in anything.

[03:07]

Well, having no need to deal with it anymore in terms of not dwelling in it, I would say. Not dwelling on obstructions to peace. They're abandoned. But not dwelling in beings, thank you for your question, does not mean that you abandon them. You continue to abandon them, even though you don't dwell in them. But caring for beings is not an obstruction to peace for bodhisattvas. Sometimes people are taking care of beings and they feel like taking care of the beings is an and freedom. But it's not the beings that are obstructions, it's the abiding in them that's the obstruction. So the bodhisattvas do not abide in anything, therefore they, in that process, they abandon, they let go of

[04:21]

any cramping of their freedom and peace. But caring for beings does not cramp their freedom and peace, therefore they don't abandon them. But some beings feel that when they enter nirvana they do not wish to continue to care for beings indefinitely. You're welcome. I had to, I didn't have to, but I was invited to move out of my little interview room in the part of Green Gulch called Cloud Hall. During the time I was moving out some people came to see me and they said, I'll miss this room.

[05:30]

The room went bye-bye and I went bye-bye too. I was invited to go bye-bye. And so I was taking my books out of there and then just yesterday I was looking at some of the books that I had taken out and I opened one of them which was an article in a Buddhist journal and One of the points that I wanted to share with you about this article was that the article was about trying to understand what the vehicle was, the great vehicle of the bodhisattvas. What was it like in India for flesh and blood, women and men? Because all we have pretty much, I guess all the scholars have anyway, is for the Mahayana, all they have is the Mahayana texts, and they have tons of them. Many, many, many, many great vehicle texts about perfect wisdom.

[06:35]

But there's almost no historical or or ethnographic information about the lives of the people who were writing, reading, and transmitting, and practicing these texts. But almost none. But there are some stories, there are some, And some of the stories are, but some of those stories might, from the scholar's point of view, might not be historical, archaeological, ethnographic information. It's more like stories that are told by the tradition of practitioners. So in China, there's many stories about how people

[07:38]

and how they tried to find meaning of these Mahayana texts in their daily life. So the teachings, particularly the perfect wisdom teachings, are things like Nothing, excuse me, a nothing, a nothing served just as well as a something which nothing can be said. So how do you, how do I find meaning of that in my daily life? That perfect wisdom teaching. In the Heart Sutra it says, form is emptiness, emptiness is form.

[08:45]

And then it says the same is true of feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. So form, color, smell, taste, but just start with color. Color is emptiness. And emptiness can be color. Color is not a something. but it's not a nothing either. Color is a nothingness. Color is not a something. It's empty of a somethingness, doesn't have a somethingness, but also it doesn't have a nothingness.

[09:57]

It's not a something, it's not a nothing. there isn't anything that's actually a little package by itself. Nothing in our life, nothing in the universe can actually be packaged into a simple, individual, particular thing. Well, for example, color. A color is interdependent, so it's not a something. It's an interdependent process called color. And to the extent that the word color, to the extent that color is a word, it is perfect wisdom. If you think the color is more than a word, there's more to it than a word, then you think it's a something.

[10:58]

But it's not a something. It's not a nothing. Feelings are not a something, but also not a nothing. Emotions are not a something, and they're not a nothing either. You can't package things into a nothing or into a something. in that this is a way of talking about how everything's empty. So in the emptiness of things, in the not something of things, and the not in that situation of emptiness, there are no things. There's nothing. Nothing exists. So in the Heart Sutra, which many of you know so well, it says in the context of emptiness, no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind, no color, no sound, no smell, no taste.

[12:08]

Touch. And so we have a step forward. from China, one of our ancestors, when he was a boy, when he was studying with a teacher and they were reciting the Heart Sutra, when they got to the part about no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, he said, wait a minute, I have eyes and ears and nose and so on. Why does the Heart Sutra say no eyes. Here's a boy trying to make sense of that scripture. But he was living the teaching in his life because he said, wait a minute.

[13:15]

He didn't say, wait a minute, I don't understand. I have eyes and so on. Why does the Heart Sutra say that? And this was a big step in his life towards perfect wisdom, which we had stories of his evolution of studying and realizing perfect wisdom. Yeah, he was entering into the study of it when he said, why does the Heart Sutra say that? And then later, there's another part of the story, later he was traveling and he came upon a very highly respected, highly appreciated Zen master named Nanchuan.

[14:21]

which means South Spring. And he came to Nan Chuan's monastery on the occasion of leading his assembly in the performance of a memorial ceremony for Nan Chuan's teacher. What's Nonchuan's teacher's name? Master Ma. Matsu. The even more venerated master. The master who had more enlightened disciples anybody but Buddha apparently. He made 139 Zen masters.

[15:29]

And then he had thousands of other students who didn't quite make it to the Zen master level. Male and female disciples, like Master Ma. But he passed away and his disciples Many of them were masters of monasteries. And in this monastery, they were doing the traditional memorial, which is to do a memorial the night before the day that the teacher died. So you do a night before ceremony, and then you do a ceremony on the day. And we practice that here in America, too. Before ceremony, and the young man comes, and as they're about to do the ceremony, Nan Chuan says, I wonder if Master Ma will come to his ceremony tomorrow or not.

[16:36]

Chinese, they often say, like for example, do you want? They say, yao bu yao. Yao means want. And means not want. Want or not want. Or means had enough to eat. And means not enough to eat. Had enough to eat or not. So he says, will he come or not? Maybe. And the boy, he's a little bit older now. He left his first teacher. His first teacher sent him to another teacher. to help him understand the Heart Sutra. And then he left that teacher and started traveling and came to the great Nanjuan. And Nanjuan says, I wonder if Master Ma will come or not. And the boy comes forward and says, he'll come if he has a friend. I don't know if he was rushing ahead of all the other monks or if the other monks were like, just couldn't say anything.

[17:50]

But he says he will come if he has a friend. And I've been talking to you about that, right? That perfect wisdom occurs in good friendship. Have I talked to you about that? There's no floating perfect wisdom. Perfect wisdom, it happens in friendship. There's no, like, wisdom by herself. It's the Buddha in friendship where there's perfect wisdom. Matsu in friendship with somebody. He comes in friendship and there's the teacher. Anyway, he goes on and on in his career and then sort of the culmination of enlightenment is he looks in the water of a river and he says,

[18:57]

He is me, yet in truth he's not me. There's his perfect wisdom. You are me, yet in truth you're not me. You're not a something, yet you're not a nothing. Before Master Ma died, he did some interesting things while he was enlightening innumerable people. In the book, Being Upright, there's a story about a very sincere student of Buddhism who we call Yaoshan Wanyin.

[20:18]

Yaoshan is the name he had when he became an abbot, a teacher. His regular Buddhist name was Wanyin. And he studied the Buddhist teaching, the Mahayana, He studied the Buddha's precepts diligently, but he wasn't able to abandon all obstructions to peace and freedom. So he looked for a friendship. And he was very fortunate because he was able to find some good friends. Matter of fact, he was able to find about the two best friends that were in the world at that time. One was named Stonehead, or on top of the stone, because he built a meditation of a stone.

[21:21]

So he's called on top of the stone, or Stonehead. And so he went to Stonehead and he said, I've been studying for a long time, but I still have doubt not at peace. Please help me. And what did Shirtos say? Anybody? Anybody includes me, I suppose. Yes? Not yet. Amanda said, doesn't he advise him to go see Master Ma? And what did I say? Not yet. Not yet is actually not in the story. That's in this story. That's in the story of Amanda saying, doesn't he advise him to go see Master Ma? And I say, not yet.

[22:22]

But that's not in the traditional story. except now it will be a traditional story of one day, Reb was in Berkeley, and he asked the people, what did Stonehead say to 1E? And then Charlie raised his hand and said. Close. To say it's like this, won't do. To say it's not like this, won't do either. To say it's not this, to say it's both this and not this, won't do at all. How about you? To say it's this, in other words, to say it's something, won't do. To say it's something, won't do. To say it's both won't do.

[23:25]

Or neither won't do. Four alternatives. Which you'll hear about more later. How about you? And one E very says nothing. And then he says please say more. And then Stonehead says, go see Master Ma. Too far away. So he goes to see Master Ma and makes the same request. And Master Ma says, sometimes I make him raise his eyebrows and blink. Sometimes I don't make him raise his eyebrows and blink. Sometimes raising the eyebrows and blinking is right.

[24:31]

Sometimes raising the eyebrows and blinking is not right. How about you? And 1E woke up. he stopped abiding in anything. And the obstructions to his peace were abandoned, abandoned. And in peace, he bowed and expressed his appreciation to Master Ma. And Master Ma said, what have you learned? And 1E said, I see now that when I was with Shurto, I was like a mosquito trying to mount an iron bull. It's often translated as trying to bite, but literally it says trying to mount, which you might interpret as mount to bite.

[25:41]

And so there, there was the teaching. Did you see it? This is teaching of trying to show the way, the path of perfect wisdom. In daily bodhisattva friendship, daily bodhisattva friendship, trying to help, trying to enjoy together, not abiding. The teacher tries to set up the non-abiding, but the student can't quite accept that. And so when he says, how about you, maybe he abides. instruction or in the you, in the I, in the me. Well, you asked me about me. Did you ask me about me when you said, how about you? When you say, how about you, do you mean how about me?

[26:46]

And the teacher says, yes, sir. Well, then I have nothing to say because I'm abiding in me. Question. Well, go see Master Ma." And so he does learn from Master Ma. This is a story about how the Chinese Zen people were trying and realized, realized by enacting through their friendships, perfect wisdom. First time, even the great Shinto could not was not fully successful. But he was successful enough, because this is a sincere practitioner, for him to try again with somebody else. And then it's complete. And then he studies with Matsu for, I think, two years, or two or three years, and Matsu says, I mean, Master Ma, which means horse master, says, you've been great here.

[28:01]

But really, your teacher is on top of the rock, Stonehead. So he went back and studied a number more years with Stonehead and became Stonehead's disciple, one of his main disciples. One day, a monk came to see Master Ma and said, aside from the four alternatives, something, not something, both something and not something, neither something nor not something, aside from those four alternatives, which are used to teach perfect wisdom, and aside from the 100 negations, which are used to teach perfect wisdom, please show me directly the meaning of coming from the West.

[29:10]

In other words, the meaning of the Zen ancestor, the first Zen ancestor coming from India. What's the meaning of this teaching of that Bodhidharma showed, that Bodhidharma brought from India to China? What's the meaning of it? Right now, with you and me, in our friendship, what's the meaning? What? No meaning. That's what Bodhidharma said. Good try. Yes? Yes? Well, that would be aside from not something, not nothing, blah, blah, what's the meaning? And then he could have said the same thing back to him. But he didn't. He said, I'm tired.

[30:14]

Thank you for pointing that out. But last week, although I said it, it was the week before that it arose in me. And I missed that that was Master Ma coming up inside of me. I missed it. Master Ma arose in me as I'm driving home. So when you're going home tonight, watch to see who comes up. See which Zen ancestor will arise in your mind as you drive to your true home. So anyway, Master Ma, the great Master Ma said, I'm tired. Go see, his name is Jurtsang, which means treasury of wisdom. One of his great disciples. Go see Jurtsang, treasury of wisdom. He goes to Jurtsang and says, ask him, you know, same question.

[31:24]

Aside from the four propositions, what is, right now, what's the meaning of Buddhism? What's the meaning of perfect wisdom, friend? And Jetson said, why didn't you ask the teacher? He said, he told me to come and ask you. Jetson said, I have a headache. Go ask Brother Waihai. Waihai means... Actually, Waihai... Yeah, Waihai means... in the bosom. It means having the ocean in here. That's Waihai, another great student of Master Ma. So he goes to see Waihai and he asks him the same question and Waihai said, I don't understand anything about what you're talking. And then he goes back to Master Ma and

[32:29]

He told him about what just happened with the two students that were supposed to help him. And Master Ma said, Treasury of Wisdom's head is white. Ocean in the bosom's head is black. The story doesn't say that the monk entered into perfect wisdom. That's just the end of the story. So I guess he had to go on to another friend. But there's the story of how Master Ma taught perfect wisdom. That story is the sixth case of the Book of Serenity. The other story is in Being Upright, if you want to read it.

[33:36]

And the story of you and me. For example, Lois and me. Lois? Yes? Yes? Perfect Wisdom? Yes? Would you go? Yes? Interdependent all around. That's one of the characteristics of interdependence. It's all around. There's no end to it. It goes all around. It feels like a pearl.

[34:41]

Great Pearl, it feels like a great pearl. And that's another name of one of the other disciples of Master Ma, Great Pearl. If I said Master Ma taught perfect wisdom, It's okay that I said that, I suppose. But what I mean is that friendship with Master Ma realizes perfect wisdom. These friendships. Again, it's not Master Ma got the perfect wisdom. It's like when you're friends with Master Ma, in that friendship, perfect wisdom can be born. And friendship with Master Ma is also the kind of friendship that gives birth to perfect wisdom is called by the Buddha, good friendship. And it's all around. But we have to practice it in order to realize that good friendship is all around. We are practicing it so we realize it.

[35:44]

Yes? Friend? Friend of those who have no friend? She's, my friend is feeling argumentative. She's offering argumentation in friendship. You haven't stopped being a friend, have you? Pardon? Wait a second. You talked about it in previous classes? I didn't talk about it in this class? I did? Did anybody else in this class hear me talk about friendship? I'm not arguing with you. Because anyway, you can just say, I didn't hear it before. Yeah, I didn't hear it before, not only in this class, but just like generically.

[36:46]

It's okay that you're not with me all the time. It's all right. But I have been talking about friendship. Probably, I've probably given 20 talks in the last couple months where I'm talking about friendship. Well, before I answer, can I answer a question? I, last fall, I think maybe you were there, in response to a request, in a friendly response to a request to tell stories about women, I went to the Flower Adornment Scripture, Mahayana Flower Adornment Scripture. The last chapter is actually... hundreds and hundreds of pages. The 39th chapter is called Entering the Realm of Reality, the Gandavyuha.

[37:55]

And the hero, or the main character, I should say, there's many heroes in this. There's many heroes in this chapter. The main character that's going through the whole time is a boy named Sudhana, which means good in wealth. And he, I remember that in that chapter there's many women teachers. So I went there and I found a story of a woman teacher and I told it at no abode. And it was somewhat controversial. I don't know if you were there. Do you remember? Yeah. It was a little controversial. And she, anyway, I've just put that story aside. I'll tell you more about it later. But anyway, I was going there to find stories of women, and I did. But what struck me in reading the chapter, which struck me more deeply than before, was that every single, that this boy who visits 54 teachers, he actually, what they call them in the scripture, they call them spiritual friend.

[39:14]

They call them beneficial friend. Kalyanamitra. teachers, these bodhisattva teachers, are good friends, beneficial friends. And I saw this story of visiting all these beneficial friends. This is like the sort of the traditional Indian scripture, which is sort of like Zen life in China. All these monks visiting good friends. And then I good friend it's friend it's good also I have quoted and again you don't have to stay with me all day long every day go everywhere I go you don't have to go to Texas and you know so on with me but when I went to Texas I talked about friendship

[40:18]

And I told them, and I told people at Green Gulch, I told people various places, I told them that the Buddha was sitting one day and his attendant came to him. What's his attendant's name, do you know? Ananda comes to the Buddha, pays his respects, sits to one side and sitting with the Buddha, Ananda says, This is half the holy life. What? This? Being here with you is half the holy life. Good friendship. This, this, this, this. Okay, here we are. This good friendship. This good friendship. This admirable friendship. This noble friendship. What is this?

[41:21]

This is friendship here. It's not something. It's not nothing either. It's good friendship. Nobody can get around it, under it, over it. Nobody can get a hold of it. This is good friendship." And then Buddha said, ìDon't say that, Ananda. Don't say that. Good friendship. this good friendship is the entirety of the holy life. The entirety, it's all of the holy life, is friendship. And again, it's good you came to class tonight because you're not missing out on what I've been talking about sort of since last fall. I'm swept up in friendship and good friendship.

[42:25]

Bad friendship too, maybe a little bit like I'm sometimes a bad friend, but good friendship is the friendship which is the totality of the Buddha way. It's not in Ananda thought, oh, I'm friends with the Buddha's attendant. I'm Buddha's friend. Yes, you are. There's no question that Ananda was Buddha's friend. Buddha didn't say, you're not my friend. No. Buddha says, yes, you are my friend, you are my good friend, and I am your good friend. But it's not like we're good friends and then there's the other half, perfect wisdom and enlightenment and being a Buddha or whatever. You name it. It's not like there's good friendship and perfect wisdom. There's perfect wisdom, good friendship, and there's good friendship, perfect wisdom. Good friendship means perfect wisdom. of this friendship is that it's not something and it's not a nothing.

[43:27]

And a nothing is just as good as a something about that I'm saying these things, you know, like I'm saying this friendship is where perfect wisdom arises, but really I can't say anything about perfect wisdom or what this friendship is. That's the kind of friendship we're trying to develop and in that friendship you can be ...the role of argumentative. You can play the role of somebody who didn't hear the teaching before, and then I can say it again, because you didn't. And I can tell you, and you can find out where it came from. Well, where it came from was, I just told you a story. It's more complicated than that. Why did... Tell stories about women. I don't know, but they did. That's part of the story. But what happened before that? It's all, it's all around friendship is leading to all around friendship.

[44:32]

Huh? Okay, and now comes the, the what? The other question, yes. You don't understand. Well, I like New York in spring. How about you? I like a Gershwin tune.

[45:35]

How about you? What? That make sense? Okay. That's all right, I guess. Words can be used to make sense. So you want me to make sense? I would say the monk goes to Matsu and says, beyond all these Mahayana teachings, show me now directly the meaning of Buddhism. Or he could have said, beyond all these teachings, Show me the direct path. Excuse me, he could have said, beyond all these teachings of perfect wisdom, how about you? Hey, friend, great teacher, how about you? And Matsu says, I'm tired.

[46:38]

And that could have been enough. What's the you doing there? The you is the thing you study when you're studying perfect wisdom. To study perfect wisdom is you. And to study you is to forget you. And to forget you is to drop away all obstruction to perfect wisdom. And then everybody is enlightened together. What's this got to do with us right now? How about you? Elena is going to go take care of her cat now. We hope that she does a thorough job without abiding in anything.

[47:50]

I do a thorough job. Yeah. And now take one more step into not abiding. Yeah, it's iffy. And now Jacques. Jacques. Did you miss the second class? She missed the second class. Yes, Jacques. What class did you miss? Yes. Yes. make sense in any way, regardless of what happened. And it's been kind of that similar friendship where I've learned a lot through Charlie, and just as a person, about myself.

[48:58]

And perfect wisdom is, I don't know, I believe that what is part of wisdom, by itself, is that what is even above is correct. Well, I heard you say a number of things. One of the things you said was perfect wisdom, what becomes of it. I would say what becomes of it is people who are that's what becomes of it. Yeah, perfect wisdom is just for people. I mean, just for living beings. There's no perfect wisdom floating around. It's to liberate beings. What becomes of it?

[49:58]

What it becomes is liberation and peace. That's what it becomes. And if Charlie helps you learn about yourself, that's fine. But the real good friend not just helps you learn about yourself, that helps you study yourself, a friend that helps you study yourself, a friendship that helps you study yourself, rather than getting distracted from studying yourself, which means studying the Buddha way, to study yourself. So I hope that the good friends encourages us to study ourselves. when I left the class two weeks ago and was driving my car, this thing happened and the class, I think, was part of the conditions for me studying myself. To look at that statement, I'm tired, to study that and to see, is there an I am in addition to I am tired?

[51:09]

I was talking to you about that, so the class was part, my relationship with you helped me study myself. Your relationship with all of us helps you study yourself. Then it's good friendship. That we learn to be more and more continuously studying ourself. This is our great opportunity, and if we wish to benefit beings, And really, it's just our responsibility. But particularly if you want to help people, the main thing you can help them do is help them learn to study themselves. Because if they learn to study themselves, they will learn perfect wisdom. And somebody needs to encourage and show them. You can even show them how by saying, oops, I missed the chance to study myself. And they say, what? Why would you care about that? What's my main thing I'm doing in life is I'm trying to study myself to help you study yourself.

[52:15]

How about you? Do you want to help me study myself? Do you? Do you want to help me study myself? Thank you, please do. Please continue to help me study myself. Do you want me to help? I'm happy to try. Yes, Mike. Sure. I said that. I think there are these smart people, neuroscientists, philosophers, maybe deities and clergy, who have story that emotions are

[53:28]

Okay, so just take one step back. You said some people say emotions are a neuron. Right? Did you say something like that? Well, I would apply the same thing to the neurons. The neurons are also not a something and not a nothing. I feel comfortable with this modern understanding of the neural process.

[54:42]

I feel it contributes and supports the teaching that emotions are not a something and not a nothing. And that to all the elements that condition and support these phenomena, phenomena, all phenomena, all phenomena are not a something and not a nothing. But they are phenomena. But they're empty. If somebody says, this phenomenon is something else, That would also make me say, well, that is part of the reason that that phenomenon you said is something else. If you say an emotion is a neuron, that's part of why I would say, yeah, that could be part of the reason to say language which verifies that an emotion is not a something.

[55:45]

But it's not a nothing because you just told me it was a neuron. And the same with a neuron. What's a neuron? This is language. And the language neurological people, they're working together to realize emptiness. Maybe some of them are not concerned that their study will make people, bring people peace and happiness. I don't know. But I think some of them would like of the human condition in terms of neurological process. I think they would like this work to contribute to peace and happiness in this world. I think so, some of them. And if they do, then that would be to understand the real nature of all these phenomena. But I'm not saying that this emotion is a physical process.

[56:47]

I don't think that undermines to say that this this thing, this phenomena, this phenomena of an emotion is not a something or a nothing by saying that it's supported by or really is something else. That doesn't contradict it for me. It supports it. Okay? Good. Complete? You're not taking the time, it's being given to you. How are those... Isn't it inarguable that those are something?

[57:55]

Is it inarguable? It is not inarguable unless somebody stopped me from arguing, it wouldn't be inarguable. If I meet somebody who says a neuron is a something, I would say, do you want to be friends? I say, I would like you to consider something. And they say, what? I say, would you like to learn about perfect wisdom? Would you like to become liberated in your life? And the person says, yes. Well, then I say, then what you need to do is see that the thing you said was something is not a something, but also not a nothing. So the person says, it is a something. You say, well, if you cling to that, if you abide in that, you're not going to open your mind to wisdom.

[58:57]

Not liberating wisdom. I'm talking about perfect wisdom. I'm talking of wisdom that makes sense. not just happy people and liberated people, but people who can help other people be happy and free too. If you wish to do that, we need some flexibility here. We need some not abiding in what... I'm not trying to get you to change what you're thinking. You can still think that a neuron's something. You go ahead and think it, but then listen to teaching that neurons aren't something, but that doesn't mean I'm saying they're nothing. And if you want to be friends with me, and if you don't think I'm being friendly to me, please tell me. If you don't think I'm listening to you, tell me about how something, something... If I... I'm sort of open to hear about the arguments, you know, and you want to be my friend. And in that friendship... Would be a perfect question.

[60:01]

The nature of the friendship... won't undermine neurological studies, it will liberate them. You can keep taking care of, like I said, this wisdom does not abandon samsara. In samsara there's neural sciences. They're not happy, they're not relaxed, they're abiding. So the bodhisattva does not abandon them. The bodhisattva wants to be friends with them. And as the bodhisattva and this person start making friendship, it starts to make both sides bodhisattvas. And both sides start to realize non-abiding. And the bodhisattva doesn't try to get away from people who are abiding in whatever they're thinking and therefore suffering. I propose to you, anybody who's abiding is stressed. But some neuroscientists are working their thinking energetically and not abiding.

[61:09]

And that not abiding they're doing, they're doing in friendship with other people, with other neuroscientists. Their wife, who's not a neuroscientist, but who's a... a concert pianist or a ballet dancer or a great cook or a falcon or a storm or a song they're in friendship and they're free to change diapers and to walk back and forth not quite getting to the park and then going back home but not getting home and then back to the park did you hear that story? You didn't hear a story about my granddaughter? Well, that's what I'm doing. I'm taking my granddaughter, I'm taking care of my granddaughter, and she is my... Have you heard the word now is don't call girls bossy? Have you heard about that? You call them leaders.

[62:11]

So my leader is about this big, and she's my leader. She says, I want to go to the playground, the blue playground. You didn't hear that story? I know, but Tracy didn't hear it. Okay, so she says, I want to go to the playground. And about two-thirds of the way to the playground, she said, my leader says, I don't want to go to the playground. So we start going back home. But about one half the way home, she says, I want to go to the playground. So we go back towards the playground. And then she says, I don't want to go to the playground. And then she says, I want to go to the playground. And we go back towards the playground. And I am very, very happy to be her friend. I'm not a downtrodden father.

[63:20]

I am a joyful bodhisattva who is serving this person in friendship and realizing I'm not abiding. I wasn't abiding. It was perfect wisdom. It was peace. It was freedom. It was so beautiful. And I told that story when I was in Texas telling people about friendship. And one of the women in the audience said, I want you to take me to the park. I want a granddaddy like that. If I meet a neuroscientist, I want to be her friend. I want to interact with her. And in that friendship, in friendship, if you really get into friendship, you cannot find a place to abide. There's no place to stand in anything. And if we're talking about going to the park, or neurons, or music, or politics, whatever we're doing in the friendship, in good friendship, there's no abiding.

[64:28]

There's no place to stand. There's no place to abide. And we don't abandon anybody who's abiding. So if somebody's a neuroscientist, prize winner, and she's abiding in her Nobel Prize, I want to be her friend. And in our friendship, we together will realize liberation from abiding in Nobel Prizes. Still, there's a Nobel Prize. It's just that it's not. And it's not nothing. People who have Nobel Prizes... Some of them may say, it's a nothing. I don't agree. Some may say it's a something. I don't agree. It's neither. How about you? This is the thing. Whoever we're talking to, we talk to them in friendship and we live the holy life together. Not me realizing not abiding before you.

[65:28]

We realize it together. Our relationship is it. our relationship, this friendship, is the holy life. And whatever they want to talk about. Some topics we might be more interested in others, you know, like I happen to be interested in those things. And also if those people start talking fast, I won't be able to follow them, you know. But my friendship might say, do you want me to understand? They might say, well, no. You know, and we can... He says, please teach me. Please tell me I don't get it. He said, go see Master Ma. Please teach me perfect wisdom. Go see treasury of wisdom. I'm tired. But this time tired is friendship. Master's friendship. It's the way he talks when he's not abiding. I'm tired. I'm tired. Was he really tired or was he just saying that to make a famous story?

[66:33]

The greatest Zen master in China, I'm tired. Can they, can, huh? Apparently so. Can they like have a headache? Can they like not know what to say? Can that be friendship? Check it out. Check out friendship. Check out friendship. That's how you check out perfect wisdom. I see. Somebody over there besides Lois? Okay, Lois, then Tish, and then Charlie. Probably. Probably.

[67:53]

You're welcome. Which one? Master Ma, I'm being tired. ... [...] You can make a deal with that, right? But then you've got to think about why, actually, how is it that you work with them? Like, why is it that when you go to another university, [...]

[69:24]

It's always there. Our friendship's always there. But we have to practice it to realize it. We somehow can miss it. Without practicing it, we can miss it. Charlie? Charlie? Thank you so much, Charlie. Hymn to Prajnaparamita. Amish to the...

[70:15]

@Transcribed_v005
@Text_v005
@Score_79.32