A Bodhisattva Vow Ceremony: Your Mind Is Becoming Buddha

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As I said before, later today we are intending to have a ceremony, a Bodhisattva vow ceremony. And you are welcome to attend, in case I don't discuss the activity of making vows, would you like me to do so? Yes, if you intend to participate, you are welcome to participate. Did you know about this ceremony, Cindy? You did, okay.

[01:06]

Where shall I begin in the turning of the Dharma wheel? The Dharma wheel is beginningless, so where do you begin? Maybe I'll begin by finishing this tea. Thank you. I think one of the vows that we might be expressing later today is the vow to realize unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment. I thought about that earlier today and I thought how amazing that people would be interested

[02:29]

in the unsurpassable enlightenment. My human mind sometimes starts moving in the direction of, why would they? And then I let it go, I don't know why. I just think it's amazing that people would wish for a great enlightenment. But I might say, for what reason? And also part of the vow that will be expressed is, I aspire to great enlightenment for the welfare of all beings. There is some sense among certain beings that the highest enlightenment is the best thing for the welfare of beings. That the highest enlightenment is that which promotes the happiness

[03:34]

and freedom from suffering of all beings. And therefore some people who want all beings to be free of suffering and to be at peace with each other, might wish for unsurpassed enlightenment. Might wish for Buddhahood to be realized in this world of living beings. Buddhahood which is the liberation of all beings. Buddhahood is the liberation of all beings. Buddhahood is the enlightenment and liberation of all beings. And some beings wish for that. So there is this bodhisattva wish for great enlightenment,

[05:00]

for the welfare of all beings. And then there is... Where is John? John Wolk. Oh, there you are. There is this wish and then it is possible to make a vow. You can have wishes and then wishes can be elevated into vows. And so some people here may wish for peace and harmony among all beings and for all beings may have that wish. And we are doing this ceremony this afternoon to try to enhance the wish into becoming a vow. And with this vow, this bodhisattva vow,

[06:10]

then the theory is that this vow can be cultivated and the cultivation can support the realization of perfect wisdom. And the perfect wisdom is the mother, is the womb of Buddhahood. I mentioned last month, last month was January, we had an intensive at Green Gulch. You came to visit, right? You didn't? Oh. You came before January. Did you come in December?

[07:10]

No. So, we had an intensive at Green Gulch and the topic was Avalokiteshvara's Perfection of Wisdom. On this altar here we have in the center, the large statue in the center is Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of this tradition in this cycle of world history. In front of him is a female figure representing the perfection of wisdom. A female figure whose name is Prajnaparamita.

[08:14]

To the Buddha's left is a statue of another female form of Avalokiteshvara, bodhisattva, who practices perfect wisdom. The Buddha is born of perfect wisdom and transmits perfect wisdom. Prajnaparamita is perfect wisdom. Avalokiteshvara practices perfect wisdom. And to Buddha's right is Bodhidharma, a male form of Avalokiteshvara, who practices perfect wisdom. All the beings on the altar practice perfect wisdom. And in realizing it, that realization gives birth to Buddhas. That's the theory of this school.

[09:16]

The vow comes to maturity as perfect wisdom. Perfect wisdom comes to maturity as Buddha. Buddha is the liberation of all beings. Bodhisattvas have this vow, and in order to realize the vow, they wish to practice perfect wisdom. Bodhisattvas, because of the vow, their ethical responsibility is to become Buddha.

[10:23]

All the practices which make Buddhas are a bodhisattva's ethical responsibility. A bodhisattva's ethical responsibility is to practice perfect wisdom. If you wish to be a bodhisattva, if somebody wanted to be a bodhisattva, again, I don't know why people would want to be a bodhisattva, but if you wish to be a bodhisattva, and you wish to walk the path of a bodhisattva, then the Diamond Sutra says, the first thing to do is to make a great vow. The first thing to do on the path of a bodhisattva is to think, I wish to lead, I wish to carry all forms of life

[11:28]

to the realm of peace and happiness. I wish to carry all beings, I wish to lead all beings to perfect peace and freedom. If you want to do the bodhisattva path, the Buddha says, the first thing to do is to think about that. And, I guess, think it until you mean it. You know, you might be able to fit right here in the middle. Ellen? Do you have a Zafu? Maybe you could fit next to Tracy. Do you know Tracy? Yeah. Tracy, Ellen. Her name is Ellen. Welcome, Ellen. So, Ellen, if you wish to walk the path of a bodhisattva, the first thing to do is to think, I wish to lead all beings to perfect nirvana.

[12:30]

And yet, even the Buddha, the Buddha is teaching now, and you're supposed to think this too. And yet, even though I lead innumerable beings to nirvana, no beings have been led to nirvana. And why is that so? Because if I would think that I actually led beings to nirvana, I wouldn't be a bodhisattva. And I want to be a bodhisattva. So I just vow to take them there, and also I vow to remember that no beings are taken there. Because as a bodhisattva, I do not hold on to the idea of beings. I vow to... I didn't... I didn't vow to hold on to the ideas of beings. I vowed to liberate all beings. The Buddha told me,

[13:36]

if you want to be a bodhisattva, well then, vow to liberate all beings. Buddha didn't say, if you want to be a bodhisattva, hold on to the idea of beings. No. Think about liberating them all, and then think about that there are no beings at all liberated. And give up all your ideas of self. Give up your ideas. If you want to benefit all beings in the most complete way, then give up all your ideas of beings. Give up all your ideas of bodhisattvas. If you want to be a bodhisattva, give up your idea of being a bodhisattva. If you want to benefit all beings, say you do. And then after you say you do, and think you do, then give up the idea of liberating them, of bodhisattva, and of beings. This is training in perfect wisdom.

[14:37]

But the training in perfect wisdom follows from the vow. First you vow to give your life to all beings, in the most liberating way. Then you practice perfect wisdom, which brings your wish to fruit. The totally radical bodhisattva totally wants to help all beings without exception, in the most radical way, and also is most radical about herself and all beings. So radical that she doesn't even attain herself. She is so much herself that she has no self. She doesn't have a self that she has. The Heart Sutra says, and the translation we do usually in the Heart Sutra is,

[15:41]

with nothing to attain, a bodhisattva relies on perfect wisdom. But I saw another translation, which is very, to me, illuminating. Another translation is, without anything to attain, a bodhisattva. Without anything to attain, colon, bodhisattva. With nothing to attain, a bodhisattva. With nothing to attain? Bodhisattva. Not with nothing to attain you have a bodhisattva. Nothing to attain, you don't have a bodhisattva. Therefore, bodhisattva. No bodhisattva, that's a bodhisattva. Bodhisattva, no bodhisattva. With nothing to attain, bodhisattva.

[16:48]

And this is how we rely on prajnaparamita. This is bodhisattva ethics. At the beginning of this ceremony this afternoon, I think maybe I'm going to ask you, do you want to receive the bodhisattva ethics? And at the end I will say, you have received the bodhisattva ethics. And I say you will uphold the bodhisattva ethics. I will make that outrageous statement. I will affirm that you will receive the bodhisattva ethics correctly and you will uphold them. I will predict you to that practice. I will affirm that you will do that practice. I will do that because that's the ceremony we're going to do.

[17:50]

And I say I will do it, but really I do not attain anything that says that. The Buddha said, and all Buddhas say, I say this to you, all Buddhas say, what does all Buddhas say? Avoid evil, avoid all evil, do all good, clarify the mind. This is the teaching of all Buddhas. All Buddhas say that. But now the teaching for bodhisattvas is, the bodhisattva precepts, the precepts of the bodhisattva school are not about avoiding evil and stopping wrong.

[18:53]

It's not about that. The precepts, the ethics of bodhisattvas are reality. These are reality. Reality is liberating all beings. There's another reality, which is at least one person is not liberated. Another truth is many people are not liberated. The reality of the Buddha is the liberation of all beings. The bodhisattva precepts are Buddha. The bodhisattva precepts are reality. And the reality says, avoid evil, do good,

[19:55]

but that doesn't mean avoiding evil and stopping evil. It means realize Buddhahood. It means realize Buddha's teaching. Avoid evil means realize Buddha. Avoid evil means liberate all beings. It means bring all beings to freedom. It means bring all beings to freedom and nothing to attain. And the people, the beings who teach the path of liberating all beings, they say, avoid evil. Do all good. Clarify the mind. Save all beings. They say that. They say all Buddhas teach this.

[20:58]

And now we also clarify that what they mean by that is there are no beings to save and realizing that saves all beings. One story which you've heard me say, some of you have heard me say, Cindy hasn't heard me say this probably because you haven't heard much from me, have you? No. Well, I often tell a story about some people who lived in China in the Tang Dynasty. So there was this Buddhist monk and his name was, we call him Yao Shan Wan Yi or in Japanese pronunciation, Yakusan Igen. So Igen or Wan Yi was a Buddhist monk

[22:01]

and he practiced the Buddhist precepts. But the precepts he was practicing, or I should say the way he was practicing the precepts was he was trying to avoid evil and stop all wrong. And he worked wholeheartedly in that practice. But he was just feeling not very alive. He was feeling discouraged in his practice of working with the precepts. And I would just, it doesn't say in the story, but I would say he was working with the precepts without realizing that he was working with Buddha. He was working with the precepts without realizing that he was working with no beings are led to nirvana.

[23:02]

And when we work with the precepts in that way, of thinking that we have something to get or to think that a bodhisattva attains something, like attains the precepts, attains the precepts. He was trying to attain the precepts and he worked hard at attaining the precepts. And I don't know if he did attain them. But if he did attain them, then guess what? You know what, right? He wouldn't be a bodhisattva. Some people do maybe attain the precepts. I don't know. Have you seen anybody who attains them? Maybe they do. I'm not an expert on people attaining the precepts. The precepts, who attain the precepts that the Buddhas teach. The Buddhas teach avoid evil, do good, clarify your mind. Those are precepts, right? And some people attain them, maybe. Bodhisattvas, however, do not attain those precepts.

[24:05]

They teach them for the sake of Buddha, the bodhisattvas teach avoid evil, do good, and clarify your mind. Avoid evil, do good, and liberate all beings. Bodhisattvas teach that, but they don't have them. They don't attain them. They don't attain anything, including the best things. These precepts. You see, these are the precepts, these three precepts. And they'll be mentioned later. Avoid evil, do good, save all beings. Those are the precepts. And bodhisattvas don't attain them. They teach them. They demonstrate them without having them. They demonstrate compassion without having it. They demonstrate every truth without possessing any truth.

[25:07]

Does that make perfect sense? So, this Yaoshan, his name was actually Wani, Yaoshan was his name after he became a master of the mountain called Yaoshan, which means Medicine Mountain. He became the master of Medicine Mountain. He became Medicine Mountain. But when he was a young monk, he studied the precepts, but I'm guessing and suggesting to you that the way he was practicing was he got them, he received them, and then he got them. And he got discouraged because he was getting them, because he was attaining the precepts. And he attained the precepts, and he attained the precepts, and he said, this is not what I came here for.

[26:11]

I want something else. I want the liberation of all beings, and this ain't it. I told you some stories also about me attaining something. In my history of practice, a few times I attained something. I worked really hard, and I actually kind of like thought I attained something. And when I attained it, I thought, this ain't what I came for. And I gave up my attainments. They weren't much, by the way. Most of you would also probably willing to give up meager attainments, which I thought I attained. But I could feel it wasn't, it was too tight. It wasn't like the Bodhisattva heart to attain anything, not to mention these little pipsqueaks that I attained.

[27:13]

So, back to 1E, he attained something, he was really diligent, he wasn't like some people call me, a lazy bum. And he heard about these Zen Bodhisattvas, the Bodhisattvas of the Zen school, who actually like show you Buddha, give you Buddha, transmit Buddha to you, which means they transmit to you the nature of your mind, the reality of your mind. The Zen Bodhisattvas transmit the reality of your mind. The reality of your mind is Buddha. The reality of your mind is the liberation of all beings. That's the precept that we're transmitting by the Bodhisattva vow. The nature of your mind

[28:20]

is becoming Buddha. The nature of your mind is becoming Buddha. Let's see. That sentence, it goes two ways, right? Like I told you, the nature of your mind is becoming Buddha, but I'm also telling you that right now, the nature of your mind is becoming Buddha. Don't get left behind. Don't miss the vehicle. The nature of your mind is becoming Buddha. So he wanted to get on this nature of mind becoming Buddha thing, but he thought he needed some help. He needed some, like a ceremony, like he needed a ceremony where somebody could confirm that the nature of his mind is becoming Buddha. Not the nature of his mind was becoming Buddha, although the nature of your mind

[29:23]

was becoming Buddha. The mind you used to have, its nature was becoming Buddha. The nature of your mind is becoming Buddha. He wanted a teacher to transmit that to him, and I'm just amazed that this person just happened to meet one of the greatest teachers of all time. It's a strange coincidence between great teachers and meeting great teachers. So Yaoshan became a great teacher because he just happened to have the occasion to meet a great teacher, and as a matter of fact, he got a chance to meet two great teachers. As a matter of fact, he got a chance to meet the two greatest teachers of his time. Somehow, in all of China, somebody ran into them. So he ran into this teacher named Shirtou, which means on top of the rock. Because Shirtou, that was a nickname actually,

[30:24]

because Shirtou sat on top of a flat rock. He sat there and didn't attain anything. There sat the Bodhisattva without any attainment, transmitting perfect wisdom. And this young monk who had been trying to practice the precepts by getting them, found him, and he said, you know, I have learned something about the Buddhist precepts, but I really need some help. With your great compassion, would you please help me understand the Buddha Dharma? So here he's meeting somebody who I'm telling, in the book, it doesn't say this, if you read the story

[31:25]

in the books, it doesn't say, he's meeting a great Bodhisattva. But I'm telling you, maybe he was meeting a great Bodhisattva. And he said, please help me. And the great Bodhisattva sitting on top of the rock said, being like this won't do. Being not like this won't do either. Being like this and not being like this won't do at all. How about you? This was the Bodhisattva sitting on top of the rocks teaching to show one E, the Buddha. To transmit having nothing to the baby Bodhisattva.

[32:25]

But the baby Bodhisattva couldn't feel, or couldn't realize the receiving of that precept. And he was just confused. He was just confused. He was confused because he had been trying to get a hold of the Bodhisattva precepts and it wasn't working for him. Now he's being given a Bodhisattva precept that he can't get a hold of. But he keeps trying to get a hold of it. But now he seems that he's not going to be able to get a hold of this one. So he's just confused. And then the great Bodhisattva says to him, it's not going to work for you here today. I suggest you go see Master Ma.

[33:27]

So he goes and sees Master Ma and he tells Master Ma the same story. And Master Ma said, 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 works. Sometimes it doesn't. How about you? This time, one E did not try to attain anything. And by not trying to attain anything, he received the Bodhisattva precepts of having nothing. And receiving the Bodhisattva precept

[34:35]

of having nothing means receiving the precept of reality. And all beings were liberated, including him. And he bowed to Master Ma. And Master Ma said, what have you seen that you bow like this? And one E said, now I see that when I was on top of the rock, Ksherto, I was like a mosquito trying to mount an iron bull. Sometimes they translate that as trying to bite an iron bull. But the character actually just means mount. If you think about mounting, can't a mosquito get on top of an iron bull? Maybe so.

[35:36]

That doesn't seem so difficult for a mosquito. If they can get on top of a real bull, why can't they get on top of an iron bull? But the character for mount doesn't actually just mean mount. It means penetrate. Mount and penetrate. He was trying to penetrate. He was like a mosquito trying to penetrate an iron bull. He was like a mosquito trying to get an iron bull. That's what he was like. And that's what it's like if you try to get the Bodhisattva precepts. In other words, you'll be like somebody who is trying to get having nothing. So that's enlightenment in this story. And so these Bodhisattva precepts are not something to get. They're precepts about having nothing

[36:37]

and therefore being a Bodhisattva. They're about being a Bodhisattva who has nothing, therefore the Bodhisattva liberates all beings by this perfect wisdom. So this is a part of the large sutra on perfect wisdom. And at the beginning of chapter 3, one of the Buddha's students says to the Buddha, How should a Bodhisattva, a great being, course in perfect wisdom? Have any ideas? Course, travel, stride.

[37:41]

How should a Bodhisattva stride in perfect wisdom? And the Blessed One says, Here, here, like here, here is Bodhisattva coursing in perfect wisdom land. Here, a Bodhisattva, a great being, coursing in the perfection of wisdom, truly a Bodhisattva does not review a Bodhisattva. Nor the word Bodhisattva, nor the course of a Bodhisattva, nor the course of perfect wisdom, nor the word perfect wisdom. She does not review that she courses, nor that she does not course. This is an instruction to Bodhisattvas about how to course in perfect wisdom.

[38:46]

This is the theory of Bodhisattva practice. This is the theory of how to realize the vow to save all beings. To practice like that. Well, it's high noon, so it might be a good time for me to say to you, good afternoon. And for me to look into this empty cup and see your future. You will, you will uphold the Bodhisattva precepts. One more drop. Are you taking questions?

[39:53]

I'm receiving questions. I do not take what is not given. Do you have a question to give me? I mean, I should say, I vow not to take what is not given. I vow not to take your questions that are not given. Do you have a question to give me? Are you giving questions? Yes. Yes, Ms. Apple. So, there is a wish to liberate all beings. There is? Great. Then there is a vow to liberate all beings. Right. You are supposed to remind me about that. There are no beings to liberate anyway. That's the wisdom part. And then, isn't there another part called, they are already liberated, they just are blocked from understanding? Well, there is also that, but that's not mentioned at this point. That's in the Lotus Sutra. So, the Perfect Wisdom Sutra says, if you want to understand what Buddhas understand, then vow to save all beings, and also, by the way,

[40:55]

understand that there are no beings to save, and there is nobody saving them. And they are already... That's the Perfect Wisdom Teaching which I told you. The Lotus Sutra says, in reality, they are already saved. But, because they want to have something, they don't see it. If you want to have all beings saved, or even one, by the way, if you are going to have something, it's better to have all beings saved than to have one being saved. Because some people have one being saved, and they think, well, I did save one being me. But if you want to have all beings saved, that's going to be more difficult to think you've got. All beings are saved, but you just can't have it. The Avatamsaka Sutra says, all beings fully possess the wisdom and virtues of the Buddhas.

[41:59]

How wonderful! But because of misconceptions and attachments, they don't see it, they don't realize it. The way is basically perfect and all-pervading. Why do we have to practice? Because unless we practice, we don't realize that the way is perfect and all-pervading. What's the way? The liberation of all beings is the way. The way of freedom and peace is all-pervading. But if you try to have anything, including that, you will exile yourself from this freedom. That's the Lotus Sutra and the Avatamsaka Sutra say that. I was about to make a comment, but outside of this room, that sounds so... that whole thing sounds just wacky. Wacky! And that, you know, when I... So, if I tell my friends where I was today, there was a Bodhisattva ceremony, oh, it's the Bodhisattva Balan,

[43:00]

and I just used to do the Scented Beings, our numberless, etc. It sure makes it sound like I think there's a Scented Being and I'm riding my white horse and I'm going to save him, so it's a little embarrassing to say those vows. But then if I try to explain this whole thing, it's even... It's embarrassing to say the vow and then if you tell them that there's no beings that are saved, then it's wacky. So it's embarrassing and wacky. Well, if you want your friends to think you're wacky, you know what to tell them. But if you want your friends... If you want your friends to be free from suffering, you know what to practice, which is not necessarily telling them that stuff. It's to wish... It's to be devoted to their welfare, but not necessarily tell them that you are. But you have to say something, stupid.

[44:02]

Yeah, you can say something, and you can say that, and then you'll be embarrassed, I guess you could say. I myself might say that and not be embarrassed, but you can be the embarrassed person and I'll be the not embarrassed person. People ask me out in the street, they say, well, what do you do? Are you a martial artist? And I say, yeah. And I'm not embarrassed to say that. They say, what school? And I say, Zen. They say, oh. How is that a martial art? I say, well, we're trying to practice non-violence, we're trying to learn non-violence. And they usually don't say, well, can I attack you now? But if they did, I might say, well, what style of attack do you wish to use? And so on. I would enter into, I vow to enter into a non-violent interaction with them. And non-violence in its radical form is,

[45:06]

I won't attain non-violence. And I won't attain being a martial artist. And so if they say, are you a Girl Scout? I can say, yeah, actually. But you're a man, how can you be a Girl Scout? Well, it's recent developments that now allow men into the Girl Scouts. There was a class action suit and we got in. And so on. So, you don't have to tell your friends this stuff. But if you want to, maybe they'll find it endearing that you're that way, or that you're embarrassed. But you don't have to tell them that. You can say, I'm doing non-violence training. Maybe you won't be embarrassed to tell them that. But I'm not saying you should talk in such a way that you will never be embarrassed. If you vow

[46:08]

to not lie, that might be embarrassing to you, if you do that vow. Do you understand? Because you might be embarrassed after you do the vow. How might you be embarrassed? You have no idea? Someone could say, was that the truth you just said? And you say, oh, no. And you feel embarrassed. Because you just vowed to tell the truth and they asked you if it was and you realized it wasn't. You're embarrassed. People receive the precept of not intoxicating mind and body and then their wife asks them the next day, around dinner time, well, how did you drinking that stuff go with that precept? And they're embarrassed. They actually don't understand how they're embarrassed. If you receive

[47:12]

and vowed to practice ethical precepts, you might be embarrassed. But you still might commit to do them, even though someone might, what you say, ask you questions and you feel embarrassed. But you don't have to tell people that you're doing these precepts. You can keep them secret and then, maybe, you'll be less likely to be embarrassed if you don't tell anybody that you're doing the precepts and then when you fail, no one will care. But if you tell them, you might be embarrassed. So, embarrassment is a normal part of the path of enlightenment. Also, being accused of being wacky is a normal part of the path of enlightenment. It's normal. Being called a lazy bum is a normal part of the path of enlightenment. Being called stupid is a normal path. Being called a disgrace to the Bodhisattva path

[48:13]

is a normal part of the Bodhisattva path. Being insulted is a normal part of the Bodhisattva path. Being praised is a normal part of the Bodhisattva path. Being called a great Bodhisattva is a normal part. All these things happen to people who vow to have nothing. All these things are... All these things, the poem says, are... So, one of the things that came up during the intensive was me sharing with people a reference to a movie. The movie is called The Pink Panther. Have you ever heard of that movie, Cindy? Huh? You know it? The name of the main figure in the movie is Inspector Clouseau.

[49:15]

Right? And he has an assistant, a houseboy, named... I guess the English way of... the British way of saying his name is Cato. The Asian way of saying his name is Kato. Which also means Tangling Vines. Anyway, Kato's job is to attack his boss whenever he has a chance to test his boss's Bodhisattva spirit. So, it's a normal thing for Bodhisattvas to be attacked in order to help them realize non-violence. In order to help them realize non-harming. In order for them to demonstrate renunciation of any attainment. Like, I can walk across the room,

[50:20]

I can walk around my house, but as a Bodhisattva, it's okay to walk around my house, I just have to demonstrate not attaining walking around my house when I'm walking around my house. So, if I'm walking around my house and I think I've attained it, then my houseboy comes and tests to see if I think I've attained it by knocking me down and throwing me out the window. And then, can I get knocked down without attaining knocking down? Because after I get knocked down, he attacks me in my knocking down. I have to get up. So, it's normal for people to... and also to call yourself... It's normal for you to call yourself... How embarrassing. How wacky. How... Long list. It's normal. So, I'm not telling you

[51:22]

this stuff you're coming up with is abnormal. I'm just saying these are normal opportunities for you to have a mind of no abode. So, thank you very much for offering these examples of things to renounce. Examples of things that come up to the bodhisattva's mind so she can be non-violent with them, so she can not harm them. If you call me wacky, I don't want to harm that language or you or me. I don't want to be violent if you call me stupid. I want to be non-violent if you call me a disgrace. I don't want to hold on to my position as a Zen priest. If you say I am a Zen priest, I want to be non-violent with that. I don't want to be angry at you

[52:23]

because you said I was a Zen priest. You're forcing me into being a Zen priest. I'm supposed to renounce being a Zen priest. Zen priests are supposed to renounce being Zen priests. Are you a hotel manager? Hotel managers, bodhisattvas, are supposed to renounce being a hotel manager. And the people come into the hotel to help you, to challenge your renunciation, to see if you can let go of it by saying, oh, you're such a great hotel manager or you're such a lousy hotel manager. You're doing a really bad job of managing this hotel. And you just say, thank you very much. What can I do to help you? Yeah, right. To not be violent with them, right? To not harm them when they're not appreciative. And to not be violent, and to renounce them when they're praising you. To renounce not them,

[53:24]

but to renounce the praise. So thank you for your question, Tracy. You're such a good questioner. So we say thank you and renounce what we're saying thank you for. So now it's 12.15 and we could have lunch now if you want. John? Lunch? Ready for it? Are you guys ready for lunch? Okay, let's have lunch. May our intention equally extend to every being and place with the true merit of Buddha's way. Beings are numberless.

[54:26]

I vow to save them. Delusions are inexhaustible. I vow to end them. Dharma gates are boundless. I vow to enter them. Buddha's way is unsurpassable. I vow to become it. So I think a title for this talk could be Bodhisattva Vow Ceremony.

[55:06]

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