first time people who think so
huh
in this place our practice is
enlightenment
enlightenment is our practice here
we hear practicing enlightenment
ah
in this place our practices the practice of a buddha

someone said to me recently that
she shared a story about
our practice
or
missions are by she's memes that have a story about a bot sitting meditation
and then the story she told me was
it's about how we are supporting everybody and everybody supporting us or how we're helping everybody and how everybody's helping us that was her story about sitting meditation

and then we talked about stories for a while
another story is that the practice of a buddha
is
the practice of the buddha is to practice together with each person
a buddhist practice is practice together with each person
that's a story about a buddhist practice
a boot is sitting meditation would be
a practice of which has done together with each person

that's a story about the buddha's sitting meditation buddha's zaza
another story about buddhist doesn't is that
each moment or buddhism zen is equally
the same practice
an equally the same enlightenment
as the one who's sitting
and all bags
another way to say it is
his moment of buddha's practice or buddha's sitting meditation is equally the same practice and equally the same enlightenment
for both this and that
and the nice another dimension of the story is dimension
that if anything is excluded
from this practice it's not buddhist practice
what's not a buddhist practices if anything or anybody is excluded
so these days with
with so much
controversy
and argumentation going on among people

it's own
it seems to be quite a challenge to
remember
the practice together with each person
to practice together with each democrat and each republican
to practice together with
the people
who are
practicing the way of the ice scoop
it's hard to it's a challenge to
remember to practice together with each person and exclude no one
to have a practice or disclose one is quite a challenge
but they were the story is that's that's the buddhist practice
and then also ah
the person who tells me the story about buddhist practice
notice is that
ah this is be somebody there who is aware of the story
and i think that that's quite usual situation
is that a living being who has consciousness that seems to be somebody there who is aware of the story of what's going on like the story of
being in this temple together and the story of a buddhist practice which is to practice together with all beings there's that story and
in a sense i feel like i'm aware of that story and now you might be aware of estimate to
simply to somebody there was aware of the story and that is
that's a story about consciousness is that in consciousness seems to be somebody there and there seems to be a story about
life at this moment and is also a story about life before this moment which is called history
and then their stories about the future to which
maybe she called out her story
anyway the the teaching of the buddha's appears in our consciousness as a story so
somebody would say here's a teaching of the buddha i'm going to tell your story by the teaching of the buddha's teaching of buddha is that buddhist practice is a practice together with all beings also is another teaching that someone might say as a teaching of the buddha that the boot
oda is
the practice of a buddha the buddha is the practice of a buddha the buddha is the practice is the buddha is practicing together with our bags
that's a story about buddha and buddhist his practice
and that story occurs in consciousness and and the place where the story occurs called consciousness
where there seems to be somebody there
listening to the story
that place is a spun around a spinning
it's a giddy
so even if you tell that even if i'm telling you this story right like now contain the story
number one that the practice of this place is buddhist practice was buddhist practice buddhist practices the practice together with everybody and the place i'm telling you that story is a place where things are getting spun around by the story and the story i'm telling which i think as a great story and i'm so happy to
tell you and so happy to hear it
the place from killing it is a place where it's really easy to forget the story
and get distracted from it
and forget
can think well maybe i don't have to practice with this person
my factor in time not even say that just say i don't want to practice with this person and forget it i said a minute ago a buddhist practice is to practice with this person and that person and also that the practice of displays is buddhist practice
that
because
the story and also the story of whose i'm talking to is coming up and the story of who i'm talking him
to is this person is really difficult to practice with so i think maybe i'm not going to
wait a minute i just moved my guy said i've taken by a different practice when where you don't exclude anybody

well
saturday i like to talk about
yes
curcumin for me was that what you're describing requires a great
deal of fearlessness
it requires fearlessness yeah
is generally doesn't seem like it seems like the reason we don't practice with them
some people is because are free yeah
as they say in the movies this looks like a job for buddha
buddha is fearless some but i can practice with all those people who we might be afraid to practice with the buddhist practice is to
become free of that fear to face that fear and
and to find a way to not have that fear stop us from being practicing with the person we're afraid of doesn't even mean you get rid of the fear may still be afraid but you may say cool i'm afraid of this person but i i understand that the buddhist practice is to practice
with everybody including the people you're afraid of
so it can like i'm afraid and yet i'm fearless because i'm going to face to fear
the summit something i think while the buddhist doesn't have any fear maybe
but if the buddha sees fear the buddha practices together with that person that fear person
so
that's why as part of the reason this is a difficult practice is we get distracted and also we get frightened
the practice with some people like last night i was having a tea with the people that green ocean for in the practice period and one of the people said
can we have as actually we got my house and he said crew here a sleep over
i saw i'll check with my wife
but
i was actually a little scared of having a sleepover
have twenty eight people sitting over my house
scary
and i have forgot to ask my wife has all but during my me to ask for tonight

and i'm not predicting what you will say
what
the imei yeah right i'm and i ask her but i'm not predicting what she's gonna say
but i vowed to listen to it
would you mind me
when you eat when you hear are raise your statements are are outrageous amazing statements like this like the practice of a buddha is to practice together with each person
that may be difficult to understand like hockey to do that or whatever or really etc
if you'd if you're having trouble understanding the practice which is to practice together with each person
one recommendation is listen to it
listen to what listen to the practice of a buddha
is the practice together with each person listen to it
and listen to it on tell you understand it
like you listen to it and then you think that that person's really scary
listen to that too
and then again the practice of a buddha is to practice together with each person including this scary person
and i listened to it again and again until finally understand ah now i understand
how to practice together with each person or now there's a understanding a buddhist practice but we have to listen to it over and over probably
i've been listening to this teaching over and over
i liked the when i first heard it but i'm still continue to listen to it to understand that to understand it
yes
the understand that person or just to accept that there
have compassion for the difference
i think he said he isn't necessary to understand the person or is it is is is maybe he didn't say enough necessarily but could it be just that you have compassion for for your difference you have compassion for you have compassion for this scary person and you also have compassion for euros
beer beer own fear
yeah i think it starts with that
so this is talking about how to have the practice of a buddha you see you're saying do you have to understand in order to have the practice and buddha
it's more like if you do start practicing if you learn how to practice with everybody and that takes a lot of compassion
you are you will arrive at the practice of a buddha and when you had when you arrive at the practice of buddha you will understand the other person but before you understand that person is also before you understand the practice of a buddha
but we have this instruction which is
you can approach the practice of a buddha by approaching practicing with everyone
so here's somebody
some scary person so you are you start to open up to the idea i'm practicing together with the scary person
i'm practicing together with the story in my mind that this person is scary
and i understand if i can practice with that and the other ones then the practice of buddha will be here and a practice buddha comes along with understanding
go ahead
the way i understand it
a down to the person's shoes be in that person's shoes and knowing that if i was feeling like that person probably had the same my frame
seventy eight the same way
but that doesn't mean that that person is behaving the way through it
why doesn't he know that person
the i can have compassion for them and the understanding that way but that does not mean i have to agree with them right right
i right doesn't mean you have to go with him
but but you might be able to say even though i don't agree with you i i can
i can which has what's the word
i've been there i've then where you are but i'm not there anymore but i've been there and i can understand how you feel that way but i'm not there now
i could hurt that i think i've heard that one of these and maybe desmond tutu he was i think i heard of him but anyway somebody in africa was being tortured and he and he said to the people who are who are torturing him he said
huh i've been there i kind of a kind of know your app
and i mean i think than stop torturing but anyway
i think they did but they don't always stop torturing
but it was a
a moment of where he felt he says he supposed they expressed understanding where they're coming from even though he's not coming from there anymore but he kind of understands that and they've kind of
what kind of got it i heard a story which might have been out him tourism with something like
do you think your mother would like you to treat me like this like you're treating me
like you to treat me the way you're treating would likely to treat me the way you are anyway
it it has something into what your they're practicing with them and when you're close and practicing you can save kind of things like
and say you might not even
you might not actually be able to get into their shoes but you might be able to say those are nice shoes you have
where did you get him
you know it can actually get into those shoes but you can really appreciate and like those are really amazing shoes
and then if then you're somehow in their shoes because they're and shoes choose new are too
another story
it's like you find it so you find you know they're beating you open it and there they are afraid of you and they hate you and you're not afraid of them but
you're practicing with them
are you are afraid of them but you're still practicing with them
and but you're not into torturing people you're not in not into that but you are in two shoes and they are too and so you say to them was a really nice shoot
the ferragamo right
they say a you know that well i'm i'm like you i'm an other a shoe aficionados
i have put fetishes do you have those too
in the story which i've told many times as there was this man elapsed in the state hospital in las vegas new mexico
and i think as a las vegas in new mexico and they have state hospital there and this person named milton erickson who was a healer
he went to the hospital and there was a patient there who his story was he was jesus
and he was actually kind of attached to that story
just like you know i don't know you're starting my be that you're here london
right
and yeah i know if you're attached to that but and where he was attached to his story and a very intense way
and if if people didn't
you know acknowledged the story and agree with him
he wouldn't talk to him or relate to them and on nobody would really like agree that he was jesus
at the hospital and milton erickson went to visit and he didn't exactly agree that he was used as he just said to him i understand you're a carpenter
and the guy said and right said when you build these in bookshelves
and the guy built the bookshelves
and then he was in and he was released from hospital in other words i think the reason no has released the husband was after that he still thought he was jesus but he would talk to people who didn't think you who didn't think he was jesus
just like you probably would talk to people who
the who did who don't think you're linda right
so that's why you're not in a mental hospital
but if you would only talk to people who thought you were linda that would be really stressful for you
but you might be able to find some people who did say okay you're linda
but no nelson didn't say your jesus he just don't understand your carpenter that he could they can meet their we can find a place to meet and there's a place to meet with everybody
but if they say they're jesus is kinda scary how do you find a place to relate or i owe you say your jesus okay
where'd you get their shoes which geta sandals

yes account
that's what i said that's the story i told
and i and i certainly don't want to attach to that do i
no i don't
and you can tell me to see if i'm attached to it
but you can't give me attached to it
yeah

ah or you mean he means sometimes
you see a practice with towards the school somebody
anyone who's practice is that what might say i know it might be your practice and buddhist practice together with buddhist practice together with each person who thinks they're not practicing with everybody all the people who think they're not practicing with
each person the buddhist practice with all those people
all the all the people who hate me the buddha practices together with them each one of tournament so if i am
aspiring the buddhist practice and i would practice together with all the people that hate me
luck that i have the story that they hate me
i would practice with them
and if they are not pressing together with everybody i would practice together with them i mean if they think they're not
really they are buddha is the one who understands the reality that we are practicing together with every person
so the practice of as practice of reality in reality we're practicing together with all the scary people
southern but what if we don't practice that we don't get it we think i'm gonna stay away from that scary person little do we know that when you say i'm gonna stay away from that scary person this is your way of practicing with them
like i can say to one of you i could say you are so scary i'm just stay away from you and you may feel like that was very intimate of him to say that
and if in fact we are intimate but if we don't practice it we don't realize that buddhists do practice it and but as do realize it by practicing that he put it didn't practice that they wouldn't realize it but buddhists do realize it which means they do
ooh practice it if we practice it that practice realizes it if we don't practice it even though it's already the case it's not realized by a lack of practice
and so if i noticed some shrinking back from some person and saying i'm not going to practice with them
that can happen that's not the end of the story as a hope i'll practice with a shrinking back
our are rather i'm going to join the practice which doesn't shrink back from my shrinking back would it doesn't shrink back from my shrinking back
what is practice doesn't
anything you like to just of the algae won't talk about yes
that's because buddha doesn't have anything right and so if you want to be like a buddha not have anything practice together with every person
if we practiced together with each person we won't have anything
so rather than just are like gonna get rid of everything that's one way to go but another way to go is just practice together with each person and you will find out you don't have anything
it's a yeah they'll take all my stuff or maybe so
it's not so much that they will take all your stuff but rather all your stuff will be taken
but rather just have it all taken one to practice together with everybody and then it's all taken but you also get to to buddhist practice
and i were to join join the reality club
yes
what he said the source of fear nothing
you don't want to identify the surface
so you can you can put it that way or turn around own sake there isn't you're scared is going to you think that scary person is not you
and buddha understands that have everybody is buddha buddha understands that everybody is hurt yourself so the buddha teaches everybody is your yourself
and if you don't get that you will be scared sometimes initially to scare all the time because some people who you think are not yourself you think they're really cute and you want to be close to them and they let you but some people you think are really cute you want to because they won't let you and then you're scared that they won't let you
but you still don't think they're yourself because if you think somebody's you can understand that to yourself you don't have to get close to them you your heart is close you're gonna get
precious
may i offer shoes you definitely may offer as used or it we've been waiting for you to give us a history
on thursday on a came out of eating at a shelter with a pair of new boots on
around the car cause or rainy and interval he can a man approached me and he was admiring my boots when they ran boots they were they were roots boots their roots is what he says those reports they cost two hundred and thirty dollars wow i used to own a pair wow and then he went we help me hold my feet
what and explained i bought them on life for a hundred and fifty
he sat and then he was like wayne that for a while he was checking the size up and it dawned me he wanted my boots he was going to steal my foods
and he thought it became clear he was debating how much get from the boots so but he was timing how much he loved that this when he was able to afford these foods so i offered in their boots he is wearing all period cashews as well on the trip choose what size you wear and he wore attend the hat
why i said that he said forget about
hooker
think the history

me
when
server that story is perfect with illustrates what you were saying
he was going to steal your boots
and you met him exactly where it was
right in which is what was talking about well what's in comment have we thought about these boots we both like those nuclear recruits and then you you kept me carry the truth and left me the truth he didn't want to studio due to the they through its actually that's how that worked behalf that it was cool india was just meeting instead of being afraid which
maybe we're but still because maybe he's going to pull night that take your it's just like you just how did you have met him right there

hence the splintering maybe two if he couldn't handle it
you know that it's hard to handle with your construct that you have others down when someone comes out you
different who

yeah well everybody that comes
is changing us
he changing his
let's the last
ah the us is a sense that somebody's here
i could change it from us to me everybody that comes changes me
i'm a different me when you can then when amanda comes or linda comes or jason camps have a person accounts changes me
and when a lot of people come on at once
then i'm gonna changed you know he really big way
turn stereoscopic change
and so then i might be i might feel like what can i really like except as new person
so that time
if i can open to hot things coming from
from many directions and changing me in many ways and i'm making a major change i can open to that and i can open to the dharma
the self can open to the time
hess
for a new tack to that spinning yeah
it was that and didn't quite get there was that would you refer to as may be coming in changing
yeah and also also i'm referring to the
the the introduction to the story about giorgio can note and the dog having buddha nature or not introduction to that case and book a serenity says even a highly cultivated person is sell to still turned about and the stream of words
so our cosmic consciousness where the words of the teaching appears like and comic consciousness there's the towards the practice of a buddha is the practice together with each person does words even though those words i wonderful teaching bitterness and even a highly cultivated per
she gets turned by those words
some people get turn and say that
cool some people get turner said that's scary some people say i disagree some people say that's ridiculous
our simple little sandy they'd just get turned
but even a highly cultivated person gets turned what's the difference between highly cultivated and not very highly cultivated the highly cultivated when they get turned they don't get disoriented
they just they change orientation but they don't lose their orientation they remember
what they're doing
which is trying to practice together with everybody why they're getting spun about by the names of all the people and the opinions that they imagine that people have and the needs that they imagine the people are bringing to them and so on this stuff is spinning them just like everybody else but their train
and to not remember that they're here to hear the dharma then they remember i vowed from this live on throughout countless lives to hear the dharma they remember that when they can getting spun by the words by training
we train herself and john was able to kind of remember something about his vows when he was getting turned by the words of the conversation with that guy
so whatever he was thinking at that time he didn't lose or hicks he wasn't totally disoriented even noise orientation was changing quite a bit
by the conversation and conversation and normally change our orientation that's that's a normal even for a highly cultivated person but kind of cultivated person stays up not about is upright is a bright isn't bright isn't a bright isn't isn't bright his upper
right but the situation is changing in the people's faces are changing and that means the words are changing
friend enemy big guy little guy robert
donor all these words are flying can we can we stay upright with it and if we can't we have a practice called confessing i lost balance i'm sorry for my try again
we train and train and train to not avoid being spun because that would mean we'd have to exit cosmic consciousness
as i mentioned many times karmic consciousness is characterized as been giddy
and giddy means to be excited to the point of disorientation
of distraction so you have a bodhisattva
coming into comic consciousness they vowed to benefit all beings they vow to practice the practice of a buddha
they vowed to practice with all sentient beings they vowed to save all suffering bags
with no exceptions that's the vow
and they're getting spun around
this vow this is aspiring being as being spun
and i tried to not get disoriented from their vow either they're spinning in the words
in the faces in the screams in the cries of the world they're listening to the cries of the world listening to the cries of the world and trying to remember
what was the point here again oh yeah i'm listening to the cries the rubbed yeah i'm listening the cries the world
i'm listening crazy world to liberate the cries of the world that's right i remember
yeah
ourselves
outside stay
thinking is mostly i'm thinking as barriers that the input it's translated into the input is is is affecting us like the sound of a bell affects us and then we translate them
the the song of the the sound of the bell is is an image of it and imagination of it is created in this kind of conscious it kind of consciousness in some ways is more giddy than just our sense organs
but that's what we learn
the buddha dharma we don't learn the buddha dharma so much just from ah
attack you know the touch on the arm
we don't actually have a we don't have we don't really suffer with
a touch of an arm we suffer with the story we have about this we stuff it because it was who suffer because the story we have about the touch we believe is the touch
but being a touched is not a story but we don't know all the ways were touched
so we know a little bit about him but really we don't really know anything about them what we do as we know our story about the touches
and if we attached to the story about the touches then we suffer and they were afraid and were at risk of
on behavior
really wrote the way we're being touched the buddhists sees the were being touched is that we being touched by the whole universe
and ah and we are touching the whole universe we are helping all beings in they're helping us estuary were actually being touched
on the skin by sound by light by ideas that's the way we're being touched we make up a story about that immense
porterfield are interdependent mutual support we make a story about it
in that space with next story stories things are spinning around
and the way we're gonna not be disoriented is to learn to not grasp the story
if we don't grasp the story
we won't be disoriented from the story of living
the practice the board away
and when we practice of would away than we realize the way we're actually being touched all day long and the way we're touching were being touched by the universe and were touching the universe were supporting the whole universe and whore universal support these economists is involved
now
that's not the problem the problem is
that we've make stories about it
and that's not a problem either
the problem is we think the stories
our the universe which is touching us and the stories are the way we're touching the universe
i told a story about that but that's not the way it's happening that's just a story about it
yes
i stood is even like the kindness and generosity
when we make a story of it and we make importance to it the act of on kindness and violence
he comes
a distraction to the one was to take it takes them back
is it even the kindness when we make a story of it he just stop right there
you're kind to me
jim's kind to me gordon's kind of everybody's kind to me when i make a story of that
that's not a problem he if to those story i'm making about their your kindness to me when i attached to the story of your kindness that suffering
it's a nice story i'm happy to have a story that you're kind to me
buddha says you are trying to me really would it can see that
we cannot see how are kind to each other the way were kind to each other is much too rich for arc arc our comic consciousness to understand to see
and all living beings are supporting us having cosmic consciousness everybody's kind to etc buddha seas
so and we make stories about how people are kind to us and once again if i attached to the story about how you're kind to me
that's suffering now if i should you also in your kindness you support me to have dreams
a general kind to me sometimes i dream sometimes i imagine sometimes my consciousness make the story you're not kind to me
that's a sad story
but if i don't attach to it no suffering
if i do touch to this story you people are not kind to me suffering but also if i attached to the story that you're kind to me suffering
if i don't attach to any stories i realized everybody's kind to me
if i don't i attached to any stories i realized i'm kind to everyone
i realize it but i don't know it i can know it i can't know how i'm supporting you i can know how i can just have a little story about it
and i might have a story or i was helpful to somebody
i might have this true
and i might have the story i wasn't helpful to some i might have this story
the buddha practices with both those stories and doesn't attach to either
and realizes
that we are been kind to each other
we already know
a world where it looks like we're not kind to each other have you seen that one
we know we know that world that's our kind of consciousness where some people are not been kind to other people when we got that down
we need to practice with that world without attaching to it and when we don't attach to the world where for some people are not been kind when we don't attach to it will realize that there's another world of the buddha's body where everybody has been liberated and where everybody's been kind
to each other
the meantime we have this great challenged to practice together with each story including all the stories of unkindness or potential and kindness and fear of potential and kindness or fear of moron kindness which is potential and kindness
that's the so
if we do that practice we will realize what buddhists have realized
which is
that were all practicing together with everybody
and the else this morning
huh
yes
when
thousand
five thousand people leave here five
five thousand people leave the buddha's teaching shop
this is something like let them go now the nominee twigs in these
sometimes there is pretty useless in front
the translator thought
to think that the of translate thought that
well if the translator was me know
do you think that useless an appropriate word to put in i don't not have to look at the character but
sometimes useless brackets or the brackets
buddha practice to get practices together with each bracket
they took border practices together with the people who leave his teaching assembly
practices together with them but still sometimes it may be good for them to leave because it would not be good if they heard the teaching and said something bad about it because then later
he would be difficult for them to accept it because they say well can be so embarrassing if i if people saw me receiving this teaching which i said was no goods so good at once doesn't want people push people into a corner where they have to reject the teaching so if it's gonna be
two wonderful for some people
the better if they leave and come back later
in a way i sometimes feel like unless you offered to people that easier it is for them to accept it
but as you start to offer more and more some people feel like all this is just too much this this is you're too kind
you know
is sometimes the buddha's gift is soul
immense that some people are not ready for some and would like system okay
how m t k i can i can handle some tea
or how about some water
this is leeann
non cafe and water
the buddha offers us water and then for some people
may offer
some of the things which are
it's a given that i was too much too many jewels for me i wrote to do with that
and that's often lotus sutra that
can you have one more story
so this
this these parents had this child and the child goes up for a walk one day and gets lost and then can find her way home and then she just gives being lost more and more
and the parents send out search prisoner can't find their child
and the child's last for like fifty years
and then
the child is like last and it by the where this child's parents are very very wealthy
very wealthy wealthy or then kings and emperors
anyway this person gets lost from his wonderful parents and his wonderful affluent comfortable home and in his last state he he becomes destitute and emaciated
he used to have nice boots
but now he's barefoot and a are filthy and by chance he one day and his is desperate wanderings looking for some food or something or some clothing
he happens to by chance he forgot and he happens to come back to where his parents are living and he walks near his parents' home
and it gets to the place where they live and he looks up at the house where they live
which is like a really kind of an amazing place with like a big stairway in going up to the house he looks up there and he sees actually sees his father and mother
this wonderful father and mother and he looks and he thinks those people if they see mice destitute emaciated filthy self they probably would be offended my my order and you know and want to get rid of me so i better get out here
and just then the father looks down and sees
his child and calls to his attendances
that's my boy get em bring him back and the servants go running down the stairs to get him into guy sees them coming you thinks they're coming to
you know
clean area of him and he passes out in fear
and the father says oh i get it
cause his servants back
the guy wakes up sees a still live and runs away
he thought i'll just tell my boy
the too much
a face when is
he failed so in what when the love of all beings comes to him
and the face at that he's actually a person comes from a family that loves rbnz fates when it's when it just coming to him because he's forgot it
simplify five six well this is not going to work for me just to walk up and tell him hey guess who's your dad
so he
he puts on some rags and puts filth on them so they're dirty rags and goes down and finds his son goes up to resist
a man and when my son says mrs yeah this is a kind people used to seeing so i got a job for you you want it he said yeah you can give you some clothes and some food and place to stay so great said it's a job show like elephant shit
it's a great
and in this way gradually anyway
he gets used to the
possibility that he could do a job and have a living in them and then he comes back about twenty years later he says i like a bit of
the leader of the group of elephant dung shufflers he said fine and then invite him into the house and gradually he can tell
you're my son and he can handle it
he can you know he gradually he learned how to open to who he was so i training is tax open to that we are actually
we are actually in the family of practice that practice together with each person
what for we're trying to open to that that's the reality returned to open to the reality is already there we have to practice to open to it and it's hard
what's already there
jennifer this afternoon or for the early afternoon
why can have lunch now if you like and
i'm not sure i think we could have us something of a work period and is pretty muddy out there probably so i don't know how much work we have today
but we couldn't more period where we just practiced together with each person just go around practicing together with everybody that can be the work period
okay
may i extend to every place where true
the as way the
their lives
the to say now delusions are exhausted all
the than
last
the to enter them
his way is unsurpassable ah to become