Call forth as much as you can of love and respect and faith. Drop all obstructions. Let go of all your involvements and listen to the perfect wisdom of the gentle Buddhas taught for the benefit of the world and intended for heroic spirits. Homage to Shakyamuni Buddha, homage to Nagarjuna, homage to Dogen Zenji and Edo Zenji and Sennei Zenji and Kyogo Zenji and Banjin Zenji who transmitted this precept light to us. Okay, so by way of review, in commenting on life is not killing and life is not killed,

[01:13]

Zen teacher Kyogo says, life says not killing or not taking life is the zenkigen, is the manifestation of the whole works. By the way, this expression, life is zenkigen, that is from Dogen Zenji in a work which is called Zenki, or it's called the whole works, and in Zenki Dogen gives this teaching of life is zenki, death is zenki, life is zenkigen, death is zenkigen. So now Kyogo is taking this teaching from Dogen and using it to comment on Dogen's

[02:20]

comments on the precepts, so you might want to read Zenki, Fastical of Dogen, and I won't get into that fastical right now. Okay, another main point is this expression that the precept light of the Buddha issues from the mouth according to conditions and is not without causes, and this light is not blue and so on, is not form and so on, and this expression actually is a slight variation

[03:26]

on something that the Buddha said, I don't know what sutra this is in, but it's quoted in a work by Ejo Zenji called Absorption in the Womb of Light, and when the Buddha emerged from the flower light absorption in emptiness and sat on a diamond throne of a thousand lights, he explained the light of the unique precept in this way, the light of light is not blue, yellow, red, white or black, it's not form or mind, it's not existent nor non-existent, it is not the result of a cause, it is the source of the Buddhas, it is the basis of

[04:34]

the Bodhisattva way, it is the root of all offspring of the Buddha. So this quote is being used here to talk about what the precept light is. Now also I want to remind you of this quote by Nagarjuna, the first verse of his fundamental verses on the middle way, at nowhere and at no time can entities ever exist by originating out of themselves, from others, from both, or from a lack of causes, at nowhere and at no time can entities ever exist by originating out of themselves, from others, from both,

[05:35]

or from a lack of causes, so I would say then that this is a description of what we call real life, that this is what we mean by uprightness, that this is what we mean by not killing life and this is Zenkigan, this is a description of Zenkigan. This is not to deny that something appears in this world, this is not a reputation of the appearance or the arising of a body, it's not saying any reputation of that, it's denying any conceit about what this body is. It's talking about the way the body really is, it's talking about an upright body. An upright body is one that doesn't imagine itself to be existing from itself, from another,

[06:45]

from both, or from no cause. It's just a body, and such a body and mind is what we call upright sitting. This is also what you call, or what I call, and what you may call, no evil, this is no evil. Never are there any existing things found to originate from themselves, from something else, or from both, or from no cause. This is called no evil, which you can also say by saying, no killing. And this is also an affirmation, this expression

[07:49]

by Nagarjuna is an affirmation, it's an affirmation of dependent co-arising. It negates existences and things by themselves, but it affirms real life, it affirms Buddha's teaching of dependent co-arising, it affirms a life of no evil, it affirms real life. It affirms a life where you're free to be yourself without striving to be something else. As a matter of fact, striving to be something else is evil. It is actually to violate this precept. Striving to be something else is not killing, but it is violating the precept, Buddha's

[08:52]

precept, about not killing, because Buddha's precept about not killing, what it means is that you, as you are, is the total manifestation of the whole works. And I might again just briefly mention that this classical Zenki is particularly about the dynamic working of what we call indra's net, about the inner penetration of all things. So this is about the emptiness of existences, but also an affirmation of the vast interconnectedness of all being. That's why this thing is the manifestation of this total interconnectedness of the whole works. So there again, the interconnectedness and the awareness of interconnectedness is affirmed by this statement. I'll xerox a copy of this work by Eijo for you to read, and in that work, talking about

[10:12]

the Buddha teaching about this unique light of the precept, he again says, This light is not any color. It is just the fire god being read all over. This light is not a color. It is just white people being completely white, which is not that cool in certain ways, right? Considering what some of our friends have done, we'd rather have a little color. But there's no color for white people. We're just white all over. It is the clay ox running on the bottom of the ocean, and it's the iron ox having no

[11:16]

skin, flesh, bones, or marrow, having no skin, flesh, bones, or marrow of birth and death. In other words, just being an iron bull or an iron cow. So, this teaching of Nagarjuna, this teaching of Dogen, this teaching of Kyogo, this teaching of Eijo, all these teachings are about this, what we call, dependent co-arising. And as soon as we violate the one precept, as soon as we go against the light of the unique precept, by not trusting this light, which is just the fire god being read all

[12:24]

over, as soon as we flinch from uprightness and try to grasp something, at that moment dependent co-arising turns into dependently co-arisen birth and death. And not only that, but dependently co-arisen birth and death is not just a neutral birth and death, it is one that you're hooked into. You're in bondage to birth and death by your contribution. So, as soon as you touch it, it's your baby. You've got to take care of it now. At least for the moment of its arising and the moment of you're in bondage at that moment. But dependent co-arising also is the source of dependently co-arisen suchness.

[13:30]

There's dependent co-arising for Buddhists and there's even birth and death for Buddhists. Buddhists are a response to dependently co-arisen birth and death. And the bodhisattvas willingly enter into birth and death to do their practice. There's no place for bodhisattvas to practice except by karmically created birth and death. However, their practice is not birth and death, their practice is suchness. Which again, is the practice you do without delay. In other words, it's the practice you always do right now with what you've got. And a practice like that shows deep faith in this light. So again, as we said before, the ultimate repentance is to sit upright.

[14:46]

Sit upright means to sit like this. To sit like this, upright like Nagarjuna's description in the first verse. To sit like that, to sit like this sitting does not exist from itself, from another, from both or from no cause. This sitting is not a thing which is the result of a cause. It's also not without a cause. There is no such thing as sitting. And that's why I sit. Sitting is an expression of my deep faith in dependent co-arising. When I sit, I say, I love the teaching of dependent co-arising. My sitting affirms the teaching of dependent co-arising of the Buddha. My sitting makes the teaching of dependent co-arising of Buddha alive.

[15:47]

Without our sitting, this teaching is just a really interesting thing that somebody said once, which a bunch of people someplace are probably talking about, but we don't know. Somebody's got to make this alive. If you love that teaching of dependent co-arising, then you can use sitting as an expression of your love of it. So to sit quietly, expressing your total gratitude for this teaching, is the same as to sit quietly and contemplate the true marks of things. The true marks of things is that they have no marks, and they have no marks because of the teaching of dependent co-arising. So you calmly contemplate dependent co-arising, which is the same as you celebrate dependent co-arising. It's not an object. Contemplating does not mean you think of the teaching as an object. You are the life of the teaching. In that way, you sit quietly, steadfastly.

[16:53]

Because you believe in this light of the precepts, it's called always being vigorously steadfast in that faith. And it's also a path for heroes, a practice for heroes, because a lot of people would be willing to do a practice that they knew something about, and that was deportment within the realm of hearing and seeing. But this is a practice which is a realm beyond hearing and seeing. It's not something we can get a hold of. So how can you dare to live your life in such a realm where you can't get anything out of it? This takes real courage to do this. Now, of course, we sometimes lose our courage and we're sitting in meditation with no courage, and we're making it into a thing.

[17:56]

That's okay. Maybe even something that you think is interesting, fun, beneficial to you. That's fine. But as long as you make it into a thing, you're not a hero anymore, in the full sense of the word, of being willing to do it in all worlds at once, with all beings, and basically just do it as such, rather than for anything or seeking anything. Just sit. Everything else is vanity. So that's kind of a review. I think there's enough on the table now. Maybe you want to see if you can work with it.

[18:59]

Any... Sue? Well, just on the last point here on the board... It's painful to say your name that way. That was a real renunciation. You were actually hurt right in here. Yes? Thank you. You say, when you enter into the realm of birth and death, that's dependent on coercion, and suchness is also dependent on coercion. Everything is dependent on coercion. So why bother to even say so? Why bother to say so? Yeah. Why do we even... Why do you put it on the board? Why do you call something dependent on coercion? Oh, well, first of all, we're saying that birth and death is dependent on coercion, okay? So the reason for saying that is... a couple of reasons. One is to show that birth and death... You don't have to really worry about that much, in a sense. I mean, you do need to worry about it because it's misery,

[20:07]

but you don't have to worry about it like, not only is it misery, but it's real. It would really be a problem if not only it was misery, but it actually existed. Then we'd just have to do more than accept it. We'd have to make a religion about misery. You know? We'd have to teach people that it was really good to suffer, and really our instincts were wrong. And we probably could do it if that was the case, but anyway, we're saying that birth and death is not real. Misery is real. And dependent co-arising is how you can find out that birth and death really is not anything at all. It's actually, if you look at it carefully, you'll find out that it's dependently co-arisen suchness. So, it's not just that birth and death is dependently co-arisen, but also there's a suchness which is also dependently co-arisen. So you should look for more in birth and death than just misery.

[21:11]

It's okay. And the vehicle to look for it is the same vehicle by which it arose. But that looks like you've still got a cloud over there. Well, to say something is dependently co-arisen, is that the same thing as to say that death is real? Or the same thing? Same thing, yeah. Because, and also, see, part of what Nagarjuna did, and he and his friends did, was they kind of revitalized the teaching of dependent co-arising because somehow over the years from Shakyamuni Buddha it's shifted from dependent co-arising of reality to dependent co-arising of things. The teaching was construed as how things are created by causes and conditions and how the causes and conditions which make things are also themselves things which have inherent existence. So they had to point out that the things that are making things happen

[22:19]

are themselves also made by things and therefore the things that make things happen are also like inherent existence. So non-inherently existent things are produced by other non-inherently existent things which is that expression, that basic expression of if this exists, then that exists. That was a teaching which Buddha said, which the later early Buddhists said, and then Nagarjuna had to point out that if this exists, then that exists does not mean if this exists by itself, then that exists apart from it. Or if this exists first, then that exists second. Exactly. It does not mean that. It means, and this is very good to go over again and again so you get it, and so you get a feeling for this. This exists, then that exists means that, well this is what he said here,

[23:20]

it does not mean that when one essence exists the other essence exists apart from it. On the contrary, it is because both this and that do not exist as essences, that when this exists then that also exists. But it's also good then to be able to take away the word essence and just say it straight. If this exists, then that exists does not mean that when one exists the other exists apart from it. On the contrary, it is because this and that do not exist that when this exists, that also exists. Essence explains the point, but it's good to say without the word essence in there so you get the punch of it in ordinary language, without bringing in the word essence. This exists and that exists means they do not exist independently

[24:28]

which also applies to wrong action and its result. There's not wrong action aside from its result, there's not a result aside from wrong action. They're the same thing, therefore neither one of them exists. You must have wrong action in order to have this result, you must have this result in order to have wrong action. Wrong action does not not have results. It does. And results are not without causes. But there's no cause and there's no effect. There's no before and there's no after. Why? Because they always come together. You never have one without the other. Therefore, since they both, because this exists and that exists means that it's not that this exists and then that exists apart from it, they're together. Therefore, they're dependently co-arisen. Therefore, neither one of them really exists. Therefore, you don't have to actually get involved in that. You can actually be free of wrongdoing.

[25:30]

If wrongdoing was real, well, we'd have to be involved in it forever and we'd have to keep making karma forever. There would be no liberation possible from it. We would just keep generating more bad karma and get caught more and more. Now, in fact, people do that, we do that, but you don't have to do it. So there is a possibility of dependently co-arisen suchness right in the same situation by this subtle shift which we call uprightness. But again, uprightness in this very pure sense, so pure, so brilliant, that any judgment any seeking any doing or not doing violates this precept. And you can do all you want about doing and not doing things

[26:34]

and you'll stay in birth and death. As long as you stay in the realm of killing and not killing, or to make it simpler, as long as you stay in the realm of not killing in the sense of not doing something which is the opposite of doing something else, as long as you're in that realm, you stay in birth and death. In order to get out of birth and death you have to get into suchness of things, in other words, this uprightness. You have to get into the Dharma. What's the Dharma? Well, one of the Dharmas is nothing whatsoever exists. You never are involved in any existence. Nothing in your life ever exists that's caused by itself, by another, by both, or no cause. You orient yourself towards that Dharma. You completely sit steadfastly, vigorously in that teaching. Your sitting is a vigorous, wholehearted expression of faith in suchness and you restructure the path from going towards

[27:35]

birth and death and misery through that very same place, not the slightest place else. You reverse the whole thing and there's a total reversal of the whole attitude without the slightest taint or way of doing it. And you keep thinking about this teaching as an act of devotion to this teaching. You keep thinking about this teaching as an expression, as a phenomenal, concrete expression of your faith and appreciation for this teaching more and more until there's complete settling in the teaching and then what you're doing is just the teaching, what you're doing is just the Dharma. And then it doesn't matter too much whether you notice that you realize it or not. You have. And as a demonstration of having realized it, you keep doing it. Again and again your life is dedicated

[28:37]

to this teaching, to this Dharma, to having your body and mind and vocal expressions be a celebration of this beautiful teaching of dependent co-arising. At that time, you know, this effort is totally met and a wonderful awakening party is occurring which you do not know about consciously, necessarily. You might get some inkling about it but that's not the issue. When it needs to be the issue, it will be the issue. And somebody will give you, you know, a pat on the head or something. Yes? Let me see if I understand this in concrete terms. When we talk about doing something and there's a result, I understand that from my background training that you do something and there's a result. When we say that because there is this, there is this, it doesn't mean that because there is this,

[29:39]

this exists independently. I don't understand that kind of thinking. It's not something I make up actually. So, what you're talking about is is the faith... Do you think that's being picked up, that question? The faith in this is that despite not understanding I proceed in my life actually this were the true reality by which I was living despite my lack of understanding it and go ahead and behave in that manner. So I go up and sit as though there actually were no sitting while a part of me said, well, you know, I don't understand this at all. Yeah, that's wrong. Okay, that's fine. So, I'm not supposed to do that. That's just the same thing as you've been doing all along. Now, what you did say, I think, let me see if I say what I think you said which I think is very important. I think you said when you hear something about because this exists then that exists,

[30:39]

when you hear about well, if there's a cause here then there's an effect that what your background is is that when you hear about this being a cause and this being an effect you don't think oh, this cause inherently exists and this effect inherently exists. You don't think that. You weren't taught that that being the case. Okay? But I would say you weren't taught that means you were taught that but you weren't taught that you were taught that. Yes. Now, some of you were taught that you were taught that. You took some philosophy courses or something and you were taught that you think that when there's a cause that not only do you think there's a cause but you think that cause exists. You were taught that. And you talk with a philosophy professor until you realize yeah, I really do think that when I talk about a cause I'm not only talking about a cause I'm talking about a cause which exists and this existent cause causes another existent effect. So you weren't taught that. You weren't taught that. You actually were taught that. Definitely were taught that

[31:40]

but you weren't made aware that you were taught that. Therefore, when we say this to you you say I don't do that. I'm not that kind of a philosopher. But you hold that philosophical position I believe you do. I believe most people do and they act just like they did. They act like they really thought this cause was an existent thing and the effect was an existent thing. They act that way by being upset about the way these things work. By getting even angry or upset about the way they work. That's a characteristic you can tell that they have that philosophical position. So now in your Buddhist studies you need to uncover your faith your actual conscious and unconscious assumptions about reality. You need to admit either you need to assert that you do not think that causes inherently exist and then tell us about what kind of existent you think they have or you should admit that you do have whatever position you have on that.

[32:42]

So I would suggest to you that you just try out that you do believe that every cause in your life and every effect in your life in other words everything in your life that you do think that it inherently exists. Try that out. Inherently exist means any category of existence you can think up. It doesn't mean inherently exist only means that you think this thing really is here. That's ordinary kind of inherent existence. This exists as it is right here really. That's what it means That's one kind. Another kind is it doesn't. It's the same type of it's the same world birth and death. That is both. That's the same thing same type of thing. In other words you've got a category for how a thing exists. In other words as soon as you got a category you've got a way it exists. You got it pegged. And as soon as you got it pegged well then there's something there that it inheres there.

[33:45]

It inheres as this or the photographic negative of it or two of them or neither. These are all possible ways and you can go on. But basically you have some position on it. Why not try out admitting it? So you don't go around saying that this doesn't have inherent existence because if you have the if you believe that it does when you say that you're just making another thing now called it doesn't have inherent existence. So you just be kind of kidding yourself to say I believe that teaching until you admit that you don't believe that teaching. Not completely. So believing that teaching or appreciating that teaching would be actually to start out would be to admitting that actually you have a habit of not believing that teaching. Appreciating the benefits of that teaching appreciating what this teaching is supposed to be able to do for you appreciating the results the fruits of people who practice this teaching might lead you to then

[34:47]

try to practice that teaching which would mean first of all that you admit that you that you have actually a tendency to think the other. So when you go sit you don't go sit saying this is not really happening this is really empty. You go and say one thing you say I'm celebrating a teaching which is beyond my my habits. That somebody's sitting here wasting his time and somebody else is sitting here wondering what he's getting out of it. And the more you admit it the more you maybe notice that I actually do believe that I actually do not believe this teaching. Part of me actually thinks things inherently exist and then you start to notice around that you start to find your outflows. So that's a very good example of how we generally speaking we're not told that we have this way of thinking and we now have to with the aid of Buddhist teachings uncover to what extent we have it and admit it. Our job is admitting

[35:49]

what's happening not what's supposed to happen. But when you admit what's happening that's what's supposed to happen. You're doing the practice. You have now become a devotee of the teaching of emptiness by admitting that you don't really think things are empty. That's what the practitioners of the religion of emptiness do. They admit their sins. They admit their transgressions. They admit their evil. What's their evil? It's that they don't really think like Nagarjuna. Well who knows how he thought. They don't really think how he talked. They don't really you know think oh there's nothing whatever exists caused by itself and so on. But they might meditate on that teaching and think about that teaching over and over as a way to notice that they don't really believe it and that dynamic will eventually settle the person. That dynamic being involved in that dynamic

[36:50]

is the settling process. That's what you call existential doubt. So when you're sitting you're actually in that doubt between the teaching of emptiness and your apprehension of inherent existence. Back and forth you're vibrating. But don't tell yourself that you think things are empty. Because that will trick you. That will make you think. That will be an artful trick. Like we were saying earlier. When you hear about true marks when you hear about dependent co-arising you might think oh true marks well I should get rid of the false marks and grasp the true marks. But that's not the way true marks are. So when you hear about dependent co-arising you might think oh I should grasp dependent co-arising and push away inherent existence. That would be a trick on yourself. When you hear about this teaching what you're supposed to do is you're supposed to admit that you're grasping inherent existence. Catch yourself in the act and then look there

[37:50]

and appreciate the teaching. Because the teaching is supposed to operate on these kinds of people. These evil people. Then bring the teaching in on your sins. When you've got something then bring Nagarjuna's teaching in on top of what you're doing. Yes. So does that apply also for when you're inviting us to accept the things that we're not given? So would it apply to that as hearing when you invite us to accept how we don't accept? Yeah. Same dynamic. Same dialectical process. Yes. And to enter into that process is what we call accepting the precepts for a person who feels that way. If you don't feel that way then you shouldn't make up that you do. If you accept the precepts and it's just wide open and you don't have resistance that's okay too. You accept the dynamic.

[38:51]

There's a dynamic there too. But you can't see the dynamic when you're open. Because the dynamic's in the dharma realm. There's a dynamic there between the fact you can't see what you're doing and you're living in a world where you can see what you're doing. There's a dynamic there. You have to admit what dynamic there is for you. You have to find the dynamic so there's a vigorousness there. So for people that feel by your example that would be their job. It would be to accept that. Now we have... I'm going to stop when the kitchen leaves. And they're going to leave at what time? What? Ten minutes. Okay, ten minutes. We've got ten minutes. Yes, Pam? Pam? Can you speak up? Can you hear her? Why don't you stand up this way and talk up? You understand? It's not dependent co-arising of emptiness.

[40:02]

It's dependent co-arising of suchness. Emptiness doesn't depend on co-arising. Dependent co-arising is emptiness. The identity. They're the same thing. Also, suchness is the dynamic between dependent co-arising of death and dependent co-arising of suchness. That's another dynamic. That's also suchness. I guess I was just remembering that we also used the word eternal emptiness and I wasn't quite sure how... Yeah, so when certain people have practiced the teaching of when this exists then that exists the chain of dependent co-arising as it was understood at certain points was that when this inherent thing exists

[41:04]

then that inherent thing exists. This thing causes this thing. That was an understanding that people developed after a while about Buddha's teaching. Nagarjuna came back by and said dependent co-arising itself is empty and all the entities in it are empty and the chain is empty. The whole process is empty. Every section every composition of the whole process lacks inherent existence. The whole thing is totally radiance. There's nothing you can get a hold of here. You can only enter it. You cannot know it but you can live it. You cannot get a hold of it but you can taste it. But not as an object. You taste it through your life. So he brought this emptiness in there so that people understood that dependent co-arising is identical with emptiness but also dependent co-arising is absolutely contradictory to emptiness because dependent co-arising actually produces existence

[42:05]

and emptiness is not existence. So there's a dynamic there but existence and the appearance of things are identical. And this term that the Chinese use for the identity between dependent co-arising and emptiness is a term which you use to put between things that are absolutely self-contradictory and equal. This is a wonderful this is the wonderful dynamic of Buddhism. When you say self-contradictory do you mean contradictory from one to the other or each term within itself? Both. Contradictory to each other and each term. Every self is totally doesn't obstruct anything else in the universe. Everything, every person every Zen practice does not obstruct anything in the universe. In other words it's the manifestation of the whole works. There's only one thing it obstructs it's self.

[43:07]

When things are identical they each obstruct themselves and they obstruct each other. But the life of the real intensity and usefulness and vitality of Buddha's teaching is that this whole thing that he set up is empty. Including himself and all the fruits and all the stuff it's empty. It's got to be empty to really work. And also empty allows that things appear. It's because of emptiness that we can strut about so wonderfully and that we can be the weird people we are. We are actually free. We can really as Dan Welch said lighten up based on the teaching of emptiness. But again you got to be careful it isn't by denying anything you know so we'll have harmony and have a good time. Okay. Pam.

[44:11]

What's the problem with thinking that you're going to get something out of this practice? What's the problem? Yeah. I shouldn't do it but it makes sense I'm going to do it anyway. Thinking that you're going to get something out of the practice is not a problem. But practicing to get something out of the practice is more than a problem I mean it totally defeats the whole thing. The problem of doing the practice to get something out of it is you're not doing the practice. The practice is to do it without trying to get anything out of it. The practice is to try to learn how to appreciate what you are rather than what you're going to become. In fact you are not going to become anything. It's not because this exists that that's going to exist. So it's more than just that it's a problem it's totally not does it work it's birth and death. But to think that you're going to get something out of the practice

[45:12]

is no problem at all you can do that anytime you want. It gets me into the Zen. It's how you get there. I was wondering why you were so irregular. I'm pulled along pulled along a string of hope and expectation and it's only when I get there and look at it carefully I realize. Well I see you're willing to do it. I was stupid. And even your confession of that problem you're doing is hoping to get something out of that. But actually I laugh. Yeah. Oh just to laugh. That's pretty good. That's an exception to the rule. You can try to get laughs. That's fine. Carol? Yes. So being identical. Which things is it that are identical? Well like dependent co-arising and emptiness are identical.

[46:13]

And they also are totally contradictory to each other. Because one's saying there's nothing there to get a hold of and the other one's saying look what just happened. That's a contradiction. Absolute contradiction in terms of all that they're talking about. Their whole being is in contradiction to each other. Each of them also contradicts themselves. Emptiness contradicts itself. If you make any self out of emptiness it will contradict itself. Dependent co-arising and everything that appears through dependent co-arising is self-contradictory. However, all the things in the universe are not contradicting anything else because they depend on everything else. Everything else is the support of each thing. Each thing is actually not a contradiction. Each thing is an affirmation of the entire universe. Each thing is a manifestation of the whole world. It's not contradicting. But totally appreciating its causal nexus. But itself it contradicts. Itself it obstructs. And that's how you relieve yourself.

[47:17]

That's how your liberation is by this teaching. By just being yourself. By when you're totally yourself. When A is A. And when you're totally committed to just A being A. The light of A not being A starts to be realized. It's always there. But somehow unless we are willing to totally be ourselves it's as though we don't believe that just being ourselves includes us not being ourselves. We think there's a thing called ourselves which is there which we should change into another thing called being a Buddha or a better person or whatever. Right? Charlie? Time's running short. One minute. Charlie. Why not say the appearance of dependent co-arising is dependent co-arising? Why not? You can say that. I'll think about whether that's okay. But the appearance of dependent co-arising is actually just one of the things

[48:20]

that dependent co-arising produces. That's just, you know, that's just to say that would just be to say that's the difference. Okay. The appearance of dependent co-arising is not identical to emptiness. Why not? Well, actually you're right. Form is identical to emptiness. But I think it's a slightly different statement to say color is identical to emptiness than to say dependent co-arising. Dependent co-arising is a different kind of statement than to say color. Dependent co-arising is all of it. Yes. It's this whole process of reality rather than just one example of a production of it. Okay. That's a difference. Okay, I think the time is up. The kitchen is going to leave now. So I hope that in your small groups the leaders, I think, are going to be studying and I hope you look at all these things and discuss them

[49:27]

and exercise your mind in these strange tracks of the Madhyamaka teaching which is, as you may know, the central teaching, the central dharma of the Mahayana Buddhist school, of all of them. This is the main thing. This is what makes possible the Bodhisattva's ridiculous life of willingly coming into the world of suffering in order to help people. Because the feet are not wet. No problem. And the chair might not be there. With the true merit of Buddha's way Beings are numberless

[50:28]

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 defend

[50:59]

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