I often think of something I heard that Dogen said, Dogen being the person who, is the name of the person who supposedly wrote what you just recited, I heard that in the last month or so of his life, he said to one of his disciples, although concerning the Buddha Dharma, there are ten million things that I do not yet understand, I do have the joy of correct faith.

[01:03]

And he doesn't at that time exactly say what the correct faith is, but he did say, this is not other than what I've been talking to you about every day, this correct faith is something I've been talking to you about every day. So I, look, what did he talk about every day, or what do I, what of his words do I say, almost every day? He said, the true path of enlightenment is to sit upright in the midst of

[02:21]

the self-fulfilling awareness. Perhaps that's his correct faith, anyway perhaps that's his faith, and I think now that's, that is becoming my faith. Sitting upright in the midst of the self-fulfilling awareness. Now for one whole day we have sat upright, but were you and was I sitting upright moment by moment in the midst of the self-fulfilling awareness? The faith is that when I am sitting upright in the midst of self-fulfilling awareness,

[03:33]

at that time I am sitting on the true path of enlightenment. So, for me, it's a matter of sitting in that awareness and being clear about what that awareness is. Also in that statement he made he said, concerning the Buddhadharma there are ten million things I have not yet clarified. So I, when I think of that statement, part of what I understand is that even when I sit upright in the midst of this awareness, still there are perhaps 10.6 million things which

[04:43]

I have not yet clarified concerning the Buddhadharma. And that's because of that I continue to study Buddhadharma, but I study Buddhadharma according to this faith in the context of this sitting upright in the midst of this awareness. So, I'm sitting in this awareness and in that awareness I study Buddhadharma. And there's quite a bit to study. There's oceans of Dharma to study. There's oceans of beings to meet and practice with. There's oceans of relationships to clarify. However, the basis of this practice of studying the Buddhadharma, which is the one I'm trusting,

[05:51]

is to be in the middle of this awareness as I'm studying. So, Dogen says, from the first time you meet a teacher, without engaging in incense offering, bowing, chanting Buddha's name, reciting Buddha's text, confession and repentance, without engaging in any practices, before you start the practices, just sit upright in the midst of this awareness. Now some people think that Zen, when Zen teaches like this, that they're saying don't do bowing, chanting, studying scriptures, repentance. No, before you do anything, enter into the correct path of enlightenment. And then, from this position, of course, we do these inexhaustible practices.

[06:54]

But first of all, have the correct understanding of what we're doing. And then do incense offering, bowing, chanting Buddha's name, reciting scriptures, studying scriptures, discussing scriptures, memorizing scriptures, writing scriptures, giving mid-term exams on scriptures, being an excellent student of the scriptures, being an excellent student of ceremonies, being an excellent student of all kinds of practices, but in the context of sitting, always sitting upright in the midst of self-fulfilling awareness. That's my faith now, and I think maybe that's Dogen's faith, although I could be wrong.

[08:03]

That's my faith too, that I could be wrong. But part of my faith is, even if I'm wrong, I'm still sitting in a place where me being wrong is not that big a deal. Now, you have been doing all these practices, and that's part of the reason why I suggested to the people who are running the Seshin that we chant these scriptures during service. So you're hearing the Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 of the Sandhya Nirmocana Sutra, so you're learning about the Mahayana understanding of how the mind works. You just sort of happen to be getting exposed to these teachings,

[09:08]

and you're also hearing the Mahayana understanding of the epistemology, how you know things and the different dimensions of phenomena, right? And so you may not be completely clear about all the things in those chapters yet, right? Some of you may say, what's this happening here? I don't understand this. So it may take quite a while for us to understand these chapters, and there's more chapters. But it's in the context, this study of these teachings, these Mahayana teachings on mind, it's in the context of this awareness, this self-receiving and self-enacting awareness, which then makes our study of these scriptures in accord with the path of enlightenment.

[10:13]

People can study these scriptures, and some people do actually. The scripture you're chanting, the Sandhya Nirmocana, people can study that, but not sitting upright in the midst of self-fulfilling Samadhi. And still they're studying and understanding, to some extent, just like us, but they may not have the instruction or the faith that it would be good to study these scriptures within the context of the Samadhi. And if they don't, their study is to some extent misguided, and will be less effective. Now, in order to tune into this awareness, in the midst of which you can then sit upright,

[11:19]

I will tell you what I heard some old-time Buddha said. The mountains and rivers and hillsides and valleys and gardens and the great earth are born at the same moment as each person. And all the Buddhas of the three worlds are practicing together with you, with each of you. The entire world is born based on you.

[12:26]

The entire world is born together with you, the entire world is born based on you, and you are born together with the entire world. How should we understand this? How should we understand this? First of all, if we wish to understand it, we should not ignore it. Now, somebody might say, you know, it actually helps me to learn things by ignoring them. I'd say, okay, in your case, go ahead, ignore it. I'm ignoring this teaching. What is the teaching again that I'm ignoring? Oh yeah, the mountains, the rivers, the valleys, the hillsides, the poppies,

[13:30]

the great earth are born together with me, with you. That's a teaching which I'm going to ignore. Okay. Okay. Let us be resolved to understand it. How do you understand the teaching that the mountains and the rivers and so on and the entire universe are born together with you? How do you understand that? Let us be resolved to understand it. Someone asked me the other day when we were studying Chapter 8 of this scripture, which lays out the yoga practice to meditate on the teachings which you've been reciting in morning service. Someone says, how does one make progress in this meditation practice?

[14:34]

And I said, good question, because the first question in the chapter was how do Bodhisattvas make progress in the practice of this meditation? And the Buddha says, relying on, abiding in and relying on the unshakable resolution to attain enlightenment, to understand these teachings and to teach them. So when we hear a teaching, one of the main things that's needed to understand it is the determination, is the resolution to understand it, to understand that the mountains and the rivers, the valleys and the stars and the oceans and the great earth are born together with you. So when we hear a teaching, since this teaching has been given,

[15:37]

we have the opportunity to listen to it, to listen to it until we understand it. Sitting upright, listening to this teaching, is the self-fulfilling samadhi. So you sat upright all your day yesterday, today you're sitting upright. To sit upright, listening to this teaching, is the true path to enlightenment. What's the teaching you're listening to while you're sitting upright? The entire universe is born at the same moment as me. Each moment I'm born and the whole universe is born with me, depending on me and me on it. I'm listening to that teaching until I understand it. I'm listening to the teaching that the whole earth is born together with me until I understand it.

[16:45]

And sitting and listening is sitting in the midst of this samadhi, of this awareness. Do not think that you and the mountains and the rivers and the ocean and the great earth are not born together. Do not think that this world is not born together with you. Understand that the old-time Buddhas teach that your birth is non-separate

[17:55]

from the mountains, the rivers and the great earth. Do not think that you're separate. Understand that you're non-separate. Listen to that you're non-separate. It's okay to sit upright or in this room and do whatever you want. You can do whatever you want. It is a free country, at least in this room. You can do whatever you want, but while you're doing whatever you're doing, it's recommended by me at least that you live your life in the midst of this awareness. For example, some of you might be following your breathing. Fine.

[19:13]

But while you're following your breathing, please don't think that this person sitting there following her breathing is separate from the entire universe. Please don't think that. We don't need you to think that. Matter of fact, understand this person who's following her breathing is born at the same time as the mountains and rivers and great earth. Listen to that teaching. Be aware of that while you're doing whatever practice you're doing. All practices need to be done in this context. As far as I know. All Buddhas of the three worlds are practicing together with you. Non-stop. All Buddhas in the three worlds.

[20:17]

Past, present and future is one possible three worlds. In other words, Buddhas have always been practicing together with you, never have not been practicing together with you, are now practicing together with you and will always practice together with you. That's three worlds. Another three worlds is three levels of yogic activity. So no matter where you go in your yogic voyages, the Buddhas will be with you. There's no place, you can't leave them behind. No matter how high you go, no matter how low you go, the Buddhas practice together with all beings. That's the kind of Buddhas we have in this universe. The Buddhas who do not go with you wherever you are, wherever you're doing, the Buddhas don't get the title Buddha.

[21:21]

They get the title non-Buddha, but inseparable from the Buddhas. They're dragged along too, actually. How do we understand this, that all the Buddhas are practicing together with you every moment? First of all, look at the practice of a Buddha. A Buddha, what a Buddha is, is the practice of a Buddha. That's what a Buddha is. And what is the practice of a Buddha? The practice of a Buddha is to practice in the same manner as the entire universe and all beings. That's the practice of a Buddha. It is not the practice, if it is not the practice of all beings,

[22:29]

it is not the practice of a Buddha. The practice of a Buddha is to practice in the same manner as you and me and everybody else. That's the practice of a Buddha. So, of course, the Buddhas are practicing together with you and me. If the Buddhas are not practicing together with you and me, that's not the practice of a Buddha. From the moment of attaining realization, all Buddhas practice and realize the way together with the entire universe. The spiritual source of this tradition is that you and the Buddhas are not two.

[23:47]

All the practices you ever will do in your life can be practiced in the midst of the awareness that whatever you're doing, you and the Buddhas are not two. Someone might say to you, don't think that you and the Buddhas are two. Do think you and Buddhas are not two. Sit upright and listen to the teaching. Sit upright and listen to the teaching. You and the Buddhas are not two. All Buddhas are practicing together with you. And once again, even if you don't want to practice,

[24:58]

they're still practicing together with you. They don't abandon you if you forget that you want to practice, or if you forget what the practice is, or if you remember that you want to practice but you forget to practice, they're still practicing together with you. Because the practice of a Buddha is to practice in the same manner that you are practicing. Buddhas never exclude your body and mind. Do you wish to exclude the Buddhas from your body and mind? If you do, they still don't exclude you. We must understand this, I think, in order to enter the path of enlightenment.

[26:11]

If we continue to listen to this, if we listen to this and listen to this and listen to this, we will understand. And if we don't listen to this and we notice we're not listening to it, and we confess it, or rather if we wish to listen to it but we don't, and we confess it and repent it, we will return to listening. And we will understand. And when we understand, we will be in the midst of this self-fulfilling awareness, and we will be on the path. And then we can follow our breathing, work in the office, study scriptures, offer incense, follow our breathing, work in the office, study scriptures,

[27:20]

cut wood, say hello to people, put band-aids on, change diapers, do all the activities in the midst of being upright in this awareness, and we will be on the path. If we forget, we simply forget where we are. And what's happening. And usually we revert to another version of what's going on, which is that we're separate from each other and separate from the Buddhas, and operating on our own. And then greed, hate, and delusion arise, and you know what happens after that. However, even when we forget, and greed, hate, and delusion arise,

[28:24]

and we poison ourselves and enact a poisonous relationship with our environment, even then the Buddhas continue to practice together with each of us. They do not shrink back or exclude us when we completely forget about their compassion. It doesn't hinder their compassion from their side. It's just that we are rejecting it because we've got better things to do. Namely, to be an all-powerful one ourselves. And that slipping and that misunderstanding of what's going on, we come by honestly as biological organisms. And, again, it's not bad we're that way. As a matter of fact, if we weren't that way, we wouldn't have Buddhas,

[29:25]

so it's kind of good that we have the ability to imagine things like... I'm practicing by myself or together with a few people that I like who are cooperating, and the Buddhas, I don't know what's happening with them, but I don't see any around here, so there probably aren't any. Because, you know, if I can't see them, then there aren't any. If I don't see any friends, there aren't any friends, because I know a friend when I see one, because I know what a friend is. And I know what a Buddha is, and these people are not Buddhas. And I don't care if Buddhist scriptures say that only a Buddha can spot a Buddha. I know what a Buddha is, and I don't see any. And there's no Bodhisattvas here either, by the way.

[30:26]

And no Zen masters either. There may be some Zen priests, but they're not very good Zen priests anyway. And I don't care if you tell me that the Buddhas don't exclude me when I talk like this. I exclude them. And that was fun, thinking like that. So it's actually quite simple, even though it's very different, just to sit upright and listen to the teaching

[31:33]

that all the Buddhas are practicing together with you every moment you sit. No matter what you're going through, whether you're in pain or pleasure, encouraged or discouraged, diligent or non-diligent, grateful or ungrateful, mindful or unmindful, no matter what, all the Buddhas are practicing with you and listening to that teaching, listening to that teaching, you are on the true path of enlightenment. And on that path you will, when the time is right, be diligent and mindful and wise and compassionate. You will be a splendid Bodhisattva and a great Buddha on this path. But whatever level of development you're at now, still, the Buddhas are practicing with you. If you become more developed, they'll continue to practice with you.

[32:33]

Listen to the teaching that when you listen to this teaching, you are on the path. Please, listen to that teaching. Hear that teaching. Sit upright and listen to that teaching. Remember that teaching. Listen to that teaching. Remember that teaching. And you will be doing, or I should say, the Buddha work will be done at your seat. Together with all beings and all Buddhas, the work will be done, will be unhindered when you're listening to the teaching. And even when I say, when you listen to the teaching,

[33:41]

in some ways I would just say, listening to the teaching. Not so much that you even do it, but just there's listening to the teaching. So Dogen says, when even for a moment you express the Buddha's mudra, the Buddha mudra. And what is the Buddha mudra? The Buddha mudra is to sit upright, or stand upright, or walk upright, in the midst of this awareness. When you express this Buddha shape, this Buddha mudra, by sitting upright in this awareness, while you're sitting, while you're walking, while you're thinking,

[34:42]

the entire world turns into enlightenment. It isn't just that you're on the path of enlightenment, the entire world realizes the path of enlightenment when you sit upright in this awareness. Is there anything you want to bring up? I don't really understand the term self-fulfillment. The Chinese, it's a three-character compound.

[35:51]

First character is self, second character is receive, and third character is to employ. So if you break that compound up, it might help you understand. So the idea is, it's a concentrated awareness of how you receive the self, and how that received self is used. When you see, when you're aware of how all the Buddhas and all beings give you your self in this moment, when you see how you're born together with the whole universe, and the whole universe is born together with you, that's the self-receiving awareness. When you see then how that self that's received then gets to like sit and walk and talk and plant flowers, when you see how that given self then is employed and given, that way of seeing self-received and self-employed,

[36:55]

that's the fulfilling way of seeing yourself. When you think you've already got yourself, and you don't see yourself being given to you, and out of that grateful vision see yourself act, that's not a fulfilling way to see yourself. And another way to translate that compound of receiving and employing is enjoyment. When you see yourself that way, it's enjoyable. Life is enjoyable when you see how it's given to you. Life is enjoyable when you see how everybody is giving you life. Even if they're giving you life as a person who's in great pain, you still have the extreme joy of seeing the whole universe create this painful person. And although you're in pain,

[37:59]

you're also overwhelmed by gratitude and love, both that you're receiving and then giving. And seeing yourself receive the love of all Buddhas and give the love of all Buddhas, if you're in pain, it's not that big a deal. But to be in pain or pleasure and miss out on this, nothing's more unhappy, nothing's more unfortunate than to miss the opportunity of seeing this, this true path of enlightenment. This is the fulfilling way of understanding ourself, this is the enjoyable way of understanding ourself, namely, all of you support me and this supported person supports you back. All of you make me what I am.

[39:01]

The enlightenment of all of you creates me and then that enlightenment which creates me resonates back to you and helps you inconceivably, perfectly accurately and then back and forth, resonating back and forth. To listen to this Dharma is self-fulfilling, self-enjoying, etc. Does that make sense? Yes. Yes. Well, it is my faith that sitting in that way is the true path of enlightenment. That's my faith. But to sit that way is also my faith. But it's not just to sit that way, it's also understanding

[40:02]

that this path, this is the path of benefiting all beings. I think that's faith too, yes, I would see that. It's kind of a shorter version of the other one. It's sitting upright. Actually, you said even if you don't understand, so then you made it longer again. I said even if you believe you don't,

[41:08]

you're not in the midst of self-fulfilling Samadhi. Right, right. So in one case you have sitting upright, thinking that you're not in the midst of the self-fulfilling Samadhi. The other is sitting upright, not think, the other one is just sitting upright and thinking that all the Buddhas are supporting you to sit upright. So sitting upright, in fact, if you could just sit upright without any thoughts of that the Buddhas were supporting you or weren't supporting you, either way, that would be the practice too, because the Buddhas would be supporting you. You don't have to think that, but usually people have some other thoughts like that I am sitting here by my own power, I'm doing it or not doing it, and sort of to counteract that we sort of have to listen to this other teaching. And so to have the awareness that we are supported

[42:09]

and we are practicing together seems to be necessary in order for us not to slip into thinking I'm not practicing together with all the Buddhas and with all these other people and I'm doing it by myself. But in fact just to sit means that you understand that you're not doing it by your own power. Most people sit and they add on to that I'm doing the sitting. They have some understanding that they're doing the sitting. If they would drop that, that would be the same as sitting with the support of all Buddhas. So another version of this is sit upright and drop all body and mind. That's the same as sit upright with the understanding that all Buddhas are supporting you. Because our usual body and mind means I'm sitting here, I'm doing this, I'm practicing Zen. So drop that body and mind is the same as understanding all Buddhas are supporting you.

[43:11]

Yes? You call this the true path of enlightenment. I don't know if you're quoting Dogen or if it's your words, but what does that true mean? I think it means it means unmistaken. So it's possible to be on a path of enlightenment that's not the path of enlightenment, that we just think is the path of enlightenment. Can you imagine that? You would be supported by all Buddhas on that path. Yes, you would.

[44:20]

But it's the wrong path. But if you thought you weren't supported by all Buddhas on that path, that you were doing it on your own, then that would undermine or be somewhat mistaken, and you wouldn't enjoy that as much. So this is a more enjoyable path? It's more enjoyable, yes. And it's filled with these positive things, like gratitude. It's more like I'm feeling gratitude than being pissed off why people aren't grateful to me. I'm doing all these things for them, or for some of them. Why don't they do anything for me? It's that path. The path of complaining and blaming is the one where I don't remember that all the Buddhas and all beings are supporting me. So the path of enlightenment that I'm walking

[45:22]

where I feel ungrateful, that would be called not the true path. Even though I'm trying to walk the path of enlightenment, I'm basically pissed off with all the other people who are not cooperating. But I'm trying to walk the path of enlightenment and get these other people to, you know, cooperate with me, rather than be grateful and appreciative to them the way they are, supporting me. Whatever that is. So this is not a... So, yeah, somehow we use the word true. I think a couple of times I said path of enlightenment without saying true. In some sense I prefer to say it that way. But there is this issue, you know, about people thinking that they're walking the path of enlightenment

[46:26]

and practicing together with all beings and all Buddhas. Yes? Yes? Yes? Well, what I mean is the way all beings are supporting me and awakening me,

[47:29]

that resonates from me back to them. The way that the enlightenment of the rocks and the flowers and the mountains resonates to me, then it resonates back from me to them. This is not my idea. I don't actually understand conceptually how the mountains and rivers are supporting me. And the way that they're supporting me then makes me, and the way that they make me and support me resonates back to them. So the way I'm made helps them. The way they help me resonates back to help them. That resonance I can't see. It's not something I can recognize. It's more of a teaching that I listen to. So I'm sitting in the midst of the teaching that everybody's helping me and everybody's giving me life

[48:32]

and everyone's supporting me and assisting me to live. And this way that they're helping me, that way that they help me resonates back from me to them. So back and forth we help each other. But my view of how they're helping me or not helping me is not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about listening to a teaching that all the Buddhas are practicing together with me. I can't see all the Buddhas. I can see you, but I don't see you like you're a Buddha or not a Buddha. I see you and I hear the teaching that you are helping me, that you are supporting me, that I'm born of you. I'm born of you. You are helping me. You are giving me life. My life is you. I'm practicing the practice that I actually am doing

[49:33]

is a practice which you support. And also all the Buddhas support me too. I can't see the Buddhas. I don't know what Buddhas look like. But when I listen to the teaching that you and all beings are giving me life and I'm born together with you and I'm practicing together with you and you're practicing together with me, listen to that teaching, I'm on the right path. It's the asking for acceptance. And if you listen and accept it, it sounds different to me.

[50:33]

I can listen to it, but I feel like if I want to have faith, I should accept it. And I will accept it. So, I don't think I've heard you say acceptance of the teaching. If you're listening, but to me it seems like if I accept it, I would have faith. You said you didn't hear me say accept. I mean, I'm not sure. Yeah, having it to see and listen to, to remember and accept. So, I listen to it, I listen to it, I listen to it, and then after I listen to it, I start to remember it. And I listen to it and I remember it and I listen to it. And then, in that way, I start to accept it. Listening to a teaching which is different from the way I'm basically built, it transforms me.

[51:35]

If I, for the rest of this day, would think several thousand times, for the rest of the day I would think, all the Buddhas are practicing together with me, my nervous system would change. Certain neural arrangements would slip and slide around in me. I would become a different person in relationship to that type of thinking. Certain other habitual ways that I think, like a certain percentage, somewhere below 100, of the people in this place are supporting me. Not everybody here is supporting me every moment. That thought would start to slide around a little bit if I thought the other thought several thousand times today,

[52:43]

and it's possible that I could. How about a hundred? Well, I would do a little. A hundred is certainly possible. And you can shorten it, you know, to make it go faster. All Buddhas are practicing together with me. All Buddhas are practicing together with you. So all Buddhas are practicing together with me. All of you are practicing together with me. That's good. But then also all the Buddhas are practicing together with you. If I start this, if I say to myself, all the Buddhas are practicing together with you, you look different to me. When I let that thought in my mind, I see all these Buddhas around you, in a sense. They can be little, kind of cute little Buddhas, or, you know, they could be old Buddhas, baby Buddhas, tiny Buddhas, huge Buddhas. But anyway, I have this sense of the aura of divinity

[53:44]

around every being I meet by thinking that thought. And I'm not going to... It makes it less likely that I would be disrespectful towards someone when I feel the Buddhas... You know, when I feel that the Buddhas are helping you, I kind of like... Even if you're being, I don't know what, I still might be more patient with you if I feel you're surrounded, you're totally ensconced by Buddhas. It can be kind of funny if you were like, just imagine somebody with Buddhas all around them and then they would say some wisecrack to you and you would be nasty back to them. My little brother used to... He used to go, and then get behind my mother. And he thought I could see my mother, right? Which he's right, I could. So I couldn't get at him because he's behind my mother.

[54:45]

He'd stick his head out. So people sometimes do tease us. They stick their head out from behind the Buddha and go, and sometimes we swat them, you know, because we don't see the Buddha that's... the Buddhas all around them. But if I actually look at people and see the Buddhas around them and also feel the Buddhas around them supporting me, I'm not going to swat them so likely. Even if they're being, which they, as you know, can do. Like my grandson, his first reaction to me is usually, It's not, it's not, He almost starts, almost every time he comes to see me, he runs over and goes, But it's actually easy for me to see the Buddhas around him. So I kind of like, I just go,

[55:46]

Be careful, don't hurt me. Don't hurt me. So as I think of that, it sinks in. It's not just thinking like, Oh, I think that and I accept it. It's more like, by saying it over and over, it sinks into your body accepts it. Your mind accepts it. You start seeing things differently. I do have the experience that when I look at people and I say, This person could be a great Bodhisattva, it has an effect on me. And I didn't, you know, and that teaching I read several times, over and over, I read that and I thought about it quite a few times and it's had an effect on me. But when I'm thinking, and particularly when I am thinking it right now, if I think this person named Carol I'm talking to could be a great Bodhisattva, it does have an effect on my body.

[56:48]

It makes me kind of want to sit up straight and open the part of my body below my sternum. It makes me want to kind of like open this to the great Bodhisattva who might be over there. Doesn't seem like you should be crunched up in a ball when you're meeting a Bodhisattva, right? You want to like, Hey, here's my tummy, want to rub it? I'm not going to, I don't, hey, I'm not going to defend myself against great compassion and love which might be that person there and [...] that person there. So that's, that's, that's kind of accepting it, letting it sink in. But I often use the example during session

[57:49]

at the beginning of session sometimes I feel like when I'm talking it's a little like pouring water on dried plants. The water tends to sort of beat surface of the earth, or run off. So don't pour too much water on it first, but more just kind of spray, and then it gets more moist. And by the end of sashin, you pour the water and it just goes, it just goes right in, because the people are getting more and more porous and more and more moistened over the week, by the process of this practice, period after period. You said yesterday that consciousness doesn't reach you. So this process that you're talking

[58:51]

about, the consciousness, the ordinary consciousness which sees objects, dualistic consciousness, human consciousness, doesn't reach the Dharma. So this description of the way that we listen and start to accept and it becomes part of our body, this is still within consciousness. So what's the relationship between this practice of transforming the body and mind and the realization which is not part of consciousness? The relationship between what and what now? The way that you're describing that we work with this teaching by listening. So if one is in a mode of dualistic consciousness, one is listening to a teaching that all Buddhas

[59:52]

are non-dual with you. So a dualistic consciousness listens to a teaching of non-duality. And listening to a teaching like that starts to transform the being that's listening, who still for a long time is generating dualistic thoughts, but you're listening to a teaching which will help you not believe dualistic thoughts. Yeah, but you start more and more to not believe what you see, but to understand that what you see is an appearance, and understand that there's another way that things are that doesn't manifest within appearance, and the way things are is that everybody's helping everybody, everybody's assisting everybody, but that's imperceptible in dualistic consciousness.

[60:55]

But you still see dualistic consciousness, I mean dualistic consciousness is manifesting, and that's the conventional world where you can name things. In the world where everybody's assisting everybody, things aren't appearing as separate, and when things don't appear as separate, language breaks down and so on. Conventional designation doesn't work. So at the ordinary conventional world, and again I'm talking about some other kind of teaching now, and this teaching that you're hearing now, it's recommended that you listen to this teaching in the context of the other teaching, but the basic context is that you're practicing together with all Buddhas and all sentient beings, now hearing some discourse on the transformation of consciousness as taught in these scriptures, where it describes how dualistic consciousness gets transformed into a non-dual consciousness, and part of

[62:00]

the way it does is by becoming aware of itself, and gradually, even while it's still operating, not to believe the way things appear, not to agree, oh yes, it's really true that we're separate, I see that we're separate and we look separate, but I don't agree with that anymore. You actually stop believing it, and they often use the example of, we're like in a magician show, our mind is a magician, which creates this sense of separation between ourselves and Buddhas and ourselves and each others, that appearance is created by our nervous system, but we're not in touch with the skills of the magician. When we go to the magician school, we realize how the illusion is created, and we still create it because we're making a living as magicians, but we don't believe it, but we still can see it. The uneducated, the people who haven't gone to magician school, they still think it's

[63:02]

real, they think those really are that way, the magician knows it's an illusion, and they can turn the illusion off too, but they only do that after they collect the fees. Which is what we do too, and for us, collecting the fees is being able to talk, being able to live in human society. There's a later stage, however, where you actually can turn it off simultaneous with turning it on, and that's what a fully developed practitioner can finally do, that you actually don't even turn it on. But to be able to not believe it is a tremendous relief, and hugely liberating to just not believe that you're separate from other people. To have your body actually feel that, even while it appears, so that you don't feel hatred and greed with regard to anything. You're cured of all the poisonous

[64:04]

consequences of believing this illusion, but you still can't simultaneously see both the world of reality and the world of illusion simultaneously, not yet. Yes? So, if consciousness is...I'm just going to ask the same question I had, but I guess it's the same with...if awareness can't be known by the conscious mind, and yet what

[65:05]

you're saying when you use the word belief...I mean, it all comes back to the idea that consciousness is a bridge. It always sounds as though there's...although I don't hear it in the teaching, and I can't say it, but there's a bridge, because who's believing it? In other words, from the place of awareness, it's...from the place of awareness, dependent co-arising is understood. Yes? That would be nice. Is it? Understanding of dependent co-arising can illuminate consciousness, can illuminate dualistic consciousness. But does dualistic consciousness...so you are saying that? Understanding can illuminate dualistic consciousness, but dualistic consciousness can't understand

[66:08]

dependent co-arising, can't reach it, because dependent co-arising is not dualistic. But a conscious understanding by non-dual consciousness does reach it, but that's not what we usually mean by consciousness. A consciousness which doesn't have objects... But are you using awareness in that way, as a consciousness that doesn't have...as a non-dual consciousness? Well, you can also call it consciousness. A non-dual consciousness, in a sense, does realize dependent co-arising. However, it doesn't realize dependent co-arising as an object, because it doesn't have objects. So that's why it says in the noon service chant, all this, however, does not appear within consciousness. That means...or perception, that means does not appear within dualistic consciousness, because that which can be

[67:09]

met with recognition is not realization itself. So the realization of this process of interdependence is not reached by dualistic consciousness. But it is realized, but the kind of consciousness that realizes it is the consciousness which realizes it is the dependent co-arising. It is that process. That is the consciousness. That is actually our one mind. That's the one mind where we are practicing together harmoniously with all the Buddhas. That is the consciousness. But that consciousness doesn't recognize anything. It doesn't see objects, because it doesn't see objects as separate. So in that sense, we just say this doesn't appear within what we ordinarily call consciousness. But still this teaching is for consciousness which recognizes objects and is using language. On day seven...

[68:31]

Well, there's seven altogether. Even if the machine doesn't work, the toys will be seven. Was there anybody else? I see Linda's hand raised, but anybody else that didn't call on had their hand raised? Yes? In sort of a very simplistic way, when Susan was talking about the relationship between... I'm not going to reiterate what Susan was saying, but that relationship was to me what is faith, in that when the body starts transforming, when faith starts soaking into the body and

[69:38]

transforming it neurologically, you might even say, then that faith starts to become more like conviction. Is that what I was thinking? Are you able to answer me? And when you... If you sit on this cushion for seven days, that is an expression of faith, that you think that that might be a good thing to do in this lifetime. And if you listen to this teaching, that is an expression of, I guess, a feeling that, or an understanding that it might be good to listen to a teaching. And if you listen to it over and over, that's an expression

[70:41]

of faith that it might be good to listen to this teaching. And if you do listen to it over and over, you might become more convinced that this teaching is helpful to listen to, and then you might listen to it some more. And if you listen to it more, you might become more convinced, because as you listen to it more, you feel, yeah, I feel this is the way I want to live. I listen to this teaching and then I find myself living and being with people the way I want to be. So I was attracted to Zen because of stories of people which may never have occurred, but I looked at the stories and I said, I want to be in that story. I want to be with people the way those people are with people. And then listening

[71:41]

to this teaching, I think if I would listen to that teaching, which would be similar to just telling those stories over and over, if I would just tell those stories over and over, and think of those stories of the way those people were. Think of stories of generosity over and over. Think of being generous over and over. Thinking of being generous is very similar to seeing how generous everybody is to me. Everybody's giving me life. Everybody's letting me live. All of you are letting me live. You people letting me live is generous. And thinking about how kind you are to me is basically me thinking of those stories that turned me to Zen in the first place. And the more I think of them, the more I think, oh yes, again, this is why I came to practice and this is the way I want to live. This is the way I want to be. This is the kind of life I want to live. And these teachings go

[72:43]

with that. So which teachings go with the way you want to live? You get to decide the way you want to live. What teachings support the way you want to live? I'm telling you teachings that support the way I want to live. For me, this is a teaching that supports the way I want to live. Namely, all Buddhas are practicing together with not just me, but me. Not just you, but you. All Buddhas are practicing together with you, helps me in my relationship with you. All Buddhas are practicing together with me, helps me in my relationship with you. And I think, from what I can tell, all Buddhas practicing together with you helps you in your relationship with me. I think, seems to. And me resisting this teaching, ignoring this teaching, seems to go with me not having

[73:46]

the kind of relationship I want to have with you. And seeing other people resist this teaching, seems to go with them not being with me the way they want to be and not being with me the way I want them to be. But it goes with being patient with people who don't want to practice this way. Because even people who reject this teaching are still practicing together with me, and all Buddhas are practicing with those who are rejecting this teaching too. So it helps me be patient with people and be grateful to people who are ignoring and fighting against this teaching. Anything else? Yes? Did you say invoke the presence of Buddhas? Yes. Would I?

[74:55]

Would I recommend that? I think it would be great if you did, but I don't know if I'd go so far as to recommend it. Like, I don't, I sometimes see great movies, but I don't recommend them. I don't want to mix my, I'm cautious to mix my recommendation in with this wonderful thing of you seeing one or more Jizos around everybody you meet. But I think it would be wonderful if you did, but although I think it's wonderful, I hesitate to recommend it because I don't want you to get into doing it because I recommended it. Okay? But for you to always have Jizos around everybody you meet, I think that would be really, really great. I think it would be great if I did that with everybody. And there's plenty of room for Jizos, for, you know, Avalokiteshvara's, Manjushri's. Wow, that would be great.

[76:04]

But I don't know if I'd recommend it, just because of the psychology of human beings. Because if I recommend it, somebody might say, well, then I'm not going to do it. I don't want to get in your way by recommending anything, but I would, I totally support that visualization. Also, just a general, you know, cosmic dust of infinite bodhisattvas around people, so many that you can't see the individuals, that's also really great. Just a general sense of wisdom and compassion totally enveloping everybody you meet, which of course starts to spill over around you too, right? Fine. Linda? When you spoke in teaching about having the Buddhas all practicing with us, then I felt

[77:11]

some really, like, opening and positive feelings. And then I conceived another idea, and I started to feel a lot of fear. And I wanted to ask you about this image that came up, and it was, instead of seeing your grandson, Carol, somebody that you could really easily see as a bodhisattva, what if you saw somebody coming at you, you know, with a weapon and hitting you hard, or hitting somebody that you love very hard? Would you see them as assisting you? How would you see that? Same. Same. And then, seeing them that way would help me interact with them in a high, you know, would promote my martial arts practice. That's not a problem. I mean, is this one of those problems which I'm believing is

[78:18]

a problem, but it really isn't? I'm thinking realistically that imagining people that I like as being bodhisattvas is not a problem, it's easy. But imagining people that are doing evil as bodhisattvas makes me filled with fear. Oh, imagining an evil person as a bodhisattva? Or imagining... The way I more do it is, people who appear to be evil might be bodhisattvas, but not everybody is a bodhisattva. It's slightly different. It's not that I imagine everybody is a bodhisattva, I more imagine everybody might be a bodhisattva. And, see the difference? Because we're not saying everybody is a bodhisattva, we're not saying everybody is someone who like really feels that they definitely only want to do kindness to everybody that they

[79:22]

meet, and they really do feel kindly towards everybody they meet. We're not saying everybody is in that particular mode of existence. Okay? But I imagine, I try to remember that everybody might be. But, even those who I imagine might be, or even those who I understand are not, still they're surrounded by bodhisattvas. And because they're surrounded by bodhisattvas, if I remember that, it makes me more skillful in interacting with them. Almost like I can use the bodhisattvas to help me be skillful with them. Like I can go, do you guys have any ideas about how I can relate to this person? And then they say to me, I think it would be good if you were ready for whatever with them.

[80:23]

So you consult with the bodhisattvas that are surrounding this dangerous person, and they give you good advice about how to respond to them. But I don't think that this person will not attack me. So again, my grandson is such a wonderful example because I don't think that he won't attack me. I don't think that he won't throw some fairly hard, sharp object at me at any minute. So if he's got some kind of like, something like a rock or a baseball bat or something, this is a martial arts situation because he could any moment swing those things at me or throw those things at me. So I'm, you know, in an unpredictable way, so I'm kind of like, and I generally speaking when I'm with people, generally, but not every moment, I sometimes do slip, I'm generally ready for whatever. And I'm ready for them

[81:28]

to slap me, spit on me, snarl at me, kick me, and or abuse me. I'm kind of generally open to that. And imagining them as supported in practicing giru with the buddhas encourages me to face such dangerous situations. So everybody I meet, basically, I see it as a dangerous situation where they can hurt me and or I could hurt them or hurt them back when they hurt me. This can happen with anybody, I feel. That's part of the potential. But understanding the context of our relationship helps me like, be up for it. Because I don't have to figure out all by myself how to like, be ready for this and respond skillfully. I have a lot, tremendous support. And even if I'm unskillful, I still support it. And that helps me then make the best contribution

[82:46]

I can make in relationship to them, which is sometimes like, not much. But one of the contributions that I can make because of this view is I cannot hate them. I cannot wish that something bad will happen to them. And wishing that something bad will happen to someone does not, starts to close down my options. Limits me, it's small, it's tight. Whereas opening myself to the possibility that this is the great Bodhisattva, I have lots of options and lots of intelligence supporting me. And it may be that once in a while, when there really is some negative energy, there can be a good response. And the stories that turned me to Zen were exactly, some of them were exactly stories of where there was definitely negative energy and where somebody like saw this person as like their beloved friend who

[83:50]

had negative energy and they were practicing with the Buddhas and they woke the person up. Not in the course that, it isn't that they were always able to do that. Everybody has got their limits of their skill, but it's in this context of non-violence that we work with our fear. And we don't say, this beautiful little boy is safe. We say that, but we don't fall for that. Beautiful little boys, beautiful little girls, they can hurt us, they can spill acid on us, they can drop a knife on us, they can do all kinds of things accidentally and they can do these things on purpose. My grandson on purpose hit me with a hammer when he was a little baby, you know, and now he on purpose tries to hit me with these things. But now he stops just before the blow lands, he stops, but he still likes to do that. He still likes

[84:52]

to go, woof, woof, woof with me. I don't know, he doesn't do it with his grandmother, I don't know why, but he likes to do that male aggressive energy thing with me and, you know, and I tell him, no, [...] which makes him feel really powerful, I suppose, that he can scare this big guy. But I never so far, anyway, for five years, no ill-will towards him. I could get into ill-will though, if I forget, you know, if I forget the context of all this, I could get into ill-will with this person. So if I could get into it with him, if I forget, of course I could get into it with other people if I forget, but when I remember, ill-will has no place to land,

[85:54]

it's too crowded with Buddhas and beneficent support and gratefulness, ill-will has no place, and greed has no place. It's too chock-full of interdependence, but if I look away from it, then greed and ill-will can pop up. It's quieting down now. Yeah, that happens as we approach lunch. If I raise my hand now, there won't be lunch. May our intention be placed into every being and place. With the true merit of Buddha's

[86:59]

way. Beings are numberless. I vow to save them. Delusions are inexhaustible. I vow to end them. Dharma gates are boundless. I vow to intervene. Buddha's way is unsurpassable. I vow to become.

[87:37]

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