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

[01:11]

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

[02:31]

My human mind sometimes starts moving in the direction of, why would they? And then I let it go. I don't know why. I just think it's amazing that people would wish for a great enlightenment. What I might say, for what reason, and also vow that will be expressed is, I aspire to great enlightenment for the welfare of all beings. There's some sense among certain beings that the highest enlightenment is for the welfare of beings, that the highest enlightenment is that which promotes the happiness and freedom from suffering of all beings. And therefore some people who want all beings to be at peace with each other might wish for unsurpassed enlightenment, might wish

[03:59]

to be realized in this world of living beings. Buddhahood which is the liberation of all beings. Buddhahood is the liberation of all beings. Buddhahood is the enlightenment and liberation of all beings. And some beings wish for that. So there's this wish, this bodhisattva wish for great enlightenment, for the welfare of all beings. And then there is... Where's John?

[05:11]

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

[06:14]

And support the realization of perfect wisdom. And the perfect wisdom is the mother, is the womb of Buddhahood. I mentioned last month, last month was January, we had an intensive at Green College. You came to visit, right? Oh. You came before January. Did you come in December? Yeah. So we had an intensive at Green College and the intensive, the topic was Avalokiteshvara is perfection of wisdom.

[07:23]

On this altar here we have in the center The large statue in the center is Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of this tradition in this cycle of world history. In front of him, a female figure representing the perfection of wisdom, a female figure whose name is Prajnaparamita. To the Buddha's left, is a statue of another female form, Kiteshvara Bodhisattva, who practices perfect wisdom. The Buddha is born of perfect wisdom and transmits perfect wisdom. Prajnaparamita is perfect wisdom. Avalokiteshvara practices perfect wisdom.

[08:43]

And to Buddha's right is Bodhidharma, a male form of Avalokiteshvara, who practices perfect wisdom. All the beings on the altar practice perfect wisdom. And in realizing it, that realization gives birth to Buddhas. That's the theory of this school. The vow comes to maturity as perfect wisdom. Perfect wisdom comes to maturity as Buddha. Buddha is the liberation of all beings. Bodhisattvas have this vow and in order to realize the vow, they wish to practice perfect wisdom.

[09:53]

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

[11:12]

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

[12:19]

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

[13:28]

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

[14:31]

This is training in perfect wisdom. But the training in perfect wisdom follows from the vow. First you vow to give life to all beings in the most liberating way. Then you practice perfect wisdom. which brings your wish to fruit. The totally radical Bodhisattva totally wants to help all beings without exception in the most radical way and also is most radical about herself and all beings. so radical that she doesn't even attain herself. She's so much herself that she has no self. She doesn't have a self that she has. The Heart Sutra says, the translation we do usually in the Heart Sutra is, with nothing to attain,

[15:39]

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

[16:44]

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

[17:47]

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

[18:50]

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

[19:51]

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

[20:54]

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

[21:57]

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

[22:59]

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

[24:01]

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

[25:04]

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

[26:07]

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

[27:10]

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

[28:20]

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

[29:26]

The nature of your mind is becoming Buddha. He wanted a teacher to transmit that to him. And I'm just amazed that this person just happened to meet teachers of all time. There's a strange coincidence between great teachers and meeting great teachers. So Yashan became a great teacher because he just happened to have the occasion to meet a great teacher in America. He got a chance to meet two great teachers. As a matter of fact, he got a chance to meet the two greatest teachers of his time. Somehow in all of China, somebody ran into them. So he ran into this teacher named Shi Tou, which means on top of the rock. Because Shi Tou sat on top of a flat rock. He sat there. and didn't attain anything.

[30:32]

There sat the Bodhisattva without any attainment, transmitting perfect wisdom. And this young monk, who had been trying to practice the precepts by getting them, found him, and he said, you know, I have learned Buddha's precepts, but I really need some help. With your great compassion, would you please help me understand the Buddha Dharma? So here, he's meeting somebody who I'm telling, in the book, if you read the story in the books, it doesn't say, he's meeting a great Bodhisattva. But I'm telling you, maybe he was meeting a great bodhisattva and he said, please help me. And the great bodhisattva sitting on top of the rock said, being like this won't do.

[31:44]

Being not like this won't do either. being like this and not being like this won't do at all about you. This was the bodhisattva on top of the rocks teaching to show 1E the Buddha. To transmit having nothing to the baby bodhisattva. But the baby Bodhisattva couldn't feel or couldn't realize the receiving of that precept. And he was just confused. He was just confused. He was confused. He had been trying to get a hold of the Bodhisattva precepts and it wasn't working for him. Now he's being given

[32:51]

a bodhisattva precept that he can't get a hold of. But he keeps trying to get a hold of it, but now he's not going to be able to get a hold of this one. So he's just confused. And then the great bodhisattva says to him, it's not going to work for you here today. I suggest you go see Master Ma. So he goes and sees Master Ma and he tells Master Ma the same story. And Master Ma said, sometimes I make him raise his eyebrows and blink. Sometimes I don't make him raise his eyebrows and blink. Sometimes raising the eyebrows and blinking works.

[33:53]

Sometimes it doesn't. How about you? This time 1E did not try to attain anything and anything, he received the Bodhisattva precepts of having nothing. And receiving the Bodhisattva precept of having nothing means receiving the precept of reality. And all beings were liberated. And he bowed to Master Maa. And Master Ma said, what have you seen that you bow like this? And one e said, now I see.

[34:59]

I was with on top of the rock, sure toe. I was like a mosquito trying to mount an iron bull. Sometimes they translate that as an iron bull. But the character actually just means mount. If you think about mounting, can't a mosquito get on top of an iron bull? Well, maybe so. That isn't so difficult for a mosquito. They can get on top of a real bull. Why can't they get on top of an iron bull? But it doesn't actually just mean mount. It means penetrate. mount and penetrate. He was trying to penetrate. He was like a mosquito trying to penetrate an iron bowl. He was like a mosquito trying to get an iron bowl.

[35:59]

That's what he was like. And that's what it's like if you try to get the Bodhisattva precepts. In other words, you'd be like somebody who is trying to get having nothing. It's enlightenment in this story. And so these bodhisattva precepts are not something to get. They're precepts about having nothing and therefore being a bodhisattva. They're about being a bodhisattva who has nothing. Therefore, a bodhisattva liberates all beings by this perfect wisdom. So this is a part of the large sutra on perfect wisdom. And at the beginning of chapter three, one of the Buddhist students says to the Buddha,

[37:18]

Bodhisattva, a great being, course in perfect wisdom. Have any ideas? What was that word? Course. Travel. Stride. Asha to Bodhisattva, stride in perfect wisdom. And the Blessed One says, here, Here, like here, here is bodhisattva coursing in perfect wisdom land. Bodhisattva, a great being, coursing in the perfection of wisdom, truly a bodhisattva does not review a bodhisattva. Nor the word bodhisattva. Nor the course of a bodhisattva, nor the course of perfect wisdom, nor the word perfect wisdom.

[38:27]

She does not revere that she courses, nor that she does not course. This is an instruction about how to course in perfect wisdom. This is the theory of Bodhisattva practice. This is the theory of how to realize the vow to save all beings. Practice like that. Well, it's high noon. So it might be a good time for me to say to you, good afternoon. And for me to look into this empty cup and see your future.

[39:31]

You will, you will uphold the Bodhisattva precepts. I'm receiving questions. I do not take what is not given. Do you have a question to give me? I mean, I should say, I vow not to take what is not given. I vow not to take your questions that are not given. Do you have a question to give me? Are you giving questions? Yes. Yes. Ms. Apple? So, there's a wish to liberate all beings. There is? Great. Right. You're supposed to remind me about that. That's the wisdom part. Oh, there's also that, but that's not mentioned at this point. The Perfect Wisdom Sutra says, if you want to understand what Buddhas understand,

[40:35]

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

[41:56]

How wonderful. But because of misconceptions, they don't see it, they don't realize it. The way is basically perfect and all-pervading. Why do we have to practice? Because unless we practice, we don't realize that the way is perfect and all-pervading. What's the way? The liberation is the way. The way of freedom and peace is all-pervading. But if you try to have anything, including that, you will exile yourself from this freedom. That's the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra said that. comment that outside of this room that sounds so that whole thing sounds just wacky wacky and that you know when i so i tell my friends where i was today it was a bodhisattva ceremony oh it's the bodhisattva found and i just used to do the sympathy it sure

[43:02]

makes it sound like I think there's a sense of being right in my white horse and I'm going to save him. It's a little embarrassing to say those vows. But then if I try to explain this whole thing, it's even... It's embarrassing to say the vow, and then if you tell them that there's no... then it's wacky. So it's embarrassing and wacky. Well, if you want your friends to think you're wacky, you know what to tell them. But if you want your friends to be free from suffering, you know what to practice, which is not necessarily telling them that stuff. It's to be devoted to their welfare, but not necessarily tell them that you are. But you have to say some things to devote yourself. Say something, and you can say that, and then you'll be embarrassed, I guess you say.

[44:05]

I myself might say that and not be embarrassed, but you can be the embarrassed person and I'll be the not embarrassed person. People ask me, you know, out in the street, they say, well, what do you do? Are you a martial artist? And I say, yeah. And I'm not embarrassed to say that. They say, what school? And I say, Zen. They say, oh, how is that in martial arts? I say, well, we're trying to practice nonviolence. We're trying to learn nonviolence. And they usually don't say, well, can I attack you now? But if they did, I might say, well, what style of attack do you wish to use? I vow to enter into a nonviolent interaction with them. Non-violence in its radical form is I won't attain non-violence and I won't attain being a martial artist.

[45:09]

And so if they say, are you a Girl Scout? I can say, yeah, actually. They say, but you're a man, how can you be a Girl Scout? Well, developments have now allowed men into the Girl Scouts. There was a class action suit and we got in and so on. So you don't have to tell your friends this stuff. But if you want to, you know, maybe they'll find it endearing that you're that way. You're embarrassed. But you don't have to tell them that. You can say, I'm doing nonviolence training. Maybe they won't think that's... Maybe you won't be embarrassed to tell them that. But I'm not saying you should talk in such a way that you will never be embarrassed. If you vow to not lie, that might be embarrassing to you if you do that vow.

[46:13]

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

[47:15]

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

[48:18]

Raised is a normal part of bodhisattva path. Being called a great bodhisattva is a normal part. All these things happen to people who vow to have nothing. All these things are. Hmm? All these things in Poma says are. So, one of the things that came up during the intensive was me sharing with people a reference to a movie, the movie Panther. You ever heard of that movie, Cindy? Huh? Do you know it? The name of this, the main figure in the movie is Inspector Clouseau, right? And he has an assistant, a houseboy named The British way of saying his name is Kato.

[49:24]

The Asian way of saying his name is Kato, which also means tangling vines. Anyway, Kato's job is to attack his boss whenever he has a chance to test his boss's bodhisattva spirit. So, it's a normal thing for bodhisattvas to be attacked in order to help them realize non-violence, help them realize non-harming, in order for them to demonstrate renunciation of any attainment. Like, I can walk across the room I can walk around my house, but as a bodhisattva, it's okay to walk around my house. I just have to demonstrate not attaining walking around my house when I'm walking around my house.

[50:32]

So if I'm walking around my house and I think I've attained it, then my houseboy comes and tests to see if I think I've attained it by knocking me down and throwing me out the window. And then can I get knocked down without attaining knocking down? Because after I get knocked down, he attacks me, and my knocking down, I have to get up. So, it's normal for people to call, and also to call yourself, it's normal for you to call yourself how embarrassing, how wacky, how, how, a long list. It's normal. So I'm not telling you this stuff is abnormal. I'm just saying these are normal opportunities for you to have a mind of no abode. So thank you very much for offering these examples of things to renounce.

[51:38]

to the bodhisattva's mind so she can be non-violent with them, so she can not harm them. If you call me wacky, I don't want to harm that language or you or me. I don't want to be violent if you call me stupid. I want to be non-violent if you call me a disgrace. I don't want to hold on to my position as a Zen priest. If you say, I am a Zen priest, I want to be non-violent with that. I don't want to be angry at you. You said I was a Zen priest. You're forcing me into being a Zen priest. I'm supposed to renounce being a Zen priest. Zen priests are supposed to renounce being a Zen priest. Are you a hotel manager? Yes. Hotel managers and bodhisattvas are supposed to renounce being a hotel manager. And the hotel...

[52:41]

to help you, to challenge your renunciation, to see if you can let go of it by saying, oh, you're such a great hotel manager, or you're such a lousy hotel manager. You're doing a really bad job of managing this hotel. And you just very much, what can I do to help you? Yeah, right. To not be violent with them, right? To not harm them when they're not appreciative. And to renounce them when they're praising you. It's not them, but to renounce the praise. So thank you for your question, Tracy. You're such a good questioner. I'm renouncing. And there you go! So we say thank you and renounce what we're saying thank you for. So now it's 12.15 and we could have lunch now if you want.

[53:51]

John? Lunch? Ready for it? Are you guys ready for lunch? Okay. Let's have lunch. May our intention equally extend to meaning and place, which we merit in our Buddhist way. Beings are numberless. I vow to serve them. Delusions are inexhaustible. I love to enter them. Dharma gifts are my gifts. I love to enter them. Blood is unsurpassable. I love to become it.

[54:53]

So I think a title for this...

[54:59]

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