All right, well, there's 74 people here, and you're all welcome to this wonderful assembly on this wonderful day. And also I see Maya Wender, who has done us this great service of reading the sutra and recording her readings. And she's making these recordings of this great flower adornment scripture. She's making it available to us. Thank you so much, Maya, on behalf of the Great Assembly. This is an example of somebody who wants to do something beneficial and did. And again, this week I'd like to look at the sutra again. And this week I'd like to look at Book number 11, also sometimes called chapter number 11, which has a simple title.

[01:05]

You could say either Purifying Practices or Pure Practices. Oh, there's Jill. Jill from Texas. Welcome, Jill. Once again, the name of this chapter has been translated into English from Chinese as Purifying Practices or Pure Practices. I think both translations are fine, but this chapter is about how to purify our practice or how to practice to purify all of our actions. So the basic structure of this book is that it starts with many questions, but the questions are basically about how can we, how can bodhisattvas, act in such a way that our action, that our karma of body, speech, and mind

[02:24]

are beneficial? How can we act in a way that our actions are not harming? How can we act in a way so that we become a refuge for many beings, a protector of many beings, a guide for many beings? How can our daily life a body, speech, and mind? How can everything we do, everything we think, everything we say, every gesture we make, how can they be a guide, a benefit for all beings? That question is asked over and over for a few paragraphs. And if you want to read that book, we will send you a link at the end of this meeting.

[03:28]

Book 11. And the basic response is that if you are wondering and if you wish for everything you think, say, or gesture to be a benefit, then the basic instruction is whatever you are doing, whatever I am doing, to make that something we're doing together with all beings. Now I'm speaking now. The instruction is, if I'm speaking to the Great Assembly, I vow that this speaking is done together with the Great Assembly. And that this speaking, together with all of you and more than you, is speaking together with you, that this bring great benefit to the world.

[04:30]

So, in a sense, the basic purifying practice is, of this chapter, is that whatever you're doing, you could say, if you think you're doing it by yourself, then it will be somewhat impure. in order to purify my speech now, I need to wish, or not necessarily I need to, but if I wish that my speaking to you now, if I vow that my speaking to you now is done together for you, then it will be purified and it will be a benefit to all. So, the line that's repeated over and over throughout the chapter is, doing whatever, I vow, I wish to do this together with all beings for the welfare of all beings.

[05:39]

That line, I wish, I vow, together with all beings for I wish, I vow to act together with all beings. That's the central repetitive statement in all the verses. So the rest of the book, the chapter, is almost all four-line verses, and the second line of each verse is, I wish, together with all beings, I vow to act together with all beings. So now again I'm talking to you and my deluded human consciousness may kind of have the habit of thinking that I'm talking to you on my own, on my own. But this chapter is, I vow to talk with you together with all of you, for the sake of all of you. We vow to make all actions

[06:42]

actions we do together with beings. This purifies us. It's not immediately, but by remembering this over and over, our actions which habitually are seen as me doing it, me saying it, me thinking it, are now, I'm doing this with all of you. Which liberates my action from the egocentric point of view, which is quite natural. So the first example is when a bodhisattva, or just simply when we are at home, we vow together with all beings to realize that the nature of home is emptiness and be relieved in the midst of its pressures. And not only that I'm relieved of its pressures, but I wish that all of you together with me are liberated from the pressures of living at home.

[07:55]

Primarily by doing your daily lives at home together with all of us, for the sake of all of us. not just by yourself for the sake of you or your family, but while living in a family and caring for your family, you wish together with all beings to be free of attachment to your family so that you benefit all beings impartially. But this is in the context of you caring for your family. But in order to make your care of your family always vow with all beings to take care of your family. And then your care of your family will be purified and will be impartial and will be beneficial to all beings. And when serving our parents, we vow with all beings while serving our parents to serve Buddha.

[09:00]

I wish with all of you as you're caring for your parents, that you also care for our Buddhas and thereby bring benefit to all beings, not just your parents. And also purify your care of your parents from egocentric point of view of you doing it. So for example, when you're caring for your parents and they perhaps tell you what a lousy job you're doing, You're free to receive that information. That's a blessing. And to be grateful to have the opportunity to serve people who tell you what a bad job you're doing. Because you're doing this together with all of us. You don't take it personally, what they're saying. And if they see you're doing a good job, you don't take it personally. You take it together with all beings. Anything we do good for our parents, for our children, it is done not by ourself, but by ourselves.

[10:02]

cooperation with all beings. This is repeated over and over for all actions in the chapter. And it also applies to people in monasteries. It applies when sitting in meditation. It applies when opening a door. It applies when closing a door. It applies when getting up in the morning. As you get up in the morning, I vow together with all beings to make this arising from sleep the arising of the bodhi mind. This is the basic pattern. And so if you want to, you can later read this chapter and you can recite it and enter into the samadhi, the bodhisattva samadhi of all actions done together with all beings. of vowing for all of our actions to be done together with all beings. Again, this talk is not performed by me alone. I am here to vow that this talk that's happening right now will be done together with all beings for the welfare of all beings.

[11:14]

And there are, again, I don't know, a hundred examples of actions in the sutra. But you can also make up your own, because the sutra was written about 1,600 to 1,700 years ago. They did not have a lot of situations that we have. Oh, did I say your name least a lot? Welcome, Liselotte, from Sweden. So again, when you're doing things that aren't in the sutra, like driving an automobile, when riding a bicycle, when crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, while using cell phones, while reading emails, By reading emails, I wish, I vow to make this reading done together with all beings so that all beings can understand the true meaning of this message and benefit all beings.

[12:34]

So whatever you're doing, you can make up a new verse while I'm doing this. I wish, I vow with all beings that this be done together with all beings And then you can say what you would like to happen. What benefit, what blessings you'd like to come forth from your actions. And again, this purifies your action from feeling that you own all the merit of the good things that happen or that you own all the demerit of things that are happening. This is also called whatever you're doing, whatever action you're doing, observe all sentient beings with eyes of compassion. Eyes of compassion observe all sentient beings and act, eyes of compassion act together with all beings.

[13:39]

And this acting together with all beings creates an ocean of blessing in this world of suffering. So I feel like that may be enough of an introduction to all beings, to invite all beings, to speak together with all beings. This chapter starts with Great Bodhisattva asking questions of Manjushri about how to purify our body, speech and mind. Now, the Great Bodhisattva has asked questions. So, now as I speak to you, I vow that this Great Assembly will ask questions for the welfare of this Great Assembly. And if you ask a good one, I pray that you realize that you didn't ask the question by your own power.

[14:43]

You did it with the support of all of us. And with the support of all of us people, we will ask really good questions which will bring benefit today Manjushri asked many good questions. Other great bodhisattvas asked Manjushri great questions. I could say to you, you are bodhisattvas and you ask great questions for the welfare of all beings, including all bodhisattvas. This is what you're doing here. Congratulations. Okay, Stephen Mayer, Haley, Huma.

[15:44]

I think this will be sort of consonant with what you've been saying, Rab. The depth of the soul or of the individual, you've been using that language, but you have been using the language of all beings. And I mean, one way to look at it might be that my depth is all other beings, past, present, and future. And in some ways, I'm not distinguishable from all of those other beings. And in some ways, all of those other beings are me. They're in my depth. And I, of course, am happy about that, but... I didn't invent that. I didn't create that situation. That situation obtained prior to my birth and hopefully still obtains now. And I believe it does obtain.

[16:49]

So there's something outside of me. Not outside. Yeah. Well, there's something deeper than me, which is me. And that goes for all other beings. Every being has that same depth. And it just seems to me if I were hatching this, the plan of the universe, I would say, you know, there's some people who aren't listening to their depths very well. And we're going to speak up. Our depths are going to speak up. And, you know, Steve Street hasn't gotten the message. It's time for him to listen to his depth. Most in ourselves. And you could say that for other people as well. And so it seems to me that. That although that's true, people aren't listening to their depths and they aren't listening to large portions of these other beings who are in their depths. And why is that?

[17:53]

Yeah, I think it's because they have been ignoring the awareness, the mindfulness of their depths for a long time. So they have a habit of thinking of themselves very superficially. And I vow with all beings who think of their self superficially to practice together with them and to invite them to practice together with me until we all get over believing in our superficial self. existence without pushing it away, but practicing together with all superficialities to realize the depth for the welfare of all beings. I think that was a good question, Stephen. Thanks. You're welcome. Welcome, Maya. Tenshin Roshi. I can vow to act with all beings, together with all beings, for the benefit of all beings.

[19:03]

Is it possible to act not with all beings? It is impossible. We always are acting together with all beings. So is the point of the vow for me to understand that? you understand it and realize it. It's like that story of the nature of wind is permanent and there's no place it does not reach. So why do we have to fan ourselves? And if we don't fan ourselves, even though it already reaches everywhere, we don't realize it. So the nature of acting together with all beings cannot be avoided. But if we don't practice it, by thinking of it and talking of it and remembering it, We don't realize it. Thank you for the question. The Bodhisattva question. Yes, Hallie.

[20:18]

Good morning, Rab. Good morning, Great Assembly. Good morning. Quick question. I like the language of how it's presented. My question is, why or how would it be different if you vow to wish to act for the benefit of all beings? What are your comments about that? What do you mean? How would it be different if I vowed to act together with all beings from if I vowed to do by myself? No, no. I vow to act for the benefit of all beings. Just shortening it up. What would happen? Like, why is it that? I vow to live for the benefit of all beings. And this chapter is saying, I vow to live together for the benefit of all beings, with all beings. I vow together with all beings to live for the benefit.

[21:21]

To forget that I'm doing it together with all beings means defiles my good intention to live for the benefit of all beings. To think that I live for the benefit of all beings by myself is a limitation. It's a staining of this great vow. So I vow to live for the benefit of all beings. I vow with all beings to live for the benefit of all beings. It purifies my vow with another vow. Thank you. This chapter is about purifying my practices, or our practices, which can be taken egocentrically, usually. So this is to overcome our egocentric view of our great vows. Thank you for your question. Thank you. My question, Rep, is I'm struggling with my vow of being egocentric.

[22:36]

And no matter how much I question that, no matter how much I read, no matter how much I understand, I'm still clinging to my vow of being egocentric. Okay. So that can be understood as while I'm vowing to be egocentric, while I'm doing that, which is my way, I do that all the time, I vow with all beings that to practice in a way that frees all beings from egocentric view. And I do that while I have an egocentric view. So that's a really nice question you brought up is while being egocentric, I vowed together with all beings to be free of egocentric. But while being egocentric, not later or before.

[23:42]

So all of us who are egocentric can do the vow of, while being egocentric, I vow with all beings, I practice with all beings, so that we can all be free of the egocentric view of the Buddha practice. Thank you, Homa. That's good. Thanks for being the egocentric one. So that, from my understanding, that means I really, truly, genuinely have to understand egocentric before I even vow to non-egocentric. No, you can vow before you fully understand. Because if you wait to vow until after you understand, you'll just stay stuck in egocentrism. But if you're in egocentrism, that's fine. That's a good daily life situation. Egocentric, that's what's happening. Okay, fine. Now I vow, this egocentric being vows together with Homa, who I've heard is also like me.

[24:48]

We all vow together, and together we will be free of egocentrism. And then when you understand, of course, you can continue vowing. You just have a different situation. But the same vow, whatever situation, including when I'm being really uptight and egocentric, I vow together with all uptight, egocentric beings to work together to free all beings from egocentric practice. So I can see, I can see. So I continuously using, if I understand you correctly, I'm continuously using egocentric way of being as a tool for the vow of... Rather than a tool, an opportunity. As an opportunity. And then you have the opportunity. Now you can use the tool of vowing together with all beings. That's the tool. And that frees us right while we're being egocentric.

[25:50]

Yes. Another question. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Great assembly. I think somehow we're not hearing you, Angela. I see you, which is pretty good. Can you hear me? Yeah. Now you can. Good morning, Great Assembly. Good morning. I aspire to inform you that I'm having trouble hearing you, Angela.

[27:05]

How about now? Good. I aspire to remember that I am practicing with all beings and that all beings are practicing with me. And when I do remember silence and stillness, there is an incredible amount of energy in this vessel. And it's concerning. It's frightening. And I aspire, with all beings, to open to this intensity. Would you offer words?

[28:12]

I lost you again, but I did hear you say, would you offer words? Yes, for all beings. Now as I offer words, I vow and I wish that all beings will work with me as I offer words. and that my words are being offered together with all beings so that we together will be free of the egocentric view of offering words. Can't hear you yet. I'm sorry. I can't hear you. I still can't hear you, but I keep faced and now I hear you say, okay. So free from our egocentric views and free of the, uh, misunderstanding that we are, um,

[29:44]

living separate from all beings. Yeah. So this is a view, this is a verse, which I don't know if it's in the sutra, but the sutra is, while being caught in egocentric views, I vow together with all beings that we all together will help each other be free of egocentric views. So the vow of practicing with all beings when I have egocentric views and wishing that they will join me in this practice, this purifies me of my egocentric view and allows me to wish and realize all beings being free of self-confining consciousness. But I need to invite everybody in to help me so I can see when they come to help me, do I welcome them or do I push them away?

[30:54]

Because it's not necessarily comfortable when beings come to practice with me and show me how egocentric I am. But I vow to welcome their practicing with me and I vow that they welcome my practice with them. Right. Just like you and I are doing right now. Right. And it can be challenging working with my mother and helping her and her resisting the help. And then I'm resisting her. And then it comes up for me like, yeah, you two are doing this together. It's not she's doing it. And it feels like when I'm not opening to her, it feels kind of greedy. Yeah. So while you're—that's the second verse, I think, or the third verse—while serving your parents—

[32:01]

You notice these kinds of resistances and imbalances and clingings. While doing all that, serving parents means all the stuff you just mentioned. It's just a four-line verse, so it just says serving parents, but serving parents means serving parents and wanting to get away from them and having a lot of problems with them, resisting them, feeling hurt by them, feeling sorry about the way we talk to them. All that's part of serving parents. Now, in that situation, I wish, I vow with all beings to practice and thereby serve Buddha. So while serving and caring for your parents, doing it together, all beings, you're serving Buddhas. And then when you serve all Buddhas by practicing with your parents, you're free of all this then the great benefit of serving your parents is realized. But we can't realize the full benefit of serving our parents if we don't also serve the Buddhas and all sentient beings.

[33:07]

Yes. So for the sake of being a good servant of our parents, we're a servant of all beings. And I vow that all beings can help us practice that way. Chapter 11. Thank you, Angela. amplifying the second or third verse. Thank you, Roshi. Welcome, Chie Aizong. It's easy for me to be seduced into the appearances of sacred and the appearances of profane and wanting to maintain one as opposed to the other. And I'm wondering how we can extend ourselves into a world of appearances without simply responding out of the illusion of what appears as sacred and profane.

[34:09]

Yeah, so this is this verse which you started just now. I don't think, I don't know if it's in the sutra, but here's a new verse which is, while being caught in views of sacred and profane, while my mind is constructing and my voice is speaking of sacred and profane, I wish, I vow with all beings to practice together with them in such a way that we together all will be free of views of sacred and profane. But it's not trying to get rid of them. It's practicing with them together with all beings. It's not by my own power that I'm going to become free of views of sacred and profane. It's by working with views of sacred and profane and inviting everyone else to give me feedback on how I'm working with them that we together will become free of it.

[35:12]

It's not even me personally, all alone, becoming free of the views. It is me personally having my views of sacred and profane. But by inviting you and all beings to join me while I have views of sacred and feigned, you and I and all beings will become free of them. Roshi, is it possible, is there any reference point we can work with or use to see if we're functioning skillfully within the context of our world? Okay, so here's another situation which I don't think is in the chapter. The situation is a person named Xiezong is wondering how he can be sure that he's acting in the appropriate way in this world. That's what he's doing. That's what his mind's doing. So while his mind is doing that, he remembers to wish and vow that he together with all beings will practice with this situation so that he and all beings will

[36:15]

will realize what he's wondering about, which is the greatest benefit for all beings. But he's wondering how to realize it. That's what his mind is doing. That's his karma. Now he's got that karma. Now he vows with all beings to work together so that he and all beings will be free of that question. But not by getting rid of it, but by realizing actually the greatest benefit for all beings. and becoming free of the question, what is it? I wonder if it is. Thank you very much, Roshi. You're very welcome. Again, thank you for the bodhisattva asking a question for the welfare of the assembly. Oh, did I by the mention that you see the background here is not the usual background? Did I tell you where I was? Oh, so I forgot to tell you. This talk is coming from here, which is Minnesota.

[37:15]

And I'm here for the purpose of walking together in the autumnal forests of this northern state, together with my wife and all sentient beings. We're walking through the forests, step by step, enjoying the beautiful teaching of the trees, like these trees here. And by the way, if I just could mention, before Suchitra asks her bodhisattva question, on the way, coming here on the airplane, I rode on this airplane, which is Delta Airlines. And you know how when you get on the airlines, they sometimes announce what the airline's philosophy is? You know, like, at Delta Airlines, we all believe that we're all on a path together. That's what they said.

[38:18]

We're all on a journey, and the best journey is the journey we're on together. That's what they said, and I thought, oh, great. Our practice is pervading the Delta Airlines administration. Sujitra. Can you hear me? A little bit ago, you said that the wind reaches everywhere, but if we don't fan ourselves, we don't realize it, something like that. Yeah. Does it change our... effectiveness or something if if we actually do realize it like let's say we you know we're stumbling around wishing things were different or wishing people weren't hurting but if we don't realize that all that's already happening does it change how our wish manifests does it give us some

[39:35]

You know what I'm saying? It purifies it. So at the beginning of this book, it said, how can we act with body, speech, and mind so that we become a guide, we become a refuge, we become a teacher? So again, this truth of the wind reaching us, of our interconnectedness always reaching us, we can't get away from it. But if we don't remember it and think of it and practice it, then we won't be able to teach it. But put it positively, if you want to be able to be a guide and a benefit and a refuge for beings and a protector of beings and helping people become free, if you want to do that, then you need to fan yourself. So the difference is that if you actually use, if you do the practice, it makes the vow effective. That's what I wondered. You kind of gather all the strengths Of all of everything.

[40:40]

You could say you gather it, but actually in reality you are already the gathering of it. But if you don't practice mindfulness that you are and that you're practicing together with all beings, then you're not going to be able to be a really good guide and a really good helper. So, we hear this teaching that we are working together with all beings, but if we don't remember it, We don't realize it. If we do remember it, we become a guide. We become a helper. We become an assistant. We become a servant of all Buddhas and all sentient beings. Now, it isn't that we can't be a somewhat help, even if we don't remember this, but much hindered by taking up what we're doing egocentrically. Right. Yes. Yes, thank you. You're welcome.

[41:40]

Hello, Rob. Hello, everybody. Can we say also in doing so that compassion arises? And through this compassion to myself, compassion arises also to everybody and everything. And more and more, the praxis is taking us and lead us to be free of selfness. and feel connected with everybody and everything. Yeah, so in this chapter, the compassion practice that's being recommended is pay attention to what you're doing, whatever it is, and then remember and wish that this action that's happening here be done together with all beings.

[43:04]

You don't have to change what you're doing, So compassion comes to what you're doing, and compassion says to you, you're doing this together with all beings. And all beings are doing whatever they're doing together with you. That is a compassion message to us while we're doing our daily life. Then, with that mindfulness, our action is freed, our daily life is freed, and compassion is realized. And then it will unfold other ways than just right now of remembering that we're practicing together with all beings for all beings. So that's a compassionate mindfulness brought to whatever we're doing. And then the compassion is released from self-attachment. Yeah. And our, yeah, go ahead.

[44:06]

Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. Manfrey, welcome. Hello, Rep. Good to see you. And greetings from the old world to the new world. The great bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara, in the Heart Sutra, Avalokiteshvara is practicing prashna paramita. And while practicing prashna paramita, she saw that all skandhas are empty. And I'm kind of wondering that this great bodhisattva of compassion is actually practicing prajnaparamita.

[45:09]

So my question is, how can this bodhisattva of compassion practice with us when he's practicing prajnaparamita and when all the skandhas are empty? It's kind of difficult to interact when all's gone does already. Yeah. So how the Bodhisattva wants to practice with us and the Bodhisattva realizes that we all together are empty. So how can the Bodhisattva continue her practice when she realizes we're empty? Okay. When she realizes how deep we are, how can she continue to practice with us? So this is a great question, which is actually again asked many times in various versions in the previous chapter. If bodhisattvas are devoted to the welfare of beings, and they realize that all beings are empty, how can they continue to practice?

[46:19]

their compassionate practices. Well, the way they continue to practice it is they remember, see the bee flying around me? This is a Minnesota bee who's visiting me. He came to the Great Assembly, he heard about us practicing together, and he came to hear the Dharma. Actually, she, right? Most likely a she. So, earlier it said, when at home, We practice together with all beings. We vow to practice together all beings when at home. And when we practice together with all beings at home, we realize the home is empty. And realizing the home is empty, we liberate home and all the people in the home. Oh, now we have another. Oh, I wish you could see this beautiful, this beautiful bug that just landed on the computer. Wow. Amazing. Hello. This is great.

[47:21]

Oh, it's really beautiful. It's not a bee. Now, he's feeling, oh, wow. Excuse this. These visitors are climbing all over me. Anyway, so once again, we're in a situation of being at home and we're with our family and we're with our friends and then we vow that all beings together we'll become free of the superficial understanding of ourself and our friends. In other words, we vow that all beings together will realize the emptiness of our home and our family and our friends. And then liberation will occur. But it's kind of mysterious how once we realize the emptiness of the home, that's part of becoming free of the home. But before we were free of the home, we were caring for the home, but then we brought all beings together with our care. We realized the emptiness of the home, the emptiness of the family, and then the whole family and the home were all liberated together.

[48:28]

And then we start again with the vow to continue to benefit these beings which we have realized are empty. So the first time we realized the emptiness of beings or the emptiness of home, just before that, we thought we didn't understand the home and the beings were empty. Now they're empty, but we continue the way we practiced before. Namely, we practice together with all beings, with these empty beings. If it's just by myself, I won't be able to practice being devoted to empty beings. But with your help asking me questions, the practice will continue. The miracle of being devoted to beings which you can't grasp, which is what you see when you realize how profound all beings are. Well, thanks a lot, Rand. Thank you for your bodhisattva question. Deborah.

[49:42]

Hi, sorry. Well, two devices, I apologize. So I just want to share a way I'm trying to work with this teaching today. A dear friend died last night. So I guess, you know, so there's an acuteness of pain with grief. And one way I'm working with it is thinking of her family members offering them compassion. It helps me feel connected to others instead of just focused on my own personal pain. But then it only goes so far with the teaching and maybe that's enough. What's the start? Yeah, and again, I don't know if your example is in the sutra, but you can add it to the sutra, which is when we're grieving, at the time that we're grieving, we vow to practice together with all beings so that we, together with all beings, including the person that we're grieving for, may realize peace and ease.

[50:57]

You want peace and ease for yourself and for your friends and your family, yes. But you need to remember to practice with us while you're grieving. We're not pushing the grieving away. We're inviting everyone to practice with us while we're grieving so that we can all be free. Not of grieving, but free of everything. We need help to fully engage the free grieving. We cannot grieve really in a liberating way just by doing it on our own. But we do have grief. And I remember when I'm grieving to vow to practice grieving together with all beings for the welfare of all beings, for the peace and ease in the middle of grief. Let us help you while you're grieving. Invite us to join us when we're grieving. That's what I hear the sutra telling us.

[51:58]

So it's not, so what came up was, I don't want to give other people my pain, but it's not that offering. That's another one. That's another new verse. I don't want to give up. I got pain. I got pain and I don't want to give others my pain. So when I'm like this, I invite all beings to practice with me so that we can all be free of my pain. You're not going to give them your pain. You're going to give them your vow to practice with them. That's what you're giving them. What you're giving us, you're inviting us to be with you. And for the sake of you and them together, being free of pain. Thank you. You're welcome. Hello, Robin, everyone. Thank you for being with us today. You're welcome.

[53:03]

My question is very similar to Deborah's and also to Manfred's. Some things have happened in the last week or so that have made me feel... Great despair around the violence and meanness that, you know, seems to be going on in the world. I'm having a little trouble with that, which seems... you know, somewhat self-intelligent and also somewhat there's a silver lining because it helps me understand how other people might be feeling. So that's kind of a mixed bag. But in addition to that, I have quite a bit of judgment of myself and of others in this situation. And it's really hard to keep my balance with that. Yeah. Okay. So what I heard you in the context of this chapter, what I heard, was four verses, no, three verses. The first verse is, when I'm feeling despair.

[54:05]

Another verse is, when I'm making negative judgments of people. And then there was another one. So you gave us three examples. So when I'm feeling despair, when I'm feeling despair, I vow to practice together with all beings so that we can all be free of despair. Uh-huh. When I'm feeling despair, I want to work with my despair in a way that liberates me and the despair. But I'm not going to be able to do it by myself. So when I feel despair, I vow, I wish that all beings together will work with me in my despair to free all beings from despair. When I see horrible scenes of the world and great suffering, okay, that's my situation. That's my current situation. At that time, I do the same vow that all beings will practice together with me and I will practice with them so that we can be free. And the same when I'm making negative judgments, I vow together with all beings to practice with them in such a way that we all become free of our negative judgments.

[55:15]

Go ahead. Well, that last one seems really hard to me. It's almost impenetrable. When I'm feeling that this problem is impenetrable, I wish and I vow that all beings will practice together so that we can become free of impenetrable difficulties. That we can pass through the impenetrable. That we can only pass through the impenetrable when we're practicing together with all beings. Because when I'm not practicing together with all beings, I'm too solid. When we practice together, we can pass through the space of the impenetrable and be liberated. Is that akin to sort of praying for help? Just help. It's praying for help, yeah. But it's also praying to help. Yeah. Everybody practiced with me, and also I want to practice with everybody. It's praying for that interpenetrating, mutual working together.

[56:22]

That's what can pass through the impenetrable. That's what can find the space in the impenetrable and pass through. Uh-huh. So it's asking for help and offering help, yes. Yeah, thank you. That's good. I can be without for a while. Maybe so. Yeah. And I want to mention the group that's reading the sutra online, we're about to start Chapter 11. Okay, great. On Tuesday night. So anybody wants to join us, readingthesutra at gmail.com. I'll send you the information. Thank you. Welcome, Jill. There you go. You just unmuted. Okay, good.

[57:24]

Very, very glad to see you and everyone. I think I'm going to ask the same question that has been asked before, but my understanding is, what I'm thinking of is the It seems as if at every moment you must make a conscious decision to vow to be with all beings, to vow that you are acting and thinking with all beings. It seems very, very, very, very difficult. I'm sorry, my phone is ringing. I can't get it. It's difficult. You want to get it? Oh, it stopped. Good. Okay. You said it's difficult. Yeah, it's constant, is it not? It's difficult. What else did you say? It seems constant. It is constant. We constantly have moments. We're constantly having moments of experience, yes.

[58:27]

And it is difficult to learn how to be present with constantly changing moments. Yes, yes. But in order for us to be of greatest service in this world, we need... to remember that we practice together with all beings. It's necessary. And it's difficult to remember anything every moment. Yes, yes. The conscious part of it was what struck me today, was that you have to make a decision. You have to decide. Vowing. You're irritated by this. It's a constant vow. Yeah. I should say, the vow is we're being told that we need to constantly make the vow in each moment. So again, it describes a situation, that's a moment. Then it describes another situation. Serving your parents, that's a moment. Serving your children, that's a moment. All these are moments. Taking care of your house, that's a moment.

[59:31]

And then that moment, we need to vow constantly. to practice this moment together with all beings. I'm sorry. Go ahead. I'm hoping, I guess, that after a lot of practice, one doesn't have to consciously think of it, that you automatically turn in the direction, if that makes any sense, of behaving in such a way that you feel like you're benefiting all beings. Okay. So may I just now point to what you just said? Yes. So what I heard you say was you're hoping that if you practice enough, you don't have to remember to make the vow. That's right. It'll be an automatic. Yeah, you're hoping that it'll be automatic. Yes. But that what you just said was something that you're thinking right now. Right. That's what's going on with you.

[60:33]

Right. What's going on with you is that you wish you wouldn't have to remember all the time to make the vow. Yes, that's right. It's so ingrained that I don't... So that the freedom is so ingrained you don't have to remember the vow. Yes. That's the kind of work, isn't it? And what you're describing to us is not freedom, but a wish you have. Okay, right. And when you have that wish of not needing to make the wish, if you then invite everybody in to help you with wishing that you don't have to make the wish, you'll become free of wishing that you don't have to make the wish. Okay. You have to make the wish quite a bit in order to become free of your wishes. So this is a new, what do you call it? This is a new verse again. Jill's giving us a new verse, which is, when I wish that I don't have to be constantly mindful, I wish that all beings, I vow to practice with all beings so I can become free of the wish that I don't always have to be mindful.

[61:45]

That's just another wish to be free of. So this mindfulness is to free us from all our wishes. Because otherwise, we get stuck in an egocentric wish realm. Yeah, I can see that. Trying to get rid of our egocentric wishes, like, I wish that I wouldn't have to always be mindful. So I vowed with all beings to come to practice so I can be free of wishing that I don't have to always be mindful. And then you will be free of wishing that you always have to be mindful. You see, I imagine that you are free of consciously thinking about this. Not so much that I'm free. Yes. Now she's telling us to another imagination. Another moment. The moment is she's imagining that I'm free. Okay, now, when I imagine that Jill's free, or when Jill imagines Reb's free, at that moment, this sutra's saying, vow with all beings to practice together while thinking that Reb's free.

[62:55]

and then you will be free of thinking that Reb's free. But it's not that you're free. It's that we're free. We are free. It's true, but it's not that I'm free. So Jill's imagining I'm free, but it's not that I'm free. we are free. Now, am I confident of that? Well, I'm certainly confident that that's what the sutra is saying. The sutra is saying, if you remember this vow to practice together with all beings, you will realize that we are free, including Rebbe's And right now, Reb's been looking at this chapter for a while. He has quite a bit of confidence in this teaching, that the thing to do is whatever you're doing, like right now I'm doing all this, whatever you're doing, or if you're thinking, I wish I didn't have to be making vows all the time. I wish I would be spontaneous. That's a perfectly good wish. It's a perfectly good wish. And if you practice together with that wish, you will realize freedom from the vow.

[63:58]

But that doesn't mean you're not still vowing. You're still vowing. You're just free of it. You're free of what you have to do. You have to do these vows, but you also are doing the vows to be free of have to do the vows. And we are free. And I'm saying confidently with the sutra sitting on top of me or under me, the sutra is saying, we are free, but we need to remember that in order to realize it. And when you remember it and you realize it, it is spontaneous. And when it is spontaneous, then you tell people that they have to remember it. You have to remember what's already true. Right, right. Thank you, thank you. Human existence is really ironic and funny. By the way, Breck's coming to us from England, and I wanted to remind you that we're going to probably come to a conclusion in about 15 minutes.

[65:11]

Breck, welcome. Breck, thank you. Welcome to you, too. I thought you were on the new deck at No Abode. but not quite. Yeah, this is the new deck at Noah Bowd. It's just in Minnesota right now. This is the Minnesota extension of the deck around Noah Bowd in California. Okay. And actually, all your rooms are extensions of Noah Bowd. All of your rooms are extensions of Noah Bowd, and Noah Bowd is an extension of all your rooms. That's a teaching from this sutra. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. So when I interact with another being, there's the delusion of I and other. Mm-hmm. And then there's also, you know, and I try to act in kindness, whatever the interactions are.

[66:14]

Mm-hmm. um or in a way that kindness arises but then there's also the delusion layered on that of i am doing something kind right and that i can yeah that whatever i do is transitive So it can still, I presume, be beneficial for others, but it seems like it ends up being tainted a bit because of delusions, that whole set of delusions. Yeah. What you just described can still be beneficial to people, but it's tainted. It's defiled. It's confined. So again, I heard you say, in the midst of these illusions of self and other, you're trying to practice kindness. So that's a situation. Again, that's a new verse, a new verse that you made up today, the beginning of a verse, which is, in the midst of view of self and others, when trying to practice kindness,

[67:24]

I vow with all beings to practice together with them with such views of self and other and trying to be kind so that our kindness will become free of views of self and other. In the midst of views of self and others, while trying to be kind with self and others, I vow, I wish to practice together with all beings so that we can all be free of the view of self and other. Right. And before you do that practice and realize that freedom, you're still somewhat helpful. It just is limited by clinging to the views. But it's not like you're not helpful at all, trying to be kind. It's still helpful. But this vow is to unleash and take away the limits of your beneficence, of the beneficence of our practice together, of bodhisattva practice. Okay.

[68:29]

All right. Well, I'm still trying to get rid of the delusions. Okay. That's another situation. When I'm trying to get rid of delusions, I vow with all sentient beings to practice together so that we can all become free of delusions. But when you do it together with all beings, you're not trying to get rid of it anymore. Yeah. You're free of trying to get rid of it. But when we do the chant of beings are numberless, I vow to save them. And the second line is afflictions or delusions are inexhaustible. I vow to cut through. It's, I think, the latest words that you've suggested. But cutting through is possible when we practice together. It's not possible to cut through if you're practicing by yourself. If you think you're practicing by yourself, that hinders your cutting through. that hinders you finding the space in the afflictions. But when you're practicing together with beings, you realize the spaciousness of all these afflictions, that they're mostly space.

[69:34]

I can understand what you said about the term getting rid of, but then what does cutting through comprise? It comprises finding the space in them. It comprises finding the place where you can't grasp them. And actually, it doesn't comprise anything. It just is freedom. Cutting through is freedom. It's not getting rid of anything. The mass of afflictions is still there. It's just that we realize they're all space. They don't really hinder anything. And you can't get a hold of them. They can't get a hold of you. And when you practice together with all beings, you realize you can't grasp illusion, delusions. You can't grasp good. You can't grasp anything because everybody else is practicing with you.

[70:37]

You can't find the beginning and end of your practice because it's everybody else's practice. It's really just a vast spaciousness. Okay. I have homework to do. Thank you. Congratulations. What is the most important thing? That's what we believe. That's what we trust. We trust what's the most important thing. That's where we put our trust. That's where we devote ourselves.

[71:38]

I'm asking you, what's the that? Well, we have to start with what you say it is. And then after you say what it is, then invite everybody else to practice with you on that. And then you won't make that into a that. It won't be a that. It'll be a thus. it'll be something ungraspable, I would say. But we have to start with what you think is most important. But then, if you discover something that seems to be most important, if you grasp it, that's not appropriate to realizing it. Unless what's most important is misery. If misery is most important, then grasping that would realize it. But if peace and freedom, for example, and great compassion was most important, then you don't want to grasp that, because that's contraindicated. By identifying it, are you necessarily grasping it?

[72:45]

No, no, not necessarily. I'm just saying, if you do find it, you're at risk of identifying it and grasping it. It isn't necessary, but just to make sure, not to make sure, but to facilitate not grasping what's most important, invite all of us in to practice on what's most important to you, together with you, so that you will be protected from grasping what's most important, and in that way, defiling it with grasping. I appreciate that. And is it not valid to ask you what for you is the most important thing? Without knowing you're not going to grasp it or anything. But I'm just like at this point in time, I'm curious. So I might grasp it. And because I might grasp it, I might hesitate to answer your question. But even though I might grasp it, I don't hesitate to answer it. What's most important to me is the enlightenment of all beings, which means the freedom and peace of all beings.

[73:53]

That's what's most important to me. And there's some risk that I'll grasp it, but right now I'm not grasping it. I'm just saying that's what's most important, and I don't know what I'm talking about. And I'm okay with not knowing what I'm talking about because nobody knows what I'm talking about. And we're all together not knowing what I'm talking about. And that's what's most important to me. It's something that's so great and wonderful that nobody can get a hold of it. But I need all you to help me so that I don't slip into grasping it. Because if I do, you catch me. Hey, Red, it looks like you're grasping the awakening. Oh, thank you, thank you. Thank you. Welcome. Thank you. I'm not afraid to say something where I might have a risk of grasping. Welcome, Basia.

[74:57]

Welcome. Hi, Reb, and hello, the assembly. You know, what a fascinating topic you brought up today. And just yesterday, last night, I finished watching a movie titled The Courageous Heart of Irena Sandler. Have you seen that movie or heard of it? No, but I've heard of a courageous heart. Well, this specific courageous heart was totally inspiring, and when I listened to your talk, I thought this might be the example of that. Helena Settler was a Polish nurse and social worker during Nazi occupation of Poland, and she's She helped saving about 2,500 Jewish children, getting them out of the Jewish ghetto, which was destined to be gassed by the Nazis.

[75:58]

And most of them did. But she was able to save 2,500. Of course, whatever she did, she did in cooperation with many people. And she, and of course she risked her life at every moment of her life. And she was grabbed by the Gestapo and tortured, but she never revealed the names that they wanted to get from her. So, you know, when I heard that, when I saw that and heard today you speak, I thought, well, this is, is that when we're really in tune with all beings? Yeah. That vowing to practice together with all beings opens the courageous heart so that we can have a chance to do something like what she did. Yeah, and you know what? She didn't even own it. She did not even tell anyone after the war. She just moved on to other work. And she was discovered by some schoolchildren in Kansas, U.S.

[77:03]

It's a school project. They made a play out of this story and then some other movie maker made a movie into it, right? And then somehow it got to Israel and Yad Vashem, you know, this Israeli organization that recognized people who helped Jews They finally gave her the recognition she incredibly deserved. So she did not even own it. But what I'm talking about is she made a statement. I think it's at the end of the movie. She said, I don't see it as anything special. I just did what needed to be done. And she said that it justified my existence. I wish I had done more. Yeah, thank you for that wonderful example. But what about justifies my existence? Was it necessary? I think that's a little bit extra.

[78:06]

That's what I thought. Anyway, she's great, and she put a little bit extra. Well, imperfect. One more. Hello, Beth and all being. I think one of the most important things, I want to connect something and check something out with you. One thing that was really helpful to me was when you said, when not practicing with all beings, I or we are too solid, right? I don't mean to say that we are too solid, but we think we're too solid. Yes, right. We think we're too solid. And so I was thinking about you bring up a lot about being in conversation.

[79:10]

And I feel like the vowing part is an inner conversation that is a connection with what we call outer. And it seems to me that... That remembering cause and effect, or deep faith in cause and effect, we don't have to know. The freedom is not knowing whether I have impact or not. It's just impact is happening. So the freedom to just do the best I can. I'm not sure freedom, remembering cause and effect, I'm not sure freedom is the right word there. Mm-hmm. But what do you think? I think that rephrasing the sutra, which while doing whatever, while doing whatever I'm doing, I vow to be in conversation with all beings so that we can all be free.

[80:10]

Say it again. Say it one more time. So I rephrase the sutra. While doing whatever, you name it. Yeah. whatever my mind and body and speech are doing, whatever, I vow to be in conversation with all beings, genuine mutual conversation with all beings, so that the greatest benefit can come to all beings. Seems more like I need to be remembering the inner conversation with myself. That's That's remembering conversation with yourself is conversation with all beings. Yeah, right. So that seems like Dogen's deep faith in cause and effect as well. Is that? Could be, yeah. Could be. Maybe so. Yeah. Well, that's a familiar phrase. Yeah, it sure is.

[81:12]

Okay. So maybe there's free to be, you and me is in the middle of that. Yeah. Yeah, so it could be no matter what's happening, vowing to be in conversation with all beings, we get freedom from being you and me. That's good. Okay. It would be very good. Well, thank you, Great Assembly, for coming to this meeting from everywhere. Yeah. From wherever you are and we're all including all these different places. This is the enactment of the sutra. Simultaneous mutual inclusion of all beings.

[81:56]

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