So when you do this, add in what I read, would you? So I'm going back to the statement that the Buddhas are endowed with unimaginable embodiments. The Buddhas are embodied, they have bodies, but their bodies are unimaginable. We have bodies and our bodies are imaginable. the way our bodies really are, is unimaginable. But the way we have come to be born as sentient beings is by imagination and is imaginable. Buddhas are not born by imagination. Buddhas have imaginations, if they need to use them, but they are not born of imagination. They're born of compassion.

[01:02]

But our bodies are born perhaps out of compassion, but also out of conception. Now that we are conceptual beings, Buddhas are unimaginable for us. They're bodies. Well, yes, but right now I'm talking about their unimaginable embodiments. Our embodiment is born of imagination. Theirs is not. In this assembly, there were also measureless innumerable what are called shravakas. And shravaka means listener or hearer.

[02:09]

These are beings who listen to the Buddha's teaching and practice it and become wise, have become wise. Shravakas are a kind of Buddhist saint. And in this assembly of this scripture, there are measureless assemblies of these listeners, these hearers, shravakas, all very knowledgeable children of the Buddhas with liberated minds, very liberated wisdom, and completely pure ethics. So there's the bodhisattvas in assembly, there's all these other beings we mentioned, and now we're mentioning these saints who at this time of speaking are not bodhisattvas, but they have great wisdom, and they're in the assembly too.

[03:12]

They happily associate with those who yearn for teachings. They happily associate with those who yearn for the teaching. It doesn't say so, but I think maybe they don't associate with those who do not yearn for the teaching. I think maybe they don't. And in the Lotus Sutra, in Chapter 14, talking about the comfortable, happy, blissful practices of the bodhisattvas, there's a discussion of the practices of bodhisattvas, which I've talked to you about.

[04:26]

And then there's, following that, there's a discussion of the realms of intimacy or the realms of familiarity of bodhisattvas. And then it goes on to tell us the realms of intimacy of these bodhisattvas. And the realm of intimacy is described by all the different kinds of beings that bodhisattvas are not intimate with. They're not intimate, I won't tell you who they are right now, but just they're not intimate with these people, they're not intimate with those people, they're not intimate with those beings, they're not intimate with those beings, not intimate here, not intimate there, not intimate a lot of places. But then after it tells you all these people that bodhisattvas are not intimate with, it says, however, if these beings yearn for the teaching, then bodhisattvas wholeheartedly offer the teachings to them. And then it goes on to say, and bodhisattvas are not intimate with these people, not intimate with those people.

[05:29]

And then it says, but if these people want the teaching, really, the bodhisattva gives it freely and happily. It's not that bodhisattvas don't even associate at all with people who are not interested in the teaching. But they don't really get close because these people do not want to get close with what bodhisattvas have to give, the teaching. So there's various ways to understand this. One is that of course you can help people who do not want the teaching in some ways. But to really get close with what you have really to offer, that should be for those who want it, who really thirst for it, who really yearn for it. And those are the people bodhisattvas are intimate with. And I would think that also these shravakas would only be intimate with those who wish to receive the teachings and practice it.

[06:33]

It would even be a disservice to people who do not want the teachings to get close to them and then have them reject them. That would be very bad for them. So the bodhisattvas wait to be really invited to give the teachings before they get close to people. These saints, who are not called bodhisattvas at this point, were very learned and they remembered what they had learned. They accumulated great learning. They were intent on good contemplations, speaking good words, and doing good deeds. They had agile wisdom. quick wisdom, sharp wisdom, the wisdom of renunciation, the wisdom of certain realization, the wisdom of great wisdom, extensive wisdom, profound wisdom, wisdom without equal,

[07:47]

Endowed with the precious jewel of wisdom, they possessed the three knowledges and had obtained supremely blissful abiding in this life and great purity. They had fully developed a completely peaceful way of acting, were endowed with great patience and determination, and were wholly engaged in the Tathagata's teaching. Again, also in attendance were innumerable Bodhisattvas whom assembled from various Buddha lands, all of them fully engaged and abiding in the great state of the Mahayana. They had renounced cyclic existence through the teaching of the great vehicle, were even-minded towards all beings, and were free from all imputations, ideation, and mental construction.

[09:03]

They had conquered all demons, and opponents and were removed from all mental tendencies of the Sri Avakas and Pratyekabuddhas. The people we talked about, these very wise people, the Bodhisattvas are removed from all the mental tendencies of these great wise saints. Bodhisattvas might not be as wise as these saints. But they live by vows which these saints do not necessarily commit to.

[10:13]

Even though they may not be as wise as the saints, they are committed to the welfare of all beings and the attainment of Buddhahood. So they're different from these Shravakas, from these great saints. These Bodhisattvas were steadfast through great bliss and joy in the taste of the Dharma, like the Buddhists. They had completely transcended the five fears and had progressed solely to the irreversible stages. they had actualized those stages which bring to rest all harms to all sentient beings.

[11:18]

The five fears by the way are fear of loss of life, fear of loss of your mind or fear of losing control of your mind, fear of loss of reputation, fear of loss of livelihood, and fear of speaking in front of a large assembly. These five fears are overcome by the bodhisattvas in some sense, pivotally, because they practice giving. They practice giving wholeheartedly. Therefore, they don't ever lose anything. Everything they have, they give away before they can lose it. They give away their livelihood, their mind, their reputation, and their life so that they don't lose it.

[12:32]

They're just constantly giving it away. Therefore, they're not afraid. Also, they love to speak to large groups. And small groups. And they also give the gift of fearlessness to all beings. They receive the gift of giving. They receive the practice of giving from the Buddhas and they practice it and become fearless. They receive fearlessness from the Buddhas and they give it to sentient beings. And they also give the Dharma to sentient beings if they want it. If they're tender enough and ready to

[13:34]

receive it. This is the basic picture of who and what are at the site of this teaching. And so all of us are included in this. And there's more than just us listening to this sutra. Almost everybody's here, ready to listen to the teaching. And among these great bodhisattvas, in particular we mention in this sutra, the bodhisattvas, the great beings, the first one is, The next one is, The next one is, Next one is Dharmadgata. Next one is Suvisudamati.

[14:37]

Next one is Vishalamati. Next one, Gunakara. Next one, Paramagdhasamudgata. Next one, actually, is Maitreya. Next is Abalokiteshvara. And finally, Manjushri. Each one of these bodhisattvas is the main questioner in the ten chapters. So the first chapter, the questioner, or the questionee sometimes, the questioner in this first chapter is, who questions the bodhisattva. So this bodhisattva who's being questioned in the first chapter is the bodhisattva who has the name of the sutra in his name. So the name of the sutra means unlocking or revealing the intent

[15:47]

And gambira artha means the deep meaning. So the whole thing could be translated as revealing the intention or revealing the profound meaning of the intention bodhisattva. So it's a good bodhisattva to have at the beginning of the sutra because this is the bodhisattva whose name is to reveal the profound meaning, the profound meaning of the intent of the Buddhas. And the questioner is our old friend, Vidhivat Pariprachaka Bodhisattva. So at that time, and by the way, Vidhivat Pariprachaka means logical reasoning Bodhisattva. That's his name. So the logical reasoning, enlightening being, asks the great bodhisattva, gambhira artha samdhin mo jhana, about the ultimate character.

[16:57]

No, excuse me, the ultimate whose character is inexpressible and non-dual. So the first part of the teaching that's being questioned about is, we're questioning about the ultimate. In the first four chapters, when we're studying and asking questions about the ultimate. What's the ultimate? It's called paramartha. Param artha. Param means ultimate. Artha means meaning or object. The ultimate meaning is being questioned about here. There's gambira artha, which you know quite well, right? gambira artha, profound meaning, the profound object. And so this chapter and the next three are about the param, param artha, param artha, the ultimate, the final meaning.

[18:07]

And so in this chapter we're asking about the ultimate whose character is inexpressible and non-dual. And the other characters of the ultimate will be discussed in chapter 2, 3, and 4. So the question is, O child of the conqueror, when it is said all dharmas are non-dual, All dharmas are non-dual. How is it that phenomena are non-dual? It's like this. So says Reverend Shoho. And Kambhida Artha Samdhi Namacana Bodhisattva says, child of good lineage, with respect to all phenomena, all phenomena are just of two kinds, compounded and uncompounded.

[19:26]

Or you could also say, produced and unproduced, or made and unmade, or born and unborn. In this translation, compounded and uncompounded.

[19:46]

@Transcribed_v005
@Text_v005
@Score_93.04