So in the process of studying consciousness, the thought arose, the idea arose, that I don't have anything to teach. And there was kindness towards that thought. And then it wasn't necessarily replaced by the opposite, I do have something to teach. It wasn't replaced by that. It was replaced more by there is an abundance of teachings that are coming up now. So many teachings. Are you following this? So there was a thought, I, in consciousness, I'm here and I don't have anything to teach.

[01:03]

And then there could be a subsidiary thought, that's not a good thing today, because these people are here, they want some teachings. So if I don't have any, maybe that's a problem. I didn't get into that very much. I just thought, well, I don't have anything to teach, and then I just relaxed with that. And now there's this sense that there's just so much teachings about consciousness. and how to work with it. And I'm just sort of like, now I have the thought, be careful, because there's so much teachings now. Not that I have them, but they're just... Then there's another thought. When I open to that I don't have any teachings, generally speaking, what follows, I've noticed, is an abundance of teachings. When I think I have some teachings, that's fine. But then I don't get this, then it's like the boundless abundance isn't so present as when I don't have anything.

[02:13]

And also when I, I should say not so much when I don't have anything, but when the thought of I don't have anything arises and I'm okay with that. It's not just the thought. and then being in terror that I don't have anything. And then feeling sorry for you that I don't have anything, sorry. It's not so much that. It's the openness to, I don't have anything. In that openness there's unlimited teachings about unlimited teachings and so on. So that's the situation. And at the same time in consciousness there's the idea that maybe your blood sugar levels need some lunch or something, so I don't know how much longer they taught. How are you doing? Hungry? How much longer can you go before lunch? Two minutes? Ten? Fifteen? Ten, okay. You sure ten's okay? Eight.

[03:18]

Okay. Anybody less than eight? Do I hear seven? Eight? Seven? I'll try here, six. Of course, if we keep talking, we'll get five. We already are. You look like it anyway. Anyway, lunch is coming. So in this abundance, what would be good to bring up in the abundance? Well, I'll just say that in the story I told about Guishan and Yangshan, the teacher as a student, concerning this teaching about consciousness, how would you test it in experience with somebody? So he tested it. You can work on this without testing people, right?

[04:20]

But they were doing a testing thing. So here's a parallel story which appears in the commentary to this main story. There was a Zen teacher, I think a Zen teacher, his name was Nan Yan, Nan Yan. And one of his students said to him, in the Flower Adornment Scripture, it says that the fundamental affliction of ignorance is itself the immutable knowledge of all the Buddhas." I don't get that. How could that be so? This seems really either deep or abstruse. And Nanyan said, Oh, I think it's kind of simple. Let me show you. And there was a boy sweeping nearby and Nanyan said to the boy,

[05:23]

Hey, you." And the boy turned his head. And Nanyan said, is this not the immutable knowledge of all Buddhas? And then he said, what's Buddha? And the boy hesitated and wandered off in confusion. And he said, is this not the fundamental affliction of ignorance? So when we reconvene after lunch, I'd like to talk about how the fundamental affliction of ignorance and the immutable knowledge of all Buddhas, how they're not separate and how they completely include each other and, you know, and how we can live there with that, that non-separation.

[06:31]

Sometimes we may feel, okay, I got the immutable, knowledgeable, I've got the fundamental affliction of ignorance, or at least I got ignorance. I don't know if I got the fundamental affliction of ignorance, but I got that part and I don't need any more, thanks. I'd like to get over to the immutable knowledge of Buddha's part. Or some people might feel like, well, if I was over in the immutable knowledge of Buddha's part, I would just be over there and stay over there and stay away from the other one. But they're very intimate. There's no separation. That non-separation is expressed and heard in karmic consciousness. And that teaching is coming from the immutable knowledge of all Buddhas. But the immutable knowledge of all Buddhas can appear in karmic consciousness where there seems to be things existing on their own and so on.

[07:42]

The fundamental affliction is there. But the teaching actually is appearing in the realm of fundamental affliction. So I'd like to look at that more. It's afternoon. I mean, well, it's already afternoon after lunch. And I'm not sure exactly how much time you need for lunch. What do you think? 45 minutes? Is that enough? Let's put it this way. Is 45 minutes not enough? Huh? You want an hour? Okay. So, wait a second. How are you doing? 30 seconds more? Let's put it this way. When I first said let's put it this way, I was going to put it this way, but I actually switched to the other way.

[08:46]

Now I'm going back to this way. Let's put it this way. Come back whenever you want. And sit here. in your seat. And when most of us are back, we'll go to town.

[09:02]

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