The focus of today's talk is meditation to realize intimacy with pain and disease. I propose that what I mean by intimacy with pain and disease is peace with pain and disease. Peace and ease with pain and disease. And to bring the teachings from the sutra, unraveling the deep intimacy to bring the teachings that the images that appear to consciousness or the objects of consciousness are nothing other than consciousness, are just conscious constructions.

[01:25]

pain for us is experienced as separate from the mind that knows it, from the mind that feels it. The mind constructs a phenomena of pain both in direct perception and in conceptual cognition which appears to be separate from the knowing of it or separate from the subject of it. It's actually mind appearing to itself as separate from itself. In conceptual cognition there is a concept intervening between the object.

[03:05]

There's a concept appearing to intervene between the object and the consciousness. But the object is consciousness. In direct perception there's no intervening concept but the the pain is still a mental construction, which appears to be out there on its own, separate from the knowing of it. So both at the level of verbal and nonverbal cognitions, there's this false appearance of the way the pain is. Because it seems to be out there, not only is it a painful feeling, but we're afraid of it. And the mind is agitated when it believes the externality of anything.

[04:14]

So the mind is agitated, somewhat anxious, and in this case experiencing a mental construction of pain. There's pain somewhere too, but in some sense the mind is protecting itself from the pain by making up its own version of it. It's coping with the pain by constructing its own version of the pain, which is also painful, but at least it's its own construction. If we can realize the intimacy of the mental construction, with the mind constructing it. We can be at peace with the whole situation. That's the proposal. Once again, in the sutra Maitreya asks the Buddha, when when tranquility practice

[05:31]

and observing practice or insight practice are combined, at what point are they united? So combined means, in one sense means, do one then do the other, do one then do the other, then try to do them at the same time. When they're actually united, at what point are they actually united? And the Buddha answers, they're united... Oh, no. Yeah, at what point... Yeah, they're united when they mentally attend... to the one-pointed mind. So, when they're not united, then the practice on one side is to attend to the mind

[06:48]

itself, the uninterrupted mind, that's the tranquil practice. The other practice is to attend to the images of mind, to observe the images of mind. When they are attending to the one-pointed mind, they are united. But take away one-pointed and just say, when they are attending to mind, Somehow, before they were attending to two aspects of mind, now they're attending to mind, the one-pointed mind. The one-pointed mind is the mind that realizes that the image, which is the object of consciousness and the consciousness, are the same thing. So we look at the uninterrupted mind, we look at the mind.

[07:59]

We don't look at the different objects. We look at the mind, we look at the mind. No matter what the object is, we look at the mind. No matter what the object is, no matter what the image is, no matter what the concept is, we're looking at the mind. I'll be looking at the moon, but I'll be seeing you. I look at the moon, I look at the stars, I look at the comets, but I always see mind. This is the tranquil gesture. If you're tranquil, if you're still, and you look at the stars of pain, and you observe them in a calm state which came from not looking at the stars of pain but looking at the mind which is always there with the pain.

[09:06]

If you look at them and observe them carefully in calmness, a time may come when you see that these images are just mind. When you see that they're just mind, you're doing the same practice which is the calming practice. So the observing practice turns into the calming practice when you understand that the objects of consciousness are mind. And the calming practice becomes the observing practice because the observing practice right now is looking at objects which are understood as mind. So the pain, which is being considered in a tranquil mind, at first is an object.

[10:09]

And looking at objects is somewhat agitating. Looking at objects that are external, that are out there, is somewhat agitating. But the tranquility which develops from looking at the mind can withstand some amount of observing external things. So we're looking at external things, we're looking at pain, and just looking at the pain like any other thing that's seen as external is somewhat agitating. But if we keep looking at it, it's possible to see its mind, and seeing that its mind the two practices of meditation are united and they're observing the one-pointed mind. They're observing a mind which is a realization.

[11:11]

It's a mind that is being observed because these two are united. It's a mind which, when observed, these two become united. When you look at the mind, which is both the mind itself and objects, which it always was, or when you look at objects, which you understand are the same as the uninterrupted mind, the mind is united, and the mind is actually a realization of the teaching that the objects of consciousness are none other than mind. And then it... it, what, the one point in mind, is attending to suchness. But you could also say, instead of it, which it doesn't say in the sutra, the sutra says it, it says it right after

[12:17]

right after it. It, what's it? One-pointed mind. This mind, it, is the realization that the object, the image of consciousness is none other than consciousness. It. And it, then it, is attending to suchness. So the one-pointed mind is a realization of that objects of mind and mind are one, not separate, the same thing, that consciousness is that kind of a thing. Consciousness always arises having objects. Objects always arise being mind. Realizing that is the one point in mind, and that one point in mind, it observes suchness. The realization is observing the way things actually are for us.

[13:22]

But you could change the it to they. And the they is calming and insight. They are tending to suchness. And you could also change it to the bodhisattva. The bodhisattva is, at this stage, the union of these two practices. The bodhisattva is the realization of the mind. The bodhisattva is attending to mental, and mentally attending to suchness. And in this way, this practice, realizes intimacy with all phenomena that are known, with all objects of awareness, realizing that the objects of awareness are intimate with mind, realizing that we, the living being who is a conscious creature, realizes intimacy with whatever is happening.

[14:33]

And this is the removal of the causes of suffering. even when the object, or especially, and maybe first of all, when the object is pain or disease. But the same with pleasure. If we see pleasure out there, we're sick. We're agitated. We're frightened. Once again, many people think that concentration is to focus your mind on an object. But I propose to you that that's a warm-up to focusing your mind on the mind. And actually to focus your mind on an object is actually a little agitation.

[15:42]

It's a little movement. which we know how to do. We know how to move the mind towards something, to bend the mind towards something. We have that mental factor always available. Turn the mind towards the object. Move it towards the object. Turn it towards the object. Advert attention to the object. It's called an omnipresent mental factor. Now we're going to let go of that and let the mind not turn anywhere, which is really hard for us to do. So we warm up to it by turning it towards a select group of objects, like just the breath, and not the whole range of breath, but like in-breath and out-breath, or maybe just out-breath. Try to simplify the turning, so it just turns sort of to a small topic of objects. And the other ones, we say, don't turn towards those.

[16:45]

Don't agitate yourself about those. Just agitate yourself about one. Attending to the mind, you don't have, there's no movement necessary. Attending to the mind is the same as attending to not moving. Attending to the mind is the same as attending to being yourself. now. Considering the amount of movement, the imagined movement of the mind inverting here and there to objects, making a commitment to invert it towards just one, is virtually not moving relative to the amount of movement that's usually going on. But the complete not moving is for the mind to be attending to the mind, which is not something looking at something.

[17:49]

It's the mind not distracted. It's the mind not moving. It's the mind becoming settled. So once again, here's something to imagine and then forget about. Imagine being tranquil and concentrated, peacefully, flexibly, brightly calm. And then a teaching comes up and you feel it would be okay to look at it.

[18:55]

And you contemplate the teaching or you contemplate some object like pain. And you look at the object and it looks like it always has out there. And then you look at another one which might be very similar, maybe a similar teaching. And you study the teaching or you study the pain. In your calm, you can do it. And then you see it's not out there. And you may or may not tell yourself that you've achieved intimacy. You don't have to. But I say that that is attending to suchness and that that is what bodhisattvas, according to the sutra, and I agree, that's what bodhisattvas train to pay attention to.

[20:06]

And when they are able to pay attention to it, they continue to pay attention to it. And paying attention to that is the same as paying attention to Buddha. And they pay attention to that for the rest of their career, except when they forget and then they practice confession and repentance and go back and start over. Buddha is the same thing. It's not something out there. It's not something in here. It's not the mind, it's not the object. It's the realization that the object is none other. That's the Buddha that you pay attention to. And one more thing that is said for this teaching, which it doesn't say in this sutra, but Vasubandhu says later.

[21:11]

So Vasubandhu and Asanga, this is In a sense, this is their main sutra. The founders of the Yogacara school use this sutra. And Vasubandhus talks about attaining mastery of this consciousness only. But he calls it a concept only. Instead of citta-matra, he calls it vijñapti-matra. Vijñapti means like just an image or a concoction. He says when you attain this concept-only or this fabrication-only state, which is called vijñapti-matratta-siddhi, when you attain that, that attainment is also a mere concept. Hopefully that will protect people from substantiating this attainment into another thing

[22:20]

that's out there. So again, my sense is that this is the central yogic function of the sutra. It's the center of Bodhisattva's yoga practice. And again, in terms of the theme of intimacy, this is the way to realize intimacy with all things. With pain, with disease, with other sentient beings, with our philosophies, with everything. And in the intimacy, the signs or the packaging of what we become intimate with

[23:28]

no longer disturb us, and we enter, we enter the middle way. The requirements for admission to the Middle Way are being very kind to everything up to the point of enthusiastically practicing tranquility and learning teachings which then in tranquility we bring up or come up as is appropriate in this tranquil space to be contemplated, we have to do this kind of work.

[24:36]

Fortunately, we already have done it to some extent. You have heard the teachings, and if they're not clear to you, then they need to be clear so that you can contemplate them once you come. And then if you contemplate them and come, you can realize that these teachings that you're contemplating are nothing other than a manifestation of consciousness right now. And then you have intimacy with the teachings and enter the middle way of the teachings. And as you know, the first teaching of the Buddha is the truth, the teaching of the truth of suffering. So now we can say the truth of suffering, the suchness of suffering, is that it's nothing but a manifestation of consciousness.

[25:46]

And the origins of suffering, the truth of the origins of suffering, the suchness of the origins of suffering, are that it is a manifestation of consciousness. And the same for the next two truths. The sutra also goes into seven kinds of suchness, and four of the seven kinds are the Four Noble Truths. So the early teachings of the Four Noble Truths, starting with the truth of suffering, starting with the true suffering. Those are four suchnesses that the bodhisattva studies in order to be perfectly enlightened, to look at these truths, to understand the way they're taught, and then to see the suchness of them. The teaching and reality of the first truth of suffering is none other, as you're studying it, as you learn about it, it's none other than a manifestation of your consciousness.

[26:55]

Then you become intimate with the reality of that teaching. And then the teaching, the Dharma, does its work. So I skipped over the seven such, which is because I thought that would be a bit much, but now I feel like you're ready for me to bring up the seven kinds of suchness, but I'll do it on another occasion. I really pray that you are as happy with this teaching as the Buddhists and Bodhisattvas are with it. They're very happy about this teaching. Maitreya Buddha and Maitreya Bodhisattva and Manjushri and Avalokiteshvara and Paramatma Samadgata and these people, they're very happy about this teaching.

[28:10]

I hope you are too. if there's anything you care to offer. I have just seconds left. I want to bow afterwards. The form that we're going to experiment with was, if you wish to bow beforehand, you may. And then also, if you wish to bow after, you may, too. So more Zalbutants are coming at the suggestion of the, you know. Do we have the... You're okay, but the other people might not be able to hear you.

[29:28]

Is that okay with you if they can't hear you? Yes. No. So I have a question about the object. So it sounded like you were saying that... There's no objects other than the mind itself. Yeah, that's right. There's no object other than the mind itself. Mind, the Buddha says, I teach that the mind is fully characterized as arising in such a way that it has objects. OK, so when I'm practicing tranquility, I'm attending to not the objects of the mind, but the mind itself. Yes. then if I'm practicing contemplation, I'm in a tranquil state, attending to the objects of light. Yes. If actual contemplation, actual vipassana, higher vision, according to this sutra, is practiced in the context of attaining tranquility, and now you're attending to the objects, which are mind, but you don't know that yet.

[30:37]

You think they're out there. They look like they're out there, and you kind of think they're objects. You don't think they're mind necessarily. Even if you've heard the teaching, they look like objects. They don't look like mind. And you've been practicing looking at mind, and you know mind doesn't look like them. Mind doesn't look like anything. So you're attending to something that you can't see. That's not an object. You're not attending to objects when you're calm. You're attending... To what? To a non-conceptual object. You've been instructed to look at a non-conceptual object, to look at a mind which is always available, to look at stillness. You can't see stillness. So now you've done that, you've put that aside for a while, and now you're going to look at things that look like objects out there. Now, you've heard this teaching, though. It's right nearby, waiting for a chance to influence you to this realization. So let's say that in my experience of walking around in the conventional world of objects outside, I find that I have a pain in my foot.

[31:51]

Yes, pain in the foot. I look down, and I try to practice this. this teaching and look at the...so I practice tranquility, so I... Let's say you're tranquil. I'm tranquil. Yeah, so you look at the pain. And I look at my foot, which is where I think the pain is manifesting. You can also look at the foot. as a mental object, and then I find a burr stuck in my foot. I pluck it out, and the pain goes away. So given this mental scenario, and let's say this happens over and over again in my life, where I find things that appear to be external to me, that I remove and the pain goes away, it's really hard to not put some trust into externality.

[32:52]

Or at least, even if you have this umbrella where it's all concept only, within that there's things that are external and not external. So how do I practice with that? Did you say it's hard not to do the external thing? It's hard not to do the external thing even if I wrap the whole thing in cognition only. Yeah, so one way to say it's hard not to make things external. Another way to say is it's really easy to make them external. It's hard not to and easy to. Because that's the way the mind usually arises. It just naturally makes whatever you know external. And you can even see some benefit sometimes of that. Like you say, well, I can see that the burr in my foot is external and that helps me pull it out, which seems helpful in that case.

[33:55]

So one might wonder, could you see the burr in the foot and pull it out without seeing it as external? You know, understanding that it's not. And the answer is yes, you can. Huh? Before I say what it looks like, I just want to say that the status quo is easy. What's hard is to shift to another way. And shifting another way does not require putting down what's easy. It's just to point out that what's easy is affliction. To proceed this way of seeing birds in your foot as external, seeing them as external, prevents you from entering the path of the middle way, the path of peace. So it's easy to not be on the path. It's hard to be on the path of the middle. But once you're on the path, it doesn't mean you cannot see objects anymore.

[35:01]

You can see them, you just don't see them as external objects. You're free, you're at peace with the externality. The externality doesn't disturb you anymore. So what it looks like is that when you reach down to pull the burr out, you're not, you know, you're you're at peace. And if you don't get the burr out, you're at peace. And if you reach down to get a burr and 17 other burrs fly into your toe, you're at peace. No matter what happens, you're at peace because when you're free of externality, you cannot be disturbed. The Buddhas are totally imperturbable because there's no externality for them. And therefore also they can't construct anything. So it looks like, to those who are paying attention, to those who are somewhat calm and somewhat attentive, it looks like a person who is very calm. Whether you pull the burr out or put a burr in, they're calm with that.

[36:08]

Even if they wince, when you put the burr in, you see that the wincing person is still a Buddha. Like I used to... I had the opportunity to do mock Sebastian on Suzuki Roshi. And the way I knew when it was time to pull the cone off was that he winced. That's all I knew from watching the other person perform it. Just put it on when he winces, take it off. But he was still my master even though he was wincing. He was still teaching me the Dharma even more deeply when I could see that the teacher was still there when there was a wince. And when the thing went away, he stopped wincing. But maybe in both situations he was realizing that this burning thing on his back was not external from his years of training.

[37:11]

So that's what it might look like to a student of the person who's practicing that, or a co-practitioner. But what it feels like is it feels like peace. Inside it feels like peace, fearlessness, presence, ready to do good, and, yeah, and not attached to the piece, ready to give it away, ready for more pain to come, not wanting it to, but ready when it comes to practice with it. It looks like those kinds of things, if you want to know what it looks like. And it's easy to make all this external, and there's tremendous causal background for how we got to be this way and how we tend to continue kind of along these lines for a while.

[38:15]

But there's also a little bit of background in this world, few thousand years, of trying a different way of becoming free or abandoning externality. And in abandoning it, give up afflicted states be free of afflicted states, and enter the path of the middle. But that's hard, because it's a new trick. We've only been practicing it for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years. So we're just kind of beginning to get a little bit of hang of it. The other thing we're really good at, we can do it blindfolded. Matter of fact, we're blindfolded. And we're doing it. We're blindfolded and blind-hearted. We're separating ourselves from the world.

[39:18]

And it's easy for us to do it. However, it's the cause of all our afflictions. Because even pain, when we don't do it anymore... because we're intimate with it, is an opportunity for peace and freedom. And thank you for pointing out that the Yogacara teaching of mind only is not a metaphysical idealism. It's an epistemological idealism. And epistemological idealism means it's a philosophy not of the way things really are, but it's a way to think about how we know things that will bring us truth, that will bring us freedom. And yet it also says the way And it also says the way things are. And it also says that this epistemology is just a conscious construction.

[40:24]

So don't hold on to this epistemology. It's epistemology where it says don't hang on to epistemologies. You're welcome. Please come. I'm very happy for you bringing this teaching to us. When I read the sutra and have a lot of difficulty with it and I don't understand it and I lose patience.

[41:27]

What I want is to be able to get something. I want to be able to read it and have it be relatively simple and not have to be in this state of impatience. And so I'm asking whether it would be your recommendation that I concentrate solely on Chapter 8 until I have realized tranquility, and then I'll be able to turn to the other chapters, hopefully with much better understanding. I wouldn't exactly recommend that, but I totally support you. That sounds like a really wonderful excursion. But also, I would completely support you also just to close the book until you just feel like you want to read it again, not caring whether you get anything out of it or not.

[42:41]

It's another approach. There's many approaches, but I think whatever approach you take, it's good to actually not try to get anything from the Buddhas. But if you can't do that, then accept that you're trying to get something from the Buddhas and know that that's going to make it harder for you to receive the teaching if you're trying to get the teaching. I'm pretty sure I'll probably be wanting to get tranquility, but I hope to just keep that in mind and know that that's a concept, that I'm trying to get something and then plow it. Okay. Very good. That sounds good to me. It does. Sounds really good. I'm glad you... I'm glad you have some enthusiasm for studying this great sutra.

[43:45]

I have felt probably more encouraged than I felt discouraged before, and I was really discouraged before. So from the last, whatever, three lectures, I feel that encouragement. Thank you very much. You're welcome. Just want to mention again that this sutra is called The Deep. It's about the deep. And also the Prajnaparamita is the deep. Deep means difficult. It means you can't just come in and skim it off the top. So these are difficult sutras. Yes? I think the first part was answered in Michael's question.

[44:59]

My question was, what do you get when you look at the mind? Because there seems to be nothing there at the source of all these images. Yeah, you're looking at the sources. You could say you're looking at the source of the image, or you're looking at the home of the image, the house of the image. you're looking at something you can't see. So I continue to have difficulty with the instruction for tranquility, and I wanted to illustrate that in one experience. I had two cataract surgeries in the first surgery. So they take out the lens of the eye and then flip in the new lens with a laser. It's very fast, 10 minutes. And they didn't give me enough tranquilizer in the first.

[46:00]

And so I'm on the table, or it's dark, and the doctor says, all you need to do is to stay calm and keep your eye open. I thought, well, I know, but what then happens is like a laser comes towards your eye or it was like, a very strong light meeting the eye and there's this strong reflex to close the eye. Yeah. So that all went well. Then for the second surgery I asked for a tranquilizer because now I kind of knew and I was nervous to be too apprehensive in that moment. keep my eye open or to move.

[47:08]

So, I have the idea of a story that the Sharma Tao, the tranquilizing practice is connected to the limbic system and to all the parts of the brain that are not connected immediately to the cortex. So my idea is, I don't understand like when you say attending, because there is like a doing there, and there is like a, there's some access. And like the story, there's this whole heritage of, briefly like fight and flight reflex that is not how is that accessible in this attending so my experience is when I'm not thinking or not trying to do anything it so happens to be tranquil and that just be there but if I'm

[48:26]

attending or wanting to do something get lost? Is the question clear? It's clear. It was clear, but it had a lot of different aspects. The final one is, I thought you were saying that if you're not doing anything, somehow you have more of a sense of being able to find tranquility. And I think that's right, that when you're actually attending to the mind, you're not doing anything. I get confused about when you say attending.

[49:30]

Yeah, so you have to attend without, you have to turn the light around. It says turn the light around and shine it back. So how do you do that? Turn the light around means stop doing something. Usually you're looking out and doing stuff. So turn away from doing stuff and just be still. But What's still? Well, you don't have to move to find it. You don't have to turn around to see it, even though it says turn around means turn away from movement, turn away from doing stuff. However, when people are doing something, doing many things, and they're really meeting those things, they sometimes discover that they're looking at the mind. and then they feel calm. So in what you said about the limbic system, I think that in a way I think that that might be another way to say that the approach to tranquility, the approach to concentration, is through things having to do with caring

[50:54]

with being kind, with being generous and receiving what's happening, and with being careful, being attentive, not getting distracted from what you're doing. You're active and you're paying attention to what you're doing because you think it's important. You value not so much what you're doing, but you value being careful with what you're doing because you know You understand that what you're doing could be harmful, and you care that it might be harmful. And you have the gift, maybe, hopefully you have the gift or you're developing the gift to practice ethics. In other words, to care about everything you do, to care that it wouldn't be harmful to yourself or others. and you're also patient with the discomfort of the whole process, you actually care enough to be here in a painful area.

[51:57]

So we care enough to be at Tassajara where things are not always comfortable. Sometimes they are, but we care enough not to leave every time something gets uncomfortable. Now, if we could get out here easily, maybe we don't care that much. So we set it up so that you have to really... not care about being here to get out of here. And most of us do care that much. So we tolerate the discomfort. We stay present. And staying present is a caring thing, it's a kind of a limbic thing. To stay with, like for the parents to stay with the children when the children are sick. and crying, and to stay with their discomfort seeing their children sick, to stay with their sickness of seeing their sick children. Because they care, they don't run away from that pain. They're patient. And they also accept that their children are sick.

[53:02]

They don't tell their children to stop being sick. They say, OK, you can be sick. I don't hate you for being sick. I don't hate you for making me stay home from work. I'm here for you. And they're careful. these are, if we don't practice these kind of limbic type of things, these relational basic animal things, we can't actually, we don't have the energy. Our energy is getting dispersed and we don't have the energy or the preparation of care and kindness that we need in order to not do anything. We have to really care about not doing anything. We have to really care about looking at the mind because our habit, as Mako pointed out, is to look at the objects. So we have to really care about calming down.

[54:02]

We have to really believe that that would be helpful to everybody if we were calm, that would help us see the most effective thing to do for others if we were calm. It would help us to see reality. So we really think that practicing tranquility is important. But even if we really think that, we cannot think it fully enough unless we do these other practices. They convince us of the value of compassion. But also the teaching is that these first caring practices, these first dimensions of compassion, which are necessary in order to really attend to the mind without even doing anything in the attending, they're necessary, but they do not actually by themselves remove the affliction. We must practice tranquility and wisdom together in order to remove the affliction.

[55:08]

And when we're really kind to all these different kinds of suffering, we can stand the difficulty of tranquility practice. It's difficult, but not because it's painful, but because it's unusual for us to be just present and not jumping around with objects. It's sort of painful because we get scared sometimes. We get scared. If we tend to mind, we might not notice the burrs in our foot. But then again, when that fear comes up, then you practice kindness towards that fear. So you can tolerate, you bring the kindness to the fear of what would happen if you did tranquility practice. And then the kindness addressing the fear says, okay, you can contemplate the mind instead of me. I understand. You're taking care of me, but you want to do something other than look at me. You want to look at the mind, which is inseparable from me.

[56:11]

Right, okay, you can do it. Well, the first two, loving-kindness and compassion, are totally what bodhisattva practice is about. The foundation of bodhisattva practice is the first two divine abodes, loving-kindness and compassion. Maitri, or metta, wishing people well, that's one. The other is opening to their suffering and wanting to help them, feeling their suffering and feeling encouraged to devote yourself to their welfare. Those two are the foundation of the whole project we're talking about.

[57:13]

They're the foundation of these, of shamatha for bodhisattvas and vipassana. But the bodhisattva way of putting it is to analyze it into giving ethics, patience, diligence, and so on. That's the... What do you call it? That's the engagement of loving, kindness, and compassion. That's putting them into action. So in order to, actually again, in order to concentrate, in order to attend to the mind, we need to be loving and compassionate. We won't be able to do it unless we have those two. Or you can see it the other way. If you focus on loving-kindness and compassion and then put that into action, you will calm down.

[58:17]

Thank you. So there are times when I'm sitting aware of thoughts arising. You see? Okay. Just thoughts. You're aware of thoughts arising. And then there's awareness that, oh, there's someone behind that who's... where the observer who's doing that, it's a thought, it's a thought, it's a thought.

[59:26]

Sometimes there's a gap between thoughts and this whatever it is that's observing. Exactly. Exactly. That's the way it appears to most people. It's not so, but that's the way it looks. It looks like the thoughts are separate from the observer. So it's good that you can see that. So the observer is not different from these thoughts? The observer is no different from the thoughts. The thoughts are a manifestation of the observer. So in a sense the observer is just... one of the many thoughts that we have to take seriously. Exactly. So when does... You could say that it's usually said that

[60:36]

that the images that are the objects of the concentrated mind are understood to be manifestations of the mind. But you could also say, which isn't usually said, and I'm saying this, but it might be wrong, that the mind is a manifestation of the images. I said that, and we can think about whether that's helpful. But I think we've maybe turned the tables on the situation here. that the observer is a manifestation of the thoughts and the thoughts are a manifestation of the observer and the observer actually is, as you said, is actually just one of the thoughts. So it feels like As I was waiting, I was kind of experimenting with that. I was like, okay, let's observe. It's just a thought, okay. And then it's kind of loosening around it. You say loosening? Yeah. But then it pops up again. It's like, okay. It kind of keeps going.

[61:39]

Yeah, and that loosening is, to some extent, is like letting it go. You'd say loosening it, but you'd also say letting it go. And letting it go could be seen as being gracious with it, not strangling it, not slapping it, just letting it come and loosening it, letting it come and loosening it. This is calming. This is warming up to... The more you let go of the thoughts, the closer you're getting to meditating on mind. The more you let go of the thoughts or loosen the thoughts, the less you're looking at the images and the more you're looking at the mind. So letting go of the thoughts or feeling the thoughts arise and be loosened, you're heading towards tranquility. As you relax with the objects, this relaxation leads you to tranquility. But you're not asleep, you're noticing them, which is good. You're awake to their presence. and you're relaxed with them. So to be awake and relaxed, these are, this is the harbinger, this is the red carpet leading you to calm.

[62:48]

Or maybe it should be a green carpet. So what is that gap, that little space of time in between when the observer pops up again? It's conscious construction. It's a construction of the mind. It's not really there. It's insubstantial, but it appears. And mind always comes with this appearance of that gap. So you're not just looking at some old gap, you're looking at a homemade gap. So there's no awareness of a gap. Or there's no idea of, okay, there was a gap here. It seems like it's kind of only when the observer pops up again... When there's no... Yeah. It's only until the observer pops up again at the gap.

[63:49]

There's a concept of the gap there. So when there's no gap in some sense, you're looking at the mind. And it's hard for people to live with no gap. But if you can have some time of no gap, then looking at no gap is calming. There's nothing out there. There's no gap. That lack of gap, if you pay attention to it, calms you down. When gaps come back, they agitate you just a little bit. It feels like the... the thoughts that are rising in my mind aren't really that different from these images that I'm seeing. It feels like when I'm looking at you, it feels like this image that I'm seeing, it feels like it's very easy to think that, oh, that's you.

[64:51]

But it's like if you see that as also being just I guess a type of thought. So it's like, kind of like having a, you know, the eye is just a camera and it's hooked up with a cord to a little television screen that's inside of the brain. It's basically just an image there. It's not the actual thing that you're looking at. Yeah, I'm not what you're looking at. You're looking at me, but actually you're seeing your mind. You're looking in the direction of me, but you're seeing your construction of me. And I'm not insulted. So, yeah, I guess if I close my eyes, you won't disappear. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, so it feels like I'm aware that as I'm asking these questions, it's like, it's part of me that's wanting to, you know, like, okay, so what should I believe in?

[65:59]

And it's like, oh, no, I don't have to do that. So, yeah, I just don't really have to. I think it's a good question, what do I believe in? You know, I think it's a good, which I would translate as, what's most important to me in life? I think that's a good question. And, because again, as I said at the beginning, at the beginning of this chapter of the sutra, Maitreya asked the Buddha, you know, abiding in what, and depending on what, do bodhisattvas practice the meditation together with wisdom? And the Buddha says, abiding in the, you know, unshakable intention to teach the Dharma to benefit beings and attain enlightenment to benefit beings. So they looked in their hearts and they found that that's what's most important to them.

[67:02]

That's what they believe in. They believe in benefiting beings and they believe that in order to benefit beings you have to teach them the truth. They believe in that. And based on that they do this practice. So it's good for you to check in your heart and see what is most important to you. And then when you get some sense of that, that's your ultimate concern. That's what you want to do with this life. And then does this practice follow from that? You'll have to see. But it is good to know what you believe in, what you think is what you want to do with your life. And keep checking it. because it continues to be the resource. It's where you kind of live and what you depend on to do this really challenging practice. So keep checking that. I was about to say, it seems like it would have to be a constant review of that, because otherwise... Not necessarily constant, because you're kind of living there.

[68:07]

But frequently check just to make sure that you haven't left it in the dust. And then keep checking to see if the practice you're doing goes with that. Renewed. I agree, it has to be renewed. I agree. I agree, it has to be. Yeah, and we do renew it. Like, in a few minutes, we're going to say our ultimate concern. Our ultimate concern is, sentient beings are numberless, I have all to save them. We're going to say that again. We're going to renew it, right? Can hardly wait. But I'm not telling you you should have that be your ultimate concern, but maybe it is. Maybe it's not. That's not my ultimate concern. My ultimate concern is the Buddha way is unsurpassable. I vow to attain it. That's my ultimate concern. I don't like the first one. But then you might say, well, actually now I think of it, the first one is necessary, so I take it back.

[69:12]

It is my ultimate concern after all. So that's why we do that here. On a regular basis throughout the day we We reiterate these expressions of our ultimate concern and we think about, is that really how I feel? Do I really wish that eating this food is for the enlightenment of all beings? Yeah, it is my ultimate concern. So yeah, we have a setup here to renew, to check and renew our ultimate concern throughout the day. And then you can have an addition other times when you check on yourself. You're welcome. Good morning.

[70:29]

Good morning. I can greatly appreciate the sense and practicality sort of this mind-only approach to these afflicted, sort of the overtly obviously afflicted states of pain and disease and a burr in the foot. Maybe where I struggle a bit is when I consider things like gratitude and humility, that if I consider gratitude as something that's just my mind manifesting itself as gratitude, that seems a bit Well, the closest I can come to it is sort of selfish, that within this process I'm expressing gratitude when really where I'm trying to express it is to somebody or something that it almost feels like it needs to be out there in order for it to actually be appreciated as gratitude.

[71:42]

And humility Same sort of thing, that if I see humility as just the mind seeing itself as humility, then this contained experience is just humility within myself. And that doesn't strike me as overly humble. It's like I need to be humbled before something. And that before something seems, it almost necessitates that it be out there somehow. Well, you could say before or you could say together. So as part of the verification process is to meet somebody else and see if you can meet somebody and realize that they're not out there. Tricky? Yeah, tricky, right. So it isn't just inside, it's just that... we are circumscribed by our consciousness, but in order to verify that we understand that, we need to do something together with somebody else.

[72:52]

And if you feel gratitude, in order to verify that you understand what gratitude is, it's not that you need somebody external, because If you think people are external, your gratitude is in jeopardy of being lost. The middle way totally protects gratitude. The people in the middle way are grateful. But the people in the middle way don't have any external beings. Everybody's there with them. They're together. And they're grateful to all beings. They're together, but no external. And as a matter of fact, having external undermines the together and puts gratitude... When we're not grateful, it's because we think something's external. I often think of this phrase, the near enemies.

[73:57]

And you've mentioned with emptiness, the near enemy is nihilism. Yeah. And I imagine the near enemy of sort of the mind only as being, I think in philosophy they call it solopsism or something. I'm all that really exists. Yeah, that would be a near enemy of this kind of study. Right. But it doesn't say, I'm all that exists. It just says, all I know is conscious construction. It doesn't say, I'm all that exists. It means there are other beings, but I don't know them because my mind creates an obstruction between me and everybody. But I'm not all that there is. I've just got a problem here, is that I can't just meet people. I have to throw up a construction of them. So it's saying, this is a problem we have to deal with if we want to really be intimate with people.

[75:01]

If we can accept that we're putting up a... Oh, I was going to talk about this thing I forgot to talk about. Maybe tomorrow. This thing about the necessity of boundaries for intimacy. So we put up boundaries which make us we put up obstructions which make us not feel intimate with people. That's what it's saying. But it doesn't say that I'm all that there is. It's saying I, like other people, other people like this too, construct separations between ourselves and others. And all I see is my enclosed world. It doesn't mean all I am is that. So it doesn't mean that. But you say it's an enemy in the sense that solipsism is an enemy in the sense that it opposes the correct understanding. But the nearness of it suggests, the near enemy, suggests that if I practice, you know, in my greed, hate and delusion, I often imagine that that's maybe the closest I can come is the near enemy.

[76:11]

And I don't, I'm not really attracted to nihilism and I'm not attracted to... Well, then there's another, not necessarily near enemy, but there's another challenge there, which is fear that that will happen when you think about this teaching. So that definitely can happen when you think about it. And again, people feel frightened when they think about practicing tranquility. And emptiness also, people feel frightened when they start to see emptiness a little bit. So emptiness has fear and nihilism and discouragement around it. And this has the possibility of slipping into solipsism. It's a danger in the neighborhood. I don't know if it's sort of fall back on sort of, well, maybe I'll just try and be nice to people and pay a little more attention. You could say fall back, but you could also say abide in that.

[77:12]

Bodhisattvas abide in being nice to people. It's the beginning of chapter. Where do they abide? They abide in being nice to people. But not just nice, nice and liberating. Nice and liberating. It's not a fallback exactly. It's where they stand all day long. They're just trying to be kind to people and kind to all their experiences. That's basic. That's where they stand. But they also want to liberate beings, so they want to teach the Dharma and attain enlightenment. But it's based on this kindness. So we've got to keep our feet on the ground of compassion to do this concentration and wisdom thing together. We won't be able to do it without that basis. You're welcome. One of the gifts I've gotten from other people in my life is a club that I call It's Not Real, You're Making It Up.

[78:46]

And I use this club on a regular basis. This teaching... Did you say club? Club. Oh, you hit yourself with that club? Yeah. Maybe it could also be a social club where you get together with other people who have this teaching. They gave it to me. The difficulty is I hear this teaching and it's so close to that story. It sounds so similar to that story. Yeah, it does, doesn't it? Yeah. And I wonder... How do I not fall into this? One thing is that right there in the story, also remember the story is mind. It's another conscious construction, the story.

[79:52]

That story is not out there. So you could nip it in the bud right there. The experience right now is pretty circular, actually. It is circular. We're talking about a circle. And in the circle, when this teaching comes in there, it reminds you of an object which has been a problem for you. And you're kind of concerned that this teaching will get you into that area that you found not helpful. When I examine this teaching, it's already come up a few times. I hear you speak or I sit zazen or something's going on and I hear, it's all in your mind. It doesn't really exist.

[80:57]

It's made up. It's not that it doesn't really exist. I'm not really saying that. It's not saying it doesn't exist. It's saying what it is. What it is is that it is your mind. It's not taking the next step of saying it doesn't exist. Because if you take that step, well, that's also just in your mind that it doesn't exist. It isn't like it's all in your mind and then it doesn't exist isn't in your mind that that's really there. That's another one of those things. That's just a conscious construction. If you can accept this teaching in a calm state and then observe things like this story and become intimate with it, you will become equanimous with this story and free of it. If you don't become equanimous with it, it's just lurking and waiting to bash you again. But this thing about it doesn't exist, you're just making it up, but just making it up means it's not real.

[82:01]

It's wrong. That is another conscious construction, which if you can understand that, it won't bother you. And then you can work with these things in peace and freedom. Mind only. Thank you. You're welcome. Demonic spirits from the untamed wilderness.

[83:11]

the latter I find kind of sweet at the moment. The untamed wilderness? And the appearance of the beings within. But so much more frequently They're hard for me to find endearing. I kind of don't know. Excuse me. Even if you can't find them endearing, you know, like find them to be endearing, you can still practice endearment of them. And if you practice endearment of them, you will find them endearing. if you're gracious to beings that you do not yet find, you know, pre-made endearing, they come as unendearing demons.

[84:51]

You find me endearing? Well, I'm not going to be that way anymore. Now I'm going to be this way. Do you find that endearing? Yes? Okay, I'm going to be this way. What do I have to do to have you find me not endearing? And you can explain it to me. Okay, now I'm not endearing. Now that I'm not endearing, Now will you endear me? Now will you welcome me now that I'm not endearing? Now will you be careful with me? Now will you keep your eye on me? Now will you be patient with me now that I'm not endearing? And you say, yes. Yeah. Then, and when you say yes and you practice it, you say, what do you say? By golly, I see it's endearing. I see this as my good friend. This is a great gift. If I practice giving enough with unendearing demons, I will realize that they are precious Dharma gifts.

[85:59]

I have to use my imagination at the moment to think of demons, but on behalf of suffering, when that arises, I'm wondering, so another word for a demon, another name for a demon is something that you've lacked courage to meet in the past. Things that you've lacked courage to meet in the past, yeah, that's nice. But also some things, In Buddhist mythology, some things don't come to visit us until we start calming down. Some people don't notice they're agitated until they sit still. So in Buddhist mythology, when Buddha tried to sit still, Mars' palaces start shaking.

[87:04]

So then Mars sends people to get him to move. But what did he do with those in the mythology? What did he do with them? He practiced kindness towards the demons and they let him sit still. But those demons, he hadn't met them before completely because he hadn't really said, I'm going to sit. I'm going to really meet what comes. And when he said, I'm going to really meet what comes, All the things he had not had to meet before came, and he met them with friendliness. I feel like demons that have the strongest footing seem to be ancient demons. It feels like present welcoming of something with an ancient footing. I feel some doubt about the completeness or whether that is a sufficient gift to offer.

[88:17]

You feel a doubt about whether what is a sufficient gift? whether a current realization that this is my mind only is a sufficient gift for a demon that seems to have very strong Well, again, the actual realization that this is mind only comes when you're concentrated. And the concentration is there in the context of really being kind to these ancient demons. So it isn't just that you understand them, but that your understanding is based on being kind to them. You have to have the kindness towards the demons together with being calm with them. The calm is based on other dimensions of kindness to demons. If we meet them with the understanding that it isn't that I say that the demons are mind only, it's that I say to the demons, I kind of apologize

[89:33]

that I am accosted by a mind which is constructing a version of you which isn't you. And I would like to be intimate with you, but I'm right now not ready because I'm dealing with my story about you. I guess that's my question. You sometimes say that if you lose something, it's not too late to give it away, even retroactively. But I don't find the same is true, or I'm feeling a lot of doubt about whether the same is true for when you've missed your chance, and the guy that was angry on the bus, you believed in the signs that he was angry, and then you responded with fear. That retroactively, I can't give back. Fearlessness. I can't get fearlessness retroactively. That's my doubt, or that doesn't hit the hindrance. Well, what I meant was not so much that you could give gifts that you didn't give, but some things that you did give that you didn't notice you gave, you could give.

[90:37]

I know that was a little fast. Well, I followed you even though... So, when you lose something, It actually was a gift, but you didn't get it at the time. So there was a transaction. You actually did give a gift, but you missed it. So you can retroactively go back and say, I make that a gift, that thing which I thought I lost. I thought they took my dignity or took my money or took my happiness or took my love, but they didn't. I gave it. But if you don't even see them take your fearlessness, then you can't give something that wasn't even there. I shouldn't say you can't, but I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about a situation where you thought something was there, and it moved, and you didn't make it a gift. But it was there. But if there was no fearlessness, it's harder to go back and then give fearlessness when it wasn't there.

[91:40]

I have to think about how to do that. I'm talking about where there actually was a transaction which you call loss. that can be converted to gift. And then when that happens, then you might also say, and not only was it a gift, but it was a gift of fearlessness. I don't mean to insult you, but thank you. Thank you to you and all the questioners.

[92:50]

The last few days it's been... Thank you for giving that and for the questioners. really been helpful. I dealt a lot with still do deal with a lot of pain and I started sitting full lotus and really you know had a lot of pain with that and been sitting for six years that way. My I guess from what I'd heard, I started to just practice being with the pain and trying to not label it as pain, but just to fully be present. Excuse me, can I say something? Yes. To try not to label it as pain is not just being with it. So when you said, I tried to just be with it, I thought, patience. That was patience, instruction.

[93:53]

And I support that. But trying not to label it pain is not patience. It's kind of not so good to try not to label it pain. I'd be careful of that. It also doesn't sound patient. It doesn't sound generous. However, if you find yourself trying to not label it as pain, then that's something you're doing, trying to do. It's not patience and it's not generosity. But if you're doing that, I should be kind to that too myself. But be careful of it. Be careful of trying not to label pain as pain. And if you're careful of it, then maybe it won't harm you. to try to deny that pain, the label pain, is there. Be open to it not being pain. But I'd be careful to try not to label it as pain.

[94:57]

The thing that was encouraging when I started doing this practice of just being there with it was that I would get up after the sitting and there may be a little numbness or some pain still, but then you know, ten minutes later I felt completely relieved and fine. And so there wasn't any, I wasn't doing any damage. Good. That's a good way to proceed with that. Keep checking to see does it last for ten, twenty minutes. Then we should be careful to maybe make some adjustments. Yeah. So I could recognize it as something I could practice with. Yeah, good. So then I could just go forward with it. And So anyway, just being present, being present, not putting any negative connotations on pain, just accepting it, or as you say, giving patience.

[96:03]

If a negative connotation arises, if you feel pain and a negative connotation arises, Relate to that the same way you relate to the pain. Just be with it. Be gracious with it. And then you're on the path of calming down with it. So we can calm with the pain and be skillful with the pain. We can calm with the negative connotation and be skillful with the negative connotation. And something my teacher, Reverend Nishina, often said, I would get this idea of, okay, I'll, you know, I'm just, this is what I'm practicing, how I'm practicing with pain. And he said, he'd always say, no, not no, but that's good, but just focus on your breath. Be, you know, he always talked about giving more circular breathing and full, rather than short breaths is what we usually do if we get distressed.

[97:05]

So my sense was that he was talking about developing calmness, working more on the calmness side of what you're talking, you know, visioning or calm abiding. Yeah, it sounds like he was encouraging you to practice calm abiding. Mm-hmm. Just wanted to check that. And your ability to practice calm abiding would be supported by your ability to just be present with the pain, and gentle with the pain, gracious with the pain. That will help you be able to develop calm abiding. I mean, it's required, actually. Could you say that again? He gave you instruction. It sounds like he gave you instruction for calm abiding. But for that instruction to be helpful, I mean to be successful, we need to be patient and gracious with our discomfort. If we're mean to our discomfort, if we're impatient with our discomfort, if we're ungracious with our discomfort, that will make it harder for us to be successful at practices like you just mentioned.

[98:14]

On the other, to put it positively, if we take care of our pain in this kind way, then we will be better prepared to simply be present with our breathing. If we can be present with our pain, then help us to be present with our breathing. If we can be gentle and kind to our pain, we can be gentle and kind to our breathing. Thank you. You're welcome. Is this light, was that light in your face okay? It's okay? What profound teaching.

[99:20]

I think that I heard you say that the Buddha is not outside and the Buddha is not inside. At the risk of getting confused. I want to go back. I would like you to say a few words again about the principle of response. Because this Buddha outside, Buddha inside teaching resonates very deeply. I don't know how the two could be in accord. What are the two? The principle of response. The principle of response. Oh, I see. That there is some active engagement that happens with the Dhammakaya.

[100:36]

Okay. So the first part that comes up in the mind now is the principle of response is... that because of a deep request in us, this teaching of no inside or no outside has come. That's the response. It's the Buddha appearing in English language saying, no inside or outside. That's a response to the request, I want to meet Buddha. I want to realize Buddhahood for the welfare of all beings. That's my request. Please hear my request. And the response is, what you want to realize is not inside or outside. That's a response. And you might wonder, what's the next response? Well, the next response depends on the next request. I wonder if it's a response by whom? By whom? It's a response by the Dharmakaya.

[101:38]

which is unconstructed. Right. But it manifests in the world. It's unconstructed. It doesn't come or go. by the power of the vow that led to this Dharmakaya. The Dharmakaya responds by coming into coming and going. It comes into language, for example, that comes and goes. And it comes and says, no inside, no outside. That's a transformation of something that's unfabricated. And because it's unfabricated, it can talk right to you, depending on the way you question will be the way you meet, the way you're met. And if you're unclear about your question, you still get met, but the answer might be unclear. If you're clear about your question, sometimes you may not feel you've got a clear response, but you still get one. But sometimes you ask a clear question and you get a clear response.

[102:42]

and it's coming from the unconstructed stillness. The unconstructedness and stillness is responding to your wish to realize the way. I think of the Dhammakaya as being the natural order of the universe. So does that mean that we can then say that everything is a request? Well, it's the natural order of the universe, but it's... It is the purity of the natural order of the universe. It's the aspect of the universe that's unconstructed. So if you want to say the unfabricated... the unfabricatedness, the unconstructedness of the universe, is the natural order of it, then I would say yes.

[103:45]

But the thing is, it can resonate with beings spiritually. That's also part of the natural order of the universe. But strictly speaking, according to the teaching, that's not the Dharmakaya, that's the transformation body. But does it resonate with beings non-spiritually? Non-spiritually? Yes. What do you mean non-spiritually? Like you get a burr on your foot. Is that a resonance also? Is that not a resonance? I would say that there are other resonances besides the resonance of the pure dharmakaya. That's why we need to practice. Because some other resonances say things are external to you. You're separated from beings. That's coming from some place too. So we are resonating with other beings who... Who are deluded. Who are deluded, yeah. And in resonance to them, we feel separate from each other. They feel separate from each other. They're scared of each other.

[104:46]

So we're like, okay, I'll join you. Especially if you're my mom and dad. So they're teaching us... They're teaching us this deluded stuff. And we're in resonance to them. So we have to practice these teachings which are coming from something we're also in resonance with. So the burr in the foot is, when we understand it a certain way, then that's the resonance with the Buddha. When the burr in the foot is something external to us, then we're in resonance with other sentient beings. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you for the question. I wanted to thank you for one of the more profound tutus that I've learned from you is when you said the other day we weren't going to be taking attendance of people here at Slazen or lunch, and I thought, wow, that's amazing.

[106:21]

I didn't have to feel like somebody has a check board or board and is checking my name off. That made me feel like I was back in school again and they were counting attendance. They put it on your report card. Can I ask a question? A question? Can I ask a question? Oh, no. Well, sure. Really? The question is, you said what it felt like when the attendance thing was happening. What did it feel like when the attendance thing was suspended? That I could reclaim my life. Is that like a good thing? That's a very good thing. I was really happy about that. It was my responsibility to come, and I kind of like to sit and think about, why don't I want to go? Yeah. So it helped you accept responsibility for your practice of the way. Right. Great. It was my way to go or not go. You know, it wasn't the clipboard. Okay, thank you.

[107:21]

I'm glad that that's a great fruit. It was fun. Mm-hmm. You're welcome. My other motivation for doing this was I wanted the Dons to be able to be more quiet during Sashen. I noticed they were doing a lot of work And they were going in and out of the zendo a lot. And I wanted them to be able to come and sit quietly with everybody else. So it was also for the sake of quietness. And I think, actually, that's another... You could say that quietness sometimes helps us accept our responsibility. Quietness and stillness. The Dons were having to move a lot and talk a lot. So I wanted to, for the rest of Seshina, I thought maybe they could... be able to be quieter and more still. And I would like to hear from Doans about how that works for them someday. Thank you. The mind makes mental constructs of things that it imagines to be out there.

[109:12]

You know, the way the Buddha said it was slightly different. He didn't say exactly that the mind makes the things, but that the mind is generated in such a way that it arises with objects. So it isn't like the mind makes its objects. The mind is generated in such a way that it arises with not just awareness, but constructions of things. So the mind arises knowing with constructions. But it isn't exactly the mind that does the constructions. Because that would still make the mind and the constructions. They're one thing. It's a constructing mind that arises, and the proof that it's a constructing mind is that it has constructions. Rather, it constructs. Okay. So if I name that mind my mind, that mind becomes a construction?

[110:18]

Yes. And even if you don't name it, it could be a construction. And the mind that is developed by calmness is the same mind. Yep. But it's now a mind that's got calmness. It's now a tranquil mind. The tranquility pervades the mind. There isn't two minds. Well, you can say there's two minds, but they're not separate.

[111:21]

There's knowing, and the knowing is tranquil. There also can be knowing that's agitated. But now we have, because of training, we have a consciousness, an awareness, a knowing that's tranquil. within this room, are there an agitated and a tranquil mind, or are there forty agitated and tranquil minds? There might be many

[112:28]

tranquil minds in this room right now. Or there might be many tranquil minds and many agitated minds. But I don't think that the mind that you're aware of is both tranquil and agitated. If there's agitation in your mind and you're tranquil with it, the mind is tranquil. If there's tranquility in the mind and you're agitated with it, the mind is agitated. For example, one way of agitation is that you think the tranquility is external and you try to hold on to it, then the mind's agitated. So it's the way we work with objects that's important. In other words, the way the mind is with its objects.

[113:31]

So the object can be agitation, but there can be kindness and stillness and tranquility with anything, including agitation. So this tranquil person can go into an agitated sea and practice compassion towards the agitations. I still have a feeling that there's a dualism in so many minds. Yeah. There it is. But even if there's only one, let's take care of that one. The dualism. And what do we do with the dualism? First of all, We practice generosity towards it. Then we practice ethical discipline with it. Then we practice patience with it. Then we practice enthusiasm with it, which means we're enthusiastic about these forms of kindness towards it, and we're enthusiastic about calming down with it.

[114:40]

If we calm down with it, we find out the dualism, and then we look at the dualism, we see that the dualism is actually mind. And when we realize the dualism is mind, we realize peace and freedom from dualism. But we don't get rid of the dualism. We see that it's mind. Nothing more than mind. Then we see the suchness of the situation. And dualism is no longer a problem because we're intimate with it now and at peace with it. That's great. Isn't it great? It's so great. But not so easy. Oh no, it's bloody easy. Yeah, right. It's totally easy. It's like the easiest thing. Yeah. Why are we doing it? Oh, we are. That's what we're doing here. We are doing it. We are doing it. Putting all these similar little signs on it saying we're not doing it.

[115:42]

Right. Which gives us more opportunities to practice it. Yeah. Yeah. Keep on doing it. Yes, exactly. Job security. For bodhisattvas. Yeah. Wow. You're welcome. I'm really happy. Thank you. How are we doing on time? Should we stop? Now's a good time to stop? Can you graciously accept her suggestion? You're so welcome. You're so welcome. Yeah, thank you. And I also just want to say that I forgot to bring up, but I'll say it again, the necessity, in my view, the necessity of giving the gift of limits or boundaries when we're working with pain and disease and friends.

[116:50]

We need to give these gifts in the process of realizing intimacy. We need to learn to give them as gifts so that we can really be intimate with each other and be at peace with each other. I said it, I'm kind of done, but we can go into detail on that, but I forgot to bring it up, I'm sorry. So maybe tomorrow or the next day we can get into that topic. Thank you for your being awake, for your being sincere, for your being patient, but you're being generous and careful. Thank you.

[117:40]

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