Tonight I'd like to do a little review and then give you an introduction to a course of study which I feel we're perhaps ready to embark upon. The review is that this fall in the Koan class and also in other discussions, we've been considering how to realize intimacy. And then propose to you that our actual nature, our true nature is that we are intimate with all beings already. That's really the way we actually are. But we are intimate with all beings already. inclined to see the world as being separate from us, rather than we are not innately inclined or gifted to see the world as interdependent with us.

[01:21]

And because we see the world as separate from us, and because we see other beings as separate from us, and believe that appearance, afflictions arise in our life. So our, in some sense, the training is to train our body and mind in order to stop believing the appearance of separation and realize intimacy and freedom from affliction. And a basic I have mentioned is that if we don't face something, we become a slave of it. If something's happening and we don't face it, we become a slave of it. Whatever we don't face will destroy us.

[02:21]

So whatever. But in particular, I've been emphasizing fear. We don't face fear, we become a slave of fear. And being a slave of fear will destroy our potential for a good life. So part of what we've been doing this practice period and what's been going on in the Zen tradition for a long time is to use forms, or any means, but anyway, to use forms in particular, to use formality in the sense of shared understanding of using forms in order to help us flush out fear and face it. And the principle here is if we face the fear, if we flush the fear out and face it, we can become fearless.

[03:29]

Flushing things out and facing them, we become free of them. Flushing out fear and facing it, we become. And when we become fearless, and opening to the fear and relaxing with it and become free of it, then we also open to intimacy with all its vulnerability and so on. Facing fear and opening to become fearless, and then we can face intimacy, open to intimacy. On Sunday, another way to talk about this is that Realizing nonviolence requires fearlessness. Nonviolence is a good idea, which a lot of you do, but you won't be able to fully realize it until you're fearless. We won't be able to really be nonviolent no matter what happens unless we're all

[04:40]

People who are, generally speaking, really committed to nonviolence, when they become fear-afraid and they don't work with that fear skillfully, they can be driven to violence by that fear. I suggest that to you. The wonderful story is that if we face the fear and relax with it and become fearless, we can actually be nonviolent no matter what. Of course, it's a call order to face fear. Quite a bit, quite a feat. And then to face it, relax with it, and become fearless is really a huge project. But that is the project which we've been discussing this practice period. And also, in particular, how to use traditional forms of practice to flesh it out. And I would like to report that we've been quite successful. in flushing out a lot of fear in the community.

[05:46]

The whole community is petrified. And part of the community has gone beyond their petrification to... And I, you know, although I thought you might laugh at that because of my timing, Did you laugh at it, Robert? Good. I'm sincere to say that a lot of people are coming to me and I'm hearing about a lot of people really being aware of their fear during this practice period. And the forms of our practice are integral to that revelation of the fear. We were afraid before the practice period started, but some of us thought we were pretty like, hey, I'm not afraid. And then with the aid of the forms, a number of these people who were just a little tiny bit afraid have become more aware of other dimensions of their fear.

[06:53]

And I say this is the path to become more aware of our fear is the path to not... to realizing nonviolence and to realizing intimacy and freedom. And then in particular, I talked about this on Sunday at the Sunday talks, if you want to hear that tape, there's a tape of that, and I also related to interacting with other religions, that I think part of our work as bodhisattvas is to be able to interact with other religions in an intimate way. But I think a lot of us are afraid of other religions. We're also afraid of making mistakes in our and the people our co-practitioners were afraid of. But then we're also afraid of these heathens, you know, that aren't Buddhists. They're really frightening. But anyway, we have to be fearless in order to be able to go up to people in other religions and say, hey, can you teach me a religion?

[08:01]

Would you teach me about it? What do you believe? How does your religion work? I'm interested. And I'm interested in you and your religion. And I'm a little afraid, but I'm still here. Are you afraid of me, too, by any chance? Yesterday, I was taking care of my grandson, and I was talking to him, and when I was talking to him, I moved my hand over my mouth. He said, Granddaddy, when you move your mouth, you sound scary. You sound like a monster. No, Granddaddy, no. Anyway... Bodhisattvas need to interact with all people and all religions in order to realize intimacy. So that's what I talked about on Sunday.

[09:02]

Tonight I just want to mention that this kind of work sets up the possibility for meditation practice in the deeper levels. If you wish to practice what we call tranquility and insight, it's pretty difficult to practice tranquility if you're denying your fear. If you try to like, okay, practice tranquility and you're not aware of your fears, the fears will drive you from your seat. They won't let, you know, they'll push you away from your experience if they're in denial. If you can face your fears and your meditation practice, And you can be non-violent with your meditation practice. But if I'm not aware of my fears, I will be violent with my practice of tranquility. Could that be the case? Can you imagine such a strange thing that someone would try to practice and tranquility, but actually be violent with themselves?

[10:03]

Could that happen right here in Zen Center? Yes, it can. It happens. People are trying to practice tranquility, but actually they're violent with themselves about the way they do it sometimes. Such people, and you're in touch with your fears, you can be nonviolent with them, and you can help them get in touch with their fears, and then they can be nonviolent with their meditation practice, too. So this practice is kind of an ongoing thing we work on, is keep in touch, keep in touch with your fear. If you're not noticing any fear, it's a good idea to stop and say, where is it? And if you can't find it, just come to me and I'll go, how are you feeling now? Are you really not afraid of anything? Because if you are, I have ways of getting you in touch with it.

[11:06]

We can go swimming tonight in the pool down there in the dark where the waves are and the moon is shining on the water. Most of us will be able to get in touch with our fear if we just go down to the beach and go out into the surf and go under the water with the sharks. They're waiting for you, those of you who have no fear. So, now what I want to talk to you about is the marvelous practice, the Bodhisattva's practice of tranquility and insight. And we start now to open up to the Mahayana scripture teaching how to, you know, basically understand what Buddha's up to. And so, one aspect of the Buddhist meditation practice is called, in Sanskrit, shamatha. In Pali, it's called samatha.

[12:08]

And on Saturday, Saturday was shamatha day here. ...about that, and so there's a tape of that long talk on Shama, if you want to listen to it. A lot of you are at the talk. If you want to learn about some, just, you know, that's one way you can get in touch with some instruction about how to practice tranquility. I talked about that on Saturday. I would like to start talking about, give you an overview of wisdom practice or insight practice, vipassana. and also then talk to you a little bit about how to combine the two. And this is kind of to prepare some of you for further disclosures on this practice of insight. Traditionally, in classical Zen, there's not an explicit presentation of the bodhisattva's meditation as shamatha and vipassana, or tranquility and insight.

[13:49]

Some early Zen teachers did treat and teach tranquility and insight in an explicit and literal way. but later it wasn't referred to in that technical sense, but I would like to introduce you to these teachings. And so again, I started to do that on Saturday. So the cultivation of tranquility, by tranquility we mean a state of being where you're relaxed, alert, flexible, calm, and ready to do any kind of wholesome activity. Any kind of skillful activity you're ready for, you're up for, you're relaxed about, and you're not very afraid in this state.

[14:53]

And one way to describe the practice of samatha, or tranquility, is that when you're cultivating tranquility, when you're solely cultivating tranquility, that is attending to the uninterrupted mind with continuous mental attention. That's what it's like when you practice tranquility solely, is to attend to the uninterrupted mind with continuous mental attention. Thanks, Roger. You're going to be back at the end? Okay. And again, Tonight I'm not going to go into what that uninterrupted mind is, but if you want to hear that tape for Saturday's talk.

[16:03]

That's how to cultivate the state of tranquility, by attending to the uninterrupted mind with continuous mental attention. And that way you cultivate tranquility. And when you solely... cultivate insight, the scripture says, you attend to mental signs with continuous mental attention. And when you combine the two, tranquility and insight, and unite them, then you attend to one-pointed mind or the one-pointedness of mind with continuous mental attention.

[17:05]

I said, when you unite tranquility and insight, excuse me, when you combine them, when you're practicing cultivation of them together, and when they're united, then you are attending to the one-pointedness of mind with continuous mental attention. Now, I said I wasn't going to say more about tranquility, but I changed my mind.

[18:31]

In order to attend to the uninterrupted mind, another way to talk about how to attend the uninterrupted mind is to give up discursive thought. That's another way to talk about how you cultivate tranquility. And I thought I might mention that there is a relationship that I don't want to make it sound too hard and fast, but there's a relationship between posture and the use of thought. Generally speaking, pardon? To give up a discursive thought, is it necessary first to develop attachment to discursive thoughts?

[19:38]

Is it necessary to first? I think that it's simultaneous. If you're attached to discursive thoughts, you're not going to be able to give it up. So it actually is an example of letting it go for a while. You don't let it go forever, just when you're practicing tranquility. So letting go of discursive thought, not being attached to discursive thought, this is the same as attending to the uninterrupted mind. And if you do this, if one does this, giving up discursive thought with continuous mental attention, in other words, you continuously attend or pay attention to letting go of discursive fruit as tranquility. And it's the same as attending to uninterrupted mind. So, for example, if I look at Fu, and my mind doesn't wander from just looking at her. I don't think about whether she's my friend or my enemy or whether I want to spend more time with her or less time with her or I don't think about how much more time I will have to spend with her or anything like that.

[20:49]

I don't think about whether she likes me or doesn't like me or whether I'm popular with her or not I just, at any moment, look at her. There may be a story there, but I don't get involved in it. Because I can actually see, perhaps just in a flash, I can see a history of my relationship with her. But I can also just look at her and just basically not elaborate on it at all. And I can look at everything that way. And when I do look at everything that way, I'm also attending to the mind, which looks at everything that way. Because in every moment, there is a mind which just simply looks at things without elaborating, and that mind is uninterrupted. We have this uninterrupted mind which looks at phenomena that it's knowing without any elaboration. That mind is uninterrupted. We always have this mind which simply knows the object that it's knowing, period.

[21:55]

And then we also have the ability to get involved in conceptual elaborations and stories about the object. And in training in tranquility, we give that up. We give up our attachment to that, and we do have a strong attachment to that, so we learn to give that up, which is also part of the reason why it's good to be in touch with your fear, so you can be with your discursive thought, so you can be non-violent with your discursive thought. Otherwise, you might get too rough with yourself as you do not give up discursive thought when you're trying to train at giving up discursive thought. So, again, upright posture in which it's actually conducive to giving up discursive thought. If I stand upright or sit upright and look at you and really have that posture, that physical posture, then I can also have this being upright with you.

[23:01]

I'm not leaning towards you or away from you. without preferring to continue to be the way you are or change, without leaning right or left, forward or backwards, I'm just simply aware of the mind that knows you uninterruptedly. That posture is conducive to giving up discursive thought. Similarly, if one is sitting in a slouch posture but manages somehow to give up discursive thought, many people report to me that their posture becomes erectile. It sits up. As you give up discursive thought, your body becomes more erect, more upright. Giving up discursive thought, becoming calm and flexible, starts to drop the partitions and blockages in the flow of your energy, which come from being involved in discursive thought.

[24:05]

And energy starts flowing, and you, in a sense, become lifted by your energy, which is now unobstructed by obsessions with attachments to being discursive about what's happening. So giving up discursive thought makes your posture upright, Working on upright posture helps you give up discursive thought. When you give up discursive thought, it reinforces and supports your continued upright posture. So that's a form which can flush out fear, can also form to realize tranquility. I've had the experience... many years ago of sitting discursive and fairly clear and relaxed, and then noticing my chin go forward and the crimp form in the back of my neck, and I saw a big burst of discursive thought.

[25:12]

It's like it set off this kind of like explosion of discursive thought just because my head tilted forward. That you're not already kind of clear, but if you have let go of discursive thought and you just present and calm with the uninterrupted mind, you can perhaps sometimes notice that when your posture becomes crimped, the crimp creates eddies in the form of discursive thought. And similarly, when you return to the uprightness, your body turns into a vent or a chimney and the discursive thought just flies out. And there you are with the uninterrupted mind. And again, Being with the uninterrupted mind is not the same as tranquility. Being with the uninterrupted mind is cultivation of tranquility. As a result of this practice, you become tranquil. Once you're tranquil, you do not have to necessarily continue to do this practice of giving up discursive thought, because you now enter into this state of tranquility.

[26:22]

And strictly speaking, when you turn to practicing insight or wisdom, insight and wisdom work, it is to be done in the state, in the fruit of this tranquility training. It's to be done in the state of tranquility. So one path is to practice tranquility, and when you're in tranquility, start attending to mental signs, which means pick up again discursive thought, reactivate it, and now start using discursive thought to apply the teachings about how to study the signs of phenomena. And then you will be entering into the wisdom study, the vipassana study, the insight study. which is attention to signs, mental signs, mental attention to signs, to mental signs.

[27:34]

...signs, and we're not in a state of tranquility, that is, the sutra says, that is not insight, but it is intensified effort concordant with insight. So if you're not in a state of tranquility, but you're starting to learn how to discursively study what's happening, study the signs of compounded phenomena, it's kind of a warm-up to insight work. And most of us need to do that for a while to get the hang of it. but it's not the actual insight, unless you're already in a state of tranquility. So again, one scenario is you practice tranquility, you cultivate tranquility, you attain tranquility, you give up discursive thought for quite a while, you attain tranquility, and then you can stop giving up discursive thought and start using discursive thought to study phenomena in the state of tranquility. Once you're able to now study the signs of phenomena in a state of tranquility, certain point when you're quite familiar with what you're studying and understand it quite well then you combine the two practices and you go back now even in the state of tranquility to again cultivate on one side giving up discursive thought and on the other side using discursive thought

[29:03]

to study signs. And you combine giving up discursive thought with using discursive thought to study. And then when they actually become not just combined, where you're either alternating or doing both simultaneously, when they actually become united, not just combined, then you start meditating on the one-pointedness of thought Signs are... The sutra says, what are signs? And the answer is, signs are mental images which are the focus of the state of concentration you're in. So you're in a state of tranquility. and now you're looking at something in your state of tranquility, and the sign is the mental image that you have of the object you're looking at.

[30:12]

Actually, you're right, it is, but you don't realize that yet. When you first start looking, that's really good, she anticipates the next step. When you first start looking, at the signs, you think the signs of phenomena, images of signs, you think they're out there separate. This is like now our basic problem of thinking that what we're looking at, we think the appearances that we're aware of are separate from our awareness. Actually they're not, but we at first think they are. When we are good at that, at understanding that, what the signs are, then we're ready to combine with the meditation of tranquility. And in that state, we start looking at the one-pointedness of mind. And then the citra says, what's the one-pointedness of mind? It is the realization that this object of awareness is just mind. When you have that realization, you are now studying suchness.

[31:26]

And so now, when you combine the two, you're studying suchness, which actually removes the sign. Is that the mental image? The sign? Yes. It's a mental image. However, it's more complicated than that. And so by saying it's a mental image, it's more like an initiatory because actually the sign is not just a mental image. The sign is also what the mental image is based on. And this discussion of signs is what I'm telling you we're on the verge of learning about. practice insight, which is learning how to meditate on the signs. And this will take quite a while.

[32:32]

I'm introducing you to it now. It'll take quite a while. But as we become more skilled at it, we'll be ready. Combine that study with the tranquility study, and then we'll be able to study the one-pointedness of mind. And then by being able to study the one-pointedness of mind, will be suchness, wherein we realize, which is the realization that what we're looking at is only our of what's there. It's not that what there is doesn't exist outside of our mind necessarily, although there is an idealistic interpretation of this, but basically to say that what appears to us is just our mind. We think these creeps are something other than our own imagination. And we think these angels are something other than our own imagination. And this meditation then finally removes the signs.

[33:36]

And this process of removing the signs is the process of removing all obstruction to Buddhahood. So that's the overview of the course of study, which is called the Bodhisattva Meditation Course, which is described in some detail, but not enough detail, in Chapter 8 of this sutra on revealing what Buddha was up to. It's the sutra on revealing what Buddha was up to. That's an English translation. In Sanskrit it's called Samdhinirmocana Sutra. In the meditation course and the other previous chapters,

[34:48]

tell you about sort of the curriculum or the things that we need to think about or that are perhaps helpful to think about in studying science. Do you find any other texts that illuminate that chapter a little more? I actually do have a list on the Bodhisattva meditations, but that doesn't mean they're all going to talk about that chapter. I actually don't know of any chapter of any sutra that actually goes through this chapter and gives a commentary on it. But there's various resources that kind of apply, I've found. And if you read all these Mahayana meditation texts, you'll probably see how they apply to Chapter 8.

[35:57]

But they don't necessarily apply to Chapter 8 of the Samadhi Nirmacana Sutra now. But I feel that they are. So it's, you know, But I intend to go through the sutra and then… Oh yeah, that one. So, it's… 822 on my watch. So that's kind of an overview. And I don't know how many more times I have to do the overview for that to sink in. About what I said in terms of the overview? Yes? The question popped up. What does progress depend on? Question?

[37:01]

Congratulations. At the beginning of each one of these chapters in this scripture, some great bodhisattva on our behalf They already know the answer. But they ask so that we can hear what the Buddha says. And they ask really good questions. And every time they ask a question, almost every time they ask a question, the Buddha says, that was a good question. I know you asked that question for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of many beings. So at the beginning of Chapter 8, the great Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, Maitreya, asked the Buddha, Bhagavan, Abiding in what and depending on what do bodhisattvas make progress in inquilining and insight?

[38:01]

Isn't this cool? and the Bhagavan. Bhagavan is one of the epithets of the Buddha. It means the blessed one. One translation is the super mundane victor. That's one of the epithets of our dear, gentle Buddha. The Bhagavan said, abiding in and depending upon an unwavering resolution to expound doctrinal teachings and become unsurpassably perfectly enlightened, bodhisattvas make progress in cultivating tranquility and insight." So the course, moving through this course, depends on an unwavering intention, the unwavering vow to teach these teachings and to attain supreme, perfect enlightenment for the welfare of the world.

[39:14]

That's what it depends on. So you should get that intention, and then you can make progress in the study. The intention in these studies are a little bit too hard. Can I have a little easier task, please? So, I didn't, you know, we could spend many practice periods working up that intention. But that's the intention that this is the Bodhisattva Meditation Course. And learning this and cultivating this text requires this big commitment to attain enlightenment and then teach these teachings for the world. And that's unwavering. Sometimes people are like, oh yeah, I'd like to attain, I want to attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment, and I want to give these teachings to the world for the benefit of the world. Yes, definitely. But if you just do it once, then that's good.

[40:18]

But for tomorrow, it has to be steady, and you have to take care of it. Constantly think, now, how am I here? Oh, yeah, I want to attain supreme unsurpassed awakening for the welfare of the world so I can teach effectively. And therefore, now I'm ready to study these meditations. these Mahayana, these Zen and Mahayana meditations. That was the Bodhisattva's first question at the beginning of the chapter. How, you know, what does it depend on? What drives the whole course? It's that intention, it's that vow. The Bodhisattva is driving this whole study program. So if you're interested in studying this, great. But if you want to really move through it, check out whether you have it in your heart that you really want to do that. Because that's what the Buddha says, this course depends, moving through this.

[41:19]

Any other questions? Yes? Sometimes it seems to me that if my body gave up all of its muscular tension, I would be enlightened You would be enlightened? Well, you would be more enlightened. Yeah, but it takes more than that. But that opens the door to, that relaxation and muscle tension opens the door to tranquility. And then when you're in tranquility, then you can start studying effectively. And then when you study and understand these teachings... and see the nature of phenomena, then you start actually moving through this course. And after you move through this course and keep applying the teachings, keep looking at suchness, keep looking at suchness, you move into deeper and deeper realization of the way.

[42:25]

But this is a key step, this relaxation of mental and muscular tension. It's very important. Huh? It's definitely chemical. A chemical thing happens to us when we take a break from discursive thought. But it's not optional. Hmm? Is it optional? What? Taking a break from discursive thought. Well, it seems to be. I mean, people seem to be taking a break from thought nonstop, with no breaks. That's what it seems like. If you talk to them, they go, I'm so American! They seem to be like discursively thinking all the time with no breaks. That's what it looks like. But in terms of the course of study, it's not optional. But when you're on the cushion, it's not so easy to say, well, no more discursive thinking.

[43:31]

It's actually easy to say that, which is difficult. It's actually like, yeah, it's actually like letting it go. That's really difficult. It's very difficult. Some very sincere people have, you know, been trying a long time but still haven't been able to give it up. But trying to give it up, a lot of people try, and that counts. Even trying to sit up straight, like Suzuki Roshi, when he was, you know, in his 60s, he said, I'm getting old and I can't sit up straight anymore, but I can still try. So our great kind founder was still trying to practice. So we can try to give up discursive thought, and that's part of the course. But to actually completely give it up continuously, That is quite a feat, but we can try. It's not easy, though, as you know. It's not easy because we are somewhat addicted to discursive thought.

[44:36]

Is that enough for tonight? Big introduction to studying tranquility and insight and the path of the Bodhisattva and and realizing suchness. Unless there's any burning questions. Stop. May our intention equally into every being and place, with the true merit of Buddha's way, be the memberless. To say that delusions are inexhaustible, I may be wrong to end them.

[45:51]

But without being thought about this, I am bound to end. The world in this way is unsurpassable. I am not able to become it. Can we get a bell, some kind of bell? Thank you. Thank you for watching!

[47:02]

You're welcome. You're welcome. You're welcome. Thank you for watching. Please subscribe to my channel for more videos. Thank you for watching. Let you shanky men and pretty ten cons they are not.

[48:29]

What's the other? [...] Thank you for watching! What's your name? [...] What they all want to do, they all want to do, and [...] they all want to do.

[49:32]

We awaken Buddha's compassion and luminous mirror wisdom. With full awareness, we have chanted the end name of Kannongyo for protecting life. We dedicate this merit and virtue to the complete recovery and well-being of our dear friend Cindy Van Der Veer and all sentient beings. May they all become Buddha's way. Thank you for watching.

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