So body is a very good thing to study. But how it comes to be that we discovered that, or got tipped off to that, and how the Buddha did, the karmic process which made that possible is inconceivable. However, you could make theories and stuff like that about it. I think the important thing at this point is, let's study the posture, because it is one of those things that we have misconceptions about. I'm going to go back now to the root problem. which I think then I'll also try to bring back to what you brought up again.

[01:04]

The root problem is that our mind works in such a way that we superimpose fantasies on impermanent phenomena. And so examples of impermanent phenomena, we just happen to have one that recently we're discussing, the body. The body is an impermanent phenomena, the mind is an impermanent phenomena. So the root problem here is that we superimpose on something like a body a fantasy. a false status is superimposed on, for example, the body or on a person.

[02:19]

But let's just talk about the body. An impermanent phenomena like you and me, like our bodies, and our houses, and our cars, and our teeth. All these things, all these impermanent phenomena are under the influence of things other than themselves. And the things which your body depends on for its existence other than itself, these conditions that it depends on other than itself, are only very partially known to you.

[03:37]

Or to put it like I was talking about last night, What your body depends on for its existence is almost entirely, you're almost entirely unconscious of how your body happens, which is not very interesting. Like, we know almost nothing about how this body happens. We being, you know, our normal consciousness does not really know much. You can say some stuff like, Mommy and Daddy, and all that peanut butter I ate, and nobody's killed me yet. These are things you can mention, and I'm not disagreeing with them, but that doesn't actually complete the story. it leaves a great deal of other things that are contributing to it that you're unaware of. So your body is not under your control, or my control, or its own control.

[04:44]

However, most people, permanent and under their own control, under their own power, that's the way most people see their bodies. You've heard a lot about Buddhism, so you know you're not supposed to, but you do actually, most people do actually see their bodies that way, solid and under their own power. As if they could remain the way they were by their own power. As if the body could maintain the way it is for another moment. How about just another moment? It looks like that, doesn't it? Like, here we go. One, two, three. See, I did it. I did it. It did it.

[06:07]

I did it. It and I did it. But actually, you didn't do it and the body didn't do what you thought it did. But still, who cares what it really did? I know what it did do. And this attitude leads to the illusion of self-powered bodies and self-powered beings who can produce self-powered action. So the body is a good opportunity, the sitting body is a good opportunity for you to tell me, as you did a moment ago, that you can do it, that you can do this posture. And you said, I can... You heard him, right?

[07:07]

You're sorry you said that? Well... Even if you learn how not to say that anymore... Most people will still be thinking.

[07:22]

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