Thinking and Not Thinking 

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and this practice place
is devoted to
the practice of the bodhisattva precepts the precepts of
those beings who aspire to
complete awakening in order to benefit all beings

and the first of these bodies doctor the precepts
is called going for refuge
in buddha

and there is a ritual
a basic ritual of this temple of this practice place and of almost all but his temples basic ritual
of going for refuge in the buddha
in buddha
of returning to buddha
my home to buddha
a lying on buddha

as a primary way
of living
together with all beings in birth and death

birth
and death
someone just call me
yesterday and told me about the birth of a grandchild
she was very happy
i was happy for her
and ah here in this temple
a number of our
brothers and sisters
are teetering intimately
on the interface between birth and death
and whole community is
aware of this
close to this
looking for
a peaceful and harmonious way to be
at the center of birth and death
going for refuge and buddha is a
basic ritual
in response to birth and death
in the ritual
does it reach the actuality
the actual source of buddha
doesn't reach it but it realizes it
i want to say a little bit about what buddha is

i in the tradition called the great vehicle the mahayana
the buddha
is completely free
a birth and death
it completely free of the world of suffering of birth and death
and simultaneously the buddha is limitless lee
actively involved
that

in my honor there is a
discussion of nirvana and samsara
nirvana being peace or freedom
samsara be cyclic existence of birth and death
in the my yarn of the buddha
attains in nirvana
which is completely free a birth and death and never abandons birth and death
hi there is a challenge in the history of the buddhist tradition
in this world that during an early phase
of the tradition
people thought a buddha attaining nirvana
which was
complete cessation
of all suffering and complete cessation a participation in the world
but then later the disciples of buddha
experienced insights
which led them to propose another nirvana
a nirvana which has no abode
a complete freedom that never abandons the world of suffering
a nirvana in which
who does work deliberate all beings
and simultaneously
understand that there's no beings at all who are saved
understanding that there's no beings to save or not to save
is part of the complete freedom of the buddha
the other part of the complete freedom barbuda is to actively work
in the world of birth and death
ha this understanding is not so simple as just that
freedom is
the cessation of involvement in the world and the cessation of involvement in all conditions states of body and mind logically that's simple
it's more complex and logically intention that we have both
involvement in creation and no involvement in creation
the buddha mind
is an unconstructive anus in stillness it doesn't construct anything
is completely free of construction
of any kind of construction of world construction
and simultaneously is involved in construction of worlds
this is part of i think of confusion that many buddhist meditators experience because there are some instructions which say buddha's don't think meditation is not thinking
and then buddhas in the scriptures say i'm always thinking
buddha's are always not thinking
and buddhas are always thinking
they're always not creating not constructing and always constructing
they're always constructing thoughts like how can i help all beings enter the supreme way and quickly attain buddhahood
and they're always not thinking
and they're always realizing that there's no beings to save
they do both simultaneously
there's a ritual to return to such a state of awareness such a state of being
and then there's practices
but for
ah beings that are not yet fully realized buddha's it may be that we have do
go back and forth between two kinds of practice
one kind of practice
where we give up
all construction we give up thinking
the other kind of practice
where we're always thinking
how most people are always thinking but the kind of practice at the buddha does is to always think of how
to assist to cause to help beings enter the way what can help beings what can help bags enter their way
how can my life be given to help they always think of that
that's one kind of thinking that's the only kind of thinking that buddha's do
and that kind of thinking makes world's constructs worlds
contribute to worlds
just like thinking of my own welfare constructs worlds
but the world thinking about myself and my own welfare
rather than the welfare of all beings constructs the world of birth and death
the thinking all was thinking of how to help others constructs
bhutto worlds where bees can learn to think like that and where beans can learn to give up thinking
give up constructed
you're constructing
past present and future
give up constructing any idea
of what practices
give up constructing any idea or a new world of truth
give up all construction and enter the and constructed stillness
of the border mind
and
when from that world or with that world you start thinking think like a buddha
always think
how can i help i wish to help i promised to help all beings
enter the buddha away
and i also recite the teaching that although countless beings are saved
not a single being as liberated
think that way when you think that are buddhists think as how as suggest we think
i rebooted also suggest
and demonstrate not thinking
if you
would consider
opening to a practice
which is the practice of the buddha's
the practice of the buddha's is the practice of all beings
and the same enlightenment is all beings
this practice is not my thinking is not your thinking
it is the way huge of us has the same practice and the same enlightenment as all beings
this is
on constructed nurse and stillness
to be present
with not constructing anything
is to be present with the same practice and the same enlightenment as all beings
but honest people sometimes hearing of this kind of practice
i just recently heard some honest people say but but i feel like i had to plan for the future
if i don't plan for the future i won't be able to make a living
or even if i can make you live in my mother will be afraid that i won't be able to make a living
if i tell her i'm on a zen center
and i'm not planning for my future she will become a frightened that i won't be able to make a living

and even a shooting afraid and i'm a little afraid that i want people to make a living if i spent too much time not thinking of the future not planning my education or might
employment i'm afraid i won't be able to make a living

my mother's afraid that if she doesn't think of the future or a my future that we won't be able to make a living
of course everyone makes a living their whole life
no and no one doesn't make a living
until they're not living anymore
but most people worried or in the whole lifetime
about their lifetime
about their livelihood
so it
places like this set up special opportunities
where you can come and consider the possibility that for a certain period of time
you could actually let go of thinking about
your future thinking about how to make a living
first some period of time would be an environment where all the people in the room with you would say it's okay for you not to think of your future
and then noticed that even then you don't
trust the you cribs give up
trying to control
how life goes
that's helpful to find out that even if your mother tells you that you don't have to think of the future
even if everybody tells you still somehow we have this habit of thinking
and the habit of thinking is that we must continue to think and that it wouldn't be safe to stop thinking
even for a short period of time
hi i'm saying buddhas
are always not thinking of the future
the buddhas are always not thinking of the future
they are
the ones who are showing us
the way
of life
not thinking is an essential ingredient in making a living
that's really the way we make a living is by not thinking
if we don't know that even though we're making a living were afraid
another way we make a living is by thinking
of the future
because when we think of the future we're also making a living always
anybody who is thinking of the future is making a living
but people who think of the future
and make a living while they may think of the future who can't give up thinking of the future are afraid
those who can give up thinking of the future
are not afraid
including of course that you can think of the future
and give it up you don't have to stop thinking of the future to give up thinking of the future
you just have to make every time you think of the future a gift
you should you just have to stop using thinking of the future as a way of making a living
if i start thinking of the future
i might not make a living
if i stop thinking of the future i might not be supported
i must keep the the future because i do not believe that everyone supports me
whether i think of the future or not
i don't believe that i will be supported whether i think of the future or not
thinking of the future on i say i am supported not thinking of the future i am support it
i say that
to you and i hear myself say it when i think that
one hundred percent i am not afraid
and i'm also not afraid when i think that one hundred per cent to say that whether i think of the future or not i support everybody else too
if i can't think one hundred percent to everyone supporting me that every one everything is supporting me if i can't think of one hundred per cent
then i must think one hundred percent that i'm supporting others
if i can see that i'm supporting others one hundred percent i will see that they're supporting me one hundred percent
if i see that supporting me one hundred percent i will be able to sport down one hundred percent not support them hundred percent opened her thinking that i do an opening of it that i'm supporting others one hundred percent in their supporting me a hundred percent
in that
awareness
i'm can give up thinking of the future
i can give up thinking and worrying about people making a living i can see everybody making a living
and i can think
how can i help them enter this path of making a living by what
by being supported by all beings in supporting all bigs
that's how we make a living
but if we don't give up our thinking we cannot see that
we must be like a buddha
we must give up our thinking about the future make are thinking of the future and the past gifts never used them to control
just make them gifts along with every other kind of thinking making all thinking gifts is to give up all thinking is to give up constructing worlds of birth and death
and it is to be fearless
and it is to be ready to enter the world of birth and death
actively fully participate in it to show others how
to actively participate in it without
constructing anything
hi
i'm saying that there is this proposal that desert that that the buddha is a simultaneous
giving up of construction and fully participating in it giving up thinking
i'm fully participating in thinking simultaneous
until buddhahood
it seems that we have to go from one side to the other
so we need to put in other words to practice the buddha way we need to do both practices we need to think we need to think think think we need to promise to think we need to make vows
we need to make vows of thinking about how to benefit beings
all the time
and then also
give ourselves to giving up thinking
not getting rid of it just letting it go
we need to spend time opening to the buddha's
practice which is the same practice and the same enlightenment as all beings
when i would open to the same practice and the same enlightened of all amount of all beings i might not be thinking at that moment how can i help beings enter the supreme way i might not think that my mind might be quiet
or it might even be hearing the sound of a bird
but whatever's happening in my mind i'm concentrating on making it a gift
i'm not creating anything
so that's one kind of practice where there's no construction going on we're opening to know construction
and again that part than part of a resistance resistant and says but i had to do something okay confess that and let go of that make that a gift and returned to unconstructive anise and stones
but when the mind starts constructing then
all was have it constructing something which means how can i help beings
so there's a going back and forth perhaps between these two ways of practice
and that will be each person's
own style a practice
and both styles
can not be opportunities for resistance to arise
because of our past thinking which says you know
but but but but but but how am i going to take care of this in that
and i would answer to that what you'll see how you do it you'll see how you manage to
walk in and out of buildings or drive cars if you practice this way
you'll see how you can actually make your thinking a gift
and you can see how you can do things
like brush your teeth but brush your teeth as an expression of the question how can
my life how can my tooth brushing
encourage banks to address spring way
asking that question thinking that way
and also noticing
when i do not want my tooth brushing
to be an expression of wondering how i can help our bigs i'm resisting
my life being devoted to the boot away
i don't want to practice the boot away
i want to have my way
my way my future my safety my suffering
this motorways really just very irritating
or at least the way he's talking about it is
there's room for every every form of pettiness
it's all welcome and included
all of our small ness is welcomed
into this way
but if i don't welcome it
i miss the way which welcomes it
the way which welcomes it is always going on
the buddhas are always welcoming all beings
and always not constructing are thinking about all beings
no matter how petty we are the buddha my welcomes us
and if we welcome no matter how petty we are
this is the buddha mind
if we welcome how petty other people appear to be
this is the buddha mind
if we make a gift of the discrimination between people of different levels of pettiness
this is the britomart
giving up discrimination among the open and a half open beings
the devoted in the lazy beings giving up that discrimination making that discrimination a gift to all beings this is the buddha mind of giving up thinking
and also i am devoted to all beings of all levels of development is also the britomart i give my life to always thinking about them
but it's difficult
to always be
going for refuge in buddha
but part of the tradition is
to promise
to continue
to return to buddha
what buddha this amazing buddha
this amazing on constructed miss
this amazing one practice and one enlightenment of all beings which is constantly thinking of the welfare of all beings this would have to constantly returned to it
is this is the central and basic practice
which
is available right now for all of us
and again as we struggle with birth and death with all the changes that are
coming into our life into our community
with all the births and deaths
this is recommended as the basic practice
to benefit all beings
i've heard the recommendation and i
join the recommendation to you and to me
right i say i'm completely convinced but because of past karma i sometimes can get distracted
have noticed i've been able to notice the distraction and confessed and repented
but i haven't changed
my conviction that going for refuge in this great mind
a been constructed stillness which is always thinking of the welfare of beings i haven't changed my conviction my conviction hasn't changed
that this is
something to take care of in this world
for the welfare the world
i can't imagine anything that's not included anything good that's not included in this i just can't anybody can tell me i'll be happy to hear but it seems like a really good path
called the path of going for refuge and buddha
huh
huh
when the i
intention equally extend to every be