last time work you know
a your kaylin i can see you
huh

last week i was talking with you about
the body sought first
practice of diligence or heroic effort or
zeal enthusiasm
and
i'm not a review what i talked about because and i want to the new material
and the things we sort of started to talk about where the for kind of forces or for powers that developed this heroic
an effort
in the practice of compassion and wisdom
and
the for aspects are called the first aspiration
and then
steadfastness was or confidence
and then the next was joy in the last ones
call rest or
relinquishment
and so first aspiration
now it said that aspiration
is the route
have all the virtues
like a tree
the route isn't tall tree
but it's the route and trunk and branches and the flowers and fruits and everything else
the carbon dioxide
all that stuff
an oxygen
she say
the oxygen that it produces and so on all that
has roots in earth
so yeah so aspiration is like the roots
of all the practices of virtue
and then through those roots had the energy to practice comes up into the all the practices
and
what's meant by aspiration here for the body circles it's
it's a little bit different type of aspiration than just general aspiration i think the root of the word is aspiration or aspire means to breathe into like those respire and expire or inspire
the breathe in and to breathe out this is to breathe into
sounds like something your breathing into you
and so in this case it's the kind of aspiration that's meant is a aspiration to the truth
or the to the teachings for bodhisattvas in this case
this is the root of all the bodyshop for virtues
and the route is actually an aspiration and a keen interest in the teachings from bodhisattvas
and the teachers for bodhisattvas hard teachings for practices for bodhisattvas
they may sound like saying the way things are sometimes like the buddha teaches that off all phenomena that are compounded are impermanent after teaching
he asked to teach him but it's also a teaching which isn't just said see you see you know that and you're sort of your informed it's a teaching to then receive
and observe and meditate on and live according to
that's contagious is are
maybe other teachers are like that too but
so
it's an aspiration is is aspiring to these teachings to these to the dharma a keen interest in the dharma
is this is the root of of heroic effort
and the root of the route
the root of this route of this interest and aspiration
is
this is kind of a big route and mean kind of a tough route
it said to be constant
ha mindfulness and reflection on
what else karmic cause and effect
last year's topic
so
in body sought for practice in general in in but also even in other kinds of buddhist practice are specifically for bodhisattvas there's a basic teaching
and this teaching if you receive it and remember it and ah reflect on this kind of web of being with the teaching of of cause and effect then energizes
the interest in further teachings on how to practice virtues so the meditation
on kind of cause and effect is the root
of the aspiration to practice all other dimer practices
meditation or comic cause and effect isn't the whole ah range of teachings and practices it's not the only practice
but it's proposed now that it's it's the practice which is the root of the practice which is the root of all the practices including the practice of meditating kind of cause and effect
so
meditating on come in cause effect meditating on dependent core rising
meditating on how things are depend are other dependent
encrypt encourages us to give up unskillful behavior and practice skillful behavior
it encourages us to aspire to all teachings of about and be keenly interested in all teachings of all virtues
now having said this to you the thought did cross my mind ah
this these teaching from sought sound kind of challenging
no longer where are we talking by practicing giving and
ethics him
ha you know being careful about everything and vigilant and
patient
and but now he won't get to enthusiasm were told that we even learnt need to do learn certain practices
to support our practice of enthusiasm
not that's right
so next before going spending more time on this very basic and important point the next port of the next practice is the steadfastness or m
confidence
heroic again heroic confidence this is this is a the heroic confidence that goes with heroic effort
this is a confidence which is yeah like
hum
a confidence that you that i that i wish to practice good i wish to practice wholesome behavior i picked by wish to practice skillful conduct
in general and in general i am
resolutely determined to do so
i have a feeling of
ah yeah frolik
ah determination to practice good
with this precious life
i really want to and i'm resolute about it
and then lot last week i talked about being lazy and thinking oh no i really that can dodge too much for me
as lazy
be kind to it but it's lazy this is not lazy this is ah this is heroic and shanti deva
cause it pride heroic pride or it's body sought for prime
this pride is the pride of i really want to do the very best
that i can with this life
i want to hand i am resolute about it and i'm determined about it and i'm confident that this is the way to go
i'm not saying i never forget
but if i do i'm resolute about
confessing that i forgot
i'm resolute about i'm not going to change my mind
i'm resolute about getting really
more and more skillful i'm not saying i i'm not resolute about already being skillful i miss skillful as i am and i'm a resolute about becoming completely skillful because that's what people need from me and others
slump and this is a pride a pride in dharma a pride in the bodhisattva path a pride in the buddhist family
but not pride the buddha's family in any way disparaging other beings and there's not the least bit of the kind of arrogance or conceit that you think you're better than anybody else who doesn't do these practices
so one of the practices to be resolute about is
not
lift yourself up
and putting others down
that's a very good practice to have confidence that you're going to be
but you're going to practice that practice
his manufacture this kind of confidence the bodhisattva confidence is what freezes
from thinking we're better than other people that kind of confidence is not all that's required but that's a key ingredient
and not thinking we're better than others is to have confidence that we're going to practice the precept of not putting herself up and putting others down
so go
in the metro cities as wise but not puffed up
so this is a this is a pride the dock that shouldn't pass up it's more of a pride that should
have us put down our roots
what he sought for routes into the ground of all living beings
but our roots down into wholesome practice really i'm going to ground myself i'm gonna commit myself i'm going to anchor myself in the commitment and the resolution to practice good i really mean that and i feel really good about it
and when i started feeling really good about it than i move into the next aspect which is the joy working on the joy of practicing
any kind of virtue but particularly practicing now the aspiration which fuels all the other virtues and
the resolution in the practice of all virtues
and then the fourth point is ah
it is to rest and again
there is this
don't know this is dining first i kind of dynamic relationship between never rest and rest
so in other words i think pretty much as the good to learn to rest enthusiastically rest
ah with heroic confidence rest with resolution to practice resting in a wholesome way
and also when you're do when you're doing some good practice and you've done it
then then realize you're done it and move onto the next thing
also when you're doing a practice
a wholesome practice and you haven't finished it yet
finish it before you move onto the next wholesome practice
which takes goes back to the steadfastness
when you the
and part of the steadfastness part of being competent is before you engage in a wholesome activity
inspect or assess your ability and if you do not feel that you are going to be able to do it
part of your confidence would be too
leave it aside for a while until you feel that that you do have the ability to do the practice
so when you start so when you started you've already assessed at however when you started you don't need real strong resolution right at the beginning because you've just assessed you think you can do it so then just try to do it
as you get into it
then you may need this cut to bring up this confidence if you get into it and it gets hard and used and it still seems to be good
so i get it says that in many texas' once you start to do something good do not turn back
no matter what but i think actually
no matter what as long as the good is still seems to be good but if you somehow find out it's not good then you shouldn't to do something with you not realize is harmful
but there are cases
well there's cases like that where you start to do something you think it's really beneficial and you realize it's not that it's okay to stance okay to stop
that makes sense the case i think they've been talked about
in the teaching is once you start to do something good and actually as you start to realize even more how good it is it's even better than you thought it was and is starting to get really hard
and i'd say don't turn back then
and the competence is this is what you really wanna do and also confidence that it's really harmful to stop in the middle of doing something good
it's fine to stop in the middle of something bad
say i'm sorry i i i want to stop this i don't wanna do this anymore
but not in the middle of doing something good so again part of confidences i wanted i want to practice good yes i'm determined to practice good and now which of the many goods is the time to practice i think it looks like this the well it there's this one this one and this one i could do now
this one i think yeah this one i think i can do this one is too advanced i'm not ready for this one is too easy it's just read resist it's actually for fine but to repeat it is really not developing the practice
and yeah so i'm gonna do this one which is just right and was not too hot not too cold just right not too hard not to sort just right k now this is the all three are good but this one is just right for me
i can follow through on this one and then you get into it anything oh gotta get a fall through a kid and noonan and that's lazy that's a self disparagement again that's though i'm just still you know done too wimpy now
you gotta gotta get going you this is good keep going do not get into the habit of giving up on good practices
and if you don't then you develop that steadfastness the follow through on what an easy stuff to
so
linda

like pink have a big mac be patient like be patient

what yeah with a protect yeah ended up in a pain comes
or are you you're going to situation where you think people might
be rude to you
and you you want a new or think you want be three on practice patients with them
and and you have set you've learned a little about bit about patience and he actually kind of know how to do it and you actually have done it maybe in the past with some do with these very same people and here's another chance to be with these people again which often called your family
so here a chance to be with them you know it's going to be difficult and you practice patiently for and when you did you you didn't regret it
the practice patients with the dip your difficulties with them
and so now you and you think i think and looks like i'm going to be with them again so i would like to practice patience and i think i can
i think would be good and i wanna do it and i have confidence i'm do i'm determined to practice i'm resolved to practice patience with these people who i love when devoted to and who are very difficult for me
and then you get into it
and you think notice is just too hard
now too hard and taking a rest is different than too hard and giving up
shouldn't give up on practice patients to start becoming impatient
that's not good
now if you're wanting to be impatient and used to cut it with your family and then you're practicing impatient would be okay to give that up
and in switch to patients that's fine but if you'd that
that kind of that counteracts the habit of unwholesome practices we don't want to undermine developing wholesome practices like patients so once you start trying to practice it in with something then
follow through
and again rest can be part of following through
and i like is so difficult i want i wanna be with you i'm really having a difficult time i'm gonna go take a nap or it back
i need ten minutes to walk around the block of the right back
not just walk out the door passive aggressive
i'm having a hard time just give me five minutes or ten minutes
and if i if i'm not ready in ten minutes i'll come back and asked for ten walk or whatever or an hour or week whatever anyway
you you take a break but you take a break with the intention of coming back you really mean that you're not you're you're honestly you're practicing the precepts
your care for your been careful you're being vigilant you're noticing that you're getting the edge of your patience
this is all part of continuing the practice is not stopping it not stopping it because you're getting tired
are you becoming despondent are you becoming self deprecating and thinking you can't do the practice that lazy
you're just thinking i want to continue i need a break but i'm not giving up on this i'm not turning back on this good thing
some if if you want to give somebody something assess whether you really
can give it to them
where do you think you can really give it without expecting any reward if you think you need to reward
i would say to put it aside don't practice it until you can do agree wholeheartedly and then when you feel okay now i'm committed to practices without
any expectation of reward and now that i'm doing it it's getting difficult
you should follow through and against some gifts are so difficult that you really should consult with lot of people about them like for example
like i mentioned giving body parts
you should talk to your friends and teachers about that before it could you do not want to get into it and find out the and try to change your mind then it don't be a disaster
you're upset everybody plus it's it goes against developing the practice of giving to stop and the middle or to resent it afterwards
so
j
now we could just go right now into the next practice the next virtue the virtue of
perfecting meditation
again this is protecting meditation for body surface
in this context some people meditate to get into certain states
and
the body sought for meditation is basically the the meditation of concentrated focused mindfulness
com
flexible concentration on
this wish that lives in the buddhist mind the focused on this altruistic wish to attain
buddhahood
in order to help all bigs in the greatest way the focused on the altruistic wish for enlightenment that's the focus of their
of their meditation their foot in other words are focused on the mind of enlightenment
the they're meditating on the mind of enlightenment
there's one r oh
one of the ne one of the body sought the meditations is the called the heroic stride
samadhi or the heroic stride concentration
so the body mind it can also be called the heroic stride
or the heroic ride or the heroic slide
it's the like i wish to ride into i was just stride into the bodhisattva path i wish to strip to heroically stride the bodhisattva path of enlightenment for the welfare of all beings so this
this heroic effort flows right into the concentration
and focus and calm flexible presence with this heroic effort with this life
of developing virtues and wisdom for the welfare of others
when shanti davis talking about this virtue or this perfection of meditation spends quite a bit of time praising and you're praising the virtues of sa
solitude
so
the way he was talking about of solitude was kind of like had this quality of like being the way you are when you're out in the forest away from the cities
and the chariot chariot traffic
and the marketplace and as that
at the noise and hubbub and shock
so i don't know where we are now but a little while ago we were sitting quietly
in some sense
gathered together the way we are we actually i think had some solitude here
this class is a situation where the causes and conditions of solitude seem to manifest
to various degrees for various
members of this group
so another meaning of solitude it doesn't contradict the previous one
is emphasizing the way you can be sometimes undistracted
you know that there's kind of like of a solitary agenda
there's one agenda
solomon day
solomon the bodhicitta said that's all we're doing and there's a kind of solitude there
and if you're in the woods or in the city somehow
we need
to recognize as limited beings that we need to
sometimes make arrangements so that we can focus
on
what on well in this case on the bodhisattva path practice meditation on the body south the fat pad be focused be centered be calm and be flexible with this heroic path which we now feel committed to her
resolute bar about patient
enthusiastic and so on
careful vigilant generous and now we're gonna focus
and i liked her extract because sometimes you're standing some place on the earth
and you think
okay the welfare of all beings you think the welfare of all beings
i want my actions to be for the welfare of all beings
and then you take a step
and sometimes when you take a step you forget
in the movement you sometimes forget that you that you wanted your step to be for the welfare of all beings
and somehow you may need some solitude to stop
and refocus
what am i walking for again
what am i striving for what's his stride for or this is destroyed of the hero of enlightenment
this is the enlightenment hero stride
so at each step is for the welfare of others others welfare others' welfare others' welfare others' welfare of his welfare of his welfare to learn to stay focused as you move in and stop
and be focused when you're still and then when you move or this welfare of this welfare
to be committed to that helps to do that to be resolute that you're going to practice that is the root of practicing that
without that resolution
it's easy to lose it with the resolution is also easy to lose it but it's more likely that you can continue it if you really feel determined
to find a way
to remember to make every action
so that's why i say the stride but also the ride when you ride home tonight ride
ride even if you're driving ride for the welfare of others drive for the welfare of others walk home for the welfare of others
learn to not be distracted from that from that
from that body mind from that selfless joyful
mine
and i you know you you have heard many times instructions like you know
don't cling don't reject
so you're sitting here trying to remember to
change
something's happening you see somebody
you hear something
so how'd you and what you're here is it is not necessarily what you hear maybe you know laurie cell phone
he didn't hear that to do the juggler
mr won't say what you eat what you pay what was the end of it was upgraded your okay see you might hear you might hear laurie cell phone or laurie cell phone doesn't it isn't necessarily the same as i wished to live for the welfare of all beings does it say that wouldn't pass up
are you may hear i loved the sound of the trains here
those trains almost say
body mind
can you remember when you hear the trains body mind
you don't have to but don't let the sound of the trains take you away from body mind and then the trains are part of your remembering body mind
so bodhidharma taught his the stay the the legendary founder of zen in china taught his main disciple he said outwardly
don't activate your mind around objects
when you hear a cell phone ring or a train go by where you see a beautiful face if you see a frightening face have you feel fear or if you feel agitation whatever you feel excited to move to stay outside when you feel how outwardly don't activate your mind around things
so again i mentioned our pupils i'm going to visit a zen center in another city and people say all very excited about your coming
and i think again now the and we're very excited about your coming means we're happy about your coming
when people asked me excited about going i said what i'm trying not to be
i'm trying to be calm about going
i'm trying and
i am so common by seeing you next week
i'm serene about meeting your next home

and i might say i'm i'm i'm practicing serenity or our meeting but i must confess i feel low agitation
i'm worried about seeing your next week
well bodhidharma taught his students outwardly in relationship to various tasks
in relationship to all beings
don't let the mind get activated around those things there's some activity whenever you see somebody or hear something there's some active that's an activity but around that activity around that then your knowing
don't get activated
and then inwardly the same as in release and no coughing or sighing or gasping inwardly all the things you see inside
no coughing or scoffing no sign oh that feeling again or not this again or not jessica
no coughing not your your energy
that coughing and sighing it's like em
the related to your energy your your cheat right
don't let your she get agitated and district and get tossed about by what's going on inwardly
and then it and then body down he says with a mind like a wall people don't like that but anyway wasted with a mind like a wall in other words you make your mind like a wall
your mind is like happening arising and ceasing very dynamic but it's also like a wall it doesn't
it doesn't get activated around things
it just is with what's happening
but tonight i was feeling or yeah tonight i was feeling this afternoon i still got instruction again is given by a bodhisattva teacher is teaching bodhisattvas
so it isn't just make your mind real com
outwardly and inwardly just for that itself it's make your mind com
for the welfare of all beings make your mind like that for this bodhisattva task
for this great task of staying on the beam of being
completely helpful
to every be
have a mind like a wall about total devotion to all beings
it just know it's not just a mind like a wall period it's a mind like a wall
which is engaged with all beings
it's being com with this great project
it's being undistracted by what's happening outwardly and inwardly from this task from this mind
it's not just doing this to develop tranquility for yourself it's developing tranquility focus and flexibility for this mind which is for the sake of others
and and then bodhidharma says the fourth line is thus you enter the way
when you can be like this we can have a mind like a wall thus this is the way you enter the buddha way the body sought the way
it's not just to be a great concentrated yogi undisturbed by whatever happens outwardly and inwardly it's to be undisturbed so that you can be a boy for and not get distracted from your work by the tremendous dynamism of the work
huh so again when shunted davis presenting this meditation
he spends quite a mix big effort about
in is very poetic lively way about
helping people not be distracted basically but again i'm but i'm emphasizing is this practice is not so that you get to be just undistracted and com
it's about being undistracted and com so that you can do this very active
in practice
i'm practicing these virtues and developing wisdom to help all beings
if you would just if one were just develop these concentrations for oneself
they are there you would find them beneficial to yourself
to be undistracted by the things i've just mentioned in and many other things is is a very good in terms of worldly states of consciousness or worldly states have experience it's the best
if you're rich richard the best if you're poor it's the best if you're a healthy as the best if you're unhealthy at the best
to be calm like that to be basically in bliss
with whatever is happening sounds pretty good right
it is as a worldly status the best in a way it requires some of these other practices to but we're not talking about that in this class we're talking about developing a selfless
state of mind for the welfare of others
but to develop that you also need the skills which someone would need in order to just personally be happy
some of the same skills
namely to not get to not be hysterical are obsessive about what's going on over layer inwardly
that's when you don't have to
beyond all kinds of drugs
can actually be happy
but not really because ah there's still some people who are suffering and that's going about the a little bit
so that sir as the basic thing of this chapter which i feel we're happy to see it this way because in the past i felt little funny about that
how i felt somewhat funny about all this effort to to be undistracted
it seemed kind of selfish
but nine clear that this undistracted news is not undistracted miss for the for the practitioner it's undistracted newness of the practitioner for the sake of others which of course is really the best thing the practitioner can do for herself
so there's one more big step which i'll introduce here and that is
once if if we are now able somewhat successfully to be undistracted from
these various practices not just this one
but all the previous practice we talked about also to be undistracted more doing knows
and then those help us be undistracted for this concentration on the body mind when we're able to be fairly concentrated
then we start to purify these practices now not start but continued the process of purifying these practices and in particular not purify the practice of concentration on the
on the living for the welfare of others and shanti devi introduces two sets of practices
to really to to make this bodhicitta really bodhicitta to really purify and clarify the bodhicitta and the to practices are to meditate on the equality of yourself and others
and then meditate on exchanging yourself with others
so now
if you can remember this wish to live for others' welfare now
start to concentrate on
protecting others
kind of this more or less the same way it's always little bit different you know but basically with the same level of warmth and kindness that she would give in protecting yourself or that she would give in protecting yours you know
the way you would take care of your grandchildren
it might be kind of the way it would take care yourself
and hopefully you take care of your grandchildren as well with as much warmth and kindness as you take care yourself and then learn to take care of other people's grandchildren and grandparents the way you would take care yourself learn to care as much are equally i should say for others as you
do for yourself
bring mindful of that into this meditation as a as a facet of it okay i'm living for the welfare of others okay great now in this process are living work for the welfare of others do i feel a bit more concerned
to protect myself and others will work on that
and then he also talks about things like
also the suffering of others
or
you know
he don't really feel the suffering of others however their suffering is the same as your suffering so all that you don't feel they're suffering they have the same suffering as you
now
if somebody has a broken leg and you ever a headache
it's not the same suffering
but those kinds of suffering is not the seven we're talking about we're talking about the suffering that comes from believing in my separate self
and the suffering i have around that when i'm when i'm suffering around my sense of my separate self is the same kind of suffering that you have with that when you believe in your separate self so are suffering is actually up almost identical a real suffering the real problem suffering
is identical
and my real happiness not not my worldly happiness but my real happiness of being free from this is the same as your happiness
that we really have work really are the same boat
when it comes to these fundamental problems superficial problems
in like rich people do have different problems from poor people
but when it comes to the basic problems the fundamental problems
of self clinging and the suffering that comes with that were in the same boat so part of the meditation on living for the welfare of others and developing ourselves in order to better help others is also too along with that learn to see others
as equal to you learn to see their happiness as equal to yours and yours is equal to there's and you're suffering as equal to there's and there's equal to yours learn that along with this
and i think
that's enough from now on if you want to bring something up
yes

you could you hope what that you're not long winded
may i may i
in may i caught may have this dance
if you if i feel you're going on to on
matt
pardon
may i cut in so to speak

on great

yeah
yeah
on your way to help your little girl who is over there
there's a little girl right here
and you might think of skipping over this little girl
cause you wanna go help that little girl
do you really want to do that
you may never get to the the little girl over there anyway but this little girl right here
you can definitely don't skip over so i think that's the basic principle don't skip over this little girl
to help that little girl

care equally for this little girl and that little girl and one is closest to you
is is the first one
as secure as she said towards the end of his life
now zen center is getting big
and people need to make appointments to see me
when center first started you know
he didn't have very many students he had the the japanese community where his students but age basically you know they came on sunday and during the week there was just a couple of old gentleman that watch television with him
but there weren't people waiting in line to see him you know he wasn't yet well known and actually he died
justice he was becoming well known
and but still it as zen center was growing and he's becoming want more well known people at you know he couldn't see up in all lucky not of pediatric could just walk up doing and talk to him because he'd be already talking to somebody he had to wait
and make appointments sometimes that he said so pissed but you should know he said that when i'm talking to someone
i'm talking to them for you
so that's that that's another lesson which i try to practice is when i'm talking to one person and i know somebody else's waiting i try to talk to this person for the prison is waiting rather than rush through seeing this person so i can see the next person and not give them
much to give this person little bit and give this whole person's now give this person basically everything
not just for this person but for the person who's
waiting
and that's kind of hard sometimes but i i think that's
the way to go rather than give everybody not enough
give one person enough for everybody
and tell people that they shouldn't who are waiting they should they should be thinking boy he's spending a lot of time with that person for me
rather than which they do think while he's spending more time with that person and he does usually with me
or
i wish i could think of
how that much to talk to him by
so this is part of it this is part of the meditation to purify is to take care of the person in front of you
and sometimes taking care of the person in front of you like i used to try to practices and i'm on my way home
take eliminate when i've in the early years of my marriage i would be like leaving zen center in the city to go to my apartment near the zen center city centre and as i'm walking like particularly after morning service to go back to the apartment and have breakfast with my wife and daughter
people sometimes asked to talk to me about things and so partly i thought oh well you know the bodhisattva a spirit of i should take care of these people in my way home
and none of these people had an appointment they just saw mean that it had something they want to talk about
and going home to be with your family managed to make some big great bodhisattva thing to have breakfast but all these people asking you for help maybe that's a beer big bodhisattvas you gotta help him but actually if i didn't talk to them they wouldn't be they wouldn't feel disrespected
they would know that they're catching me on my way to breakfast especially if i told them and they would say almost always find see later
but my wife and daughter waiting they don't really need me to have breakfast with them
but they need me to come home because they're waiting for me and if i don't go home they're disrespected
that make sense
so i so i finally learned to save his people
i'm going to i'm going home to breakfast and they go okay and that was taking care of them it wasn't like my wife and daughter are more important than them it just i haven't partner with them and if i don't go if i keep them waiting for a virtually endless list of people it just insults them and hurts them
but it doesn't hurt these other people but i have to explain to them
i'm a human being
i'm an ordinary person
i'm going to breakfast and they're gonna go oh it's actually kind of encouraging you know oh you
the euros and princeton and and your human like me
okay great have a good breakfast
rather then
here he comes and he's superman so i want to i want a piece of that
no
this is just a ordinary person
who has an appointment
and if he doesn't follow it the people as primarily will be hurt and and he also is a human being in the sense that he likes to a pm people think he's great so he liked to you know take care of everybody but he has to give up that grandiosity and say you know i'm limited please excuse me
and not a good and that's taken care of people
that's not skipping over them and say i'm not can do with you because i'm going to go be with them it's taking care of them now
but in an appropriate way which in some cases that allows you to do that take care of the other person not always i mean if in fact somebody i was having a heart attack
i could see i go i could stay with them but that wasn't just that wasn't usually the case
usually was so it was just somebody seeing me my talk to me
so there's there's there's an art to it but this that's part of the thing about vigilance about looking at yourself what are you up to
you know are you trying to be
you know superhuman
and i have people think you're you're just you can do anything
martin us for that weird watch after that
or are you being kind of like oh i can't handle it become like lazy and the others of the direction so again trying something this too hard as a kind of laziness
try something to advanced as kind of laziness working overwork is laziness
and two kinds of our work one is try something too hard and the others keep doing something that you know that you get that you just stop
but you just sort of got the momentum
you know one more blah blah one more blah blah one more blah blah that's lazy these of the this heroic effort you're draining yourself
hoover work is a kind of laziness
wholehearted work is not overwork and also to try some be too hard he is kind of are lazy
yes lisa

yeah it's should
yeah can you give an example
while like giving up smoking
doesn't seem to be harmful
i mean you know the cigarette companies will just pick up on your money far as i know
and if you stop to be one less person to soon so giving up smoking is kind of hard very hard
pretty easy to see it's hard and doesn't seem to be harmful but again that's one of the reasons why we have a stronger and teachers is worse we're here to help each other if if we're kind of unclear whether it's hard or harmful if it's hard and good
we should do it if it's hard and harmful know if it's easy and harmful know for sometimes acts once in a while hard things are her unwholesome sometimes the whole once in awhile and wholesome things are hard
or maybe quite often unwholesome things are hard
like shockey money
he did a hard thing that was unwholesome what did he do
he almost starved himself to death and we almost lost our buddha in the process
not permanently but he wouldn't have to get be booed in the next at some later lifetime he actually did something really hard he was a super aesthetic it was hard and it was and wholesome
and he didn't have a teacher who said he didn't have a buddha right there near bio said
goddamn ah this is extreme
you're off center he hung out with other people who are also doing something real hard so he's he discovered that his aesthetic path was extreme and
painful and wasn't the path the other side is indulgence or addiction to sense pleasure he didn't say sense pleasure was in extreme it's the addiction to it
and he said that's vulgar and also
is not conducive to happiness
it's more common to for people to indulge in those days anyway in sense pleasure addiction to sense pleasure than addiction to self mortification
but but there is some self mortification in zen practice we do have difficulties in zen practice but we try not to be addicted to them
because that would be unwholesome

i'm so you just used example of know what's the example
being with my family yes and that and that can be difficult and it might get unwholesome so
well get in example i used it would get unwholesome if you if you start becoming a if you start becoming hateful and violent towards them then it's a big you're not practicing wholesomeness their you're not practicing patients you're getting violent
but yeah that's unwholesome so
this project when you go visit your family you should always bring a dharma body with you
see now so know if you see me if you see me getting out wholesome here just give me a little signal okay like
you know we wouldn't know we they were interval a conference just up right back
you're getting your getting kind of unwholesome here what should i leave no no i'm just stopping on wholesome to stop talking that way to your mother
so yeah do you can be doing something that's good
and it can be wholesome and difficult
and then you slip and it starts to become a wholesome and stays difficult
and then it's then you need help to to
to notice that it's you're not being helpful
and then it's time to take a break and go do something else that's wholesome like take a walk around the block yes marjorie

yeah

yes but a nice example you're just using their wasn't he the practitioner wasn't doing anything on wholesome
you just gave an example of some difficult so lisa saying when we're in a difficult situation
and it becomes unwholesome than what example you gave was a difficult situation where it didn't become unwholesome
because you said i think we should leave now that wasn't unwholesome
he didn't need it he didn't hurt
night that they were not talking about other people's on wholesomeness we're talking about our own
this practice is not about other people's what on wholesomeness it's about ours so when we're in a difficult situation we should be there we go into the difficult situation
because we think we have something wholesome to offer so we're there we are in the difficult situation somebody's being abusive so then we offer is the wholesome thing of saying i think it's time for for us to go away
that wasn't unwholesome
so then then it in that case lisa wouldn't that was laces question she was talking about in the
but yes but you are given example of in a difficult situation practicing patience and then having something wholesome to offer
you you gave the example you gave his some difficulty some hardship and then pink patient with it and then all things on the wholesome

and then it yeah and if and then maybe if you stayed instead of instead of leaving but but staying might have been unwholesome
because it's too advanced
that's example it would be kind of lazy to stay maybe in some situations lazy to stay
but it's hard to tell whether you're being lazy in staying in the difficulty unless you know how to practice patience
if your practice patients they can say is lazy to stay here is because if i stay here it's going to get so much harder on i'm not going to people it's the best going to be too advanced and then i'm not going to practice patients and and i'm going to get unwholesome
somebody to lead before i get unwholesome and i mean i wish i'd been wholesome up till now and if if it gets up if it gets any more difficult if i get any more tired i'm going to be unwholesome some new lead before that
that's an artist that's the example of not trying to somebody to advanced and it's also example of not doing something and too long you've been successful that to this long you should stop

the not inpatient does not lead to an improvement in abusive to their duration it doesn't do that it makes you able to respond to the abuse skillfully
and if you respond skillfully that may change the abusive situation
if you if you're sick and your patient your sickness doesn't necessarily evaporate
but you can be a with your sickness you can bless everybody in the neighborhood you can exude patients joy compassion with your sickness not going any not improving at all maybe even getting worse but you it
by you're able to be patient with it and do these other practices if you can't do the other practices then it would be good to rearrange things so that you can do them so the you know some situations or to advanced and it's good to learn which ones are too advanced for your practice for your wholesome practice
and then used and then it's good to leave and try something different where you think you assess your billy's i think i can do that but i can't do this
and it's not good for me to try to do it i can't do
we're read it i'm recommending it's been recommended not to try things that are too hard not to try things that are too easy in other words a you're where you're not challenging yourself do the thing when you can still practice patience
and there's plenty of opportunities like guy right
thank you very much
so next week i will continue with the meditation
i'm bodhicitta and start to move into how it moves into wisdom
wisdom wisdom wisdom
oh that
i like know
have