I always have sound effects with it. The movie generation. But we do bring our energy to things through our hands. So that's one of the reasons we pick up the stick in that way. But as you've noticed, you don't actually pick up the stick with the left hand. You merely put it near the bottom of it. So what are you picking up? The space of the Setsu as well as the Setsu. So the whole of Yogi practice is about picking up the space of the ball as well as the form of the bowl.

[01:17]

So there's... You know, we wipe the... If you have a... You don't have it, but if you have the little lacquer paper mat, you wipe the whole of the mat, whether it's got wetness on it or not, because you're wiping the space of the mat, not just whether it has water on it or not. Also, ihr habt ja nicht alle dieses kleine Tablettchen, aber wir wischen es dennoch sauber und wir wischen das ganze Ding sauber. Eigentlich wischen wir den Raum dieses Tablettchens sauber, ob es nun Wasser darauf ist oder nicht. So you're wiping, by analogy, the emptiness of the mat when you wipe the space of the mat. So the preciseness of many of the physical teachings in Zen are meant to give us the physical habit of acknowledging emptiness. I wonder if I could teach a seminar called The Physical Habit of Acknowledging Emptiness.

[02:40]

Probably no one would come and say, I'll show him and that I would have the physical experience of nobody there. But that's what much of Zen training is about, the physical experience of the form of emptiness. experience of the form of emptiness the particularity of each emptiness so it says in this koan also don't know the meaning on the hook Know the meaning on the hook.

[03:53]

Not by the zero point on the scale. This is again typically said. The zero point on the scale means emptiness. But it means emptiness as a generalization. And emptiness as a generalization is some kind of idealism of Berkeley or something like that. Berkeley is an English philosophy. Okay. But there's no generalization of emptiness. There's each particular. And each particular is emptiness.

[04:55]

So I have a little deck out in the front of the building here, about half as wide as our meditation, this lecture platform. And I enjoy it very much as my balcony seat on the Scottish cows. But the Scottish cows are over there somewhere now, so the closest thing I have to a Scottish cow is Oscar. He looks about the same. Right. But he's on the deck below me. So when I'm out on the deck, Oscar sometimes knows I'm up there. I hear... He's looking up at me. Sometimes I look down at Oscar and I experience the absence of Oscar.

[05:57]

Like the absence of my aunt. That's also an intimation of emptiness. I don't experience the absence of the deck, thank goodness. I experience the absence of Oscar. Because Oscar has a particular absence that's his own. No, I can't smell him, it's all right. I can't resist teasing Petra about her wonderful dog. I can't resist teasing Petra about her wonderful dog. So when you look for Oscar and you don't find him,

[07:08]

You sense the absence of Oscar. But what about when Oscar is right in front of you and you can't find him? Because you recognize Oscar has no inherent existence. But you can't find any permanence there that's Oscar. There's Oscar with his hundred moods. Yeah, he's a funny dog, nice dog. So the more I have this feeling of... The absence of Oscar when Oscar is present, this is also an intimation of emptiness. Now, these things accumulate. I can remember when I first began to have a regular experience of the emptiness of everything. It used to actually, when I drove, at first scare me a little.

[08:23]

Because I had the feeling of the emptiness of each thing. And I thought, what if there's a car in front of me? Do I'm going to just drive right through it or do I stop? Or if there's a person in front of me, oh, it's just an empty person. Because my mind was still now had reversed from the habit of substantiality to a new habit of insubstantiality or impermanence or emptiness. So it actually used to give me... I have to be a little careful now. If there's a person in front of me, I have to remember that that person is also substantial. Through these practices, your perception, awareness does change.

[09:33]

And when your perception and habit of seeing this as form and emptiness simultaneously, it begins to, these two fuse into one perception. For example, when I pick it up as a setsu stick, and picking up its space, and I really feel its emptiness, and when I put it in the bowl, like that, but when I start cleaning the bowl, then I'm bringing it into form. And if I scratch my chin with it, or my back, then I've turned it into a back scratcher. And actually that's the derivation of this teaching staff.

[10:54]

Originally, you know, on a hot sweaty day in China with flies all over you and itches, you go... And so the back scratcher became a teaching staff. Because it can reach anywhere. So whether this is a So when I act on it, I make it a form. And I create its merit as a backscratcher. Or a teaching staff. Or I create its merit as a bowl cleaner. So merit is sometimes equated with form. Because if I know its emptiness, as soon as I use it, I create its merit or form. Mm-hmm. Okay, now I think it must be getting late.

[12:11]

What time is it? Almost, so I should end in a minute or two. So I'll just say something to try to put an end, give an end to this tesha. What is self? Self is a function. What is the function of self? To give us a sense of continuity. And because we're afraid of death and all that stuff, our sense of continuity becomes an implicit desire for permanence. Okay, so the early Buddhism emphasized the emptiness of self.

[13:14]

And that's obvious that self, we're going to die, etc. And our experience of the continuity of self is also ephemeral. Ephemeral. Transient, ephemeral means insubstantial. So what do we do as we shift then to the permanence of the world? We're impermanent, but at least we can accumulate a lot of stuff and pass it on and so forth. So the later Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism, emphasizes the impermanence of phenomena. and the selflessness of phenomena. So, by some circuitous direct route, seemingly circuitous, but secretly direct, we've come to the emptiness of self and phenomena.

[14:41]

If you no longer can put your energy and sense of continuity Into the self, the emptiness of self. And phenomena is also similarly empty. There's no place for this sense of continuity to go. So the pantry and the main gate Each are empty. And this then creates a different kind of person.

[15:46]

It brings your energy into the emptiness of your own presence. a energy which no longer goes into the world or self seeking continuity but is rather expressed in a phrase as something like I said fresh water poured into fresh water and you have this generation or realization of the bliss body or Sambhogakaya body. Well, I probably could, I hope I could make this a little clearer and fuller, but I think It's a good time to stop now.

[16:58]

Thank you very much. We will from all these our absichten gleichermassen jeges Wesen und jeden Ort durchdringen, mit dem Wachverdienst des Polarweges. Shulululululululululululululululululululululululululululululululululululululul O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave

[18:00]

Die sie führenden Wesen sind zahllos. Ich gelobe, sie zu engelten. Die Regionen sind unauslöschlich. Ich gelobe, ihnen ein Ende zu bereiten. Die Darmer sind grenzenlos. Ich gelobe, sie zu beherrschen. Der Weg des Buddha ist unübertrefflich. Ich gelobe, ihn zu erreichen. Satsang with Mooji Satsang with Mooji Satsang with Mooji

[19:21]

Vairi manken no shi, i ju ji su pro koto e tari. ne'er fathom thy name, thy name shall be known, thy name shall be known, thy name shall be known, thy name shall be known It is also found in the 100,000 million Carpathian museums. Now that I can hear, hear and perceive in my ears, I believe to have learned the truth of that day. Thank you for changing the schedule.

[20:40]

I have to do something this afternoon, but I didn't want to miss a chance to meet with you today. Mm-hmm. Today I'd like to share with you this koan 39 of Yunmen. And Yunmen was one of these big figures in Chinese Zen who created the language and teaching method, one of the main creators of the language and teaching method of Chinese Zen. And he was one of the creators of the language and also the teaching methods of the Chinese Zen.

[21:42]

Specifically, speaking from inside the experience of Zazen always. Yeah. It said he was like a, sometimes he was like a wall, ten miles high. And there was no way to approach or get near. And yet sometimes he would open a road for you. And die with you, live with you. Anyway, he was this kind of person. And it says in the pointer, the introduction. No. one who

[23:05]

One who knows how to find his place on the road is like a tiger in the mountain. One who is immersed in worldly concerns and understandings is like a monkey in a cage. But if you want to know the manifest functioning of Buddha nature, You need to know the times and seasons, causes and conditions. If you want to smelt gold, which has already been refined a hundred times, You need the forge and bellows of a master.

[24:29]

Bellows, you know, mixed fire. The blazer bag, yeah. Yeah. So if you come upon someone's great function, if you see a person's great function, how do you test it? So this introduction is pretty much a description of our practice. And what we've been speaking of the last few days.

[25:31]

To know the time and the season, causes and conditions. And the case itself is, a monk asks young men, What is the pure body of reality? I've spoken about this case in the past a number of times. What is the pure body of reality? And Jungmann said, a flowering hedge. Sometimes a garden, the flowering fence around a garden is also called a medicine fence.

[26:36]

And so then the monk, who's you, of course, the monk says. What about when one goes on in such a way? And he said, a golden-haired, young man said, a golden-haired lion. Okay, so what is this kind of story about again? Mm-hmm. The refining gold makes me think of the way we're supposed to eat. You know, as I said the other day, Ru Jing, Dogen's teacher, spoke about how to tighten your belt, etc.

[27:50]

They even have all these things about how you're supposed to eat. One saying is, eat 80% during the meal and feel full later. In other words, if you feel 20% hungry during the meal, you'll feel full later. And the idea is also you chew your food through several layers of taste. So you're mostly, you know, I'm a kind of person. I was... As a child, a big eater.

[28:55]

It was my main definition of, that guy is a big eater. That's the main thing everyone knew about me. And I actually was. Even in my 30s and 40s in restaurants, I'd sometimes order three of everything, three main courses. And until I was 50, I weighed 40 or 50 pounds less than I weigh now. Who's the Americanicious in there? The American pound is less than the German pound. Oh, I see. It's 400 to 500 grams. Oh, yeah, okay. Yeah, we're different. Yeah. And so I could eat with impunity. Immunity and impunity.

[30:10]

And I tended to eat emotionally because it was emotionally satisfying to eat so I shoveled it down. So the idea is you Don't eat emotionally. You eat to refine the taste until you practically have a soup in your mouth. And I like soup. But I like soup because I'm lazy and I don't like to chew. This is non-lazy soup. Oh, anyway, there's this sense of whether it's food or whatever, whether it's words, you turn it and turn it.

[31:19]

You turn words inward and turn and turn them. So this flowering hedge. You all know the experience, particularly during Sashin or when we do K'in Hin outside. Anytime these flowers along the path Or these many layers of green. Or the way the birds caress the earth as they fly. Or just hearing their singing. Somehow if we practice meditation this way, comes from inside us.

[32:36]

And it penetrates us in some way. We see some maybe flowering hedge. And we feel a cry inside our own chest. And unless you have the experience of meditation, you can't explain this to anyone. Or it's more unlikely they would understand. So this monk obviously was quite deeply engaged in practice. And as it says, this was a family affair. So these two people knew each other well.

[33:54]

And also it uses this image of a scale again. And it says... Schwedo in this poem says, fat head. Do you have such an expression, fat head? Fat head means it's a mild, it's not... It's a mild way of saying you're stupid. Yeah, don't be stupid, fat head. So he says, fat head, the stonkoff. Dumb cough. Oh, good. Dumb cough. Dumb cough. Dumb cough. Dumb. Oh, yeah, all right. I'm too dumb cough to... The measurements of the scale are on the balance arm, not on the pan.

[35:04]

It means, don't look to the flowering hedge for the meaning. Don't look what's in the pan, look at what's the experience. So this young man, or young woman, or this young monk, or old monk maybe, says, What is the pure body of reality? This question comes from some experience. He feels some experience. reality that's coming up in him.

[36:11]

And this is for us who are in the household of meditators. This is not so unusual. And so young man knows what it's like to hear the birds in Sechin. To have one's whole body and horizon filled with a flowering hedge. So he says, he answers from an insider's point of view, a flowering hedge. So the monk knows, this is also called in the koan, two mouths without a single tongue. So sometimes there's a phrase, they speak, they understand each other well, it's like two mouths with one tongue.

[37:34]

And this is beyond that, two mouths without even a tongue. These two had this kind of understanding. So the monk says, okay, then how do I go on? How does one continue to live? How does one live in such a way? And this koan brought up for me a time, I remember, it appears every now and then, an image in the middle of whatever, It's one afternoon in Berkeley in the 60s or so. I was working at the University of California. And I was, I don't know, some nondescript part of Berkeley.

[38:47]

No, totally unimportant day. And for some reason there was a... I remember the crossroads clearly and I had to I think make a turn to go back to my office but it was a rather nice afternoon and I remember I had the feeling kind of clear moment that I hardly recognized, but a clear moment. The feeling of the afternoon is more important to me than going back to work.

[39:48]

Now, I don't want to indulge all of you with lazy ideas. You all decide to quit your jobs so you can plot out in the afternoon sun, which then it will soon rain. Yeah, it was something deeper than whether I quit my job or not. But I had this clear feeling that the day, just being alive in the day was more important than anything I could do. And equally, somehow that same moment, the people I spend my day with are more important than anything I could do. Sukhir, she would call this an innermost request. I certainly went on with my job.

[41:11]

But this inner feeling changed my, perhaps the way I was at my job. But it was one of those unimportant moments at a crossroads and at an inner crossroads where I made a decision, hardly noticed at the time, To live a life where I could spend time with you. And the fact that this comes up again and comes up most often through meditation practice, one thing that happens in meditation, as I've said before, you develop the muscle of attention.

[42:20]

And the ability to notice very minute little flashes. So in the middle of my thinking, whatever, eating, whatever I'm doing, And so it's in the middle of my thinking or my eating or whatever I'm doing. I mean, really briefly, this image of this street in Berkeley will come up. And it could easily be lost in thinking and stuff I have to do and whatever's going on. But having meditated long enough that I have more of a field of attention than a focus of attention, all these little flashes appear to me very clearly.

[43:37]

And when this one appears, I know it's part of my inner vocabulary. And it's saying, ah, there's a crossroads right now. Or, ah, yes, in the koan, this is connected. This crossroads, this nondescript crossroads, was my flowering hedge. And the fact that it's come back, and I can notice it coming back, has helped me deepen my decision. Deepen my decision to be To uncover and follow my inner requests.

[45:02]

Nämlich hat mir geholfen, meinen inneren Wunsch zu entdecken und zu vertiefen. The recognition that nothing else is more important than simply being alive. Und die Erkenntnis, dass nichts wichtiger ist, als einfach am Leben lebendig zu sein. And how I'm alive. And how then I could have asked myself at that time, which I did driving back to university, How do I go on? How do I continue in such a way? True to this feeling that's on the balance scale, not what's in the pan. There's a word that... Thoreau or Emerson, maybe it was Emerson, put on the outside of his door, which was whim.

[46:16]

Maybe it's Einfall? Wim means to do something on the spur of the moment, just spontaneously. This is a much lighter word than spontaneity or inspiration. Oh, it was a whim. You wouldn't say it was an inspiration. I was exercising my afternoon spontaneity. No, you just say it was a whim. And here's Thoreau and Emerson both trying to answer the whole question of European philosophy, which they were both immersed in, and Thoreau, would answer their immersion in European philosophy.

[47:28]

With getting back to the simplicity which America asked in founding a new way of thinking in a new land. Founding a new land and a new way of thinking. Free from the over-thinking. developed patterns of European thinking. That's what they felt. And in this pragmatism, which actually Suzuki Roshi thought was a good background for studying Zen, they said, let's trust our whims. Trust those little moments where you decide, I'd like to do that.

[48:40]

This is also the pure body of reality. Or we could say when emptiness and form come together. And there's no kind of like, should I do this? It's just, oh, I'd like to do that. And there are thousands of these little things throughout one's week even. And to begin to trust them at a cellular level. At this moment, in the best of all worlds, what would you like to do? In this moment, in the best of all worlds, what do I want to do now?

[49:46]

And do you know Voltaire's definition of an optimist? An optimist is one who thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. And the pessimist is one who knows the optimist is right. But this is interesting. When? To notice this spontaneity or moment of, yes, I would like to do this or that. So the monk asks, well, how do I go on in such a way? A flowering hedge. And so Yen Min says, a golden-haired lion. Und so antwortet Yunmen ein goldhaariger Löwe.

[51:01]

Und Yunmen's phrases were famous for stopping your thinking, stopping the conversation. Und Yunmen's Sätze waren berühmt dafür, also das Denken einfach anzuhalten, den Geist einzufrieren, und zugleich aber mit dem entlang weiterzugehen, was stattfand. and at the same time covering everything. So Umman felt a living word cut off myriad streams, followed the waves, and covered everything. Covered heaven and earth. So he's This is called a living word, not a dead word. A dead word like medicine. A live word like medicine. So a golden-haired lion is the lion that Manjushri is the throne of Manjushri.

[52:13]

It means the courage of wisdom. Wisdom is to know, to experience form, the unity of form and emptiness. And wisdom means to know the unity of form and emptiness. Where the world is free and open, naked and at ease, And having the courage like the tiger in the mountain. To find your way on the road. The road inside you. on your own balance arm.

[53:15]

And the golden haired lion is also an image in Hua Yen Buddhism. In which each hair of the lion is also a lion. And in each hair of each lion is reflected all other lions in the whole of the universe. So he meant... If you want to go on in this way, trusting and following your innermost request, you have to have the courage of your innermost request. And the courage and ability to be open to everything all at once.

[54:17]

So this sense of the Buddha as space or as the Dharmakaya and more subtly in the Hua Yen teaching. As space as everything interpenetrating all at once. How mind and phenomena Yeah, situations and things, all interpenetrate. And can you be open to this interpenetration? And can you learn to answer, to be inseparable from this interpenetration? Can you have a mind a wide mind that's open to everything and all at onceness.

[55:30]

To the tributaries or streams flowing in the darkness. This is what young men meant by golden haired lion. To have the courage of your innermost request. And the openness of to know the all at once-ness of things. And this is called great function. not ordinary functioning, the great functioning of trusting how you feel when you take a walk around here and these trees and grasses open, break open your heart.

[56:40]

And not the ordinary functioning, but the great functioning, to trust what you feel when you walk around here Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Om Namo Amitabha. Om Namo Amitabha. Buzu-do-bu-jo-se-gan-jo.

[57:45]

Die führenden Wesen sind zahllos. Ich gelobte sie zu retten. Die Begierden sind unauslöschlich. Ich gelobe ihnen, ein Ende zu bereiten. Die Darmaste glänzen so. Ich gelobe sie zu überraschen. Der Weg des Buddha ist unübertrefflich. Ich gelobe ihn, zu abbrechen. I am a man of faith.

[59:03]

I am a man of faith. I am a man of faith. I am an angel, no Jesus, no God, no God, no God, no God. Yorai no shinjutsu ubi o deshita de mazuran. An unheard-of-of-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an-an

[60:08]

We hope that you will have the opportunity to visit us in the future. I think we're so lucky to have this place to practice. I feel it so often I could practically say it every moment. And I'm not saying it with a feeling of some self-congratulatory feeling for all of us. But I see this place resting in the accumulated merit of everybody who's been part of the Dhamma Sangha for the last 15 years or so.

[61:25]

Here in Europe. But also the accumulated merit of Graf von Durkheim, and also the merit and karma of European history, even the war, recent war. Someone asked me about his name today. Toku, the first part is Tokusan. And it's Merit Mountain. And he asked about the word Merit. So Merit, as I said the other day, we can understand it as form, that which allows form to appear.

[62:42]

So we have this wonderful early Edo period Buddha here. And it's specifically the help of Milita and Coco. But it also is from the fruit of, again, the whole Dharma Sangha. And goes back to many hours being in my favorite Japanese restaurant staring through a window and seeing this Buddha in the shop next door in the 70s. I can almost taste the rice and miso soup when I look at this Buddha. And now I sit right here in front and have rice and miso soup with it again.

[63:53]

This is a very happy making. So there's this some strange accumulation of merit that this... Buddha which I thought was unattainable through the window of a restaurant. The man who owned it for some reason felt that we all had enough merit that he'd sell it to us for less than half price. So this is, you know, there's a saying in Zen, don't Don't be so involved in the present that you forget the sweating horses of the past.

[65:07]

Everything, the contradictions, the effort that went into us being able to sit here now in this refuge and Talk about the Dharma. And as you become aware of your own merit as well as your own karma, how your experience has settled into you and even clears up as you sit sadhana. we can settle into and taste the mind of the Buddha. Now I also want to emphasize, really when you get the hang of it, how simple Buddhism is.

[66:30]

I said the other night at the hot drink, It's really very simple. Just put your baggage down. But why are your hands stuck to the handles of all your suitcases? And every time you shake it, it gets heavier. But if once you can put it down, next time you lift it up, it's empty, almost weightless. And occasionally people over the years have commented to me, They're not sure they like this sort of Japanese number of putting their head on the floor and having me talk at them.

[67:36]

And then I float out through the middle of the room, you know, in the dark. It's actually, I actually go like this. In case I run into someone, but usually not. But I don't, you know, I of course learned it in Japan. And in Japan, the floor is the living space. It's table, bed and everything. It doesn't feel so funny to put your head down. But it's nice to talk to each other in the dark, though. So with the hot drink, we could pass out blindfolds.

[68:42]

And after the hot drink, you could all put on blindfolds, and then I could talk away. I think we don't want the neighbors to see this. But anyway, I don't know a solution, so we'll continue putting our head down, if it's okay with you. Now this question, what is the pure body of reality? What a question! Now, can you imagine asking your uncle or aunt that? Yeah, or ask somebody you meet. Hey, I was going to ask you, you know... You know, this is the train to Hamburg, isn't it?

[69:45]

Yes, and what also is the pure body of reality? Do you have a barn cart? It's a pretty strange question, actually. What is the pure body of reality? Then imagine your uncle or aunt says to you, why are you practicing Buddhism? Oh, I want to know the pure body of reality. Yeah, but... Just the same, it's a great question. Yeah, can you imagine? Here we are, we can ask ourselves this question, what is the pure body of reality?

[70:50]

And this question makes sense if you practice as it. Because you begin to feel something that you could ask this question about. Perhaps again you have some refreshing feeling walking Kin Hin in the afternoon. And you may feel something like I don't know what words you look for, the ground of being or something, some connectedness without boundaries. Or maybe it's only there for a moment. Or you feel like you're very light, you know, or the way you're walking is some kind of lightness or almost floating.

[72:10]

Or you just feel completely, completely ordinary. And these questions bring up, what is reality? But why the word pure? And why body of reality? And why a question at all? If this monk is so sharp that he can ask such a question, Why does he ask a question? I'm sure because he loved young men. And he knew the profound feeling that young men had for him.

[73:30]

And for just being together on this planet. It says in the Flower Ornament Sutra, This is the Huayen teaching. It says there is no provenance. Provenance means no source or birth. So it says, so there's no birth. And there's no extinction. So it says, all things are birthless. All things are without birth.

[74:32]

And thus all things are without extinction. No extinction can be found. When you understand in this way, you will see the Buddha. This isn't complicated. I mean, you just have to look at it quite simply, yes. Yeah, you have these wonderful flowers here on the altar. And we have the merit that someone grew them. Someone took the trouble to do this. And then someone here took the trouble or pleasure to put them on the altar. But a tall one and a short one and so forth, it's great.

[75:39]

How lucky we are that we're here in this place where people take the trouble to put flowers here. And with these wonderful imaginary or real figures of enlightenment. And we can look at those flowers without any sense that they had any source. Or any sense that they will die eventually. Or without any sense that, oh, well, this is some sort of hybrid flower that's no longer natural, etc., Without any such considerations, just the joyfulness of the flower.

[76:51]

The joyfulness of the presence in yourself of the flower. The more you have such a mind, the more likely you are to see Buddha. Again, it doesn't mean that you don't have other minds, other ways of looking at the flowers, etc. It just means that if this is the ground of your mind, or your initial mind, you're more likely again to see Buddha. This Buddha itself may widen its smile for you.

[78:07]

Yeah. Again, what is the pure body of reality? So it also says in the Flower Ornament Sutra, it teaches that the cumulative impressions in the repository consciousness the Alaya Vishniana, are the matrix of enlightenment. And matrix literally means mother context, source context, matrix, matrix.

[79:09]

And matrix literally means motherly cohesion. The accumulated impressions in the repository consciousness are the matrix of enlightenment. This is also simple and obvious. It means that all of the impressions you've accumulated throughout your life have to be the source, the matrix of enlightenment. This also means you are already enlightened. Because enlightenment arises from your own enlightenment. It means you have many embryonic enlightenment experiences.

[80:35]

This is again simple. Now, the sutra I've never heard of before, but don't know much about anyway. This, what's it called? The Sandi Nirmocana. Sandi Nirmocana. It says that the many forms of our consciousness... The many forms of our consciousness are not apart from, not separate from, the uncontrived pure knowledge.

[81:37]

Mm-hmm. the uncontrived pure knowledge which is free from the obstructions of self or other, or inside or outside, and thus free from to either existence or emptiness. And when consciousness is allowed to operate, function freely, Through wisdom, the...

[82:47]

impediments to understanding are dissolved, something like that. Okay, now if you just take this as practical instructions as how to set up your VCR or something, maybe it's simpler than how to set up your computer. A VCR is also a very clear realization So all these sutras are instructions on how to set up your VCR.

[84:08]

The key word here is uncontrived. The ordinary forms of our consciousness are not separate from uncontrived pure awareness. Awareness and knowledge. Uncontrived knowledge, which doesn't have the contrivances, impediments of self or other or inside or outside. All this is asking you to do is to recognize the importance of non-dualistic awareness. Or awareness or consciousness or awareness in which you recognize the importance of being free from the distinction of self or other.

[85:46]

the distinction between self and other, and the distinction between inside and outside. Now, these are distinctions that occur for us in the shape of language. And so you can begin to notice them that way. Use language as the great enlightening tool it can be. Mm-hmm. by noticing when you make these distinctions yourself, and creatively creating antidotes.

[87:03]

Now, I'm trying to get beyond simplistic nationalistic Zen here. Now, there's a kind of rhetoric of Zen, of instant enlightenment, and then you know everything right away, etc. This is nonsense. Quatsch. This is quatsch. Nonsense. Nonsense. Yeah, nonsense and kibbutz, too. Nonsense. This is the teaching of fatheads. Unfortunately, there's enough truth to it to confuse us.

[88:13]

In other words, you can have enlightenment experiences where everything is different. The capacity of human beings. And it certainly is a nice experience. And it may be deep enough or thorough enough to make everything start teaching you. But then the practice after this kind of enlightenment is extremely important. Some kind of instant enlightenment does not make you fully enlightened. And this is a kind of, on one hand, it's a popular form of Zen to attract people who are looking for something. But the good teachers who teach this still, you can see, they know a great deal and have practiced a long time.

[89:33]

And if you want to make some study about it, the Japanese version of it, as I pointed out before, is quite nationalistic. It was promoted by D.T. Suzuki and others as a kind of way of saying Japan is better than Europe, which defeated us, or America, which defeated us. A kind of contrast to Western culture. But it's not entirely wrong. And we have to understand, it's important for us to understand the differences between Western culture and Asian culture.

[90:44]

But Asian culture isn't just, I mean, when I'm talking to you about, say, physical space in contrast to mental space, I'm not giving you sort of the dregs or residue of Asian culture. Residue? What's left at the bottom of... These were things very consciously taught by Buddhist sages in Asia. And the flower ornament sutra says when you enter a culture which hasn't heard about Buddhism, or doesn't know wisdom teachings, then please become ministers, presidents, princes, etc.,

[91:53]

become artists and choreographers teach dance and music until the culture begins to sing wisdom take whatever forms in the culture you can begin to be a businessman This is what the Flower Ornament Sutra says. It says also become a forest tree. Or a jewel. Or a mountain spring. This wide vision of these sutras. But again, it comes back to can you discover in your own consciousness recognize in the forms of consciousness that you inhabit the taste or potential or possibility of

[93:19]

Uncontrived, pure awareness. Certainly one of the reasons we sit seven days in rather uncomfortably much of the time. To see if uncontrived awareness might rescue us during the afternoon of the third day, or something like that. Once you know the taste of it, you won't forget it. Today I have my watch. So this is a three-part lecture and I finished part one.

[94:24]

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