Well, I think I should say something first about a little information about the Heart Sutra. Which is probably not a sutra. I'm most convinced by the scholarship of a man named Yann Nathier. who's at Indiana University in Bloomington. And he makes what I consider a very convincing case that there's no Indian Sanskrit original for the Heart Sutra. So it's based, it seems, on the large Prajnaparamita Sutra that is in Sanskrit. But no separate sutra called the Heart Sutra exists in India. It looks like what happened is a section of the Kumarajiva's translation in Chinese of the large sutra was taken out of the large sutra

[01:25]

given a rather Chinese and Yogacara beginning and ending and then back translated into Sanskrit to I suppose to give it authenticity but also since it the majority of it was once in Sanskrit, it wasn't such a bad thing to do. And of course it's possible in those times when there's so little, you know, there's so much distance and difficulty of communication between people over centuries. Und es gibt so viel zeitlichen Abstand und so viel Schwierigkeit in der Kommunikation in diesen Zeiten. They might have thought the original Sanskrit was lost and they just created original Sanskrit.

[02:54]

So dass sie einfach gedacht haben, das ursprüngliche Sanskrit-Original ist verloren gegangen und so haben sie es wieder geschaffen im Sanskrit. And also in most of the Prajna Paramedic literature it's the Buddha is speaking or Subuddhi. And in this heart sutra, it's Avalokiteshvara and Shariputra. And Avalokiteshvara is the most popular Buddhist figure in China in the 7th century, when probably all this happened. Far more popular than Avalokiteshvara was in India. So we could say that it's really not so much a sutra in the sense that it was ever spoken by the Buddha or heard by anyone. In fact, there are 7th century Chinese commentators who say it was, they don't even refer to it as a sutra, they say it's wisdom transmitted by the sages.

[04:14]

So it seems to have been clear to them that it was some kind of Chinese creation. And the basic form of it is more of a Dharani than a sutra. Now, dharani and mantra have come to mean something similar. But mantra originally means sounds that produce an enlightening or transforming effect. And fit in with the ancient Indian idea of more in the beginning was the sound, not in the beginning was the word.

[05:31]

So we have And the sense that I think bears merit was that there's an underlying sound that we all tune into or don't. But Dharani has originally met a mnemonic device, a way to remember or hold the teaching. So it's understood partly as a kind of memory. Even how you remember this lecture right now. By putting yourself into a certain physical state which allows you to remember this lecture and have it come up later.

[06:45]

So the guys who generated this Heart Sutra as a Dharani said here is the heart and core of the Prajnaparamita teaching. Let's put it into a form which can really reach people. And the word heart here means heart is understood as the core. And the core is understood as what's firm and substantial. And also exalted and subtle. Exalted, high. Subtle and exalted and inclusive.

[08:00]

So this physical yogic culture had a feeling of the heart as being the solid part of us. The solid part of us, because it can be open, and to be open you have to be strong. So it's called the Heart Sutra. It's a core which opens us to the world. Yes, or some kind of feeling like that. Open and also subtle. More subtle than thinking can be. So it's basically presented, the Heart Sutra was composed to be chanted, just what we're doing.

[09:13]

So you chant it regularly. And they obviously did such a good job in picking the text and framing it. But people wanted to chant it. And then it gets into your system, into your body. And once it's in your body, you can begin to then intuitively study it. It begins to open you to your experience. No, I think that's enough on that. But again, this culture, which developed somewhat separately from our Western culture, although, as I always say, I don't think of it as Asian teaching or Asian wisdom,

[10:45]

but just a human teaching. And in Asia, it came in from other countries. And now it's coming into our Western culture. We have a new understanding of the body in relationship to the mind and the world. So I would say one of the main ideas perhaps is that the world is best participated in and understood through particular mental and physical postures.

[11:55]

And the Heart Sutra, for example, we could say is a mental posture. How you enter each situation, physically and mentally, has to do with how you participate in it and understand it. So what is the most important physical posture? In this worldview. It's simple. Relaxation. And what's the most fundamental and powerful mental posture? Openness and acceptance.

[12:55]

And you can consider all of the teaching as... as freeing you from the obstructions to openness and relaxation. So when you sit down, you can just notice, am I relaxed? Am I open? And if you're not, then you can say, what are the impediments to openness and relaxation? And with this question, the teaching and the path begin. Sometimes we say the path of equipment and the path of preparation. And the four main attitudes that are considered important.

[14:00]

This all sounds like something your mother might tell you. Yeah. Anyway, a good mother. Confidence. Effort. Absorption. I've forgotten the fourth. It'll come back. And confidence just means you have to have some kind of positive feeling about yourself in the world. Some kind of emotional stability. Some way in which you're not easily unbalanced. So these also become then the basic topics you're addressing through practice.

[15:03]

How do I come into emotional sustenance? Instead of emotional insecurity? How do I find emotional stability? The main equipment we need is concentration and intention. And the intention you have in your life is the most powerful thread and basis for whatever you do.

[16:38]

So just as a human being, to examine, not as a Buddhist particularly, just as a human being, to examine your intention. And find out through your practice of mindfulness and observation what makes you feel most alive in this world. And this

[17:39]

Concentration is also associated with heat or warmth in that we come and that's recognizing that all that you know is a mental event. And so it's a kind of warmth. And this warmth is also concentration. How you bring yourself then into this concentration, which arises really from relaxation. This week I've gone into quite a lot of detail on the Heart Sutra.

[19:42]

And now my desire is to come back to the beginnings of practice and the simplest way to look at practice. which is to observe the way in which we are in the world and to come to some simple truths like relaxation and openness. And to discover the ways in which we can be open to the world. Find our connectedness with the world. And our sense of belonging to this world. So I think that's as much as I would like to say today.

[21:03]

Mögen unsere Absichten gleichermaßen Ihnen und Ihnen den Hort durchklingen, mit dem wahren Verdienst des Bruder Wilkes, schon vor uns selber noch. Oh, no one could change the way I am now. Oh, what fun it would be if I could say it again and again. Most of all, I'm going to say it again and again. The leading beings are countless. I promise to save them. The mediated beings are out of the question. I promise to bring them to life. The ladies are all-encompassing. I promise to rule them.

[22:12]

The path of the Buddha is boundless. I promise to reach it. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, as it is in heaven and on earth as it is in heaven and on earth

[23:29]

NERAWAKUWA NOHAI HOSHIN IZU NIYOYASHINATE MOTSURA I know my betrothed, and I will drink my own full cup, my dama. Find it, I hope, in one thousand millimetres of water to drink. Now that I have seen and heard and remembered my dear dama, I believe the truth is that I got that to have fallen. Yeah, good morning again. Sometimes I worry about your sitting on these little tiny thin brown mats.

[24:37]

In monasteries you generally sit on just the tatami with no zabuton, just with a zafu. That creates interesting patterns on one's feet. But still it's probably softer than this wood floor with a little thin cushion. So maybe we could get Bernd's optimistically named Samadhi Support. To make 10 or 20 cushions for the place. Well, 30 maybe. I like to support Samadhi Support. So we ought to actually measure the room.

[25:49]

And see what size cushion is big enough for Western people's knees and yet fits in this narrow center of the room. Maybe the size of the brown cushions is okay. But they could be quite a bit thicker. We have to create a cushion fund. And also I've had several requests for Paul to, if he might give a lecture while he's just hearing about this, during the practice week. Maybe I get down now. But Paul and I have been practicing together and friends since the 60s. And he was at Tassajara in the very early days, Suzuki Roshi.

[27:17]

And he's done a lot of things since. Had done a lot of foundation work. Started his own businesses. Been one of Governor Brown's main assistants when he was governor. Married to a really nice woman who's a teacher in a somewhat different tradition. And other things. And other things. So anyway, we're working together so that he can begin teaching on his own.

[28:20]

And we'll see if there's time, which you might say, be able to at least speak a little bit with everyone. And we'll see if there's time to at least speak a little bit with everyone. No, I'm just sitting here. I have places, things I have to do, should do, and places I could go to. But my primary reality is I'm just sitting here. And in that sense I feel I have nothing to do and I don't have any place I need to go. At least I have no thoughts about doing and going. And I'm just here, sitting here with you guys.

[29:49]

And for me it's a, I don't know why, but very satisfying feeling just to be sitting here with you. And I don't feel any need to have to say anything. I mean, I have secondary realities which will probably lead me to say something. But my, as I said, my primary sense of reality is right now I'm just sitting here. I have no other definition. Sometimes this kind of experience is described as being like a boy sprawled in his father's lap. Or a girl in her father or mother's lap.

[31:00]

Like we see Leopold, sort of. Yeah. And it sounds like if this is the fruit of thirty years of practice, hey, maybe we ought to do something else. But it's actually taken thirty years or more for me to feel so free much of the time. So the path ends here. But there are stages in the path. We could sum up Buddhism in a way by saying it's concerned with how we appear to ourselves.

[32:05]

And not so much how we appear to others. In other words, we're not so concerned with thinking about ourselves as how we appear to others. Of course, how we appear to others affects how we appear to ourselves. But the first priority is how we appear to ourselves, how we experience ourselves, and how the world appears to us. And that's not so easy to do. At least it takes some sort of time and intention and practice.

[33:21]

Again, let's mention relaxation and openness. But just to be relaxed and open still, for me, took some time. The first step was to notice how much I had a diffused and distracted state of mind. Diffused and distracted state of mind. Abgelenkt. I had one of those, I suppose.

[34:38]

I didn't know it until now, but I probably have. Yes. But I did notice that I couldn't really be relaxed deeply inside, very often at all, when I had such a diffused and distracted state of mind. And this state of mind constantly interfered with my appreciation of others and my acceptance of myself. And my simple ability to enjoy being alive. I can remember once when I was maybe 20, early 20s, I was, I don't know, someplace odd, like Newark, New Jersey or something.

[35:54]

And I, because I normally lived in New York, so it was unusual I was in New Jersey or somewhere. Yeah, and walking to some public transportation, I suddenly noticed it's spring. And for a moment, I almost enjoyed a spring day. But then I was back in, and I have to do... So I remember staying with that feeling, why can't I just simply enjoy a spring day for as long as it lasts? But it was okay, I didn't see any other possibility.

[36:56]

But beginning to practice, I found that there were thousands of spring days inside me. I began tasting in meditation. It was almost like I went to the mountains or went to the seashore. And as I used the skills and provisions of practice and feeling the example and initiation of Suzuki Roshi the bio-entrainment I began to have more and more less and less a diffused state of mind and more and more an integrated state of mind.

[38:14]

And the more I had a feeling of integration of mind, more and more sort of general satisfaction began to creep in. And I began to have, you could say, a unity of mind. Now, what I mean by that is there's various states of mind. And there's the situations you're in. And there's, of course, the various people you have friendships with. And the people you then just work with and then the people you just run into in the street or on elevators.

[39:27]

And as I had more of an integrated state of mind, I began to feel more of a unity of mind. Whatever the situation was, it seemed to have a feeling of unity. And in Buddhism, really the only important thing is experience. How you experience yourselves. How you experience each situation. So the measure is always your own experience. And the path is also to let your own experience lead to the next situation or experience. And all experiences are different. They may be analogous or look similar, but they're different.

[40:36]

No experience ever repeats itself. And if you have a feeling that things are just repeating themselves, then you're really in a mental space only. Because mentally they may be the same, because you can produce that in your mind. But the more you're engaged by the embodied in the present, each situation is always something different. And analogous but different. Mm-hmm. So this, I mean, for those of you who have been practicing, you will notice that the more you have an integrated state of mind, you feel the pressure of satisfaction and happiness welling up in you.

[42:06]

For some reason the nature of an integrated state of mind is happiness. And the diffused state of mind and distracted state of mind just fragments that happiness and you only experience it in pieces. So there's some kind of satisfaction and happiness begins to appear. First you don't know quite what it is. It reminds me of my friend in San Francisco in the Bay Area. who'd never had a child until he was quite old. I think he was in his mid-fifties. And he and his wife had something like 108 years between them.

[43:18]

But it wasn't her first child, but it was his. And... He really wasn't sure he wanted a child. And he thought it would take away his creativity and things like that. I said, take it easy, be patient. I said, the best thing I ever did was to have two kids. If you're a normal person, once you have a kid, it's like having a right arm or left arm. You don't wake up in the morning and say, oh, shit, I got a right arm again. I didn't plan to have a right arm this morning.

[44:18]

You just have a right arm. It's like having a kid. So anyway, I don't know if I convinced him, but after a while he relaxed. And then after about, after the little boy was born, he was, about a week later, he called me up and said, you know, I have a funny experience. I can't tell what this experience is. It's familiar to me, but I don't know quite what it is. But it keeps coming up in me. And then a day or two later he called me back. He said, I recognized it. I'm in love. And practice is something like that.

[45:27]

You're not used to this satisfaction. And at first you start criticizing, well, this is a weird feeling. This can't be happiness. There's no reason for you to be happy. But there's some kind of little cellular tickle. And after a while you say, you know, this is kind of a good feeling. And the more you give it space, you find out, well, let's call it happiness. I remember Smokey Robinson's song where he says, I don't know what this is, but this must be love. I don't know if this is what everybody talks about, but this must be love.

[46:28]

And this, of course, increases your emotional stability tremendously. So part of this becoming really more and more and then quite free from a diffused state of mind.

[47:01]

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