So, can someone please tell me something about your discussion? Yes, Nico. So one was the first differentiation that came up was there is a world and there is life. There's a world and there's also life, which has nothing to do with the world. My world. There's my world and there is life. Okay. My world is what I like and what is easy for me to do and where I'm comfortable.

[01:02]

And life is everything, including all the problems. And then we looked a bit more closely at what is my world and how do I experience my world. And what we could tell a friend. True. We discovered that what we can say and how we say it depends on how the friend listens and what he or she can understand.

[02:03]

I can describe my world in a very conventional way. My job, my family, my success. And it's more difficult to describe how one experiences emotionally or psychologically the world. And it's even more difficult to describe how I'm part of the reconstruction of my world. And so we kind of reached the conclusion that I cannot experience any other but my world. Okay. Someone else? Yes? I would like to add that this morning after the lecture I described to Niko my well

[03:21]

in which I was at that time. And I found it very difficult to even to this very intimate friend to describe the world I was in. And it was not such a comfortable world, I would say. And if I try now and when I now try to describe my world to Roshi it's a very different world from the one which I described to my husband this morning and also now my world is different from then I know.

[04:42]

So I notice that I have different worlds to describe. Different worlds So I know different worlds, I experience different worlds. Description makes us notice our world differently. So I somehow have accepted that also can be one. Okay, thanks. Yes. So some time ago I heard, and maybe you said it, or maybe I read it somewhere.

[05:44]

and it was a statement that at that time I did not understand at all but I found it interesting It said, you imagine that you are born into a world and when you die you leave this world but in a Buddhist sense that is not the case And from the Buddhist perspective it is that with you a world is born and with you a world dies. And that still is a big challenge. How can I approach this, not just understanding it kind of philosophically, but experiences?

[07:06]

And my experience is that practice shows openings into this kind of experiencing. Yes. Okay, thanks. Someone else? Yes. Our group, we started with the descriptions of six different worlds. Each one described one world. This group starts with the description of at least six different worlds. And then there were like making borders between and also going over the borders between one world and the other. And it became clear that some described their world and others described worlds.

[08:37]

and that I think it became clear that there are parts where you have the impression that it does not belong to my world, but I experience it. It is like the world of others, a different world that we also have to deal with. And also it became clear that there are parts that I do not kind of identify as my world, but somehow as the world of others, but I have to deal with this somehow. There's some encounter. And there at that point there was the experience that on one hand one cannot change this world But on the other hand, others have the experience they can make that kind of foreign part to their own world.

[10:12]

Okay, thanks. It's interesting how his world describes our group world. No, no, no, I was in the group. Oh, I see. Yes, I would have described it quite differently. Please do. For me it's a progression, also I feel it might not end. What I also felt is that we have found a difference between the one world and the contact of one world with the other.

[11:18]

What I felt, we also noticed that there is a difference between one world and how one world is connected to another, to many worlds, to other worlds. And at the end Ulrich repeated again what you said yesterday, the quality of Samantha Bartha. And at the end Ulrich repeated what you said yesterday about Samantabhadra, entering without taking a step. And that for me was almost an answer to my question that I posed earlier. The connection between my world and all the other worlds. Okay, thanks. Someone else, please.

[12:55]

Okay. I found it interesting that in our group the connection between the expression of my world and my own practice is very fast. For me it was interesting that in our group we very fast came to the connection between my world and my practice. And most people described that it was difficult to bring these two things or aspects together. And talked about the difficulty to talk about the world that one experiences in practicing.

[14:08]

And one person said that this view of two worlds is totally new. So that made me ask the question how do these two worlds come about, so I also feel the world and that practicing is a second world, another world. There are two worlds, two different worlds. So the next question is how can these two worlds merge and come together? I'm working on this.

[15:21]

Yeah, me too. Yes? In our group we asked the question how maybe Buddhist perspectives can influence or do influence our kind of normal or other perspectives. I would like to give three examples, but the first is, What is geborgenheit in English?

[16:26]

Typically German word. You have no experience double language speakers. What? Being taken care of, probably something like that. I'm looking how to translate. Held. It's not right. Geborgenheit. Geborgenheit. Feeling taken care of. Feeling being taken care of. Feeling safe. Feeling at home. Okay, so looking for the feeling of being taken care of, feeling safe, as it maybe is in the Christian church, in the Christian belief. Yes. Contrasting maybe to the Buddhist term of connection and relationship. The person who talked about these experiences said this had changed for her.

[17:37]

and she feels more as a relationship with the connections nowadays. Changed for her because of practice or just because she got older or younger or something? Because of practice, I understood. Okay. And the second example is the the definition of how one views the future. What you said that how in Chinese culture future is coming towards us rather than we going towards the future. The person who talked about this example said For her it changed that the future cannot be planned so much and is more open and one just has to see what comes to us.

[19:18]

And that their pattern of hoping and being afraid of can resolve a little bit. And the third example was or is... to notice how one tells the same story to oneself all over again and in that way Kind of holds fast to that particular story and that particular perspective. And to the self that is in that story.

[20:19]

And that it is possible to maybe tell the story from a different perspective and in a different way. And that that is possible. I will try it out and see what happens. Okay. I find if you tell the same story to yourself too often, it's usually wrong. You're trying to convince yourself. Okay. Someone else? Yes. We among other things talked about how a changed perspective on the world can change the experience of the experiencing.

[21:33]

Yes, and it was the opinion that one might become more transparent and that the problems can sometimes not be solved so easily because they seem more complex. there was the opinion that maybe one becomes more permeable, and that problems seem more complex and therefore more difficult to solve. Then we have seen two ways of reacting to this, on the one hand one is perhaps very insecure, So we found there are two reactions to this kind of change. On one hand, insecurity, so that one is unsure.

[23:10]

On the other hand, because of that experience, one doesn't feel the need to be liked by the other, and so it's easier to say no. and then someone brought to me a little bit of the consoling solution of the whole by saying that in any case we are through the practice and the world are better able to withstand something and to let it be, even if the world becomes more complex, we may still be able to withstand it better. and then someone kind of came to the conclusion and for me that was a consolation that in any case whether the world becomes complexer through practice at least it's easier for us to endure and to just let it be yeah okay I hope so yes

[24:19]

Someone else. Oh. So we all speak about my world and so there are so many worlds they cannot be the same. They are all viewed from one particular perspective. There are so many worlds as there are persons, as there are meditators. And so I say it's about the silent we.

[25:25]

So what connects us without talking, that's more important than all the words. And we can notice that when we sit together in the center and then go out and leave or when we are here talking and then leave. The first one I feel nourished and the second one I'm agitated. And then there is the old saying, when two philosophers meet, they argue endlessly. When two sages meet, they just bow to each other silently.

[26:28]

I hope it's true. Could you open the door a little bit for a few minutes? Go ahead. We have two examples in our group where people started to say something to explain about their world that they experienced in meditation and then suddenly found they couldn't find words for it.

[27:39]

I want to say something about how my world has changed since the last few years. I would like to say something about the change in my world or my worlds during the last years. So before I always tried to find what we had in common and try to convince others.

[28:43]

And when I couldn't convince others I also suffered from the differences. So this morning I found this Samantabhadra aspect I found very beautiful. And I can really feel that human beings have something in common like the sea, but that all the differences makes what makes them alive. And the waves in the ocean are also very beautiful. Thank you. We talked a lot about mindfulness, especially in the situation where we work.

[29:59]

And these work situations are very often situations where people are not so mindful because they are so much under pressure and very occupied with the content of their work. And how kind of even there through mindfulness, the situation can change and the world of the workplace can change. Okay, yeah, it's true. else yes in addition to what has been said already it is not only difficult to explain to someone what practice means or practicing means

[31:34]

I think practice shows itself especially where it shows itself in action That is to say that I, also outside of sasing and that means what Helga just said that outside of Zazen in other situations with other people I am mindful and in connection with people practice kindness and generosity That's what I think could be a contrasting program.

[33:03]

That doesn't need explanation. Okay, yes, this is interesting to me. Thanks. All of it. Yeah, someone else. Yes, you may. Yes. We also talked about activity and entity. We also talked about activity and entity. And we noticed that activity opens up possibilities because things are not so predestined.

[34:04]

Predestined. Predestined. And I liked one example in our group. He described how he tries to approach his children in such a way that he does not look at them again and again from the history, from the entity, but always new, how they are now and today. And he described how he tries to encounter his children new every time and not with the view from the history and as an entity. I found that a very good possibility and also very inspiring because I think in general it opens up the possibility to approach people without

[35:13]

And I really like this example as a great possibility how to encounter basically every human being with these open possibilities and not as an entity where everything is already described and predestined. This gives me a feeling for what we could discuss tomorrow. Tara? So, my impression is that I tell myself all the time how the world is. My expectations, my fears, my hopes, my expectations, my anxieties, what I hope, my hopes.

[36:32]

This sentence by Suzuki Hiroshi, nothing exists except this moment in its present form, when there was what Suzuki Roshi said, that nothing exists but this moment in this color and this particular form. And this is something that I always have to think about, because I am sorry, but I just have the feeling that in 99% I know what I expect from the world. So I try to kind of grasp and find hold in this sentence because I really have the impression that to 99% I think I know how the world is and I can't do much about to change And that's how it came about that I worked with this turning phrase, right now, herein.

[37:48]

And that helps me especially when I go into a situation where I think I know exactly what's coming towards me. And if I manage to go into that situation with this turning phrase just now appearing, then it can be possible to enter the situation as an open field where actually something totally unexpected can happen. And so it helps me very much in situations and encounters with other people where where I usually think I know exactly what's going up to step out of that and then really other things can happen and do happen.

[39:30]

Thanks. That's good. Well, we should start pretty soon, I think. Okay. I'm happy that nobody else wants to say something. And you? Yes? Since yesterday, I've really been feeling that I would like to talk about habits or habituation. Habits, yes. Because it often becomes so difficult for us because it is very often very difficult for us to have compassion for ourselves because we are so stuck in our habits. And it helps me to consider that the way our mind works, that there is a neuronal... Neural... Neural... Neuronal... Neuronal base.

[40:50]

And goodbye. We'll see you soon. That's true. So if for example we name a certain object and close our eyes then most people would see this object because a certain connection of the neurons produces that image. So it's possible that when a name is called an image or a value for rejection can appear. That can be a stereotype and can cause suffering.

[42:02]

And it can be very persistent and it may take a long time to let the habit go. Because we need to learn to structure ourselves in a different way and the neurons need to be restructured. If I may say it in English. If we get triggered in a certain way, we have this stereotype reaction. And part of practice is to learn to activate us in a different way, which makes possible to experience a world which is different from the stereotypes and habits. And the change of, to bring about the change of normal normal. So circuits yeah, you know just takes a long time.

[43:12]

What do you need needs a damn persistence? Yeah, and if you give up and we give up before we just get frustrated We've got these long gaps on return practice. What we lack is persistence in our practice. Yeah, have a persistent attention. I In the meantime, while changing, we need a lot of compassion from ourselves. That's true. Somebody meets Nico in the hall and says, how are you doing? He says, I'm in a neuronal trap. And his friend says, you mean a neurotic trap? No, no, no. Well, I think it's different actually.

[44:28]

Okay. Something... Let's see if I can say what I feel. When we think about our world and try to describe it, almost immediately we're caught in the language which allows us to describe it. And I think that's natural and, yeah, the way it is. But it's good to notice that the language begins to take over our description. Yeah. And there's various, of course, as you've all pointed out, perspectives that occur in any description.

[45:48]

But what I feel also is that around each of us there's an invisible, intricate field. Yesterday we spoke about a kind of facing situations that sometimes have locked aspects. And by being able to stay in the midst of differences in the Samantabhadra sense, it's somehow the tumblers or the levers shift and the situation opens up.

[47:05]

But right now I'm saying that it's almost like in the sense of this intricate field surrounding each of us, They're all like mutual keys or something like that. I don't know what image to use better than that right now. But what I feel is that with those of you who have practiced a lot, Independent, really, of your description of your world, there's this shared invisible field that kind of fits together.

[48:14]

And one aspect of it may be that one of the important dimensions of monastic practice is you drop the need for social space. The usual way of greeting and saying hello and establishing security and I'm your friend and blah, blah, blah. And you don't need that anymore. But there's this meshing of this this invisible field with each other.

[49:15]

And you can feel that people have practiced less that invisible field is there but it's a little different. And this is something you can't describe. I'm trying to make an effort, but you can't really describe it. It doesn't occur in the categories of language. It occurs in all the... of the little actions we take together. The attitudes of, Peter said, generosity or acceptance and so forth. Mm-hmm. It's not describable, but it's definable.

[50:31]

In other words, it defines our relationship with each other. Now, one other thing I wanted to thought of while we were talking is Trudy Dixon was a very close friend of mine. And I moved to Japan after Trudy and I finished editing, developing Sukiroshi's books and my beginner's mind. And we were... for a number of years, practicing together with Suzuki Roshi. And she, at 29, had breast cancer.

[51:32]

And her mother died of breast cancer, and her grandmother died of breast cancer, and so forth. All cancer started when they had their first child. So it was pretty clear she was going to die. Anyway, we worked together on the book. It was our kind of thing to do together. And so I moved to Japan and she would send me letters. And somehow we sometimes would write letters. Sometimes we'd type letters and typewriters, tip we had in those days.

[52:45]

And these new little audio tapes were just then available. They were or they weren't. They were. So sometimes she'd send me an audio tape. And I'd use these three mediums to write back to her. And it was obvious but also striking to me when I hand wrote a several page letter to her And a few minutes later, Type wrote a letter to her. And within a few minutes later, made an audio tape for her. Each one was different.

[53:46]

And not just a little different. They were like three different descriptions of a world. And she was describing her world. And we knew each other so well and we knew that the minutes were slipping by, that we really made an effort to talk about each other's world. So again, depending on the medium, we had three different worlds coming by. But underlying, there was a shared vision. Which was not which was partly expressed in the book, but also a shared vision that the book was only a part of, of how to continue Sukhirashi's teaching.

[55:11]

And so that underlying vision somehow made the three different versions, three different versions of something that was in a deeper sense an intention. We went back and forth like this for some months, six months or so before she died. We went back and forth for six months or so before she died. And in fact, I was listening to a tape of her speaking to me. And I could hear the wind in her backyard. She was in her backyard in Mill Valley, California.

[56:12]

And speaking at this particular time about something she'd read in Castaneda. And while I was listening, a telegram came saying she'd died. And that was a very... clear and strong experience for me of the medium is the message. The medium shapes the message. But there's a deeper medium of a shared vision or intention. Now, I'm here for these days. This coming Monday, I leave the 14th for going back into the practice period at Crestone.

[57:46]

And since I'm here now with you, it makes me very happy to be here with you. And we as a Sangha are in the midst of this decision to purchase or not to purchase Hotzenholz, the place across the street. Whether we do it or not, it will determine a great deal of what the future of Dharma Sangha will be. And determine my relationship to your practice and your practice in relationship to me, etc.

[58:52]

And tomorrow, I believe, I think I'd have to ask Frank for sure, but I think tomorrow afternoon Wolfram Graubner, whose place it is, will be available to walk around with us and have us look at it. Those of you who are interested. And, you know, some of you, this might be completely new, but most of you are familiar because we've been communicating about it. But I think that since I'm here for these days this evening at let's say the beginning of Zazen I'll meet here with anyone who wants to have some discussion about what it means to go ahead or not go ahead with huts and holes.

[60:13]

And those who want to go to the Zendo, I won't take offense. Please. I'll be very impressed with your home. So, since I'm here just for these... 10 days or so, I look forward to speaking with those of you who'd like to. And thank you for this discussion we just had. Thanks for my double translators. That's nice. Yeah. Thank you.

[61:14]

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