I want to speak this morning about the Bodhisattva precepts, the ethical guidelines in our tradition. So last Monday night, Hogesu was here speaking about skillful means, but she's our sewing teacher who does, helps with teaching the sewing of robes or lay ordination robes like Kathy and are wearing at the end, they're raksus or priesthoods. Anyway, we have these formal ceremonies around these bodhisattva precepts, and I'll say a little bit more about that later, but these are basically just for any of us, all of us who do zazen, they're expressions of zazen and they're guidance as to how to express this awareness that we uncover for ourselves in this sitting practice, in our everyday activities.

[01:08]

So they're not, some of them sound like the Ten Commandments a little bit, they're not, thou shalt not, they're just kind of guidelines for us to remember about how to express Buddha mind in our life. So, I'll read the 16 that we take formally, and each one of them I can give many Dharma talks about. Today is just a sort of overview, and I'll say a little bit about a few of them, or a couple of them. But there's first the three refuges. I take refuge in Buddha, I take refuge in Dharma, I take refuge in Sangha. So this is, Buddha means the awakened one, but it's also the principle of awakening. and the reality of that, and the teaching about reality. It's not as good as all of us, community. But in some ways, all 16 come from, I take refuge in Buddha. Just that we are all here this morning, because in some ways, you're turning towards Buddha.

[02:12]

And in our sitting practice, which we just did, we are sitting like Buddha. And through doing that, through doing these physical postures, these mudras, we learn aspects of the teaching. So just sitting upright like the Buddha in the center of the room, we learn this posture or attitude of uprightness. And in our bowing, we learn about respect and gratitude. So all of the 16 come out of taking refuge in Buddha. But the first three of the three refuges, then there's what we call the three pure precepts. I vow to embrace and sustain right conduct. Sometimes I translate it as, I vow to avoid evil, I vow to embrace and sustain all good, and I vow to embrace and sustain all beings, which is very important for us because this is a practice that's very inclusive. Everybody in the world is part of what's happening in this room.

[03:14]

That's something that, you know, is part of our teaching, that all the people who've ever influenced you, parents, of course, and teachers and so forth, are part of who you are sitting there. Gradually, we start to feel that viscerally. But it's subtle, anyway. But this is a practice of, the Bodhisattva practice is about universal liberation. We're not just sitting for ourselves, we're sitting for all beings in some real way. But that, of course, includes ourselves. and all the ways in which we want to learn to be calm. As we sit, we learn about being calmer and settled and a little more open and having some more flexibility. Of course, not that that happens automatically. Those are all endless practices, as are these precepts. Next are the Ten Grave Precepts. And again, these are the ones that sound a little bit like the Ten Commandments, but they're not.

[04:19]

They're just guidelines. There are current translations of them. A disciple of Buddha does not kill. A disciple of Buddha does not take what is not given. A disciple of Buddha does not misuse sexuality. A disciple of Buddha does not lie. A disciple of Buddha does not intoxicate mind or body of self or others. A disciple of Buddha does not speak of faults of others. A disciple of Buddha does not praise self at the expense of others. A disciple of Buddha is not possessive of anything. A disciple of Buddha does not harbor ill will. A disciple of Buddha does not disparage the three treasures of Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. So that's the formal language for them now. And in more traditional In Asian Buddhism, sometimes they've been translated more literally, so a disciple of Buddha does not intoxicate mind or body, himself or others. In Asia, sometimes that's been, a disciple of Buddha does not sell alcohol.

[05:23]

But, of course, we know that there are many things that can intoxicate us. So each of these is subtle. Each of these is a study, and when I work with people preparing for lay ordination, usually they take one or two and focus on them as a way of learning about all of them. So each one is really subtle. So just as the one about intoxication, a disciple of Buddha does not intoxicate mind or body, itself or others, just to see the ways in which each of us do have patterns of habits that can intoxicate us. So aside from alcohol or drugs, of course, we do have a recovery group that he meets here Tuesday night, but we can get caught up in, we can be intoxicated with all kinds of things. Even with zazen, people can get to it, attach to zazen, and forget about their everyday life. That's possible. It's more difficult practicing in the city. But how do we, so each of these has many aspects.

[06:25]

It includes not just for ourselves, but if we're considering all being, disciple of Buddha does not kill means encourages others not to kill. And also, each one of these has a positive side, too. So, to say the disciple of Buddha does not intoxicate mind or body of self or others, implies also the positive side of the disciple of Buddha does try to encourage for themselves and others a kind of clarity, a kind of awareness. instead of being caught up in patterns of habits that can happen in all kinds of ways. So again, each one of these is a study, a subtle study, one that many people focus on. The disciple of Buddha does not harbor ill will. So some translations in Asia say the disciple of Buddha does not get angry.

[07:28]

But that's really just, you know, not harboring your will very, very quickly. We naturally have positive, negative, and neutral responses to whatever is going on around us. One commentary says that you're violating that precept if you don't get angry when it's appropriate. So we have, you know, some people tend more to anger, some people tend more towards confusion, some people tend more towards greed, but we all have all of these. Again, the precept just says, the disciple of Buddha does not harbor ill will. So we don't hold on to our anger. If somebody says or does something that allows us to feel our anger, we feel it as our anger. Instead of holding on to that and making a harbor and turning that into grudge and resentment and hatred, we try to look at our own anger and see how to use that.

[08:42]

It's tremendously energetic. There's a lot of energy in anger. We can turn that towards seeing clearly what's going on. We can turn that towards commitment or resolve to help in the situation that allowed us to feel our anger. So each of these is a very subtle lifetime study. This is adult education. How do we not get caught by our anger and not turn it into some, you know, I mean, the world is full of hatred And some kinds of people hate other kinds of people. It's kind of nuts. But how do we look at the natural? We're electromagnetic beings, so we have positive and negative reactions. When we have some negative reaction, what do we do with that? How do we use that? So these are, again, not rules like never get angry.

[09:47]

It's like they become most relevant when we realize that, oh, I'm hovering on a wheel. I don't like that person, and I like it when I don't like that person. And I'm going to do what I can to get back at that person even, and where to start from that. So again, this is just one of these 10. But just part of the study of it and the practice of it is not that we hear these precepts or formally receive them in a ceremony, but that we use them as reminders. And when we realize that we are starting to harbor ill will against them, that's when the precept comes alive. So these are all, again, they're people who take these formally, but for all of us, this is Zazen. These are natural expressions of Zazen.

[10:48]

to use in our everyday activity. So I want to talk a little bit more about it and have some time for discussion as well. So maybe I'll say a little more about a couple of them. One of them that a lot of people have trouble with is, well, sometimes we used to have the translation, the disciple of Buddha does not slander. And now we say a disciple of Buddha does not speak of faults of others. And that's a pretty subtle one, and I've had to work with that, because sometimes, you know, it's helpful to talk about a situation where somebody is doing, you know, acting like a jerk, or doing some behavior that's unhelpful. So we can just, you know, to slander them, we can start calling them names, or to start to harbor ill will, or whatever. But how do we instead think about helping the situation? So a disciple of Buddha does not speak of faults of others.

[11:50]

It doesn't mean to not speak about a situation, but not to talk about it in terms of blame or fault. Because we're all part of this circle of greed, hate, and delusion as human beings. How do you instead speak of a situation and see the positive aspects of somebody? see how you can help point something out. So all of these precepts require patience. A couple of Sundays from now, you know, I'm going to be talking about the practice of patience, another set of practices that we have. And it's difficult. It doesn't mean to just be passive and submit to whatever's going on, but we learn from sitting and being present and upright, and waiting for the bell, or just being there, how to be attentive.

[12:56]

And that's practice of patience, means being willing or ready to respond when we see some way to respond that might be helpful. So somebody who's causing difficulty to you, or to somebody else, or to themselves, just jumping in and telling them what a blankety-blank they are isn't really going to be very helpful. How do you actually pay attention and look at what might be helpful? So, one example from one of my students back in California. We have at least one lawyer in the room. This student of mine was a legal assistant and she was working in a law firm and there was a young woman lawyer who was just mean and nasty to everybody. And Rose just didn't say anything, didn't do anything. She just really worked at being nice and speaking kindly to this person and being patient.

[14:04]

And one day this lawyer said to her, gee, I've been really mean, haven't I? Something like that. I don't remember exactly. She got it. rather than blaming or speaking of faults of others, how do we respond in a way that sees the positive possibility? That's one kind of dramatic example. So again, it's not that you have to, you know, recite these to yourselves every day, although you could, and anybody who wants a copy of these, let me know. But just to have this awareness of these orientations as the traditional recommendation for how to express clear awareness in our everyday activities can be helpful. It says a disciple of Buddha does not kill.

[15:11]

That's also very complicated. It means helping others not to kill. It means supporting life. So, again, each one of these is a study in itself. I thought I'd refer to... There's various commentaries on these. One that I like is from Thich Nhat Hanh, the contemporary Vietnamese teacher. I think he's made a change since this version, but slightly. But he has 14 precepts of interbeing. He talks about interconnectedness in terms of interbeing, which is very nice. So just as a kind of way of elaborating for not killing, he says, Do not kill. Do not let others kill. Find whatever means possible to protect life and prevent war. So, you know, we sit on various levels, working, studying, being present in this body-mind, on our Krishna chair.

[16:16]

We're also aware of the people around us, and they're part of, you know, as you sit, thoughts arise, you've probably noticed that. And we don't try and stop them, we don't try and do anything with them either, just let them go and they come again. But one level of our awareness as we're sitting is just what's going on in this body and mind. So in some sense we turn the light within, we're focusing on what's going on here, on my seat, this morning. apart from ideas of who I am and what the world is. And that's a long-term practice, but we also then are aware of the people we've interacted with in the past week or days, or they're part of what's going on in our chair cushion. And in terms of these precepts that we respond to people around us that way, but also these precepts are guidance for how to respond to

[17:19]

All of the difficulties in our society that do impinge on us and affect us in lots of ways. So Thich Nhat Hanh says that the disciple of Buddha does not kill doesn't just mean that I don't kill things. And that can be interpreted in various ways. Some practitioners are vegetarians, but not all. But do not let others kill. find whatever means possible to protect life and prevent war. So, that's the social application of it. Another one in this last precept, which is sort of related to not killing, but also related to not misusing sexuality. He says, do not mistreat your body. Learn to handle it with respect. Do not look on your body as only an instrument. So that's interesting because most of what we do in ordinary everyday life is to use situations as instruments to try and, you know, sometimes with very good intentions, to try and become better or try and help, but also sometimes in our culture we're taught to consume, to manipulate things,

[18:37]

and ourselves sometimes to get what we want or get rid of what we don't want. So anyway, he says, do not look on your body as only an instrument. Preserve vital energies, sexual breath, spirit, for the realization of the way. Sexual expression should not take place without love and commitment in sexual relations. Be aware of future suffering that may be caused. So to practice that with respect for yourself and any other. To preserve the happiness of others, respect the rights and commitments of others. Be fully aware of the responsibility of bringing new lives into the world. Meditate on the world into which you are bringing new beings. So that relates a lot to not misusing sexuality, but it's also about not killing. How do we support the vitality and energy in our relationships, in ourselves and others. So, again, each one of these is a huge, difficult lifetime practice.

[19:46]

One of them that I'll mention from Thich Nhat Hanh again... Well, a couple more. Part of our practice is And this relates to embrace and sustain all beings, to benefit all beings. He says, do not avoid suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering, including personal contact visits, images and sounds. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world. So this relates to actually many of these ten, but our practice is not to turn away. This relates to intoxication. Part of intoxication is when we find something to distract ourselves. And sometimes this world is difficult. Our own problems or the problems around us, in traditional Buddhism this is called the Saha world, the world of endurance.

[20:57]

So it's a good place to learn patience. So our practice includes not avoiding difficulties or suffering. Sometimes we need to take a break or have some rest and relaxation or recreation. And that's OK. One doesn't have to wallow in suffering. But to not close our eyes before suffering. So we've been talking about that. and recently some about grief and how do we face sadness? And how do we help others to face sadness? And that means maybe sometimes including, recognizing the processes of grieving, including denial or anger or whatever. But how do we, you know, be willing to be present in all of our life? Of course, sometimes in the middle of practice we feel joy, and it's important to not avoid gratitude and joy also.

[22:08]

So he says, do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering. So that's this Bodhisattva work that we include all beings. Another of Thich Nhat Hanh's elaborations of these precepts has to do with what's sometimes called Right View. This applies to a number of these ten, but in Buddhism there's this idea of the Eightfold Path, which includes things like Right Livelihood and Right Action and Right Speech and Right Mindfulness. They're also right view. And this, I think, is difficult for us and very important. And I think this relates to not killing and also not lying. So he talks about being open to hearing others. So he says, do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones.

[23:20]

Buddhist systems of thoughts are guiding means. They are not absolute truth. So that applies very much to these precepts themselves. We can interpret them in some ways very strictly, and that's appropriate in a lot of contexts. It's not to kill, not to take what's not given. But each of them has this kind of subtler aspect, and whatever our idea about them is, this is the problem of a lot of religion where they have some doctrine or dogma and think they have to impose that on everyone. So you can be here and not be a Buddhist. I don't care if you're a Buddhist. It's not the point. Even though my job is to make available Buddhist teaching for those who are interested, but you can come and just sit. You know, we have people in our sangha who are Christian clergy, and so they are, you know, you don't have to believe any particular Buddhist teaching.

[24:27]

You might, you know, see if you can learn from it. But anyway, he also says, do not, his second one, that was the first about not being idolatrous, do not think the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice non-attachment from views in order to be open to receive others' viewpoints. Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge. Be ready to learn throughout your entire life, to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times." So if we think we know, then we aren't open to learning anything more. So Suzuki Roshi, my teacher's teacher, wrote this book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. So we talk about beginner's mind as something that, no matter how long we've been doing this practice, to be open to learning something new. Or sometimes this is talked about in terms of not knowing, or seeing various ways of knowing.

[25:36]

And it doesn't mean to... You know, if you see something that he has another, he has something else about not lying, including speaking truth to power, as it were. So, you know, sometimes we have to say our viewpoint, but then we also have to be open to hearing other viewpoints. So all of these are really subtle. Again, each one of these is a topic for lots of practice. The point is just how do we settle into being present and upright in this meditation practice, and then gradually over time see how that expresses itself in our uprightness in the world, with friends, with family, with co-workers.

[26:39]

How do we, in our relationships with parents or children, how do we express this gentle, upright mind? Which has this physical side too. How do we, you know, to study, for example, not killing or not lying means to look and see how it feels. when we're not sure if we're kind of on the edge there. So I do want to have time for questions and discussion, but just to say a little bit about this ceremony we do, just so that you know that that's available. We have a lay ordination ceremony where, so Kathy and Douglas are wearing these raksus, these robes. Douglas, can you hold that so people can see it? Yeah, so these are things they sewed themselves.

[27:42]

And there are smaller models of the priest robes that Aisin and Nyoza are wearing. I'm wearing, actually, a store-bought one, but I have numbers of them that I sewed myself. And they sometimes need mending. But so there's a particular practice of sewing a robe for people who are interested in lay ordination. And if you've been around, if you've been sitting here for a little while, practicing here for a little while, you can ask me about this. But it also involves studying these 16 precepts, studying one or two in particular, and in some ways all of them. And it also, the ceremony involves receiving a lineage chart that goes back to Shakyamuni Buddha and goes down to various teachers, Bodhidharma, who brought it from India to China, and Dogen, who brought it to Japan, and Suzuki Roshi, who brought this lineage to America.

[28:48]

and also receiving a dharma name. So that's a ceremony that is available here for people practicing well. You can ask me about it if you're interested. But again, it's not necessary to do that. Just to, in some sense, that involves taking refuge in Buddha in some ways. I don't know. You could think of it as openly stating that you are committed to Buddha or whatever, whatever that means. But again, it's not that people who do that are better practitioners necessarily. Just to sit in zazen, these ways of seeing how to be responsive and helpful in the world are part of our practice there. Oh, and maybe I'll mention also, if you are interested in talking with me individually, with a teacher who's called Doug Sun, that's our Japanese word for it, you can email info at ancientdragon.org, and I'm available sometimes before or after Zazen talks, Sunday morning, or other times during the week, too.

[29:59]

And also, if you would like to have practice discussion with Nyozan or Eishin, they're available for just talking about practice. So email info at ancientdragon.org to arrange an interview, or you can just speak to them. So again, this is something we talk about sometimes, but maybe not always and not enough. And we're going into our practice commitment period where we're going to be talking about subtles and koans, but I wanted to kind of, you know, say something about this as kind of background for all our practice. Tomorrow evening, for those of you who come to both, I'll be talking about a different group of practices, the six or ten transcendent practices or paramitas, which are also, again, guidance for how to express our wholehearted uprightness in the world.

[31:00]

We could see this as ethical practices or beneficial practices. So maybe that's enough for me to say. It's just a very broad overview of how this sitting practice relates to our whole lives. So comments, questions, responses, Or if you have questions about any of those 10 that I mentioned, or 16. Kathy, what's your favorite precept? The one about not lying. Because there's something in it about

[32:03]

How do you represent yourself? You know, like, being honest, not trying to be something you're not. That speaks to me. Good, yeah. That's a good way of expressing some of the depth of that one. And yet, I'm speaking about these partly inspired by Hogesu, our sewing teacher, last Monday night, talking about She was talking about the women ancestors, and one of our very recent women ancestors, Darlene Cohen, who is a friend of mine at San Francisco Zen Center, now passed away, but as she was dying, she said, I don't believe in karma and all that crap. And somebody asked her, this was just as, you know, she was days from dying. One of her students asked, well, what do you believe in? And she said, I believe in skillful means. I'm willing to lie to anybody. So that's the other side of that, that she was concerned with benefiting and helping her students in whatever way was necessary.

[33:11]

That's a very controversial teaching, the skillful means, that I guess she was talking about. But I don't think it contradicts what you were saying. So Darlene was very forthright, and she was very much herself. So in a way, she wasn't lying. But she would say anything that was helpful. Well, along those lines, I was thinking about this as it relates to lying, or speaking of the faults of others, or killing, or any of them really. Somebody pointed out to me in a group where we were discussing the precepts that maybe the underlying idea behind each of the precepts is to not create duality, and if we think about You know, we can hold the precepts very rigidly and like, I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to wind up saying things that, you know, maybe are harmful because we haven't figured out how to graciously, you know, say something that is palatable.

[34:12]

You know, that isn't the 100% truth as we see it. But so, I think about, you know, in practicing each of the precepts, Am I seeing this as a situation that's outside of me that I want to turn away from or manipulate or change my relationship to? Or am I seeing it as a situation that I'm interdependent with? So for anger, I can accept that I might be angry in a situation, but I'm continuing to try to work with myself and with the situation to not try to sort of turn away from it. Or get my own gain out of it. Or speaking of the faults of others, we can speak of the faults of others in a neutral way that allows us to still be connected and trying to help something. Yeah, but then maybe we're not speaking of them as faults, we're speaking of them as actions that have consequences that we don't like.

[35:22]

Right, right. It's subtle. Each of these is very, very subtle, and that's part of the point. Yeah. Yeah, thank you. So they're more than just thoughts. They're thoughts maybe in our eyes, but... Well, they may be really harmful action, you know. Increasing climate damage or something, I don't know. You know, there are harmful actions in the world. But how do we talk about it in a way that's not just... blaming and vindictive, and how do we talk about it in a way that has some possibility of illuminating and helping? Well, lots of actions are intended to have benefit, but they also have some negative effects. How do we keep looking at that and maybe try to work towards something that still has benefit, but maybe doesn't have the unintended negative effects? Yeah, good. So that's exactly what these precepts are about, is that it's not about being perfect. are pure.

[36:23]

Trying to be perfect is a huge obstacle in practice. We're human beings. This is a practice for human beings. How do we engage our life? This is what Thich Nhat Hanh was getting at in terms of being idolatrous. We don't have some idea about what it means to not kill, that then we might lay on somebody else who's Like being self-righteous about being a vegetarian and attacking people who are not, for example. Not that it's not good to be a vegetarian. I mean, it is. Vegetarianism is good. But how do we not hold on to something? So what you were saying about that duality, this is the subtlety of these practices. And my favorite Zen poem of all time is from a great American yogi. He said, if the world were perfect, it wouldn't be. So, how do we see... Another way of talking about this, you were talking about duality and getting caught in duality and me and you and all that separation.

[37:36]

Another way to see this, this is from the Lotus Sutra, it says the point of all, the reason for all, the single reason for all Buddhas appearing in the world is simply to help suffering beings onto the path towards awakening. So these are all intended to help ourselves and others to wake up, to be more kind. And so each one of these is very subtle. And yet, they can serve as real tools and help for us when we're not sure about where we're at with what we're doing. Other comments or questions? This is a question for Dan. Thank you. Thank you so much for your talk. Anger was kind of going through my head. For me, what's difficult is, right now, at this moment, and it's serious for me, because it affects me in a lot of ways, is how politicians make me angry, and I had to stop watching news.

[38:42]

Me too, at least some of these, yeah. Yeah. And every time a politician opens his mouth, I think it's a lie, you know. But, you know, I was thinking about anger, and, you know, it could be put to use so well, and I was thinking of Selma Marches, you know, if it wasn't for anger, the Selma Marches never would have happened, you know. Right, right, right. So, what's that old bumper sticker, if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention? Yeah. commentary that you're breaking the precept if anger doesn't arise when it's appropriate. So, yeah, in that situation, though, harboring ill will is, if you turn some resentment towards some particular politician into a hatred, that doesn't help. But how do you, when some upset arises about some idiotic actions being promoted by the Congress or the Supreme Court or whomever, how do you turn that energy of anger towards speaking truth about that and trying to encourage others to speak truth about it and maybe writing letters or voting?

[39:56]

I was going to announce in the announcement part that we have an election coming up on April 7th, a very important national election, even though it's a local election for mayor and aldermen, so I hope people will register if you're not in vote April 7th. But, you know, to turn what we feel unhappy about towards, well, how do I respond constructively? That would be an example of, you know, in that situation, there may be many other ways to respond. So yeah, anger can be helpful, but then what do we do with it? Time for one or two more questions or comments. David? One thing you just mentioned got to me a little bit, because when I thought of the civil rights movement and how I participated in it, there wasn't so much an anger.

[40:59]

It was going towards a place of The people crossing the bridge were not angry. They were marching for something. And it was a belief that people were equal and that that was not so much an anger, but a disappointment that that wasn't taking place. And it allowed them to march in a way that was respectful and not fight back. The anger was in the state police for trying to keep something repressed. And the question is, when I first came to Buddhism, I read a book. And what I liked about the book is that it said not that you do not kill, but you refrain from harming others.

[42:08]

And it was more of a way of being rather than this commandment, you should do this. It was more of a practicing the way. And I'm wondering when you say, because there's so many different translations for that precept. Thou shalt do no harm. Thou shalt refrain from harming others. So there's so many different translations or warnings. Yes, thank you.

[43:16]

But actually that's a somewhat different teaching. This precept is not to kill, not to take life. Underlying it very much is the very, very early basic Buddhist principle of ahimsa, not harming. So this not killing is kind of a elaboration of that, but in some ways all of these are about not harming. So maybe you could boil Buddhist ethics down to not harming and benefiting all beings. But I wanted to say something about anger in connection with that. So if anyone has not seen the movie Selma, it's very moving and I recommend it. So I don't know about all of them. On some level, there was anger that led to the determination that Dr. King and many, many others had to just step forward and to respond and to not submit to segregation and so forth.

[44:25]

So I remember A. P. Roshi saying once that Gandhi was a very angry guy. So it's not that we should... It's not that... If there's anger, there's anger, but then how do we turn it? And the Selma march is a really good example of, as you said, in a very dignified, peaceful, respectful way, which included just walking, and in the movie Gandhi you see this too, walking into physical harm to stand up for their principles. But somewhere originally, maybe for some of those people, there was anger and it got turned towards what you're talking about, about seeing how to act in a positive way. And just to say that our personal karma of anger and our social karma of anger is so complex. Racism is so deep in this country. in terms of wiping out Native Americans, in terms of slavery, and still racism, and all the things that are happening with young black men being unarmed, being shot by police.

[45:37]

And, you know, it's so deep in all of us. So just to study that is also the precept of not killing, of not harming. to see how it affects everything in the society. So it's very much part of, you know, just the world we live in. So acknowledging that, acknowledging the anger that, you know, was part of the original motivation towards non-harming and benefiting beings, this is part of the complexity of all this. So thank you for bringing that up. Time for one last... Yes, Cathy. I think it seems that you learn something, that if you're angry, if you're feeling it, it's important to kind of sink into it and understand what you're angry about, because I think deciding what to do.

[46:42]

Sometimes there is a need for assertiveness over something you're angry about. Sometimes there's a need to understand it through the duality. But I think sometimes a decision about action comes out of anger. But it's also important to not keep just sitting in an angry stew. You know, like political stuff. You know, a lot of that used to make me angry. I mean, it still does, but not as much. But I find that I've gone toward listeners in terms of signing petitions. The way they word it, it's like there's a need now for voices to support this. That is much easier for me to deal with than the kind of lots of, I don't know, stirring comments about how this horrible thing is happening. And so that's just an example for me of finding people who can represent it in a way of what needs to be done, that you can do something about it that conveys it to you.

[47:55]

That anger got shifted into something that I can do assertively. Yes, good. So how do we respond constructively and positively without being... You know, anger, it injures us. When we're angry at somebody else, you know, you can feel it in our throats or maybe our shoulders or somewhere. And so to study our own anger, to own our own anger, and then that helps us turn it towards, well, how can I respond? in a way that is helpful to all beings, everyone involved. So anyway, there's endless discussions about all of these, but I wanted to bring it up just as a kind of background overview for our practice and how it gets reflected in our everyday activity.

[48:53]

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