Now, I wonder, did you have a chance to look at that chart of the concentric circles? Not yet? Well, anyway, there's a chart that's available to you, and it has four concentric circles. And something about the relationship among different meanings of the word samadhi. What's that about? Different classes and meanings of the term samadhi. So one meaning of samadhi is, and that's the central circle, is the meaning of samadhi or the etymology of samadhi is to be collected.

[01:02]

Its definition is citta ekagata, which means the oneness of the consciousness. That's the definition of the word samadhi. So, and it's This is saying that every state of consciousness is one-pointed with what it's aware of. So when there's knowing of an object, like color or painful sensation, when there's awareness of an object, The awareness and the object are one point. In other words, you could say that the mind is concentrated on its object.

[02:17]

But another meaning of one point, which points to the fuller meaning of samadhi, is that the awareness and object are one thing. They're not two different things. Subject and the apprehended object are not different in terms of being. They're one being. You can differentiate among them, but really they're one point. They're one point. This actually is the case. Just like our nature is Buddha, the nature of our mind is that it always has the samadhi quality. You don't have to make this happen. That's naturally the way the mind's working. It has this nature. Knowing and the known are one point.

[03:25]

There's no difference in entity between them. They're one event. The oneness, in some sense the oneness of an object is the main event of consciousness, the samadhi quality of consciousness. Understanding that is sometimes said to be samadhi. So, At the center is the fact that that's the way it is all the time, this one-pointedness. But another way that samadhi is used is more like the way it's used in the other outer circles of this diagram, is when you understand that. We have this nature that our mind is one-pointed.

[04:25]

We usually don't realize it. In other words, what things look like is it looks like when we look at somebody else or even of our self, even of our hand, it looks like it appears like a person or some object is out there separate from our awareness of it. That's the way it appears. So things appear not as they are in samadhi. already that way. But we don't have to make them that way, we just have to realize it. When we give up discursive thought we attenuate our involvement in that separation. Our sense of things being out there separate and us running back and forth between them is given up.

[05:30]

so that at least temporarily we feel more like, how should I say, we feel less like things are out there separate. We're giving up that way. So in that way we also may feel more like they're not separate. And this is common. But another way to approach this is to use our thought to actually think about this and start working with this, and working with it by studying and taking into account, owning up to, that we do sort of do appear to be out there separate from us. But anyway, in the center circle of this diagram, is just meant to point to that all the states of our mind have this at the center, this nature of samadhi, having a samadhi quality.

[06:44]

The next circle, the second circle around the first circle, is what we sometimes call dhyana, or it's like being... or immersed in this fact and actually starting to feel and appreciate the tranquility which comes from, again, as I just mentioned, giving up discursive thought. But another way to put it is you actually feel like you're absorbed in the fact of the one-pointedness of your mind. And that second circle in this diagram the second concentric circle, is the type of meditation practices which the Buddha practiced prior to his awakening. He was very good at those practices which are included in the second circle.

[07:48]

So the first circle is like just our human inheritance, our inheritance of our mind to have this samadhi quality. The second circle is... the circle of the yogi who is training in and attaining tranquility. However, in that second circle and the first circle too, there may be no understanding of the mind or the nature of objects. or the nature of objects means living beings like us, or particular things like our teeth, our thoughts, and our consciousness, and so on. So the third circle, which is

[08:50]

and outgrew the two centered ones, and depends on them and includes them, is actually a realization that, first of all, that we human beings, or each person that we are, that these persons that we are, lack an independent existence. So in the third theory, there is the selflessness of the person. and this is a realization which liberates the realizer. The one who realizes the Third Circle is now personally liberated from suffering. The Buddha attained this Third Circle This circle is also said to be the circle which is realized by the Sriyavaka, the listener, and the Pratyekabuddha.

[10:09]

They realize this third circle. They realize the selflessness of persons. the lack of inherent existence of persons. However, in this third circle, they have not yet realized the lack of inherent existence of the selflessness of the liberation which they just attained. To attain something very wonderful, which, I mean, anybody who has attained this is a rare and wonderful creature on this planet, on any planet. A person who has understood that a person doesn't have a self is a great practitioner and a liberated being and a great asset to all other living beings.

[11:24]

But they are not as fully developed as the Bodhisattva aspires to, because they haven't yet realized that the liberation and this wonderful thing that they've attained, this wonderful way that they are now, that it doesn't have a self either. In the fourth circle you realize the selflessness of liberation. Bodhisattvas attain this third circle, and this third circle is the same for bodhisattvas, buddhas, sravakas, and pratyeka buddhas. There's just this one, this is the, this is the, you know, single path of purification. But the full heroic stride samadhi, full release of the bodhisattva's function in the world is accomplished by the next circle when you realize the selflessness of liberation.

[12:40]

In other words, you realize that nirvana and samsara are both selfless. Liberation and bondage do not have self. And this is not a further liberation of the person, but it's a further liberation of our capacity, of our Buddha nature. And the third circle is the circle of the Buddha, the Buddha's Samadhi, the heroic stride Samadhi. Fourth circle. So that's part of what I hope you understand is that samadhi is used in these different ways. In the fourth circle is where one would understand not just... So again, the third circle is where one person doesn't have an inherent existence.

[13:46]

But in that circle you still might not understand that the subject and object are not two different entities. So you could have a liberated being who still doesn't understand that knower and known are empty of separation, of substantial separation. There's apparent separation, but it's not substantial, it's just an appearance. So you could be really liberated and not understand that, but the understanding of that is understanding not just the self of the person but the self of all things, understanding that all phenomena lacks self when we understand that knower and known lack substantial separation.

[14:51]

Now sometimes that understanding is also called samadhi. So in that case, samadhi means this is the samadhi of the bodhisattva. So in the bodhisattva field, when they say samadhi, they sometimes mean that samadhi, which is a very lawful term. But it has its own meanings too, so we sort of have to keep track of which meaning of samadhi is being used. Well, maybe that's enough for starters.

[16:07]

Do you have any questions or comments at this point? Yes? I was just saying a Buddha is liberated from suffering. I was wondering if a Buddha would be liberated from suffering or, I think you're talking about the United States, or just not enchanted by their suffering? Is a Buddha liberated from suffering or just not enchanted by their suffering? Yeah, I think if I would say a Buddha's liberated suffering, I mean a Buddha's liberated from... Like, for example, Shakyamuni Buddha, when he was sick towards the end of his life, I would think that his body was hurting, you know.

[17:17]

He had seemed to be, you know, struggling to get along, you know. At one point he seemed to be getting dehydrated, and he asked Ananda to get him some water, and Ananda came back and said, you know, the water's really muddy over there, and the Buddha said, get me some water, Ananda. You know, he's still taking care of his body, but he wasn't like really having a didn't seem to be having a big problem taking care of his body, his sick body. So, on some level he was suffering, but he wasn't enchanted by the situation, he wasn't caught by it, and he was still teaching Ananda very nicely in his illness. And then when he got to his resting place, he was able to teach while he was quite ill. So he was suffering a little bit, but I don't think the Buddha suffers really being all kind of like

[18:23]

in any way hindered by whatever pain the body might be feeling. Or if the Buddha hears of other people's suffering, this everything that the Buddha hears about touches the Buddha. I mean, it has an effect on the Buddha. And I don't think it's exactly pleasant to the Buddha to hear of the suffering of beings. probably hurts a little bit. All the little kings probably, there's some sympathy there. But it's not like it doesn't hinder at all. It doesn't hinder at all. As a matter of fact, all the suffering that the Buddha is receiving, all the messages of suffering are not hindered. In fact, they are nothing but facilitating it. For people to see how the Buddha responds to their suffering, that the Buddha's response to their suffering is exactly what the Buddha taught at that time.

[19:41]

That's exactly how the Buddha teaches them at that time. So one way that Buddha responds to people's suffering is like maybe saying, you know, gee, I'm sorry to hear that. Another way that Buddha might respond to people suffering is to say, would you like to hear a teaching? The person's coming, the Buddha senses they're suffering, it hurts a little bit, and then the Buddha says, would you like to hear a teaching? Or the Buddha may already have asked the person before, so if the Buddha was surrounded by suffering students who already have sort of registered that they'd like to hear a teaching, Then the Buddha just naturally starts giving teachings to these suffering beings, so he's feeling it, but there's no obstruction in the feeling. It's actually a facilitating kind of suffering, which is kind of, that's freedom from suffering. So he's not enchanted or entranced or under the spell of these feelings of pain.

[20:43]

That's freedom from suffering. It's using suffering to help other beings use suffering in such a way that everybody becomes happy while we're suffering, or happy with the way we're responding to suffering. One time I was driving over the mountains in California, and I came around the corner and I saw this motorcycle had fallen over, and then I saw a guy lying next to it. And some people were standing around him, helping him. And then I saw the blood on him. When I saw the blood, I felt this piercing. But I was happy to feel that pain. I was happy that I cared about this person I didn't know, of his blood, you know. I felt good about that. Just that sense of connection. So, you know the word karuna? Do you know that word? It's Sanskrit. Karuna is the word that's usually translated as compassion.

[21:46]

Maitri is often translated as loving-kindness, and Karuna as compassion. Maitri just mostly means loving-kindness, you know. It means that you just feel good about somebody. You want them to be happy. Karuna is more like you sense their suffering. You feel it. you feel some penetration. And I heard that the etymology of the word karuna is dented happiness. So the Buddha is basically happy. The Buddha isn't depressed. The Buddha is a happy guy, happy girl, cruising through the slums of existence, cruising through the difficult situations and the nicest situations, cruising through all different situations of beings happily. And then all the beings suffering are making little dents in the Buddha's happiness.

[22:53]

But basically it's this huge mass of happiness with all these infinite number of dents in it. Buddha, and then when the Buddha gets dented, the way the Buddha sort of kind of bounces back from the dent is the way the Buddha's teaching in each case. But all these dents are just like beings massaging Buddha's activity. Otherwise it would just be like a nice big round ball of happiness. But the Buddha is not. It's kind of undulating ball of happiness with all these beings denting it and pushing on it, massaging it, and then getting a response by their effect on the Buddha. Like, you know, when Suzuki Roshi was sick, he got some kind of medical attention, some kind of traditional Japanese medical attention. He was getting shiatsu massage and matzah busting.

[23:56]

So, since he was sick, you know, he was so sick he wasn't going to zendo anymore. and he wasn't giving talks anymore or duksan. So I just said, could I just watch you while you get your treatments? And he said, sure. So I just watched him do the treatments. And so I watched him while somebody was pressing on him, you know, giving him a massage, and I watched him while he was having these pine pitch cones burned down on his back, you know. So I just watched my teacher respond to getting his massage, and I watched my teacher respond to these hot things burning on his back. I watched him. I noticed that the person who was administering the treatment would let the cones burn down until he kind of winced. So I'd watch his face winch, and then I noticed the guy would take the cone off when he winced. And then one day, the guy was sick.

[25:01]

So she told me, would you do the treatment? He said, you've been watching. So I did it just from watching, you know. And he said, that's pretty good, you know. I did the massage kind of like I saw the other guy do. And I did the cones. I put them with him and let them burn down. And I washed his face until he went and took it off. So this is how he taught me at the end, you know. taught me by witnessing it, by the way he related to the massage. And one time I pushed, you know, I pushed on his and he farted. And he said, that's good. Things are still working in there. And so, in that way the Buddha is free of suffering. and demonstrate the freedom from suffering by the way I through it.

[26:01]

Like these examples I gave at the beginning. This is kind of like people were bugging these guys, in a way, coming to steal from them, insulting them, praising them, insulting them, praising them, giving them all kinds of assignments, take care of this baby, giving the baby back. their freedom from suffering is demonstrated, is proved by the way they respond to the situation. So that's what attracted me about Zen. I wasn't attracted to some picture of a Buddhist sitting there and going, oh, great, it's all so beautiful. It's more like, can you prove it? Can you strive to the world? Can you set up a Zen center? And, you know, make a meal plan for it? Can you cook meals and serve meals and receive meals and clean the room? Can you deal with all these kind of striding ways where the little difficulties and pains are opportunities to demonstrate our actual relationship?

[27:14]

That's what I would say about being free of suffering. In order to be free, you sort of have to be not enchanted by suffering or any other objects. You have to train the mind to not be caught by the surface. Anything else that you want to bring up now? Yes. You said, if I remember, that the inner concentration was one-pointedness of mind? Yes. It says it's one-pointedness of mind, citta ecagata. But it's just kind of, I think I would interpret that as a shortened version of one-pointedness of mind and object.

[28:17]

It's not just the mind is one-pointed on the object. An object and the mind are one point. It isn't like there's a mind point and object point coming close together. They're one point. That's the context for the question. I think you also said in the fourth circle, the mind, the self, and object, there was the... loss of belief in the inherent existence of both self and object. But I'm having trouble seeing how that's different from one pointedness of mind and object. It's the realization of that. So in the center circle, everybody's got that circle right now. This is just built into our nature. That's just a statement. But most people don't understand it. In the outer circle, you understand that. You understand that mind and object are one point.

[29:23]

So since they're one point, then the mind doesn't exist on its own. The mind only exists when it knows something. A mind that doesn't know anything is not really functioning. Cognition is know-something. And what is known also doesn't exist separate from being known. There's a lot more to be discussed there, but anyway, basically, there's no objects out there that you know that exist separate from your knowing them. However, that doesn't mean they don't exist at all. It just means they don't exist the way they exist for you as you know them. Any more questions about that? Yeah, and I have questions about two and three. So the one and four are that it's related

[30:25]

I get more confused about the apparent gap that's happening in circle two and three then, where in circle three, if I remember, it was the one no longer existed itself, but still the mind is this natural mind. So somehow this natural mind in the inner circle will do it. You could say overlooked. That'd be fine. overlooked, not yet realized. So you first, in the circle three, you understand the nature of a person, but you don't yet understand the nature of things. In early Buddhism, the Buddha taught the nature of the person but people didn't seem to understand he was teaching also the selflessness of things. Now, the Mahayana says he was, but people just didn't notice it.

[31:35]

But you can understand the selflessness of, for example, and that would be a wonderful, amazing attainment. And the full understanding of that would be to have an insight into that, and then to join that insight with tranquility practice. So you would study, analyze, and you use discursive thought to actually see, as it does in early Buddhism, and also with, of course, early Buddhism is included in the Circle Four. So part of the bodhisattva path is that early meditation on is there a person in addition to you know, separate from or the same as the five aggregates? Is there a person in addition to your feelings, your thoughts? See if you can find such an independent person. And by these kinds of meditation you become more and more convinced that there is no one other than these five aggregates.

[32:42]

And then you become disabused of the enchantment of the appearance of an independent person. However, in early Buddhism the five aggregates were left as existent. They exist, and there's nothing that exists that's not these five aggregates. That was the early teaching. They do exist. Okay, now, can you think of anything that exists that isn't these? No, you can't find anything And so the self isn't one of these and it's not separate. If it was separate, it wouldn't exist. So in that way you can verify through your experience that you never really do experience a self other than one of these aggregates. And you don't mean that these aggregates are yourself. Nobody really thinks that a self is a painful sensation. a self of a person. That's just a person's painful self-satisfaction. So anyway, in this way, you verify, you could verify, realize and be convinced of the selflessness of the person.

[33:53]

And when you realize that and understand that and are convinced of that, then this convinced person, this convinced meditator, this convinced insight meditator, then enters into

[34:08]

@Transcribed_v005
@Text_v005
@Score_86.48