I've heard that the Shakyamuni Buddha taught that action is intention or aspiration. That was his definition of action. I think when he means action, that's evolutionary action. action that has evolutionary influence on persons and on planets. So there are some kinds of actions which don't really form worlds. which is intentional, forms worlds and transforms worlds.

[01:05]

And the key is intention. He also says that once an intention has arisen, intentional activity has occurred, and intentional activity can be mental intentional activity, bodily intentional activity in the form of a posture or gesture, and verbal intentional activity. When these three types of activity have occurred, one of these three types have occurred, there will be consequence. Eventually there will be consequence. You may not see the consequence. It may not appear immediately. but there will be a consequence," he said. However, the consequence can be altered.

[02:15]

So an act which we usually consider to be unskillful has a certain trajectory or certain path that's implied. So rudeness, generally speaking, is rudeness and harm. but that trajectory can be derailed or influenced. It does not lead to not having a consequence. It's not fixed, it's not overly determined. The consequence is determined by the original act, partly, but it's also determined by many other factors, including the intentional activity of the person who originally had the intentional activity, but also even the intentional activity of other people.

[03:27]

Other people's intentions can affect the trajectory of your intentions. You're still responsible for the trajectory of your intentions. But it is possible that unskillful friends can influence your path and also that skillful friends can influence your path. So in the chant we did this morning, if we offer our sincere confession of an unskillful direction before the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, they can interact with our trajectory, our observation of our unskillful direction. They can interact with it and influence it. They can't save us all by themselves, but interacting with them

[04:32]

can remove and change our story. Inviting them into our story is already possibly a change in our story, but now inviting them in, but after they come, saying welcome and listening to them can change our story. Yes, did you have something, Robert? The action isn't overly determined. Yes. You're talking about an action that's already been done. Yeah. And so it can be changed or it's not even determined. If I'm rude to you, generally speaking, that often does not encourage you or other people to be mindful and so on and so forth.

[05:38]

If I speak politely and respectfully and carefully to you that has the potential of encouraging you also to feel treated respectfully and politely and Did I say carefully? And maybe you want to do that yourself because it felt good and you look good, so you might try it. So that would be a good consequence of my treating you that way, plus I probably would feel good talking to you that way, maybe right away. But that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm going to feel good right away or even eventually. It depends on how I practice afterwards. And if I make a commitment to speak kindly and then I practice

[06:50]

that way, and then I practice that way, and I practice that way, then it would be likely that the good consequence will be more and more come into being. Whereas if I forgot my intention and practiced other ways, the good intention could be derailed. On the other hand, even if I got derailed, I got derailed and didn't feel good about it and asked for assistance from enlightening beings. That request, that reiteration of my intention, even though I slipped, plus the invitation to others to help me return, which I slipped from by having another intention, this process can alter the path of consequence.

[07:54]

So usually, you know, being rude gives rise to unfortunate results, or often anyway. It often happens, but not always. It's also important to all confess that Like being rude. It's important to confess. Like if you're habitual, if I'm habitually rude. Or even just in a moment rude. Just one moment of rudeness. Now, it doesn't have to be habitual. You can confess one rudeness. And then also you can feel what it's like to acknowledge that rudeness. And if you feel not good about it, then that not feeling good about it has an effect on you. Generally speaking, it would probably encourage you to want to be good, but probably want to be polite.

[09:04]

And then in addition, if you confess it in the presence of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas or other skillful people, they can also interact with you to... transforming the pattern of intention. Because intention is basically, in the present moment, your intention is a pattern of your relationships right now. And the pattern of your relationships is one where you don't appreciate other beings and feel grateful to them, that pattern of relationship is less beneficial and advantageous to realizing interdependence than one where you realize appreciation for others and cooperation with others and mutual assistance with others

[10:10]

That's the actual view of the Buddhas. So when you respect people and appreciate people and are grateful to people, it's more in line with the Buddha's vision. But if you turn away from the Buddha's vision of interdependence and you admit it, and then you admit it with the Buddha's, then you're turning back towards interdependence, towards the story of interdependence. But also, of interdependence, you also invite other people in on your story of interdependence so it isn't just your own personal story of interdependence which nobody else is going to have anything to say about. And if you slip off your story of interdependence and don't then again inviting others in in your confession of veering away from interdependence is interdependent, is more like ritually enacting interdependence. And then if you do that, or you try to do that, the people you invite don't really invite me.

[11:21]

I want an engraved invitation, not just an offed hand. You have to sincerely invite me. Otherwise I'm not going to really feel invited and I don't really think you want to invite me. You're just saying that because Reb said you should. You don't really mean it. You can say, oh yes I do, please, please come into my life and help me realize interdependence. And they say, okay, I'll help you. Now you sound more like you really do want to enact interdependence. Are you on the verge of issuing an invitation? Yeah. Please, come in. Help. I mean, I guess the thing, when you're talking about being rude to people, it's like, I find frequently that I'm rude to people, but it's because I keep going back to, it's like a grudge I'm holding, you know, on maybe my handful of grudges.

[12:39]

This person reminds me of grudge number two, so I'm going to go ahead and... A fistful of grudges. Well, you may have to issue quite a few invitations saying to people, you know, yes, speak up. I said you may have to issue quite a few invitations. because you may have a habitual way of walking that people read your body posture as. No, thank you. You don't have to give... I'm not inviting you in to give me feedback on my life. I'm not inviting you to... ...me not attached to my story.

[13:42]

Matter of fact, I'm attached to my story... And I don't particularly want you to come in and knock on the door and say, hey, man, you hand over your story. Give me your story. And after you give it to me, forget it. I'll take care of it for you. Not very nicely, but I'll take care of it for you. I'm going to tip it upside down and put it on backwards. Okay, what? Well, so I think I just kind of made a mistake, you know, like I, apologizing, I kind of like, instead of apologizing for being rude, I was like rude again. You think you do that sometimes? Yeah, you know, there's a thing about when you confess something not to produce more flesh. I find that real difficult to do, you know, it's like, you know, it's like... Well, so you confess that and then ask people, and then see if you can find people who will help you spot that and remind you of that when you do that, help you be clear about that.

[15:02]

because you're not always clear about it, right? Until later, maybe you are. But it might be nice to, again, invite people in and learn in such a way that they feel like, hey, I really feel invited. That time I felt invited. The time before I felt like I didn't really feel invited. Or I felt invited and I wanted to enter. You put it in such a way that I... I felt like you were asking for feedback and I actually wanted to do it. And then you might even say, well, when I invite you and you don't feel invited, when I invite you but you don't really feel invited, how do I do that? What do I do to make you not really feel invited or not feel attracted to assist me? How do I put it that way, that you don't really want to do that? And they might be able to tell you. And then you might say, well, if I did it this way, would it work better for you?

[16:07]

And they say, yeah. And then you can say, well, can I try it now? And they say, was that it? And you say, yeah. I really felt that time. I really felt invited by you that time. Yeah, maybe if you say, I know I invite you, but I need you to help me, and I request you to help me. And then you might ask him, did you hear that I need you to, that I feel I need you to give me feedback and I request you? And they might say yes. Yeah, I do. How are you? How are you feeling now? Can you hear that?

[17:10]

I feel kind of overwhelmed by my unskillfulness. I feel real sad about it too. You see you feel sad that you've been unskillful sometimes? You feel sad you missed the opportunity to be more skillful? That feeling in the presence of others is what can guide us back onto the path we want to walk Do you have any feedback for me?

[19:17]

I feel very happy for you that you feel this. It's like a boil. I think it's a wonderful event. Thank you for sharing. Aline, Deirdre, is it warm or just perfect, temperature-wise? Perfect?

[20:35]

If that wouldn't disturb your perfection. Yes, please. Yes? It seems to me that there's a difference between kindness that they may overlap. And I want to know about the consequences or actions that may be kind but aren't. perceived as polite? Well, I guess if there was an act of kindness that wasn't perceived as polite, a consequence someone would get upset with what they perceived as impolite.

[21:44]

And are people being upset by actions that are kind that they perceive are not polite. Yes. Be kind to someone who is very frightened and they interpret it as not polite and they feel really hurt and maybe react violently to a kindness ...was seen as impolite or disrespectful. It can happen. And it's possible that the person felt kindly towards somebody

[22:48]

spoke from that feeling of kindness, intended the kindness, and a whole bunch of people who were watching felt like the person was being kind. The person who it was being related to could have felt condescended to or something and felt hurt by the way that they thought about what this person was doing. and in their pain reacted with violence towards the person who was being kind. That can happen. Such patterns can happen. But that's not the end of the story because the person who was feeling kindly and acting from that kindness and can respond to that hurt and that violence and the second time around maybe even have a better chance now of helping the person who felt offended by their kind intention.

[24:02]

But if a kind intention is then derailed when somebody comes to you violently if you can't come back with kindness again. Of course that seems to be very sad that you're trying to be kind and then you reward when someone attacks you and then you don't say thank you for that. So that's called, you know, turn the other cheek, right? You give a gift but then give them another gift. And then they attack you. If you keep giving them gifts long enough, they'll probably snap out of it and realize, hmm. And then they may realize that all those past ones were gifts, too, and kindnesses, too. And they see an entire different history of the whole thing. But if you're kind and get derailed, then

[25:09]

the first kindness, although it was kind, doesn't necessarily fulfill itself because the person didn't understand it. But if you keep with it, even when getting attacked... and say, how could you? And he doesn't defend himself. And then later on people realize that he didn't bother the child and had yet taken responsibility for the child, and they're like, wow, you're so great, and he doesn't respond. He does respond. He responds. But in both cases he responds with a simple, is that so? Asodeska. Asodeska, yeah. Just he responds. We always respond. but he doesn't try to defend himself and he doesn't come back with violence where a lot of people falsely accused feel very hurt.

[26:23]

Their self is pushed real hard at that time and they feel hurt and then they often come back with violence when falsely accused, not to mention violently falsely accused. This is typical situation of street violence, this kind of thing. But to be falsely accused and when you're trying to be kind and then be kind again, this is what we would like to do. Or some of us would like to be able to do that. A lot of people would. It's fine to be kind when people are kind to you. That's great. And also in this story the way of being kind when people were kind to him and the way of being kind when people were kind to him was the same. So it's nice actually in some ways when it's not that big a deal either way.

[27:30]

It's just sort of like very natural and like, hmm, okay, this is This is life where you get praised and blamed. Here we are. So to be that present and kind and also not make too big a deal out of it. Not make too big a deal out of it. Yeah, not to make, just like, oh, oh, I'm a such and such, oh, I'm a such and such, oh, Okay. That's the thing today? So it goes up and you say, oh. It goes down and you say, oh. It stays the same and you say, oh. It's the same story. Yeah. Yes, Craig? I saw a poker sticker a couple of days ago. I assume that you disagree with that.

[28:36]

The same minds that created our problems won't solve them. The same minds that created our problems won't solve them. Won't solve them? Will not, or can not. Well, it also could be, I think, Alcoholics Anonymous' statement, maybe. It's Albert Einstein's statement. So I better not disagree with Albert Einstein. Well, he created a lot of problems.

[29:39]

Huh? Big ones. He contributed to... He was... He was a contributor to big problems, to nuclear... nuclear holocaust problems. And so are we. So the minds that created our problems will not solve them or dissolve them? Cannot solve them. Cannot solve them. That's exactly what you can say. That's why it's changed. Huh? Why it's changed when the source changed. Yeah. I assumed it was... what you were saying before, you know, the same person that waged war would probably not give the same, that mind would probably not be inclined to create peace. Right. But if it's gone, and if we don't realize it, then you're using the same mind, and that mind

[30:49]

is not there anymore, and so that mind won't be very effective because it doesn't exist. So using minds that don't exist, generally speaking, creates disharmony. And using the mind that does exist the way it exists, that's the mind that transforms patterns of bondage and suffering. But that's already going on, so it's a question of waking waking up to the mind that's constantly changing. So each of our minds are actually co-evolving with everybody else's. And to wake up to that mind is to wake up to the mind which realizes peace. And to not to notice that mind and dream of something that's not the same, that's being caught by a dream of something that doesn't exist, namely a permanent independent mind.

[31:51]

And that mind never did exist, but believing in that mind creates problems. But still, a deluded mind, which created problems, it changed right away with everything else. And so it's already gone. So what mind is going to solve the problem? It's the mind which wakes up that whole process, including that it's the mind that wakes up to the deluded mind as being deluded mind. So you have the deluded mind or deluded minds which are interdependent but don't realize that they are, creating problems. And that mind is not going to solve any problems. It's done its job. But it's also offered an opportunity for another mind to understand that. And the mind which understands it is the mind which solves the problems caused by it. So I guess I do agree with Albert Einstein after all.

[32:58]

Generally I like to agree with him. He also said something like the fundamental human affliction is believing that we're separate from each other. Yeah, Jen? Oh, I want to go back to the kindness question. Yes. So then if a teacher gets to wake them up, If a teacher hits a student, yes. Well, again, it's judged by the consequences. If it doesn't wake them up, it might be kind, but not skillfully kind. Part of what the Zen story is about is that there's not too many stories about... Some stories about the teacher hitting the student and the student being discouraged and confused. There's a few stories like that, but not too many.

[34:07]

Most of the stories are about... Because we already know that people often get discouraged and confused when they're beaten. But there's a few Zen stories where the teacher hits the student and they wake up. Now that's... is what wakes people up. But there's a lot of other stories of where Zen teachers, you know, pat the person gently and the person wakes up. But in Dogen's case, I think his teacher was hitting somebody in the zendo with his slipper and saying to them, you know, about dropping off body and mind, yelling at them, kind of yelling at them and hitting some of them. And when Dogen heard that, he woke up. Maybe some other monk And I remember one time Suzuki Roshi went around and hit everybody in the zendo one morning.

[35:07]

And I think most of the people as a result of that did not have particularly sore shoulders because he got pooped out at I started out, I was one of the first people, and he hit me real hard, but I was 27 years old, and it wasn't that much of a problem, actually. But by the time he got to the other side, he was really soft. But anyway, the people felt the effort. He hit everybody in the zendo, and I think the feeling when it was over was, he really cares about us, he really loves us, he cares about the practice, he doesn't want us to get distracted. And that was the feeling, and he's putting his whole heart into that. So I think most of the people were really encouraged by the whole thing. I don't know if anybody woke up. Kind of everybody woke up in the sense of, I think the rest of that period, people were very much wholeheartedly sitting. So that's a case where it seemed completely kind to me, and I think from what I heard, most people feel that way about that morning.

[36:17]

that we were all kind of like not really on the ball. Something happened before that that showed that we were kind of confused. And he was quite kind in that case. In some cases, the kindness is even more effective. Sometimes Zen teachers hit people, and it's not effective. And one time, in Being Upright, I tell the story of Hakowin who was the guy who said, is that so, in that story. But he once yelled at a guy and he broke the guy. You know? He was too much energy and destabilized the guy pretty much for the rest of his life. So even, and Hakuin said, you know, that was a mistake. I made a mistake with that person. A lot of other people he didn't make a mistake with so he felt like he was very helpful.

[37:22]

But even a great teacher can sometimes hit somebody or yell at somebody and it doesn't seem to be helpful. It seems to be unhelpful. And then the teacher feels really bad for maybe the rest of his life about that and never forgets it. And is more careful but hopefully still able to help people, not so careful that he can't do anything. That would even be an equally bad consequence if the teacher couldn't even function. But hopefully in later lifetimes he recovered. So there's danger in practice. Either way, if you hold yourself back it's dangerous, and if you put yourself out it's dangerous. But generally speaking, I think holding yourself back is dangerous.

[38:22]

Both ways are dangerous. Expressing yourself is dangerous and trying to hide is dangerous because trying to hide is expressing yourself in a way that's very hard to learn from. So since both ways are dangerous, I recommend the expressing way because holding yourself back, you'll just be stuck in yourself. But expressing yourself, you have a chance although both are dangerous and maybe expressing yourself is a little bit more dangerous. Expressing yourself is the path of liberation and holding yourself back is just delusion because you can't hold yourself back. But you can express yourself because you do. You can't hold yourself back and you can let yourself forward because you do go forward You do, you are born to express yourself. You're not born to not express yourself. You can't avoid it. Not to dream that you can and that that would be safety.

[39:27]

That's not safety. And of course expressing yourself is not safety either. But you can learn if you express yourself. Right? Right? Right. Well, thank you very much for... Yes, Yuki? It's okay. It's okay? Are you sure? Did you express yourself enough on that one? Huh? Was that enough? That's okay. Okay? Really? Okay. What did you say? It's a consequence. I didn't understand, but maybe you can explain to me later. Thank you very much. Oh, you didn't know I was going to say thank you very much? What do you mean? No, it's okay. Thank you very much. Go ahead.

[40:28]

How when I encountered somebody make me feel sad or angry or many people dying and that people who are seems like making those kind of decisions, how can I be compassionate? How can I make myself feel compassionate towards I do not have to do this? I don't think I can make myself feel compassionate. I don't think I can make myself feel compassionate. But, and I can't make myself ask this question, But still, even though I don't make myself ask this question, I do ask this question sometimes. And the question I ask is, how can I become compassionate? I ask that question, but I don't make myself ask it. You make me ask it.

[41:45]

Catherine makes me ask it. Everybody makes me ask it. I do sometimes say, how can I be compassionate? Those words can be said by me because you support me. but I can't make myself be compassionate, but you can make me compassionate. You can make me compassionate. Those people you're talking about can make me compassionate. As a matter of fact, I can't be compassionate without people like that, without people who are not compassionate. Buddhas really can't make us be compassionate. We can hear from Buddhas, please be compassionate, but we have nothing to apply it to. from Buddha. Buddhists can give us the teachings, so in that sense Buddhists contribute to our compassion. But we need unenlightened people. We need cruel people. Those are the people to be compassionate towards. So actually these people who are hard to be compassionate towards are the conditions for us being compassionate.

[42:51]

But also the people who are encouraging you to be compassionate, they also support you. the people who say, please, be compassionate. And then you can suddenly say, how can I be compassionate? And if you say, how can I be compassionate, and you meet people who are suffering and confused, and you say, how can I be compassionate? You meet people who are confused, and you say, how can I be compassionate? Those conditions can give rise to you being compassionate. It can happen. It can happen, I say. I've seen people... who have not been compassionate a long time suddenly be very compassionate. And it's wonderful. But they didn't make themselves. The world made them that way. So if you can ask for the world to make you compassionate, go ahead and ask. Please, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and all sentient beings, help me be compassionate. free me from karmic effects so that I can be compassionate and practice the way without hindrance.

[43:58]

I beg you, please help me. If you want to be compassionate, please assist me. I invite you. Help me be compassionate. And if you don't understand how I'm being compassionate, help me. And if you think I'm being compassionate, help me. And if you don't know if I'm compassionate, help me. Please help me free of any hindrance in realizing the path of compassion. Everybody, please help me. And I didn't make myself say what I just said. I said this because you asked me to say it. Now what do you say? Thank you very much. Good night and good luck.

[44:46]

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