Find one that you respond to. There's no books which exactly talk about what I'm talking about. But certainly the four foundations of mindfulness and so forth are in books. So maybe I will go into a little more detail the four foundations for awakenings of mindfulness tomorrow. But the point is that practice doesn't work unless you actually do it. And it's kind of silly to think, why doesn't my practice work when you don't do it? And you have to really figure out a kind of approach.

[01:03]

based on intention. Discipline also means to have an intention. The word discipline is a funny translation, but it means the things I'm saying. It doesn't mean you have to be rigid or something. means what I have just described, but not in the sense of rigidity. So you bring your attention to exactly what you're doing. To your walking. As much as possible you try to do that. And you bring your attention to what you're doing knowing that this doing is mental objects. And you bring your attention to what you're doing knowing that what you're doing I bring my attention to these beads that a friend had made for me.

[02:20]

So I know those things. But these beads also point to the mind. So if I'm practicing with the phenomena as mental objects, I am aware that each object I see produces a mind based on that object. So now I have a beat arising mind. So when this practice of mindfulness means when you bring attention to the tree, you see the mind that arises from the tree as well as the tree. That's a lot just to do that. That's only one of the four. And if you do that thoroughly,

[03:20]

I'll be bowing very deeply to you next time I see you. Joyfully bowing very deeply to you. Let's leave the other foundations and awakenings till tomorrow. To be continued. Why don't we just sit together for a moment or two? Thank you very much for sharing your practice with me and with each other today.

[05:30]

Thank you for translating. Christina, thanks for translating this morning. You haven't said anything. Do you want to say something? Oh, shucks. Yes? When we started, one of the first things you said is you believe we're part of a new culture. I would like to relate or ask something about that.

[06:48]

You also said that we have at least five identities, and they have to relate to each other. Well, they can't, anyway. Yes, go ahead. My question is, it seems to me that our time is getting more and more complex and that we need more and more badly to link because we become specialists of a specialized area of specialization. And I sometimes find it very difficult to find a way to bridge between the disciplines, between the ways of life, between the... Yes, in German? I wanted to refer to this new culture in relation to the fact that he said we have at least five identities and they are also in dialogue with each other, or I should say, he said, he corrected me, we could in any case,

[07:58]

And I asked afterwards, because it seems to me that the world is becoming more and more complex and that it is always urgently necessary to restore this cross-connection, when we are already so specialized, and that it is always more and more difficult to bring the different worlds and perspectives and ways of action into dialogue. Well, I think it's a time of extraordinary promise. I mean, we probably do have the means. We probably do have the means to create enough food, housing and even basic medical care for everyone.

[09:12]

It's also a time of extraordinary destructiveness. And it's a time of transformation which is always a problem, but it's a transformation faster than we can kind of feel a part of. But I think given that, and so there's some kind of both deep disturbance and also some kind of condition of hope in the world, Still, we human beings have always made things complicated. Everything can be just fine and then you fall in love with the wrong person.

[10:35]

Or you make some bad business decision. I don't know. We make ourselves suffer. So even when things are going well, we tend to cause problems. So we have an immense capacity for complications. That's always been true. Not just today. And wise people have, although sometimes we wish there were more, but I would say wise people always simplify their lives. And they find a life, they plant that tree which grows in their soil. So I think that it's pretty much the same as in the past.

[11:56]

We just have to find a way, each of us, to take care of our life. But a certain amount of disorder is quite okay, I think, too. Yeah. We don't want our life to be too controlled. So... Suzuki Roshi used to say, I don't know, you know, it's kind of mysterious that he said this, but he said, we always have exactly the problems we need. Not too many and not too few. Just the right number, too. There's no logic to this. It was a kind of face. But it's an interesting idea. We have exactly the problems we need.

[12:58]

I'm sure you have exactly the problems you need. So what will you do? What else? Yes? What is energy? What is energy? Why do you ask? It's just a question which Energetically popped up.

[14:12]

I had it started in the last session when I worked or felt my energy body. Then the question settled more and more down to me. What is it? I mean, we use always this word, energy, and we all have the feeling, yeah, that's our energy, or that's the energy in the room, or this... But what is it? Yeah. Well, it's something to, you know, turn over in yourself. The idea, what is energy? But it's not so easy to define. Ordinarily, it just means you have the energy to do something, get up in the morning and so forth. But that energy to get up in the morning has a lot to do with our mood and all kinds of things.

[15:19]

Not just like we have an electric power company somewhere we plug into. I would say from the point of view of practice, Energy is co-evolvement or co-creativeness. So everything that exists is, this is just slow energy. Everything that exists is in some kind of relationship to each other. And practice is to open yourself And from a Taoist point of view, it would be to not use up your vital energy.

[16:21]

You don't use it up. Yeah, as I've said before, we're given a kind of unit, big unit of energy at birth. And by 35 or 40, we usually... Forty-five. I've usually used it up and... So you can understand practice as finding a way that your energy is continuously restored by how you exist in the world. Yes. You were talking about this original body? Original, yeah. Original body? Source body, if you like. And I would like to know if this body is developed through practice, how you explained it, I understood that, or if this body is also given by birth, if every baby has it and we lose it through some points, and how that is.

[17:58]

I would like to know how this original body, how it is, whether it is developed through practice, as he explained it, and then I would also like to know whether a small baby already has it, or whether it is then also lost. Well, it makes some difference how you understand it. Depending on whether you understand it as something given at birth or something that we generate. affects how we practice. And Buddhism's emphasis is that we're given many possibilities. But they're all generated. Basically, from the point of view of practice, you view things as something you generate.

[19:06]

Even a little baby at birth, there's someone there for sure. But the way the parents and the world interact with this baby It's so important that it's almost everything. So in some ways, for example, we have this kind of mind that's the basis of minds which take form. I would say this is a physical fact and an idea. But it has almost no reality unless you bring it into reality. Now, everybody brings it into reality.

[20:08]

So, but that doesn't mean it was there at birth. And there's a big difference if it's brought into reality through practice. Or brought into actuality is a better word maybe than reality. Okay. Yes. In the chantings for Oryoku, there is this one sentence that says, Many efforts have been made to produce this food. Please consider whether you deserve it. And this is very difficult for me. Is it possible that somebody lives who does not deserve it? Do you want to say it in German?

[21:29]

In the verses of the book there is this sentence that many works were performed to prepare this food. think about whether you deserve it. And that is difficult for me to accept. And you can imagine that someone lives on earth who does not deserve food. Just say that you're someone, a married couple. Say that you take all the effort of your husband or your wife for granted. Or say, on the other hand, you really notice and respect and and are grateful for the effort they make.

[22:34]

It's a big difference. It's a big difference whether you take your partner for granted or whether you really respect and notice what your partner is doing and are aware of what they're doing. So it's only that kind of feeling. In other words, to be aware that clouds and rain and farmers and Many people have worked to produce the food we make. To emphasize the interdependence, that's all it means.

[23:42]

If the English or German suggests some people don't deserve it, that doesn't mean that. So it's not a comparative statement, it's a statement of gratitude. You don't deserve the food. So maybe we should look at the translation. Thank you for pointing it out. What else? Yeah. a question to the physical pain during Zazen I try to work with it but it's rather difficult and I'm looking for the real intention

[24:48]

why I shall stand it. Yes, stand it. Sit it. I'm very much in favor of the physical pain of sitting, I also try to work with it, but And I would like you to say something around this problem of physical pain and the intention. Do you have pain just in one period of zazen? From the first minute.

[25:52]

From the first minute. Do you have pain right now when you're sitting? Most of the time I have it in my knees. But right now is your knee hurting? Now in the... In your back, yeah. Why do you think your back hurts? Have you injured it or something? Does it hurt all the time or just when you sit? This is a written area I know and I have it since 18. Does it hurt when you just walk around or sit in a car? It hurts most of the time. This is normal. So there's normal pain you're willing to go through, but extra pain... He does something with the lower back pain if it comes up.

[26:58]

Sometimes if you sit... and you lift, really lift through your back, you can open your back up so you have less back problems. But not always. Well, I don't think there's any reason. It's unusual if your legs hurt just right from the beginning. It is unusual? It's unusual, yes. And I'm sorry, I wish it didn't. So I would suggest you do some yoga or something like that. Maybe you do. And try to make your joints more flexible.

[28:02]

And if you want, you can sit in a chair or something like that. But usually that becomes uncomfortable too. Anyway, I think one should, after a little experience, and if necessary some yoga practice, should be able to sit one, two or three periods without too much pain. And then if you want to sit more like a Sashin, there's going to be some pain. Why do we go through the pain of Sashin? I don't know. It's actually quite good if you can do it, though.

[29:11]

Pain is being able to find equanimity in the midst of pain. And for those of you who are thinking of coming to the next session for the first time, you should not listen to this conversation. But it's basically... Sashin is a shortcut to... those states of mind and those deep calmness of mind and equanimity, that through which we know ourself and can transform ourself.

[30:18]

It's very hard to come to this kind of deep calmness of mind without some thing like pain to make you do it. And to really release the thought shield. and to really release your energy. And when you do that, usually the pain disappears. When you discover the pain, for him it's different. Exactly the same. Oh! It's exactly the same for him.

[31:35]

So I don't know. I don't recommend anyone naturally goes to Sashin. But if you want to, it's good to try. Yeah. I've done a few hundred sesshins. And I look at the kind of wreck I am. But if you have, again, let's come back to pain in one or two periods or maybe three periods, then you need to work on your body in some way. I think with a little work, almost anyone can learn to sit a few periods without significant pain.

[32:43]

When you sit longer than that, just still sitting in the way the mind works, we're going to have pain until you get to another state of mind. Yesterday you said, don't sacrifice your state of mind. And in this context I didn't understand the meaning of it. Yesterday he said we should not sacrifice our mental state. I hope that the translation is correct. Sorry. And I did not understand the meaning of that. Well, I mean, some of these phrases, I mean, it's pretty hard to explain.

[33:51]

It's just a phrase you have to kind of either make sense to you or it doesn't. But, for instance, say that you're leaving for some place. You know, in Russia, they... In Russia they have a ritual where everyone sits down and stops before the taxi or plane departs. So I think, at least for me, the hardest time in my life is when I have to pack to go somewhere. In fact, I'm so notorious that people go away when I'm packing. It's something I can't understand. But even though for other people it looks pretty terrible, and I usually leave for the airport after the airplane has left,

[35:18]

Or at least people think it's impossible to get to the airport in the amount of time left. Still, even in those circumstances, I have a rule not to sacrifice my state of mind. I'm doing everything, but still I feel quite calm inside. Ich mache alles Mögliche, aber ich fühle mich sehr ruhig innerlich. And if I start losing and I feel distracted, I'd rather miss the plane. Und wenn ich merke, dass ich das verliere und dass ich durcheinander werde, dann verpasse ich das Flugzeug lieber. So I don't know if that helps, but there's sometimes we get, we can get so busy, we get distracted. At that point you do it differently. You don't sacrifice your state of mind. And this is very basic in practice, actually, because one of the things you're working at, working with equanimity, is to find a state of mind, or whatever your state of mind, underneath it, there's always very clear, calm feeling.

[36:28]

That penetrates and runs through all your states of mind in relationship to other people and things and so forth. So the effort you start out with the view not to sacrifice your state of mind. Maybe one or two more and then I want to write something short. I In Zazen, it says to see thoughts coming up and you see them and let them go. And for me, I'm planning a lot of things because I have to organize quite complex things.

[37:49]

In your job. In the job. And if these kind of thoughts about complex planning come up, then they are so strong as... Maybe I can compare it with the little thoughts of little boats and then the big ocean. The Titanic comes in. I'm king of the world. So these thoughts are so powerful that... You see. Oh, yes. Seeing the stars takes the whole sitting period. So how to deal with these things? No, I don't. And after I have to plan a lot in my work and have to plan very complex things,

[38:53]

Wenn Gedanken, die hier mit im Zusammenhang stehen, aufkommen, dann sind die so groß, so kraftvoll, wenn man es begleiten kann, die anderen Gedanken sind kleine Boote, und das sind dann richtige Ozean-Dampfer. Und allein diese Gedanken aufkommen zu lassen, das braucht dann eine ganze Sitzperiode. Und ich wollte nur fragen, wie kann man da umgehen? Jetzt in die Stunde setzen. People next to you were complaining about getting wet. So practice of uncorrected mind is quite subtle.

[40:07]

And we want to give our mind, no matter how much You would like to change your state of mind. It's quite complicated. Okay, so you're accepting whatever your mind is. So from one point of view, whatever your state of mind is, you accept. But say the state of mind that you're accepting is a state of mind that wants to change your state of mind. Then you accept changing your state of mind. Your basic... The deepest sāsana is based on a very big attitude of acceptance.

[41:12]

Even accepting bad sāsana or whatever. But within that you can do many things. So sometimes you can cut through your thoughts. And sometimes you accept your thoughts. But if you keep this attitude of acceptance, finally it begins, as I said earlier, to absorb your thoughts. But if you keep this attitude of acceptance, this requires some patience. But maybe you make some good decisions about your job when you are thinking in zazen. And that's okay, zazen is used that way. Many poets and painters and investors and things use zazen to decide what to invest in and what to paint.

[42:31]

So what's there is what's there. So maybe you try to find, maybe sitting some other time, maybe you try to... You have to work with it. Maybe sitting more or sitting different time of day. Or be patient with yourself. Because the attitude of acceptance is more important than cutting off thoughts. And if you hold to that, eventually something deeper than your personality begins to function. So this is, we say, we aim in Zen right at the top of the mountain.

[43:36]

We don't try to climb up the mountain. So we just keep aiming at it till it happens and in between there's lots of sinking ships. And you wanted to say something about, or ask something about posture. Because your posture is okay, what's the problem? You talked so much about what we could do with our mind attitude, so I was suggesting that you say something about the posture, because my experience is that if I'm in the right posture, some things just fall into place just by my way of sitting. So it makes it easier. Yes, but that's more and more true with more years of practice.

[44:46]

So in the beginning, fine-tuning your posture doesn't have that big an effect on you. But at some point, your body and your posture itself starts teaching you. And then the fine tuning of your posture makes a big difference. But I think I said, you know, at least for the length of time of this seminar, I said enough about this relationship between the ideal posture and accepting your posture. That's basically the territory in which we work. But I think I said enough about the position, the current position and the ideal position in the seminar. Oh, and I would like to, you know, we're going to end in a few minutes.

[45:49]

I would like to, I'd like you to speak to, you know, Graben, Gisela or me or people in the office. Whether this, how do you like this practice week or the schedule? Should we have it more Zazen or less or should we have been one day longer or? Once longer? I would like to ask you, if you have suggestions regarding the process, that you then address the people who live here and everything that comes to your mind, length and way in which it took place, so that we can get feedback. This is from the Avatamsaka Sutra. The Flower Garden Sutra. The Flower Garden Sutra. And I think it's a typical kind of... It's a different flavor of Buddhism than we've been talking about these last few days.

[46:58]

But it's kind of great. I think the flower bank ocean world... It's a kind of mind-bending idea. The flower bank ocean of worlds. No one knows what that is. But what's interesting is it says it's equal to the universe. One of the practices in Buddhism is to imagine a canvas the size of everything. Eine Praxis im Buddhismus ist, eine Leinwand zu imaginieren, die so groß ist wie alles.

[48:01]

So groß wie der ganze Raum, die Planeten, alles. And then you paint all the planets and everything on that canvas. Und dann malt man alles, die Planeten und wirklich alles auf diese Leinwand. It's equal to the whole universe. Es ist dem Universum gleich. Maybe the word cosmos should be used. Because cosmos is related to cosmetics. And so adornments are a kind of cosmetics. Adornments. Adornments like jewelry. In some ways, everything you see are adornments, are cosmetics. So, the flower bank is equal to the universe. Now, the only thing, the only thing that's, I think, that's one...

[49:02]

The only real example I can think of to give you a feeling for that is say that you fall in love. You find yourself in a very different world. And just before that, it was, you know, It was a different world, but it's the same world. How can that be? Which world is real? Both worlds are equal to the universe. So this is a Buddhist way of saying that whatever world you see is a one of the possibilities of an infinite number of possibilities that are there. So you may think the flower bank ocean of the world is some kind of poetry.

[50:23]

But the world that you see in front of you is some kind of poetry. What happens when you, to use an example, which I think is familiar to, I hope, some of you, maybe all of you, maybe not, when you, if you do fall in love, maybe after 19, no one falls in love? Perhaps no one falls in love until they're over 60. In any case, what happens when you fall in love, if one studies it, observes it, is you give yourself over to another person.

[51:33]

And when you look at it and study it, when you fall in love, then you come to the conclusion that you yourself another person becomes more important to you than you are to yourself. And it's so freeing that the world glows. And you start loving everyone, not just the person you love. The problem is you very often, the problem is you Turn over your whole world to somebody else who runs off with it. Come back with my world! So the idea in Buddhism is you turn your whole world over to the world which can't run off with it.

[52:37]

And the experience of realization is very much like falling in love. Because you feel yourself disappear and you feel yourself turned over to the world. And the world becomes more important to you than you yourself. And that's called the flower bank ocean of worlds. And you may say it's not true, but all these worlds are equal to the universe. After you fall out of love, you say, God, what a mistake. I messed a lot of things up. But it was equal to the universe.

[53:53]

It's just that you chose a very fragile way to practice enlightenment. So here, this is like the sense of your original body. Or the precept body which cannot break the precepts. And it can't break the precepts because its adornments are extremely pure. And this whole thing which is many worlds, each equal to the world, and each dependent on your own adornments, each dependent on your own state of mind, and your own actions, is equal to the universe.

[55:10]

All of it floats calmly in space. So this is one way that vision of Buddhism is expressed. The flower bank ocean of worlds. Each of us, these worlds are a possibility for us. This taste of original body is one of them. This practice of the four immeasurables or the four divine states of being They're called that because they radiate in all directions.

[56:15]

So it's not So this practice of the four immeasurables is a way to open your original body, your precept body, into the world. From 9 to 9.30. And sometimes with more practice until 9.45. But if you do this sometimes, you know, not forcing it, but to the extent that it's possible for you, you begin to let these other worlds live in you. Yeah, so that's enough, I think.

[57:18]

Can we sit together for a few minutes? Thank you for translating. You're welcome. Amen. I say to you and to myself I say to you and to myself in one breath let us cultivate together

[60:25]

that tree which grows best in our soil. Let us cultivate together that tree which grows best in this world's soil. Most of you are leaving today and thank you for coming.

[62:02]

And some of you are staying, thank you for staying. I enjoyed being with you this week. Of course, it's not possible without Gaurav and Gisela and Sabina and Eric and Christina. They are to everyone who helps. You didn't? No. Oscar. You can mention his name. Okay, Oscar. Petra.

[63:00]

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