I'm always a little ambivalent when it's a fairly small group like this. And only two days and not... Well, some seminars are only Saturday and Sundays, not so different. But it seems like it's short. And again, when the group is small and the seminar seems not too long, I feel a little funny suggesting we have some time to talk together in Deutsch. But I think particularly since I haven't heard from some of you, I'd like to have us do that. But let me say for a moment something about the Dharma position again. Because I anyway feel in myself that it's a radical idea to always have a Dharma teaching position phrase in your mind.

[01:25]

It goes against our, again, at least my growth growing up in this culture. It goes against a sense of naturalness. It's so much a kind of artificial. But then again, the zazen practice posture itself In Zen, this main instruction is non-corrected mind. So that's about as natural as things get.

[02:46]

You sit down, assume the posture and do nothing. Because that's based on, as I've said, the assumption that the mind itself is a depth of doing. Because that's based on the assumption that the mind itself is a depth of doing. depth of doing which is outside of consciousness. So Shikantaza or non-corrected mind assumes that you're going to get the verticality of consciousness out of the way. And then you get used to what appears.

[04:19]

And you get used to what appears when you're not sleeping and not in usual consciousness. And that's called studying the mind as it is. Or we can say, knowing the heart as it is. And so in that sense, the topic of meditation and the topic of practice is more present in the daily flow of activity than it is in Zazen. When there is a topic of meditation or a topic of attention, it's carried in the stream of daily activity

[05:26]

Intentionally. In a way, zazen is just letting what appears appear. And to the extent that there is an object of one's practice It just appears on its own in your meditation, not intentionally. You may have an intention to... to bring it into your non-corrected mind.

[06:40]

But that's a little bit like taking a fish and putting it in a pond and then expecting it to swim around so you can watch it. You put it in the pond and then pond of uncorrected mind of non-corrected mind and it usually just swims away so you sit there and then suddenly it appears with babies or it appears with a cousin or something And the Diamond Sutra, as an example of the Dharma position, starts out with the Buddha going into town and begging.

[07:54]

He actually left his BMW in the garage and he just walked into town. Like everyone else. Walked into town and begged. And then he comes back and has his lunch. Yeah, and then he washes his bowls. Then he washes his feet. Then he takes an upright position. Then he shows us his Dharma position, which is the Diamond Sutra. So the sense of mindfulness practice might even be called a kind of reminding practice, a remindingful practice.

[09:09]

Because what are you mindful of when you're mindful? What's going on in the mindfulness of an adept practitioner? Well, I mean, the popular idea of mindfulness is you're mindful of where you're walking, what you're doing, etc. And that's true, isn't it? And that's of course like you, if you drive me a car, you better be mindful.

[10:11]

Walking on the street, you have to be mindful. But the assumption in Buddhist practice is you're also mindful of yourself. some aspect of practice you're working on. As ordinary, the popular idea of mindfulness develops your the channels, the circuitry, the network of attention.

[11:12]

The ordinary part of your mindfulness develops the ability, capacity and habit of having attention with the body in your circumstances. Now, the adept practitioner is holding a wisdom phrase in his or her consciousness, in his or her attentional domain as well. He's holding a wisdom phrase in his or her attentional domain, like already connected, or like everyone is my friend. Yeah, or unlimited friendliness, the practice.

[12:26]

Whatever it might be, you're holding it in the stream of mind and body. And you're also simultaneously holding the awareness of awareness. Reflexive awareness, usually it's called. So you're being aware that you're aware of what you're aware of. That's a sort of tongue twister. But it sounds like a lot of stuff to be doing while you're just taking a walk. But actually it's just noticing what's actually going on.

[13:32]

So to give attention to attention is what makes attention a Buddhist practice.

[13:44]

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