Is there anything that strikes you right away or any phrase that makes you curious? And I'm happy to entertain at this point any questions you have. about almost anything. Nothing? Okay.

[01:01]

But what I'd like you to do is at least one or two phrases that pop out at you. I'd like you to pay attention to... those phrases and have them in mind tomorrow. And it's not very important why they popped out at you, but rather just that they did. Yeah, and in fact, the more they pop out for reasons having nothing to do with thinking, they just pop out at you, that's better. Now I said I wanted to do a little homework.

[02:17]

And one person mentioned to me during the break that they haven't had much experience with meditation. In some ways that's good. Actually, this other piece of paper is from Sukhiroshi's book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. And having a beginner's mind in practice is fundamental. So it's really good if you can come to practice as if you, every time you do it, to some degree as if you were doing it for the first time.

[03:21]

Now part of the homework is I want to go over this beginning, very beginning breathing practice. Now, there are many steps and stages in breathing practice. And usually the first step, even before you count your breath, Und der normalerweise erste Schritt, eben sogar noch bevor man anfängt den Atem zu zählen, ist, dass ihr überhaupt wahrnehmt, dass ihr atmet. Und wahrnehmen, dass ihr atmet, ist etwas anderes als wissen, dass ihr atmet. And the basic practice of noticing is just that you notice that you are taking an in-breath and you notice that you are taking an out-breath.

[04:50]

And as we talked about this in the recent Sashin, And I said, this is, although it's traditionally presented as naming the in-breath and naming the out-breath. In English, it's a little better, I think, to say you're labeling the in-breath and labeling the out-breath. Yeah, sure. Okay. That's what I wanted to say. Etikettieren is a very complicated word in German. So, what shall we do? What did Ulrike translate it as in this issue? Etikettieren. She did? Did she? Okay. Well, that sounds like there's a lot of etiquette in it.

[05:53]

Etikettieren. Okay. I didn't know what she translated it. I heard it, but I didn't know. And I forgot. That's the difference between knowing you're breathing and noticing that you're breathing. Yeah. Most of us breathe the way I hear German. Yeah. So we're trying to get you to breathe in your own language. This is an in-breath. This is an out-breath. And when you begin to differentiate your breathing like that, and of course you'll also notice that you When you do that, you begin to notice the pause at the top and the pause at the bottom of the in-and-out breath.

[07:01]

But I'll just leave it at... I'll let you explore those details. And just... say that when you begin to differentiate your breath, you begin to also differentiate the world. And you begin to differentiate the world not from thinking, but from breathing. And you'll begin to If you do it, you know, if I say anything, I'm talking from the point of view of differentiation by thinking.

[08:03]

So I'm trying to use language and thinking here to point out that through... differentiating by breathing, it allows you to differentiate the world in another way that's not thinking, that allows you to float in and shape your being in a different way. Now, Suzuki Roshi talking about that in this piece, I also asked what we look at. Just in the beginning, he said, Zen is not some kind of excitement.

[09:16]

But concentration on our usual everyday routine. Okay. So he says there, my teacher, my master died when I was 31. And he was considered too young to really succeed his teacher, but he didn't have any real choice. Although I wanted to devote myself just to Zen practice at a Heiji monastery, I had to succeed my master at his temple. I became quite busy, and being so young, I had many difficulties.

[10:24]

Yeah, these difficulties gave me some experience. And I think all of us, whatever age you are, would say that the difficulties that you've been through have given you some experience. But what kind of life do we have that isn't relevant to our difficulties, present or not present? So Sukhya, she says, but it meant nothing... compared with the true, calm, serene way of life. And there we come to the sentence that begins this little section of the book. It is necessary for us to keep the constant way.

[11:30]

Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine. Zen is often called everyday life. But what kind of mind do you bring to this everyday life? And what kind of mind do you bring to everyday life that's not too much effort? Not too many stages and steps. So that's the question this koan and also this section of Sukhiroshi's book bring to us.

[12:31]

Maybe we could say, what is the true mind of everyday life? Now, for our sense of homework and vocabulary, I want to make a couple of distinctions I made in Sashin and have made in seminars recently. And those who have heard this before, please be a little bit patient. One thing Suzuki Roshi mentioned was that when your legs are painful and you've been sitting a long time, you think that changing your posture will help.

[13:41]

And of course, sometimes it does. But often, when you change your posture, it doesn't help. So what he's pointing out by saying this It's not just that you're changing your posture, but you're changing your state of mind. And you're changing your state of mind from a posture accepting state of mind To a posture adjusting state of mind. And a posture adjusting state of mind is not as stable as a posture accepting state of mind. So as soon as you go from a posture... accepting state of mind to a posture adjusting state of mind, many other adjustments become possible.

[14:54]

But this kind of distinction that this example gives us, It's happening all the time. Should we open the window? Should we turn on the radio? Should we do this or that? And every time we do those adjustments to our situation, we are adjusting our state of mind or changing our state of mind. And I don't want to say that you shouldn't. Ich will auch nicht sagen, dass ihr das nicht tun solltet. If you want to turn on your radio while you're driving, turn on your radio. Wenn ihr während der Fahrt euer Radio anmachen wollt, dann macht es eben an. The Buddhist police are not in the back seat.

[15:55]

Die buddhistische Polizei sitzt nicht auf dem Rücksitz. Oh, he just turned on the radio. Oh, er hat schon wieder das Radio angemacht. She changed her state of mind. Dummy, dummy, dummy. No one's keeping records. Except you. You're living in this state of mind. So when you turn on the radio, it's useful to be aware that you're changing your state of mind. Also wenn ihr das Radio anmacht, dann ist es hilfreich, wenn ihr euch dessen gewahr seid, dass ihr euren Geisteszustand dabei ändert. And sometimes your state of mind doesn't like you to have changed it. Und manchmal will euer Geisteszustand nicht, dass ihr ihn ändert. And you put the radio on seek and it seeks about ten stations and they all sound boring. Wenn ihr also den Sendersuchlauf einschaltet und also zehnmal hintereinander eine langweilige nach der anderen Station erscheint. And your state of mind is resisting these songs.

[16:56]

Und euer Geisteszustand widersteht diesen Liedern. So, again, I'm not saying that you should or shouldn't do anything. I want you to discover the difference between different states of mind. And as I put it, the difference between deeply rooted states of mind and shallow states of mind. And I would like to suggest that some states of mind are a better home base than others. And it's good to discover a kind of fundamental or basic state of mind that you return to. So it's best if you can... I mean, I will say this much, though.

[18:00]

My experience is and certainly the weight of Buddhist experience is, that a posture-accepting state of mind is a better home base. A temperature-accepting state of mind is. A better home base. When it's hot, it's hot. When it's cold, it's cold. And this koan has an interesting line in it. Each settles into its own lot. It says, koan... The moon is white.

[19:07]

The wind is pure. Each rests in its own lot. That's at the end of the commentary before added sayings. The moon is white, the wind is pure. Each rests in its own lot. Do you understand? Can you have a state of mind that doesn't run into the past and run into the future? Can you have a state of mind that doesn't run away from itself? With anxiety or dis-ease or unease? Whatever your state of mind is, you feel you can rest in it.

[20:14]

And you notice when your state of mind, you can't rest in it. Even when you've been taught by great Buddhist teachers, this is a very calm state. good, wonderful state of mind, you can't rest in it. You feel coerced by it. You reach to the center of your forehead and you push, seek. Like the seek button on the radio. Seek another state of mind. So you begin running through possible states of mind. Changing the subject. Sometimes at that point it's good to just change the subject by, ah, this is an in-breath.

[21:22]

This is an out-breath. When none of the stations you tune into work, tune into your breath. Hmm. Okay, now the other kind of homework I wanted to do that I think would be useful for looking at this koan is I talked last night in the middle of the night quite a bit with my 14-year-old daughter. She's writing a paper on Ezra Pound. So I asked her to read the poems over the phone to me. And she had just written three poems herself.

[22:30]

One called something like Lipstick and Ice Cream. She's a very sweet girl. I like her a lot. But she kept saying, Dad, I can't read these poems to you. You're in Berlin and I'm in San Francisco. Ezra Pound didn't even get paid that much for each poem. And I said, well, I almost never talk to you, and I don't live with you, and I feel terrible, blah, blah, blah. So just lead them to me. It's worth the phone call. I won't have dinner in a restaurant tomorrow night. You work out. So we ended up talking about this distinction and she got it immediately.

[23:39]

It was great. And she could see it in the poems actually even though Pound didn't know the distinction. Between immediate consciousness and secondary consciousness and Borrowed consciousness. Now, sorry to use the same example again. I'm glad you're not sitting in front of me. I don't have to use you again. What's your first name? What is your first name? Phu. Phu? That's enough. Oh. Okay. Not so good in English as a name, but it's all right.

[24:40]

So Phu is sitting here in front of me. And immediate consciousness is I can just look at him without even knowing his name. Without having any thought about him or comparative any ideas. I definitely feel something. And if I don't think about you at all, I feel something throughout my body. The way if you look at a star at night, you feel something. And a star is no farther away than a light bulb. So I feel something. That feeling without discrimination, thinking, is immediate consciousness.

[25:43]

Now, if I gently start to think about you and produce some thoughts, Is that a kind of tree? Is it Winnie the Pooh? It's Winnie the Pooh. Oh, no, that's Bart. You know, it's Pooh. Pooh Bear. Um... And I can think a little and I can notice that you are younger than I am. And that arises out of my own thinking. I can see that. So that's secondary consciousness. Now, continuing with this example, this is the same kind of example that the Dalai Lama uses to explain this, is that if I know that your birth date is such and such a day and such and such a year,

[26:53]

And this is quite a good example because it's something that you can't know except through somebody else. This came up with my daughter because one of her three poems She had... What happened on July 2nd, 1978? I see a picture here, a photo of a baby. What happened here on July 2nd, 1978? Das hat also hier am 2. Juli 1978 stattgefunden. Of course it's her birthday, but she can't know that except through a photograph or someone telling her. Es ist natürlich ihr Geburtstag, aber sie kann das nicht wissen, ohne dass ihr das jemand sagt oder ohne das Foto.

[28:11]

She didn't know her birth in any steps and stages or comparison. Sie hat also ihre Geburt nicht gekannt in Stufen und Stadien oder durch Vergleiche. So what I know about you, if I know your birth date or if you know your birth date, that kind of information is known in what I'm calling borrowed consciousness. Now, borrowed consciousness is the kingdom of the ego. Where the ego is boss. And where the ego is fearful and nervous and afraid. And exalting. And it's where, as I've said, all of our educational system is about borrowed consciousness.

[29:15]

Not all, but the large part. And a good part of the time we, all of us, live in and identify compare ourselves and locate ourselves in borrowed consciousness. In this kind of comparative consciousness. What we think about ourselves, what other people might think about us, and so forth. Now, When you first hear these phrases, borrowed, immediate and secondary, you can notice some things. There's not much difference between them, but maybe you can feel some difference, a little bump. You may notice that like if you're walking along the street and it's a particularly pleasant and mild day and

[30:29]

The day is strong enough to have taken you out of borrowed consciousness. You're mostly just feeling your body, feeling, you know, sort of alive and somewhat trim. And you notice mostly the way the shine off the leaves as they turn. And the birds and insects. And then there's a store window. And you see the new CD player you want. And you stop and you start thinking about that. And you're in borrowed consciousness right away. Maybe in debt consciousness.

[31:54]

Or someone speaks to you and to start talking with them and saying, oh, how are you and what did you do? The conversation immediately pulls you into borrowed consciousness. No, I think if you are aware of these distinctions, you can actually catch what happens to you more immediately or quickly when you shift into borrowed consciousness. And I don't mean to say that you should discipline yourself. Oh, now you're in borrowed consciousness? Bad boy. No, it's just you now know the consequences of being in borrowed consciousness.

[33:13]

You're much more prone to anxiety and worries and things. And you don't want to force yourself back into secondary consciousness. Because a certain amount of time spent on our anxieties and concern about our job and our friends is necessary. And you'd have to lead a very protected life to be completely free of borrowed consciousness. But it's good to be able to float fairly freely among immediate borrowed and secondary consciousness. Now, as soon as you say to yourself, among these stations, I think I prefer...

[34:15]

my in-breath and my out-breath The technology of what you've done when you do that is you brought yourself out of borrowed consciousness into secondary consciousness. Because as soon as you notice, as soon as you think, I'll bring myself to my breath, You may have been told that by the Buddhist tradition or by Thich Nhat Hanh or by some teacher. But when you say it and it arises in you, it's arising in secondary consciousness usually. And then when you say, this is, when you label your in-breath, You're using secondary consciousness to return to immediate consciousness.

[35:38]

So it's like the phrase, the label, this out-breath, this in-breath. is a kind of little window that looks right into immediate consciousness. And even after two or three times or four times of saying, this in-breath, this out-breath, your state of mind shifts shifts its center of gravity more into immediate consciousness. So now the process of reminding yourself is immediate consciousness shifts to secondary consciousness, reminds you, and you shift back to immediate consciousness.

[36:43]

So this is a kind of language. It's like shifting from speaking English to German. There's a little different rules in English than in German. In general, we don't mix English and German because they each have their own integrity. And each of these states of mind have their own integrity when you begin to feel them. At first it may feel like you're... in the sense that water seeks its own level, when the center, your identity gravity is in borrowed consciousness, your mind will shift very rapidly downhill, immediate, secondary, borrowed. And the more you practice, you begin to tip this.

[38:03]

And during zazen, you may experience, or when you're feeling wonderful and a nice... fine, pleasant day, or you're sunbathing on the beach, it's tipped the other way, and it's an effort to go from immediate consciousness to secondary to borrow. Now, as you mature in practice, something like this happens. You get so that you rest more and more easily in immediate consciousness. Then it's quite easy to just rest in your breath.

[39:04]

It's quite easy, natural, to be mindful throughout the day. And as you may notice when you're sitting or right now, how in secondary and immediate consciousness these birds are singing inside you, not outside the window. These birds are no farther away than a star or a light bulb. Or then the sense that this is an in-breath, this is an out-breath. And this label of in-breath and out-breath can be just put on the whole shebang. that was a test to bang just means it's a slang expression meaning the whole thing ah body of reality you don't know what it is but

[40:39]

You put a label on it, body of reality. And you can even peel the label off. Body of reality. And you can do this by not just bringing your attention to your breath. This is my in-breath, this is my out-breath. And using this naming and labeling process and the the present power of your breath in this here and now to bring you into immediate consciousness. You can also use the more koan approach of just labeling each moment immediate consciousness.

[41:53]

Now we have to assume that these folks in this koan are residing in immediate consciousness. What is the great meaning of Buddhism? Ching... Ching Yuan is in immediate consciousness. And he's not about to think about anything. He doesn't want to be dragged into secondary consciousness. And he says, meaning in Buddhism, what's the price of rice in... So between now and tomorrow, you can practice if you'd like with this sense, but don't coerce yourself. But see if you can, not using borrowed consciousness borrowed from me, or borrowed practice from me, but rather see if in your own secondary consciousness,

[43:25]

You can find the space in yourself to remind yourself a minute, am I in immediate consciousness? Immediate consciousness, what's this? Being in such a way that you don't need any station changing, any excitement, But if you really have this posture accepting state of mind, then you have to accept the posture of station changing. And you have to accept the posture of excitement chasing. But when you have posture-accepting state of mind, it also becomes very sensitive to the price of potatoes.

[44:50]

It's very sensitive to... to your mind changing itself. And at first some of these deeper states of mind appear very boring. It's again like Thich Nhat Hanh's famous example of the boredom of the non-toothache state of mind. When you have a toothache, you really appreciate the non-toothache state of mind. But when you don't have a toothache, you're bored with the non-toothache state of mind.

[45:55]

So there are many deep states of mind whose surface... is surfaced. We can't feel the water. We can't feel in the neutrality of certain states of mind. As Suzuki Roshi says, we can't feel the true, calm, serene way of life. That's present in our everyday routine. in which the moon is white and the wind is pure.

[46:56]

And each rests in its own lot. And you each rest in your own lot. There's an exemplary uniqueness about this. The Buddha supposedly said when he was born, I alone am the world-honored one. You're such a boastful guy. I'm such an egomaniac. But can you have this unique non-comparative state of mind. What you can put in some socially unacceptable way, I'm the best or something like that.

[47:58]

But it's the courage resting in your own uniqueness. In floating in a subtlety of detail. And this can be our calm, serene way of life. But your whole body knows as if it was drinking cool water. Or feeling on a fine pleasant day the pure breeze. And these are not just romantic ideas or they're romantic ideas because they're real ideas. or real experiences. When you discover this calm,

[48:59]

serene state of mind in our everyday life. It may be as different from sleeping and waking as sleeping and waking are different from each other. So I leave you this evening to your sleeping and waking. And I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. And I hope you've discovered a phrase or two that catches you. In the koan or in Suzuki Roshi's piece. In English or German. So you have a lot of options. And boss, when do we start tomorrow?

[50:16]

10 o'clock? 8 o'clock? 9? 9 o'clock? I think 10 o'clock's better getting here from... Can we sit? Those who want to before come early and sit? Yeah, anybody who wants to sit, you can come here at 6.30 and Neil will be here. Oh, excuse me. Anyone who wants to sit at 9 o'clock... Good morning. The way it's pronounced in Germany is very much like it's pronounced in a similar sound to the way they say good morning in Boston. In most of America they say good morning. You don't have to translate that.

[51:29]

But in Boston, they say, good morning. Like Morgan, good morning. I notice when I go out jogging in Boston, they say, good morning to me. I say, oh, I must be in Boston. Well, what are we talking about here? The same old thing. And it's actually quite useful to hear the same old thing over again. But the more you're a gardener of your own practice, the more each day's planting and caring is actually quite different.

[52:36]

And we're trying to look into the details of something for which language is not equipped. This seminar is not equipped. The only... The only... being that is equipped, is your daily mind practicing through mindfulness, zazen, and so forth. But what we're trying to do in a seminar like this is similar to what the koan is trying to do and Sukhiroshi's piece on excitement.

[53:52]

In a brief situation, to point at least to something that you can really only feel through continuous practice. Am I speaking in short enough or long enough? Perfect. It's all right? Perfect. Thank you. So this koan is trying to find a way to suggest something to you.

[55:05]

And suggest something to you in a way that doesn't take it away through the suggestion. But before I say any more, I'd like to begin with any discussion points you'd like to bring up. Did the people who arrived today get a copy of the Sashin, a copy of the Koan and the... Yeah. And I know that... Oh, okay. You came all the way from Vienna? Oh, okay. Well, Berlin and Vienna are almost the same city. At least they're old and funky.

[56:22]

And I know several people asked me some questions or started a discussion in the evening last night. So, I'd like to... Please, anybody bring something up or tell me what part of the koan stuck in your craw. Yeah, it means like a chicken's throat. And so please bring everything that you have come up with or that has wandered in your head, just now. Hm? Oh. When nobody has anything to say, I just get upstairs, go, I leave and just go upstairs to my room.

[57:43]

But my room is so far away. But you had something, eh? Yeah. Even I wanted to know the difference between Zen and Vipassana. But you started practicing Vipassana. And now you also practice Tibetan Buddhism? And now you're looking for the middle way. I got the feeling that I missed something. In both the other practices? First I practised a long time Vipassana, and I had a lot of joy and motivation to practise. And later I got influenced by the Tibetan way, and I practised Tibetan, but I feel I miss something, something is missing, but I don't know what it is.

[58:51]

I feel it in the way I have not so much a strong motivation like before. And I'm looking now. You want to say that in Deutsch? Why don't you go back to the vipassana practice? I was thinking about But on the other side, I would not like to miss what the dependence is. And so it's a problem of time. There is only some time during the day and what to do. It's not clear, still clear. Maybe it sounds easy, but for me it's still not clear what to do.

[59:53]

You want to say it's easier sometimes for your energy to be? So you're hoping that Zen combines both? Well, let me respond in the sense that all of you have or coming from, if not a different practice, you're considering practice for the first time. I think the main thing is that, at least within Buddhism, that you have a root teaching.

[60:57]

And you find a root teaching that allows you to study any teaching. Now, not all root teachings necessarily not all teachings necessarily will enjoy the sun from many sources so anyway I would say you find a root teaching which allows you to allows an openness to and fruitful relationship to other teachings But a root teaching also means that you have to go to the root of the teaching. Which means you have to go to the root of yourself.

[62:01]

So that's quite a... And it's an impossible task unless you have the intention to go to the root of yourself and to the root of your teaching. And the intention requires some faith. And giving yourself over to the teaching without with a lot of patience. No, I think it happens that the subject this koan is giving us Also is in effect a consideration of how you go to the root of a teaching and yourself.

[63:31]

Where a teaching and where you are actually rooted or where your roots are likely to be deepest. Yes. So I think that part of the best thing is to leave some of what you're speaking about, what you brought up for all of us, leave it to the discussion today and tomorrow. And I can't really fully answer what's the difference between

[64:32]

Tibetan and Vipassana and Zen. I really only know Zen moderately, thoroughly. Sounds good. So, Maybe after the seminar you can tell me, ah, I see now that Zen is the same or I see how it's different. Yeah, and also it's not just a matter of course, of understanding. It's a matter of how you practice. And the practice may be based on a very similar understanding, but the doing of a practice in one way, the result is different than you do it another way.

[65:54]

The feeling in your body and activity is different. So one of the questions you're facing when you look at a koan like this is, are you willing actually to add a practice to your life? That's enough for now. Yes. In the text that we received, in the text that we took home, I came across two words that are important to me to be able to express. Excitement was translated as excitement.

[66:55]

To me, it would be more appropriate, or better, if it were excitement. Because excitement means the intercourse with the outer world. It's a matter of translating excitement. In German it's really not easy to re-translate between... Erregung und Aufregung are very similar but not quite the same. They are probably... Entangled into the outside world excitability. But for me, the serene calamity, calmness... Oh, I like the serene calamity. That's good. ...to be one with some permanent ecstasy or blissfulness, some form of excitement.

[67:59]

And in the Zen consciousness there's a unity of this ecstasy and calmness, they belong together. Maybe. And for me this emanates from a loving attitude, embracing the world in particular and in general in love. And if this would not be the case, then you withdraw from the world and become like a rock, separated from it, and you couldn't practice them in the here and now, in the everyday. Okay. As he said, the healing of everyday life. Could you please repeat that again, very briefly?

[69:02]

The unity of bliss and... Yes, in the sense of consciousness. As far as I understand, the element of excitement should also be present, because this excitement or blissfulness is an excitement that arises from the love for the world, from the attachment to the world, and it belongs as a unity to the self-consciousness of excitement and peace, because if this attachment to the world does not occur in love in general or in particular, one is like a stone that turns away from the world and cannot implement the healing of everyday life here and now. I don't know if I have expressed myself clearly, but it is important to me. And there is also the other word, the ox, the herding ox. To me it is obvious that it is actually about the bull, and not about a castrated bull.

[70:05]

I think I ended... Yeah, he was adding something about the ox and the bull. Oh, yeah? He said the bull... It's more a bull, not a castrated... Ox, yeah? Ox, yeah. For him. I think it's a cow. I like cows. Well, I've been told by people sometimes that the German translation of Zen Mind Beginner's Mind is not so good. And as much as I understood what you said in English, I don't disagree. Sukhiroshi, by excitement, he meant, again, I don't know what it is in German, but he meant any kind of seeking distraction outside or inside.

[71:19]

He didn't want to teach Buddhism so it's interesting. Because then when it's no longer interesting, you start not practicing. So, I mean, a good teacher tries to... teach Buddhism so a good part of the time he makes it uninteresting. Otherwise you're always in a state of mind that's trying to satisfy some level of desire. And states of mind shaped by either desire or aversion, are always under control.

[72:29]

Or I could say always out of control. In any case, there's no leeway. There's no freedom in them. Okay. Someone else? Yes. Well, the koans invented to produce this boring or uninteresting state of mind because I can't get along so well with that. Yes. The sentence about the peasants who... Who is this?

[73:37]

The family way of the peasants is most pristine, only concerned with Swedish songs and faster than drinking. That's what I could... You could do without, or you like that. No, I don't like that any more, but this I can understand somehow. It's my own experience. And then I love the sentence, the wind is right and the wind is wrong. I like that too. I'm something between that, but I don't like this one. Yeah, well, I agree. Um, you have to read Kahn's, um, for, uh, initially for one or two phrases.

[74:56]

And if a phrase like what is the great meaning of Buddhism makes you feel what's the meaning of my life, then it's useful. Or if it says what is the body of Actually, it says, where is the Buddha's body of reality? So, if you're, well, I don't want to say any more right now about it. Yeah. Yes, although this has nothing to do with potatoes in Berlin, if I see it historically, and I would like to, I personally have the desire that it is related to the potatoes in Berlin.

[76:11]

So I would like for this to come out for me at the weekend. I want to combine this historical also and the feeling when this has been written down, the price of potatoes, you know, this is gone. Say that I don't understand. Say that again. Why don't you just speak? You don't have to just speak to me. No, yeah. I want to combine these potatoes in Berlin now with the feeling of when this has historically been written down, this car. Oh, okay, yeah. Because that is something that is necessary for us anyway, that it connects with each other. If we do a Quran work here in our time and here in our culture, then it really has to connect.

[77:16]

Otherwise it is always something exotic that we deal with and it really has to become one. I want to get the feeling how they lived there, that it becomes a unity and not some interesting historical affair. Well, I haven't talked about history yet. I haven't talked about history yet. I've heard that Frederick the Great introduced potatoes into Germany in Berlin. Is that why he was called the Great? Or is that why he was called the Great? Yeah, well, we'll try to not be involved too much in the history of this, but how this can be our life, too.

[78:27]

You know what I mean, but also we have to really get the feeling for this, because otherwise we can't really deal with it. Yeah. If we don't get to a true feeling. Oh, yeah, I agree. Roshi, you mean we shouldn't deal too much with the historical side of the Quran? Anyone else, a couple of things? Yeah. I've been here for the fourth time now, and I'm practicing twice or three times a week, and now inner voice tells me that I have to do more, go on and do something like a zazhin, for example. Yeah, okay. That desire to do more

[79:27]

it's good to do a sashin probably. But don't displace that desire to do more into the future when you'll do a sashin. Don't even displace that desire to do more into, okay, now instead of doing three Practicing three times a week, practice five times a week. The moment you feel that desire to do more, without any separation, find that more on that instant. It's a different use of time. Where there's no separation between cause and effect. And when you And partly it will help, I think, if you assume that when you desire something, the possibility of fulfilling it is there in the desire.

[80:59]

Now, yesterday I used the example of walking along and you are in secondary or primary consciousness and you see the CD player you'd like in the window of a shop. And then you immediately start thinking, can I afford it? Is the shop open? So you're, as I said, into borrowed consciousness. Or comparative consciousness. And where you start having certain kind of anxiety and so forth. Yeah, okay. But... you can also... Of course, there was an outside influence, which is you saw this out of the corner of your eye as you're walking down the street.

[82:06]

But of course, in one sense, you can't satisfy the desire for the CD player until you the shop's open and you have the money and you go buy it. If you're very impatient until you break the window. But there is a way to acknowledge that desire immediately without breaking the window. And there's two ways to look at it. One is to go back to your secondary or primary consciousness.

[83:08]

Another way is to really open yourself up into the pain of some kind of feeling of something missing. For music or for a new object or I don't know what it is. And at that moment, open your ears and eyes for a new object or for music or for whatever is there. Now, this sounds fairly corny. Corny? Corny means... Hmm. Corny means, uh... Uh... too obvious.

[84:12]

But actually it's based on trusting yourself. It's based on trust in the sense that And a radical sense of practice. Or a radical sense of time and space. In which you know in some fundamental way that everything you need is here. So the minute you feel something or some pain or difficulty or anxiety or whatever, or love, at that moment you see if it's there now.

[85:19]

In any case, a basic attitude in practice is to find what you need immediately. So you immediately say to yourself, okay, what I need for meditation, I'll see if I can find it right now while I'm driving. So maybe suddenly the surface of the windshield is apparent to you. Or you feel your breathing. Or you feel your hands on the wheel. And you pay attention to your breathing, but you also have your mind resting in your hands on the wheel as well as... watching yourself drive.

[86:46]

But if you get in the habit of doing something like this when you're practicing, I mean doing something like this in the context of wishing you'd done zazen, you find that zazen right at that moment. You can begin to extend that to finding what you need on each moment. I need to practice more. Right now, I'm practicing more. You may not exactly be able to get past the surface of the wave, past the surface of it. But Cohen's study emphasizes addressing what you need through language, Also, dass die Koan-Praxis betont, dass ihr das ansprecht, was ihr braucht, durch die Sprache, mit der Sprache.

[87:58]

And trust the intention or the addressing. Und dass ihr der Absicht oder diesem Ansprechen auch traut. And don't worry about the results. Und euch nicht drum schert um das Resultat. Because if you keep addressing yourself in that way, in a mantra-like way. Weil wenn ihr euch also auf diese Art und Weise selber ansprecht. The results will appear. then the results will last.

[88:20]

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