The first time, people? I don't think so. In this place, our practice is to practice enlightenment. Enlightenment is our practice here. We're here practicing enlightenment. In this place, our practice is the practice of a Buddha. Someone said to me recently that

[01:02]

she had a story about our practice. Or, maybe she didn't say our practice, maybe she said, I have a story about sitting meditation. And then the story she told me was, it's about how we're supporting everybody and everybody's supporting us. Or, how we're helping everybody and how everybody's helping us. That was her story about sitting meditation. And then we talked about stories for a while. Another story is that the practice of a Buddha is the practice of the Buddha is to practice together

[02:13]

with each person. A Buddha's practice is practice together with each person. That's a story about a Buddha's practice. A Buddha's sitting meditation would be a practice which is done together with each person. That's a story about a Buddha's sitting meditation. Buddha's Zazen. Another story about Buddha's Zazen is that each moment of Buddha's Zazen is equally the same practice and equally the same enlightenment

[03:17]

as the one who's sitting and all beings. Another way to say it is, each moment of Buddha's practice, of Buddha's sitting meditation, is equally the same practice and equally the same enlightenment for both this and that. And another dimension of this story is to mention

[04:24]

that if anything is excluded, from this practice, it's not Buddha's practice, or it's not a Buddha's practice, if anything or anybody is excluded. So these days, with so much controversy and argumentation going on among people, it seems to be quite a challenge to remember to practice together with each person, to practice together with each democrat and each republican,

[05:25]

to practice together with the people who are practicing the way of the ISIS group. It's hard to... It's a challenge to remember to practice together with each person and exclude no one. To have a practice that excludes no one is quite a challenge. But anyway, the story is, that's the Buddha's practice. And then, also, the person who tells me the story about Buddha's practice notices that there seems to be somebody there who's aware of the story, and I think that's quite usual situation, is that a living being who has consciousness,

[06:32]

there seems to be somebody there who's aware of the story, of what's going on. Like the story of being in this temple together, and the story of a Buddha's practice, which is to practice together with all beings. There's that story, and in a sense, I feel like I'm aware of that story, and now you might be aware of that story too. So it seems that there's somebody there who's aware of the story, and that's a story about consciousness. It's that in consciousness there seems to be somebody there, and there seems to be a story about life at this moment, and there's also a story about life before this moment, which is called history. And then there's stories about the future too,

[07:33]

which, maybe we should call that herstory. Anyway, the teaching of the Buddhas appears in our consciousness as a story. So, somebody would say, here's a teaching of the Buddha. I'm going to tell you a story about the teaching of the Buddha. The teaching of the Buddha is that Buddha's practice is a practice together with all beings. Also, here's another teaching that someone might say is a teaching of the Buddha, that the Buddha is the practice of a Buddha. The Buddha is the practice of a Buddha. The Buddha is practicing together with all beings. That's a story about Buddha and Buddha's practice.

[08:35]

And that story occurs in consciousness, and the place where the story occurs, called consciousness, where there seems to be somebody there, listening to the story, that place is getting spun around, is spinning. It's giddy. So, even if I'm telling you this story, number one, the practice of this place is Buddha's practice. What's Buddha's practice? Buddha's practice is to practice together with everybody. And the place I'm telling you that story is a place where things are getting spun around by the story. And the story I'm telling, which I think is a great story, and I'm so happy to tell you, and so happy to hear it, the place where I'm telling it is a place where it's really easy to forget the story,

[09:38]

and get distracted from it, and forget, and think, well, maybe I don't have to practice with this person. As a matter of fact, I'm not even saying that, just saying, I don't want to practice with this person. And forget that I said a minute ago, a Buddha's practice is to practice with this person, and that person. And also that the practice of this place is Buddha's practice. I can get distracted from that. Because the story, and also the story of who I'm talking to is coming up, and the story of who I'm talking to is this person is really difficult to practice with, so I think maybe I'm not going to. Wait a minute. Just a moment ago I said,

[10:40]

I was talking about a different practice, one where you don't exclude anybody. Well, is there anything you'd like to talk about? Yes. What came up for me was that what you're describing requires a great deal of fearlessness. It requires fearlessness, yeah. Because generally it seems like the reason we don't practice with some people is because we're afraid. Yeah. As they say in the movies, this looks like a job for Buddha.

[11:42]

Buddha is fearless, so Buddha can practice with all those people who we might be afraid to practice with. The Buddha's practice is to become free of that fear, to face that fear, and to find a way to not have that fear stop us from practicing with the person we're afraid of. It doesn't even mean you get rid of the fear. You might still be afraid, but you might say, Oh, I'm afraid of this person, but I understand that the Buddhist practice is to practice with everybody, including the people you're afraid of. So it's kind of like I'm afraid and yet I'm fearless because I'm going to face the fear. Some people might think, Well, the Buddha just doesn't have any fear. Maybe. But if the Buddha sees fear, the Buddha practices together with that person, that fear person.

[12:47]

That's part of the reason this is a difficult practice, is we get distracted and also we get frightened to practice with some people. Like last night I was having a tea with the people at Green Gulch who were in the practice period, and one of the people said, it was at my house, and he said, Could we have a sleepover? I said, I'll check with my wife. But I was actually a little scared of having a sleepover. I have 28 people sleeping over at my house. It's kind of scary. And I forgot to ask my wife. Would you remind me to ask her tonight? And I'm not predicting what she will say. I'm going to ask her,

[13:58]

but I'm not predicting what she's going to say. But I vowed to listen to it. Which reminds me, when you hear outrageous statements, I don't know, outrageous, amazing statements like this, like the practice of a Buddha is to practice together with each person, that may be difficult to understand. Like, how could you do that? Or whatever. Or, really? Etc. If you're having trouble understanding the practice, which is to practice together with each person, one recommendation is, listen to it. Listen to what? Listen to the practice of a Buddha is to practice together with each person. Listen to it. And listen to it until you understand it.

[15:01]

Like, you listen to it and then you think, but that person is really scary. Listen to that too. And then again, the practice of a Buddha is to practice together with each person, including this scary person. And then listen to it again and again until finally you understand, oh, now I understand how to practice together with each person. Or now, there's an understanding of Buddhist practice. But we have to listen to it over and over, probably. I've been listening to this teaching over and over. I liked it when I first heard it, but I still continue to listen to it, to understand it. Yes? Is it necessary to actually understand that person? Or just to accept that they have their different view

[16:04]

and have compassion for the difference? I think you said, is it necessary to understand the person? Or is it, is maybe, you didn't say enough necessarily, or could it be just that you have compassion for your difference? You have compassion for this scary person, and you also have compassion for your own fear. I think it starts with that. So this is talking about how to have the practice of a Buddha. So you're saying, do you have to understand in order to have the practice of Buddha? It's more like, if you do start practicing, if you learn how to practice with everybody, and that takes a lot of compassion, you will arrive at the practice of a Buddha. And when you arrive at the practice of Buddha, you will understand the other person. But before you understand that person, is also before you understand the practice of a Buddha.

[17:07]

But we have this instruction which is, you can approach the practice of a Buddha by approaching practicing with everyone. So here's somebody, some scary person. So you start to open up to the idea, I'm practicing together with this scary person. I'm practicing together with the story in my mind that this person is scary. And I understand if I can practice with that and the other ones, then the practice of Buddha will be here, and the practice of Buddha comes along with understanding. Go ahead. Getting down to the person's shoes, being in that person's shoes, and knowing that,

[18:09]

if I was feeling like that person's feeling, I would probably have the same mind frame and mindset and behave the same way. But that doesn't mean that that person is behaving the way it should. I mean, it's just... It doesn't mean that, no. That person doesn't mean I can have compassion for them and understand them in that way, but that does not mean I have to agree with them, right? Right. That's right. It doesn't mean you have to agree with them. And that's practicing... But you might be able to say, even though I don't agree with you, I kind of know... What's the word? I've been there. I've been where you are, but I'm not there anymore, but I've been there. And I can understand how you feel that way, but I'm not there now. Like I heard that...

[19:10]

I think I heard that one of these, maybe Desmond Tutu, I don't know if it's him, but anyway, somebody in Africa was being tortured, and he said to the people who were torturing him, he said, I've been there. I kind of know where you're at. And I think then they stopped torturing him, but anyway... They did stop torturing him? I think they did, but they don't always stop torturing. But it was a moment of where he felt, he supposedly expressed understanding where they're coming from, even though he's not coming from there anymore, but he kind of understands that, and they've kind of got it. I heard another story, which might have been on him too, which is something like, do you think your mother would like you to treat me like this,

[20:10]

like you're treating me? Or do you think my mother would like you to treat me the way you're treating, would like you to treat me the way you are? Anyway, it has something to do with you're there practicing with them, and when you're close and practicing, you can say things like... You might not actually be able to get into their shoes, but you might be able to say, those are nice shoes you have. Where did you get them? You can't necessarily get into those shoes, but you can maybe appreciate them, like those are really amazing shoes. And then you're somehow in their shoes, because they're into shoes, and you are too. Another story, it's like you find, so you find, you know, they're beating you up, and they're afraid of you, and they hate you, and you're not afraid of them, but you're practicing with them. Or you are afraid of them, but you're still practicing with them.

[21:11]

But you're not into torturing people, you're not into that, but you are into shoes, and they are too. And so you say to them, those are really nice shoes, they're Ferragamo, right? And they say, yeah, how did you know that? Well, I'm like you, I'm a shoe aficionado. I have foot fetishes, do you have those too? The story which I've told many times is, there was this man in the state hospital, in Las Vegas, New Mexico. I think there's a Las Vegas in New Mexico, and they have a state hospital there. And this person named Milton Erickson, who was a healer, he went to the hospital, and there was a patient there, who, his story was, he was Jesus. And he was actually kind of attached to that story,

[22:18]

just like, I don't know, your story might be that you're Linda, right? I don't know if you're attached to that, but anyway, he was attached to his story in a very intense way. And if people didn't acknowledge the story and agree with him, he wouldn't talk to them or relate to them. And nobody would really agree that he was Jesus. At the hospital. And Milton Erickson went to visit, and he didn't exactly agree that he was Jesus, he just said to him, I understand you're a carpenter. And the guy said, yeah, that's right. He said, would you build me some bookshelves? And the guy built the bookshelves. And then he was released from the hospital. In other words, I think the reason he was released from the hospital was after that, he still thought he was Jesus, but he would talk to people

[23:22]

who didn't think he was Jesus. Just like you probably would talk to people who don't think you're Linda, right? So that's why you're not in a mental hospital. But if you would only talk to people who thought you were Linda, that would be really stressful for you. But you might be able to find some people who did say, okay, you're Linda. But Milton Erickson didn't say, you're Jesus, he just said, I understand you're a carpenter. They could meet there. We can find a place to meet. And there's a place to meet with everybody. But if they say they're Jesus, it's kind of scary. How do you find a place to relate? Oh, you say you're Jesus, okay. Where did you get those shoes? Where did you get those sandals? Yes, Karen?

[24:29]

You said the practice of a Buddha includes everybody. That's what I said. That's the story I told. And I certainly don't want to attach to that, do I? No, I don't. And you can test me to see if I'm attached to it. But you can't get me attached to it. It looks to me like there's a lot of practice in my vicinity that doesn't include everybody. So whose practice is that? Oh, you mean sometimes you see a practice which excludes somebody? And you wonder whose practice is that? Well, you might say, I don't know, it might be your practice. And Buddhists practice together with each person who thinks they're not practicing with everybody. All the people who think they're not practicing with each person,

[25:31]

the Buddhists practice with all those people. All the people who hate me, the Buddha practices together with them, each one of them. So if I am aspiring to Buddhist practice, then I would practice together with all the people that hate me, that I have the story that they hate me, I would practice with them. And if they are not practicing together with everybody, I would practice together with them. I mean, if they think they're not. Really, they are. Buddha is the one who understands the reality that we are practicing together with every person. So the practice of Buddha is the practice of reality. In reality, we're practicing together with all the scary people. But if we don't practice that, we don't get it. We think, I'm going to stay away from that scary person. Little do we know,

[26:32]

that when you say, I'm going to stay away from that scary person, this is your way of practicing with them. Like I could say to one of you, I could say, you are so scary, I'm going to stay away from you. And you might feel like, that was very intimate of him to say that. And in fact, we are intimate. But if we don't practice it, we don't realize it. Buddhists do practice it, and Buddhists do realize it. By practicing that. If Buddhists didn't practice it, they wouldn't realize it. But Buddhists do realize it, which means they do practice it. If we practice it, that practice realizes it. If we don't practice it, even though it's already the case, it's not realized by a lack of practice. And so if I notice some shrinking back from some person, and saying, I'm not going to practice with them, that can happen.

[27:36]

That's not the end of the story. I say, oh, I'll practice with that shrinking back. Or rather, I'm going to join the practice which doesn't shrink back from my shrinking back. Buddha doesn't shrink back from my shrinking back. Buddhist practice doesn't. Anything you'd like to discuss? Anything you want to talk about? Yes? Yeah, but that's because Buddha doesn't have anything. That's because Buddha doesn't have anything. Yeah. Right. And so if you want to be like a Buddha and not have anything, practice together with every person. If we practice together with each person, we won't have anything. So rather than just sort of, oh, I'm going to get rid of everything, that's one way to go. But another way to go is, just practice together with each person and you'll find out you don't have anything. You say, yeah, they'll take all my stuff.

[28:38]

Well, maybe so. It's not so much they will take all your stuff, but rather all your stuff will be taken. But rather than just have it all taken, why don't you practice together with everybody and then it's all taken, but you also get to do Buddhist practice. In other words, join the reality club. Yes? Well, isn't the source of fear not that you're dealing with a scary person, but that you don't want to identify with the scary person? You don't want to identify that you are the scary person. You can put it that way, or turn it around and say, the reason you are scared is because you think the scary person is not you. And Buddha understands that everybody is Buddha. Buddha understands that everybody is her true self.

[29:39]

So then Buddha teaches, everybody is your true self. And if you don't get that, you will be scared sometimes. You won't necessarily be scared all the time, because some people who you think are not yourself, you think they're really cute, and you want to be close to them, and they let you. But some people you think are really cute, you want to be close, and they won't let you, and then you're scared that they won't let you. But you still don't think they're yourself. Because if you think somebody is your, if you understand that they're yourself, you don't have to get close to them. You're already as close as you're going to get. Can I ask for a shoe spray? Did you say? May I offer a shoe story? You definitely may offer a shoe story. We've been waiting for you to give us a shoe story. On Thursday, I came out of a meeting at a shelter with a pair of new boots on. Around the corner, it was raining, under a little eave, and a man approached me,

[30:40]

and he was admiring my boots. Were they rain boots? They were roots boots. Roots boots? Roots boots. He says, those are roots boots. They cost $230 a pair. Wow. I used to own a pair. Wow. And then he went to me, he had me hold up my feet, he admired the boot and whatnot. And I explained I bought them online for $150. And then he was like weighing that for a while, he was checking the size out, and it dawned on me, he wanted my boots. He was going to steal my boots. And he thought, it became clear he was debating how much he could get for the boots. But he was telling me how much he loved the boots when he was able to afford these boots. So I offered him the boots. He was wearing an old pair of tennis shoes. And I said, well, probably trade shoes. What size do you wear? And he wore a 10.5. I only wore a 9. And when I said that, he said, forget about it. Thank you.

[31:49]

Thank you for the shoe story. I'm just going to say, I love that story because it perfectly illustrates what you were saying. He was going to steal your boots. And you met him exactly where he was. Right? Which is what Ray was talking about. Well, what's in common? Oh, we can talk about these boots. We both like boots. These root boots. And then you kept communicating and the truth ended up being the truth. He didn't want to steal your boots in the end because they weren't the right size. Well, that's how that worked out. But it was cool what you did.

[32:50]

It was just meet him instead of being afraid, which maybe you were, but still, because, hey, maybe he's going to pull a knife out and take your boots. It was just like, you just hung with it. Yeah, I met him right there. I love that. I was just wondering, maybe, too, if you couldn't handle it. You know, that it's hard to handle with your construct that you have of yourself. When someone comes at you in that way, in a different way, you want to get away with it. Yeah, well, everybody that comes

[33:54]

is changing us. When you say changing us, what's the us? The us is a sense that somebody is here. I could change it from us to me. Everybody that comes changes me. I'm a different me when you come than when Amanda comes, or Linda comes, or Jason comes. Every person that comes changes me. And when a lot of people come all at once, then I'm getting changed in a really big way. Like... sort of...

[35:00]

stereoscopic change. And so then, I might feel like, well, can I really accept this new person? So at that time, if I can open to all things coming from many directions and changing me in many ways, and I'm making a major change, if I can open to that, then I can open to the Dharma. The self can open to the Dharma. Yes? Before, you talked about spinning. Yeah. Was that... I didn't quite get that. Was that what you were referring to, as many people are coming and changing you? Yeah. And also... Also, I'm referring to the... the introduction to the story about Zhao Zhou and the dog

[36:03]

having Buddha nature or not. The introduction to that case in the Book of Serenity says, even a highly cultivated person is still turned about in a stream of words. So our karmic consciousness, where the words of the teaching appears, like in karmic consciousness, there's the words. The practice of a Buddha is to practice together with each person. Those words, even though those words are wonderful teaching, they turn us. And even a highly cultivated person gets turned by those words. Some people get turned and say, that's cool. Some people get turned and say, that's scary. Some people say, I disagree. Some people say, that's ridiculous. Or some people don't say anything, they just get turned. But even a highly cultivated person gets turned. What's the difference between highly cultivated and not very highly cultivated?

[37:05]

The highly cultivated, when they get turned, they don't get disoriented. They just... they change orientation, but they don't lose their orientation. They remember what they're doing, which is trying to practice together with everybody while they're getting spun about by the names of all the people and the opinions that they imagine that people have and the needs that they imagine that people are bringing to them and so on. This stuff is spinning them just like everybody else, but they're trained to not remember that they're here to hear the Dharma. They remember, I vowed from this life on throughout countless lives to hear the Dharma. They remember that when they're getting spun by the words, by training. We train ourselves and John was able to kind of remember something about his vows

[38:06]

when he was getting turned by the words of the conversation with that guy. So whatever he was thinking at that time, he didn't lose his... he wasn't totally disoriented even though his orientation was changing quite a bit by the conversation. And conversations normally change our orientation. That's normal, even for a highly cultivated person. But a highly cultivated person stays up... not stays upright, is [...] upright. But the situation is changing and the people's faces are changing and that means the words are changing. Friend, enemy, big guy, little guy, robber, donor, all these words are flying. Can we stay upright with it? And if we can't, we have a practice called

[39:08]

confessing, I lost balance, I'm sorry, I'm going to try again. So we train and train and train to not avoid being spun because that would mean we'd have to exit karmic consciousness. As I mentioned many times, karmic consciousness is characterized as being giddy. And giddy means to be excited to the point of disorientation, of distraction. So you have a bodhisattva coming into karmic consciousness. They vowed to benefit all beings. They vowed to practice the practice of a Buddha. They vowed to practice with all sentient beings. They vowed to save all suffering beings with no exceptions. That's their vow. And they're getting spun around. This vow, this aspiring being is being spun.

[40:08]

And they're trying to not get disoriented from their vow while they're spinning in the words, in the faces, in the screams, in the cries of the world. They're listening to the cries of the world, listening to the cries of the world and trying to remember. What was the point here again? Oh yeah, I'm listening to the cries of the world. Yeah, I'm listening to the cries of the world. I'm listening to the cries of the world to liberate the cries of the world. That's right. I remember now. Yeah? It's mostly our own thinking that's spinning us. The input gets translated The input is affecting us like the sound of a bell affects us. And then we translate

[41:12]

the sound of the bell is an image of it, an imagination of it is created in this karmic consciousness. Karmic consciousness in some ways is more giddy than just our sense organs. But that's where we learn the Buddhadharma. We don't learn the Buddhadharma so much just from the touch on the arm. We don't really suffer with a touch on the arm. We suffer with the story we have about we suffer because the story we have about the touch we believe is the touch. But being touched is not a story. We don't know all the ways we're touched. So, we know a little bit about them but really we don't really know anything about them.

[42:16]

What we do is we know our story about the touches. And if we attach to the story about the touches then we suffer and then we're afraid and we're at risk of unskillful behavior. Really, the way we're being touched the Buddha sees the way we're being touched is that we are being touched by the whole universe and we are touching the whole universe. We are helping all beings and they're helping us. That's the way we're actually being touched on the skin, by sound, by light, by ideas. That's the way we're being touched. We make up a story about that immense Buddha field of interdependent mutual support. We make a story about it. In that space where we make stories things are spinning around. And the way we're going to not be disoriented

[43:21]

is to learn to not grasp the story. If we don't grasp the story we won't be disoriented from the story of living to practice the Buddha way. And when we practice the Buddha way then we realize the way we're actually being touched all day long and the way we're touching. We're being touched by the universe and we're touching the universe. We're supporting the whole universe and the whole universe is supporting us. Each of us is involved in that. That's not the problem. The problem is that we're making stories about it and that's not a problem either. The problem is we think the stories are the universe which is touching us and the stories are the way we're touching the universe. I told a story about that but that's not the way it's happening. That's just a story about it.

[44:22]

Yes? So from what I understood is even like the kindness and generosity when we make a story of it and we make importance to it the act of unkindness and violence becomes a distraction to the one... Take a step back. You said even the kindness when we make a story of it. You just stop right there. You're kind to me. Jim's kind to me. Gordon's kind to me. Everybody's kind to me. When I make a story of that that's not a problem. It's just a little story I'm making about your kindness to me. When I attach to the story of your kindness that's suffering. It's a nice story.

[45:29]

I'm happy to have a story that you're kind to me. Buddha says you are kind to me. Really. Buddha can see that. We cannot see how we're kind to each other. The way we're kind to each other is much too rich for our karmic consciousness to understand, to see. And all living beings are supporting us having karmic consciousness. Everybody's kind to us. That's what Buddha sees. And we make stories about how people are kind to us. And once again, if I attach to the story about how you're kind to me that's suffering. Now, if I should... You also, in your kindness, you support me to have dreams that you're not kind to me. Sometimes I dream. Sometimes I imagine. Sometimes my consciousness makes a story. You're not kind to me. That's a sad story. But if I don't attach to it,

[46:32]

no suffering. If I do attach to the story you people are not kind to me, suffering. But also if I attach to the story that you're kind to me, suffering. If I don't attach to any stories, I realize everybody's kind to me. If I don't attach to any stories, I realize I'm kind to everyone. I realize it, but I don't know it. I can't know it. I can't know how I'm supporting you. I can just have a little story about it. And I might have a story. Oh, I was helpful to somebody. I might have that story. And I might have the story I wasn't helpful to someone. I might have that story. The Buddha practices with both those stories and doesn't attach to either. And realizes that we are being kind to each other.

[47:36]

We already know a world where it looks like we're not kind to each other. Have you seen that one? We know that world. That's our karmic consciousness, where some people are not being kind to other people. We got that down. We need to practice with that world without attaching to it. And when we don't attach to the world, where some people are not being kind, when we don't attach to it, we'll realize that there's another world of the Buddha's body where everybody is being liberated and where everybody is being kind to each other. In the meantime, we have this great challenge to practice together with each story, including all the stories of unkindness or potential unkindness and fear of potential unkindness or fear of more unkindness, which is potential unkindness. If we do that practice,

[48:43]

we will realize what Buddhists have realized, which is that we're all practicing together with everybody. Anything else this morning? Yes. In the Lotus Sutra, when the 5,000 people leave? Yeah, 5. 5,000 people leave.

[49:45]

5,000 people leave the Buddha's teaching shop. And the Buddha says something like, let them go. Now there are no more twigs and leaves. And some translators put in useless in front. Do you think the translator thought the Buddha was not practicing with those people? Do you think the translator thought that? Might the translator have thought that? Well, if the translator was me, no. No. Do you think that useless is an appropriate word to put in there? I don't know. I have to look at the character. But sometimes useless... It's in brackets. Yeah. Oh, it's in brackets. Wow. Buddha practices together with each bracket. Buddha practices together with the people who leave his teaching assembly.

[50:46]

Practices together with them, but still sometimes it may be good for them to leave because it would not be good if they heard the teaching and said something bad about it. Because then later it would be difficult for them to accept it because they say, well, it would be so embarrassing if people saw me receiving this teaching which I said was no good. So Buddha doesn't want to push people into a corner where they have to reject the teaching. So if it's going to be too wonderful for some people, it's better if they leave and come back later. In a way, I sometimes feel like the less you offer to people, the easier it is for them to accept it. But as you start to offer more and more, some people feel like, oh, this is just too much. You're too kind.

[51:50]

And sometimes the Buddha's gift is so immense that some people are not ready for it. So then Buddha says, OK, how about some tea? OK, I can handle some tea. Or how about some water? Because this is like non-caffeine water. So Buddha offers us water. And then for some people, I may offer some other things which are... Some people might feel like, oh, it's too much. There are too many jewels for me. I don't know what to do with that. And that's also in the Lotus Sutra that... Can you handle one more story? So this... These parents have this child. And the child goes out for a walk one day and gets lost. And then can't find her way home.

[52:56]

And then she just keeps being lost more and more. And the parents send out search crews and they can't find their child. And the child's lost for like 50 years. And then... The child is like lost. And by the way, this child's parents are very, very wealthy. Very wealthy. Wealthier than kings and emperors. Anyway, this person gets lost from his wonderful parents in his wonderful, affluent, comfortable home. And in his lost state, he becomes destitute and emaciated and... He used to have nice boots. But now he's barefoot and his feet are filthy. And by chance, one day in his desperate wanderings

[54:00]

looking for some food or something, or some clothing, he happens to... By chance, he forgot and he happens to come back to where his parents are living. And he walks near his parents' home. And he gets to the place where they live and he looks up at the house where they live. Which is like a really kind of amazing place with like a big stairway, you know, going up to the house. And he looks up there and he sees... Actually, he sees his father and mother. This wonderful father and mother. And he looks and he thinks, those people, if they see my destitute, emaciated, filthy self, they probably would be offended by my odor and want to get rid of me. So I better get out of here. And just then, the father looks down and sees his child and calls to his attendants and says,

[55:00]

there's my boy! Go get him! Bring him back! And the servants go running down the stairs to get him and the guy sees them coming and thinks they're coming to, you know, clean the area of him. And he passes out in fear. And the father says, oh, I get it. Calls his servants back. The guy wakes up, sees that he's still alive and runs away. He thought, I'll just tell... My boy, I... That's too much. He faints when his... He faints when what? When the love of all beings comes to him. And he faints that he's actually a person who comes from a family that loves all beings. He faints when it starts coming to him. Because he's forgot it. So the father thinks, well, this is not going to work for me

[56:03]

just to walk up and tell him, hey, guess who's your dad? So he... He puts on some rags and puts filth on them. So they're dirty rags. And he goes down and finds his son. And goes up to him and says, hey man, and when his son sees him he says, yeah? This is the kind of people he's used to seeing. He says, I got a job for you, you want it? He says, yeah. I'll give you some clothes and some food and a place to stay. He said, great. He said, it's a job shoveling elephant shit. He said, great. And in this way, gradually, anyway, he gets used to the possibility that he could do a job and have a living. And then he comes back about 20 years later and says, I'll let you be the leader of the group of elephant dung shovelers. He said, fine.

[57:03]

And then he invites him into the house and gradually he can tell him, you're my son, and he can handle it. He can, you know, gradually he learned how to open to who he was. So our training is to actually open to that we are actually, we are actually in the family of practice, that practice together with each person. We're trying to open to that. That's the reality we're trying to open to. The reality is already there. We have to practice to open to it. And it's hard. But it's already there. Is that enough for this afternoon? Or for the early afternoon? We can have lunch now, if you like. And I'm not sure,

[58:05]

I think we could have something of a work period. It's pretty muddy out there probably, so I don't know how much work we have today. But we could have a work period where we just practice together with each person. And just go around practicing together with everybody. And that can be the work period. Okay? May our intention extend to every being and place with the true merit of Buddha's way. Beings are numberless. I vow to save them. Delusions are inexhaustible. I vow to end them. Dharmakas are boundless. I vow to enter them.

[59:09]

Buddha's way is unsurpassable. I vow to become.

[59:17]

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