Eight Awarenesses of Great Beings

00:00
00:00
Audio loading...

Welcome! You can log in or create an account to save favorites, edit keywords, transcripts, and more.

Serial: 
BZ-02632
Description: 

Study Sesshin Part 1

 

Auto-Generated Transcript

the morning
it's ah mm howitzer september first
ah just the months fly by ah
ah but it's a beautiful day out
can someone tell me what that red flower is rhonda
found your salter
see were no it's not a trick and a question
it's that arose
might dahlia it's when i was walking in the reserve they were alive on earth on the bush out and just
brilliantly red just you know explosively
colorful really could have my attention i
so a group of us have just returned from our five or six days at tassajara so our senses are attuned to the natural world into the beauties around it and we had a wonderful time there ah with a busy see
a busy see steady group and we got this study dogan we have to do a lot of work for half a day ah desire then took a lot of baths and some people went swimming a lot ah well it was
dentist
you know hanging out with his with the students was wonderful time and we just got back yesterday afternoon
and so that feeling tone lingers and i think it is continuity between what ah what we are studying today and what we studied to her at tassajara
so it does how we were studying a farcical of tokens which is one of my favorite called but i thought as she shall bow or the bodhisattvas for embracing actions it's kind of like the principal sir
how you how sought for his act and also how we act in the cultivation of our own bodies off nature and it's very straightforward
but can i endlessly the point you look at at it those star a generosity are giving
in speech or loving speech beneficial action and what
sometimes translated as identity action which sounds a bit abstract but it just means ah
recognizing the sameness among us sometimes is translated as cooperation
ah i see guarded the korean teacher sonsini translated as together action ah and
these all ah
really fit with
what we're gonna study today which is the yeah the eight realizations of great beings with the awareness is of great beings which was duggan's last fascicle the last thing that that he wrote ah and it also happens to be ah
at least in some receptions the buddha's last teaching before he entered apparent nevada for it passed away so we're having a study day today as a study session which goes on from
began at five in the morning and it's gonna go until five thirty i think this evening
and ah
keeping container the container of session energy ah with or yogi meals and a fair amount of meditation ah only we're moving out of the silence into study and then back into silence
ah and
cause it's this saturday we welcome everybody into this part of the program ah and then we'll have another we have another study session this afternoon
ah
so because it's a study day i might go to the schedule calls for this to go to little longer ah if ah if you've had enough you can leave or when he when he had a few can leave but do it try to do it quietly but up
i'll probably go to about fifteen minutes longer than we usually do and
i want to have it
i may leave ah
little more space for discussion and back and forth because that's the way i like to like to study ah i'm really interested in what
this
golly i mentioned what the teachings evoke for you are you take it in personally not in said if
communicating some poor soul of knowledge to you okay
so
the me begin
first of all
this teaching is cited in the mahayana part of honor sutra
and ah
dogan source is probably from that it's also found in another form in ah
in the in one of the
collections of poly suitors in the
ruda ceuta
where it's not directly connected with buddha's guess but with the principles are laid out pretty clearly
and as i said this was ah
this was composed worth the final the draft was finished in february beginning of february in twelve fifty three
and dogan died in august of that year but his his illness which appears to have been tuberculosis or became increasingly
a disabling and he had wanted to complete a a hundred
chapter ah
volume of or but he called the treasury the true dharma i leave at about ninety two ninety three and this is the last one
self and it was recorded in copied by by his students
ah
so just to say here is this list of practices
the first awakening is to have few desires
the second awakening is to know how much is enough
the third awakening is to enjoy serenity
the fourth awakening is diligent effort
the fifth is not to neglect mindfulness
the sixth awakening is to practice meditation
or concentration
the seventh awakening is to cultivate wisdom
and the eighth awakening is not to be engaged in hello discussions
then go to get to that eventually there's a number of different translations saw one of fun
one of the translations of dove into it like translates that as

see
jesus says not playing around with theories and opinions
and the the poly suggests that parallels this ah
translates the the all the others are pretty much the same as the eighth is ah
one who enjoys non objectification
so i'm give this a little teaser right neither i don't want to get right to fact but ah it's interesting
so probably you recognize in this in this list is this is one of these are list archetypes and it has ah those who and those were
ah mnemonic devices they were you know it's you'll find him in his
in sanskrit and pali and you'll find it in ah in epic poems in greek and you know it's like through repetition into a certain kind of organized organization and structure makes it easier to to memorize ah it made
cities easier you can place each one of these hear your mind palace and walk from room to roam remembering ah the which principal lives in which room if you not a document that it's really it's cool way to to actually build your
memory anyway these are parallel in many ways to others this that we're familiar with the the eightfold path and the parameters
and the factors of enlightenment ah and and probably others but there's there's a lot of overlap in in each of them ah principles of meditation of mindfulness concentration effort ah
calmness equanimity so forth so on and so forth ah
and ah
this is just this just another formulation that is
finding it as the buddha as last teaching gives it a certain power
in
in that this is
it it's placement there at the end of his life is is this is what he wanted his followers to really pay attention to
and so on

i'm working beyond between translations yourself ah
so the beginning of this farcical basically the structure of this fanciful is that dogan has a little introduction and he has a kind of afterward which will go into and then he gives it a kind of tagline for each
one of these practices that's what they are and then votes at length from the maha par nevada suitor amidst the bulk of this is basically the words of the buddha
he begins his for saying all buddhas are enlightened people
and because of this we call what they discerned
the eight realizations of a great one
when someone discerns what this dharma of theirs is
it brings about nirvana which is freedom from suffering
on the night when shakyamuni buddha enter nirvana he gave these eight realizations as
he's final teaching
so when he seen eight realizations he said
great beings buddhas bodhisattvas
ah
they see the world
through these qualities or they cultivate these qualities in order to meet this the circumstances of their life and ah by doing so
that frees them but also by being free they are capable of seeing the world that way
the first is having few desires
this is this is dogan what he called having few desires means not chasing far and wide among those objects of the senses
which one has not yet experienced
hum
in another translation says to refrain from widely covered in the objects of the five cents desires
and to
i was looking at the word covering
which ah
which is related have
two
the english word cupidity it has the same route
and then i was looking at cupidity which of course carries for us the the images
cupid with his era of right ah but cupid does in latin basically means desire and i think the personification of cupid ah the arab his life
ah
even in in the roman conception one is wounded by one's desires
yeah it's it's once that arrow was fired
you can call it back and when it hits its mark with us when desire it's it's marked with us ah
we have to bear a certain
pay a certain scarring
hair and so this is a way of unpacking this word coveting when we covered teas
these five cents desires we're inviting a certain wound
ah knowingly or not knowingly
so that's the food is the shutter duggan's text is the first awakening is to have few desires to refrain from widely covering the objects of the five to since desires as golf few desires then he quotes the by nevada the buddha said
know that people who have many desires intensely seat for fame and game
therefore they suffer a great deal
those who have few desires do not seek for fame and game and are free from them so they're without troubles
having few desires is itself was while
it is even more so as it creates various merits
those who have few desires need not flatter to gain others favor
those a few desires are not pulled around by their sense organs
or any other work ah they have a seat they have a serene mind and do not worry because they are satisfied with what they have and do not have a sense of lack
those who a few desires experienced nevada this is called few desires
one thing that was in one thing that was interesting so in the fascicle of dogan that we were studying this this week the first of the for embracing actions his generosity are giving and
davines quote the quotation from there says giving means not to be greedy
not to be greedy means not to crave not to crave means in worldly expression not to flatter
how's like an aha moment when i read that that
it's clear to me that he was drawing that non flattering ah
from
from this source those are a few desires need not flatter to gain others favor
so
i think part of the the power here is that dogan is a yeah for the the dogan and the buddha or
pointing out the hazards of looking outside
for verification
verification of oneself and one's worse
ah that
the seek for gain and fame
ah as he gets the voted tops of that here is

to look for a kind of look for a kind of verification not even necessarily a material verification but a
a reputation away is to want people to see you for certain way ah and to want to be acknowledged and recognized for that wisely
and that the
usual path to that is flattering others to gain favor
and so when we were doing our our study this week and we really investigated the artist how subtle a mechanism that is how the things that we say
to a friend wanted someone that were meeting for anyone or how
often and suddenly we can configure those
ah for some
again verification or inflation of for a to to we say something because what we want mirror back is something that ah
i would say in an ultimate sense it tells us that were real
yeah and worthy and this is why you don't just like i love this line here ah
they have a serene minded do not worry because they are satisfied with what they have and do not have a sense of lack
so if any view some of you are probably familiar with the work of david loy at the heart of his work is this perception that ah we have a sense of lack at at our core you know and
that's an accurate description what we lack is not
our life we lack is if we keep peeling back the layers of the self like the layers of a bamboo and we find at the center it's empty
it's a space and say we wanna get to the center and find the core that is true and that we can rely on and in fact there's nothing to rely on
and no matter what wonderful things we have gotten someone to say about us
it's not gonna take away that sense of lack
so that's the first
the first of these eight realizations is to have few desires
i'm gonna do another one and then
take questions and then move on so the second awakening
which is free related to the first is to know how much is enough
something already have something set a limit for yourself for using it
so you should know how much is enough
the buddha said if you want to be free from suffering you should contemplate knowing how much is enough by knowing it you were in the place of enjoyment in peacefulness if you know how much is enough you are contented even when you sleep on the ground
if you don't know it you are discontented even when you are in heaven
you can feel poor even if you have great wealth
you may be constantly pulled by the five cents desires and pitied by those who know how much is enough this is called to know how much is enough

in the pali ah
text which is at least a source for this ah
this second point is called
ah this dharma is for one who is content not for one who is discontent thus it was said with reference
does it was said
there is a case where a monk is content with any old rope cloth at all any old arms food food and old lodging any old medicinal requisites for curing sickness at all
this dharma is for one who has content not for one was discontent

today for breakfast and lunch were eating and or aoki meal
here i think it was my zoomy roshi who talked about
the meaning of oreo key is held in some of cancer says balls that hold
just enough
just enough to sustain our practice enough to give us energy and allow joy to emerge
that's the beauty of oreo cookie balls are
ah it's interesting in in
in somebody's countries may have you seen the the ball is really vague
ah and i'm not criticizing that it's it's really weird because they because people might put anything in there but ah but our balls because we're not taking them off how on arms rounds ah we're just getting enough to sustain us ah
in health and in practice
ah
and the cooks
measured out
and they consult with the officer is of hat for the menu listen how much of it is enough and ah it's love the lovely thing that we do is are we actually offer seconds
yourself if you think you haven't had enough for the first bow okay you can indulge in that's on that's on you and fortunate the food is so good here that ah is it perhaps spurs are desire and we want more
so i think these two are quite relate related to me pause for a human decency if you have any
thoughts their questions before i move onto the third certain force
yeah

that's what it said yeah
myself

no i understand ah

i'm trying to look at what the context worse

the context here is on a buddha was ah
sitting alone
and he was just having he was serve contemplating the dharma
and ah is certainly basking in it and the buddha comes by and reads his mind
and
basically affirms him and says yes this is this is this is a good understanding and i think that the
you came here
for most of us our discontent led us here
ah but in some
place inside it was some
faith or yearning for all these things that oh maybe this is going to solve my discontent
right
and
although we're still on the path
ah i think a lot of us in this room
ah even though we still have discontent and sometimes it's really painful ah
we come to recognize that there are moments when we don't with content
i am really
i felt that very much at tassajara in
yeah i realize i'm going to cause harm for thirty five years
i have so many memories so many painful memories of being there ah and also have wonderful memories of been there but the painful memories are not about tassajara their about me there it's like i member once in nineteen a little river looking
looking up at the sky walking along the path and thinking
it is so beautiful here
what is my problem
you know and yet there was a problem and also get i had faced
that literally and figuratively the path that we were walking on was only way that i could walk to
to begin to glimpse that
yeah thank you
sure

yeah that's
thank you there's a constant tension in all these teachings as a was seen from the beginning it's like these are the awareness is have a great being but it's also the cultivating of these awareness is is how we merge with how we become like that ourselves
otherwise
ah
it's pointless you know otherwise it's it's a it's a hopeless idealization so on i take all the buddha's teachings
as medicine usually there's a there's an illness or a context that that comes out of and sometimes that's relevant to one and sometimes perhaps not but it was always relevant in the circumstance in which arose
want to move on charles
hi

can you say little more that not using that have been enlightened
okay
ah
yes so one of the things often positive qualities
in buddhism or framed as the negation of negative qualities
the absence of greed allows generosity to arise
and you can think of the so the afflictions for to get more technical which the i think so
the pali word is closure
ah those afflictions are
i think the literal translation might be as coverings
so if you remove the covering then you allow what is true to emerge
so ah we have
in sanskrit you have the word on man
which is basically a notion of self and we have are not mine
non-self
and when you remove the the affliction in buddhist terms of odd man ah then when a not mine are not man arises then something large and boundless can be can be grasped and you know is that this
this negative this negation of the negation is is a pretty common formula i think it's probably common in indian languages or as a as a way of framing ah
reality and it's it has a dualistic ah hedge to affect ah yeah you get creed to remove greed we have to ah when we remove greed when we don't flatter when we feel we have enough then
our larger a large spirit arises
like to go on if that's okay because i'd like to get through this text today
the third awakening is to enjoy serenity mrs dogan this is to be away from the crowds and stay alone in a quiet place this is called to enjoy serenity in seclusion
the buddha said if you want to have the joy of serene non doing
you should be away from the crowds and stay alone in a quiet place
a still places what indra and the other davis revere
by leaving behind your relations as well as others and by living in a quiet place you may remove the conditions of suffering
if you are attached to crowds you will receive suffering just like a tree that attracts a great many birds and gets killed by them
if you are bound by worldly matters you will drown in troubles just like an old elephant who is stuck in a swamp and cannot get out of it
this is called to enjoy serenity in seclusion

in the on a rude a suitor
it says thus it was said there is a case where a monk when living in seclusion is visited by monks nuns layman lay women king's royal ministers sectarian in their disciples with his mind bent on seclusion tending towards seclusion inclined toward subversion aiming at sickly
asian read let relishing renunciation he converses with them only as much as necessary for them to take their leave

maybe he bought them to death i don't know
anyway ah
our seclusion is what we're doing here every morning and evening
every morning even we sit turn towards the wall
ha with each other
and face ourselves
and we have
that
moment of seclusion which is so deeply human
and so ordinary
and yet how few of us in the world make the time to do that
and
so i don't take this necessarily as an has it
as a direct instruction to to go off to cave though
it's gonna actually saying that
and you know it's very interesting to go to a place like tassajara which were there's a relative seclusion
ah it's pete boy
it's really peaceful there in terms of
you don't hear a plane going overhead
you don't hear traffic
you don't you know all you you don't hear humming motors generally you hear the birds when they wake up in the morning really clearly you hear the crickets and cicadas at night you hear the other
morning ah i was stiff from working and i slept in
and i heard all the
the drums and the bills and then the magical sound of ah just listening to everybody chanting
while i was laying in bed ah that was made me want to get out of bed but
too late
so i had to i had to listen ah so that's a kind of seclusion but
i think
we should also realize
there is no seclusion
the world is everybody is everywhere and we are making it and those of you who have been to a monastery like da are you know that
it's no even though you're fourteen miles down rough dirt road
if something wants to follow you down the road it will follow you down the road and you can have to deal with it ah
but in seclusion the principal i think this talking about his
that is a place to that's one way one of the realizations that we do deal with what comes down the road that we're not isolated for it that we in fact build our capacity to engage with it
and meet it
so
it's a principle and to the extent that our lives allow we we should cultivate that we need some time that is not just hot in the maelstrom of of activities ah
and
i think
sometimes you meet people who are
ah
who are highly evolved work who are awake who managed to have
seclusion without being secluded
a settled in this or containment in themselves that is not remote
it's not a lack of connection
but that they have a way of connecting with themselves i would say as surgeon
the instruction that he gave me i'm sure is given to believe you i think this is one of his docusign tropes ah is a you should always know where your feeder
you know which is really great cause if you if you can turn your attention to your feet
then right there
you are grounded and you have some awakening of
ah
the seclusion and self containment
and that allows you to that gives you the strength and clarity to meet others
and that gets to the first point
ah the fourth and fifth point actually the fourth awakening is diligent effort
it is to engage ceaselessly in wholesome practices this is why it is called diligent effort
it is refinement without mixing in other activities you keep going forward without turning back that's of
that's dogan
then he quotes the buddha
if you make diligent effort nothing is too difficult that's why you should do so it is like a drop of water piercing through a rock by continuously dripping
if your mind continues to slacken
it is like taking a break from hitting stones before they spark
you can't get fire that way
what i'm speaking of his diligent effort

dear month the in southern translation and working for ah says
if the mind of a trainee
is is often inactive and remiss it'll be just the same as making a fire by friction and blowing on it before it is hot enough to catch fire although your desire to train can blaze up the fires of training or hard to arrive at this is what i call been devoted to practice
so the metaphor here is ah
the part meters to me as of patience and effort
ha that you really have to stay with what we're doing we have to stay with the practice stay with ah
with our effort
and
it's so easy were so distractible it's so easy to get pulled away
have you seen please don't do that i mean this is one of the things i think ah
i have to say it's easy to ah it's easy to praise or teacher and perhaps even to idolize him but it must say one of the things that i did i
god
ah
really early on in that ah
is
that somebody just throw his practice it just like
put your head down
and go forward
can not be distracted
and ah
i can see i got it so that i can do it
but i saw i see that's what what he's doing you know that's what he's done in his his keeps doing it in his ninetieth year
ah and it's it's very single purpose in single pointed
and that is a way that's a way to live that's a way to live at a way that is he in
harmony and resonance with what dogan is teaching here ah
and
when i fall short which is frequently i
yeah i
have that to bring me back and you have these practices to bring you back
so to do one more and then open it up a little one for the end
soco impairing with this effort
the next the next to next three or just say the the fist is not to neglect mindfulness sixth is to practice meditation or concentration and the seventies to cultivate wisdom all of these effort
ah mindfulness concentration and wisdom all or so the package of our meditation practice so the fifth fifth awakening is not to neglect mindfulness it's also
call to maintain right thought
ah this is to help you guard the dharma so you won't lose it it's called to maintain right thought or not to neglect mindfulness the buddha says
for seeking a good teacher and good health
there is nothing like not neglecting mindfulness or there's nothing like remembering mindfulness ah if you practice this the robbers of desire cannot enter you
therefore you should always maintain mindfulness in yourself if you lose it you will lose all merits when your mindfulness is solid you will not be harmed even if you go into the midst of the robbers of the five cents desires it's like arm it's like wearing armor and goal
into a battlefield so there is nothing to be afraid of this is called not neglecting mindfulness
ah
see this
near month says ah
ah
not forgetting to be mindful
and also he says it's
keeping to
he said what we would the buddha cause keeping to the dharma without losing sight of it means keeping to right mindfulness so right mindfulness is
a way to look at your entire path of life
it's to see
ah the right aspect of that means ah
how do you want us to work out you want to work out in a beneficial way for all beings which include yourself
or without that aspect of right it could be a self centered activity
but we have awareness of what we do
moment by moment that's again a feature of the practice that we when we do when we sit here each day
so
let me open up again for questions or thoughts and we will ah i want to lose the last three in the afternoon but we have some time for discussion and judy

i i have

and i'm wondering how lively piece as you put his son
my privilege our privileges
an issue of bodies
really
great
what does he fires
roger roger
eh
i i think that job
that's it
thoroughly relevant question
hum

i have a formulation
that compresses the ten precepts
into one
and like
like all teachings
ah dare say
on attainable
aspect of it
so here are the ten
bodhisattva precepts
not killing not stealing ah not line that mrs in sexuality and self saunas of with ah to me they boiled down to
can be expressed as
not living one's life
at the expense of other life
which of course is impossible
but it's precept it says it said it's a guiding principle
and i think that principle if you apply that principle within this context
ah than you are
on the way towards
addressing privilege and addressing by as you at least you have a a way of recognizing that in recognizing when you are ignoring that then you're not keeping that precept
and also
the boot is teaching
was for see it
ah
you know it
they didn't have a hell of a lot that's why the first to teachings are you know i'm to have few desires
and to know how much is enough
now you can also flip that and say it that includes
knowing what isn't enough
knowing what has been withheld
seeing that and
helping
create a system of equality
ah which is gonna be a very is a rocky road yeah you can just make a decision and implemented but but it's there so anyway that's we can talk about this we we are talking about this forever yeah and it's important to keep talking about it
whether it's questions of poverty or gender or race
ha or one's on one's own suffering and trauma all of that is this is the stuff of our practice and
it's not about
an idealization into principles
the question is like how do we unpack all these principles to live a life that is the life of benefit for all beings

yeah well when you
thank you for showing me because i'm still looking for the way
i have not found a way linda

this is

i think that that's a really interesting idea and i think it's really it's a productive idea
and i i also feel like
there's more groundwork that has to be laid
because in order for that to happen
we have to have personal relationships of trust
and we have to create a context a setting of trust because all of this stuff is about doing something
and so there's there's something that has to be done the these principles are arise out of
action they arise out of should you know i'd say it said
it's a it's the language in of what the buddha saw happening around him and so ah he painstakingly
ah created community and i think that's the fundamental act to the extent that principles like this can help us do that great and the principles are always a work in progress but you're right we need to hear a multiplicity of voices and perspectives
and that
you know you get you can also get people together in a room and say okay this is a project that interests us let's let's try it out
it's a good idea
yeah please

yeah

yeah i think that are
certainly in his own realm dogan was famous
and i think it's to me the but he's pointing at is
this is a hard position to hold
because of the projections because of the temptations that it's not that you can't do anything good from from a position of of theme but if you seek fame for its own sake
which is very seductive ah it it can be you can be a trap you know ah
some people handle it really well
yeah was but it was really interesting i'm in early when i was a lot younger i ah i was playing music with the in the accompanying allen ginsberg
and you not culture he was quite famous and it was really interesting to to watch ah
you just like sit back and
see people coming up and wanting a piece of him
in one way or then he was pretty pretty balanced and so
ah he could be fairly authentic ah and helpful to people but it just the amount of projection and that was that was laid at his feet he is ah
it was very intense to see
and i'd also say from my own experience playing music which has brought me very little theme
but
what i saw was there is there were two ways to be onstage
one way was to want to get something
a reaction from the audience
and thereby trying to get a reaction from the audience and what i found was i could do that
and it was totally unsatisfactory
and i stopped doing that i just i just really wanna
tune to the people that i'm playing with and make just make the best music i could whether people reacted or not and so i didn't become famous but i played music that
where i could read i could without losing myself and i think that if you can not lose yourself then and some people have that capacity even within fame but ah hits pretty tricky you know anyway yeah i did get a
at a valid point
yeah yes
is buddha up for the fame would it mean
ah
yeah
i think he did a pretty good job with it
hum
because he kept saying this is your work not my work i've done i'm doing my work you know and pointing people back to their work ah you know he wasn't
ha
he wasn't saving them
you know he was pointing them to how they could save themselves
how if one war i have until eleven
yeah i'll get right so everyone more than anymore
we'll call it a day
other questions or thoughts
yeah tim

our

hi
hey i love
yes

well that's the refigure in of buddhism is my yana
ah you know it's always there it was there from the beginning ah but
the methodology that you find in in early buddhism was i think the buddha created a community
in which people could practice
and within that practice taken to they could awaken
and that the example of their awakening was
a powerful
force for those who are around and harmonized society
in mahayana
ha
the vow shifted from
that the model of the are hot which who
ah whose goal of practice was to end suffering in the cycle of rebirth for themselves
ha and in a sense it was a kind of radical individualism
he the context in which you know in a context a single societal context in which ah societal a spiritual context in which
there wasn't
in that kind of radical individualism was not available because everything was your years you were socially defined by virtue of your gender for treeview cast by virtue of your occupation you know it's kind of like
you it was very hard for people to redefine themselves and thereby liberate themselves so so that was a step that was a a big and radical liberal step
then you have the rising barry
it happened early on earlier now the scholars and finding earlier than we think there was there was a blending of mahayana values with with early ah
ah early buddhist principles and you had these inconceivable vous you know basically the vow ah to not leave the cycle of reverse until everybody could
so from this individual is
vision which had a certain power and is certain time you had a a radical equalitarian vision that saw all my responsibility is to help everyone wake up and that i will
not this gets to what judy was saying sake
my privilege to wake up
is really gonna be
there's something really incomplete there unless
we strive for everyone to wake up together
the submitted a way
ah that's just my opinion man
it's a work in it we will that those who in session will continue this afternoon so thank you very much