So I just kind of wanted to finish up a little bit on this chapter and spend most of today on chapter 10 if that's all right with you all. And we went over a few of the different suggested entries, dormitories of non-duality suggested by the Bodhisattvas. And I just thought I'd ask before we skivvel off to the end if anybody has any favorites they want to share with us or comment on or just mention. Yeah, many good ones. All of them are worthy of meditation talks. Anybody have a favor? I kind of like this. So Bodhisattva Akshayamati. The nature of generosity is itself omniscience, and the nature of omniscience itself is total dedication.

[01:12]

Likewise, it is dualistic to dedicate morality, tolerance, effort, meditation, and wisdom for the sake of omniscience. Omniscience is the nature of wisdom, and total dedication is the nature of omniscience. lest the entrance into this principle of uniqueness is the entrance into non-duality. A couple after that, the Bodhisattva Shantendriya declares it is dualistic to say Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The Dharma is itself the nature of the Buddha. The Sangha is itself the nature of the Dharma. All of them are uncompounded. The uncompounded is infinite space, and the processes of all things are equivalent to infinite space. Possibly with the processes of all things. Adjustment to this is the inference in general. Along the same lines.

[02:14]

So physical, verbal, and mental powers do not exist realistically. Why? These things have the nature of inactivity, and the nature of inactivity of the body is the same as the nature of inactivity of speech, whose nature of inactivity is the same as the nature of inactivity of the mind. It is necessary to know and understand this fact, that the ultimate inactivity of all things, of this knowledge, is the nature of human reality. body, speech, and mind. I think lots of versions of this chapter are fairly different. Some of them may not even correspond. I don't see one that... I don't see one who speaks from mind.

[03:29]

Here's one who walks in the Bodhisattva flower garland, said, from the concept of self arises the concept of two things, self and other, which create dualism. The one who sees into the true form of the self will not give rise to the thought of two things. If one does not dwell in the thought of two things, one will not be without consciousness and without anything, one is conscious of. And this way, you have to indicate it. And this is similar to how you know who I am. Well, I guess it's hard because it looks like this. Yeah, but it's interesting. Until before, that's not the same as this. There's no body, mouth. Anyway, they're slightly different versions. And these are, as I said before, there are many instruments. parts of Chinese, so there is different versions put in. Anybody else have one they want to mention?

[04:33]

Well, what happens at, probably during the count, when the Bodhisattvas had given their explanations, they all addressed the count, Prince Manjushri, saying, Manjushri, what is the Bodhisattva's evidence of duality? Manjushri replied, you have all spoken well. Nevertheless, all your explanations are themselves dualistic. To know no one teaching, to express nothing, to say nothing, to explain nothing, to announce nothing, to indicate nothing, to designate nothing, to speak on and on about nothing, to further articulate nothing, such is the entrance into an underworld. to the ground principles, etc. In our own teachings, noble sir, now may you elucidate the teaching of the entrance into the principle of non-duality. Isn't that fun? Doesn't that contradict, though, the non-duality of the Dharma and words being acceptable?

[05:37]

Does it? Well, that's right. We've had some other instances of people not talking before. So Shari Kutra, when he was questioned and interrogated by the goddess, was speechless. So does anybody see a difference here? Before, I think he was trying to hide something. Anyway, this is the most famous line in all of the Kutra tradition. One long, tricky silence. And it's quoted up there. And after that, Krampus, Manjushri applauded. Excellent, excellent. Noteworthy, sir, this is indeed the entrance into non-duality in the Bodhisattvas. Here, there is no use for syllable sounds and ideas. 5,000 Bodhisattvas enter the Dharma door of non-duality. And I'm reminded of the story about Manjushri, the first story in the Book of Serenity. And Manjushri is like the dole I build at the lecture, Chakravarti gets up, and Manjushri pounds the gavel and says, Behold the dharma of the king of dharma, or something like that.

[06:55]

The dharma of the king of dharma is such, and pounds the gavel again. And after that, there's not much to Chakravarti. Anyway, so in the wonderful verse commentary, Yes, Sonia, please. When you say it, I can hear you. Uniquity is a reality. The forms of string constantly incorporate the ancient European. Anyway, then this last line is, but nothing can be done about Manjushri's leaking. So here's another classic example of Manjushri leaking.

[08:02]

Manjushri leaks really well. I feel like this is unique in some ways. I don't think it's really unique. Somewhere in this room, there must be a copy of the book of Serenity. It's down there in the middle. Is there a librarian around? No. She went home today. No, I think Sonny can help us. Oh, there it is. Anyway, there are many great words and commentary about the difference between this silence and the Great Putrescence. And this is referred to as the thunderous silence of knowledge. Also, up to this point, he's said quite a bit. I mean, we've heard you some talking all through this. Yes, sure. Sharing and laughing. Really, what else is there to say at this point? Yeah. That's why he's saying it. And also, there's a specific question within the music. And Manjushri used to set it up. He says what it is. Manjushri's a perfect straight man, yeah. To know nothing, to express nothing, to say nothing, to explain nothing, to announce nothing, so forth. That is the entry gate.

[09:05]

We elucidate it. So he did. He did elucidate it. There's one commentary about this fellow on the talk where the person talks about how Roman Politechnicus is too worried in his response. Did you find that in the poem for us? So, Mata Sri, of course, is the 47th Guru of Vrindavan. And we want you to get closer. So... But that would be weak. I think as a technical term, it refers to outflows. It means like when your samadhi body is kind of intact.

[10:08]

It's kind of a defilement. There's a particular, there's a paper, Abhidharma. So it's translated as kind of sinning, but it's a kind of defilement. But the best example I can think of, what I'm always reminded of, is one time, Professor Hart, you kind of hear your issue through the practice of reading. I remember him talking, and he'd go outside and see a flower. And I was trying to say, oh, wow. That's too much to say, oh, wow. It's reaching out. It's trying to capture it. But we do that, you know. I mean, we see something wonderful and we say, wow. And that's too much. It's like, already it's what it is. But we keep doing it. So we, you know, Manjushri's not the only one who does this. I disagree. You disagree? I disagree. With Katyayoshi? Actually, with Katyayoshi.

[11:12]

OK, good. If you just saw a sunset, you had spontaneous, it's kind of like the astral view of the whole world that you're in the air. It's kind of like, ah. It's kind of like getting into a new car, getting into a hot bathtub. But not saying that doesn't mean you wouldn't be experiencing it fully. It's like a cherry on a cake. It's not. I don't know. I think that we have the function of speech, articulation, or whatever. And I think the other one would be the onlooker. Have a look at what happens when you do that. Oh, gilding, gilding. Nothing can be done about something. That's right. So I always think that what is pretty is pretty. Praise Buddha is a part of Samadhi.

[12:15]

So even though it's too much, Ketagiri Roshi didn't exactly say you shouldn't do that. He just said it's too much. To praise is to sustain? It's a thing. It's about your ancestors. which we're going to talk about next. Yeah, no, well, it's something we do. I mean, you know, you're right. It's like we go outside and we see a sunset and we say, oh, wow, it's beautiful. We do that. Well, maybe that's always beautiful. Well, whatever it is, ah, beautiful, whatever. There's some exclamation of enjoyment. And it's not exactly that that's thinking in a way. We could also see that Manjushri is leaking. His bow and intention is to continue to leak.

[13:18]

He will keep leaking for us. If he can stop it from leaking. Not even a molecule, he's going to stop it from leaking. What if you just went outside and just took a sunset? Sunset? Well, that would really be an election. Complete nonsense. William Blake said that when he went out and saw the sun, it was not like a golden coin in the sky. It was like thousands of angels flying, flying, and that's yelling hallelujah. So there's also this kind of spirit. I think it must be, it depends too on how you say it. If it comes from inside and it's just kind of an extension of just being overwhelmed, just the feeling of it. But if you say it because the need to say something.

[14:23]

Yeah, so yes to everything everybody said. But also there's, also there's, What is, I'm just imagining Manjushree and Pranavakirti and these 5,000 Bodhisattvas who are about to enter the door of the Dharma, and there's also all these other spirits and beings hanging out watching as he gets ready to split. And Pranavakirti just sits there, and then there's Manjushree talking about it. So part of the work of Koan language or of using language dharmically is, well, what is it that you say that not only is saying wow to the sunset, but is also turning it and helping others awake? So Manjushri keeps saying the old dharma, the king of dharmas,

[15:33]

or the equivalent. So, I don't know, it might be sunset, it might be beautiful, it might be thousands of angels, hosanna, you know. And it's not, there's no one answer. But from the Malakirti in this moment, it was just silence. So all of those utterances are just a commentary on silence. Good, now we can go on to Chapter 10. So, this is, I'd like to actually just go through this chapter with the rest of the class. Let me try to get a look at it. I really like some of the Watson translation, as well as the German translation. There's some kind of wonderful things that happen here. But there's a teaching that I think is really helpful for us, which I hope we will get to towards the end of this chapter. Well, maybe I'll start and we can take turns reading somehow.

[16:45]

So, this is right after this thunderous silence. And amidst all these bodhisattvas and deities who are about to awaken to the Dharma door of non-duality, my old friend, the Venerable Sariputra is hanging out. Thereupon, as soon as these bodhisattvas entered the stone of the Venerable Sariputra, thought to himself, these great bodhisattvas do not adjourn before noon time. When are they going to eat? So before he was thinking about chairs, now he's... Is that your mother hat? Yes. Well, there's a note in Dermot that for Shariputri himself, who was a monk, and followed all the monkly precepts, he had to eat. He could not eat afternoon. Afternoon time, you're not supposed to eat. And actually, in our Zen tradition, formally, we honor that by not calling the dinner a meal, but calling it medicine. Actually, the Japanese name. So like in sashimi, you don't use the buddha bowl.

[17:46]

It's not a real meal. It's just medicine. And actually, in the temples I was at in Japan, they don't eat in the zenda for the fifth meal. They eat them uniformly. And it's technically called yakuseki, which means medicine stone. And that comes from, in the early days in China, when it was very cold, so it was hard to not eat any meals. But they'd still have gone by the idea of not having a clear meal or eating after noon. So they would warm up stones and put them on their bellies to kind of warm their bones. So that's actually what that's called in dinner medicine. Anyway, so Shariputra's concerned that they're not going to get to eat. So Malakirji, knowing telepathically the thought of the Venerable Shariputra of spoke to him, Reverend Shariputra has taught the eight liberations. You should concentrate on those liberations, listening to the Dharma with a mind free of preoccupations with material things. Just wait a minute, Reverend Shariputra, and you will eat such food as you have never before tasted."

[18:50]

So, does anybody want to know what these eight liberations are? The second is the seeing of external form by one through the concept of internal formlessness. The third consists of physical realization of pleasant liberation and its successful consolidation. The fourth is the full entrance to the infinity of space through transcending all conceptions of matter and the subsequent decline of conceptions of resistance and discredit of conceptions of This is on page 153. Fifth consists of full entrance into the infinity of consciousness, semi-transcendent infinity of space. Sixth is the full entrance into the sphere of nothingness, semi-transcendent infinity of the sphere of infinity of consciousness. And seventh consists of the full entrance into the sphere of either consciousness or unconsciousness.

[19:57]

You know what, these are the... Oh, the jhanas. The jhanas, right. The eighth is the perfect cessation of suffering, having transcended the sphere of major consciousness and the unconsciousness. So these are liberations associated with the eight jhanic trances. This is all kind of arhat lore that Shariputra is very familiar with. So, Devanakirti tells him he should concentrate on these liberations, listening to the Dharma with the mind free of preoccupations, the material things. So he was chiding him for being concerned about food. But then he says, just wait a minute, and you're going to try it, because you will eat such food as you have ever before tasted. So here we go. Gamalakirti then enters Samadhi, and employing his transcendental powers, showed the Great Assembly a country called Many Fragrances. So in terms of his form, such a miraculous feat that they were able to conceive this

[20:58]

called Many Fragrances, situated in a region high above, beyond Buddha Lands, as numerous as the sands of 42 Ganges rivers. The Buddha there was named Fragrance Accumulated, and was present then, at that place. The fragrance of his country was finer than the fragrance of all the human and heavenly realms of the Buddha Lands in the Ten Directions. In his land there was not even the term voice-hearer or Pratyekabuddha. But all the great bodhisattvas, pure and clean, within the Buddha preached the law. So this was one of those Buddha fields where, yeah, I mean, there were not even any, even the Pratyekabuddhas, everybody was a bodhisattva or a Buddha. Here it says, in that universe, the trees emit a fragrance that far surpasses all the fragrance, human and divine, of all the Buddha fields in the ten directions. It says, even a name's disciple in solitary state does not exist.

[22:01]

And this Buddha teaches the dharma to a gathering of bodhisattvas only. In that universe, all the houses, the avenues, the parks, and the palaces are made of various perfumes. And the fragrance of the food eaten by those bodhisattvas pervades a measurable universe. So. I was reading a lecture. Just sit there and get started. Just put this absolutely right on. I'm trying to kind of go back between Walser and Fairman and make sure I get to the point.

[23:08]

At that time, this Buddha, called Fragrances Accumulated, sat down with his bodhisattvas to take his meal, and the deities, who were called Fragrant Garland, all devoted to the Vamayana, served and attended upon the Buddha and his bodhisattvas. Everyone in the gathering at the house of the Vamakirti was able to see distinctly this universe where they were taking their meals. So then Dhammakīrti addressed the whole gathering of bodhisattvas in his room. Good sirs, is there any among you who would like to go to that Buddha field to bring back some food? So this is an interesting difference here. The sermon says, restrained by the supernatural power of Manjushri, none of them volunteered to go. Then Dhammakīrti said to Manjushri, Manjushri, are you not ashamed of such a gathering? Manjushri replied, noble sir, do not did not but to target and to bear, those who were unlearned should not be despised."

[24:24]

So in Thurman's translation, it implies that Manjushri restrained the Kodhisattvas from volunteering to go and solicit food from this fragrant food field. Watson says, out of deference to Manjushri's authority and supernatural powers, however, all of them remained silent, as if they did not want to see the supersede Manjushri. And as the Buddha has told us, never despise those who are here to learn. So then the Malakirti, without rising from his couch, magically emanated the incarnation of Bodhisattva. His body was a golden color adorned with auspicious signs and marks of exceptional appearance that outshone the whole assembly. Oh, it's pretty impressive. Just certainly there. He showed me and said, oh, look at this shining incarnate Bodhisattva. and go as a magical sphere. And it's a wonderful image of the powers of the Mahakirti, who then addresses that in Pranidhi Bodhisattva.

[25:34]

Noble sun, go in the direction of the zenith. And when you have crossed as many Uddha fields as there are sands in 42 Ganges rivers, you will reach this universe. In Sanskrit, it's called Sarvagata Sudanta, where you will find the Tathagata Sudanda Guta. I'll take this meal off those again. And having bowed down at his feet, make the following request. Vimalakirti bows down 100,000 times at your feet, O Lord, and asks after your help. If you have but little trouble, little discomfort, little unrest, if you are strong, well, without complaint, and living in touch with supreme happiness." So it kind of recalls Shakyamuni Buddha asking someone to go pay respects to Vimalakirti in the beginning, in the mind, in this case. They all kind of decline out of deference to largest roots. So I'm here to just put this up and do this. Would anybody like to read some? Are there any comments? I like that, that last paragraph. that you just read, that when he's inquiring after his health, he doesn't say, are you not troubled?

[26:38]

Do you have no discomfort? Or do you have no unrest? There's an assumption that we are going to have some trouble and some discomfort and some unrest. But still, it's a very sincere inquiring into their well-being. Yes. And it has the feeling of almost a formula. But it's actually the way it's worded that is very careful and thoughtful considering. Anyone like to read their version? At that time, this contemplative sacrament of presence for the gathering of the seven religions in Thailand, otherwise the entire assembly could see him as a part of him as we know him. The world called him in fragrances and bathed in him. OBS in seven feet and feet again. And if you hear him say, I'll give you thousands of heads before the people of the world, I have one immeasurable reference. And based on the merit in your daily activities, your illness is up to you.

[27:41]

The worries are up to you. Put your strengths in place. So just to close this up. This also is one of those kind of very polite, invitations, requests and invitations, but the purpose of encouraging the fame, it says here, and I think the other one says name, of the Buddha, to let people know about the Buddha. So this has to do with praise for Buddha in a way, to solicit the Buddha to dispense food, the leftovers. It's kind of cute. He's asking just for the leftovers from their meal for

[28:42]

for the beings in the Saha world. What's Saha? So Saha means endurance and one of the main teachings in this chapter is about this Saha world. So Saha world is really the, this is the Buddha field of endurance. So really why I wanted to go over this chapter is because it's a teaching about the way it is here. lecturing on things in terms of mediocrity, falsehood, and interpretation. How are we going to deal with this world? How are we going to deal with it? Because it's not filled with, you know, bliss, but it's also not cultured at all. Well, I mean, cultured, but it's just the state. Just how are we going to deal with it? Yeah. So, in the great myth of the country of the great, they saw this kind of voice out of the side of the sea that they had never seen before.

[29:56]

By the way, it's just a side. It's like, you know. Well, it's a little less than that. I'm just curious what you guys think. We're saying one is less than the other. Where does this superior being come from? The Saha world. Where is that? What is this thing we call the lesser doctrine? Yes, so he had asked this incarnated, this magical Bodhisattva. I think there are many people. Yeah, emanated or incarnated Bodhisattva, and Watson calls it a conjured Bodhisattva. I think later in the chapter, one of them calls it a phantom Bodhisattva.

[30:58]

It's kind of a fantasy in a way. It's created, but it's one that is functional. But this is an interesting question. And what is this thing he calls a lesser doctrine? So this Bodhisattva had said that by giving some of the leftovers to the Saha world, those who delight in the lesser doctrine will be broadened by the great way. And the Bodhisattvas and the Buddha and the fragrances are imbued by this lesser doctrine. Would someone else like to read it? No. Having thus been questioned by those Bodhisattvas, the Tathagata Sugandha Kutta said, noble sons, the universe Saha exists beyond as many Buddha fields in the direction of the navel as there are sands of 42 Ganges rivers.

[31:58]

There the Tathagata Shakyamuni teaches the Dharma to living beings who aspire to inferior ways. From that we can feel tempted with five corruptions. There, the Bodhisattva Vimalakirti, who lives in the conceivable liberation, teaches the Dharma to the Bodhisattvas, and sends this incarnation of Bodhisattva here in order to celebrate my name, in order to show the advantages of this universe, and in order to increase the roots of virtue of those Bodhisattvas. in the Bodhisattvas' claim, how great must that Bodhisattva be himself if his magical incarnation must endow him with supernatural power, strength, and virulence? The Tathagata said, the greatness of that Bodhisattva is such that he sends magical incarnations through all the Buddha fields in the ten directions, and all these incarnations accomplish the Buddha work for all the living beings in all those fields.

[32:59]

So it's a game of testimony to one of our characters. It's [...] a game the teaching of the Shakyamuni? You think so? Has that undertone? Well, that's a real interesting issue. I don't know. You see, Shakyamuni's teaching includes all of these different realms of teaching, which are Arhat vehicle, which is a Buddha vehicle, So do you understand, does everybody understand that following this business of the different levels of teaching, is that clear, Sam?

[34:14]

That there are the teachings for the arhats, and the teachings for the disciples, and the teachings for those who just come to listen to the teachings as opposed to those who practice we're putting it into practice in their lives. So there's these different levels, and it does seem like, you know, here the Shakyamuni is teaching these lesser teachings. So it's an important issue in this, and we'll see how that gets turned around. There's also this business of zenith and nadir. Nadir, somebody said, that our, the Saha, what we're in, from here we go up to the zenith to get to this Many Cravences Buddha. there is this idea in many cultures of spiritual practice having to do with getting higher. And this Buddha field that we're in is down.

[35:15]

So there's that sense of one being greater than the other. So maybe we should just go ahead further from that to see how they turn that around. But that's definitely one of the issues in this chapter. So we're at the middle of the sermon. We're on page 80. Then, it's like I said, and I don't know. Surat al-Fatah, who had some of his food, impregnated with all four fiends, and to a greater vessel, gave it to him, punishing for his suffering. and the 90 million Bodhisattvas of that universe volunteer to go along with you. Lord, we also would like to go to that universe, Saha, to see, honor, and serve the Buddha Shakyamuni, and to see the volatility of those Bodhisattvas. The Tathagata declared, noble sons, go ahead if you think it is the right time, but lest those living beings become mad and intoxicated, go without your perfumes, and lest those living beings of the Saha, the people jealous of you, change your bodies to hide your beauty, and do not conceive ideas of contempt and aversion for that universe.

[36:36]

Why? Noble sons, a Buddha field is a field of pure space, but the Lord Buddha is in order to develop living beings. do not reveal all at once the pure realm of Buddha. Great. So this is one of his paragraphs. So this wonderful food in this fragrant vessel. And then the Bodhisattvas who want to go and visit Shakyamuni are told to to go without their usual proclaimers because the equivalent names in the realm will be found out of it. Yeah, the Watson version says, you should put aside your real forms, that the persons in that country who are striving to become bodhisattvas will not feel intimidated or ashamed.

[37:49]

The other version says, so that they will not become jealous if you change your bodies to hide your beauty. But there's a way in which, you know, this thing about, if such that these great bodhisattvas, just the fragrance, you know, let alone to behold these great bodhisattvas might make, you know, us near-earthlings feel intimidated and ashamed. So, it's possible to see some great, great, beautiful mastery of the human being, and feel like this is his awesome feature. And they might actually feel intimidated and inhibited from practicing themselves. Does that make any sense? Okay, well that's interesting. Yeah, good. Thank you for saying that. So there are these different reactions. This is what this chapter's about. How do we react to these different bodhisattvas?

[38:58]

How do we react to this teaching? Hearing about this weird, I mean, this might be so weird to hear about some Google app up there are these sweets going where Zephyr's going, too beautiful for us to even behold. It might be very inspiring, or it might be intimidated by it. So it might be interesting to think about both of those reactions and how we might at different times feel. So 40 times ago, we would all be fleeing at the wrong and appropriate response when the show was on. Well, as they develop skill and means, yeah, they would learn that. It's possible. So when he was preaching, he would just run us through some of these disciples. Some of Buddha's disciples walked out, and he said, it's good you came here. I think they're not going to hear this. It's appropriate for them. So it's a fully accomplished Bodhisattva, theoretically.

[40:00]

But of course, no. It's way too high a den of people. radiance, I suppose. But in the course of bodhisattva practice, how do you see it from both sides? See it from the point of view of the humble beginning practitioner and what is inspiring. So when you see that part of you, that what is inspiring and what is intimidating, then from the point of view of sharing your practice with people who show up here for the first time on a Saturday, I mean, if you're a shaman or something, it's fine. Yeah, well, that's easy for you to say. But anyway. Anyway, this, you can just imagine what these non-believers have to suffer. Yeah, so not well, there are different things that are not as complicated, massive beings, but they're

[41:20]

sometimes dragons, but they're kind of Indian as opposed to Chinese dragons. They're the ones who carried the, who kept the Mahayana sutras until the end to hear them. Nagarjuna was the one who was supposed to find out the original method and take it in peace. Yeah, I don't, Which, which, is that from the Lotus Sutra, the story you were talking about? Actually, I think that's not in the story. Ah. Okay, well let's, let's continue and see what happens with these, with these intoxicating, hideously beautiful Bodhisattvas. Start smelling up our song a little. Who's reading or who would like to read? Okay. When the incarnation Bodhisattva, when we departed from the incarnation of the Bodhisattva, the power of the Buddha, the supernatural, the supernatural obligation to our safety, disappeared and had to reverse.

[42:45]

Sarva dandasudandha. Sarva dandasudandha. Sarva dandasudandha. Then, the incarnation of Lord God revealed the vessel full of food in the year 150, and the fragrance of that being permeated the entire great city of Vaisalva, and the smell of food was spread throughout the whole of the university. Within the city of Vaisalva, the rodents, householders, and humans were chocking and chomping. So that his name, according to Chandrachandra's name, according to Goswami's own canon, So this is again, we talked about

[44:08]

Now you're more filled with these huge drones, now even more inspired by this wonderful fragrance. I'll show you one more. Nanda Luthavi from Balakirti spoke to the elder Shaliputra and other great disciples. Reverends, eat of the food of the Tathagata. It is ambrosia, fulfilled by the great compassion. But do not fix your minds in narrow-minded attitudes, lest you be unable to receive its gift. But some of the disciples have already had the thought, how can such a huge multitude eat such a small amount of food?

[45:32]

Just a second. Yeah, it's interesting. It says, do not fix your minds in narrow-minded attitudes, lest you be unable to receive its gifts. It's a different way of saying it, but in the Watson, it says, you must not eat it in a narrow-minded manner, or you will never digest it. So that's a different question. So food is used as a metaphor here. Also, Watson says, eat this rice from the West Cumberland, delicious as sweet dew. So, the word for food in Chinese is the same as the word for rice. Rice is food. I don't know how you say it in Chinese. So it's like bread here, you know. It has a number of meanings besides one day we'll be very full. Here in the Sibaki ceremony, it's called the Kangkang Wang. It's the gate of sweet dew and it refers to this ambrosia which is

[46:36]

It gives longevity, it's kind of like nectar, so there's a reference to it also in our daily meal chaps. There's a new version of it, but the water with which we wash the stones tastes like blood. What part of it makes you laugh? Do you think it does not taste like a brood or it does taste like a brood? That's interesting because this conference we just did here a couple weeks ago A woman who was trained for many years in Japan said that cheetahs are supposed to taste bad because of the time they live with the water. The number of us were surprised to hear this comment that cheetahs don't have any sense of food.

[47:41]

But anyway, it's a reference to the same kind of ambrosia. The new version is Oh, it's almost the same. This water we use to wash our bowls tastes like a grocery we offer to the mysterious to satisfy our hunger. And omahat kishalayas v'hat is great wholesomeness. Kishalayas is goodness. That's not literally meant to taste that delicious. It's symbolic of the sustenance of our lives, and it's given us life. We have a chance to return it, and there's an inversion of quality in that too. Right, exactly. So the whole bodhisattva practice, this whole business that's going on here about the food being offered, so from the point of view of these great, wonderful, smelly bodhisattvas, fragrant bodhisattvas in this wonderful, beautiful realm, offering this little bit of their leftovers to Shakyamuni's disciples, it's like we're the ones receiving the offerings from their eating bowls, the leftovers that they're offering.

[48:48]

So it kind of puts a different perspective on the whole practice of offering. And yes, so we are very fortunate to be able to serve such wonderful drink, yes. Not labored on it much, but sweet zhu has a strong resonance in Chinese culture. In the very dry part of the year, there is sometimes an infestation of new zhu that's in the crop state. that is technically referred to as sweet dew. It also has an implication in medicine that when a person is sick in a certain way, their body fluids are drunk up. The harm of medicine is given to them depends on the technical name of sweet dew. And that also is reflective of Taoist practices, where the production of certain kinds of body fluids by virtue of Taoist practices converges with spiritual.

[49:52]

And it's a great nourishment to the spiritual body of the practitioner. And the other half? Right. different Chinese version that describes this. It's the same term. Yeah, so this is an interesting case where it is, but there's a very fundamental practice that this is about, the practice of offering and spirit offering. So I guess still at Tassajara, we do the practice of mantra in our deals of taking It's supposed to be eight grains of rice from the first bowl and putting it on the sensitive stick as offerings to the spirits and may end up as being put out in the garden for the birds and animals. But the sense of offering up some part of each meal to the spirits and offering our practice to the spirits and the spirits in some cases means the hungry ghosts, in other cases it just means whatever spirits are around.

[50:59]

There's this overtone here of us being the spirits being offered to. There's also, in terms of this, there's this particular association with Amrita, is the original Sanskrit, that has a particular Indian mythological context. There's the Chinese context you mentioned. And it's been translated as Ambrosia, which has a reference to Greek mythology, as we included the gods in Greek mythology. So anyway, there's this. when this idea of offering is translated, it meets various cultural resonances. So I feel like there's something very deeply in practice and in just awareness about this. In Greek mythology, the notion is that ambrosia is what conveys immortality to the gods. Ambrosia is offered to ordinary mortals. Yeah, and that's part of the sense. I think that's part of the sense of this in the original Indian too.

[52:05]

So that was, so we're going full circle because there was some communication between India and Indian Greek sources and other common Aryan languages. So, anyway. No, it's about overcoming the idea of self and other. Because there is no self and other, you can't make offerings. Exactly. Because there is no self and other, we conventionally acknowledge the illusion we have of self and other, so we make offerings. It's very subtle. One might understand this as reifying self and other. That's what's being talked about in this chapter. But we're seeing it from the other side. We're seeing it from the side of you know, these great beings looking down at us, as opposed to us looking down at the Earth-born Church. Oh. Sounds like self-enlightenment.

[53:10]

Yeah, it does sound like self-enlightenment. But this is the practice of acknowledging and overcoming this idea of self-enlightenment. So the connection... So here, there's this connection between these Bodhisattvas... I mean, here, there's Bodhisattvas sitting around a Buddha listening to him talk, or eating with him. you know, Bodhisattvas and disciples sitting around the Malakirti listening to him talk. You know, I mean, there's these different levels of which, and what's going on is practice. What's going on is this practice of awakening on different levels, and different scales, and different contexts, and different, very different sorts of realms. So, let's keep going, because it's, this is, we're right in the area where this is going now. Um, where are we? Oh, OK. What do you mean? Then the Incarnation, for example, said to his disciples, do not compare better to others.

[54:14]

Your own wisdom and merits are the wisdom and merits of which is how it's happening. Why? For example, the four great oceans might dry up, but this food would never be exhausted. If all living beings were to eat from the air, the amount of this food equal to Mount Sumeru in size, it would not be depleted. Why? Issued from inexhaustible mortality, morality, and concentration in the wisdom, the remains of the food of the Tatars now contained in this vessel would not be exhausted. Indeed, the entire gathering was satisfied by that food, and the food was not at all depleted. Having eaten that food, there arose in the bodies of these Bodhisattvas, disciples, Sakras, Pravas, Lokapalas, and other living beings a bliss just like the bliss of the Bodhisattvas of the universe, Sarva-sukha-amandita. And from all the pores of their skin rose a perfume that had the truths that there are in the universe. Sarva-dharmakaya-sutra-dharmakaya.

[55:17]

Right. So they ate this, so the Bodhisattvas and disciples even in this Buddha realm, in Shakyamuni's Buddha realm, ate this food, and there was enough for all of them. So this is why I call this the Buddhist world's viciousness. This little bit of food that feeds everybody, right? Yeah, I just like this image of suddenly, from the pores of all of their skin arose the fragrance of this other food. There's some foods that have been eaten, you know. Garlic. Garlic, yeah. Garlic and ambrosia, right. Sorry. Okay, why don't you just... Are you reading, which version are you reading? At that time Vimalakirti asked Bodhisattva's country of many fragrances, how does the best common fragrance accumulated preach the law?

[56:24]

Bodhisattva replied, The less-cum-one in our land does not employ words in his exposition. He just uses various fragrances to induce heavenly and human beings to undertake the observances and precepts. Each bodhisattva sits under a fragrant tree, and when he smells the marbles of fragrance, he immediately attains the samadhi known as the storehouse of all virtues. Persons are able to attain this samadhi, all become endowed with the blessings of the bodhisattva. Oh, yeah. So this is, you know, there are different each in some of the sutras, there are categorizations of the means of teaching them different buddhas. So it is said that the Shakyamuni teaches by silence. But that's actually the B uses silence and sounds primarily. And here we have a Buddha that teaches by smell.

[57:25]

We're not subtle enough in our perceptual faculties to learn from this Bodhisattva. Maybe dogs would do very well here. Anyway, yeah, it's a wonderful image. The Bodhisattva then asked Vimalakirti, now, how does the World-Honored One, Shakyamuni, preach the law? Vimalakirti replied, the living beings of this land are stubborn and strong-willed and hard to convert. Therefore, the Buddha uses strong language when preaching to them in order to tame and control them. He says, this is hell. This is the realm of beasts. This is the realm of hungry spirits. These are difficult conditions. This is the place where stupid people are born. These are misdeeds of the body. These are the retributions for misdeeds of the mind. These are the misdeeds of the mouth. These are the retributions for misdeeds of the mouth.

[58:26]

These are misdeeds of the mind. These are the retribution for misdeeds of the mind. This is the killing of living beings. This is the retribution for killing of living beings. This is taking what had not been. This is taking what has not been given to you. This is the retribution for taking what has not been given to you. This is sexual misconduct. This is retribution for sexual misconduct. This is lying. This is the retribution for lying. This is being double-pronged. This is retribution for being double-pronged. This is harsh speech. This is the retribution for harsh speech. This is spitting. Specious talking. This is the retribution for specious talking. This is greed. This is the retribution for greed. This is wrath. This is the retribution for wrath. These are erroneous views. This is the retribution for erroneous views.

[59:27]

This is stinginess. This is the retribution for stinginess. This is the breaking of the precepts. This is the retribution for breaking the precepts. This is anger. This is retribution for anger. This is sloth. This is retribution for sloth. This is distractiveness. This is the retribution for distractiveness. This is stupidity. This is the retribution for stupidity. This is accepting the precepts. This is keeping the precepts. This is violating the precepts. This is what ought to be done. This is what ought not to be done. This is creating obstacles. This is not creating obstacles. This is incurring blame. This is avoiding blame. This is purity. This is defilement. This is to have outlooks. This is to be free of outlooks. This is the wrong way. This is the correct way. This is the conditioned way.

[60:29]

This is the unconditioned way. This is the mundane world. This is Nirvana. These people... Let's pause for a second just to note. So this is how Shakyamuni Buddha teaches beings that are tolerable. Universe. So basically it's teaching ethical conduct and precepts and karma and causation and the fruit of various kinds of activity. Some of the, there are a few different things in the Tibetan version. There's some positive things, it's the battle of personal liberation. And there's some different studies and translations, but this is other, this is pretty simple. This is the kind of teaching that Shakyamuni does. This is what the Mahatma teaches us. It's a very delicate teaching, isn't it? It's very thorough.

[61:30]

It's very pointed. It's not subtle. It's not a matter of fragrances. It's direct. This is for, he says in the beginning, for disciplining the wild and uncivilized. So this is the kind of teaching that's needed. Yeah, that's right. You can see it that way, but there's a way in which such a teaching of causation is just, you know, this is the way things are. So, Yeah, it's like, if you do this, this is where you're going to end up. But it's also, hey, look, this is what happens when you do this. So the fear is like in our response. It's not necessarily, you know. So there are, we're all familiar with kind of impure, fire and brimstone kind of exhortations to not say anything.

[62:37]

It's just kind of rude. So we can read it that way, but we can also kind of read it as, this is what you need to know. Right, but that's the real good point, because this is Mahayana teaching. This is Shakyamuni teaching that Shakyamuni needs to make, and this is not kind of outside of Mahayana. Even within the Mahayana, you know, there are these precepts. We recite them too. So just to know, you know, that action, that there is causation, that there are consequences to actions, that we are responsible, that this is the way the world works. So karma is just definition of the world, definition of action and result. And so to study that is part of the work of, and particularly in such a world as ours, I guess, these beings,

[63:39]

we crave right now. I don't know if you hear this because there's nobody, everybody's a bodhisattva, quite an accomplished bodhisattva, living out of cravings. It's a refined, subtle, elevated realm, but for most of us... These people who are difficult to convert have minds like monkeys. Therefore, one must resort to various methods in order to control and regulate their minds. Only then can they be tamed and made obedient. It is like dealing with an elephant or a horse that is wild and unruly. One must apply sharp blows until it feels them in its bones, and then it can retain. And it is this, the same,

[64:43]

with these stubborn and strong-willed beings who are difficult to convert. Therefore, one uses all sorts of bitter piercings and piercing words, and then they can be made to observe the great saints. Yeah. Hermit's is interesting. It's a little different. He says, they will not be tamed unless the goat pierces them to the marrow. So living beings who are wild and far too civilized are disciplined only by means of discourses about all kinds of miseries. So yeah, there is some feeling here of, you know, watch out, you know? Definitely there's some, you know, some... For those that are hard to civilize to be awakened to. I'm afraid of... I'm afraid of this whole question. Not only the word that you civilized, is that the same with all physicians? No, it's not. Yeah, I pointed, but that's... wasn't so difficult to convert, to tame and convert, and Germans as hard to civilize.

[65:48]

And I think that kind of term is used, you know, to... So there's a sense of develop, that part of the work in the Mahayana is to develop living beings, to develop, you know, even to develop Bodhisattvas, there are different... Even if the impulse to awakening is the same initially as the most developed stage, there is the sense of development of Bodhisattva practice. There's certainly a sense of development of beings in it. So in Mahayana, the eight stages of Bodhisattva are all members? Well, there's ten stages, but there are various types of stages. Right. So, yeah, there's still these steps and stuff. case of Mahayana philosophy, right? Right. And then there's the whole issue of how one sees the zen, whether you see it as steps or just different aspects. So I call it to why and later it starts to be a question of many years. Right. And at least our branch of zen is very much kind of cutting through this in some stages.

[66:51]

But practically speaking, we can all see that there, you know, just in our own lives, that there is some development of ability to be a bit more confident or whatever. Even if we don't get into attainments and goals and so forth, there is some development in time, maybe a little bit. Some kind of virtuous quality to become a little more patient, a little less enraged, whatever. So this next part, I think, is really what is, to me, the key of this chapter. Watson says, but as Bodhisattvas have finished listening to this explanation, they all exclaimed, we have never heard of such a thing before, says this great Bodhisattva.

[67:56]

A world-honored one like Shakyamuni who conceals his immeasurable powers of freedom and preaches in a manner that will please the mean in spirit in order to save and liberate all beings. And these Bodhisattvas are zealous of them, and they are in immeasurable great pity to condescend to be born in this Buddha land." A famous translation of this particular. Thus is established the greatness of the Buddha Shakyamuni, he said. It is marvelous how concealing his miraculous power, he civilizes the wild living beings who are poor and inferior. And the bodhisattvas who settled in a Buddha field of such intense hardships must have inconceivably great compassion." So, this sense of, from the point of view of these fragrant, beautiful bodhisattvas coming down to the Saha world, they see these difficult, tame beings, and beings who are on the path and practicing, and realize that

[68:59]

It must be inconceivably very compassionate to practice in such a place. So I find this enriching, if they see it this way. I think we can reflect on it. Somebody with Germany, read a little further. The last paragraph in English. In the Chavy Vimalakirti, it declared, so be it, Vimshur, so be it, as you say. Great compassion of the Bodhisattvas will be incarnated here as a stream of fire. In a single act, in this universe, they accomplish much better than human beings. So much better than human beings cannot be accomplished in the universe. Sabha, Gandha, Sudanda, even in 100,000 years. Why? But are these ten? Here they are. To win for a general opportunity.

[70:02]

To win the immoral, immoral criminality. to let the hateful thinkings of tolerance, to let the lazy thinkings of effort, to let the into trouble thinkings of concentration, to let the falsely wise thinkings of truism, to show them suffering from the hateful adversities which rise above them, and teach them the honor to those in their wrong behavior. So here, Nirmala Kirti herself praises the Bodhisattvas in this realm. So Nirmala Kirti obviously has gone to many Buddha fields And he's been around the block and back, you know, different Buddha fields.

[71:05]

And here he is practicing in this endurance Buddha field and expressing how great is the compassion of bodhisattvas who choose to incarnate. Or as Watson says, condescend to be born. So these ten are the six perfections generosity, decence, and so forth. I mean, this, the vastness of this, it's kind of, this was just before. Yeah. Where does it say?

[72:05]

Oh, yeah. No, we haven't got to that yet. What is Watson used in place of the word man? Or does he use something else? He doesn't use, he changes the grammar. He says, What are these 10 alms-giving which does away with poverty and destitution? Precepts which do away with violation of the peace and prohibitions? So I think it means to overcome. Oh, right. Oh, yeah, right. To win the poor by generosity means to collect the poor and transform them and set them on the path to win over. Yeah, so it has that meaning, too. but also to overcome the negative qualities. This four means of unification refers to the four Bodhisattva guiding methods, which is generosity, kind speech, beneficial deeds, and cooperative action. So the various formulas of Buddha's teaching embedded here.

[73:13]

Just to finish it up, The Bodhisattvas ask, how many qualities must a Bodhisattva have to go safe and sound to a pure Buddha field after transmigrating at death away from the Saha universe? The Mahalakirti replies, after transmigrating at death away from the Saha universe, the Bodhisattva must have eight qualities to reach a pure Buddha field. He's eight. That's what you're asking. She must resolve to herself, I must benefit all living beings without seeking even the slightest benefit from herself. I must bear all the miseries of all living beings and give all my accumulated goods of virtue to all living beings. I must have no resentment toward any living being. I must rejoice in all bodhisattvas as if they were the teacher, which imparts the Buddha. I must not neglect any teachings, whether or not I have heard them before. I must control my mind without coveting the gains of others and without taking pride in gains of my own. I must examine my own faults and not blame others for their faults. consciously aware of this, and they take all virtues and practices and so forth.

[74:18]

I'm sure there are eight in there. I'm not sure where these eight come from. Anyway, this gives a sense of the depths of practice necessary. He says, if a bodhisattva has these eight qualities, then, as migrating in death, away from some universe he will go to, safe and sound, to a pure buddha field. When we have volunteered to gain consciousness, we have thus taught the dharmas to the multitudes who gather there. One hundred thousand living beings can see with the spirit of oneself. Perfect enlightenment of ten thousand bodhisattvas attained, again, is tolerance of the grateful sense of things. So, this teaching about the nature of the Buddhafield, the practice realm that we live in, I think is interesting and provocative, but we are in this very difficult, so part of it is to, part of the value of this chapter, of this teaching to me, is just to acknowledge that we live in this very difficult practice place.

[75:31]

This is a difficult world we live in, and to be engaged in Buddhist practice in such a place, we must have inconceivably great compassion. So the Dhammakaya is saying that about us before we even read Buddhism. But just to be here talking about this requires a great deal of compassion. Then there are various teachings about how to do this and what to do in such a situation. And they range from You know, these teachings about causation and knowing about reproducing for various activities. These vows at the end about benefiting all living beings. But there's also this perspective here about these other Buddha realms. We're given this one very elevated Buddha realm where these pure fragrant bodhisattvas hang out, you know, basically getting their nutritional fragrances

[76:35]

I mean, nobody's less than a very devout Philisopher. And yet, they're very impressed with us. We should see it that way. I don't know. You feel like you're in a very low Buddha realm, or you want to be in the other Buddha realm, or does this make sense to you at all? I feel like this is the only Buddha realm, so I don't really worry about it. I'm just kind of, you know, wanting to be submissive responses. OK? No, I feel like this is the only Buddha realm, so I don't really worry about it. OK. This is the only Buddha realm. So to think about other Buddha realms is kind of a distraction. All right, I think that's the appropriate response to being in the Avalokiteshvara Hindu realm.

[78:01]

So it's not such a threat. This is not about wanting to be in some smelly, pure literal. I mean, right, this is the work we have is to deal with this particular set of common causes and effects. So yeah, to look at, to hear about the molecularities of conceivable, magical displays, get distracted from the work right here because of that is not the point. Well, I think it's OK if it's entertaining. But it's interesting. I mean, I appreciate your response to that. It feels like it's a little bit, but distraction is not a good thing. It's not just one.

[79:04]

It's interchangeable. Yeah, well, I think that's part of the point of this inconceivable teaching. So we're kind of lost in this whole course now, but having seen I mean, those chairs coming down from the chair Buddha field, and the biggest bronze, and now we have the snowing Buddha field, and there's all these different, these different aspects of practices, different realms of Buddha lands, yeah?

[80:11]

I mean, I think that's, there's a sense in which they're all right here, you know? I mean, Vimalakirti makes them all right here because he can just conjure them up, you know? And in a way, that's a fantasy, you know? But in a way, it's like he makes us see these other possibilities. And my own feeling, which may or may not be relevant to anybody else, is that it's helpful, to me anyway, to have this sense of other possibilities and that we exist in a wider context. So, you know, we can see the Buddha field of green books and the Buddha field of There's quite a range of just the way the human beings are. And there's practice going on in all those places in some way or another. You know, here there's the Buddhafield of the garden and the Buddhafield of the kitchen, and the Buddhafield of the guest room, and the Buddhafield of the guest house, and the Buddhafield of the library.

[81:23]

Right. Yeah, so a couple days ago I was giving personal meditation instruction to a prisoner in a county jail. And it's a different type of, you know, Maybe it's the same meditation, it's a little bit different, but there are all these different contents to what, how we practice. I don't know, the attitude, it's interesting, the attitude of, I think it's helpful to see the attitude of those, the fragrant bodhisattvas coming down to Shakyamuni's Buddhafield and appreciating the difficulties of the practice here. So for those of us who, you know, practicing, I mean, counting to go to, you know, and to feel, you know, how the difficulties of practice run in more difficult realms. There's always some place that's more difficult, you know, which is not to distract us from the difficulties, right?

[82:58]

suggest that having different kinds of moon fields, different universes, we can understand them as different kinds of people in different settings, but also as different moments in our life that sometimes were sustained by fragrance. We were one day sitting in a mock-down in the garden. We were both assigned to this estate by three persons. And a few minutes later, we had a fairly common meeting. Right. So all the different Buddha fields are in our own body and mind too. This isn't about anybody else. Right. The third part is a little bit different. In a country, our generation is perhaps a little bit different. In our country, people are kind of like a fairy story. It's a little bit more complicated than that.

[84:08]

Except that, it seems to me, that's why I like it. It seems like a little bit narrow. The album clearly created what it seems to have in particular two storylines. But I think the problem is that when you take it to the system, then you can't solve it. That's just how I feel. Definitely. There's an aspect of this inconceivable play of the monarchy that's about showing us other possibilities, detaching us from our set preconceptions.

[85:11]

So also, this conjured bodhisattva is described as an emanation, as an interesting play. It's an interesting play. There's kind of magical effects and conjuring and vanakaya, the station, and that it is One way to look at it is imaginary, but this is the imaginary nature of our world and our life, that the Buddha body takes the various forms, the variety of forms and shapes and natures that we attribute to this. And this is the ongoing magical culture that we do to create our world. Well, I think reading this is real encouraging, I think, because there's just lots more possibilities.

[86:26]

I think it's real easy to get. I find it easy in my life to kind of attach to something that's really good or something that's really bad, and it kind of opens up. This way of looking at things opens up, and I can see lots of other possibilities in it. And I guess I've been thinking about I think it's real helpful to think of things in terms of this phantom type of... It's like going to... It's like watching... When you go to a movie, you go to a movie and you see you really get wrapped up and involved in what goes on on the screen. And then you walk out of the theater and then you can just... It's over, you know? And so, why not bring that to just everyday living, you know? And so that quality is real, I don't know, it's real helpful. You're in the dark, why are you doing this?

[87:28]

That's right. And you pay for it, too. Yeah, and there are different kinds of movies and action movies and... It comes with a great bit of software. A great bit of software. And it skips over those boring mundane moments. The one thing I'd add to that is that, you know, the movie that we're all watching right now, which is called The End of the Small Acuity Classes, you know, we can step out into Greenwald and see another movie. But I think part of what The Small Acuity is encouraging is, and particularly in this chapter, is my sense of the intention behind how we watch the movies. So we can watch a movie in a way that's encouraging to all beings and supportive of practice and of insight and of compassion and of caring. So, you know, who are you going to root for in the movie? Can you find a way to root for everyone in the movie? So, you have to be part of the movie, in a sense.

[88:31]

I mean, you're there in the movie, too. We're all on the screen. Well, with the movie analogy, of course, the thing that doesn't work so much well about that is that there's always, with a movie, there's a contrast that there's some kind of place where things are real. And that place where things are real is deeply desired. I wish I weren't in this movie. I wish I weren't really in this real place. But that's just another movie. So to understand that, I mean, you're kind of forced to take responsibility. I, a person, am forced to take responsibility for the movie I'm in. Yes, exactly. Which means it's not something that's just passively watched from the dark. But it's something that... No, I know. We're not doing a plot line today, you know. Another plot line. And watching yourself watching a movie. Yeah.

[89:33]

Oh, I don't know. But then you're in the movie. And so we take responsibility. But then, of course, you know, I used to be a filmmaker. You can cut and then... Splice. Or you could do a wipe or a prospector also, but anyway, you dissolve and there you are in some other scene and it could be... Anyway, so you might see some wonderful Buddha field where they all smell lovely. That's part of what... So, thank you all for joining me in this wonderful Vimalakirti movie and I hope George Lucas makes this film some time. Thank you.

[90:14]

@Transcribed_v004
@Text_v005
@Score_59.86