I'm very glad that we could be together today. Is there anything anybody wants to express or bring up? Yes. Thank you for your lecture, your topical lecture this morning. I think I'm fully on board with the aspiration of respecting all points of view and initiating dialogue, that aspiration. I aspire to have that aspiration. And I foresee the possible necessity of passionate action in the future. in order to protect the planet. And so I'm wondering how those, if I can, how I can harmonize my aspiration with that necessity.

[01:13]

Well, can you think of anything you can do that would be protective of our planet? Anything you can do? Lots of things. You want to give an example? I can give you two examples. Just one. Go ahead, one. One would be to enter into dialogue with people with opposing views in the way that you discussed this morning. Okay. So, Yeah, so that action seems to be... Yeah, and entering dialogue... Did you say respect other views, which were used? I may have said that. Respect all views? Yes. Respect opposing views? Yes. Yeah, so if we're going to enter into dialogue, in order to protect this wonderful world that we live in, then it would be good if the dialogue was respectful, and you could have a passionate dialogue with respect.

[02:21]

Yes. I could, and I would like to. However, some of that dialogue may not... Some of that action of that dialogue might be in the form of mass action. in order to catch the attention of decision makers who may not be ready to enter into respectful dialogue with me. Yes, and also it could be on the level of one person to one person when one of the people doesn't respect you. Yes. So a mass of people can set up a dialogue with some power sources, even though they feel those power sources, they don't feel respect from the power sources. And so I'm suggesting that if you can energetically offer yourself, for example, in a large group perhaps, to some being, with respect,

[03:37]

Some people say if you respect them, they won't listen to you. And I would say that's possible. That if you have a large group of people who respectfully address somebody, that maybe they won't listen. Also, if a large group of people disrespectfully address, they may not listen to you. Either way, we cannot make people listen, no matter how sweetly or how harshly we speak to them. I'm just making a case, I don't have a drum here, but anyway, I'm beating the drum for kind speech. To speak to people who we want to listen to us with kind speech, to say with kind speech Sweet speech.

[04:40]

I have a request. I have a suggestion. I need this. And if there's a large group of people, if they all can do that, even if the person doesn't listen, I believe the world is more peaceful. And I believe if the request keeps coming in this sweet way, and also the next practice I would say, the first practice is kind speech. The second practice is giving, that you offer kind speech as a gift, not kind speech, not sweet speech, to get something. So if someone feels, these people respect me, they're speaking sweetly, and they're giving me a gift, they're not trying to manipulate me, eventually that love I propose will, they will wake up to this love.

[05:47]

The people who are addressing them already are included in them. We're already included in the people we're talking to. I'm already included in you. I'm already pervading you. You're already pervading me. But we're not going to open to this mutual pervasion if one or both of us doesn't speak kindly. and generously. But if we keep offering the gift of kind speech and our presence, eventually the resistance will melt away. I've tried so hard, my dear, to show that you're my every dream, but everything I do you think is If you keep showing that sweet love, not trying to manipulate her or him, they will open.

[07:01]

They will open. But if you try to pry them open, they might tighten up. I don't know what they'll do. But if you want to open people to compassion, the way is through compassion. And you can do it in a large group. And then each person has to have to check on themselves, and you need to support your friends to speak with kind speech. And I don't know how long it takes before the cold heart melts. I don't know how long it takes. But the whole theory of Buddhism is just keep loving until the resistance melts. And then the love continues, but now unhindered. And then the next practices are, then once the doors are open, then do good things, do beneficial things. And then finally, practice non-duality with the people.

[08:10]

Practice from their point of view. And practice from the point of view of them being included in you. This is the way, like I was in a gym and somebody says, how's it going? And I said, well, there's so much sadness and so on. I'm just wondering what I can offer to the situation. And the guy said, just keep doing what you're doing. Attraction. If what we do is attractive, people will give it a try someday. Now there's also this other way of you get a large group of people and you don't speak with heart, you speak with heart speech, and you don't speak with gifts, you try to get, and we've seen a lot of that, and there will probably be some more. But I'm not promoting that, because part of the problem with that is if that turns into war,

[09:13]

then it's kind of hard for the people who are trying to, even the people who are trying to practice kind speech and giving and so on, in the middle of war, it makes it much harder for them to continue to do that. Not impossible, but... You have to be very advanced to remember this practice of kind speech and generosity and beneficial action and unity action when there's a war. So we have peace still. There's disturbances all over the place. But they're not at a point where I can't even say this. They're not at a point where you can't listen to me. I still dare to say these outrageous things and have you chant what you just chanted. that if someone who you've been kind to harms you, you're going to receive that with gratitude as the Buddha is teaching to you. So that's one example of something you can do.

[10:16]

Another thing you can do is you can plant tulips, which I did yesterday. And it was a lot of work, but somebody helped me. Actually, somebody helped me by sending me all these tulips, and I went, no. I have to plant them. And of course, it would be wonderful when they bloom. Everybody would be happy. Everyone would be inspired by the beautiful tuliping. In the meantime, someone gives them to me, and someone comes and helps me plant them. It wasn't so bad. A young man helped me. It wasn't that difficult. So now they're planted. Another thing I want to do is I want to... Did Norbert leave? Yes. I want to plant trees. And all these maple trees come from the yard of the house I live in at Green Gulch.

[11:18]

They're all babies of the maple trees at my house. Every year there's thousands of little baby maple trees on the ground. And so I take some of them and put them in pots and let them grow and then when they get big enough I bring them over here and now you see them. Some are like ten feet tall now. And then the ones in the yard are now huge. So I plant trees. And I do it in dialogue. with you, and you help me. I don't do it by myself. If you tell me that I'm planting too many trees, I want to listen to you. It might get to that. You're planting too many maple trees. That's no good. Stop. Really, what's the matter? Well, blah, blah, blah. I'll listen. Planting the maple trees is good, but more important is that I do it in dialogue with the other maple trees and with you.

[12:22]

That's what's really important. That's where the awakening comes, is in the dialogue of the planting. With the earth and the neighbors and you and the maple trees that they come from, all that. So there's many things we can do to bring encouragement to people, but it works best if it's in dialogue. So we're not imposing maple trees on people. We're not imposing tulips on people. We're offering them kindly. And this transforms beings towards the Bodhisattva way. No coercion, just doing these attractive things. I was attracted to Zen by the behavior of Zen Bodhisattvas. They lived their life and I thought, I want to try that.

[13:25]

So it would be nice if we express ourselves to various powerful beings, that we do it in such a way that some people look at us and say, I want to join those people. The way they're doing this is really attractive. I want to join them. I don't even know what they're protesting about, but whatever they're doing is really beautiful. I want to join that. Okay? Thank you. Yes? I feel I need to speak somehow today, and I feel different emotions about speaking today. And one of them is that the response that came in me from the events this week were this clarity that I already really was doing the job I wanted to be doing in terms of

[14:26]

Being kind and training in kindness and compassion and I added to it Fearless speaking and I I just say that and I know fearlessness includes Fear that you don't not being afraid to be afraid And I know you teach fearlessness you've expressed you've used that expression about yourself at least I think I've heard you say that And so I just free me to announce that I'm in training. I feel I am now in training. I consider myself in training for all of those things. And so I ask letting people know that you can help train me. And especially the fearless speaking, because it's so hidden as a woman and a Jew. I mean, I can't tell you I wasn't brought up to be Jewish. And I think that was hiding. But that was the way my family felt they could keep me safe. So there's just a lot about the way I didn't even know I was afraid to stick my neck out.

[15:29]

And I want to do it completely kindly, because I have no doubt that that's the way. And I'm really grateful for that, and I'm grateful for how much support. I feel extraordinary support in this journey, so thank you. You will continue to be supported. I don't know if I qualify as a Jew, but I do have a Jewish daughter. And I have Jewish grandchildren. So I don't know if that makes me a Jewish granddaddy or what. But anyway. And when I often see the lives of Jews, I think, if I was a Jew, it would be very hard for me not to be proud to be a Jew. And being proud is dangerous. So it's one of the problems of being Jewish is there's so many great Jews, you know, that if I was in that group, I would... But anyway, I can be proud that I have a Jewish daughter, which isn't quite as dangerous.

[16:41]

Yeah, the new president has a Jewish daughter and a Jewish grandchildren too. And I have a lot of Jewish friends. I don't tend to be as proud of that as I am if I were actually a Jew, like I am a Jew. But that wouldn't be good. That wouldn't be good. And I don't think a lot of Jews are not proud, even though they're not hiding it either. They're just, this is my tradition and I want to uphold it. And bodhisattvas, They also really appreciate their tradition, but they have to be careful of pride too. Like I mentioned, you know, the Green Gulch abbess said to me about somebody who might be called somebody who's studying with me, a student, and she said, aren't you proud of her?

[17:42]

And I said, She said, not mine. I don't want to get into pride over these people who are studying with me. She said, get over it. Earlier today, I think I asked you about fear. talk to me about it, but I completely either disappeared what you said, or don't like it. And so I want to say again, that to me the biggest issue right now is fear. All during the day people would say something that they read in the paper, and I'm like, oh no, not that dude, oh no. So I feel like I'm in this constant... prone to get even more fearful about stuff which isn't even happening now.

[18:43]

And all I can remember you saying about fear is, welcome it. And that just doesn't feel enough. I want to know, is there any other exercise welcoming fear that you can do? Welcome fear. And also welcome the thought that it's not enough. And then be careful of fear, even if you welcome it. It's like welcoming a dangerous guest into your house. After you let it in, don't keep your eye on it, you know? keep attentive to the fear. Because you can welcome it, if you welcome it in your house, and then you don't keep an eye on it, it might feel neglected and stab you in the back. So, welcome it, but then keep your eye on it.

[19:44]

It's, what do you call it, it's a dangerous guess not to attend to once you let it in. Now, if you keep it out, it's even more dangerous. They had this statement from the mafia, keep your family close and keep your enemies closer. If you want to protect your family, keep your enemies close, closer than your family, and then you can take care of your family. Fear is our enemy, but it's also our great opportunity. So we let it in and then keep your eyes open and take care of it, which means be careful. Fear is unstable. Handle with care. Fear is unstable and dangerous. Don't try to kill it. Don't deny it. Fear does not like to be denied, and if you deny it, it'll take revenge on you.

[20:51]

Oh, you're going to deny me? Okay, well then I'm going to get behind you and I'm just going to operate you like a robot. You're not even going to know what's making you do this stuff. Suddenly you're going to be talking contemptuously to people, because you ignored me. So now you're going to get, not only are you going to you're going to now do some stuff you really don't want to do because you ignored me. Don't intoxicate yourself. A lot of people drink before they go to cocktail parties. I guess at cocktail parties too. They drink because they're afraid of the other humans. They drink because they're afraid and they tense up. And then also people use sex to to numb or distract themselves from fear. And then slander it, slander it. Or put yourself above it.

[21:53]

These are ways to not be careful. So respect the enemy. It's part of loving the enemy. And fear is a big enemy, or you could say it's actually a huge scary friend that almost nobody dares to make friends with, but the Bodhisattvas make friends with fear. And that friendship that lives with fear is a really, really alive friendship. The friendship that's with sweetness is also good. Buddha lives in the center of fierce flames of fear. That's where Buddha lives. And she allows the flames to be there, she's careful of them, and then she's patient with the fear. It's not like, OK, I'm doing all this stuff, when's the fear going to go away?

[22:53]

That's also not very respectful. I'm going to be generous with you and careful of you to get rid of you. Oh, you want to get rid of me? OK, well, all right, I'm staying. I'm staying until you stop trying to get rid of me. Trying to get rid of me is kind of like you think you can control me with your tricks. Well, you can't. But you can make peace with me if you're my friend, and there's going to be no problem for me to be in your house. Matter of fact, can I invite some more of my fear pals? Yes, they're welcome. Buddha's house is full of demons. who are all pacified by the Buddha's love. It's full of non-demons too, it's really packed. And then we could go on, all the way up to perfect wisdom. Perfect wisdom is the final, you know, it's the coup de grace of how to relate to fear.

[24:01]

When you see there's no basis for it. Just for fun, we're going to let you stay anyway. Just so I can keep doing this compassion thing with you to show other people how to relate to fear. Or maybe I'll just let it go and other people can bring me their fear. I vow to embrace and sustain all beings, all greed, hate and delusion, all rats, all mice, all ants, all humans, all Republicans, all Democrats, all Independents. I am vowed on President's Day in all beings. And it's really, really hard. Even one is sometimes really, really hard. Especially me. Without my case all the time. In my face. Okay?

[25:05]

Thank you for that wonderful answer. You're welcome. And I'll be right back to you. Yes? I want to say thank you to this beautiful sangha for coming together today. I don't know how that happens, but it's really been medicinal, and I'm so grateful to all of us. Yeah, I don't know how it happens either, I have the experience in the sitting, which the question has not formed yet, but I like to share the experience and see if there's a question that forms from the experience. In the sitting, I was actually able to go so deep, the parts of me that has not experienced love and compassion.

[26:06]

the parts that it's so dense that does not even know compassion, does not even, compassion is foreign to it. So, as I felt, you know, I was approaching, approaching down deep, I felt this sadness that, oh my God, this part of me does not even know compassion. So therefore, I don't know what the question is coming. So it made me understand that the beings who are out there, that I call it as not compassionate or hard or trumps or trumpies, whatever that is, is maybe, I don't know, maybe these beings don't know compassion. Yes, or not enough. It's touched them, it touches them, and we need to join bringing compassion to all beings, even the ones who, for whatever reason, don't feel it's reached them, or it's been so long they forgot.

[27:19]

Because actually, compassion is coming to us, we just have to wake up to it by practicing it. Yes, so my question is, I would like to ask for stillness to be able to be still where compassion is not wanted. To just totally accept that. I hope you can be still. where compassion is not wanted. And in stillness, where compassion is not wanted, there's compassion for compassion not wanted in that stillness. Yes, Charlie. So I've heard about this finding that Republicans are characterized by fear and Democrats are characterized by hope. And now I've also heard from a lot of Democrats that there's a lot of fear.

[28:26]

The research goes on. Never-ending research. A new discovery. The Nobel Peace Prize. But both of those phenomena, I think, are manifestations of expectation. and that we do put a lot of energy into practicing being careful with fear, and I think we can practice that much as well around being careful with hope and expectation. Let's be generous and welcoming to expectations. Let's be careful of them. Because if we are not careful with them, we become easily disappointed. As I often mention, people ask for the Bodhisattva precepts, and I give them the Bodhisattva precepts, and then I say, do you want to receive these Bodhisattva precepts?

[29:34]

And they say yes, and I give it to them. And I say, now that you have them, from now on and even after realizing Buddhahood, will you continue to observe them? And they say, yes, I will. And I ask them again and again, and they keep saying yes. but I don't expect them to do what they said. I do not. And so when they don't, I don't get disappointed and I don't give up on them. I'm rooting for them to practice the precepts but not expecting them to do so. So I'm careful of expectations. I don't try to get rid of fear. or hope or expectation, I'd be compassionate to fear, hope, and expectation. That's my aspiration. And if I slip, then I notice, oh, disappointment. Oh, I guess I expected something. I guess I was dwelling someplace. I brought this nice gift, and then people threw it in the trash, and I was disappointed.

[30:34]

Oh, I guess I expected they wouldn't throw it in the trash. Okay, here we go. Here's the gift again. I'm ready. Oh, there it goes, into the trash. Hey! I laughed that time. Okay, well, it's getting close to the bewitching hour. Thank you all very, very much. I have deep gratitude for you, and I have deep gratitude for our deep sorrow, and deep pain, and deep fear, and deep confusion, and deep everything. How about you?

[31:27]

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