Okay, so if I was talking yesterday or day before about the two ways of living, the two kinds of meditation, one is the world, one kind of meditation is meditation in which you do Meditation of self. The world of karma. And self and other. That world. And you can practice. Yeah. You can practice. You can live in this world and act like one of your best friends.

[01:01]

It can be something new. This is a world of suffering. Based on the idea that there is a self which is just separate from another. That's the idea of the self. Self from other. And then based on that understanding, you live your life and you practice Buddha. But when actually Buddha isn't very nice, it says, okay, go ahead. Practice Buddha. And even in Buddha's texts, meditation practices, even if Buddha sounds like he's talking, even when Buddha says, you do this and you do that, the Buddha will actually give instruction in this realm. It will sound like he's talking to an individual person who does this. That's if he's kind of going along with the world. But he also says that the source of suffering is not understanding the self.

[02:03]

The self is independent of the other. Still, in that world of suffering, he gives instruction to people who still think that way about how to behave. Even the Buddha, you may find, teaching to do practice He'd say, well, wouldn't that be part of contributing to the world of suffering? He would say, yeah. But still, some people have to do that before they can switch to the other style of practice. Other. I know. Two. Ascension being and Buddha are not two. Practice is not something you do. Practice is you do a practice or you join a practice or you're devoted to a practice that you can't do.

[03:05]

Over here, you're devoted to a practice you can't do. I'll have to write that down. Devotion to A practice you can do. Devotion to a practice you can't control, and nobody else can either. Or not. This is the world of peace and bliss, freedom. Most people will not practice this way because they won't do a practice where they can't do it. They'll be devoted to things if they can be devoted to something they can control, something they can get better at, stuff like that.

[04:14]

That they will be doing. So then Buddha says, okay, well then do a practice you can get better at. You finally get so good at it, and you might be able to switch over to the other side. The other way of practice. Now, there's a story about this, which is about the son who got lost. I'll tell you that story a little later, but before I tell you that story, I want to make one thing very clear, is that from this side, practicing on this side, living on this side, being devoted to this side, which is non-dual practice. The other side is dualistic practice. When you're practicing on non-dual practice, non-dual practice is also non-dual or dualistic practice. The non-dual practice isn't even separated from dualistic practice.

[05:17]

OK, I'm not going to do any more dualistic practice. That would be dualistic. So again, some people say, well, if I can't do dualistic practice, then I can't not do this dualistic practice, only if we do this practice. But anyway, from this point of view, there's no difference between these two kinds of practice. It's just misunderstanding practice. That's all. So somebody may ask, well, what if I see somebody suffering? Isn't it natural that I want to help them and do something to help them? Yeah. But the non-dual approach is not that you shouldn't do things to help people. You don't do things to help people. You join. You're devoted to a way that helps people. You don't do it by yourself. You join the way absolute people are helped rather than you helping them. You want to help people, and maybe you still do things from the point of view to help people, but you shouldn't forget this other side, which is that you're deluded to think that you're doing things to help people.

[06:28]

So go ahead and do things to help people, but remember you're deluded when you're doing it. Go ahead and do it. But don't then tell yourself, well, then I'm doing it. But if you have to, go ahead and do it. From this point of view, even if you do that and you try to credit for the things you do for other people, you think you, all by yourself, could do something to help people. Even if you think that way, which is the source of pain and setting a bad example, still there's somebody who doesn't think like that, who's right there. Somebody's always there while you're being deluded. It's not evolving. Be devoted to that one. Now, if you also have to be devoted to doing things by your own personal power, go ahead and be devoted to doing things by your own personal power. Fine. But do not be devoted to those who are not doing anything by their own personal power, but actually just joining how things really happen and how people are really . You can go right ahead and try to help people.

[07:29]

according to the idea, I'm going to help. And if you're helping people, you think, well, I can't help but notice I'm helping them. That's just the way it is. You just maybe, you can't stop seeing it that way. People come to you and say, oh, oh, geez, Marsha, you're so helpful. And Marsha goes, oh, they said I was so helpful. What can I say? Thank you. I have to believe it. It looked like they were helping. They're telling me I'm helping. Everybody else, true, you really are helping. So everybody says, so it must be true. I helped them. OK, go ahead. Don't forget that there's somebody else who doesn't fall for that, who's always right there. And that one is the one who's really helpful. So don't forget the other one. OK? Don't take it personally. Do you have a question? Yeah. Well, one of the most devoid things you could possibly do is give up yourself.

[08:37]

No, you can be devoid of doers. Stick to it. If you like things you can't control, if you devoted something other, that seems to be dualistic. But non-dualism doesn't mean you can't think of another. In non-duality, you can still think, oh, there's other people. It's just that when you understand that they're really other than you, even though you think that they are, you just know. That's just a thought. I just think that. I don't fall for that. How do you test that you don't fall for it? By being devoted to it. Now, when you're devoted to it, and she's a lovely student, then you start to become non-dualistic.

[09:43]

Because you wouldn't be devoted to somebody else who wasn't doing what you wanted them to do if they weren't mute. Also, you're devoted to your own mind and body when it's not behaving well. You wouldn't be . Now, if you're the one who's behaving well, and then you're devoted to them, then you can go ahead and think that they aren't you, because it's you. Now, I'm devoted to all these things without me, which just happen to be exact, acting just like I'd like them to. What a coincidence. That's even better than me. I don't even act where these people are. So, you know, great, I'll be devoted to them. That's just being, then it looks like you're devoted to yourself, right? But when they stop behaving properly, you don't want to be devoted to them anymore. You want to trade me for better money and be devoted to other people. But when you're devoted to them and they're doing almost exactly, not the opposite of what you want, but even worse than you could think of, that's the opposite of what you want.

[10:49]

And you're still devoted to them. That's just like, it's not doable. Of course, you're right. What you did there is you gave up yourself. When you devoted to other people who are not made to handle your problems, who are not going along with your program, and you're totally devoted to them, you give back yourself. Now, who was it that didn't like what they were doing? I can't remember what the problem with what they were doing. Somebody had a problem with that before. Who was that? They don't have a problem. Somebody had a problem. I can't remember. Well, I guess there's no problem. Nobody has a problem with it? See, you forgot yourself. Now, at first you might say, well, I still can't remember that. I don't like what they're doing. But if you're totally devoted to them, it's just like you forgot It's just like a... So, throwing devotion to what you can't do. You can't do other people when they're not doing what you like them to do.

[11:52]

When other people are doing exactly what they do if you're under control, it's almost like you're doing it, right? So if you do something you can't control, you can't... It's like what other people are doing. Other people are doing most of the time what we can't do. Maybe they're doing the wrong thing with it. You don't want to cause grief. You look very carefully at grief, out of control, from your orientation. Okay? You must be really clear. It's so clear and so difficult. Isn't it difficult to be devoted to these people who are not behaving properly? And isn't it easy to be devoted to the ones that are doing just exactly what you like, doing better than you can think of? It's so easy to be devoted to these good people. It's so hard to be devoted to the God. I'd be devoted to the God. That's over here. That's the world of suffering. The world of suffering is where you're devoted to the good ones and you're not devoted to the bad ones.

[12:55]

That's the world of suffering. The world of bliss is where you're devoted to the good ones. Just like there are your eyeballs. They're right in that elbow. That's the world of suffering. Okay? This is getting clear, isn't it? You're right anyway. You have to forget the cell over there. No, not necessarily. I think in the dictionary it might say there's some law involved. Well, the law of devotion might be related to Huh? We don't know. Well, in the world department, in the world, there's a self in the world.

[13:57]

It's a devotion. One kind of devotion is a dualistic kind where you do it. There's another kind of devotion where you don't do it. Like I say, if you're devoted to something you can't control or something that you can't do, then the doing part and the person part drops out of the scene. And you're just like in the water. You're like this. You're like sitting. Sitting. That's it. And you're not doing it. You don't get any credit. It doesn't do anything for you or anybody else. Liberates the world, but, you know, you don't get any credit for it, and nobody else does either. And everybody gets liberated. Well, yeah, what do I get out of it? Well, you know, yeah, nothing. Except liberation of all beings. When you're liberated, you're not trying to get anything anymore. And that's what you get. But I don't want that. I want to get something. Well, you don't want to be liberated. I'd rather get something to deliver it, right? That's over here. Fine. You can be over here where you're getting stuff. But just remember that somebody's not trying to get anything.

[14:59]

It's always with you. Somebody is always with you and is not trying to get anything out of this moment. Who's totally devoted to you being on this trip. No problem. You know, your Buddha nature doesn't have a problem personal power trip, an economic trip. They want you to be free. And that's another point which people have trouble with. To work with what's happening and really accept what's happening doesn't mean you like it. Buddha doesn't like the word eluded and miserable. Buddha works with it and doesn't wish we were another way, which is that given where we are, we realize that. We realize that. What's a business of belief?

[16:12]

Good question. What's the answer, folks? Huh? What? Wrong. Next. What's the basis of belief in non-dual practice? What's the basis of it? What's the answer? What? No self is the basis. Buddha nature is the source of belief in Buddhism. And self is the basis. Buddhism is not self. Buddhism is studying itself. And studying the self means devoted to yourself. And your self is out of control. So you're devoted to yourself, which is out of control, and your self, which is not behaving very well, and your self, which you believe in, which is causing you suffering. It's a mess. You're devoted to it. And that devotion comes from your community. Over here, the troublemaker, the belief in self, the belief in self, troublemaker, that's the basis of the trouble. And that's the basis of not believing in actual Buddhist practice.

[17:16]

Because you say, well, I can't do it. I can't say anything. I don't want to pay attention to this stuff anyway. I hate this stuff. I hate the people who aren't me, who aren't supporting me. I don't want anything to do with it. whatever, that's based on the self, the belief in self. Buddha nature is when you're free of believing in yourself, and based on that Buddha nature, Buddha, Buddha way, which is totally devoting yourself to a mobile city. No, that would be dualistic to say that. Dualistic belief is to believe that certain things are right and certain things are wrong, for example. Dualistic belief is to think, for example, that I'm separate from you. That's a dualistic belief. That I exist independently of you is one of the main dualistic beliefs.

[18:16]

That's one of the main dualistic beliefs. And I also tell you that belief is a source of misery. That statement, however, is not dualistic. That statement is just a description of causation. But then if you say, well, suffering is bad, and being free of suffering is good, or good over bad, that's dualistic. In non-duality, you don't prefer good over bad. You don't like that, huh? No, devotion is just your Buddha nature coming out. It sucks. There's something in our heart which you don't do. You're sitting here, okay? Somebody comes up to you and goes, knock, knock on your heart. Knock, knock. Is somebody there? Is somebody there who wants to devote their life to me? Hello?

[19:18]

Hello, here I am. Is somebody there who wants to devote their life to me? Hello? Hello? And maybe knock them apart. Boom, boom, boom. Or maybe he doesn't knock them apart. Maybe he just starts crying. Anyway, eventually, the message gets through. He says, yeah, hi, yes, I'm here. I do want to devote my life to you. It's not a matter of will. It's a response of Buddha to a request for help. That's all. It's not a willful thing. It's kind of like, hello, hello. It's not a willful thing. It's just a response of your Buddha nature. Your Buddha nature wants to celebrate and enact our interdependence. And whenever anything asks you to do that, the Buddha nature says, fine, what do I have to do? Tell me. It's not a matter of will. Over here, if you hear it on that level, over here on the dualistic side, it seems like

[20:19]

Because on this side, too, you can kind of hear it. But over here, you're still making deals. Like, OK, I'll help you if you, you know, if you, you know, smile, I'll help you. Whatever, there's something to deal with. Over here, you help anybody. Because some part of your nose, you're connected to everybody equally, and everybody's your life. So when somebody asks you to help, it's no sweat off your nose to help them, because somebody inside knows that that's helping, this is part of the same deal. Okay? Okay? Now, I could take more questions, or I could tell a story here. What do you want to do? What do you want to do? Can you save your questions now? This is like a picture of duality and non-duality.

[21:21]

So now I want to paint a picture of a story. This is a story. I, this weekend, I drew a picture in this story. And I did it vertically, which is nice in a way, because you draw on blackboard vertically rather than in circles, because words don't go very well around circles. But I thought I'd try circles, even if it's going to be messy. Is that OK? Vertical's tidier, because our language is messy. At the center of this mess is, well, the center of the mess is like total messiness. What's happening? That's at the center. That's at the center of our life.

[22:23]

What's happening, right? Any problem with that? The extent, doesn't it? A more Buddhist way of putting it is, Things as they're coming to be. Things are events. I'll write that. It takes some respect. What did you say? Things as they're coming to be. As they're coming to be. That's like dharma yataputtu. Dharma yataputtu. Dharma things, events, as they're coming to be. Pain as it's coming to be, coming to be, the sense of self as it's coming to be, self as it's coming to be, the sense of whatever's happening, how it's coming to be, that's at the center of our life, right? Does that make sense? Okay. Now, that's at the center, and around this center, WH, what's happening? Around that, or in response to that,

[23:27]

If you look at that, intimate with that, intimate with that, that's called non-duality. You're with what's happening. That's non-duality. To be with what's happening is something you can't do. You can't do being with what's happening. You can't go like, you know, what's happening is over there and you're over here. I'm going to go join what's happening. One, two, three, I'm going to join the universe. Seems that doesn't make sense, but we think that, you know. This is my famous drawing. This is the universe, right? There's the universe, and isn't there one more thing in the universe? Yes. One more thing. And that thing... This is the whole universe is what's happening. There's one more thing called me that can go there. He's a visitor from outside the universe. Me. There's a bump on top of the world. Each person has a different bump on top of their world who then can join the world.

[24:32]

But that's not intimacy with what's happening. Intimacy with what's happening, of course, is like that. There's what's happening and there's no you in addition to what's happening. that's uh that's enlightened okay that's that's free that's bliss that's saving the world you're doing your part but they need to know what's happening any problems with this just practice every day now you need a question yes or when you say we're saving the world Yes, they're all saved by that. However, they do not want to acknowledge that they're saved. They're still holding on. They're saved before it happened, and also saved by that. That's the one thing that saves beings, is you being intimate with what's happening.

[25:35]

For you, that's how you save all beings, is you being... Greg being Greg saves all beings. That's all you can do. That's your job. A tree being a tree saves all beings. A rock being a rock saves all beings. Rocks don't seem to be causing much problem. I know maybe they have kind of resistant rocks. I don't know. But people are so wonderful and fantastic that they resist doing their job of being themselves. So there's not very many Gregs on the planet that are just Greg. Because for Greg to be Greg means Greg giving up himself. When you give up self, you save the world. And you become part of what's happening. And you set an example of a human being who gives himself up. You can't do be yourself. But in fact, you are. And when you get intimate with that, that's the practice that you can do. And that shows an example in the light, the light of you being you radiates throughout the universe and in beings

[26:39]

They do it deliberately. Now, if they have their eyes shut tightly, they won't see it. Nothing you can do about that. It's the same thing in rays. Maybe turn the temperature up or down a little bit so it kind of relaxes their eyes. And then they go, oh. So that's what Buddhists do. Buddhists want to get them to open their eyes and see, ah, being me, you can do the same and be free. But I would say that's what saves all beings. But not all beings will be saved because some are resisting. hearing Buddha's message and then doing the hard thing of giving up their self-power and being intimate with what's happening. But that's what Buddhas do. They do exactly that. They're intimate with what's happening and then Buddhas together with what's happening emanate a great light of all beings and try to send it out in such a way that they open their eyes and see it. So anyway, that's the happy story. And so that's what's happening. And you send out these invitations, all being, come on, join what's happening.

[27:42]

Now, if one does not pay attention to this, if one does not devote oneself to what's happening, if one does not stay present, not stay present, but be present with what's happening, Moment by moment, if one doesn't do this, then one does something else. And you can go directly in the opposite direction like that, but you can also go sort of off to the side like that. You can be on a tangent, or you can be vertical. Anyway, you turn away from what's happening. You ignore what's happening. You ignore the world of interdependence. You turn away from it. A lot of reasons why we turn away from it. Like for example, we have a process, we have equipment to create perceptions which people tell us are perceptions of what's not us. We have concepts of something being external to us. So with these concepts of externality and people telling us that we're separate from other people, all that put together, we look away. We ignore what's happening.

[28:46]

We ignore the Buddha's life. And when we ignore the Buddha's life, Fortunately or unfortunately. We enter. These arrows going away from the center. These are ignorance arrows. And we go on into another world. This is the world of what's happening now. Around the world of what's happening. This is still part of what's happening. Now we have more happening. We had what's happening. Now we have ignorance. happening in addition to what's happening. Now we have what was happening. We have the interdependent world. Now we have the interdependence of ignoring the interdependence. And what that leads to is that leads to belief in self and other. That leads to belief that I can do things by myself. It leads to pain. It leads to anxiety. And as long as we're ignoring what's happening, we have anxiety all the time.

[29:52]

Sometimes it's real intense. Sometimes it's quite subtle. And sometimes the subtle kind of anxiety is most influential because we don't even see it. We don't even know we're walking across the room because we're anxious because it's so subtle. We're driven by this anxiety. We're driven by the belief itself, which we can have when we look away at what's happening. Now, this does not mean that when you're seeing what's happening, you see other people. It's just that you see that other people in you are happening in an interdependent way. And that it's interdependence by which you can think what people are suffering from. how that happens, and then you think they really are separate. And then because of that, you're miserable. And then because of that, you think you can do, and you're miserable, and also you think you can do things on your own, and thinking that you can do things on your own is also miserable.

[30:58]

What happens on your own, because when you think you can do things on your own, You think you have to make dinner by yourself, with a few people helping you, like you and my three people. That's not very good odds, actually. But when you realize that everybody's helping you, it's quite a relaxation, that you can't do anything else. And also, you can't shirk your responsibility to realize that. It's a much more relaxing world that everybody's helping you. We don't think that way. We think, I can do things by myself. This is the world of karma, and that leads to anxiety and pain. That's the next circle. Circle one, what's happening? Ignore it. Circle three, believing that you can do things by yourself. Circle four, misery. Pain. Circle one, what's happening? Circle two, ignorance. Circle three, believing in self, in karma, in anxiety.

[32:02]

Okay? Now, ignore that. Ignore the pain and anxiety. Okay? Then you get greed, hate, and delusion as the ways augment your anxiety. got pain, then use greed, hate, and delusion to help you ignore it. First you ignore it, but then you ignore it in these three ways. Maybe getting something will help you ignore it. Maybe getting rid of something will help you ignore it. Or just be confused. That might help you. And now, if you ignore the greed, hate, and delusion, Then you get, then if you had an illusion, it elaborates itself into ill will, sensual lust and desire, and agitation, worry, sloth, sleepiness, dullness, and doubt.

[33:08]

And if you ignore them, then they blossom out into unwholesome, unskillful physical activity. And if you ignore that, if you ignore your unskillful physical and verbal activity, then you get really unskillful verbal and physical activity. And if you ignore that, you can just keep ignoring it until finally, fortunately, gets Because it gets so bad, everybody gets, this is not working. And then it's time for what we call recovery, right? And recovery is you just keep turning all these arrows around in the other direction. So you start looking at unskillful verbal and physical behavior. And you look at it and you study it until you can get fairly intimate with it, the way you should have been intimate with what's happening in the first place.

[34:13]

When you get about as intimate as you can with this blossomed ignorance and this blossomed delusion, then you drop the mental problem. Unskillful mental activity. You become intimate with that. And in the next workshop I do here, I'll go into how to get intimate with the physical, unskillful physical, and verbal activity, and how to get intimate with unskillful mental. To get intimate with that, you drop to the next level, which is intimacy with, do you remember what it is? Freed head and delusion. And then if you're intimate with freed head and delusion, you drop to the next level, so you're intimate with what? With pain and anxiety. And if you're intimate with pain and anxiety, you drop to the next level, which is intimacy with what? Self, other, realistic thinking, thinking that you can do karma. Get intimate with that, and you drop down to what's happening. You drop through ignorance because you're seeing the result of ignorance. You see the result of ignorance, that's it.

[35:15]

You can't actually see ignorance. Because when ignorance is happening, you can't see it. And when you turn around and look back at it, you just go right through it and see what you weren't looking at, what you were ignoring. So then finally you get back down to what's happening again. But it's hard to go through this stuff, of course, because unskilled physical and verbal behavior is a horrendous thing. We usually want to take a vacation, right? Get me out of here. Stop this mess. Well, sorry, you've got to face it. You've got to, like, face any unimpulsing verbal or physical activity. You have to face it. Otherwise, it's more ignorance. By the way, what's happening is more and more elaborate blossoms of ignorance. You've got to turn around and face it and go back down to it. The more you face it, the more subtle the problem.

[36:16]

You're rewarded by more problems by taking care of the problems you already have. But there comes a time when you get rewarded with what's happening. And if you face that, then you're all set. You're doing Buddha's work completely. It's all Buddha's work. The whole process is Buddha's work. It's just that it's pretty hard for it to be non-karmic or non-dualistic, non-duality, until you get real close to the center. In the meantime... while you're still caught up in the stuff out here where you still believe in self and other, because you ignored the self and other thing. You didn't study it, so you believe it. You still believe in that. So you've got to use your ignorance to get you back to the place we want. All of the time you're going down there, you can remember, if you wish, that you're ignorant all the way down. And remembering that is wise. But if you forget and think, if you forget that you're ignorant, that you're ignoring, and you're deluded, you're going back the other way again.

[37:24]

So although if I'm deluded and I remember it, I'm going in the right direction. If I'm deluded and forget it, I'm going in the wrong direction. I'm going towards more delusion. Look out here, see some truth, okay? You see any truths? Anybody see any realities? When you realize it's a delusion, you're turning around. Right? Doesn't that make sense? Most of us think there's some truth, right? That's a delusion. And it will be a change in your attitude to see that that's a delusion because you think it's true. It will be a reversal of your whole life when you realize that what you think is true is a delusion. Wouldn't that be? It looks like some people are not picking me up. They look like they're saying, no way, are you crazy? Would you say that anything that you believe is a delusion? Anything that you believe is a delusion, including Buddha. Including this, including Buddha. You believe Buddha.

[38:25]

That's a delusion. That's not Buddha. Buddha is what's happening. You can't believe what's happening. You can't believe what's happening. Because if you believe what's happening, you're not part of it. That's not what's happening. What's happening is who you are. You can't believe who you are. Nobody can do that. It's impossible, isn't it? But you see it as logically, and emotionally, and religiously, and politically impossible. Right. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Did you hear that? She said it was huge. I'm grasping. I'm grasping. It is an experience, I'll be grasping it. You cannot experience what's happening.

[39:28]

What? You can be what's happening. Your experience is happening, but you can't experience your experience. But you are. I really think you are. I think that's part of the deal. But you can't experience your experience. However, you are your experience. That's who you are. Yes. This is a talking event here. Yeah, simplicity. Yeah, simplicity. Simplicity. Try not to make things bigger than they are. But not just try not. You don't make things bigger than they are. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. That's it. That's it. And that will drop. And, you know, you've got to mention a few other things that are kind of hard to just be.

[40:34]

You just suffer. Yeah. Without adding or subtracting. And that's it. Just suffer. And then you... A little angel will come and tell you, hey, I got a little message for you. I'm going to tell you now what the reason for your suffering is. Does it ring? It's because you think, you still think that you're separate from God. Come on, look at this. Oh, thank you. You know, that's just like seeing. Like seeing type God. No message. You notice that there's a connection between the pain and the dualistic thinking? Well, thank you. I do. Thank you for the message. Then you just have that. You don't add anything or subtract anything else. And then, when you see that, you drop below that. Then you're like, what's happening? You don't say, okay, now I'm... No, you're just, what's happening? You don't get it. But you realize it. You manifest it in this world. And your devotion to what's happening all the way down there was doing your part that got you to your good nature.

[41:37]

But you had to give up a lot of stuff you could think of that you, by beliefs, set aside. It's very expensive, in a way, to give up all the things you don't have. Katie? Do I think it's possible to not think dualistically? Then you said there's some other stuff after that. Stop there for a second. Do a break. Do I think it's possible to not think dualistically? Yes, it is. For example, lobotomy might fix you up. And then everything that followed up to that, you wouldn't do because you wouldn't be able to think. And you might say, well, I think people who have lobotomies still can think dualistically.

[42:45]

Well, you can have a more radical lobotomy. Anyway, if you take away some of your human cryptids, you will not be able to think dualistically anymore. It is possible. OK? Did you hear that? That's a dualistic thought. I'm not saying that. No, I mentioned that idea because I brought that up because people usually do think that. Buddha doesn't think it's better to think non-dualistically than dualistically. I mean, Buddha thinks that, but Buddha knows that's just more dualistic thinking. It's dualistic to think that dualistic thinking is not as good as non-dualistic thinking. It's dualistic thinking to think that Buddha is better than sentient beings. That's dualistic thinking. Don't most of us think Buddha is better than sentient beings, at least some sentient beings? Like, some people might think Buddha is better than me. It's humble of me, right? Some people do think that.

[43:46]

Some people think Buddha is better than some people I know. But some people think, no, I think Buddha is not better than that person. That person is good at Buddha. Some people think that, too. But Buddha does not think that Buddha is better than sentient beings. That is not Buddha thinking. Buddha doesn't think that sentient beings are better than Buddha either. Buddha thinks that what sentient beings are is Buddha. That's what Buddha thinks. They're not better. They're the same thing. So, again, to take apart, if you don't mind. So is it possible to not think dualistically? Yes. With brain damage or some kind of diseases, or being in certain kinds of trances, you cannot think dualistically. That's not what Buddhism is about. Buddhism is not about people who can't do it. Buddhism is about people who can do it. An isolated human being, like this one here, she can think dualistically. Buddhism is about to teach her to study her dualistic thinking.

[44:47]

And if she studies it, she will become free of it. So, once she's free of it, Then there's other stuff that you're talking about that will be Buddha. Buddhists do not have to worry about protecting themselves from surviving. Buddhists can drop dead any time, any place. No problem to Buddhists. As a matter of fact, people are going around, you know, Bodhisattvas are constantly saying to Buddhists, don't check out. Stay and teach. The Buddhists are kind of like, you know, am I done? Are you guys okay? You look good to me. Can I leave? You say, no, no, no, teach more, teach more. Go leave. Okay, okay, okay. What do you want to do? Buddhists are not worried about themselves. They're fine. Don't worry about them. But they don't need your devotion. You need your devotion. They're fine. They don't really get anything from you. They're trying to help you.

[45:48]

They're not trying to protect themselves anymore. They're not worried about surviving 10 more minutes, 10 more years, 100 more years. That's not what Buddha is about. That's what animals are about. We're animals. Good. We have dualistic thinking. If we will study and be devoted to this dualistic thinking of animals, we're concerned about our survival. If we're devoted and study that, we'll realize Buddha. And the dualistic thinking will go right ahead, just do its thing, you know. You can still think, You still got to go think, oh, I'm not going to think that, but I don't believe it anymore. And I also know that if I do shift from just thinking that and saying, I can think that, but I do not believe it. Okay? If I shift over to I think it and I believe it, I know it's a pain to come back to. And I say, oh, I think it, but I don't believe it. And I feel relaxed. And I'm willing to hang out with all the teens that aren't me. Because they don't believe, really, that they're not me.

[46:51]

But I still can think it. I mean, Buddhists can think. Buddhists can think, you know, it's Tuesday, it's Thursday, you know, this is not me, it's my birthday. They can think that. They can even think, I'm Buddha. They don't very often think that, but they can. They can think anything, but they don't believe their thoughts. They just think my thoughts are thoughts, which is correct, according to Buddhists. Buddhists have ascertained that their thoughts are thoughts, not realities. That's how it works. You think one thing, and I think something's opposite. And it's not like one's right and one's wrong. Now, there is it. There are courts of law where you can ask, OK, one's right and one's wrong. And that's the world of misery. That's where we're fighting each other. But in Buddhist law, it's not a world of right and wrong. It's a world where we're free of right and wrong. But free of right and wrong doesn't mean we have moral right and wrong. We have right and wrong all over the place, and we're just not trying to run away from it anymore. So it is possible. to have dualistic thinking and not be caught by it. If you have to get rid of it to not be caught by it, you're still caught by it.

[47:57]

Buddhists can think dualistically. They can make judgments, but they understand that that's all that's going on. These are just delusions. Buddhists understand delusion. Buddhists are enlightened about delusion. They're studying delusion. Are you studying delusion? Now, some people can't study delusion because all they see is the truth. So they kind of have a because they see they just see all the things that are true and false, rather than delusion all over the place. You see delusion all over the place, you're looking like a Buddha. But again, I think a lot of us are uncomfortable living in a world of delusion. Right? It seems to even make it more uncomfortable. But actually, admitting it sets you back the process of freedom. Is it hot in here? People seem to be going to sleep. I know it's not because I'm yelling loud enough, is it? Why don't you maybe open that door in the house?

[48:59]

Oh, it's trying to stop anyway, right? Don't you go to bed now? Hey, will you get the picture? That's a picture. It's a picture. Just a picture. I hope it's helpful. I like it. It encourages me to take my life. feel pretty good. When I ignore it, I feel very bad because I'm not doing my job. How about you? Can we stop now? Is that right? Can you sleep? The story of the poet. This boy takes a walk one day. He's a little kid. He takes a walk and he gets lost His father and mother sent out search parties for him, but they can't find him. And to make a long story short, he gets lost for a long time, for 50 years. you know he doesn't during those 50 years he doesn't go to college you know and stuff like that he just like is wandering and lost the whole time so he becomes you know super you know emaciated uh impoverished miserable creature who thinks he's like the scum of the earth you know and feel really and thinks you know like you know this is really terrible life i can barely stand it and as he's crawling along the earth

[50:27]

like a little worm, one day just happens to crawl through the town where his father and mother live. And he goes by their house. And his father and mother have become, in the meantime, during the 50 years, inconceivably wonderful. And he goes by their house, which is like basically the gates of heaven, with this totally dual-covered lawn and stairway and just like the most fantastic palace. And his father and mother are sitting there. And he sees this neighborhood. He goes, I think I'm in the wrong neighborhood. These people see me here. Maybe I'm a slave, or just eliminate me because I'm on the lawn. So the guy tries to get away. And his father sees him and says, it's my son, my baby. So he sends his jewel-covered attendants to get his son. They come running at him. And the kid, the 50-year-old kid, sees he's You know, attendants come running out and he thinks, this is it. They're going to put me in some kind of chains and stuff and, you know, eat me for lunch or something.

[51:31]

So he passes out. The father sees this and he says, oops, I did it. Calls the servant back. The son said, oh my God, I'm free. And runs off. The father gets this idea. I'll give you a practice that you can do. So, you know, rather than, like, come in the house and be good at it. I'll give him a practice that he can do. So he had him sort of dress up in a silk cover and say, hey, hey, man, hey, you want a job helping us shovel shit? We could make some money doing this. Helping shit. Helping shit. And his son says, yeah, that sounds good. You want to get food for all? You could get food. So then he shoveled the elephant shit. He was very happy because now he's got a job, suits, education level. his social status. And he can survive on this. So he does that for 20 years.

[52:33]

Now, sometimes it's good to have to do it for 30. Usually not more than that . So then, after 30 years, the father comes down dressed in woodclothes and rags and says, you know, you've been doing a good job here. I'd like to give you a promotion. I could make you chairman of the ship shoveling crew. And the son said, yeah, I do. I have been doing pretty well. He becomes head of the ship crew. He does that for another 10 or 15 years. Then the father comes down dressed in his ordinary jewels and says, you know, you're doing a really good job here of leading all the ship shoveling. I'd like you to come up to the house and learn about how the house burns. And the son said, OK. goes up there, and he learns how to fuzz with it, how the stuff comes in, and how they deal and how stuff goes, and how they manage all these interpires and stuff like that. He learns the whole business, the vast interconnected project of his family. And after he does that for a while, his father says to his mother, he says, you know, we've been quite a while now.

[53:41]

I think it's time for us to hand over the entire thing to this kid. So they gather all the kings and queens and ministers from all over the country to come and witness this transmission of the family estate to the son. And the father says, you know, you can work on the son. And the son says, yeah, I can work on the son. The son is tremendously overjoyed that actually he's living in the family and has been all along. But he couldn't believe it. So if people don't believe it, we're going to give them shit shot now. okay, you can do this, you can do that, you can do that. Well, that's fine. But you don't have to do anything to be in Buddha's family. You already are. But if you don't believe it, you know, there's stickers, but when it does give you stuff to do, if you do this, this, and this, you'll be happy. But after you do this, this, and this for 20 or 30 years, finally you can say, you mean I'm actually just in Buddha's family and I didn't have to do anything all along?

[54:47]

Yeah. So anyway. Some people look at me like, I don't believe this.

[54:57]

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