I vow to face the truth until time has its worth. Evening. Evening. So tonight there's two books to look at. One that you have a Xerox copy of, and another one that you don't. Book 15, The Ten Abodes, and Book 16, Religious Practice. So, I thought I'd just sort of tell you what it says in Book 15 with some comments, and take a little more detailed look at Book 16. Book 15 is the Ten Abodes, and as I have been saying all along, The Sutra is the enactment of a deep archetype that is everywhere enacted, every place and at every time.

[01:10]

The structure of it is that various events occur and then teaching is given about the ten this's or the ten that's, you know, the ten practices, the ten stages, in this case it's the ten abodes. And I forget if I talked about this, but here's the way the teaching is always given by one of the Bodhisattvas, who is, if you remember, the Buddha, first thing that happens is in some heaven a god invites Buddha to come, The Buddha comes to that place, a tremendous lion throne is set forth, the Buddha comes to that place, and it describes all the retinue of enlightened beings who are there. Then there's lots of eulogies are given, and then the Buddha is enthroned on that seat, and then one of the enlightened beings that's in the assembly begins to speak, and give some teachings in terms of the ten, whatever it happens to be. In this case, the abodes. And how they do that First thing they do is they enter into Samadhi.

[02:19]

So first they enter into Samadhi, and it always says, they enter into Samadhi by virtue of the vows of Arjuna Buddha, who's the cosmic, universal Buddha. and the uncovered roots of goodness that this Bodhisattva has developed in the past. These things, along with the inspiration of the Buddha who's sitting there in front of him, create the power of this samadhi. And then, did I talk about how all these... This is all enacted in every world system, It appears in the middle of the Samadhi that everywhere, in all directions, exactly the same thing is happening.

[03:22]

Everywhere. And there's a Buddha there, and also around him these enlightened beings, and the same enlightened being in all these different worlds is doing the same thing. And then he emerges from the Samadhi, and all the Buddhas stick out their head and pat him on the head. Can I tell you about that? Pat him on the head. As he comes out of the Samadhi, and they say something to him, in this case, They say, excellent, excellent, good man, that you are able to enter this enlightening being's concentration of infinite techniques. That's the name of this concentration, that concentration of infinite techniques. Good man, in each of the ten directions, as many Buddhas as atoms in a thousand Buddha fields all together empower you with their spiritual force. And this is also the spiritual power of the force of Vairocana, Buddha's ancient vows, as well as the power of the roots of goodness you have cultivated, whereby you enter this concentration, allowing you to expound the teaching. and so on. So after they make this pronouncement and pat him on the head, and there are some ceremonies in Soto Zen where this is done, patting on the head is actually done, this

[04:35]

is a kind of baptism, maybe, or a kind of laying on of hands that fully empowers the bodhisattva, who then begins teaching the ten abhors, which takes up the rest of the chapter. And this, exactly this routine, is repeated every single time you see another list of ten being given. So somehow we can contemplate, you know, the sort of deep structure or meaning of this sort of thing and apply it, I suppose, in a way to our own experience of entering samadhi, doing zazen and then getting up and doing something out of that space of our zazen practice. And also I see in it as well a sense of the rhythm between quiescence and activity, which constantly occurs in any given lifetime, and in any moment.

[05:38]

Emptiness in form, like that. You can also see it like that. What is samadhi? Concentration. Or absorption. In other chapters, they don't use the word concentration, they use the word absorption. And in the old tradition, there were a sort of finite number of very organized and technically arranged absorptions that one would enter into in the heaven, sort of organized in a particular way. And how it worked was you would meditate on various aspects of the teaching, like the Four Noble Truths, and you would put in front of you the truth of suffering in your meditation, applying it to your breathing. And then you would enter absorption, they would say, with that meditation object, which meant that all of your distractions and questions about it and separation of yourself from it would finally fall away and you would sort of click in,

[06:59]

be in there totally clicked in with this object of your meditation, at which point they delineated eight stages of deepening of that absorption. But absorption was the, well first there was access, and then next was absorption, where you're locked in and there were all these stages. And then you would do that, use that same a focus with a variety of kinds of insight teachings and in that way you would understand in a much deeper way than intellectually what it really meant, the truth of suffering and so on, what all these things really meant. Well in the Mahayana Sutras they began expanding on this idea of samadhis and absorptions and they began giving them poetic names so that you had these incredible lists in some sutras of samadhi after samadhi. And then they would say things like, which you would enter simultaneously in a single moment.

[08:02]

So they sort of blew apart the whole technical aspect of all this and made it somehow beyond technique. But that's the origin of it. So therefore, before you could teach, For example, the Four Noble Truths, it would just be common sense that before you could do that, you would have entered into absorption with that as your object, so that you not only had memorized and understood the various teachings that were given about the Four Noble Truths, but you had also locked into it as a meditation object, so that your teaching about it was not just what you read in the book or you heard from your teacher, but it was really, you know, you were inspired and had seen it. Literally, they called it seeing. Also, you see the truth of suffering. You see the truth of origination for yourself. Therefore, when you talk about it, you really know what you're saying. So here, therefore, it makes perfect sense that it would begin that way, that the bodhisattva would enter into concentration.

[09:03]

and then that this concentration would be very much the Mahayana way, that this concentration would be inspired by and even produced by previous vows of the Bhairavacana and your own wholesome roots, then you'd have to have the seal of approval or the direct generation of energy from the Buddhas with this padding on the head and then you'd start talking. So anyway, you could think about that structure, that pattern of events in many, many ways. I think it's really important and worth thinking about. Also, I was sort of contemplating as I was preparing for the class how interesting it is that these are called the ten abodes. Why do they call them ten abodes? What is the idea behind the concept of abode? These are not places that the Bodhisattva goes to, and they're not practices exactly that the Bodhisattva does.

[10:17]

There's another list of ten practices, and there's another list of ten stages, so they're not considered to be stages that you pass through. What does it mean, you know, the ten abodes or the ten places? And I have a sense of it. What the ten abodes are, as it says in the beginning here, let's see, so after it says, just after that part that I read you a moment ago, this comes to you as a by the spiritual power of the force of Vairochana's vows and your own good roots and so on. Then it says, the purpose of this concentration is for growth in enlightened knowledge, to enter deeply into the realm of reality, to comprehend well the worlds of sentient beings, to be unhindered in whatever is entered into, to be unobstructed in all activities, to attain incomparable skill and means, to enter the essence of omniscience,

[11:20]

to be aware of all things, to know all faculties, to be able to hold and expound all teachings. That is to say, bringing forth the ten abodes. So the ten abodes, then, is the kind of modes of omniscience. Knowing all this and knowing all that. And omniscience is the goal of the Bodhisattva because omniscience is what it takes work with beings, because there's an infinite variety of beings and one has to know how to handle and teach in all these various situations. For me, omniscience means openness. Not that you know everything, but that you can be present and open in whatever situation is in front of you. Whatever it is, there's nothing that's too messy for you, or unknown to you, or dark in yourself.

[12:27]

You're able to be there in the light regardless of what arises. That's how I interpret omniscience. So, somehow in the light of that, the idea of abode or place really makes sense to me. Because it's not like we're developing equality. develop this or that quality that we possess, or that we're going to do this or that. It's not something that we are going to develop in ourselves, nor is it something that we're going to do. As a practice it would be something that we are doing, and a stage of practice would be something that we developed in ourselves. The idea of arriving at a place, or abiding in a place, abiding in a place in front of this person, or in front of this situation. Being there, in that place, makes a lot of sense to me. The ten abodes, which means, of course, infinite abodes of the Bodhisattva, to arrive at a place which is not a physical place, but is a place, somehow, of being.

[13:40]

To be in that place and be comfortable there, and be skillful there also, and be open there. This makes a lot of sense to me. I don't know if I get that across, but it's interesting. These are ten abodes. As always, in the beginning, they always tell you what all ten of them are, and then they go along. say a little bit more about each of the ten, and they usually, under each one of the ten, they tell you ten things about that one of the ten. And then after they do all that, then it always says, by the force of the Buddha's spiritual power, Bodhisattva then stood up and began speaking in verse. Then there's a whole bunch of verse, which essentially recapitulates what it said before. So here are the ten abodes. They are the abode of initial determination, first.

[14:41]

Second, the abode of preparing the ground. Third, the abode of practice or action. Fourth, the abode of noble birth. Next, the abode of fulfillment of skill and means. Next, the abode of the correct state of mind. Next, the abode of non-regression. Eighth, the abode of youthful nature. Ninth, the abode of prince of the teaching. And tenth, the abode of coronation. Coronation, like becoming a king. Because, you know, I was talking with our abbot, a Green Gulch abbot, about this the other day. There's no getting around the fact that this coronation makes me think of it, because the Bodhisattva becomes, this is also the tenth stage, is coronation.

[15:42]

So there is this image, this deep image here that's being worked as the Bodhisattva becomes a prince and then becomes a king. And the image of a king, which is all ancient peoples had this idea of a ruler, And in the Buddhist sutras, the Buddha is like a parallel king. There's a secular king and then the Buddha is a parallel king. And in the Mahayana sutras, it kind of gets mixed up with how the kings are actually bodhisattvas. The secular kings are actually bodhisattvas operating under the Buddha's tutelage. What do we do with this sort of image of the king and the sovereign and all that? Because if you look at Japanese Buddhism, this is very much the feeling of a high priest in Japanese Buddhism, as a king, kind of a dharma king.

[16:51]

And I think that, at least I for one, find this to be kind of objectionable. It doesn't seem to work out very well. It also doesn't seem to express, you know, the way that we are. So somehow we have to understand, we can't really, there's no getting around the fact that that is the image. I don't think you can dispense with it exactly or try to smooth it over. Translate it as president or something. That's not going to happen. So I think somehow, it's like one time, years ago, twenty years ago, when I was starting practice, I was very involved in politics and I kind of decided, I made a decision in my life that I was going to stop doing politics because it was bad for my health or something. So I removed myself from politics and people and organizations and was living by myself in the woods.

[17:53]

And so I was throwing the I Ching to find out something. And every time I'd throw the I Ching, it would come out revolution. And I was really sick of revolution, and I just did not want to hear that. And I got really angry at the I Ching, but it was this uncanny thing where it kept coming out the same way. And finally it dawned on me that I didn't need to be so literal in my reading of it. And so that was a great lesson to me. I could understand how it could be apt and didn't have to put me in politics again. So in the same way, maybe we could read this as the King, each one of us, the King in us. Also in Western history, there's the Divine Rite of Kings, and this idea is ubiquitous in the Bible. There wasn't a separation between the secular and the spiritual.

[18:55]

This is why. I sort of looked on those ten bows and sort of the path, the individuation path. Yeah, right, exactly. Something like that is how we have to... The king, you know, images, for them at that time, that combined, I think, was actually really high. It was the highest. Right. And we have this couple hundred year history of, you know, thinking of kings as something that's outmoded, or we don't like it, or it's royalty, or whatever, you know. So I think maybe there really is a difference there between Christianity and Asian modes of thought, also Muslim attitudes, which were, you know, really had a notion of religion being part of all life, including politics, whereas Christianity has this notion of give unto Caesar what's Caesar's. Yeah. And unto God what's God's, so you do have a sort of Well, it's not true.

[20:06]

I mean, the difference now, you can see it now between, say, what's Muslim world, as opposed to what's here, and that sense of a kind of unitary life that would extend down to everything. That was true in Europe, though, for a long time. It was unitary. It's a recent development that there's a separation, as there is now in this country and others in Europe. Yeah, but it's also very much, I mean, it was attended within Christianity that expressed itself in the Reformation. It was a theological issue. These are tricky things, huh? Suppose somebody offered us the possibility of putting the Pope in charge of the world. Or, never mind the Pope, but some Zen master. I'm not so sure how great that would be either. In a way, I like the what's expressed in these sutras, that seems like a good idea, where you have the secular ruler, and then the Buddha is the teacher of the secular ruler.

[21:14]

The Buddha is actually not in charge of the arrangements, but the Buddha is providing teaching for the secular, and the king has great respect for the Buddha. This is throughout, especially the Pali Canon, you have this wonderful image of the relationship between the Buddha and the ruler. The Buddha is not telling the ruler what to do, but is providing guidance. And the ruler has faith in the guidance of the Buddha. Usually, the way it works out is that the ruler is skeptical, and then the Buddha, kind of like Socrates or something, by the end of the dialogue, the ruler sees the Buddha's point of view, sort of logically has talked into it, and then acts on it, generally. Anyway, it's a complicated thing, yeah. It's especially sort of strange if you think about historical Buddha and the idea of the prince leaving. Yes, yes, yes. And supposedly, historically, the Buddha was really a revolutionary in that he said all beings could be enlightened and the untouchables and everyone.

[22:21]

And then we get back to this, all this imagery of royalty. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, there, you know, in the story, this sort of pivot point where the Buddha would either be a great world leader or he would be, you know, a sage. Yeah. So we're not being both. We're not being both. Oh, I just had a thought. I remember Plato, the idea of the philosopher king, I think, was the ideal of combining the two. Right, right. Just think you're lucky. Or you have a Maslow, you have the self-actualized sovereign. There's a lot of ways. I think Kingston still kind of sticks with us, if that's, you know, unfortunate maybe.

[23:24]

But I think because not because of its clinical implications at all, but because it has this sense of something consecrated, in that sense of an archetypal kind of sense, which we seem to have a kind of hierarchical. And we have to sort of struggle against our tendencies, I think, to not to elevate I think that's a strong tendency, and so it does seem to be that kingship has this, something that doesn't really speak to us anymore about real kings very much, but about this something exalted

[24:25]

Yeah, and that's the part that I really can understand, that something in us that's exalted and dignified and worthy of great respect that each one of us can find. In a way, I was talking about this at a retreat for families and children. We were talking about how it's a great lack that people and families feel that it's hard, they want to teach their children something that's worthy of respect. So they need, the parents need to have something that they respect and that they can respect in themselves and outside of themselves to model so that the children can see something is worth, because you know, we live in a situation where it's hard to find things, right, that are actually, you know, we can really have a sense of. So I think, for me, that's what this king business comes down to, is that Can you find within yourself and outside of yourself something that you can relate to that's worthy of respect and that you can therefore respect in yourself?

[25:35]

That to me is finding this tenth stage of coronation. But you've got to be careful because dignity often brings arrogance with it. So it's avoiding that pitfall. Anyway, these are the ten abodes. I'll just go through them a little bit and say something about them, because they're a little bit unusual. You wouldn't expect from the words, just from the names of them, what they might include. First of all, the abode of initial determination, right on this point, it always begins with seeing the Buddha. And the lightning begins by saying the Buddha word, how dignified and wonderful the Buddha is, and then says, that's great, now I'm going to be like that. So I think that's a wonderful kind of image. In a way, it seems very real that sometimes in practice you see someone, at least this is true for me, you see someone that inspires you.

[26:45]

And is it because they're very inspiring, or is it because you come already with a sense of faith, a sense of something that you want to do, and then you project that onto them? I don't know, but somehow you do get inspired by someone, and then you already have an initial determination. So it relates to the bodhicitta. Yeah, like bodhicitta. They say the same thing about bodhicitta too. The Enlightened Being, seeing the magnificence of the Buddhas, which people like to see, rarely encountered, having great power, or seeing their spiritual powers, or hearing predictions, and so on and so forth, develops the determination for enlightenment, to seek omissions. And then it tells ten difficult to attain objectives that they are determined about, and ten things that they should study and encourage. And then at the end there's this formula. At the end it'll always say, what is the reason for developing this initial determination? The reason is to cause enlightening beings to broaden in the Buddha's teaching and to be able to understand whatever teaching they hear without depending on another's instruction.

[27:54]

So each one of the ten abodes has this purpose, that you can understand any teaching that you happen to hear, which means anything that you hear as the teaching, without relying on someone else's instruction. Second one is preparing the ground, and preparing the ground has to do with altruism and compassion. So it's interesting to think of that. Preparing the ground equals developing a good wish for all beings. To prepare the ground you need to develop ten attitudes toward beings. Altruism, compassion, the wish to give happiness, the wish to give security, pity, care, protecting, identification, considering all beings as teachers, considering them as guides, and so on. And you should study ten things. Gentle speech, pleasing speech, and so on. And what is the reason? To develop compassion and to immediately understand whatever teachings they hear. without relying on the instructions of another.

[28:57]

The third is the abode of practice. And here, surprisingly, the abode of practice has to do with, basically, what it amounts to, is seeing all things as impermanent and empty. So the ten practices are observing that all things are impermanent, observing that all things are painful, all things are empty, all things are selfless, all things have no creation, are flavorless, do not correspond to their names, have no... I like that one too. Have no locus, are apart from discrimination, and they lack stable solidity. Those are all, those are the ten practices. And what is noble birth? Noble birth means to be born from the teaching itself. And I think we might have talked about this before where This is the born-again part of Buddhism, where you actually... The idea is that you... Get a second chance.

[30:07]

Yeah, right, you get born again. You're no longer the child of your biological karma. It's as if this is the stream of your karmic life, and you're born of these parents and so on. And then, when you are born from the teaching, you take the same stream and divert it in this direction. So from that point on, wherever the stream gets diverted from, you then follow a different lineage, the lineage of the Buddhas. This is what is enacted in the ordination ceremonies. When you get ordained, the idea is that you're being reborn in the family of the Buddhas And that's why they give you these pedigree papers which explain to you who your parents are. And there's this whole imagery of the Buddhas as our parents and so forth and all this. So this is where that all comes from, the abode of noble birth. And then the fifth is the abode of fulfilling skill and means.

[31:11]

And this has to do with understanding beings and being dedicated to saving beings. Here the roots of goodness cultivated by the enlightened beings are all to save all sentient beings, to benefit all sentient beings, to cause all sentient beings to be free from calamities and difficulties, to cause all sentient beings to leave the miseries of birth and death, and so on. is what is the enlightening being's abode of the correct state of mind or otherwise sometimes translated as right mindfulness. And here, this one and the next one sort of go together. The seventh one is non-regression. So correct state of mind or right mindfulness and non-regression both have to do with that you are deeply enough established in all of this so that It's interesting how they do that. They list a bunch of things, and they say, when you hear someone say these things, you don't get discouraged. And the correct state of mind is one list of things that don't discourage you, and non-regression is another list of things that when you hear them, they don't discourage you.

[32:23]

So the one list that doesn't discourage you is when you hear the Buddha praised or reviled your mind is steady and unwavering. So you don't get excited when you hear how great the Buddha is. This doesn't sweep you away and get you all excited. On the other hand, when you see somebody saying the Buddha is really crappy, that doesn't bother you either. So your mind is steady and unwavering in regard to the Buddha's teaching. When you hear enlightening beings praised or reviled, your mind is steady and unwavering. When you hear the practices of enlightening beings praised or reviled, the mind is steady and unwavering. When you hear it said that living beings are infinite or finite, the mind is steady and unwavering in regard to the teaching. When you hear it said that sentient beings are defiled or undefiled, the mind is steady and unwavering in regard to the Buddhist teaching, and so on. So this is really interesting because, you know, A lot of times this is one of the things that happens, right, is you're feeling good about the practice and the teaching and then something happens and you feel terrible about it and you get mixed up and you want to quit and everything.

[33:32]

Well, they're at the point where hearing all these things doesn't discourage them in the least, you know. And the seventh, the abode of non-regression, is that their mind remains firm and doesn't regress even when hearing these ten things. Hearing that the Buddhas do or do not exist. Not only whether they're good or bad, but they don't even exist. It doesn't even bother you. The mind does not regress in the Buddha's teaching. Hearing that truth exists or doesn't exist, the mind does not regress. Hearing that enlightening beings do or do not exist, and so on. So in other words, deep faith based on unshakable experience that these things don't touch. And what is the enlightening being's abode of youthful nature? This is the eighth one. Youthful nature means energetically doing all kinds of things, and it says ten kinds of activity.

[34:35]

Physically acting without error, verbally acting without error, mentally acting without error, being born at will, knowing the various desires of sentient beings, knowing the various understandings of sentient beings, and so on. So all this kind of skillful activity is the abode of youthful nature. Number nine, what is the Enlightened Being's abode as the Prince of the Teaching? Here the Enlightened Being knows ten things well. They know how sentient beings are born, they know the origin of affliction, They know the continuation of habit energy. So, in other words, with this one, it's not a matter so much of doing stuff as it is seeing through everything and everybody and knowing how it got to be that way. That's ninth. And tenth is coronation. Here the Enlightened Being perfects ten kinds of knowledge. shaking countless worlds, illumining countless worlds, supporting countless worlds, traveling to countless worlds, purifying countless worlds, and so on.

[35:42]

So, those are the ten abodhas, and this Bodhisattva has just finished reciting them. Then, due to the spiritual power of the Buddha, In each of the ten directions, as many worlds as atoms in ten thousand Buddha lands quaked in six ways. There rained celestial flowers, celestial incense powder, celestial garlands, celestial perfumes, celestial jewel raiment, celestial jewel clouds, celestial ornaments, celestial music, spontaneously played with radiant lights and exquisite sounds. As in this world, on the peak of Mount Sumeru, which is where all this is taking place, in the palace of King Indra, the ten abodes were expounded and supernatural manifestations appeared, so also did the same transpire in all worlds. and due to the spiritual power of the Buddha in the Ten Directions passed as many worlds as atoms in ten thousand Buddha lands.

[36:47]

There were as many enlightened beings as atoms in ten Buddha lands who came here, filling the Ten Directions, and said these words. Excellent, excellent, O child of Buddha, you have explained this teaching well. We too all have the same name. Truth, Wisdom, and so on. Then Truth, Wisdom, Bodhisattva gets up and speaks about ten pages of poetry, which reproduce, recapitulate these ten abodes. And that's the end of this book. So, those are the ten abodes. You know, I was thinking, like, Cleary talks about these atoms and thousands of Buddha lamps, and he just uses this as sort of a shortcut for cosmic numbers, but... in the paper a couple of weeks ago was a scientific story about this little pinpoint of light that they've been discovering and all of a sudden they realize that it's the largest galaxy that they ever saw and there's just some, you know,

[38:04]

a zillion times more stars in this galaxy is than our own. They made a pinpoint of life that came through to us. They came through to us, and now they realize that it's just this giant galaxy, and it's just an untold amount of times bigger than our own galaxy. Well, these guys really knew what they were talking about with that telescope. Yeah, right. And it makes you wonder, you really see when you get into things like that, what does that mean? What does big mean? And what does small mean? You know what I mean? Right, sure. What are we talking about? I mean, you sort of project, oh, this is place, and there's all these lot of stars, and it's this far away. But what does it actually mean? Is it far away? At a certain point you fall off the edge of those concepts. And it's just commonplace in the Sutra. That brings us to book 16, which for some reason I really love this short book myself.

[39:26]

I don't know if you like it. This is on page 402. This one paragraph here is one of my favorite passages in the whole sutra. So this chapter begins with a question from a godling. Right Mindfulness, named Right Mindfulness, asks the question of the Bodhisattva Truth-Wisdom who's been talking up to now. As you know, the gods in Buddhism are creatures who are, while they have a pretty good situation, they are a little confused. and they realize that they need good teachings. So the gods are often in a position of asking the Buddhas for teachings.

[40:29]

And, you know, in the story of Shakyamuni Buddha, supposedly, the way they say it is that he would not have taught were it not for the fact that people, but also gods, requested that he teach. So when you think about our idea of gods, human beings being at the mercy of gods, whether it be the Greek gods or the Judeo-Christian gods, here there's a very different concept of gods and the human potential for wisdom vis-a-vis the god-like aspect of humanity. Do you think that would have been considered irreverent in the sort of Hindu world, to speak of the gods as students? Or was there precedent for that? Good question, actually. I think so. Does anybody know more than that? My sense of it is no.

[41:32]

I think about the story of the Abbot. It's told so many times this year about the World Honored One was walking with his congregation and then Indra, king of the gods, talks to the World Honored One and they sort of have a mutual understanding about reality. But I mean, pre-Buddhist, would that have been the case? I think not. I think that You see, because my understanding, and I don't know so much about Vedic thought, but I think there was the idea that a human being could aspire to the condition of the gods, could unite, like your atman would unite with brahman, the great soul, oversoul of the gods, but that a human being would have a wisdom and a knowledge

[42:33]

that we would teach the gods, I think this is unique to Buddhism. In mythology you don't have people teaching them, but you have humans tricking them. Yes, interaction, there's a real interaction there. But they're the bosses though. Well, they have sex too. Yeah, with the gods. So there's that kind of interaction. This is a little different though, you know, the Buddha actually teaching the gods, and the gods sort of saying, you know, please give us teaching. It's a little different here. Anyway, it's kind of interesting. See, I mean, the gods, from the standpoint of, see, it's the old lore that the gods have to do with the higher meditation realms, you see. So it has to do with escaping the lower realms in which we have bodies and we eat and we smell and we touch and entering into the higher realms that are accessible to us through trans-states, you see, where we become gods.

[43:36]

And gods means, you know, without bodies and beyond. And that to do that, I mean, the pre-Buddhistic notion was that to be able to do that, was the achievement. To be able to go beyond the body, go beyond the physical plane, was the achievement. And that was what the Buddha practiced right in the beginning, before he discovered the way of enlightenment. He was practicing these different kinds of austerities and practices to get him out of it, beyond the human realm, into the God realm, where he was no longer burdened by this body. But he found a way that transcended that, that in other words, went beyond the duality of God and human, and completely went off into a whole other understanding of reality that didn't dichotomize gods and humans. So in that sense, from the Buddha's point of view, entering into a whole other realm, becoming a god was actually a lose, because all that would happen is you were enjoying yourself for a while, having gotten rid of the suffering of the body,

[44:46]

But then you would get another body eventually, and you'd be born in another body. So this was not a final solution. This was not really getting you anywhere. So because of that, in all the sutras, the gods sort of somehow understand this, and so they're always looking for... They have the urgency of knowing that they're in this really nice state, that it's not going to last very long. So they're always thinking, you know, wouldn't it be nice if we could go directly from the god state to enlightenment and not have to go through all of this suffering. They know they have a good deal and they know they're going to crash, so they're really interested. And they're in a position to seek teaching powerfully. So here's a case where a god or godling, I don't really know what the difference between a god and a godling is, but I guess a godling is an underling of a god or something. Anyway, the godling, right mindfulness, says to the enlightening being, truth, wisdom, In all worlds, enlightening beings, following the teaching of the enlightened ones, dye their clothing and leave home to become mendicants.

[45:50]

How can they attain purity of religious practice and from the state of enlightening reach the path of unexcelled enlightenment? So this is about purity of conduct really. And the variant translations of this chapter will say pure conduct rather than religious practice. So this question really says, what's the pure conduct of a monk? How do we practice pure conduct? What do we do? Actually, it's quite like the question that we looked at several weeks ago, which was, the response was, all those verses, remember? When you see a road, when you see a... So truth-wisdom answered. Great enlightening beings, when performing religious practice, should attentively contemplate ten things objectively. The body, physical action, speech, verbal action, mind, mental action, Buddha, teaching, the Sangha, and the precepts.

[47:04]

Those ten things, which really boil down to body, speech, and mind. and Buddha-Dharma-Sangha and the precepts. And all those things are, each one of them, of course, as this chapter unfolds, we see that each one of them is a koan to be solved. Anyway, I had fun thinking of the correspondence of body, speech and mind and Buddha-Dharma-Sangha thinking of Buddha as being a transfigured or transformed body, Dharma being speech transformed, and Sangha being the mind transformed. You know, like the Sixth Ancestor talks about in the Sixth Ancestor Sutra that

[48:09]

the vow to save all sentient beings, he says, that is the same as, that means to understand your mind. Saving all sentient beings means to understand your mind. So Sangha and mind and thought become identified. So that truly transforming our mind and our thinking and our mental processes is to to join the sangha, join the sangha of all beings. So I was thinking of this and thinking of the precepts as the agency of transformation. That's why in Zen, despite the fact that Zen is so focused on certainly on Zazen and on Koan literature, which seems to be emphasizing wisdom and insight, what's transmitted and what's considered the bottom line in Zen practice is the precepts.

[49:16]

Actually, that's the one thing that you receive in the deepest possible way in dharma transmission is the precepts, is the preceptual vein. And here, you know, you think of Zen, don't think of Zen as being a sort of a moralistic school or something, you know, and yet the precepts are considered to be the deepest treasure. So this is a kind of deep, I think, view of the precepts, that the precepts are not some moral rules, but they're actually following the precepts and understanding the precepts as koans, as transformative kernels that work in our lives in that way, is how we transform the acts of body, speech and mind into acts of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. So anyway, these are the kinds of things I think about. Where do you get the notion that the precepts are at the center? Well, from the Dharma Transmission Ceremony and from teachings that... There are commentaries into that ceremony and teachings at that time that talk about

[50:27]

the preceptual vein. They call it the one great causal event that's transmitted in the line of ancestors as the precepts. And the precepts form the nucleus of all these ceremonies, all the ordination ceremonies are ceremonies of taking precepts. So it's like this tremendous act. It's considered to be a tremendous act to take the precepts. Isn't the way Mel talked about them a few weeks ago was sort of as if the development of precepts came later, as a sort of rules of living? Well, there's another aspect. The Bodhisattva precepts are what I'm speaking of. There also is another aspect of precepts, which is that. Just there's 250 rules for living that the Buddha devised practically. But the sixteen Bodhisattva precepts are sort of cosmic or metaphysical, they're not rules of conduct.

[51:33]

We're talking different precepts here? Yeah, talking about two different things really. Well, I mean, one view of precepts is rules of conduct for the monks so that they can live together conveniently and in harmony, and relate to lay people in a way that had full propriety. And so there were different rules, things like don't sleep on a high bed, and don't wear these kind of robes, and that sort of thing. And those rules also included more general and broad moral rules, but they also included a lot of specific lifestyle kind of rules. Then, over a period of time, they developed a set of precepts. These are the ones that we take, you know, in Zen lineages, which are understood to be, rather than practical rules for living, more like a profound understanding of conduct that we're aspiring to.

[52:41]

That's exactly what Mel was speaking to, was the Bodhisattva precepts, specifically. for monks. Well, maybe he was speaking of them in a different context, in a different way. One could also speak of them... The example was the cautionary warning to the monk who was sleeping with his monkey. That was the context for taking on that. Well, one can view precepts in a lot of ways. I'm giving you the way from the standpoint of the sutra here. So there's a metaphysical or cosmic aspect to the precepts, and there's also a practical aspect. Because even the sixteen bodhisattva precepts, don't steal, don't kill. I guess I called that question because there's other notions about what is at the center here, and I'm just sort of curious that you would boldly put forward that the precepts are at the center. Yes, well that's tonight. And what are the precepts? We can see them in different ways as well, but for tonight.

[53:54]

So, you should consider these ten things and contemplate, in effect, whether any of these ten things, which seem to include all the possible things that there are, whether any of them are religious practice. Is the body religious practice? and so on, down to, are precepts religious practice? And then of course it goes through all of these things and kind of shows that, well, it couldn't be that these things are religious practice. Or if they are religious practice, then what are they really? If the body were religious practice, then religious practice would be not good. It would be defiled, it would be impure, it would be foul, it would be unclean, it would be disgusting, it would be intractable, it would be defined, and it would be a corpse. Referring to all these traditional practices of understanding the body as disgusting and a corpse and a big skin bag and so on.

[54:58]

So you can't say that's religious teaching. If physical action were religious teaching, then we would say that walking, standing, sitting, lying down, and so on. It goes through all these things. Explanations wouldn't be religious teaching. Ideas would be religious teaching. Well, let's say it's the Buddha. Well, if it's the Buddha that's religious practice, then is material form the Buddha? Is sensation the Buddha? Are special powers the Buddha? And so on. Anyway, it sort of goes through and says, you know, you can't say that any of these things are religious practice. And even if you do say that they're religious practice, you can't say what they are. If you say the precepts are religious practice, where are the precepts? Is it the tutor? Is it the ordination platform that's the precepts? So on. Is it shaving your head? Is that the precepts? So then comes this wonderful paragraph, which is why I chose this chapter, because I just love this passage.

[55:59]

Having contemplated thus, having no attachment to the body, no clinging to practice, no dwelling on doctrine, the past gone, the future not yet arrived, the present empty, There is no doer, no receiver of consequences. This time doesn't move, another time doesn't shift. What thing is therein to be called religious practice? Where does religious practice come from? Where is it? Who is the body? By whom is it performed? Does it exist? Does it not exist? Is it form? Is it not form? Is it sensation? Is it not sensation? Is it conception? Is it not conception? Is it action? Is it not action? Is it consciousness? Is it not consciousness? Contemplating in this way, because the reality of religious practice cannot be apprehended because the things of past, present and future are all empty, because the intellect has no attachment, because the mind has no obstruction, because the sphere of operation is non-dual, because expedient means are free, because of acceptance of formless truth, because of contemplation of formless truth, because of knowing the Buddha's teaching is equanimous,

[57:29]

because of fulfilling all qualities of Buddhahood is such practice called pure religious practice." Anyway, I just thought that was a nice passage. The key line there for me is, the reality of religious practice cannot be apprehended. And that's why we cannot become stuck on religious practice. We cannot define it and therefore become attached to it and become confused about it and turn it into poison. Because it cannot be apprehended. It cannot be an object of our grasping.

[58:31]

and perceptual apparatus the way that the mundane world can. And that's the point of the previous part of the chapter, which shows, you know, well, you think it's this? Well, how can it be that? You think it's this? How can it be that? It can't be any of these things. Because it cannot be apprehended. Because things of the past, present and future are all empty. Because the intellect has no attachment. And the mind has no obstruction. Even though we think the mind is full of obstruction, actually the mind has no obstruction. It's kind of revolutionary in that it's sort of a slap at all the austerities that the Buddha had gone through. And I guess at the time in India that all these various traditions and sects that were going about and doing all this stuff. Still going on. So then he concludes that ten things also should be cultivated.

[59:40]

And these are the ten powers of the Buddha. Knowledge of what is so and what is not. Knowledge of past, present and future consequences of actions. Knowledge of all meditations, liberations and concentrations. Knowledge of superiority and inferiority of faculties. knowledge of all kinds of understanding, knowledge of all kinds of realms, knowledge of where all paths lead, unhindered clairvoyance, unhindered knowledge of past lives, knowledge of the eternal cancellation of habit energy. That's great. Clearism. You know, that means the destruction of all bad karma. You know, bringing to extinction. Rest. that karma. But habit energy is a good phrase. Kind of repetitive numbers that we constantly are doing and can't seem to get out of. Habit energy is karma. Yeah. Contemplating each of these ten powers and so on.

[60:41]

So, that's a little bit about those two books. So I thought, I really We read this one week at Green Gulch. This was just book 16, right? And this is book 23, which I'm proposing for tonight's reading, because it's such a wonderfully wacky and delightful reading. And I figured you only had two pages there. It wouldn't be enough for us to read for tonight, so I asked Ross to Xerox this up. We had a great time.

[61:50]

Then, by the spiritual power of the Buddha, in each continent Jambu of every world in the ten directions was seen the Buddha sitting under a tree, at each of which were enlightening beings imbued with spiritual power from the Buddha expounding the teachings, each thinking themselves to be always face to face with the Buddha. At that time the Buddha, again by spiritual power, went to the palace adorned by all exquisite jewels and the Tushita heaven of satisfaction and happiness. Yet without leaving the foot of the enlightenment tree in the palace of the Suyama heaven on the peak of Mount Sumeru, the celestial king of the Tushita heaven, seeing from afar the Buddha's advent, set up a jewel-lined lotus seat in the palace. That lion throne was made of a collection of celestial jewels obtained from roots of goodness cultivated in the past, made manifest by the spiritual powers of all Buddhas, born of countless hundreds of thousands of billions of billions of roots of goodness, created by the pure teachings of all the life ones, adorned by the power of infinite virtue.

[64:45]

Resulting from pure actions, it was indestructible and endlessly delightful to all beholders. Its transcendental qualities were not influenced by the world. Though all sentient beings come to Gesan, none could exhaustively fathom its glories. There were a hundred trillion trees all around it with a hundred trillion gold webs, a hundred trillion flower curtains, a hundred trillion jewel curtains, a hundred trillion garlic curtains, and a hundred trillion incense curtains hung above it. Garlands of flowers hung down and their scent perfuming everywhere. A hundred trillion canopies of flowers and a hundred trillion canopies of garlands and a hundred trillion canopies of jewels were held by various celestial beings arrayed in rows on all four sides. A hundred trillion precious robes were spread on it. A hundred trillion balconies radiantly adorned it, with a hundred trillion nets of pearls and a hundred trillion nets of jewels covering the bow, while a hundred trillion nets of necklaces hung down on all four sides.

[65:50]

A hundred trillion nets of ornaments, a hundred trillion nets of canopies, a hundred trillion nets of groves, and a hundred trillion nets of jeweled tapestries were hung above. A hundred trillion nets of jeweled lotuses in full bloom with glorious light, a hundred trillion nets of incense with exquisite fragrance delighting everyone, a hundred trillion curtains of jeweled chimes moving gently producing harmonious, elegant sounds, A hundred trillion curtains of precious sandalwood and its fragrant perfume in the air. A hundred trillion curtains of precious flowers in full bloom. A hundred trillion curtains of rain and the various subtle hues, rare in the world. A hundred trillion curtains showing lightning beads. A hundred trillion multicolored curtains. A hundred trillion gold curtains. A hundred trillion lapis lazuli curtains. And a hundred trillion curtains of various jewels, all on above. A hundred trillion curves of all jewels adorned by huge ritual filling gems, and a hundred trillion flowers of exquisite jewels surrounded by various arrays.

[66:54]

A hundred trillion looks like the hangings of superb beauty were placed at intervals. A hundred trillion gardens of jewels and a hundred trillion gardens of fragrances hung down on all four sides. A hundred trillion celestial fragrant resins performed everywhere. A hundred trillion ornaments of celestial decorations, a hundred trillion ornaments of jeweled flowers, a hundred trillion ornaments of jewels from the five spines, a hundred trillion ornaments of wish-fulfilling jewels, and a hundred trillion ornaments of wish-fulfilling pearls from the ocean, adorning the body of the throne. A hundred trillion embroidered tapestries of exquisite jewels, trailed down like streamers, A hundred trillion cosmic nexus diamonds, a hundred trillion wish-fulfilling jewels, and a hundred trillion beautiful gold treasure troves were placed in these awesome relics. A hundred trillion Hercules jewels, and a hundred trillion sapphires laced with life, and a hundred trillion indestructible celestials, qualities, a giving force of alive colors, and a hundred trillion jewels from pure, beautiful wines, a hundred trillion crescent jewels, finest in the world, a hundred trillion Mayan king wish-fulfilling jewels, a hundred trillion gold jewels, a hundred trillion jewels from pure gold,

[68:15]

And a hundred trillion jewels can follow the sovereignty of a living, alive, covered cloud. A hundred trillion jewels set the Jewish world on fire. A hundred trillion jewels are emblematic of the poor American who adorned his life with lots of fancy. A hundred trillion pearl ornaments, a hundred trillion lavishly ornamented ornaments, a hundred trillion ruby ornaments, a hundred trillion crystal stone jewel ornaments, a hundred trillion ornaments of jewel lights, a hundred trillion ornaments of jewels of various kinds, the site, a hundred trillion ornaments and jewels from treasures that bodies caused to form, a hundred trillion ornaments and comparable jewels of extreme purity, and a hundred trillion ornaments and jewels of superlative brilliance were hung all around this ornamental site. a hundred trillion unusually beautiful decorations made of jewels, a hundred trillion jewels in exquisite forms of celestial beings, a hundred trillion subtle perfumes from the ten directions, a hundred trillion black-scented wood incenses, a hundred trillion fragrances from inconceivable realms, a hundred trillion most excellent scents, and a hundred trillion extremely pleasing incenses all emitted by fragrant airs perfumed in the ten directions.

[69:30]

A hundred trillion special incenses were scattered in all congregations. A hundred trillion scents of pure light perfumed sanctioned beings. A hundred trillion incenses of boundless various colors perfumed all the Buddha lands, never fading away. A hundred trillion perfumes, a hundred trillion scents, a hundred trillion burning incenses perfumed everything. A hundred trillion aloe perfumes from lotus blossom banks producing great sound. a hundred trillion wafting fragrances with the power to transform the minds of sentient beings, and a hundred trillion perfumes with the power to enlighten the pervaded everywhere, causing all the senses of those who notice them to become ill. There are also a hundred trillion various varieties of fearless perfumes and kings among fragrances. There reign a hundred trillion clouds of celestial flowers, a hundred trillion clouds of celestial perfumes, a hundred trillion clouds of healing potions, A hundred trillion clouds of celestial blue lotuses, a hundred trillion clouds of celestial red lotuses, a hundred trillion clouds of heavenly white lotuses, a hundred trillion clouds of heavenly mandorava flowers, a hundred trillion clouds of all kinds of celestial flowers, a hundred trillion clouds of celestial garments,

[70:45]

a hundred trillion clouds of jewels, a hundred trillion clouds of celestial canopy, a hundred trillion clouds of celestial banners, a hundred trillion clouds of celestial crowns, a hundred trillion clouds of celestial ornaments, a hundred trillion clouds of celestial garlands, a hundred trillion clouds of necklaces of heavenly jewels, a hundred trillion clouds of celestial sandalwood incense, and a hundred trillion clouds of celestial aloe incense. They were set up a hundred trillion jewel banners. They were hung a hundred trillion jewel pennants. They were draped a hundred trillion jewel streamers. They were lit a hundred trillion incense braziers. They were spread a hundred trillion jewel garlands. They were held a hundred trillion jewel fans. They were taken up a hundred trillion gold whisks. They were draped a hundred trillion necks of jewel chalks producing exquisite sounds when stirred by the breeze. A hundred trillion jeweled balustrades surrounded the throne. A hundred trillion jeweled palm trees were arrayed in rows. A hundred trillion windows sprang into orchard gyms, making magnificent adornments.

[71:50]

A hundred trillion jeweled trees provided shade all around. A hundred trillion jeweled networks going from north to east to west. A hundred trillion jeweled railways with drapery garlands. A hundred trillion golden chimes produced by block music. A hundred trillion ornaments in the form of auspicious symbols with red and slender berets. There were a hundred trillion jeweled talismans, able to give rid of all evils. A hundred trillion gold treasuries, woven of golden thread. A hundred trillion jeweled robes, enameled with precious stones and skeletal robes. And a hundred trillion heads of all kinds of precious jewels, able to give rid of all evils. A hundred trillion luminous jewels radiated various kinds of light. A hundred trillion light beams illuminated everywhere. There were a hundred trillion sun treasure ores, a hundred trillion moon treasure ores, all made of collections of jewels of infinite colors. A hundred trillion threatening flames shone with crystal clear light. A hundred trillion dancing lotuses burst into glorious bloom. A hundred trillion nets of jewels, a hundred trillion nets of flowers, a hundred trillion nets of incense, a hundred trillion cups of coffee.

[72:58]

A hundred trillion jewel robes, a hundred trillion sapphire robes, a hundred trillion celestial yellow robes, a hundred trillion celestial red robes, a hundred trillion celestial robes of unusual color, a hundred trillion storyboard celestial robes of various precious substances, a hundred trillion various perfume robes, a hundred trillion robes made of all precious substances, a hundred trillion pure white robes, all carefully spread and collected, A hundred trillion banners of celestial chimes and a hundred trillion banners of golden mesh produced subtle tones.

[74:04]

There were a hundred trillion banners of heavenly embroideries containing all colors. A hundred trillion fragrant banners were draped with webs of perfume. A hundred trillion flower banners showered all kinds of flowers. A hundred trillion banners of brand new trail of exquisite rose. There were a hundred trillion celestial jewel banners, starting with all sorts of gems. A hundred trillion celestial ornament banners decorated with all manner of embellishments. A hundred trillion celestial garland banners, garlands of various kinds of flowers, arrayed on four sides. A hundred trillion celestial canopy banners with jewel bells harmoniously ringing, flashing, please now hear us. There were a hundred trillion celestial conscious producing wonderful sounds, a hundred trillion celestial bass drums producing great dreams, a hundred trillion celestial choirs producing subtle sounds, a hundred trillion celestial drums producing loud, beautiful sounds, a hundred trillion orchestras playing all at once, a hundred trillion independent celestial musicians producing sublime sounds, filling all Buddha lands,

[75:07]

100,000,000 celestial natural music sounding like echoes responding to all things. 100,000,000 celestial drums producing wonderful sounds when struck. 100,000,000 kinds of natural celestial music which produces wonderful harmony. And 100,000,000 various celestial assemblies producing wonderful music extinguishing all afflictions. 100,000,000 pleasing sounds saying graces of giving offerings. 100,000,000 far reaching sounds saying graces of service. A hundred trillion extremely deep songs are saying praises of practical application. A hundred trillion songs of myriad subtleties are saying praises of the fruits of the Buddha's deeds. A hundred trillion delicate songs are saying praises of the principles supported by reality. A hundred trillion repeated songs are saying praises of the Buddha's past practices. A hundred trillion pure sounds sang praises of the path offers of the Buddhas. A hundred trillion signs of teachings sang praises of the supreme purelessness of the Buddhas. A hundred trillion infinite sounds sang praises of the infinity of enlightening beings' virtues.

[76:11]

A hundred trillion signs of the stages of enlightened beings sang praises of revealing the practices appropriate to all the stages of enlightenment. A hundred trillion uninterrupted sounds sang praises of the endlessness of the Buddhas' virtue issues. A hundred trillion informative signs, saying graces of practices by which Buddha is seen. A hundred trillion signs of extremely profound teaching, saying graces of principles corresponding to unheeded knowledge of all things. A hundred trillion great signs to evolve Buddha-land. A hundred trillion signs of unimpeded purity cause all to rejoice in the form of their incarnation. A hundred trillion suns of non-dwelling in the triple world cause all human beings to deeply believe into the nature of reality. A hundred trillion suns of joy cause the merits of all humans to be unconstructed with deeper thinking and respect. A hundred trillion suns of the realm of literally revealed meanings of all things. A hundred trillion suns of concentration formulae surrounding the distinctions of all doctrines, definitively comprehending the necessary treasure of the enlightened ones,

[77:13]

A hundred trillion times, of all truths, gentleness, blessings, and harmony, I call to music. There were a hundred trillion newly inspired enlightened beings who, as soon as they saw this throne, doubly increased their determination for ignition. A hundred trillion enlightened beings preparing to drown out their minds pure and joyful. A hundred trillion practicing of all enlightened beings, their understanding pure and clear. A hundred trillion mentally born enlightened beings abiding in supreme zeal. A hundred trillion enlightened beings equipped with skilled means, activating the great vehicle.

[78:17]

A hundred trillion enlightened beings in the abode of right mindfulness, diligently cultivating the path of all enlightened beings, A hundred trillion non-regressing enlightened beings purify all stages of enlightenment. A hundred trillion enlightened beings of spiritual nature attain the light of concentration of all enlightened beings. A hundred trillion Prince of Teaching enlightened beings enter the inconceivable sphere of all Buddhas. A hundred trillion Coordinated enlightened beings able to manifest the ten powers of Infinite Enlightened Ones. A hundred trillion enlightened beings with mastery of spiritual powers. A hundred trillion enlightened beings with pure understanding. A hundred trillion enlightened beings with simple minds. A hundred trillion enlightened beings with profound and predictable faith. A hundred trillion enlightened beings expounding the means of teachings. causing knowledge to be sure, a hundred trillion lightning-mages with uncertain recollections, a hundred trillion lightning-mages with certain knowledge, a hundred trillion lightning-mages with the power to retain what they hear, holding on to their teachings,

[79:21]

A hundred trillion enlightened beings whose infinitely vast, great awareness of self-understanding. A hundred trillion enlightened beings who are embodied in the faculty of faith. A hundred trillion enlightened beings who have attained transcendent self-control and fully kept all the moral concepts. A hundred trillion enlightened beings who have attained transcendent generosity where they were able to give everything. A hundred trillion enlightened beings who have attained transcendent forbearance whose minds do not wander and who are able to accept all the Buddha's teachings. A hundred trillion enlightened beings who entertain transcendent vigor and are capable of carrying out unlimited efforts for gratification. A hundred trillion enlightened beings who entertain transcendent meditation and who imbue it with a shining light of infinite meditation. A hundred trillion enlightened beings who entertain transcendent wisdom and provide light and wisdom to people in this room and everywhere. A hundred trillion enlightened beings who represent the greater house of all fear. A hundred trillion enlightened beings who entertain the hand of knowledge. A hundred trillion lightning days illuminate by the twilight of the universe in ten directions.

[80:27]

A hundred trillion lightning days expound the way to get rid of fallout throughout the ten directions. A hundred trillion lightning days illuminate the fields of all of us. A hundred trillion lightning days expound the reality we've solved over the last millennium. 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 you

[82:01]

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