This morning we paid homage to the perfection of wisdom. The lovely, the holy. We paid homage and praised the perfection of wisdom. Sometimes some practitioners say that perfect wisdom is a direct cognition of what we call emptiness, a direct cognition of selflessness, a direct cognition of how all the phenomena that we are cognizing are lacking any independent existence, lacking any basis for grasping.

[01:18]

And so they say that perfect wisdom is like cognizing that, Sometimes they say even perceiving it. And then some people say perfect wisdom is really wonderful, but emptiness is not necessarily as wonderful as the perfect wisdom. So like the ultimate character of all phenomena is this, the final thing about phenomena is that you can't find them, you can't get a hold of them. They offer no basis for grasping. That's their final character or nature, their ultimate truth.

[02:21]

And like I said, some people say, well that's not so holy, that's just reality. That's just ultimate truth. What's really holy is the realization of that. So another view is that the realization of emptiness is emptiness. That the lack of inherent nature is actually wisdom, rather than... Wisdom is what understands the lack of inherent existence. That makes wisdom here, and lack of inherent existence, or ultimate truth, there. And the wisdom knows the emptiness. But they almost never say that the emptiness knows the wisdom. Could you say it one more time?

[03:31]

So, some people would say that this perfect wisdom is the awareness that all phenomena lack inherent existence. All phenomena lack any basis for grasping. But another way of saying it is that perfect wisdom is the lack of any basis for apprehension or apprehending. That the way things are is perfect wisdom. Which would mean that the way things are is wisdom, which means the way things are is a mind, rather than this great mind perfect wisdom, certainly a great mind, that knows the deep truth of all phenomena. And that deep truth of all phenomena is not a mind, it's a nature.

[04:40]

And that nature is not cognition. Another way to see it is that the actual lack of inherent existence of things is perfect wisdom. The lack of a basis for getting a hold of anything, that is perfect wisdom. And if I make perfect wisdom one thing, and what it knows another, then is there any basis for apprehending wisdom being one thing, and what it knows another? Well, no. There's no basis for apprehending no basis. There's no basis for apprehending perfect wisdom. There's no basis for apprehending emptiness. Emptiness is that we can't find anything and we can't find not finding anything.

[05:46]

So I'm more meditating on how perfect wisdom is the way things ultimately are, and the way things ultimately are is there a mind which cannot be apprehended, which is a mind which is that nothing can be apprehended. But there's a kind of still there's a kind of dynamic there between the way things are and knowing the way things are, or the way things are and a knowing, which is the way things are. So, the way things are is with us all the time. The way a color is, the way a feeling is, that's always that way, and we always have the way things ultimately are

[06:49]

whenever we're with things. But we don't necessarily understand that there's no basis for grasping them. As we're grasping them, we don't necessarily understand there's no basis for this grasping. However, there is no basis for the grasping, and the no basis is right there while we're grasping. Which is to say the perfect wisdom is right there while we're ignoring the deep nature of phenomena. So we can see the appearance of something which doesn't exist. What doesn't exist? Inherent nature. And we can see inherent nature and it feels like we can get a hold of it.

[07:51]

like this person is inherently good. But there is no inherently good person. There is a production of things like inherently existing people, that their production of inherently human beings, inherently animal beings, these appearances are being produced but they fail to actually exist. They're just phantoms. Meanwhile, their profound nature is right there with their phantom nature, and there is a realization right there And yet, there is their nature, and their nature is that their nature is realized. It's not like there's their nature and then their nature is not realized.

[08:58]

Their nature is their nature, and the nature is realized. That's right here, and we easily miss out on it. And the way we miss out on it is by being half-hearted in our participation with what doesn't exist. And the way we half-heartedly participate with the way things don't exist is to agree that something that appears to be inherently existing actually is inherently existing. And that That attitude makes our engagement with the thing less than wholehearted. But if we admit, okay, I have this... Again, I'm dwelling in this thing which appears to exist on its own, therefore I must be half-heartedly participating with it.

[10:01]

I confess that, I'm sorry, and now I will try to more wholeheartedly participate in what I've heard is an illusion. that this thing exists by itself, that this person exists by herself. I see that illusion and I understand that if I would fully participate with that illusion, I would not believe it, and vice versa. If I really think it's true that this person exists independently of everybody else, then I'm believing that illusion and I'm not fully participating with them. So again, the realization is at hand, things are realized, and that is perfect wisdom. It's never someplace else, it's a question of opening to it. Which is a huge challenge, because opening to it means opening to superficial

[11:09]

the superficial, illusory quality of our life, which we're happy to grasp and try to manipulate and control, but again, that's half-heartedness. To try to control somebody is being half-hearted with them. But to be with people, giving up trying to control, and giving ourselves completely, and receiving them completely, and not abiding in any position with them, then we open to the realization of the profound nature which was never anyplace else. But still there's a kind of a pivot between illusion and reality, between appearance and beyond appearance, between foreground and background.

[12:12]

There's a kind of pivot there, because you can't have the superficial without the profound. And you can't have the profound without the superficial. And you can't have the non-realization of the profound without the realization of the profound. And if you don't want to be wholehearted about things moment by moment, you cannot be half-hearted without simultaneously not half-hearted. So deeply we're not half-hearted, superficially we are half-hearted. Even though we may be superficially wholehearted, that's a very reduced version of wholeheartedness so that we can grasp it. So in the Heart Sutra at the beginning it says that the great compassion Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

[13:30]

is deeply practicing the perfection of wisdom, deeply practicing prajnaparamita, and in this practice sees that all the categories of existence, or you could say all categorical existence, is empty of inherent existence, of own own existence, own being. So when practicing deeply Prajnaparamita, there is a seeing of the emptiness of all phenomena. And then it's kind of tricky. Then it says something like, and relieves all suffering and distress. Or, and all suffering and distress is relieved. It's relieved in the deep practice and in the seeing the profound nature of all categorical existence.

[14:46]

Categorical existence is superficial. Putting things in categories is superficial. But in ordinary consciousness there is this superficial categorical activity or categorizing activity. If we practice Prajnaparamita we'll see there's no basis to apprehend those categories or anything in the categories. And this vision is not adequate to these things offering no basis for apprehension, which is the vision which is not adequate to what it sees.

[15:49]

So the vision can't even see the emptiness, even though It says it sees the emptiness. It sees the emptiness without being able to see the emptiness. Because the emptiness is too deep to be apprehended. And that's the kind of failure of seeing that's the seeing. And that way of being with things relieves suffering. Yes? How do you fit the stage of dependent-core origination awareness of codependent arising into the scheme? I mean, is that what you're talking about when you have knowledge of the emptiness, but you're not actually experiencing emptiness? Is that the pivot point that you talked about, codependent arising coming into that world? So there, dependent-core arising,

[16:55]

is a teaching which applies to the dependent co-arising of old age, sickness, misery and death. It also applies to the cessation of old age, sickness, misery and death. The occurrence of cyclic misery is a dependent co-arising. the process by which it dependently co-arises is dependent co-arising. The process by which it ceases is dependent co-arising. So both the world of birth and death dependently co-arises and the world of nirvana dependently co-arises. In terms of perfect wisdom, the wisdom which understands the process of dependent co-arising, and therefore, for example, sees there's no basis for clinging, which is no basis for craving, no basis for thirst, no basis for grasping, that vision

[18:22]

is the vision that usually puts an end to this samsaric cycle and leads to nirvana. But this perfect wisdom, the perfection of wisdom, goes beyond that wisdom and doesn't even abide in the teaching of dependent co-arising even though it's looking at the teaching of dependent co-arising in the sense of looking at the teaching of the origination of samsara, looking at the teaching of the origination of realization of nirvana. It understands that and realizes that without abiding in the process of nirvana, without abiding in the process of peace and freedom. It seems like the main purification is a purification of half-heartedness.

[19:39]

Nirvana is something that those who have the bodhisattva vow are sometimes quite... seems to be they're terrified of it because they might apprehend that freedom. They might abide in the wisdom which gives them freedom from birth and death. They are happy to have freedom from birth and death, they just don't want to abide in that freedom. But, freedom from birth and death is kind of nice, to say the least. So, people might abide in freedom, and they might abide in the wisdom which gives them freedom. Bodhisattvas want a wisdom which doesn't abide in wisdom, and therefore a freedom which doesn't abide in freedom.

[20:47]

And therefore, an understanding of dependent co-arising which is the real understanding of dependent co-arising, is to go beyond your understanding of dependent co-arising. If you understand dependent co-arising, you hear the Dharma, you see the Buddha. The Buddha says, when you see dependent co-arising, you see the Dharma. When you see the Dharma, you see me. When you see dependent co-arising, you see the Buddha. Okay, that's pretty good. And many people might be wanting to abide in face-to-face transmission with Buddha, face-to-face transmission with Dharma, face-to-face transmission with the teaching of dependent co-arising. But the real face-to-face transmission is you do not abide in meeting Buddha. Because Buddha, even Buddha, can't abide in being Buddha because Buddha is nothing in and of itself, so there's no way to abide in Buddha.

[21:51]

And Buddha realizes that everything's like that. So we have a teaching of dependent co-arising, and if we understand it, we're liberated from the dependent co-arising of samsara. We enter the dependent co-arising of nirvana, and then if we don't abide in this teaching, or anything else, then we don't abide in nirvana. Or samsara. And all this is going on is dependent co-arising. All this realization and going beyond realization is Buddha going beyond Buddha. Yes, Emerald. Fourteen years ago I had an experience where I went into convulsions. You went into convulsions?

[22:54]

Convulsions. Which I experienced leaving my body and not seeing from my physical eyes. And it was like a process of where the convulsions would start and then I would slowly slip out of having control over my body. the visual aspect of it was really quite curious. So being able to no longer see solid bodies or forms or chairs or anything, and it turned into emptiness that contained a lot of rainbows. And then I would be back in my body again when the convulsions would stop. And this happened five times. And I really feel like what you're speaking about is being able to clearly see emptiness and yet it still doesn't take away my ability to abide in delusions and fear or sadness or all the experiences and yet there's still a really clear sense of losing that fear of death and being able to experience it

[24:15]

It isn't really a question, I think it's more or less like hearing you speak about this today feels clear in being able to actually digest it and not hold on to it and not need it to be anything. Did you say it helps you to digest it? Yeah, I guess so. Now just one more time, going back to Avalokiteshvara, deeply practicing Prajnaparamita and realizing that form, feelings, perceptions, all kinds of mental formations and consciousness, lack a basis for grasping. But before the realization, or along with the realization, is this practice of perfect wisdom.

[25:23]

So what is the practice of perfect wisdom? It is to fully engage all the things which she realizes are empty. engage all the things that don't look empty is the practice of perfect wisdom. When you engage all the things that don't look empty, you realize the emptiness of all the things that don't look empty. And when you realize the emptiness of all the things that don't look empty, That makes it possible, and you realize that because you did your work, your homework. In other words, you fully engaged the illusion of a home, like some place you could abide. So everything kind of looks like a potential home.

[26:25]

And you fully engaged this apparent landing pad, crash pad, housing development, you engaged it fully, and by engaging this apparent place to abide, you open to the non-abiding nature of all things. You did a good job, and as a result of doing a good job, you're open to not abiding in the good job, or any of the things you did a good job with. Now, with this realization, you can do the good job again, even more deeply, which will lead to, again, not abiding in your good work, not abiding in your visions, and not abiding in these things that appear to be existing by themselves, which will again and again lead you to more wisdom, which will help you more engage the world of apparently

[27:34]

independently existing beings, which you're going to be devoted to more effectively while you're not able to grasp them while you carry them. I'm carrying everybody to nirvana without grasping anybody. But they look like I can grasp them, and it looks like I'm grasping them, and I'm doing this wholeheartedly And I'm totally not fooled by this magical show that I'm going through with everybody. And we only have five hours left, so... Is there anybody besides Elizabeth that wants to ask a question? Elizabeth? Well, the word that keeps coming up for me is the word trust, is that somehow this is speaking to trusting. things to be as they are. Yeah, so bodhisattvas, do they trust their vow?

[28:39]

Yeah. And where does their vow come from? It comes from the way things are. Of course everything comes from or by the way things are, but bodhisattvas accept that and then the vow comes up. And they trust that vow, and trusting that vow, they trust that they should study where the vow comes from. Which is, the vow comes from the way things are. But they also accept the way things are, so they have this vow, and this vow helps them realize the way things are. Realizing the way things are is what saves people. And realizing the way things are, we realize there's no abiding in the salvation process. or in the saved beings, or in the savior. But yet you can play the role of a savior because your vow to save comes from that there's no basis for apprehending saviors.

[29:45]

So you can be a savior. Are there other words besides saving one could use? Liberating. Emancipating. Redeeming. Redeeming reality, which of course is given to us, but we sometimes lost it. And so people ask you, saving from what? What could one say? What could one say? Half-hearted life. Partial realization of life. Misery. Attachment. Greed, hate and delusion. Those are some stuff which one could be free of without moving at all. Because already, all these afflictions are inseparable from freedom from them.

[30:46]

Great compassion, which is free from all these afflictions, is right there with them. So great compassion is free of the afflictions but doesn't abandon the afflictions. So you got the foot afflictions? Okay. Your freedom of them will be basically realizing what you already have. And then, again, because of what you already have, not trying to get away from the afflictions because you're free of them. If you're not free of them, you may be tempted to get free of them. I mean, if you don't trust that you're free, you might try to get being free, rather than give yourself to freedom. I donate myself to freedom. I'm not trying to get it anymore. I'm a donation to the liberation of all beings, which is already at hand. Realization is right at hand. All I've got to do is donate myself to it. And then there'd just be liberation.

[31:50]

And then the liberation says, OK, now go back and be somebody. And you go, OK, let's be a somebody. And by the way, we added, be somebody who looks like they can be apprehended, and go through the motions of apprehendment. OK, here we go. Again. Is it okay? Can you guys wait a little longer for Sonia to ask her question? Is that alright? Sonia? I was thinking, I was feeling there were no bases. And I was thinking that maybe the basis for this categorization is actually the Vaisakhandas. And studying how... Well, excuse me, you said the basis for the categorization is the five skandhas, but the five skandhas are a category... Well, the basis for the superficial, you're saying, is the superficial?

[32:57]

I'm saying the five skandhas are a basis for thinking the illusion is out there. I'm wondering if studying the five skandhas is... They're not a basis for it. No, they are. They are thinking that things are out there. That's what the five skandhas are. So are they the basis of illusion? No, they are illusions. The five skandhas are five categories of illusion. Five categories of illusions. They're not the basis. There's no basis. They are the illusions. Five skandhas are illusions. Categories are illusions. They're not the basis. What supports the five skandhas? They don't have a support for apprehension. They only have a support for appearing that way. And their support is dependent co-arising, which is that we, before we saw

[34:04]

the five aggregates, and we thought that there was some basis for apprehending them, and we went through the magical show of apprehending them, and that transforms our life into a life which can produce these categories again. The basis of them is dependent co-arising. But they're not the basis of superficiality, they are superficiality. And so grasping superficiality has a consequence of transforming our body and mind into a superficiality production center, which gives rise to another appearance of five aggregates, But now it's another opportunity to, if you believe that they exist, to confess it and use your confession as a way to fully engage with something that there's no basis for apprehending.

[35:16]

That then transforms your whole life into another moment of remembering the teachings of basically catching myself at being a silly boy for thinking that there's some basis for apprehending these five aggregates. So Avalokiteshvara is working with the five aggregates deeply, wholeheartedly, and then realizes there's no basis for apprehending them. So then Avalokiteshvara is working with the aggregates without getting rid of them, without grasping them. which means also that working with all the sentient beings that are appearing as composition of the five aggregates, to liberate them without grasping them. But you don't really grasp the five aggregates, you grasp what they seem to offer you. Is that true? You can grasp the aggregates as a whole, like you can grasp consciousness, and then

[36:20]

So I got consciousness, I got it, grasped it. And again, I think I grasp consciousness when I don't fully engage it. But anyway, I'm not fully engaging it. So now I'm grasping consciousness, and in consciousness, I see the other four aggregates. And then I look at the foreign aggregate, and I see colors, and I grasp them, if I'm not wholehearted. Practicing perfect wisdom with these skandhas, and everything that's in each one of those categories, leads to realizing there's no basis for grasping the stuff that I'm interacting with. I'm interacting soulfully with the skandhas and with what's in those categories that I realize there's no basis for the apprehending which I'm doing. And there's no basis for apprehending the apprehending which I'm doing. Thank you for another one day of practice at no abiding.

[37:30]

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