So, we have one more week after this, right? One more Monday night to consider this Shraadhana Sutra. And I see some new faces and visitors. Welcome. And we are in the midst of reading one of the most abstruse and incomprehensible of all Buddhist sutras. One of my fellow priests and colleagues was saying to me, he goes, I can't believe that you are teaching a class in the Shraadhana Sutra. Of all the sutras, I can't believe you're doing this. So, I'm saying that for those of you who are dropping into this, you know, as a visitor, just to warn you in advance, and I'm not going to try to summarize. We're on volume four, or

[01:04]

seven volume, so I'm not going to try to summarize. I did actually, at the beginning of this series of classes, summarize where we had gotten before, but I'm not going to do that again. So, I'll just plunge in, and if it seems, I'm sure it'll be perfectly clear to all of you, but in case it's not, it's normal. So, last time, we, actually, your name's Barbara, right? Yeah. Barbara gave me this, gave me this piece from Transcicled Magazine, a talk by Sokhin Rinpoche, who's a Tibetan teacher who teaches Dzogchen. And the Dzogchen practice in view is quite similar, actually, to the, that's why Barbara

[02:10]

gave me this part, because it's quite similar to the explanation of mind that's being given in the sutra. So, I thought I would read a few excerpts from this Dharma talk, because the sutra is a, is, you know, very lofty and philosophical, and this Dharma talk is also lofty and philosophical, but it does bring it down to a level of practice. So, it might be useful to start off with a bit of this talk, which is called Dissolving the Confusion. Now, we haven't really, in the sutra, encountered anything at all, as far as I can remember, about compassion. It's all been about the nature of reality, you know, contemplation of the nature of reality. But, here he begins, the true, real view is the indivisible unity of emptiness and compassion. Confusion arises when something seemingly is, but actually

[03:12]

isn't, like mistaking a rope for a snake. This is a clear mistake, because in reality the rope is not a snake, no way. How do we actualize this view, this view meaning, the unity of emptiness and compassion? We have a lot of thoughts, one after the other, involving the duality of subject and object. In fact, every thought, every perception, always involves the duality of subject and object. When the subject latches on to, or grasps the object, that is what is normally called mind, the thinking mind. When there is this subject-object clinging, that creates karma. When karma is created, there is confusion. That's sort of, in a nutshell, the whole problem. The mind perceives an object, sees itself as different from the object, the mind then, being different from the object, clings to the object, as a result of that clinging, there is a certain momentum toward grabbiness, and fighting, and getting something,

[04:16]

and then trouble comes out of that, and then the next thing you know, we have a war that we live in. What is this thinking that always grasps onto an object? That is what we need to discover. Who is thinking? Who is the subject? What is it, really? Identify what it is that thinks, clearly and directly. It's as simple and immediate as switching on a light. When the mind recognizes itself, there is no thing to see there. It's just wide open. So that's the crux of the matter, so to speak. When the mind recognizes itself, stops turning itself outward at objects and recognizes itself, it's turning the mind around and recognizing itself, then it's clear that there's nothing to see, and then it's just an open field. There's no grasping, no clinging, no problem, no troubles.

[05:18]

Then he writes a little poem here, a traditional Dzogchen-like hymns, very nice. This busy grasping mind always latching onto things, let it be given a break to recognize itself instead. In that very moment of recognition, this mind becomes wide open, free and unconfined. That's called empty essence. So that's one thing. The empty essence, which comes from the mind seeing itself, and therefore dissolving any sense of separation. So the mind then becomes a whole of everything. That's why it's this big open space, because it's not like my mind inside of my brain. If you were to tap on my strong, it would be like massaging my mind. Not that mind. That mind, when it turns around and sees that there's nothing outside of itself, it's not limited then to my skull. It's a big mind. So that's the empty essence, is the

[06:22]

recognition of the mind as not being separate. That's one thing, the empty essence. Then at the same time, there is a certain knowing that it is empty. That is called the cognizant nature. So the one thing is the empty nature of the mind, the other thing is the cognizant nature of the mind, that there's a knowing that this is so. Your mind's empty essence and cognizant nature function simultaneously. They are not two separate things. Not at all. In fact, they are indivisible. That's called unconfined capacity. So there's three things there. The empty essence of mind, the cognizant nature of mind, that the mind knows that it's empty, and then the indivisibility of these two facts is called the unconfined capacity. And then, skipping a part here, he says now the ground, the ground is Buddha nature. What is the basic state? What is the ground? Hi, are you here for the Shurangama Sutra class?

[07:24]

Why not? Yeah. Is there a chair? If not, you can sit up here on the couch with me. Somebody can sit up here, it's no problem. Yeah. So what is the basic state, the ground? Now, so the ground is Buddha nature, right, which is the causal ground. This Buddha nature, which is actually the same, which is... Buddha nature is the regular world of causality, seen as it really is. That's called the ground. Through training on the path, we realize the ground as the fruition. So this means the ground is already the fruition. To recognize the ground for what it really is, that's already awakening.

[08:26]

We contact that, we contact what was there to begin with. At the moment, while we are deluded and on the path, we are not seeing it as it is, we are mistaking it for something else, just like the rope and the snake that I mentioned before. We need to abandon that state of temporary confusion. The path is the state of confusion. So it's a little different. They say the path is the confusion, instead of the way out of the confusion. The path is the confusion, and to remove it, we need view, meditation, and conduct. And then view is seeing the mind as it really is. Meditation is developing that, and conduct is attaining stability with it. So, three aspects, recognizing, perfecting the training of that recognition, and attaining stability. That's how we resolve confusion. Anyway, maybe that's enough. But you get the idea. The main point here is seeing the mind as it is,

[09:30]

turning the mind around, seeing the mind as it is, seeing that our idea of the limited mind that we think we have, that we think we're living in, is like looking at a snake and thinking it's a rope, or vice versa, looking at a rope and thinking it's a snake. We look at our lives and our mind, and we see a snake. But it's not really a snake, it's actually a rope. Our mind isn't this limited suffering entity that we think it is, that we've been conditioned to believe it is. Actually, it's a limitless mind. All we have to do is turn around and stop looking outside. In this sutra now, we're going to look at a lengthy passage about how to do that, about how to turn the mind around. And it happens on the level of perception itself. It's not just like some moral teaching, like, in other words, don't lust after things, don't try to live simply, or something like that.

[10:35]

It's more like on a very fundamental level of consciousness itself, to change the way that our habitual acts of perception and thought on a very deep level through intense cultivation in meditation. That's kind of what they're talking about here. So maybe if you remember last time, it would be amazing if you did, because I myself have forgotten. We left, it was like a cliffhanger, remember that? No, you don't remember. Yeah, yeah. The door of the palace. Yeah, yeah, right, right. He was just about to, like he was saying, reveal to us, the big capital T with Truth, so that we can know. And the World Honored One took pity on him. And he revealed the wonderful path of cultivation of the unsurpassed vehicle. That was where we left off, and he's about to reveal this. And then we said, well, let's end there, and keep you in suspense,

[11:35]

so that you can hardly wait until next week to get this revelation. So, are you ready for this now? Okay, this is now Volume 4, after all this now. Finally, Ananda asks, you know, will you please reveal. And now, Buddha proclaimed to Ananda and to the Great Assembly, If you want to have decisive resolve for bodhi, enlightenment, and not grow weary of the wonderful samadhi of the Buddha, the Thus Come One, you must first understand the two resolutions regarding initial resolve for enlightenment. What are the two resolutions regarding initial resolve for enlightenment? Ananda, the first resolution is this. If you wish to renounce the position of sound hearer, meaning, if you wish to go beyond a kind of literalistic understanding,

[12:39]

or limited understanding, and cultivate the bodhisattva vehicle, which is the great limitless vehicle, and enter the knowledge and vision of the Buddha, you must carefully consider whether the resolve on the cause ground and the enlightenment on the ground of fruition are the same or different. This is exactly what we've just read in Sokhin Rinpoche. We've already told this, that they are the same. Okay, so this is the first resolution. If you want to understand this profound enlightenment that I'm explaining, the first resolution is you have to carefully consider whether the resolve on the cause ground and the enlightenment on the ground of fruition are the same or different. See, this is a really radical thing, the recognition that this exact mind, consciousness, and world that we know about

[13:45]

doesn't need to be improved, doesn't need to be changed, doesn't need to be transformed. We don't have to change. We don't have to learn something we don't know. We don't have to go through some process that we haven't gone through yet. We just have to realize that we think it's a snake. What do we think it is? A rope. We think it's a rope. No, it's a snake. Whatever it is, it's the wrong one. We mistake it for what it is. We just have to recognize that. That's the first resolution. Ananda, it is impossible, while on the cause ground, to use the mind subject to production and extinction as the basis for cultivating in quest of the Buddha vehicle which is neither produced nor extinguished. So, the reason why we're so messed up is because we're thinking of using our mind, which is what we take to be our mind, which is subject to extinction and production.

[14:49]

This conventional mind that we think we're living in the middle of. We're trying to use that mind to improve the situation so that we can get enlightenment and get relief. But how can you use a mind which is produced and extinguished in quest of the Buddha vehicle which is neither produced nor extinguished? You're using the wrong tool. This wrench doesn't fit that bolt. Don't waste your time. That's your problem. Just recognize the cause ground as the fruition ground right in the beginning. We have to keep going. That's exactly what Ananda is thinking right now. But has anyone ever heard of the disintegration of the void? Have you ever heard of the void disappearing? Why not? It is because the void does not exist in the first place. So how could it ever be destroyed?

[15:50]

We are trying to realize the void with this mind that we think is extinguishing and producing. How could we ever get there? The void is categorically different from that. While you are in your body, what is solid is of earth. What is moist is of water. What is warm is of fire. And what moves is of the wind. Because of these four bonds, your tranquil and perfect, wonderfully enlightened, bright mind divides. This mind that is perfect already becomes confused and diminished. It divides into seeing, hearing, sensation and cognition. From beginning to end, there are the five layers of turbidity. So, this is traditional Buddhist physics of the four elements. Earth, water, fire and wind.

[16:56]

These four elements in relation to the body produce all the forces in the body that animate a human being. Moisture, solidity, warmth and movement. And there is a whole analysis of the body that is a combination of these four forces. And then, these are linked to our ability to... Because of these four forces, we meet a world. We experience a world outside of ourselves. The hardness, solidity of the body becomes manifested in the act of seeing a solid object outside of ourselves. The movement of the body becomes manifested in hearing an apparent object outside ourselves and so forth. Because of this confusion and mixture of these elements in the physical body, the perfect awakened mind that is fundamentally what our mind is, gets confused.

[18:06]

And we don't see it. So, now he is going to explain the five turbidities. What is meant by turbidity? Ananda, pure water for instance, is fundamentally clear and clean. Whereas dust, dirt, ashes, silt and the like are basically solid substances. Finally, something that makes sense. Ah yes, something like that. Such are the properties of the two. Their natures are not compatible. Suppose then that an ordinary person takes some dirt and tosses it into the water. What happens? The dirt loses its solid quality and the water loses its transparency. The cloudiness which results is called turbidity. It's muddy water. Your five layers of turbidity are similar to it. So in other words, our consciousness is actually like pure clear water

[19:07]

but we have thrown dirt into it. The water is still clear water but it seems to be... We look at the water and we don't see that it's clear water but this stuff dissolved in it. We think of it as this water is brown. Then he goes through each of the senses. I'll just do the first one because it's more detailed. Ananda, you see that emptiness pervades the ten directions. Space, like space. Everywhere, limitlessly, ungraspably, everywhere is pervaded by space, right? Now there is no division between space and seeing. Seeing is space and space is seeing. The act of seeing is none other than space, actually. However, although emptiness has no substance

[20:09]

and your seeing has no awareness, the two become entangled in a falseness. This is the first layer called the turbidity of time. Turbidity of time. And I think that we can understand all the other senses in the same way. Let's go into that. You see, like I was saying a while ago, consciousness, actual consciousness is indefinable. Nobody knows what consciousness is. People can measure and think about manifestations, various specific manifestations of consciousness, but the consciousness itself is not knowable by a conscious being. Because already, as soon as we bring up that consciousness on the screen as an object that we're trying to know, already we can't know it. So this is saying that consciousness is Buddha-mind, is perfect mind,

[21:14]

and consciousness and space are really and truly one and the same thing. There is no division between consciousness, which flows through our sensory apparatus and our sensory consciousnesses, and space itself. However, somehow, and it's a little vague on this point, we've mixed up the two and separated them. We've taken them to be two separate things and therefore mixed them up and made them like that muddy water so that we no longer can appreciate the limitlessness of our consciousness because now we're in the midst of the muddiness and we're screaming and yelling, how come we can't get improvement in this situation? It's just this kind of mistaken notion that got us there to begin with. And this first layer is called the turbidity of time. So here is where the world of time, the world of change, time means change, reduction, extinction, the world of time comes to being because of this funny little error

[22:18]

where we mistook one thing for another. And then he goes on to talk about the turbidity of views, which comes from the mix-up between cognition and sensation. Again, consciousness and the object of consciousness in sensation, which is either a reaction to something or a sensation in the body, an immediate sensation, and then the cognition of that sensation get mixed up together in the same way and that causes us to see things outside of ourselves as separate. And then from that comes suffering and afflictions, that's the next turbidity. And then from that suffering and affliction comes the turbidity of living beings, the next one, creatures actually, what we call beings in this world come out of suffering, all beings are born out of suffering,

[23:19]

out of this kind of confusion, which comes from views, confused views about confusing a snake for a rope or a snake, and then out of that confusion of views comes suffering because we think it's a snake, we're running away in fear, but it's just a rope. And out of those afflictions come actual beings like you and I. Let's see, then... I'm skipping some because I don't want to take up too long, and a lot of it is very skippable. Okay, so then he explained how it is that the pure consciousness... I mean, I recognize that, as I've said before in discussing the sutra, that to my eye and my mind,

[24:22]

this whole thing is a little flimsy, in the sense that, you know, logically, I mean, I don't think it... There's a lot that you could say, wait a minute, that doesn't really explain it, right? That's all I think. So, it appears to be a kind of explanation that really makes sense, but actually I don't think it makes that much sense, personally. However, the main point, I think, does make sense, to me at least, which is, the main point that's being asserted here is that consciousness itself, our consciousness, which operates through our senses, because, as we discussed earlier in the sutra, it's not a matter of, you know, I see there's a table here, and there's an eye here, the eye somehow, through space, makes contact with the table, and therefore I see a table. That's not the explanation for that, because if it were, somebody could kill me right now, but my eye would still be in good shape,

[25:25]

and they could put my corpse, with the eye open, in front of the table, and the table would still be there, and the eye would be there, but there wouldn't be any seeing, right? Even though you could take the same eye and put it in another person, and they didn't have an eye, you know, and you transplanted the eye, and they say, hey, it works perfectly, I can see, but it wouldn't work if I was dead, because then I wouldn't be conscious. So somehow the consciousness, which nobody knows what that is, operating through this situation, creates the fact of my seeing something. That consciousness, which nobody knows what it is, or how it is, or anything about it, is completely indefinable, and by virtue of what it is, cannot be an object of cognition. That consciousness is the limitless mind of Buddha, which is what we are, and is always operating through us if we're alive, or all the time that we're alive. But somehow we have mixed up that consciousness in such a way

[26:28]

that we have a very reduced sense of what it is we are, and what it is that the world is, and we're really screaming to improve on that situation, and we're trying to use that same confusion that made that skinny little world to get out of it. So we're really tied up in a knot. In fact, sooner or later in the sutra, he talks about the knot of the senses, and how to untie the knot of the senses. But that makes sense, don't you think? You can believe that. The rest of it I'm not so sure about, you know, the details of blah, blah, this and that. I think it's very spurious. Maybe if you're Chinese it makes sense, but to me, it's dubious. Anyway, going on. Ananda, you now want to cause your seeing, hearing, sensation and cognition to return to and tally with the permanence, bliss, true self and purity of the Buddha. That's what you're asking, right? Right. You should first decide what the basis of birth and death is

[27:32]

by relying on the perfect, tranquil nature which is neither produced nor extinguished. If you want to see, you know, Buddha mind, first figure out what is the underlying fundamental basis of this world of birth and death. And you should do that by relying on the nature of your own mind which is perfect and tranquil. It isn't like everything else you think you're seeing, which isn't quite true anyway, produced and extinguished. That mind isn't. You can't really say it is and you can't really say it isn't. Those categories of is and isn't, time and so forth, don't apply to the consciousness. So you have to rely on that in order to get out of this. By means of this tranquility, turn the empty and false production and extinction so that they are subdued and return to the source of enlightenment.

[28:34]

The attainment of this source of bright enlightenment which is neither produced nor extinguished is the mind on the cause ground. So now this is pointing toward an actual, so that Ananda sitting over here says, okay, how are we going to do that? Well, this is how we're going to do it. We're going to first of all recognize that all the efforts that we're making toward improvement and, well, two things. First of all, we have to recognize that all our ideas about the lack, the need for improvement are false. And all of our ideas, our schemes and strategies about how we're going to improve that situation are also false. Recognizing that, we're going to sit down and breathe and sit up straight. And then as soon as our mind produces a thought or a perception

[29:37]

that we would ordinarily take to be something outside of ourselves, we're going to recognize that as being not outside of ourselves. And we're going to deeply follow that every thought that arises in the mind back to the source. And when we get back to the nub of it, we're going to turn it around and see that it doesn't exist. And see firsthand the error of our whole approach to our living so far. So this is a kind of a meditation cultivation. It's just the same as it takes the backward step and turns the mind inwardly. It's just the same as Wong Wei's poem about, you know, return to the source, I follow the stream back to the source and watch the clouds pile up. Many expressions of this

[30:38]

in Zen meditation and other forms of meditation. So, in other words, or you could, another way of doing the same practice would be to take up the question, not as an abstract question, not as a discursive question, but the question, who is this? Who is it who's breathing? Who is it who's thinking? Who, who, who, who, who? Or what, [...] what? So in other words, just casting aside all ideas and versions of a mind and a world outside the mind and quieting the mind, bringing it back to the nub and turning the mind around, finding some means of doing that in meditation practice. That's how, that's how we're going to carry out that first resolution of recognizing that the causal ground and the mind ground, the causal ground and the fruit, fruition ground, are all the same. Okay? So that, so that's

[31:42]

the big assignment. But you could take that up. That's basically, that is basically the practice of Shikantaza, right? That is basically. This is the, more or less the theory behind basics in meditation. Particularly our style in silent illumination meditation. The basic theory of it is that you sit in meditation breathing in the present moment, try to bring the mind so intensely into the present moment that you drop any idea of time, space and external reality. Now, not to say that you, you you know, what, drop dead at the moment or something like that or fly into space. You get up then and you can live in the world as it is. But you, but you, once you recognize that that is that the external world is not what you think it is, once you have a glimpse on your cushion or maybe a little bit off your cushion

[32:42]

of that, then as Sofya Mubashe said in his talk, the next thing you do is you try to extend and train in that understanding and eventually stabilize it and then figure out how by trial and error and some teaching and so forth, how to integrate a relative ordinary everyday reality into that so that the two are mutually reinforcing. So that's basically that is pretty much the whole practice of Sofya Mubashe in a nutshell. Then you can completely accomplish the cultivation of the certification of the ground of fruition. It is like purifying muddy water. He's giving us an analogy to explain this practice further. It is like purifying muddy water by placing it in a quiet vessel which is kept completely still and unmoving. You can do that. You can put it on the table

[33:43]

and you don't pick it up and shake it around. You keep it totally still and you leave it there long enough the sand and the silt settle and the pure water appears. You don't have to do anything. But put it down and let it settle on its own accord. Of course we don't do that. We're always very active so we're constantly shaking the jar around and we think we have a jar full of mud here. This is really terrible. I want another jar. Can you get me another jar? I know that there's another country and they have better water than this, I'm sure. But if I can only get there, but then in order to get there I have to raise the money for the ticket, so I'm going to get this job and I'll do this thing. In the meantime in the job I have an enemy having trouble with me in the job and I'm suffering a lot and all that. I'll have to get the money to go to the country to get the water to put in the jar to improve the water which all I'm going to have to do is put it down and it would settle and then I wouldn't have to put all that trouble, right? In fact by going around and doing all that I'm not getting anywhere at all

[34:45]

because I did get the job. I did raise the money. I did go to the country. I did get the water. I brought it home and guess what? It was money too. Right? So then I'm thinking what was the wrong country? I've got to go to a different country. It was a bad job. I've got to get another job. It was my wife's fault. That's what it was. This kind of thing. So just put it down and then the pure water will appear. So you see, you don't do anything about it. Doing anything is like shifting the jar around. If I'm sitting in meditation scheming and thinking and making all this big effort and doing all this stuff, then I'm just shaking up the jar even though it looks like the outward eye I'm just sitting there really inside and just shaking up the jar. Instead I have to just let go of everything and just put it down and then the pure water is going to appear all by itself. This is called the initial subduing of the guest-dust affliction. That's pure, right? Guest-dust. It's like you have a TV show and you're a guest star and you're a guest-dust.

[35:46]

But they call it guest-dust because it means that the dust, the affliction, the muddiness, it means the muddiness in the water doesn't really belong there. It's just a guest. It's introduced from the outside. It's not from the essence of the water. We think the water is muddy. It's not that the water is muddy. It has this guest-dust in it which if you put it down, the guest-dust settles. But when you do that, that kind of settling like that and seeing the pure water, that's the initial subduing. The complete removal of the mud from the water is called the eternal severance of fundamental ignorance. So there's basically an infinite development of this view, as Sophie said, to stabilize it and develop it further. When clarity is pure to its essence, then no matter what happens, there is no affliction. Everything is in accord with the pure and wonderful virtues of Nirvana. So that's the first resolution.

[36:49]

Okay, Ananda? The second resolution is this. If you definitely wish to bring forth the resolve for bodhi, and to be especially courageous and dedicated in your cultivation of the bodhisattva vehicle, you must decisively renounce all conditioned appearances. So you must practice renunciation. Which means, well, let's go on. You should carefully consider the origin of affliction and the beginningless creation of karma and the perpetuation of rebirth. Who creates it and who endures it? Ananda, if in your cultivation of bodhi you do not carefully consider the origin of affliction, you cannot realize the empty falseness of the sense organs and sense

[37:51]

objects or the location of delusion. If you don't even know its location, how can you subdue and reach the level of the best common? So in answer to the question of how do you renounce all conditioned appearances, well, that basically means that it is saying that it is very habitual on a very intimate level for us to be drawn out of ourselves toward objects. Sometimes the objects are in our own mind, our own thoughts, our own ideas, our own desires. We're drawn out by these things and it's as if we're like a ghost who doesn't have any feet that's blown around in a very uncomfortable, restless type of situation. The wind blows this way and the ghost is going over here and there's no stability. The wind blows this way and the ghost is flying over that way because there's no feet, there's no way to stand on the ground. It's blown around

[38:52]

this way and that way. We have to renounce, we have to give that up, this kind of being blown around by our very own minds and by the projection of our minds of an external world that we're rushing to. We really have to give that up. In order to give it up, we have to recognize how that came, how that process came to be in the first place. That means we have to recognize the origin of that kind of habit. In order, you have to recognize that the sense objects and the sense organs are empty and false. The whole way we think the world is through the organ and the object is false. And that's the location. It's right there in the acts of perception. This whole thing, the rest of this whole volume is this unbelievably detailed exposition

[39:52]

of all the senses and how the senses, each sense organ does this, pulls us out of ourselves and creates a world of our confusion. That's the location of our confusion. It's in the very sense organs. And remember that the mind is considered a sense organ. The organ of the brain of thinking and the feeling is also a sense organ. We have to really go back very carefully in meditation and in the reflective awareness all the time of our intimate conduct. See, we're aware of ourselves on an extremely gross level. We take for granted a huge amount of stuff, right? We think, you know, here I am, I'm me and this is it, this is the world and now I'm thinking about whether my personality is doing that or not. But in worrying on that level, I've already assumed a tremendous amount of questionable stuff. In fact, the very questionable stuff that's driving my suffering,

[40:54]

I'm assuming automatically. And I'm working on the level of... It's like... What's an analogy? It's like... Well, unfortunately, I'm the type of person who does this. It's like if your car doesn't work and the engine's broken, you think, well, look, the car's not working, the engine's not working, so I think what I'll do is I'll get this cloth here and I'll start polishing it. Probably if I polish it enough, it'll start working, you know. And you think that that's a good plan. I mean, I do think that's what I usually do, actually, but don't go by me. I mean, in other words, it's totally stupid. You should open the hood and, you know, look in the engine, figure out what's wrong. So that's what we're doing. We're basically polishing the car, thinking that we're going to fix it that way. Assuming that we don't even know there's an engine in there. So he's saying, no, no, you have to get right in there, very intimately with the engine. Know where the engine is. Know the location. If you don't even know its location, how can you subdue it and reach the level

[41:55]

of the Buddha? Ananda, consider the ordinary person who wants to untie a knot. He's saying this now because he wants to get into the untying the knots of the senses. Consider an ordinary person who wants to untie a knot. How are you going to untie a knot, Ananda, you big dummy, if you don't even know where it is? You can't see the knot. How are you going to untie it? But I have never heard that one can obliterate empty space. Why? It is because emptiness has no form or appearance. Therefore, there are no knots to untie in emptiness. But now, so there's no problem. There are actually no knots, in fact. But, now, your visible eyes, ears, nose and tongue, as well as your body and mind, are like six thieving matchmakers who plunder the jewels of your household. Yeah.

[42:57]

Your six senses are like six thieving matchmakers who plunder the jewels of your household. So they're thieving because you already possess the limitless riches of Buddha mind, but you're being robbed of that by these six thieves, which are your six senses. And they're matchmaking thieves because matchmakers, you know, bring two people together, right? And so the six thieving senses bring together the organ and the object. And when the organ and the object come together, making a match, then they make a thief. And they're stealing away, they're drawing you out, stealing you away from the jewels that are in your very own house. The jewels, the treasure, is in your house already. But you don't know that. So you're winding around looking for it, and it's in your house. And you're being robbed on a moment-by-moment basis by these six thieving matchmakers. It's the senses, that's the culprit.

[43:58]

You really have to see the nature of the senses and clarify them. And thus, from beginningless time, living beings and the world have been bound up together so that the world cannot be transcendent. The world, which seems to be such a problem, is actually not a problem. It's just that because of this being mixed up together and all muddied up, like that glass of water, we cannot rise above this world. If only we knew what it truly was, we would. Ananda, yes. Question. So, are you talking about the same type of meditation? Or it's like two things, looking at the senses and consciousness sense and how it works, and not doing. Is it two things or the same thing? Well, it's basically the same thing, but what he's going to

[44:59]

suggest here in a minute, and it's going to take a number of pages to get there, what he's going to suggest is applying this same kind of meditation to the senses. The simplest way would be, and this is like a practice that's often recommended in Zen, to practice listening. So you would sit in meditation, quiet the mind, just like you were saying before, and then turn your attention to the actual physical, it seems to be physical, sensation of hearing. Not think about hearing, but sit there and totally merge your body, mind, consciousness with the organ of hearing. Sit there and listen. Totally, until you untie the knot in the ear organ. And then he's going to say in a minute here that once you untie the knot in one of the sense organs,

[46:01]

then all the sense organs are untied. And he has this very funny thing, which I find curious, about how some of the sense organs are more complete than others, he's going to say, and therefore more beneficial for this kind of practice. That's what this next section is all about. So, let's see, let's skip a little bit and get to that part sooner or later. Yeah, it's a very wacky thing. I think that, I think truly though, to the Kutagama here, he says, you know, north, east, south, west, northeast, northwest, and so on, are space. Past, present, and future are periods of time. There are ten directions in space in three periods of time. So, that's just a traditional way of talking about all of space and time. All living beings come into being because of

[47:02]

false interaction between, false interaction between two things that are not separate. They interact with a mistaken notion, comes out of their views, comes out of views' afflictions, comes out of afflictions, living beings are born. So then, living beings are born, their bodies go through changes, and then they're caught up in time and space. Time and space are simply categories of the afflicted mind. This mind, the Buddha mind, doesn't have time and space problems. We only have time and space problems. However, although there are ten directions in space, he says, actually, basically, there's really only four. Forget about the ones in between the four. And as far as above and below, we don't think those are very good. So let's leave this with the four. And then there's three periods of time. Three times four is twelve. So that's twelve. And then, he goes on. Anyway, he comes up with a number here. It's very odd. He comes up with this big number. 1,200

[48:05]

is the greatest possible efficacy of the six sense organs. So I don't... What he's trying to do here is tell you that the sense organs operate in time and space, right? Up, down, north, south, past, present, and future. So let's figure out, let's put some numbers on this. And so let's say the whole thing, if it was a perfect sense, and it could see in all three times and in all the directions, then it would have a score of 1,200 if it was a perfect sense organ. If it's less than that, then it's not a perfect sense organ. So now he's analyzing, according to that number, I mean, it's strange, but he's analyzing, according to that number, all the different senses. And without going into it, he says, he tallies it all up, and he says, now the eyes, not that great. The eyes only have a score of 800. So the eyes are a little... It basically has to do with the fact that, you know, you can't see,

[49:05]

like if there's a wall there, you know, you can't see through it. So the eyes are pretty limited. Plus, you can't see anything, like, you know, I can't see anything behind me. Right now, you know, it's right next to me. I can't even see this wall. What a stupid sense organ that is. I can't even see what's right there. So anyway, the eyes are not so good. But the ears has a score of 1,200. Because if you make a noise behind me, I can hear that. Right? And even far away, if you make a noise, I can still hear it. So anyway, don't ask. But it is true that actually, if you think about different spiritual practices and different traditions and so on, that it is often mentioned that the organ of hearing is a very spiritual organ, that it has more subtlety to it. And the eyes are more gross as a sense organ. So anyway, take all that as you will. That's what he's saying. And then he goes through all the

[50:05]

other senses and erases them all. Some of them are complete. Some of them are incomplete. Ananda, now you wish to oppose the flow of desire that leads to birth and death. You should turn back the flow of the organs to reach a state of neither production nor extinction. And I'm recommending that you take the ones that are most complete, because those will be the best ones. And that's, like I was saying, the practice of listening. Just when you see, if you sit there and listen, first of all you'll be thinking, oh, that's somebody walking in the jungle. And there's the wind outside. Oh, that's a bird. I wonder what kind of bird that is. And that's the rustling of somebody just moving their robes. You're thinking like that. Then, if you can let go of all those designations, which are, after all, conceptual tags that are placed

[51:05]

on top of sensation and hearing. You can remove those conceptual tags and just experience the hearing. Then at first, it'll be like, whether you say it or not, it'll be like, the feeling will be, I'm hearing that. I'm not naming it, but I'm hearing it. Then, if you keep still with that, the next thing will be that there will be only hearing. There's no way to hear it. And then the next thing is, if you follow that, then there's no hearing either. Hearing doesn't seem like hearing in the middle of hearing. And that's when you've gone all the way back to reverse the flow of the organ outward and reverse the flow inward. And then there's just vast emptiness, stillness, empty space. And there's no time. It's not as if, when there's a sound that you hear, when you are there hearing a sound,

[52:07]

whether you're near it or not, the sound will begin at a certain point and will end at a certain point. But when you are not, there's no hearing, and there's nobody there to hear anything, there's no time. There's no idea. Every moment really has the flavor of no time. So you should investigate all of these six functioning organs so that you see the nature of these organs. And then reverse the flow of its beginningless, each organ's reverse the flow of each organ's beginningless involvement, beginningless involvement in false karma, the karma of projecting a world outside of oneself for which we have long been cursed. Then you will know the difference between one that penetrates perfectly and one that does not, and one that does not. Then a day and an eternity will be

[53:11]

one and the same thing. So let's see. Let's skip a little bit more. Okay, so then Ananda says, Well, Buddha, how do you do that? How do we oppose the flow into deeply, into the door, the sense door, and cause the six organs to simultaneously become pure? Because he said that one organ purifies one, purifies the other ones. Because actually all the six organs are really one, because they're one consciousness, animate. So Buddha told Ananda, You have already obtained the fruit of a short epiphany. That means you have already realized to an extent. You have already

[54:13]

extinguished the new delusions of living beings in the three realms. But you do not yet know that your organs have accumulated habits that are without beginning. It is through cultivation that one severs, not simply these habits, but also their numerous subtleties as they pass through arisal, dwelling, change, and extinction. So Ananda is a small vehicle practitioner who has realized the emptiness in the non-existence of beings in the three realms. He knows that there is no abiding self. But he still thinks that phenomena that arise are really arising, and that they're really arising outside of ourselves. He still thinks that, and that's why he's still bound. And you need to cultivate this practice. You should now contemplate the six organs further. Are they one or six? You say they are one, Ananda.

[55:14]

Why can't the ears see? If the six sense organs are one, then the ears should be able to see with your ears. But if I close my eyes and put my ears over here, nothing doing. I'm not seeing anything. Why can't the eyes hear? Why can't the head walk? Why can't the feet talk? So then we reject that idea. Obviously the six organs are not one. If the six organs are definitely six, then as I now explain the subtle wonderful Dharma door for you in this assembly, which of your six organs is receiving? I'm now talking. Now you're saying the organs are not one, they're six. Which of your organs is now receiving these words? And what does Ananda say? Ananda, what is he saying? I'm hearing. I'm hearing. So that's the problem, Buddha. I'm hearing your words

[56:16]

through my ears. The Buddha said, your ears hear them by themselves. Then how come it has anything to do with your body or your mouth? And yet you ask about the principles with your mouth and your body displays veneration. So if the six organs are separate, how come you're hearing it with your ear, but then how come all of a sudden you're able to ask a question with your mouth? How did the mouth communicate with the ear? So this is funny. That's what he's saying. And then you made a vow before you just asked your question. How could you make a vow if the senses were really separate? Like you'd need some sort of a software to communicate between the senses, but somehow it all seems to be going all at once. Therefore you should know that if they are not one, then they must be six. And if they are not

[57:18]

six, they must be one. But you can't say that your organs are basically one and six. So like earlier in the sutra where you went through a long litany of things. In the beginning, the sutra begins with him asking Ananda, where is your mind? Where is your mind? And Ananda keeps saying, the mind is in my body. And it just proves the fact that the mind is in the body. And it must be elsewhere. It proves the fact that it's elsewhere. So in other words, any assertions that one would logically make about consciousness all turn out to be false. And true. Because the assertions are all true, but all also self-refuted. And yet you can't do without any assertions that are contradictory, true and not true all at the same time. Because the point is that our conceptual objectifying capacity to understand something doesn't cover the case of consciousness.

[58:19]

And yet that very conceptual capacity operates through consciousness itself. So it applies. No, it's wrong. Okay, so you can't say that the organs are one, and you can't say that they're six, and you can't say that they're not one, and you can't say that they're not six. Ananda, you should know that these organs are neither one nor six. It is from being upside down and sinking into involvements throughout time without beginning that the theory of one and six has become established. As a shrotapana, you have dissolved the six, but you still have not gone away with the one. So part of Ananda's achievement in recognizing... Ananda is a very developed practitioner. He's no slob. He's not a big dumbass. Ananda has serious spiritual attainments. And one of his attainments is to recognize

[59:21]

the falseness of the idea of myself separate from others. He also has the capacity not to become pulled off center by his perceptions. So, except in one case in the beginning of the sutra that those of you who are here from the beginning know this case. That case was a very important case because it showed Ananda, and all of us now realize that there's a limitation to Ananda's understanding. Even though he's not able to be attached to the objects of his subsensus. So that if he sees delicious food, he's not forced to eat it all. He can say, no problem, it's nice, but how are you? So he has dissolved

[60:21]

the six, but he hasn't done away with the one because he still thinks that something is there. He still thinks that the objects are there, it's just that he's not getting attached to them. He has to recognize the real nature of consciousness and objects being one and the same and empty. Then he will really be free. Now he's only free to an extent. He can be caught, even though he has the great clear things. I mean, we should be so lucky as to have Ananda's attainment in the sutra. But it's not enough because Ananda is still capable of being caught. He has to not only see through the six, but he has to also see through the one. There's like emptiness fitting into differently shaped vessels and you saw this metaphor earlier in the sutra. The emptiness is said to be square when it's in a square. If you have an empty square box, you think that emptiness is square. If you have an empty flower vase, you think that emptiness

[61:22]

is the shape of the flower vase. But if you get rid of the vessel and look at the emptiness then you will see that the emptiness is always the same shape. It's not square or whatever as it seems to be. But how can that emptiness become alike and different at your convenience? Even less can it be one or not one. Therefore you should understand that the six receptive functioning organs should be the same way. So what I understand is that Ananda is not getting caught in six senses. But he is getting caught by the one because he is like in this side and he is not in this side, which is good. But he is like not in the middle. He doesn't recognize that there is no six or one. He doesn't recognize that that's one limitless field of Buddha mind. He does not know that. And because of that, in special conditions like the one at the beginning

[62:23]

of the sutra, he can be sucked in and create difficulties can arise for him because he doesn't see them. That's right. OK. Then let's see. I'm going to skip a little bit more. Then he discusses in turn each of the sense organs and explains how the sense organ arises and appears to be a sense organ and a sense object. How that comes out of perfection. And the funny part here is that he says, I'll read the one about seeing and then I'll skip the other one. Seeing occurs because the two appearances of darkness and light and their like firmly adhere to quietude in what originally was wonderful perfection. So in other words, the distinction between light and dark, just like in the Bible in the beginning God said,

[63:25]

let there be light. Let there be light. Interestingly, I don't know I only recently looked at that passage in the Bible carefully and realized that when God said let there be light, there wasn't any sun. The sun was created much later. It's interesting though. How could there be light without the sun? Because it isn't light that was created when it said let there be light. It was the fact of differentiation and distinction. So that's the same thing here. In the middle of perfect quietude in which there is no distinction whatsoever, distinction was created. In this case, the distinction between light and dark is the fundamental distinction that makes seeing possible. That reflected form, that light combined with form and became an organ. And it takes the name

[64:27]

eye organ. And here's the part I like. And it's shaped like a grape. Shaped like a grape. Of the superficial sense organs in the four defiling objects, this one races out after form. Its object is form. And then the ear... Hearing occurs the same kind of thing. And the ear is shaped like a fresh curled leaf. It's pretty good. And this one is set loose upon sound. And then the smell... Smell takes the name of nose organ. The smell itself is what creates the organ. And it is shaped like a double hanging claw. It's pretty good. A double hanging claw. And the tongue is shaped like a crescent moon. Anyway, out of perfection various kinds of

[65:29]

distinctions arise which then create the differentiated... Because when you think about it, I often... Almost every day I would say... This is pretty weird. My strange habits. Many days, I can be found watching a bug walking on something like a page in a book or something. There's a lot of bugs. Really tiny bugs. Really small ones. And you don't know the names of them or anything like that. Most of the names you can't find in the dictionary. Really tiny bugs. Have you ever looked at a really tiny bug walking along and you think to yourself, what does that look like to this bug? So obviously this bug is not experiencing... Because the sense organs in this little tiny bug are not like ours. They're different. I don't know what kind of sense organs they have. But they're really living

[66:29]

in a different world. They're actually perceiving a different world. Literally a different world than the one that we're perceiving. And so like these bugs here, what are they thinking? Where are they going? What kind of a world... I mean, there's no human beings in that world. There aren't any. There really aren't. And all the different kind of creatures, they have different sense organs. So the world that we are living in is really a unique world created... We have been created out of this dissonance in the world, has created our apparatus, which has in turn created a world that only exists within our human sphere. And we have really no idea what the world is otherwise. And we really think that this is the world. We really believe in it. And we base our lives, we stake our lives on it. And all you have to do is think

[67:29]

about it for five minutes, and you know it's not true. It really isn't true. And our lives are full of this kind of suffering caused by this projection of this kind of world that really isn't true. So, that's what happened. That's how the organs came to be. That's how the world came to be. That's how come we're chasing after... I mean, our basic condition is one of restlessness in a way. You know, suffering is a kind of restlessness. It's a kind of longing and thirst. Because the nature of this world that we've created, that's been created, that we are the creation of this world, and we create this world. The nature of this world is that it's an alienated world. You know, Marx talked about alienation. But long before Marx talked about alienation, the human

[68:29]

organs of perception alienated us in the world. So we're longing for a wholeness. That's why we're looking for something all the time. But we have to go back, he's saying, to the organs of perception and recognize, see the world as it really is. And then, there is no alienation, no longing. The quotation concerning the Bible, if there be light, brings up the concept and thus brings up the notion of judgment.

[69:30]

The right and wrong reality. Which, according to what you're suggesting, is false. Is that correct? Well, you're bringing up something really complicated. Because there's lots of ways of discussing those conceptions within those religious traditions. So, I suppose ... Well,

[70:34]

in this Shurbanamu Sutra, we are studying this key point of Buddhist understanding, which is very, very important. And we're limiting, the sutra limits itself to discussing only this point. I think that, as someone who is an adherent of the Shurangama Sutra, would not deny the importance, the fundamental importance of morality. I think that they would say, most likely, that if you understood the teachings that would be truly understood for yourself, the teachings that would be propounded in the sutra, your conduct would appear in the world as moral conduct. It would be not possible for you to do immoral acts. You wouldn't think of it as morality,

[71:40]

perhaps. You wouldn't be judging right and wrong. Your conduct would be right and wrong, because you would be deeply in accord with reality. So, this teaching doesn't overthrow the idea of morality. I would say it maybe just transposes it into another key. So, it puts morality on a different footing, on a different basis. But it doesn't in any way deny morality or deny its fundamental importance. And then, somebody might also say, see, another thing about this, I'm glad you changed the, you know, writing 2-2-3 in the sutra. I'm glad you brought that up. Because another thing about this sutra that we have to recognize is that in our real lives, in our real practice, short of our recognizing

[72:43]

and realizing for ourselves this truth at the moment, there are many ways that we have to pay attention and practice. Again, this sutra is not speaking of those other ways. It's only speaking of this one point, which is very, very important, and it's important that we study it. But the rest of it is all left out. And then, so, somebody would say, now, if you are interested, if you believe and you really think this is a good teaching and you want to do this meditation practice, then you should realize that between the time of today and the time you realize this truth through your meditation practice, you're going to have to cultivate and calm your mind and take care of yourself in such a way that you will be able to do it. If you, if your conduct is immoral, if you don't pay attention and make judgments about your conduct and try to have conduct that is in accord with the teachings of morality,

[73:43]

your mind will be confused. You'll sit down in the cushion and forget about seeing the source of hearing. You won't be able to calm your mind down because your mind will be so agitated by your actions and the subtle consequences in your heart of those actions that you'll never be able to even dream something like this. So, in fact, until you realize this truth of this teaching and your conduct, therefore, becomes morality beyond morality in the sense that you don't even have to think about morality. In the meantime, you better think about morality. And that doesn't mean like eat yourself up alive and beat yourself up with your rosary beads about what a terrible person you are. That doesn't help you. But it does help you to avoid things that are unwholesome and to encourage things that are wholesome. That will help you because then your mind will be more calm and your ability to understand the teachings will be increased and your ability to meditate will be much increased. And morality

[74:44]

is a basic necessity for spiritual practice. It's not a detail. So, that's another thing. So, I'm glad that you brought that up. But, you know, there's been, you know, four or five years ago or more and how long has it been? For some reason, it might be because maybe it was Bill Moyers. Bill Moyers always starts these things. Maybe it was him. But anyway, somebody got everybody interested in the book of Genesis. And within a space of, I think it was like a TV show where all these people, experts, you know, had a TV series about the book of Genesis. And then they all came out with books. Within a space of six months, there were six new books about Genesis. Retranslating it, discussing it, and all that. And I thought, gee, that's really interesting. I'd like to read all that. But, of course, who has time to read anything? I never did. But what I'm saying is that

[75:46]

there's a whole many ways of looking at what that's all about. Which I don't. I'm not confident to discuss. The book of Genesis is a translation by Fox. Yeah, I read that. Basically, it's a Buber position. A Buber position? Yeah. It's an Eastern religion. Yeah. I bring in the idea. Yeah. Let's see. What part did we get? Well, you know. We have to get from here to the next quick thing. So he talks about the six senses and six organs. And then at the end,

[76:49]

there's this sort of punchline of all this is. You need only not follow, don't follow, the twelve conditioned appearances. And then the movement, stillness, union, separation, blending, randomness and variety. In other words, condition things outside of myself. Don't follow them. Accordingly, extract one organ from adhesion, meaning attachment to the external world, and subdue it at its inner core. Once subdued, it will return to inherent truth and radiate its innate brilliance. And that brilliance shines forth. The remaining five adhesions will be freed to accomplish total liberation. So that is the culmination of this practice, say, of listening. It is that the organ will be subdued

[77:50]

at its inner core, no longer foolishly grasping, thirsting for something outside. And then it will return to the truth that is inherently in it, and it will radiate its innate brilliance. And when that happens, all the other organs will be freed also. Do not follow the knowing and seeing that arise from the objects before you. True brightness does not comply with the sense organs. And then he lists a whole bunch of traditional Buddhist saints, sort of like Aniruddha, who was blind and yet could see, and so on and so on and so on. Proving, in other words, that the sense organs have a brightness beyond their limited capacities. Then, Nanda, after all your organs are completely free, you will glow with an inner light. All the ephemeral, defiling objects in the material world will thereupon

[78:51]

change their appearance like ice which is melted by hot liquid. In response to you, there's a line in Hakka in the Song of Zazen, like sentient beings and Buddhas are the same, it's like ice and water. Ice and water are the same thing. There's no change in substance, and yet they appear totally different because one is free to flow and the other one is frozen in place. In response to your mind, they will transform and become the knowledge and awareness which is unsurpassed enlightenment. So, after all that, it's funny

[79:56]

because, in a way, if you think about what has been happening all throughout the sutra, pretty much, I think, the main point of the sutra was already told in the very beginning. But Ananda, you know, so, what happens is Buddha, Ananda gets in trouble. Buddha says, uh-oh, I better teach you about ultimate reality so this doesn't happen to you again. And he tells him. And he does it through dialogue, long dialogue between Ananda and Buddha. And they finally come to a point of culmination and at the end of it, Ananda says, boy, that was great, I really got all that. But I don't understand. Say it again. Only usually he gives it another different angle. And then Buddha says, the whole thing again went from another angle. So at the end of this whole long thing, Ananda then says, World Honored One,

[80:57]

the ground of fruition is both. Nirvana, true substance, the Buddha nature, the Amala Consciousness, the Dharmakaya Consciousness, the empty treasury of the Vascumar, the great perfect mirror wisdom. But although it is called by these seven names, it is pure and perfect, its substance is durable, like royal Vajra everlasting and indestructible. If the seeing and hearing are apart from light and darkness, movement and stillness and penetration and obstruction, and are all ultimately devoid of substance, like you just said, then they are then like thoughts apart from sense opulence. They don't exist at all. How can what is ultimately destroyed be a cause by which one cultivates in the hope of obtaining the fruition of the thus-come-once-seven-four-tenth-term

[82:00]

in the boat? In other words, now that you've convinced me that the organs don't really exist, how am I supposed to use those very organs to obtain awakening? I am going back and forth in circles with it, minutely searching, and basically there is no such thing as my mind or its objects. So, what am I going to use to seek unsurpassable enlightenment? Please tell me. So we'll leave it there for next time. Who's going to answer? Answer it now that I give. And then, so next time will be our last class. Then maybe some other class will finish the sutra. Because otherwise, if I don't give a class,

[83:01]

how am I ever going to make myself read this stuff? Thank you.

[83:09]

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