Protestant Enlightenment experiences. They remain Protestants. The Enlightenment experience can be frayed. These attitudes you have coming into it and out of it shake. This lighting experience can be put in a framework. The views that come in and out form this experience. And I've also seen people who are too outstanding for their own lineage, even if they have a lineage. And they sometimes succumb to psychological inflation. I don't know what you mean. Inflation means you end up with an ego without boundaries.

[01:20]

And then there's different kinds of enlightenment. There's a mental enlightenment. Emotional enlightenment. Bodily enlightenment. I would say some people's bodies are enlightened and their minds are not. And some people's minds are enlightened and their emotions, self-identity is not. And then they can speak brilliantly and can affect other people deeply but their private life or hidden life is really a mess. Lineage isn't a corrective to all of that.

[02:23]

Die Lehrlinie ist nicht ein Korrektiv für all das. It is a corrective. It is not a corrective. Es ist kein Korrektiv für all das. But it's partially a corrective. Aber teilweise ist es so ein Korrektiv. Because the more your practice is submerged in a lineage and realized through a lineage... Yeah. Let's go back to the idea of winter branches. Winter branches means that a lineage may look dead like a branch in winter.

[03:39]

For several generations. blooms when spring comes, when the right cycle comes. But even when it's not blooming, it carries a lot of teachings in a submerged sense. Yeah, in an implicit sense. Even if you don't, I mean, there's things, if what I'm saying is correct, there's things my three generations ago teacher knew that my teacher never manifested.

[04:42]

And I don't manifest. But my disciple might manifest. Because it depends on the conditions that bring it out. Or it's a bit like, I remember this Indian man I knew. He was actually not an Indian. He was a white man. But he grew up with the Yurok Indians in the northwest of America. And was trained.

[05:46]

His teacher was the last, at that time, shaman of the medicine man of the Yurok tribe, Robert Spott. And he kind of laughed at all these Indians who get interested in Indian culture through anthropology. Because they're smart, they study anthropology. They go back and study their own culture. And they spend 10 or 15 years and they learn some things. And then they sometimes teach. But at some point, if it's not interesting, they tend to study what's interesting.

[06:50]

They don't understand. They don't study what bores them. They're too intelligent to study what bores them. Then they end up not really understanding the teaching. And he says that one, sometimes you just pick a kid because they look gifted and you kind of force the kid to do it. And the kid doesn't really want to do it. But the teacher says, do this, do this, do this, and you keep doing it, so you do it. Sometimes the teacher knows the kid has to go through this, though he doesn't see why yet. He says if a tribe teaches four or five people like that,

[08:05]

if the conditions are right and the tribe is lucky through a conjunction of circumstances one of those four or five who are trained will become a true medicine man because he's been exposed to the whole teaching whether he was interested or not. And it comes together. So, you know, I don't know if this makes sense. But there's something about this that you just do it for a certain length of time. without a feeling of understanding so much, but rather a feeling of just doing it.

[09:28]

So it has to be done probably more out of faith or love than out of understanding. I don't know. I guess that's the best I can say. I mean, a teaching like this is multigenerational. One of the big differences, I think, that came with Greek culture was the sense of argument and dialogue which was continued from generation to generation. So instead of making pronouncements which were ritually true, The Greeks opened up discussion over generations.

[10:54]

So you have the development of knowledge and science. So Buddhism, Zen especially, tries to be a multi-generational teaching that's oral and interactive, meditational, and not written down. But its multi-generational character is also what I mean by lineage.

[12:03]

That's what I mean by lineage. If you were all committed to lineage, I could say some more. Yeah, that's enough. It's something I like talking about. There's not much reason to talk about it unless somebody really wants to do it. But on the other hand, a general understanding of it is useful in your practice. Something else. You know, I have a feeling that for some of you what I'm talking about hasn't been so clear.

[13:38]

Well, I feel I've been as clear as I've ever been about this. So I clearly, if you haven't understood, I myself don't know yet how to be clear about this, clear enough about this. I have to find the points where you can shift into seeing it. But let me make a statement. The idea of beginnings is only an idea.

[14:43]

The idea of continuity is much closer to being a fact. I don't want anybody to care to comment on that. Does that make sense to you? The idea of beginnings is only an idea. The idea of continuity is a fact. Really? Really. If you understand continuity as an uninterrupted kind of molding of things, not as one thing.

[15:45]

Yeah. It's the same. Yeah. Then you agree. Yes. OK. Anyone else have a comment? I do. Oh, go ahead. You know how to speak German, don't you? But then you have lots of beginnings. Would you point to a beginning? Tell me what a beginning is. Everything is a continuity. That's a continuity of dirt, air, water, etc. Somebody picked it, somebody put in a vase. There's a continuity. There are also these beginning points.

[16:46]

Someone cut it, someone put the vase, you can also... But that beginning is always a continuity. It's always part of a continuity. I don't think you can. You can't say there's no continuity. How can you say there's no continuity? Then you say there's nothing exists. That's what you're pointing at. That's what she's pointing at. Do you translate it? We should have this in German.

[17:54]

Yes. [...] This morning at 6 o'clock I sat Zazen here. I saw you. When I sit Zazen, sometimes I have the feeling that... I continue something, that it's not something I start anew, or when I even have the feeling I start something anew, I find out something continues.

[19:28]

That's more or less what you said. In a philosophical sense, there's no beginning. observable i don't know what how to put it exactly but if you think there's beginnings you end up with a In other words, our culture tends to think there's beginnings. So there must be a point where things hadn't begun. If there's no beginnings, then there's no point at which things hadn't begun. Asian culture tends to have made the choice that there's no beginnings.

[20:41]

As far as we can tell, I mean, they're both ideas. And to say there's no beginnings... There's relative beginnings. There's changes in the continuity we can call a beginning. But they're really not something new. They're only relative beginnings. They're changes. You can see this actually in Japanese patent law. Oh, in the patent law, in the Japanese patent law, you can really see that.

[21:48]

So we have this idea that Edison invented the light bulb. So then he owns this idea. Japan has a real problem with that. Because they'd say, well Edison's teacher owns the idea. Or Edison's university owns the idea. Or Edison's parents own the idea. They can't really see a clear beginning because somebody fed Edison. If Edison wasn't fed, he wouldn't have thought of it. So they feel the culture owns the idea.

[22:55]

Something human, our culture produced and we own. So they really didn't get it when we objected that they're copying the Nikon, the Zeiss camera. And sometimes you even find in a Japanese camera very faintly Zeiss written on the side of it or something inside the Japanese camera because they just took a mold. Yeah, so the Chinese Japanese culture isn't based on improving what exists not creating something new. But if you bring in and value creating something new, even in an absolute sense, there's nothing new.

[24:05]

If you value relative newness, you produce a different culture. than a culture which values improving. So the point I'm making here is that you can bring even, if you bring an idea into a culture, it might be even a false idea, it still can make a healthy culture or give vitality to the culture. If you do have an idea that's at the beginning In a philosophical sense you have two choices.

[25:22]

Everything has always existed. Or there was a beginning point. As far as we can see, everything always existed. We can't experience the beginning point. So Buddhist culture makes a choice. It's more productive and more accurate to say there's no beginnings. It is more productive and more accurate. So you don't end up with, well, God created everything. And then you end up with the infinite regression of who created God.

[26:22]

So Buddhism has come down on the side of whether it's true or false, observable make us suggest that the best choice is, there's no beginnings, there's only continuity. So to practice Buddhism and to understand this very subtle idea of Buddha nature, You have to understand it's in the rigorous context of there's no beginnings. And I think for us Westerners, we've gotten the idea that self is impermanent. We've gotten the idea that self is impermanent.

[27:38]

We've understood that. And that we have several or many selves. But we still think we have one nature. A lot of us still think we have one nature. That our nature is somehow prior to self even. It's what we were born with. It's our beginning. And that our beginning or our nature is also just a conjunction of circumstances. It's hard for us to get. Now I define samsara as drifting about. And it means something like... going with the flow.

[28:52]

That's why I don't like Joseph Campbell's expression of realization as going with the flow. The samsara means something like together flowing. And practice is to give form to that flow. Through intention. And you're always in the midst of this flow. And every particularity gives it form. And you create particularity through intention.

[29:54]

And the deeper and more unambivalent your intention is, The more you give form to the circumstances that are present each moment. Do you give form to the circumstances that are present at every moment? So wisdom is to decide what that intention is.

[30:54]

And not, you start out with intentions that you receive through culture and language. And you might be lucky with your parents and things like that to have very wise, received intentions. But even then, you have to make your own. Hmm. You don't make them your own, you're still just kind of going with the flow. That's why we take the precepts. Virtually all cultures have some sort of view, like don't kill, at least don't kill your friends. Don't steal or don't take what's not given.

[32:02]

So and so forth. I've just been in Mexico. There's some kind of modification of these things. Don't steal unless it's agreed we all can steal. But still, I'm just teasing about Mexico because Mexico wishes it weren't that way. A lot of people in Mexico do wish it wasn't so unbelievably corrupt and dangerous.

[33:07]

To give you just one example so you don't sound like I'm just being mean to Mexicans. A friend of mine has a gallery in downtown Mexico City. He can't afford to open it. It's like your store. You couldn't afford to open it. Unless you have hired a full-time person for the machine gun. Because it's in this gallery. And to have a security man at the door and another security man in the building. And that's a mild example. Of course it's made much worse by all the drug men. Denn es wird noch viel schlimmer durch all das Drogengehen.

[34:27]

But anyway, aside from that aside. Aside from that aside. An aside is when you tell an anecdote that's not related. That's an aside. I don't know how to translate it. How would you translate aside from that aside? All right, good. We take the precepts even though it's what our culture has already given us because we make it our own by taking it business so the intention is you need to make it your own

[35:28]

Die Absicht ist also, ihr müsst sie euch aneignen. And that's wisdom. Und das ist Weisheit. And that intention itself should be wisdom. Und diese Absicht selbst sollte Weisheit sein. And Buddha nature is an act of wisdom. Und die Buddha Natur ist eine aktive Weisheit. is to act, to intend to make the world the way you'd like it to be. To intend to become the kind of person you'd like to be. But not to intend that all by yourself, but intend that through the cooperation of circumstances.

[36:39]

And to realize it's too big an intention to do just through yourself. so you have to have the patience to discover to wait for to create the right conjunction of circumstances so from this point of view and from Shantideva's point of view patience is the greatest virtue From this point of view, and from the point of view of Shantideva, is patience the greatest virtue? Aspiration plus patience. The aspiration and the patience. Yes.

[37:41]

I have a question. Can you explain the difference between Sophia and the flower? I have a question for a Buddhist. Can you tell the difference between the flower and Sophia? Yes. Yes, can you make your point more clear? Why do you ask the question? Can you make your point a little clearer? Why did you ask this question? Because there is always a difficulty for me in the exchange between personality and individuality. Because there are limits and no limits.

[38:44]

It's difficult for me to understand your transition from continuity to personality because then there are no boundaries. Yeah. The difference and the sameness between an individual or an individual personality and everything in general, for example between, what do you mean by the patient, the example of the patient? For example a patient? Now I'm saying Sophia because she's something particular, a human being.

[39:49]

In an absolute sense, I understand your question is good. I think I do. In an absolute sense there is no difference between Sophia and the flowers. They are all interdependent. You take the flowers away, eventually you take Sophia away. In a relative sense, there's a difference. And also, if you don't generalize, and generalizations are always false, somewhat false at least, but rather look at particularity, Everything appears as particular.

[40:54]

This bell is a particular bell. This flower is a particular flower. So that I have more, we each have more relationship to us here in this room than we have to some group sitting in Afghanistan. In an absolute sense, the group in Afghanistan is related to us too. But in the way we can act, It's this particular situation. And I have a great deal of particular interactions with Sophia. More than I have with Zoe.

[42:05]

So I have a lot with Zoe and her parents too. I married them even. But still, you know, Marie-Louise and I have a responsibility for her. But say that I have somebody I practice with. Not a family member. But I practice with them 10 or 20 years. If I look at interactions and not just blood lines. Those. In terms of interactions, my The person I'm practicing with is about the same as Sophia.

[43:13]

In fact, Sophia may want to go her own way, and I may have more responsibility to the person I practice. So you always have this relationship of the relative and the absolute. You can't separate. One way, it's all equal. You experience it as sameness. In another way, it's all particular and different. Okay, I want to introduce the practice of the parameters. And then we'll have a break. And today, who has to leave? say earlier than four o'clock.

[44:39]

Two or three o'clock. Anyone else have to leave? That's two people to leave two or three o'clock. Anybody have to leave at four o'clock? Five o'clock? Five o'clock or four o'clock? Okay. So shall we modify lunch and try to end like at 3 or something like that? What should we do? What would you like to do? I don't know how we can continue without this, too. How malleable is the kitchen? They expect that we are meeting on time. But we could shorten the break so that we start at 2 or 2.30. You mean that lunch will be earlier?

[45:45]

But we could continue to two and then stop and have lunch. The seminar would be over. Then you have lunch from two to three. What do you recommend? We can continue even if you two have to leave. Was empfehlt ihr denn, wir können auch weitermachen, auch wenn ihr beide weg müsst? He would recommend continuing, even though he's not here. Did I understand? That's your recommendation. Das ist deine Empfehlung. What does anybody have to say? Mittagessen um eins und bis vier Uhr weitermachen. Okay, so lunch and then we'll continue in the afternoon.

[47:00]

Maybe have a somewhat shorter break after lunch. Is that the general feeling? Okay, fine. Yeah, I can see you don't want to postpone lunch until 2. Start with the Let me start with the parameters. First is generosity.

[48:05]

Second is, for now I'll call it receiving. Third is patience. The fourth is what I'll call aware energy. It doesn't work. And temptation. And wisdom. These are called the six parameters. Six perfection.

[49:14]

So just in general, why would such a list be considered where you plant the seed of mutual aspiration? Well. If what we're talking about is the Bodhisattva in contrast to the Shravaka or Pratyekabuddha Oh, in this, at least in this Mahayana conception these two are concerned with their own life streams. The Bodhisattva is equally concerned with all of our life streams.

[50:27]

You can't separate yourself wholly out of the live streams of others. Even though we practically know you can separate your live stream quite a bit. If you do separate your life streams, let's say you're affected by it. It's a narrower way to be in the world. So even if you're successful, it's a kind of narrow way to be in the world.

[51:30]

And even if you're unsuccessful at merging your life stream with others, or conceiving of life streams as if we were one big body, while we may not be successful at realizing that conception, it's a wider and more fruitful way to look at life. it is a further and fruitful way to look at the world. That's the basic Bodhisattva, Mahayana position.

[52:36]

And you know that in the early days, before it was called Mahayana, it was called the Bodhisattvayana. The vehicle of the Bodhisattva. Then it became, probably for political reasons perhaps, the larger vehicle in contrast to the early Buddhism, which was called the smaller vehicle. and partly out of political reasons it was then called the Mahayana, the big vehicle, in contrast to the earlier Buddhism, the small vehicle. I asked myself, how can I bring these streams together? Last night I had a dream and I was in a stream. It was a nice and beautiful feeling to flow with the stream.

[53:52]

Then I wanted to step out of the stream and I couldn't do it all by myself. And I asked for help. And then there was some help. And when they came to help me, I lost my consciousness. And I ask myself, how can I stay within this flow and connect myself to other streams without being so abruptly taken out of the stream? OK, I would consider that a teaching.

[54:59]

You had some intention before you went to sleep. We've been having this seminar. And this teaching group appeared. And we could even call it teaching insentient being because it didn't arise from your thinking and feeling so much. It's not something you could have caused to happen. We can go to sleep with an intention and not dream in response to that intention. So it just appeared. In judgmental circumstances. He called that, that's part of what's been... and that we can then call the teaching of the non-feeling beings and that partly also means that there are people who go on a search for vision

[56:30]

Yeah, and people go out in the mountains, and they sit between a couple of rocks, and there's heat, etc., and then maybe something appears. And the rocks help... Not eating helps. So that's the incentive beings. Okay, so why do I call it a teaching? Or how can you make it a teaching? The content part is just The content does suggest the institution. But for you to make use of it as teaching, you'd have to try to penetrate or rediscover a whole a certain feeling will drain them and help you.

[58:02]

What would be back in the stream? All of that. That feeling has more complexity in it than the content of the dream. The content that falls out of that feeling only shows you part of it. It's a little bit like I can have a feeling of something I want to talk to you about. But when I start talking about it, it takes days for me to talk about it. And when I start talking about it, then I need days to talk about it. So, if you can discover that feeling, and hold that in your mind, body, and in your life,

[59:12]

you can open up your daily life for understanding and that requires patience so this is understood as a way to plant the seed of mutual aspiration. We have to have some way to articulate, to open ourselves to the mutual streams of our lives. for these mutual streams of our life.

[60:27]

So first you have to open yourself up for others. What's the common word for that? Generosity. So you practice acts of generosity. Like loading a book and not expecting it back. Feeling that I'm giving you. We're calling it love alone. I was thinking of a story I could tell. And also it's a mind that not just acts of generosity, but a mind of generosity.

[61:51]

A mind that feels open and ready to help. You need something? And also a recognition that your state of mind itself is the best gift for us. So the first practice developed means to develop a mind of generosity and a mind that's worth giving to anyone else. I don't want your mind, man. And a spirit that is worth being given to others, not that something comes, oh no, no, your spirit, I don't want to have it.

[62:53]

Nico? You can actually develop this mind just by acting in the first place. You don't really have the mind of generosity, you can just act generous and therefore the mind will develop and feel generosity, substance, maybe. It helps. Good question, but it's true. Strangely, it's true. For example, say that Andreas and I are a little mad at each other.

[63:54]

That hasn't happened yet, but that's possible. That's for saying we're a little mad at each other. I feel a little mad at him, but I go over to him and I take his hand. Somehow that little act makes a difference. Yes. I get that. If you don't like him and you are so friendly, It gives me such a feeling, you know? If you don't like somebody who's friendly to you. False? Yeah, we're not talking about false friendship. But if you're annoyed... Yeah, I mean, you can find lots of objections to this.

[64:58]

And this is not morality. Way back, basic morality may be behind it. But we assume that if Bodhisattva, or somebody wants to be a Bodhisattva, has has basic morality. And basic morality would be also not to be falsely generous or nice. Okay, we'll take a break. Did I speak earlier here about giving books away? Did I talk about that earlier in the seminar?

[66:04]

Yeah, I did. Yeah. Okay. I objected to controlling my mind, creating a mind of generosity. I would object to that. But I noticed that when I developed an attitude of giving the book away, I felt better. So, in effect, was controlling my state of mind. Or developing a state of mind. Out of an intention. Now, I think we can't discuss everything in time. But this partly depends on understanding the function of views. They pull past our views. The eightfold path starts with right views.

[67:23]

Because views are in us before perception and conception. And if you genuinely feel, I'd rather have a different view, I'd rather be more generous. You know your personality is selfish. Oh, then I didn't get it. You know your personality. No, first. Get it. But you know your personality is selfish. But you wish you weren't selfish. That's a complex situation. Your personality is naturally selfish. If there's two pieces of food on the table, Marie-Louise is hesitant to share hers.

[68:35]

Wenn da zwei Stücke von irgendeinem Essen auf dem Tisch sind, then Marie-Louise... She's hesitant to share. Aber dann zögert Marie-Louise sehr, ihres zu teilen. But she thinks I'm a highly developed person because I say, oh, well... Aber sie geht davon aus, dass ich so eine hochentwickelte Persönlichkeit bin und sage, okay, du kannst beide haben. But she doesn't realize I'm just old and tired. And there's too much trouble to want water either. I don't care. But she sometimes thinks, geez, I wish I could say half-fulls. But she says it doesn't come naturally. Okay, so she recognizes a certain, let's say for you, excuse me, a selfishness in her personality.

[69:37]

Because she wishes she were less selfish. As I think all of us do. Fortunately, the wish you were not selfish is a view. The wish you were not selfish is a view. And that's deeper than personality. And if you hold the view that I wish I were less selfish, if you actually hold the view that you wish you were less selfish, It will change your personality. If that were not possible, there would be no practice. That's what this is about, developing a view of generosity.

[70:39]

and recognizing the wisdom of that view. Now, people who comment on the six paramitas can write, you know, 50 pages on generosity alone. Like endowment and leisure can open up into it. But I'm trying to find ways the last few months To teach and refine the practice, the parameters as an act. How is this an act? So that's enough for getting started.

[72:06]

Thank you for your question, Nicole, because it pointed out with the power of the view of generosity. Generosity is part of how we would hope this person we hope exists would exist. The generosity is a part of it, of our hope that there is a person who exists as we hope that he exists.

[73:06]

Let us listen to the bell again. Why don't we come back and... Second is to open others to yourself. Das zweite bedeutet, andere für sich selbst zu erfugen. Yeah. So, but to open others to yourself, to open yourself to others, aber

[74:09]

One is to open yourself to others. The other is to open yourself to others. Let me say it. You understand what I mean? Maybe you could say for others and to others, or something. But to be open to others requires some kind of discipline. To really see other people as the same as yourself or equal to yourself. Yeah, and this is also Shantideva, for instance, has a couple of famous practices where you exchange self for others.

[75:20]

where you see others as yourself or you exchange yourself for others. And there's actually a ritual and practice to do. And such rituals are again meant to develop a view of gentleness and beauty. But I think I suggested earlier some kind of phrase like this is also me. I'm also you, you're also me. Some kind of phrases like that that you hold would be a Zen way of practicing the same thing. Yeah, I know I used to practice with, I don't know if it just appeared, but I would say, there but for a gene, go I. Not the genes.

[76:40]

There but for a gene, a genetic gene, go I. It's in a colloquial way of saying, there but for, you see somebody go by in a big car. So you say, there but for a sugar daddy go I. You have to explain that. I would see somebody who is in pretty bad shape. And I would say, just slight changes in my genes, I'd be just like this person.

[78:01]

Okay, that's a good one. There. There, but for a little luck. Yeah. So I used to feel that all the time. I'd just come up, I'd see somebody who was crippled or sick or on the street begging and I feel there's really not much difference. just for years I would have this, some version of that phrase here, and I really, you know, after a while it made me really feel there was very, there is very little difference.

[79:11]

But, you know, we take the precepts in order to recognize how much we are related. Wir legen die Gelübde ab, um zu erkennen, wie stark wir aufeinander bezogen sind. So this, you know, and you learn to play the piano, so that you can practice the piano, you have discipline in order to learn the piano. Man übt Klavier und man hat eine gewisse Disziplin mit diesem Üben so, dass man das Klavierspielen lernen kann. So the root of discipline means to learn. What you do to learn. Yeah, right. Sophie is learning painting.

[80:21]

She just has some discipline to learn to draw and paint. So in the parameters, this means the discipline required to learn from others. So as an act, Let's say I meet Tatiana. I don't know her. I mean, I know her a bit now. Last year, this year. But let's pretend you're a stranger or you're just somebody I know a bit. Okay, now I have some attitude when I meet you. Let me say as an aside, that the parameters, because they're so easily confused with morality, ordinary morality, and because actually,

[81:42]

As a practice, they're very difficult to practice. They're considered a very advanced practice. Only for Bodhisattvas. And they're considered that you have to really have mastered accomplish the four foundations of mindfulness. And many basic practices like one-pointedness and Viscontas and Vinyanas and so forth. and not just to be familiar with them and understand them, but to actually accomplish them. But I don't know why. I just started teaching the Paramitas recently. Maybe I realized you were tired of hearing about the Skandhas. Yes, I have some feeling the Dhamma Sangha is developed enough to practice the Dhamma.

[83:08]

Anyway, trying to present them initially as an act. Okay, so what kind of attitudes can I have when I meet Tatjana? It's almost impossible to have no attitude. Maybe I could let them drain out of me as conscious, ordinary consciousness drained out of me. Drain out of sleepy Sophia. So that is something like that part of this practice.

[84:11]

So I could have some attitudes. Some basic attitudes are, I'm here and you're there. That's true, but it's also an attitude. So I can also take away the attitude and set up no here and no there. And that's what Yuan Wu says, for instance. I mentioned that earlier. It's a piler and author in the book Refreshments.

[85:12]

Yuan Wu describes this as active meditation. In other words, he's talking about how to bring the experience of meditation, the realization of meditation into ordinary life. He speaks about how the knowledge from meditation can be brought into normal, into ordinary life. As Khin Hin, is it some sort of way to kind of step into the mind of Zazen without disturbing him? So even Kin Hin is a way to see if you can bring the mind of meditation into your activity and maintain it. That slow precise walking with each and through each breath.

[86:15]

So it's a technique for continuing the mind of zazen. Okay, so Manu says a technique for continuing the mind of zazen in ordinary circumstances. What he calls the practice of active meditation. He says, don't set up here and there. Don't set out before and after. Okay, this also parallels the Diamond Sutra which says the Bodhisattva has no idea of a life span.

[87:38]

And that means to be in a frame of mind where there is a kind of feeling of timelessness It's like maybe sometimes in a movie you see the ocean or something. It feels like the ocean is always there. It's like when you see the ocean in a film and you have the feeling that the ocean has always been there. When Sophia paints, she feels time stops about somebody. stopped feeling more and more. This could be like not setting up before and after. I don't know if I'm making sense, but we're talking about in practice, through meditation, you notice your mind has structure.

[88:43]

Through practicing meditation, you notice your mind has structure. Consciousness functions through distinctions. We could say awareness is a mind without distinctions, that knows but not through distinctions. So practice, mature practice, is to have a feeling of distinctions of consciousness at the same time awareness without distinction. Okay, so I've suggested deep practice where there's an assumption, always, that we're already separated.

[90:18]

So I've known Sophia since she was a little girl. Her father is one of my oldest friends. Yeah, now, Nicole, I knew you were Creston earlier, but I just met you recently. So, I know you from Creston? From Johanneshof. So, for some reason when I see Sophie, I feel, oh, we're already connected. But she hardly remembers me, but still you have some feeling of connectedness. I'm sorry I'm belaboring this point, you call it.

[91:28]

Belaboring, overworking this point. But I think it's important that you really get it. I'll say it. Okay, so with... Nicole, I feel, we're separated. I don't know. Okay. But they're both structures of mind. Oh, I can feel connected with Sophie, less connected with Nicole. And... Okay. But I could take both structures away.

[92:30]

I could feel when I meet Nicole, I could feel no sense of separation. You appear before me without ideas. Du erscheinst vor mir ohne Vorstellungen wie dieser Pfosten. I look at you and you're the same, but you're a little more interesting. Ich gucke den Pfosten an und ich gucke dich an und du bist ein bisschen interessanter. And if I look at Sophie, I can take away the fact that I know her father and mother. And if I take away the structures in which I know her, I feel even more connected than I feel connected through the structures.

[93:40]

I feel even more connected than through the structures of connection. Yeah, that's all. Okay, so, in other words, I'm able, through practice, to notice structures which define my relationships. And I can act through them and also feel their absence. That's the meaning of the practice of form and entity. So I can act toward Nicole with the feeling that I just met her. And I can act towards Sophie with the feeling that I knew her when she was a little girl.

[94:51]

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