Quite a few of the members of this class are at Green Gulch, sitting session now. I think about eight. Today is the second day. And so I'm talking to them about pretty much the same topic that we're talking about here. Speaking about the practice of sitting meditation.

[01:09]

or what we call just sitting, and mentioning that the content and the context of just sitting is the realized universe. Or you could say the real universe, but not just the real universe, but the realized universe, or the universe realized. In the Bodhisattva Vao of Tore Zenji, he says, when I, a student of Dharma, look at the real form of the universe, all is the never-failing manifestation of the mysterious truth of the Tathagata.

[02:24]

When I look at the realized universe, everything realizes the universe, or everything realizes the law of the universe, or the universal law. Everything realizes, the universe is realized universally in everything. So when he looks at something, he sees the universe realized in everything. So then he's very respectful of everything he meets. It's not just the real universe, it's the realized universe. It's that the universe is everywhere realized.

[03:33]

The universe isn't just realized in some places, it's realized everywhere, in all beings. So this particular person is saying, when I look at that form, the real form of things, I see the realized universe everywhere. Everything is the Buddha's truth, everything is the universe realized everything is the universe realized. So that's the content of the sitting practice of the Buddhas, that they're looking at the realized universe in whatever they're looking at. And the context of their practice is the realized universe, too. Opening to the realized universe is similar to contemplating it.

[04:39]

We have to open to it in order to contemplate it. If we're closed to it, then it's hard to contemplate it. If we're closed to everything being the universe realized, then it will be hard for us to see that everything is the universe realized. Does that make sense? And then that relates to the vow to open to, to live among all beings and to open to all beings, because if we're unwilling to open to all beings, then even if we want to open to the realized universe but don't want to open to beings, that won't work. We have to open to all beings in order to open to how all beings are the universe realized, are the realized universe.

[05:40]

And as you know, it's hard to open to all beings, because they suffer in all these tremendous variety of ways. Some suffering beings, we think, OK, all right, I can open to that. But then this one, ah, yeah. So the just sitting. is that openness. If you're sitting and busy doing something, that makes it hard to open to what's being given to you. What's being given to you is all beings. And each one is presenting you with the realized universe. Each one of them is realizing the universe. So that's around you and also coming into you all the time. So the Buddha sees this. The Buddha can affirm that the world is the realized universe, and the universe is realized through every part of the world, and the universe

[06:55]

The whole world is pure and saved. But beings are closed to that. So the Buddha has to encourage beings to open. And just sitting is our practice of opening. Being willing to open. And if we can't open to some suffering or some thing as being the realized universe, then we have the practice of confessing that we can't open. And by confessing that we can't open and repenting that we don't feel open to some kind of suffering or to something being the realized universe, and that process melts away the root of this resistance.

[07:57]

Including that the resistance and the feeling closed is itself also the universe realized. When you're closed to something being the realized universe or the universe realized, that closeness itself is another example of the universe realized as your resistance. Closing is the realized universe. Opening is the realized universe. But when we close, before we realize that that's the realized universe, we feel cut off. We say, this is not the realized universe. So anyway, that's what I was talking to people at Green Gulch about. They're sitting all day long, you know, all day long, it's pretty clear that nobody's asking them to do anything but open up to all the suffering in the universe. And, of course, they have some personal difficulties that they also are having trouble opening to.

[09:08]

Just their own pain in the sitting, some of them are having trouble opening to. But when we wish to and are willing to open to all suffering, Nirvana is easy to attain and easy to give up. It's a little painful to give up nirvana, in case you haven't had that problem. But since you're already open to all the sufferings, including the suffering of giving up nirvana, it's not so bad. Just sitting is the realized universe.

[10:09]

The universe is realized as just sitting. Those who seek the blissful states of experience, including the bliss of nirvana, those who seek it, are what we call, what do we call those people that seek nirvana? Seekers, yeah. Sentient beings, we call them living beings. Living beings seek bliss, even the highest bliss of nirvana. Beings who seek nirvana are called sentient beings. Those who are open and vastly responsible to the suffering that comes from seeking nirvana are the what? What are those people?

[11:15]

Those are bodhisattvas. The bodhisattvas are open to those who are seeking the bliss of nirvana. they're open to people who are seeking nirvana. They're open to the suffering of those who seek nirvana. Some people are not seeking nirvana, they're just seeking some other kind of bliss, and they're open to them too. And those who are open to those who are seeking do not seek nirvana, but they easily realize nirvana by being open to those who are seeking it. And those who seek it, some of those who seek it realize it, but it's a little harder for them. The seeking gets in the way. But they still can realize nirvana even if they seek it. But of course many other people seek it and don't realize it. But those who are open to all the suffering, including open to those who are seeking and realizing, or seeking and not realizing, and kind of petulant about that, those are the bodhisattvas, and for them, realizing nirvana is easy.

[12:26]

Those who are willing to give it up realize it more easily, and also give it up more easily. Those who are seeking it, it's harder for them to give it up. And then I raised last week the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra. The great Bodhisattva had these ten vows which he taught and which he practiced. And these ten vows, they occur they actually occur in the sitting. These ten vows, they're very active, they're great activities, but they occur to somebody who's just open and still.

[13:38]

And so I brought up some of these vows, maybe I brought them all up, and I talked about some of them, And I just briefly mention them again. They are the vow or the wish to pay homage to all Buddhas, the vow to praise all Buddhas, the vow to make offerings, vast, more or less boundless offerings to all Buddhas, the vow to confess our own shortcoming, the vow to praise the merits of others, the vow to request the Buddhas to teach, the vow to request the Buddhas to stay when they seem to be on the verge of leaving, the vow to practice all the practices that Buddhas practice, the vow to imitate the Buddha's lifestyle.

[14:47]

the vow to serve all beings, and the vow to turn over the merit of all those vows to the welfare of all beings. Those are the ten vows. And I talked about the first couple, I think, the vow to pay homage to all Buddhas, and the vow to praise all Buddhas. So tonight I just wanted to say that all this activity occurs in the openness, in being open to all beings and sitting quietly, being open to all beings. Still, this is tremendous activity of all these vows going on. These vows arise. in the context of the opening. So the opening is still and quiet and extremely, inconceivably, boundlessly also active.

[15:53]

Sitting still and quiet and also wanting to be like all the Buddhas. And feeling that expression of, I want to be like all the Buddhas. And I really appreciate and sing the praises of all Buddhas. So I introduced that last week, but before going further on these vows, I wanted to stop and ask you how you feel about these vows of this great Bodhisattva. I'm finding some difficulty with this. You talk about innumerable Buddhas in every speck of dust. One way I can see it, and it makes some sense to me, is to understand that the Buddhas represent the interconnections among all beings. However, if you're saying, is each Buddha a distinct personality that can perceive and can think, or is it iconic?

[17:02]

I don't understand the teaching value of the multitude of Buddhas. I don't know, I'm just befuddled. I don't get it. I appreciate your expression. Do you feel appreciated? Yeah, but I would like to understand where the understanding is not there. Well, I think that, and I appreciate you expressing that too, but before I go any further, do you feel thoroughly appreciated? Yeah. Thank you for listening to me. So, in every dust particle, in every dust particle,

[18:05]

but also in every thought that you have, there are innumerable Buddhas. What does that mean? What does that mean? And also, by the way, not just innumerable Buddhas, but all those Buddhas are surrounded by innumerable Bodhisattvas who are studying with them also. What does it mean? What does it mean? So I said that at the beginning of each one of these vows, Samantabhadra says,

[19:11]

that this vow is to think, is to think that in every particle, in every experience, there are innumerable Buddhas. To think that. And have you thought that? Well, does that mean there's an image there? Does that mean there's a distinct human personality there? I don't know how to conceive of that. There's no operational definition of that. Before you get into that, did you think that? Did you think that in each particle there are this many Buddhas? It sounds like before you thought that, or as you were about to think that, you started to say, well, what does that mean? kind of a strange thing to think that in every particle there are not just one Buddha, but lots of Buddhas, and lots of Bodhisattvas surrounding each of those Buddhas.

[20:17]

Now, I can explain what that means, but then when I explain what it means, you can also, which is fine, you can also say, after I explain what it means, you can say, what does your explanation mean? You can say that too, which is fine. And that's fine because, to me it's fine because in every particle there are innumerable Buddhas. So I can appreciate you no matter what you do, if I'm thinking this way. But I feel like you're trying to understand this strange way of thinking before you think this way. To me, each particle of dust in itself is exalted. It doesn't need to contain Buddhists in order for me to appreciate it. Every leaf and every speck of dust itself is shining with luminance. So why is there a need for some other overlay of

[21:23]

of something that has no operational definition, like innumerable Buddhas. It sort of strikes me as some of the doctrines of Catholicism that don't seem to have any operational definition, and I guess they have some reaction to that, because I don't see… it's like, you know, how many angels can dance on the head of a pin? Wait a second, you just said that already in each particle you can already appreciate it. I can appreciate the particle for itself, yes. Yeah, right. And what did I say to that? Did you hear what I said? No. No. How come? You said... How come you didn't hear me? Well, I don't know what... Well, I was speaking and I... Yeah, right. You were talking. That's right. So it's hard for you to listen to me. You can, however, learn to listen while you're talking, but that's something you need to learn. Because then you can be talking and I can be talking at the same time and you can hear me. Anyway, I was appreciating what you were saying, but then you kind of lost track of what you said you thought.

[22:28]

That's my hearing of you. You said you could appreciate each particle in itself. So why do you have to? Then you went off, why this other stuff? If you can appreciate each particle, then this other stuff you can appreciate too. Those are more particles. Because the thing is that we have our limits. We say, I can appreciate each particle, but then if somebody tells me that there's Buddhas inside these particles that I'm appreciating, then I go, wait a minute, wait just a minute here, this is like a bit much, this is like whatever, Catholicism, or Judaism. this is a way of thinking to open you, to open you.

[23:33]

And you seem to actually have some openness to everything, every particle of dust has some great merit, you seem to be open to that, right? Yes. and I say, good. And then, right after you said you're open to that, then you weren't open to some other particle, namely the particle to think a certain way. This way of thinking, you didn't want to do that. That's correct. Yeah, which is fine, but you actually were instructed to think this way, and you're saying, I resist this way of thinking, which is fine. I brought this up because I would think people would resist thinking this way. It's magical thinking.

[24:40]

What does magical thinking mean, though? Magical thinking is somehow that there's this conceptual overlay of something that there's no demonstration that it's there. I mean, under a microscope you can see the particle. I didn't understand quite what magical thinking was. It sounded like magical thinking was a kind of thinking that you didn't want to do? It's like each particle dust has sort of... there are spirits that inhabit it. It's equivalent to that sort of thing, which is an interesting idea, but there's no empirical evidence for that. Okay. So, this is... Part of what I understand in Buddhism is that you can use your own experience to verify the realities that are presented, and I don't have an experience of that. Well, part of Buddhism... But it's more than that. It's not just that I don't have an experience. I don't know what the operational definition of multiple Buddhas is. What are these multiple Buddhas?

[25:42]

I don't understand what that is. Well, we could, if you want to, take a little break from that and just go back to pay homage to One Buddha. How about that? Just pay homage to one Buddha. Forget about that there's possibly more than one. What are you going to do with paying homage to one Buddha? How are you going to practice that? What Buddha do you have available to practice paying homage to? You could pay homage to, I heard stories of Shakyamuni Buddha, and I would like to pay homage to the stories I've heard of Shakyamuni Buddha. could start with that. A lot of people do that. They say, you know, at Zen centers they say homage, well actually we say homage to the numerous nirmanakaya Buddhas, which includes Shakyamuni. But you could just say homage to Shakyamuni Buddha when we do ordination ceremonies, when people walk around the temple and say,

[26:48]

homage to Shakyamuni Buddha, homage to Shakyamuni Buddha, I want to be like Shakyamuni Buddha, I want to be like Shakyamuni Buddha, can do is do that one, okay? Which is fine. Now, there's also a possibility to think this new way, a strange way, to open up to actually think this new way. And I thought that if I brought up this new way of thinking that there would be resistance to thinking this new way. So you kindly have shown a certain kind of resistance to thinking this new way, to actually think that in every experience there are innumerable Buddhas, to think that. And you have your reasons for not thinking that.

[27:53]

So you have reasons for not thinking what this Bodhisattva is teaching you to think. It's more that I want to know how to think that way. I only resist it because I don't understand. Well, you said one way to think of it. Just imagine that in every experience there are innumerable Buddhas, in every experience. That in every person in every part of every person, there are innumerable Buddhas. That's similar to, in each and every person you meet, is the universe realized as this person? You are the universe realized as this person, so if I am meditating on you and you and you being the universe realized as you, then you can keep being you and I keep meditating on the universe realized through you being you. Yeah, I understand.

[28:57]

And you can resist and resist, but I stay on the beam of this is the realized universe of this person having problems with Samantabhadra's instruction. Part of exercising the meditation on the realized universe in everything you meet, as you say, each and every is all never failing, everything is a manifestation. In any event, in any moment, and in any place, none can be other than the marvelous revelation of the glorious light of the Buddha. Now, ready for that? Now let's exercise it. Ready? One, two, three, think this.

[29:58]

and go, whoa. You don't have to go to some difficult neighborhood to do this. Just be where you are, just think this, and you'll find, wait a minute, that's good. I thought that would be hard. And so sure enough, one person is showing us, yes, this seems strange to think that way. It is strange. It is a way of thinking which you have not done before. And we have ways that we have been doing things, which is, there's difficulties, but it's easy to keep doing it, even though there's problems and continuing. This is a new way of thinking. A simpler one is like, just here's a teaching that all the Buddhas, all these Buddhas, are practicing together with every single being.

[31:06]

It's a simpler one. Forget about all the Buddhas being, not all the Buddhas, not all the Buddhas are in every particle. There are innumerable Buddhas in every particle, but not all the Buddhas are in every particle. But all the Buddhas are practicing together with every living being. That's the kind of things Buddhas are, is they practice together with you. And if you're practicing these vows of Samantabhadra, the Buddhas are practicing with you too. But if you're not practicing these vows of Samantabhadra, the Buddhas are practicing together with you too. No matter what you're doing, the Buddhas are with you. And the Bodhisattvas are open to you, no matter what you're doing. This is also information which you can think about, which might help you open to those who are open to you. And in that openness, you start to open to the realized universe, because you're moment by moment opening

[32:21]

to what's happening as the realized universe. And you can see from your own experience whether you like the world which you enter in this way. For example, whether you like nirvana, whether you like fearlessness, whether you like appreciating no matter what a person's doing. You can test that part. I have a hook onto it now, I understand. It's something I can do. It's that I didn't know how to hook into it. I didn't know how to make meaning of it. The meaning I have now, it says, I take refuge in Guru. And the interpretation I've heard is that I take refuge in who I really am. And what I take from what you said is that each thing, each speck of dust, is what it really is. And so the Buddha nature of every speck of dust is what it really is.

[33:27]

And that the universe is sort of a hologram, so everything is contained within everything else. And with that approach, I can have an appreciation of this. That's how I would interpret what you say. I don't know if there's a distance between that and what you mean, but that's how I understand it. It's not so much that there's a distance, but rather that as you exercise more, you will be able to let go of your explanation that you're now using, that you will be able to open up more and not hold on to what you... I think you said a hook. I think he's the one who said a hook. So you got a hook. And this is like that story of the little guy who had the hook, remember that story? I think it might be a Hans Christian Andersen story.

[34:38]

It's about a little duck, I think it was a duck, a little duck got separated from his mom. You know that guy? He's walking around, mom, mom, and he walks by this pond and there's a bunch of ducks in the pond and they say, hey man, come on in. He says, what? I can't swim. Yes, you can. You're a duck. No, I can't. Oh, well, here's a hook. So they give him this little sky hook. And he hooks the hook onto the sky, and then he goes in and starts swimming with them. So he got a hook. That's fine. And then one day he's hanging out with the ducks, and they all jump in the water, and he jumps in with them, but he forgets his hook. They say, where's your hook? You say, wow, I'm just swimming without the hook. I must be a duck. So you can use that hook, OK?

[35:41]

That's fine. But also, can I tell you that that's a hook? And you don't need it. But you can keep it as long as you want. But one of these days, we're just going to jump in, and you might forget it, and then you'll find out you don't need it. Anything that I believe in, I want to run through the fact that it makes some sense to me, because there's ample evidence that people can believe all kinds of things, and the fact that they start believing it, they're really into it. This is the nature of cults. So for me, I want to make sure something makes sense. I'm not talking about believing anything. You're the one who... What is a belief? What's a belief? Once you get into a certain way of thinking, that way of thinking becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. And there's all different kinds of ways of thinking. What you're saying now sounds like a belief. You sound like you believe that. Yes, I do. And does what you say apply to what you believe there? Yes. But there's evidence of that too, from the Branch Davidians to everyone else.

[36:47]

Yes, but I know there's evidence for it, but then that would apply to what you just said, namely that a cult would form in your mind right now about what you believe. So don't you want to become free of your beliefs? Well, I suppose so, but what you just said too is a form of that as well. I mean, you could say that about anything, any story. What I just said is ... but I don't believe what I just said. I'm just observing that you seem to be worried about beliefs and that you believe that there's dangers in beliefs. Okay, you seem to be concerned about beliefs, that there's some dangers around these beliefs, that a cult can form. Which I agree. I think it's important to choose one's beliefs rationally. I think that's fine. So you can choose your beliefs rationally, and I'm here to say we have a practice called opening up.

[37:54]

which involves just sitting. It doesn't mean sitting, holding on to beliefs. That's not just sitting. Just sitting. The Buddhas are not sitting, they're holding on to their beliefs. They're not holding on to their beliefs, they're not holding on to their faith. Their faith is to open up and let go of their beliefs, let go of their faith, and let their faith be demonstrated. Charlie and David, You can tell us that there are innumerable Buddhas. I didn't tell you that there's innumerable. I didn't tell you that, though. I did not tell you that. You may suggest that. I didn't suggest that. I'm not suggesting it. I'm telling you that the Bodhisattva is telling you to think that. He's not saying that there are. He's saying, think that. He's not saying there are, he's saying think that.

[39:00]

I'm not telling you that there are, the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra is not telling you that there are, he's saying think this. He's saying, someplace else he's saying, human beings are already thinking various things and what they think is their karma, and their karma has caused obstructions. Now I'm teaching you a new way to think. Try this way of thinking, and this way of thinking is the way of thinking that I've been thinking. I've opened up to this new way of thinking, which is a very strange way of thinking. But he's not saying that what you're thinking about is now suddenly the way things are. What he's actually saying is, think that things are not the way that you thought they were. That's what he's saying. He's not saying that things aren't the way you thought they were. I was getting ready to make a point in relation to that, so let me trace that backwards. You're telling us that somebody else is telling us to think that

[40:06]

No, if you think that, you would become free of what you already think. And once you're free of what you already think, you might be able to tell us some things and do some things that you weren't able to do before. Like, for example, you would be able to care about everybody and you would be able to instruct everybody else how to be free of their thinking. People are trapped in their thinking. If you become free from your thinking, you will be able to open to all those who are not free of their thinking and help them. So there's a distinction that seems to be important Make it simpler. I'm telling you to think something you never thought before. I'm telling you to. I'm not telling you that what I'm telling you to think is something that actually exists.

[41:36]

I'm telling you to think of something you never thought of before. Yes. Because if I don't tell you a specific thing, then you'll do some other specific thinking. So I'm trying to be quite specific, so that your thinking can be quite specific. You're telling us to think of this thing we never thought of before. If you want to, you know, become a Bodhisattva. And there's other ways, other instructions, but I'm bringing this in now to exercise. I gave you other instructions. If you want to be a Bodhisattva, open up to all beings. And just open, just to be open to all beings, and also accept that you're responsible for them all. do that. And now, I'm taking another step of now, let's see how open you really are to these beings. Let's see if you're open and you can think this way too.

[42:38]

What's the difference between me telling you to think that that light is on and you telling me that that light is on? What's the difference? I think in one case I'm telling you to do something, in another case I'm stating the way things exist. But if I attempt to communicate truth, for example, the fact that the light is on... I'm not trying to communicate truth. I'm not trying to communicate truth. I'm trying to help you realize the truth. I can't give you the truth. I am the truth. Jerry is the truth. Laurie is the truth. Truth isn't really communicated. we're instructed in such a way that you'll see it for yourself. And the reason why people don't see it is because they're caught in habitual ways of thinking.

[43:42]

So opening to all beings and opening to be responsible to all beings every moment is an instruction to open to the truth. Because we kind of can sense that we're closed to beings. We can kind of feel that. And we can kind of tell the difference between being closed and being open. We can feel that. And we can tell how it's hard. And we can get encouragement, because other people can understand it's hard. And as we open to beings, we start to also open to the truth. And if we're closed to beings, which we can sense, we're close to the truth. So we're very being-oriented, particularly to living beings and humans. So if we open to them, we also can open to the truth. And when we open to truth, we can realize the truth. And when we realize the truth, then we're cooking. Just a second, you can take a little break and I'll be right back to you.

[44:47]

David? I guess I want to share an experience because I used the practice in this past week and I found it very instructional for me in the sense that I didn't I have a lot of time to drive to work. So I thought about the idea of each decimal, of having a numeral of Buddhas. And I came to realize that it wasn't really about all these little things on the decimal. But it helped to guide, I think, some interactions I had with people who I don't particularly, or at least historically, I have not responded very well to how they communicated to me. I guess, time and how I responded to some of their communications and said, well, what if there were innumerable Buddhas and them, then I would be more respectful of how I would communicate to them.

[45:49]

And that structured how I respond to them, trying to be more generous in how I responded to them. So for me, it wasn't so much as a hallucination or a picture was more of a practice. And you're suggesting it was more of a way to kind of say, hmm, this person, I don't like the way they're treating me, but if they're made up of all these Buddhas, then maybe I would be respectful to them in return. And it worked. Their tone changed to me. a couple of times, and that felt great. And so that's how I used it this past week. I didn't have imagination, but... You did, you did have imagination. You just said you didn't, you just said you didn't, and I just disagreed with you. You did have imagination. You have imagination all day long, and you're using your imagination differently. You imagined a different world, and it was uplifting.

[46:57]

What does he say? If some people are really mean to me, what does he do? He imagines things differently. I'm not saying this person is not being mean, I'm just saying, even if they are being mean, they are the universe realized as them being mean. I humbly bow down to this, and this is a new way to be in this world, and this way of being cuts through all kinds of obstructions to peace and harmony. And it's partly a new way to use your imagination, to set not just you, but to set all beings free of their imaginations. So it's possible that you wouldn't become free of yours, but the person who's relating to you does become free.

[48:06]

And you might say, well, that's not what I... But it's really not just about you, it's about everybody becoming. Sometimes somebody else unexpectedly wakes up from your practice before you do. It can happen that way. I don't know if I told you, but it can happen that a teacher has a really bad student, but the bad student becomes a really good teacher, because the next generation is really a good teacher. It can happen. That it gets transmitted, or it can be like, I got polio from my father, who didn't have polio, probably, because his brother had polio. And right after his brother had polio, I got polio. So he didn't get it. He carried the virus to me. It didn't infect him, but he transmitted it.

[49:09]

So there's all kinds of ways that your practice can help people that are available. Yes, Kathleen? Did you say that bodhisattvas are responsible to all others or for or both? Yeah, to, for, and I say bodhisattvas are, but actually I've also said everybody is. But bodhisattvas open to that. They accept that. And other people, Bodhisattvas are sentient beings, but they're a type of sentient being that's open to their responsibility to others and for others. Could you explain a little about what you mean by responsibility for others? Well, there's two kinds of responsibility which I speak of. One is that you contribute to everybody. You contribute to me.

[50:11]

You support me. You are responsible for my existence. I wouldn't be here without you. So in that way, you're responsible for me. You're responsible for your children. You're responsible for your friends, too. But you're not the only one that's responsible for me, Jennifer. And Bernard are also responsible for me. And Daniel's really responsible for me. But you're all responsible for me. You all contribute to me. I depend on all of you. I wouldn't be here without you. That's one way you're responsible for me. Whether you accept it or not, you are. But also you're responsible to me in the sense that you never do not respond to me. You always respond to me. You're also generous to me. All of you are generous to me. All the time you're generous to me. You support me. You give to me. You're always generous to me.

[51:13]

However, you may not accept that. Bodhisattvas are the sentient beings like you, who are generous, who are responsible for and to everyone. You're always responding. But they open to that. They open to it. They open to it. They open to it. And by opening to it, they realize it. And what they realize is nobody's imagination of it. But we have to use an imagination of it to become free of our other imaginations, which are imaginations of, well, you know, we have an imagination of how we're not responsible for everyone. That's not true either. But we do believe that we're not responsible for everyone. We're caught by that imagination. So we try on a new imagination to free us from the imagination that we're not responsible. And then we actually open to not just our imagination, but the actuality.

[52:17]

But we have to kind of push on our imagination in various ways to let it go, to let in the actuality. So you start by imagining that you're responding to everyone, imagine that you're open to everyone, and imagine or notice that you imagine you're not open to everyone. So then you can confess that you imagine you're not open to everyone. Actually, you are open to everyone. But you imagine that you're not, so you should be honest and confess, you know, I don't really feel open to this person. I don't feel responsible for this person or to this person. But I'm saying, I am saying, this is where I say how things are, I say you are generous. and you are responsible, and you are open to everyone. And again, when you start practicing opening to beings, you start to feel more vulnerable.

[53:19]

I say you are vulnerable to people. But if you don't practice opening, you don't realize that you're vulnerable. And if you don't realize that you're vulnerable, then you're afraid all the time that you'll become vulnerable. So if you realize you're vulnerable and just basically accept that, then you start to settle down and feel at peace. So we have to practice opening to realize that we are. We have to practice being responsible to and for to realize that we are responsible to and for. We have to practice these things in order to realize these things. You're welcome. Yes, Charlie? Can I take another shot at the Desmos here? I think you can if you want to, yeah, go ahead. So, if you tell me that there are innumerable Buddhas in every Desmo, then I say, okay, Rev thinks there are innumerable Buddhas in every Desmo.

[54:25]

Except I didn't say that. I know that. If you tell me to think that there are innumerable Buddhas that there are innumerable Buddhas in every decimal. Now the difference seems to be in that in the first case, you're offering an idea to me which I could turn around my mind and freely choose to accept or not. And in the second case, you're asking me to just think something without taking it in and doing the normal consideration of it that I would if you had just told me to think. No, no. I'm happy for you to do the normal consideration, too. I'm just saying that when you do, I'm telling you how to work with that, too. See, normally we don't like people to tell us how to think. We like people to tell us things and then we can choose... Yes, but this is a case where I should have told you that the Bodhisattva was asked

[55:26]

by the hero of the sutra asked for some instruction. Normally we don't ask for instruction, but I thought in this class you might be asking for some instruction. But I don't actually walk up to people on the street and say this. This is just because there's an implicit request for some instruction. So I'm giving these forward instructions in hopes that you will become great bodhisattvas. So to receive that, there has to be the asking for it. There has to be this pre-existing openness. Actually, that's not true either. You do receive this, but unless you practice receiving it, you don't notice that you receive it. You are open to these instructions. you're gratefully receiving them, but unless you practice being gratefully receiving them, you don't realize that you're gratefully receiving them.

[56:29]

So that's why. Okay? Okay. Laurie? I've been thinking... You've been thinking? ...that everything that arises between me and the speck of dust or you or you or anything around me is Buddha. And because that's so, then I should take care with everything. Okay, that's an instruction too. Everyone might be Buddha, everything might be Buddha, so I should take care of everything. and be open to it, and be flexible. Yes, that's another instruction, which has also been given quite a few times in the past, and you've just sort of discovered it in your own mind.

[57:32]

Yes, that's another instruction, that's another way to think, which goes along with this. And if you sat in meditation and thought that way, that would be an example of how your meditation was avowed. I would like to see everything this way so that I will be able to take care of everything. Rather than just trying to take care of everything, I'll take care of everything because of the way I think about everything. So you can also think, I would like to be kind to everyone and appreciate everyone. Many people do that. In addition to that, now we're saying, open to everybody try to open to everybody, and by opening to everybody, then you may be able to take care of everybody. Try to take care of some people is also good, but the problem with taking care of some people is that some people turn into somebody else. So then after they turn from who you were taking care of into somebody else, then you sometimes lose track of taking care of them.

[58:34]

Like, I'll take care of you when you're like, you know, well-behaved you, and you turn into some other you. I didn't sign up to take care of this person. So that's why. everybody Buddha or open to everybody. It's possible to do that all the time, everywhere. What we're trying to do is extend this so it isn't just once in a while under good circumstances. Eleanor? I know you didn't have your hand raised. Yes? You don't want to say anything at this time? Well, I would be a different way. I would mostly say something else. I've been thinking more about how everything is a gift. Yes. Even what I find annoying. Yes. Or I don't like. Right.

[59:35]

And if I do that, it is magic. I mean, if I, for a moment, I do that, I do, it is sort of like magic. I built it in. And I just, like, I don't know if that's magical. I don't know if magical thinking is the same as magic. But anyway, you thought it in a certain way and you liked the results. It seemed to work for me. It works in a way that you like. And it's like imagining or thinking that Buddha is in all the dust bugs. That makes sense to me somehow. It's somewhere in my mind that makes sense to me.

[60:38]

It just re-memorizes the problem. Marjorie? So, getting back to our friend here, I'm sorry, I don't know your name. Jerry. Jerry. In the maroon, my favorite color. So you offer, I'm here as a student of Dharma. Perhaps Perhaps. Thinking. Thinking. So, taking it is to think this way. and then to notice that I have a very similar response to Jerry had, perhaps, and then be very appreciative of this response, which has been my method of trying to make sure that what I participate in is good for all beings, and it's one of the best methods I've found yet.

[62:11]

So then those get to interact in a process which I appreciate as being part of this Buddha process in such a way as I feel eventually comfortable and go forward with whatever way feels comfortable. Yeah. That's kind of like what Jerry was saying. Jerry said that's pretty good. All the different ways of coping with this stuff is welcome. It's all welcome. Hadass. Hadass. I keep wanting to say Hamas. Excuse me. Hadass. One gets funding, the other doesn't. Yes? No, the United States won't fund Hamas.

[63:18]

The U.S. won't fund Hamas. But I'm funded. But you're funded. My mother's dharma to me was, before speaking before a huge audience, was think of them as a field of cabbages, each one a head of cabbage. And the idea was to transform my fear. So she didn't want me to believe they were cabbages and I'm not going to come over and take a bite. So that just helped me, that analogy helped me digest the conflict or puzzle. Jury number two? I think that was my coping with it. is that if I pick up a dust mite or a piece of grass... Also this applies to dust mites. Dust mites. Dust mite people. Which is what I actually am getting.

[64:19]

So if I pick up this whatever, anything, and I allow myself to think this is Buddhas and surrounded by Bodhisattvas. In doing that, I give up any notions or other beliefs about that. You might. That would be great. And so I'm then open to whatever possibility is there, or any possibility. Once I let go of the previous belief and I say, well, it's Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, then it's anything and everything. It's like a key. It's a release bell. It's like a key. It's like a door to understanding that everything is the realized universe.

[65:24]

First we meditate on everything is the realized universe. We think about everything right now is the realized universe. And eventually we understand what that means. And what that means is not just that everything is a realized universe, because that's again just talk, but we understand what the Buddhists have understood. But this instruction is to say, everything is the Buddha's teaching. And to think about that, and to meditate on that. And just check out, by the way, are you open to all sentient beings and all their suffering? If not, you're probably not open to that instruction either.

[66:26]

So being open to this instruction is as heartfelt as it would be like if you're open to all beings. And being open to all beings is heartfelt, of course. And, of course, that would give you a feeling for the way you'd be, which would allow you to open to this truth, which is actually more shocking than everybody's suffering. and everybody's suffering is a pretty big shock. We're trying to open to it, open to it, open to everybody's suffering, and take care of ourselves so that we can open to everybody's suffering. The actuality of the truth is a bigger shock than everybody's suffering. And so opening everybody's suffering gets us ready to open to the shock of the realized universe. Once realizing that, again, that makes it easier to go on and be open to everybody.

[67:29]

Then we're even more open to everybody than we were warming up to opening to the truth. The truth is the most shocking. Only those who are really open to all beings can open to the truth. That's why Buddha encourages people to open to all beings, so that they will realize the truth. But if you don't want to open to all beings, there's other ways to pry at you open. We're just trying to pry us open, but not overlook the way we are, work with the way we are, and then open. and open also to our responsibility, our responsiveness. And that's the same as opening to the truth. The truth will come too. Yes? Well, is it okay that he talks so much, folks?

[68:31]

You have their support, so go ahead. I think I figured out what was confusing me was that I was trying to look at, okay, well, the teaching that you're suggesting that I think, the way that you're suggesting that I think... Excuse me, you said, the teaching I'm suggesting and the suggestion I'm making is a teaching. Yes, that's right. It is like medicine. It's something that I can choose to take. And taking medicine requires faith. Yeah. You know, the red pill or the blue pill. Yeah. And I think Jerry and I, I'm assuming on your path, yeah, but I can speak for myself, we're trying to find a deductive path from what we already knew to this answer, to this idea.

[69:35]

And you weren't even presenting an idea, you were suggesting that we think in a certain way. And it's not a deductive conclusion from our common experience of the world. It's a separate hypothesis that you're suggesting we adopt and try out. Try out, yeah. It's not analytical from where we come from. Look, you're over there in this world of suffering and if you want to try to be in that world a different way. Try this. There's no path, there's no biological... I could suggest to you that you think analytically, which I sometimes do. But I'm not necessarily analyzing or deducing you into why you should think analytically. But that could be an art instruction, which I sometimes give, is to think analytically. and actually to think that in each dhatmot, there are innumerable Buddhas, is actually an instruction in thinking analytically.

[70:43]

But sometimes I also can reason with you to get you to think a certain way. But not right now? No, not so much, no. But I... just in case you hadn't... noticed I'm really happy to be discussing these things with you. I think that this way of understanding meditation as opening to all beings and staying focused on everything as being the universe realized as that thing, and everything supporting the whole universe, that way of seeing the world of experience, Experience, experience, and seeing it with this, I'm really enjoying actually doing this practice myself. I'm finding it a wonderful way to see Zen practice or meditation.

[71:45]

So I hope you come to class next week, because I'm sorry to say it's the last one we're going to have for a while in this room. The classes go on endlessly, And next week you can take this home.

[72:07]

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