Afflictive Emotions (8 February 2008)

· · · silence, 1 minute

0:46 This is the second of six Fridays on disturbing emotions and tonight's is resentment. I was told that a number of us already feel strong resentment for having to spend so much time finding a parking space. Report an error in the passage at 0:46 Highlight the passage at 0:46

1:12 So Report an error in the passage at 1:12 Highlight the passage at 1:12

1:16 we're all in the same boat then. What I'd like to do is just to give an idea of how this The evening may evolve. To start Report an error in the passage at 1:16 Highlight the passage at 1:16

1:33 with a meditation, just to calm and focus your mind. My guess is it will be about 15 minutes long, though usually I'm not such a good guest at those things. And then we'll have a talk about this emotion. And we'll open it up also to questions and answers. And about halfway through, a little bit before 8 o 'clock, then we'll have a break, a ten minute break. And then when we come back together, if we haven't had a question and answer by that time, then we can have it. Report an error in the passage at 1:33 Highlight the passage at 1:33

2:11 If we've already started to have the question and answer, then we can see what we want to do, whether we want to have more or further explanation. And this time together is scheduled to stop at about 8.30. Report an error in the passage at 2:11 Highlight the passage at 2:11

2:28 that's usually without the break being scheduled in. So it might go on a little bit past that, but I won't keep people too much later. And if it is going later, then don't stand on ceremony. If you have to leave, then get up and leave. But I will try to stop it not too much that time, maybe 8.45, something like Report an error in the passage at 2:28 Highlight the passage at 2:28

2:55 it's always helpful at the beginning of any such as this, just to spend a few moments to calm and the mind. And I know that there's already many people here who have a practice that they're familiar with, and so you can use that time as you like. for people for whom this may be their first first or or one one of the... of one of their first visits i'll offer a Report an error in the passage at 2:55 Highlight the passage at 2:55

3:27 I'll offer some instruction that you might find helpful to follow in order to calm and concentrate the mind and place it in the most conducive attitude for deriving the most benefit out of the time that we have together. And just let me check first before continuing. Is my voice being heard easily in the back? Yeah? Report an error in the passage at 3:27 Highlight the passage at 3:27

3:55 I'm sorry? A little soft? Report an error in the passage at 3:55 Highlight the passage at 3:55

4:10 that. is this a little bit better right back there? Report an error in the passage at 4:10 Highlight the passage at 4:10

4:19 very experienced. He always holds up his machine. Report an error in the passage at 4:19 Highlight the passage at 4:19

4:24 To have Report an error in the passage at 4:24 Highlight the passage at 4:24

4:37 this quiet time in the beginning, I think it's especially important in a situation like the one we're in now, where most of us have had to drive around for quite a while. Report an error in the passage at 4:37 Highlight the passage at 4:37

4:54 A day of work, and then we have to maybe quickly down dinner, then we have to fight traffic, and then we have to circle the block a few times. Report an error in the passage at 4:54 Highlight the passage at 4:54

5:07 And so when we come here, we're a bit, most of us, I think, if you're like me, a little bit like a vessel of water that has been made. times and then Report an error in the passage at 5:07 Highlight the passage at 5:07

5:22 that's been made. of the past parts you will have shaped. Shooken? It's been shooken up. so our mind is somewhat turbulent. then to use it to focus in some kind of insightful manner on whatever topic it is that we might discuss or might meditate on, to think, to use that kind of mind for that that kind kind of of purpose. Report an error in the passage at 5:22 Highlight the passage at 5:22

5:52 purpose is It's quite difficult, quite difficult to accomplish. So it's very, very helpful just to give the mind a chance just to settle, sort of like the surface of a pond after a storm. Immediately after the storm, the surface is still turbulent, but after a while, if the wind dies down for a sufficiently long period of time, then the surface becomes smooth, reflective like a mirror. Report an error in the passage at 5:52 Highlight the passage at 5:52

6:20 And that's the same thing with our mind. Our mind has a smooth, clear, mirror-like quality to it, which can clearly reflect anything that appears in front of it. But if the mind is agitated, then this clear reflective quality is masked. It's weakened for that period of time. So the first thing, the first instruction is really to be comfortable. Report an error in the passage at 6:20 Highlight the passage at 6:20

6:49 Some of us have an idea that meditation should, we should sit kind of ramrod state, kind of an unusual posture, and so we figure, well, if we're uncomfortable, at least we're doing something right. Report an error in the passage at 6:49 Highlight the passage at 6:49

7:02 But it's quite the opposite. We should be as relaxed and as comfortable as we can, as comfortable as the cushion or the chair allows us to be, as comfortable as our body allows us to be, since we all have... Our own physical history, different aches and ailments and so forth. But within what's possible, just allow the body to settle in to its seat. Report an error in the passage at 7:02 Highlight the passage at 7:02

7:30 And Report an error in the passage at 7:30 Highlight the passage at 7:30

7:34 for this, one can either have one's eyes completely closed, or if that tends towards drowsiness, and that's easy to happen, or the body gets a signal, oh, I'm quiet, my eyes are closed, ah, that means it's sleep time. So all the sleep mechanism automatically comes to the floor. So if that's the case, sitting still with the eyes closed causes us to feel drowsy or sleepy, then it's not a bad idea to crack the eyes open a little bit, like opening the shutters to a room. Report an error in the passage at 7:34 Highlight the passage at 7:34

8:12 So we're not opening the eyes so far that we actually see and are distracted by what's in front of us, but we're opening them enough to let light in. Like when we crack those shutters, we can't see outside, but the light comes in and refreshes the inner environment. In the same way, the light that comes in to our field of vision helps keep us alert in a way. Report an error in the passage at 8:12 Highlight the passage at 8:12

8:42 Eyes either closed or partly open. Report an error in the passage at 8:42 Highlight the passage at 8:42

8:48 And then, pay attention to the body, but not as if we're viewing it from the outside, but rather experiencing it So for example, start by simply feeling the weight of the body, the Report an error in the passage at 8:48 Highlight the passage at 8:48

9:17 weight and the volume. So Report an error in the passage at 9:17 Highlight the passage at 9:17

9:24 each of us is taking up a certain amount of space, that's the volume of the body, and Report an error in the passage at 9:24 Highlight the passage at 9:24

9:36 our weight is pushing down on whatever is supporting us, the rug beneath our feet, the chair beneath our legs and backside, or the cushion, same thing. Report an error in the passage at 9:36 Highlight the passage at 9:36

9:52 So withdraw the field of awareness and allow it to focus simply on those points of contact between the body and what is offering support. You Report an error in the passage at 9:52 Highlight the passage at 9:52

10:17 may notice quite a variety of tactile sensations, the soles of the feet, the back of the calves, the back of the thighs, the underside of the buttocks, a Report an error in the passage at 10:17 Highlight the passage at 10:17

10:36 sense of contact. You Report an error in the passage at 10:36 Highlight the passage at 10:36

10:43 may notice some throbbing. Some sensations Report an error in the passage at 10:43 Highlight the passage at 10:43

10:59 may be pleasurable, others may be a bit unpleasant, but whatever they are, they seem to constantly be changing. So simply tune in to these tactile sensations at the lower portions of our body. And Report an error in the passage at 10:59 Highlight the passage at 10:59

11:29 if your attention drifts away elsewhere, then gently escort it back. If our Report an error in the passage at 11:29 Highlight the passage at 11:29

11:56 mind seems a bit flighty, if we find it a bit difficult to concentrate on any one thing, Report an error in the passage at 11:56 Highlight the passage at 11:56

12:08 then from those points of contact, those tactile sensations in the lower parts of our body, using the power of imagination, from these very points, imagine sending down rays of light like roots from the bottom of a great tree. Report an error in the passage at 12:08 Highlight the passage at 12:08

12:38 These roots extend from our body and they penetrate without any resistance through the seat, through the cushion, through the floor and Report an error in the passage at 12:38 Highlight the passage at 12:38

12:58 then down through the building and its foundations into the earth below, then Report an error in the passage at 12:58 Highlight the passage at 12:58

13:14 deeper than that through the crust of the earth and then into its deeper layers. And Report an error in the passage at 13:14 Highlight the passage at 13:14

13:34 in this way we cultivate a sense of feeling well anchored. Well anchored to the ground, unshakable like a great mountain, and Report an error in the passage at 13:34 Highlight the passage at 13:34

13:56 by making contact with this firm earth element in this way, we give a foundation for mental concentration. Report an error in the passage at 13:56 Highlight the passage at 13:56

14:09 Just as the body is unshakable, the mind as well can rest in an unshakable manner on whatever object we choose. But Report an error in the passage at 14:09 Highlight the passage at 14:09

14:33 it sometimes happens when we cultivate... A well-concentrated mind, having contacted the earth element in this way, Report an error in the passage at 14:33 Highlight the passage at 14:33

14:45 that we lose a sense of alertness and awareness. The mind becomes heavy, perhaps sinking into sleep or lethargy. Report an error in the passage at 14:45 Highlight the passage at 14:45

14:58 So to combat this, we can also use our imagination, Report an error in the passage at 14:58 Highlight the passage at 14:58

15:07 following the analogy of a great tree whose roots are deep into the earth and then sucks up water and nutrients through these roots. ...which rise slowly through the trunk all the way to the top of the tree. So in a similar fashion, from the very tips of those deep roots that we've sent into the earth, follow energy upwards in a slow, deliberate manner. Report an error in the passage at 15:07 Highlight the passage at 15:07

15:45 Imagine this energy rising slowly up this root system until Report an error in the passage at 15:45 Highlight the passage at 15:45

15:59 it enters our body from below. And Report an error in the passage at 15:59 Highlight the passage at 15:59

16:08 then, without carrying the process at all, Report an error in the passage at 16:08 Highlight the passage at 16:08

16:18 one's mind's eye, this energy as it makes its way and deliberately up the trunk of the body. Report an error in the passage at 16:18 Highlight the passage at 16:18

16:33 follow it up spinal column, vertebrae by vertebrae, that's excellent. not, a general sense. Report an error in the passage at 16:33 Highlight the passage at 16:33

16:46 this energy up the trunk of our body. Report an error in the passage at 16:46 Highlight the passage at 16:46

16:56 just as a great plant or a tree itself upwards towards the sun, this energy rises up the trunk of our body a gentle, natural lifting of our posture upwards. Report an error in the passage at 16:56 Highlight the passage at 16:56

17:32 the energy slowly Report an error in the passage at 17:32 Highlight the passage at 17:32

17:36 the back of our lower torso. Report an error in the passage at 17:36 Highlight the passage at 17:36

17:43 middle torso around the diaphragm. Report an error in the passage at 17:43 Highlight the passage at 17:43

17:47 slowly up into the chest area from below. Report an error in the passage at 17:47 Highlight the passage at 17:47

17:55 During this upward journey, we encounter blockages, pockets of tension, areas in which the energy does not seem to be flowing smoothly, where some kind of obstacle is encountered. At Report an error in the passage at 17:55 Highlight the passage at 17:55

18:19 any such point, simply breathe, simply breathe into that pocket of tension, drawing energy into that area, which loosens up that blockage, helps Report an error in the passage at 18:19 Highlight the passage at 18:19

18:43 liberate. Report an error in the passage at 18:43 Highlight the passage at 18:43

18:49 Letting go of that tension, letting go of that blockage, to whatever extent you're able. Once that area has become somewhat softer and more open and felt before, then continue that slow, deliberate journey upwards. Natural, Report an error in the passage at 18:49 Highlight the passage at 18:49

19:19 upright elongation of the spine. If Report an error in the passage at 19:19 Highlight the passage at 19:19

19:30 you find that your body wants to sway, either from side to side or front to back, Allow it to do so. This very gentle swaying motion itself is very useful for liberating these pockets of tension, these blockages of energy. Allow Report an error in the passage at 19:30 Highlight the passage at 19:30

19:55 the body to sway as it will and Report an error in the passage at 19:55 Highlight the passage at 19:55

20:01 eventually that swaying motion will dampen and will be left in a comfortable yet upright position. When Report an error in the passage at 20:01 Highlight the passage at 20:01

20:17 we make it up into the shoulder and neck area, most of us find that this is an area in which we hold on to a lot of tension. Report an error in the passage at 20:17 Highlight the passage at 20:17

20:36 shoulder, neck, jaw, and so forth. a lot of the mental and emotional strains as well held in these areas. Report an error in the passage at 20:36 Highlight the passage at 20:36

20:53 breathe in to these muscle groups. Report an error in the passage at 20:53 Highlight the passage at 20:53

20:58 the very center of this blocked energy, experiencing it as blocked. Report an error in the passage at 20:58 Highlight the passage at 20:58

21:08 If this doesn't Report an error in the passage at 21:08 Highlight the passage at 21:08

21:23 have a noticeable effect, we could try shrugging our shoulders. Or if we know the yogic exercises, bending, twisting the neck. These Report an error in the passage at 21:23 Highlight the passage at 21:23

21:44 motions themselves can help reduce those blockages, release that tension. We Report an error in the passage at 21:44 Highlight the passage at 21:44

21:57 make it up into the head area. Report an error in the passage at 21:57 Highlight the passage at 21:57

22:03 Particular attention to the face. We Report an error in the passage at 22:03 Highlight the passage at 22:03

22:10 hold a lot of tension in the area around the eyes, in the forehead, in the cheek muscles. So if we notice that any of these areas are hardened or tight, see Report an error in the passage at 22:10 Highlight the passage at 22:10

22:28 if we can soften them somewhat. Use Report an error in the passage at 22:28 Highlight the passage at 22:28

22:36 as our model the face of a sleeping baby. Completely relax. Report an error in the passage at 22:36 Highlight the passage at 22:36

22:53 Soften one's expression. And Report an error in the passage at 22:53 Highlight the passage at 22:53

23:12 now continue to follow this upward flow of energy all Report an error in the passage at 23:12 Highlight the passage at 23:12

23:19 the way up to the very crown of our head. And Report an error in the passage at 23:19 Highlight the passage at 23:19

23:28 then, in the same way that we used our imagination to send roots down into the earth, follow the energy straight up and out of the crown center, directly above ourselves. In Report an error in the passage at 23:28 Highlight the passage at 23:28

23:49 our mind's eye, imagine our awareness is climbing up through the room, directly above our head, Report an error in the passage at 23:49 Highlight the passage at 23:49

24:01 penetrating through the ceiling of this room, through the floor of the room above, Report an error in the passage at 24:01 Highlight the passage at 24:01

24:11 eventually through the very roof of this building. Report an error in the passage at 24:11 Highlight the passage at 24:11

24:22 Through the atmosphere, first through the thicker parts of the atmosphere where our weather takes place, climbing Report an error in the passage at 24:22 Highlight the passage at 24:22

24:35 steadily upwards through Report an error in the passage at 24:35 Highlight the passage at 24:35

24:41 whatever cloud cover there may be, further Report an error in the passage at 24:41 Highlight the passage at 24:41

24:50 up through the rarefied portions of our atmosphere, and Report an error in the passage at 24:50 Highlight the passage at 24:50

25:01 finally up and out into the vast expanse of space itself. Our Report an error in the passage at 25:01 Highlight the passage at 25:01

25:15 attention completely freed from the gravitational force field of the earth, free from all confines. Report an error in the passage at 25:15 Highlight the passage at 25:15

· · · silence, 1 minute

26:39 give strength the mind's ability to be clear, and aware. Report an error in the passage at 26:39 Highlight the passage at 26:39

26:59 boundless, spacious awareness. Report an error in the passage at 26:59 Highlight the passage at 26:59

27:05 Bring our attention back down, again, slowly and deliberately, allowing our attention to descend from space into the upper atmosphere of this earth and Report an error in the passage at 27:05 Highlight the passage at 27:05

27:31 down to that area where the atmosphere becomes thicker. We Report an error in the passage at 27:31 Highlight the passage at 27:31

27:40 begin to experience the weather descending Report an error in the passage at 27:40 Highlight the passage at 27:40

27:50 over this portion of California, the city of San Francisco, this neighborhood. Report an error in the passage at 27:50 Highlight the passage at 27:50

28:03 Descending through the roof of this building, the Report an error in the passage at 28:03 Highlight the passage at 28:03

28:11 successive floors above us, down Report an error in the passage at 28:11 Highlight the passage at 28:11

28:18 through the ceiling of this room, until Report an error in the passage at 28:18 Highlight the passage at 28:18

28:27 our awareness re-enters the body from above. And Report an error in the passage at 28:27 Highlight the passage at 28:27

28:36 as it touches the crown of our head, we may feel our entire nervous system energized. Now Report an error in the passage at 28:36 Highlight the passage at 28:36

28:53 allow our conscious awareness to descend slowly and deliberately to its home in our heart, so it makes its way through. The crown of our head, through our skull and the back of our head, through Report an error in the passage at 28:53 Highlight the passage at 28:53

29:20 the vertebrae of our neck, through Report an error in the passage at 29:20 Highlight the passage at 29:20

29:26 the shoulder and upper chest area, finally Report an error in the passage at 29:26 Highlight the passage at 29:26

29:37 coming to rest in our heart of hearts. Report an error in the passage at 29:37 Highlight the passage at 29:37

29:50 Many of us, because we're so visually oriented, seem to be looking out of the world through some area just behind our eyes. See if we can lower the center of awareness down into the chest. Report an error in the passage at 29:50 Highlight the passage at 29:50

30:14 Deep within the chest, at the same level as our physical heart, but neither to the left nor to the right, our mind's home residence, this heart of hearts, one Report an error in the passage at 30:14 Highlight the passage at 30:14

30:41 has returned home. Now Report an error in the passage at 30:41 Highlight the passage at 30:41

30:48 our conscious awareness, having made contact with the earth element below and the space element above, has now married those two energies, has wedded the earth element. Report an error in the passage at 30:48 Highlight the passage at 30:48

31:12 Good concentration in the space element of boundless awareness. Simply Report an error in the passage at 31:12 Highlight the passage at 31:12

31:24 rest for a few moments in Report an error in the passage at 31:24 Highlight the passage at 31:24

31:31 one's heart, this Report an error in the passage at 31:31 Highlight the passage at 31:31

31:36 well-balanced mind, concentrated Report an error in the passage at 31:36 Highlight the passage at 31:36

31:43 yet relaxed, Report an error in the passage at 31:43 Highlight the passage at 31:43

31:50 attentive. Now Report an error in the passage at 31:50 Highlight the passage at 31:50

· · · silence, 1 minute

32:46 up to this point, we've been paying the vast majority of our attention to the attitude or the posture of this body and of this mind. In other Report an error in the passage at 32:46 Highlight the passage at 32:46

33:10 words, we've been focusing our attention... Report an error in the passage at 33:10 Highlight the passage at 33:10

33:17 Simply upon ourselves there Report an error in the passage at 33:17 Highlight the passage at 33:17

33:27 is a certain joy or pleasure that could be had from cultivating a well-concentrated yet upright and alert body and mind. Try Report an error in the passage at 33:27 Highlight the passage at 33:27

33:55 to expand the field of awareness beyond this single person, beyond oneself. Report an error in the passage at 33:55 Highlight the passage at 33:55

34:16 Even in this room we're surrounded by a number of other beings. Report an error in the passage at 34:16 Highlight the passage at 34:16

34:51 this way, are exactly the same. Report an error in the passage at 34:51 Highlight the passage at 34:51

34:59 we have broadened the scope of our awareness. Report an error in the passage at 34:59 Highlight the passage at 34:59

35:04 go outside this room this building, and this block, city, state, earth. Report an error in the passage at 35:04 Highlight the passage at 35:04

35:19 We encounter beings, beings who, for all their differences, wish only to be happy, exactly as we do, only to be freed from suffering, exactly as we do, to know true peace of mind, fulfillment, a sense of well-being. So Report an error in the passage at 35:19 Highlight the passage at 35:19

35:55 we are not alone here. Instead, we are in the center of a vast assemblage of beings in Report an error in the passage at 35:55 Highlight the passage at 35:55

36:12 this key area. Wishing to be happy and wishing to avoid suffering. All of them, without exception, are exactly the same as oneself. But Report an error in the passage at 36:12 Highlight the passage at 36:12

36:34 as we begin to expand the field of our awareness, to include all of these different beings, from those in this room to those at the very edge of the horizon and beyond, we notice that they're not only the same as us in this key point of wishing to experience a sense of well-being. Report an error in the passage at 36:34 Highlight the passage at 36:34

37:00 Wishing to avoid even the slightest pain and dissatisfaction. But more than that, our lives and their lives are intimately intertwined. Report an error in the passage at 37:00 Highlight the passage at 37:00

37:23 It's as if we're a member of a family whose total membership is countless. Because Report an error in the passage at 37:23 Highlight the passage at 37:23

37:38 we rely on all of these beings for our food, for our clothing, for our shelter, for our education, our companionship. Report an error in the passage at 37:38 Highlight the passage at 37:38

38:08 are connected everywhere. Report an error in the passage at 38:08 Highlight the passage at 38:08

38:24 us try to cultivate a motivation, impulse, engaging in this present activity this evening. motivation, an impulse, takes into account Report an error in the passage at 38:24 Highlight the passage at 38:24

38:41 vast family to which we all belong. Report an error in the passage at 38:41 Highlight the passage at 38:41

38:49 Who, even though they wish to be happy and to avoid suffering, seem to spend an enormous amount of time and energy in creating the causes for further sadness and disappointment, Report an error in the passage at 38:49 Highlight the passage at 38:49

39:12 imprisoning themselves in mistaken notions of what is the path that leads to a sense of well-being and what is the path that leads to continual disappointment and frustration, as if they were two. As if they were lacking a guide, going Report an error in the passage at 39:12 Highlight the passage at 39:12

39:41 around in circles, Report an error in the passage at 39:41 Highlight the passage at 39:41

39:46 experiencing momentary pleasure perhaps, but very rarely experiencing anything like true satisfaction, genuine happiness, profound peace of mind. And Report an error in the passage at 39:46 Highlight the passage at 39:46

40:07 yet, those of us who have come to this place, who have cut a few hours out of our busy schedule to look inwards, have some recognition, however small it might be. Report an error in the passage at 40:07 Highlight the passage at 40:07

40:25 The path to true peace of mind and deep satisfaction involves introspection, looking inwards, being able to discern the difference between those states of mind which are beneficial and those which just keep us spinning around in circles of disappointment, frustration and suffering. Report an error in the passage at 40:25 Highlight the passage at 40:25

40:59 That's why we're here, to learn Report an error in the passage at 40:59 Highlight the passage at 40:59

41:04 a little bit more, perhaps to experience a little bit more. those states of mind which are truly conducive the happiness that we all wish. Report an error in the passage at 41:04 Highlight the passage at 41:04

41:17 to overcome those states of mind only lead us into purgatory. But knowing Report an error in the passage at 41:17 Highlight the passage at 41:17

41:28 how our lives are so interconnected with all these countless family members surrounding us, how selfish it would be if our motivation, if our impulse was for our own welfare alone. Report an error in the passage at 41:28 Highlight the passage at 41:28

41:52 That would just be another prison of ego. So Report an error in the passage at 41:52 Highlight the passage at 41:52

42:04 recognizing how the vast majority of the beings surrounding us are living lives of desperation and confusion, allow Report an error in the passage at 42:04 Highlight the passage at 42:04

42:22 the thought of compassion to arise, to Report an error in the passage at 42:22 Highlight the passage at 42:22

42:30 wish for others to be removed from all their suffering, their pain, their disappointment and dissatisfaction, and Report an error in the passage at 42:30 Highlight the passage at 42:30

42:47 direct all my efforts here this evening Whatever it may be in the way of speaking, listening, meditating, questioning, all this energy, the energy that we extend individually and the energy we create as a group, see Report an error in the passage at 42:47 Highlight the passage at 42:47

43:13 if we can direct it compassionately to the welfare of all beings, all beings without exception. We Report an error in the passage at 43:13 Highlight the passage at 43:13

43:27 can open up our heart and Report an error in the passage at 43:27 Highlight the passage at 43:27

43:35 send these compassionate wishes to the welfare of all beings. Report an error in the passage at 43:35 Highlight the passage at 43:35

43:44 At this point Report an error in the passage at 43:44 Highlight the passage at 43:44

44:14 we can gently relax the strength of whatever meditative concentration we've cultivated over this past period of time. If our seated posture has started to become uncomfortable we can sway or stretch or even stand and bend if that seems to be helpful. Report an error in the passage at 44:14 Highlight the passage at 44:14

44:47 Once the body feels comfortable once again, we can return to our quiet seated posture. As Report an error in the passage at 44:47 Highlight the passage at 44:47

45:11 I thought might happen, my estimation of time was way off, but I'm glad to see that you're still here. Report an error in the passage at 45:11 Highlight the passage at 45:11

45:20 So, when this series of talks was originally arranged, being arranged, Venerable Chukchi contacted a number of people and asked them what their favorite disturbing emotion they got. There is a list of such different emotions. If you've studied that portion of the Buddhist teachings known as lojong or mind and mental factors, there's a whole list of positive mental factors such as wisdom, patience. Report an error in the passage at 45:20 Highlight the passage at 45:20

46:05 Patience, love. And as far Report an error in the passage at 46:05 Highlight the passage at 46:05

46:25 as I know, resentment is not on the list. Attachment is, jealousy, anger, doubt, arrogance, these are all on the list. But resentment, unless I've skipped over that page in the Lamrim, that's not listed. But when I was asked which... I immediately thought of resentment because I was noticing something in my own psychology over the, I think if I had been more aware I would have been noticing it for decades now, but for some reason it was coming into sharp focus just in the last number of years, and that was the extent to which I experienced resentment. Report an error in the passage at 46:25 Highlight the passage at 46:25

47:18 And the interesting thing about it, from my perspective, is that I often feel resentment not to something that's happened to me, but something that I imagine might happen to me. In other words, even before the insult is received, I feel resentment. Because I can imagine receiving it. Report an error in the passage at 47:18 Highlight the passage at 47:18

47:51 In the dictionary, resentment is defined as The feeling of displeasure or indignation at some act or remark or person and so forth regarded as causing injury or insult. Report an error in the passage at 47:51 Highlight the passage at 47:51

48:11 Resentment is the feeling of displeasure or indignation at some act, remark, person, etc. regarded as causing injury and insult. So naturally, if we experience resentment, it's generally because someone has injured us. ...or insulted us in some way. And we're filled with that sense of indignation. How could that person be doing that to me? A certain kind of a righteous... Report an error in the passage at 48:11 Highlight the passage at 48:11

48:39 It's very much akin to anger. The irritation, which if it gets strong enough, does become anger and hatred. It starts out as this discomfort, this displeasure. Report an error in the passage at 48:39 Highlight the passage at 48:39

48:54 But what I was discovering in myself was... Report an error in the passage at 48:54 Highlight the passage at 48:54

49:01 someone injured me or insulted me. could imagine them doing it and start feeling resentful. for example, I don't want to make the example too specific. Report an error in the passage at 49:01 Highlight the passage at 49:01

49:21 you I do editing and writing work other people. and other writers and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 49:21 Highlight the passage at 49:21

49:36 And I'm not the fastest worker in the world. Quite the opposite. Quite slow and painstaking. And not slow just because I'm painstaking, but slow for other reasons as well, like distraction and laziness play a very major part in this. So the kind of work that I do often has deadlines. And even when the people involved are very generous with the deadlines, Even saying, well, just work at your own speed, I know that there's a deadline. I know there's a time when they'd like this work to be done because the work has to be eventually at some point printed up and published or go through other hands and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 49:36 Highlight the passage at 49:36

50:23 So being a rather slow worker and being lazy, I often find myself bumping up against deadlines. And then I imagine emails or telephone calls, Hey John, promised this chapter three weeks ago and you still haven't heard from me. I haven't received that phone call, right? I haven't received that email, but because I'm feeling kind of guilty for being so slow and not producing this work on time, I can imagine it. Report an error in the passage at 50:23 Highlight the passage at 50:23

51:02 Shantideva, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. My mind starts going on the offensive, saying, well, how can they expect me to work? You're not paying me very much. They're giving me this work that's quite difficult to do. They realize that I'm kind of a perfectionist when it comes to getting all the grammar right and things like that. Report an error in the passage at 51:02 Highlight the passage at 51:02

51:50 And I've had so many other things I've had to do. It's unfair of them to push me and to demand that I... That I speed up my work and I meet these deadlines. So I shift, I find my mind shifting from this kind of worry and shame and guilt, shifting from that into some kind of preemptive attack. Report an error in the passage at 51:50 Highlight the passage at 51:50

52:15 And that's I think where that term indignation becomes so important in that definition that I read in the beginning. You know, resentment is the feeling of displeasure or indignation. It's like, Report an error in the passage at 52:15 Highlight the passage at 52:15

52:36 how dare they have these expectations of me? Like that. Some kind of righteous indignation. And so, of course, every day provides, if I'm aware enough of it, a reality check to it. You know, I rarely do receive phone calls like that, berating me. act, person, remark, regarded as causing injury or insult. Report an error in the passage at 52:36 Highlight the passage at 52:36

53:01 I rarely receive emails telling me, you know, hey, you promised me this and you didn't send it. And yet, even with the absence of these outside stimulus, my mind falls into this mode of resentment. And I thought that was a really interesting phenomenon, you know, that one could be resentful even before one was under attack. Report an error in the passage at 53:01 Highlight the passage at 53:01

53:32 Just through the power of imagination, just imagining the attack may come. So where is the attack actually coming from? It's really coming from the inside, isn't it? It's not my publisher's expectations or my author's expectations that I'm contravening, that I'm pushing towards the end. It's my own. It's my own expectations. And it's not just my expectations of myself As a worker, as an editor, as a writer, it's an expectation of myself as a person, as a being. Report an error in the passage at 53:32 Highlight the passage at 53:32

54:14 Because it also starts to get involved with reputation. The reputation that I have with other people. I'm not going to give a job like that to John Landaw again. He takes years of what could be done in a couple of months. It's not just that. Report an error in the passage at 54:14 Highlight the passage at 54:14

54:35 much My own reputation to myself, right? The idea I have of myself. You know, what I should be like. What I would ideally be like. Now, I do have to apologize for being kind of so personal on this, but I get a sense that even though I'm trying as best I can to describe my own screwed up psychology in this regard, that it isn't just totally my Problem. Right? I mean, can we sort of relate to this emotion of resentment? And it's kind of quite clear that resentment is something which isn't just a simple, bare emotion, you know, like hatred or attachment, but it's something more like jealousy. Report an error in the passage at 54:35 Highlight the passage at 54:35

55:28 You know, jealousy being kind of a combination that has some elements of hatred and repulsion in it, you know. And also some measure of attachment and longing in it. It's kind of like a stew made up of these different primary emotions. Well, this indignation, this resentment is also kind of a stew. It's got elements in which I feel the main energy involved is pushing away, the way anger and hatred pushes the things that we dislike away from ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 55:28 Highlight the passage at 55:28

56:03 Setting up this defensive wall, and then it has an element of longing and desire and attachment, wanting people to have a good opinion of me, wanting myself to have a good opinion of me, and so forth. So it's kind of a mixture, it's a concoction of these basic elements, perhaps these more basic disturbing emotions. Report an error in the passage at 56:03 Highlight the passage at 56:03

56:33 But it can be recognized, that kind of particular combination can be recognized as being particularly disturbing. So I'm wondering, does that, the description that I give, does that ring true to any of your experience? Report an error in the passage at 56:33 Highlight the passage at 56:33

56:49 Now, I've been concentrating here mostly on the resentment that we feel even when there isn't an outside attack, right? Just to show, you know, how much of it is simply mental. Report an error in the passage at 56:49 Highlight the passage at 56:49

57:06 But of course, there's the resentment that we feel when we are attacked from some force or some being outside of ourselves. When someone insults us or when someone berates us or someone injures us in some way, then we might think, well, that first kind of resentment, you know, there was no real cause for that. Report an error in the passage at 57:06 Highlight the passage at 57:06

57:27 That was just, you know, kind of a mental game I was playing with myself. But this second one... Some bastard really injured me. Someone said something bad to me. Someone swagged off my reputation. Someone did this. And so then the resentment that rises up, the indignation, sometimes has kind of almost a righteous quality, doesn't it? Report an error in the passage at 57:27 Highlight the passage at 57:27

57:51 Like, I deserve, you know, I'm justified in feeling this resentment. Does that make sense? Report an error in the passage at 57:51 Highlight the passage at 57:51

58:08 My feeling is, and this we can open up for discussion and people can feel free to pop in if they feel it's helpful. I feel that there isn't in fact such a big difference in this emotion of resentment, whether it has an objective element to it or not. In other words, the resentment we feel when someone actually harms us or injures us. Report an error in the passage at 58:08 Highlight the passage at 58:08

58:36 And the resentment we feel when it's just taking place in our mind is actually the same. It has actually the same root. Report an error in the passage at 58:36 Highlight the passage at 58:36

58:47 Do you think that's the case? Or do you think they're really quantifiably different? Report an error in the passage at 58:47 Highlight the passage at 58:47

58:56 Can you relate to resentment? I mean, is that something that ever pops up in your mind or in your heart? What kind of things trigger it all? Are there things that people say to you or do to you that... Afterwards, you kind of get back and kind of rumble to yourself. How dare that person say that to me? You kind of build up that, you know, it starts off as this indignation and this irritation, but if it stays long enough, it actually becomes anger. Report an error in the passage at 58:56 Highlight the passage at 58:56

59:28 You know, and if that stays long enough, then it can become hatred, right? And then it can really start motivating very, even violent behavior on that part. But even when it doesn't reach this point, It still disturbs the mind. Even if it doesn't motivate swearing, bad verbal behavior, or punching, bad physical behavior, just the mental attitude of resentment in itself, it's a disturbance. Report an error in the passage at 59:28 Highlight the passage at 59:28

59:59 It's not a comfortable feeling. I certainly don't find it comfortable. And yet, I can't help get past the... I can't help feel that there's some element of... Report an error in the passage at 59:59 Highlight the passage at 59:59

1:00:17 Rightly or wrongly, of righteousness. Yes, it's uncomfortable, but I deserve to feel resentment. I'm justified in feeling resentment. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:17 Highlight the passage at 1:00:17

1:00:30 You know what I mean? You know what I'm getting at? The sense of this emotion being somehow or other valid or justifiable because I really was insulted. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:30 Highlight the passage at 1:00:30

1:00:43 And yet, I don't think so. I think upon analysis, ultimately there is no justification. There's as little justification to feel resentment when someone actually harms us, there's as little to feel resentment in that case as there is to feel resentment when no one's harmed us and we're just up in, I think it was Aristophanes who said it, cloud cuckoo land, you know, up in that kind of airy, spacey place that people inhabit when they're just up in their heads, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:43 Highlight the passage at 1:00:43

1:01:21 Spinning out, you know, just ridiculous mental garbage and reacting to that. Do you think there's... I don't know whether that question's a fair question to ask or not, but I wonder. Do you ever get a sense that when you're feeling this kind of resentment, that you're somehow justified in it? You know, that it is disturbing, but damn it, you know, that's valid. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:21 Highlight the passage at 1:01:21

1:01:48 Because that person really did try to harm me or insult me. Anyone want to? Yes, please. It's harder actually with the blaming game. I can acknowledge that I spin up a lot of rubbish in my mind. I definitely see that aspect. But when it becomes a more concrete situation where you really do feel a sense of personal injury, the habitual response is to be resentful. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:48 Highlight the passage at 1:01:48

1:02:18 That's right. Anyone else? It seems to me that the common denominator, whether you think there's an objective act or not, is your sense of self and some kind of affront to your ego, whether it's imagined or whether you can point to something that actually took place. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:18 Highlight the passage at 1:02:18

1:02:42 But I think what also trips me up, if I can ask a question, is sometimes I find myself resenting people for something that really has absolutely nothing to do with me. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:42 Highlight the passage at 1:02:42

1:02:55 So I was in airports and on planes and just watching how people put their luggage up or whether I thought I approved of how they handled their luggage or how much they had and where they did it and whether they got into their seat quickly enough. And even on one level I said, gosh, this is so ridiculous. I'm sitting in my seat minding, in theory, minding my own business and yet just commenting and writing down everything that went on. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:55 Highlight the passage at 1:02:55

1:03:18 I'm really resenting all these poor strangers just because I didn't approve of of what what they they Thank were you. doing with their luggage. So I'm not sure how I can tie some of what you're talking about so far to that type of resentment. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:18 Highlight the passage at 1:03:18

1:03:31 Well, you know, I think, and I'm so happy with what you said, not only what you said at the end when you had the microphone, but before that, when you said that both forms, whether there's an objective portion to this experience or whether it's solely subjective, that both of them... Is this working? Feels like it's pulling up my... doesn't feel Report an error in the passage at 1:03:31 Highlight the passage at 1:03:31

1:04:07 It's not bothering me, but I'm just wondering whether it's amplifying the voice sufficiently. Did I not get that? I think I need another ear. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:07 Highlight the passage at 1:04:07

1:04:22 I'm not familiar with it. So, but in the beginning of your answer you said both cases it had to do with the image we have of our self. I forgot the exact word you used. I think I said sense of self or your ego. Sense of self or ego, yeah. I think that's the common, that is, that's exactly right, I believe. And actually that is supported in the Buddhist teachings because they say all of these disturbing emotions, you know, everything that's going to be talked about during these six weeks and even the other disturbing emotions that may not be talked about during this period of time, all of them, all of these various poisons or disturbances or klesha as they're known in Sanskrit. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:22 Highlight the passage at 1:04:22

1:05:07 All of them had at their root a certain type of grasping itself. Now, when we talk about grasping itself, this is entering a very kind of difficult, very profound area, and our use of language is often quite, you know, vague and inaccurate. What we have to understand is we do exist. You know, there's, what, 20, 25 people in this room. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:07 Highlight the passage at 1:05:07

1:05:36 So there are 25 selves, 25 persons, 25 eyes. We do exist. Otherwise, who's speaking and who's listening? But in addition to the eyes and the selves and the persons that do exist, there's another way in which there's a, let me take that back, there's a mistaken way in which these selves are grasped or believed to exist. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:36 Highlight the passage at 1:05:36

1:06:04 So there's a way that we do exist, Alright, that's okay. No problem with that. But then there's a way that we don't in fact exist, but that we believe, that we hold on. We hold on to ourselves as existing in a certain way, yet that's not true. It's a fiction. Now, that's quite vague, right? Get down a little bit out of Kukuland, a little closer to the earth. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:04 Highlight the passage at 1:06:04

1:06:36 If someone comes in and says, let's say your name is Pat. I'll use that because that could be masculine or feminine. Someone comes in and says, oh, is Pat here? And if that happens to be our name, then we raise our hand. And that's quite accurate because Pat is there. So how can we discern that Pat's there? Report an error in the passage at 1:06:36 Highlight the passage at 1:06:36

1:07:00 Well, because there's Pat's body and Pat's mind is working. So there's that combination of body and mind and it's called Pat or labeled Pat. That's the name. And Pat himself or herself is calling that self I. That's me. So we have that name. We have the name Pat or whatever a name might be. We have that pronoun I or the other pronoun me. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:00 Highlight the passage at 1:07:00

1:07:30 Whatever label we use, we might not even use any language at all, but just a sense of self. On this Report an error in the passage at 1:07:30 Highlight the passage at 1:07:30

1:07:58 ever-changing mental and physical set of aggregations, right? Body's always changing, changing very, very rapidly, all kinds of thoughts and emotions and so forth streaming through it, constantly changing. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:58 Highlight the passage at 1:07:58

1:08:23 We're applying our name or pronoun I or however we think of ourselves, we're applying that as a way of referring to the present moment of this ever changing set of phenomena. phenomenon. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:23 Highlight the passage at 1:08:23

1:08:40 So you could validly right now say, I'm sitting, because your body is sitting, I'm listening, because your ears are functioning, I'm getting bored, when's the break, because you're getting thirsty or hungry, or any of these numerous things you can say about I, about self, that would all be valid, because it's referring to something going on in the body, or the mind, or both. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:40 Highlight the passage at 1:08:40

1:09:08 But then, on top, On top of that is a projection. According to the Buddhist teachings this projection is there up until we achieve enlightenment or have a deep meditative experience which is like the absorption into reality which typifies enlightenment. So just to be kind of loose about it, any state before full enlightenment We have this projection holding on to another self. And this other self, holding on to this other self, is what's responsible for all the disturbing delusions, whether it's hatred or jealousy or indignation or resentment. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:08 Highlight the passage at 1:09:08

1:10:11 this the sex of the question? never actually seen this. Does this work? Yes. Okay. So, most Report an error in the passage at 1:10:11 Highlight the passage at 1:10:11

1:10:25 of the time, or much of the time, this false eye, we can give it that name, this false eye, this false projection, is kind of hidden. It's not so obvious. But at times of emotional stress or strain, it kind of pops out very strongly. So if someone came in this room and said, where's Pat? And we just raise our hand and say, yeah, that's me, my name is Pat. And he says, But then, in the next breath, this person said, do you realize you parked your car in some place where I couldn't get through and my wife needs an operation and I can't get to the hospital and I think she's dying and starts berating us for that. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:25 Highlight the passage at 1:10:25

1:11:07 Well, at that moment, a mild sense of pat or I is not what's arising. There's going to be a sense of an I, a pat. Which seems to be something totally different than just what's labeled on the present configuration of this body and mind. You know, a pat, an eye, a me is going to arise at that moment kind of so solidly in the center of one's chest that we feel that we could kind of reach in and grab it. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:07 Highlight the passage at 1:11:07

1:11:41 Seems so real at that moment. And depending on what the particular stress or strain may be, That caused it to arise, we'll either feel very protective of it, you know, like we'll kind of try to put a wall around it to defend it, to protect it, or if maybe sometimes the stress or strain is something positive, like people might praise us in front of a group, you know, extravagant praise. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:41 Highlight the passage at 1:11:41

1:12:08 Oh, you're so wonderful, beautiful, talented, blah, blah, blah, you know. And for many of us, we're not used to hearing that. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:08 Highlight the passage at 1:12:08

1:12:20 but it's not unpleasant in the same way as the insult was but still causes this strong sense of a separate concrete eye seems to have been there from at from the time we were born you know at least the time we you know went through Report an error in the passage at 1:12:20 Highlight the passage at 1:12:20

1:12:42 and that adolescence that kind of self identity and who seems to be carrying but carrying it it up up to to the the present moment. So we've got these two I's, not E-Y-E, capital I, two I's. The I which is kind of merely a name or a label for what's going on in this ever-changing mental and physical aggregation. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:42 Highlight the passage at 1:12:42

1:13:05 But then there's this other one which seems to have a separate, concrete, solid reality to it. And I think, and I think what was pointed out, that woman, I'm sorry, I don't know your name. Gina. Gina. What Gina mentioned was that when indignation arises, when resentment arises, and sometimes jealousy is very, very closely aligned to resentment as well. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:05 Highlight the passage at 1:13:05

1:13:34 In fact, even in the dictionary, one of the synonyms for resentment is jealousy. It's a little bit of a stretch, but you can see, you can see the connection. That when these disturbing emotions arise, it's because that prior to their arising, or maybe arising at the same time, it's a little bit hard to discern sometimes the specific evolution, there had been a grasping on to this solid, concrete, separate self-identity. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:34 Highlight the passage at 1:13:34

1:14:07 So it was the root cause. So I think that's one of the reasons why It's not necessary for there to be an objective cause for our resentment, our indignation. All we have to do is be self-conscious in that uncomfortable sense of the word. Again, there's two ways of being self-conscious. There's a self-consciousness which leads to enlightenment, self-awareness. But then there's another kind of self-consciousness which is just embarrassment and discomfort and disappointment and defensiveness. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:07 Highlight the passage at 1:14:07

1:14:43 That's the one we're talking about. So resentment, indignation, whatever word we want to put on this emotion that we've been exploring seems directly related to the arisal of this solid, independent, concrete vision of self, the so-called ego grasping. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:43 Highlight the passage at 1:14:43

1:15:11 I promised a break and I didn't give one. How about this? It's getting close to 8.30. We could have our break now. And people who have to leave because they have other commitments, then they should feel free to do so. But people who want to stay and maybe discuss it for a little while longer, and if you want to take a break and get a drink, are we about to bring drinks into this room? Report an error in the passage at 1:15:11 Highlight the passage at 1:15:11

1:15:42 Then we could come back and we could have a discussion for another short... There was one thing I was going to do which I didn't do, so for the sake of people who have to leave right now, I'm just going to read something that I brought as well. I not only brought the definition of resentment, but I brought the first few verses of one of the most popular collections of Buddhist's own sayings, the Dharmapada. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:42 Highlight the passage at 1:15:42

1:16:13 I think many of you are familiar with that. It's a wonderful collection. It's found in... So many different traditions, Tibetan, Thai, Burmese, many countries have this collection of Buddhist sayings, the Dharmapada. And it begins with the verses known as the twin verses. And when you hear them, you'll understand why they're called the twin verses. And I think they're so applicable to the discussion of resentment as well as the other delusions. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:13 Highlight the passage at 1:16:13

1:16:41 So I thought I would just read them. Anyone who wants a copy of them, if they don't have it, we can have copies made. So, quoting from the Dharmapada, all that we are is the result of what we have thought. It is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a person speaks or acts with an evil thought, and for evil a little bit of a, you know, uncomfortable translation there, evil thought. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:41 Highlight the passage at 1:16:41

1:17:16 We can just think of destructive thought, harmful thought, non-virtuous thought. If a person speaks or acts with an evil thought, sorrow follows, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the cart. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:16 Highlight the passage at 1:17:16

1:17:33 All that we are is the result of what we have thought. It is founded on our thoughts. It is made up of our thoughts. If a person speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows. a shadow that never leaves. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:33 Highlight the passage at 1:17:33

1:17:53 He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me. In those who harbor such thoughts, hatred will never cease. He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me. In those who do not harbor such thoughts, hatred will cease. For hatred does not cease. by hatred at any time. Hatred ceases by love. is an eternal law. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:53 Highlight the passage at 1:17:53

1:18:30 world does not know that we must all come to an end here. those who know it, quarrels cease at once. So, Report an error in the passage at 1:18:30 Highlight the passage at 1:18:30

1:18:51 even from that brief reading, I think you can see that extent to which whatever makes us happy, whatever makes us unhappy, Report an error in the passage at 1:18:51 Highlight the passage at 1:18:51

1:19:02 Does not depend primarily on outward circumstances, but on our internal attitude, our thoughts, our emotions. And that those, when we dwell on those thoughts in which we become the center of our own attention, he beat me, he hurt me, he injured me, then that leads to the arisal of not only irritation and dislike, but even hatred. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:02 Highlight the passage at 1:19:02

1:19:33 And then that hatred only grows and makes us more and more uncomfortable. And the only way to overcome that hatred is not by more hatred, but by substituting, by changing the attitude. And that involves the cultivation of love and what's not specifically mentioned here, but fills the Buddhist teachings anyway, by love and by the practice of patience. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:33 Highlight the passage at 1:19:33

1:19:59 All of which underscored by the practice of wisdom. Which is able to penetrate through the fiction of this solid, concrete, separate ego identity. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:59 Highlight the passage at 1:19:59

1:20:10 And then the various quarrels and difficulties that we get, that involve us in this life, so many of them, if not all of them, would evaporate if we could just remember what the world, in other words the worldly beings, in this quotation, often forget or don't realize, and that is, our life comes to an end. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:10 Highlight the passage at 1:20:10

1:20:33 Our life comes to an end. The life of the person annoying us comes to an end. The life of the experience itself of being annoyed, that experience itself comes to an end. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:33 Highlight the passage at 1:20:33

1:20:46 So thinking of any of these as being permanent and concrete just further creates the problem. As soon as we recognize that there's nothing permanent, lasting, concrete either in ourselves or in those who insult us, Or in the very thought that holds on to that irritation, as soon as we begin to let go of that, then all quarrels cease naturally. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:46 Highlight the passage at 1:20:46

1:21:12 So I want to thank you for nothing else than your incredible indulgence and patience here. Listen, we go on and on this evening. And we can have a break now. And for those people who have to leave now, I want to thank you for coming. I encourage you to come next week when Venerable Ningjie is coming. Is that correct? And then for those who wish to stay, then I'd be happy to stay around for another 25 minutes or so. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:12 Highlight the passage at 1:21:12

1:21:44 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:44 Highlight the passage at 1:21:44

1:21:55 I think it's four people. I ask them how many? One? Who would like a coffee at the closing time? Report an error in the passage at 1:21:55 Highlight the passage at 1:21:55

1:22:08 I'll give out the ones I have. If you don't get one and want one, then she can make more. But I'm giving out these copies. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:08 Highlight the passage at 1:22:08

1:22:28 don't you give it to the people who have to leave, John? John, the people who have to leave can be taken first. Okay. Any more, John? Good. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:28 Highlight the passage at 1:22:28

1:22:40 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:40 Highlight the passage at 1:22:40

1:22:48 so if those who are going need some more just go we'll make them right around here Report an error in the passage at 1:22:48 Highlight the passage at 1:22:48

1:23:06 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:06 Highlight the passage at 1:23:06

1:23:21 I tried to love on you. Because it got to the point where I was justifying all my anger. And it's really dangerous when you start justifying everything. Because then I just go out and be violent to somebody. So it was basically I was sitting in my bed about four months ago telling myself that I'm not going to do this anymore. I'm not going to do it. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:21 Highlight the passage at 1:23:21

1:23:42 Because my mind wanted me to hate God from the worst thing that ever happened to me to the smallest thing. And I'm like, I'm not going to do it with any of them. Because once you do the small thing, the big things are going to come back. They're all going to come into play. So you have to just love yourself. It all starts with yourself. If you can look in yourself in the mirror and love yourself, you can forgive all those people. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:42 Highlight the passage at 1:23:42

1:24:04 I was going to ask you, you know, what you did. What you did, but you answered it. I just learned to love myself. And I forgave those people because I know a lot of those things that I did, I probably brought on a lot of those things from my karma. I've done a lot of really mean things myself, so I've forgiven those people and I forgave myself. So loving oneself has to do with self-forgiveness and I guess in a way, acceptance. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:04 Highlight the passage at 1:24:04

1:24:31 You Report an error in the passage at 1:24:31 Highlight the passage at 1:24:31

1:24:36 don't hold it quite as close. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:36 Highlight the passage at 1:24:36

1:24:42 That knocking sound, I don't think... the knocking sound oh okay it's like a committee so Report an error in the passage at 1:24:42 Highlight the passage at 1:24:42

1:24:55 So forgiving oneself, accepting oneself and I think part of accepting oneself is realizing that we have strong points and weak points and once we can kind of accept that without getting too hard on ourselves then we can extend that to others. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:55 Highlight the passage at 1:24:55

1:25:16 That's extraordinary. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. You know, one image came to my mind, which I think I first heard from one of my Lamas, I don't quite remember, that holding Report an error in the passage at 1:25:16 Highlight the passage at 1:25:16

1:25:34 on to very, very tightly this sense of a separate concrete self, that whole self that I was talking about, is kind of like walking out into the world with a sword. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:34 Highlight the passage at 1:25:34

1:25:51 know, a wound. and, you know, up and down a street, you know, like a busy street in San Francisco, and then getting upset every time someone bumps into us because it hurts. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:51 Highlight the passage at 1:25:51

1:26:06 So it's like having this open sore, which is just having it, means that we're constantly going to be irritated by it. People are going to come too close, they're going to knock into us, and then this anger. or or indignation is going to arise. If we didn't have that, we didn't have that sore, then even if people were to insult us or behave in ways that we don't really like, it wouldn't cause that reaction. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:06 Highlight the passage at 1:26:06

1:26:37 If Report an error in the passage at 1:26:37 Highlight the passage at 1:26:37

1:26:42 we did react, it wouldn't be with that strength, you know, that viciousness which often comes. We might be able to think of a better way of reacting, you know, a kind of a confrontation which isn't based on anger. The kind of confrontation which is based on understanding and compassion. Well, Report an error in the passage at 1:26:42 Highlight the passage at 1:26:42

1:27:06 we were just talking about that maybe there are maybe half a dozen different definitions of resentment and what I was thinking, I was thinking of three and it's resentment of maybe things that might be happening in the future, like resenting that you have more than you can do and everyone's expecting you to do a job that you feel pushed. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:06 Highlight the passage at 1:27:06

1:27:38 And then there's the resentment in the present, which is like most of us, when someone asks us to do... Lama Tsongkhapa if someone, if there's a perceived insult, there's this sort of immediate kind of resentment, which, I don't know, is it some kind of a survival technique? I'm not sure. But there's also the resentment of things in your past. Like, I can think of things in my past where I still resent someone for... Report an error in the passage at 1:27:38 Highlight the passage at 1:27:38

1:28:08 I'm sure that that happens. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:08 Highlight the passage at 1:28:08

1:28:21 And then I also realized that I actually have things in my past that I did or didn't do that I still resent myself for. didn't you do that back then? And you try and figure out why didn't I do that back then? And so I think the one that's the deepest for me is the one in the past that hasn't been resolved. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:21 Highlight the passage at 1:28:21

1:28:46 So, it seems like... interesting that I think that forgiveness Report an error in the passage at 1:28:46 Highlight the passage at 1:28:46

1:28:58 the thing that popped up in my head most strongly when you were saying that was that element of forgiveness that was just mentioned before being so important. But sometimes we have... Maybe a mistaken notion of what's involved in forgiveness. Forgiveness is not saying that if someone did harm you, let's say, if it's constellating around that kind of experience, if someone harmed you. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:58 Highlight the passage at 1:28:58

1:29:27 Forgiveness doesn't mean saying it was all right. It doesn't mean saying there was really no harm done. Or it doesn't mean saying I didn't experience any harm. That's kind of denying what really happened. Forgiveness is letting go. And when we forgive someone, forgiving oneself, that goes on a deeper level. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:27 Highlight the passage at 1:29:27

1:29:52 But when we're talking about forgiving someone else, when we forgive someone else, it doesn't mean that we have to become friends with that person, or that we have to even meet or speak to that person again. It means that that whole story, that whole narrative that we've built around that incident, We're just loosening our grip on it. We're not buying into it anymore. We may still feel its repercussions. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:52 Highlight the passage at 1:29:52

1:30:22 We may still have a tendency to go back to it, but somehow through forgiveness we're learning not to buy into it, not to grasp onto it quite as strongly, to let go. And then what follows will follow. In some cases there actually is a friendship which grows out of enmity. sometimes forgiveness has that effect it turns enemies into friends but even when it doesn't let go of that kind of core, that nugget running sore in our own Report an error in the passage at 1:30:22 Highlight the passage at 1:30:22

1:30:57 I think one of the challenges that I'm experiencing is something that you have talked about, which is... When you've gone through a lot of difficult things, how is it that you can actually get your mind to be able to forgive yourself? And I think it's a lot more difficult to be able to do that on an everyday basis. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:57 Highlight the passage at 1:30:57

1:31:21 So are there any small techniques that you can do to kind of get you in that narrative or in that mindset to be able to keep going to train your mind that way? Am I right in assuming that you're talking about... Like self-forgiveness here? Self-forgiveness. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:21 Highlight the passage at 1:31:21

1:31:53 What comes into my mind immediately is advice that His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave on a number of occasions. And the context of this advice is what I think is most important. And that is he was making a differentiation between two responses which seem similar. They seem similar but are actually quite different. One is regret and the other is guilt. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:53 Highlight the passage at 1:31:53

1:32:26 Because within the Buddhist context, regret can serve an extremely beneficial function. If you notice, if you recognize that something you've done or said or thought has involved giving harm, harm which you yourself will have to experience, then you regret having committed those. actions, the same way that you would regret having eaten contaminated food, right? Because you know that when you eat contaminated food, it's going to make you sick sooner or later, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:32:26 Highlight the passage at 1:32:26

1:33:02 so you recognize that having engaged in these harmful actions bodies... Shantideva, His Holiness the Dalai Lama We relate to that experience with guilt. In other words, we reify it. We make a kind of a thing about it. It isn't just something that happened to me in the past, something that I did, but it's me. I am the bad guy. So if we did something harmful, it's not just a matter of regretting that we did it, but we identify as now being the same person. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:02 Highlight the passage at 1:33:02

1:33:50 as the person who did the harmful action in the past. So, His Holiness was saying that the main difference between guilt and regret is that guilt anchors us in the past. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:50 Highlight the passage at 1:33:50

1:34:05 regret is an attitude in which we can begin to shape our future. it becomes very, very helpful then if we can shift the attitude away from guilt to because from regret can come the decision to do something different. So for example, if the action that we regret... Shantideva, Shantideva Report an error in the passage at 1:34:05 Highlight the passage at 1:34:05

1:34:29 Shantideva, His Holiness the Dalai Lama just off the top of my head. If it involved stealing, well, then maybe an act of generosity. In other words, we think of something that has the opposite energy of whatever the action was that we regret and then try to bring that other action into our lives, whichever way we can. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:29 Highlight the passage at 1:34:29

1:35:10 Sometimes we can do it physically, sometimes just in our mental attitude is enough, you know, sending out like we did towards the end of the initial meditation. meditation, sending out wishes of love and compassion for others, imagining them becoming happy and satisfied, even that will help break the stranglehold of this guilty kind of attitude. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:10 Highlight the passage at 1:35:10

1:35:38 attitude to require self-forgiveness. I'm not kind of a specific technique, but more like a different stance. Shantideva says, It's like karma. You can't do anything about the karma you created in the past, but you can start creating different karma now. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:38 Highlight the passage at 1:35:38

1:36:06 So we can't do anything about the harmful action or the regretful action that we did in the past, but we can make a decision to begin to adjust our attitude now. And in addition to that, there are purification practices. There's practices that weaken the strength of the harmful actions that we did in the past and weaken their impressions. Vajrasattva, many, many, many other practices. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:06 Highlight the passage at 1:36:06

1:36:34 But I think you had a follow-up? Just a quick other thing. Please. I think what I was talking about a little bit more is how do you forgive yourself when maybe what I'm talking about is just really high expectations of yourself. Because I think that is a huge problem. I see, I see. it. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:34 Highlight the passage at 1:36:34

1:36:54 Yes, and some of that can have its genesis into how our parents or teachers reinforce certain attitudes. I'm not putting the blame on them, but that often happens. You're such a good girl, you're such a good boy, you always get a good report card, you're always the neatest dresser. It sounds like praise, but very often what it does is it can often trap children into... Report an error in the passage at 1:36:54 Highlight the passage at 1:36:54

1:37:22 having these unrealistic expectations of themselves. I don't know, does anybody want to address that? That last thing? How to deal with unrealistically high expectations of oneself? Report an error in the passage at 1:37:22 Highlight the passage at 1:37:22

1:37:42 Do you have something you want to do? I don't look too far. I don't look for money. I don't look for a woman. I don't look for another man. I don't look for a job. I just look to be happy within the moment that I'm here right now discussing with you. I am an alcoholic. I used to be a thief. But I don't steal today. I didn't drink today. And I just give myself credit for what I'm doing today. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:42 Highlight the passage at 1:37:42

1:38:07 I don't worry about what other people think of me. I get up and be proud of myself. I don't beat myself up for what other people's expectations are. And the moment that I forgave myself for those people for all the things they did to me is the same moment I forgave myself for all the things that I did to other people. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:07 Highlight the passage at 1:38:07

1:38:26 And if I keep going into the past, I can't live the best in the present. And I'm just, it's not about money, it's not about anything, it's about family, it's about love. And it's real simple. I can say it in AA, keep it simple. Thank you very much. I haven't thought about the high expectations. I think maybe just to notice that that's happening and to make note of it. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:26 Highlight the passage at 1:38:26

1:38:56 I think just noticing it and not buying into it would be a way to start loosening the linkage. And then I just wanted to say something about my sense of resentment for myself. It comes from an expectation about how people should be based on my sense of morality, that I think what's right and whatever sense of morality I have about the way people should be and the way to act. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:56 Highlight the passage at 1:38:56

1:39:42 And when someone crosses that line, then the resentment comes in that. They're not doing what I think they should do or how they should act or how they should be because I know that I'm right. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:42 Highlight the passage at 1:39:42

1:40:01 There's one thing, though. There's a point which all of this is raising up but I don't think we've addressed and that is I Report an error in the passage at 1:40:01 Highlight the passage at 1:40:01

1:40:11 think there could be a danger of falling into this position that there isn't such a thing as a harmful action. Or that there isn't a difference between helping and harming. We could be so much into the point of giving up resentment or indignation or judgment and so forth that everything becomes kind of like a soup without any differentiation. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:11 Highlight the passage at 1:40:11

1:40:40 And yet, in fact, certain things that we've done in the past have been helpful and certain things we've done in the past have been harmful because that's the effect of those actions. And kind of recognizing them, you know, forgiving ourselves or abandoning resentment doesn't mean losing the intelligence that can discriminate between those actions which are helpful and lead to happiness and those which are harmful and lead to suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:40 Highlight the passage at 1:40:40

1:41:16 Because there's a difference. But the interesting thing, I think, what kind of saves the whole thing, The distinction between what's helpful and harmful lies not so much in the action itself as in the motive behind the action. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:16 Highlight the passage at 1:41:16

1:41:36 So for example, let's say we've had a history of resentment and indignation and anger and as a result we've kind of lashed out at people and then we realize what a dead end that is. That only creates more suffering. So we decided, okay, I'm not going to act out on it, I'm not going to buy into that anymore. Then the question comes up, okay, then what do you do if you see someone who's engaging in cruelly harmful behavior, behavior which is harmful to others and behavior which is harmful to that person himself or herself, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:41:36 Highlight the passage at 1:41:36

1:42:16 Do you say, well, I just, you know, forgive them and, you know, let them do it, you know, I'm not going to get involved? Report an error in the passage at 1:42:16 Highlight the passage at 1:42:16

1:42:30 what happens is that ordinarily, especially if we have a strong habit to do so, we confront someone who's giving harm, that also can be ourselves, confronting ourselves, we do it often with an underlying kind of anger hatred or resentment or irritation. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:30 Highlight the passage at 1:42:30

1:42:54 yet, Again, what His Holiness the Dalai Lama often points out, you can confront those exact same situations with much better energy by confronting it with love and understanding and wisdom. It doesn't mean that we become, you know, like if we're practicing the Buddhist path, we become doormats, you know, just let the world steamroll over us. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:54 Highlight the passage at 1:42:54

1:43:18 You know, if it needs confrontation, we should try to confront it. But not with anger, not with resentment, not with any of these destructive emotions. There's a whole bunch of very positive emotions that we can confront the situation with based on understanding and compassion. And compassion isn't always what one of my lamas used to call idiot compassion. Like if your child is playing with a match and you feel compassion for the child, you say, Oh, it's all right, dear. You can continue playing with that match. I'm not going to raise my voice. He don't yell at you. No, you do whatever you have to do to protect the child from that dangerous situation. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:18 Highlight the passage at 1:43:18

1:44:07 Even if you raise your voice, even if you yank at the child kind of violently, you're not doing it with anger. You can do that same action with love and compassion. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:07 Highlight the passage at 1:44:07

1:44:21 So the distinction is not so much in the action itself. Distinction is in the motive behind. And the nice thing is that when the motive behind an action has to do with these light qualities, wisdom, love, compassion, then the action that we engage in is often so much more effective than actions done based on resentment and anger and irritation. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:21 Highlight the passage at 1:44:21

1:44:50 It's like one opens our wisdom eye, the other closes our wisdom eye. Television won't work so we kick it and break it and never work again. We go through life doing that, don't we? Kicking things that don't work and ensuring that they'll never work. Whereas if we can be kind of patient and open and concerned then we can bring some wisdom and think, oh, maybe just this kind of adjustment will do it. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:50 Highlight the passage at 1:44:50

1:45:19 I don't actually have to kick it. There's something else. some other way of approaching the situation. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:19 Highlight the passage at 1:45:19

1:45:29 How about just one more? I think we could stay here all evening, but it is getting late. A lot of people have long distances to go. Anyone? One last thing? You! Not you. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:29 Highlight the passage at 1:45:29

1:45:51 I had a question about dealing with situations where a confrontation is needed. I often come up with a situation where I feel like one decision, if I make the wrong decision, I'll either feel guilty for harming a person or resentful for not standing up for myself. And the example that comes most strongly to mind is... Report an error in the passage at 1:45:51 Highlight the passage at 1:45:51

1:46:28 My work really wanted me to work extra days and I felt like if I said no I would feel guilty for letting down my work but if I said yes then I would feel resentful for them for asking me to give up something I didn't want to give up. And so I guess I was just wondering a technique or a tool to kind of figure out which is the best action to take to come from a place of neither guilt nor resentment. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:28 Highlight the passage at 1:46:28

1:47:02 This is something that I'm still in the process of learning. So if there's someone who feels that they've encountered this and have figured out a good way of dealing with it, I'd like to turn the floor over to you to answer that question. Any thoughts based on your experience? Yes, please. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:02 Highlight the passage at 1:47:02

1:47:24 I've been in that same situation many times and I used to beat myself up tremendously. You just have to be honest with yourself know that it's okay. And as you were saying, John, the intention behind your response is what's going to make the difference. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:24 Highlight the passage at 1:47:24

1:47:52 Sometimes if someone wants you to do something, sometimes saying, you know, I'd really like to be able to do this, but I really can't. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:52 Highlight the passage at 1:47:52

1:48:04 It's not pushing that person away. But just saying, being honest with myself, doing it would just not work. I don't have the time, I don't have the strength. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:04 Highlight the passage at 1:48:04

1:48:22 There's other things I have to do that I'd like to be able to do. Sometimes that's helpful. But I think there was a couple of other responses to that. First of all, I don't have all the answers, but that's my best shot. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:22 Highlight the passage at 1:48:22

1:48:43 I want to thank you for Really articulating what the extremes that many of us articulate. It's very, very unclear. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:43 Highlight the passage at 1:48:43

1:48:56 One possibility, well, first of all, what comes to mind is part of the difficulty in especially work situations that I want to acknowledge is the power differential. You've got an authority figure, you're the underling. And so when there's that power differential, it makes it, it heightens the feeling of stuckness. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:56 Highlight the passage at 1:48:56

1:49:22 When there is a greater possibility for equal to equal stakes, for example, if I have a boss and he really relies on me and he can't do his job without me, then I have a better leverage in negotiating solutions. solutions. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:22 Highlight the passage at 1:49:22

1:49:55 So, and sometimes there is no answer except what John suggested. But what I try to do whenever I get stuck in a situation like that is to try to collaborate on an alternative solution. To look at existing resources, you know, who I might refer. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:55 Highlight the passage at 1:49:55

1:50:25 be equally skilled, or may even be better qualified, so that the person that dealing with doesn't feel abandoned or left out. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:25 Highlight the passage at 1:50:25

1:50:38 giving the cold shoulder, you're also providing some alternative solution. Yeah, but it depends on the power differential too. I just, so often in these talks, differences aren't... Report an error in the passage at 1:50:38 Highlight the passage at 1:50:38

1:50:54 I walk away, you know, feeling a little like. a romantic view of to, you well, these teachings are really wonderful, they really feel good, but when I get out in the world, I'm like, oh my God, this isn't a very, very practical solution. What page did, you know, where are my notes? What did John say? So, mainly, I guess, what I'm trying to point out is, like, the power difference. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:54 Highlight the passage at 1:50:54

1:51:21 If the teachings... These teachings in the next four weeks can talk more realistically about power differences. I think I would have a better grasp on how to employ these theories or these principles. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:21 Highlight the passage at 1:51:21

1:51:40 Negotiating, collaborating, finding alternative resources, finding a way in. Sometimes if I'm the underdog, I have to pull in other peers to sort of bolster that need to kind of equalize the power difference so that I'm not stuck alone doing this big blurry thing where I can get into the projection and can trigger my fears too. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:40 Highlight the passage at 1:51:40

1:52:05 So it's really tricky and I just want to get by with that. So folks, I think maybe we should bring this evening to a close, but traditionally there are three aspects to any activity that we should Pay attention to it. We want that activity to be as beneficial as possible. Before the inception of that activity, just try to get one's motivation as clear as possible. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:05 Highlight the passage at 1:52:05

1:52:46 Where are we coming from in terms of the action that we're about to do? Whether it's a confrontation with somebody we're finding difficult or whether it's engaging in a religious practice. Any activity whatsoever, what is the motive behind it? And try to, to whatever extent is possible, to expand the scope of that motivation to include something more in my own petty self-gratification. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:46 Highlight the passage at 1:52:46

1:53:17 At least open it up to the welfare of at least one other person. Even if all sentient beings is too much, if full enlightenment is too much, at least something that It encompasses welfare of more than just one person, more than oneself. So that's the motivation. And so we attempted to cultivate that motivation at the beginning today. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:17 Highlight the passage at 1:53:17

1:53:44 Then there's the actual action that we're engaged in, like being here, speaking, listening, discussing, chewing it over in our minds like that. And then one of the main things to do in that second aspect The action itself is to just try to be as attentive as possible. Recognize when our attention is drifting away and bringing it back. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:44 Highlight the passage at 1:53:44

1:54:11 If we need to take a break, taking it so that we can really focus with the necessary energy that that action requires. As the mother of a friend of mine said, do the action straight up and down. Not kind of wobbling. but just doing it the proper way. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:11 Highlight the passage at 1:54:11

1:54:35 then at the end, when the action has come to an end, then taking the energy or directing the energy that's been created by that action, Shantideva, His Holiness the Dalai Lama And not only that, we weren't just trying to work things out intellectually. We were trying to see how the mind works so that we could be happier people and Report an error in the passage at 1:54:35 Highlight the passage at 1:54:35

1:55:26 so that we could make happier surroundings. So even if we weren't terribly successful, even if our efforts lacked the kind of brilliance that they... The very effort itself was positive. We weren't thinking of ways of screwing people, robbing them, messing them over. We were trying to think of ways of making our life more productive both for ourselves and others. So even if there's still a lot more to be done in that area, the very effort was positive, which means He created positive energy. Now that positive energy is kind of like the law of thermodynamics. You don't do anything with it, it dissipates. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:26 Highlight the passage at 1:55:26

1:56:15 It dissipates. So before it dissipates, you kind of direct it. And when you direct it, that's what dedication is about. So, we Report an error in the passage at 1:56:15 Highlight the passage at 1:56:15

1:56:30 may think that in the same way as those spiritual practitioners whom we admire, the great Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, for example, the same way that they've dedicated, The meritorious energy of their virtuous actions, their positive actions, so Report an error in the passage at 1:56:30 Highlight the passage at 1:56:30

1:56:52 may we dedicate whatever meritorious energy we may have created individually and collectively so that all beings may be freed from their mental and physical suffering so that teachers such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama, for example, who reveal true paths leading to higher rebirth, liberation and enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:52 Highlight the passage at 1:56:52

1:57:17 May be endowed with long and fruitful lives, so that we ourselves may come under the benevolent care of such compassionate spiritual masters in this and in all future states of existence, Report an error in the passage at 1:57:17 Highlight the passage at 1:57:17

1:57:33 so that the enlightened beings inhabiting every corner of the universe may continue to turn the peerless wheel of the Dharma teachings, and so that we ourselves may swiftly attain a state of complete awakening. Full enlightenment in order to best be able to repay the infinite kindness we receive from each and every being. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:33 Highlight the passage at 1:57:33

1:57:58 All Report an error in the passage at 1:57:58 Highlight the passage at 1:57:58

1:58:02 this with the tacit recognition that nowhere in this universe of mere appearances is there anything that has concrete, solid, independent self-existence, but rather all things participate in the world of appearances and dependent horizon. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:02 Highlight the passage at 1:58:02

1:58:50 Oh, you're welcome. welcome. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:50 Highlight the passage at 1:58:50