BP: Engaging in the Bodhisattva Deeds (25 May 2015)

0:05 How is everybody? Report an error in the passage at 0:05 Highlight the passage at 0:05

0:12 I'll be Report an error in the passage at 0:12 Highlight the passage at 0:12

0:24 okay. Thank you for remembering. Report an error in the passage at 0:24 Highlight the passage at 0:24

0:35 Anything exciting? Anything traumatic? Report an error in the passage at 0:35 Highlight the passage at 0:35

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:21 Sounds good. Report an error in the passage at 1:21 Highlight the passage at 1:21

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:57 How was that? Report an error in the passage at 1:57 Highlight the passage at 1:57

2:04 Did he prove it? Did he prove rebirth? Report an error in the passage at 2:04 Highlight the passage at 2:04

2:23 Did he go into some of the reasoning behind rebirth? I've Report an error in the passage at 2:23 Highlight the passage at 2:23

· · · silence, 1 minute

3:17 heard of that somewhere before. Report an error in the passage at 3:17 Highlight the passage at 3:17

3:34 Counting our blessings. Report an error in the passage at 3:34 Highlight the passage at 3:34

3:38 We're quite blessed. I'll be okay. Report an error in the passage at 3:38 Highlight the passage at 3:38

· · · silence, 3 minutes

3:41 I mean, even in a very kind of mundane sense, in Report an error in the passage at 3:41 Highlight the passage at 3:41

3:49 the bigger scheme of the things in the world, considering what's going on in the world, Report an error in the passage at 3:49 Highlight the passage at 3:49

4:00 full stomachs and place to go home and safety. That's more than probably half the population of the world can expect or do expect. Report an error in the passage at 4:00 Highlight the passage at 4:00

4:23 But over and above that, Report an error in the passage at 4:23 Highlight the passage at 4:23

4:28 the eight pleasures and ten richnesses or privileges, advantages that we all, Afford us the opportunity to carry on a practice of profound depth, Report an error in the passage at 4:28 Highlight the passage at 4:28

4:53 motivation and consistency and application of the teachings and so forth and bring about some profound changes for the better in our life. Report an error in the passage at 4:53 Highlight the passage at 4:53

5:05 And that can have some ripple effects, like a pebble thrown into a pond. Even though we only are individuals, single persons, it can have an effect on our family. Report an error in the passage at 5:05 Highlight the passage at 5:05

5:20 And it's about us. We come in contact with work and informal interactions with others. So it does make a difference, both to ourselves and others. So I guess it's easy. Were we talking last week, I think? Report an error in the passage at 5:20 Highlight the passage at 5:20

5:51 Anyway. We were talking about that we are biologically disposed, according to evolutionary biology at least. To think, to be negatively biased, to see the glass that's half empty rather than the fullness of what's there. And sometimes we can magnify and look out of proportion, you know, what's something that we might be missing or something that's not, some insufficiency or what's going wrong in our lives and so forth, to the exclusion of what's going right in our lives, what we do have. Report an error in the passage at 5:51 Highlight the passage at 5:51

6:37 We meditate on internalizing the positive, I think, and really looking at what's right about ourselves in our life. So that, you know, this teaching, quite often the teaching in the Kargyu tradition, you know, amongst the four main traditions of Buddhism in Tibet, in their presentation on the lamrim, the teaching on the eight measures and ten endowments of richnesses. Report an error in the passage at 6:37 Highlight the passage at 6:37

7:11 It's preceded with a teaching on Buddha nature that we all have this innate nature whereby we have the potential for transformation. Our character, our personality, our various traits aren't fixed. They're susceptible to change, to dramatic change. Report an error in the passage at 7:11 Highlight the passage at 7:11

7:33 Sometimes we kind of fixate on certain aspects of ourselves. I Report an error in the passage at 7:33 Highlight the passage at 7:33

7:44 mentioned that reality is attention. What we pay attention to becomes our reality and quite often more than not. What we normally pay attention to is a matter of unconscious habit. We keep coming back to the same stories about ourselves and certain incidents maybe in our childhood or as we've grown up, where we went wrong, mistakes that we made. Report an error in the passage at 7:44 Highlight the passage at 7:44

8:21 where you have this mistaken decision. This bias is toward mistakes, what's not right. And this becomes a fixation. We take this as a total picture, what is in fact very selective. It doesn't capture the richness, the complexity of who we are. It's like in a cartoon, a caricature of ourselves. And quite often it's a Lama Report an error in the passage at 8:21 Highlight the passage at 8:21

8:59 Yeshi. I've mentioned a number of times. He was quite adamant about this. He went on quite a lot. He said, we harbor this poor being, that there's something wrong with me. I don't have quite what it takes, or there's something insufficient. I have to wait until better conditions come along in one way or another. And life creeps on at its petty pace, day by day. Report an error in the passage at 8:59 Highlight the passage at 8:59

9:26 And nothing much changes in our life. You know, we have... In the Cartier tradition, quite often they talk about two obstacles which we often don't touch on. One is fear, and we do touch on that quite a lot, don't we? What are the motivators for us to change? One is fear, an understanding of the consequences of what we're doing. Report an error in the passage at 9:26 Highlight the passage at 9:26

9:54 But the other is hope, and it's an interesting one. Because hope is one of the seven virtues of Christianity. But hope, and there are probably healthy, I'm sure there are healthy versions of what we could talk about hope. But hope can become a substitute for doing the work that needs to be done today in hopes of a better tomorrow. And the only thing that changes in our life is what we're currently hoping for. Report an error in the passage at 9:54 Highlight the passage at 9:54

10:25 We hope that things will get better. We hope things will change for the better. But we never become serious. About the present and doing what's necessary to ensure that it does become better. So sometimes hope could be a substitute for acting, for doing something to make our lives better. Report an error in the passage at 10:25 Highlight the passage at 10:25

10:56 So going for refuge, we start art classes. I guess getting back on track. There's a certain momentum to our past habits, our propensities, our tendencies. Report an error in the passage at 10:56 Highlight the passage at 10:56

11:18 Which will play out into the future unless we intervene consciously, beginning to make conscious choices, do things differently or think things differently, a difference that will make a difference in the quality of our lives. Report an error in the passage at 11:18 Highlight the passage at 11:18

11:39 So I think we don't particularly maybe call it that, but we're going for refuge in the possibility of change, of transformation. Report an error in the passage at 11:39 Highlight the passage at 11:39

11:55 Something that maybe we can't quite put our finger on, that there's some kind of possibility Report an error in the passage at 11:55 Highlight the passage at 11:55

12:11 about ourselves that we could imagine ourselves a little bit healthier perhaps, a little more understanding, a little more patient or caring and loving. These are all possibilities, aren't they? Report an error in the passage at 12:11 Highlight the passage at 12:11

12:30 And having kind of a faith in the possibilities of ourselves and our potential and that we can... We can bring this about. And then overcoming the inertia of our hopes that this will come about all by itself and taking up, you know, using the practices, the teachings and so forth, our basic sanity to, and you're exercising that Buddha nature about ourselves to Report an error in the passage at 12:30 Highlight the passage at 12:30

13:07 make it so. Turning our mind toward what we all can become and Report an error in the passage at 13:07 Highlight the passage at 13:07

13:20 believe in ourselves. Over and above the image that we might, the default image that we often come back to. Report an error in the passage at 13:20 Highlight the passage at 13:20

13:39 So the inner focus of our life becomes Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 13:39 Highlight the passage at 13:39

14:06 There's a teaching in Report an error in the passage at 14:06 Highlight the passage at 14:06

14:13 which the mind is Report an error in the passage at 14:13 Highlight the passage at 14:13

14:18 presented as analogous to like clay. The mind is workable. It's I guess what we call in modern neurosciences. Plasticity of the mind. Plasticity is not something new to Buddhism. It's been around for 2,500 years. It's like the clay, the stuff of the mind. Depending upon our skill and our determination, consistency, we can make of the mind. Report an error in the passage at 14:18 Highlight the passage at 14:18

14:58 It's workable. We can make a magnificent piyatta, mother and child. Like Michelangelo. Or on the other hand, we can make of our mind an ashtray. Report an error in the passage at 14:58 Highlight the passage at 14:58

15:16 It has both those potentials. It depends on how we shape it. It's in our hands. I think the path in the alum room, the graduated path, is meant to a large extent. This is part of the teaching on leisure and fortune. Report an error in the passage at 15:16 Highlight the passage at 15:16

15:42 And endowments or whatever we want to call them is a means of empowering ourselves to take the power into our Report an error in the passage at 15:42 Highlight the passage at 15:42

15:56 sense of victimhood. And somehow we are, we Report an error in the passage at 15:56 Highlight the passage at 15:56

16:06 are choiceless or we are under the control of forces beyond our control. Somehow I can change things. You know, we're limited. Report an error in the passage at 16:06 Highlight the passage at 16:06

16:17 But within those limitations we can begin to exercise choice. Report an error in the passage at 16:17 Highlight the passage at 16:17

16:26 So it's in, you know, it's really in our, Report an error in the passage at 16:26 Highlight the passage at 16:26

16:34 it's really each of our responsibilities. It's kind of a frightening thing, isn't it? You know, to grow up, to look, to give up waiting for whatever it is we're waiting for, for somebody to step in and change our lives for the better. You know, whether it's a god in heaven or it's the right man or woman or some magical it, you know, a new psychotherapy or a new drug or something. Report an error in the passage at 16:34 Highlight the passage at 16:34

17:04 We have to take control of our lives and determine to change them for the better. It's quite sobering. It's quite ambitious. It's challenging. Report an error in the passage at 17:04 Highlight the passage at 17:04

17:23 But I think we can do it. So that's what I think going for refuge is, something like that. So if you'd like to recite the verse of refuge together, Report an error in the passage at 17:23 Highlight the passage at 17:23

17:43 I guess when I go for refuge, I accept the challenge to grow up. And to take control of my life, responsibility for my mind, my experience, Report an error in the passage at 17:43 Highlight the passage at 17:43

18:01 and then maybe possibly helping others to do the same. I go for refuge until I'm awakened to the Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha. Through the collections of merit and wisdom created out of generosity and the other practices, may I become a Buddha for the sake of all sentient beings. I go for refuge until I'm awakened. Report an error in the passage at 18:01 Highlight the passage at 18:01

18:25 to the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, the collections of merit and wisdom. Generosity and the other practices. May I become a Buddha for the sake of all sentient beings. I go for refuge until I am awakened to the Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha. Through the collections of merit and wisdom created out of generosity in the other practices, may I become a Buddha for the sake of all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 18:25 Highlight the passage at 18:25

18:53 May all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness. May all sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. May all sentient beings be inseparable from the joy that is without sorrow. May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free from attachment for some and aversion toward others. Report an error in the passage at 18:53 Highlight the passage at 18:53

19:14 I'd Report an error in the passage at 19:14 Highlight the passage at 19:14

19:21 like to stand and stretch and then we'll sit together. Report an error in the passage at 19:21 Highlight the passage at 19:21

19:44 So we're going to, what we've been talking about. Development of mindfulness and introspection. So we're going to, tonight in our meditation, we'll begin with the usual method of progressively getting in touch and relaxing the body and then focusing upon the breath. But I'd just like to take you through a, it's a simple exercise, but you might find it quite useful. Deepening our mindfulness. Report an error in the passage at 19:44 Highlight the passage at 19:44

20:23 A way of sharpening our mindfulness and introspection. So I'll lead you through that as we go along. Okay? So taking a comfortable, firm posture. And Report an error in the passage at 20:23 Highlight the passage at 20:23

20:51 we'll begin by bringing your mind to the crown of your head, your scalp. And start by imagining or actually feeling the wrinkles between your brow and your forehead, smoothing out the Report an error in the passage at 20:51 Highlight the passage at 20:51

21:13 pressure in and around your ear. Your eyes diminishing, the Report an error in the passage at 21:13 Highlight the passage at 21:13

21:33 face softening, relaxing. Report an error in the passage at 21:33 Highlight the passage at 21:33

21:50 Your tongue is soft, Report an error in the passage at 21:50 Highlight the passage at 21:50

21:54 jaw relaxed. Report an error in the passage at 21:54 Highlight the passage at 21:54

22:02 And bringing your awareness to the back of your neck and turning your head to each side a few times, very gently loosening, stretching the muscles of the back of the neck. Report an error in the passage at 22:02 Highlight the passage at 22:02

22:27 And bringing your awareness down to your upper back and shoulders and drawing your shoulders up towards your ears. Circling them to the back and down to the front. Just rotating the shoulders a few times. Report an error in the passage at 22:27 Highlight the passage at 22:27

23:03 Eventually returning your shoulders back up towards your ears and just allowing them to drop comfortably to the sides. And with that, the feeling of some kind of burden or weight that you may have unknowingly been carrying around on your back over the course of the day, moving down and through your body to the ground. Report an error in the passage at 23:03 Highlight the passage at 23:03

23:26 A feeling of... Relief. Report an error in the passage at 23:26 Highlight the passage at 23:26

23:42 And bringing your awareness all the way down to your hands. Your hands are soft and loose. Report an error in the passage at 23:42 Highlight the passage at 23:42

23:57 And relaxing your lower arms. Report an error in the passage at 23:57 Highlight the passage at 23:57

24:25 Your chest is at ease. Report an error in the passage at 24:25 Highlight the passage at 24:25

24:39 Relaxing throughout the heart area, the central space of the chest and Report an error in the passage at 24:39 Highlight the passage at 24:39

24:58 the middle portion of the back. Report an error in the passage at 24:58 Highlight the passage at 24:58

25:22 Releasing the tension we often hold on our stomach muscles, just allowing the belly to go soft. Report an error in the passage at 25:22 Highlight the passage at 25:22

25:55 Relax your lower back muscles. Report an error in the passage at 25:55 Highlight the passage at 25:55

26:17 And throughout the pelvic region, Report an error in the passage at 26:17 Highlight the passage at 26:17

· · · silence, 1 minute

27:26 once again scanning from the crown downward through the central portion of your body and paying particular attention to any tightnesses or tensions which might remain. Breathing into those areas and breathing out from those areas again and again. Report an error in the passage at 27:26 Highlight the passage at 27:26

27:44 And with each out breath, the tension diminishing, the tightness loosening, the body softening. With Report an error in the passage at 27:44 Highlight the passage at 27:44

· · · silence, 1 minute

29:01 your body for a while, relax and leave. Report an error in the passage at 29:01 Highlight the passage at 29:01

· · · silence, 2 minutes

30:37 That indicated to you that you're breathing in. And just lightly rest your attention on that physical sensation associated with the net. Report an error in the passage at 30:37 Highlight the passage at 30:37

30:53 Focus your awareness there. And if it's healthy, you can accompany this. Report an error in the passage at 30:53 Highlight the passage at 30:53

· · · silence, 8 minutes

38:56 A simple exercise to help us deepen and sharpen our concentration, our mindfulness and introspection. So the location that you're paying attention to, the sensation, the natural breath, focusing on that location, does it move around over the course? Report an error in the passage at 38:56 Highlight the passage at 38:56

39:21 does it stay in one place? Just noticing the location. Does it move around or is it fairly stable? Does it stay pretty well fixed in the same place? Just noticing that quality. Report an error in the passage at 39:21 Highlight the passage at 39:21

· · · silence, 1 minute

40:34 I'm going to attend to another characteristic of the breath, its direction. So that sensation of the body that you're paying attention to, does it move in and out? Does it move up and down? Does it move from right to left or left to right, sideways? Report an error in the passage at 40:34 Highlight the passage at 40:34

40:56 So focusing on the characteristic of the direction of movement of that sensation, watching does it change direction, Report an error in the passage at 40:56 Highlight the passage at 40:56

41:10 noticing the direction, Report an error in the passage at 41:10 Highlight the passage at 41:10

· · · silence, 1 minute

42:05 is it consistently the same direction, or does it change in some way? Report an error in the passage at 42:05 Highlight the passage at 42:05

· · · silence, 1 minute

42:46 Now we're going to look at another characteristic of that sensation of the breath, the relative length, which is longer and which is shorter, without adjusting the breath in any way. Which is naturally longer and which is naturally shorter? Is the in-breath longer than the out-breath or is the out-breath longer than the in-breath? Report an error in the passage at 42:46 Highlight the passage at 42:46

43:08 Or are they about the same, Report an error in the passage at 43:08 Highlight the passage at 43:08

43:14 noticing that characteristic of the breath, which is longer and which is shorter? Which Report an error in the passage at 43:14 Highlight the passage at 43:14

· · · silence, 1 minute

44:31 is obvious and clear to you? Is the in-breath clearer and more obvious to you or the out-breath? Is that more clear and obvious to you? Report an error in the passage at 44:31 Highlight the passage at 44:31

44:46 So without adjusting your breath in any way, which is naturally clearer in the in-breath or the out-breath, or are they about the same, Report an error in the passage at 44:46 Highlight the passage at 44:46

44:59 noticing that. Report an error in the passage at 44:59 Highlight the passage at 44:59

· · · silence, 1 minute

46:09 Another characteristic of the breath. So we're going to have to pay close attention. Can you notice when the in-breath begins and when the in-breath ends, when the out-breath begins and the out-breath ends? Can you notice the boundaries, the beginning and the end of the in-breath and the out-breath? When they each begin, when they end. Can you catch that? Report an error in the passage at 46:09 Highlight the passage at 46:09

· · · silence, 5 minutes

51:50 The fifth chapter is on what's called introspection. Report an error in the passage at 51:50 Highlight the passage at 51:50

51:57 So becoming more observant, I guess you might say. Aware, if you like. Report an error in the passage at 51:57 Highlight the passage at 51:57

52:06 And at the end of, after the class last week, Harry mentioned possible, you know, we're looking at... Different terms. The more terms we have, the kind of we can begin to hone in on what some of these terms. Report an error in the passage at 52:06 Highlight the passage at 52:06

52:33 So Harry mentioned that maybe another possible translation or meaning of introspection would be self-montering. I don't know about the word self, but a yellow light goes off when I hear the word self. But anyway, monitoring. And I was thinking about how to make this. Report an error in the passage at 52:33 Highlight the passage at 52:33

53:03 These terms, mindfulness and introspection. And I thought of a possible example. Report an error in the passage at 53:03 Highlight the passage at 53:03

53:19 And this is coming from the Abhidharma tradition and very much in terms of within the Tibetan context. So it's a particular interpretation of what mindfulness and introspection, these terms mean. And we'll talk about a different interpretation, which is very much... It's prevalent in the Theravāda Buddhism. They have a different take on the term. I mean, it's not radically different, but they assign different meanings to it. Report an error in the passage at 53:19 Highlight the passage at 53:19

53:53 Mindfulness has the idea of holding in mind. And this idea of introspection is, as Harry mentioned, maybe monitoring. Monitoring? Is that the word it's pronounced? Monitoring. Report an error in the passage at 53:53 Highlight the passage at 53:53

54:14 Monitoring. I actually spelled it wrong. Report an error in the passage at 54:14 Highlight the passage at 54:14

54:24 Okay, remembering. No, no, no, no. So, okay, here's my example. See what you, yeah. So, you make an appointment with somebody. I'll see you at three o 'clock. Okay? So, you have to remember. You have to keep in mind that you have an appointment at three o 'clock. So, this is what keeps in mind. no. Report an error in the passage at 54:24 Highlight the passage at 54:24

54:48 Remember that you have an appointment at 3 o 'clock is the factor of mindfulness. But not only do you have to remember that you have an appointment, you have to keep track of the time. There's no sense. If you don't keep track of the time, then you're not going to be there at the assigned time. So you also have to monitor or keep track of time. Report an error in the passage at 54:48 Highlight the passage at 54:48

55:13 Oh, I've got to go. It's 5 till 3. I have an appointment. You're keeping track of the time. You're remembering you've got an appointment at 3 and you're keeping track of the time. And that gets you to where you want to go. I don't know if one of them were missing. If you kept track of time but you forgot you had an appointment. I know I had something to do at 3 o 'clock, but I can't remember what it was. I'm keeping track of the time. Report an error in the passage at 55:13 Highlight the passage at 55:13

55:40 Or if you remember, I have an appointment but I forget. But you don't watch the clock. You don't keep track of time. And if either of those two factors are missing, you're not going to be there according to your pre-designed, you know, what you were determined before. Does that make sense? Okay. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 55:40 Highlight the passage at 55:40

56:15 Interest. Interest. Interest. Interest. Interest. Report an error in the passage at 56:15 Highlight the passage at 56:15

56:25 Yeah. So your motivation to, yeah. Yeah, none of these factors exist. In isolation, there's a cluster of a number of mental factors. One of, I guess, attention, Report an error in the passage at 56:25 Highlight the passage at 56:25

56:44 intention, motivation and so forth would all play a part into the overall quality of the mind, which would support mindfulness and so forth. Yeah? Report an error in the passage at 56:44 Highlight the passage at 56:44

· · · silence, 1 minute

57:44 Good question. We've got some expertise here. We can take advantage. So there's Report an error in the passage at 57:44 Highlight the passage at 57:44

57:57 no Report an error in the passage at 57:57 Highlight the passage at 57:57

58:20 consequences. Report an error in the passage at 58:20 Highlight the passage at 58:20

58:24 Age Report an error in the passage at 58:24 Highlight the passage at 58:24

· · · silence, 3 minutes

1:01:45 for that? Report an error in the passage at 1:01:45 Highlight the passage at 1:01:45

· · · silence, 2 minutes

1:04:06 Maybe. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:06 Highlight the passage at 1:04:06

1:04:10 How's that? Report an error in the passage at 1:04:10 Highlight the passage at 1:04:10

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:05:29 I guess it's, well, for one thing, it's age-dependent, isn't it? We can't expect a 10-year-old to take the same responsibilities as an adult. So are you talking about 10-year-olds or adults? How Report an error in the passage at 1:05:29 Highlight the passage at 1:05:29

1:06:04 they discipline them? Report an error in the passage at 1:06:04 Highlight the passage at 1:06:04

1:06:10 Corporal punishment? so... Report an error in the passage at 1:06:10 Highlight the passage at 1:06:10

1:06:06 Yeah, yeah, I mean, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:06 Highlight the passage at 1:06:06

1:06:12 They might get a beating. They might not get to eat. They would be scolded in front of their peers. They're pretty harsh. I'm not sure if that's all that advisable for this young lady. No, it's pretty tough. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:12 Highlight the passage at 1:06:12

1:06:39 I mean, with the conditions, I mean, this is getting a little political, but not all the children are there who want to be there. So, I'm going to leave it on this. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:39 Highlight the passage at 1:06:39

1:06:54 Their parents have put them there and they don't have particular interest in the subject of Buddhism or whatever, so they might not even want to be there. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:54 Highlight the passage at 1:06:54

1:07:06 But they're there, so they have to be, some kind of discipline has to be placed on them. So it's a little bit different. I imagine she's doing this somewhat voluntarily. As you said, she wants to do it, so she has an interest. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:06 Highlight the passage at 1:07:06

1:07:24 Yeah, I think the idea of some of the suggestions, I mean, you know, have some sincere discussion with it, instead of imposing some kind of discipline on our, kind of negotiate and say, well, how can, what can we do about this? And suggestions about actually physically having two different books, so that, you know, that's no longer an excuse. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:24 Highlight the passage at 1:07:24

1:08:07 Well, I mean, you know, we were talking about the, you know, These different contemplations on leisure and advantages, how fortunate I am. So I had this opportunity and so forth. But there's the other side of that. I mean, yeah, so you look at the advantages and disadvantages where the consequences of I, then there's teachings of karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:07 Highlight the passage at 1:08:07

1:08:38 And then inspire them. You know, kindness. And the four ways of, you know, we mentioned. Aside from the six transcendent practices, bodhicitta practice is the four ways of leading their students, providing for their material needs. We're talking very much would be the case in a monastic situation. But in general, speaking to them in ways of encouraging them, kind. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:38 Highlight the passage at 1:08:38

1:09:16 Speaking them with kind words and giving them practical instructions and advice, but also, importantly, modeling what it is you're saying. So those are the four ways of leading students. But encouraging, saying, you're really doing well, I'd like to see you do better. You know, you really have something, you know, you're going to appreciate it if you really put in the work now in a consistent fashion, but you've got to bring your book. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:16 Highlight the passage at 1:09:16

1:09:43 You know, that's really a... something of an obstacle that's where they hold Report an error in the passage at 1:09:43 Highlight the passage at 1:09:43

1:09:50 I think kindness and encouragement can go a long way, but maybe introducing some consequences. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:50 Highlight the passage at 1:09:50

1:10:18 She has to prepare for her levels, doesn't she? She does have some fixed goals. Maybe keep a reminder of that. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:18 Highlight the passage at 1:10:18

1:10:38 There you go. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:38 Highlight the passage at 1:10:38

1:10:39 You get us. We were looking at the fifth chapter deals with the second of the six perfections of transcendent practices that are ethics. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:39 Highlight the passage at 1:10:39

1:10:57 In order to guard our ethics, we need mindfulness and introspection. It was mentioned last week that there are, very roughly speaking, overall there are three types of ethics. and Report an error in the passage at 1:10:57 Highlight the passage at 1:10:57

1:11:10 Restraint from doing the negative. There's the affirmative side. There's acting in skillful ways, developing positive attitudes and performing positive actions. Restraining from the negative, performing the positive, and then just in general benefiting sentient beings, which is kind of the motive behind most of what Bodhisattva is trying to accomplish. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:10 Highlight the passage at 1:11:10

1:11:38 So we mentioned that in terms of our text that there's a number of verses by Shantideva, 34 through 58, which cover this first of these three types of ethics. That is the ethics of restraint or ethical discipline of restraint. And we, you know, last week handed out one way of looking at restraint, so what is to be abandoned. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:38 Highlight the passage at 1:11:38

1:12:12 Types of negative actions are the ten negative unskillful paths of action. We handed those out last week. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:12 Highlight the passage at 1:12:12

1:12:36 If you notice, in terms of a path of action, a path of action traces the evolution of the action from its initial impulse to commit the action, Report an error in the passage at 1:12:36 Highlight the passage at 1:12:36

1:12:56 So it runs the whole continuum of everything from the initial cause to having performed the action to completion. And it's made up of four parts. The basis, another sentient being, the thought, performance, and then the culmination. And the thought is made up of, in turn, has three parts. Recognition, intention. And in terms of when we're talking about the negative emotions, the unskillful emotions, we also were talking about which of the three Report an error in the passage at 1:12:56 Highlight the passage at 1:12:56

1:13:43 fundamental or root afflictive emotions are motivating it. So it's one of the three afflictive emotions of either hatred, attachment or ignorance. So here... Report an error in the passage at 1:13:43 Highlight the passage at 1:13:43

1:14:00 When we look at, we can see that all of the negative actions, if we're deconstructing and breaking down this way, all negative actions have as their impetus, that which is driving them, some type of afflictive emotion or negative emotion. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:00 Highlight the passage at 1:14:00

1:14:22 So in verse 34 Report an error in the passage at 1:14:22 Highlight the passage at 1:14:22

1:14:30 of our text, Shantideva is... He's asking us to investigate our motivation, where he says, initially investigate whether the mind is flawed. At that time, I shall remain like a piece of wood. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:30 Highlight the passage at 1:14:30

1:14:48 Maybe we'll talk a little bit about what that might mean, how you remain as a piece of wood. And then Galsup Jay, who is writing the commentary to Shantideva's text, he goes on to say, before engaging in any physical action, such as walking or talking, investigate the mind. To see whether the motivation for the action is flawed or not. So when we consider looking Report an error in the passage at 1:14:48 Highlight the passage at 1:14:48

1:15:18 at our motivation in terms of the ethics of disciplined restraint, when we consider the thought branch of the unskillful action, we can see that the unskillful action is always motivated by one of the skillful afflictive emotions. And the way that we can begin... And what I want to talk about is the way that we can counter the afflictive emotions. And I'm just talking about them very roughly. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:18 Highlight the passage at 1:15:18

1:15:50 And this is one way of presenting how we can counter the afflictive emotions is a combination of what is called conduct, meditation and view. Conduct, meditation and view. So initially the way that we can counter Or restrain and transform these negative actions is by conduct. And this here conduct is very much what Shantideva is talking about here. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:50 Highlight the passage at 1:15:50

1:16:24 So refraining from externally acting out the afflictive emotion in terms of our body and speech. So most of the vows, the vows of individual liberation, Which would include the vows of a monk or a nun, but also lay vows, not killing, not stealing, and so forth, are not so much mental, but they're restraints in terms of our body and speech. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:24 Highlight the passage at 1:16:24

1:16:56 So even though we might be angry, not acting out that anger. And going through all of the ten, you know, the seven. The three of body and the four of speech, the negative actions. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:56 Highlight the passage at 1:16:56

1:17:18 Shantideva says that we are to remain like a piece of wood. And I don't think this means to repress. I don't think we can do that very well, actually. But what we can do is when we begin to become aware through introspection, Whether our minds are afflicted or not, and if it's afflicted, we can remain unreactive to the affliction. So, you know, anger is simply a state. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:18 Highlight the passage at 1:17:18

1:18:02 I'm trying to emphasize that it's not a thing in our head. It is a constellation of lots of little bits, lots of attitudes, beliefs, bodily sensations, feelings, attitudes. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:02 Highlight the passage at 1:18:02

1:18:18 They're all in juxtaposition. That's what we're calling anger. It doesn't have a life of its own. If we imbue it, if we take it personally, if we reify it, if we demonize it, then we're attributing qualities and attributes to it, which in fact it doesn't have. It's not a thing. It is a state. I've used the metaphor of a fever. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:18 Highlight the passage at 1:18:18

1:18:47 Like you go out into the cold and you don't dress properly and you come down with the cold and fever. And so fever is a state of the body. It's not a thing we can point to. And these states of mind are like a fever. They're expressions of a variety of symptoms. So if we can, and I'm going to talk about this when we actually talk about some of the countermeasures or the antidotes, we don't have to necessarily buy into every story, every thought, motivation, every state of mind that comes along. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:47 Highlight the passage at 1:18:47

1:19:31 Anger will arise, and if it's neither indulged in nor repressed, it will cease of itself. It is impermanent. Just like everything else. So we can begin simply, here I think is what I'm taking as a piece of wood. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:31 Highlight the passage at 1:19:31

1:19:53 It's a non-reactivity to a particular state of mind. It has arisen. And if it's not indulged in or repressed, if it's not bought into, if we don't empower it, it will cease of itself. We can remain as a piece of wood. So that's conduct. So Gauss of Jay in his commentary mentions that while abiding in restraint, but it's not enough simply to remain non-reactive while abiding in that kind of restraint. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:53 Highlight the passage at 1:19:53

1:20:32 That is, say, acting like a piece of wood. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:32 Highlight the passage at 1:20:32

1:20:39 That we are to apply an antidote. So Gauss of Jay says, if in case of a flawed motivation has risen, Then, while remembering the antidote against the affliction, remain like a piece of wood and do not be moved by the motivation. So in that context of not acting out, we can cultivate. And this is what meditation means. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:39 Highlight the passage at 1:20:39

1:21:09 We can cultivate one of the countermeasures, a family of states of mind which counteract. That is negative affliction. This is called meditation. So meditation here refers to cultivating the antidote of the affliction. It is the motivation of an action which largely determines the ethical valence. By valence I mean whether it's positive or negative. It is determined not so much by the act itself, but by a... Report an error in the passage at 1:21:09 Highlight the passage at 1:21:09

1:21:51 The motivation behind the action, which determines its ethical nature. So what I want to do, I want to just very briefly, hopefully it will be useful, rather than going through lots of these verses, to describe how we can work with some of the antidotes or corrective measures to anger and attachment. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:51 Highlight the passage at 1:21:51

1:22:21 Ignorance will be talked about extensively when we come to chat. Chapter 8, the third of these three root afflictions. So working with anger. Okay, is that okay? So we're going to talk about some general countermeasures which are applicable to any afflictive emotions and then we'll talk about some particular to anger and some particular to attachment. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:21 Highlight the passage at 1:22:21

1:22:53 But there's types of antidotes which are applicable to any negative state of mind, any afflictive emotion. So in working, we've talked about, and again, I guess I repeat myself quite a lot. At least I feel like I do. In working with anger, it's first necessary to recognize our anger is not only a misguided and ineffective. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:53 Highlight the passage at 1:22:53

1:23:24 Ineffective means of dealing with difficult people and situations and events. But ultimately it's self-defeating and self-destructive. So what I'm saying is we have to begin to calibrate the degree that we take recourse to anger as a strategy in dealing with difficult situations in our life. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:24 Highlight the passage at 1:23:24

1:23:54 We talk about people having short fuses or short-tempered. The little thing sets them off. Some people, it takes a lot. So that's a degree of calibration of their minds. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:54 Highlight the passage at 1:23:54

1:24:21 Our emotions, speaking very generally, are Strategies, behavioral strategies that we've worked out in order to deal with the fundamental, in the case of anger, for example, the condition of I want and I can't have. There's a conflict. I want and I can't have. How am I going to deal with that life situation? One strategy we worked out, we've learned along the way, which has become, Quite deeply embedded is the use of anger as a means for resolving that dilemma which occurs to us all the time. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:21 Highlight the passage at 1:24:21

1:25:08 So here we begin by recalibrating. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:08 Highlight the passage at 1:25:08

1:25:17 Most simply looking at the advantages and disadvantages of anger. know, it's looking Report an error in the passage at 1:25:17 Highlight the passage at 1:25:17

1:25:23 We have to see anger's drawbacks, even in those situations where it might appear to bring us some sort of short-term gain. And it does. There does seem to appear, there does appear to be short-term advantages to getting angry. And so it's important that we view, but having said that, it's important, you know, hopefully we're adults and we're taking a bigger perspective, which children aren't able to do. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:23 Highlight the passage at 1:25:23

1:25:52 They're much more immediate. They can't project themselves very far in the future with the consequences of their actions and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:52 Highlight the passage at 1:25:52

1:26:05 I was talking about becoming an adult. It's important that we view our thinking and behaving in terms of the overall kind of life that they support. And see that through our anger we become our own worst enemy. You know, what kind of life do you want to live? Do you want to see as a reflection of who you are? Report an error in the passage at 1:26:05 Highlight the passage at 1:26:05

1:26:26 So we're looking at a bigger picture. We're stepping back. You know, there might be some short-term gain. You might get exactly what you want by getting angry in the moment. But what kind of life does that anger support in the bigger picture of things? So we're intervening into some... Report an error in the passage at 1:26:26 Highlight the passage at 1:26:26

1:26:47 Fairly ingrained pattern of reactivity. Push our button, we react. We invoke some strategy in order to resolve the dilemma, I want and I can't have. So practically, this intervention, so we're intervening, we're breaking the pattern, takes up the form of two allied approaches, and these apply not only to anger but to any negative emotion. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:47 Highlight the passage at 1:26:47

1:27:19 Or maybe any kind of change that you want to make in your life. Maybe giving up smoking or whatever. The first is disputing the assumed advantages of the negative emotion and recognizing the real disadvantages. Disputing, we assume. See, our emotions are adaptive. We wouldn't have them if we didn't believe that they weren't working. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:19 Highlight the passage at 1:27:19

1:27:48 Somewhere we assume that these emotions work for us. There's a payoff for getting angry. There's a payoff for attachment. There's a payoff for jealousy. There's a payoff for pride. We would have let go of them a long time ago. There's a reason that they hang on, that they stick around, because we assume, we believe at some level, that there's some... Report an error in the passage at 1:27:48 Highlight the passage at 1:27:48

1:28:14 That they're useful to ourselves and our well-being. So we have a sense, we see some assumed advantages of anger. And we have to begin to refute. What we do is, first we enumerate. And really, you have to do it. This is part of the homework. We're talking about, well, one week to the next. If you want to make a change. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:14 Highlight the passage at 1:28:14

1:28:48 Well, why am I holding on to this? Why do I keep smoking? What are the advantages of it? What's the payoff? I wouldn't be doing it. I wouldn't be wasting my money and my health if I didn't see some payoff. I'm not that stupid. I'm a little bit stupid, but I'm not that stupid. Anyway, Report an error in the passage at 1:28:48 Highlight the passage at 1:28:48

1:29:14 the assumed advantages. And we do assume there are advantages. And there may, in fact, be. You might be able to identify some real, assume advantage. Then we have to begin to say, well, can I refute those assumed advantages? Are there other types of behavior by which I can achieve the same ends without hostility, without aggression, maybe even more skillfully? Report an error in the passage at 1:29:14 Highlight the passage at 1:29:14

1:29:45 I know when I get angry, I don't think clearly. So it's not a very, you know, I may get what I want, but I'm probably causing harm along the way. And moreover, I'm not getting what I want in a very skillful way. I think I could do a better job. I could enlist my intelligence to probably achieve that same end, hopefully, I think. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:45 Highlight the passage at 1:29:45

1:30:08 So could I achieve, I want to list what are the assumed advantages and then I want to refute them if I can. Is there a way I could achieve that same end? And moreover, perhaps more skillfully, with less destructive, in keeping with my deeper values, my long-term goals in my life, how I want to see the quality of my life without resorting to anger. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:08 Highlight the passage at 1:30:08

1:30:38 Is there another way? Can I begin to exercise some other strategy? On the one hand, in seeing the real disadvantages of anger, the harm that it causes, myself and others. You know, we aren't stupid. We talked about this initially at the very beginning of our talk together, that we have some basic sanity about what we call Buddha nature. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:38 Highlight the passage at 1:30:38

1:31:05 If we can present to the mind in a clear and genuine way the advantages and disadvantages, our mind will naturally begin to incline. That which it sees as in our own self-best interests. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:05 Highlight the passage at 1:31:05

1:31:34 We might have to represent it again and again because there's a habit working against this degree of wisdom. Our wisdom is weak, but these habits are strong, the habit of anger and so forth. But nonetheless, the mind will begin to incline toward what we see as in our own self-best interests. That's where most of us are at. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:34 Highlight the passage at 1:31:34

1:31:30 won't, if it is. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:30 Highlight the passage at 1:31:30

1:31:55 There's nothing wrong with that. What is in our own self-best interest? But what is in our own self-interest? Using our intelligence, not our assumptions. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:55 Highlight the passage at 1:31:55

1:32:07 And then what are the real disadvantages of this type of behavior, of anger? Then this will provide a platform and a motivation necessary for genuinely working with the second approach, and that is the antidotes. So that begins. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:07 Highlight the passage at 1:32:07

1:32:27 know, the, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:27 Highlight the passage at 1:32:27

1:32:31 The way in which the positive states of mind which are able to reduce the intensity, the duration, the frequency of, for example, anger. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:31 Highlight the passage at 1:32:31

1:32:42 So I want to talk a little bit about some of these antidotes. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:42 Highlight the passage at 1:32:42

1:32:49 First in general. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:49 Highlight the passage at 1:32:49

1:32:58 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:58 Highlight the passage at 1:32:58

1:33:28 So there are what I call... don't know. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:28 Highlight the passage at 1:33:28

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:33:35 They usually turn into antidotes, maybe correctives, corrective measures or something like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:35 Highlight the passage at 1:33:35

1:33:45 The way that we can bring about some kind of shift, begin to interrupt the patterns, these reactive patterns in our mind. First, in general, the first of these is mindfulness. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:45 Highlight the passage at 1:33:45

1:33:59 The first general antidote. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:59 Highlight the passage at 1:33:59

1:34:04 But here I want to talk a little bit. the way that we... Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:04 Highlight the passage at 1:34:04

1:34:11 I want to talk a little bit differently about what mindfulness is. So I've tried to, I hope I'm not confusing you, but I'd like to, I think it's interesting and useful to go over to a little more in the Theravāda. Theravāda is the type of Buddhism which is mainly practiced in the Southern Asian countries, such as Sri Lanka and Burma, not Burma, what do they call it? Report an error in the passage at 1:34:11 Highlight the passage at 1:34:11

1:34:40 Myanmar, Report an error in the passage at 1:34:40 Highlight the passage at 1:34:40

1:34:45 Cambodia, Thailand, parts of Vietnam and so forth. But moreover, and I mentioned previously that mindfulness, there are probably at least 20 different definitions about mindfulness. The one that I'd like to just mention, I'm going to just mention it very briefly, is there's one teacher who's quite popular now in teaching. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:45 Highlight the passage at 1:34:45

1:35:13 He's a secular teacher, but he's drawing from Buddhism, is John Kabat-Zinn. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:13 Highlight the passage at 1:35:13

1:35:24 He introduced mindfulness into working with, originally he worked in a hospital and he began to work with heart patients who were recovering from heart attacks, heart disease and so forth. talking hate that they come in. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:24 Highlight the passage at 1:35:24

1:35:42 Helping them to improve their well-being and speed their recovery. And then he kind of expanded and expanded it. And then it developed into MBSR, mindfulness-based stress reduction and so forth. And now it's become a cottage industry. But he's quite a, I think, quite a thoughtful and very good teacher in the way that he presents mindfulness. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:42 Highlight the passage at 1:35:42

1:36:07 And he sees mindfulness as having three characteristics. One, that it's purposeful, that it's in the present, and that it's nonjudgmental. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:07 Highlight the passage at 1:36:07

1:36:23 Mindfulness for him is a way of paying attention. So we all pay attention quite naturally. But here we're talking about a special way of paying attention, as it were. A way of paying attention characterized by these three. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:23 Highlight the passage at 1:36:23

1:36:42 It's on purpose, it's in the present, and it's nonjudgmental. So when he talks about it's on purpose, Report an error in the passage at 1:36:42 Highlight the passage at 1:36:42

1:36:54 a lot of our, let's say, there's an intentionality to what it is that we're directing our mind. A lot of our life goes by on automatic pilot. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:54 Highlight the passage at 1:36:54

1:37:13 Most of what we pay attention to is not... We, we... Report an error in the passage at 1:37:13 Highlight the passage at 1:37:13

1:37:17 Consciously decided. It's not purposeful. It's not intentional. It's simply a default. It's by unconscious habits, like iron firelings being drawn by a magnet. Our minds are being directed toward various objects, not by our conscious choice, but simply by unconscious habits. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:17 Highlight the passage at 1:37:17

1:37:44 So here we begin to oppose that that kind of The Buddha said, without mindfulness, we are like zombies. We're just kind of going about mechanically. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:44 Highlight the passage at 1:37:44

1:38:03 Here we're beginning to, with this quality of mindfulness, we're beginning to make choices consciously about what we want to attend to, what we want to think about, how we want to speak, and what we want to do. then then Report an error in the passage at 1:38:03 Highlight the passage at 1:38:03

1:38:22 The second characteristic of this mindfulness is it's in the present. So a great deal of our life is spent in fantasies about the future and remembrances about the past. But if you think about it, the only time we have to actually live or to experience our life is in that thin interface between the past and the future. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:22 Highlight the passage at 1:38:22

1:38:54 We begin to create more space to actually experience life in the here and now, in the present. We begin to pay attention to what was actually going on, to what we are actually experiencing, not be lost in fantasies, in our ruminations about what could be and what happened to us and so forth. And then finding this third quality, and this is the quality that we mentioned before, and maybe what... Report an error in the passage at 1:38:54 Highlight the passage at 1:38:54

1:39:27 Shantideva is talking about when he talks about a piece of wood, non-judgment or non-reactivity, you know, that we don't have to buy into every thought, every emotion, every story that comes by. You know, this is called, there's an important word, especially in Theravāda, which is called mental proliferation. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:27 Highlight the passage at 1:39:27

1:39:59 And like they have nuclear proliferation in Buddhism, they have mental proliferation. You know, it's like we, you know, it's a little spark of a, maybe a feeling. And then we begin to build this huge story around somebody says something and then we end up becoming involved in this drama, this huge story. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:59 Highlight the passage at 1:39:59

1:40:20 And we are the central character. And that's called mental proliferation. It's a nice word. We develop the ability. So we're not talking about mystical insights or profound realizations or otherworldly absorptions. But the ability not to simply, and we do this, we practice this every week to some degree, is simply to observe the thoughts without buying into them. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:20 Highlight the passage at 1:40:20

1:40:31 And, you know, this is a real... Report an error in the passage at 1:40:31 Highlight the passage at 1:40:31

1:40:58 We don't have to bite into every thought that comes along. And so we don't have to react. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:58 Highlight the passage at 1:40:58

1:41:14 We just provide the space and allow the emotion to develop and it will cease of itself. So these are these three qualities of characteristics of a particular way of looking at mindfulness. And this is what I mean here when I talk about one of the general... Report an error in the passage at 1:41:14 Highlight the passage at 1:41:14

1:41:35 Correctives or antidotes is the ability simply not to have to buy into, not to react, to remain in the present and to make choices about where you're going to place your mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:35 Highlight the passage at 1:41:35

1:41:52 That's a simple factor of mindfulness. you know, way that we can is this so you're interested in this? Report an error in the passage at 1:41:52 Highlight the passage at 1:41:52

1:42:08 I guess it's not a fair question to say. I'm sure you wouldn't say no. Maybe you would. I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:08 Highlight the passage at 1:42:08

1:42:17 My greatest fear in life is the people. So this is a general means. Mindfulness is a general means of working with all the various afflictive emotions and working with anger. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:17 Highlight the passage at 1:42:17

1:42:35 So we're not challenging the anger in the context of mindfulness. know. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:35 Highlight the passage at 1:42:35

1:42:39 us. You know, we we Report an error in the passage at 1:42:39 Highlight the passage at 1:42:39

1:42:46 There's a certain curiosity, perhaps, that there's a sense of openness. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:46 Highlight the passage at 1:42:46

1:42:56 What is this all about? What's going on here? Report an error in the passage at 1:42:56 Highlight the passage at 1:42:56

1:43:03 Curiosity and investigation is one of the seven factors of enlightenment, which arises out of mindfulness. There's something here that we can begin to learn about ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:03 Highlight the passage at 1:43:03

1:43:16 We can begin to... With that openness, that non-reactivity, that curiosity, we can begin to release ourselves from these old habit patterns of avoidance and suppression. That's the general way that we react to these various emotions which arise. So all of our feelings Report an error in the passage at 1:43:16 Highlight the passage at 1:43:16

1:43:56 have many dimensions, but underneath underpinning, All of our feelings is, there's a scale of the mind that registers our experience as either positive, negative or neutral. We have like an internal barometer, Report an error in the passage at 1:43:56 Highlight the passage at 1:43:56

1:44:24 an internal barometer of experience. So we can become more skilled in reading our internal barometer by becoming more sensitive to what it is we're actually feeling. At any given situation, quite a lot of our life goes on beneath the threshold of our awareness. And we find ourselves simply acting out and never really knowing how that actually evolved. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:24 Highlight the passage at 1:44:24

1:44:53 When did it actually initiate? And it all evolved. It didn't come fully blown. So we can begin to act with greater balance of mind, particularly in very... Really trying experiences when our buttons are being pushed. We're really a bit shaky. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:53 Highlight the passage at 1:44:53

1:45:19 By learning to attend more closely to the chain of reaction. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:19 Highlight the passage at 1:45:19

1:45:28 We react. You come in this room, you're reacting. The mind is beginning to evaluate. There is always, every state of mind has... We studied this when we looked at awareness and knowledge as the five omnipresent mental factors. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:28 Highlight the passage at 1:45:28

1:45:54 Amongst these are feeling, perception, and so forth. So we're always feeling something. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:54 Highlight the passage at 1:45:54

1:46:06 We're reacting with feeling. We're reacting with perceptions. Like, not like, good, bad, and so forth. We're evaluating. know Report an error in the passage at 1:46:06 Highlight the passage at 1:46:06

1:46:16 So we can begin, this is an ongoing natural process of the mind. So if we attend more closely to the chain reaction of our reaction to a person or to a particular situation and so forth that we encounter, we discover there's always a sense of an experience as being pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:16 Highlight the passage at 1:46:16

1:46:41 If the experience registers as pleasant, a chain reaction will then tend toward a particular direction, eventually it will probably move into the direction of Report an error in the passage at 1:46:41 Highlight the passage at 1:46:41

1:46:59 Wishing, desiring to prolong the When we experience displeasure, a painful feeling, There will be a reaction. The mind will cascade toward a particular direction. There will be an evolution. And we will eventually come, we may eventually come, depending upon the intensity of the stimulus, toward aversion. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:59 Highlight the passage at 1:46:59

1:47:40 We want to remove. We want to get away from, to avoid. And whatever it is we see is... you know, um, The source of that pleasure and pain. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:40 Highlight the passage at 1:47:40

1:47:58 So it evolves. The point I'm trying to make is it's a chain reaction. It doesn't come fully blown. Hatred, anger, attachment, whatever the emotion. It begins with a simple registration of a feeling of pleasure. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:58 Highlight the passage at 1:47:58

1:48:21 But more than not, this entire cascade, this reaction, is below the threshold of our awareness. It's almost totally automatic and unconscious. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:21 Highlight the passage at 1:48:21

1:48:36 The more that we can begin to sensitize ourselves to what's underneath, for example, anger. What's underneath the anger? We can develop an early warning system. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:36 Highlight the passage at 1:48:36

1:48:53 A yellow light, which begins to tell us that our mind is moving along a particular direction. And if we allow it, it could end up in anger, mild anger, just aversion or whatever. So by tuning in with great sensitivity to the message of our internal barometer, we can begin to recognize any unpleasant feelings that we previously screened out. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:53 Highlight the passage at 1:48:53

1:49:20 That we're below the threshold. You meet somebody and you sometimes have a little bit of uneasiness, shakiness. Then you have to begin to become extremely sensitive to the direction of how your mind is going, the direction in which your mind is moving. That very act of bringing that to awareness of mindfulness will weaken the influence, will begin to interrupt that chain reaction. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:20 Highlight the passage at 1:49:20

1:49:29 And you, you know, Report an error in the passage at 1:49:29 Highlight the passage at 1:49:29

1:49:50 By turning toward discomfort and unpleasantness and by intentionally embracing it. Embracing means to tolerate. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:50 Highlight the passage at 1:49:50

1:50:10 Tolerance is the ability to bear with discomfort. So you're not going to avoid. You're willing to be with that. Then you've interrupted the natural chain of reaction toward anger. we you know Report an error in the passage at 1:50:10 Highlight the passage at 1:50:10

1:50:06 having... Report an error in the passage at 1:50:06 Highlight the passage at 1:50:06

1:50:27 If you catch it soon enough, if you catch it too late, then you're just going to have to go for a walk. So gently asking, what is this? There's a sense of curiosity, a question. What's going on here? Report an error in the passage at 1:50:27 Highlight the passage at 1:50:27

1:50:42 Rather than this unpleasant experience, when we encounter an unpleasant experience, rather than just leaping in, I can't stand this. That's natural. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:42 Highlight the passage at 1:50:42

1:50:58 The natural reaction, I can't stand this. What's going on here? Report an error in the passage at 1:50:58 Highlight the passage at 1:50:58

1:51:07 To be able to ask what's going on here means that you're willing to be with that experience and to tolerate an unpleasant feeling. So we begin to disrupt this automatic link which perpetuates the emotion, which feeds it, which proliferates it. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:07 Highlight the passage at 1:51:07

1:51:31 didn't mean to go, okay. So that's... Mindfulness. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:31 Highlight the passage at 1:51:31

1:51:45 So practically what you can think about, Report an error in the passage at 1:51:45 Highlight the passage at 1:51:45

1:51:52 it's like surfing. If you take anger, maybe you can begin to learn to surf anger. Where I'm from in northern beaches, it's quite popular. Let it come and go. Anger is a wave. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:52 Highlight the passage at 1:51:52

1:52:17 It rises up as an impulse on the surface of our mind, and if we don't dive into it, it will return to its source. So the ability simply to surface and not react. You'll wipe out somebody else. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:17 Highlight the passage at 1:52:17

1:52:39 Yeah, yeah, yeah. And to see anger as a mental event. yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:39 Highlight the passage at 1:52:39

1:52:48 That probably sounds rather bizarre, I don't know. It is an event, it's a happening which has risen from conditions. Certain conditions are constellated and there is a state, an emotion which we call anger. As these conditions naturally change, the anger will fade, just like a rainbow. There have been a lot of rainbows lately. A rainbow is quite often used, an analogy, an example. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:48 Highlight the passage at 1:52:48

1:53:20 of a dependent horizon. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:20 Highlight the passage at 1:53:20

1:53:24 There's rain in the atmosphere in one place, there's the sun, and then there's the observer. These conditions are just in the proper positions, present in the proper position. Out of those conditions, a rainbow appears. If one of the conditions shifts, momentarily changes, the rainbow disappears. So it's nothing really solid that you can grab onto. It's just an expression of certain conditions. Anger is an expression of certain conditions. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:24 Highlight the passage at 1:53:24

1:53:59 Like a fever. So we can also, in terms of anger, what's really for yourself, but also in relating with others, what's underneath the anger? Report an error in the passage at 1:53:59 Highlight the passage at 1:53:59

1:54:17 As I said, it's a constellation. Which we call anger. There's probably hurt, sadness. Anger is a strategy to defend ourselves. It's also a way that we can distract ourselves from the deeper feelings of hurt or sadness that we don't want to go near. So we express it as anger outwardly. Pardon? Report an error in the passage at 1:54:17 Highlight the passage at 1:54:17

1:54:55 That's quite right. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:55 Highlight the passage at 1:54:55

1:55:04 This idea of tolerance, I think, is really important to think about, to consider, to reflect about the ability to tolerate your sadness, to be with, gently, accepting, allowing. You don't want it to be there, but it's there, rather than either trying to suppress it in some way. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:04 Highlight the passage at 1:55:04

1:55:34 We can become more aware of our anger buttons, where we're vulnerable. We all have our places. I know I have mine in certain areas. That's my partner, where I'm very susceptible to hurt and therefore lashing out with anger. So I know those. So I take those into consideration. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:34 Highlight the passage at 1:55:34

1:56:06 So knowing what your anger buttons are, where your vulnerabilities lie, and we can actually prepare effectively for situations where our buttons might be pushed in some way, anticipating that anger might arise. So we're more sensitive than usual. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:06 Highlight the passage at 1:56:06

1:56:34 Anyway, I got lost in anger. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:34 Highlight the passage at 1:56:34

1:56:42 I'll talk about some more next week. okay next week okay that I've gotten away from the text. Is that useful? Report an error in the passage at 1:56:42 Highlight the passage at 1:56:42

1:57:04 So there's next week we will have a class and then there's a two week break. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:04 Highlight the passage at 1:57:04

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:57:45 So there will be class next week and then after that there will be a two week break and then there will be two weeks after that. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:45 Highlight the passage at 1:57:45

1:57:59 Okay, so if we can dedicate. The positive energy we've created together. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:59 Highlight the passage at 1:57:59

1:58:22 May all beings everywhere, plagued by sufferings of body and mind, attain an ocean of happiness and joy by virtue of my merits. May no living creature suffer, commit evil or fall ill. May no one be afraid or belittled with a mind weighed down by depression. May the blind see forms and deaf hear sounds. May those whose bodies are worn with toil be restored on finding repose. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:22 Highlight the passage at 1:58:22

1:58:49 May the naked find clothing, the hungry find food, may the thirsty find water and delicious drink, may the poor find wealth, those weak with sorrow find joy, may the forlorn find hope, constant happiness and prosperity, may they be timely rains and bountiful harvests, may all medicines be effective and wholesome prayers bear fruit, may all who are sick and ill quickly be freed from their ailments, whatever diseases there are in the world. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:49 Highlight the passage at 1:58:49

1:59:17 May they never occur again. May the frightened cease to be afraid and those bound be freed. May the powerless find power and may people think of benefiting each other. For as long as space remains, for as long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too remain to dispel the miseries of the world. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:17 Highlight the passage at 1:59:17

1:59:37 Through these skillful actions may I quickly become an awakened spiritual master and lead each and every living being to that awakened realm. May the supreme jewel of the awakened heart that has not arisen arise and grow. And may that which has arisen never decline, but increase more and more. In the land encircled by the snow mountains, you are the source of all happiness and well-being. Powerful Chenrizi Tenzin Gyatso, please remain until the end of cycling existence. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:37 Highlight the passage at 1:59:37