The Heart Sutra (9 November 2007)

0:02 At one time, the Bhagavan was dwelling on mass vultures mountain in Rajgir, together with a great community of monks and a great community of bodhisattvas. At that time, the Bhagavan was absorbed in the concentration on the categories of a phenomena called profound perception. Also at that time, the Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, Arya, Avalokiteshvara, looked upon the very practice of the profound perfection of wisdom and beheld those five aggregates also as empty of inherent nature. Report an error in the passage at 0:02 Highlight the passage at 0:02

0:36 Then through the power of Buddha, the Venerable Shariputra said this to the Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, Arya, Avalokiteshvara. How should any son of the lineage train who wishes to practice the activity of the profound perfection of wisdom? He said that and the Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, Arya, Alokiteshvara said this to the venerable Sharivadiputra. Report an error in the passage at 0:36 Highlight the passage at 0:36

1:01 Sharivadiputra, any son of the lineage or daughter of the lineage who wishes to practice the activity of the profound perfection of wisdom should look upon it like this. Correctly and repeatedly beholding those five aggregates also is empty of inherent nature. Form is empty, emptiness is form. Emptiness is not other than form. Form also is not other than emptiness. In the same way, feeling, discrimination, compositional factors and consciousness are empty. Report an error in the passage at 1:01 Highlight the passage at 1:01

1:33 Shariputra, likewise, all phenomena are emptiness, without characteristic, unproduced, unceased. Stainless, not without stain, not deficient, not fulfilled. Shariputra, therefore, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no discrimination, no compositional factors, no consciousness, no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind, no visual form, no sound, no odor, no taste, no object of touch. Report an error in the passage at 1:33 Highlight the passage at 1:33

2:12 There is no I element and so on up to and including no mind element and no mental consciousness element. There is no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance and so on up to and including no aging and death and no extinction of aging and death. Similarly, there is no suffering, origination, cessation and path. There is no exalted wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 2:12 Highlight the passage at 2:12

2:38 No attainment and also no non-attainment. Shariputra, therefore, because there is no attainment, bodhisattvas rely on and dwell in the perfection of wisdom, the mind without obscuration and without fear. Having completely passed beyond error, they reach the end point of nirvāṇa. All the Buddhas who dwell in three times also manifestly, completely awaken to the unsurpassable, perfect, complete enlightenment and reliance on the perfection of wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 2:38 Highlight the passage at 2:38

3:11 Therefore, the mantra of the perfection of wisdom, the mantra of great knowledge, the unsurpassed mantra, the mantra equal to the unequal. The mantra that thoroughly pacifies all suffering should be known as truth since it is not false. The mantra of the perfection of wisdom is declared, tayata om gate gate paragate parasam gate bodhissoha. Report an error in the passage at 3:11 Highlight the passage at 3:11

3:37 Shariputra, the bodhisattva, mahasattva should train in the profound perfection of wisdom like that. Then the Bhagavan arose from that concentration and commended the Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, Arya, Avalokiteshvara, saying, Well said, well said, son of the lineage. It is like that. It is like that. One should practice the profound perfection of wisdom, just as you have indicated. Even the Tathagatas rejoice. Report an error in the passage at 3:37 Highlight the passage at 3:37

4:05 The Bhagavan having thus spoken, the venerable Sharivadiputra, the Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, Arya, Avalokiteshvara, those surrounding in their entirety along with the world of gods, humans, asuras and Gandharvas were overjoyed and highly praised that spoken by the Bhagavan. Report an error in the passage at 4:05 Highlight the passage at 4:05

4:46 All right, so just as a review, remember that this text, the Heart Sūtra is divided up into two sections, right? The prologue or the introduction and then the... So we've finished the prologue now and we'll get into the actual sūtra which has the three parts, how Shariputra asked his question, then how Avalokiteshvara answered and then how that was admired by the teacher. Report an error in the passage at 4:46 Highlight the passage at 4:46

5:15 So we'll start with how Shariputra asked his question. Report an error in the passage at 5:15 Highlight the passage at 5:15

5:23 It starts with then through the power of Buddha. The Venable Shariputra said this to the Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, Arya Avalokiteshvara. How should any son of the lineage train who wishes to practice the activity of the profound perfection of wisdom? Report an error in the passage at 5:23 Highlight the passage at 5:23

5:40 So then through the power of Buddha. So Shariputra was said to be a Hinayana Arhat. So remember that the Heart Sūtra is a Mahāyāna teaching. It's a Mahāyāna Sūtra. and so So people say that Shariputra wouldn't have, by himself, he wouldn't have the knowledge and the understanding to ask this kind of a question. Report an error in the passage at 5:40 Highlight the passage at 5:40

6:11 So it's said that both Shariputra and Avalokiteshvara spoke through the blessings of the Buddha in this Heart Sūtra. That might be kind of weird to hear, but that's what's said. Report an error in the passage at 6:11 Highlight the passage at 6:11

6:31 There's a question already. I don't know if I can answer it. Report an error in the passage at 6:31 Highlight the passage at 6:31

6:40 Is that when he sort of, you know, inspired Shariputri, sent him a zapparuni or something and got him to ask a question? Report an error in the passage at 6:40 Highlight the passage at 6:40

6:53 It's kind of hard. Hard to say. But what's said is, so remember that Shakyamuni Buddha at this time, he was absorbed in meditation on emptiness. And it's said that when he was absorbed in this meditation on emptiness, then he blessed the minds of Shariputra and Avalokiteshvara. Report an error in the passage at 6:53 Highlight the passage at 6:53

7:12 And it's said he did that so that Shariputra was inspired to ask his questions and Avalokiteshvara was inspired to give his answers. Report an error in the passage at 7:12 Highlight the passage at 7:12

7:22 Therefore, since both disciples spoke through the power and inspiration of Buddha, the entire sūtra is correctly considered to be the word of Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 7:22 Highlight the passage at 7:22

7:34 So that's what's said. I mean, it's kind of hard to really understand that. I'm just repeating what's being said. I don't know how that works. Report an error in the passage at 7:34 Highlight the passage at 7:34

7:55 So the Venerable Shariputra, as I said, so he was a Hinayana Arhat. He was one of the senior students of Buddha Shakyamuni. But he was on the Hinayana path. And he had actually completed the Hinayana path, apparently. Report an error in the passage at 7:55 Highlight the passage at 7:55

8:12 So then Venerable Shariputra said this to the Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, Arya Avalokiteshvara. So the Bodhisattva, I think everybody knows what that is. Mahasattva. Does anybody remember what a Mahasattva is? Report an error in the passage at 8:12 Highlight the passage at 8:12

8:37 Microphone. Tim, how about ten? Tim. Report an error in the passage at 8:37 Highlight the passage at 8:37

8:45 A Bodhisattva on the Bhumis. Right. Or a Bhumi. Right. A bodhisattva on a bumi or one of the bodhisattva grounds. So that's a bodhisattva who has directly realized emptiness. So when a bodhisattva has directly realized emptiness, then they enter the bodhisattva bumis. Report an error in the passage at 8:45 Highlight the passage at 8:45

9:10 So there are bodhisattvas that haven't yet directly realized emptiness and there are bodhisattvas who have directly realized emptiness. And we'll talk a little bit about, well actually we'll talk a little bit. more than a little bit about the the five paths today and we'll distinguish between the different levels Report an error in the passage at 9:10 Highlight the passage at 9:10

9:30 So is a Mahasattva on any of the Bhumis or from one to whatever? Yeah, ten, yeah. That's what the commentary says. An aria? Do people know what aria is? What's an aria? Someone who's perceived emptiness. Right. So perceived emptiness directly. Reception of emptiness, thank you. Report an error in the passage at 9:30 Highlight the passage at 9:30

10:02 Isn't that redundant to call a Mahasattva Anna Arya? Well, a Mahasattva is a Bodhisattva. But then they call him a Bodhisattva too. Maybe it's for emphasis. Wow, we're really technical here. Yeah, it may be a bit redundant. Report an error in the passage at 10:02 Highlight the passage at 10:02

10:24 Avalokiteshvara, right? So we said before that Avalokiteshvara, right? In general, that's Chenrezig and he's a Buddha, but in the context of when Buddha Shakyamuni was alive, Avaluki Teshvara was manifesting as a bodhisattva. So he came to the world as a bodhisattva, it is said. Then Shariputra asks, how should any son of the lineage train who wishes to practice the activity of the profound perfection of wisdom? Report an error in the passage at 10:24 Highlight the passage at 10:24

10:55 So here in this translation it says, how should any son of the lineage train? So for people who have a problem with that, some translations say son or daughter of the lineage. It's not implying that it's only men. Because the next paragraph in this sūtra talks specifically about son of the lineage or daughter of the lineage. Report an error in the passage at 10:55 Highlight the passage at 10:55

11:19 So it's not exclusive to men. So a son of the lineage. So in this... In this context, son of lineage refers to someone who has awakened the Mahāyāna lineage. So what does that mean, awakened the Mahāyāna lineage? So someone who has awakened the Mahāyāna lineage is someone who has developed great compassion. They've developed great compassion in their hearts. Report an error in the passage at 11:19 Highlight the passage at 11:19

11:51 So what is great compassion and how does that differ from compassion? Sukh. So compassion, right? So we all have on some level or another a compassion. You know, compassion is just a wish for someone to be free from suffering, right? So we all have that. You know, if we see a poor puppy dog, you know, sick puppy dog, you know, laying there, you know, compassion arises for that puppy dog, right? Report an error in the passage at 11:51 Highlight the passage at 11:51

12:24 So we all have some level of compassion, right? We want that. to be free from their sickness. Great compassion is only developed by Mahayanists. Great compassion is based on equanimity. It's based on concern for the well-being of all sentient beings. Great compassion is wishing that all sentient beings without exception are free from suffering. Report an error in the passage at 12:24 Highlight the passage at 12:24

13:01 So for most of us, if somebody has harmed us in some way, we may take a little bit of pleasure maybe when things don't go so well for them. Report an error in the passage at 13:01 Highlight the passage at 13:01

13:22 The boss who fired us, maybe we're glad if they don't get a promotion or something like that. So there's some holding back to our love and compassion. Report an error in the passage at 13:22 Highlight the passage at 13:22

13:35 But for someone who has developed great compassion, there isn't this, well, I really want this person to be free from suffering, but if this guy suffers a little bit, I wouldn't mind too much. Report an error in the passage at 13:35 Highlight the passage at 13:35

13:50 It's based on kind of an equal level, right? An equal level of concern for all sentient beings. So that's great compassion. And when one generates great compassion... One has awakened the Mahāyāna lineage. Janet. Report an error in the passage at 13:50 Highlight the passage at 13:50

14:17 I kind of thought that great compassion also included the desire to achieve enlightenment so that you can actually free all sentient beings from suffering, in addition to just to have the compassion that they don't suffer, realizing that the only way to do it is by... Report an error in the passage at 14:17 Highlight the passage at 14:17

14:42 Achieving enlightenment. Yeah, and that's bodhicitta. Yeah, but I thought also that in order to enter the Mahāyāna lineage that you had to have accomplished the uncontrived bodhicitta. So we'll talk about that, the difference between awakening the Mahāyāna lineage and entering the Mahāyāna path. Those are different. Report an error in the passage at 14:42 Highlight the passage at 14:42

15:05 So awakening the Mahāyāna lineage is achieving great compassion. And so then on the basis of great compassion, then one develops this exceptional resolve, which if people remember, that's where I decide that not only do I want all sentient beings to be free from suffering, I myself will do it. I take responsibility myself to do it. And then on the basis of that exceptional resolve, then one develops bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 15:05 Highlight the passage at 15:05

15:38 Which is through the understanding that we need to get out of saṃsāra. We need to attain complete enlightenment to really show others how to do it. So there's those three steps, right? The great compassion, then the exceptional resolve, and then bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 15:38 Highlight the passage at 15:38

16:08 So let's talk about Janet's question first. The Mahāyāna lineage. So awakening the Mahāyāna lineage consists of... Developing great compassion. Entering the Mahāyāna path, though, the point at which one enters the Mahāyāna path is when one generates bodhicitta. And not just any old bodhicitta, but uncontrived, spontaneous bodhicitta. So we talked about that. Report an error in the passage at 16:08 Highlight the passage at 16:08

16:37 The bodhicitta that arises spontaneously without making effort. So having made a lot of effort over a long period of time, then we encounter a situation where the bodhicitta arises just spontaneously without us having to go through the reasonings, without us having to contrive it. But when it comes spontaneously, then one enters the Mahāyāna path. Report an error in the passage at 16:37 Highlight the passage at 16:37

17:07 So that's the difference between awakening the Mahāyāna lineage and entering the Mahāyāna path. Report an error in the passage at 17:07 Highlight the passage at 17:07

17:19 Then there's another teaching about the Buddha lineage or Buddha nature. So all sentient beings have Buddha nature, but we don't all have the Mahāyāna lineage. We haven't all awakened the Mahāyāna lineage, but we all have Buddha nature. So we all have the potential to attain enlightenment. So Report an error in the passage at 17:19 Highlight the passage at 17:19

17:47 Buddha nature is the potential to attain complete enlightenment. And according to Sūtra, technically it's the emptiness of our minds. The emptiness of our minds is our Buddha nature. Report an error in the passage at 17:47 Highlight the passage at 17:47

18:05 So Buddha nature, Buddha lineage, natural abiding lineage, Tathāgata essence, those are often interchangeable terms. Report an error in the passage at 18:05 Highlight the passage at 18:05

18:28 Then how should any son of lineage train who wishes to practice the activity of the profound perfection of wisdom? So how would we train if we want to basically train in understanding emptiness, realizing emptiness, the profound perfection of wisdom? So profound, once again, refers to emptiness because it's extremely profound and difficult to realize and it's our ticket out of saṃsāra. Report an error in the passage at 18:28 Highlight the passage at 18:28

19:11 Then we'll go into how Avalokiteshvara answered. Report an error in the passage at 19:11 Highlight the passage at 19:11

19:18 So there were two different ways that Avalokiteshvara answered this question. One for ordinary disciples, for we normal people, and then for those of extremely sharp faculties. So we'll go through the answer for ordinary disciples first. And that consisted of... Report an error in the passage at 19:18 Highlight the passage at 19:18

19:44 A description of the five paths. So we ordinary beings need to go through the five paths. So the five paths are the path of accumulation, the path of preparation, the path of seeing, the path of meditation and the path of no more learning. Report an error in the passage at 19:44 Highlight the passage at 19:44

20:04 So there are these five paths on the Hinayana path and there's the five paths on the Mahāyāna path. So we'll talk about the five paths on the Mahāyāna path. Report an error in the passage at 20:04 Highlight the passage at 20:04

20:15 So one enters, actually I'll wait to talk about that in a minute. So what is a path? Report an error in the passage at 20:15 Highlight the passage at 20:15

20:33 So in general we can talk about internal paths and external paths. External paths are kind of ways to get somewhere. How do you get somewhere via a path? Report an error in the passage at 20:33 Highlight the passage at 20:33

20:45 But in the Dharma, more technically... When we talk about the path of accumulation, the path of preparation, the path of seeing, etc., the five paths, we're talking about an internal path, which is a mind. It's a realization. It's a consciousness. So I generate the path of accumulation in my mind. So when I've developed this uncontrived bodhicitta, then I've generated the path of accumulation in my mind. Report an error in the passage at 20:45 Highlight the passage at 20:45

21:21 A path consciousness is necessarily influenced Report an error in the passage at 21:21 Highlight the passage at 21:21

21:33 by two things. If it's a Mahi on a path consciousness, it's influenced by two things. First of all, renunciation from saṃsāra and then uncontrived bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 21:33 Highlight the passage at 21:33

21:47 So a path consciousness is always a virtuous mind. It's influenced by bodhicitta. Renunciation for Mahayanas. Report an error in the passage at 21:47 Highlight the passage at 21:47

22:05 For Hinayanas, a path consciousness is just, I shouldn't say just, but is influenced by renunciation. So once someone attains uncontrived renunciation from saṃsāra, then one enters the Hinayana path. And when you've achieved uncontrived bodhicitta, then you've entered the Mahāyāna path. What Report an error in the passage at 22:05 Highlight the passage at 22:05

22:37 is uncontrived renunciation? I haven't heard that. Okay. Yeah, so uncontrived in that instance is similar to in uncontrived bodhicitta, right? It arises spontaneously. Generally, when we're trying to develop renunciation on the path... We meditate on the sufferings of saṃsāra, the sufferings of the lower realms, the fact that there's no satisfaction in cyclic existence. Report an error in the passage at 22:37 Highlight the passage at 22:37

23:05 We're driven by karma and affliction. So we give up this belief in this grasping for happiness of saṃsāra. We don't believe any longer that there's lasting happiness in saṃsāra. And then we develop renunciation. So uncontrived renunciation is when it's spontaneous. Report an error in the passage at 23:05 Highlight the passage at 23:05

23:38 Could you go over exactly what accumulation is, though, exactly what you've accumulated? Well, we'll talk about the five paths. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 23:38 Highlight the passage at 23:38

23:48 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 23:48 Highlight the passage at 23:48

23:52 Then before I get into that, I just want to talk about how, you know, when we're trying to realize emptiness, we train by way of the three wisdoms, right? First, we develop a wisdom arisen from hearing. Then we develop a wisdom arisen from reflecting and then a wisdom arisen from meditation. Report an error in the passage at 23:52 Highlight the passage at 23:52

24:19 So developing the wisdom arisen from hearing is when we've listened to teachings and we've correctly understood emptiness from listening to teachings and using the reasonings that we've heard in teachings. Report an error in the passage at 24:19 Highlight the passage at 24:19

24:42 This is a conceptual understanding, right, through reasoning. And for people who took the low-rig class, it's an inferential cognizer, right? So it's realizing that phenomena are empty of inherent existence by means of a reason. So, for example, the self is empty of inherent existence because it is dependent to rising, for example. Report an error in the passage at 24:42 Highlight the passage at 24:42

25:08 So realizing that if it's a dependent arising, it's necessarily empty of inherent existence. Or there are a host of different reasonings that are used. Report an error in the passage at 25:08 Highlight the passage at 25:08

25:18 But the wisdom risen from hearing is from listening to the teachings and then coming to a correct understanding of emptiness from that. Report an error in the passage at 25:18 Highlight the passage at 25:18

25:29 Then we reflect more on the teachings and we reflect using our own reasonings. We really think about our own experience. We identify the object of negation in our experience. How do we view ourselves? And then we develop this wisdom arisen from reflecting. And then only when we've developed calm abiding, and not only just calm abiding, but the union of calm abiding and special insight, realizing emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 25:29 Highlight the passage at 25:29

26:08 Then we've developed the wisdom arisen from meditation. So calm abiding is that single pointed mind where you can stay on your object of meditation for as long as you wish. Some texts say for four hours, but for as long as you wish. So then you can really, really penetrate the reasonings. We can really develop... Report an error in the passage at 26:08 Highlight the passage at 26:08

26:41 A strong realization of emptiness if we have this calm abiding. Because normally when we meditate and we do this analysis, we start analyzing and then we think about, oh, it's almost time for lunch. Report an error in the passage at 26:41 Highlight the passage at 26:41

26:58 The mind gets easily distracted, so it can't penetrate very deeply into the subject. But to really realize emptiness... And remove the afflictions, we need this calm abiding. So calm abiding isn't only being able to stay on the object of meditation as long as you want. But on top of that, you have this bliss of mental and physical pliancy where your body feels like a ball of cotton in your mind. Report an error in the passage at 26:58 Highlight the passage at 26:58

27:35 You've removed those obstacles. In our minds, oftentimes we really don't want to practice virtue. Wanting to sit down and meditate. We can think of a lot of other things we'd rather do. Like, oh yeah, well yeah, I should meditate. But there's this resistance. But when you've attained calm abiding, there's no more resistance to practicing virtue. You have a lot of energy and the mind just wants to practice virtue. Report an error in the passage at 27:35 Highlight the passage at 27:35

28:16 So then on the basis of a calm abiding, one analyzes. Report an error in the passage at 28:16 Highlight the passage at 28:16

28:23 And usually when you start analyzing, then the stability of the mind starts to waver. And when the mind becomes even more stable through analyzing, then you've developed special insight. Report an error in the passage at 28:23 Highlight the passage at 28:23

28:51 So calm abiding is the stabilizing meditation where you stay on the object. Special insight is when you analyze the object, and through that analysis, the mind becomes even more stable through analysis. Report an error in the passage at 28:51 Highlight the passage at 28:51

29:13 Analysis isn't interfering with your stability, it's increasing your stability. And then you develop this physical and mental pliancy from special insight, and then you've achieved a union of Kama-Bot. not it's not Report an error in the passage at 29:13 Highlight the passage at 29:13

29:30 So when you've attained the union of calm abiding and special insight, realizing emptiness, then the wisdom arisen from meditation has arisen. Report an error in the passage at 29:30 Highlight the passage at 29:30

29:44 So it's not just a matter of any of us sitting down and meditating on emptiness. It becomes a wisdom arisen from meditation. Wisdom from meditation is specific to those who have attained the union of calm abiding and special insight. Report an error in the passage at 29:44 Highlight the passage at 29:44

30:11 From here we'll talk about the five paths, at least briefly. Report an error in the passage at 30:11 Highlight the passage at 30:11

30:18 So on the first of the Mahāyāna paths, the path of accumulation, the Mahāyāna path of accumulation, we already talked about the point of entry into the Mahāyāna path of accumulation is uncontrived bodhicitta, the spontaneous bodhicitta. When we've attained this uncontrived bodhicitta, then we've entered the path of accumulation, the Mahāyāna path of accumulation. Report an error in the passage at 30:18 Highlight the passage at 30:18

30:45 Now most scholars say that in order to attain uncontrived bodhicitta, you need calm abiding. You have to have achieved calm abiding, at least calm abiding to achieve uncontrived bodhicitta. So we need a very stable mind to have uncontrived bodhicitta. Some scholars say, oh no, you only need the ninth mental abiding just before calm abiding. Report an error in the passage at 30:45 Highlight the passage at 30:45

31:15 But the ninth mental abiding is also you can stay on your object of meditation for at least four hours. So we have to have a very stable mind to just enter the Mahāyāna path. Report an error in the passage at 31:15 Highlight the passage at 31:15

31:29 So on the path of accumulation, what we're doing is we're developing, from the perspective of emptiness, we're developing the wisdoms arisen from hearing and reflecting. So up here at the top, the wisdoms. Arisen from hearing and reflecting. We're listening to teachings and we're thinking about the teachings. Report an error in the passage at 31:29 Highlight the passage at 31:29

31:56 But while you're on the Mahāyāna path of accumulation, you haven't yet attained a union of calm abiding and special insight, realizing emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 31:56 Highlight the passage at 31:56

32:07 We've attained calm abiding, but we haven't attained a union of calm abiding and special insight, realizing emptiness. So while we're on the path of accumulation, right, so based Report an error in the passage at 32:07 Highlight the passage at 32:07

32:17 We're meditating on emptiness as well as accumulating merit in things. And so meditating on emptiness again and again until we achieve the union of calm abiding and special insight. Report an error in the passage at 32:17 Highlight the passage at 32:17

32:35 So that's from the wisdom side. From the method side, we're also accumulating a lot of merit, practicing generosity, practicing ethics, patience, etc. Report an error in the passage at 32:35 Highlight the passage at 32:35

32:48 But from the wisdom side... What you're doing with respect to the meditation on emptiness is meditating on emptiness, using your calm abiding and using reasonings. Report an error in the passage at 32:48 Highlight the passage at 32:48

33:08 Then when you've attained this union of calm abiding and special insight realizing emptiness, then you've entered the path of preparation. So at this point you've developed a strong realization of emptiness with a very strong mind. But still your meditation on emptiness, your realization of emptiness is conceptual. You still haven't realized emptiness directly yet. Report an error in the passage at 33:08 Highlight the passage at 33:08

33:34 You're still realizing emptiness conceptually by means of reasonings and through a mental image. So we talked about this mental image or often it's called a meaning generality. Report an error in the passage at 33:34 Highlight the passage at 33:34

33:48 So this mental image. So maybe one example of... Like understanding something, let's say by means of a mental image, versus understanding it directly. An example that we can understand is, let's say we're going to go on a trip to Tibet, and we've never been there before. So we read up on Tibet, we see pictures, etc. And we develop an image in our minds of what Tibet is like. Report an error in the passage at 33:48 Highlight the passage at 33:48

34:22 It's only an image that's in our minds. We haven't seen it directly. So that's likened to a conceptual understanding. Report an error in the passage at 34:22 Highlight the passage at 34:22

34:35 We only understand Tibet through an image in our minds. Then once we go to Tibet, then we have a direct experience of Tibet. We see it directly with our eyes, with our sense consciousnesses. conceptual understanding of emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 34:35 Highlight the passage at 34:35

34:55 So similarly with emptiness, we use reasonings and we understand emptiness by means of a mental image first and then we familiarize ourselves with that again and again and we come to a direct realization of emptiness. That mental image fades more and more and then we see emptiness directly. And so that's what we're doing on the path of preparation. Report an error in the passage at 34:55 Highlight the passage at 34:55

35:28 We're using this union of calm abiding and special insight and meditating on emptiness again and again until that mental image slowly fades. And when we first realize emptiness directly, then we enter the path of seeing. So when we enter the path of seeing, that's the first time we directly realize emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 35:28 Highlight the passage at 35:28

35:49 That's when we become an aria or a superior. So you're no longer an ordinary being. You're on your way out of saṃsāra. Then Report an error in the passage at 35:49 Highlight the passage at 35:49

36:10 we familiarize ourselves with that direct realization of emptiness again and again over the course of the path of meditation and slowly remove the afflictions and the other obstacles. So there are two kinds of obstructions. The afflictive obstructions, which are basically ignorance, anger, attachment, jealousy, etc. Report an error in the passage at 36:10 Highlight the passage at 36:10

36:42 And then there's the knowledge obstructions or the obstructions to omniscience. We remove those and once we remove both of those we attain the path of no more learning or complete Buddhahood or emptiness or complete enlightenment and become a Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 36:42 Highlight the passage at 36:42

37:08 So one other thing I didn't mention on this chart is that so it's from the path of preparation on that we start developing the wisdom arisen from meditation. Report an error in the passage at 37:08 Highlight the passage at 37:08

37:19 Remembering that the wisdom arisen from meditation only arises when we've achieved a union of calm, abiding and special insight. Okay, Sarah. Report an error in the passage at 37:19 Highlight the passage at 37:19

37:32 So what's the point where you change from the path of seeing to the path of meditation? Okay. Report an error in the passage at 37:32 Highlight the passage at 37:32

37:42 We'll have to get a little more technical. But I'll pass out this chart. I'm not going to go through it in detail, but this helps to explain that very question. Report an error in the passage at 37:42 Highlight the passage at 37:42

38:02 I wanted to give... Give you this more simple version of the chart. Report an error in the passage at 38:02 Highlight the passage at 38:02

38:28 So I just went over kind of briefly the five paths. But basically, like the path of accumulation has three parts. The path of preparation has four levels. Then there's the path of seeing and the path of meditation, which has nine levels of the path of meditation. And then there's the path of no more learning. Report an error in the passage at 38:28 Highlight the passage at 38:28

38:53 So basically, right, so the first time you realize emptiness directly, you attain the path of seeing. The path of meditation occurs, I Report an error in the passage at 38:53 Highlight the passage at 38:53

39:08 don't know if it's, Report an error in the passage at 39:08 Highlight the passage at 39:08

39:14 actually maybe, the way I'll describe that is that, so the obstructions that we need to abandon are divided up into like 10 different levels of subtlety. And when we've... Basically, when our meditation on emptiness, the first time we realize emptiness directly, we're only able to abandon basically three things from their root. Report an error in the passage at 39:14 Highlight the passage at 39:14

39:45 So we abandon what's called the acquired view of the transitory collection. I don't want to get into the details of that. Report an error in the passage at 39:45 Highlight the passage at 39:45

39:57 Afflicted doubt, so any doubt about the path. We abandon completely the first time we directly realize emptiness. Oh gosh, I'm going to see if I can remember the third one. It's like the view. It's one of the wrong views, like view holding to an extreme or something like that. I don't remember exactly. Report an error in the passage at 39:57 Highlight the passage at 39:57

40:21 And that's it, the first time we directly realize emptiness. It's not powerful enough yet to remove our anger, to remove our attachment, etc. So the rest of the obstructions are divided into ten different levels of subtlety. And so when our meditation of emptiness is strong enough to overcome the next level of subtlety, then we enter the path of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 40:21 Highlight the passage at 40:21

40:49 So the next level of obstructions are removed from their root, and then we enter the path of meditation. That's a good question. Report an error in the passage at 40:49 Highlight the passage at 40:49

41:06 Maybe we'll save this chart for future reference. I think it'll take the rest of this class for me to discuss this in detail and I don't think that maybe that's the best use of our time right now. But I just wanted to give you this outline of the five paths because that's actually the structure of the next section of the text. It's how we meditate on emptiness on the path of accumulation. Report an error in the passage at 41:06 Highlight the passage at 41:06

41:34 The path of preparation, the path of seeing, the path of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 41:34 Highlight the passage at 41:34

41:56 What, you're confused? Okay, so let me just back up here. So we're at this section where Avalokiteshvara is answering Shariputra's question. Actually, we have an answer. Actually, where we are right now is Shari Putra has asked the question, right? Avalokiteshvar is about to answer. Report an error in the passage at 41:56 Highlight the passage at 41:56

42:25 Oh, where we are. Oh, I see. I won't answer that question. We're off the charts, right. Exactly. And actually, no, I'm not going to say that. Never mind. Report an error in the passage at 42:25 Highlight the passage at 42:25

42:45 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 42:45 Highlight the passage at 42:45

42:50 Actually, let's take a break now and then we'll get into emptiness a little bit more in the second half. Report an error in the passage at 42:50 Highlight the passage at 42:50

43:06 Okay, so this chart isn't meant to be discouraging, but it just is. Yeah, but you know how His Holiness the Dalai Lama talks about, you know, be prepared to practice for eons. You know, this is, so this is the outline of the path. You know, according to the sūtra path, you know, in Tantra you can get to enlightenment more quickly. Report an error in the passage at 43:06 Highlight the passage at 43:06

43:34 But you have to still start with uncontrived bodhicitta, just enter the path, right? Report an error in the passage at 43:34 Highlight the passage at 43:34

43:42 But you know, I found that when I got this information, when I first learned this information, it was kind of a relief in a way because sometimes we pressure ourselves. Oh, I should be free from attachment. Why aren't I free from attachment? So, so, um, Report an error in the passage at 43:42 Highlight the passage at 43:42

44:01 Well, on this chart it happens at the eighth bodhisattva ground when we're completely free from attachment, right? So if we expect that we should be completely free of our afflictions now, maybe you can revise and let go of that a little bit. It's just a matter of doing our best in each moment, right? Trying to... Report an error in the passage at 44:01 Highlight the passage at 44:01

44:28 Apply the remedies to the afflictions, not allowing the afflictions to run amok. In each moment we can choose nirvāṇa or saṃsāra. So we need to practice in each moment. But it's good if we can practice without expectation. Report an error in the passage at 44:28 Highlight the passage at 44:28

44:51 We just do our best, apply the antidote. And sometimes... The affliction will lessen and sometimes it will stay really strong. But applying the antidote is still better than not applying the antidote. Report an error in the passage at 44:51 Highlight the passage at 44:51

45:09 If we don't apply the antidote, then we're reinforcing the affliction. It's becoming stronger. So if we become angry at somebody and we let that story run over and over and over again in our minds, we're just reinforcing anger. If we apply the antidote and try to fight it, even though the anger may not go away, at least we're planting the seeds for it to lessen. Report an error in the passage at 45:09 Highlight the passage at 45:09

45:38 So it's good to not get discouraged and think in terms of eons. Report an error in the passage at 45:38 Highlight the passage at 45:38

45:50 Big mind, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 45:50 Highlight the passage at 45:50

46:00 All right, so Avalokiteshvara answered. So he said that, which is Sariputra said that. And the Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, Arya Avalokiteshvara, said this to the Venerable Shariputra. Shariputra, any son of the lineage or daughter of the lineage who wishes to practice the activity of the profound perfection of wisdom should look upon it like this, correctly and repeatedly beholding those five aggregates, also as empty of inherent nature. Report an error in the passage at 46:00 Highlight the passage at 46:00

46:31 So correctly and repeatedly beholding those five aggregates, also as empty of inherent nature. Right, so it kind of gets to this chart again, right? First we have to get a correct understanding of emptiness, right, from listening to teachings, reflecting on them and meditating on them and then doing it again and again, right? Report an error in the passage at 46:31 Highlight the passage at 46:31

46:54 It's not a matter of getting a correct understanding and then that's it, you know, end of path, we're enlightened, right? Report an error in the passage at 46:54 Highlight the passage at 46:54

47:05 We need to do it again and again and again and again. And especially on the conceptual level, which is where we are now, just trying to understand emptiness conceptually. There will be moments when we think we've gotten it. We'll have those moments of insight. And it may be powerful in that moment. And then other times when the mind gets foggy again. Report an error in the passage at 47:05 Highlight the passage at 47:05

47:33 And I think that's just the path right now. We need to continue to accumulate merit. We need to accumulate, you know, we need to continue to purify our negativities and then, you know, continue to meditate, etc. And then slowly, slowly we'll make progress toward emptiness, right? But if we just focus on understanding emptiness for... Report an error in the passage at 47:33 Highlight the passage at 47:33

47:58 Okay, I'm going to do this for two months. This is all I'm going to do for two months and then forget about it. That's not going to work, right? We need to make this consistent effort. Report an error in the passage at 47:58 Highlight the passage at 47:58

48:19 So I wanted to review a bit what we talked about last time, right, about the five aggregates, right? So correctly and repeatedly, beholding those five aggregates also is an empty of inherent nature. So we talked about this also last time, right? So not only is the person, right, the self, ourselves. Empty of inherent existence, but the five aggregates are also empty. So the basis of the imputation of the self. Report an error in the passage at 48:19 Highlight the passage at 48:19

48:50 So our body, our mind, our feelings, discrimination, compositional factors, consciousness. And it's easier for me to think in terms of the body and the mind. Sometimes the body is the basis. For imputing the I, sometimes it's the mind. So are people pretty comfortable with this concept of basis of imputation? Report an error in the passage at 48:50 Highlight the passage at 48:50

49:18 We got into it quite a bit last time. Report an error in the passage at 49:18 Highlight the passage at 49:18

49:23 So on the basis of seeing Tim's body sitting there, I can say Tim is sitting in the gompa. So on the basis of his form aggregate, I can say Tim is sitting in the gompa. sings Tim's Report an error in the passage at 49:23 Highlight the passage at 49:23

49:45 I can't say Tim is sitting in the bathroom. His form aggregate is sitting in the gompa, so I can't say Tim is in the bathroom. Report an error in the passage at 49:45 Highlight the passage at 49:45

49:58 So the person is dependent on the aggregates. The person isn't completely separate from the aggregates. The person is dependent on the aggregates. And same with the mind. Report an error in the passage at 49:58 Highlight the passage at 49:58

50:20 so, um... The example I used last time, you know, if the mind is sad, if the mind is sad, I can't say, I am happy, right? It doesn't make sense. I am happy. My mind is sad, but I'm happy. You know, it doesn't make any sense. You know, I am sad, right? I am sad because the mind is sad. So the self is merely imputed independence on the aggregates. Report an error in the passage at 50:20 Highlight the passage at 50:20

50:50 The self is not the aggregates, but the self is Merely imputed independence on the aggregate. Report an error in the passage at 50:50 Highlight the passage at 50:50

51:11 So I don't think that I emphasized this point last time, but I just wanted to make sure that everybody understands that the self, and actually all phenomena, do not exist ultimately. They don't exist truly. They don't exist inherently. They don't exist from their own side. These are all... Report an error in the passage at 51:11 Highlight the passage at 51:11

51:36 Kind of equivalent terms in the Prasagika school. Not existing ultimately, not existing truly, not existing inherently, not existing from their own side. But phenomena in the self does exist conventionally. So it's not correct to say that there's no self at all. There is a self. Well, there's a self that exists and there's a self that doesn't exist. Report an error in the passage at 51:36 Highlight the passage at 51:36

52:04 The self that exists is merely imputed in dependence on the aggregates. Merely imputed by the mind, merely imputed, merely labeled, merely designated in dependence on the body and or the mind. Report an error in the passage at 52:04 Highlight the passage at 52:04

52:25 So that self does exist, but the self that exists, that we think exists as solidly, independently, As one kind of unchanging thing doesn't exist. Report an error in the passage at 52:25 Highlight the passage at 52:25

52:49 So Lama Tsongkhapa says that there are three different ways that we can conceive of objects. We can conceive of objects, and let's talk about specifically the self. So we can conceive of the self to truly exist or inherently exist. Or we can conceive of the self to not truly exist. Report an error in the passage at 52:49 Highlight the passage at 52:49

53:14 Or we have moments of conceiving the self in neither of these two ways. So let's talk about these three. Conceiving objects to truly exist or inherently exist. Or conceiving the self to truly exist. So, actually, let's do an exercise. Report an error in the passage at 53:14 Highlight the passage at 53:14

53:38 So, if I asked you, like, how did you get to Sechenling today? Report an error in the passage at 53:38 Highlight the passage at 53:38

53:49 Oh, I drove to Sechenling. I drove to Sechenling. So what is that I at that point? How does that I feel? I drove to Sechenling. Report an error in the passage at 53:49 Highlight the passage at 53:49

54:14 That's not a strong sense of I, right? It's just, oh, I drove to Sechenling. Report an error in the passage at 54:14 Highlight the passage at 54:14

54:22 That would be an example of the third. That's not, you know, if it's just this light, oh yeah, I, you know, for informational purposes, I drove to Sechenling. Report an error in the passage at 54:22 Highlight the passage at 54:22

54:35 Then it's not... Necessarily conceiving of inherent existence or as truly existing. That's not the object of negation there. That's not the self that we're trying to negate, the one that drove to Sechenling today. Report an error in the passage at 54:35 Highlight the passage at 54:35

54:56 Unless it was the strong sense of, well, I drove to Sechenling. I drove. You said you drove, but I drove. Report an error in the passage at 54:56 Highlight the passage at 54:56

55:13 there's not, Exactly, there's not a lot of energy in this. Oh, I drove to such a light. Report an error in the passage at 55:13 Highlight the passage at 55:13

55:43 So that's just this light I. Oh, I drove to such a light. Report an error in the passage at 55:43 Highlight the passage at 55:43

55:54 Unless somebody challenges you, then the stronger I might come up. Oh, I drove. Report an error in the passage at 55:54 Highlight the passage at 55:54

56:05 But then if we think, okay, if somebody falsely accuses us of something, Report an error in the passage at 56:05 Highlight the passage at 56:05

56:16 let's say somebody... Report an error in the passage at 56:16 Highlight the passage at 56:16

56:23 Falsely accused us of stealing their car or whatever. Report an error in the passage at 56:23 Highlight the passage at 56:23

56:38 What I comes up, you know, how does that I feel? I didn't do it. It's not this light I, I drove to Setchling. It's this, I didn't do it. What do you mean I did it? So how does that I feel? And it's really important. Report an error in the passage at 56:38 Highlight the passage at 56:38

57:02 To not keep this at a conceptual, or just at this intellectual level, right? But to really notice in our experience, how does that I feel? Report an error in the passage at 57:02 Highlight the passage at 57:02

57:17 I didn't do it. So where is that I? Where is that I located? What does that I look like? Somebody falsely accuses me of Report an error in the passage at 57:17 Highlight the passage at 57:17

57:35 stealing their car. I didn't do it. What is this I? What does that look like? Report an error in the passage at 57:35 Highlight the passage at 57:35

57:48 And I don't mean... So I'm asking, how does that feel? Like, what is that? Is that the body? Is that the mind? Okay, so Peter, what is that eye? It feels like right in the center of your chest. It's a physical feeling. It could be in different parts of different people's body, but I feel it in my chest, that very strong, hot, and you feel almost flushed with energy. Report an error in the passage at 57:48 Highlight the passage at 57:48

58:19 But it feels very huge in that moment. Yeah. All-consuming. Yeah. Okay, so that's, yeah, so I think for a lot of us, maybe if not all of us, right, that eye is this tightness in the center of the chest, right? It feels like there's this eye that lives here, right? What do people think? Is that where that eye is? I didn't do that. Report an error in the passage at 58:19 Highlight the passage at 58:19

58:46 Janet? It seems like that we have these solid concepts of... Who we are and how we are that we call ourselves. Like I'm honest person, I'm reliable, I'm this, I'm that. And when those things get threatened, that I really comes up strongly. So being an honest person and somebody saying, you stole my car, that fixed sense of that I that I've constructed gets really upset by that. Report an error in the passage at 58:46 Highlight the passage at 58:46

59:20 Right. So what's being, what's... What's being threatened? The image of yourself? Yeah, the image that I've created in my mind, that part, because this one, it stays, it goes along, it doesn't change. Right, right. The image of ourselves. Yeah, that's the part that I see come up a lot when things happen. Report an error in the passage at 59:20 Highlight the passage at 59:20

59:45 Right, yeah. So I want to talk about that a little bit later, this image that we've created of ourselves. What I'm asking here is just the feeling. And I'm not asking us to intellectualize about why and all of that, but it's so important to really get in touch with our experience, this innate experience of where we really believe there's an I. Report an error in the passage at 59:45 Highlight the passage at 59:45

1:00:15 When we're falsely accused, usually we think that there's really... There's this solidly existing eye. Not this ever-changing body in the mind that's just being merely imputed by the mind. That's not how it feels, right? It's the image. Yeah, exactly. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:15 Highlight the passage at 1:00:15

1:00:48 So we have different objects of negation in different... right. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:48 Highlight the passage at 1:00:48

1:00:41 Exactly. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:41 Highlight the passage at 1:00:41

1:00:54 False accusation oftentimes is felt here. I didn't do that in the center of the chest. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:54 Highlight the passage at 1:00:54

1:01:05 From my understanding of the different levels of understanding of selflessness, I think that that feeling is not the inherently existing I. That feeling of I in the center of the chest. I think that that's a more A coarser self. I think that's the self-sufficient, substantially existent self. There's a coarse selflessness of persons and a subtle selflessness of persons. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:05 Highlight the passage at 1:01:05

1:01:37 The coarse one is the self-sufficient, substantially existent self that all of the schools of Buddhism say that doesn't exist. The inherently existent self is more subtle than that. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:37 Highlight the passage at 1:01:37

1:01:52 Only negated by the highest school, the Prasangika school. So this one, the reason I say that this feeling in the center of the chest, I think, is just the self-sufficient, self-substantially existent self, is that that one only seems to apply to beings, to people, right? It doesn't feel like this cup, there's a cup in the center. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:52 Highlight the passage at 1:01:52

1:02:21 of it, you know, that kind of, that's the cup, right? the tanka or in the class. It doesn't feel like there's a clock in the center of it, controlling the clock. The clock is kind of the whole, like we tend to think it's the whole thing. But the self, oftentimes we feel like there's this self in the center of the chest kind of controlling everything. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:21 Highlight the passage at 1:02:21

1:02:56 And it's extremely useful to... To realize that the self-sufficient, substantial existence self doesn't exist. But that's not enough to get us out of saṃsāra. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:56 Highlight the passage at 1:02:56

1:03:11 But that in and of itself will lessen our afflictions tremendously, realizing the lack of that one. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:11 Highlight the passage at 1:03:11

1:03:23 So the self-sufficient, substantial existence self, or maybe I'll just call it the self-sufficient self for short. But that's said to be... Report an error in the passage at 1:03:23 Highlight the passage at 1:03:23

1:03:35 Like the controller of the aggregates. So it seems like, you know, with the self-sufficient self, it seems like there's this I that exists first and then the body and the mind are dependent on that I. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:35 Highlight the passage at 1:03:35

1:03:55 I exist first and then I have a body in the mind. But first there's an I and then I have a body in the mind. That's the way the self-sufficient self. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:55 Highlight the passage at 1:03:55

1:04:11 Kind of operates. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:11 Highlight the passage at 1:04:11

1:04:15 Whereas in fact, if we think about it, you take away the body and the mind and where's this I? Where's this I that exists first and then that has the body and the mind? Report an error in the passage at 1:04:15 Highlight the passage at 1:04:15

1:04:27 So in fact, the I depends on the body and the mind, right? Sometimes we think there's this I first and then the body and the mind depend on the I, but in fact it's the other way around. That there's a body and the mind and then we can impute I. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:27 Highlight the passage at 1:04:27

1:04:46 On the basis of the body and the mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:46 Highlight the passage at 1:04:46

1:04:57 So, I mean, I can't emphasize enough, really good to check our own experience of the self. Not just, it's so easy to listen to teachings and say, oh yeah, that makes sense, yeah, that makes sense. But we Report an error in the passage at 1:04:57 Highlight the passage at 1:04:57

1:05:16 need, you know, it's so important, the first step, right, the first step in realizing emptiness is identifying the object of negation. And not just intellectually, but... In our experience, we can talk about how the I is merely labeled on the body and the mind. It's merely labeled on the body and the mind, but it's not going to help us in our experience necessarily, right? If somebody, you know, falsely accuses us, if somebody, you know, hurts our family, oh, well, yeah, they just hurt my... Report an error in the passage at 1:05:16 Highlight the passage at 1:05:16

1:05:57 Merely labeled family, merely labeled on their body and mind. That's not just understanding that intellectually isn't going to necessarily help you lessen your frustration, your irritation, your anger, your attachment. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:57 Highlight the passage at 1:05:57

1:06:17 So really important to identify the object navigation in our experience, which is actually the next slide. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:17 Highlight the passage at 1:06:17

1:06:28 But before I go into that... So that falsely accused I in the center of the chest I think is that self-sufficient, substantially existent self that we think exists. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:28 Highlight the passage at 1:06:28

1:06:47 And then as Janet was saying, we have this image of ourselves. We bring up an image of ourselves. Who are we? I'm an honest person. So for all of us, let's spend a few minutes and bring up an image of ourselves. Maybe I'm a nurse. I'm an honest person. I'm kind to others. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:47 Highlight the passage at 1:06:47

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:08:41 So what does this image look like? It's an image that we've created in our minds. It's Report an error in the passage at 1:08:41 Highlight the passage at 1:08:41

1:08:54 a solid image. It's not changing. I am an honest person. I am an honest person. So I'm this kind of unchanging, everlasting. Honest person. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:54 Highlight the passage at 1:08:54

1:09:19 So it's an image that we created in our mind. It's completely a hallucination. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:19 Highlight the passage at 1:09:19

1:09:32 So how does it hold Report an error in the passage at 1:09:32 Highlight the passage at 1:09:32

1:09:39 up to analysis? I, okay, I am an honest person. Okay, where is this? So we have this image of ourselves in our minds. So then we search, okay, well, let's get a strong sense of this image of ourselves. And then we search, okay, well, where is that honest person? We search the aggregates. Is that honest person my finger? Report an error in the passage at 1:09:39 Highlight the passage at 1:09:39

1:10:10 Is it my knees? Is it my heart? Is it my intestines? You know, where is this honest person? Is it my body at all? Report an error in the passage at 1:10:10 Highlight the passage at 1:10:10

1:10:33 Is it my mind? Is my mind an honest person? Search my mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:33 Highlight the passage at 1:10:33

1:10:44 This person on my mind. Is that an honest person? Report an error in the passage at 1:10:44 Highlight the passage at 1:10:44

1:10:57 Is my mind in this moment an honest person? Is my mind in this moment? The mind is changing from moment to moment. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:57 Highlight the passage at 1:10:57

1:11:12 What about this moment? Is that the honest person? Report an error in the passage at 1:11:12 Highlight the passage at 1:11:12

1:11:19 Or is it the collection of the body and the mind that's the honest person? What Report an error in the passage at 1:11:19 Highlight the passage at 1:11:19

1:11:32 do people think? Where is that honest person? Can you find that honest person? People Report an error in the passage at 1:11:32 Highlight the passage at 1:11:32

1:11:55 think, is that honest person findable? Or Report an error in the passage at 1:11:55 Highlight the passage at 1:11:55

1:12:09 whatever it is, whatever this image is that we have of ourselves. Look for it. You know, we believe so strongly in this image, right? I am, I am an honest person. I am female. I am, you know, worthy of respect. I am, you know, a teacher. I am da-da-da-da. I have this very solid, clear picture of who I am, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:12:09 Highlight the passage at 1:12:09

1:12:43 So is it completely a hallucination? The teachings say it's completely a hallucination. Completely a hallucination, this image of ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:43 Highlight the passage at 1:12:43

1:13:00 And that belief in that Report an error in the passage at 1:13:00 Highlight the passage at 1:13:00

1:13:07 honest, etc. person, that kind of unchanging person, is Report an error in the passage at 1:13:07 Highlight the passage at 1:13:07

1:13:18 a wrong consciousness. It's a wrong consciousness. Because that object does not exist at all. That object that we... Constantly reinforce that object that we constantly think exists and we get really upset if somebody challenges that. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:18 Highlight the passage at 1:13:18

1:13:43 It doesn't exist. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:43 Highlight the passage at 1:13:43

1:14:00 Completely a product of our imagination. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:00 Highlight the passage at 1:14:00

1:14:31 What do you think of that? Is it completely a hallucination? Report an error in the passage at 1:14:31 Highlight the passage at 1:14:31

1:14:43 And that's kind of an extreme statement, right? It doesn't exist. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:43 Highlight the passage at 1:14:43

1:14:51 Is there a but that comes up? Yes, it does. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:51 Highlight the passage at 1:14:51

1:15:05 Isn't there a continuity? I knew there was a but out there. I definitely get a sense what you're saying, but when you're searching for the honest person, you get to some stream of continuity. Maybe I was a dishonest person, let's say, and then infinite decisions and thought make me think at this present moment I am an honest person. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:05 Highlight the passage at 1:15:05

1:15:29 It's that continuity. I'm labeling it, I understand. But that label is not looking at an I. Well, it is, but it's more looking at the continuity of all the decisions and thoughts that I've then labeled to myself as saying, oh, that is myself being honest. From all these decisions, I've been able to do that. Not looking at it, not that that won't change in the future, but when you said... Report an error in the passage at 1:15:29 Highlight the passage at 1:15:29

1:16:01 Am I honest at this moment, at this moment? Well, that continuity could be if you, you know, the cause and effects that to this point made you feel that you are honest. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:01 Highlight the passage at 1:16:01

1:16:14 So basically you're saying that continuity really exists from its own side, inherently exists. No, you're not saying that. No, you wouldn't say that. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:14 Highlight the passage at 1:16:14

1:16:27 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:27 Highlight the passage at 1:16:27

1:16:30 Yeah. No, I mean, that's a good question. And, you know, of the different levels of subtlety of the different schools, some of the schools say, well, that continuity, the mental continuum, at least that really has some substantial existence. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:30 Highlight the passage at 1:16:30

1:16:51 You know, that's the basis of the I. Or that is the I. The continuity itself is the I. So some schools would say that. Let me finish with this question. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:51 Highlight the passage at 1:16:51

1:17:08 Let's say we'll go back to honest person. There's a difference between this image of ourselves, this solid image of ourselves that we hang on to, this honest person that gets upset if somebody accuses us of lying. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:08 Highlight the passage at 1:17:08

1:17:29 If we're getting upset because somebody accuses us of So, um, Report an error in the passage at 1:17:29 Highlight the passage at 1:17:29

1:17:35 Something that is contradictory to our image of ourselves. We're holding on to this solid image of ourselves as being honest. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:35 Highlight the passage at 1:17:35

1:17:51 In contrast, there is some validity. There is a basis for saying something's valid or not. If somebody lies all the time, I can't say even conventionally. You know, validly I can't say, oh, that's an honest person, right? But if we have the habit of always being honest, we can label, you know, lightly label, oh, that's an honest person. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:51 Highlight the passage at 1:17:51

1:18:21 But that label is dependent on, right, the basis, right, on, let's say, what you're saying, the continuity of, you know, our habit of not lying. We can put this light, you know, this light label, honest person, and that's valid. But that... Lightly, merely labeled, honest person doesn't get upset if we're accused of lying. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:21 Highlight the passage at 1:18:21

1:18:54 It's just a label that's placed on an ever-changing continuum. And that label can change. When the behavior changes, the label changes. So it's not something solid. It's not something everlasting. It's just a label we put on. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:54 Highlight the passage at 1:18:54

1:19:20 Like the label, like somebody names, you know, somebody, my mother and father named me Emily when I was young. I don't have a lot of attachment to my name, you know. And if somebody wanted to call me Betty, I wouldn't be too displeased about it, you know. For me, it's just a label, you know. I'm not grasping onto the Emily, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:20 Highlight the passage at 1:19:20

1:19:43 So if we're not grasping onto the honest person, there's no reason why we'd feel upset. If somebody accused us of lying, it's just a label. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:43 Highlight the passage at 1:19:43

1:20:02 But the problem is we have this solid, unchanging image of ourselves that feels threatened, that needs to be protected. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:02 Highlight the passage at 1:20:02

1:20:14 That's an object of negation. That image, that self doesn't exist at all. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:14 Highlight the passage at 1:20:14

1:20:35 When you just made that statement, are you talking about the quote-unquote honest self? So let's look. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:35 Highlight the passage at 1:20:35

1:20:48 So I'm talking about that image of ourselves, that solid, right? So we all had this, you know, we did this exercise, right, of coming up with an image of ourselves, right? And then look at that image of ourselves. Is that image something that's changing from moment to moment? Or is that? That we had said, yes, it is, because it was just a label. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:48 Highlight the passage at 1:20:48

1:21:14 No, in that exercise, when we're trying to come up with this, how we look at ourselves, this solid image of ourselves in our minds that feels threatened, etc. That image, and I don't want to keep this on an intellectual level about words and things like that, but how do we experience ourselves? Report an error in the passage at 1:21:14 Highlight the passage at 1:21:14

1:21:40 I am like Anna, I am a lawyer. I am a mother. I am whatever, an intelligent person. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:40 Highlight the passage at 1:21:40

1:21:54 So that's a solid image that's not changing. It's not like I wake up today and say, I'm a lawyer. And I wake up tomorrow and say, oh, I'm not a lawyer. And I wake up the next day. But I have to argue with that because that's not true. Those are like personality traits or... Report an error in the passage at 1:21:54 Highlight the passage at 1:21:54

1:22:16 Conditions, and I think that's what he was talking about, causes and conditions. Those are just conditions that are in our life maybe now. At one time I was not a lawyer. I didn't identify myself as a lawyer. I consider myself an honest person, but the other day I was hungry and I was going to raid the refrigerator at work and I realized, wait a minute, that's stealing. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:16 Highlight the passage at 1:22:16

1:22:40 So all those, a lot of that, those... I guess examples to me are like personality traits and things that actually do change. There's nothing. Okay, so I don't think inherently, I don't think, I don't know who would feel that those things are inherently who they are. No, Report an error in the passage at 1:22:40 Highlight the passage at 1:22:40

1:23:11 no, no, go ahead. Well, I think that's a big thing that, like the honest person thing. Like if someone says to you, even... If you've been honest for a week, you know what I mean? Somebody says to you, you know, somebody stole some money under the offering jar and you were standing by it recently and you think, and suddenly there's that thing that says, but I'm an honest person. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:11 Highlight the passage at 1:23:11

1:23:35 Even though you don't remember that you almost stole food or anything like that, it's this fixed, findable, honest version of you that is honest all the time, including right now and tomorrow and will always be honest. That's the non-findable thing. But we believe it's there because we get threatened right away. Because, no, I've already identified myself as honest, this thing. How could you think? Can't you see? It's me we're talking about. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:35 Highlight the passage at 1:23:35

1:24:00 I'm honest. You know what I mean? Over here. Don't you know that? You know what I mean? Kind of thing. There's some facet of that there. And that's why I think, too, if we try to... Wait, wait, wait. All right. So, Anna, what I'm feeling is that you're... I mean, if we really think about it, yeah, you know, these personality traits together, they're changing from moment to moment, you know, when we think about that. I'm talking about an instinctual level, an instinctual level that oftentimes it's not manifest, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:24:00 Highlight the passage at 1:24:00

1:24:36 Oh, yeah, I'm changing from moment to moment. Yeah, I'm not fixed in any way. Yeah, yeah. Until somebody pushes our buttons, right? That's, you know, when that person pushes our buttons, Then that's the opportunity to look at what, where is that, what is that eye, that object of navigation. Because like what this is saying, you know, there are times when we can, the third one, conceive objects in neither of the ways. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:36 Highlight the passage at 1:24:36

1:25:04 You know, when we're just going along and, you know, there's this self, you know, that's sitting in the gompa and, you know, going to class and we don't have a lot of grasping to that self. But as Jay was saying, you know, assume that somebody accuses us of something, you know. Accuses me of stealing money. What happened to that? Oh, well, that's an ever-changing kind of body and the mind, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:04 Highlight the passage at 1:25:04

1:25:29 There's no self there to be accused, you know. On a very deep instinctual level, we feel like there is a self that just got accused, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:29 Highlight the passage at 1:25:29

1:25:52 My perspective on this, the only time that I feel that way is when... When I have fear, and I often find it in when my life is threatened or I perceive that my being is threatened. A car almost runs me over. Then it's like I can definitely see and feel that eye that I'm grasping at. Yeah, fear is a good one. Fear is a good one. But I would venture to say that that's probably not the only time. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:52 Highlight the passage at 1:25:52

1:26:23 That that I comes up. Because anytime we have a mental affliction arise, there is definitely a sense of inherent existence or true existence. Because that's the basis of having any mental affliction. If you have irritation at all, you can bet that there's an object to be negated there. If you have any attachment, there's some solid... Report an error in the passage at 1:26:23 Highlight the passage at 1:26:23

1:26:53 You know, image that we need to negate. If there's jealousy, miserliness, I can't give you, I can't give the beggar $500. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:53 Highlight the passage at 1:26:53

1:27:09 I don't have that much money, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:09 Highlight the passage at 1:27:09

1:27:19 Because if we realize, if we directly realize the lack of that inherently existent self and familiarize with that. Then it's impossible for the afflictions to arise. The afflictions are based on this hallucinated self, this self that we think exists, that we believe with every pore of our being, we believe that it exists. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:19 Highlight the passage at 1:27:19

1:27:56 Otherwise Report an error in the passage at 1:27:56 Highlight the passage at 1:27:56

1:28:06 we wouldn't have mental afflictions if we didn't really believe that this self existed in a way that it doesn't. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:06 Highlight the passage at 1:28:06

1:28:19 It's 8.30 and this is such a big topic and we'll talk about it more and more. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:19 Highlight the passage at 1:28:19

1:28:30 We didn't get to this slide, the object of negation. So the main point of this, and I'll go through this slide next time too, but the object, so I'll just read the last one, the last paragraph. So the object of negation, which does not exist at all, must appearly Appear clearly as a mental image to the mind. If the mental image of the object of negation is well ascertained, then the emptiness of that will also be well ascertained. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:30 Highlight the passage at 1:28:30

1:29:07 So if we don't have a clear image in our minds of this self that we've made up, basically, if we just listen to teachings and keep it on an intellectual level, we're not going to realize emptiness. It's not going to affect our lives. We have to look at that mental image that we hold very strongly. We have to be very, very familiar with what that mental image looks like before we can negate it, before we can realize the emptiness of it. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:07 Highlight the passage at 1:29:07

1:29:53 We need to know what we're negating. Yeah, we're negating inherent existence. Right? Yeah. Right. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:53 Highlight the passage at 1:29:53

1:30:08 I can't tell you how many teachings I've listened to on the fact that things aren't inherently existent. But unless you really understand what inherent existence means in your life, in your experience, how that affects completely the way we look at things, negating inherent existence isn't going to help us. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:08 Highlight the passage at 1:30:08

1:30:42 So I just want to encourage you to really look, you know, throughout the next week, really look at the self that arises. You know, when does it arise as just being the self that's going to work, etc. And when does it arise as, or when it does arise as something more strong and solid and unchanging, what does that look like? Report an error in the passage at 1:30:42 Highlight the passage at 1:30:42

1:31:10 And so the clues are, irritation arises, look for that self. Fear arises, look for that self. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:10 Highlight the passage at 1:31:10

1:31:23 Attachment, strong attachment, yeah. Weak attachment is harder, but strong attachment, how do we look at that? What does that self look like? Report an error in the passage at 1:31:23 Highlight the passage at 1:31:23

1:31:41 What is the mental image that arises in terms of when you're experiencing those afflictions? Report an error in the passage at 1:31:41 Highlight the passage at 1:31:41

1:31:53 What is the mental image that arises? You said that. We should look at that mental image. The image that arises in your mind of who is irritated. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:53 Highlight the passage at 1:31:53

1:32:12 Who is the object of irritation? What does that person look like in your mind? It's very useful to distinguish between what... Like the shapes and the colors, you know, the objects of the senses and what we've filled out with the rest of our minds. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:12 Highlight the passage at 1:32:12

1:32:40 I'm an honest person. Well, there's some black hair and there's this shape here and there's a, you know, the mind is clear and knowing. There's a perception there. That's the basis of imputation. Then there's an honest person. Well, where is this honest person? The honest person is something I made up in my mind, in my conceptual mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:40 Highlight the passage at 1:32:40

1:33:03 That's separate from the basis of imputation, which was just some shapes and some colors. We'll talk more about this. Okay, but we better stop here. We're over time. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:03 Highlight the passage at 1:33:03

1:33:24 We'll do dedication prayers on page six, the first two, and then the long life prayer for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:24 Highlight the passage at 1:33:24

1:33:35 And we didn't get to review the homework this week, so we'll do it next week. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:35 Highlight the passage at 1:33:35

1:33:42 Through the merits of these virtuous actions, Report an error in the passage at 1:33:42 Highlight the passage at 1:33:42