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- 1:01
Form is empty, emptiness is form, emptiness is not other than form, form is also not other than emptiness. In the same way, feeling, discrimination, compositional factors and consciousness are empty. Shariputra, likewise, all phenomena are emptiness, without characteristic, unproduced, unceased, stainless, without stain, not deficient, not fulfilled.
- 8:00
What's the form aggregate? So that's anything physical. Our body is a form aggregate. The table is a form aggregate. The clock, the chair, the tonka, the floor, the ceiling. And then objects of our senses. So it's not just visual, anything visual. It's also sounds are actually considered physical form.
- 42:15
So when we meditate, and if we meditate on the inherently existent body, we try to find it, and if we do it correctly, we'll end up with a not finding, right? We're looking in the individual parts, we're looking in the collection, we're looking separately, and we're not able to find it, right? So the not finding is the...
- 1:01:19
And then if we have done the meditation correctly, then we'll conclude that the body is unfindable. And so the image of the body will fade and a vacuity, an absence, will appear. So the vacuity or absence is the emptiness of inherent existence of our body. So we're searching for the inherently existent body and we don't find it. The image of the body fades and we're just left with the image of this absence of.
- 1:31:26
I noticed that I had a hard time. To hold on to the object of negation. And so I tried to think of like a time when it comes up really strongly.
Transcript
0:01 At that time the Bhagavan was absorbed in the concentration on the categories of 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 0:01
0:22 Then through the power of Buddha, the Venerable Shariputra said this to the Bodhisattva, Maha Sattva, 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, Maha Sattva, Arya Avalokiteshvara said this to the Venerable Sharivadiputra. Report an error in the passage at 0:22
0:45 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 is empty of inherent nature. Form is empty, emptiness is form, emptiness is not other than form, form is also not other than emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 0:45
1:09 In the same way, feeling, discrimination, compositional factors and consciousness are empty. Shariputra, likewise, all phenomena are emptiness, without characteristic, unproduced, unceased, stainless, without stain, not deficient, not fulfilled. Shariputra, therefore, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no discrimination, no compositional factors, no consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:09
1:39 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 and no phenomenon. There is no eye 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. Report an error in the passage at 1:39
2:08 And no extinction of aging and death. Similarly, there is no suffering, origination, cessation and path. There is no exalted wisdom, no attainment and also no non-attainment. Chariputra, therefore, because there is no attainment, bodhisattvas rely on and dwell in the perfection of wisdom, the mind without obscuration and without fear. Report an error in the passage at 2:08
2:33 Having completely passed beyond error, They reach the end point of nirvāṇa. All the buddhus who dwell in the three times also manifestly completely awaken to unsurpassable, perfect, complete enlightenment in reliance on the perfection of wisdom. Therefore, the mantra of the perfection of wisdom, the mantra of great knowledge, the unsurpassed mantra, the mantra equal to the unequaled, 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 Gata Gata Paragata Parasam Gata Bodhisattva. Report an error in the passage at 2:33
3:16 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. The Bhagavan having thus spoken, the Venerable Sharivadiputra, The Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, Arya, Avalokiteshvara, those surrounding 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 3:16
4:26 So everything we talked about last time was clear, crystal clear. Report an error in the passage at 4:26
4:40 So just to review where we are in the sūtra. we're in the... The discussion of where Avalokiteshvara answers Shariputra's question where Report an error in the passage at 4:40
4:58 it says form is empty, emptiness is form, emptiness is not other than form, form is also not other than emptiness. So recall that Avalokiteshvara is answering Shariputra's question about how should one train in the practice of the profound perfection of wisdom or the practice of realizing emptiness. And he's answering in different parts. So first of all, how the bodhisattva trains on the path of accumulation and the path of preparation. Report an error in the passage at 4:58
5:31 So of the five paths, the path of accumulation and the path of preparation, this is where one is realizing emptiness conceptually. So when one is trying to understand and realize emptiness conceptually, one needs to use a lot of logical reasonings and one needs to... Analyze emptiness on many different phenomena. The computer, the clock, the self, the body, etc. Report an error in the passage at 5:31
5:59 You know, the various aggregates. So just because we can understand emptiness in relation to one particular phenomenon doesn't mean that we necessarily understand the emptiness of all phenomena when we are realizing emptiness conceptually. Report an error in the passage at 5:59
6:16 When we realize emptiness directly... Then automatically you realize the emptiness of all phenomena. That's a path of seeing. But on the paths of accumulation and preparation, it's still conceptual. So we use logic and we need to look at the emptiness of many different phenomena. Report an error in the passage at 6:16
6:40 So here in this passage, we're talking about the emptiness of the five aggregates, starting with the form aggregate. And then the feeling, discrimination, compositional factors and consciousness aggregates. Report an error in the passage at 6:40
7:07 Okay, so last time we talked a little bit or introduced the four modes of emptiness. So form is empty is talking about the first mode of emptiness, which is explaining the ultimate nature of form, the fact that the form is empty of inherent existence. Report an error in the passage at 7:07
7:30 And then we'll get into the second mode of emptiness, emptiness as form, sometime in this class, I hope. Report an error in the passage at 7:30
7:40 Yeah, today. Yeah, in this class. Yeah, meaning today. Report an error in the passage at 7:40
7:48 But we'll continue on this form is empty a little bit today because this is a big subject. So just a review of the form aggregate. What's the form aggregate? So that's anything physical. Our body is a form aggregate. The table is a form aggregate. The clock, the chair, the tonka, the floor, the ceiling. Report an error in the passage at 7:48
8:18 And then objects of our senses. So it's not just visual, anything visual. It's also sounds are actually considered physical form. Report an error in the passage at 8:18
8:32 Odors, tastes, and then objects of touch. Like smoothness, roughness, etc. Those are all considered the form aggregate. Report an error in the passage at 8:32
8:52 We're constantly getting attached to objects of the senses. Beautiful forms, delicious food, massages, hugs, objects of touch, etc. Report an error in the passage at 8:52
9:12 Food. you know so it includes Report an error in the passage at 9:12
9:21 So Report an error in the passage at 9:21
9:26 then form is empty. What is form empty of? Form is empty of inherent existence, also true existence, empty of existence from its own side, objective existence, existence by way of its own entity, existence by way of its own character. so, right. Report an error in the passage at 9:26
9:52 All different ways of saying something very similar. And some of these terms resonate with us more than others. So the Buddha was very skillful. He taught the same thing in many different ways so that maybe we'll get it. We'll get one of them. Report an error in the passage at 9:52
10:17 So all of these terms are synonymous only in the highest school, the Prasangika school. right? Report an error in the passage at 10:17
10:22 In some of the lower tenant schools, there are some differences with those terms. Report an error in the passage at 10:22
10:33 So then we've talked a lot in this class about how important it is to identify the object of negation in our experience, right? Not just to listen to the teachings as something interesting philosophically, but we really need to look at how do we actually perceive phenomena? Because that is actually what's causing... Report an error in the passage at 10:33
10:56 All of our problems, how we're perceiving phenomena and how we're conceiving of it. On this basis, then all of the mental afflictions arise. All of our attachment arises because of the incorrect way that we conceive of phenomena. All of our anger arises for the same reason. All of our jealousy, all of our miserliness. Report an error in the passage at 10:56
11:29 All of the mental afflictions arise based on a wrong way of thinking, basically. Report an error in the passage at 11:29
11:37 So first we have to understand how it is that we're currently conceiving of objects. Not in some abstract way, not in some, oh well, inherent existence. Okay, things aren't inherently existent. But we have to really get to know how we are. are conceiving of objects. Report an error in the passage at 11:37
12:14 So here it says, thus to understand the emptiness of the body, we must first be familiar with the appearance and characteristics of an inherently existent body, so that we are clear which object is negated by the mind realizing emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 12:14
12:33 So if we don't have a clear appearance of what we're negating, then we won't have a clear understanding of emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 12:33
12:47 So an inherently existent body, A body does not exist. A body that exists from its own side, a solidly existing body, a body that is self-contained, independent of other phenomena, Report an error in the passage at 12:47
13:11 a body that is a single object. These things, they don't actually exist. Report an error in the passage at 13:11
13:22 So that's the object of negation. Report an error in the passage at 13:22
13:28 But the mental... Image of an inherently existent body does exist. So an inherently existent body itself doesn't exist, but there's an image of an inherently existent body, an inherently existent phenomena in our minds. Report an error in the passage at 13:28
13:47 It's like we can conceive of things that actually exist, and we can conceive of things that don't exist. And the classic example in the... Tibetan Buddhist texts is horns of a rabbit. Rabbits don't in actuality have horns, at least in this day and age that we know of. But we can think about a rabbit having horns. We have an image in our minds of what that would look like. Report an error in the passage at 13:47
14:29 So the image in our minds exists, whereas the horns of a rabbit doesn't exist. Report an error in the passage at 14:29
14:38 So similarly, an inherently existent phenomenon or an inherently existent body doesn't exist, but there is an image in our minds of an inherently existent body, an Report an error in the passage at 14:38
14:56 inherently existent self, an inherently existent everything, because actually everything that we perceive is perceived inseparably with inherent existence. That's just kind of our, as ordinary beings, that's just the way that things appear. Like with this clock, the shape of the clock appears, the color of the clock appears, and the inherent existence of the clock appears. Report an error in the passage at 14:56
15:28 And they all appear inseparably with the clock. Report an error in the passage at 15:28
15:38 Now the appearance of this being as something out here, as one entity. Separate from everything else in this room. Independent from everything else in this room. That's the appearance of inherent existence. Report an error in the passage at 15:38
15:58 That's how we see everything. And that's mistaken. That's not actually how things exist. And that's why it's so difficult. Well, one of the reasons why it's so difficult to realize emptiness is because everything appears mistakenly. We have no idea what it would look like to see a non-inherently existent clock, because everything we've ever, ever perceived has appeared as inherently existent. Report an error in the passage at 15:58
16:35 So even when we really think about emptiness a lot, we meditate on emptiness, as soon as we get up from meditation, everything appears as inherently existent. So all appearances are mistaken and so it's so easy to fall back into believing the appearances. So that's why we have to do this again and again and again. Report an error in the passage at 16:35
16:58 We have to meditate on it again and again and again and think about emptiness again and again and again. Report an error in the passage at 16:58
17:13 So the inherently existent phenomenon, the inherently existent body does not exist but the mental image of that exists and it's the mental image that we need to be very familiar with. It's the mental image of that inherently existent body that is the object of our meditation. The first step in realizing emptiness or meditating on emptiness is identifying the object of negation. So that's becoming very familiar with that mental image of inherent existence. Report an error in the passage at 17:13
18:08 So I showed this slide last time. This one... Report an error in the passage at 18:08
18:16 I want to go over again, just because it's so... I mean, I personally need to be reminded again and again and again what this object of negation is. Report an error in the passage at 18:16
18:28 So, right, so all phenomena appear to exist inherently, right? What does that mean? As separate and discrete objects. So it appears that the clock is separate from the table, which is separate from the computer, which is separate from... Me, which is separate from the cushion, which is separate from the floor. It appears that these are separate, discrete objects with a very clear boundary. Report an error in the passage at 18:28
19:03 There's a computer that's completely separate from the table and there's a clear boundary between them. It's self-enclosed. The computer is self-enclosed covering this particular area. Report an error in the passage at 19:03
19:19 That's the way it appears, Report an error in the passage at 19:19
19:27 independent of other objects, independent of the mind. So it appears that there's a clock out here that's independent of the mind. It doesn't matter, it seems like, it doesn't matter whether anybody sees it or thinks about it, there's still a clock out here. Report an error in the passage at 19:27
19:47 That's what it seems, but it doesn't actually exist that way. Report an error in the passage at 19:47
19:58 Single objects, right? This appears to be a single thing, right? This is one thing, a clock, right? It's one thing. Report an error in the passage at 19:58
20:15 But then we know, you know, on an atomic level, right, there are many, many different things, right? There are many different atoms that are constantly moving, constantly changing. Report an error in the passage at 20:15
20:26 So it's not really one thing. Report an error in the passage at 20:26
20:40 Solid, it appears as something solid covering this area, right? Report an error in the passage at 20:40
20:50 Whereas, once again, on an atomic level, we know it's not solid, right? It's actually made mostly of space. Report an error in the passage at 20:50
21:01 And then existing from its own side, existing out here, separate from our minds, projecting its image to our minds, and existing in and of itself, waiting to be experienced. Report an error in the passage at 21:01
21:20 So this is all the way we think things exist, and they don't exist this way at all. We think things exist this way, but they don't exist this way at all. So we have to prove that. Report an error in the passage at 21:20
21:42 We can't prove that until we've got realized direct emptiness, direct perception of emptiness, correct? Well, I mean, our process is that the whole reason why we meditate on this is in order to prove that. Report an error in the passage at 21:42
21:58 And then once we've realized emptiness, even conceptually, then we've proved it. Because a realization is... Report an error in the passage at 21:58
22:10 It's called incontrovertible. In our own minds, a realization eliminates all doubts in our minds. So when we realize emptiness, even conceptually, we eliminate all the doubts in our mind that things are inherently existent. Report an error in the passage at 22:10
22:27 When a bodhisattva has realized a direct perception of emptiness, does he just see the nucleus and the protons and the electrons? He doesn't see what we think we look like? No, when we're still on the path, so a bodhisattva who's directly realized emptiness, when he's in meditation on emptiness, he perceives only emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 22:27
22:57 He doesn't perceive any conventional phenomenon. He doesn't perceive clock. He doesn't perceive people. He doesn't perceive anything except emptiness, which is just a lack of inherent existence. It's of acuity. It's a lack. It's an absence of inherent existence. So he doesn't see any of these things. But he also doesn't see. Report an error in the passage at 22:57
23:20 He sees and doesn't see, right? Well, what do you mean? Well, I'm trying to figure it out. Well, he just sees emptiness, okay? He just, well, I mean sees, I mean perceives, okay? Not with the eye consciousness, right? With the mental consciousness. So when you're directly realizing emptiness, actually it's said that your senses, your eyes, ears, nose, etc., they shut down and you're only focused on emptiness with your mental consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 23:20
23:57 So when you're directly realizing emptiness, that's all you perceive for a bodhisattva, for a non-Buddha. Then when the bodhisattva arises from meditation... Everything still appears the way it's always appeared. So it's only when you become a Buddha that the appearances change. Report an error in the passage at 23:57
24:26 But even for a bodhisattva who's directly realized emptiness, when he's not in meditation, things appear to be inherently existent. But that bodhisattva no longer believes in that appearance. It's like when we look in a mirror, it appears as if we're... In the mirror, but we don't believe it. We don't believe it because we know better. Or if we see a rainbow, a rainbow appears to be some solid thing, but we don't believe it because we know better. Report an error in the passage at 24:26
25:04 It's just a play of light and water, etc. So a bodhisattva has directly realized emptiness is similar. Things appear. It's inherently existent, but he doesn't believe, or she doesn't believe in it anymore. Report an error in the passage at 25:04
25:22 And then Buddhas, what Buddhas actually see, we'll have to wait and see, wait until we get there. I guess my question is, is that, you know, on quantum physics, science level, there's nothing, right? Report an error in the passage at 25:22
25:39 I mean, there's basically mostly space. Is that what a Buddha sees? Well, I mean, I can't say. Emily, you're supposed to have all the answers. That's your misconception. Right. Yeah. I mean, trying to imagine the way a Buddha sees things is impossible, right? It's like we, Report an error in the passage at 25:39
26:15 yeah, our imaginations just aren't. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I mean, so completely foreign to us. That we can't even conceive of it. We can't imagine it. So in the teachings, they try to describe the qualities of a Buddha, etc. But they're only approximations. They're so limited. Trying to understand something just conceptually always has limitations. Report an error in the passage at 26:15
26:50 It's like trying to describe the taste of sugar. To somebody who's never tasted sugar, right? Yeah, how do you do that? How do you even start? Report an error in the passage at 26:50
27:10 Yeah, so that'll be Buddhahood. You'll like it. Guaranteed. Report an error in the passage at 27:10
27:31 So the big one, right, the big object that we keep grasping onto as being inherently existent is ourself, right? Ourself. I'm separate from you. ha, ha, ha. Report an error in the passage at 27:31
· · · silence, 1 minute
27:44 I'm a single entity and I have a very strong, distinct image of who I am. That's not something constantly changing, not something light and ambiguous. I have a very clear idea of who I am. Report an error in the passage at 27:44
28:19 And I grasp onto that. I am a nice person. I am whatever. I am female. I am tall. I am etc. Report an error in the passage at 28:19
28:37 As if we are some solid, single, self-contained entity that's not changing from moment to moment. Report an error in the passage at 28:37
28:55 So in fact, we are all... Our body is constantly changing. Our mind is constantly changing. Report an error in the passage at 28:55
29:11 And our self is just labeled on something constantly changing. There isn't some kind of enduring self. Report an error in the passage at 29:11
29:27 It's just a light label on something that's constantly changing. Report an error in the passage at 29:27
29:49 So then the process of understanding emptiness is to try to find... Let's say the inherently existent body, since we're on form is emptiness. So the form aggregate for the person is the body. Report an error in the passage at 29:49
30:08 So if the body really existed in the way that we think it does, as this solid entity covering this particular area, independent of mind, then we should be able to find it. If something really existed, we should be able to find it. Report an error in the passage at 30:08
30:31 The computer exists, I can find it, right? The clock exists, I can find it, right? So the inherently existent body should be able to find it, right? The solid entity. And so we went through last time in a lot of detail, right, how we would go through and search for the body. Are each of the individual parts of the body the body, right? So we search, you know, is the hand the body? Report an error in the passage at 30:31
31:02 Is the arm the body? Is the nose the body? Is the eye the body? Et cetera. Are each of the individual parts of the body the body? Report an error in the passage at 31:02
31:16 We're searching for the body, the single entity that we have in our minds. If I ask you to close your eyes and visualize your body, we have an image of our body in our minds. Report an error in the passage at 31:16
31:34 What does that look like? Report an error in the passage at 31:34
31:51 Then we get a clear image of our body in our minds. And then we search for it. So Report an error in the passage at 31:51
32:08 we compare, okay, well that image is the hand, that image of the body? Well, no. Is the arm? Well, no. Is the neck? Well, no. So if we do this analysis, we'll find that none of the individual parts of the body is the body. Report an error in the passage at 32:08
32:35 And then oftentimes we would think, I mean naturally we think, well, but the collection of the parts. It's the collection of the parts that's the body. Report an error in the passage at 32:35
32:56 And then we talked about how if we took a part of the body and, you know, if I put the head over here, you know, and the hands and the liver and, you know, the kidneys, the heart, you know, in a big pile, that's the collection of the parts of the body. Report an error in the passage at 32:56
33:16 Is that the body? Report an error in the passage at 33:16
33:20 It's the collection of the parts of the body, right? But is it the body? Report an error in the passage at 33:20
33:26 If the collection of the parts of the body was the body, then we should be able to pile up all of the parts and it would be the body, right? Do you agree with that? Report an error in the passage at 33:26
33:46 Do you think it would be a body? Report an error in the passage at 33:46
34:01 When I think about this, I think about how it's impossible to take a bunch of things that aren't body and make a body out of them. Does that make sense? Am I on the right track? Yeah, no, that's great. That's great. Because it said that if we do this first analysis right about how each of the parts individually aren't the body, we take the hand, is this a body? Report an error in the passage at 34:01
34:28 No. No, it's non-body. The arm. No, it's non-body. So if each of those individual parts of the body isn't the body, then how can the collection of things that aren't the body be the body? Report an error in the passage at 34:28
34:47 It's like, how can a collection of sheep be a cow? A collection of things that aren't a cow, how can they be a cow? So a collection of sheep isn't a cow. Similarly, a collection of individual parts that aren't the body, how can they be the body? Report an error in the passage at 34:47
35:25 So that we may have to cook a little bit. Report an error in the passage at 35:25
35:31 So there's a lot of different ways we can prove that the collection of the parts of the body is not the body. Report an error in the passage at 35:31
35:41 Another thing that's helpful to me is that a collection of anything cannot exist out here, independent of the mind. A collection, if you think about what a collection is, it's a mental construct. So the mind is grouping a number of things together. Report an error in the passage at 35:41
36:10 A group doesn't exist out here. A group is just something that the mind creates, right? The conceptual mind groups things together. Report an error in the passage at 36:10
36:32 It's like, you Report an error in the passage at 36:32
36:37 know, if let's say in the neighborhood where we live in, you know, there's a bunch of land, right? And then conceptually we break it up and say, okay, well, this bit of land is yours, right? This bit of land is yours. Report an error in the passage at 36:37
36:57 But out there, right, there isn't something that's yours and mine, right, independent of the mind. It's just the mind saying, okay, well, this part we'll say is yours and this part we'll say is mine. Report an error in the passage at 36:57
37:16 And this is what we're doing all the time, right? This body is mine and that one is yours. So I don't have to worry about yours. I just worry about mine, right? So as soon as we label something mine, we take care of it, right? And if it's yours, maybe we don't care about it as much. But that distinction was something that was completely created by our minds. Report an error in the passage at 37:16
37:51 The distinction between you and me is something completely created by our mind. There's not a distinction out there independent of the mind. Report an error in the passage at 37:51
38:05 Does that make sense? So it's just like the land, right? There's a big piece of land and then we divide it up. Mentally. And then we become really attached to it, right? And if somebody plants a tree on our property, you know, we get upset. Report an error in the passage at 38:05
38:27 Or litters on our property. Maybe not planting a tree. Don't be doing the virtuous stuff on my property. Report an error in the passage at 38:27
38:47 We're in my wallet. Yeah. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 38:47
38:54 Right. Because we forget, right, that it was purely a mental construct that this part is mine and this part is yours. And then we protect what's mine and defend it against what's not mine. Report an error in the passage at 38:54
39:18 So a collection, does that make sense? That a collection of anything can't exist separately from the mind. A collection is purely a mental construct, something that our conceptual mind creates. Report an error in the passage at 39:18
39:43 So the collection of the parts of the body can't exist out here, separate from the mind. Report an error in the passage at 39:43
40:22 And then we search for this inherently existent body as being, okay, maybe it's not the individual parts of the body, it's not the collection of the parts of the body, is it something separate from the parts of the body, right? Report an error in the passage at 40:22
40:46 So if there was an inherently existent body, it needs to exist either Among the parts of the body or separate from the parts of the body. There's no other possibility. It needs to exist either among its parts or separate from the parts. Report an error in the passage at 40:46
41:05 So we need to search in all of the different possibilities. So if the inherently existent body existed separately from the parts of the body, then we should be able to take all of the parts of the body away and there'd still be a body. Report an error in the passage at 41:05
41:25 So we take the head away, we take the neck away, we take the body away, or the torso away, we take the arms away, the legs, and then there should still be a body. Report an error in the passage at 41:25
41:41 So this is how we need to meditate, right? Again and again, searching for that inherently existent body. Is it the parts? Is it the collection of the parts? Is it separate from the parts of the body? Report an error in the passage at 41:41
42:03 Okay, is that clear? Does that make sense? Report an error in the passage at 42:03
42:15 So when we meditate, and if we meditate on the inherently existent body, we try to find it, and if we do it correctly, we'll end up with a not finding, right? We're looking in the individual parts, we're looking in the collection, we're looking separately, and we're not able to find it, right? So the not finding is the... Report an error in the passage at 42:15
42:48 And the lack of an inherently existent body, that's the emptiness of the body. The lack of an inherently existent body is the emptiness of the body. Report an error in the passage at 42:48
43:08 So it's what's considered a negative phenomenon, and particularly a non-affirming negation. So we talked about this before, the two different types of negations. So a negative phenomena. There's affirming negations and non-affirming negations. So a negation is the lack of or the absence of. So an affirming negation, when we negate something, it affirms something else. Report an error in the passage at 43:08
43:51 So my lack of being male. My lack of being male kind of implicitly affirms that I'm female. Report an error in the passage at 43:51
44:10 So that would be an affirming negation. Report an error in the passage at 44:10
44:26 Does that automatically mean that you are a female? Report an error in the passage at 44:26
44:32 Say what you said. So an example of an affirming negation is, let's say, somebody says, oh yeah, there's a new student in class. And I say, oh yeah, well he's... it. Right. Right. Report an error in the passage at 44:32
44:52 It's not a male. It's not a male. So automatically you think, okay, well, it's a female. Report an error in the passage at 44:52
45:04 Maybe. That's an affirming negation. Right, exactly. Maybe not such a great example. Report an error in the passage at 45:04
45:16 Well, there are hermaphrodites. Right, yeah, right. So not the perfect example. Report an error in the passage at 45:16
45:30 But that's an affirming negation. An affirming negation, right? So, you know, negating something, but it implies something else, right? Or affirm something else. Okay. I'll have to think about a better example. Not Report an error in the passage at 45:30
45:51 day. Yeah, yeah, you can say it might mean, you know, dawn, well, or evening, or anyway, well, whenever there's, yeah, there's a dichotomy somewhere, you know. Report an error in the passage at 45:51
46:11 But you guys get the drift. Report an error in the passage at 46:11
46:16 Exactly. My lack of being able to find a good example. Report an error in the passage at 46:16
46:23 Well, Emily, I'm struggling with this. Now, with the meditation on the body, you could intellectually accept that the body is not inherently existent, but... You still haven't necessarily eliminated, I guess, the object of negation, which is that one truly exists. Report an error in the passage at 46:23
46:53 So when it says you merely eliminate the object of negation, does that mean that at this point you would then have a realization of shunyata emptiness? Report an error in the passage at 46:53
47:08 Well, no. Report an error in the passage at 47:08
47:17 I mean, not necessarily. Yeah, not, I mean, we may have an understanding without having a realization. It's like oftentimes, you know, we sit in a teaching and we think, yeah, that really makes sense. But as soon as, you know, somebody goes out and calls me fat, you know, or something like that, you know, I get offended, like thinking that, which. Report an error in the passage at 47:17
47:52 Which means that I'm still holding on to some inherently existent body. But isn't there a difference between the concept of an existent I, which is actually separate from the body? Report an error in the passage at 47:52
48:10 Yeah, here we're just talking about the body right now. But yeah, then there's the I, which we'll talk about later in the class. But I'm just talking about the body right now because we're still on those three words in the sūtra. Form is empty. Report an error in the passage at 48:10
48:35 So the emptiness of our body is the mere absence of inherent existence of our body. It's the absence of a particular way that our body exists. Report an error in the passage at 48:35
48:52 So the body does exist conventionally as a mere imputation. Report an error in the passage at 48:52
49:02 But it's just that inherently, solidly, independently existent body that doesn't exist. And so the absence of that inherently, solidly, independently existent body is the emptiness of our body. Report an error in the passage at 49:02
49:17 And so when we realize that, we're not yet affirming anything else. It's just the absence of a particular way of existing. Report an error in the passage at 49:17
49:31 And I was thinking about... Why is this so important? What is the significance of this? One thing I notice when we're meditating on emptiness and we're not finding something, oftentimes the mind wants to switch. The lack of something is uncomfortable for the mind. The mind wants to switch to when we do the meditation on the individual parts of the body, the body. Report an error in the passage at 49:31
50:07 Is the hand the body? No. But the mind wants to say, no, but it's a part of the body. It's like it wants to affirm something. No, it's not the body, but it's a part of the body. Report an error in the passage at 50:07
50:19 So we need to stay with the not finding. Oftentimes we want to switch to something else. We're looking for the inherently existent body, but then the mind wants to switch to, oh, but it's a part of the body. Report an error in the passage at 50:19
50:35 Well, we're trying to find the body. Report an error in the passage at 50:35
50:41 Similarly, oftentimes I notice that the mind switches to dependent arising instead of the not finding. Oh, but it's merely imputed. Or it's dependent on causes and conditions. It's dependent on parts. So that's something positive. It exists in this way. Report an error in the passage at 50:41
51:10 But to realize emptiness, we need to stay with the not finding, not switch to something more comfortable. Report an error in the passage at 51:10
51:28 So, you know, so gradually we learn to be okay with that discomfort. Just try to stick with that absence of and Report an error in the passage at 51:28
51:52 try to not move on to something else or, you know. Okay, that's done, you know. Okay, I meditated on emptiness for today. Report an error in the passage at 51:52
52:04 But to try to stick with it. Because we need, you know, a powerful mind. To strongly realize emptiness. A mind that's able to stay with it in order to eliminate our ignorance. Report an error in the passage at 52:04
52:26 A distracted mind or a mind that's constantly moving to something else doesn't have power. It doesn't have enough power to eliminate our ignorance, our afflictions. Can Report an error in the passage at 52:26
52:47 you clarify that a little bit? Report an error in the passage at 52:47
52:51 know, you've said... We need to examine it from the different methods, the different arguments and all. Report an error in the passage at 52:51
53:03 I kind of know what you're saying because I've experienced exactly what you're saying. I can't stick with it. I'm a little unclear as to when you change your method of investigation. Report an error in the passage at 53:03
53:20 Yeah, so we need to use a lot of different methods of investigation and logical reasonings and things to understand emptiness really thoroughly. But in a particular meditation session, stick with one at a time and stay with the conclusion. And then you can meditate on another one. And then meditate on another one. But if we're constantly changing around, then it doesn't have much power. Report an error in the passage at 53:20
53:51 Right. Report an error in the passage at 53:51
54:05 So is the skillful means of this approach that we're using the mind to actually unravel the mind? Yeah. In a sense. I mean, we're using our way of looking at things and our habitual way of looking at things and kind of tearing that apart, but using the, you know, the tools of analysis of the mind in order to do it. Report an error in the passage at 54:05
54:28 It seems kind of tricky, but very smart. Yeah. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 54:28
54:45 Because if we think about it, I'm not sure if I'm getting at your question, but... You know, in order to kind of get beyond our cherished view of ourselves, we have to use the tools that we have, which are our developed minds, you know, the tools that we have from, that we've learned in school and so forth, to be able to sort of analyze something. Report an error in the passage at 54:45
55:10 And now we're using it to kind of tear apart our own concept. Yeah, yeah. Exactly. Which I think is where the discomfort comes from. Because what about me? I'm tearing me apart. Right. Exactly. So I think that's why we get stuck a lot with this. Uh-huh. Yeah. I mean, it's like we want to realize emptiness without shaking ourselves up, you know, without getting rid of me. Yeah. As long as I get to keep my knee, then it's okay. Report an error in the passage at 55:10
55:45 Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 55:45
55:51 I think too when you were talking about how we go to that place where we want to switch, for me it's because I keep forgetting what the object of negation is. So it's coming back to, well is that really what I'm trying to negate? So like when you're meditating on the body and saying, well, but it's dependently arising, but that's not really what I'm experiencing and trying to negate. Report an error in the passage at 55:51
56:19 I'm not walking around going, I'm independently arising body. You know, that's not, and that's what seems to me to be the trick of trying to get back to something deeper and not just switching. Yeah, so sticking with the object of negation. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's really important. That's why we, you know, it's... Report an error in the passage at 56:19
56:44 It's important to spend the time to identify the object of negation first and be clear about what you're trying to negate and then look for that. Report an error in the passage at 56:44
57:03 It's very interesting. When we meditate, oftentimes we're distracted normally. But I notice that when I meditate on emptiness, the mind gets a lot more distracted because it's so uncomfortable. Report an error in the passage at 57:03
57:23 We need a lot of merit. We need to really want to meditate on emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 57:23
57:39 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 57:39
57:44 It's break time, so why don't we take a break? Report an error in the passage at 57:44
57:50 So it's said that there's, and maybe this is all very clear to you now. Report an error in the passage at 57:50
58:04 Okay. But there are many different ways. And then, um, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 58:04
57:55 know. Report an error in the passage at 57:55
58:08 In which things can be said to be empty. And just to summarize two of them, there's emptiness of other and then there's a self-emptiness or an emptiness of intrinsic existence. So emptiness of other, for example, the absence of monks in a monastery. So the monastery is empty of... Report an error in the passage at 58:08
58:40 It's empty of monks. So that's a negation. So that's an emptiness in general, but it's not emptiness in this context. When we're talking about emptiness of inherent existence, we're not saying that the clock is empty of being a computer. We're saying the clock is empty. Report an error in the passage at 58:40
59:08 Of existing in a particular way, right? It's empty. Clock is not empty of being a clock, but it's empty of being an inherently existing clock. Report an error in the passage at 59:08
59:34 So how we meditate on emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 59:34
59:40 So first we need to receive teachings and think about them. And then we meditate on emptiness. And we talked about identifying the object of negation. Report an error in the passage at 59:40
59:58 Ascertaining the pervasion we talked about before, whereas if the body were inherently existent, then it must be findable either, for example, either among the parts or separate from the parts. And so ascertaining the pervasion means that the mind is convinced that if it was inherently existent, it must exist in one of these ways. Report an error in the passage at 59:58
1:00:29 Either among the parts or separate from the parts. So that when we get to the point where we can't find the inherently existent body, we don't think, oh, well, okay, well, I couldn't find it, but it could be somewhere else. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:29
1:00:48 Then there's no power. So we have to be convinced that if it were inherently existent, we should be able to find it either within the parts or... Separate from the parts. There's no other possibility. And then we actually meditate. Then we actually try to find that inherently existent body among the parts, separate from the parts, etc. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:48
1:01:19 And then if we have done the meditation correctly, then we'll conclude that the body is unfindable. And so the image of the body will fade and a vacuity, an absence, will appear. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:19
1:01:36 So the vacuity or absence is the emptiness of inherent existence of our body. So we're searching for the inherently existent body and we don't find it. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:36
1:01:52 The image of the body fades and we're just left with the image of this absence of. And that's our mental image of emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:52
1:02:12 Then what we do is stabilize on that, right? So we have this vacuity, and then we try to stay on that as long as we can. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:12
1:02:29 And that's what creates the power, right, is the ability to stay on it. And then once that image starts to fade, then we need to go through the reasonings again to bring up a clear image of emptiness again, and then stay on that. Once again, once the image is clear, then we stay on that as long as we can. When that fades, we go through the same process. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:29
1:02:58 Again, the reasonings, until we have a clear image, we stay on it, etc. Yeah. So it seems like there's, just in meditations, there's very subtle where you kind of, you know, get analytically, it's some basic sense of reasoning. And then there's also sometimes that... Immense fear, you know, like when you're, maybe not, I haven't had it in regards to focusing on the eye, but maybe it is that, but like the emptiness of the cup or whatever the object is negation. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:58
1:03:31 Is that, you're saying stick with that, I mean, because it's like falling off a cliff it feels like for a quick second. And you're saying just keep falling? Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:31
1:03:49 I mean, it's hard for me to say, you know, I don't have the wisdom, right? But if we feel, I mean, I've read places where sometimes people realize emptiness when they're not ready to yet and they kind of get kind of strange. I've heard that, right? So I wouldn't force it then, right? I mean, some fear is... Report an error in the passage at 1:03:49
1:04:20 It's normal, right, when we're realizing that this self that we've always grasped onto doesn't exist, right, or the body doesn't actually exist in the way that we always thought it did, right? So there's some fear associated with that. But it's hard for me to say, you know, for each individual how much we should stay with it, or I would talk to a Lama about that. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:20
1:04:56 I guess Shantideva is great. When he gets back, we're Report an error in the passage at 1:04:56
1:05:03 very fortunate to have Kishitapa. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:03
1:05:26 So I'm thinking that maybe we'll do a meditation now. We'll actually do the meditation on trying to find the inherently existent body. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:26
1:05:48 Actually, you know what, I'd rather switch to the self, the inherently existent self. Because it's said that the emptiness of the self or the selflessness of the self... It's easier to realize than the emptiness of other phenomena. So let's start with the self and it's more powerful too. So let's Report an error in the passage at 1:05:48
1:06:30 sit with our back straight and Report an error in the passage at 1:06:30
1:06:41 try to bring up a strong sense of self. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:41
1:06:52 One thing that may work is to think about something that we're proud of or something that... We're good at like I'm a good person, Report an error in the passage at 1:06:52
1:07:10 funny person, an intelligent person and try to get bring up that strong sense of self. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:10
· · · silence, 2 minutes
1:08:59 So notice how that that self seems to be something solid. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:59
1:09:12 What are the boundaries of that self? Where does it start? Where's the edge of the self? Report an error in the passage at 1:09:12
1:09:48 So feel like one thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:48
· · · silence, 1 minute
1:10:28 Does that self feel like it's interdependent with other things? Report an error in the passage at 1:10:28
1:10:38 Or does it feel independent, Report an error in the passage at 1:10:38
1:10:43 self-sufficient? Report an error in the passage at 1:10:43
· · · silence, 1 minute
1:11:25 Does this self appear to be constantly changing or stable, static? Report an error in the passage at 1:11:25
1:12:00 Okay, and then let's search for the self. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:00
1:12:06 Let's search the body for the self, starting maybe from the top, the tip of our head. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:06
1:12:25 And search the different parts of the body. If Report an error in the passage at 1:12:25
1:12:31 any of those parts are the self. And Report an error in the passage at 1:12:31
1:12:37 it's important to go through individually the parts and not just jump to the conclusion. No, no, no, they're not. They're not the self. But just go through. Is the top of the head the self? Report an error in the passage at 1:12:37
1:12:59 Is the hair the self? Is Report an error in the passage at 1:12:59
1:13:25 the self the Report an error in the passage at 1:13:25
1:13:48 nose the self? Report an error in the passage at 1:13:48
1:13:59 We'll just do that silently for a few minutes. And just go through one by one, part by part. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:59
· · · silence, 3 minutes
1:16:41 And search the mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:41
1:16:49 Is the self the mind? And Report an error in the passage at 1:16:49
1:16:57 see if we can look directly at the mind, not looking at the image of the mind itself. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:57
1:17:09 See if we can look at the mind itself, the clear and knowing mind. And Report an error in the passage at 1:17:09
· · · silence, 4 minutes
1:21:24 search outside of the body and the mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:24
1:21:32 See if we can find the self, our object of negation. And Report an error in the passage at 1:21:32
· · · silence, 2 minutes
1:23:41 if we've reached a conclusion, see if we can hold that and Report an error in the passage at 1:23:41
1:23:50 stay on that without analysis for a few minutes. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:50
· · · silence, 3 minutes
1:26:27 Well, tonight in particular, I mean, the reasoning sort of works for me for a while, but then I pretty strongly tonight started to really identify with my body, too, you know, so I'm thinking, well, my knee's really hurt and what's up with my back and, you know, it's going to be so nice to go lay down somewhere. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:27
1:26:44 weird. But, but, but. But at the very least, I did have some consciousness to kind of deal with that, too. Then I just sort of focused on the pain from it and sort of thought, well, you know, what is this body that's having this pain, you know, that exists from its own side? So that's this given kind of pain thing. And whatever experience that is, that it hurts, you know, and it's a negative thing. I don't know that I really conquered that, but it's just the reason it really helps me, definitely, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:44
1:27:14 It's my body. Well, it's nothing else than I start to deal with the emptiness of my body, even though we were going for emptiness of self. Because when my body starts to be really loud, I have to do that, I think. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:14
1:27:24 Otherwise, I just sit there and think about how much my knees hurt and that's it, you know, like literally. Yeah. And like I think everybody's doing so good, I'm doing so bad. Yeah, who's that I? Report an error in the passage at 1:27:24
1:27:38 Yeah. You might not have been the only one who thought that. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:38
1:27:47 Okay. Yeah, and it's useful to meditate on the emptiness of feeling then, you know, when you're feeling a lot of pain, you know, and really analyze, well, what is this feeling and where is this feeling? Report an error in the passage at 1:27:47
1:28:02 But I mean, too, there is that. There is some sense of... It's a very small sense of that vacuity that you talk of, though, too. I mean, in not finding that thing and even just sort of, you know, insofar as I'm capable, there is something that makes, for instance, that pain go away a little bit, you know, that it definitely sort of seems like that I'm making a lot more out of that pain than its reality is, even if I haven't gotten to its complete non-reality, so to speak. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:02
1:28:32 But there is some aspect of my projection of it and that kind of thing. And so there is some experience of that there for sure. And then that brings up, there's some peace in that, I think, or something. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:32
1:28:42 And so I think there's some small experience of that vacuity that you speak of. Yeah. Yeah, and it's not that we're supposed to experience that every time or the first time or the second time. We just need to meditate again and again and again. And just repeat, repeat, repeat, no matter how boring it is. We're not in a culture that tends to have a lot of patience with doing the same thing again and again. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:42
1:29:13 But that's what's necessary. So sometimes it'll seem like nothing happens. And other times we'll get a little taste, a little experience. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:13
1:29:28 And then we just have to keep going. And so in the meantime, the Lamas are always talking about accumulating merit and purifying. Accumulation and purifying. A lot of times the obstacles to our meditation means that we just need to do a lot of purification. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:28
1:29:53 This one friend of mine did a retreat, a calm abiding retreat for a couple of years. And that was... What he focused on for two years. And he said that, you know, there'd be times when in his meditation he'd just get stuck. You know, it's like he'd make progress, he'd make progress, and then it would seem like nothing's happening or the mind was getting really obscured. And he said what he always did at that point was prostrations. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:53
1:30:21 He did a lot of prostrations, you know, and then that would clear it and then he would keep going. And then he'd get stuck and he'd do more prostrations. And so... I think that really helps, you know, doing a lot of purification. You know, oftentimes we don't think about that, you know, but oftentimes I don't think about, oh, I need to purify, you know, when I'm getting obstacles in my practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:21
1:30:52 But whenever I do, you know, start doing a lot more prostrations or something, it seems to shift something, you know. So purifying and then accumulating merit, you know. Making offerings, developing more and more compassion, bodhicitta, etc. We need all of those things to help our meditation on emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:52
1:31:13 We can't just do meditation on emptiness in isolation and expect that to work. Did people get a sense of the object of negation? I Report an error in the passage at 1:31:13
1:31:34 noticed that I had a hard time. To hold on to the object of negation. And so I tried to think of like a time when it comes up really strongly. Like if I, you know, I think I'm a certain type of person. I think I'm honest in somebody or, you know, or somebody says, well, you're not honest. Or I have an idea that maybe some people don't listen to me. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:34
1:31:59 And then that comes up really strongly at certain times. And I tried to get that to come up. And it kept kind of slipping away. It would come up and it kept kind of slipping away. But then as we were going through the looking for the self, it's like I looked all over and I thought, well, okay, so my body's not the self. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:59
1:32:21 And then I thought, but if I hurt my arm, I say I hurt myself. So how is it that I do that? And it's like it was a little mushy. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:21
1:32:41 I definitely identify the self more with my mind than with my body. Sarah and I were talking about it in some ways a couple of weeks ago. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:41
1:32:57 Watching your mind, that's where it's harder. I just thought, well... know, but, but. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:57
1:33:07 I have to start taking apart. Like, is it this thought or that thought or this feeling? And then I just kind of dazed out into nowhere. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:07
1:33:21 Unconsciousness came over me. Yeah. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:21
1:33:30 I did have a good experience of that. Because usually when I do that... Unconscious. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:30
1:33:36 I'll try to do that thing, but it's just exactly what you will describe sometimes, where you say, well, I'm a dependent horizon. With my object navigation, I'll say, I know, I'm scared of this or I'm scared of that or something, and I'm just sort of thinking it. But I did have very good success with that tonight because I was in this meeting today at work, and I was really funny because I'm so funny, you know what I mean? Report an error in the passage at 1:33:36
1:33:59 And so... know. I don't know. I don't Report an error in the passage at 1:33:59
1:34:02 So I was like, well, where's this funny J, you know what I mean? So I thought, let's do that. But in all honesty, then, and also I have this thing that Chodron Rinpoche gave me too, so this was close to me and I sort of thought it would really be nice if this worked really well this time or something. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:02
1:34:16 And then I was sort of reliving these stupid funny things I was doing and then I sort of got to laughing and I thought, I am so funny, you know what I mean? Report an error in the passage at 1:34:16
1:34:26 And then I thought, honestly, literally, there was something that stopped me there and said, that's it, that's the thing right there. I was really living it instead of this intellectual thing I do most of the time. Like I was really full of myself. So I'm really proud of that. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:26
1:34:46 And you see, even now I'm being funny too. It's like this endless circle. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:46
1:34:51 yeah yeah so Yeah, identifying the object of negation. Yeah, it's hard, I think, just to do it artificially, you know, sitting here, okay, identify the object of negation. So I find it's really good when I notice, you know, myself being all puffed up or, you know, or humiliated. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:51
1:35:16 Like today, yeah, today somebody sent me a really rude email. I notice my sense of self really coming up. And when that happens, it's so good right then and there to search for it. Then it's really powerful. Or this feeling, oh, I'm really bad. I'm really bad. I remember I would get really down on myself watching my silly mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:16
1:35:36 Right? It's like, oh, Report an error in the passage at 1:35:36
1:35:50 And I would ask my Lama, you know, what do I, you know, what do I do? What should I do about, you know, this low self-esteem thing and feeling really bad about myself? And he'd say, meditate on emptiness. I don't know, something else. You know, and he told me that for a long time, you know, before I actually did it. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:50
1:36:15 It's like I wanted some immediate cure or something. But when I actually did it, it was really great. It's like, okay, well, where's this bad person? And I searched the body. Well, the body's not a bad person. Then you search the mind. And I think it takes practice to really search the mind. Like you were saying, how do you look at the mind? And so practicing looking at the mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:15
1:36:47 And then once you're used to looking at the mind, then it's quite easy to see that there's no bad person or funny person or, you know, kind person or honest person in the mind. The mind is just basically like space, you know, it's just clear, you know, with appearances, you know, in the mind. There's movements of the mind, but the mind is, you know, there's no... Report an error in the passage at 1:36:47
1:37:17 You know, no self in the mind. But I think, yeah, we just have to practice looking at the mind. We're just so not used to doing that. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:17
1:37:32 But that actually really, really helped me not believe that I'm a bad person. You know, when I couldn't find it, it's like, oh no, well, that's not a bad person. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:32
1:37:43 The clear and knowing mind, well, that's not a bad person. So anyway, so... If we can remember throughout the week when the sense of self comes up really strongly, if we can search for it at that point in the middle of the meeting that you're really bored at. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:43
1:38:09 Any Report an error in the passage at 1:38:09
1:38:12 other comments on that? Report an error in the passage at 1:38:12
1:38:17 There were a couple of things that I found that it was hard to find this sense of self. Then I just kind of drifted and I was thinking about something and then I felt it. I said, or, you know, whatever. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:17
1:38:27 Oh, that's, you know, that's it. And so anyway, I try to focus on it. But then the other thing, I thought, oh my God, I'm just a label and a mental image. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:27
1:38:42 And I was thinking about how, you know, in my work, I have a label that's on my email. Of course, we have these signatures. And it's always a big signature thing, right? Your name, your title, your organization, the address, blah, blah, blah. And I realized, oh my God, that's just like a label of, you know, who I am or supposed to be. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:42
1:39:05 So I thought it was productive. Okay, good. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:05
1:39:15 Yeah, so, you know, it's good to, you know, get that understanding. But listen, you know, listening to some of... It sounds like the mind is jumping once again to affirm something. Affirming, oh, I'm a label. Or, oh, sometimes my body is the eye and sometimes the mind. So we lose that searching for the object of negation. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:15
1:39:51 So when we notice we're doing that, then it's good to just come back and start searching again. But it does, I mean I notice it does require a certain level of stability of the mind to even do this. So it's really good if we can do some calm abiding meditation every day. Even if it's 10 minutes or 20 minutes. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:51
1:40:25 In my house, about two months ago we started as a group sitting. Every morning at 5 o 'clock for 45 minutes. And I noticed that there's a huge benefit to my mind. And personally I do like most of it like half an hour of calm abiding and then 15 minutes of analytical. And the quality of my analytical meditation is like 200 times better now than it has been for years because I do that. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:25
1:41:03 Calm abiding meditation first. So the analytical meditation isn't going all over the place. It's able to focus more and then able to stay on the conclusion more. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:03
1:41:15 So just sitting regularly every day makes a really big difference. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:15
1:41:29 So maybe throughout the week if we can do this meditation, try to identify the object of negation. When pride comes up, when irritation comes up, when, you know, Whatever humiliation comes up. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:29
1:41:52 And one thing I just wanted to share with you on a different note is that as many of you know, my Lama in Italy passed away on Monday night. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:52
1:42:13 This is him right here next to Lama Zopa Rinpoche. And Report an error in the passage at 1:42:13
1:42:23 he's still in meditation. So four days later, he's still in meditation. He's lying in a coffin on his bed. You know, meditating on clear light. And he was a very, very special being. And I was telling some people here, you know, I completely took him for granted. You know, he was always there. He was always so kind. He was very, a very accessible Lama in that you could just go, you know, I lived with, you know, in the same community with him for seven years. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:23
1:43:02 And you could just go and visit him. Pretty much whenever you wanted, you know, just go show up and he'd listen to your tales of woe and oftentimes laugh at you. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:02
1:43:17 And just take your hand and stroke it really gently. Like, it's okay. You'd be crying. It's okay. And then he'd say, and then? You know, like, next? Report an error in the passage at 1:43:17
1:43:37 Okay, I guess I'm done now. Okay, ciao. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:37
1:43:43 Because he had, you know, constantly all these people coming. So he was this wonderfully kind and compassionate and wise and joyful Lama, incredibly joyful. And I wanted you to make a connection with him. And he was, he reminds me. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:43
1:44:06 Or actually Geshe Dagpa reminds me so much of him. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:06
1:44:13 You know, maybe all of us know that Geshe Dagpa is special, but he's, you know, it seems like he's here most of the time and it's kind of easy to take him for granted and easy to think he's always going to be here. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:13
1:44:28 But he's not, you know. This Geshe Jumpa Gyatso passing away was a huge reminder to me of impermanence, you know, because he just... Suddenly went, you know, I was thinking, okay, I'm going to go see him next year. It was really going to make a point to go see him next year, and now I never can. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:28
1:44:54 So, yeah, Report an error in the passage at 1:44:54
1:45:01 this was taken in 2004. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2000. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:01
1:45:09 So I wanted to share with you his laugh. Such Report an error in the passage at 1:45:09
1:45:23 a reminder that it's not about beating ourselves up, but there's so much joy in the past. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:23
1:45:53 now innocent Araki Report an error in the passage at 1:45:53
1:46:05 laughed like that all the time. And that's what got us through seven years of study. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:05
1:46:19 Yeah, really fortunate. Okay, so we'll do dedication. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:19
1:46:41 Through the merits of these virtuous actions, may I quickly attain the state of a Guru Buddha and lead all living beings without exception into that enlightened state. May the supreme jewel bodhicitta that has not arisen arise and grow, and may that which has arisen do not mutmish but increase more and more. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:41
1:47:05 In the land encircled by snow mountains, you are the source of all happiness and good. All-powerful Chenrezig, Tenzin Gyatso, please remain until saṃsāra ends. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:05
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Talk by Emily Hsu, recorded 30 November 2007. Original at Tse Chen Ling Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies via Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/EH_HeartSutra_200710. Licensed CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 US. Transcript generated automatically and may contain errors; the audio is the authoritative version.
Recorded at Tse Chen Ling Center, San Francisco, and archived by the center on Internet Archive. More from Tse Chen Ling