The Heart Sutra (25 January 2008)

· · · silence, 7 minutes

7:19 Then, through the power of the buddhari kucho, says this to bodhisattva mahasattva ariya avala titeshvara, how Shantideva is from the lineage trained who wishes to practice the activity of the profound profession of wisdom. He said that, and bodhisattva mahasattva ariya avala titeshvara, says this to the better Vosha Ravadi Kucho. Report an error in the passage at 7:19 Highlight the passage at 7:19

7:44 Shari Pooja, any son of a lineage or daughter of a lineage who wishes to practice the activity of the profound perfection of wisdom, should look upon it like this. For everything you can be beholding with five attributes also is empty and 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 7:44 Highlight the passage at 7:44

8:10 In the same way, feeling, discrimination, compositional factors, and consciousness are empty. Charity to each other, likewise, often not in our emptiness, without characteristics, unproduced, unceased, stainless, not without stain, not deficient, not filled. Charity to each other, therefore, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no discrimination. Report an error in the passage at 8:10 Highlight the passage at 8:10

8:39 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 or touch, and no phenomenon. There is no I element and so on up to and including no mind element and no mental consciousness element. Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva. Report an error in the passage at 8:39 Highlight the passage at 8:39

9:34 Bodhisattvas rely on and dwell in the profession of wisdom, the mind without obscuration and without fear. Having been completely cast beyond error, they reach the end point in Lama. All the Buddhas who dwell in the great times, also manifestly, completely awaken to the unsurpassable, perfect, complete enlightenment, and reliance on the profession of wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 9:34 Highlight the passage at 9:34

10:01 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 true since it is not false. The mantra of the perfection of wisdom is declared, Tanata Om Gathe Gathe Paragathe Harasam Gathe Bodhisattva Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva, Shantideva. Report an error in the passage at 10:01 Highlight the passage at 10:01

10:46 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 fact that God does rejoice. The Bhagavan and Lama Spoken, the Nebuchadnezzar, the Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, Aria, Hava, Kiteshvara, those who are in their entirety, along with the world of gods, humans, asuris and kitaros, were overjoyed and highly praised as spoken by the Bhagavan. Report an error in the passage at 10:46 Highlight the passage at 10:46

11:34 Okay, I'm sorry, I tried to send out the slides today, but I kept getting technical problems. It kept telling me about... Recipients weren't found. Here we are. Report an error in the passage at 11:34 Highlight the passage at 11:34

11:52 Unfindable. Not without. That's perfect actually. Good lesson. Unfulfilled. Report an error in the passage at 11:52 Highlight the passage at 11:52

12:09 Actually we have a really easy class today. Yay! I'm empty from our own side. Report an error in the passage at 12:09 Highlight the passage at 12:09

12:14 At least that's the plan. Alright, so we're finishing up how Avalu Kiteshvara answered the Shari Pucha's question. What was Shari Pucha's question again? Report an error in the passage at 12:14 Highlight the passage at 12:14

12:31 That sounds familiar. I should have had a son or a dog or a living. Report an error in the passage at 12:31 Highlight the passage at 12:31

12:42 but it's more like this yeah it's more like this how should any son of a lineage thank god saying with enthusiasm so how should any son of a lineage train who wishes to practice the profound perfection of wisdom Report an error in the passage at 12:42 Highlight the passage at 12:42

13:01 how do we train in the realization of emptiness? Report an error in the passage at 13:01 Highlight the passage at 13:01

13:06 So last time we covered how to practice on the path of singh and the path of meditation. And now we move to the Vajra-like concentration, which is at the very end of the path of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 13:06 Highlight the passage at 13:06

13:23 So just to review a little bit. So one enters the path of seeing when you realize emptiness directly for the first time. So we enter the path of seeing and the first bodhisattva ground at the same time, if we have developed bodhicitta previously. We enter the Mahāyāna path of seeing and the first bodhisattva ground at the same time. And then when our direct realization of emptiness is strong enough to eliminate the innate, the grossest innate afflictions, or the coarsest innate afflictions, then we move to the path of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 13:23 Highlight the passage at 13:23

14:07 So when we directly realize emptiness, that in that That meditation, it's called the meditative equipoise. Meditative equipoise is referring to that meditation that's directly realizing emptiness. And then meditative equipoise is divided up into two parts. There's an uninterrupted path and then there's a path of release or sometimes called the liberated path. Report an error in the passage at 14:07 Highlight the passage at 14:07

14:35 Uninterrupted path and path of release. So the uninterrupted path is What's considered the antidote. So it's the uninterrupted path that's directly realizing emptiness that's serving as the antidote for that level of affliction or obscuration. Report an error in the passage at 14:35 Highlight the passage at 14:35

14:58 So it's the uninterrupted path that's eliminating that level of obscuration and its seeds. So it's potency to arise again. Report an error in the passage at 14:58 Highlight the passage at 14:58

15:10 And then the rest of that... Meditation, directly realizing emptiness is considered the path of release. Okay, so you're still meditating on emptiness directly, but you've already abandoned, at that point, you've already abandoned that level of obstruction. Report an error in the passage at 15:10 Highlight the passage at 15:10

15:31 I'm sorry, can you go over the... So... I'm sorry, can you just go over what the uninterrupted path means again for, like, I had a brain... Thank you. Sure. So the uninterrupted path is that portion of that meditative equipoise, directly realizing emptiness. It's the first portion of that. It's the portion that's serving as the antidote for that level of obstruction. Report an error in the passage at 15:31 Highlight the passage at 15:31

15:58 So that's what has the power to eliminate that obstruction. And then the rest of the meditation is called the path of release, where your mind is now released from that level of obstruction. Report an error in the passage at 15:58 Highlight the passage at 15:58

16:16 So what the analogy often used is throwing out the thief and closing the door. So the uninterrupted path is like we're throwing out the thief, we're throwing out that obstruction. And then at the path of release then we close the door. Report an error in the passage at 16:16 Highlight the passage at 16:16

16:47 So the reason I bring that up... So when we enter the path of seeing, we enter that with an uninterrupted path that's eliminating all of the acquired afflictive obstructions, acquired through mistaken philosophical beliefs. Report an error in the passage at 16:47 Highlight the passage at 16:47

17:15 And then we progress from ground to ground on an uninterrupted path. Report an error in the passage at 17:15 Highlight the passage at 17:15

17:25 And so the vada-like concentration is... The very final words of being a sentient being, the very end of the path of meditation, that's the uninterrupted path that's abandoning the most subtle knowledge obstructions to omniscience. So at that point we have the antidote for All of the obstructions. So at that point, actually, that mind is very similar to the mind of a Buddha. And then once the path of release arises, then we become a Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 17:25 Highlight the passage at 17:25

18:20 So the Vajralite concentration is the uninterrupted path that serves as the antidote for the most subtle obstructions. The Report an error in the passage at 18:20 Highlight the passage at 18:20

18:34 next moment really is the path of release and Buddhahood completely. Report an error in the passage at 18:34 Highlight the passage at 18:34

18:47 Okay, so that's the end of the tenth bodhisattva ground. Report an error in the passage at 18:47 Highlight the passage at 18:47

18:56 Is that kind of clear? Yeah. And that'll happen before the other class. Report an error in the passage at 18:56 Highlight the passage at 18:56

19:04 Sure, guaranteed. Report an error in the passage at 19:04 Highlight the passage at 19:04

19:11 So the part of the Heart Sūtra that refers to the Vajralite concentration is Sharipucha, therefore because there is no attainment, bodhisattvas rely on and dwell in the perfection of wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 19:11 Highlight the passage at 19:11

19:32 So this is following on from what we talked about last time where it says, similarly there is no suffering, origination, cessation and path. There is no exalted wisdom, no attainment and also no non-attainment. So remember on the path of meditation none of these conventional truths appear to the meditative equipoise because only ultimate truth appears in meditative equipoise. Report an error in the passage at 19:32 Highlight the passage at 19:32

20:03 Only emptiness appears. So this follows on, because there's no attainment. So here this is reiterating that there's no attainment ultimately or there's no inherently existent attainment or no attainment from its own side, even though there is an attainment conventionally, the attainment of that uninterrupted path. Report an error in the passage at 20:03 Highlight the passage at 20:03

20:28 But if we search for it, we can't find it. It doesn't exist from its own side. Report an error in the passage at 20:28 Highlight the passage at 20:28

20:39 And then bodhisattvas rely on and dwell in the perfection of wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 20:39 Highlight the passage at 20:39

20:47 Here, the perfection of wisdom is referring to that vajra-like concentration at the very end, what they call the end of the continuum of a sentient being. Because the very next moment, you're not going to be a sentient for anyone. Report an error in the passage at 20:47 Highlight the passage at 20:47

21:04 Which is really kind of strange. Stop being a sentient. Report an error in the passage at 21:04 Highlight the passage at 21:04

21:15 And then next, the next moment, we hit the path of release and the path of no more learning, which is Buddhahood. We become completely enlightened. I'm sorry. Report an error in the passage at 21:15 Highlight the passage at 21:15

21:27 So when we become completely enlightened, we've eliminated all the obscurations, we've attained omniscience. So we can see all phenomena simultaneously. We can see the past, present and future. We can see conventional truth and ultimate truth all at the same time. So before we become a Buddha, we can only either see conventional truth or ultimate truth. We can't see both of them at the same time. Report an error in the passage at 21:27 Highlight the passage at 21:27

22:01 We have to alternate. Report an error in the passage at 22:01 Highlight the passage at 22:01

22:06 Buddha, we can see both at the same time. Report an error in the passage at 22:06 Highlight the passage at 22:06

22:16 So the Heart Sister says, the mind without obscuration and without fear. So the omniscient mind doesn't have any obscurations. And I think we've talked about the two types of obscurations before, the afflictive obscurations and the knowledge obscurations. So the afflictive obscurations are the mental afflictions, you know, ignorance, anger, attachment. Report an error in the passage at 22:16 Highlight the passage at 22:16

22:41 And the potential for those to arise. And Report an error in the passage at 22:41 Highlight the passage at 22:41

22:49 so those are abandoned on the first eight bodhisattva grounds. So even though when the bodhisattva is on the first seven bodhisattva grounds, they haven't abandoned those afflictive obstructions yet. But that doesn't necessarily mean that those afflictions will arise. Like anger. Report an error in the passage at 22:49 Highlight the passage at 22:49

23:12 Probably anger won't arise for those first seven ground bodhisattvas, but they haven't eliminated the potential yet for those to arise. So it's not until the eighth bodhisattva ground that they eliminate that potential forever. So once you hit the eighth bodhisattva ground, none of the afflictions can ever arise again. Report an error in the passage at 23:12 Highlight the passage at 23:12

23:39 And so at that point, you've become... Liberated from saṃsāra at the 8th Bodhisattva Ground. Liberation occurs when you've eliminated all the afflictions in their seeds. Report an error in the passage at 23:39 Highlight the passage at 23:39

23:53 So it's like you've become a Hinayana Arhat at the 8th Ground. But then we're not a Buddha yet at that point because we still have the knowledge of creation. So we still have that appearance of inherent existence. And so the 8th, 9th and 10th Grounds were... Eliminating the appearance of inherent existence, which is the imprint of ignorance and the afflictions. Report an error in the passage at 23:53 Highlight the passage at 23:53

24:24 And the analogy they often use is like garlic, like we have garlic in a container and you take away the garlic, but still there's this residual smell of garlic. And so the imprints are like that, the imprints of ignorance, even though we've eliminated ignorance forever. Still there's the imprint on the 8th, 9th and 10th ground. Report an error in the passage at 24:24 Highlight the passage at 24:24

24:52 So the knowledge obscurations are obscuring one to attain a mission mind. Report an error in the passage at 24:52 Highlight the passage at 24:52

25:04 So the Buddhas are completely without obscuration and thus without fear. Report an error in the passage at 25:04 Highlight the passage at 25:04

25:16 And it says, Heart Sūtra says, having completely passed beyond error, they reach the end point of Nirvāṇa. All the Buddhas who dwell in the three times also manifestly completely awaken to unsurpassable, perfect, complete enlightenment. In reliance on the perfection of wisdom. So the buddhas have completely passed beyond error in terms of the four misconceptions. Report an error in the passage at 25:16 Highlight the passage at 25:16

25:44 Believing things Report an error in the passage at 25:44 Highlight the passage at 25:44

25:49 that are impermanent to be permanent. Believing things that are suffering to be happiness. Believing things that are impure to be pure. Report an error in the passage at 25:49 Highlight the passage at 25:49

26:03 Things that are selfless to have a self. So those are the four misconceptions that we sentient beings have. And then they reach the end point of nirvāṇa. And so this is talking about non-abiding nirvāṇa, which is complete enlightenment. And all the Buddhas who dwell in the three times also manifestly, completely awaken to unsurpassable, perfect, complete enlightenment in reliance on the perfection of wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 26:03 Highlight the passage at 26:03

26:38 Okay, so that's pretty self-explanatory. The Buddhas that... Dwell in the past, present and future. Report an error in the passage at 26:38 Highlight the passage at 26:38

26:48 Attain complete enlightenment and reliance on the perfection of wisdom or the direct realization of emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 26:48 Highlight the passage at 26:48

27:04 And it says, 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. So the mantra of the perfection of wisdom. Here we're calling the perfection of wisdom itself a mantra because it protects the mind from mental afflictions. Report an error in the passage at 27:04 Highlight the passage at 27:04

27:31 So mantra, that term mantra in Sanskrit, means mind protection. So man means mind and tra means protection. So this realization of emptiness protects the mind from the mental afflictions, from suffering, etc. Basically from suffering and all the causes. Report an error in the passage at 27:31 Highlight the passage at 27:31

28:01 At this rate we're going to get finished with class. Report an error in the passage at 28:01 Highlight the passage at 28:01

28:09 And then the mantra of great knowledge. So it's called the mantra of great knowledge because it's the awareness that directly perceives reality as it actually is or it directly perceives emptiness. So it's great knowledge. And His Holiness. weird. Report an error in the passage at 28:09 Highlight the passage at 28:09

28:30 In his book, Essence of the Heart Sūtra says that also it's called great knowledge because by thoroughly understanding its meaning, it eliminates the three poisons. Report an error in the passage at 28:30 Highlight the passage at 28:30

28:43 The translation in that book of craving, hatred and delusion are sometimes called attachment, hatred and ignorance. Report an error in the passage at 28:43 Highlight the passage at 28:43

28:57 So by realizing emptiness, we're Report an error in the passage at 28:57 Highlight the passage at 28:57

29:04 eliminating the potential for all of the afflictions. Because all of the afflictions are based on... A misconception of reality, believing that things exist from their own side. Report an error in the passage at 29:04 Highlight the passage at 29:04

29:20 Does that make sense to people? That all of our afflictions are based on a misconception of reality? Report an error in the passage at 29:20 Highlight the passage at 29:20

29:37 I'm sure we'll find something else. Don't throw a busy temper. It took Report an error in the passage at 29:37 Highlight the passage at 29:37

29:53 me a long time to really understand that. That's good. Report an error in the passage at 29:53 Highlight the passage at 29:53

29:39 pretty. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 29:39 Highlight the passage at 29:39

29:56 maybe I'm dull, if I could. Well, no, tell us why, so that you can realize how wrong. I don't know, I'm scared. Yeah, tell us why you were scared. No, no, no. The unsurpassed mantra. The unsurpassed mantra. Gishidaka said there is no more clear and accurate and subtle state of awareness than this direct realization of emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 29:56 Highlight the passage at 29:56

30:27 There's no more all-encompassing state of awareness. And then His Holiness says there's no greater method than the perfection of wisdom for saving one from the extremes of cyclic existence and the isolated peace of the individual. Report an error in the passage at 30:27 Highlight the passage at 30:27

30:46 So there's no greater method, Report an error in the passage at 30:46 Highlight the passage at 30:46

30:51 really there's no other method for getting out of cyclic existence. And then as well as falling into the... Peace of individual liberation. So the conventional bodhicitta along with the realization of emptiness saves us from our individual nirvāṇa, our solitary peace. Report an error in the passage at 30:51 Highlight the passage at 30:51

31:20 The mantra equal to the unequaled. So this is very similar to the unsurpassed mantra. There's nothing equal to this state of awareness. Report an error in the passage at 31:20 Highlight the passage at 31:20

31:35 And then it's something that says the Buddha's enlightened state is unequaled. And so through the deepest realization of this mantra, one attains a state equal to that state. So one attains enlightenment through realizing. Report an error in the passage at 31:35 Highlight the passage at 31:35

31:54 And then the mantra that thoroughly pacifies all suffering. So through realizing emptiness, we eliminate all of the manifest sufferings as well as the potential in the future to suffer. Report an error in the passage at 31:54 Highlight the passage at 31:54

32:12 So that's the only way for us to eliminate suffering forever. Is to realize emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 32:12 Highlight the passage at 32:12

32:24 Otherwise we're subject to karma again and again. So suffering can arise. Report an error in the passage at 32:24 Highlight the passage at 32:24

32:38 And it says, should be known as truth since it is not false. So it's not false. Because the realization of emptiness sees things as they actually are. Without deception, distortion or falsity. And should be known as truth. So this is the truth that liberates us from. from all air liberates us up from saṃsāra. Report an error in the passage at 32:38 Highlight the passage at 32:38

33:13 Okay, then the mantra of the perfection of wisdom is declared. So recall that this, so this section I'm talking about the mantra is for the extremely sharp faculty bodhisattvas who don't need any explanation, right? Just by hearing the mantra, then they can read it. So the mantra is quite significant, right? It's quite powerful. So tayata, om gate gate, paragate, parasangate, bodhisoha. Report an error in the passage at 33:13 Highlight the passage at 33:13

33:49 Tayata means it is thus. Report an error in the passage at 33:49 Highlight the passage at 33:49

33:57 So this is how you practice. It is thus. And then om. Om is sometimes present in this mantra and sometimes it's eliminated. But om has a lot of significance. Report an error in the passage at 33:57 Highlight the passage at 33:57

34:16 It actually means a number of different things. Gishidapa says, in this context, Om refers to the three doors of liberation. Who remembers the three doors of liberation? Report an error in the passage at 34:16 Highlight the passage at 34:16

34:30 Emptiness, wishlessness and signlessness. Report an error in the passage at 34:30 Highlight the passage at 34:30

34:39 Signlessness. All things are empty. They don't exist the way you think they do. And then wishlessness is that. All right, so what's, what's the... Report an error in the passage at 34:39 Highlight the passage at 34:39

34:41 they have. Report an error in the passage at 34:41 Highlight the passage at 34:41

34:50 They don't originate from true things or things. That which they originate from is empty. Signlessness is that they don't produce anything that's inherent from themselves. Almost perfect. But you just have signlessness and wishlessness mixed up. Wishlessness refers to the results being empty. And signlessness refers to the causes of phenomena of being empty. That's my dyslexia. It's not a good name. Report an error in the passage at 34:50 Highlight the passage at 34:50

35:32 Okay. Also Aum refers in general to the body, speech and mind of the Buddhas. Report an error in the passage at 35:32 Highlight the passage at 35:32

35:44 I think it has other meanings as well. Both in Buddhism and Hinduism. It's very powerful. Report an error in the passage at 35:44 Highlight the passage at 35:44

35:54 Then Gatte Gatte. So Gatte means go. So the first Gatte refers to... Now it's time to enter the path of accumulation. So one has generated bodhicitta, conventional bodhicitta, and we need to, well, then we need to enter the path of accumulation. Report an error in the passage at 35:54 Highlight the passage at 35:54

36:18 Or actually when we generate uncontrived bodhicitta, we automatically generate the path of accumulation. I have previously seen this translated as gone in the past tense. Is it interchangeable, the tense? Yeah, I mean, sometimes it says go and sometimes it says gone, and I don't know the significance of that, actually. I guess I've heard of gone, gone, gone, beyond. Report an error in the passage at 36:18 Highlight the passage at 36:18

36:44 I guess it's both, because it's, you know, you get beyond, you know, time anyway, so it's future, past and present, right? Eventually, I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 36:44 Highlight the passage at 36:44

37:00 Good end with I don't know, definitely. I don't know. Yeah. It's good. Report an error in the passage at 37:00 Highlight the passage at 37:00

37:06 I'm not sure because, let's see, the Report an error in the passage at 37:06 Highlight the passage at 37:06

37:14 reason I put go is because that's the translation that Thukdun Jinpa used for His Holiness and there's no better translator than he is so I tend to just rely on him. Report an error in the passage at 37:14 Highlight the passage at 37:14

37:32 But yeah, but a lot of times it says gone. Report an error in the passage at 37:32 Highlight the passage at 37:32

37:38 Or at least that's my opinion. That Thukdun Jinpa is a great translator. Report an error in the passage at 37:38 Highlight the passage at 37:38

37:50 So then the second gate exhorts one to enter the path of preparation. So one shouldn't just rest in the path of accumulation and should go on to the path of preparation. Then paragate means go beyond or gone beyond. So it exhorts one to enter the path of seeing. So at that point, one's gone beyond being an ordinary being. One's become an aria. Report an error in the passage at 37:50 Highlight the passage at 37:50

38:22 or superior historically realized emptiness Then Parasangate means go completely beyond, which exhorts one to enter the path of meditation. Then Bodhi means enlightenment and Soha means foundation or root. Report an error in the passage at 38:22 Highlight the passage at 38:22

38:46 So His Holiness says that Bodhi Soha can be read as be rooted in the ground of enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 38:46 Highlight the passage at 38:46

38:59 Or an exhortation to establish oneself firmly in the ground of enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 38:59 Highlight the passage at 38:59

39:07 So the entire mantra can be translated as go, go, go beyond. Go completely beyond. Be rooted in the ground of enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 39:07 Highlight the passage at 39:07

39:23 Or else sometimes people say, gone to the other shore or go to the other shore. Out of saṃsāra. The Report an error in the passage at 39:23 Highlight the passage at 39:23

39:43 Heart Sūtra continues, Sharipucha, the Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, should train in the profound perfection of wisdom like that. Report an error in the passage at 39:43 Highlight the passage at 39:43

39:59 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. So up until this point, the Buddha, the Bhagavan, was in meditative equipoise, meditating on emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 39:59 Highlight the passage at 39:59

40:29 And he was just sitting there while Avalokiteshvara and Shariputra were going back and forth. Then he arises and commends what Avalokiteshvara was saying, what he said was perfect. Report an error in the passage at 40:29 Highlight the passage at 40:29

40:47 So this also indicates that while the Buddha was meditating on emptiness, he was also aware of what was going on. So he was aware of both. The conventional truth and ultimate truth both, which is a unique quality of the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 40:47 Highlight the passage at 40:47

41:23 I was just going to add, you and I have talked about this before, that he also repeats it in part, doesn't he, to acknowledge the conventional truth, the two truths, conventional and ultimate. That's right. Well said, well said. It's not just to be affirmative. Right. Good job. Good job, good job. Report an error in the passage at 41:23 Highlight the passage at 41:23

41:44 Right, so well said, well said. The two well says, one is indicating conventional truth and the other one is indicating ultimate truth. That's right. Report an error in the passage at 41:44 Highlight the passage at 41:44

41:54 Yeah, so the Buddha right never wastes any words, right? There's no reason for him to say it twice unless there's a particular meaning to it. It's not being Oprah. Just kidding. What does son of the lineage mean again? Is Report an error in the passage at 41:54 Highlight the passage at 41:54

42:20 it someone who has entered the path? More Report an error in the passage at 42:20 Highlight the passage at 42:20

42:28 specific? Report an error in the passage at 42:28 Highlight the passage at 42:28

42:36 Is it somebody who's entered? It's beyond the Mahāyāna path, right? It's more than someone just entering the Mahāyāna path. Is Report an error in the passage at 42:36 Highlight the passage at 42:36

42:54 it someone who's directly perceived empty now? I'm completely guessing. Does anybody remember? My Report an error in the passage at 42:54 Highlight the passage at 42:54

43:11 guess would be that it's somebody who has achieved uncontarchable achievement. It's a good guess. But it's not correct. That was my guess. Remember we had a discussion about the difference between Buddha lineage and Mahāyāna lineage. That sounds a little bit familiar. Yeah. Does that bring up? I'm feeling very lower capacity. I mean that's why it's good to review it, right? Report an error in the passage at 43:11 Highlight the passage at 43:11

43:51 We forget these things. So the son of lineage is someone who has entered the Mahāyāna lineage. And what does that mean? Report an error in the passage at 43:51 Highlight the passage at 43:51

44:05 So we also had a discussion on the difference between entering the Mahāyāna lineage and entering the Mahāyāna path. So uncontrived bodhicitta, you enter the Mahāyāna path, but you awaken the Mahāyāna lineage before that. Does anybody remember what causes you to awaken the Mahāyāna lineage? Report an error in the passage at 44:05 Highlight the passage at 44:05

44:36 this and I just completely drank it. Report an error in the passage at 44:36 Highlight the passage at 44:36

44:41 It's not renunciation. The Mahāyāna lineage, so something that's unique to the Mahāyāna. That would be the vow to come back again. Report an error in the passage at 44:41 Highlight the passage at 44:41

44:56 That's close. So what's the Hilary? Hilary looks like she knows. Report an error in the passage at 44:56 Highlight the passage at 44:56

45:08 When you develop great compassion. Yeah, exactly. Developing great compassion. You almost go. So we develop great compassion first, in the process of developing bodhicitta, we develop great compassion, which is compassion for all sentient beings without exception. So it's based on equanimity, not liking some and disliking others, but this equanimous view of all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 45:08 Highlight the passage at 45:08

45:42 So then we develop great compassion. And then we develop this exceptional resolve, deciding, okay, I myself must free all sentient beings from suffering. And then one generates bodhicitta, realizing that only by attaining complete enlightenment can we really benefit sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 45:42 Highlight the passage at 45:42

46:07 So when we develop great compassion, we awaken the Mahayama lineage. So this sūtra is talking to those beings. Who have awakened the Mahāyāna lineage. So this is how one practices for someone who has awakened the Mahāyāna lineage. Report an error in the passage at 46:07 Highlight the passage at 46:07

46:30 It's before bodhicitta? Yeah, it's before bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 46:30 Highlight the passage at 46:30

46:46 Then the Bhagavan having thus spoken, the venerable Sarivadiputra, 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 46:46 Highlight the passage at 46:46

47:05 Okay, so then everyone rejoiced. Report an error in the passage at 47:05 Highlight the passage at 47:05

47:14 So, at the end of the Heart Sūtra. So, if we look at the Heart Sūtra, in relation to the three different ways that sutras are taught, there are the direct words that are spoken by the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 47:14 Highlight the passage at 47:14

47:36 There are permitted words, words that were kind of approved by the Buddha. And then blessed words. Report an error in the passage at 47:36 Highlight the passage at 47:36

47:50 So the Heart Sūtra has all three of these parts. So the part we just covered where the Buddha says, well said, well said, sign of the lineage, it is like that. So that's the direct words of the Buddha. Then the permitted words are... The section at the beginning, the introduction of the prologue, where it says, right, thus did I hear at one time the Bhagavan was dwelling on massive vultures, mountain, Rajakri, etc. Report an error in the passage at 47:50 Highlight the passage at 47:50

48:24 And then the very end, where it says the Bhagavan having thus spoken the venerable Sharivadi, Frutjara, Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, Arya, Avukiteshva. So those are all permitted words or words that were approved by the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 48:24 Highlight the passage at 48:24

48:42 And then the blessed words. So recall that Shariputra asked this question. Shariputra was a Hinayana practitioner. And so it said that he wouldn't have known how to ask this question, how should his son of the lineage train, who wishes to practice the profound professional wisdom. He wouldn't have known to ask that question without the blessing of the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 48:42 Highlight the passage at 48:42

49:10 And so this entire exchange between Sariputra and Avalokiteshvara are said to be blessed words of the Buddha. Just by being in the presence of the Buddha, they were blessed. Report an error in the passage at 49:10 Highlight the passage at 49:10

49:26 So we kind of all have that experience, right, when we're in the presence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Our mind is definitely in a different place than it normally is due to their blessings. Report an error in the passage at 49:26 Highlight the passage at 49:26

49:49 Even though the Hinayana, maybe they don't say some of the lineage meaning Mahāyāna lineage, but don't the Hinayana practitioners have equanimity in terms of, Report an error in the passage at 49:49 Highlight the passage at 49:49

50:08 because they do develop some compassion, they just don't develop the wish to take responsibility. Yeah. So Hinayanists, they developed the four measurables, right? The immeasurable equanimity, immeasurable love, joy and compassion. And what, Report an error in the passage at 50:08 Highlight the passage at 50:08

50:29 and this seems, well actually I won't say, but what we studied in Italy about the difference between immeasurable equanimity that the Hinayanists developed and Or immeasurable compassion, which the Hainayanists developed, versus great compassion that's unique to Mahainists, is that immeasurable equanimity, I keep saying equanimity, immeasurable compassion is developing compassion for countless sentient beings, but it's not sentient beings without exception. Report an error in the passage at 50:29 Highlight the passage at 50:29

51:15 It's countless sentient beings, but not... Without exception, whereas great compassion is without exception. It doesn't matter who you are, what you've done, still, you know, developing compassion, love, etc. So basically then, in Lama, measurable compassion isn't really equanimous, or being equal, or cross. Report an error in the passage at 51:15 Highlight the passage at 51:15

51:47 It would seem... the description let's see I hate Brad everybody lives in Texas one or two over here there's been quite a bit on the list Report an error in the passage at 51:47 Highlight the passage at 51:47

52:05 It would imply that. I wouldn't say that. Report an error in the passage at 52:05 Highlight the passage at 52:05

52:18 So I'm just repeating what I studied, but it seems to be a small difference, right? Because I don't think that it's... It's not that they deliberately exclude anyone, I think. But, you know, I would just be speculating. Yeah, I had a difficult time with that particular teaching, but I'm not sure that I get that. Report an error in the passage at 52:18 Highlight the passage at 52:18

52:52 Okay, so we have an hour left in class. Report an error in the passage at 52:52 Highlight the passage at 52:52

52:59 So I thought we could do some questions and answers and then we can wrap up with just a summary of the most important points of the suture. But do you want to take a break first? Report an error in the passage at 52:59 Highlight the passage at 52:59

53:15 Don't everybody... Maybe we could just... Maybe if we don't take a break we can... Oh yeah, we can leave earlier too. Not a huge rush, just with the rain and everything, it's kind of nasty. Okay, that's fine with me. too. Report an error in the passage at 53:15 Highlight the passage at 53:15

53:37 We're on the path of no more breaks. Report an error in the passage at 53:37 Highlight the passage at 53:37

53:48 have a question. So Report an error in the passage at 53:48 Highlight the passage at 53:48

53:57 does any honest have the direct perception of emptiness or just realizing selflessness of a person? Report an error in the passage at 53:57 Highlight the passage at 53:57

54:10 So according to the Prasangikas, the highest tenant schools, the Hinayanas must have a direct realization of emptiness in order to get out of saṃsāra. Report an error in the passage at 54:10 Highlight the passage at 54:10

54:24 But some of the lower tenant schools say, no, you don't have to have a realization of emptiness. You can just realize self-existent person. It's like the lack of a self-sufficient, substantially existent self. Report an error in the passage at 54:24 Highlight the passage at 54:24

54:40 according to persona, you have to have a direct realization of emptiness to get out Do you have to have uncontrived bodhicitta to have the direct perception of emptiness? No. Report an error in the passage at 54:40 Highlight the passage at 54:40

55:03 But it's said that practicing method, giving up self-cherishing, practicing generosity, all of those practices help loosen that whole self-grasping. Report an error in the passage at 55:03 Highlight the passage at 55:03

55:17 Loosens the self-cherishing, loosens the self-grasping. So that helps to realize emptiness. So even as a Hinayanist, it's said that Hinayanists need a lot of merit to realize emptiness. It's not as if they're going around being really selfish and mean to people and then they can realize emptiness and get out of saṃsāra. You still need a lot of merit, they just don't have bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 55:17 Highlight the passage at 55:17

55:53 When they say that... When you reach Buddhahood, you've eliminated all afflictions, including anger. How do you account for stories of the Buddha manifesting wrathfulness? Because there are many stories after he achieved enlightenment of him getting pissed, or appearing to be pissed off at his followers over various and sundry things. Report an error in the passage at 55:53 Highlight the passage at 55:53

56:13 Is that just completely devoid of any real anger at the core of it? How does wrathfulness fit in with that? Yeah, so there's a difference between anger and wrath. Anger is an extremely disturbed mind. So the Buddha doesn't have the disturbed mind, may display a very strong behavior in order to benefit others, but at the root of that is the motivation of compassion, it's not the motivation of anger. Report an error in the passage at 56:13 Highlight the passage at 56:13

56:45 So it's not trying to harm anyone. The mind of anger is trying to harm someone. oneself or suffering or something like that. So you can be enlightened and still be around. Yeah. Yeah. And that's why they're the wrathful deities. Because of us need some. Exactly. Report an error in the passage at 56:45 Highlight the passage at 56:45

57:07 So then the Report an error in the passage at 57:07 Highlight the passage at 57:07

57:17 Buddha can display a whole range of emotions but underpinning it there's no malice and there's no intent to harm. Even though it looks like it. Yeah, it's just an appearance, right? But because we can't see their minds and we might think that they're angry. Report an error in the passage at 57:17 Highlight the passage at 57:17

57:38 That's true because we're deluded. So they're always saying, just kidding. Just kidding. Just kidding. I think just like the Buddha can give a talk and all the people who speak all the different languages in the audience can hear, I think it stands to reason that there's some karma, some of our own individual karma involved too, at least that's my thought on it. Report an error in the passage at 57:38 Highlight the passage at 57:38

57:59 Whether or not we see him as being angry. Yeah, yeah. And maybe that isn't dependent on individual karma, but I think if the Buddha can speak to many different languages in one audience today. Stands to reason that there's this sort of body language and different kinds of things. Like you said, some of us need wrathfulness. So the Buddha always is able to speak as we need to hear things, to understand them. Report an error in the passage at 57:59 Highlight the passage at 57:59

58:25 And when we're around the llamas, we notice that the llamas are really gentle with some people and really wrathful with others. Report an error in the passage at 58:25 Highlight the passage at 58:25

58:38 And it's not that we think that the llamas are deluded. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 58:38 Highlight the passage at 58:38

58:44 Venting their anger on the students, right? It's what the students mean. Like Milarepa. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean, it said that Marpa, right, really, it was really difficult for Marpa to be so wrathful toward Milarepa, but that's exactly what he needed to purify. Yeah, Hillary. Good Report an error in the passage at 58:44 Highlight the passage at 58:44

59:16 example, if you haven't read your... current Mangala magazine, and the little history that she gives on Manayashi was a given on their gatha. Yeah. Just immediately beating up this one cool kid who just stole from the gatha and the new western student was kind of or something and then Manayashi is like the example. Report an error in the passage at 59:16 Highlight the passage at 59:16

59:40 Anyway, read the story. Yeah, it's a great, great story. From what I've heard, he was able to mend this. All the different emotions. Report an error in the passage at 59:40 Highlight the passage at 59:40

59:57 I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the direct perception of emptiness is it's a mental state where you don't perceive anything. So it's not like your eyes go blind and you can't hear. Your sense is going to shut down. Is that right? Well, your senses do shut down. What's said is your sense consciousness withdraw. Report an error in the passage at 59:57 Highlight the passage at 59:57

1:00:23 And so it's just a mental consciousness that is manifest. It's realizing emptiness. So it's not like spacing out and not realizing anything, right? It's realizing the lack of inherent existence. What that actually looks like... Is that a non-dualistic and non-conceptual event? Yes. A direct realization of emptiness, yeah, is non-dualistic, non-conceptual. So it said that a direct realization of emptiness is like water poured into water, so there's no perception of the mind versus emptiness, the subject versus the object. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:23 Highlight the passage at 1:00:23

1:01:10 It's like they merge, I Report an error in the passage at 1:01:10 Highlight the passage at 1:01:10

1:01:16 don't know if that's the right word, but it's like water poured into water. You can't distinguish between those two. So in that sense not dualistic. I mean dualistic has a number of different meanings. Also dualistic appearance also refers to an appearance of inherent existence. So it's also not dualistic in that sense in that there's no appearance of inherent existence. Only ultimate truth appears. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:16 Highlight the passage at 1:01:16

1:01:44 Only emptiness appears. But emptiness doesn't appear as inherently existing. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:44 Highlight the passage at 1:01:44

1:01:57 I'm just having trouble with these. The sense withdrawal part. The trouble with the sense withdrawal. Because I've read in little things like somebody was meditating and in their meditation everything disappeared and some Lama said, yes, you've had the direct perception of emptiness. Lama Zopa said, no. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:57 Highlight the passage at 1:01:57

1:02:20 Well, you know, it said even calm abiding. Calm abiding, all of this sense consciousness is withdrawal. So you don't have to have a direct realization of emptiness. To have the sense consciousness withdraw. So that's why sounds and things don't bother you when you have calm abiding. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:20 Highlight the passage at 1:02:20

1:02:41 When we're sleeping, the senses withdraw as well. And at death, the senses withdraw. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:41 Highlight the passage at 1:02:41

1:02:51 Can you make sense? Report an error in the passage at 1:02:51 Highlight the passage at 1:02:51

1:03:04 I have one question. This was just about something you said last week, and I don't know if you'll even remember exactly what you said, but it might be something that is in your mind really good. But we were talking about... Report an error in the passage at 1:03:04 Highlight the passage at 1:03:04

1:03:19 reasons that we could prove that certain things were not inherently existent from their own side. And you said something that really resonated with me and I can't quite It was something like that, and it was really... good in the moment and then I kind of lost it this week. I thought Report an error in the passage at 1:03:19 Highlight the passage at 1:03:19

1:03:52 maybe it was like this real standard reasoning because I had never heard this particular reasoning and it really, really was thunderous to me. on the tape. Oh, yeah, true enough. Yeah, there you go. Okay, well, I'll check the thing, yeah. Yeah, that's not... I mean, I could be kind of misquoting it, too, but it was really good. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:52 Highlight the passage at 1:03:52

1:04:30 So I'll go back. That's good advice. I didn't even think to go look for it. I'll see if I can find it. I'm sure it was the last class, though. Okay. I'm trying to think of the way, exactly how you stated it. Well, what comes to mind is that... If things were inherently existent, then they couldn't depend on anything, and we wouldn't even be able to perceive an inherently existent phenomenon, because then that would be dependent on our mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:30 Highlight the passage at 1:04:30

1:04:59 That might be it. It felt a little different than that, but that could be it. And I might have written my own story. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:59 Highlight the passage at 1:04:59

1:05:08 That has the same kind of tenor to it. Thank you. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:08 Highlight the passage at 1:05:08

1:05:17 part of the offshoot. Is there a permanent phenomenon? Yeah, permanent in the sense of not changing from moment to moment. Right. And that would just be emptiness? Is there anything else? Space. Space, the lack of obstructive contact is a permanent phenomenon. And also, mental images, the images that we create in our minds are considered permanent phenomenon. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:17 Highlight the passage at 1:05:17

1:05:45 Really? You just blew my mind. How does that work? So if we think of our self-image, the image we have of ourselves, is that something that's changing from moment to moment? Yeah, it's pretty permanent. I mean, it's not that it always stays the same, right? We can have different images over time, but that image doesn't change from moment to moment. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:45 Highlight the passage at 1:05:45

1:06:16 it's a permanent thing on there. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:16 Highlight the passage at 1:06:16

1:06:23 it's embarrassing to look at pictures of people. Yeah. And it's also interesting, right, because that shows that our mental images don't accord with reality. But when you have the direct perception of emptiness, doesn't that blow that out of the water? Right, so when we directly realize emptiness, we're not realizing emptiness through a mental image anymore. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:23 Highlight the passage at 1:06:23

1:06:48 We're realizing emptiness directly. So that mental image, on the path of preparation, we're realizing emptiness through a mental image. And then that mental image slowly fades during the course of the path of preparation, and then we realize emptiness directly. So wouldn't that make it impermanent? Report an error in the passage at 1:06:48 Highlight the passage at 1:06:48

1:07:09 Emptiness? No, the mental image. If the mental image fades after the direct reception of emptiness, wouldn't that make it an impermanent phenomenon? So impermanent means not changing from moment to moment in the Dharma. It doesn't mean eternal. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:09 Highlight the passage at 1:07:09

1:07:30 So there are permanent phenomena that go out of existence in the Dharma. Like the emptiness of the cup, when the cup breaks, the emptiness of the cup no longer exists. The emptiness of this cup no longer exists. So that emptiness is a permanent phenomenon because it doesn't change from moment to moment, but it can go out of existence. So that's kind of a tricky thing about the term permanent. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:30 Highlight the passage at 1:07:30

1:08:05 It's unchanging, really. So emptiness is a dependent arising. Right. So emptiness is a dependent arising, but it's not dependent on causes and conditions. from these unchanging, I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:05 Highlight the passage at 1:08:05

1:08:21 So there were three levels of dependent arising, being dependent on causes and conditions, being dependent on parts, and dependent on imputation. So being dependent on causes and conditions only refers to impermanent phenomena, not permanent phenomena. But dependent on parts and imputation refers to all phenomena, permanent and impermanent. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:21 Highlight the passage at 1:08:21

1:08:56 Okay, then so we'll finish. So the main important points to get out of the heart suture are really those four modes of emptiness, really understanding those four modes, that phenomena are empty from their own side, like form is empty and all phenomena are empty, empty of inherent existence. And Report an error in the passage at 1:08:56 Highlight the passage at 1:08:56

1:09:29 then the second mode, that emptiness is form, so emptiness appears as form. So form does exist conventionally as mere appearances, or phenomena exist as mere appearances to the mind, and as merely imputed by the mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:29 Highlight the passage at 1:09:29

1:09:58 So that eliminates the extreme of nihilism, thinking, okay, well, things are unfindable, therefore things don't exist at all. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:58 Highlight the passage at 1:09:58

1:10:08 So the first mode of emptiness, form is empty, eliminates the extreme of permanence or reification. Reifying, thinking that something's real that it actually isn't. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:08 Highlight the passage at 1:10:08

1:10:24 Then emptiness as form asserts the subtle conventional nature of phenomenon, which eliminates the extreme of nihilism, or believing that nothing exists at all. If it doesn't exist inherently, then it can't exist at all, is a mistaken belief by some of the lower tenet schools. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:24 Highlight the passage at 1:10:24

1:10:48 And then form is not other than emptiness, emptiness is not other than form. It refers to the two truths, being the same entity, but different isolates. Do people remember what that means? Report an error in the passage at 1:10:48 Highlight the passage at 1:10:48

1:11:10 Can you say it again? Not just entity and isolates part, but the part before that. Form is not other than emptiness. Emptiness is not other than form. And that refers to the same entity. It's the same thing. can I waste the mic? Report an error in the passage at 1:11:10 Highlight the passage at 1:11:10

1:11:27 It's the same thing but manifest in two distinct ways. I Report an error in the passage at 1:11:27 Highlight the passage at 1:11:27

1:11:39 wouldn't say it's the same. It's the same lack of inherent existence, but the isolates, the way in which it appears is different. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:39 Highlight the passage at 1:11:39

1:12:01 Isn't it that it's the difference between the black of the case and the... of the case and the case itself or am I a completely different thing? Yeah, same entity. Yeah, so the same entity, so they're all part of the same entity, but the isolates are like the blue, the blue of the cup is one And the shape of the cup is another. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:01 Highlight the passage at 1:12:01

1:12:25 I can't remember them all. All the different Yeah, okay, yeah. So, So being the same entity in different isolates is referring to, it's the same entity, it's the same thing, But two different ways of looking at the same thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:25 Highlight the passage at 1:12:25

1:12:51 So Report an error in the passage at 1:12:51 Highlight the passage at 1:12:51

1:12:56 to a direct perception, a non-conceptual direct perception, Report an error in the passage at 1:12:56 Highlight the passage at 1:12:56

1:13:08 say the color of the cup and the cup are inseparable. They don't appear as being different. Because it's just two different ways of looking at the same thing. It's the same thing, it's just... The conceptual mind can isolate out particular qualities of the same thing. So the conceptual mind can isolate out the color, can isolate out the shape, can isolate out the impermanence and the emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:08 Highlight the passage at 1:13:08

1:13:45 So the conceptual mind can think about the same thing in different ways. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:45 Highlight the passage at 1:13:45

1:13:53 So the two truths, conventional truth and ultimate truth, Like the cup and the emptiness of the cup are referring to the same object, the same entity, but it's looking at it from two different angles. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:53 Highlight the passage at 1:13:53

1:14:20 So that helps one realize that emptiness isn't something out there, right, that's separate from the cup. Emptiness is just the nature itself of the cup. It's the lack of the cup existing from its own side. The lack of the cup existing independently. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:20 Highlight the passage at 1:14:20

1:14:50 So a non-conceptual perception of the cup would be just cup with the white, that's just a cup. And then the conceptual mind will say the white cup with the hand. No, Report an error in the passage at 1:14:50 Highlight the passage at 1:14:50

1:15:13 I mean conventionally we would say that the eye consciousness sees white cup. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:13 Highlight the passage at 1:15:13

1:15:22 The eye consciousness wouldn't separate out the light from the cup. The conceptual mind would do that. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:22 Highlight the passage at 1:15:22

1:15:36 It's like a person, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:15:36 Highlight the passage at 1:15:36

1:15:42 A non-conceptual mind just sees some colors and some shapes and hears some sounds. And then the conceptual mind labels all sorts of things. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:42 Highlight the passage at 1:15:42

1:15:53 Nice person, annoying person, attractive person. The. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:53 Highlight the passage at 1:15:53

1:16:08 which one of us are you talking about it's a strange mix Report an error in the passage at 1:16:08 Highlight the passage at 1:16:08

1:16:19 But conventionally, we would still say the eye consciousness sees person, even though the eye consciousness doesn't label person, but we could say, well, the eye consciousness, I saw, right, I saw Lewis, I saw a person, even though it's not labeled. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:19 Highlight the passage at 1:16:19

1:16:44 So we talked about before how we see things. We see things, right? With eye consciousness, we see colors and shapes, then we label, we label, you know, we see colors and shapes and we label Lewis and then appears back as basically, Report an error in the passage at 1:16:44 Highlight the passage at 1:16:44

1:17:07 right? We don't even notice. But first it's just the eye consciousness, then the label, then it appears back as if that label came from its own thigh and not something that was assigned by the mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:07 Highlight the passage at 1:17:07

1:17:32 So Report an error in the passage at 1:17:32 Highlight the passage at 1:17:32

1:17:39 we'll have study groups and things too so we can discuss this stuff. I think it's very useful for people to try to articulate their understanding of these things. Because it's one thing to listen to it and think, oh yeah, that kind of makes sense, that kind of makes sense. But there's a whole nother level of learning when we have to articulate what we know. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:39 Highlight the passage at 1:17:39

1:18:03 And then we realize, wait a minute, I don't quite understand that. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:03 Highlight the passage at 1:18:03

1:18:12 So we'll... Do you have another question? I was actually just going to make a comment about the study groups, just how helpful they were. I mean, that's needed. Yeah, well, I was just going to say, I don't know, I hope people go to the study groups because every time we've done that, I've always had this kind of understanding in class, but the study groups have made such a difference to me. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:12 Highlight the passage at 1:18:12

1:18:32 Like every time I think, oh, like always, it starts to kind of click into place. And I feel like I was completely lost up until that point. Like almost literally, that has happened every time. So they're so helpful. I'm so glad we do that. Great. Yeah. I noticed that from my studies in Italy. I went to the discussion groups. We had discussion groups pretty much every day. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:32 Highlight the passage at 1:18:32

1:18:52 Well, four or five days a week. And that is what I really learned. During the end of the program when I was burned out and I skipped a lot of that, my understanding was very fuzzy. I got lost. I lost a lot of that. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:52 Highlight the passage at 1:18:52

1:19:12 You know, you remember having a discussion with somebody about something. You don't necessarily remember what was said in class, but we tend to remember discussions. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:12 Highlight the passage at 1:19:12

1:19:25 Okay, so we'll plan on doing discussion groups the first two Sundays in February. I don't think that there's any conflict. I mentioned it to Chokie, and she didn't think there was any conflict. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:25 Highlight the passage at 1:19:25

1:19:38 So we'll plan on doing those at 1.30. Let's say an hour and a half. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:38 Highlight the passage at 1:19:38

1:19:47 I also horrifyingly have homework for the last class. And this is, you know, in preparation for the exam. It will help understand the main points of the last couple of classes. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:47 Highlight the passage at 1:19:47

1:20:07 And then we'll plan on doing the exam. Is it okay if we do the exam on a Sunday? The fourth Sunday in February. So we'll have study groups the first two Sundays in February, and then we'll skip the third Sunday and do the exam the fourth Sunday. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:07 Highlight the passage at 1:20:07

1:20:38 Yeah, yeah, so I tried to send them earlier, but, right, yeah. Yeah, so I will send them again. I will keep sending them until it doesn't tell me if the recipients are unfinding me. Maybe, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:38 Highlight the passage at 1:20:38

1:20:58 Okay. So I'll do that. And then the last bit of administration, if you want to call it that. I had told you that the next class will begin in March, and it'll be tenants, the philosophical systems. And it looks like it probably won't be tenants. It'll be the lamrim rather than tenants. So I'm not sure if it's... Report an error in the passage at 1:20:58 Highlight the passage at 1:20:58

1:21:28 I haven't completely decided, well I haven't decided yet, if it will be the Lamrim Chenmo, the great Lamrim by Lama Tsongkhapa, or the middling Lamrim by Lama Tsongkhapa. The typical, you know, basic program subject is the middling Lamrim. I want to look at that versus the great, and the great Lamrim is just incredible. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:28 Highlight the passage at 1:21:28

1:21:51 And that's what I was telling us, this teaching in Pennsylvania, so that would be awesome, that would be so great. I was kind of hoping we could have a discussion group if anybody wants to get involved. For reading through the books before then. Anyway, just saying. Okay. If you do, let me know. If anyone wants to get together. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:51 Highlight the passage at 1:21:51

1:22:10 So I'm leaning toward doing the one with Chinville, the great one. Because that's published in the three volumes. But it'll take a very long time to get through it. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:10 Highlight the passage at 1:22:10

1:22:23 If not, seven days like this probably has. We'll take, you know, many months. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:23 Highlight the passage at 1:22:23

1:22:38 The time for 1.30 on the three Sundays. Yeah, and I'll send out an email to a million people because not everybody made it. That's great. Okay, so we'll dedicate them there. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:38 Highlight the passage at 1:22:38